Hungary and through the Citie that men call Cipanum and through the castle of Nurburgh by the I le Torne toward the end of Hungary and so by the riuer of Danubie that is a full great riuer and goeth into Almaine vnder the hils of Lumbardy it taketh into it fortie other riuers and it runneth throughout Hungary and through Cresses and Crochie and goeth into the sea so strongly and with so great might that the water is fresh thirty miles within the sea afterward men goe to Belgraue and entreth into the land of Bugres and there men passe a bridge of stone that is ouer the riuer of Morack so men passe through the land of Pinseras and come to Gréece to the citie of Stermisse and to the citie of Affinpane that was sometime called Bradre the noble and so the citie of Constantinople that was sometime called Bessalneron and there dwelled commonly the Emperour of Gréece At Constantinople is the best and the fayrest Church of the world and it is of Saint Steuen And before this Church is a guilt Image of Iustinian the Emperour and it is sitting vpon a horse and crowned and it was wont to holde a round apple in his hand and men say there that it is a token that the Emperour hath lost a part of his lands for the apple is fallen out of the Images hand and also hée hath lost a great part of his Lordship For hée was wont to bée Emperour of Roome of Gréece and of all Asia the lesse of Surry and of the land of Iudea in the which is Hierusalem and of the land of Aegipt of Percia and Arabia but he hath lost all but Gréece and that land he holdeth onely men would put the apple in the Images hand but it will not hold it This apple betokeneth the Lordship that he had ouer all the world and the other hand he lifteth vp against the East in token to menasse misdoers This Image standeth vpon a piller of marble In Cruce sit Palma Cedrus Cypressus Oliua For the péece that went right vp from the earth vnto the head was of Cipres and the péece that went ouerthwart to the which his hands were nailed was of Palme the stock that stood within the earth in the which they had made a morteys was of Ceder and the table aboue his head was a foote and a halfe long on which the title was written that was of Oliue the Iewes made this crosse of these foure manner of trées for they thought that our Lord should haue hanged as long as the crosse might last therfore made they the foot of Ceder for Ceder may not in the earth ne in water rot they thought that the body of Christ shold haue stoncken they made the péece that went from the earth vpward of Cipres so that the smell of his body should grieue no man that came by and that ouerthwart was made of Palme in signification of victorie And the table of the title was made of Oliue for it betokeneth peace as the story of Noe witnesseth when the Doue brought the branch of Oliue that betokened peace made betwéene God and man And also you shall vnderstand that the Christian men that dwell ouer the Sea say that the péece of the crosse that we call Cipres was of the trée that Adam eate the apple off and so they finde written and they say also that their Scripture saith that when Adam was sick he said to his son Seth that hée should go to Paradise and pray the Angel that kéepeth Paradise that he would send him oyle of the trée of mercy for to annoynt him that hée might haue health Seth went but the Angell would not let him come in at the gate but said vnto him that he might not haue of the oyle of mercy but he tooke him thrée carnels of the same trée that his father eate the apple off and bad him as soone as his father was dead that hée should put these carnels vnder his tongue burie him and he did so and of these thrée carnels sprang a trée as the Angel said and when the trée bare fruit then should Adam be made whole And when Seth came againe and found his father dead hée did with the carnels as the Angell commaunded him of the which came thrée trées whereof a Crosse was made that bare good fruit that is to say our Sauiour Iesu Christ through whom Adam and all that came of him should be saued deliuered from euerlasting death but if it be their owne default This holy crosse had the Iewes hid vnder the earth in the rock of the mount of Caluery and it lay there two hundred yéeres and more as they say vnto the time that Saint Elene found it the which saint Elene was the daughter of Coel king of England that then was called Britaine and after marryed to Constantius first Consull and after Emperour of Rome who had by her issue Constantine the great borne in England and afterward Emperour of Rome which Constantine turned the name of Bezansium into Constantinople he réedified that Citie made it the monarcal seat of all Europa and Asia Minor also ye shall vnderstand that the Crosse of our Lord was in length viij cubites and the péece that went ouerthwart was thrée cubuites and a halfe A part of the crowne of our Lord Iesu Christ wherwith he was crowned one of the nailes the speare head and many other reliques are in Fraunce at Paris in the chappell of the kings and the crowne lyeth in a vessel of cristall wel dight and richly for the French king bought these reliques sometime of the Iewes to whom the Emperor had laid them to pledge for a great sum of gold And although men say that this Crowne was of thornes ye shall vnderstand that it was of Ioukes of the sea which be white and pricketh as sharp as thornes for I haue séene and beheld many times that at Paris and that at Constantinople for they were both of one made of Ioukes of the Sea But men haue departed it in two parts of the which one part is at Paris and the other part at Constantinople and I haue a point thereof that séemeth a white thorne and that was giuen me for a great friendship For there are many of them broken fallen into the vessell when they shew the crowne to great men or Lords that come thether And yée shall vnderstand that our Lord in that night that hée was taken hée was lead into a Garden and there hée was examined sharply and there the Iewes crowned him with a Crowne of Abbespine branches that grew in the same Garden and set it on his head so fast that the bloud ranne downe by many places of his visage necke and shoulders and therefore hath the Abbespine many vertues for hée that beareth a braunch of it about him no thunder nor no manner of tempest may hurt him nor the house
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
send to him presents so much that hée shall haue more then C. Cammels loden with gold and siluer béeside other iewels that he shal haue or Lords as precious stones and gold without number and horse and rich clothes of Camacas and Tarius and such other What Countries and Kingdomes lye next to the land of Cathay and the fronts thereof Chap. lxxix THis land of Cathay is in Asia the déepe and this same Land reacheth toward the West vpon the Kingdome of Sercy the which pertained sometime to one of the thrée kings that went to séeke our Lord in Bethlem all those that come of his kin are christian men These men of Tartary drincke no wine In the land of Corosaym that is at the North side of Cathay is right great plentie of goods but no wine the which hath at the East side a great wildernesse that lasteth more then an hundred dayes iourney and the best cittie of that land is called Corosaym and alter the name of that cittie is the land called and men of this land are good warriours and hardy and thereby is the kingdome of Comayne this is the most and the greatest kingdome of the World but it is not all inhabited for in one place of the Land is so great cold that no man may dwell there for cold and in another place is so great heat that no man may dwell there and there are so many faithes that a man cannot tell on what side hée may turne him and in this land are few trées bearing fruit In this land men lye in tentes and they burne doung of Beastes for lacke of wood This Land descendeth toward Pruse Russy and through this land runneth the Riuer Echel that is one of the greatest riuers of the world and it is frozen so hard euery yéere that men fight thereupon in great battailes on horse and footmen more then C.M. at once And a little from the Riuer is the great of Occian that they call Maure and betwéene this Maure and Aspy is a full strayght passage to go toward Inde and therefore king Alexander did make there a cittie that men call Alexander for to kéepe that passage so that no man may passe vnlesse hée haue leaue and now is that cittie called Port de Fear and the principall citty of Comaine is called Sarachis that is one of the thrée wayes to goe to Inde but through this way may not many men go but if it be in winter and this passage is called Berbent And another way is to goe from the land of Turkescon through Persia in this way are many dayes iourneys in wildernesse And the third way is that commeth from Cosmane and goeth through the great cittie through the kingdome of Abachare And yée shall vnderstand that all these kingdomes and Lords vnto Persia are holden of the great Caane and many other and therefore hée is a great Lord of men and of land Of other wayes comming from Cathay toward the Greeke Sea and also of the Emperour of Persia Chap. lxxx NOW that I haue shewed you the lands towards the North to come from the lands of Cathay to the lands of Pruse Russy where Christian men dwell Now shall I shew vnto you of other lands and kingdomes in comming downe from Cathay to the Gréekes Sea where Christian men dwell and forasmuch as next the great Caane of Cathay the Emperour of Persia is the greatest Lord therefore I shall speake of him and ye shall vnderstand that hée hath two kingdomes the one beginneth Eastward and it is the kingdome of Turkescon and it lasteth Westward to the sea of Caspy and Southward to the land of Inde This land is great and plaine and well manned with good citties but two most principall the which are called Bacirida and Sormagaunt The other is the kingdome of Persia and lasteth from the Riuer of Phison vnto great Armony and Northward vnto the sea of Caspy and Southward to the land of Inde and this is a full plenteous country and a good In this land are thrée principall citties Nassabor Saphen and Sermesse Of the land of Armony which is a good land and of the land of Myddy Chap. lxxxj THen is the land of Armony in the which was sometime thrée kingdomes that is a good land and plenteous and it beginneth at Persia and lasteth westward to Turky of lenght and in breadth lasteth from the Cittie of Alexander that now is called Port de Fear vnto the land of Middy In this Armony are many faire citties but Canrissy is most of name Then is the land of Middy and it is full long and not broad and béeginneth Eastward at the land of Persia and Inde the lesse and lasteth Westward to the kingdome of Chalde and Northward to little Armony in this Myddy are many great Hills and little Plaines and there dwell Sarasins and other manner of men that men call Cordines and Kermen Of the kingdome of George and Abcan and many meruailes Chap. lxxxij THen next is the kingdome of George that beginneth Eastward at a great hill that men call Abior this land lasteth from Turky to the great Sea and to the land of Middy and great Armony and in this Land are two Kingdomes one to Abcan and an other of George but hée of George is in subiection of the great Caane but hée of Abcan hath a strong Countrie and defendeth him well against his enimies and of this land in Abcan is a great maruaile for there is a country in this land that is néere thrée dayes iourney in length and is called Hamfon and that country is all couered with darknesse so that it hath no light that no man may sée there and no man dare goe into that countrie for darknesse And neuerthelesse men of that country thereby say that they may sometime heare therein the voyce of men horse crying and cocks crow and they know well that men dwell there but they know not what manner of men they say this darknesse came through the miracle of God that hée did for Christian men there For there was a wicked Emperour that was of Poy and was called Saures and hée pursued sometime all christian men to destroy them and did make them do sacrifice to their false gods in that country dwelled many christian men the which left all their goods and cattell riches and would goe to Gréece and when they were all in a great plaine that is called Mecon the Emperour and his men came to slay the christian men and then the christian men knéeled downe and prayed to God and anon came a thicke cloud and couered the Emperour and all his hoasts so that he might not goe away and so dwelled they in darknesse and they neuer came out after and the christian men went forward as they would and therefore they say thus A domino factum est istud est mirabile in oculis nostris That is to say of our Lord is this
done and it is meruailous in our eyes Out of this land commeth a riuer whereby men may sée by good tokens that men dwell therein Of the land of Turkey and diuers other countries and of the Land of Mesopotamia Chap. lxxxiij THen next is the land of Turkey that reacheth to great Armony and therein are many countries as Caperdoce Saure Bryke Ouecion Patan and Geneth in each one of these countries are many good citties and it is a plaine land with few hils and Riuers and then is the kingdome of Mesopotamia that béeginneth Westward at the flome of Tygre at a Cittie that men call Mosell and it lasteth Westward to the flome of Euphrate to a Cittie that men call Rochaim and Westward from high Armony vnto the wildernesse of Inde the lesse and it is a good land and plaine but there is few riuers and there is but two hils in that land the one is called Simar and the other Hison and it reacheth vnto the land of Calde and yée shall vnderstand that the land of Ethiope reacheth Eastward to the great wildernesse Westward to the land of Nuby Southward to the land of Maratan and Northward to the red Sea and then is the Maritan that lasteth from the hils of Ethiope vnto Liby the high and the low that lasteth to the great sea of Spaine Of diuers countries kingdomes and Iles and meruailes beyond the land of Cathay Chap. lxxxiij NOw haue I said and spoken of many things on this side of the great kingdome of Cathay of whom many are obeisant to the great Caane Now shall I tell of some lands countries and Iles that are beyond the land of Cathay Who so goeth from Cathay to Inde the high and the low hée shall goe through a kingdome that men call Cadissen and it is a great land there groweth a manner of fruit as it were gourdes and when it is ripe men cut it a sunder and they finde therein a beast as it were of flesh and bone blood as it were a little lambe without wooll and men eate the beast and fruit also and sure it séemeth very strange Neuerthelesse I sayd to them that I held that for no meruaile for I said that in my country are trées that beare fruit that become birds flying they are good to eat and that that falleth on the water liueth and that that falleth on the earth dyeth and they meruailed much thereat In this land and many other therabout are trées that beare cloues and nutmegs and chanell and many other spices and there be vines that beare so great grapes that a strong man shall haue enough to beare a cluster of grapes In that same land are the hils of Caspy that men call Vber and enclosed within those hils are the Iewes of the x. kindes that men call Gog and Magog and they may come out on no side Ther were enclosed xxij kings with their folke that dwelled betwéene the hils of Syche and king Alexander chased them thether among those hils for hée trusting to haue enclosed them there through the working of men but hée might not and when hée saw hée might not hée prayed to God that hée would fulfill that which hée had béegun God heard his prayer and enclosed the hils all about them but at the one side and ther is the sea of Caspy Here some men might aske if there be a sea on one side why goe they not out there for thereto aunswere I that although it be called a sea it is not a sea but a poole standing among hils and it is the greatest Poole of all the world and though they go ouer that poole yet they wot not where to ariue for they can no speach but their owne And yée shall vnderstand that these Iewes which dwel among the hils haue no law among them and yet they pay tribute for their land to the Quéene of Armony and sometime it is so that some of these Iewes goe ouer the hils but many may not passe there together for the hils are so great and high Neuerthelesse men say in that country thereby that in the time of Antichrist they shall doe much harme to christian men and therefore all the Iewes that dwell in diuers parts of the world learne for to speake Ebrew for they hope that these Iewes that dwell among the hils aforesaid shal come out of the hils and speake all Ebrew and nought else and then shall these Iewes speake Ebrew to them and lead them into Christendome for to destroy Christian men For these Iewes say they know by their Prophesies that those Iewes that are among those hilles of Caspy shall come out and christian men shall bée in their subiection as they be vnder Christian men now And if yée will know how they shall finde the passage out as I haue vnderstood I shall tell you In the time of Antichrist a Foxe shall make his denne in the same place where King Alexander did make the Gates and hée shall dig in the earth so long till hée pierce it through and come among the Iewes and when they sée the Foxe they shall haue great meruaile of him for they neuer saw such a beast but other Beastes haue they among them many and they shall chase this foxe and pursue him vntill that hée bée fled againe into his hole that he came from and then shall they dig after him vntill they come to the gates that Alexander did make of great stones well dight with morter then shall they breake these gates and they shall finde the way forth Of the land of Bactrie and of many Griffons and other beasts Chap. lxxxv FRom this land men shall go vnto the land of Bactrie where are many wicked men and fell in that land are trées that beare woll as it were shéepe of which they make cloth In this land are Ypotains that dwell sometime on land sometime on water and are halfe a man and halfe a horse and they féede on men when they may get them In this land are many Griffons more then in other places and some say they haue the body before as an Eagle and behinde as a Lyon and it is truth for they be made so but the Griffon hath a body greater then eight Lyons and stronger then an hundred Eagles for certainly hée will beare to his nest flying a horse and a man vpon his back or two Oxen yoked together as they goe at plough for he hath long nailes on his féet as great as it were horns of Oxen and of those they make cups there to drinck with and of his ribs they make bowes to shoot with Of the way for to goe to Prester Iohns land which is Emperour of Inde Chap. lxxxvj FRom this land of Bactrie men goe many dayes iourney to the Land of Prester Iohn that is a great Emperour of Inde and men call his land the yle of Pantrore This Emperour Prester Iohn holdeth a great land and many good cities and
