The Travels of Marco Polo · Character
Friar William of Tripoli
Also known as Friar William, William of Tripoli, Willelmus Tripolitanus
- Minor
- First seen · Book 1 · Ch. 30
Friar William of Tripoli carries the quiet gravity of a man devoted to both faith and learning. A Dominican shaped by the world of the eastern Mediterranean, he feels like a scholar whose beliefs have been tested by distance and encounter.
- Gender
- male
- Age
- Approximately 50 years old
- First appears
- Book 1 · Ch. 30
- Books
- 1
Born at Tripoli in Syria around 1220, William became a Dominican friar and author of De Statu Saracenorum. His learning and missionary vocation brought him into the orbit of the Polo brothers, whom he was appointed to accompany. The text records this intended role but offers little further account of what became of him.
Description
William is identified as a Dominican friar of about fifty, but his height, build, complexion, hair, eyes, and facial features are not described. His most grounded visual cues are the sober white habit and dark mantle of the Order of Preachers, worn with the modest simplicity of a religious scholar. His presence is best conveyed as reserved and learned, without invented scars, ornaments, or other specific features.
Connections
Family & partnersFriends & mentorsRivals
Maffeo Polomissionary companion
Assigned to travel with the Polo brothers, Friar William withdraws from the expedition after the danger in Hermenia.
Story so far
BOOK 1The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1
Appearances
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