the Cittie is nothing but the vale of Iosaphat and that is not very large and vpon that hill stoode our Lord when hée went into heauen and yet séemeth there the step of his lefte foote in the stone and there is an abbey of black Chanons that was great sometime but now is there but a Church And a little thence xviij paces is a Chappell and there is the stone on the which our Lord God sate when hée preached and said thus Beati pauperes spiritu quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum that is to say in English Blessed bée they that are poore in spirit for theirs is the kingdome of heauen and there hée taught his Disciples their Pater noster There also is a Church of that blessed woman Mary Egyptian and there is shée buryed And vpon the other side toward the East thrée bow shootes from thence standeth Bethphage where our Lord Iesus Christ sent Saint Peter and Saint Iames for to fetch an Asse on Palme Sunday Of the Castle of Bethania Chap. xxviij THere toward the East is a castle that men call Bethania and there dwelled Simon the Leper that harboured our Lord and them that were baptised of his disciples and hée was called Iulian and was made Bishop and that is hée that men call on for good Harboure In that same place our Lord forgaue Mary Magdalene her sins and there shée washed his féete with teares and wiped them with her heire and there was Lazarus raised when hée was foure dayes dead Of Iericho and other things Chap. xxix IN the retourning to mount Olyuet is the place where our Lord wept vpon Hierusalem and therby our Lady appeared to Saint Thomas after her assumption and gaue him her girdle and thereby is the stone on the which our Lord sate often and preached and thereon hée shall sit at the day of iudgement as himselfe sayd And there is mount Galile where the Apostles were gathered when Mary Magdalene told them of Christs rising Betwéene mount Oliuet and mount Galile is a Church where the Angell told our Lady when shée should dye And from Bethany to Iericho is fiue myle Iericho was sometime a little cittie but it was wasted and now it is but a little towne that towne tooke Iosua through the miracle of God and bidding of the Angell and destroyed it and cursed all those that builded it againe Of that cittie was Rahab that common woman that receiued messengers of Israell and kept them from many perils of death and therfore shée had a good reward as holy writ saith Quando accipis Prophetam in nomine meo mercedem Prophetae c. That is to say hée that taketh a Prophet in my name hée shall receiue the reward of a Prophet Of the holy place betweene Bethany and the riuer Iordane and other things Chap. xxx ALso from Bethany men goe to the riuer of Iordane through the wildernesse and it is néere a daies iourney betwéene Toward the East is a great hill where our Lord fasted xl daies and vpon this hill was Christ tempted of the Diuel when he said to him Dic vt lapides isti panes fiunt That is to say Commaund that these stones be made bread and there is an hermitage where dwelled a manner of Christians called Georgiens for saint George conuerted them and vpon that hill dwelled Abraham a great while and as men goe to Iericho sate many sicke men crying Iesu fili Dauid miserere nobis that is to say Iesu the Sonne of Dauid haue mercy vpon vs. And two mile from Iericho is the riuer Iordane yée shal vnderstand that the dead sea parteth the land of Inde Araby the water of that sea is right bitter and it casteth out a thing that men call Aspatum as great péeces as an horse and Hierusalem is two hundred fourlongs from the sea and it is called the dead sea because it runneth not neither may any man or beast liue therein and that hath beene proued many times for they haue cast therein men that were iudged to death nor no man may drinck of that water and if men cast yron therein it commeth vp againe but if a man cast a feather therein it sinketh which is against kinde And thereabout grow Trées that beare fruite of faire coulour and séeme ripe but when a man breaketh or cutteth them hée findeth naught in them but coales or ashes in token that through the vengeance of God these Citties were burnt with the fire of hell And some men call that lake the lake of the Alphited and some call it the poole of the diuell and some call it the stinking poole for the water thereof stinketh There sancke these fiue citties through the wrath of God that is to say Sodome Gomor Aldema Solome and Segor for the sin of Sodome that reigned in them but Segor through the prayer of Lot was saued a great while for it stood vpon an hill and yet appeareth much thereof aboue the water and men may sée the wals in cléere weather and in this cittie of Segor Lot dwelled a great while and there he was made dronk by his daughters and lay by them and they thought that God would haue destroyed all the world as hée did with Noes floud and therefore they lay by their father that men might be borne of them into the world but if he had not béene dronken he had not lyen by them And at the right side of this sea standeth Lots wife in a piller of salt because shée looked back when the cittie sanck downe Of Abraham and his generation Chap. xxxj AND yée shall vnderstand that Lot was Aarons sonne Abrahams brother and Sara Abrahams wife was Lots sister and Sara was xc yéere olde when she bare Isaac and Abraham had an other sonne named Ismaell that hée had gotten of his mayden Agar and hée was xiiij yéeres of age when Isaac was borne and when Isaac was viij dayes old hée was circumcised and his other sonne Ismael was Circumcised the same day and was xiiij yéeres of age therefore the Sarasins that be of the generation of Ismael doe circumcise them at xiiij yéeres of age and the Iewes that bée of the generation of Isaac doe circumcise them the eight daye of their age And into that dead Sea aforesaid runneth the riuer Iordane and maketh there an end and this is within a mile of Saint Iohns Church and a little beneath that same Church Westward were the Christians wont to bath them and a mile thence is the riuer Loth through which Iacob went when hée came from Mesopotamia Of the riuer Iordane Chap. xxxij THis riuer Iordane is no great nor no déepe riuer but there is much good fish therein and there commeth from Mount Lybany two Wels that men call Ior and Dane and of them it taketh the name and vpon the one side of that riuer is mount Gelboe and there is a fayre plaine And on that other side men goe by Mount Libany
to the desert of Pharaon These hils part the Kingdome of Surry and the Countrie of Phenys On that Hill grow Ceders that beare long apples which are as much as a mans head This riuer Iordane deuideth Galile and the land of Idumea and the land of Botron and it runneth into a plaine that men cal Meldam in Sarasins language and in English fayre béecause oft times bée there kept great faires and in the plaine is the tombe of Iob. In this riuer Iordane our Lord was baptised and there was the voice of the father heard saying Hic est filius meus dilectus in quo acquiesco ipsum audite That is to say in English This is my beloued sonne in whom I am well pleased heare him And the holy Ghost descended on him in likenesse of a Doue and so was there in this Baptising all the Trinitie And through the riuer Iordane passed the children of Israell on dry foote and they set stones in the middest of the water in token of great miracle And also in that Riuer Naman the Assyrian bathed him who was leprouse and hée was made whole And a little from thence is the Cittie of Aye the which Iosua assayled and tooke And about the riuer Iordane are many Churches where Christians dwell Also by the Riuer Iordane is the Vale of Mambre the which is a faire Vale and a plenteous Of many other