Of divers Countries and of marvellous Beasts ANd sithence I have spoken before of the holy land and Countries thereabout and many ways thither and to Mount Sinai and to Babylon and divers other places which I have spoken of Now will I speak of strange Beasts of divers People Countries and Isles that are parted by the Rivers which run through Paradise terrestre For Mesopotamia and the Kingdom of Chalde and Araby are between two Rivers Tigris and Euphrates and the Kingdom of Media and Persia are between two Rivers Tigris and Indus and the Kingdom of Sury Palestine and Femines are between Euphrates and the Mediterranian Sea It is of length from Moroch on the Sea of Spain unto the great Sea and so it lasteth beyond Constantinople three hundred and twenty miles of Lumbardy and to the Oceon Sea In Inde is the Kingdom of Sichem which is all closed among Hills and beside Sichem is the Land of Amazony wherein dwell none but Women And thereby is the Kingdom of Albany which is a great Land and it is so called because that men are more white there than in other places In this Country are great Hounds and strong so that they overcome Lyons and slay them And ye shall understand that in those Countries are many Isles and Lands of all which it were too long to tell but of some I will speak more plainly afterward CHAP. XLVIII Of the Haven of Gene for to go by Sea into divers Countries NOw he that will go to Tartary Persia Chalde or Inde he taketh Ship of Gene or at Venice or at any other Haven and so he passeth by the Sea and arriveth at Topasond that is a good City that sometime was called the Haven of Briga and thereby is the Haven of Persia of Media and of other Marches In this City lyeth Saint Athanasius that was Bishop of Alexandria and made the Psalm Quicunque vult This man was a great Doctor of Divinity and of the God-head he was accused unto the Pope of Rome that he was an Heretick and the Pope sent for him and put him in Prison and while he was in that Prison he made this Psalm and sent it unto the Pope and said if that he were an Heretick then was that Heresie for that was his Faith and his Belief and when the Pope saw that what he had said therein was all our Faith he anon delivered him out of Prison and commanded that Psalm to be said every day at the beginning of Service and so he held Athanasius for a good Christian but he would never after go to his Bishoprick hecause they accused him of Heresie Topasond was sometime holden of the Emperor of Constantinople but a great man that he sent to help the Country against the Turks did hold it to himself and called himself Emperor of Topasond Also a poor mans son who watched on a time asked of the Lady that he might grow rich and happy by Merchandise and the Lady granted him but she said to him that he had asked his undoing for great pride that he should have thereof And this man became so great a Merchant both by Sea and Land that he was so rich that he knew not the thousand part of his goods Also a Knight of the Templers watched likewise and when he had done he desired to have a Purse full of Gold and whatsoever he took thereof it should ever be full again and she granted it him but she told him that he had desired his destruction by the great mispending that he should have of the same Purse and so it befell But he that shall watch hath great néed to kéep him from sléep for if he sléep he is lost so that he shall never be séen after But this is not the right way but for a marvel From Topasond men go to great Armony to the City Artyron which aforetime was a fair City but the Turks have so destroyed it that there neither groweth Wine nor Fruit. From Artyron men go to the Hill Sabissocal and there near is another Hill called Arah but the Jews call it Thano where the Ark of Noah rested after the Deluge and on that Hill a man may sée very far in clear weather for the Hill is full seven miles of height and some say they have been there and put their fingers in the holes where the Fiend went out when Noah said in this manner Benedicite But I judg that for Snow that is alwaies upon that Hill both Winter and Summer no man hath ever gone up since Noah was there but only one is said to have been there who brought a Plank that yet is in the Abbey at the Hills foot for he had great desire to go up that Hill and when he was at the third part upward he was so weary that he might not go further and he rested him and slept and when he was awake he was down at the Hill foot and then prayed he to God devoutly that he would suffer him to go to the upper part of the Hill and an Angel said that he should have his desire and so he did and since that time no man did ever come there but a man ought not to believe all things that are spoken of it CHAP. XLIX Of the Country of Job and of the Kingdom of Chalde ON the other side of the City of Carnaa men enter into the land of Job that is a good land surnished with plenty of all fruits and it is also called Swere In this land is the City of Thomar This Job was a Painim and also he was Cofraas Son and he held that land as the Prince thereof and he was so rich that he knew not the hundred part of his goods and after his poverty God made him richer then ever he was before so that he