Friar Odoric was born to an Italian family in or about 1286 CE. In the village of Villanova, Odoric's family was in charge of protecting the Italian town of Pordenone. Hence the name "Friar Odoric of Pordenone". The Catholic Church even states that his family may have had Czech Ancestry. He also had vows to the Franciscan order and at one point joined their Udine convent. In 1296 Friar Odoric traveled into the Balkans as well as into Mongol occupied southern Russia. Later in April 1318, Friar Odoric would be sent to Constantinople by way of sea from Venice (Komroff). Friar Odoric then crossed into Eastern Europe and Persia to found mission centers for the Franciscan order. He would then embark upon his journey East which would lead him to numerous foreign lands that were previously, sparsely traveled by Europeans. Heading through Persia, the Friar would stop in modern day Iraq. He would later travel by sea, leaving form the Persian Gulf in the direction of India. (Swofford) Upon Arriving in India, it was clear that Friar Odoric would continue by way of ship, sailing along the coast stopping when interested. Sailing up both sides of the Indian subcontinent, Odoric also made a stop in modern day Sri Lanka. Friar Odoric continued east towards Indonesia and Singapore. The next portion of his trip was more difficult to pinpoint as translations of his journal were riddled with discrepancies that would not make sense in todays world. When in Indonesia, Friar Odoric refers to the local people as the Zapa. One translation of this text denotes the Zapa, as Zapan, or Japan. This was interesting because this would mean that Friar Odoric was sailing in Indonesia and referred to the people in a way that would have denoted them as being Japanese. This highlights the pure ignorance the Europeans had when viewing the Asiatic peoples of the East. I would further estimate that the Zapa people were a tribal people that traded with travelers from the sea. And that the village was not in fact Japan. There was very little to no distinction between one stop and the next.
Friar Odoric wrote in a way that was short and relatively unimaginative, but curious and descriptive none the less. After Indonesia, Friar Odoric would stop in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Nanjing, Beijing, and Ya’nan. After traveling around the interior of China, Friar Odoric would head back by land. Traveling through western China, Friar Odoric would end up in Afghanistan. From there he would head towards Constantinople to return home to Italy, once again by way of Venice (Mandeville). Friar Odoric's returning journey was less thoroughly written about by the friar himself. Most of his travels were used as a diplomatic move. His journey resulted in some European contact with the East. His journey also resulted in the expansion of the Franciscan order, especially in eastern Europe and Asia.
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