Chapter V: Introduction (4)

It is to be noted, that in Egypt there was a giant, who was called in the Infidel tongue, Allenklaisser. In this country is the city called Missir, but the Christians call it Kayr, and it is the capital of the king-sultan. In this same city are twelve thousand baking ovens. Now the said giant was so strong, that one day he brought into the city a bundle of wood to heat all the ovens, and one bundle was enough; each baker gave him a loaf, which makes twelve thousand loaves. All these he ate in one day. The shin-bone of this giant is in Arabia, in a valley between two mountains. There is a deep valley between the rocks, where flows a river at such a depth that no person can see it, one only hears its rush. It is in this same valley that the shin-bone of the giant serves as a bridge; and whoever comes there, whether they are riding or on foot, must pass over this shin-bone. It is also on a road where traders pass, coming and going, because the defile is so narrow, that people cannot pass by any other way; and the Infidels say that this bone is one frysen[1] in length, which is equal to an arrow’s flight, or more. There, a toll is taken from traders; with the same, they buy oil to anoint the bone that it may not rot. It is not a long time since a king-sultan had a bridge built near the bone; it is about two hundred years [ago], according to an inscription on the bridge. When a lord comes there with many people, he passes over the bridge, and does not pass over the bone; but whoever wishes to pass over this wonder, may do so, that he may say of it that in this country there is an incredible thing, and which is nevertheless surely true. And if it were not true, or had I not seen it, I would not have spoken or written about it.(1)

[1] Farsang or fursak = 3 m. 787-1/2 yds.

45.—Of the many religions the Infidels have.

It is to be noted, that the Infidels have five religions. First, some believe in a giant called Aly, who was a great persecutor of Christians. Others believe in one who was called Molwa,(1) who was an Infidel priest. The third believe, as the three kings believed, before they were baptised. The fourth believe in fire, because they say that Abel, the son of Adam, brought his offering to Almighty God, and the flames of the fire were the offering; therefore they believe in this offering. Among the fifth, some believe, and the largest number among the Infidels believe, in one who is called Machmet.

46.—How Machmet and his religion appeared.