was King of Idumea after the death of King Esau and when he was King he was called Joab and in that Kingdom he lived an hundred thréescore and ten years so that when he died he was two hundred forty and eight years old And in the land of Job is no want of any thing that is needfull for mans body There are Hills where men find Manna which Manna is called Angels Bread it is white of colour and much sweeter than Sugar or Honey and it cometh of the dew of Heaven that falleth on the Herbs and there it congealeth and waxeth white and it is used in medicines for rich men This land boundeth on the land of Chalde which is a great land and there the men are very fair and well apparelled as with Cloth of Gold beset with costly Pearls and many other precious Stones The woman are but hard favoured and go bare-foot and meanly clad with a wide and coarse Coat but so short that it scarce covers their knees their sleeves are long down to the foot they have long black hair hanging about their shoulders and are nothing lovely to look upon but I had best say no more
earth nor in water they thought that the body of Christ would have stunk therefore they made the piece that went from the Earth upwards of Cypress so that the smell of his Body should grieve no man that came by and that overtwart was made of Palm in signification of Victory and the Table wherein the Title was was made of Olive for it betokened peace as the Story of Noe witnesseth when the Dove brought the Branch of Olive it betokened peace made between God and Man And ye shall understand that the men that dwell beyond the Sea say that the piece of the Cross that was of Cypress was of the Tree that Adam eat the apple of for so they find written They say also that their Scripture saith that when Adam was sick he willed his Son Seth that he should go to Paradice and pray the Angel that kept Paradice that he would send him Oyl of the Tree of Mercy for to annoint him that he might have health and Seth went but the Angel would not let him come at the Gate but said unto him that he might not have of the Oyl of mercy but he gave him thrée kernels of the same Trée that his Father eat the Apple of and bad him as soon as his Father was dead that he should put those kernels under his tongue and bury him and he did so and of these three kernels sprang a tree and the Angel said when the trée bare fruit then should Adam be made whole And when Seth came again and found his Father dead he did with the kernels as the Angel commanded him of which came three trees whereof a Cross was made that bare good Fruit that is our Saviour Iesus Christ through whom Adam and all that came of him shall be delivered from everlasting death if it be not their own default This holy Cross had the Iews hid under the Earth in the Rock of the Mount Calvary and it lay there two hundred years and more as they say unto the time that St. Elene found it which St. Elene was the Daughter of Coel king of England and then was called Brittain and after married to Constantius first Consul and after Emperour of Rome who had by her issue Constantine the Great born in England and afterward Emperour of Rome which Constantine turned the name of Bizantium into Constantinople he reedified that City and made it the Monarchal Seat of all Europe and Asia minor Also the Cross was in length eight cubits and the piece that went overthwart was three cubits and ā half CHAP. II. Of the Islands of Greece At Constantinople is the Emperors Palace which is fair and richly built and therein is a place for Iusting made about with Stages that every man may well see without hindring of one another Vnder these Stages are vaulted Stables for the Emperors Horses and all the Pillars are of Marble Within the Church of St. Sophie an Emperor would have laid the body of his Father when he was dead and as they made the Grave they found a Body in the Earth and upon the Body lay a great Plate of fine Gold and thereupon was written in Hebrew Greek and Latin Letters these words Jesus Christus nascetur de Virgine Maria ego credo in eum that is Iesus Christ shall be born of the Virgin Mary and I believe in him And the date was that it lay in the Earth two hundred years before our Lord Iesus Christ was born and yet is that Plate in the Treasury of the Church and it is thought that Hermogenes the wise man writ it And although the men of that Country be Christians yet nevertheless they vary from our Faith for they say that the holy Ghost procéedeth not from the Son but from the Father only neither are they obedient to the Church of Rome nor to the Pope but they say that their Patriarchs have as much power there as the Pope hath at Rome And therefore Pope John the xxii sent Letters to them how that Christians should be all one and that they should be obedient to the Pope and among divers answers they sent him this for one Potentiam tuam summam circa subjectos tuos firmiter credimus Superbitatem tuam sustinere non possumus Avaritiam tuam satiare non intendimus Dominus tecum sit quia Dominus nobiscum est Vale. That is We believe well that thy power is great over thy Subjects We may not suffer thy pride We are not purposed to fulfill thy covetousness Our Lord be with thée for our Lord is with us