meruailes Chap. xxxiij AND yée shall vnderstand that as we goe from the dead Sea afterward out of the march to the land of promise is a strong Castle that men call Carran or Sermoys that is to say in English the Kings hill This Castell did a King of Fraunce make whose name was Baudewin who had conquered all the land and put it into the hands of Christians to kéepe and vnder that castle is a fayre towne that is called Sabaoth and thereabout dwell many Christians vnder tribute Then men goe to Nazereth of the which our Lord had his name and from Nazareth vnto Hierusalem is thrée dayes iourney Also men goe through the prouince of Galile through Romatha through Sophyn and ouer the high hill of Effraine where dwelled Anna that was the Prophet Samuels mother and there was hée borne and after his death was buryed at mount Ioy as I haue said before And after men come to Sybula where the arke of God was kept vnder Helie the Prophet And there made the people of Israell their sacrifice vnto our Lord and there spake our Lord first vnto Samuell There also ministred God the Sacrament Néere there by at the right side is Gabaon Rama and Beniamin of the which holy Writ speaketh After that men come to Sychem that some men call Sycar and this is in the prouince of the Samaritaines somtime there was a Church but it is all wasted and it is a fayre vale and plenteous and there is a good Cittie that men call Neople and so from thence it is a dayes iourney vnto Hierusalem and there is the well where our Lord spake to the woman of Samaria and Sychem is ten myle from Hierusalem and it is called Neople that is to say the new towne And there is the Temple of Ioseph Iacobs sonne that gouerned Egypt from thence were his bones brought and laid in the Temple and thether came Iewes often in pilgrimage with great deuotion and in that Cittie was Diana Iacobs Daughter rauished for whom her Brethren slew many men and thereby is the Cittie of Corasim where the Samaritaines make their sacrifice Of the Samaritaines Chap. xxxiiij FRom Sebasten to Hierusalem is xij mile among the hils of this country is a well that men call fons Iocob That is to say Iocobs well that changeth his coulour foure times in the yéere for sometime it is red sometime cléere sometime gréene and sometime thick and men that dwell there are called Samaritaines and they were conuerted by the Apostles and their law varyeth from the law of Christians and Sarasins as also from Iewes and Panims They beléeue wel in one God that all shall iudge and beléeue the Bible after the letter and they lap their heads in red linnen cloth that they may be knowne from others for Sarasins wrap their heads in white cloth and Christians that dwell there in blew choth and Iewes in yealow and in this countrie dwell many Iewes paying tribute as christians doe And if yée will know the letters of the Iewes they are these following and are thus called Alpha for a. deth b. gymel c. he d. van e. zay f. ex g. ioth i. karph k. lam l. men m. sameth o. ey p. phe q. lad r. cloth s. fir t. soun v. than x. lours y. Now you shall haue the figures D. li. xh rz S D S li. n h R f cc ' h n d i k. Of Galile Chap. xxxv FRom this country that I haue spoken of men goe to the plaine of Galile and leaue the hill on the one side and Galile is in the Prouince of the Land of Promise and in that prouince is the land of Naim and Caparnaum and Corasim and at Bethsaida was S. Peter and Saint Andrew borne at Corasim shal Antichrist be borne and as some men say he shall be borne in Babilon therefore said the Prophet De Babilonia coluber exiet qui totum mundum deuorabit That is to say Of Babilon shall come a Serpent that shall deuoure all the world And this Antichrist shall bée nourished in Bethsaida shall raigne in Corasim therefore saith holy writ Vae tibi Corasim vae tibi Bethsaida That is to say Woe bée to thée Corasim woe bée to thée Bethsaida and the Caue of Galile is foure myle from Nazareth of that Cittie was the woman of Canaan of whom the Gospell speaketh and there our Lord did the first miracle at the wedding of the Archdecline when hée tourned water into wine And from thence men goe vnto Nazareth that was sometime a great Cittie but now there is but a little Towne and is not walled and there was our Lady borne but shée was begotten at Hierusalem and our Lord tooke his name of this Cittie At Nazareth Ioseph tooke our Lady to wife when she was fouretéene yéeres of age and there the Angell saluted her saying Aue gratia plena Dominus tecum That is to say Haile full of grace the Lord bée with thée And there was sometime a great church and now is there but a litle chappel to receiue the offering of Pilgrimes and there is the Well of Gabriell where our Lord was wont to bathe him in when hée was little At Nazareth was our Lord nourished and Nazareth is to say floure of garden and it may well bée called so for ther was nourished the floure of life euen our Lord Iesus Christ About halfe a mile from Nazareth is the blood of our Lord for the Iewes lead him vpon an high rock to cast him downe and slay him but Iesus Christ passed them and lept on
and the kingdome of Surry Palestine and Femines are betwéene Euphrates and the sea of Mediterani it is of length from Marroch on the sea of Spaine vnto the great Sea and so lasteth it beyond Constantinople thrée hundred and twentie mile of Lumbardy and to the Ocean sea In Inde is the kingdome of Sichem that is all closed among hils and beside Sichem is the land of Amazony wherin dwell none but women And thereby is the kingdome of Albany which is a great land and it is called so because that men are more white there them in other places and in this country are great hounds and strong so that they ouercome Lyons and slay them And yée shall vnderstand that in those countries are many Iles and lands of the which it were too long to tell but of some I will speake more plainely afterward Of the hauen of Gene for to goe by sea into diuers Countries Chap. xlviij NOw he that will go to Tartarie Persie Chalde or Inde he taketh ship at Gene or at Venice or at any other hauen and so hée passeth by the sea and ariueth at Topasond that is a good citie that sometime men called the hauen of bridge and there is the hauen of Persia of Medes and of other marches In this cittie lyeth Saint Athanasius that was bishop of Alexandria that made the Psalme Quicunque vult This man was a great Doctor of Diuinitie and of the Godhead hée was accused vnto the Pope of Roome that hée was an Heritike and the Pope sent for him and put him in prison and while hée was in that prison he made this Psalme and sent it vnto the Pope and said it that he were an Heritike then was that Herisie for that was his faith and his beliefe and when the Pope saw that hée had said therein was all our faith then anone hée did deliuer him out of prison and hée commanded that Psalme to be said euery day at the beginning of of seruice so hée held Athanasius for a good Christian but hée would neuer after go to his Bishoprike because they accused him of Heresie To pasond was sometime holden of the Emperour of Constantinople but a great man that hée sent to helpe the country against the Turks did hold it to himselfe and called him selfe Emperour of Topasond And from thence men go through little Armony and in that country in an old Castle that is on a rocke that men call the Castell of Sypris and there men finde an Hauke sitting vpon a perch right well made and a faire Lady of Fairy that kéepeth it and hée that will watch this same Hauke seauen daies and seauen nights and some say that it is but thrée dayes and thrée nights alone without any company and without sléepe this faire Lady shall come vnto him at the seauen or at thrée dayes end and shall graunt vnto