that it is in may no euill ghost come nor in no place where it is And in that same garden saint Peter denyed our Lord thrice and afterward was our Lord lead before the Bishop Ministers of the Law into another garden of Anne and there hée was examined scourged and crowned oft with a swée Thorne that men call Harbareus that grew in the same Garden and that hath many vertues And afterward he was lead to a garden of Caiaphas and there he was crowned againe with Eglentine after that hée was lead to a chamber of Pilate and there hée was crowned and the Iewes set him in a chayre and clad him in a mantell of purple And then made they a crowne of Ioukes of the sea and there they knéeled to him scorned him saying Aue rex Iudeorum That is to say haile king of Iewes And of this crowne halfe is at Paris and the other halfe at Constantinople the which our sauiour Iesus Christ had on his head when hée was nailed on the crosse And the speares shaft hath the Emperour of Almaine but the head which was put in his side is at Paris they say in the holy chappell and oft times saith the Emperour of Constantinople that he hath the speares head I haue séene it but it is greater then that at Paris Also at Constantinople lyeth saint Anne our ladies mother whom saint Elene caused to bée brought from Ierusalem and ther lieth also the body of saint Iohn Chrisostome that was Bishop of Constantinople There lyeth also Saint Luke the Euangelist for his bones were brought from Bethany where he was buryed and many other reliquies are there and ther is of the vessel of stone as it were marble which men call Hidrius that euermore droppeth water filleth himselfe euery yeare once And yée shall wit that Constantinople is a fayre citty and well walled and it is thrée cornered and there is an arme of the sea that men call Hellespon some men call it the bunch of Constantinople and some men call it the brach of saint George and this water encloseth two parts of the citie vpward to the sea vpon that water was wont to bée the great citie of Troy in a faire plaine but that citie was destroied by the Gréekes Of the Ilands of Greece Chap. ij ABout Gréece be many Iles that men cal Calastre Calcas Settico Thoysoria Minona Faxton Molo Carpate and Lempne And in this I le is mount Athoes that passeth the clouds and there are diuers speaches many countries that are obedient to the Emperour of Constantinople that is to say Turcoply Pincy Narde Comage and many other Thracy and Macedonie of which Alexander was King In this countrie was Aristotle borne in a Citty that men cal Strageris a little from the citty of Tragie and at Strageris is Aristotle buried and there is an Alter on his tombe and there make they a great feast euery yeare as he were a Saint and vpon his alter the Lords hold their great counsailes assembles they thinck that through the inspiration of God and him they should haue the better counsell In this Countrie are right high hils there is an hill that men call Olimphus that parteth Macedonie and Thracia and is as high as the cloudes and the other hill that men call Athoes is so high that the shadow of him stretcheth vnto Olimphus and it is néere lxxvij mile betwéene and aboue that hill is the ayre so cléere that men may féele no winde there and therefore may no beast liue there the ayre is so dry and men say in the country that Philosophers somtime went vp to these same hils and held to their noses a spounge wet with water for to haue ayre for the ayre was so dry there and aboue in the pouder of the hill they wrote letters with their fingers and at the yeares end they came againe and found those letters which they had written the yéere before without any default therefore it séemeth well that these hils passe the cloudes to the pure ayre At Constantinople is the Emperours Pallaice which is faire and well dight and therein is a place for iusting and it is made about with stages that each man may well sée none grieue other and vnder these stages are stables vauted for the Emperours horses all the pillers of these stables are of marble And within the Church of saint Sophie an Emperor would haue laid the body of his Father when hée was dead and as they made the graue they found a body in the earth and vpon the body lay a great plate of fine gold and thervpon was written in Ebrew Gréeke and Latin letters that said thus Iesus Christus nascetur de virgine Maria ego credo in eum That is to say Iesu Christ shall be borne of the virgin Marie and I beléeue in him And the date was that it lay in the earth two hundreth yéere béefore our Lord Iesu Christ was borne and yet is that plate in the treasurie of the Church men say that it was Hermogenes the wise man And neuerthelesse if it be so men of that Gréece bée Christians yet they vary from our faith for they say that the holy Ghost commeth not out of the son but all onelie of the father and they are not obedient to the Church of Roome nor to the Pope they say that their Patriarks haue as much power ouer the sea as the Pope hath on this side the sea And therefore Pope Iohn the xxij sent letters to them how Christian men should bée all one and that they should be obedient to a Pope that is Christs Vicar on earth to whom God gaue plaine power to binde and to assoyle and therefore they should be obedient to him And they sent him diuers aunsweres and among other they said thus Potentiam tuam summam circa subiectos tuos firmiter credimus Superbiam tuam summā tollerare non possimus Auaritiam tuam summam satiare non intendimus Dominus tecū sit Quia Dominus nobiscum est Vale. That is to say We beléeue well that thy power is great vpon thy subiects We may not suffer thy pride We are not in purpose to fulfill thy couetise our Lord be with thée for our Lord is with vs Farewell And other aunsweare might be not haue of them And also they make their sacramēt of the Alter of therf bread for our Lord made it of therf bread when he made his maund on sherthurs day make they their bread in tokening of the maund and they dry it at the Sun kéepe it all the yeare and giue it to sicke men in stead of Gods body And they make but one vnction when they christen children and they annoint no sick men and they say there is no purgatory and soules shall haue neither ioy nor paine vntill the day of dome And they say that fornication is no deadly sin but a
in forme of a Dragon hée had so great dread that hée fled to the ship and she followed him when she saw that hée tourned not againe shée began to crye as a thing that had much sorrow and turned againe soone after the knight dyed and sithen hetherto might no knight sée her but hée dyed anone But when a knight commeth that is so hardy to kisse her hée shall not dye but shall tourne that Damsell into her right shape and shall bée Lord of the country aforesaid And from thence men goe to the I le of Rodes the which the Hospitallers held and gouerned and that they tooke sometime from the Emperour and it was wont to bée called Colles and so yet the Turks call it Colles and Saint Paul in his Epistles writeth to them of the I le Collosenses This I le is néere C.lxxx myle from Constantinople And from the I le of Rodes men goe into Cipres where are many vines the first is red and after a yéere they waxe all white and those vines that are most white are most cléere and best smelling and as men passe that way by a place where was wont to be a great cittie that men call Sathalay for all that country was lost through the folly of a young man who had a faire Damsell that hée loued well and shée dyed sodainely and was buryed in a graue of Marble and for the great loue hée had to her hée went in a night to her tombe and opened it and went and lay by her and a while afterward returned home againe and when it came to the end of ix monethes a voice came to him and said in this manner as in the next Chapter followeth Of a young man and his lemman Chap. v. GOE vnto the tombe of the same woman that thou hast lyen by and open it béehold well that which thou hast béegotten on her and if thou let it goe thou shalt haue a great harme and hée went and opened the Tombe and there flew out a monster right hidious for to sée the whiche monster flew about the cittie and country and soone after the cittie and the country sanck downe and there are many perillous passages From Rodes to Cipres is fiue hundred myle and more but men may goe to Cipres and come not to Rodes Cipres is a good Ile and a great there are many good citties there is an Archbishop at Nichosy and foure other Bishops in the land And at Famagost is one of the best hauens on the sea that is in the world and there are Christian men and Sarazins and men of all nations In Cipres is the hill of the holy crosse and there is the crosse of the good théefe Dismas as I said before and some thinke that there is halfe of the crosse of our Lord but it is not so and they doe wrong that make men to beléeue so In Cipres lyeth Saint Simeon for whom the men of the country make great solempnitie and in the castell of Amours lyeth the body of Saint Hillarion and men kéepe it worshipfully and beside Famagost was Saint Bernarde borne Of the manner of hunting in Cipres Chap. vi IN Cipres men hunt with Pampeons that bée like to Leopardes and they hunt wilde beasts right well and they are somwhat bigger then Lions and they take more quickly wilde beastes then hounds In Cipres is a custome that Lords and other men eat vpon the earth for they make ditches within the earth all about the hall déepe to the knée and they paue them and when they will eat they goe therein and sit there this they doe to be more fresh for that land is hotter then it is here and at great feasts and for strange men they set formes and boords as they do in this country but they had leauer sit on the earth From Cipres men goe by Land and by Sea to Hierusalem and in a day and in a night he that hath good winde may come to the hauen of Tire that now is called Sur and it is also at the entry of Surry there was sometime a faire cittie of Christian men but the Sarasins haue destroyed the most part thereof and they kéepe the hauen right well for dread that they haue of Christian men Men might goe right to that hauen come not to Cipres but they go gladly to Cipres to rest them on the land or els to buy things that they haue néed of to their voiage Vpon the sea side men may find many rubies and there is the well that holy writ speaketh of Fons hortorum puteus aquarum viuentiū That is to say The well of gardens and ditch of waters liuing In the cittie of Tyre sayd the woman to our Lord Beatus venter qui te portauit vbera quae succisti That is as much to say Blessed be the body that bare thée and the pap of which thou suckest and there our Lord Iesus Christ forgaue the woman of Canaan her sins and there also in that place was the stone on the which our Lord sat preached on the same stone was founded the church of saint Sauiour And vpon that sea is the cittie of Saphen Sarep or Sodome and there was the dwelling of Elias the Prophet and there was raised by Ionas the Prophet the widdowes son And fiue mile from Saphen is the cittie of Sydon of the which Cittie Dido that was Aeneas wife after the destruction of Troy was Quéene she founded the citie of Carthage in Affricke now is called Didonsart And in the cittie of Tyre rayned Achilles the father of Dido and a mile from Sidon is Beruth and from Beruth to Sardena is thrée dayes iourney and from Sardena is fiue mile to Damas. Of the hauen called Iaffe Chap. vij WHo so will go longer on the sea and come néerer to Hierusalem you shall goe from Cipres by sea to the port called Iaffe for that is the next hauen to Hierusalem for from that Hauen is but a dayes iourney and a halfe to Hierusalem and that Hauen is called Iaffe and the towne Affe after one of Noes sonnes that men call Iapheth that founded it and now it is called Iops and ye shall vnderstand that it is the eldest towne of the world for it was made before Noes floud and there be the bones of a Giaunts side that bée xl foote long Of the Hauen of Tyre Chap. viij ANd who ariueth at the first hauen of Tyre or of Surrey before said may go by land if hée will to Hierusalem and hée goeth to the Cittie of Acon in a day that was called Tholomoda and it was a cittie of Christian men sometime but it is now destroyed and it is in the sea And it is from Venice to Acon by the sea two thousand and lxx mile of Lumbardy and from Calabre or from Cicil it is to Acon a thousand thrée hundred miles of Lumbardy Of the hill Carme Chap. ix ANd the I le
of Gréece is right in the mid way and beside this cittie of Acon toward the sea some viij hundred furlongs on the right hand toward the South is the hill Carme where Elias the prophet dwelled there was the order of Carmes first founded This hill is not right great ne high and at the foot of this hill was somtime a good cittie of christian men that was called Caiphas for Cayphas founded it but it is now all wasted at the left side of the hill is a towne that men call Saffre that is set vpon another hill there was Saint Iames and Saint Iohn borne in worship of them is there a fayre church made And from Tholomoda that men now call Acon to a great hill that men call Ekale de Tyrees is an hundred fourlongs and beside that cittie of Acon runneth a little riuer that men call Belion and there néere is the fosse of Minon all round that is an hundred cubites or shaftments broad and it is all full of grauell cléere shining whereof men make white glasse cléere and men come from far countries by ship and by land with carts to take of the grauell and if there be neuer so much taken therof on a day on the morrow it is full againe as euer it was and that is great meruaile and there is alway winde in the fosse that striketh away the grauell maketh it trouble And if a man put therein any mettall as soone as it is therein it waxeth glasse the glasse that is made of this grauell if it bée done into the grauell turneth againe into the grauell as it was before and some say that it is a gulfe of the sea grauell How Sampson slew the King and his enimies Chap. x. ALso from Acon before said men goe thrée dayes iourney to the Cittie of Philisten that now is called Gaza that is a rich cittie right faire and full of folke and it is a little vpon the Sea and from that Cittie brought the strong Samson the gates of the Cittie to an high hill and was taken in the said Cittie and there he slew the king in his seat and many thousands more with him for hée made an house to fall on them And from thence shall men goe to the cittie of Cesarien and so to the castell of Pillerins and then to Askalon and so forth to Iaphat and so vnto the holy cittie Hierusalem The way to Babilon whereas the Souldan dwelleth Chap. xj AND who so will go through the land of Babilon where the Souldan dwelleth to haue leaue to goe more securely through the churches and countries and to goe to mount Sinay before he come to Hierusalem and then turne againe by Hierusalem he shal go from Gaza to the castell Dayr And after a man commeth out of Surry and goeth by the wildernesse where the way is full sandy and the wildernesse lasteth eight dayes iourney where men findeth all that them néedeth of vittailes and men call that wildernesse Archelleke and when a man commeth out of this desert he entreth into Aegypt and they call Aegypt Canopat and in an other language men call it Mersine and the first good towne that men finde is called Beleth and it is at the end of the kingdome of Alape and from thence men come to Babilon and to Kayre and in Babilon is a fayre Church of our Lady where shée dwelled seauen yéere when shée was out of the land of the Iewes for dread of king Herod And there lyeth the body of Saint Barbara virgin and there dwelled Ioseph when hée was sold of his brethren and there caused Nabuchodonosor to put the children in fire for they were of right truth the which children men call Anania Azaria and Misaell as the Psalme of Benedicite saith but Nabuchodonosor called them thus Sidrac Misac and Abednago that is to say God glorious and victorious God ouer all kingdomes and that was for miracle that hée made Gods son as he said goe with those children through the fire There dwelleth the Souldan for there is a fayre cittie and a strong Castle and it standeth vpon a rock In that Castle is alway dwelling to kéepe the castle and to serue the Souldan aboue eight thousand persons that take all their necessaries of the Souldans Court. I well know it for I dwelled with him Souldier in his wars a great while against the Bedions and he would haue wedded me to a great princes daughter right richly if I would haue forsaken my faith Yet here followeth of the Souldan and of his kingdomes that he hath conquered which he holdeth strongly with force Chap. xij ANd yée shal vnderstand that the Souldan is Lord of seauen kingdomes the which hée hath conquered and gotten to him by strength and these be they the kingdome of Canopate the kingdome of Aegipt the kingdome of Hierusalem wherof Dauid and Salomon were kings the kingdome of Surry of the which the citty of Damas was the chiefe the kingdome of Alape in the land of Dameth and the kingdome of Arabia which was one of the thrée kings shat made offering to our Lord when hée was borne and many other lands hée holdeth in his hand and also hée holdeth Calaphas that is a great thing to the souldan that is to say among them of Royes Ile and this vale is cold And then men goe vpon the mount of Saint Katherin and that is much higher then the mount Moyses And this saint Katherin was grauen in no Church ne castle ne other dwelling place but there is an hill of stones gathered together about the place where shée was buried there was wont to be a chappell but it is all cast downe and yet lyeth there a great part of the stones But vnder the foot of mout Sina is a monastery of Monks and there is the Church of saint Katherin wherein be many lamps burning and they haue oyle oliue enough to eate and to burne and that they haue by miracle of God there come certaine of all manner of birds euery yéere once like pilgrims and each of them bringeth a braunch of oliue in token of offering whereof they make much oyle For to returne from Sina to Hierusalem Chap. xiij NOw sithen a man hath visited this holy place of saint Katherin and he will turne to Hierusalem if he shall first take leaue at the Monkes and recommend him specially to their prayers then those said monks giue with a good will to Pilgrims vittails to passe with through the wildernesse to Surry and that lasteth well xiij dayes iourney And in that wildernesse dwell many Arabins that men call Bedions and Ascoperds these are folke that are full of all manner of ill conditions and they haue no houses but tents the which they make of beasts skins as of Cammels and other beasts the which they eate and there vnder they lye and they séeke to dwell in places where they may find water néere the red sea for in that wildernes is great