Farewell Other answer might he not have of them And also they make their Sacrament of the Altar of tharf Bread because our Lord made it of tharf Bread when he made his Maundy and on Shrove-thursday make they their Bread in token of the Maundy and they dry it in the Sun and keep it all the year and give it to sick men And they make but one Vnction when they Christen children and they anoint no sick men also they say there is no purgatory and that souls shall have neither joy nor pain untill the day of Doom And they say that Fornication is no deadly sin but a kindly thing and that men and women should wed but once and whoso weddeth more than once their Children are Bastards and gotten in sin and their Priests also are Wedded and they say that Vsury or Simony is no deadly sin and they sell Benefices of the Church and so do men of other places but it is great pity for now Simony reigneth in the holy Church God amend it when his will is and they say that Lay-men should not sing Mass but on the Saturday and on the Sunday and they fast on the Saturday no time in the year unless it be Christmass or Easter-even And they suffer no man that is on this side the Greek sea to sing at their Altars and if it fall out that one do then they wash their Altar without tarrying with holy water and they say that there should be but one Mass said at one Altar in a day And they say that our Lord did never eat meat but he made a shew of eating And also they say that we sin deadly in shaving off our Beards for the Beard is a token of a man and a gift of our Lord and they say that we sin in eating 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 day before Ashwednesday and in eating of Flesh on the Wednesday and when we eat Cheese or Eggs on the Friday and they curse all those that eat no flesh on the Saturday Also the Emperour of Constantinople maketh the Patriarchs Archbishops and Bishops and he giveth all the Dignities of Churches and depriveth them that are unworthy Although it be so that these touch not any way nevertheless they shall serve to shew a part of the Customs
them that have medled with them Also the land is all common for every man taketh what he will for that one man hath now this year another man hath the next year And all the goods as Corn Beasts and all manner of things in that country are common For there is nothing under lock and as rich is one man as another but they have an evil custome to eating of flesh for they eat mans flesh more gladly than other Nevertheless in that land is abundance of Corn of Flesh of Fich of Gold of Silver and of all manner of good And thither do Marchants bring children for to sell and those that are fat they eat but those that be lean they keep till they be fat and then are they eaten And besides this Isle of Lamory is another called Somober the which is a good Isle and there both men and women that are of the Nobility are marked in the Visage with a hot Iron that they may be known from other for they think themselves the worthiest of the world and they have evermore War with those men that are naked of whom I spake before And there are many other Isles and People of the which it where overmuch for to speak here CHAP. LVI Of the Country and Isle called Java which is a mighty Land ANd there is also a great Isle that is called Iava and the King of that country hath under him seven Kings for he is a very mighty Prince In this Isle groweth all manner of Spices more plenteous then in any other place as Ginger Cloves Nutmegs and other And ye shall understand that the Nutme g beareth the Mace Also in that Isle is great plenty of all things save wine The King of this land hath a rich Palace and the best that is in the world for all the Stairs of his Hall and Chambers are made one of Gold and another of Silver and all the Walls are plated with fine Gold and Silver and in those places are written Stories of Knights and Battels and the Floors of the Hall and Chambers are of Gold and Silver so that no man would belive the great riches that are there except he had seen it and the King of this Isle is so mighty that he hath many times overcome the great Caane of Cathay which is the mightiest Emperor that is in the world there is often war between them for the great Caane would make him hold his land Tributary of him CHAP. LVII Of the Kingdom of Pathen or Salmasse which is a goodly land ANd for to go forth by the Sea there is an Isle that is called Pathen and some call it Salmasse for it is a great Kingdom with many fair Cities In this land grow Trees that bear Meal of which men make fair Bread and white and of good savour and it seemeth like as it were Wheat And there be other Trees which bear venim against the which is no medicine but only to take of the leaves of the same Trees and stamp them and temper them with water and drink it or else he shall die suddenly for nothing else may help him And if ye will know how these Trees bear Meal I shall tell you men hew with an Hatchet about the root of the Tree by the Earth and they pierce it in many places and then cometh out a Liquor the which they take into vessels and set it in the Sun and dry it and when it is dry they carry it unto the Mill to grind and thereof is fair Meal