A Discouerie of the countries of Tartaria Scithia Cataya by the North-East With the maners fashions and orders which are vsed in those countries Set foorth by Iohn Frampton merchaunt Imprinted at London at the three Cranes in the Vintree by Thomas Dawson 1580. ¶ To the right worshipfull syr Rowland Hayward knight and to master George Barne Aldermen of the citie of London and gouernours of the worshipfull company of the merchaunts aduenturers for discouerie of newe trades and to the assistents generalitie of all the sayd worshipfull fellowship Iohn Frampton wisheth all happye successe in all their attempts THere came of late to my hands right vvorshipfull a discours of the seueral sundrye customes and manners of diuers nations which are founde to inhabite in the North in the North East and in the East partes of the worlde c. Collected and written by a certaine learned man called Francisco Thamara a reader in Spayne in the citie of Cadiz and dedicated by him to the moste excellent Lorde Don Iohn Claros de Guzman Earle of Niebla and inheriter of the dukedome and estate of Medina Cidonia And vnderstanding the purpose of your worthie enterprise for the discouerie of the passages by sea to all those regions of the North and Northeast c. for very great zeale I beare to you and of desire I had to farther you in so famous an enterprise I tooke the translation of the same worke in hande and bestowed the same in writing on such as you sent in the sayde discouerie in your two Pinesses late sent forth that falling on those coastes foreknowing the natures of those people they might the better shunne perilles and on the other side take the benefite of the place the better And nowe hauing thought good to committ the same to print and to dedicate the same to your worships that eache of you may be partaker of the contents praying you to accept of my small trauell good meaning and to take the same in good parte wishing that I were more able to do you pleasure or seruice to the furtherance of so noble an enterprise since the same tendeth to the ample vent of our cloth and other our commodities of England to the increase of our nauie to the supply of sundry our wants and to the annoy of the mortall enemies of this kingdome wherby you shal please God purchace the prayer of the poore and not offende any one or other honest person of the realme and so I commit your worships to God wishing the moste happy successe that is to be wished From London this xv of Iuly 1580. Your worships to commaund Iohn Frampton ¶ Of the Region of Tartaria and of the Lawes and power of the Tartars TArtaria which by another name is called Mongall as Vicencio writeth standeth towardes the northeast and at the East parte ioyneth with the Land of the Catheos and Solangos on the South parte it bordereth with the Country of Sartanecos on the West parte with that of the Naymanos and of the North parte it is cōpassed about with the Occean Seas It was called Tartaria by reason of a Riuer running by it called Tartar and is a Region where the greatest parte is full of Mountaines and the most part of the plaine fields verie sandie being a barren countrey sauing that some parte of it is ouerflowen with the waters of the Ryuers a great parte thereof is wildernesse litle inhabited Ther are no Cities nor Townes in it sauing onelye the Citie of Cracuris Ther is so great want and smal store of wood in it that the people there are driuen to vse for the most parte the offall and dung of Oxen and Horses for their fuel aswell in rosting and boyling their victuals as otherwise The ayre of this Region is very intemperate and full of stormes and tempests that in the sommer time there are such wonderfull thunders and lightninges that men die for very feare of the same At other times there is great heat and immediately followeth verye extreame colde and snowe falling very thicke The windes there are so boysterous an strong almost continually that they drawe men backward as they are ryding on their iournyes ouerthrowing them to the ground and also blowe vp trees by the rootes and to conclude do much other harme In the winter it neuer rayneth in the summer many times and at euery of the same so little that scarselye it wetteth the ground and yet for all this it is a rich countrey of all kinde of cattell as well oxen as Camels c. Of beastes of seruice and horses there is so great store and plentie that it is to be supposed there are not so many moe in all the rest of the worlde There were at the beginning in this Realme foure sortes of people The first sorte called Yeca Mongales which is as much to saye the great Mongales The second sorte called Sumongales which signifieth the Mongales of the water because they dwell neere to the Riuer Tartar whereof they beare the name of Tartars The third are called Mercat and the fourth sorte Metrit All these had one manner of shape of body and vsed all one language Their manner of lyuing at the firste was fearce barbarous without any lawes or policie they lyued by the increase of rattell and were a bruite people and little regarded among the Scithians Afterwarde in processe of tyme they deuided and seuered them selues into certaine places and began to take theyr Captaines in companie which had charge of the whole common wealth and yet for all that ceased not to pay tribute to the Naymanos which next adioyned to them vntill that by chaunce one Canguista a man brought vp among them was elected for their king by meanes of an Oracle and reuelation This man immediately after he had receiued the Empire and Souereigne gouernment commaunded that all honour accustomed to be done to the deuill should ceasse and established by his generall edicte that all people shoulde honour and worship one onelye GOD the mightiest greatest and best of all others and also gaue expresse commandement that it should be generally published that he had receyued the Realme by the same Gods prouidence After this he commaunded that all such as could beare armour should come forthwith and represent them selues before him by a certeine day And all the people apt for the warres being come together he in his owne person hauing taken the number of them deuided them in order and appoynted ouer thē Corporals Sargents Captaines and Coronels c. After this to proue what force and power he had in the empire and supreme authoritie he commaunded seuen of the most principall men that first had the charge and gouernment of all the Realme to kill their sonnes with their owne handes the which though it was and seemed a very hard thing vnto thē yet they accōplished it forthwith being moued thervnto partly for feare of the cōmon people and