a rock where his steps bée yet séene and therefore some when they dread them of Théeues or else of Enimies say thus Iesus autem transiens per mediam illorū ibat and they say also these verses of the Psalter thrée times Irruat super eos formido te pauor in magnitudine brachij Domine fiant immobiles quasi lapis donec pertranseat populus tuos Domine populus iste quem redemisti And so when this is said a man may goe without any letting Also yée shall vnderstand and know that our blessed Lady bare her Childe when shée was xv yéeres of age and shée liued with him xxxij yéere and thrée moneths and after his passion shée liued xxij yéeres The way of Nazareth to the mount or hill of Tabor Chap. xxxvj ANd from Nazareth to the mount Tabor is thrée mile there our Lord was transfigured before S. Peter Saint Iohn and saint Iames. And there they saw spiritually our Lord and Moyses and Elias the Prophet And therefore Saint Peter said Bonum est nos hic esse faciamus tria tabernac c. That is to say It is good for vs to bée here let vs make thrée tabernacles And our Lord Iesus Christ bad them that they should tell it to no man vnto the time that hée was risen from death to life And vpon the same hill shall foure Angels sound their Trumpets and raise all men that are dead to life and then shal they come in body and Soule to the Iudgement but the Iudgement shall bée in the Vale of Iosaphat And also a mile from mount Tabor is the mount Hermon and there was the Citie of Naim before the gates of this Cittie our Lord raised the sonne of the widdow that had no more children Of the Sea of Galile Chap xxxvij ANd from thence men goe to a Cittie that is called Tyberias that butteth on the Sea of Galile though it be called the Sea of Galile it is no Sea nor arme of the sea for it is but a streame of fresh water it is more then an hundred forlongs long and xl broad and therein is many good fishes and by that same sea standeth many good citties therefore this sea changeth often his name after the Citties that stand therevpon but it is all one water or sea and vpon this sea our Lord walked and there said hée to Peter when he came on the water and was néere drowned O exigua fide praedite quid dubitasti That is to say O Thou of little faith why didst thou doubt Of the table whereon Christ eate after his resurrection Chap. xxxviij IN this cittie of Tyberyas is the table that Christ eate on with his Disciples after his resurrection they knew him by breaking of bread as holy writ saith Et cognouerunt eum in fractione panis That is to say They knew him in breaking of bread and about the hill of Tyberyas is a cittie where our Lord fed fiue thousand people with fiue Barly loaues and two fishes and in that cittie did men cast in anger a firebrand or burning stick after our Lord but that same burning stick did fal on the earth and incontinent grew out of the same stick a trée and is waxen a big trée and there groweth yet and the scales of the trée be all black Yée shall vnderstand that the Riuer Iordane beginneth vnder the hill of Labany and there beginneth the Land of promise and it lasteth vnto Barsabe of length and from the North part to the South is nine score mile and of breadth from Iericho to Iaffe it is fortie mile and yée shall vnderstand that the land of promise beginneth at the kingdome of Surry and lasteth vnto the wildernesse of Araby Of straunge manners and diuers Chap. xxxix AND in this country and in many other lands beyond the sea it is a custome when they haue war that if a cittie or castle bée besieged so strongly that they may send no messengers to any Lords for succour then they write their Letters and binde them about the necks of Doues let them flie their wayes because the Doue is of that nature that he wil returne againe to the place where hée is bred and thus they doe commonly in that countrie And yée shall vnderstand that among the Sarasins in many places dwell Christians vnder tribute and they are of diuers manners and sundry sortes of monks who haue diuers lawes though they be all Christians and beléeue all well in our Lord God the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost but yet they faile in the Articles of our saith and they are called Iacobins For Saint Iames conuerted them to the faith and Saint Iohn Baptised them and they say that men néed only confesse their sins vnto God and not vnto man for they say that God bad not man confesse him vnto another man And therefore saith Dauid in this manner Confitebor tibi Domine in toto corde meo That is to say Lord I will confesse my selfe vnto thée in all my heart And in another place hée saith thus Peccatum meum cognitum tibi feci that is to say my trespasse I haue made knowne vnto thée And in another place Deus meus es tu confitebor tibi That is to say Thou art my God and I will confesse my selfe vnto thée And in another place Quoniā cogitatio hominis confitebitur tibi that is to say The thought of man shall bée knowne vnto thée and they read often the Bible Psalter but they say it not in Latine but in their owne language and they say that Dauid and other Prophets haue said it But Saint Austen and Saint Gregory say Qui scelera sua cogitat conuersus fuerit veniā sibi credat That is to say Who so knoweth his sin turneth hée may beléeue to haue forgiuenesse And Saint Gregory saith thus Dominus potius mentem quam verbum confiderat That is to say Our Lord taketh more héed to thought then to word And Saint Hillarius saith Longorū temporū crimina ictu oculi perient si corde nata fuerit temptatio That is to say Sins that are done of old time perish in twinkling of an eye if despising of them bée borne in a mans heart And therefore say they by these authorities that men shall confesse them onely to God and this way the Apostles taught but Popes that came since haue ordayned that men shall shriue them to priests and men as they are and the cause is this For they say that a man that hath sicknes men may giue him no good medicines except they know that kinde of sicknesse also they say a man may giue no couenable penance except hée know the sinne For there is a manner of sin that is grieuouser to one man then it is to another and therefore it is néedefull that a man know and vnderstand the kinde of sin And there bée also other men that are called Surriens and they hold
long For when they choose their king they giue to him that Ruby to beare in his hand then they lead him riding about the cittie and then euer after are they subiect to him and therefore hée beareth that Ruby alway about his neck for if hée beare not the Ruby they would no longer hold him for King The great Caane of Cathay hath much coueted this Ruby but hée might neuer haue it neither for warre nor for other goods and this king is a full true and righteous man for men may goe safely surely through his land and beare all that hée will for there is no man so hardy to let them And from thence men goe to an I le that is called Silo this I le is more then an hundred mile about and therein be many Serpents which are great with yealow-stripes and they haue foure féete with short legs and great clawes some be fiue fadom of length and some of eight and some of tenne and some more some lesse and bée called Cocodrils and there are also many wilde beasts and Elephants Also in this I le and in many Iles thereabout are many wilde géese with two heads and there bée also in that country white Lions and many other diuers meruailous beasts and if I should tell all it would be to long Of a great Iland called Dodyn where are many men of euill conditions Chap. lxij THen is there another I le called Dodyn and it is a great I le In the same I le are many and diuers sorts of men who haue euill manners for the father eateth the son the son the father the husband his wife and the wife her husband And if it so be that the father bée sicke or the mother or any friend the Son goes soone to the priest of the law and praieth him that he wil aske of the Idoll if his father shall die of that sicknesse or not And then the priest and the son knéele downe béefore the Idoll deuoutly and aske him and hée answereth to them and if hée say that hée shall liue then they kéepe him well and if hée say that hée shall dye then commeth the Priest with the sonne or with the wife or any that is a friend vnto him that is sicke and they lay their hands ouer his mouth to stop his breath so they slay him and then they smite all the body into péeces and prayeth all his friends for to come and eate of him that is dead and they make a great feast therof and haue many minstrels there and eat him with great melody And so when they haue eaten all the flesh then they take the bones and bury them all singing with great worship and all those of his friends that were not there at the eating of him haue great shame and reproofe so that they shal neuer more bée taken as friends Of the kingdome of Mancy which is a large kingdome of the world Chap. lxiij TO goe from this I le toward the East after many daies a man shall come to a kingdome called Mancy and this is in great Inde and it is the most delectable and plentifull land in all the world In this land dwell Christians Sarasins for it is a great land and therein are two thousand great Citties and many other townes In this land no man goeth a begging for there is no poore man and there men haue beards as it were Cats In this I le are faire women and therefore some men call that land Albany for the white folke and there is a cittie that is called Latorim and it is bigger then Paris and in that land are Birds twise greater then they bée here and there is all manner of vittailes good cheape In this country are white hens and they beare no feathers but wooll as shéepe do in our Land and women of that Country that are wedded beare crownes vpon their heads that they may bée knowne by In this country they take a beast that is called a Loyre and they kéepe it to goe into waters or riuers straight way he bringeth out of the water great fishes and thus they take fish as much as them néedeth From this cittie men goe many dayes iourney to another Cittie called Cassay which is the fairest Cittie of the world and that cittie is fiftie mile about and there is in that Cittie aboue xij principal gates without From thence within thrée myle is another great Cittie and within this Cittie are more then twelue thousand bridges vpon each bridge is a strong tower where the kéepers dwell to kéepe it against the great Caane for it boundeth on his land and on each side of the cittie runneth a great riuer and there dwell Christians and other for it is a good and plenteous country and there groweth right good wine in this noble cittie the king of Mancy was wont to dwell and there dwell religious men as friers And men go vpon the riuer till they come to an Abbey of Monkes a little from the cittie and in that Abbey is a great garden and therein is many manner of trées of diuers fruites in that garden are diuers kindes of beasts as Baboynes Apes Marmozets and other and when the couent haue eaten a Monke taketh the reliefe and beareth it into the Garden and smiteth once with a bell of siluer which hée holdeth in his hand and anone come out these beasts that I spake of and many moe néere two or thrée thousand and hée giueth them meat in faire vessels of siluer and when they haue eaten hée smiteth the bell againe and they goe away and the Monke saith that those beasts are soules of men that are dead and those beasts that are faire are soules of Lords and other rich men and those that are foule beasts are soules of other commons and I asked them if it had not béene better to giue that reliefe to poore men and they said there is no poore men in that country but if there were yet were it more almes to giue it to those soules that suffer there their penance and may goe no farther to get their meat then to men that haue wit and may trauaile for their meat Then men come to a Cittie that is called Chibens and there was the first siege of the king of Mancy In this cittie are thrée score bridges of stone as faire as may bée made Of the Land of Pigme the people whereof are but three spans long Chap. lxiiij WHen men passe from that Cittie of Chibens they passe ouer a great riuer of fresh water and it is néere foure mile broad and then men enter into the land of the great Caane This riuer goeth through the land of Pigme and there men are of little stature for they are but thrée spans long and they are right faire both men and women though they be little and they are marryed when they are halfe a yéere old and they liue but eight yéere for hée that
good townes In his kingdome are many great Iles and large for this land of Inde is parted into Iles because of great flouds that come out of Paradise and also in the sea are many great Iles. The best cittie that is in the I le of Pantrore is called Nile that is a noble cittie and a rich Prester Iohn hath vnder him many kings and diuers people and his land is good and rich but not so rich as the land of the great Caane for merchants come not so much thether as they doe into the land of the great Caane for it is too long a iourney And also they finde in the I le of Cathay all things that they haue néede of as spicery clothes of gold and other riches and although they might haue better cheape in the land of Prester Iohn then in the land of Cathay and more fine neuerthelesse they wil not go thether by reason of the length of the iourney and great perils on the sea for there are many places in the sea where are many rocks of a stone that is called Adamand the which of his owne kinde draweth to him all manner of iron and therefore there may no ships that haue iron nayles passe but it draweth them to it and therefore they dare not go into that country with ships for dread of the Adamand I went once into that sea saw as it had béene a great I le of trées stocks branches growing and the shipmen told me that those were great ships that abode there through the vertue of the Adamands and of things that were in the ships whereof those trées sprong and waxed and such rocks are there many in diuers places of that sea and therefore dare there no shipmen passe that way And another thing also is that they dread the long way and therefore they go most to Cathay and that is néere vnto them And yet it is not so néere but that from Venice or Gene by Sea to Cathay is xi or xij moneths iourney The land of Prester Iohn is long and Merchants passe thether through the land of Persia and come vnto a Cittie that men call Hermes for a Philosopher that was called Hermes founded it and then passe an arme of the Sea come to another Cittie that men call Saboth and there finde they all marchandises and popiniayes as great plenty as larks in our country In this Country is little wheate or barly and therefore they eat rice milke and chéese and other fruits This Emperour Prester Iohn weddeth commonly the daughter of the great Caane and the great Caane his Daughter In the land of Prester Iohn is many diuers things and many precious stones so great and so large that they make of them vessels platters and cups and many other things of which it were too long to tell but somwhat of his law and of his faith I shall tell you Of the faith and beleefe of Prester Iohn but he hath not all the full beliefe as wee haue Chap. lxxxvij THis Emperour Prester Iohn is christened and a great part of his land also but they haue not all the articles of our Faith but they beléeue well in the Father the sonne and the holy Ghost and they are full deuoute and true one to another and they make no force of cattell And hée hath vnder him lxxii Prouinces and countries and in each one is a king and those kings haue other kings vnder them And in this land are many meruailes for in this land in the gauely sea that is of sand and grauaile and no drop of water and it ebbeth and floweth with right great waues as an other sea doth and it is neuer standing still and neuer in rest and no man may passe that land beyond it And although there bée no water in the sea yet men may finde therein right good fish and of other fashion and shape then are in any other seas and also they are of a full good sauor and swéete and good to eat And thrée dayes iourney from that sea are many great hils through which runneth a great floud that commeth from Paradise and it is full of precious stones and no drop of water and it runneth with great waues into the grauely Sea And this floud runneth thrée dayes in the wéeke so fast and stirreth great stones of the rockes with him that make much noyse as soone as they come into the grauely sea they are no more séene and in those thrée dayes when it runneth thus no man dare come in it but the other dayes men goe therein when they will And so béeyond that floud toward that wildernesse is a great plaine among hils all sandy and grauely and in that plaine grow trées that at the rising of the Sun each day begin to grow and so grow they till mid-day and beare fruit but no man dare eate of that fruit for it is a manner of yron and after midday it turneth againe to the earth so that when the Sun goeth downe it is nothing séene and so doth it euery day and there is in that wildernesse many wilde men with hornes on their heads right hedious and they speake not but rout as swine and in that country are many popiniayes that they call in their language Pistak and they speake through their owne kinde partly as a man and those that speake well haue long tongues and large and on euery foote fiue toes but there are some that haue but thrée toes but those speake naught or very ill Of another Iland where also dwelleth good people therein and is called Sinople Chap. lxxxviij THen is there an other I le that is called Synople wherein also are good people and true and full of good faith and they are much like in their liuing to the man béefore said and they go all naked Into that Iland came king Alexander and when hée saw their good faith and trouth and their good beléefe hée said that hée would doe them no harme and bad them aske of him riches or ought else and they stould haue it And they answered that they had riches enough when they had meat and drinck to sustaine their bodies and they said also that riches of this world is nought worth but if it were so that hée might graunt them that they should neuer dye that would they pray him And Alexander sayd that might hée not do for hée was mortall and should die as they should Then said they why art thou so proud and wouldest win all the world and haue it in thy subiection as it were a God and hast no terme of thy life and thou wilt haue all riches of the world the which shall forsake thée or thou forsake it and thou shalt beare nothing with thée but it shall remaine to other but as thou were borne naked so shalt thou be done in earth And Alexander was greatly astonied at this speach and though it be so that they haue not the Articles of our
