Rychaldus, Richaldus or Richardus (13th century) was a clerk and translator (''notarius...ac interpreters Latinorum'')Jackson, p.173 for the

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

rulers

Hulagu Khan Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu; ; ; ; ( 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of ...

, and then Hulagu's son

Abaqa Khan Abaqa Khan (27 February 1234 – 4 April 1282, , "paternal uncle", also transliterated Abaġa), was the second Mongol ruler ('' Ilkhan'') of the Ilkhanate. The son of Hulagu Khan and Lady Yesünčin and the grandson of Tolui, he reigned from 1265 ...

. He was best known for delivering a report on behalf of the Mongols at the 1274

Second Council of Lyon The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, Kingdom of Arles (in modern France), in 1274. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, called to ...

Biography

Little is known of Rychaldus, except that he was a part of some Mongol embassies to European rulers. There are different mentions of a "Richaldus" in the Mongol court, and it is generally assumed by modern historians that they refer to the same individual, but it is not certain. In 1262, a Rychaldus was known to have been accompanying an aborted Mongol embassy sent by Hulagu, which was intercepted by an ally of the Egyptian Mamluks, King

Manfred of Sicily Manfred (; 123226 February 1266) was the last King of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, reigning from 1258 until his death. The natural son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred became regent over the Kingdom of Sicily on b ...

. Manfred was in conflict with

Pope Urban IV Pope Urban IV (; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death three years later. He was elected pope without being a cardinal; he was the fi ...

, and Rychaldus was returned to the Mongols by ship. Another mention was made of Richardus, a Latin secretary in the Ilkhan's court, in 1267. The reference there said that because of his absence, the Ilkhan's chancery had been unable to craft a reply in Latin.

Second Council of Lyon

The name Rychaldus is best known for being a member of the Mongol embassy to the

in 1274, sent by Abaqa, together with the Dominican missionary David of Ashby. The embassy arrived in Lyon on July 4, 1274. At the Council, Rychaldus delivered a report which outlined previous European-Ilkhanid relations under Abaqa's father, Hulagu. Rychaldus described how Hulagu had been a friend of the Christians, and that his son Abaqa was interested in continuing Hulagu's policies, and driving the Mamluks out of Syria. Rychaldus also talked of how Hulagu had "remitted Jerusalem to the Christians during his 1260 campaign in Syria", though this was doubtless propaganda, as no such event was recorded by any other sources. Nothing is known of Rychaldus after the Council of Lyon.Jean Richard, p.467

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rychaldus Clerks 13th-century translators People from the Ilkhanate 13th-century Mongols 13th-century births Year of death unknown

Biography

Second Council of Lyon

See also

Notes

References