Gelones are labourers and tillers of the earth and haue corne and possesse gardeines and orchardes and haue no manner of likenesse at all vnto the Budinos neither in countenance nor collour all the realme where these inhabite is full of trees by a very great lake that is there They hunt great store of wilde beasts And of their skinnes make gownes for them selues to weare There is an other kynde of people called Argipeos which liue at the foote of certeine high mountaines They are a people balde from the tyme of their birth as well the women as the men They haue flat and broad noses and verye great beardes and a certayne sounde of a voyce wherewith they speake They are apparelled like to the Scythians They liue commonly of the fruite of trees They care not for breeding of cattell and therefore haue not many Euery one hath his dwelling place vnder a tree which in the Winter they couer with a white couering and in the Summer it is not couered at all No people of the worlde hurteth them for they say that they are sanctified They possesse no armour neither to defende nor to offend but rather themselues by perswasions and faire meanes take vp all maner of controuersies strifes that rise among them Whosoeuer commeth vnto them they fauour and succour him There are others called Isledones which vse these customes whensoeuer the father of any of them dyeth all his kinred bring thither their cattell the which they kill and make bankets and the like is done of the father of him that hath conuited them and so they make their banket eating the fleshe of the dead man with the flesh of the cattaile They flea and take off the skinne of the head of the dead man and clense it of all that is therwithin and after gilde the same haue it for their image and make therevnto euery yeare very great ceremonies and sacrifices This the father doeth for the sonne and the sonne for the father euen as the Greekes do celebrate the day of their birth These do affirme them selues to be a iust people and their women are as strong as the men thēselues These were the manners and fashions of the Scithians in tymes past vntill they were brought vnder the subiection of the Tartars and then followed their maner of liuing and nowe liue as the Tartars do being all called Tartars by one generall name Of the Countrie that is called the other side of Ganges and of Cataya and the region of Sinas which is a countrey of the great Cham and of the meruailous things that haue bene seene in those countries BEyond the riuer Ganges towards the East is the land and part of India that standeth on the other side of the same riuer and therfore is called the other side of Ganges This is the greatest the best the rychest countrey of all India which is towardes the East partes where the Sunne riseth and is now called Cataya and it appertaineth to the great Cham who is lorde of Tartaria In old time it was saide that it belonged to Prester Iohn The countrey of Cataya is greate and hath in it manye kingdomes and the buyldings like to Europe There is in it great policie of all things It is a riche countrey of Gold spices and precious stones whereof there is great aboundance The people are of great reason and liue in better order then we do There are among them Philosophers who are much esteemed The seconde sort are husbandmen The third Shepheards The fourth handicraftes men The fifth men of warre to defende the countrey The sixt the presidents and gouernours that gouerne the country The seuenth are the counsellers to the king And these are cheefest and haue charge ouer all the rest and will not consent that any one should leaue his owne office or science and take an other and therefore they are better gouerned then we are The great Chain deuyded this prouince into nine kingdomes in the which are two thousande great cities or thereabouts There is no richer prouince in the worlde It hath all thinges necessarie and in great plentie for the life of mankinde The Catayans are idolaters great merchauntes and craftes men They giue them selues much to Astronomy There are among them many religious houses of Idolaters which leade a straight life They haue among them there Vniuersities and studies of learning and the scripture of the old and newe Testament wherof it commeth to passe that they honor God and beleeue in the euerlasting life but are not baptized They loue the Christians and giue almes with a good will They haue no beardes They are much like in face countenaunce to those of the prouince of Mongall There are many Christians in Cataya It is so great a countrey and so inhabited that in a verye short space the great Cham can ioyne together an armye of three hundred thousand fighting men In the prouince of Cataya they haue no wine but make their drinke of Rise They haue fleshe milke and cheese They bury their dead bodyes richely In this prouince they celebrate their weddings with great bankets Songs and Trumpets They vse bathes They deuide the yeare into 12 monethes according to the twelue signes The moste part of these people accompteth the yeare from August They vse Crosse-bowes and gunnes and of all kinde of artillery for they are the best handycraftes men in the worlde They write vppon the leaues of trees and make bookes of them They make money of the rinds of Mulbery trees In some places they vse small Irons for money like to needles In other places small peeces of Golde There is among these neither pestilence nor any other contagious diseases and therefore is such an infinite number of people There is in this countrey many and very great Serpents which the Catayans do eate in their bankets with great affection The principall citie in Cataya is Cambula contayning xxiiii myles in compasse and is foure square and in euery square reacheth vi myles Some saye that it contayneth xl Italian myles which is xx leagues in compasse The walles are xx paces in height and v. in breadth with pinacles vpon all of three paces in height In the foure corners are foure rounde fortes and euery one of them foure myles in compasse with greate prouision of armour in euery of the same This citie hath xii gates two myles distant one from another Euery gate hath ouer it a faire large house wherein are continually a thousand watchmen kept to gard the citie There is a wall that goeth to euery one of these fortes with their arches where the king may passe into any of them The great Cham his pallace is strong and very stately and faire The streetes are streight in so much that the light of the fire is seene from one ende to another In this citie are many faire and sumptuous houses and palaces and in the middest of it is a great and wonderfull Pallace
