The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 · Chapter 13Part 13
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“Here you have the Book of which My Lord Thiebault, Knight and Lord of Cepoy, (whom may God assoil!) requested a copy from Sire Marc Pol, Burgess and Resident of the City of Venice. And the said Sire Marc Pol, being a very honourable Person, of high character and respect in many countries, because of his desire that what he had witnessed should be known throughout the World, and also for the honour and reverence he bore to the most excellent and puissant Prince my Lord Charles, Son of the King of France and Count of Valois, gave and presented to the aforesaid Lord of Cepoy the first copy (that was taken) of his said Book after he had made the same. And very pleasing it was to him that his Book should be carried to the noble country of France and there made known by so worthy a gentleman. And from that copy which the said Messire Thibault, Sire de Cepoy above-named, did carry into France, Messire John, who was his eldest son and is the present Sire de Cepoy,[10] after his Father’s decease did have a copy made, and that very first copy that was made of the Book after its being carried into France he did present to his very dear and dread Lord Monseigneur de Valois. Thereafter he gave copies of it to such of his friends as asked for them.
“And the copy above-mentioned was presented by the said Sire Marc Pol to the said Lord de Cepoy when the latter went to Venice, on the part of Monseigneur de Valois and of Madame the Empress his wife, as Vicar General for them both in all the Territories of the Empire of Constantinople. And this happened in the year of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ one thousand three hundred and seven, and in the month of August.”
Of the bearings of this memorandum on the literary history of Polo’s Book we shall speak in a following section.
46. When Marco married we have not been able to ascertain, but it was no doubt early in the 14th century, for in 1324, we find that he had two married daughters besides one unmarried. His wife’s Christian name was Donata, but of her family we have as yet found no assurance. I suspect, however, that her name may have been Loredano (vide infra, p. 77).
Under 1311 we find a document which is of considerable interest, because it is the only one yet discovered which exhibits Marco under the aspect of a practical trader. It is the judgment of the Court of Requests upon a suit brought by the Noble Marco Polo of the parish of S. Giovanni Grisostomo against one Paulo Girardo of S. Apollinare. It appears that Marco had entrusted to the latter as a commission agent for sale, on an agreement for half profits, a pound and a half of musk, priced at six lire of grossi (about 22l. 10s. in value of silver) the pound. Girardo had sold half-a-pound at that rate, and the remaining pound which he brought back was deficient of a saggio, or, one-sixth of an ounce, but he had accounted for neither the sale nor the deficiency. Hence Marco sues him for three lire of Grossi, the price of the half-pound sold, and for twenty grossi as the value of the saggio. And the Judges cast the defendant in the amount with costs, and the penalty of imprisonment in the common gaol of Venice if the amounts were not paid within a suitable term.[11]
Again in May, 1323, probably within a year of his death, Ser Marco appears (perhaps only by attorney), before the Doge and his judicial examiners, to obtain a decision respecting a question touching the rights to certain stairs and porticoes in contact with his own house property, and that obtained from his wife, in S. Giovanni Grisostomo. To this allusion has been already made (supra, p. 31).
(Dimensions of Original, 26·4 inches by 9·4 inches) FROM A PHOTOGRAPH SPECIALLY TAKEN IN ST. MARK’S LIBRARY BY SIGNOR BERTANI.
47. We catch sight of our Traveller only once more. It is on the 9th of January, 1324; he is labouring with disease, under which he is sinking day by day; and he has sent for Giovanni Giustiniani, Priest of S. Proculo and Notary, to make his Last Will and Testament. It runs thus:—
“In the Name of the Eternal God Amen!
“In the year from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ 1323, on the 9th day of the month of January, in the first half of the 7th Indiction,[12] at Rialto.
“It is the counsel of Divine Inspiration as well as the judgment of a provident mind that every man should take thought to make a disposition of his property before death become imminent, lest in the end it should remain without any disposition:
“Wherefore I Marcus Paulo of the parish of St. John Chrysostom, finding myself to grow daily feebler through bodily ailment, but being by the grace of God of a sound mind, and of senses and judgment unimpaired, have sent for John Giustiniani, Priest of S. Proculo and Notary, and have instructed him to draw out in complete form this my Testament:
“Whereby I constitute as my Trustees Donata my beloved wife, and my dear daughters Fantina, Bellela, and Moreta,[13] in order that after my decease they may execute the dispositions and bequests which I am about to make herein.
