Chapter VIII: Appendix (6)

FROM this lande of Bactry men goe many dayes Jorneyes to the lande of Prester John, that is a great Emperour of Inde, and men call his lande the yle of Pantoroze.[1] This Emperour Prester John holdeth great land, & many good cities, and good townes, in his kingedome is many great yles & large for this land of Ynde is departed in yles because of great flods that come out of Paradise, and also in the sea are many great yles, the best citie that is in the yle of Pantoroze is called Nile,[2] that is a noble citie & a rich. Prester John hath under him many kings and many diverse people, and his land is good & rych, but not so rich as the land of the great Caane, for marchaunts come not so much thyther as they do unto the lande of the greate Caane, for it is so long a journey. And also they finde in the yle of Cathay all thing that they haue nede of, as spycery, clothes of gold, and other riches, and all if they might haue better cheape in the lande of Prester John than in the land of Cathay, and more finer, neverthelesse they would let[3] it, for the long waye and great perils on the sea, for there are many places in the sea where are many roches of a stone that is called Adamand, the which of its own kinde, draweth to him all maner of yron, & therefore there may no ships that hath yron nayles passe, but it draweth them to him, and therefore they dare not go into that countrey with ships for dread of the Adamand. I went once into that sea & sawe along as it had bene a great yle of trees, stockes & braunches growinge, and the shipmen told me that those were of great shippes that abode there, through the vertue of the Adamandes and of things that were in the ships, whereof those trees sprong and waxed. And such roches are there many in diverse places of that sea & therefore dare there no shypman passe that waye. And another thing also that they dread the long way, and therefore they go moste to Cathay, and that is nerer unto them. And yet it is not so nere, but then behoveth[4] for Venice or Gene be in ye sea toward Cathay xi or xii moneths. The land of Prester John is long, & marchaunts passe thither through the lande of Persy, and come unto a citie that men cal Hermes,[5] for a Philosopher that was called Hermes founded it, and they passe an arme of the sea, & come to another citie that men call Saboth,[6] & there fynde they all marchaundises, & popiniayes, as great plentie as larkes[7] in our countrey. In this countrey is little wheat or barly, and therefore they eate ryce mylk and chese, & other fruits. This Emperour Prester John weddeth commonly the daughter of the greate Caane, and the great Caane his daughter. In the land of Prester John is many divers things, and many precious stones so great & so large that they make of them vessels, platters, and cuppes, and many other things of which it were to long to tell, but somewhat of his law and of his faith I shall tell you.

[Footnote 1: Other editions say Pentexoire.]

[Footnote 2: Nyse in other copies.]

[Footnote 3: Would not go that.]

[Footnote 4: This must be a misprint, and the text must read
that travellers from Venice or Genoa to Cathay must make a
voyage lasting 11 or 12 months.]

[Footnote 5: Ormuz.]

[Footnote 6: Other editions say Colbache.]

[Footnote 7: Others say _geese_.]

CAP. LXXXVII.

_Of the faith and belyfe of Prester John, but he hath not all
the full beliefe as we haue._

THIS Emperour prester John is christen & a great part of his lande also, but they haue not all the articles of our fayth, but they beleve well in the Father, the Sonne, & the Holy Ghost, & they are full devout and true to one another, & they make no force of Catal,[1] and he hath under him Lxxii provinces and countries, and in eche one is a king, & those kings haue other kinges under them. And in this lande are many marvailes, for in that lande is the gravely sea, that is of sande and gravaile and no drop of water, and ebbeth and floweth with righte great waves as another sea doth, and it is never standing still, nor never in rest, and no man may passe that land beyond it. And al if it so be that there bee no water in the sea, yet men may finde therein right good fishe, and of other fashion & shape than is in any other seas, and also they are of full good savour & swete, and good to eat. And three jorneys from that sea are many greate hills, through which runneth a great floud that cometh from Paradise, and it is full of precious stones, and no drop of water, and it runneth with great waves into the gravely sea. And this floud runneth three dayes in the weke so fast, & stirreth great stones of the roches with him that make muche noise, and as sone as they come into the gravely sea, they are no more sene, and in those three dayes when it runneth thus, no man dare come in it, but the other dayes men go therein where they will. And also beyond that floud towards that wildernesse is a great plaine all sandy and gravely among hills, & in that plain grow trees that at the rising of the Son ech day begin to grow, and so grow they to midday, and beare fruit, but no man dare eate of that fruite, for it is a maner of yron,[2] and after myddaye it turneth againe to the earth, so that when the Sonne goeth downe it is nothinge seene, and so doeth it every day. And there is in y^t wildernesse many wild men with horns on their heads righte hidious, and they speke not but rout[3] as swine & in y^t countrey are many popiniayes, y^t they call in theyr language (pistak) & they speke through their own kind as a part as a man, & those that speake well haue long tonges and large & on every fote five toes, but there are som that haue but three toes but those speake nought and very ill.

[Footnote 1: They care not for property.]

[Footnote 2: In other editions it is "for it is a thing of
Fayrye," or Magic.]

[Footnote 3: Root like hogs.]

CAP. LXXXVIII.

