Livre des merveilles (BNF Fr2810) in the context of "Niccolò and Maffeo Polo"

Niccolò Polo (Italian: [nikkoˌlɔ pˈpɔːlo], Venetian: [nikoˌɰɔ ˈpolo]; c. 1230 – c. 1294) and Maffeo Polo (Italian: [mafˈfɛːo ˈpɔːlo], Venetian: [maˈfɛo ˈpolo]; c. 1230 – c. 1309) were Italian travelling merchants from the Republic of Venice, best known as the father and uncle, respectively, of the explorer Marco Polo. The brothers went into business before Marco's birth, established trading posts in Constantinople, Sudak in Crimea, and in a western part of the Mongol Empire in Asia. As a duo, they reached modern-day China before temporarily returning to Europe to deliver a message to the Pope. Taking Niccolò's son Marco with them, the Polos then made another journey through Asia, which became the subject of Marco's account The Travels of Marco Polo.