“First of all: I will and direct that the proper Tithe be paid.[14] And over and above the said tithe I direct that 2000 lire of Venice denari be distributed as follows:[15]
“Viz., 20 soldi of Venice grossi to the Monastery of St. Lawrence where I desire to be buried.
“Also 300 lire of Venice denari to my sister-in-law Ysabeta Quirino,[16] that she owes me.
“Also 40 soldi to each of the Monasteries and Hospitals all the way from Grado to Capo d’Argine.[17]
“Also I bequeath to the Convent of SS. Giovanni and Paolo, of the Order of Preachers, that which it owes me, and also 10 lire to Friar Renier, and 5 lire to Friar Benvenuto the Venetian, of the Order of Preachers, in addition to the amount of his debt to me.
“I also bequeath 5 lire to every Congregation in Rialto, and 4 lire to every Guild or Fraternity of which I am a member.[18]
“Also I bequeath 20 soldi of Venetian grossi to the Priest Giovanni Giustiniani the Notary, for his trouble about this my Will, and in order that he may pray the Lord in my behalf.
“Also I release Peter the Tartar, my servant, from all bondage, as completely as I pray God to release mine own soul from all sin and guilt. And I also remit him whatever he may have gained by work at his own house; and over and above I bequeath him 100 lire of Venice denari.[19]
“And the residue of the said 2000 lire free of tithe, I direct to be distributed for the good of my soul, according to the discretion of my trustees.
“Out of my remaining property I bequeath to the aforesaid Donata, my Wife and Trustee, 8 lire of Venetian grossi annually during her life, for her own use, over and above her settlement, and the linen and all the household utensils,[20] with 3 beds garnished.
“And all my other property movable and immovable that has not been disposed of [here follow some lines of mere technicality] I specially and expressly bequeath to my aforesaid Daughters Fantina, Bellela, and Moreta, freely and absolutely, to be divided equally among them. And I constitute them my heirs as regards all and sundry my property movable and immovable, and as regards all rights and contingencies tacit and expressed, of whatsoever kind as hereinbefore detailed, that belong to me or may fall to me. Save and except that before division my said daughter Moreta shall receive the same as each of my other daughters hath received for dowry and outfit [here follow many lines of technicalities, ending]
“And if any one shall presume to infringe or violate this Will, may he incur the malediction of God Almighty, and abide bound under the anathema of the 318 Fathers; and farthermore he shall forfeit to my Trustees aforesaid five pounds of gold;[21] and so let this my Testament abide in force. The signature of the above named Messer Marco Paulo who gave instructions for this deed.
“‡ I Peter Grifon, Priest, Witness.
“* I Humfrey Barberi, Witness.
“† I John Giustiniani, Priest of S. Proculo, and Notary, have completed and authenticated (this testament).”[22]
We do not know, as has been said, how long Marco survived the making of this will, but we know, from a scanty series of documents commencing in June of the following year (1325), that he had then been some time dead.[23]
48. He was buried, no doubt, according to his declared wish, in the Church of S. Lorenzo; and indeed Sansovino bears testimony to the fact in a confused notice of our Traveller.[24] But there does not seem to have been any monument to Marco, though the sarcophagus which had been erected to his father Nicolo, by his own filial care, existed till near the end of the 16th century in the porch or corridor leading to the old Church of S. Lorenzo, and bore the inscription: “Sepultura Domini Nicolai Paulo de contrata S. Ioannis Grisostemi.” The church was renewed from its foundations in 1592, and then, probably, the sarcophagus was cast aside and lost, and with it all certainty as to the position of the tomb.[25]
There is no portrait of Marco Polo in existence with any claim to authenticity. The quaint figure which we give in the Bibliography, vol. ii. p. 555, extracted from the earliest printed edition of his book, can certainly make no such pretension. The oldest one after this is probably a picture in the collection of Monsignor Badia at Rome, of which I am now able, by the owner’s courtesy, to give a copy. It is set down in the catalogue to Titian, but is probably a work of 1600, or thereabouts, to which the aspect and costume belong. It is inscribed “Marcus Polvs Venetvs Totivs Orbis et Indie Peregrator Primus.” Its history unfortunately cannot be traced, but I believe it came from a collection at Urbino. A marble statue was erected in his honour by a family at Venice in the 17th century, and is still to be seen in the Palazzo Morosini-Gattemburg in the Campo S. Stefano in that city. The medallion portrait on the wall of the Sala dello Scudo in the ducal palace, and which was engraved in Bettom’s “Collection of Portraits of Illustrious Italians,” is a work of imagination painted by Francesco Griselini in 1761.[26] From this, however, was taken the medal by Fabris, which was struck in 1847 in honour of the last meeting of the Italian Congresso Scientifico; and from the medal again is copied, I believe, the elegant woodcut which adorns the introduction to M. Pauthier’s edition, though without any information as to its history. A handsome bust, by Augusto Gamba, has lately been placed among the illustrious Venetians in the inner arcade of the Ducal Palace.[27] There is also a mosaic portrait of Polo, opposite the similar portrait of Columbus in the Municipio at Genoa.