kindly thing and that men and women should wedde but once and who so weddeth more then once their children are bastards gotten in sinne and their priests also are wedded and they say that vsurie or simonie is no deadly sin and they sell benefices of holy Church and so did men of other places it is great slaughter for now is simonie king crowned in holy Church God amend it when his wil is And they say that in lent men should not sing Masse but on the Saterday on the Sunday and they fast not the Saterday no time in the yéere but if it be Christmas or Easter euen And they suffer no man that is on this side the Gréeke sea to sing at their Alters and if it fall that they do through any hap they wash their Alters as soone without tarrying with holy water and they say that there should be but one masse said at one Alter in a day And they say that our Lord did neuer eate meat but he made a token of eating And also they say that we sin deadly in shauing of our beards for the beard is a token of a man and a gift of our Lord and they say that we sinne in eating of beasts that were forbidden in the old Law as Swine Hares and other Beasts And this they say that we sin in eating of flesh on the daies before Ashwednesday and in eating of flesh on the Wednesday and when we eate chéese or egges on the friday and they curse all those that eate no flesh on the Saterday Also the Emperour of Constantinople maketh the Patriarkes Archbishops and Bishops and he giueth all the dignities of Churches and depriueth them that are vnworthy Although it be so that these touch not each way neuerthelesse they touch not that which I haue behight to shew a part of the custome maners and diuersitie of countries and for this is the first country discordant from the faith and letteth our faith on this side the sea therefore haue I set it here that ye may sée the diuersitie betwéene our faith and theirs for many men haue great liking to heare speake of straunge things ¶ To come againe to Constantinople for to goe towards the holy land Chap. iij. NOW come wée againe for to know the way from Constantinople He that will goe through Turky he goeth through the city of Nike passeth through the gate of Chiuitot that is right high and it is a mile and a halfe from Nyke and who so will goe by the brach of Saint George and by the Gréeke sea there as Saint Nicholas lyeth and other places First men come to the I le of Silo and in that I le groweth masticke vpon small trées as Plumtrées or Cheritrées And then after men go through the I le of Pathmos where Saint Iohn the Euangelist wrote the Apocalips and you shall vnderstand that when our Lord Iesus Christ dyed Saint Iohn the Euangelist was of the age of xxxij yéeres and he liued after the passion of Christ lxiii yéeres and then dyed From Pathmos men go to Ephesim which is a faire Cittie and néere to the sea and there dyed saint Iohn and hée was buryed behind the high Alter in a tombe and there is a faire Church for christian men were wont to hold that place but in the tombe of Saint Iohn is nothing but Manna for his body was translated into paradise and the Turks hold now that cittie and the Church and all Asia the lesse and therefore is Asia the lesse called Turkey and ye shall vnderstand that S. Iohn did make his graue there in his life and laid himselfe there all quick and therefore some say he died not but that he resteth there vntill the day of Iudgement therfore truely there is a great meruaile for men may sée there appertly the earth of the tombe many times stir and mooue as there were a quick thing vnder And from Ephesim men goe through many Iles in the sea vnto the cittie of Pateran where saint Nicholas was borne and so to Marca where he by the grace of God was chosen Bishop and there groweth right good wine and strong that men cal wine of Marca From thence men goe to the I le of Créete which the Emperour gaue sometime to Ionais And then men passe through the Iles of Cophos and Lango of the which Iles Ipocras was Lord and some say that in the I le of Lango is Ipocras his Daughter in manner of a Dragon which is an hundred foote long as men say for I haue not séene it and they of the Iles call her the lady of the country and she lyeth in an old castle and sheweth her selfe thrice in the yéere and shée doth no man harme and she is thus changed from a damsell to a Dragon through a Goddesse that men call Diana and men say that shée shall dwell so vnto the time that a knight come that is so hardy as to go to her and kisse her mouth and then shall shée turne againe to her owne kinde and be a woman and after that shée shall not liue long And it is not long since a knight of the Rodes that was hardy valiant said that hée would kisse her when the dragon began to lift vp her head against him he saw she was so hedious he fled away and the Dragon in her anger bare the knight to a rock and from that cast him into the sea and so he was lost Yet of the Dragon Chap. iiij ALso a young man that wist not of the Dragon went out of a ship passed through the I le till hée came to the castell entred into a caue and went so long till he found a chamber and then hée saw a Damsell that kembd her head and looked in a Mirrour and shée had much treasure about her and hée thought her to be a common woman that dwelled there to kéepe men and hée abode the Damsell and the damsell saw the shadow of him in the mirrour and she turned toward him and asked him what he would and he said he would bée her paramour or lemman and she asked him if hée were a knight hée said nay she said then might he not be her lemman but shée had him go againe to his fellowes and make him knight and come againe on the morrow and she would come out of the caue then he should kisse her on the mouth and shée bad him haue no dread for shée would doe him no harme although shée séemed hidious to him she said it was done by enchantment for she said she was such as he saw her then and shée said that if hée kissed her hée should haue all the treasure and be her Lord and Lord of all those Iles. Then he departed from her and went to his fellows to the ship and made him Knight and came againe on the morrow to kisse the Damsell and when hée saw her come out of the caue
default of water and it falleth oft where a man findeth water one time hée findeth it not another time and therefore make they no houses in those countries These men that I speake of till not the Land for they eate no bread except it bée such as dwell néere a good towne and they rost their fishes and flesh vpon hot stones against the Sun and they are strong men and well fighting and they doe nothing but chase wilde beasts for their sustenance and they set not by their liues therefore they dread not the Souldan nor no Prince of the world And they haue great war with the Souldan and the same time that I was with the Souldan they bare but a shield and a speare for to defend them with and they vse none other armour but they winde their heads and necks in a great linnen cloth and they are men of full ill kinde As men are passed this wildernesse againe comming to Hierusalem Chap. xiiij AND when men haue passed this wildernesse toward Hierusalem they come to Barsabe that was somtime a faire and a rich towne of Christian men and yet is their some of the churches left and in that towne dwelled Abraham the Patriarke this towne of Barsabe founded Vrias wife of whom Dauid begat Salomon the wise that was king of Hierusalem and of the xii Tribes of Israel and he raigned xl yéere and from thence men goe the vale of Ebron that is from thence néere xii mile and some call it the vale of Mambre also it is called the vale of Teares forasmuch as Adam in that vale bewailed an hundred yéere the death of his sonne Abel that Caine slew And this Ebron was somtime the principal cittie of the Philistines and there dwelled giants there it was so frée that all that had done euill in other places were there saued In Ebron Iosua and Caleb and their company came first to espie how they might win the land of promise In Ebron Dauid raigned first viii yéere and a halfe and in Hierusalem hée raigned xxxij yéeres and a halfe and there bée the graues of the Patriarks Adam Abraham Iacob and their wiues Eue Sara Rebecca and they lye in the side of the hill and beside this hill is a right faire Church builded after the fashion and manner of a castle which the Sarasins kéepe right well and they haue the place in great worship for the holy Patriarkes that lye there and they suffer no christian men ne Iewes to come therein except they haue speciall grace of the Souldan for they hold christian men Iewes but as hounds that should come to the holy place and they call the place Spelunke or double caue or double graue or one lyeth on an other and the Sarasins call it in their language Caryatherba that is to say the place of the Patriarkes and the Iewes call it Arboth and in that same place was Abrahams house and that was the same Abraham that sate in his doore and saw thrée persons worshipped but one as holy writ witnesseth saying Tres vidit vnum adorauit That is to say He saw thrée and worshipped but one and him tooke Abraham into his house Here followeth a little of Adam and Eue and other things Chap. xv AND right néere to that place is a caue in a rock where Adam and Eue dwelled when they were driuen out of Paradise and there got they their children And in that same place was Adam made as some men say for men called that place sometime the field of Damasse for it was in the worship of Damasse and from thence he was translated into Paradise as they say and afterward he was driuen out of Paradise and put there againe for the same day that he was put into paradise the same day he was driuen out for as soone hée sinned And there beginneth the I le of Ebron that lasteth néere to Hierusalem and the Angell bad Adam that hée should dwell with his wife and there they begat Seth of the which kinred Iesus Christ was borne And in that vale is the field where men draw out of the earth a thing the which men in that country call Camball and they eate that in stead of spice and they beare it to sell and men cannot graue there so déepe nor so wide but it is at the yéeres end full againe vp to the sides through the grace of God and two miles from Ebron is the graue of Lot that was Abrahams brother Of the dry Tree Chap. xvj THen a little from Ebron is the mount of Mambre of the which Mount the dale tooke his name and there is an oke trée that the Sarasins cal dypre remaining since Abrahams time that men cal the dry trée and they say that it hath béene from the beginning of the world and was sometime gréene and bare leaues vnto the time that our Lord dyed and so did all the Trées of that kinde in the world and yet is there many of those in the world And some prophesies say that a Lord or Prince of the West side of the world shall win the land of Promise that is the holy land with the helpe of christian men and he shal worship God vnder that Trée and the Trée shall waxe gréene and beare fruite and leaues and through that miracle many Sarasins and Iewes shall bée turned to the Christian Faith and therefore they doe great Worship thereto and kéepe it right charily And yet though it be drye it hath a great vertue for certainely hée that hath a little thereof about him it healeth a sicknesse called the falling euill and hath also many other vertues and therefore it is holden right precious From Ebron to Bethlehem Chap. xvij FRom Ebron men goe to Bethlehem in halfe a day for it is but fiue mile and it is a fayre way and through Woods full pleasant Bethlehem is but a little cittie long and narrow and was walled and enclosed with a great ditch and it was wont to be called Ephrata as holy writ saith Ecce audiuimus eum in Ephrata c. That is to say Loe wée heard of the same at Ephrata And toward the end of the cittie toward the East is a right fayre and goodly Church and it hath many towres and pinnacles full strongly made and within that Church is foure and fortie great pillers of marble and not farre from this Church is the field which flourished very strangely as yée shall heare Of a fayre mayden that should bee put to death wrongfully Chap. xviij THe cause is forasmuch as a fayre mayden that was blamed with wrong that shée had done fornication for the which cause she was déemed to die and to be brent in that place to the which shée was lead And as the wood began to burne about her shée made her prayer to our Lord as shée was not guiltie of that thing that hee would help her that it might bée knowne to all men And when shée had
thus sayd shée entred the fire and anone the fire went out and those branches that were burning became red Roses and those branches that were not kindled became white Rosiers full of white Roses and those were the first Roses and Rosiers that any man euer saw and so was the mayden saued through the grace of God and therefore is that field called the field of God flourished for it was full of Roses Also beside the Quire of that Church aforesaid at the right side as men come downeward xij steps is the place where our Lord was borne that is now full well dight of marble and full richly painted with gold siluer and asure and other colours And a litle thence by thrée paces is the crib of the Oxe and the Asse and béeside that is the place where the Star fell that lead the thrée kings Iasper Melchisor and Balthasor but men of Gréece call the kings thus Galgalath Saraphy Galgalath these thrée kings offered to our Lord Incence Gold and Mirre and they came together through the miracle of God for they mette together in a cittie that men call Chasake that is iiii daies iourney from Bethlehem and there they were at Bethlehem the fourth day after they had séene the Starre And vnder the Cloyster of this Church xviii degrées at the right side is a great pit where the bones of the Innocents lye and by that place is the tombe of Saint Hierom that was a Priest and a Cardinal that translated the Bible and the Psalter out of Ebrew into Latine and beside that Church is a Church of Saint Nicholas where our Lady rested her when shée was deliuered of childe and forasmuch as shée had so much milke in her paps that it grieued her shée milked it out vpon the red stones or Marble so that yet may the traces bée séene white vpon the stones And yée shall vnderstand that all that dwell in Bethlehem are Christians and there are fayre vines all about the Cittie and great plentie of wine but their booke that Mahomet betooke them the which they call Alcaron and some call it Massap and some call it Harme forbiddeth them to drinke any wine for in that booke Mahomet curseth all those that drincke of that wine and all that sell it and some men say that hée once slew a good hermit in his dronkennesse whom hée loued much and therefore hée cursed the wine and them that dronke wine but his malice is turned to himselfe as holy writ saith Et in verticem ipsius iniquitas eius discendit That is to say in English His wickednesse shall descend on his owne head And also the Sarasins bréed no Géese ne they eate no swines flesh for they say it is brother to man and that it was forbidden in the old law Also in the land of Palistine and in the land of Aegypt they eat litle Veale and Béefe except it be so olde that it may no more trauaile ne worke not that it is forbidden but they kéepe them for tilling of their land In this Cittie of Bethlehem was king Dauid borne and hée had fortie wiues and thrée hundred Concubines At Bethlehem toward the South side is a Church of saint Markerot that was Abbot there for whom they made much sorrow when hée dyed and it is painted there how they made dole when he dyed and it is a pittious thing to behold From Bethlehem to Hierusalem is two myle and in the way to Hierusalem halfe a mile from Bethlehem is a Church where the Angell told the Shepheards of the birth of Christ in that way is the tombe of Rachel that was mother to Ioseph the Patriarke and shée dyed as soone as shée had borne Beniamin and there shée was buried and Iacob her Husband set xij great stones vpon her betokening that she had borne xii children In this way to Hierusalem are many Christian Churches by the way which men goe to Hierusalem Of the Cittie Hierusalem Chap. xix FOr to speake of Hierusalem ye shall vnderstand that it standeth faire among hils and there is neither riuer nor well but water commeth by conduite from Ebron and yée shall vnderstand that men called it first Iebus and sithen it was called Salem vnto the time of king Dauid and hée set those two names together and called it Hierusalem and so it is called yet and about Hierusalem is the kingdome of Surry and thereby is the land of Palestine and Askalon but Hierusalem is in the land of Iuda and it is called Iuda for Iudas Machabeus was king of that land and also it marcheth afterward on the kingdome of Araby on the South side on the land of Aegypt on the west side on the great sea on the North side on the kingdome of Surry and the sea of Cipres About Hierusalem are these citties Ebron at eight myle Ierico at sixe mile Barsebe at eight myle Askalon at eightéene mile Iaffe at twentie and fiue myle Ramatha at foure myle This Land of Hierusalem hary beene in the hands of diuers Nations as Iewes Cananites Assyrians Persians Masedonians Gréekes Romaynes and Christian men also Sarasins Barbarians Turkes and many other Nations For Christ will not that it bée long in the hands of traitours nor sinners bée they Christians or other And now hath the misbeléeuing men holden that Land in their hands thréescore yéeres and more but they shall not hold it long and if God will Yet of this holy Cittie Hierusalem Chap. xx AND yée shall vnderstand that when men first come to Hierusalē they go first a pilgrimage to the church where that the holy graue is the which is out of the cittie on the north side but it is now closed in with the wall of the towne and there is a full faire Church rounde all open aboue and well couered with lead and on the west side is a faire Towre and a strong for belles and in the middest of the church is a tabernacle made like a little house in manner of halfe a Compasse right well and richly of gold and asure and other colors wel dight and on the right side is the sepulchre of our Lord and the tabernacle is viij foote long and fiue foote wide xj foote of height and it is not long since the Sepulcher was all open and men might then touch it but béecause men that came thether spoyled and also brake the stones in péeces to pouder therefore the Souldan hath made a wall about the Sepulcher that no man may touch it On the left side is a window and therein is many lamps light and there is a lamp that hangeth before the sepulcher light burning and on the Friday it goeth out by it felfe and lighteneth againe by it selfe at the houre as our Lord rose from death to life And within that church vpon that right side on the mount Caluary where our Lord was crucified and the crosse was set in a morteys in the rock that is white of coulour and mingled with a
Knights who are called Templers and they were the founders thereof and of their order and in that Templum Domini dwelled Chanons From this Temple toward the East xxvi paces in a corner of the Cittie is the Bathe of our Lord and this Bathe was wont to goe to Paradise and beside is our Ladyes bed and néere there by is the Tombe of saint Simeon And without the Cloyster of the Temple toward the North is a right fayre Church of Saint Anne our Ladies mother and there was our Lady conceiued and before that Church is a great trée which began to grow that same night And as men go downe from the Church xxij steps lyeth Ioachim our Ladyes Father in a Tombe of stone and there néere was layd sometime Saint Anne but Saint Eline did translate her to Constantinople In this Church is a well in manner of a cesterne that is called Probatica piscina that hath fiue entrings and in that cesterne was wont an Angell to descend and stir the water and what man that bathed him first therein after the stirring was made whole that was sicke what sicknesse so euer hée had and there was the man of the Palsie made whole that was sicke xxxviii yéere and our Lord sayd to him in this manner of wise Tolle grabatum tuum et ambula That is to say take vp thy bed and walke And there beside was the house of Pilate and a little thence was the house of king Herode that did slay the Innocents Of Herod the King Chap. xxiiij THis king Herode was a full wicked man and a fell for he did first and formost slay his wife whom hée loued full well and for the great loue of her hée went out of his witte and so was hée a long time and afterward hée came againe to himselfe And after hée slew his owne children that hée had begotten of the said wife and commaunded likewise his second wife to bée slaine and a sonne that hée had begotten of her and after that hée slew his owne mother and hée would also haue slaine his owne brother but his brother dyed sodainely and thus hée did all the ill that he might And then he fel sick and when hée saw that hée should dye hée sent for his sister all the great Lords of the country and when they were there hée did put all the Lords into a towre and said to his sister hée wist well that the men of the country would make no sorrow for him when hée was dead and therefore hée made her for to sweare vnto him that shée should smite off the heads of the Lords euery one after his death and then would men of the Country make sorrow for his death in regard of the Noble mens death and then he made his last testament But his sister fulfilled it not as pertaining vnto the death of the Lords for as soone as hée was dead she deliuered the Lords out of the towre and sent euery one home to their houses and told them what her Brother commanded her to doe vnto them And yée shall vnderstand that in that time was thrée Herodes of great name This of whom I speake was called Herode Ascolonite and hée that did smite of Saint Iohn Baptists head was called Herod Antipa and the third was called Herod Agrippa and hée did slay Saint Iames and put Saint Peter in prison Of Saint Saluators Church Chap. xxv Also mount Sion is within the cittie and it is a little higher then the other side of the cittie and that Cittie is stronger on that one side then on the other for at the foote of mount Sion is a faire castle and strong which the Souldan did cause to bée made there On mount Sion was king Dauid buryed and Salomon and many other kings of Hierusalem and there is the place where Saint Peter wept full tenderly when hée had denyed our Lord and a stones cast from that is another place where our Lord was iudged for at that time was Caiphas house there and betwéene the Temple of Salomon and mount Sion is the place where Christ raised the mayden from death to life Vnder mount Sion toward the vale of Iosaphat is a well that men call Natatorie Silo there was our Lord washed after he was baptised And thereby is the trée on the which Iudas hanged himselfe for dispaire when hée had sold betraied Christ And thereby is the Sinagogue where the Bishops of the Iewes and Pharasies came to hold their counsell and there Iudas cast the xxx pence before them and said Peccaui tradens sanguinem iustum That is to say I haue sinned in betraying the innocent bloud Of the field of Acheldemack which was bought with the xxx pence Chap. xxvi ON the other side of mount Sion toward the South a stones cast is the field that they bought with those xxx pence for the which Christ was sold that men call Acheldemack that is to say the field of blood in that fild is many tombes of Christian men for there bée many pilgrims grauen And also in Hierusalem toward the West is a fayre Church where the trée grew of the which the crosse was made and thereby is a fayre Church where our Lady met with Elizabeth when they were both with childe Saint Iohn stirred in his mothers wombe and made worship to our Lord his maker and vnder the aulter of this Church is a place where Saint Iohn was borne and thereby is the Castell of Emax Of Mount Ioy. Chap. xxvij TWo mile from Hierusalem is the mount Ioy that is a faire place and a liking and there lyeth Samuel the prophet in a faire tombe and it is called mount Ioy for there those that trauaile sée first Hierusalem And in the middle of the vale of Iosaphat is a little riuer that is called Torrens Cedron and ouerthwart this lay a trée of the which the Crosse was made that men passed ouer Also in this vale is a Church of our Lady and there is the sepulcher of our Lady and shée was lxxij yéeres of age when shée dyed and there néere is the place where our Lord forgaue Saint Peter all his sinnes and misdéedes that hée had done And béeside that is a Chappell where Iudas kissed our Lord that men call Gethsemaine and hée was taken of the Iewes and there left Christ his Disciples before his passion when hée went to pray and said Pater si fieri potest transeat a me calix ista that is to say in English Father if it may bée done let this Cup passe from me And therby is a Chappel where our Lord swet both blood and water and there is the tombe of king Iosaphat of whom the vale had the name and on the side of that vale is the mount Oliuet and it is called so for there groweth many Oliue trées and it is higher then Hierusalem and therefore from that hill men may sée into the stréetes of Hierusalem and betwéene the hill
