betwene vs from oure chyldhode well deserueth that I shulde accomplyshe youre pleasure and satysfye youre request not onelye in this thiÌ„g but also iÌ„ al other which shal lye in my power to dooe Wherefore ye shal fyrste vnderstand that the greate Turcke kepeth hys ordynarie resydence in Constantynople whyche the Turkes cal Stamboll And he hathe hys house called Saray sytuated vppon the See coast of Asya ouer a gaynste the castelles called Scutary Where in tymes paste stoode the cytye of CalcedoÌ„ And there is but a lytle passage by the see from the one to the other whyche strayghte of auncyente tyme was called Bosphorus of Thrace nowe named the strayghte of Constantynople In the foresayde Saray whych is the palayce royal of great cyrcuite and compasse ther are many chambers rychely appareled and pryncypally that whych is apoynted for the greate Turckes owne persoÌ„ne In which he is serued w t vi yonge spryngaldes Of whych two of theym kepe the watche all the nyght one at the beddes head another at the feete eache of them holdynge .ii. torches burnynge in theyr handes These spriÌ„galdes euery mornyng make hiÌ„ redy put in the pockets of his roobe called Castan in y e one .xx. ducates of golde in y t other a M. aspres whyche be lytle poynted peaces of syluer moore square than rounde of whyche .l. make a ducate And they haue nothynge grauen in theim but onely letters neyther yet theyr ducates whyche they call Altum Altumler For they vse no armes nor crounes though oure peynters attrybute to theym tharmes of CoÌ„staÌ„tinople Which are a crosse of golde in a red felde of gueulles w t .iiii. yrons such as we stryke fyre wythall out of a tinder boxe but they are not yrones but foure greke B. that sygnyfye Basileus Basileon Basileuon Basileeis that is to saye kynge of kynges raygnynge ouer kynges The forsayd monye is to be employed on small tryfelynge pleasures of the sayde greate Turcke And yf it chaunce that he speÌ„deth them not that day they remayne to them whiche dyd put them in y e pockettes For they that aparrel hym put in other the nexte day These .vi. spryngaldes wayte vpon hym whether soeuer he goeth but he chaungeth theym as ofte as hym lysteth and going forth wyth hym euerye one hathe hys offyce One is Odabassi that is chefe master of the chamber The seconde Cheocadar bearer of the robe The .iii. Silichter bearer of hys bowe and arowes The .iiii. Sarapter bearer of the potte or vessell to dryncke water in for y e sayd great Turcke drinketh no wine The. v Chinctar which caryeth hys shooes because the custome of y e Turckes is to put of theyr shoes whan they go into theyr houses Which houses for the same purpose haue the flowerths couered wyth throÌ„med carpettes as it were matted and some bemade w t payinted rysshes or bentes accordynge to the haby lytye of euery housholder The offyce of the .vi. called Chemligi and he beareth stoles or chayers for y e sayde greate Turke to sytte in In the sayde Saray y e Turke holdeth his court which they cal Capy y t is to say y e port or gate in whych be the offycers herafter folowinge And for the better vnderstaÌ„diÌ„g howe they be entretained payed you shal knowe y t in the state of y e great Turke ther ar .ii. maners of paymeÌ„ts or wages One is called Olopha which are sure redy paimeÌ„tes after our maner of paiyng by y e haÌ„des of treasurers The other is called Timar which is as it were an assignacioÌ„ of landes heritages possessioÌ„s or reuenues dismes ê“ fettes in forme of peÌ„sioÌ„ And they which enioy these kynd of peÌ„sions are called Timariotes y e other Olophagi And ther are many offycers which haue both paimeÌ„tes as I wil shew herafter by name I wil begin at the entraunce of the courte Fyrst in y e gate of y e sayde Saray there are .iii. Capigibassi y t is to saye captaynes of y e porters Of whych one hath an C. aspres a daye And there are vnder theÌ„ .ii. C .l. Capigis or porters which haue vii or .viii. aspres a day Of the captaynes one is alwaye at the gate with lx porters they chauÌ„ge froÌ„ day to day Moreouer there is a captaine of the gate called Capagas whyche is a geided man and he hath euerye daye thre score aspres One called Saraydarbassi a gelded man also which is the captaine of the Palayce in the absence of the great Turcke hath .l. aspres a daye These .ii. haue .xii. gelded men vnder theim Of whome y e one part hathe ten and the other fyftene aspres a daye In thys place of Saray there are brought vp about .v. hundred young spryngaldes from .viii. yeres of age to twentye whyche the great Turcke causeth to be enstructed as wel in learnyng as in feates of armes Chiefely he procureth theim to be taught to wryte reade and to knowe theyr lawe to ryde to shoote and to learne other exercyses of warre and of scyencis according as they ben founde apt mete They which are apoiÌ„ted to teache theym ben olde doctours in theyr law called Talismans And the