him the first thing that hée shal aske of worldly things and that hath often béene proued And so vpon a time it besel that a man who at that time was king of Armony that was a right doughtie man watched vpon a time and at the seauen daies end the Lady came to him and bad him aske what hée would for hée had well done his duetie and the king answered and said that hée was a great Lord and in good peace hée was rich so that hée would aske nothing but onely all the body of the faire Lady or to haue his will of her Then this faire Lady answered and said vnto him that hée was a foole for hée wist not what hée asked for hèe might not haue her for hée should haue asked of her onely worldly things and shée was not worldly And the king said hée would naught else and shée sayd sith hée would aske naught else shée would graunt him and all that came after him thrée things and said vnto him Sir king yée shall haue warre without peace vnto the ninth degrée and yée shal be in subiection vnto your enimies and yée shall haue great néede of good cattell and since that time all the Kings of Armonie haue béene in warre and néedful and vnder tribute of the Sarasins Also a poore mans sonne as hée watched on a time and asked the Lady if that hée might bée rich and happy in marchandise and the Lady graunted him but shée said to him that hée had asked his vndoing for great pride that hée should haue therof And this man became so great a marchant both by sea and land that hée was so rich that hée knew not the thousand part of his goods Also a knight of the templers watched likewise and when the had done he desired to haue a purse full of gold and whatsoeuer hée tooke thereof it should euer bée full againe and the Lady graunted it him but shée told him that hée had desired his destruction by the great mispending that he should haue of the same purse and so it befell But hée that shall wake hath great néede to kéepe him from sléepe for if hée sléepe hée is lost so that hée shall neuer bée séene after but that is not the right way but for the meruaile And from Tapasond men goe to great Armony to a Citie that is called Artyron that was wont to bée a good Cittie but that Turkes haue destroyed it for there neither groweth wine nor yet fruite From this Artyron men go to an hill that is called Sabissocoll and there néere is an other hill called Arath but the Iewes call it Thano where the Arke of Noe rested after the Deluge and yet it is on that hill a man may sée it from farre in cléere weather and the hils bée xij mile of height and some say they haue béene there and put their fingers in the holes where the fiend went out when Noe said in this manner Benedicite But I vnderstand that for snow that is alway vpon the hill both Winter and Summer no man may goe vp since Noe was there but onely a Monk through the grace of God who brought a plank that yet is in the Abbey at the hils foote for hée had great desire to goe vpon that hill and when hée was at the third part vpward hée was so weary that hée might goe no further and hée rested him and slept and when hée was awake hée was downe at the hils foote and then prayed hée to God deuoutly that hée would suffer him to goe to the vpper part of the hill and the Angell said that hée should haue his desire and so bée did and since that time no man did euer come there And therefore a man ought not to beléeue all things that are spoken of it Of the Country of Iob and of the Kingdome of Calde Chap. xlix ON the other side of the Cittie of Carnaa men enter into the land of Iob that is a good Land and great plentie of all fruits and that Land is called Swere In this Land is the Cittie of Thomar Iob was a
shée haue children shée may liue with them if shée will and if the wife die before shée shall bée burnt and her husband also if he will In this country groweth good wine and women drinck wine and men none and women shaue their heads and not men Of the kingdome of Mabaron Chap. liiij FRom this land men goe many dayes iourney to a country called Mabaron and this is a great kingdome therein is many faire Citties and Townes In this land lyeth Saint Thomas in a faire tombe in the cittie of Calamy and the arme and the hand that hée put in our Lords side after his Resurrection when Christ said vnto him Noli esse incredulus sed fidelis that is to say bée not of vaine hope but beléeue that same hand lyeth yet without the tombe bare and with this hand they giue their domes in that country to wit who saith right and who doth not for if any strife bée betwéene two parties they write their names and put them into the hand and then incontinently the hand casteth away the bill of him that doth wrong and holdeth the other still that doth right and therefore men come from farre countries to haue iudgement of causes that are in doubt In this Church of Saint Thomas is a great Image that is a simulacre and it is richly beset with precious stones and pearles to that Image men come in pilgrimage from farre countries with great deuotion and there come some pilgrimes that beare sharpe kniues in their hands and as they goe by the way they sheare their shanks and thighes that the blood may come out for the loue of that Idoll and they say that hée is holy that will dye for that Idols sake And there is some that from the time that they goe out of their houses at each third pace they knéele till that they come to this Idoll and when they come there they haue insence or such other thing to offer to the Idoll And there before that Minster or Church of this Idoll is a riuer full of water and in that riuer pilgrims cast Gold Siluer pearles and other precious stones without number instead of offerings and therefore when as the minster hath any néed of mending then the master of the Minster goes vnto that riuer and takes out therof as much as is néedfull for the mending of the Minster And yée shall vnderstand that when any great feasts of that Idol come as the dedication of the Church or of the throning of the Idol all the country thereabout assemble there together and then men set this Idol with great reuerence and worship in a chaire well dressed with cloth of gold and other tapistrie and so they carry him with great reuerence and worship round about the Cittie and before the chaire goeth first in Procession all the maydens of the country two and two together and so after them goe the pilgrims that are come from farre countries of the which pilgrimes some fall downe before the Chaire and letteth all go ouer them and so are they slaine and some haue their armes legs broken and they doe it for loue of the Idoll and they beléeue the more paine that they suffer here for their Idoll the more ioy shall they haue in the other world but a man shall finde few Christians that will suffer so much penance for our Lords sake as they do for their Idol And nigh before the chaire goe all the minstrels of the Country which are without number with many diuers melodies And when they are come againe to the Church they set vp the Idoll againe in his Throne and for worship of the Idoll two or thrée are willingly slaine with sharp kniues and the men in that country think they haue great worship if that holy man which is slaine bée of their kindred likewise they say that all those that are there slaine are holy men and Saints and they are written in their lettany and when they are thus dead their friends burne their bodies and they take the ashes and those are kept as reliques and they say it is an holy thing and that they haue doubt of no perill when they haue of those ashes Of a great country called Lamory where the people go all naked and other things Chap. lv FRom this country two and fifty dayes iourney is a country that is called Lamory and in that land is