and White Also Honey Wine and Venim are drawn out of other Trees in the same manner and they put it into vessels to keep In that Isle is a dead Sea which is a water that hath no bottom and if any man fall therein he can never be found beside that Sea groweth great Canes and under their Roots men find precious Stones of a great vertue for he that beareth one of those Stones about him there may no Iron wound him nor draw blood of him and therefore they that have those Stones fight full hardy for there may no weapon that is of Iron wound them therefore they that know the manner make their weapons without Iron and so they slay them CHAP. LVIII Of the Kingdom of Talonach the King Whereof hath many Wives ANother Isle there is that men call Talonach the same is a great land and therein is great plenty of fish and other goods as you shall hereafter hear And the King of that Land hath as many Wives as he will a thousand and more and he never lieth but once by any one of them And also in that Land is a great marvel for all manner of Fishes of the Sea come thither once a year one after another and they lye near the land sometime on the land and so lye three days and men of that land come thither and take of them what they will and then go those Fishes away and another sort cometh end lyeth also three days and men take of them and thus do all manner of Fishes till all have been there and men have 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 thither to do worship to their King for they say he is the worthiest King of all the world for he hath so many Wives and getteth so many children of them And that same King hath fourteen thousand of Elephants or more which be tame and they be kept for his pleasure by the men of that country so that he may have them ready at his hand when he hath any War against any King or Prince and then he doth put upon their back Castles and men of War as the use of that land is as other Kings and Princes do thereabout CHAP. LIX Of the Island called Raso Where people be hanged if they be sick past hope of recovery ANd from this Isle men go to another Isle call'd Raso and the men of this Isle when their friends are sick and that they believe surely that they shall die they take them and hang them up quick on a tree and say it is better that Birds that are Angels of God eat them then Worms of the earth From thence men go to an Isle where the men are of an ill kind for they nourish Hounds for to strangle men And when their friends are sick that they think they shall die then do those Hounds strangle them for they will not that they die a kindly death for then should they suffer too great pain as they say and when they are thus dead they eat theiâ— flesh for Venison CHAP. LX Of the Island of Melk wherein dwelleth evil people FRom thence men go by sea through many Isles into an Isle called Melk and there be full ill people for they have none other delight but for to fight and slay men for they drink gladly mans-blood which blood they call good and
cometh at the right side of him and another at the left side and in each Host is many men and then cometh the fourth Host behind him a Bow draught and there is more men in that then in any other And ye shall understand that the Emperoux rideth on no Horse but when he will go to any secret place with a small Train where he will not be known then he rideth in a Chariot with four Whéels and thereupon is a Chamber made of a trée that men call Lignum Aloes that cometh out of Paradise terrestre and that chamber is covered with fine gold and precious Stones and Pearls and four Elephants and four Oxen all white go therein and five or six great Lords ride about him so that none other man may come nigh him except the Emperor call any and in the same manner with a Chariot and such Train rideth the Empress by another side and the Emperors eldest Son in that same Array and they have so many people that it is a great marvel for to sée CHAP. LXXIV How the Empire of the great Caane is divided into twelve Provinces and how they do cast Incense in the fire where the great Caane passeth through the Cities and Towns in worship of the Emperour THe land of the great Caane is divided into twelve Provinces and every Province hath more then two thousand cities and towns And when the Emperor rideth through the country as he passeth through cities and towns each man maketh a fire before his house and casteth therein Incense and other things that give good smell to the Emperor And if any men of Religion that are Christian men dwell near where the Emperor cometh they méet him with Procession with Cross and holy water and they sing Veni Creator Spiritus with loud voice when he séeth them coming he commandeth the Lords to ride near to them to make way that the Religious men may come to him when he séeth the Cross he doth off his Hat that is made of precious stones and great Pearls and that Hat is so rich that it is marvel to tell and then he inclineth to the Cross and the Prelate of the Religious men saith Orisons before him and giveth him the blessing with the Cross and he inclineth to the blessing full devoutly and then the Prelate giveth him some fruit to the number of nine Pears or Apples or other fruit in a