It is here to be noted of Machmet, how he came and how he brought his religion. Item, his father and mother were poor people, and he is a native of Arabia. When he was thirteen years old he went away from home, went to [some] merchants who wanted to go to Egypt, and asked them to take him with them. They took him, agreeing that he must look after the camels and horses, and wherever Machmet went, or stood, there stood always a cloud over him, which was black; and when they came to Egypt, they encamped near a village. Now at that time there were Christians in Egypt; the pastor of the village came to the merchants, and invited them to dine with him. They did so, and told Machmet that he must look after the horses and camels. This he did. And now when they came into the pastor’s house, the pastor asked them if they were all there? The merchants said: “We are all here, except a boy who is guarding our camels and horses.” Now this priest had read in a prophecy, how one, born of two persons, would spread a doctrine against that of Christianity, and that as a sign who the man was to be, a black cloud would stand over him. The pastor went out, and saw a black cloud over the little boy, who was Machmet. When he had now seen him, he asked the merchants that they should bring the boy; they brought him. The pastor asked him his name. He said, “Machmet”. This, the priest also found in prophecy, and more [than this], that he would be a mighty lord and man, and that he would greatly trouble Christianity; but that his doctrine would not last one thousand years, and then it would decrease. When the pastor knew that he was named Machmet, and saw the black cloud stand over him, he understood that he was the man who would introduce this doctrine, and he placed him at his table above the merchants, and showed him great honour. After the meal, the pastor asked the merchants if they knew the boy. They said; “No, but he came to us, and asked us to take him with us into Egypt.” Then the pastor told them how he had read in a prophecy, how this boy would introduce a doctrine against Christians, through which they would suffer much, and for a sign [of this], a black cloud would be always over him; and showed them the cloud and said, that when he was in the galley, the cloud was there also. He said to the boy: “Thou shalt be a great teacher, and shalt introduce a particular doctrine amongst the Infidels, and thou shalt overpower the Christians by thy might, and thy descendants will also acquire great power.(1) Now I pray thee that thou wilt leave my race, the Armeny, in peace.” This he promised him, and then went with the merchants to Babiloni, and became a great scholar in Infidel writings, and preached to the Infidels that they should believe in God who had created heaven and earth, and not in the idols that were the creatures of men; they have ears and hear not; they have eyes and see not; they have a mouth and speak not; they have feet and walk not; nor can they save either the body or soul; and he converted the king of Babilony and many people with him. Then the king took him, and gave him power over the land; this he exercised; and when the king died, he took the king’s wife, and became a mighty Calpha, which is as much as to say, a Pope. He had four men with him who were well learned in Infidel writings, and to each he gave an office. To the first, he gave charge of ecclesiastical jurisdiction; to the other, lay jurisdiction; the first, was named Omar, the other, Otman; the third was named Abubach, to whom he gave charge of weights and manufactures, so that he was over them, and each one should be faithful in his work. The fourth was named Aly; he made him chief over all his people, and sent him into Arabia that he should convert Christians, because Christians were there at the time; but if any would not be converted, then he should compel them by the sword. We read in the Infidel book, Alkoray, that in one day ninety thousand men were killed for [the sake of] Machmet’s doctrine, and the whole of Arabia was converted. Machmet gave them a law, how they were to conduct themselves before God, who had created heaven and earth. And the law of the Infidels begins in this way. First, when a boy was born, when he comes to be thirteen years old, he must be circumcised, and he has instituted five daily prayers, which must be daily repeated. The first prayer is when the day breaks; another, in the middle of the day; the third, at the time of vespers; the fourth, before the sun goes down; the fifth, when day and night part. With the first four, they praise God, who has made heaven and earth; with the fifth, they pray to Machmet, that he will intercede for them with God. And they must go into the temple at certain times of the day; and when they want to go into the temple, they must wash the mouth, then the hands, feet, ears, and eyes. And when any one has sinned with his wife, he cannot go into the temple, until he has washed his whole body; this they do in the same belief as we Christians who confess; and the Infidels believe that, after they have washed, they are as pure as Christians, who, with full penitence, have confessed to the priest. And when they want to enter the temple, they take off their shoes and go in bare footed; they cannot take in any arms, or weapons that cut, and they do not allow any woman in the temple, so long as they are inside; and when they go into the temple, they stand near each other, with their hands close to each other; and they bend and kiss the ground, and their priest sits on a seat before them, and begins a prayer which they repeat after him. It is also to be noted, that in the temple no one speaks to another, nor looks at another, until the prayer is ended. In the temple they do not put one foot far from the other, but keep them close together; they do not go to and fro, nor look here and there, but they stand still in one place, and keep their hands together until they have quite finished their prayer; and when they have quite finished, they bow to each other, and only then go out of the temple. It is also to be noted, that no door of the temple is left open. They have no painting and no picture inside, only their writings, plants, roses, and flowers. They do not willingly allow Christians to enter, and more than this, it is to be noted, that Infidels must not spit, cough, or do anything of the sort in their temple; but if some one does so inside, he must go out and wash himself, and, added to this, must suffer much reproach from the Infidels; and when one coughs, sneezes, or ..., he must go out of the temple and wash himself after it. It is also to be noted, that they keep Friday as we keep Sunday, and whoever does not go to the temple on their holy-day, is taken and tied to a ladder, and carried about the town from one street to the other, and tied in front of the temple until their prayer is finished; and then they beat him twenty-five times with a rod on the naked body, whether he is rich or poor. Item, all the young dropped by their cattle on the Friday, are given to the hospital. Their priests also say, that when prayer is finished on a holy-day, people may work, because work is holy, and that man commits more sin by being idle than with work, and therefore they allow their people to work on holy days after they have finished their prayer. And when they finish their prayers on holy-days, they raise their hands towards God, and all pray with common voice for vengeance on Christendom, and say: “Almighty God, we pray thee not to suffer Christians to be united,” and say, that if Christians are united and have peace amongst themselves, they must succumb. It is also to be noted, that they have three kinds of temples; one, to which they all go, is Sam, a parish church; the other, into which priests go, is a monastery, and in which they also go through their probation; the third, is where their kings and mighty vassals have their burial, and in it poor people are received for the love of God, whether they be Christians, Infidels, or Jews, and the temple is like a hospital. The first temple is also called Mesgit, the other Medrassa, the third, Amarat.(2) It is also to be noted, that they do not bury their dead either in the temples, or around them; they bury in the fields and on the high roads; this they do that those who pass by, may pray to God for them. And when one is about to die, they stand around him, and tell him that he must think of God, and call to God to have mercy upon him; and when he dies, they wash him, and then their priests carry him, singing, to the grave, and bury him. It is also to be noted, that the Infidels fast one month in the year, and this fast changes every year to another month, and they fast one whole day without eating or drinking, until they see the stars in the sky. Then the priest goes up the tower, and calls the people to prayer, and they go into the temple and say their prayers, and only when they have finished their prayer, they go home and eat all night until the morning, meat, or whatever they may have. Also, they do not lay with their wives during their fast; and when a woman is pregnant or in child-bed, she may eat during the day, and the sick may do the same. They do not take payment during fast, either for houses or for any thing that pays interest.