with a high tower therein wherevpon there is a great bell and when it ringeth in the night none dare walke abroad in the streates but the watchemen of the citie and Midwiues and Phisicions who must passe with light And without the citie are twelue great streates euery one aunswering to his gate of the citie wherein there are many craftes men and merchants dwelling and in the same are lodged all such as come to the court about any busines and the Stewes are kept in those streates in the which are aboue xx thousand women of euil liuing and not one of them dare enter into the citie vpon paine of burning Out of this citie goeth euery day more then a thousand cartes laden with silke Nere to the citie of Cambalu there is a mountayne wherein are founde blacke stones which burne like vnto drye wood There is also nere to Cataya a countrey of xx days iourney inhabited with Christians Nestorians which haue greater fayrer churches then we haue In this citie of CaÌ„balu the great Cham hath his Pallace and Court which is very great And it is sayde that this Pallace hath 4. Columnes of fine gold and the walles of the Pallace layde ouer with golde and the floores layed with brickes of gold siluer In this Pallace are the great Cham his wiues which are foure in nomber of lawfull birth euery of which hath in her court thirtie thousand maides many pages men women that serue them which are more then foure thousand men women His eldest sonne of his first wife hath his court by him selfe There watche euery night xx thousande gentlemen on horsebacke which are his garde And foure thousand persons sit at meat with him The first wife sitteth at his left hande the rest successiuely and at his other hande sit his sonnes his sonnes sonnes euery one according to his age He hath xx thousande huntsmen foure thousand dogs xx thousand hawkes fiue thousand Gerfalcons a great nomber of Acorres They pitch ten thousand tents in the fieldes when he goeth to his pastimes of hunting And two principall tents for him self wherin may be two thousand knights at pleasure the which teÌ„ts are furnished with such riches that one of the small realmes is not able to buy them The great Cham is the greatest Lord of the whole earth and so intitleth him selfe king of kinges and lorde of lordes and in trueth he is lorde from Scythia euen thorowe out all the East partes from thence to the Mediteran Sea so that not without reason he causeth him selfe to be written lorde and Emperour of all the East partes He commaundeth him selfe to be called the sonne of God and in this gloryeth much He hath great countryes and very riche thereby is the greatest lorde and the richest of the worlde as we haue already rehearsed In the Winter the Tartars come into the plaine feeldes which are hote and of good pasture and in the Sommer they abyde in the mountaynes and among the trees and fresh places They make rounde houses of tymber couer them with felts and these houses they carry with them wâ—â—ther soeuer they goe And alwayes they set the dore of the house in the Sommer time towardes the South and in the Winter towardes the North. They bring likewise some cartes couered with feltes so strong that the water neuer passeth thorow them the which are drawen with Camels Vpon these they carry their wiues children family All the other customes and manners of the Tartars are spoken of already where â—e treated of Tartaria The prouince of Mangi otherwise called Mongall is neare vnto Cataya subiect to the great Cham. It hath vnder the iurisdiction thereof eight realmes and in euery realme a 140. cities And in all the prouince of Mangi is a thousand two hundred and two cities very great and riche There is in this countrey great â—rade of clothes of golde and silke and of precious stones pearles and of all sortes of spices The people are for the most parte all handycraftes men They cause the children to followe their fathers occupations There are a great nomber that vse the science of Necromancie and witchecraft and there are many euil people and of wicked conditions There is in this countrey no man of warre nor horse for the warres by reason it is situated in a strong place and shut vp with many waters and round about the cities and townes are deepe and broade â—aues full of water The people of this countrey are much toubled with sickenesse and diseases If they gaue them selues to seates of armes all the world coulde not bring the prouince of Mangi vnder subiection They worship idols they speake the Persian language they burn their dead bodies They vse in this countrie money of Corall and the women bring it hanging at their neckes and deck their Idols with it therefore it is much desired and set by In this prouince they make clothes of golde silke and chamblet in very great quantitie There are in this prouince mastiues as great as Asses All they that are borne in the prouince of Mangi haue the day houre of their birthes written that the lord of the countrey may knowe it When any man will take his iourney he goeth to aske counsell of the diuines When they dye they apparell their bodies in canuas burne them with papers wherein are paynted diuels horses slaues beastes and apparell And they say that all the same shall serue those that dye in another worlde And when they burne the bodyes they sing and make much mirth and saye that the goddes do so receiue them with ioye in the other worlde There are many great riche cities in the prouince of Cataya Mangi as for example one called Gengomsu being ten miles in compasse and the walles of the pallace of that citie are