the Cittie is nothing but the vale of Iosaphat and that is not very large and vpon that hill stoode our Lord when hée went into heauen and yet séemeth there the step of his lefte foote in the stone and there is an abbey of black Chanons that was great sometime but now is there but a Church And a little thence xviij paces is a Chappell and there is the stone on the which our Lord God sate when hée preached and said thus Beati pauperes spiritu quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum that is to say in English Blessed bée they that are poore in spirit for theirs is the kingdome of heauen and there hée taught his Disciples their Pater noster There also is a Church of that blessed woman Mary Egyptian and there is shée buryed And vpon the other side toward the East thrée bow shootes from thence standeth Bethphage where our Lord Iesus Christ sent Saint Peter and Saint Iames for to fetch an Asse on Palme Sunday Of the Castle of Bethania Chap. xxviij THere toward the East is a castle that men call Bethania and there dwelled Simon the Leper that harboured our Lord and them that were baptised of his disciples and hée was called Iulian and was made Bishop and that is hée that men call on for good Harboure In that same place our Lord forgaue Mary Magdalene her sins and there shée washed his féete with teares and wiped them with her heire and there was Lazarus raised when hée was foure dayes dead Of Iericho and other things Chap. xxix IN the retourning to mount Olyuet is the place where our Lord wept vpon Hierusalem and therby our Lady appeared to Saint Thomas after her assumption and gaue him her girdle and thereby is the stone on the which our Lord sate often and preached and thereon hée shall sit at the day of iudgement as himselfe sayd And there is mount Galile where the Apostles were gathered when Mary Magdalene told them of Christs rising Betwéene mount Oliuet and mount Galile is a Church where the Angell told our Lady when shée should dye And from Bethany to Iericho is fiue myle Iericho was sometime a little cittie but it was wasted and now it is but a little towne that towne tooke Iosua through the miracle of God and bidding of the Angell and destroyed it and cursed all those that builded it againe Of that cittie was Rahab that common woman that receiued messengers of Israell and kept them from many perils of death and therfore shée had a good reward as holy writ saith Quando accipis Prophetam in nomine meo mercedem Prophetae c. That is to say hée that taketh a Prophet in my name hée shall receiue the reward of a Prophet Of the holy place betweene Bethany and the riuer Iordane and other things Chap. xxx ALso from Bethany men goe to the riuer of Iordane through the wildernesse and it is néere a daies iourney betwéene Toward the East is a great hill where our Lord fasted xl daies and vpon this hill was Christ tempted of the Diuel when he said to him Dic vt lapides isti panes fiunt That is to say Commaund that these stones be made bread and there is an hermitage where dwelled a manner of Christians called Georgiens for saint George conuerted them and vpon that hill dwelled Abraham a great while and as men goe to Iericho sate many sicke men crying Iesu fili Dauid miserere nobis that is to say Iesu the Sonne of Dauid haue mercy vpon vs. And two mile from Iericho is the riuer Iordane yée shal vnderstand that the dead sea parteth the land of Inde Araby the water of that sea is right bitter and it casteth out a thing that men call Aspatum as great péeces as an horse and Hierusalem is two hundred fourlongs from the sea and it is called the dead sea because it runneth not neither may any man or beast liue therein and that hath beene proued many times for they haue cast therein men that were iudged to death nor no man may drinck of that water and if men cast yron therein it commeth vp againe but if a man cast a feather therein it sinketh which is against kinde And thereabout grow Trées that beare fruite of faire coulour and séeme ripe but when a man breaketh or cutteth them hée findeth naught in them but coales or ashes in token that through the vengeance of God these Citties were burnt with the fire of hell And some men call that lake the lake of the Alphited and some call it the poole of the diuell and some call it the stinking poole for the water thereof stinketh There sancke these fiue citties through the wrath of God that is to say Sodome Gomor Aldema Solome and Segor for the sin of Sodome that reigned in them but Segor through the prayer of Lot was saued a great while for it stood vpon an hill and yet appeareth much thereof aboue the water and men may sée the wals in cléere weather and in this cittie of Segor Lot dwelled a great while and there he was made dronk by his daughters and lay by them and they thought that God would haue destroyed all the world as hée did with Noes floud and therefore they lay by their father that men might be borne of them into the world but if he had not béene dronken he had not lyen by them And at the right side of this sea standeth Lots wife in a piller of salt because shée looked back when the cittie sanck downe Of Abraham and his generation Chap. xxxj AND yée shall vnderstand that Lot was Aarons sonne Abrahams brother and Sara Abrahams wife was Lots sister and Sara was xc yéere olde when she bare Isaac and Abraham had an other sonne named Ismaell that hée had gotten of his mayden Agar and hée was xiiij yéeres of age when Isaac was borne and when Isaac was viij dayes old hée was circumcised and his other sonne Ismael was Circumcised the same day and was xiiij yéeres of age therefore the Sarasins that be of the generation of Ismael doe circumcise them at xiiij yéeres of age and the Iewes that bée of the generation of Isaac doe circumcise them the eight daye of their age And into that dead Sea aforesaid runneth the riuer Iordane and maketh there an end and this is within a mile of Saint Iohns Church and a little beneath that same Church Westward were the Christians wont to bath them and a mile thence is the riuer Loth through which Iacob went when hée came from Mesopotamia Of the riuer Iordane Chap. xxxij THis riuer Iordane is no great nor no déepe riuer but there is much good fish therein and there commeth from Mount Lybany two Wels that men call Ior and Dane and of them it taketh the name and vpon the one side of that riuer is mount Gelboe and there is a fayre plaine And on that other side men goe by Mount Libany
to the desert of Pharaon These hils part the Kingdome of Surry and the Countrie of Phenys On that Hill grow Ceders that beare long apples which are as much as a mans head This riuer Iordane deuideth Galile and the land of Idumea and the land of Botron and it runneth into a plaine that men cal Meldam in Sarasins language and in English fayre béecause oft times bée there kept great faires and in the plaine is the tombe of Iob. In this riuer Iordane our Lord was baptised and there was the voice of the father heard saying Hic est filius meus dilectus in quo acquiesco ipsum audite That is to say in English This is my beloued sonne in whom I am well pleased heare him And the holy Ghost descended on him in likenesse of a Doue and so was there in this Baptising all the Trinitie And through the riuer Iordane passed the children of Israell on dry foote and they set stones in the middest of the water in token of great miracle And also in that Riuer Naman the Assyrian bathed him who was leprouse and hée was made whole And a little from thence is the Cittie of Aye the which Iosua assayled and tooke And about the riuer Iordane are many Churches where Christians dwell Also by the Riuer Iordane is the Vale of Mambre the which is a faire Vale and a plenteous Of many other meruailes Chap. xxxiij AND yée shall vnderstand that as we goe from the dead Sea afterward out of the march to the land of promise is a strong Castle that men call Carran or Sermoys that is to say in English the Kings hill This Castell did a King of Fraunce make whose name was Baudewin who had conquered all the land and put it into the hands of Christians to kéepe and vnder that castle is a fayre towne that is called Sabaoth and thereabout dwell many Christians vnder tribute Then men goe to Nazereth of the which our Lord had his name and from Nazareth vnto Hierusalem is thrée dayes iourney Also men goe through the prouince of Galile through Romatha through Sophyn and ouer the high hill of Effraine where dwelled Anna that was the Prophet Samuels mother and there was hée borne and after his death was buryed at mount Ioy as I haue said before And after men come to Sybula where the arke of God was kept vnder Helie the Prophet And there made the people of Israell their sacrifice vnto our Lord and there spake our Lord first vnto Samuell There also ministred God the Sacrament Néere there by at the right side is Gabaon Rama and Beniamin of the which holy Writ speaketh After that men come to Sychem that some men call Sycar and this is in the prouince of the Samaritaines somtime there was a Church but it is all wasted and it is a fayre vale and plenteous and there is a good Cittie that men call Neople and so from thence it is a dayes iourney vnto Hierusalem and there is the well where our Lord spake to the woman of Samaria and Sychem is ten myle from Hierusalem and it is called Neople that is to say the new towne And there is the Temple of Ioseph Iacobs sonne that gouerned Egypt from thence were his bones brought and laid in the Temple and thether came Iewes often in pilgrimage with great deuotion and in that Cittie was Diana Iacobs Daughter rauished for whom her Brethren slew many men and thereby is the Cittie of Corasim where the Samaritaines make their sacrifice Of the Samaritaines Chap. xxxiiij FRom Sebasten to Hierusalem is xij mile among the hils of this country is a well that men call fons Iocob That is to say Iocobs well that changeth his coulour foure times in the yéere for sometime it is red sometime cléere sometime gréene and sometime thick and men that dwell there are called Samaritaines and they were conuerted by the Apostles and their law varyeth from the law of Christians and Sarasins as also from Iewes and Panims They beléeue wel in one God that all shall iudge and beléeue the Bible after the letter and they lap their heads in red linnen cloth that they may be knowne from others for Sarasins wrap their heads in white cloth and Christians that dwell there in blew choth and Iewes in yealow and in this countrie dwell many Iewes paying tribute as christians doe And if yée will know the letters of the Iewes they are these following and are thus called Alpha for a. deth b. gymel c. he d. van e. zay f. ex g. ioth i. karph k. lam l. men m. sameth o. ey p. phe q. lad r. cloth s. fir t. soun v. than x. lours y. Now you shall haue the figures D. li. xh rz S D S li. n h R f cc ' h n d i k. Of Galile Chap. xxxv FRom this country that I haue spoken of men goe to the plaine of Galile and leaue the hill on the one side and Galile is in the Prouince of the Land of Promise and in that prouince is the land of Naim and Caparnaum and Corasim and at Bethsaida was S. Peter and Saint Andrew borne at Corasim shal Antichrist be borne and as some men say he shall be borne in Babilon therefore said the Prophet De Babilonia coluber exiet qui totum mundum deuorabit That is to say Of Babilon shall come a Serpent that shall deuoure all the world And this Antichrist shall bée nourished in Bethsaida shall raigne in Corasim therefore saith holy writ Vae tibi Corasim vae tibi Bethsaida That is to say Woe bée to thée Corasim woe bée to thée Bethsaida and the Caue of Galile is foure myle from Nazareth of that Cittie was the woman of Canaan of whom the Gospell speaketh and there our Lord did the first miracle at the wedding of the Archdecline when hée tourned water into wine And from thence men goe vnto Nazareth that was sometime a great Cittie but now there is but a little Towne and is not walled and there was our Lady borne but shée was begotten at Hierusalem and our Lord tooke his name of this Cittie At Nazareth Ioseph tooke our Lady to wife when she was fouretéene yéeres of age and there the Angell saluted her saying Aue gratia plena Dominus tecum That is to say Haile full of grace the Lord bée with thée And there was sometime a great church and now is there but a litle chappel to receiue the offering of Pilgrimes and there is the Well of Gabriell where our Lord was wont to bathe him in when hée was little At Nazareth was our Lord nourished and Nazareth is to say floure of garden and it may well bée called so for ther was nourished the floure of life euen our Lord Iesus Christ About halfe a mile from Nazareth is the blood of our Lord for the Iewes lead him vpon an high rock to cast him downe and slay him but Iesus Christ passed them and lept on
water how men may goe to Hierusalem And if it be so that there be many other waies that men goe by after the countries that they come from neuerthelesse they turne all to one end yet is there a way all by land to Hierusalem and passe no sea but to France or Flanders but that way is full long and perillous and of great trauaile and therefore few goe that way but hée that will goe that way must goe by Almaine and Pruse and so to Tartary this Tartary is holden of the great Caane of whom I shal speake afterward for thether lasteth his Lordship and all the Lords of Tartary yéeld to him tribute Tartary is a full euill land sandy and a little fruit bearing for there groweth but little corne or fruite but Beastes are there great plentie and therefore eate they flesh without bread and they sup the broth and they drinck milcke of all manner of Beasts they eate cats and all manner of wild beasts as rats mice and they haue little wood and therefore they dresse their meat with horse doung and other beast doung when it is dry Princes and other Lords eate but once in the day and that is very little and they bée foule folke and of euill liking and in Summer there is many tempests and thunders that slayeth many men and beasts sodainly it is right cold and againe on the sodaine it is right hot The Prince that gouerneth that land they call Roco and hée dwelleth at a cittie that men call Orda but very few men doe desire to dwell in that Land for it is good to sow thornes and wéedes in but other good there is none as I heard say for I was not that way but I haue béene in other Countries marching thereon as in the land of Rossie and Nisland and the kingdome of Grecon and Lectow and the kingdome of Grasten and in many other places but I went neuer that way to Hierusalem and therefore I cannot well tell it for I haue vnderstood that men may not well goe that way but in Winter when the waters and mires that bée in that land bée frosen and couered with snow so that men may passe thereon for were not the snow there might no man goe in that land but hée were lost And yée shall vnderstand that a man must goe thrée dayes iourney from Pruse to passe this way before hée can come to the land of Sarasins that men dwell in And if by chance any Christians passe that way as once a yéere they doe they carry their vittaile with them for they should finde nothing there but a manner of thing that they call Syles and they carry their vittailes vpon the Ise on sleds and chariots without whéeles and as long as their vittailes last they may dwell there but no longer And when the spies of the countries sée Christians come they runne to the townes and castles and cry aloud kara kara kara and as soone as they haue cryed then doth the people arme them And yée shall vnderstand that the Ise there is harder then it is here and euery man hath a stew in his house and therein they eate and do all things that them néedeth and that is at the North part of the world where it is commonly cold for the Sun appeareth nor shineth but a little in that country and that land is in some places so cold that there may no man dwell therin and on the South side of the world it is in some places so hot that there can no man dwell the Sunne giueth so great heate in those countries Of the faith of the Sarasins and of the booke of their law named Alkaron Chap. xliiij IN as much as I haue told you of the Sarasins of other Lands I purpose to set downe a part of their law and of their beliefe after as their booke saith that they call Alkaron and some call that booke Mysap some call it Harme in diuerse language of countries which booke Mahomet gaue them in the which booke hée wrote among other things as I haue often read and séene that they that are good shall goe to Paradise and the euill folks to hell and that beléeue all Sarasins And if a man aske of what Paradise they meane they say it is a place of delights where a man shall finde all manner of fruits at all times and waters and riuers running with milke and hony wine and fresh water and they shall haue faire houses and good as they haue deserued and those houses are made of precious stones gold and siluer and euery man shall haue ten wiues and maydens and he shall euery day once haue to doe with them and yet shal they still bée maydens Also they speake often of the blessed virgin Mary and tell of the incarnation that Mary was learned of Angels and that Gabryel said to her that she was chosen before all other from the beginning of the world and that witnesseth well their booke and Gabriell told her the incarnation of Iesus Christ and that she should conceiue and beare a childe and they say that Christ was a holy Prophet in word and déede and also méeke and right wise to all men and one not any blame worthy and they say that when the Angel told to her of the incarnation she had great dread for shée was very young and there was one in that Country that practised sorcery who was called Takina that with inchauntments could make him like an Angell and he went often and lay with maidens and therefore was Mary the more afraid of the Angell and thought in her minde that it had béene Takina who went to maydens and shée charged him in the name of God to tell her if he were the same Takina and the Angell bad her haue no dread for hée was for certaine a true messenger of Iesus Christ Also their booke of Alkaron saith that shée had a childe vnder a Palme trée then was shée greatly ashamed and wished her selfe dead but as soone as her childe was borne hée spake and comforted her saying Ne timeas Maria. That is to say Be not afraid Mary And in many other places saith their booke Alkaron that Iesus Christ spake as soone as hée was borne and the booke saith that Iesu Christ was sent of almightie God to bée ensample to all men and that God shall Iudge all men the good to heauen and the wicked to hell that Iesus Christ is the best Prophet of all other and next to God and that he was a holy Prophet for he gaue to the blinde their sight and healed all diseases hée raised men and was taken quicke into heauen and if they may finde a booke with Gospels namely Missus est Angelus they doe it great worship for they fast one month in the yéere and eate onely on the night and they kéepe them from their wiues but they that are sick are not constrained to it And their booke Alkaron speaketh of