foresayd springaldes ben newe apparelled twyse a yere at theyr two solempne feastes or Easters whiche they cal Bayram halfe of sylke and halfe of wollen cloth And they go not oute of the Saray vntyll the great Turke seeth that they be in age to do seruice and to haue offyces Then he maketh theÌ„ hys Spagoglans or Selichtars or setteth them in some other state or degree accordyng as he fyndeth theÌ„ suffycieÌ„t or as he fauoureth them They are deuyded in the sayde Saray by ten and ten and ouer euery ten a gelded man is capitayne They lye all in one hall seperated one frome an other and be wrapped euery one in a Sclauine whyche is a throÌ„med carpet and dare not come one to a nother In the myddes of the sayde halle lye the gelded men in whych halle there are great lampes burning all y e night In the sayde Saray is a fayre large garden kepte and trymmed by .xl. or .l. gardeners called Bastangis they haue a capitayne Bostangibasi which hath .l. Aspres a daye The Bostangiz or gardeners haue some .iii. some foure or fyue Aspres according to theyr qualityes And they haue a lyuerey ones a yere of blewe clothe or watchettes They are Iannisserotz whiche is a diminutife of Iannissaire For when they go oute of the garden they are made Iannissaires In y e sayde garden they ben deuided by ten and ten and ouer euery ten there is an hedde called Adabassi Moreouer there is a lyeuetenaunt of Bostangibassi that they cal Protogero which is a greke name and in theyr language Checaâ—a
this gouernaūce parte of the great Armenye is comprehended For the reste is possessed of the Sophie and by y e Cordins and Beduins whiche are warrelyke people dwellynge in mountaynes called Tarquinians and in olde tyme Medes ioyninge vpon Bandras a towne of Assiria which some suppose to be Babilon and other Niniue the heade cytie of Assiria Thys Beglerbey hathe as the fame is .xxx. thousande ducates of the pensyon Timar twelue Sangiacs and .xxv. thousande Spachis whiche haue more wages and prouisyon then the other bicause they lie vpon the costes and borders of the sayde Sophie The .vi. is the Beglerbey of Damasco Syria and Iurye whiche hathe .xxiiii. thousande ducates a yere out of the pensyon Timar xii Sangiacs and twentye thousande Spachis payde as the forenamed The Beglerbey of Carie or of Aegypte hathe thyrtye thousande ducates of the pensyon Tymar syxetene Sangiacz and twenty thousand Spachis the sayde Sangiacz haue euerye one eyghte thousande ducates a yere and the Spachis two hundred This gouernaunce extendeth vnto the redde sea and vnto Mecha where Mahumettes bodye lyeth It conteyneth parte of Arabie the deserte and parte of Arabye the ryche Howebeit they are not holye subiected to the Turcke For there are manie lordes of whiche some take parte wyth the Sophy and some with y e Turcke and there are some againe whiche acknowledge neyther of theym bothe The other syde ioyning to the countree of Assiria called nowe Azemye is vnder the Sophy and is extended a longe by Mesopotamia vnto Liuerous some tyme called Hileri The seconde strengthe of the greate Turcke is founded in these Spachis whiche force shoulde be greate yf y e sayde Spachis were all good And as touchynge footemen besyde the Iannissaires the Turcke hath none anye thyng worthe For they knowe not howe to kepe anye order and it is agaynste their nature to learne Nowe there resteth to speake of the nature of the Turckes in general of theyr maners and condicyone of theyr beliefe and liuynge Whyche thynge I wyll dooe as briefely as I canne and after I wyll speake som what of the compleccyon of theyre Kynge whiche nowe reygneth THe Turckes worshyp one onely god whych made heuen and erth and sente theim theyr lawe by the Prophete Mahumet wrytten in a booke called Alcoram that is to saye the true lawe The sayde Mahumet was in the yere of our lorde syxe hundred and. xx in the tyme of Heraclius the Emperour which succeded Phocas Daugobert reygninge in Fraunce the Lomberdes in Italye And as we are called Christyanes so they ben called Musulmans that is to saye saued And they cal vs in their langage Caours specyally y e Grecians whiche they regarde not because they were so easely subdued fayntly defendynge them selues by reason of theyr secrete hatreddes diuisyons and discordes But they haue the Italyans in good estimacyon count them valyaunt men of warre calling them french men For a greate tyme they knewe no dyfference of those nacyons and tonges The foundacyon of their lawe standeth vpon these wordes Lahila ha Hilaalla Mahumet Resulalla Tangri Bir Beremberac that is to saye God is God was and shalbe God and Mahumet is y e messenger or counseller of God there is one God onely and one true prophete Whyche woordes yf a christyane pronoūce vnawares or otherwyse in theyre countre yf it be hearde he shall be constrayned to receaue theyr lawe or to die without fayle In y t stead of Baptisme they ben circumcised