great heat and it is the custome there that men and women goe all naked and they scorne all them that are clad for they say that God made Adam and Eue all naked and that men should haue no shame of that God made and they beléeue in the same God that made Adam and Eue and all the world and there is no woman marryed but women are all common there and they refuse no man And they say that God commaunded to Adam and Eue and all that come of him saying Crescite et multiplicamini et repleti terram Encrease and multiply and fill the earth no man there may say this is my wife nor no woman may say this is my husband and when they haue children they giue them to whom they will of them that haue medled with them Also the Land is all common for euery man taketh what hée will for that one man hath now this yéere an other man hath the next yéere And all the goods as Corne Beasts and all manner of things in that country is all common For there is nothing vnder lock and as rich is one man as another but they haue an euill custome in eating of flesh for they eate more gladly mans flesh then other Neuerthelesse in that land is abundance of corne of flesh of fish of gold of siluer and of all manner of goods And thether doe Marchaunts bring children for to sell and those that are fat they eat but those that be leane thay kéepe till they bée fat and then are they eaten And beside this I le of Lamory is another called Somober the which is a good I le and there both men and women that are of the nobilitie are marked in the visage with an hot yron that they may be knowne from other for they thinke themselues the worthyest of the world and they haue euermore warre with those men that are naked of whom I spake before And there are many other Iles and people of the which it were ouermuch for to speak here Of the country and I le named Iana which is a mightie Land Chap. lvi ANd there is also a great Ile that is called Iana and the king of the country hath vnder him seauen kings for hée is a full mightie Prince In this I le groweth all manner of spices more plenteously then in any other places as Ginger Cloues Nutmegs and other and yée shall vnderstand that the Nutmeg beareth the Mace also in that I le is great plentie of all things saue wine The king of this Land hath a rich Pallace and the
send to him presents so much that hée shall haue more then C. Cammels loden with gold and siluer béeside other iewels that he shal haue or Lords as precious stones and gold without number and horse and rich clothes of Camacas and Tarius and such other What Countries and Kingdomes lye next to the land of Cathay and the fronts thereof Chap. lxxix THis land of Cathay is in Asia the déepe and this same Land reacheth toward the West vpon the Kingdome of Sercy the which pertained sometime to one of the thrée kings that went to séeke our Lord in Bethlem all those that come of his kin are christian men These men of Tartary drincke no wine In the land of Corosaym that is at the North side of Cathay is right great plentie of goods but no wine the which hath at the East side a great wildernesse that lasteth more then an hundred dayes iourney and the best cittie of that land is called Corosaym and alter the name of that cittie is the land called and men of this land are good warriours and hardy and thereby is the kingdome of Comayne this is the most and the greatest kingdome of the World but it is not all inhabited for in one place of the Land is so great cold that no man may dwell there for cold and in another place is so great heat that no man may dwell there and there are so many faithes that a man cannot tell on what side hée may turne him and in this land are few trées bearing fruit In this land men lye in tentes and they burne doung of Beastes for lacke of wood This Land descendeth toward Pruse Russy and through this land runneth the Riuer Echel that is one of the greatest riuers of the world and it is frozen so hard euery yéere that men fight thereupon in great battailes on horse and footmen more then C.M. at once And a little from the Riuer is the great of Occian that they call Maure and betwéene this Maure and Aspy is a full strayght passage to go toward Inde and therefore king Alexander did make there a cittie that men call Alexander for to kéepe that passage so that no man may passe vnlesse hée haue leaue and now is that cittie called Port de Fear and the principall citty of Comaine is called Sarachis that is one of the thrée wayes to goe to Inde but through this way may not many men go but if it be in winter and this passage is called Berbent And another way is to goe from the land of Turkescon through Persia in this way are many dayes iourneys in wildernesse And the third way is that commeth from Cosmane and goeth through the great cittie through the kingdome of Abachare And yée shall vnderstand that all these kingdomes and Lords vnto Persia are holden of the great Caane and many other and therefore hée is a great Lord of men and of land Of other wayes comming from Cathay toward the Greeke Sea and also of the Emperour of Persia Chap. lxxx NOW that I haue shewed you the lands towards the North to come from the lands of Cathay to the lands of Pruse Russy where Christian men dwell Now shall I shew vnto you of other lands and kingdomes in comming downe from Cathay to the Gréekes Sea where Christian men dwell and forasmuch as next the great Caane of Cathay the Emperour of Persia is the greatest Lord therefore I shall speake of him and ye shall vnderstand that hée hath two kingdomes the one beginneth Eastward and it is the kingdome of Turkescon and it lasteth Westward to the sea of Caspy and Southward to the land of Inde This land is great and plaine and well manned with good citties but two most principall the which are called Bacirida and Sormagaunt The other is the kingdome of Persia and lasteth from the Riuer of Phison vnto great Armony and Northward vnto the sea of Caspy and Southward to the land of Inde and this is a full plenteous country and a good In this land are thrée principall citties Nassabor Saphen and Sermesse Of the land of Armony which is a good land and of the land of Myddy Chap. lxxxj THen is the land of Armony in the which was sometime thrée kingdomes that is a good land and plenteous and it beginneth at Persia and lasteth westward to Turky of lenght and in breadth lasteth from the Cittie of Alexander that now is called Port de Fear vnto the land of Middy In this Armony are many faire citties but Canrissy is most of name Then is the land of Middy and it is full long and not broad and béeginneth Eastward at the land of Persia and Inde the lesse and lasteth Westward to the kingdome of Chalde and Northward to little Armony in this Myddy are many great Hills and little Plaines and there dwell Sarasins and other manner of men that men call Cordines and Kermen Of the kingdome of George and Abcan and many meruailes Chap. lxxxij THen next is the kingdome of George that beginneth Eastward at a great hill that men call Abior this land lasteth from Turky to the great Sea and to the land of Middy and great Armony and in this Land are two Kingdomes one to Abcan and an other of George but hée of George is in subiection of the great Caane but hée of Abcan hath a strong Countrie and defendeth him well against his enimies and of this land in Abcan is a great maruaile for there is a country in this land that is néere thrée dayes iourney in length and is called Hamfon and that country is all couered with darknesse so that it hath no light that no man may sée there and no man dare goe into that countrie for darknesse And neuerthelesse men of that country thereby say that they may sometime heare therein the voyce of men horse crying and cocks crow and they know well that men dwell there but they know not what manner of men they say this darknesse came through the miracle of God that hée did for Christian men there For there was a wicked Emperour that was of Poy and was called Saures and hée pursued sometime all christian men to destroy them and did make them do sacrifice to their false gods in that country dwelled many christian men the which left all their goods and cattell riches and would goe to Gréece and when they were all in a great plaine that is called Mecon the Emperour and his men came to slay the christian men and then the christian men knéeled downe and prayed to God and anon came a thicke cloud and couered the Emperour and all his hoasts so that he might not goe away and so dwelled they in darknesse and they neuer came out after and the christian men went forward as they would and therefore they say thus A domino factum est istud est mirabile in oculis nostris That is to say of our Lord is this
