flesh of all manner of beasts when they haue all eate they wipe their hands in their skirts and they eate but once on the day and eate but little bread but the manner of the Lords is full noble Wherefore the Emperour of Cathay is called the great Caane Chap. lxviij ANd yée shall vnderstand why hée is called the great Caane yée know that all the world was destroyed with Noes floud but Noe his wife and children Noe had thrée sons Sem Cham and Iapheth C ham when hée saw his fathers priuities naked when hée slept hée scorned it and therefore hée was cursed and Iapheth couered it againe These thrée brethren had all the land C ham tooke the best part Eastward that is called Asia Sem tooke Afryke and Iapheth tooke Europe C ham was the mightiest and richest of his brethren and of him are come the Panim folke and diuers manner of men of the Iles some headlesse and other men disfigured for this Cham the Emperour there called him Cham and Lord of all But ye shall vnderstand that the Emperour of Cathay is called Caane and not Cham and for this cause it is not long agoe that all Tartary was in subiection and thrall to other nations about and they were made heardmen to kéepe beasts and among them was vii linages or kinds the first was called Tartary that is the best the second linage is called Tamahot the third Furace the fourth Valaire the fift Semoth the sixt Menchy and the seauenth Sobeth These are all holding of the great Caane of Cathay Now it befell that the first linage was an old man and he was not rich and men called him Chanius This man lay and slept on a night in his bed and there came to him a knight all white sitting vpon a white horse and said to him Caane sléepest thou God that is almightie sent mée to thée and it is his will that thou say to the vii linages that thou shalt be their Emperour for yée shall conquere all the land about you and they shall bée in your subiection as you haue béene in theirs and when morrow came he rose vp and said to the seuen linages and they scorned him and said hée was a foole and the next night the same knight came to the vii linages and bad them in Gods behalf to make Chanius their Emperour and they should be out of all subiection And on the morrow they chose Chanius to be Emperour and did him all worship that they might doe and called him Caane as the white knight called him they said they would doe as hée bad them Then he made many statutes and lawes the which they called Isakan The first statute was that they should be obedient to God almighty beléeue that hée should deliuer them out of thraldome and that they should call on him in all their works Another statute was that al men that might beare armes should be numbred and to each ten should bée a master and to a hundred a master and to a thousand a master Then hée commaunded to all the greatest and principallest of the vii linages that they should forsake all that they had in heritage or lordship and that they should hold them payed of that he would giue them of his grace they did so And also he bad them that each man should bring his eldest son before him and slay his owne Son with his owne hands and smite off their heads and as soone they did his bidding And when hée saw they made no letting of that he bad them then bad hée them follow his banner and then he put in subiection all the lands about him How the great Caane was hid vnder a tree and so escaped his enimies because of a Bird. Chap. lxix AND it befell on a day that the Caane rode with a few men to sée the land that he had won and hée met with a great multitude of his enimies and there hée was cast downe off his horse and his horse slaine and when his men saw him at the earth they thought hée had béene dead and fled and the enimies followed after and when hée saw his enimies were far he hid him in a bush for the wood was thick there and when they were come againe from the chase they went to séeke him among the wood if any were hid there and they found many and as they came to the place where hée was they saw a bird sit on a trée the which bird men cal an Owle then said they that there was no man for the bird sate there and so went they away and thus was the Caane saued from death and so he went away on a night to his owne men which were glad of his comming and from that time vnto this day men of that Country haue that Bird in great reuerence and for that cause they worship that bird aboue all other birds of the world And incontinent hée assembled all his men and rode vpon his enimies and destroyed them and when hée had won all the lands that were about him hée held them in subiection And when the Caane had won all the Lords to mount Belyan the white knight came to him in a vision