49. From the short series of documents recently alluded to,[28] we gather all that we know of the remaining history of Marco Polo’s immediate family. We have seen in his will an indication that the two elder daughters, Fantina and Bellela, were married before his death. In 1333 we find the youngest, Moreta, also a married woman, and Bellela deceased. In 1336 we find that their mother Donata had died in the interval. We learn, too, that Fantina’s husband was Marco Bragadino, and Moreta’s, Ranuzzo Dolfino.[29] The name of Bellela’s husband does not appear.
Fantina’s husband is probably the Marco Bragadino, son of Pietro, who in 1346 is mentioned to have been sent as Provveditore-Generale to act against the Patriarch of Acquileia.[30] And in 1379 we find Donna Fantina herself, presumably in widowhood, assessed as a resident of S. Giovanni Grisostomo, on the Estimo or forced loan for the Genoese war, at 1300 lire, whilst Pietro Bragadino of the same parish—her son as I imagine—is assessed at 1500 lire.[31] [See vol. ii., Calendar.]
The documents show a few other incidents which may be briefly noted. In 1326 we have the record of a charge against one Zanino Grioni for insulting Donna Moreta in the Campo of San Vitale; a misdemeanour punished by the Council of Forty with two months’ imprisonment.
In March, 1328, Marco Polo, called Marcolino, of St. John Chrysostom (see p. 66), represents before the Domini Advocatores of the Republic that certain imprestita that had belonged to the late Maffeo Polo the Elder, had been alienated and transferred in May 1318, by the late Marco Polo of St. John Chrysostom and since his death by his heirs, without regard to the rights of the said Marcolino, to whom the said Messer Maffeo had bequeathed 1000 lire by his will executed on 6th February, 1308 (i.e. 1309). The Advocatores find that the transfer was to that extent unjust and improper, and they order that to the same extent it should be revoked and annulled. Two months later the Lady Donata makes rather an unpleasant figure before the Council of Forty. It would seem that on the claim of Messer Bertuccio Quirino a mandate of sequestration had been issued by the Court of Requests affecting certain articles in the Ca’ Polo; including two bags of money which had been tied and sealed, but left in custody of the Lady Donata. The sum so sealed was about 80 lire of grossi (300l. in silver value), but when opened only 45 lire and 22 grossi (about 170l.) were found therein, and the Lady was accused of abstracting the balance non bono modo. Probably she acted, as ladies sometimes do, on a strong sense of her own rights, and a weak sense of the claims of law. But the Council pronounced against her, ordering restitution, and a fine of 200 lire over and above “ut ceteris transeat in exemplum.”[32]
It will have been seen that there is nothing in the amounts mentioned in Marco’s will to bear out the large reports as to his wealth, though at the same time there is no positive ground for a deduction to the contrary.[33]
The mention in two of the documents of Agnes Loredano as the sister of the Lady Donata suggests that the latter may have belonged to the Loredano family, but as it does not appear whether Agnes was maid or wife this remains uncertain.[34]
Respecting the further history of the family there is nothing certain, nor can we give unhesitating faith to Ramusio’s statement that the last male descendant of the Polos of S. Giovanni Grisostomo was Marco, who died Castellano of Verona in 1417 (according to others, 1418, or 1425),[35] and that the family property then passed to Maria (or Anna, as she is styled in a MS. statement furnished to me from Venice), who was married in 1401 to Benedetto Cornaro, and again in 1414 to Azzo Trevisan. Her descendant in the fourth generation by the latter was Marc Antonio Trevisano,[36] who was chosen Doge in 1553.