_Of an other ylande where also dwelleth good people therein,
and is called Sinople._

THEN is there an other yland that is called Synople, wherein also are good people and true, & full of good faith, & they are much lyke in their living to y^e men before sayd, and they go all naked. Into that Iland came King Alexander, & when he saw their good faith and trouth, and theyr good belefe, he said that he wold do them no harme and bad them aske of him riches and nought[1] else, and they shoulde haue it. And they aunswered, that they had richesse ynough, when they had meat & drinke to sustaine their bodies, & they sayde also that richesse of this world is nought worth, but if it were so that he might graunt them that they should never dye, that would they pray him. And Alexander said that might he not do, for he was mortal and shold die as they shold. Then sayd they, why art y^e so proude & woldest win all the world, and haue it in thy subjection as it were a god & hast no terme[2] of thy life, & thou will haue all riches of y^e world, the which shall forsake thee or thou forsake it, & thou shalt beare nothing with thee, but it shal dwel to other, but as thou were borne naked, so shalt thou bee done in earth. And Alexander was greatly astonied of this aunswere, & if it be so that they haue not the articles of our faithe, neverthelesse I beleve that God loveth their service to gree,[3] as he did of Job that was a Paynim, the which he held for his true servant and many other. I beeleve well that God loveth al those that love him and serve him mekely and truely, and that despise the vaine glory of the world as these men doe, and as Job did, and therefore saide our Lorde through the mouth of the holy prophet Isay,[4] _Ponam eis multiplices Leges meas_, That is to say, I will put my laws to them in many maners, & the gospell saith thus, _Alias oves habeo, que non sunt ex hoc ovili_, That is to say I haue other shepe that are not of this folde, and thereto accordeth the vision that saint Peter saw at Jaffe how the aungell came from heaven, & brought with him of all maner of beastes, as serpents and divers foules, and said to sainct Peter, Take and eat. And sainct Peter aunswered, I eat never of uncleane beste. And the aungell sayde to him, _Non dicas inmunda, que Deus mundavit_. That is to saye, Call thou not those things uncleane that God hath clened. This was done in token that men sholde not haue many men in despite for their divers lawes, for we wot never whom God loveth & whom God hateth.

[Footnote 1: Misprint for _aught_, anything.]

[Footnote 2: End, termination.]

[Footnote 3: Pleasure, "please Him."]

[Footnote 4: Others say Hosea.]

CAP. LXXXIX.

_Of two other iles, the one is called Pitan where in be little
men that eate no meat, and in that other ile are the men all
rough of fethers._

THERE is another yle that men call Pitan, men of this lande till no lande, for they eate nought and they are smal, but not so smal as Pigmes. These men liue with smell of wild aples,[1] & when they go far out of the countrey, they beare apples with them, for anon as they lose that savour of apples they dye, they are not reasonable but as wyld beastes. And there is another yle where the people are all fethers,[2] but the face and the palmes of theyr handes, these men go as well about the sea as on the lande, and they eate fleshe & fish all raw, in this yle is a great river that is two mile brode & a halfe that men call Renemar.

[Footnote 1: Pliny (book 7, cap. 2) says: "At the very
extremity of India, on the eastern side, near the source of
the River Ganges, there is the nation of the Astonei, a people
who have no mouths; their bodies are rough and hairy, and they
cover themselves with a down plucked from the leaves of trees
(_probably cotton_). These people subsist only by breathing
and by the odours which they inhale through the nostrils. They
support themselves upon neither meat nor drink: when they
go upon a long journey they only carry with them various
oderiferous roots & flowers, and wild apples, that they may
not be without something to smell at. But an odour which is a
little more powerful than usual easily destroys them."]

[Footnote 2: Other editions read, _rough hair_.]

CAP. XC.

_Of a rich man in Prester Johan's lande named Catolonapes and
of his gardeine._

IN an yle of Prester Johans land y^t men call Miscorach, there was a rich man y^t was called Catolonapes, he was ful rich & had a fair castel on a hil & strong, & he made a wal all about ye hill right strong & fayre, within he had a faire gardeine wherein were many trees bearing all maner of fruits y^t he might find, & he had planted therein al maner of herbes of good smel and that bare flowers, & ther wer many faire wels, & by them was made many hals & chambers wel dight with gold & asure, & he had made there dyverse stories of beastes and birds y^t song & turned by engin and orbage[1] as they had been quick,[2] & he had in his gardeine al thing that might be to man solace & comfort, he had also in that gardeine maydens within y^e age of xv yeare, y^e fairest y^t he myght find, & men children of the same age, & they were clothed with clothes of gold, & he sayd that they were aungels and he caused to be made certain hils,[3] & enclosed them about with precious stones of Jaspy & christal & set in gold & pearls and other maner of stones, and he had made a coundute[4] under y^e earth, so that when he wold y^e walls[5] ran somtime with milke, somtime with wine, somtime honey, & this place is called Paradise & when any yong bacheler of y^e countrey, knight or sqyer, cometh to him for solace and disport, he ledeth him into his paradise & sheweth them these things, as the songs of birds & his damosels and wels, & he did strike diverse Instruments of musyke, in a high tower that might be sene, and sayde they were the aungels of God, & that place was Paradise, that God hath graunted to those that beleved, when hee sayde thus, _Dabo vobis terram fluentam lac & mel_. That is to say, I shall giue you land flowing with mylk and hony. And then this rych man dyd[6] these men drinke a maner of drinke, of which they were dronken, & he said to them if they wold dye for his sake & when they were dead they shold come to his paradise, and they should be of the age of those maydens, and shold dwell alway with them, and he shold put them in a fayrer paradise where they shold se god in his joy, and in his majesty & then they graunted to do that he wold, and he bad them go and sleay such a lord, or a man of the countrey that he was wroth with, and that they should haue no dread of no man and if they were slaine themselfe for his sake, he shold put them in his paradise when they were dead. And so went those bachelers to sleay great lordes of the countrey, & were slaine themselfe in hope to haue that Paradise, and thus was he avenged of his enimies through his desert,[7] and when rich men of the countrey perceived this cautell[8] and malice and the will of this Catolonapes, they gathered them to gither & assayled the castel & slew hym & destroyed all his goods and his faire places and riches that were in his paradise, and the place of the wales[9] are there yet, and it is not long ago since it was destroyed.