47.—Of the Infidels’ Easter-day.(1)

It is also to be noted of the Infidels’ Easter day, that, after they have fasted four weeks, they have Easter for three days following, and on the morning of Easter day they go to the temple, and finish their prayer as is their custom; and when they have done, the common people put on their arms, and then come to the high priest’s house, with the chiefs of the town and the soldiers, and then take out of the priest’s house, the tabernacle, and ornament it with cloth of gold and velvet, and the chiefs and the principal [people] carry it in front of their temple, and in front of the tabernacle they carry their banners, and all the musicians they can find also go before it; and when they bring it to the temple, they put it down, and the chief priest goes into the tabernacle and preaches inside it. When he has preached, they put a sword in his hand; he draws it and speaks to the people, and calls upon God that he should give us might and strength against all the enemies of Machmet’s faith, so that we may overcome them with the sword. Then they all put out their hands, and pray to our Lord that it may so happen, and after this, the mighty lords go into the temple and pray, and during that time, the people must guard the tabernacle and the lords. When their prayer is finished, they take the tabernacle with the priest inside, and carry him back to his house, with the musicians and banners. Afterwards, they go to their houses and have great rejoicings for three days.

48.—Of the other Easter-day.

And then, after a month, they have another Easter day in honour of Abraham. On this [day] they kill lambs and oxen, and give to the poor, by the will of God, [and] to the honour of Abraham, because he was obedient, and wanted to sacrifice his son to God. At this time, the Infidels go to the grave of Machmet, and to the temple which Abraham built and which lies in front of the city, and Machmet has his grave in it, and it is called Madina. On Easter day the king-sultan covers the temple of Abraham with velvet, which is black, and then their priest cuts off a small piece for each Infidel pilgrim that comes, that he may take it away as a sign that he has been there.

49.—Of the law of the Infidels.

It is also here to be noted, what Machmet has forbidden in the laws he has given to the Infidels. First, he has forbidden the Infidels that they should dare to cut the beard, because it would be against the will of God when he created Adam, the first man, in his Divine image; and the Infidels also say, that he who would have a face different to that he received from God, does it against God’s command, whether he be young or old. They also say that whoever cuts his beard, he does it from vanity and pride, and to please the world, and scorns the creation of God; it is particularly the Christians who do this to please their women, and this is a great misfortune for them, because, for the sake of vanity, they disfigure the image in which God created them. Then Machmet forbade that any one should lift his hat or uncover his head to another, whether he be king, emperor, noble or plebeian, which they also observe; but when they go before a mighty man, they bow and kneel before him. They say, when one’s father, and mother, or another friend dies, they should uncover the head before him. This they also do. When they lament for one, they take off their hat, and lift it high and throw it on the ground, and then they lament. This also has Machmet allowed, that a man may take as many wives as he can support. It is also their law, that when a woman is pregnant, they do not go near her until the child is born, nor for fourteen days after; but they may have a concubine. The Infidels also say that after the last day they will have wives, with whom they will lie; but they will always remain virgins. They also say that God has established marriage only for those who die in the faith of Machmet. He has also ordered that they must not eat any animal, or bird, unless they cut its throat and let the blood flow, which they observe. They do not eat pig’s flesh, because Machmet has also forbidden it.

50.—Why Machmet has forbidden wine to Infidels.

It is also to be noted, that Machmet has forbidden wine to Infidels, because as the Infidels say: One day he was passing, with his servants, a public-house, in which were many people making merry. He asked why those people were so merry; one of his servants told him it was caused by wine. Machmet said: “Is it such a drink that people become so merry from it!” Now in the evening Machmet went out again, and there was a great noise because a man and his wife were fighting, and two persons were killed. He spoke and asked what was the matter? One of his servants said that the people who were merry have now lost their senses, because they have taken too much wine, and they knew not what they did. Then Machmet forbade wine to all, under a heavy penalty, whether ecclesiastic or lay, emperor, king, dukes, barons, counts, knight and varlet, servants, and all those who were of his faith, and that they should no longer drink wine, whether they be well or ill, and this is why he has forbidden wine to them, as the Infidels have told me. He has also ordered that the Christians and all those who are against his faith, should be persecuted day and night, except the Armeny who are to be free amongst them; and where there are Armeny amongst them, then they should not take from them a monthly tax greater than two pfennings, because Machmet had promised the Armenian priest, as has been stated. He has also ordered, that when they overcome Christians, they should not kill them; but they should pervert them, and should thus spread and strengthen their own faith.

51.—Of a fellowship the Infidels have among themselves.

