John of Montecorvino on the Coromandel Coast

On his long road to the court of the Great Khan, the Franciscan John of Montecorvino halted for months near Mylapore around 1291 and buried a travelling companion beside the reputed tomb of the apostle Thomas. His letters give one of the earliest Latin descriptions of the Coromandel coast and its Christians — written by the friar who would go on to become the first Catholic archbishop in China.

Montecorvino's own letters (Yule, Cathay and the Way Thither) — public domain.