Rustikello from Pisa

Rustichano or Rusticollo , often with the epithet “from Pisa ”, “da Pisa”, “Pisa” ( Italian: Rusticiano, Rustichello da Pisa ) - Italian writer of the end of the XIII century , best known as co-author Marco Polo , who wrote from his words the so-called “ A book about the diversity of the world "(also known as" Million "," Book of Miracles "or simply" Book of Marco Polo ").

Very little is known about the life of Rustikello. There is information about his service at the court of the English King Edward I , whom he accompanied on his way through Italy during the Ninth Crusade in 1272 . By this time the Roman de Roi Artus written in old French language belongs; it is also known as “Compilation” because it was compiled from manuscripts kept in the Edward road library ^[1] . The book was subsequently divided into two parts, named for the main characters, “The Roman about Meliadus” ( Le Roman de Meliadus ) and “Gviron Vezhestvenny” ( Guiron le Courtois ). By Meliadus is meant the father of Tristan , but in fact this part is a compilation of the prose novel “ About Tristan and Isolde .” These compositions have been popular for centuries and have influenced medieval literature in France , Italy and even Greece .

In 1284, Rustikello took part in the war between Pisa and Genoa on the side of his native city, after the battle of Meloria he was captured. During his long imprisonment, he met Marco Polo, also captured by the Genoese (after the Battle of Kurtzol in 1298 ). As it is traditionally considered, Rustichello recorded the travel stories of Marco Polo (also in Old French), which were subsequently decorated into a single book ^[2] . His further fate is unknown.