and the kingdome of Surry Palestine and Femines are betwéene Euphrates and the sea of Mediterani it is of length from Marroch on the sea of Spaine vnto the great Sea and so lasteth it beyond Constantinople thrée hundred and twentie mile of Lumbardy and to the Ocean sea In Inde is the kingdome of Sichem that is all closed among hils and beside Sichem is the land of Amazony wherin dwell none but women And thereby is the kingdome of Albany which is a great land and it is called so because that men are more white there them in other places and in this country are great hounds and strong so that they ouercome Lyons and slay them And yée shall vnderstand that in those countries are many Iles and lands of the which it were too long to tell but of some I will speake more plainely afterward Of the hauen of Gene for to goe by sea into diuers Countries Chap. xlviij NOw he that will go to Tartarie Persie Chalde or Inde he taketh ship at Gene or at Venice or at any other hauen and so hée passeth by the sea and ariueth at Topasond that is a good citie that sometime men called the hauen of bridge and there is the hauen of Persia of Medes and of other marches In this cittie lyeth Saint Athanasius that was bishop of Alexandria that made the Psalme Quicunque vult This man was a great Doctor of Diuinitie and of the Godhead hée was accused vnto the Pope of Roome that hée was an Heritike and the Pope sent for him and put him in prison and while hée was in that prison he made this Psalme and sent it vnto the Pope and said it that he were an Heritike then was that Herisie for that was his faith and his beliefe and when the Pope saw that hée had said therein was all our faith then anone hée did deliuer him out of prison and hée commanded that Psalme to be said euery day at the beginning of of seruice so hée held Athanasius for a good Christian but hée would neuer after go to his Bishoprike because they accused him of Heresie To pasond was sometime holden of the Emperour of Constantinople but a great man that hée sent to helpe the country against the Turks did hold it to himselfe and called him selfe Emperour of Topasond And from thence men go through little Armony and in that country in an old Castle that is on a rocke that men call the Castell of Sypris and there men finde an Hauke sitting vpon a perch right well made and a faire Lady of Fairy that kéepeth it and hée that will watch this same Hauke seauen daies and seauen nights and some say that it is but thrée dayes and thrée nights alone without any company and without sléepe this faire Lady shall come vnto him at the seauen or at thrée dayes end and shall graunt vnto him the first thing that hée shal aske of worldly things and that hath often béene proued And so vpon a time it besel that a man who at that time was king of Armony that was a right doughtie man watched vpon a time and at the seauen daies end the Lady came to him and bad him aske what hée would for hée had well done his duetie and the king answered and said that hée was a great Lord and in good peace hée was rich so that hée would aske nothing but onely all the body of the faire Lady or to haue his will of her Then this faire Lady answered and said vnto him that hée was a foole for hée wist not what hée asked for hèe might not haue her for hée should haue asked of her onely worldly things and shée was not worldly And the king said hée would naught else and shée sayd sith hée would aske naught else shée would graunt him and all that came after him thrée things and said vnto him Sir king yée shall haue warre without peace vnto the ninth degrée and yée shal be in subiection vnto your enimies and yée shall haue great néede of good cattell and since that time all the Kings of Armonie haue béene in warre and néedful and vnder tribute of the Sarasins Also a poore mans sonne as hée watched on a time and asked the Lady if that hée might bée rich and happy in marchandise and the Lady graunted him but shée said to him that hée had asked his vndoing for great pride that hée should haue therof And this man became so great a marchant both by sea and land that hée was so rich that hée knew not the thousand part of his goods Also a knight of the templers watched likewise and when the had done he desired to haue a purse full of gold and whatsoeuer hée tooke thereof it should euer bée full againe and the Lady graunted it him but shée told him that hée had desired his destruction by the great mispending that he should haue of the same purse and so it befell But hée that shall wake hath great néede to kéepe him from sléepe for if hée sléepe hée is lost so that hée shall neuer bée séene after but that is not the right way but for the meruaile And from Tapasond men goe to great Armony to a Citie that is called Artyron that was wont to bée a good Cittie but that Turkes haue destroyed it for there neither groweth wine nor yet fruite From this Artyron men go to an hill that is called Sabissocoll and there néere is an other hill called Arath but the Iewes call it Thano where the Arke of Noe rested after the Deluge and yet it is on that hill a man may sée it from farre in cléere weather and the hils bée xij mile of height and some say they haue béene there and put their fingers in the holes where the fiend went out when Noe said in this manner Benedicite But I vnderstand that for snow that is alway vpon the hill both Winter and Summer no man may goe vp since Noe was there but onely a Monk through the grace of God who brought a plank that yet is in the Abbey at the hils foote for hée had great desire to goe vpon that hill and when hée was at the third part vpward hée was so weary that hée might goe no further and hée rested him and slept and when hée was awake hée was downe at the hils foote and then prayed hée to God deuoutly that hée would suffer him to goe to the vpper part of the hill and the Angell said that hée should haue his desire and so bée did and since that time no man did euer come there And therefore a man ought not to beléeue all things that are spoken of it Of the Country of Iob and of the Kingdome of Calde Chap. xlix ON the other side of the Cittie of Carnaa men enter into the land of Iob that is a good Land and great plentie of all fruits and that Land is called Swere In this Land is the Cittie of Thomar Iob was a
Panim and also hée was Cofraas son and hée held that Land as the prince thereof and hée was so rich that hée knew not the hundred part of his goods and after his pouerty God made him richer then euer hée was before so that he was king of Idumea after the death of king Esau and when hée was king hée was called Ioab and in that kingdome hée liued a C. and lxx yéere so that hée was of age when hée dyed CC. and xlviij yéere And in this land of Iob is no want of any thing that is néedfull to mans body There are hils where men finde manna and manna is called Angels bread that is a white thing right swéet and much swéeter then suger or honny and that commeth of the dew of heauen that falleth on the hearbs and there is congealed and waxen white and men put it in medicines for rich men This land marcheth to the land of Calde which is a great land and there is full faire men and well apparelled and they goe richly arayed with cloth of Gold and with Pearles and other precious stones But the women are right soule euill clad and go bare foote and beare an ill cote large wide short vnto their knées and haue long sléeues downe to the foote and they haue great black haire long hanging about their shoulders and they are right foule for to looke vpon but I will not tell it all because that I am not worthy for to haue any reward for my praising of them In this land of Calde aforesaid is a cittie that men call Hur and in that cittie was Abraham the Patriarke borne Of the kingdome of Amasony whereas dwell none but women Chap. L. NEere the Land of Calde is the Land of Amasony wherein do dwell no men but all women as men say for they will suffer no man to liue among them nor to haue rule ouer them For somtime ther was a king and men dwelling in that Land as they doe in other Countries and had wiues and it befell that the king had great warre with them of Sychy this king was called Colopius and hée was slaine in battaile and all the noble men of his land And this Quéene when shée and other Ladies of the land heard that the king and the Lords were slaine they gathered them together and killed all the men that were left in their land among them And when they will haue any man to lye by them they send for them into a Country that is néere their land and the men come and stay there eight dayes or as the woman liketh and then goe they againe and if they haue men children they send them to their fathers when they can eat and go if they haue maide children they kéepe them and if they bée of noble bloud they burne the left pap away for bearing of a shield and if they bée of baser degrée they burne the right pap away for shooting For those women of that country are good warriours and are often in pay with other Lordes and the Quéen of that land gouerneth well the land this land is inuironed with water Beside Amazony is the land of Termagute that is a good land and profitable and for the goodnes of that land king Alexander did make a cittie there and called it Alexandria Of the land of Ethiope Chap. li. ON the other side of Chalde toward the South side is Ethiope a great land In this land on the South are the folke right black In that side is a well that on the day the water is so cold that no man may drincke thereof and on the night it is so hot that no man may abide to put his hand in it In this land the riuers and all the waters are troubled and some deale salt for the great heate and men of that land are lightly dronken and haue little appetite to meate and they haue commonly the flix of body and they liue not long In Ethiope are such men that haue but one foote and they go so fast that it is a great meruaile and that is a large foot that the shadow therof couereth the body from Sun or raine when they lye vpon their backs when their children are first borne they looke like russet and when they wax old then they bée all black In Ethiope is the land of Saba of the which one of the thrée kings that sought our Lord at Bethlehem was King Of Inde the more and the lesse and of Diamonds and small people and other things Chap. lij FRom Ethiope men goe into Inde through many and diuers countries first through Inde the more and it is parted into thrée parts that is to say Inde the more which is a hot Land and Inde the lesse which is a temperate land and the third part is toward the North there it is right cold so that with great cold frost and I se the water becommeth Christal vpon that groweth the good Diamonds that are of a troubled coulour that diamond is so hard that no man may breake it Other Diamonds men finde in Araby that are not so good for they are more soft and there be some in Cipres and in Macedony men finde Diamonds also but the best are in Inde and some many times are found in Amasse in the mine where gold is gotten when men breake the masse in péeces sometime men finde some of greatnesse of a Pease and some lesse and those are as hard as those of Inde sometime there are good Diamonds found in Inde vpon the Rock of Christall and also vpon the Rock of Adamand in the sea and on other hils are found Diamonds that are as great as Hasell nuts which are all square and pointed of their owne kinde and they grow two together male and female and are nourished with the dew of heauen and they engender commonly and bring forth other small ones which increase grow all the yéere I haue many times tryed that if a man kéepe them with a little of the rock and wet them with many dewes sometime they will grow euery yéere and the small will wax great and if a man doe beare that Diamond in his left side then it is of more vertue for the strength of their growiag is toward the North that is on the left side as men of those countries say To him that beareth the Diomond vpon him it giueth hardinesse it kéepeth the lims of his body also it giueth a man victory of his enimies if his cause bée right and it kéepeth him that beareth it in good will from strife from ryot ill dreames sorceries and enchantments Moreouer no wild beast shall grieue him nor assaile him This Diamond should bée giuen fréely without couetousnesse or buying for then it is of most vertue it healeth him that is lunatike and hée that is possessed with a Diuell and as soone as any venim or poison bée brought néere to the Diamond it moistneth and beginneth to
sweat and men may easily polish them though some thincke that they may not be polished But men may assay them well in this manner first cut them on precious stones as Saphyres or vpon Christall and then take a stone that is called Adamand and lay a néedle béefore that Adamand and if the Diamond bée good and vertuous the Adamand draweth not the néedle to it whiles the Diamond is there And this is the proofe that they make beyond the sea But it chancheth sometime that the good Diamond looseth it vertue through him that beareth it and therefore it is néedefull for to make it to recouer his vertue againe or else it is little of value Of diuers kingdomes and Iles in the land of Inde Chap. liij THere are in Inde many countries and diuers kingdomes and it taketh the name of a riuer that runneth through it which is called Inde also and ther are many precious stones in the said Riuer and diuers other strange things as Eeles of thirty foote long and men that dwell néere that riuer are of euill coulour yelow and gréene In the land of Iude are more then fiue thousand Iles that are inhabited beside diuers that are vninhabited and in each one of those is great plentie of Citties and much people for men of Inde are of that condition that commonly they passe not out of their land for they dwell vnder the Planet Saturne and that Planet maketh his course by the xij Signes in thirtie yéere and the Moone passeth through the xij Signes in a Moneth and for that Saturne is of so little stirring therefore men that dwell vnder it and in that Climate haue no good will to stir much abroad But in our countrie it is contrary for wée are in a Climate that is of the Moone and of light stirring and that is the Planets of way and therefore it giueth vs will to much moouing and stirring and to goe into diuers Countries of the world for it goeth about the world more lightly then any other Planet doth Also men passe through Inde to many countries by sea And then they come to the I le of Hermes where Marchaunts of Venice and of Gene and of other diuers parts of Christendome come to buy their marchandise but it is so warme there in that I le that mens members hang downe to their shanks for the great dissoluing of the body And men of that country that know that manner doe binde them full strait and annoint them with ointments made therefore for to hold them vp or else they might not liue And also they haue their reasons for other planets and for fire also for it is profitable and néedfull And of Idols they say that the Oxe is the holyest that they may finde here on earth and more profitable then any other for hée doth much good and none ill and they know well that it may not bée without the speciall grace of God and therefore they make their God of an Oxe the one halfe and the other halfe a man for man is the fairest and the best creature in the World And they doe worship to Serpents and other beasts that they first méete with in the morning and namely those beasts that haue good méeting after whom they spéede well all the day after the which they haue proued of long time and therefore they say that this méeting commeth of Gods grace and therefore they doe make Images like vnto these things that they may worship them before they méete any thing else And there are some Christians that say some Beastes are better for to méete then other for Hares Swine and other beasts are ill to méete first as they say In this I le of Cana is many wilde beasts and rats in that country are as great as hounds here and they take them with mastises for cats may not take them From thence men come to a Cittie that is called Sarchis and it is a faire and good cittie and there dwell many Christians of Gods faith and there bée men of Religion Fom thence men come to the Land of Lombe and in that land groweth pepper in a forrest that is called Tomber and it groweth in none other place more in all the world then in that forrest and that forrest is fiftie dayes iourney there by the land of Lombe is the citie of Polomes and vnder that cittie is a hill that men call Polombe and thereof taketh the cittie his name And so at the foote of the same hill is a right faire and a cléere well that hath a full good and swéet sauour and it smelleth of all manner sorts of spices And also at each houre of the day it changeth his sauour diuersly and who so drinketh thrice in the day of that well hée is made whole of all manner sicknes that hée hath I haue sometime dronke of that well and mée thinketh yet that I fare the better some call it the Well of youth for they that drinke thereof séeme to be young alway liue without much sicknesse and they say this well commmeth from Paradise terrestre for it is so vertuous and in this land groweth ginger and thether come many rich marchants for spices In this country men worship an Oxe for his great simplenesse and méekenesse the profit that is in him for they make the Oxe to trauaile vi or vij yéere and then men do eate him And the king of that land hath euermore one Oxe with him and hée that kéepeth him euery day taketh his fées for the kéeping And also euery day hée gathereth his vrine and his doung in a vessell of gold and beareth it to the prelate that they call Archt porta papaton and the prelate beareth it to the king and maketh therupon a great blessing and then the king putteth his hand therin and they call it gaule and he annointeth his front and his breast therewith and they doe it great worship and say hée shall bée fulfilled with the vertue of the Oxe before said and that hée is hallowed through vertue of those holy things as they say And when the king hath thus done than other Lords doe it and after them other men after their degrée if they may haue any of the remnant In this country their Idols are halfe man and halfe Oxe as the figure in the second leafe before is shewed and out of these Idols the wicked Ghost speaketh vnto them and giueth them answere of what thing that they aske him and before these Idols they many times slay their children and sprinkle the bloud on the Idols and so make sacrifice And if any man dye in that country they burne them in token of penance that hée should suffer no penance if hée were laid in the earth by eating of wormes And if his wife haue not children then they burne her with him and they say that it is good reason that shée kéepe him company in the other world as shée did in this and if