The genealogy recorded by Marco Barbaro, as drawn up from documents by Ramusio, makes the Castellano of Verona a grandson of our Marco by a son Maffeo, whom we may safely pronounce not to have existed, and makes Maria the daughter of Maffeo, Marco’s brother—that is to say, makes a lady marry in 1414 and have children, whose father was born in 1271 at the very latest! The genealogy is given in several other ways, but as I have satisfied myself that they all (except perhaps this of Barbaro’s, which we see to be otherwise erroneous) confound together the two distinct families of Polo of S. Geremia and Polo of S. Giov. Grisostomo, I reserve my faith, and abstain from presenting them. Assuming that the Marco or Marcolino Polo, spoken of in the preceding page, was a near relation (as is probable, though perhaps an illegitimate one), he is the only male descendant of old Andrea of San Felice whom we can indicate as having survived Marco himself; and from a study of the links in the professed genealogies I think it not unlikely that both Marco the Castellano of Verona and Maria Trevisan belonged to the branch of S. Geremia.[37] [See vol. ii., App. C, p. 510.]
[49. bis.—It is interesting to note some of the reliques left by our traveller.
I. The unfortunate Doge of Venice, Marino Faliero, seems to have possessed many souvenirs of Marco Polo, and among them two manuscripts, one in the handwriting of his celebrated fellow-citizen(?), and one adorned with miniatures. M. Julius von Schlosser has reprinted (Die ältesten Medaillen und die Antike, Bd. XVIII., Jahrb. d. Kunsthist. Samml. d. Allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses, Vienna, 1897, pp. 42–43) from the Bulletino di arti, industrie e curiosità veneziane, III., 1880–81, p. 101,[38] the inventory of the curiosities kept in the “Red Chamber” of Marino Faliero’s palace in the Parish of the SS. Apostles; we give the following abstract of it:—
Anno ab incarnacione domini nostri Jesu Christi 1351° indictione sexta mensis aprilis. Inuentarium rerum qui sunt in camera rubea domi habitationis clarissimi domini Marini Faletro de confinio SS. Apostolorum, scriptum per me Johannem, presbiterum, dicte ecclesie.
•••••
Item alia capsaleta cum ogiis auri et argenti, inter quos unum anulum con inscriptione que dicit: Ciuble Can Marco Polo, et unum torques cum multis animalibus Tartarorum sculptis, que res donum dedit predictus Marcus cuidam Faletrorum.
•••••
Item 2 capsalete de corio albo cum variis rebus auri et argenti, quas habuit praedictus Marcus a Barbarorum rege.
•••••
Item 1 ensem mirabilem, qui habet 3 enses simul, quem habuit in suis itineribus praedictus Marcus.
•••••
Item 1 tenturam de pannis indicis, quam habuit praedictus Marcus.
Item de itineribus Marci praedicti liber in corio albo cum multis figuris.
Item aliud volumen quod vocatur de locis mirabilibus Tartarorum, scriptum manu praedicti Marci.
•••••
II. There is kept at the Louvre, in the very valuable collection of China Ware given by M. Ernest Grandidier, a white porcelain incense-burner said to come from Marco Polo. This incense-burner, which belonged to Baron Davillier, who received it, as a present, from one of the keepers of the Treasury of St. Mark’s at Venice, is an octagonal ting from the Fo-kien province, and of the time of the Sung Dynasty. By the kind permission of M. P. Grandidier, we reproduce it from Pl. II. 6, of the Céramique chinoise, Paris, 1894, published by this learned amateur.—H. C.]
[1] 1. The Will is made in prospect of his voyage to Crete.
2. He had drafted his will with his own hand, sealed the draft, and made it over to Pietro Pagano, priest of S. Felice and Notary, to draw out a formal testament in faithful accordance therewith in case of the Testator’s death; and that which follows is the substance of the said draft rendered from the vernacular into Latin. (“Ego Matheus Paulo ... volens ire in Cretam, ne repentinus casus hujus vite fragilis me subreperet intestatum, mea propria manu meum scripsi et condidi testamentum, rogans Petrum Paganum ecclesie Scti. Felicis presbiterum et Notarium, sana mente et integro consilio, ut, secundum ipsius scripturam quam sibi tunc dedi meo sigillo munitam, meum scriberet testamentum, si me de hoc seculo contigeret pertransire; cujus scripture tenor translato vulgari in latinum per omnia talis est.”)
3. Appoints as Trustees Messer Maffeo Polo his uncle, Marco Polo his brother, Messer Nicolo Secreto (or Sagredo) his father-in-law, and Felix Polo his cousin (consanguineum).