THE Voyages and Trauailes of Sir John Maundeuile KNIGHT Wherein is treated of the way towards Hierusalem and of the meruailes of Inde with other Lands and Countries LONDON Printed by Thomas Este The Preface Heere beginneth a little treatise or booke named Iohn Maundeuile Knight borne in England in the Towne of S. Albone and speaketh of the wayes to Hierusalem to Inde and to the great Caane and also to Prestor Iohns land and to many other countries and also of many meruailes that are in the holy land FOrasmuch as the land ouer the Sea that is to say the holie land that some call the land of Bihest among all other lands is most worthie and soueraigne for it is blessed hallowed and sacred of the precious bloud of our Lord Iesus Christ in the which land it liked him to take flesh and bloud of the Virgin Marie and to enuiron that land with his owne feete and there he would do many miracles preach and teach the faith and the law of christian men as vnto his children and there he would suffer manie reproues and scornes for vs and hee that was king of heauen and hell of earth of aire of sea and land and of all things that are contained in them would alonely be called king of that land when hee said Rex sum Iudaeorum I am King of the Iewes For at that time it was the land of Iewes and that land he chose before all other lands as the best and most worthie of vertues of all the world And as the Philosopher saith Virtus rerum in medio consistit that is to say the vertue of things is in the midst and in that land hee would lead his life and suffer passion and death of the Iewes for vs to saue and deliuer vs from the paines of hell and from death without end the which was ordained to vs for the sinne of our father Adam and our owne sins also for as for himselfe he had none euill done nor deserued for he neuer thought ne did any euill for he that was king of glory and of ioy might best in that place suffer death For hee that will doe any thing that he will haue knowne openly he will proclaime it openly in the middle place of a towne or of a Citie so that it may be knowne to all parties of the citie So he that was king of glorie and of all the world would suffer death for vs at Hierusalem which is the midst of the world so that it might be knowne to all nations of the world how deare he bought man that hee made him with his hands to his owne likenesse for the great loue that he had to vs Ah deare God what loue hee had to his subiects when hee that had done no trespasse would for his trespassours suffer death for a more worthie cattel he might not haue set for vs then his owne blessed body and his owne precious bloud the which he suffered for vs right well ought men to loue worship dread and serue such a Lord praise such an holy land that brought forth a Lord of such fruite through the which each man is saued but if it be his owne default This is that land prepared for an heritage to vs and in that land would he die as seased to leaue it to his children For the which each good christian man that may and hath wherewith should strength him for to conquere our right heritage purchase out of the euill peoples hands for we are cleped christian men of Christ our father and if we be the right children of Christ we ought to challenge the heritage that our father left vs take it out of strange mens hands But now Pride Couetise and Enuie hath so inflamed the hearts of the Lords of the world that they are more busie to disherite their neighbours then to challenge or conquere their right heritage aforesaid And the common people that would put their bodies and their cattell for to conquere our heritage they may not do it without lords for assembling of the people without a chiefe Lord is as a flock of sheepe without a shepheard the which depart asunder and wot not whither they shall go But would God the worldly Lords were at a good accord with other of their common people would take this holy voyage ouer the sea I trust well that within a little time our right heritage before said should be reconciled and put into the hands of the right heirs of Iesu Christ And forasmuch as it is long time that there was any generall passage ouer the sea that many men desire to heare speaking of the holy land and haue thereof great solace and comfort Wherefore yee shall heare by me Iohn Maundeuile Knight which was borne in England in the towne of Saint Albones and passed the sea in the yeare of our Lord Iesu Christ a thousand iii. C. on the day of Saint Michael and there remained long time and went through many lands many prouinces kingdomes Iles and haue passed through Turky and through Armony the little the great through Tartary Persia Surry Araby Egypt the high and the low through Libia Chalde and a great part of Ethiope through Amazony through Inde the lesse the more a great part and through many other Iles which are about Inde where many people dwelleth of diuers lawes and shapes Of the men of which lands Iles I shall speake more plainly and I shall declare part of the things what they are when time shall be after it may best come to my minde and specially for them that will and are in purpose for to visite the holy citie of Hierusalem and the holy places that are thereabout and I shall tell the way that they shall hold thether for I haue many times passed and ridden it with good company and with many Lords The Voyages and Trauailes of Sir Iohn Maundeuile Knight Hee that will goe toward Hierusalem on horse on foote or by sea Chap. j. IN the name of God Almightie Hée that will trauaile to Hierusalem may goe many waies both by sea and by land after the country that he commeth from but thincke not I will tell all the Townes Cities and castels that men shall go by for then should I make too long a tale but onely the most principall countries cities and townes that men shall go by and through to go the right way First if a man come from the West side of the world as England Ireland Wales Scotland and Norway he may if hée will goe through Almaine and throughout the kingdome of Hungary which King is a great lord and a mightie and holdeth many lands and great for he holdeth the land of Hungary Sauoy Camony a great part of Bulgary that men call the land of Bugres and a great part of the kingdome of Russie and that lasteth to the land of Milland and marcheth on Ciprus and men passe thus through the land of