shée haue children shée may liue with them if shée will and if the wife die before shée shall bée burnt and her husband also if he will In this country groweth good wine and women drinck wine and men none and women shaue their heads and not men Of the kingdome of Mabaron Chap. liiij FRom this land men goe many dayes iourney to a country called Mabaron and this is a great kingdome therein is many faire Citties and Townes In this land lyeth Saint Thomas in a faire tombe in the cittie of Calamy and the arme and the hand that hée put in our Lords side after his Resurrection when Christ said vnto him Noli esse incredulus sed fidelis that is to say bée not of vaine hope but beléeue that same hand lyeth yet without the tombe bare and with this hand they giue their domes in that country to wit who saith right and who doth not for if any strife bée betwéene two parties they write their names and put them into the hand and then incontinently the hand casteth away the bill of him that doth wrong and holdeth the other still that doth right and therefore men come from farre countries to haue iudgement of causes that are in doubt In this Church of Saint Thomas is a great Image that is a simulacre and it is richly beset with precious stones and pearles to that Image men come in pilgrimage from farre countries with great deuotion and there come some pilgrimes that beare sharpe kniues in their hands and as they goe by the way they sheare their shanks and thighes that the blood may come out for the loue of that Idoll and they say that hée is holy that will dye for that Idols sake And there is some that from the time that they goe out of their houses at each third pace they knéele till that they come to this Idoll and when they come there they haue insence or such other thing to offer to the Idoll And there before that Minster or Church of this Idoll is a riuer full of water and in that riuer pilgrims cast Gold Siluer pearles and other precious stones without number instead of offerings and therefore when as the minster hath any néed of mending then the master of the Minster goes vnto that riuer and takes out therof as much as is néedfull for the mending of the Minster And yée shall vnderstand that when any great feasts of that Idol come as the dedication of the Church or of the throning of the Idol all the country thereabout assemble there together and then men set this Idol with great reuerence and worship in a chaire well dressed with cloth of gold and other tapistrie and so they carry him with great reuerence and worship round about the Cittie and before the chaire goeth first in Procession all the maydens of the country two and two together and so after them goe the pilgrims that are come from farre countries of the which pilgrimes some fall downe before the Chaire and letteth all go ouer them and so are they slaine and some haue their armes legs broken and they doe it for loue of the Idoll and they beléeue the more paine that they suffer here for their Idoll the more ioy shall they haue in the other world but a man shall finde few Christians that will suffer so much penance for our Lords sake as they do for their Idol And nigh before the chaire goe all the minstrels of the Country which are without number with many diuers melodies And when they are come againe to the Church they set vp the Idoll againe in his Throne and for worship of the Idoll two or thrée are willingly slaine with sharp kniues and the men in that country think they haue great worship if that holy man which is slaine bée of their kindred likewise they say that all those that are there slaine are holy men and Saints and they are written in their lettany and when they are thus dead their friends burne their bodies and they take the ashes and those are kept as reliques and they say it is an holy thing and that they haue doubt of no perill when they haue of those ashes Of a great country called Lamory where the people go all naked and other things Chap. lv FRom this country two and fifty dayes iourney is a country that is called Lamory and in that land is great heat and it is the custome there that men and women goe all naked and they scorne all them that are clad for they say that God made Adam and Eue all naked and that men should haue no shame of that God made and they beléeue in the same God that made Adam and Eue and all the world and there is no woman marryed but women are all common there and they refuse no man And they say that God commaunded to Adam and Eue and all that come of him saying Crescite et multiplicamini et repleti terram Encrease and multiply and fill the earth no man there may say this is my wife nor no woman may say this is my husband and when they haue children they giue them to whom they will of them that haue medled with them Also the Land is all common for euery man taketh what hée will for that one man hath now this yéere an other man hath the next yéere And all the goods as Corne Beasts and all manner of things in that country is all common For there is nothing vnder lock and as rich is one man as another but they haue an euill custome in eating of flesh for they eate more gladly mans flesh then other Neuerthelesse in that land is abundance of corne of flesh of fish of gold of siluer and of all manner of goods And thether doe Marchaunts bring children for to sell and those that are fat they eat but those that be leane thay kéepe till they bée fat and then are they eaten And beside this I le of Lamory is another called Somober the which is a good I le and there both men and women that are of the nobilitie are marked in the visage with an hot yron that they may be knowne from other for they thinke themselues the worthyest of the world and they haue euermore warre with those men that are naked of whom I spake before And there are many other Iles and people of the which it were ouermuch for to speak here Of the country and I le named Iana which is a mightie Land Chap. lvi ANd there is also a great Ile that is called Iana and the king of the country hath vnder him seauen kings for hée is a full mightie Prince In this I le groweth all manner of spices more plenteously then in any other places as Ginger Cloues Nutmegs and other and yée shall vnderstand that the Nutmeg beareth the Mace also in that I le is great plentie of all things saue wine The king of this Land hath a rich Pallace and the
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
liueth eight yéere is holden right old and these small men are the best workmen of silke and of cotten and all manner of things that are in the world and these men trauaile not nor till land but they haue among them great men as wée are to trauaile for them and haue great scorne of those great men as wee would haue of Gyants or of them if they were among vs. Of the Cittie of Menke where a great Nauie is Chap. lxv FRom this Land men goe through many countries cities townes till they come to a cittie that men call Menke In that citty is a great Nauie of ships and they are as white as snow of the kinde of the wood that they are made of and they are made as it were great houses with walles and chambers and other easements Of the land named Cathay and of the great riches thereof Chap. lxvj ANd from thence men goe vpon a riuer that men call Ceremolan and this riuer goeth through Cathay and doth many times harme when it waxeth great Cathay is a faire country and rich full of goods and marchandise thether come marchants euery yéere for to fetch spices and other marchandises more commonly then they do to other countries And yée shall vnderstand that Marchaunts that come from Venice or from Gene or from other places of Lomberdy or of Italie they goe by sea and land xi monethes and more or they come to Cathay Of a great citie named Cadon therein is the great Caanes pallace and siege Chap. lxvij IN the prouince of Cathay toward the East is an old Citie and beside that Cittie the Tartarians haue made another citie that men call Cadon that hath xij gates and betwéen each two gates is a great mile so those two citties the old and the new is round about xx mile In this citie is the pallace and siege of the great Caane it is a full fayre place and great of which the wals about bée two mile and within that are many fayre places in the garden of that pallace is a right great hill on the which is another pallace and it is the fayrest that may bée found in any place and all about the hill are many trées bearing diuers fruits and about this hill is a great ditch and there néere are many riuers on each side and in those are many wylde Foules that he may take and goe not out of the pallace Within the hall of that pallace are xxiiij pillers of gold and all the wals are couered with rich skinnes of beasts that men call Panthera Those are faire beasts and well smelling and of the smell of those skinnes none euill smell may come to the Pallace those skinnes are as redde as bloud and they shine so against the Sunne that a man can scarcely béehold them and those skinnes are estéemed there as much as Gold In the middest of the pallace is a place made that they call the Mountour for the great Caane that is well made with precious stones and great hanging about at the foure corners of the Mountour are foure nedders of gold and vnder that Mountour and about are Conduits of Beuerage that they drincke in the Emperors Court And the hall of that Pallace is richly dight and well and first at the vpper end of the hall is the Throne of the Emperour right high where hée sitteth at meat at a Table that is well bordred with golde and that border is full of precious stones and great Parles and the gréeces on which he goeth vp are of diuers precious stones bordred with gold At the left side of his Throne is the seate of his wife a degrée lower then hée sitteth and that is of Iasper bordred with gold and the seate of his second wife is a degrée lower then the first and that is also of good Iasper bordred with gold and the seate of the third wife is a degrée lower then the second for alway hée hath thrée wiues with him wheresoeuer hée is besides these wiues on the same side sitteth other Ladies of his kinne each one lower then other as they are of degrée and all those that are marryed haue a counterfayte of a mans foot vpon their heads a cubite long and all made with Precious stones and about they are made with shining feathers of Pecocks or such other in tokening that they are in subiection of man and vnder mens féet and they that are not wedded haue none such And on the right side of the Emperour sitteth first his Sonne the which shall bée Emperour after him and hée sitteth also a degrée lower then the Emperour in such manner of seates as the Emperour sitteth and by him sitteth other Lords of his kinne each one lower then other as they are of degrée And the Emperour hath his table by himselfe alone that is made of gold and precious stones or of white Christall or yellow bordred with gold and each one of his wiues hath a table by her selfe And vnder the Emperours Table sitteth foure Clarks at his féete that writeth all that the Emperour saith be it good or ill And at great feasts about the Emperours Table and all other Tables in the hall is a Vine made of gold that goeth all about the hall and it hath many branches of Grapes like to grapes of the Vine some are white some are yelow some red some gréene and some blacke all the red are of Rubies of creames or Allabonce the white are of Christall or Byrall the yelow are of Topaces the gréene are of Emeraudes and Crisolites and the black are of Quickes and Gerandes and this Vine is made thus of precious stones so properly that it séemeth that it were a Vine growing And béefore the Boord of the Emperour standeth great Lords and no man is so hardie to speake vnto him except it be Musitions for to solace the Emperour And all the vessell that is serued in his hall or chambers are of precious stones and specially at the tables where great Lords eat that is to say of Iasper Christall Amatist or fine gold and the cups are of Emeraudes Saphires Topaces and other of many manner of stones and siluer haue they no vessell for they estéeme but little of siluer to make vessell off but they make of siluer gréeces pillers and pauements of hals and chambers And ye shall vnderstand that my fellow and I were in wages with him xvi monethes against the king of Mancy vpon whom hée made war and the cause was we had so great desire to sée the nobilitie of his Court if it were such as wée heard speake off and forsooth wée found it more richer and of greater royalltie then euer wée heard speake off and wée should neuer haue beléeued it had wée not séene it but yée shall vnderstand the vse of our eating and drincking is more ciuile among vs then in those countries for all the commons eate vpon skinnes of beasts on their knées and eate but
all men And the writing about his priuie seale is Dei fortitudo omnium hominum imperatoris sigillum That is The strength of God the seale of the Emperour of all men And though it bée so that they bée not christians yet the Emperour and the Tartarians beléeue God almighty Of the gouernance of the countrie of the great Caane Chap. lxxj NOw haue I told you why hée is called the great Caane Now shall I tell you of the gouerning of his Court when they make great feastes and hée kéepeth foure principall feasts in the yéere the first is of his birth the second when he was borne to the Temple to bée circumcised the third is of his Idols when they begin to speake and the fourth when the Idole béeginneth first to do miracles and at those times he hath men well arayed by thousands and by hundreds and each one wot well what hée shall doe For there is first ordained foure thousand rich barons and mighty for to ordaine the feast and to serue the Emperour and all these barons haue crownes of Golde well dight with precious stones and pearles and they are clad in cloths of gold and camathas as richly as they may be made and they may well haue such clothes for they are there of lesse price then wollen cloth is here And those foure thousand Barons are parted into foure parts and each company is clad in diuers colours right richly when the first thousand is passed and hath shewed themselues then come the second thousand and then the third thousand and then the fourth and none of them speaketh a word And on the one side of the Emperors table sitteth many Philosophers of many sciences some of Astronomie Nigromancie Geometrie Pyromacy and many other sciences and some haue before them Astolabes of Gold or precious stones full of sand or of coales burning some haue horologes well dight and richly and other many instruments after their Sciences and at a certaine houre when they sée time they say to men that stand before them make peace and then say those men with a loud voice to all the hall now bée still a while and then saith one of the Philosophers each man make reuerence and incline to the Emperour that is Gods Son Lord of the world for now is time and houre and then all men encline to him and knéele on the earth and then the Philosopher biddeth them rise vp againe and at another houre another Philosopher biddeth them put their finger in their eares and they doe so and at another houre another Philosopher biddeth that all men shall lay their hand on their heads and they doe so and then hée biddeth them take them away and they doe so thus from houre to houre they bid diuers things and I asked priuily what it should meane and one of the masters said that the enclining the knéeling on the earth at that time hath this token that all those men that knéeled so shall euermore bée true to the Emperour that for no gift nor threatning they shall neuer bée traitours nor false to him and the putting of the finger in the eare hath this token that none of those shall heare any ill spoken of the Emperour or his counsell And ye shall vnderstand that men dight nothing as clothes bread drinke nor no such things to the Emperour but at certaine houres that the Philosophers tell and if any man raise warre against the Emperour in what country soeuer it be these Philosophers know it soone and tel the Emperor or his counsaile he sendeth men thether for he hath many men Also he hath many men that kéepeth birds as gerfaukons Sparhauks Faukons Gentils Laners Sacres Popyniayes that can speake and many other he hath ten thousand Eliphants Baboynes Marmozets and other and he hath euer about him many Phisitions more then two hundred that are christian men and Sarasins but yet hée trusteth more in christian men then in Sarasins And there is in that country many Sarasins and other seruants that are christians and conuerted to the faith through preaching of good christian men that dwell there but there are many that will not that men know that they are christians Of the great riches of the Emperour and of his dispending Chap. lxxij THis Emperour is a great Lord for hée may dispend what hée will without number béecause hée spendeth neither siluer nor gold and maketh no money but of Lether or skinnes and this same money goeth through all his land and of the siluer and gold builded hée his Pallace And hée hath in his chamber a piller of gold in the which is a Ruby and a Carbuncle of a foote long the which lighteth all his chamber by night and hée hath many other precious stones and Rubies but this is the richest This Emperour dwelleth in the fommer towards the North in a Cittie that men call Saydus and there it is cold enough and in the winter hée dwelleth in a Cittie that men call Camalach and there it is right hot but for the most part is hée at Cadon that is not farre thence Of the ordinanance of the Lords of the Emperour when hee rideth from one country to another to warre Chap. lxxiij AND when the great Caane shall ryde from one Country to an other they ordayne foure hosts of people of which the first goeth béefore a dayes iourney for that Host lyeth at euen where the Emperour shall lye on the morrow and there is plentie of vittailes And an other Host commeth at the right side of him and an other at the left side and in each Host is much Folke And then commeth the fourth Host béehinde him a how draught and there is more men in that then in any of the other And yée shall vnderstand that the Emperour rideth on no horse but when he will go to any secret place with a priuie meinie where hée will not bée known then he rideth in a Chariot with foure whéeles thervpon is a chamber made of a trée that men call Lignum Aloes that commeth out of Paradise terrestre and that Chamber is couered with plates of fine golde and precious stones and Pearles and foure Eliphants and foure Oxen all white goe therein and fiue or sixe great Lords ride about him so that none other men shall come nigh him except the Emperour call any and in the same manner with a Charriot such hoasts rideth the Empresse by an other side and the Emperours eldest sonne in that same aray and they haue so much people that it is a great meruaile for to sée How the Empire of the great Caane is deuided into twelue Prouinces and how that they doe cast insence in the fire where the great Caane passeth though the citties and townes in worship of the Emperour Chap. lxxiiij THE Land of the great Caane is deuided into twelue Prouinces and euery prouince hath more then two thousand Citties and townes And when the Emperour rideth