[Footnote 1: This word is very puzzling. It seems to me that
it probably means _wheel work_, from Lat. _orbis_, a circle;
but Rd. Braithwaite, in his _Arcadian Princesse_, says:
"In the lowest border of the garden, I might see a curious
_orbell_, all of touch, wherein the Syracusan tyrants were
no lesse artfully portrayed, than their severall cruelties to
life displayed."]

[Footnote 2: As if they had been alive.]

[Footnote 3: Misprint for Wells.]

[Footnote 4: Conduit.]

[Footnote 5: Wells.]

[Footnote 6: Made.]

[Footnote 7: Deceit.]

[Footnote 8: Ill intent, evil mind.]

[Footnote 9: Wells.]

CAP. XCI.

_Of a marvelous vale that is beside the river of Physon._

AND a lyttle from that place, on the left syde besyde the river of Physon is a great marvaile. There is a vale betwene two hils, and that is foure myle longe, and some men call it the valay enchaunted, some y^e valey of Divels, some the valey perylous,[1] and in that valey are many tempests & a great noyse very hydeous bothe day & night & sound as it were a noise of Taburines[2] of nakers[3] & of trumpets as it were a great feast. This valey is all full of devils, and hath ben alway, and men say thereby y^t it is a enter[4] to hell. In this valey is muche golde & silver, wherefore many Christen men & other go thether for covetise of that golde and silver, but few of them come out againe, for they are anon strangled with divels. And in the middes of that vale on a roche is a visage, & the head of a fiend bodely, right hideous and dreadfull to see, and there is nothing sene but the head to y^e shoulders, but there is no christen men in y^e world nor other so hardy but y^t he should be greatly afraide to beholde it, for he beholdeth eche man so sharply & felly[5] & his eyes are so staring & so sprinkling[6] as fyre & he chaungeth so often his countenaunce that no man dare come nere for all the worlde, and out of his mouth & his nose cometh great plenty of fyer of divers colours, & sometime is the fyer so stynking, that no man may suffer it, but alway a good christen man, and one that is stedfast in the fayth may go therein without harme, if they shrive them well and blesse them with the token of the crosse, then shall the divels haue no power over them. And ye shall understande that when my felowes & I were in that valey, we had full great dought[7] if we shold put our bodies in a venture to go through it, & some of my felows agreed therto, & some wold not, and there were in our company two friers minours of Lombardy & sayd if any of us wold go in, they wold also, as they had sayd so, and upon trust of them we sayd that we wold go, & we dyd sing a masse and were shriven & houseled,[8] and we went in xiiii men & when we came out we were but x[9] & we wist not whether our felowes were loste there, or that they turned againe, but we saw no more of them, others of our felowes that would not go in with us, went about another way for to be before us, and so they were. And we went through the valey and saw there many marvailous things, gold silver precious stones & jewels great plenty, as we thought, whether it were so or no, I know not, for divels are so subtill & false, that they make many times a thinge to seme y^t is not, for to deceive men, and therefore I wold touch nothing for dread of enimies that I saw there in many likenesses, and of dead bodies that I saw lye in the valey, but I dare not saye that they were all bodies, but they were bodies through making of divels. And we were often cast down to the earth by winde, thunder & tempest, but God helped alway, and so passed we through that valey without peryl or harme thankes be to God.

[Footnote 1: Perilous.]

[Footnote 2: Tambourines.]

[Footnote 3: A kind of drum, probably a kettledrum.]

[Footnote 4: Entrance.]

[Footnote 5: Evilly.]

[Footnote 6: Sparkling.]

[Footnote 7: Doubt.]

[Footnote 8: Received the Sacrament.]

[Footnote 9: Others say 9.]

CAP. XCII.

_Of an yland wherein dwell people as great as giants of xxviii
or xxx fote of length & other things._

AND beyond that valey is a great yle, where people as great as giaunts of xxviii fote long & they haue no clothinge but beasts skyns that hang on them, & they eate no bread but flesh raw and they drink milke, & they haue no houses, & they eat gladlyer fleshe of men, than other, & men saye to us, that beyond that yle is a yle where are greater giaunts as xlv or L fote long, & some sayd L cubits long, but I saw not them, and among those giaunts are great shepe, as it were young oxen, and they beare great wolle, these shepe haue I sene many times. An other yle is there northward where are many evill and fell women and they haue precious stones in their eies, & they haue suche kinde y^t if they beholde any man with wrath, they sley them of the beholding as the Basalysk doeth.[1]

[Footnote 1: Here a passage is omitted.]