It is also to be noted, that during the time he was on earth, Machmet had forty disciples. They have a special fellowship and have made an alliance against Christendom, and this is their law. Whoever wants to be of their fellowship, must swear that if he meets a Christian, he will not let him live nor take him a prisoner, whether from favour or for the sake of profit; and if it should happen that in a battle which Infidels [might] have with Christians, he cannot succeed to take one, he must buy a Christian and kill him. Those who are in this fellowship are called They;[1](1) there are many of them in Turkey, and they always go against the Christians because it is their law.

[1] To those who are unfamiliar with the name, the title
of Ghasi would scarcely be recognised in that of They.
_N._

52.—How a Christian becomes an Infidel.

It is also to be noted how a Christian, from the beginning, becomes an Infidel. When a Christian wants to become an Infidel, he must before all men raise a finger, and say the words: “La il lach illallach;” Machmet is his true messenger.(1) And when he says this, they take him to the high priest; then he must repeat the above written words before the priest, and must deny the Christian faith, and when he has done that, they put on him a new dress, and the priest binds a new kerchief on his head; and this they do that it may be seen he is an Infidel, because Christians wear blue kerchiefs, and the Jews, yellow kerchiefs, on the head. Then the priest asks all the people to put on their armour, and who has to ride, rides; also all the priests who are in the neighbourhood. And when the people come, they put him on a horse, and then the common people must ride before him, and the priests go behind him, with trumpets, cymbals and fifes, and two priests ride near him; and so they lead him about in the town; and the Infidels cry with a loud voice and praise Machmet, and the two priests say to him these words: “Thary wirdur, Messe chulidur, Maria cara baschidur, Machmet kassuldur”: which is as much as to say; There is one God, and the Messiah his servant, Mary his maid, and Machmet his chief messenger.(2) After they have led him everywhere in the city, from one street to another, then they lead him into the temple and circumcise him. If he is poor, they make a large collection and give it to him, and the great lords shew particular honour to him, and make him rich; this they do, that Christians may be more willing to be converted to their faith. _If it is a woman who wants to change her religion_,[1] she is also taken to the high priest, and must say the above words. The priest then takes the woman’s girdle, cuts it in two, and makes of it a cross; on this, the woman must stamp three times,[2] deny the Christian faith, and must say the other words above written. The Infidels have a good custom among their merchants, when one wants to buy from another, whatever be the merchandise. The buyer says to the seller, that he should make a just profit on what he buys, so that he also might live; so that he takes no more profit than one pfenning in forty pfennings, which is equal to one gulden in forty guldens, and no more; this they call a right purchase and profit, and this Machmet has also commanded them, so that the poor, like the rich, might live. The priests also always say in their sermons, that they should help each other and be subject to their superiors, and the rich are to be humble before the poor, and when they do this, God Almighty gives them strength and might against their enemies; and whatever their priest says to them about spiritual things, they are obedient and submissive to it. This is the faith of Machmet which he has given to the Infidels as his law, such as it is, as I then heard it from them.

[1] The words in italics are wanting in Heidelberg
MS. Penzel has it—“Ist die übertüten wollenden ein
Frauenzimmer.” In edition of 1549, we find—“ist aber ein
frau.”

[2] “stunt.”

53.—What the Infidels believe of Christ.

It is also to be noted, that the Infidels believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, and that after the birth, she remained a virgin. They also believe that when Jesus was born, he spoke to his mother and comforted her, and they believe that Jesus is the highest prophet of God amongst all prophets, and that he has never committed sin; and they do not believe that Jesus was crucified, but that it was another who was like him; therefore Christians have a wicked faith, because they say that Jesus was crucified, who was the highest friend of God, and has never committed any sin, therefore God would not have been a just judge if Jesus was crucified and innocent. And when one converses with them of the Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost, they say that they are three persons, and not one God, because their book Alkaron says nothing of the Trinity. When anybody says that Jesus is the word of God, they say, this we do know, that the word of God has spoken, otherwise he would not be God; and when one says that wisdom is the Son of God who was born of the Virgin Mary, from a word which the angels announced to her, and on account of which word we must all rise and come to judgment; they say it is true that no one can go against the word of God. They also say that the strength of the word of God cannot be conceived by any one, and therefore their book Alkoran says, and gives them a sign, by the word which the angel spoke to Mary, that Jesus was born of the word of God. They say that Abraham was the friend of God, Moyses the prophet of God, Jesus the word of God, so was Machmet the true messenger of God. They also say, that Jesus, of the four, was the most worthy, and was the highest with God, and it will be he also who will judge the last judgment of God over all men.

54.—What the Infidels say of the Christians.