they beare cotten In Araby is a kinde of beast that some men call Garsants that is a fayre beast and he is higher then a great courser or stéed but his neck is néere xx cubites long and his taile like a Hart and hée may looke ouer a high house and there are many Camelions that is a little beast and hée neuer eateth or drinketh and hée chaungeth his colour often for sometime hée is of one colour and sometime of another and hée may change him into all colours that hée will saue black and red There are many wilde swine of many colours and as great as Oxen they are spotted as it were small fawnes and there are Lyons all white and there be other Beastes as great as stéedes that men call Lanhorans and some men call them Tonts and their head is black and thrée long hornes in his front as cutting as sharpe swords and hée chaseth and will slay Eliphants And there is many other manner of Beastes of whom it were too long to write all Of an Iland wherein dwell full good people and true Chap. xcv THere is another Iland good and great and plentious where are good men and true and of godly life after their faith and though they hée not christians neuertheles of kind they are full of good vertues and they flye all vices and all sinne and malice for they are not enuious proud couetous lecherous nor gluttenous and they doe not vnto another man but that they would hée did to them and they fulfill the x. commaundements and they make no force of riches nor of hauing and they swere not but they say yea and nay for they say hée that sweareth will deceiue his nighbour and some men call this I le the I le of Bragamen and some call it the land of faith and through it runneth a great riuer that men call Thebe and generally all men in those Iles and other thereby are truer and right wiser then in other countries in this Iles are no théeues murtherers nor beggers And forasmuch as they are so true and so good there is no tempest nor thunder warre hunger nor tribulation and thus it séemeth well that God loueth them well and hée is well pleased with their déedes and they beléeue in God that made all things and him they worship and they liue so ordinately in meate and drink that they liue right long and many of them dye without sicknesse that kinde faileth them for age How king Alexander sent his men thether for to winne that land Chap. xcvj AND king Alexander sometime sent his men to win that land And they sent him letters that said thus What béehooueth a man to haue all the world that is not content therewithall thou shalt finde nothing at all in vs why shouldest thou make warre vpon vs for wée haue no riches or treasure and all the cattell of our country are common our meates that wée eate are our riches and in steade of golde and siluer wée make our treasure peace and concord of loue and wée haue nought but a cloth vpon our bodies our wiues are not arayed richly to pleasing for wée hold it a great folly for a man to trimme vp his body with costly apparell to make it séeme fayrer then God made it Wée haue béene euermore in peace till now that thou wilt dishcrite vs. Wée haue a king among vs not for néede of the law nor to iudge any man for there are no trespassours among vs but all onely to learne vs to be obedient to him and so maiest thou take from vs but our good peace And when king Alexander saw this letter hée thought hée should doe too much harme if he troubled them and sent to them that they should kéepe well their good manners and haue no dread of him How the Emperour Prester Iohn when hee goeth to battaile hath three crosses of fine gold borne before him Chap. xcvij. THis Emperour Prester Iohn when hée goeth to battaile hath no banner borne before him but hée hath borne before him thrée crosses of fine gold and those are large and great and well set with precious stones and for to kéepe each crosse hée ordained a thousand men of armes in manner as men kéepe a standard in other countries and hée hath men without number when hée goeth in any battayle against any other Prince And when hée hath no battaile but rideth with priuie company then hath hée borne béefore him but a crosse of trée not painted and without gold or precious stones and all plaine in token that our Lord Iesus Christ suffered death on a crosse of trée And also hée hath borne before him a vessel full of Iewels and gold and precious stones in token of his present noblenesse and of his might hée hath borne before him likewise a platter of gold full of earth in token that all lordship and noblenesse shall turne to naught and his flesh shall turne to earth Of the most dwelling place of Prester Iohn in a Cittie called Suse Chap. xcviij ANd he dwelleth commonly at the cittie of Suse and there is his principall pallace that is so rich that it is strange to tell and about the principall tower of the pallace are two pomels of gold all round and each one of those hath two carbuncles great and large that shine right cléere in the night the principall gates of this pallace are of precious stones that men call Saraine and the borders of the barres are of Iuory and windowes of the hall and chambers are of christall and Tables that they eate off some Emerandes some of Mayk some of gold and precious stones and the pillers that beare the tables are of such stones also and the steares on the which the Emperour goeth vp to his table where hée sitteth at meat one is of Mastike another of christall and another of gréene Iaphy another of Diasper another of Serdin another of Cornelin another of Senton and that hée setteth his foote vppon is of Chrisolits and all these steares are bordred with fine gold and wel set with great pearles and other precious stones and the side of his table are Emerauds brodred with gold and with precious stones the pillers in his chamber are of fine gold with many Carbuncles and other such stones that giue great light in the night and though the Carbuncles giue great light neuerthelesse there burneth xij great vessels of christall full of balme to giue good smell and to driue away euill ayre The frame of his bed is all of Saphire well bound with gold to make him sléepe well and for to destroy Lechery for hée wil not lye by his wiues but thrice a yéere after the seasons and that onely for getting of children And hée hath also a fayre pallace in the cittie of Nise where hée dwelleth when hée will but the aire there is not so well tempered as it is in the Cittie of Suse And hée hath euery day in his court more
that wall is all couered with mosse as it séemeth that men may sée 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 runne through diuers Lands The first floud is called Pison or Ganges and that runneth through Inde in that Riuer are many precious stones and much Lignum Aloes and grauell of gold An other is called Nilus or Giron and that runneth through Ethiope and Aegypt The third is called Tigrée and that runneth through Asiria and Armony the great And the fourth is called Euphrates that runneth through Armony the lesse and Persia and men say that the swéet and fresh waters of the world take their springing of them The first Riuer is called Pison that is to say gathering of many Riuers together and falling into one and some call it Ganges of a king that was in Inde that men call Gangeras for it runneth through his land and this riuer is in some places cleane in some places troubled in some place hot in some place cold The second riuer is called Nilus or Giron for it is euer troubled for Giron is to say trouble The third riuer is called Tigrée that is to say fast running for it runneth faster then any of the other named so of a beast that men call Tigris for hée runneth fast The fourth riuer is called Euphrates that is to say well bearing for there groweth many good things vpon that riuer And yée shall vnderstand that no man liuing may goe vnto that Paradise for by land he may not goe for wilde beasts which are in the wildernesse and for hils and rocks where no man may passe Neither by those Riuers may any man passe for they come with so great course and so great waues that no ship may sayle against them Many great Lords haue assayed many times to goe by those Riuers to Paradise but they might not spéede on their way for some dyed for wearinesse of rowing some waxt blind and some deafe for noise of the waters so no man may passe there but through speciall grace of God I can tell you no more of that place which I may speake of vpon mine owne sight How Prester Iohns land lyeth foote against foote to England Chap. ciiij. THese Iles of the land of Prester Iohn they are vnder the earth to vs other Iles are there who so would pursue them for to compasse the earth hauing the grace of God to hold the way hée might come right to the same Countries that hée were come of and come from and goe about the earth but for that it asketh so long time and also there are so many perils to passe that few men assay to goe so and yet it might bée done for men come from those Iles to other Iles costing of the Lordship of Prester Iohn which men call Cassoy and that country is néere lx daies iourney long and more then fifty of breadth and this Cassoy is the best land that is in those countries saue Cathay and if merchants come thether as commonly as they doe to Cathay it would be better then Cathay for it is so thick of cities townes that when a man goeth out of a cittie hée séeth an other at each side there is great plenty of spices and other goods the king of this I le is rich and mightie and hée holdeth his land of the great Caane for that is one of the xii Princes that the great Caane hath vnder him beside his owne Land Of the Kingdome of Ryboth Chap. cv FRom this I le men goe to an other Kingdome that is called Ryboth and that is also vnder the great Caane that is a good country and plenteous of corne wine and other things men of this land haue no houses but they dwell in tents made of trées And the principall cittie of the country is all black made of black stones and white and all the stréetes are paued with such stones and in the Cittie is no man so hardy to spill blood of man ne beast for worship of a mawmet that is worshipped there In that citie dwelleth the Pope of their Law that they call Lopasse and hée giueth all dignities and benefices that fall to the mawmet And men of religion men that haue Churches in that country are obedient to him as men here to the King In this I le they haue a custome through all the Countrie that when a mans father is dead they will 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 ioy and mirth and when it is there the greatest Prelate smiteth off his head and layeth it vpon a great plate of gold or siluer and giueth it to his Son and the Son taketh it and giueth it to other of his friendes singing and saying many orisons and then the priests and the religious men cut the flesh off the body in péeces and say orisons and the birds of the country come thether for they know well the custome and they flye about them as the Eagles and other birds that eate flesh the priests cast the péeces vnto them and they beare it away a little from thence and then they eate it and as the Priests in our Country sing for soules Subuenite sancti Dei and forsooth so those priests there sing with high voyce in their language in this manner wise Sée and behold how good and gracious a man this was that the Angels of God come for to fetch him and beare him into Paradise And then thinketh the sonne of the same man that hée is greatly worshipped when birdes haue eaten his father and when there are most plentie of birds there is most worship And then commeth the Son home with all his friends and maketh them a great feast then maketh hée cleane his fathers scalpe and giueth them drincke therein and the flesh of his fathers head hée cutteth off and giueth it to his most speciall friends some a little and some a little for daintie And in remembrance of this holy man that the Birds haue eaten the son kéepeth his scalpe for a cup and therein drinketh hée all his life in remembrance of his father Of a rich man that is neither King Prince Duke nor Earle Chap. cvj. AND from this place men goe ten dayes iourney through the land of the great Caane which is a full good Ile and a great kingdome and the king is ful mighty And in this I le is a rich man which is neither king Prince Duke nor Earle but hée hath each yéere foure thousand horses charged with rice and corne and hée liueth nobly and richly after the manner of the country for hée hath fiftie damsels that serue him euery day at his meate and bed and doe what hée will And when hée sitteth at the table they bring him meate and at each time fiue
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
THE Voyages and Trauailes of Sir John Maundeuile KNIGHT Wherein is treated of the way towards Hierusalem and of the meruailes of Inde with other Lands and Countries LONDON Printed by Thomas Este The Preface Heere beginneth a little treatise or booke named Iohn Maundeuile Knight borne in England in the Towne of S. Albone and speaketh of the wayes to Hierusalem to Inde and to the great Caane and also to Prestor Iohns land and to many other countries and also of many meruailes that are in the holy land FOrasmuch as the land ouer the Sea that is to say the holie land that some call the land of Bihest among all other lands is most worthie and soueraigne for it is blessed hallowed and sacred of the precious bloud of our Lord Iesus Christ in the which land it liked him to take flesh and bloud of the Virgin Marie and to enuiron that land with his owne feete and there he would do many miracles preach and teach the faith and the law of christian men as vnto his children and there he would suffer manie reproues and scornes for vs and hee that was king of heauen and hell of earth of aire of sea and land and of all things that are contained in them would alonely be called king of that land when hee said Rex sum Iudaeorum I am King of the Iewes For at that time it was the land of Iewes and that land he chose before all other lands as the best and most worthie of vertues of all the world And as the Philosopher saith Virtus rerum in medio consistit that is to say the vertue of things is in the midst and in that land hee would lead his life and suffer passion and death of the Iewes for vs to saue and deliuer vs from the paines of hell and from death without end the which was ordained to vs for the sinne of our father Adam and our owne sins also for as for himselfe he had none euill done nor deserued for he neuer thought ne did any euill for he that was king of glory and of ioy might best in that place suffer death For hee that will doe any thing that he will haue knowne openly he will proclaime it openly in the middle place of a towne or of a Citie so that it may be knowne to all parties of the citie So he that was king of glorie and of all the world would suffer death for vs at Hierusalem which is the midst of the world so that it might be knowne to all nations of the world how deare he bought man that hee made him with his hands to his owne likenesse for the great loue that he had to vs Ah deare God what loue hee had to his subiects when hee that had done no trespasse would for his trespassours suffer death for a more worthie cattel he might not haue set for vs then his owne blessed body and his owne precious bloud the which he suffered for vs right well ought men to loue worship dread and serue such a Lord praise such an holy land that brought forth a Lord of such fruite through the which each man is saued but if it be his owne default This is that land prepared for an heritage to vs and in that land would he die as seased to leaue it to his children For the which each good christian man that may and hath wherewith should strength him for to conquere our right heritage purchase out of the euill peoples hands for we are cleped christian men of Christ our father and if we be the right children of Christ we ought to challenge the heritage that our father left vs take it out of strange mens hands But now Pride Couetise and Enuie hath so inflamed the hearts of the Lords of the world that they are more busie to disherite their neighbours then to challenge or conquere their right heritage aforesaid And the common people that would put their bodies and their cattell for to conquere our heritage they may not do it without lords for assembling of the people without a chiefe Lord is as a flock of sheepe without a shepheard the which depart asunder and wot not whither they shall go But would God the worldly Lords were at a good accord with other of their common people would take this holy voyage ouer the sea I trust well that within a little time our right heritage before said should be reconciled and put into the hands of the right heirs of Iesu Christ And forasmuch as it is long time that there was any generall passage ouer the sea that many men desire to heare speaking of the holy land and haue thereof great solace and comfort Wherefore yee shall heare by me Iohn Maundeuile Knight which was borne in England in the towne of Saint Albones and passed the sea in the yeare of our Lord Iesu Christ a thousand iii. C. on the day of Saint Michael and there remained long time and went through many lands many prouinces kingdomes Iles and haue passed through Turky and through Armony the little the great through Tartary Persia Surry Araby Egypt the high and the low through Libia Chalde and a great part of Ethiope through Amazony through Inde the lesse the more a great part and through many other Iles which are about Inde where many people dwelleth of diuers lawes and shapes Of the men of which lands Iles I shall speake more plainly and I shall declare part of the things what they are when time shall be after it may best come to my minde and specially for them that will and are in purpose for to visite the holy citie of Hierusalem and the holy places that are thereabout and I shall tell the way that they shall hold thether for I haue many times passed and ridden it with good company and with many Lords The Voyages and Trauailes of Sir Iohn Maundeuile Knight Hee that will goe toward Hierusalem on horse on foote or by sea Chap. j. IN the name of God Almightie Hée that will trauaile to Hierusalem may goe many waies both by sea and by land after the country that he commeth from but thincke not I will tell all the Townes Cities and castels that men shall go by for then should I make too long a tale but onely the most principall countries cities and townes that men shall go by and through to go the right way First if a man come from the West side of the world as England Ireland Wales Scotland and Norway he may if hée will goe through Almaine and throughout the kingdome of Hungary which King is a great lord and a mightie and holdeth many lands and great for he holdeth the land of Hungary Sauoy Camony a great part of Bulgary that men call the land of Bugres and a great part of the kingdome of Russie and that lasteth to the land of Milland and marcheth on Ciprus and men passe thus through the land of