CAP. XCIII.

_Of women which make great sorow as theyr children are borne
& great joy when they are dead._

AN other yle there is, where women make great sorow when theyr children be borne & when they are dead they make great joy and caste them in a great fier and burne them, and they that loue well theyr husbands, when they are dead they cast them in a fyer to burn them, for they say that fyer shall make them clean of all filth & vices & they shall be cleane in another world, and the cause why they wepe when their children are borne, and y^t they joye at their death, they say a child when he is borne cometh into this world to haue travaile, sorow & heavinesse, & when they are dead they go to Paradise where rivers are of mylke and honey, & there is lyfe & joy and plenty of goods without travaile or sorow. In thys yle they make their kings by chosing, & they chose him not for his riches and noblenesse, but him that is of good conditions and most righteous and trew that judgeth euery man truely, little & much after their trespasse, and ye king may judge no man to death without counsel of his barons, & that they all assent. And if it so be y^t the king do a great trespasse, as sley a man or such lyke, he shall dye also, but he shall not be slaine, but they shall defend and forbid that no man be so hardy to beare him company, nor to speake to him, ne giue him meat nor drinke and thus he shall dye, for they spare no man y^t hath done a trespasse, for loue, lordeship riches nor noblenes, but they do him right after y^t he hath deserved.

CAP. XCIIII.

_Of an yland where men wed theyr owne daughters & kinswomen._

THERE is another yle where there is great plenty of people & they eate neuer flesh of hares, nor of hens, nor geese, yet is there many of them but they eate of all other beastes, and they drink mylk, in this countrey they wed theyr owne daughters and other of theyr kyn as them liketh, and if there be x or xii men in one house, eche one of theyr wyves shal be comon to other, & at night shal one haue one of y^e wives and another night another. And if she haue any chylde, she may give it to whome she would so that no man knowe if it be his or not. In this land & many other places of Inde, are many cocodrilles, that is a maner of a long serpent, and on nights they dwell on water, and on dayes they dwell on land and rocks, and they eat not in winter. These serpents sley men and eate them weping,[1] and they haue no tongue. In this countrey and many other, men caste sede of cotton, and sow it eche yeare and it groweth as it were small trees, and they bere cotton. In Araby is a kynde of beast that some men call Garsantes,[2] that is a fayre beast, & he is hyer than a great courser or a stead[3] but his neck is nere xx cubytes long, and his crop and his taile lyke a hart and he may loke ouer a high house and there is many Camilions,[4] that is a lytle beaste, & he eateth nor drinketh never, and he chaungeth his colour often, for sometime he is of one colour & sometime of another, and he may chaunge him into all colours that he will, saue black and red. There are many wilde swine of many colours and as great as Oxen, & they are spotted as it were smal fawnes, and there are lions all white, and there be other beastes as great steedes that men call Lauhorans,[5] and men call them Toutes, and their head is blacke, and three long hornes in his fronte, as cutting as sharp swords, and he chaseth and wil sley Olifants. And there is many other maner of beastes, of whom it were to long to write all.

[Footnote 1: This curious belief gave rise to the term
"Crocodile's tears," _i.e._, hypocritical tears.]

[Footnote 2: Giraffes.]

[Footnote 3: A steed or horse.]

[Footnote 4: Chameleon.]

[Footnote 5: A rhinoceros is here evidently meant.]

CAP. XCV.

_Of an ylande wherein dwell full good people and true._

THERE is another yland good and great, and plentiouse, where are good men and true and of godly lyfe after their faith, & all if they be not christen neverthelesse of kinde they are full of good vertues and they fly all vices, and all sinne and malice, for they are not envious, proud, covetous, lecherous nor glotenus, and they do not unto another man but that they wold he did to them, and they fulfill the x commaundementes and they make no force of ryches nor of having, & they Swere not, but they say ye and nay, for they say he that swereth will deceive his neighbour, and some men call this yle the yle of Bragamen, and some call it the land of faith, and through it runneth a great river that men call Thebe, and generally al men in those iles, and other iles thereby are truer and rightwiser than in other countreys. In this ile are no theves, murderers nor beggers. And for as much as they are so true and so good, there is no tempest nor thunder, warre, hunger, nor tribulation, and thus it semeth well that God loveth them wel, and he is well payed of theyr dedes, and they beleve in God y^t made all thing & him they worship and they live so ordinately in meate and drinke that they live right longe, and many of them dye without sicknesse, that kinde[1] faileth them for age.

[Footnote 1: They only die of old age.]

CAP. XCVI.