4. Leaves 20 soldi to each of the Monasteries from Grado to Capo d’Argine; and 150 lire to all the congregations of Rialto, on condition that the priests of these maintain an annual service in behalf of the souls of his father, mother, and self.
5. To his daughter Fiordelisa 2000 lire to marry her withal. To be invested in safe mortgages in Venice, and the interest to go to her.
Also leaves her the interest from 1000 lire of his funds in Public Debt (? de meis imprestitis) to provide for her till she marries. After her marriage this 1000 lire and its interest shall go to his male heir if he has one, and failing that to his brother Marco.
6. To his wife Catharine 400 lire and all her clothes as they stand now. To the Lady Maroca 100 lire.
7. To his natural daughter Pasqua 400 lire to marry her withal. Or, if she likes to be a nun, 200 lire shall go to her convent and the other 200 shall purchase securities for her benefit. After her death these shall come to his male heir, or failing that be sold, and the proceeds distributed for the good of the souls of his father, mother, and self.
8. To his natural brothers Stephen and Giovannino he leaves 500 lire. If one dies the whole to go to the other. If both die before marrying, to go to his male heir; failing such, to his brother Marco or his male heir.
9. To his uncle Giordano Trevisano 200 lire. To Marco de Tumba 100. To Fiordelisa, wife of Felix Polo, 100. To Maroca, the daughter of the late Pietro Trevisano, living at Negropont, 100. To Agnes, wife of Pietro Lion, 100; and to Francis, son of the late Pietro Trevisano, in Negropont, 100.
10. To buy Public Debt producing an annual 20 lire ai grossi to be paid yearly to Pietro Pagano, Priest of S. Felice, who shall pray for the souls aforesaid: on death of said Pietro the income to go to Pietro’s cousin Lionardo, Clerk of S. Felice; and after him always to the senior priest of S. Giovanni Grisostomo with the same obligation.
11. Should his wife prove with child and bear a son or sons they shall have his whole property not disposed of. If a daughter, she shall have the same as Fiordelisa.
12. If he have no male heir his Brother Marco shall have the Testator’s share of his Father’s bequest, and 2000 lire besides. Cousin Nicolo shall have 500 lire, and Uncle Maffeo 500.
13. Should Daughter Fiordelisa die unmarried her 2000 lire and interest to go to his male heir, and failing such to Brother Marco and his male heir. But in that case Marco shall pay 500 lire to Cousin Nicolo or his male heir.
14. Should his wife bear him a male heir or heirs, but these should die under age, the whole of his undisposed property shall go to Brother Marco or his male heir. But in that case 500 lire shall be paid to Cousin Nicolo.
15. Should his wife bear a daughter and she die unmarried, her 2000 lire and interest shall go to Brother Marco, with the same stipulation in behalf of Cousin Nicolo.
16. Should the whole amount of his property between cash and goods not amount to 10,000 lire (though he believes he has fully as much), his bequests are to be ratably diminished, except those to his own children which he does not wish diminished. Should any legatee die before receiving the bequest, its amount shall fall to the Testator’s heir male, and failing such, the half to go to Marco or his male heir, and the other half to be distributed for the good of the souls aforesaid.
The witnesses are Lionardo priest of S. Felice, Lionardo clerk of the same, and the Notary Pietro Pagano priest of the same.
[2] According to Romanin (I. 321) the lira dei grossi was also called Lira d’imprestidi, and if the lire here are to be so taken, the sum will be 10,000 ducats, the largest amount by far that occurs in any of these Polo documents, unless, indeed, the 1000 lire in § 5 of Maffeo Junior’s Will be the like; but I have some doubt if such lire are intended in either case.
[3] “(Resolved) That grace be granted to the respectable Marco Paulo, relieving him of the penalty he has incurred for neglecting to have his water-pipe examined, seeing that he was ignorant of the order on that subject.” (See Appendix C. No. 3.) The other reference, to M. Polo, of S. Geremia, runs as follows:—
[MCCCII. indic. XV. die VIII. Macii q̄ fiat grā Gūillō aurifici q̄ ipe absolvat a pena ī qua dicit icurisse p̄ uno spōtono sibi iūeto veuiēdo de Mestre p̄p̄e domū Macī Pauli de Canaregio ūi descenderat ad bibendū.]