againe and said vnto him Caane the will of God is that thou passe the mount Belyan and thou shalt win many lands and because thou shalt finde no passage goe thou to the mount Belyan that is vpon the sea side and knéele nine times thereon against the East in worship of God and hée shall shew thée a way how thou shalt passe the Caane did so anone the sea that touched the hill withdrew it selfe and shewed him a faire way of nine foote broad betwéene the hill and the sea and so he passed right well with all his men and then hée wan the land of Cathay that is the best land and the greatest of all the world and for those ix knéelings and the nine foote of way the Caane and the men of Tartary haue the number of nine in great worship Of the great Caanes letters and the writing about his Seale Chap. lxx AND when hée had won the land of Cathay hée dyed and then raygned after Cythoco the eldest Son of Caane and his other brothers went to win them lands in other countries and they wan the land of Pruisse of Rusie they did call themselues Caanes but hée of Cathay is the greatest Lord of all the world and so he called him in his letters and saith thus Caane filius Dei excelsi vniuersam terram colentium sumus imperator Dominus Dominantium That is to say Caane Gods son Emperour of all those that till all the land and Lord of Lords And the writing about his great seale is Deus in coelo Caane super terram eius fortitudo omniū hominum Imperatoris sigillum That is to say God in heauen Caane vpon earth his strength the seale of the Emperour of
halfe our faith and halfe the faith of the Gréekes and they haue long beards as the Gréekes haue For to returne againe on this side of Galile Chap. xl NOw séeing I haue told you of many manners of men that dwell in the countries aforesaid Now will I turne againe to my way for to turne vpon this side for hée that will turne from the land of Galile that I spake of to come on this side hée may go through Damas that is a faire cittie and full of good marchandises it is thrée daies iourney from the sea fiue from Hierusalem but they carry marchandise vpon Cammels Mules Horses Dromedaries and other manner of Beasts This cittie of Damas founded Helizeus that was Abrahams seruant before Isaac was borne and he should haue béene Abrahams heire and there he named that cittie Damas in that place slew Caine his Brother Abel and beside Damas is the mount of Syry in this cittie be many Phisitions and that holy man Saint Paul was a Phisition to saue mens bodies before that hée was conuerted and after he was a Phisition of soules And from Damas men goe to a place called our Lady of Sardmarch that is fiue mile from Damas it is on a rock and there is a faire Church and there dwell Christian Monks and Nuns in that Church Betwéene the cittie of Darke the cittie of Raphane is a Riuer called Sabatory for on the Satterday it runneth fast and all the wéeke else it standeth still and runneth not or but a little And there is another riuer that on the night fréeseth fast and vpon the day no frost is séene And so men goe by a cittie that men call Berugh and ther those that will go to Cipres take ships and they ariue at a hauen of Sur or of Tyry and then goe men to Cipres also men may goe right from the hauen of Tyry and come not at Cipres but ariue at some hauen of Gréece and by these wayes men come into the countries before spoken of How a man may goe furthest and longest in the countries that are here rehearsed Chap. xli NOw haue I told you of wayes by the which men go furdest and longest as by Babylon and mount Sinay and other places many through the which men turne againe to the land of promise Now will I tell you the shortest way to Hierusalem for many will not goe the long way some for want of company and many other reasonable causes and therefore I shall tell you shortly how a man may goe with little cost and in short time A man that commeth from the land of the West hée goeth through Fraunce Burgoyn Lumbardy and to Venice or to Gene or some other hauen of those marches and taketh there a ship and goeth to the I le of Griffe so ariueth hée in Gréece or else in port Myroch or Valon or Duras or some other hauen of those marches and goe to land for to rest him and goeth againe to the sea and ariueth in Cipres and commeth not in the I le of Rodes but ariueth at Famagost that is the chiefe hauen of Cypres or else at Lamaton then enter ship againe and passe beside the hauen of Tyre and come not to land and so passeth by all the hauens of the coast till hée come to Iaffe that is the next hauen to Hierusalem for it is xxviij mile betwéen And from Iaffe men goe to the cittie of Ramos and that is but little thence and it is a fayre cittie and