Platter of Gold and then the Emperor taketh one thereof and the other he giveth to his Lords for the manner is such there that no strange man may come before the Emperor but he gives him somewhat after the old Law that saith Non accedit conspectu meo inanis that is to say No man comes into my sight empty And then the Emperor biddeth those Religious men that they go forth so that men of his Host defile them not and those Religious men that dwell where the Empress or the Emperors Son cometh they do in the same manner CHAP. LXXV How the Caane is the mightiest Lord of all the world THis great Caane is the mightiest Lord of the world for Prester John is not so great a Lord as he nor the Souldan of Babylon nor the Emperor of Persia. In this land a man hath an hundred wives some forty and some more some less and they take of their kin to wives all save their Sisters their Mothers and Daughters and they also take their Step-mother if their Father be dead and men and women have all one manner of cloathing so that they may not be known but the women that are married bear a token on their heads and they dwell not with their Husbands but he may lie by any as he will They have plenty of all manner of beasts save swine for they will kéep none and they believe in God that made all things and yet have they Idols of Gold and Silver and to those Idols they offer their first milk of beasts CHAP. LXXVI Yet of other manners of this Country THe Emperor the great Caane hath thrée Wives and the principal wife was Prester Johns Daughter Andthe people of this country begin to do all their things in the new Moon and they worship much the Sun and the Moon those men ride commonly without Spurs and they hold it a great sin to break one bone with another and to spill Milk on the ground or any other liquor that men may drink and the most fault that they may do is to piss in the Houses where they dwell and he that pisseth in his House shall be slain and of that sin they shrive them to their Priests and for their Penance they give Silver and the place where they have pissed shall be hallowed or else may no man come there And when they have done their Penance they shall pass through a fire or two to make them clean of their sins when they have eaten they wipe their hands upon their skirts for they have no Table-cloaths except it be very great Lords and when they have all eaten they put their dishes or platters not washed into a Pot or Cauldren with the flesh that is left when they have eaten until they will eat another time and rich men drink Milk of Mares Asses or other beasts and other Beverage that is made of Milk and Water together for they have neither Beer nor Wine And when they go to War they War full wisely and each man of them beareth two or thrée Bows and many Arrows and a great Hatchet Gentlemen have short Swords and he that sleeth in Battel they slay him and they are ever in purpose to bring all the land in subiection to them for they say it is Prophesied that they shall overcome by shot of Archers and that they shall turn men to their Law but they wot not what men they shall be and it is great peril to pursue the Tartarians when they flée for they will shoot behind and slay men as well as before and they have small eyes as little Birds and they are commonly false for they hold not their promise And when a man shall die among them they strike a Spear in the earth beside him and when he draweth to the death they go out of the House till he be dead then they put him into the Earth in the Field CHAP. LXXVII How the Emperour is brought unto his Grave when he is dead ANd when the Emperor is dead they set him into a Cart in the midst of his Tent and then set before him a Table covered with a Cloth thereupon they set slesh and other meat and a Cup full of Mares Milk and they set a Mare with a Colt by him and a Horse sadled and bridled and they lay upon the Horse Gold and Silver and all about him they make a great Pit and with all the things they put him therein as the Tent Horse Gold and Silver and all that is about him and they say when he cometh
Carbuncles and other such Stones that give great light in the night and though the Carbuncles give great light nevertheless there burneth xii great Vessels of Chrystall full of Balm to give good smell and to drive away evil Air. The frame of his Bed is all Saphire well bound with Gold to make him sléep well and for to destroy Lechery for he will not lye by his Wives but thrice a year after the seasons and that only for getting of Children And he hath also a fair Palace in the city of Nise where he dwelleth when he will but the air there is not so well tempered as it is in the city of Tuse And he hath every day in his Court more then thirty thousand men beside commers and goers but thirty thousand there or in the Court of the great Caane spend not so much as twelve thousand in our country He hath evermore eight Kings in his Court to serve him and each one of them serveth a month and with these Kings serve alway seventy two Dukes and thrée hundred Earls and every day are in his Court twelve Archbishops and twenty Bishops The Patriark of Saint Thomas is as it were a Pope and the Archbishops Bishops and Abbots all are Kings in that