that it is in may no euill ghost come nor in no place where it is And in that same garden saint Peter denyed our Lord thrice and afterward was our Lord lead before the Bishop Ministers of the Law into another garden of Anne and there hée was examined scourged and crowned oft with a swée Thorne that men call Harbareus that grew in the same Garden and that hath many vertues And afterward he was lead to a garden of Caiaphas and there he was crowned againe with Eglentine after that hée was lead to a chamber of Pilate and there hée was crowned and the Iewes set him in a chayre and clad him in a mantell of purple And then made they a crowne of Ioukes of the sea and there they knéeled to him scorned him saying Aue rex Iudeorum That is to say haile king of Iewes And of this crowne halfe is at Paris and the other halfe at Constantinople the which our sauiour Iesus Christ had on his head when hée was nailed on the crosse And the speares shaft hath the Emperour of Almaine but the head which was put in his side is at Paris they say in the holy chappell and oft times saith the Emperour of Constantinople that he hath the speares head I haue séene it but it is greater then that at Paris Also at Constantinople lyeth saint Anne our ladies mother whom saint Elene caused to bée brought from Ierusalem and ther lieth also the body of saint Iohn Chrisostome that was Bishop of Constantinople There lyeth also Saint Luke the Euangelist for his bones were brought from Bethany where he was buryed and many other reliquies are there and ther is of the vessel of stone as it were marble which men call Hidrius that euermore droppeth water filleth himselfe euery yeare once And yée shall wit that Constantinople is a fayre citty and well walled and it is thrée cornered and there is an arme of the sea that men call Hellespon some men call it the bunch of Constantinople and some men call it the brach of saint George and this water encloseth two parts of the citie vpward to the sea vpon that water was wont to bée the great citie of Troy in a faire plaine but that citie was destroied by the Gréekes Of the Ilands of Greece Chap. ij ABout Gréece be many Iles that men cal Calastre Calcas Settico Thoysoria Minona Faxton Molo Carpate and Lempne And in this I le is mount Athoes that passeth the clouds and there are diuers speaches many countries that are obedient to the Emperour of Constantinople that is to say Turcoply Pincy Narde Comage and many other Thracy and Macedonie of which Alexander was King In this countrie was Aristotle borne in a Citty that men cal Strageris a little from the citty of Tragie and at Strageris is Aristotle buried and there is an Alter on his tombe and there make they a great feast euery yeare as he were a Saint and vpon his alter the Lords hold their great counsailes assembles they thinck that through the inspiration of God and him they should haue the better counsell In this Countrie are right high hils there is an hill that men call Olimphus that parteth Macedonie and Thracia and is as high as the cloudes and the other hill that men call Athoes is so high that the shadow of him stretcheth vnto Olimphus and it is néere lxxvij mile betwéene and aboue that hill is the ayre so cléere that men may féele no winde there and therefore may no beast liue there the ayre is so dry and men say in the country that Philosophers somtime went vp to these same hils and held to their noses a spounge wet with water for to haue ayre for the ayre was so dry there and aboue in the pouder of the hill they wrote letters with their fingers and at the yeares end they came againe and found those letters which they had written the yéere before without any default therefore it séemeth well that these hils passe the cloudes to the pure ayre At Constantinople is the Emperours Pallaice which is faire and well dight and therein is a place for iusting and it is made about with stages that each man may well sée none grieue other and vnder these stages are stables vauted for the Emperours horses all the pillers of these stables are of marble And within the Church of saint Sophie an Emperor would haue laid the body of his Father when hée was dead and as they made the graue they found a body in the earth and vpon the body lay a great plate of fine gold and thervpon was written in Ebrew Gréeke and Latin letters that said thus Iesus Christus nascetur de virgine Maria ego credo in eum That is to say Iesu Christ shall be borne of the virgin Marie and I beléeue in him And the date was that it lay in the earth two hundreth yéere béefore our Lord Iesu Christ was borne and yet is that plate in the treasurie of the Church men say that it was Hermogenes the wise man And neuerthelesse if it be so men of that Gréece bée Christians yet they vary from our faith for they say that the holy Ghost commeth not out of the son but all onelie of the father and they are not obedient to the Church of Roome nor to the Pope they say that their Patriarks haue as much power ouer the sea as the Pope hath on this side the sea And therefore Pope Iohn the xxij sent letters to them how Christian men should bée all one and that they should be obedient to a Pope that is Christs Vicar on earth to whom God gaue plaine power to binde and to assoyle and therefore they should be obedient to him And they sent him diuers aunsweres and among other they said thus Potentiam tuam summam circa subiectos tuos firmiter credimus Superbiam tuam summā tollerare non possimus Auaritiam tuam summam satiare non intendimus Dominus tecū sit Quia Dominus nobiscum est Vale. That is to say We beléeue well that thy power is great vpon thy subiects We may not suffer thy pride We are not in purpose to fulfill thy couetise our Lord be with thée for our Lord is with vs Farewell And other aunsweare might be not haue of them And also they make their sacramēt of the Alter of therf bread for our Lord made it of therf bread when he made his maund on sherthurs day make they their bread in tokening of the maund and they dry it at the Sun kéepe it all the yeare and giue it to sicke men in stead of Gods body And they make but one vnction when they christen children and they annoint no sick men and they say there is no purgatory and soules shall haue neither ioy nor paine vntill the day of dome And they say that fornication is no deadly sin but a
kindly thing and that men and women should wedde but once and who so weddeth more then once their children are bastards gotten in sinne and their priests also are wedded and they say that vsurie or simonie is no deadly sin and they sell benefices of holy Church and so did men of other places it is great slaughter for now is simonie king crowned in holy Church God amend it when his wil is And they say that in lent men should not sing Masse but on the Saterday on the Sunday and they fast not the Saterday no time in the yéere but if it be Christmas or Easter euen And they suffer no man that is on this side the Gréeke sea to sing at their Alters and if it fall that they do through any hap they wash their Alters as soone without tarrying with holy water and they say that there should be but one masse said at one Alter in a day And they say that our Lord did neuer eate meat but he made a token of eating And also they say that we sin deadly in shauing of our beards for the beard is a token of a man and a gift of our Lord and they say that we sinne in eating of beasts that were forbidden in the old Law as Swine Hares and other Beasts And this they say that we sin in eating of flesh on the daies before Ashwednesday and in eating of flesh on the Wednesday and when we eate chéese or egges on the friday and they curse all those that eate no flesh on the Saterday Also the Emperour of Constantinople maketh the Patriarkes Archbishops and Bishops and he giueth all the dignities of Churches and depriueth them that are vnworthy Although it be so that these touch not each way neuerthelesse they touch not that which I haue behight to shew a part of the custome maners and diuersitie of countries and for this is the first country discordant from the faith and letteth our faith on this side the sea therefore