«A Universal Narrative of Humanity». Travelling to the ‘Other’ from Constantinople: Priscus of Panion (5th c. CE) and William of Rubruk (13th c. CE)

Travelling to the ‘Other’ can be fascinating – and very dangerous, especially when the traveller moves to ‘uncivilised’ peoples like the Huns and the Mongols. The article shows unpredictable parallels between two travel accounts very far from each other in space and time: on the one hand Priscus of Panion, a learned Greek from 5th CE, who goes with the Byzantine ambassador to the king of the Huns, the terrible Attila. On the other hand Willem van Rubruk, a learned Franciscan from 13th CE, who writes in Latin a detailed report about his mission to the Mongol empire. Both cross Constantinople, the city of cities, and both bear witness to the welcoming ‘civilisation’ they found at their destination, beyond borders and boundaries. In a literary perspective, much to our surprise, Byzantium is the key to open the world of the ‘Otherness’.