William of rubruck biography for kids

William of Rubruck (Dutch: Willem van Rubroeck; Latin: Gulielmus de Rubruquis; fl.

1248 – 1255), also known as Willem van Ruysbroeck, Guillaume de Rubrouck, or Willielmus de Rubruquis, was a FlemishFranciscan missionary and explorer. He is best known for his travels to various parts of the Middle East and Central Asia in the 13th century, including the Mongol Empire.

William of rubruck biography for kids

His account of his travels is one of the masterpieces of medieval geographical literature, comparable to those of Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta.

Mission

William was born in Rubrouck, Flanders. 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 to confer with Baldwin of Hainaut, who had recently returned from a trip to Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire, on behal