haue I set it here that ye may sée the diuersitie betwéene our faith and theirs for many men haue great liking to heare speake of straunge things ¶ To come againe to Constantinople for to goe towards the holy land Chap. iij. NOW come wée againe for to know the way from Constantinople He that will goe through Turky he goeth through the city of Nike passeth through the gate of Chiuitot that is right high and it is a mile and a halfe from Nyke and who so will goe by the brach of Saint George and by the Gréeke sea there as Saint Nicholas lyeth and other places First men come to the I le of Silo and in that I le groweth masticke vpon small trées as Plumtrées or Cheritrées And then after men go through the I le of Pathmos where Saint Iohn the Euangelist wrote the Apocalips and you shall vnderstand that when our Lord Iesus Christ dyed Saint Iohn the Euangelist was of the age of xxxij yéeres and he liued after the passion of Christ lxiii yéeres and then dyed From Pathmos men go to Ephesim which is a faire Cittie and néere to the sea and there dyed saint Iohn and hée was buryed behind the high Alter in a tombe and there is a faire Church for christian men were wont to hold that place but in the tombe of Saint Iohn is nothing but Manna for his body was translated into paradise and the Turks hold now that cittie and the Church and all Asia the lesse and therefore is Asia the lesse called Turkey and ye shall vnderstand that S. Iohn did make his graue there in his life and laid himselfe there all quick and therefore some say he died not but that he resteth there vntill the day of Iudgement therfore truely there is a great meruaile for men may sée there appertly the earth of the tombe many times stir and mooue as there were a quick thing vnder And from Ephesim men goe through many Iles in the sea vnto the cittie of Pateran where saint Nicholas was borne and so to Marca where he by the grace of God was chosen Bishop and there groweth right good wine and strong that men cal wine of Marca From thence men goe to the I le of Créete which the Emperour gaue sometime to Ionais And then men passe through the Iles of Cophos and Lango of the which Iles Ipocras was Lord and some say that in the I le of Lango is Ipocras his Daughter in manner of a Dragon which is an hundred foote long as men say for I haue not séene it and they of the Iles call her the lady of the country and she lyeth in an old castle and sheweth her selfe thrice in the yéere and shée doth no man harme and she is thus changed from a damsell to a Dragon through a Goddesse that men call Diana and men say that shée shall dwell so vnto the time that a knight come that is so hardy as to go to her and kisse her mouth and then shall shée turne againe to her owne kinde and be a woman and after that shée shall not liue long And it is not long since a knight of the Rodes that was hardy valiant said that hée would kisse her when the dragon began to lift vp her head against him he saw she was so hedious he fled away and the Dragon in her anger bare the knight to a rock and from that cast him into the sea and so he was lost Yet of the Dragon Chap. iiij ALso a young man that wist not of the Dragon went out of a ship passed through the I le till hée came to the castell entred into a caue and went so long till he found a chamber and then hée saw a Damsell that kembd her head and looked in a Mirrour and shée had much treasure about her and hée thought her to be a common woman that dwelled there to kéepe men and hée abode the Damsell and the damsell saw the shadow of him in the mirrour and she turned toward him and asked him what he would and he said he would bée her paramour or lemman and she asked him if hée were a knight hée said nay she said then might he not be her lemman but shée had him go againe to his fellowes and make him knight and come againe on the morrow and she would come out of the caue then he should kisse her on the mouth and shée bad him haue no dread for shée would doe him no harme although shée séemed hidious to him she said it was done by enchantment for she said she was such as he saw her then and shée said that if hée kissed her hée should haue all the treasure and be her Lord and Lord of all those Iles. Then he departed from her and went to his fellows to the ship and made him Knight and came againe on the morrow to kisse the Damsell and when hée saw her come out of the caue
default of water and it falleth oft where a man findeth water one time hée findeth it not another time and therefore make they no houses in those countries These men that I speake of till not the Land for they eate no bread except it bée such as dwell néere a good towne and they rost their fishes and flesh vpon hot stones against the Sun and they are strong men and well fighting and they doe nothing but chase wilde beasts for their sustenance and they set not by their liues therefore they dread not the Souldan nor no Prince of the world And they haue great war with the Souldan and the same time that I was with the Souldan they bare but a shield and a speare for to defend them with and they vse none other armour but they winde their heads and necks in a great linnen cloth and they are men of full ill kinde As men are passed this wildernesse againe comming to Hierusalem Chap. xiiij AND when men haue passed this wildernesse toward Hierusalem they come to Barsabe that was somtime a faire and a rich towne of Christian men and yet is their some of the churches left and in that towne dwelled Abraham the Patriarke this towne of Barsabe founded Vrias wife of whom Dauid begat Salomon the wise that was king of Hierusalem and of the xii Tribes of Israel and he raigned xl yéere and from thence men goe the vale of Ebron that is from thence néere xii mile and some call it the vale of Mambre also it is called the vale of Teares forasmuch as Adam in that vale bewailed an hundred yéere the death of his sonne Abel that Caine slew And this Ebron was somtime the principal cittie of the Philistines and there dwelled giants there it was so frée that all that had done euill in other places were there saued In Ebron Iosua and Caleb and their company came first to espie how they might win the land of promise In Ebron Dauid raigned first viii yéere and a halfe and in Hierusalem hée raigned xxxij yéeres and a halfe and there bée the graues of the Patriarks Adam Abraham Iacob and their wiues Eue Sara Rebecca and they lye in the side of the hill and beside this hill is a right faire Church builded after the fashion and manner of a castle which the Sarasins kéepe right well and they haue the place in great worship for the holy Patriarkes that lye there and they suffer no christian men ne Iewes to come therein except they haue speciall grace of the Souldan for they hold christian men Iewes but as hounds that should come to the holy place and they call the place Spelunke or double caue or double graue or one lyeth on an other and the Sarasins call it in their language Caryatherba that is to say the place of the Patriarkes and the Iewes call it Arboth and in that same place was Abrahams house and that was the same Abraham that sate in his doore and saw thrée persons worshipped but one as holy writ witnesseth saying Tres vidit vnum adorauit That is to say He saw thrée and worshipped but one and him tooke Abraham into his house Here followeth a little of Adam and Eue and other things Chap. xv AND right néere to that place is a caue in a rock where Adam and Eue dwelled when they were driuen out of Paradise and there got they their children And in that same place was Adam made as some men say for men called that place sometime the field of Damasse for it was in the worship of Damasse and from thence he was translated into