as the Iewes are howebeit they passe not greatly of it For theyre chyldren are often syxe or seuen yeres of age or more before they bene circumcysed and manie dye without circumcisyon at the whyche they make a greate feaste and an assemble Theyr prestes ben called Mesen theyr churches Meschet in to the whyche they neuer entre onles it be to praie vnto God and to make theyr inclinacyons or bouinges whiche thyng they do fyue tymes a daye The fyrste in the mornyng y e se conde at none the thyrde aboute thre of the clocke the fourth about syxe the fyfte when they gooe to bedde And they are not bounde to gooe to churche to make theyr inclinacyons but if them lyst Only they spred vpon y e grounde where they are an hādkercher or a white lynen cloth and bowe them selues fyue tymes theyr faces vpwarde hauinge theyr handes vpon theyr brestes The sayde houres ben shewed to thē by theyr Talismans which gooe vp vpon the toures of theyr churches and crye out a loude the wordes before written stoppynge theyr eares with theyr fyngers The women gooe not in to the churches wyth the menne bicause they ben not circumcised Wherfore they ben counted vncleane For whyche cause they saye also that they shall not entre into Paradyse but shall tarye at the gate with the Christyanes which haue well kepte theyr lawe It is a great despyte amonge them when they call one Sunet ▪ that is vncircumcised They haue our lorde Iesus chryste in great reuerence and they holde that he was borne of the virgyn Mary whom they call Murgen Ana Mary the mother and Iesus chryste yesse Berember that is Iesus the prophete conceyued by the spiryte breathing of God If any man hath blasphemed Christ be he Turcke Iew or Christyane he shalbe punished in lyke maner as yf he had blasphemed Mahumat The punyshement is fortye strypes with a staffe and a mercement of money They beleue not that he dyed thorough the handes of y e Iewes but y t it was another whyche they tooke in his steade For they saye y t he was to good a man to greate a prophete to suffer suche outrage of the myscheueous Iewes which they count to be y e vylest nacion of the world They so despise them hate them y t in no case they wil not eate in their cōpany nether mary a Iewesse howbeit they mary often tymes chrystien womē which they suffer to lyue accordynge to theyr owne law and they haue pleasure to eate wyth the chrystyans And moreouer if a Iewe wyll deny his lawe become a Turcke he shall neuer be receaued oneles that he were fyrste baptysed and made a chrystyā Among theyr scryptures they haue oure Gospelles whyche they call Ingel but they take away the passyon sayinge that the Iewes added it to mocke the chrystyans They haue neyther pyctures ymages nor anye carued or grauen thynge whyche they defende out of the lawe of Moses And they saye the Pater noster as we translated into the Arabique tongue almoost worde for worde They call the deuell Seythan and drede and abhorre him as we doe Before theyr prayers and inclinacyons they washe theyr fete handes and faces and all theyr bodye whan they be in secrete places as ofte as they may Also they washe theym selues after euery purgacy
the seueÌ„ Castelles called in olde tyme Dacia The which Iohn Huniad was father of Mathias kyng of Hungarye that did reigne in our tyme. After this battaile was a truce taken for .x. yeares betwene the Turckes and the Hungaryans by reason wherof Carabey was delyuered paiynge for his rauÌ„sone fyftye thousande Ducates The whiche truce was sone after broken by the saied kyng Lancelot at the instaunce and persuasion of y e Bishop of Rome Eugene y e fourth which chaunsed to his great mischief for he was slayne in battaile nere to the toune of Verne which is called Dionysiopolis on saynt Martyns daye the .xi. daye of Nouember in the yeare of our Lorde M cccc and .xliiij. Out of which battayl Ihon Huniad did escape Of this victorie Amurath did nothynge reioyse for asmuche as he bought thesame veray dere he tooke also the Sophie capitalle of Bulgarie Scopie and Nouomont He ranne thorowe the countree of Acarmania nowe called Ducat or Duche and the countree of y e Cymera or Eperotee called Epirus from y e ryuer of Achelons called at this daye Pachicolam nere vnto the mouÌ„taynes nowe called the mouÌ„taynes of the Demble in olde tyme called Acrocerannii which are a part of the mountayne called Pindus he tooke the porte of the Velon sometyme called Aulon and passed ouer the goulfe of Larta called the Ambracius Beye and went to the toune of Oricus nowe called Rigo and froÌ„ thence towarde Cataro called Risonicus Beye or goulfe which is about xxv myles of lengthe from Ragusa which was called Epidaurus He coÌ„streined Iohn Castrioch deputee gouernour of Cymeria to reÌ„dre to him the strong toune of Croya and to giue his three soonnes in pleage whom he made to bee come Turckes the youngest of theim named George was but .ix. yeres olde or