The narratives by john of plano carpini and william of rubruck of their journeys to mongolia in the middle of the thirteenth century differ from the majority of works in this series. The authors were not canonized saints...The narratives by john of plano carpini and william of rubruck of their journeys to mongolia in the middle of the thirteenth century differ from the majority of works in this series. The authors were not canonized saints or, and their travels were not missionary journeys in the strict sense, but were more of the nature of political embassies.