round about on the inside lined with golde In the prouince of Mangi is another citie called Nocian subiect also to the great Cham where men haue their teeth couered with golde the women set great store by their hayre and buy sell gouerne all the goods and the men followe no kinde of busines but apply their hunting pleasure pastimes in the feeldes go to the warres And when the womeÌ„ haue brought forth their children the men go to bed take the child keepe it vntil fourtie dayes be past the women rise vp go abroad as though they had not ben deliuered of any child serue their husbands Singni is also a great and noble citie contayning fourtie miles in compasse and in it is an innumerable coÌ„pany of people al are Philosophers Phisicions merchants handy craftes men very expert in all artes Ther â—re in this citie vii thousand stone bridges brought very curiously vnder the which a Galley may rowe very wel In the mountaines of this citie groweth Rewbarb and Ginger in great
Idolaters and haue great store of Pepper of that sorte which is called the greatest of the toung and plentie of Canfora and Golde In a certeine place of this Ilande which they call Bateth are a kind of people called Anthropophagi to wit deuowrers of men in respect that they eat the fleshe of their enemies and keepe their heades for treasure and he that hath most heads is accounted most riche for they make a trade with them and barter them away for other things In Armenia the great there is reported to be a fountayne where water like oyle springeth in so great abundance that many shippes are laden therewith It is good to burne for light and to annoynt beastes In the land of Tartaria towards the North are doggs not much lesse then Asses the which drawe a frame of timber like as if it were a Cart sauing that it goeth not with wheeles vpon the which two men may go and they put two or foure dogges or more to it according to the burthen and necessitie At the ende of this realme is a countrie called Darknesse because it is alwayes as darke as the first houre of the night the Sunne is neuer seene there In this countrey are handsome men and women of person but yellowe in couler They haue neither king nor lawe but liue like beastes This countrey ioyneth with one parte of Russia Russia is a great prouince towardes the North a strong countrey There are in it faire men and women and are Christians They pay tribute to the king of Tartaria There is great store of costly skinnes and fâ—rres There are in Russia many mynes of siluer the countrie is very colde In the same time Pogio declareth that there came certeine men from Aethiopia which is parcel of the Indias and the countrey of Prester Iohn and declared that they were of the countrey nere whereunto the riuer Nile springeth and also sayd that the same riuer springeth neare to the Equinoctiall at the foote of certeine high mountaynes that are alwayes couered with clowdes and that the sayd riuer groweth of three great fountaines two of them which are 40. paces asunder these meete together at the ende of 500. paces then make the riuer so great that it cannot be waded through The thirde fountayne is a greater streame a thousande paces from the other and is neare to his riuer and tenne myles from the other ryuers They saye that there runne aboue a thousande riuers into the riuer of Nile And in the monethes of Marche April and Maye the rayne so much increaseth in that countrey that they cause the riuers to ouerflowe and great floods to followe thereof They saye also that the water of Nile is verye sweete before it mingleth with other ryuers and that it had vertue to heale the leprosie and scabbes of such as washed them selues therein Saying that very neere about the place where the riuer Nile springeth there standeth a citie where they were borne that had 25. myles in circuite which is vi leagues aboue and that it was inhabited with people And they sayde that this region neare to Nile was verye temperate and aboundant of all thinges In so much thaâ— thrice a yeare they had Haye growing and mowen and twyce Wheate and had abundaunce of breade and wyne and of all fruites like to ours but Almondes therâ— want And the moste parte of Aethiopia in steede of Wine vse Water tempereâ— with Barley They sayd that vnto the Ilanâ— of Meroe the riuer of Nile was not nauiâ—able by reason of the great noÌ„ber of rocks â—hat are in it and that from the same Iâ—ande forwarde shippes might easilye â—ayle and passe Men being asked of Aethiopia which is of the Indias of Preâ—er Iohn vppon the sayde ryuer and â—hose that here wee speake of reported â—hat those people of Aethiopia are comâ—only of a longer lyfe then wee are of â—nd many of them liue a hundred and fiftie â—â—ares and in some places two hundred â—hey neuer haue the Pestilence nor other â—firmities and that therefore it is a veâ—e populous countrey They haue no â—oll they apparell them selues with linâ—n cloth or with silke both men and woâ—en and the women for the moste parte â—â—rrye behinde them a long trayne and goe â—â—rte with certeine broade gyrdels garriâ—ed with golde and precious stones â—ome couer their heads with thingâ—â—â—at are wouen in with Golde others carry â—â—eir haire loose Both men and women vâ—â—weare rings on their fingers they 〈◊〉 â—â—all tables to eat vppon they couer thâ—â—we do All those people haue one 〈◊〉 â—â—ters but diuerse languages They haue one king who is intituled king of kings vnder God There are in Aethiopia Oxen that are crooked backt like Camels with hornes of three foote long Their dogges be as great as our Asses They can do more then Lyons and they hunt Lyons with them There are many Elefants that haue teeth of sixe foote in length There are diuers other beasts which differ from ours and also birdes They sayde that in the deserts were serpents of 50. foote of length without feete that would swallowe vp a whole calfe Vpon the riuer Eufrates is a noble citie whose circuite is of 14. thousand paces They saye that it is one parte of the auncient Babylon It is called Baldach or Baldachia Eufrates passeth through the middest thereof It hath one gate of 14. arches There appeare from these parts many tokens of that great and auncient Babylon FINIS Imprinted at London at the three Cranes in the Vintree by Thomas Dawson 1580.