The Infidels also say that whatever territory they possess of the Christians, they do not owe it to their power, nor to their wisdom, nor to their holiness, but they have it because of the injustice, perversity, and arrogance which Christians have against them; therefore Almighty God has decreed, that they should take the land from Christians, because they do not conduct their affairs, whether spiritual or temporal, with justice, because they look to wealth and favour, and the rich treat the poor with haughtiness, and do not help them either with gifts or with justice, and do not hold to the doctrine which the Messiah has given them. They also say, that they find it and read it in their prophecies, that the Christians will yet expel them out of the country, and will again possess the country; but so long as Christians are such, and are perverse, and their spiritual and temporal lords live such a disordered life, we are not afraid that they will expel us out of our country; because we fear God, and do always what is right and just, and worthy, according to our faith, for the love of God and in honour of our prophet Machmet, who is the highest messenger of God, who has given us the right doctrine by his teaching; to him we are obedient, and always willingly follow his commandments which are in the book called the Alkoran, which has been touched upon often before.

55.—How Christians are said not to hold to their religion.

The Infidels also say that Christians do not hold to the commandment, nor to the doctrine of the Messiah, which the Messiah has commanded them, and they also do not observe the law of the book Inzil, which is called Ewangely, nor the rules which stand in that book. They hold to particular laws, spiritual and temporal, which are against the laws of the book Inzil, and the commandments and laws contained therein are all holy and just; but the law and belief which they have set up and invented, are all false and unjust, because the laws which they have made are for profit and favour, which is all against God and his dear prophets; and whatever misfortunes and troubles they have, are all decreed to them by God for their unrighteousness.

56.—How long ago it is since Machmet lived.

Item, it is to be noted, that the time Machmet was born counts from Christ’s birth, six hundred and nine years, and the Infidels say, that on the day he was born, one thousand and one churches fell of themselves, and that happened as a sign of the injury he would do to Christianity in his time. It is also here to be noted, how many tongues there are in the Greek faith. The first is the Greek tongue, in which their books are written; the Turks call them Vrrum. The other is the Rivssen tongue, which the Infidels call Orrust. The third, Pulgery, which the Infidels call Wulgar. The fourth, the Winden tongue, which they call Arnaw.(1) The fifth, the Walachy tongue, which the Infidels call Vfflach. The sixth, the Yassen tongue, which the Infidels call Afs.(2) The seventh, the Kuthia tongue, which the Infidels call Thatt.[1] The eighth, the Sygun, which the Infidels call Ischerkas. The ninth, Abukasen, and the Infidels call them Appkas. The tenth tongue, Gorchillas, and the Infidels call them Kurtzi. The eleventh, the Megrellen tongue, also so called by the Infidels. Item, between the Zurian and Greek faith, there is but one difference, therefore they say the Schurian tongue is also of their faith; but the Schurians are of Jacob, and have the faith of Saint Jacob, and have it that each must make the wafer with his own hands, into which God’s body will be changed. And when he has made the paste, he takes a hair from his beard and puts it in the wafer, and changes it into God’s body. And there is a great difference between what the Greek and what the Schurian priest reads, or sings, in the church, because it is the Schurian and not the Greek tongue.(3)

[1] For this name, see chap. 36, note 9.

57.—Of Constantinoppel.

Constantinoppel is a fine large city and well built, and is quite ten Italian miles in extent at its walls, about which it has fifteen hundred towers. The city is triangular, having the sea on two sides. The Greeks call Constantinoppel, Istimboli, but the Turks call it Stampol; and opposite to the city, is a city called Pera, which the Greeks call Kalathan, and the Infidels call it the same.(1) Between the two cities is an arm of the sea, quite three Italian miles in length, and half or more in breadth; and the arm is crossed from each side, because the distance by land is far. The said city belongs to Genaw. The great Alexander cut through high rocks and mountains fifteen Italian miles in length, and caused two seas to flow into each other;(2) and that which flows is called and is the Great Sea, and it is also called the Black Sea, and the Tunow and many other great rivers flow into it. In the said sea one goes to Caffa, to Alathena, to Trabessanda, and to Samson, and to many other cities and countries that lay around. The arm of the sea [at] Constantinoppel is called Hellespant by the Greeks, and the Infidels call it Poges. The Turks also have a shore across the sea, opposite to Constantinople, which they call Skuter; there, the Turks cross the sea. Also not far from Constantinoppel by the sea, was Troya, on a fine plain, and one can still see where the city stood.(3) The emperor of Constantinoppel has two palaces in the city; one is very beautiful, and is much decorated inside with gold, lapis-lazuli, and marbles. In front of the palace is a fine square for tilting, and for all [kinds of] pastime that might be desired in front of the palace.(4) In front of the palace is the statue of the emperor Justian on a horse; it is placed upon a high piece of marble, which is a pillar. I asked a burgher of the city of what this statue was made; he told me it was of bronze, and that both the horse and the man was entirely of one casting. Some people of the country say that it is of leather, and yet it must have stood there quite a thousand years; had it been leather, it would not have stood so long, it would have rotted. At one time the statue had a golden apple in the hand, and that meant that he had been a mighty emperor over Christians and Infidels; but now he has no longer that power, so the apple has disappeared.(5)

58.—Of the Greeks.