_How King Alexander sent his men thither for to winne that lande._

AND King Alexander sometime sent his men to win that lande, and they sent him letters that sayde thus, What behoveth a man to have all the worlde, that is not content therewithal: thou shalt fynde nothing at al in us, why that thou shouldest make warre upon us, for we haue no ryches nor treasure, and all the cattell of our countrey are common, our meates that we eate are our riches, and instede of gold and silver, we make our treasure peace & concorde of love, and we have nought but a cloth uppon our bodies, our wyves are not arrayed rychely to pleasing, for we holde it a great foly for a man to tryme up his body with costly aparel to make it seme fairer than God made it. We haue ben evermore in peace til now y^t thou wilt disherite us. We haue a king among us, not for nede of the law, nor to judge any man, for there are no trespassours among us, but all onely to learne us to be obedient to him & so maist you take from us but our good peace. And when King Alexander saw this letter he thought he shold doe to much harme if he troubled them, and sent to them that they should kepe well theyr good maners, & haue no dread of him.

CAP. XCVII.

_How the Emperour Prester John when he goeth to batayle, he
hath three crosses borne before him of fine gold._

THIS Emperour Prester John, when he goeth to batayle, he hath no baner borne before him, but he hath borne before him three crosses of fine gold, & those are large & great, and well set with precious stones, & for to kepe eche crosse, is ordeyned a thousand[1] men of armes, in maner as men kepe a standerde in other countreys, and he hath men without number when he goeth in any batayle against any other lord. And when he hath no battayle but rydeth with privy company, then doth he beare before him a crosse of tree[2] not painted, and without gold or precious stones, and all playne in token that our lord Jesu Christ suffered death on a cross of tree. And also he hath borne before him a platter of gold ful of earth, in token y^t lordship and noblenesse shal tourne to nought, & his flesh shall turne to earth. And also he has borne before him another vessell full of Jewels, and golde and precious stones, in token of his noblenes and of his might.

[Footnote 1: Others say 10,000.]

[Footnote 2: A wooden cross.]

CAP. XCVIII.

_Of the moste[1] dwelling place of Prester John in a citie
called Suse._

AND he dwelleth commonly at the citie of Suse, & there is his principall palaice that is so riche that marvayle is to tell, & about the principall toure of the palaice are two pomels[2] of gold all round, and eche one of those hath two carbuncles great & large, y^t shine ryght clere in the night, and y^e principal gates of this palaice are of precious stones that men call Saraine[3] & the borders of the barres are of Ivory, & windowes of the hall and chambers are of Cristall, and tables that they eate of, some Emerandes, some are of Mayk,[4] some of golde and precious stones, and the pillers that beare the tables are of such stones also, and the greces on the which y^e Emperour goeth to his sege where he sitteth at meat, one is of Mastik,[5] another of Cristal, another of green Jasphy,[6] another of Diasper,[7] another of Serdin,[8] another of Cornelin,[9] another of Seuton, & that he setteth his fote upon, is of Crisolites, and all these greces are bordered with fine gold, and well set with great perles and other precious stones, and ye side of the sege are Emerauds bordred with gold and with precious stones, the pillers in his chambre are of fine gold with many Carbuncles and other such stones that giue great light in the night, and all if the Carbuncles giue great light, neuerthelesse there burneth xii[10] great vessels of Cristall full of balme to giue good smell, and to drive away evill ayre. The fourme[11] of his bedde is all of Saphire well bound with gold to make him slepe well & for to destroy lechery, for he will not lye by his wives but thrise[12] a yeare, after the seasons, and all onely for getting of children. And he hath also a fayre palayce in the city of Nyse where he dwelleth when he wil, but the aier there is not so well tempered as it is in the citie of Suse. And he hath euery day in his courte more than xxx thousand men, besides comers and goers, but xxx thousand there or in the court of the great Caane spendeth not so much as xii thousand in our countrey. He hath euermore vii kinges in his court to serve him and eche one of them serveth a moneth, and with these kinges serue alway Lxxii Dukes & CCC[13] erles, and euery day eat in his court xii archbishops and xx byshops. The patryarke of saint Thomas is as he were a pope and Archbishops and byshops & abbotes, all are kings in that countrey, and some of the lordes is master of the hall, some of the chambre, some steward, some marshal, and other officers, and therefore he is ful rychley served. And his land lasteth in breadth four moneths journey and it is of length without measure.

[Footnote 1: The greatest.]

[Footnote 2: A ball or knot.]

[Footnote 3: ? Sardonyx.]

[Footnote 4: Another edition says Amethysts.]

[Footnote 5: Another edition says Onyx.]

[Footnote 6: Probably Jasper.]

[Footnote 7: Another edition says Amethyst, but as the whole
is so apocryphal it does not much matter.]

[Footnote 8: Sardine or Sardonyx.]

[Footnote 9: Cornelian. What Seuton is I will not even venture
to guess at.]

[Footnote 10: Another edition says, "a great vessel."]

[Footnote 11: The framework.]

[Footnote 12: Others say four times.]

[Footnote 13: Elsewhere it is 360.]

CAP. XCIX.