then they bring before him all that the deseased king left the which the new Emperour partely deuideth among the princes of his Realme and commaundeth the remaynder to be kept for him selfe and so the election is finished and the assemblie dismissed and from that time forwarde all thinges are in his handes and power none can nor dare say this is mine nor such a ones none can liue in any part of the realme but where he is appoynted The Emperour him selfe appoynteth places of abode to the chiefe Captaines and they to the captaines of thousands and these to the Centurions and the Centurions to the Corporals and these to the other Lordes The seale signet which the king of the Tartars vseth hath engrauen God in heauen and Cuicut Chaam in earth the fortresse of God and Emperour of all men he hath fiue very great and strong armies and fiue Captaines with the which he destroyeth and keepeth in subiection all his aduersaries Vnto the Ambassadours of other nations hee speaketh verie seldome and consenteth not to haue them come before him vnlesse that they and the giftes they bring without the which they neyther may nor can come to his presence bee firste purified and by certaine women appointed for that purpose wtout the obseruing whereof he answereth them by third persons and as long as he speaketh they must heare and hearken kneeling vpon their knees be they neuer so great and in such sort they must giue eare that they erre not in the woordes they speake to him and change no woordes for it is not lawfull for any man to alter nor change the Emperours woordes nor stande against any iudgement that hee hath geuen in any manner of cause whatsoeuer Hee nor any prince of Tartaria neuer drinketh publikely except they which serue first sing or play somthing vpō an instrument before him And whē the noblemen ride abrod they carry ouer them a hatte vppon a long lance which shadeth them and their wiues haue the like These were the manners of the Tartars two hundreth yeeres past and this was the maner of their liues and about this time they ouercame and brought in subiection to them the Georgians which were christians kept the lawes of the Greekes these were neighboures to the Greekes and their dominion did extend very farre euen from the region of Palestina vnto the Caspian mountaines and had eighteene bishopricks and a Patriarcke Sea at the beginning they were subiect to the patriarcke of Antioch they were warlike people Some of the women were also expert in the warres and exercised their weapons When these Georgians woulde enter into battell they accustomed to drinke a bottell of wine that they vse to carry with them and when they had drunke it they sette vppon their enemies with more courage The priestes gaue thē selues freely to vsurie and Simonie they had greate strife and hatred with the people of Armenia These Armenians of whome we speake were also Christians before the Tartars ouercame them and brought them in subiection and after that the Georgians were once subdued they swarued in many thinges and departed from the true fayth and manners of the catholike Church They knowe not the day of the byrth of our Lorde they keepe no holy dayes nor fasting dayes nor the foure seasons of the yeare the Satterday before Easter day they did not fast For they affirme that the same day our Lord had rysen neere to the euening All the Frydayes after Easter and Whitsontide they eate fleshe and otherwise they fasted much and began their Lent from the Sunday of Septuagesima so straightly that the Wednesday and Fryday they wold eate no oyle nor fishe nor drinke wine for they thought hee did sinne more that dranke wine those dayes then he which did commit the sinne of lecherie They did not all wholy refrayne from all meates on the Munday The Tewesday the Thursday they made but one meale The Wednesday and fryday they eate nothing The Saterday and Sunday they did continually eate flesh They did admit children of two monethes olde to receiue the holy Sacrament They kept certaine Ceremonies of the Iewes all their Priestes were vsurers as the Georgians were and gaue them selues much to the arte of Necromancie and more to drinking then the laye people did They tooke wiues but as soone as any one of them died none of them could marry againe If any woman did commit adulterie the Bishop gaue licence that her husband should put hir away and take an other Fynally in xxx articles the Georgians gaue to vnderstand that they were departed from the true Christian religion Of the Countrie of Scithia and of the rude manners of the Scithians SCITHIA is a Region that lyeth towardes the Septēcrion or north so called by Scitha Sonne vnto Hercules as Herodoto sayth or as Beroso affirmeth of an other Scitha Sonne to Araxes Prisca wife to Noe who was borne in that countrie These Scithians at the beginning did possesse a small countrey vntill by little and little by their valiantnes and strength they enlarged their Empire bringing vnder their subiection many nations These people at the beginning made their abode neere to the riuer Araxes being very fewe in number and litle esteemed vntill they had gotten a Martiall King excelling in the feates of armes vnder whom they enlarged their countrie and dominions and it extendeth by that side where the mountaines lye vnto the Ocean Seas and the lake Meotis passeth by diuers places vnto the riuer Tanais from the which riuer Scithia stretcheth in length And at the east ende it is deuided into two sortes of people parted assunder almost in the middest of the mountaine Ymao the one of the which is called the Scithians within Ymao and the other the Scithians without The Scithians were neuer set vpon or at the least not ouercome of any other strange empire Darius king of the Persians set vpon them but in the ende returned flying away with great shame They beheaded the king Cirus with all his armie and destroyed a Captaine of Alexander the Great with all his power they hearde of the armies of the Romaines but felt them not they are a hard people and can suffer greate labour warres be very valiant these people at the beginning did not go far one from another for they neither vsed tillage nor had any houses nor abiding place but soiourned in the deserts mountaines carrieng their beastes and cattaile wiues and children with them in cartes they had no lawes but obserued Iustice and equitie by their owne accord Among these there was no greater euill then theft nor any thing more punished and so it was needfull seeing they had no houses nor enclosures for their cattaile but all thinges lay abroade in the fieldes There was neyther golde nor siluer amonge them neither knew they what it meant Their meate which they vsed most commonly was milke and hony They cloathed their bodies against the colde and