beside Ramos is a fayre Church of our Lady where our Lord shewed him selfe vnto her in thrée shadowes betokening the Trinitie and there néere is a Church of Saint George where his head was smitten off and then to the Castle of Emear and then to the mount Ioy and from thence pilgrimes sée Hierusalem then to mount Modyn and then goe to Hierusalem At mount Modin lyeth the Prophet Malache ouer Ramatha is the towne of Donke whereof Amos the Prophet was Of other wayes for to goe by land to Hierusalem Chap. xlij FOrasmuch as many men may not suffer the sauour of the sea and better it is to goe by land although it bée more paine and a man shall goe to one of the hauens of Lumberdy as Venice or an other and yée shall passe into Gréece to Port Myroch or an other and yée shall goe to Constantinople and shal passe the water that is called the brath of S. George that is an arme of the sea And from thence yée shall come to Puluerall and then to the castle of Synople and so to Capadocia which is a great Country wherein is many great hils and ye shall goe through Turkey and to the Cittie of Nike the which they wonne from the Emperour of Constantinople and it is a faire Cittie and well walled and there is a riuer that is called the Lay and then men go by the Alpes of Mormaunt and through the vales of Malebrynes and the vale of Ernax and so more easily to Antioche which standeth richly on the Riuer and therabout are many good hils and faire and many faire woods and wilde beasts And hée that will go an other way hée goeth by the Romaine coast the Romaine sea on that coast is a faire castle that is called Florage and when a man is out of the hils hée passeth through the cittie of Moryach and Artose where is a great bridge vpon the riuer of Ferne that men call Fassor and it is a great riuer bearing ships and beside the cittie of Damas is a riuer that commeth from the mount of Libany which is called Alban at the passing of this riuer Saint Eustage lost his two Sons when hée had lost his wife it runneth through the plaine of Archades and to the red sea and then men goe to the Cittie of Fermine and so to the Cittie of Ferne and then to Antioche and that is a faire cittie and well walled and it is two mile long and there is a bridge ouer the riuer and hath at each piller a good tower and is the best Cittie of the kingdome of Surrie From Antioche men goe to the cittie of Locuth and so to Geble and to Tortouse thereby is the land of Lambre and a stronge castle that men call Mambeke And from Tortouse men goe to Tripelle on the sea and by this sea men goe to Dacres and there is two wayes to Hierusalem by the way on the left hand men come first vnto Damas by the riuer Iordane and on the right side men go through the land of Flagme so to the Cittie Caiphas in which Cittie Caiphas was Lord some call it the castle Pellerins and from thence is foure dayes iourney to Hierusalem and they goe through Cesary Philyp and Iaffe and Ramas Eumaux and so forth to Hierusalem Yet an other way by land toward the land of Promise Chap. xliij NOW haue I told you some wayes by land by
best that is in the world for all the stares of his hall and chambers are made one of gold and another of siluer and all the walles are plated with fine gold and siluer and in those plates are written stories of knights and battailes and the floures of the hall and chambers are of gold and siluer so that no man would beléeue the great riches that are there except hée had séene it and the king of this I le is so mighty that hée hath many times ouercome the great Caane of Cathay which is the mightiest Emperor that is in all the world there is often war betwéene them for the great Caane would make him hold his land of him Of the kingdome of Pathen or Salmasse which is a goodly land Chap. lvij ANd for to goe forth by the Sea there is an I le that is called Pathen and some call it Salmasse for it is a great with many faire citties In this land growes trées that beare meale of which men make faire bread while of good sauour it séemeth like as it were wheate And there be other trées which beare venim against the which is no medicine but onely to take of the leaues of the same trées and stampe them and temper them with water and drinck it or else hée shall dye sodainely for nothing else may helpe him And if yée will know how these trées beare meale I shall tell you men hewe with an hatchet about the roote of the trée by the earth they pearce it in many places and then commeth out a licour the which they take in a vessell and set it in the Sunne and drie it and when it is drie they carry it vnto the mill to grind and so it is faire meale and white Also hony wine and venim are drawne out of other trées in the same