_Of the wildernesse wherein groweth the trees of the sonne
& the Moone._

AND beyond that river is a great wildernesse as men that haue ben there say. In this Wildernesse as men saye are the trees of the Sonne and of the Mone that spake to Kyng Alexander and tolde him of his death, and men saye that folke that kepe these trees & eate of the fruits of them, they live foure or five hundred yeare through vertue of the fruite, and we woulde gladly haue gone thyther, but I beleve that an hundred thousand men of armes shold not passe that wildernesse for great plenty of wilde beastes, as dragons and serpents that sley men when they pass that way. In this lande are many Oliphantes all white and blew without number, and unicornes & lyons of many maners.[1] Many other yles are in the land of Prester John that were to long to tell, and much ryches and nobly of precious stones in great plenty. I beleve y^t we haue herd say why this Emperour is called Prester John but for those that know it not I wil declare. There was sometime an Emperour that was a noble prince, & doughty, & he had many christen Knights with him and y^e Emperour thought hee woulde see the service in Christen churches, and then was churches of christendome in Turkey, Surry and Tartary, Hierusalem, Palistine, Araby and Alappy,[2] and all the lordes[3] of Egypte. And thys Emperour came with a Christen Knight into a church of Egipt and it was on a saterday after Whit sonday when the byshop gaue orders, and he behelde the service and he asked of the Knight what folke those should be that stode before the Byshop, and the Knight sayd they should be prestes, & he sayde he wold no more be called Kinge ne Emperour but preest, and he would haue the name of him that came first out of the prestes and he was called John, and so haue all the Emperors sythen[4] be called Prester John. In this lande are many Christen men of good faith & good lawe, and they haue prestes to sing masse, and they make the sacrements as men of Grece do, but they say not but that y^e Apostles said as saint Peter, and saint Thomas, and other apostles when they song masse and said _Pater noster_, and the wordes with the which Gods body is sacred; we haue many addicions of Popes that haue bene ordeyned of which men in those countreys know not.

[Footnote 1: Kinds or sorts.]

[Footnote 2: ? Aleppo.]

[Footnote 3: Other editions read _land_.]

[Footnote 4: Since then.]

CAP. C.

_Of a great yland and kingedome called Taprobane._[1]

TOWARDE the East side of Prester John's lande is an yle that men call Taprobane, & is right good and fructuous,[2] and there is a great Kyng and a rych, and he is obedient unto Prester John & the King is alway made by eleccion. In this yle is ii wynters and two somers, and they shere[3] corne twise in the yere, all times in the yeare gardeins florysheth. There dwelleth good people and reasonable and many Christen men among them that are full rich, and the water betwene the syde of Prester John and this yle is not full depe for men may see the grounde in many places.

[Footnote 1: There seems a difference of opinion whether this
island is Ceylon or Sumatra.]

[Footnote 2: Fruitful.]

[Footnote 3: Reap.]

CAP. CI.

_Of two other yles, one is called Orel, & the other Argete where
are many gold mines._

THERE are more eastward two other yles--y^e one is called Orell and the other Argete of whom all the land is mine of gold & silver. In those yles many men se no sters[1] clere shining, but one starre y^t is called Canapos[2] and there many men se not y^e Mone but in the last quarter. In that yle is a great hyll of golde that pismyres[3] kepe, & they do fine golde from the other that is not fine golde, and the pismyres are as great as houndes, so that no man dare come there for dread of pismyres that should assayle them so that men may not worke in that gold nor get thereof but by subtiltie, and therefore when it is righte hote the pismyres hide them in the earth from undern[4] to none of the daye, and then men of the countrey take Cameles and dormedaries and other beastes & go thither and charge them with gold and go away fast or the pismyres come out of the earth. And other times when it is not so hot y^t the pismyres hide them not, they take mares that haue foles, and they lay upon these mares two long vessels as it were two small barels and the mouth upwards and drive them thether and holde theyr foles at home, and when the pismyres se these vessels they spring therein, for they haue[5] of kinde to leue no hole nor pyt open, and anone they fyl these vessels with golde, and when men think that the vessels be full they take the foles and bring them as nere as they dare, and then they whine, and the mares heare them, and anone they come to theyr foles and so they take the gold, for these pismyres will suffer beastes for to go among them, but no men.

[Footnote 1: Stars.]

[Footnote 2: Canopus, a star of the first magnitude, in the
rudder of the constellation _Argo_.]

[Footnote 3: Ants.]

[Footnote 4: See footnote, _ante_, p. 125.]

[Footnote 5: For it is their habit.]

CAP. CII.

_Of the darke countrey and hils and roches of stone nigh to
Paradise._

BEYOND the yles of the lande of Prester John and his lordeship of wildernesse to go right East, men shall not finde but hils, great rocks and other myrke[1] lande, where no man may see a day or night as men of the countrey say, and this wildernesse and myrke land lasteth to Paradise terrestre, where Adam and Eve were sette, but they were there but a lyttle while, and that is toward the East at the beginning of the earth, but that is not our East that we call where the Son ryseth in those countreys towarde Paradise, and then it is midnight in our countrey for the roundnesse of the earth, for our Lorde made the earth all rounde in the middest of y^e fyrmament. Of Paradise can I not speake properly for I haue not bene there, but that I haue heard I shall tell you. Men say that Paradise terrestre is the highest lande in all the worlde, and it is so high that it toucheth nere to the cyrcle of the Mone, for it is so high y^t Noes floude might not come thereto which covered all the earth about.

[Footnote 1: Dark, murky.]

CAP. CIII.