Not far from Constantinoppel there is an island called Lemprie; in it is a mountain that is so high, it reaches to the clouds.(1) At Constantinoppel is the most beautiful church, so that nothing like it can be found in India; it is called Sancta Sophya, and is covered all over with lead, and one can see one’s self on the walls inside the church as if in a mirror, because the marble and lapis-lazuli on the wall is clear and clean. In this same church is their patriarch with his priests, and the Greeks and all those who are under the patriarch go in pilgrimage, as we, for our sins, go to Rome. When Constantine had finished the churches, he placed as an improvement in the church, high up in the middle of the dome, five golden discs, and each disc is as wide, large, and thick as a mill-stone;(2) but the emperor took down two during the great war which the Turkish king Wyasit had with him, when he besieged Constantinoppel for seven years. I myself was at that same time with the king in Turkey,(3) and I have also seen the three discs [left] in the church. The church of Sancta Sophia has three hundred gates, which are all of brass. I was III months at Constantinoppel in the house of the patriarch, but I and my comrades were not allowed to walk about the city, because they were afraid that the Infidels would recognise us, and would take us before the emperor. I would gladly have seen it (the city), but it could not be, because the emperor had forbidden it, but even then we sometimes went out with the patriarch’s servants.

59.—Of the Greek religion.

It is to be noted, that the Greeks do not believe in the Holy Trinity; they do not believe in the Chair at Rome, nor in the Pope. They say that their patriarchs have as much power as the Pope at Rome. The sacrament they make of leavened bread, and take it with wine and warm water; and when the priest changes the body of God, they all fall down on their faces and say: “No man is worthy to look at God.” And when the priest has finished the Mass, he takes the bread that remains, of which he had prepared the sacrament, and cuts it into small pieces on a dish, and then men and women sit down. Then the priest or his assistant takes the bread round, and so every one takes a piece and eats it, and this bread they call prossura. This bread is not baked by any man or woman, only by a virgin or a nun. They also give the sacrament to young children, but they do not give the sacred oil to any body; and they also say that nobody is wise, and that no one goes into heaven or hell before the day of judgment; then each man will go into heaven or into hell as he has deserved. They have no Mass, unless it is asked for. They say that only one Mass is to be celebrated at the same altar in the day, and they do not let Mass be said at their altars in Latin, and Mass must not be said in any language but in the Greek language, because the Greek language is of their faith. They say also that their faith is the true Christian faith, and the others are not true. They also have the Mass on feast days only, and not on week days, because all their priests are craftsmen and must work, and all have wives and children, and their priests take one wife only; and when she dies he cannot take any more, either in marriage or otherwise. If he has anything to do with a woman, and the bishop becomes aware of it, he takes away from him his priestly charge, so that he cannot say the Mass any more. And when a bishop consecrates a priest, he girds him with a girdle, and when the priest does anything against his priestly order, the bishop takes away the girdle, so that he cannot say Mass any more, and is fallen from his office. The best and the richest marry the priests, and when they are in a house, the priests’ wives sit at the upper [end] of the table, and when women walk together, the priests’ wives go first. Their churches are not independent. When a man builds a church and dies, his heirs inherit the church like other property, and sell it as any other house. They say, it is not a sin to have to do with unmarried women, because it is not a deadly sin, as it is natural. They also say, that when one takes a monthly profit of two pfennings for one hundred pfennings, it is goodly gain, and not usury. On Wednesdays, they do not eat meat; and so, on Friday, they eat fish and oil only, and say that Saturday is not a fast-day, and one may well eat meat on that day. In the churches, the women stand separately, and neither men nor women dare to go near the altar. And when they make [the sign of] a cross, they do it with the left hand. And when one is about to die, they baptise him again, and there are many who are baptised every year. They have no font in their churches; and when their bishop stands in the choir, he stands in the middle of the church and in the choir, and the priests stand around him. Their bishop eats no meat throughout the year, and during the fasts he eats no fish nor anything that has blood, and all their clergy do the same. When they baptise a child, they have X or more godfathers; men and women bring to the child a christening shirt or a candle. They also say, that our priests sin if they have a Mass every day, because they cannot always be worthy. They also say, that our priests commit mortal sin when they shave their beard, because it is not godly, because it happens from unchastity, and to please the women. And when one dies, and prayers for the dead are sung for him, boiled wheat to eat is given to the priests and to the people, after an old usage, and this same wheat they call coleba. They wash their dead before they bury them. Their priests sell and buy like other merchants. They fast during Lent for fifty days; and the priests and the laity also fast forty days in Advent, and for the twelve holy apostles they fast thirty days; they also fast fifteen days for our Lady’s Assumption; they have only three days in the year for our Lady, because they do not keep Candlemas. Item, the Greeks do not keep the resurrection of Jhesus xpi at the same time with us; they keep it on the next Friday after Easter. Then they sing Xristos anesti, which is as much as to say, Xristus is risen.(1)

60.—How the city of Constantinoppel was built.