manner and they put it in vessels to kéepe In that I le is a dead sea which is a water that hath no bottome and if any thing fall therein it shall neuer bée found beside that sea groweth great Canes and vnder their rootes men finde a precious stone of great vertue for hée that beareth one of those stones about him ther may no Iron gréeue him nor draw bloud on him and therefore they that haue those stones fight full hardly for there may no weapon that is of Iron grieue him therefore they that know the manner make their weapons without yron and so they slay them Of the kingdome of Talonach the king whereof hath many wiues Chap lviij THen is there another I le that men call Talonach the same is a great land and therein is great plentie of fish other goods as you shal hereafter heare And they king of that land hath as many wiues as he wil a thousand and moe and he neuer lyeth but once by any one of them also in that land is a great meruaile for all manner of fishes of the sea commeth thether once a yéere one after another and lyeth néere the land somtime on the land and so lie thrée dayes and men of that land come thether and take of them what they will and then go those fishes away and an other sort commeth and lyeth also thrée dayes men take of them and thus do all manner of fishes till all haue béene there and men haue taken what they will But no man can tell the cause why it is so But they of that country say that those fishes come so thether to doe worship to their king for they say hée is the worthiest king of the world for he hath so many wiues and getteth so many children of them And that same king hath xiiij M. Elephants or moe which bée tame and they be kept for his pleasure by the men of the country so that hée may haue them ready at his hand when hée hath any warre against any King or Prince and then hée doth put vpon their backs castles and men of war as the vse of the land is and likewise doe other kings and princes thereabout Of the Iland called Raso where men be hanged as soone as they are sicke Chap. lix AND from this I le men goe to another I le called Raso and the men of this I le when their friends are sicke and that they beléeue surely that they shall dye they take them and hang them vp quicke on a trée and say it is better that birds that are Angels of God eate them then wormes of the earth From thence men goe to an I le where the men are of an il kind for they nourish hounds for to strangle men And when their friends are sicke that they hope they shall dye then doe those hounds strangle them for they will not that they die a kindely death for then should they suffer too great paine as they say and when they are thus dead they eate their flesh for venison Of the Iland of Melke wherein dwelleth euill people Chap. lx FRom thence men goe by sea through many Iles vnto an I le called Melke and there bée full ill people for they haue none other delight but for to fight and slay men for they drinke gladly mans blood which blood they call good and they that may slay most is of most fame among them And if there bée two men at strife and after bée made at one then must they drinke eyther others blood or else the accord is of no value From this I le men goe to an other I le that is called Traconit where all men are as beasts for they are vnreasonable and they dwell in caues for they haue not wit to make houses these men eate Adders and speake not but make such a noise as Adders doe one to another and they make no force of riches but of a stone that is of forty coulours and it is called Traconit after that I le they know not the vertue thereof but they couet it for the great fairenesse Of the Iland named Macumeran whereas the people haue heads like hounds Chap. lxi FRom that I le men goe to an other that is called Macumeran which is a great Ile a faire and the men and women of that country haue heades like hounds they are reasonable and worship an Oxe for their God they goe all naked but a litle cloath before their priuie members they are good men to fight and they beare a great Target with which they couer all the body and a speare in their hand and if they take any man in battaile they send him to their king which is a great Lord and deuout in his faith for hée hath about his neck on a Corde thrée hundred Pearles great and orient and as wée say our Pater noster and other prayers right so their king saith euery day thrée hundred praiers to his God before hée eyther eate or drinck and he beareth also about his neck a Ruby orient fine and good that is néere a foote and fiue fingers