_A lyttle of Paradise terrestre._

THIS Paradise terrestre is enclosed al about with a wall, and that wall is all covered with mosse as it semeth, y^t men may see no stone nor nothing else whereof it is, and in the highest place of Paradise in the middest of it is a well that casteth out the foure flouds that run through divers landes. The first floud is called Phison or Ganges, and that runneth through Inde, in that river are many precious stones and much _Lignum Aloes_ & gravel of golde. Another is called Nilus or Gison, and y^t runneth through Ethiope & Egipt. The third is called Tigre & that runneth through Assyry & Armony the great. And the fourth is called Eufrates, y^t runneth through Armony and Percy & men say that the sweete and fresh waters of y^e world take their springing of them. The first river is called Phison, that is to say, gathering of many rivers together & faling into one, and some call it Ganges, for a King y^t was in Inde that men cal Gangeras, for it runneth through his land & this river is in some places cleane, in some places troble,[1] in some places hot, in some places cold. The second river is called Nilus or Gison, for it is ever trouble, for Gison is to say troble. The third river is called Tigris that is to say fast running, for it runneth faster than any of the other, & so is a beast that men call Tigris for he runneth fast. The fourth ryver is called Eufrates y^t is to say well bearing, for there groweth many good things upon that ryver. And ye shall understande that no man living may go unto y^t Paradise, for by land he may not go for wylde beastes which are in the wyldernesse, and for hylls and rocks where no man may passe. Nor by those ryvers may no man passe, for they come with so great course and so great waves that no ship may saile against them. Many great lordes haue essayed many times to go by those rivers to Paradise, but they might not spede in theyr way, for some dyed for werynesse of rowinge, some waxt blynde and some defe for noise of the waters, so no man may passe there but through speciall grace of God--for I can tell you no more of that place. I shall tell you of that I haue seene.

[Footnote 1: Troubled or muddy.]

[Decoration]

CAP. CIIII.

_How Prester Johns land lyeth foote against[1] foote to
Englande._

THERE yles of the land of Prester John, they are under the earth to us, & other yles are there whoso wold pursue them for to environ the earth whoso had grace of God to hold the waye, he mighte come right to the same countreys that he were come of and come from & so go about the earth, and for that it asketh so long tyme, & also there are so many perils to passe that fewe men assay to go so, and yet it might be done, & therefore men come from these yles to other yles costing of the lordship of Prester John, & men come in the coming to one yle y^t men cal Cassoy, & that country is nere Lx journeys long & more than L of bredth, that is the best land that is in those countreys saue Cathay & if marchants came thither as commonly as they do to Cathay, it would be better than Cathay, for it is so thick of cities & towns y^t when a man goeth out of a citie he seeth another on eche side. There is great plenty of spices and other goods. Ye king of this ile is rich & mighty & he holdeth his land of y^e great Caan for y^t is one of y^e xii princes[2] that the great Caan hath under him beside his owne lande.

[Footnote 1: Antipodes.]

[Footnote 2: Misprint for provinces.]

CAP. CV.

_Of the Kingedome of Ryboth._

FROM this yle men go another kyngdome that is called Riboth, and that is also under y^e great Caan. This is a good countrey and plentious of corne, wine & other things, men of this lande haue no houses but they dwell in tentes made of tree. And the principall citie of the countrey is all blacke made of black stones and white and all the streetes are paved with such stones and in the citie is no man so hardy to spil blood of man ne beast, for worship of a mawment[1] that is worshiped there. In that citie dwelleth the Pope of their lawe, that they call Lopasse, and he giveth all dignities & benefices that fall to y^e mawmet. And men of religion and men that haue churches in that countrey are obedient to him as men here to the pope. In this yle they haue a custome through all the countrey that when a mans father is dead they wil do him great worship, they send after all his friends, religious priests and many other, and they beare the body to an hill with great Joy and myrth, and whan it is there, the greatest prelate smiteth of his head, & laieth it upon a great plate of gold, or silver, and giveth it to his sonne and his son taketh it to his other friends, singing and sayinge many orysons,[2] and then the prestes and the religious men cut the flesh of[3] the body in peces and say orysons, and the byrds of the countrey come thether, for they know well the custome, and they flye about them as they were egles and other birds that eate flesh, and the priestes cast the pieces unto them, and they beare it away a little from thence and then they eate it, and as priestes in our countrey sing for soules _subvenite sancti dei_ and so forth, so those prestes ther syng with high voyce in their language in this maner wyse. Se and beholde how good and gracious a man this was, that ye aungels of God come for to fetch him & beare him into Paradise. And then thinketh y^e son of the same man that he is greatly worshipped when birds haue eaten his father, and where are most plenty of byrds, there is most worship. And then cometh the sonne home with all his friendes, and maketh them a great feast, the sonne maketh cleane his fathers head and giveth them drynke thereof, & the fleshe of the head he cutteth of, and giveth it to his moste speciall fryends, some a lyttle, & some a lyttle, for deynty. And in remembrance of this holy man that the birds haue eaten, the sonne doth make a cuppe of the scalpe[4] & thereof drinketh he all his life, in remembrance of his father.

[Footnote 1: A puppet or doll, or mammet--an idol--probably so
called as a contraction for Mahomet.]

