Born at Villa Nova, near Pordenone in Friuli, Odoric entered the Franciscan Order as a young man and joined the convent at Friuli/Udine. Other aspects recorded of his early life are the objects of mythology. Despatched to the Catholic mission in the East, he left Venice at some time between 1316 and 1318, and coasted Turkey from Constantinople to Trebizond. He then travelled inland to Erzurum, Tabriz, Sultaniyeh, Kashan and Yezd (in Iran), then by a devious route through Persepolis, Shiraz, Baghdad and Basra, and along the coast overland to Hormuz. From Hormuz (c. 1321) he sailed to Tana (Salsette Island near Bombay). On his arrival at Tana, Odoric learnt of the martyrdom of four Franciscan friars.
Not wishing to tarry too long at Tana, Odoric continued to Kulam (= Quilon), Ceylon (= Sri Lanka) and Maliapur (on the east coast of India), where he visited the Shrine of St. Thomas, then sailed in a junk to Pedir (in northern Sumatra), Java and Talamasim (in Borneo: the first recorded visit by a European to the island). From Borneo he sailed to Ciampa (= Champa = Viet Nam) and Canton in China.
In Canton he first became aware of the vibrance of Chinese life and culture, expiating at length in his narrative on the delights of Cantonese food, the number of vessels in the harbour, and the size and number of the surrounding cities. From Canton he journeyed overland through China to Zaiton, where he must have met, but says nothing of, Andrew of Perugia (then bishop in Zaiton). Nor does Andrew, in his letters, make any mention of Odoric, although he was aware of the Indian martyrs - information which he could only have gleaned from Odoric. Odoric then continued to Cansay (Khanzai, Kingsze, Quinsai = Hangchow, then regarded as one of the finest cities in the world), where he stayed in the house of a Christian convert by whom he was shown the city. He then continued to Yangchow (where the Franciscans had another house) and, by way of the Grand Canal, to Peking (= Beijing). There he stayed for three years (sometime between 1323 and 1328), probably in one of the Franciscan houses established by Giovanni da Montecorvino, who still laboured there in old age. At that time there were eight Chistian missionaries present within the court of the Khan. Odoric travelled widely in China and visited the Great Wall.
Odoric returned (c. 1327-8) by travelling southwest from Peking, across northern Yunnan, to Lhasa in Tibet, where he was the city's first European visitor. He then continued through Tibet, Kashmir, Afghanistan and Khorasan (in northern Iran) to Sultaniyeh in Iran. He visited Tabriz, Erzurum and Trebizond, and eventually reached Constantinople. From there he sailed to Venice, and arrived back in Padua in about 1330. During part of his journey, Odoric was accompanied by Friar James, an Irishman. After his return, Odoric went to the Minorite house attached to St. Anthony's at Padua, and there, in May 1330, related the story of his travels, committed to paper by Friar William of Solagna. After a visit to the papal court at Avignon, Odoric died at Udine on 14 January 1331, and there he remains. Popular acclamation made him an object of devotion, but he was not beatified until 1755. The substance of his travels in the Far East was copied and incorporated into the works of many lesser medieval travellers, most of whom went no further than the Holy Land.
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The material on this page was created by Ray Howgego, and publication was allowed by him to Discoverers Web. This page is an excerpt from a large amount of material that Ray has written, concerning voyages of discovery before 1800. He would like to have this work published, any publisher who is interested can contact him through email.