It is also to be noted, that the emperor of Constantinoppel himself creates the patriarchs, and also gives all God’s gifts to the church, and is lord of spiritual and temporal matters as far as his territory reaches. I have heard much and often from their learned men, that Saint Constantine came from Rome with many kocken and galleys to Greece, to the place where Constantinoppel lies, and then there appeared to him an angel from God, who said to him: “Here must thy dwelling be; now sit on the horse, and do not look back, and ride to the place from which thou hast begun to ride.” He mounted, and rode quite half a day; and when at night he arrived at the same place where he had mounted, he looked back, and saw a wall of the height of a man spring up from the ground; and from the place where he had looked back, to the place from which he had begun to ride, which is quite twenty paces or more, there was no wall; it has been much tried to build a wall, but it will not stand; but it goes towards the sea, so that they can defend themselves better than if it had been towards the land. I have seen it, because in the same place there is a breakwater,[1](1) therefore the Greeks say that the said wall was built by angels; and that the crown with which their emperor is crowned, and which was brought to Saint Constantine by an angel from heaven, is a heavenly crown; and therefore there is no worthier nor more highly born emperor than the emperor of Constantinoppel. And when a priest dies, they put on him everything that belongs to a priest at the altar, and they put him on a seat in the grave, and cover him with earth. The chant, Ayos otheos, which they sing once a year only, they sing upon all other holy occasions; and during Lent they sing the Alleluia every day, when they are in church. They sing Kirieleyson only, in their Mass, and not Xreleyson. They say, there is but one Godhead and no difference, that it is God the Father and God the Son, and therefore it would not be right to sing Christ. They also bow very humbly before their priests. When a layman meets a priest, he takes off his hat, and bows humbly, and says: “Esloy mena tespotha”; which is as much as to say: Bless me, Lord. Then the priest lays his hand on the layman’s head and says: “Otheos efflon essenam”; and that means, God bless thee; and this they do always, men and women, when they meet a priest. When a priest takes a wife, he takes her before he becomes a priest; the reason is, because if he does not beget a child, he cannot be a priest, but so soon as he has got a child, he is consecrated to be a priest. Laymen pray only with the Pater Noster, and do not know the Belief nor the Ave Maria. Many priests wear white garments at Mass.(2)

[1] “wann es an der selben stat ein getüll hat.”

61.—How the Jassen have their marriages.

Inter illas gentes, Gargetter et Jassen, nuptiæ explentur hac conditione, videlicet mater puellam suam intactam esse asserit, sed ni reapse sit virgo, conjugium non conficitur. Quando igitur de nuptiis agitur, cantibus comitantur puellam ante thalamum, et ibi se ponere jubent; succedit inde sponsus cum adolescentulis, et gladio stricto percutit thalamum, et prope illum se se ponit una cum adolescentulis, et comedunt et bibunt, et se oblectant inter choreas et cantus. Et quum ita solatia cesserint, sponsum denudant usque ad subuculam suam, et egredientes relinquunt cum sponsa. Postea venit sponsi frater, et nonnullus ex amicis intimis, et ante ostium excubat stricto ense; et quum sponsus sponsam virginem non invenit, hoc matri ejus palam facit. Deinde mater sponsi cum amicis suis ante thalamum adstat, observant panniculos, et si nullum virginitatis signum inveniunt, omnes incipiunt se contristare; quum vero pater et mater sponsi cum amicis suis mane adveniunt, ut festa conjugalia concelebrent, mater sponsi manu regit poculum in una parte perforatum, et implet vino claudens foramen digito, et inde matrem sponsæ invitat ut libat amovens digitum e foramine, et sic vinum extra fluit; tum mater sponsi dicit matri sponsæ: Ita evenit de filia tua. Hoc summo dedecori est parentibus sponsæ, quam tradunt eis ut secum ducant, dicentes, se velle nubere filis intactam puellam, sed non ita evenisse de eorum filia. Then come their priests and the chief [persons] that are there, and invite the bridegroom’s father and mother, and then they go to their son the bridegroom, and ask him whether or no he will have her? If he says, “Yes”, she is given to him by the priests, and the other persons who have interceded for her. But if he says, “No”, then they are in all things separated; and whatever he has brought to her, she gives the whole back to him; and whatever clothes he has given her, she must give back to him; after which, he can take another wife, and she another husband.(1) There are many people in Ermenia, who have this custom. The Infidels call the Gorgiten, Kurtzi; and the Jassen they call Affs.