country and some one of the Lords is Master of the Hall some of the Chamber some Stewerds Marshall and other Officers and thereby he is richly served And his land extendeth in breadth four Months journey and it is of length without measure CHAP. XCIX Of the Wilderness wherein groweth Trees of the Sun and the Moon ANd beyond this place is a great Wilderness as men that have béen there say In the Wilderness as men say are the Trées of the Sun and the Moon that spake to Alexander and told him of his death and men say that those that kéep those trées and eat of the fruits of them live four or five hundred year through the vertue of the fruit and we would gladly have gone thither but I think that an hundred thousand men of Arms could not pass that Wilderness for the plenty of wild Beasts as Dragons and Serpents that slay men when they pass that way In this land are many Elephants both white and blew without number and Vnicorns and Lyons of many colours Many other Isles are in the land of Prester John that were too long to tell and much riches and of precious Stones great plenty I have heard say why this Emperor is called Prester John and for these that know it not I will declare Sometime there was an Emperor a noble Prince and a doughty and he had many Christian Knights with him and the Emperor thought he would sée the Service in Christian Churches and then was Churches of Christendom in Turkey Sury and Tartary Hierusalem Palestine Araby and Alapy and in all the land of Egypt and this Emperor came with a Christian Knight into a Church of Egypt and it was on a Saturday after Whitsunday when the Bishop gave Orders and he beheld the Service and asked of the Knight what Folk those should he that stood before the Bishop and the Knight said they should be Priests and he said he would no more be called King nor Emperor but Priest and he would have the name of him that came first out of the Priests and he was called John and so have all the Emperors since béen called Prester John In this land are many Christian men of good Faith and good Law and they have Priests to sing Service and they receive the Sacrament as men of Gréece do and they say not otherwise but as the Apostle said as Saint Peter and Saint Thomas and other Apostles when they sung and said Pater noster and the words with the which the Communion is sacred we have many additions of Popes that have béen Ordained of which men of these countries know not CHAP. C. Of the great Island and Kingdom called Taprobane TOward the east-side of Prester Johns land is an Isle that men call Taprobane and it is right good and fruitfull and there is a great King and a rich and he is obedient to Prester John and the King is alway made by Election In this Isle are two Winters and two Summers they reap Corn twice in the year and Gardens flourish at all times in the year There dwelleth good people and reasonable and many Christian men among them are full rich and the water betwéen the side of Prester John and this Isle is not very déep for men may sée the ground in many places CHAP. CI. Of two other Isles one is called Oriel and the other Argete wherein are many Gold-mines THere are more east-ward two other Isles the one is called Oriel and the other Argete of which all the land is full of Mines of Gold and Silver In those Isles may men sée no stars clear shining but one Star that is called Canapos and there men sée not the Moon but in the last quarter In that Isle is a great Hill of Gold that Pismires kéep and they part the fine Gold from other that is not fine and the Pismires are as great as Hounds so that no man dare come there for dread of Pismires that would assay them so that mén cannot dig for the Gold nor get thereof but by subtilty and therefore when it is very hot the Pismires hide themselves in the Earth from morn to noon of the day and then men of the country take Camels and Dromedaries and other Beasts and go thither and lade them with Gold and go fast away ere the Pismires come out of the earth And other times when it is not so hot that the Pismires hide them not they take Mares that have Foals and they lay upon those Mares two long vessels as it were two long Barrels with the mouth upwards and drive them thither and kéep their Foals at home and when the Pismires sée these vessels they leap thereto for by kind they leave no Hole nor Pit open and anon they fill those vessels with Gold and when the men think the vessels be full they take the Foals and bring them as near as they dare and then they whinny and the Mares hear them anon they come to their Foals and so they take the Gold for those Pismires will suffer Beasts to come among them but no men CHAP. CII Of the dark Country and Hills and Rocks of Stone nigh to Paradise BEyond the Isles of the land of Prester John and his Lordship of Wilderness to go right East men shall find nothing but Hills great Rocks and other dark land where no man may sée day or night as men of that country say and this Wilderness and dark land lasteth to Paradise Terrestre where Adam and Eve was set but they were but a little while there and that is toward the East at the begining of the Earth but that is not our East that we call where the Sun riseth for when their Sun riseth