[Footnote 2: Prayers.]

[Footnote 3: Off.]

[Footnote 4: Skull.]

[Decoration]

CAP. CVI.

_Of a rych man that is neyther king, prince, duke nor erle._

AND from this men go ten journeys through the land of the great Caan, which is a full good yle & a great kingdom & the king is ful mighty. And in this yle is a rich man which is no king, prince, Duke nor Erle, but he hath eche yere cccc[1] thousand horses charged[2] with ryce and corne, and he hath a noble & a rich life after the maner of the countrey, for he hath L damosels that serve him every day at his meate & bed and do what he wil. And when he sytteth at the table they bring him meat, & at eche time fiue meates togither, and they sing in the bringing a song, and they cut his meate and put it in his mouth, and he hath righte long nayles on his hands, that is a great nobility in that countrey & therefore they let theyr nayles grow as long as they may,[3] and some let them growe so long that they come about theyr handes and y^t is a great nobility & gentry, and the gentry of a woman is to haue small fete, and therefore anon as they are borne, they binde their feete so straight that they cannot wax halfe as they shoulde. And he hath a full faire palaice, & rich, wher he dwelleth, of which the wall is two myle about, & there is many faire gardeins, and all the pavement of the hal, & chambres, is of gold & silver, and in the midst of one of these gardeins is a lyttle hyl, whereon is a place made wyth toures and pynacles all of golde, and there he wyll syt often to take the ayer and disport, for it is made for nothing else. From this land men may go through y^e land of the great Caane.

[Footnote 1: Other editions say 300,000.]

[Footnote 2: Loaded.]

[Footnote 3: Similar to the Chinese custom of the upper
classes.]

CAP. CVII.

_How all these landes yles and kingdomes, and the men therof
afore rehersed, haue some of the articles of our faith._

AND ye shall understand that all these men & folke that haue reason y^t I haue spoken of, haue some articles of our faith, all[1] if they be of divers lawes and divers beleves, yet they haue some good poynts of our fayth, & they beleve in God of kinde as theyr prophecie sayth, _Et metuent eum omnes fines terræ_, That is to say, And all endes of the earth shall dread him. And in another place, _Omnes gentes servient ei_, That is to say, All folk shall serve him, but they cannot speak parfitly but as theyr kyndly wit teacheth them, neither of the Son nor of the Holy Ghost can they speake, but they can speake well of the Byble, and specially of Genesis, and of the bokes of Moyses. And they say that those creatures y^t they worship are no gods, but they worship them for great vertue that is in them which may not be without special grace of God, & of simulacre and ydoles, they say that all men haue simulacres, and that, say they, for us christen men haue ymages of our Lady & other, but they wot not that we worship not the ymages of stone nor of wood, but the saynts of whome they are made, for as the letter teacheth clarkes how they shal beleve, so ymages and paynture teacheth lewde[2] men. They say also that the aungell of God speaketh to them in their ydoles & do miracles, they say soth,[3] but it is the evil aungell that doth myracles to maintaine them in their ydolatrie.

[Footnote 1: Even.]

[Footnote 2: Unlearned.]

[Footnote 3: Truly.]

CAP. CVIII.

_How John Maundevyl leveth many mervailes unwrytten & the
cause wherefore._

THERE are many other countreys where I haue not yet ben nor sene & therefore I can not speke properly of them. Also in countreys where I haue bene are many marvailes that I speke not of, for it were to long a tale and therefore hold you payd at this time y^t I haue sayd, for I will say no more of mervailes that are there, so that other men that go thither may fynde ynough for to say that I haue not tolde.

[Decoration]

CAP. CIX.

_What time John Maundevil departed out of England._

AND I John Maundevil that went out of my countrey and passed the sea, the yeare of our lord MCCCXXII and I haue passed through many landes and yles and countreys, and now am come to rest. I haue compyled this boke and do wryte it the yeare of our Lord MCCCLXVI at XXXIV yeare after my departing from my countrey, & for as much as many men beleve not that they see with theyr eyen, or y^t they may conceive & know in their mynde, therefore I made my way to Rome in my coming homewarde, to shew my boke to the holy father the pope,[1] and tell him of the mervayles y^t I had sene in diverse countreys; so that he with his wise counsel wold examine it, with diverse folke y^t are at Rome, for there dwell men of all nations of the world, and a lytle time after when he & his counsel had examined it all through, he sayde to me for a certayne that it was true for he sayd he had a boke of latin contayning all that and much more, of y^e which _Mappa Mundi_ is made, the which boke I saw, & therefore the pope hath ratyfied & confirmed my boke in all poyntes. And I pray to all those that rede this boke, that they will pray for me and I shall pray for them, & all those that say for me our Lord's prayer & that God forgive me my sinnes, I make them parteners & graunt them part of all my good pylgrimages and other good dedes which I ever dyd or shall do to my lyves ende & I pray to God of whome all grace cometh, that he will, all the readers and hearers that are christen, fulfil with his grace, and saue them body and soule & bring them to his Joy that euer shall last. He that is in the Trinitie, the Father, the Sonne, and the Holy Ghost, that liveth & raigneth God without ende

Amen

[Footnote 1: Urban V.]