Rustichello da Pisa
Italian romance writer Rustichello da Pisa (a.k.a. Rusticiano, fl. late 13th century) is best known for co-writing Marco Polo's autobiography, The Travels of Marco Polo, while both were imprisoned in Genoa. He had previously written the Roman de Roi Artus (Romance of King Arthur), the earliest known Arthurian romance by an Italian author. While he was Italian, he seems to have written in French. His work remained popular for hundreds of years, and influenced later French, Spanish, Italian, and Greek writers.
He may have travelled through France and England before he was captured by the Genoese. possibly at the Battle of Meloria (1284). If so, he was still there to take down Marco Polo's account of his travels in Central Asia and China when the Venetian was held for ransom after the Battle of Cuzola (7 September 1298).
The details dictated to Rustichello subsequently appeared under several titles, most widely known as The Travels of Marco Polo. It is quite possible that without Rustichello, The Travels would never have been written.
