Friar John of Plano Carpini, natively known as Giovanni di Pian di Carpine, was born around the year 1180. John was born in Umbria near Perugia, Italy; eventually, he became respected within the Franciscan order.
Friar John held numerous positions across Europe, such as warden and minister. His roles were important in countries including Italy, Germany, and eventually France. While in Cologne of the year 1241, the Mongolian invasion of Europe had reached Poland. Mongolian and European forces clashed in the Battle of Liegnitz on April 9, 1241. This battle created fears and questions surrounding the Mongols and their goals.
Thus, Pope Innocent IV would convene numerous diplomatic missions into Mongol territory. Four years after the Battle of Liegnitz pass until the culmination of Friar John’s journey when Pope Innocent IV convened the friar mission to the Mongols. Friar John carried a letter from Pope Innocent IV to its intended recipient, the ruler of the Mongols.Friar John departed on this mission already over 60 years old.
For our map, we used the Stevenson translation from 2004, though as this is still in copyright, the links from the map will take the user to the appropriate passages in the Jones translation of 1928.