the body they put three pieces of timber leauing one to the other round about him vpon the which they hang certeine woll The men of Scithia wash not them selues but the women wash their bodyes with water and rub them selues with a plain stone shut within a peece of wood of Cypres or Ceder or inceÌ„se After they haue so washed theÌ„ selues that they begin to smel they annoynt all their body face with oyntments so they remaine very cleane shining The maner of the othe that they sweare is by the kings chayr And if they find any periured which they knowe by the diuines that haue the knowledge therof immediatly without any longer tarrying they behead him and he loseth all his goods which is giuen to such as accused him of periury There are in Scithia other people called the Massagetas towards the part of Asia neere to the Caspian sea which are like to the people of Scithia in apparell also in life by the which many beleeue that they are Scithians These fight both on horseback on foote eyther way are almost inuincible In battayle they vse arrowes launces short swords that they always carry with theÌ„ They vse much gold in their girdels in the trimming of their heads vnder their armepits in the breasts of their horses The heades of their launces arrowes be of copper There is neither Iron nor siluer among them Euery of them taketh out wife but afterward shee is common to all Howe long they liue no man hitherto could set downe any certaintie for as soone as any of them beginneth to waxe olde his kinsfolkes and friendes â—eete together and kill him and then seethe him and after sacrifice him with certeyne â—heepe and then eate of that fleshe at a banâ—et which they make And this manner of death they accompt a happy kind of death And if he dye of any disease they eate him â—ot but rather bury him hold it for a gret sâ—me losse that he was not killed sacrifiâ—ed They sowe nothing in the earth but liue â—f the cattel fishes that are taken in the â—â—uer Araxes and for the most parte drinke â—ilke They worship the Sunne and to it they offer sacrifice with horses saying it is the â—ightest planet therfore the lightest beast â—ight to be sacrifised to him There is anoâ—her sort of people called Seres who are aâ—ong themselues very quiet tame they 〈◊〉 from the company of al men in so much â—hat they wil haue no trafique with any strange â—eople Howbeit merchants may passe vpoÌ„â—heir riuer in the same without any other â—â—â—ling put their merchandize to exchange â— that they buy nothing but by way of barâ—â—y exchange one coÌ„moditie for another Among this last sort there is no woman brought to answer in iudgement nor otherwise touched although shee be a wicked woman an adulteresse or theefe And as it is reported there hath beene no man put to death among them at any time for the feare reuerence which they haue to their lawes is of more strength then any other constellation or sinne They dwell at the beginning of the roundnesse of the worlde and because they liue chaste they be not afflicted with Caterpiller nor worme nor hayle nor pestilence nor any other euils The woman after shee is conceiued is neither touched nor desired of any Vncleane fleshe or forbidden none eate thereof Euery one is Iudge for him selfe according to the righteousnes of Iustice and therefore they are not chastened nor afflicted with those plagues that are vsed to come to others for their sinnes and so they liue long and ende their life without any disease There are others which are called Tauroscythas of the mountayne Tauro neare to the which they inhabite These offer in sacrifice to the virgin Ephigenia all those that come sayling to them by sea and are lost and al maner of Greekes that repaire thither and the sacrifice is in this manner After they haue made certein prayers they wound the head of the man and so kill him Others say they cast the body headlong from a great rocke because her temple standeth vpon a high rocke and they set the head vpon a stake And some say that the body is not cast downe from the rocke but that they bury it This diuell to whome they offer this sacrifice they say is Ephigenia that was daughter to king Agamemnon Their enimies whome they take they vse in this sort euery one cutteth off the head of his enimie and carryeth it to his house and setteth it vpon a staffe the greatest that he can get and then setteth it vpon his house commonly vppon the chimney and say that they set them so high to the ende their enimies may be keepers of all the house They of this couÌ„trey liue by robberies warres There are others called Agatirsos which are very politike vse to weare vpon their bodies great store of golde All their women are common among them for they say â—hey are al brethren of one house There is not among them any enuye nor contentiâ—â— but are like in manners to the people of Tracia There are others called Neuros which vse the maners and lawes of the Scithians These were constrayned to leaue their countrey one yeare before the conquest of king Darius by reason of the multitude of Serpentes that breede in it They holde for a certaine trueth and sweare that euery yeare in certeine dayes they were conuerted into Wolues and afterwarde returned into the forme and shape that they were first of There are others which are called Antropophagis because they eate mens flesh whose manners and lawes are the moste rude and beastly of all others which are among men They liue vnder no maner of lawe All their trade is in cattell Their apparel is like to theirs of Scithia They haue a language proper to them selues Ther are other called Melandenos which vse to weare all their apparell blacke and therefore are so called These onely among the Scithians do eate mans fleshe In the rest they haue the manners and lawes of the people of Scithia The Budinos are another great nation and all these haue fayre eyes and the collours of their bodyes are white and red The citie that these possesse is called Gelona of the which they are called Gelonas and this is the head place of that realme They make their feastes in the honour of the god Bacchus which are called Trietericas Bacchanales from three yeares to three yeares These were Greeks in tymes past but going out of their countrey came to this region where they made their abode and euen at this daye vse parte of the Greeke language and part of the Scithians The Budinos do differ from the Gelones in their language life for these Budinos are naturalles of this countrey and al their liuing dependeth vpoÌ„ the trade of cattell and these of that region vse to eate lyce