“That grace be granted to William the Goldsmith, relieving him of the penalty which he is stated to have incurred on account of a spontoon (spontono, a loaded bludgeon) found upon him near the house of Marco Paulo of Cannareggio, where he had landed to drink on his way from Mestre.” (See Cicogna, V. p. 606.)
[4] Sansovino, Venezia, Città Nobilissima e Singolare, Descritta, etc., Ven. 1581, f. 236 v.; Barbaro, Alberi; Coronelli, Allante Veneto, I. 19.
[5] The word Millio occurs several times in the Chronicle of the Doge Andrea Dandolo, who wrote about 1342; and Milion occurs at least once (besides the application of the term to Polo) in the History of Giovanni Villani; viz. when he speaks of the Treasury of Avignon:— “diciotto milioni di fiorini d’oro ec. che ogni milione è mille migliaja di fiorini d’oro la valuta.” (xi. 20, § 1; Ducange, and Vocab. Univ. Ital.). But the definition, thought necessary by Villani, in itself points to the use of the word as rare. Domilion occurs in the estimated value of houses at Venice in 1367, recorded in the Cronaca Magna in St. Mark’s Library. (Romanin, III. 385).
[6] “Also; that Pardon be granted to Bonocio of Mestre for that 152 lire in which he stood condemned by the Captains of the Posts, on account of wine smuggled by him, in such wise: to wit, that he was to pay the said fine in 4 years by annual instalments of one fourth, to be retrenched from the pay due to him on his journey in the suite of our ambassadors, with assurance that anything then remaining deficient of his instalments should be made good by himself or his securities. And his securities are the Nobles Pietro Morosini and Marco Paulo Milion̄.” Under Milion̄ is written in an ancient hand “mortuus.” (See Appendix C, No. 4.)
[7] Humboldt tells this (Examen, II. 221), alleging Jacopo d’Acqui as authority; and Libri (H. des Sciences Mathématiques, II. 149), quoting Doglioni, Historia Veneziana. But neither authority bears out the citations. The story seems really to come from Amoretti’s commentary on the Voyage du Cap. L. F. Maldonado, Plaisance, 1812, p. 67. Amoretti quotes as authority Pignoria, Degli Dei Antichi.
An odd revival of this old libel was mentioned to me recently by Mr. George Moffatt. When he was at school it was common among the boys to express incredulity by the phrase: “Oh, what a Marco Polo!”
[8] Thibault, according to Ducange, was in 1307 named Grand Master of the Arblasteers of France; and Buchon says his portrait is at Versailles among the Admirals (No. 1170). Ramon de Muntaner fell in with the Seigneur de Cepoy in Greece, and speaks of him as “but a Captain of the Wind, as his Master was King of the Wind.” (See Ducange, H. de l’Empire de Const. sous les Emp. François, Venice ed. 1729, pp. 109, 110; Buchon, Chroniques Etrangères, pp. lv. 467–470.)
[9] The note is not found in the Bodleian MS., which is the third known one of this precise type.
[10] Messire Jean, the son of Thibault, is mentioned in the accounts of the latter in the Chambre des Comptes at Paris, as having been with his Father in Romania. And in 1344 he commanded a confederate Christian armament sent to check the rising power of the Turks, and beat a great Turkish fleet in the Greek seas. (Heyd. I. 377; Buchon, 468.)
[11] The document is given in Appendix C, No. 5. It was found by Comm. Barozzi, the Director of the Museo Civico, when he had most kindly accompanied me to aid in the search for certain other documents in the archives of the Casa di Ricovero, or Poor House of Venice. These archives contain a great mass of testamentary and other documents, which probably have come into that singular depository in connection with bequests to public charities.
The document next mentioned was found in as strange a site, viz., the Casa degli Esposti or Foundling Hospital, which possesses similar muniments. This also I owe to Comm. Barozzi, who had noted it some years before, when commencing an arrangement of the archives of the Institution.
[12] The Legal Year at Venice began on the 1st of March. And 1324 was 7th of the Indiction. Hence the date is, according to the modern Calendar, 1324.
[13] Marsden says of Moreta and Fantina, the only daughters named by Ramusio, that these may be thought rather familiar terms of endearment than baptismal names. This is a mistake however. Fantina is from one of the parochial saints of Venice, S. Fantino, and the male name was borne by sundry Venetians, among others by a son of Henry Dandolo’s. Moreta is perhaps a variation of Maroca, which seems to have been a family name among the Polos. We find also the male name of Bellela, written Bellello, Bellero, Belletto.