Travel Accounts as Early Sources of Knowledge about Russia in Medieval Western Europe from the mid-Thirteenth to the early Fifteenth Centuries

Abstract

While Russia really began to catch Western Europe's attention only from the late fifteenth century, the first detailed information about this country had already appeared in the context of Western European diplomats and missionaries'travels to Centraland Eastern Asia during the thirteenth century. This article will examine these travellers and their accounts, taking into consideration how they got their infor mation and how they contributed to the image of Russia in Western Europe.