abundance There are wrought in it many clothes of gold silke of sundry coulours the citizens reioycing â—uch to apparell themselues therewith And fiue days iourney beyond it is the noble citie of Quinsay which is as much to â—ye as the citie of Heauen and it is the head citie in the prouince of Mangi It is reported to conteine in compasse one hundred miles and to haue twelue thousand bridges of stone with arches so high that a great ship may passe vnder This citie is situate in the water like Venis and euery one dwelling therein followeth the occupation of his father and auncestours There is in this citie a lake xxx myles in compasse and in the same lake stande the best pallaces of the worlde especially in the middest thereof be two wherein are made all the mariage feastes of the citie and they are alwayes furnished and trimmed for the mariages In this citie they vse the money of Tartaria which is of the rinde of a Mulbery tree Vppon euery one of those bridges there be always watchemen readie to the ende there should no harme be done nor any tumult or rebellion arise in the citie There are in it xiiii bathes The gret Cham doth set great store by this citie In the same there is a great faire pallace of the kings made foure square and compassed about with walles ten myles with verye faire chambers and other roomes and gardeins and fountayns and a great pond with much fish There is also in this citie an honorable church of Christians Nestorians Of the ciâ—ie 〈◊〉 Quinsaye of his prouince the great Cham doth receiue foure thousand and fiue hundred hanegs of golde and euery haneg is 126. thousande duccats and aboue this onely is receiued of salt Of his other rents he receiueth euery yeare ten thousand hanegs of golde In this course neare to Ganges is a countrey that is called the golden Chersoneso the which is in the Equinoctiall and runneth ouerthwart and standeth from Melaca foure hundreth and fiftie leages All this countrey is verye riche and hath great aboundance of golde and therefore it was so called or because it seemeth that the Sunne riseth gilded and shining And beyond that more then 500. leages lyeth the Iland of Ciampa or Ciampago as Marcus Paulus calleth it It is a great Iland and very aboundant of gold and precious stones The king of this Iland hath his pallaces all couered with planches of golde for tyles and the windowes and marbles of the pallace are all of golde All the trees of this Iland are of a sweete smel there is in it much white pepper The people of this Iland are faire people but euil in manners for they are Idolaters they worship Idols figures painted in diuerse sortes They kill their enemies eate their flesh and drink their blood They speake the Persian tongue Neare to this Iland are many others which are in nomber aboue seuen thousande foure hundreth as they report that haue sayled in those partes From Ciampa vnto Iaua the great are 150. leages Iaua hath in compasse three thousand myles there are in it seuen crowned kings It is an Iland verye rich of golde and hath very great store of victuals and there is in the same greate plentie of Cinamon cloues pepper and ginger and many other spices in great aboundance The people are Idolaters they speake the Persian language Iaua the lesse hath 200. miles in compasse there are in it eight kings they speake the Persian tongue they worship idols they haue lack of all kind of victuals Eyght leages from Iaua towardes the Southwest is another Iland which is called Iocat great ryche There is in it great abundance of golde and many Elefants and Apes and manye small snayles of the which they vse the shelles for money And as they write from Ophir from whence Salomon caused gold to be caryed for the Temple of Ierusalem it is beleeued to be the same for in it is great abundaunce of golde and of all other things which were carryed to Salomon And thirtie leages from Iaua the lesse is the Gatigara nyne or ten degrees from the Equinocciall on the other side towardes the South Beyond this there is no other countrey knowen by reason there hath ben no nauigation any further froÌ„ these partes and by land it cannot be trauailed for the great number of lakes and high mountaynes which be there And it is reported that the earthly Paradize lyeth that way Of many notable things that are found in the land of Tartaria and in the East India LYke as the gatherer of grapes after he hath gathered all that he can made his principall gathering in yet after that he causeth the refuse to be gathered maketh an after gathering Euen so it will hap to mee in this worke for at the conclusion I will not let to seeke agayne if there be any notable thing to be found in these Indias and prouinces of the East partes which haue not beene spoken of and in the setting downe thereof will keepe no other order then to begin by the description and diuision of India the which Pogio Florentino left written by the information of one Nicholas a Venecian that trauailed those partes and sawe them All India is deuided into three partes The first part is from the region of Persia vnto the riuer Indo The second part is the middest from the riuer Indo vnto the riuer Ganges The thirde called the farthest and last is from Ganges vnto the ende of that which is knowen to be inhabited and this exceedeth much the other in policy riches and good lawes For it is certeine that the men of this India haue sumptuous houses and well wrought and all things appertaining to them very cleane and handsome There are very riche merchauntes which haue tables and table clothes and cupbords of plate as we haue and many of them are not without fourtie ships of their owne for their affaires that euery one of them is esteemed to be worth 80. thousand duccates All these lacke bread and wine They liue by Rice flesh milk and cheese also make their drinke with Rice grounde mingled with water they make it a shyning red coulour with the iuyce of a certeyne kind of tree They haue great abundance of hennes Capons Partriges Feysants and other birdes and wilde fowle and sleepe in beds trimmed with golde couered with quilts of cotten woll They weare also clothes of linnen sarge tyed together with stringes of crimson and golde The women vse to weare showes of thin leather paynted with â—â—â—de and silke and haue bracelets of golde on their armes neckes feete and breastes There be women that liue like harlots and the Indians knowe not what sinne is Some women vse to weare their hayre blacke which couller among them is much set by In the inner India which is that in the middest of the three they consent not that one man haue more
