William of Rubruck was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer. In 1248, he accompanied King Louis IX of France on the Seventh Crusade. On 7 May 1253, on Louis’ orders, he set out on a missionary journey to convert the Tatars to Christianity. He first stopped in Constantinople… There, William received letters to some of the Tatar chiefs from the emperor. William then followed the route of Italian Friar Giovanni da Pian del Carpine. On his return, William presented to King Louis IX a very clear and precise report, entitled Journey of William of Rubruck to the Eastern Parts of the World, 1253-55. William’s report is divided into 40 chapters. According to the editors of his book, Rubruck was “the first, since Herodotus, to locate correctly the sources of the Don, which flows out of Ivan Lake in Tula,” so when the Friar was personally reading the following passage to the French King in the year 1255, he knew exactly what area and population he was describing: “The country beyond the Tanais (Don) is most beautiful, with rivers and forests. To the north are great forests, inhabited by two races of men: to wit, the Moxel, who are without any religion, a race of pure pagans. They have no towns, but only little hamlets in the forest. Their chief and the greater part of them were killed in Germany; for the Tartars took them with them to the borders of Germany…”
In the footnotes, the editors of the book make the comment: “The Moxel and Merdas form the two branches of the Finnish Mordvin people. These names, according to Pallas (Voyages), correctly transcribed are Mokshad and Ersad, the first name being applied by them to their race in general. The earliest mention I have found of this people is in Jornandes, where he speaks of the Mordensimnis among the peoples of Hermanaric’s empire. Constantine Porphyrogenitus refers also to the Mordia country. Nestor (Chronique) calls them Mordwa. Pian de Carpine speaks of them as Morduani.”
So many amazing things just one quote reveals! Firstly, the people in Moxel country are still pagans in 1254! As a reminder, Kyiv Rus was baptized into Christianity in 988 and Novgorod a year later. A very painful blow to the Moscow church’s claims of a spiritual legacy!
Secondly, William Rubruck says in his report that it was a separate country in itself and had the name of Moxel. Another famous historian Constantine Porphyrogenitus says it was a country too.
Thirdly, it did not have “any towns, but only little hamlets in the forests” in 1253! Their cities such as Suzdal, Rostov, or Vladimir Zalesky were in fact “the fenced villages” according to Russian historian S.M. Soloviov.
Fourthly, the Meryans participated in the ranks of the Golden Horde in the invasion of Germany. Yuri, one of Vsevolod The Big Nest’s sons was the chief who, according to Rubruck, was killed “with the greater part of them” trying to conquer Germans in the year 1241.
Those who closely follow the current war Russia wages on Ukraine, may wonder why the Ukrainian soldiers often call their enemies the Moskal. The quotes from Rubruck’s report show that Ukrainians are fighting the same Mordvin race of pure pagans.
Muscovite-Russian lawlessness during different wars attested by foreign historians >
Can they be connected to the cannibals described by Herodotus? >
The “Gardariki, Ukraine” e-book has a number of newly discovered facts about true history of Kyiv Rys that Moscow tried to forge and steal.