ther aboute and was surnamed Schanderbegge y t is to saie the Lorde Alexander whiche did beecome a right valiaunt capitain and worthy to be coÌ„pared vnto Pyrrhus to others his predecessours for vnder Amurath he conquered Saruie toke a greate parte of y e couÌ„tree of Caramanie retournyng afterwarde to the Christen fayth he caused to be taken froÌ„ the saide Bazait first y e countree of Seruie then Croya And all the countrees tounes and castelles which apperteined to y e late Ihon Castrioth hys father besydes twenty or thyrty battailles which he had agaynst the Turcke in the whiche he at all tymes had the victorie in so muche that Amurath the greate Turcke coulde neuer laye any thynge to hys reproche saue onely the good chere y t he made to hym the tyme he was vnder his power callyng him his vnthankfull sonne and chylde by dyuerse his writynges sent to hym full of many amyable fauorable good wordes The saide Schanderbeg feared hym so lytle that he left his owne countreye to gooe and helpe Ferdinand kynge of Naples agaynste Iohn duke of Calabre The which Ferdinand he dyd set into his realme and thrust out thesayde duke whoÌ„ he conquered For thewhiche pleasure thesaide Ferdinand called his sonnes beeynge spoyled of theyr goodes by Mehemet the seconde after the death of their father and gaue vnto theim greate substauÌ„ce and ryches somuche y t they were made Marquesses of saynte Ange. Of this stocke was Ferdinand Castrioth Marques of saynte Ange whiche dyed in the battayle of Pauye Amurath afterwarde occupyed y e countreye of the Moree thewhyche in the olde tyme was called Peloponesus by the varyauÌ„ce and discorde of two brethren Thomas and Dimitre or Demetrius deputyes of thesayde countreye and brethreÌ„ of Constantyne Peleologo the last Emperour of Constantinople for because that the Albanoys made warre vpon theim and therfore they ranne for succoure to thesaide Amurath and he made theim his trybutoryes And forasmuche afterward as they re-refused to paye that whiche they had ê“inysed him he chased theim Dimitre he retourned agayne towarde hym and Thomas wente to Rome to the bishop therof where he dyed and left behinde hym two sonnes and two doughters Amurath beynge come to extreme age wery of the worlde and of his victoryes wythdrewe hymselfe wyth certen heremytes and religious personnes of theyr lawe to thentent to lyue from that tyme foorth in solytarynes and rest Hauynge set in his place his sonne Mehemet whiche was verey young therfore he commytted the rule gouernaunce of hym to Haly Bacha whyche sometyme is called Caly Bacha But when afreshe Ihon of Huniad and the Hungarians had sente a greate army to assayle theim he was constreygned at the desyre of his sayde sonne and of thesayde Haly Bacha to take agayne his admynistracion because they coulde not be obeyed to set an ordre in these affaires â–ª goyng agaynst the Hungarians whom he vaynquyshed and droue backe And afterwarde he went and asseged Croye against Schanderheg but he coulde not gette it And then in his retournyng by the mounteignes he was robbed and spoyled of the Paysans whyche slue many of his people So that what with the greate grefe dyspleasure that he then tooke and also for age he dyed the. M cccc li. yeare of oure Lorde beeyng of the age of .lxxv. yeres the .xxxii. yeare of his reigne and the .xxvi. of the reigne of Gharles the .vij. kyng of Fraunce And he was the first that ordeyned the Iannyssaryes MEhemet the seconde of that name called by Enguerrand and other historigraphiers FrauÌ„ces Morbesan and I am in doubte whether they would say Morbesalem whiche is asmuche to saye in the Syryan Moresque speche as these woordes of the Gospell Vade in pace in englyshe goo in peace y e soÌ„ne of Amurath of Iriny Vucouich the daughter of George deputye of Seruie beganne to reygne the .xxi. yeare of his age and with in two yeares after he wanne the siege of the toune of Constantinople whiche was in the. M cccc .liij. yere of our Lord where was slayn the Emperour Constantyne And it came so to passe that lyke as one Constantyne the sonne of Helene was the first Emperour of CoÌ„stantinople so another Constantyne beynge the sonne of another Helene was y e last Emperour therof This Mehemet was nether Christian nor MusulmaÌ„ or Mahometist for in his youthe he was instructed in the Christyan fayth by his mother and after he learned this doctryne of Mahomet so that when he came to age and dyscrecion he nether kepte the one nor the other In the begynnynge of his reigne he caused to be slain two younge brethren that he had the one of y e age of .xviij. monethes and the other of .vi. Notwithstandyng some say that in the place of the elder was put another chylde and he that was his brother was sent to Constantinople and froÌ„ thence to Venyce and so to Rome to Calyxte then byshoppe of y t see which caused him to be baptyzed and named Calixte Othman to whome the