burne the body according to their fashion and the women of their owne accorde leape into the fire All those are idolaters and for the most parte worship the Oxe saying he is a saint because he ploweth the grounde where the wheat groweth and therefore will not kill an Oxe for any thing in the worlde nor eate of his flesh And when any Oxe dyeth they annoynt all the house with his tallowe These people descend of such as killed saint Thomas The king and all the rest eate their meate vpon the ground There groweth nothing else in this countrey but Rice All men and women do wash them selues twice a day morning and euening and he that faileth therein shal be taken for an heretike They are good in the handeling of their weapons and fewe of them drinke wine This countrey is of an intollerable heate and it neuer rayneth in it sauing at certeine times in Iune Iuly and August There are in this region many Philosophers Necromancers and Soothsayers and blacke hawkes like to crowes great Owles like to Hennes In this prouince the body of Saint Thomas the Apostle lyeth buryed in a small citie And there liue many Christians The men of this countrey do annoynt them selues with Beniamin to make them the blacker for the blacker they are the fayrer they thinke themselues to be and they paynt theyr Idoles blacke and the diuels white In all this India they obserue neyther lawe nor order in their maryages By this course of the sea towardes the South are two Ilands of Christians thirtye myles one from the other the one of men the other of women and the men go not to the women nor the women to the men but three monethes in the yeare August September and October The men children remaine with their mothers vntill they be seuen yeares of age and then they go to their fathers They â—â—ue by flesh milke fishe and Ryce hauing â—o other victuals In this Ilande is great quantitie of Ambar Mandagaister is an oâ—er Ilande towardes the South distant from Escorcia neare 250. leages It hath in compasse one thousande fourtie miles â—hich are 260. leages It hath foure kings Mores There is not eaten in it any other â—leshe then of Elefants and Camels whereâ—f there be many and therefore there is â—reat trafique with Elefants tooth There are founde in this Ilande certeine birdes that are called Nichas so great that the greatest Feathers of their Winges are twelue paces long they are of so greate strength that they take an Elephant and carrye him vp into the ayre and kill him and after let him fall and feede vppon him at their pleasure Tanquibar is another Ilande moste noble and lyeth in the same course and hath in circuite 250. leages The inhabiters thereof are Idolaters and so great of stature that they be like Giantes and are of great force They be all blacke and go naked They are to be wondered at The women are foule and euil fauoured They are strong in battell for they esteeme not their liues Returning to the cities of Cataya and Tartaria It is sayde that the citie of Berengalia hath in circuite three score myles which are fifteene leages and that it hath nyne hundred thousande men that can carrye armour The men of that countrie take as many wiues as they list who are burned with their husbands when they dye And the king hath twelue thousande of the which two or three thousande are taken vppon condicion that when the king dyeth they of their owne accorde shall burne with him and to these is done great honour In the citie of Berengalia three times in the yeare they make a greate feast to their goddes they carrye their Idoles through the citie in procession in the middest of two cartes accompanyed with many people and manye maydens finely arrayed singing ioyfully with great deuotion they spende three dayes in bankets daunces and songes and celebrate their marryages with bankets songes and trumpets They haue all kinde of Instrustruments as we haue except Organs which they lacke They dawnce as wee do one after an other which is a thing to be seene They vse bathes except it bee such as are neare to Ganges The other washe them selues manye tymes a daye in tolde water Neare to this citie of Berengalia is a mountayne so called in the which are manye Diamonds and the mountayne is full of serpents but they take them with policye They which dwell in these countreys deuide the yeare into xii partes as we do accompt the moneths like to the xii signes The most part recken the yeare from August by Augustus Caesar In some of those realmes they vse certeine small stones for money which are called the eyes of a Catt In others they vse certeine small Irons like to needles in others certeine papers wherein is written the name of the king In some prouinces of the India more forwarde they vse Venice duccats of golde in others they haue money of siluer and copper in others they make pieces of golde and vse them for money Malpuria or Malapuria or Milipar is an other citie in the prouince of Mahabaria neare to the second entrance that the riuer Indo doth runne in at where the body of saint Thomas the Apostle is honorably buryed in an honorable church where are resident well neare 1000 Christians of the Nestorians of the which are many throughout all the India euen as the Iewes are here among vs. In the prouince of Macino which Volaterano thinketh to be the region of the Seras are many Elephants The king bringeth vp tenne thousande and vseth of them in his warres The men of this countrey take but one wife apeece The women are verye lecherous They are all Idolaters and in the morning they turne towards the Sunne They worship the diuinitie of God in Trinitie In this region is a ryuer called Daua well neare as great as Ganges the citie is called Dua it hath 18000. paces in circuite they write in the leaues of certeine trees for in all the India is no paper except onely in the citie of Cambayta They eate Serpents that are vi foote in length as groâ—e as a man They eate likewise Ants which are red and as great as crabbes In the end of this region towards Cataya are certeine Oxen white and blacke with maynes and tayles like horses hauing longer hayre The hayres of their tayles are very small as light as fethers they sell theÌ„ by waight they are highly esteemed Cibalechia is a royall citie and one of the chiefest in all Cataya it hath xxviii miles in circuite and in the middest a pallace very strong and faire and at euery end a round fort of foure miles compasse for a house of armour where is all kinde of armour and engins necessarye and that may be imagined for the warres From the kings pallace to euery one of these fortes is a wall with arches from whence the king may passe to any of