62.—Of Armenia.

I have also been a great deal in Armenia. After Tämerlin died, I came to his son, who has two kingdoms in Armenia. He was named Scharoch; he liked to be in Armenia, because there is a very beautiful plain. He remained there in the winter with his people, because there was good pasturage. A great river runs through the plain; it is called the Chur, and it is also called the Tygris; and near this river, in this same country, is the best silk. The Infidels call the plain, in the Infidel tongue, Karawag.(1) The Infidels possess it all, and yet it stands in Ermenia. There are also Armenians in the villages, but they must pay tribute to the Infidels. I always lived with the Armenians, because they are very friendly to the Germans, and because I was a German they treated me very kindly; and they also taught me their Pater Noster and their language, and they call the Germans, Nymitsch.(2) In Armenia are three kingdoms; one is called Tiffliss, the other is called Syos, the third is called Ersingen; the Armenians call it Isingkan, and that is Lesser Armenia. They also possessed Babylon for a long time; but they now have it no longer. The son of Tämerlin had Tyfflis and Ersing at the time that I was there. Sifs belonged to the king-sultan, and was won, counting from Christ’s birth, twelve hundred and seventy-seven years; then did the sultan of Alkenier conquer it.(3)

63.—Of the religion of the Armenians.

The Armenians believe in the Holy Trinity. I have also often heard their priests preach in their churches, when I had gone to Mass, and been in their churches, that Saint Bartlome and Saint Thaten of the twelve holy apostles, converted them to the Christian faith, but that they have often been perverted again. There was a holy man named Gregory, and the king of Armenia was his cousin, and he lived in the time when Saint Silvester was Pope at Rome.(1) The king of Armenia died, and he was a good Christian, and his son was king, and he was named Derthatt; he was very strong, because he had the strength of forty oxen; what they could drag and lift, that he could lift alone. It was this same king who built the large church at Bethleen, as has been already stated.[1](2) And when he became king after his father, he turned Infidel, and persecuted the Christians, and took hold of his cousin Gregory, and told him he must worship his idol. This the blessed man would not do, so he put him into a pit where there were adders and serpents and many other hurtful reptiles, that they might eat him. But they did nothing to him. He lay there twelve years. About the same time, several saintly maidens came to Ermenia from Italy, and preached the Christian religion instead of the Ermenen religion. The king heard this, and ordered that they should be brought to him. There was one amongst them who was named Susanna, who was very beautiful; she was taken to his room, when he wished to urge her to unchastity, but strong as he was, he could do nothing with the young woman, nor win her with all his power, for God was with her. This was told to him in the prison, and he said: “Oh, the wicked pig!” At the same time, the king fell from his throne, became a pig, and ran away to the woods. Then there was great disorder in the land, but the vassals of the country consulted, and took Gregory out of the pit, and asked him if he could help the king. He answered them and said, that he would not help him, unless they and he became Christians. The vassals promised him this, also for the king. Then said Gregory: “Ride into the wood, look for him, and bring him.” They rode into the wood, and brought him to Gregory; and as soon as he saw Gregory, he ran to him, and kissed his feet. Gregory knelt on his knees, and prayed to Almighty God that he would have mercy on the man, and make him whole. The king again became a man, and was, with all his people, again a Christian,(3) and went against Babiloni and the Infidels, and conquered Babilonia and the whole country, three kingdoms, and converted them to Christianity, and appointed Gregory over the clergy and all ecclesiastical orders. In this way, their religion was established by the King Derthat and the man Gregory.(4) They also took much territory that belonged to the Infidels, and forced them to Christianity by means of the sword; but now they have lost all their kingdoms, although they are a fighting people. It is not long since they lost a kingdom, and a good capital called Siss; it was taken by the king-sultan. It is also their patriarch’s seat, but he must pay great tribute to the sultan. The king of Zypern has many nobles of Armenia at his court, because it is near. Then was Gregory told of the great miracle which Pope Silvester had performed on Constantine, during the time that he was emperor at Rome, because he had made him clean of an eruption, and that he had saved from death the children that had been brought together to be killed, because the doctors informed the emperor that he should wash in the blood of children, so that he might get well of his eruptions.

[1] No such previous statement appears either in the
Heidelberg MS. or in Penzel.

64.—Of a Saint Gregory.