Of the Iles and diuers manners of people and of meruailous beasts chap. 47 Of the hauen of Gene for to goe by the sea into diuers countries chap. 48 Of the Country of Iob and of the kingdome of Calde chap. 49 Of the kingdome of Amazony wher as dwelleth none but women chap. 50 Of the land of Ethiope chap. 51 Of Inde the more and the lesse and of Diamonds and of small people and other things chap. 52 Of diuers Kingdomes and Iles which are in the Land of Inde chap. 53 Of the kingdome of Mabaron chap. 54 Of a great Country called Lamory where the people goe all naked chap. 55 Of the country and I le named Iana which is a mighty land ch 56 Of the kingdome of Pathen or Salmas which is a goodly land ch 57 Of the kingdome of Talonach the king whereof hath many wiues chap. 58 Of the Iland called Raso where men are hanged as soone as they are sicke chap. 59 Of the Iland of Melke wherein dwelleth euill people chap. 60 Of an Iland named Mecumeran whereas the people haue heades like hounds chap. 61 Of a great Iland called Dodin where are many men of euill conditions chap. 62 Of the kingdome named Mancy the which is one of the best kingdomes of the world chap. 63 Of the land of Pigmen the people wherof are but three spans long chap. 64 Of the citie of Menke wher a great Nauie is kept chap. 65 Of the land named Cathay and of the great riches thereof chap. 66 Of a great Cittie named Cadon wherein is the great Caanes pallace and siege chap. 67 Wherefore that the Emperour of Cathay is called the great Caane chap. 68 How the great Caane was hid vnder a tree and so escaped his enimies because of a bird chap. 69 Of the great Caanes letters and the writing about his seale chap. 70 Of the gouernaunce of the country of the great Caane chap. 71 Of the great riches of the emperor and of his descending chap. 72 Of the ordinance of the Lords of the Emperour when he rideth frō one country to another to warre chap. 73 How the empire of the great Caanc is parted into xij prouinces and how that they doe cast insence in the fire where the great Caane passeth through the Citties and townes in worship of the Emperour chap. 74 How the great Caane is the mightiest Lord of all the world cha 75 Yet of other manners of his country chap. 76 How the emperour is brought vnto his graue when he is dead ch 77 When the Emperour is dead how they chuse make another ch 78 What countryes and kingdomes lie next to the Land of Cathay and the frontes thereof chap. 79 Of other wayes to come from Cathay toward the Greeke sea and also of the Emperour of Persia chap. 80 Of the land of Armony which is a good Land and of the Land of Middy chap. 81 Of the kingdome of George Abcan and many meruailes chap. 82 Of the land of Turkey and diuers other countryes and of the land of Mesopotamia chap. 83 Of diuers Countries kingdomes and Iles and meruailes beyond the land of Cathay chap. 84 Of the land of Bactry and of many Griffins and other Beastes chap. 85 Of the way for to goe to Prester Iohns land which is the Emperour of Inde chap. 86 Of the faith and beliefe of Prester Iohn but hee hath not all the full beliefe as we haue chap. 87 Of another Iland which is called Sinople wherein dwelleth good people chap 88 Of two other Iles the one is called Pitan wherein bee little men that eate no meat and in another I le are the men all rough with feathers chap. 89 Of a rich man in Prester Iohns land named Catolonapes and of his garden chap. 90 Of a meruailous valey that is beeside the riuer Phison chap. 91 Of an Iland wherein dwell people as great as Giants of xxix or of xxx foote of length and other things chap. 92 Of women which make great sorrow when as their children bee borne and great Ioy when they dye chap. 93 Of an Iland where men wed their owne Daughters and kinsewomen chap. 94 Of another Iland wherein dwell full good people true chap. 65 How king Alexander sent his men thether for to win the land ch 96 How the Emperour Prester Iohn when hee goeth to battaile hath three crosses of gold borne before him chap. 97 Of the most dwelling place of Prester Iohn in a cittie called Suse chap. 98 Of the wildernesse wherein groweth the trees of the Sun and the Moone chap. 99 Of a great Iland and kingdome called Taprobane chap. 100 Of two other Iles the one called Oriell the other Argete where are many gold mines chap. 101 Of the darke country and hils and rocks of stone nigh to Paradise chap. 102 A little of Paradise terrestre ch 103 How Prester Iohns land lyeth foote against foot to England cha 104 Of the kingdome of Riboth ch 105 Of a rich man that is neither king Prince Duke nor Earle cha 106 How all the lands Iles and kingdomes before rehearsed haue some of the articles of our faith ch 107 How sir Iohn Maundeuile leaueth many meruailes vnwritten and the cause wherefore chap. 108 What time Iohn Maundeuile departed out of England chap. 109 FINIS