Paradise as they say and afterward he was driuen out of Paradise and put there againe for the same day that he was put into paradise the same day he was driuen out for as soone hée sinned And there beginneth the I le of Ebron that lasteth néere to Hierusalem and the Angell bad Adam that hée should dwell with his wife and there they begat Seth of the which kinred Iesus Christ was borne And in that vale is the field where men draw out of the earth a thing the which men in that country call Camball and they eate that in stead of spice and they beare it to sell and men cannot graue there so déepe nor so wide but it is at the yéeres end full againe vp to the sides through the grace of God and two miles from Ebron is the graue of Lot that was Abrahams brother Of the dry Tree Chap. xvj THen a little from Ebron is the mount of Mambre of the which Mount the dale tooke his name and there is an oke trée that the Sarasins cal dypre remaining since Abrahams time that men cal the dry trée and they say that it hath béene from the beginning of the world and was sometime gréene and bare leaues vnto the time that our Lord dyed and so did all the Trées of that kinde in the world and yet is there many of those in the world And some prophesies say that a Lord or Prince of the West side of the world shall win the land of Promise that is the holy land with the helpe of christian men and he shal worship God vnder that Trée and the Trée shall waxe gréene and beare fruite and leaues and through that miracle many Sarasins and Iewes shall bée turned to the Christian Faith and therefore they doe great Worship thereto and kéepe it right charily And yet though it be drye it hath a great vertue for certainely hée that hath a little thereof about him it healeth a sicknesse called the falling euill and hath also many other vertues and therefore it is holden right precious From Ebron to Bethlehem Chap. xvij FRom Ebron men goe to Bethlehem in halfe a day for it is but fiue mile and it is a fayre way and through Woods full pleasant Bethlehem is but a little cittie long and narrow and was walled and enclosed with a great ditch and it was wont to be called Ephrata as holy writ saith Ecce audiuimus eum in Ephrata c. That is to say Loe wée heard of the same at Ephrata And toward the end of the cittie toward the East is a right fayre and goodly Church and it hath many towres and pinnacles full strongly made and within that Church is foure and fortie great pillers of marble and not farre from this Church is the field which flourished very strangely as yée shall heare Of a fayre mayden that should bee put to death wrongfully Chap. xviij THe cause is forasmuch as a fayre mayden that was blamed with wrong that shée had done fornication for the which cause she was déemed to die and to be brent in that place to the which shée was lead And as the wood began to burne about her shée made her prayer to our Lord as shée was not guiltie of that thing that hee would help her that it might bée knowne to all men And when shée had
little red and vpon that rock dropped the bloud of the wounds of our Lord when hée was pained on the crosse and that is called Galgatha and men go vp to that Galgatha vpon steps and in that mortyes was Adams head found atter Noes Floud in token that the sins of Adam should be redéemed in the same place and aboue that rock made Abraham sacrifice to our Lord and there is an aulter and before that aulter lyeth Godfray of Boleyn Bawdewin and other that were Christians kings of Hierusalem And there as our Lord was crucified is this written in Gréek O Theos basilon ysmon persemas ergast sothyas ayos That is to say in Latin Hic Deus Rex noster ante secula operatus est salutem in medio terrae That is to say This God our king before worlds hath wrought health in the midst of the earth And also vpon this rock where the Crosse was fixed is written within the rock Gros guyst basys tou pestes thoy thesmosy That is to say in Latine Quod vides est fundamenta totius mundi huius fidei And it is to say that thou séest is ground of all the word and of this faith And yée shall vnderstand that our Lord when hée dyed was thirtie and two yéere olde and thrée monethes and the prophesie of Dauid saith that hée should liue fortie yéeres when hée sayth thus Quadraginta annis proximus fui generationi huic That is to say Fortie yéere was I neighbour to this kinde and thus should it séeme that Prophesie were not true but it is For in old time men called yéeres of ten moneths of the which March was the first and December the last But Caius Caesar that was Emperour of Roome did set to these two Monethes Ianuary and Februarie and ordained the yéere of twelue moneths That is to say thrée hundred dayes without leape yéere the proper course of the Sun and therefore after the accounting of ten moneths to the yéere hée dyed in fortie yéere after our yéeres of twelue moneths it is thirtie two yéere and thrée moneths Also within mount Caluery at the right side is there an alter where the piller lyeth that our Lord was bound to when he was scourged and thereby are thrée other pillers that alway drop water some say that those pillers wéepe for our Lords death and néere this aulter in a place xlii steps déepe was founde the verie Crosse by the assent of Saint Eleyne vnder a rock where the Iewes had hyd it and it was assayed for they found thrée crosses one of our Lord and two of the théeues And saint Eleine assaied them on a dead body that rose as soone as the very crosse of our Lord was layd vpon him And thereby in the vale is the place where the foure nayles of our Lord were hid for hée had two nayles in his hands and two in his féete and with one of those nayles the Emperour of Constantinople did make a bridle for his horse to beare him in battaile for by the vertue that it had hée ouercame his enimies and won all the land of Asia Turky Damasse the more and the lesse Surry and Hierusalem Araby Persia and Mesopotamie the kingdome of Alebe Aegypt the high and the low and other kingdomes many full nigh all vnto Ethyope the low and also vnto Inde the lesse that then was christned and there was in that time many good men and holy hermits of whom the booke of the Fathers liues speaketh and there are now in them Panims and Sarasins but when God will as these lands are lost through the sin of Christian men so shall they bée won againe by christian men through the helpe of God And in the middest of this Church is a compasse in the which Ioseph of Aramathia laid the body of our Lord when he had taken him oft the crosse and vpon the same place did he wash the féete of our Lord and that compasse men say is the middest of the world Of the Church of the holy Sepulcher Chap. xxi IN that Church by the Sepulcher on the North side is the place where our Lord was imprisoned and there is a part of the chaine with the which he was bound and there hée appeared first to Marie Magdalene when hée was risen from death and shée thought hée had béene a gardiner In the Church of the Sepulcher was wont to bée Cannons of saint Benet and they had a Priourie and the Patriarke was their Soueraigne and without the doores of the Church on the right side as men goe vp xviii steps our Lord said to his mother Mulier Ecce filius tuus That is to say Woman behold thy Sonne Deinde dixit discipulo Ecce mater tua That is to say Then said hée to his Disciple Beholde thy mother And these words hée said when hée hanged vpon the Crosse and vpon the steps went our Lord when hée bare the Crosse vpon his shoulder and vnder these staires is a Chappell where the Priests sing And néere there is the stone where our Lord rested him when hée was weary with bearing of the Crosse And yée shall vnderstand that before the Church of the Sepulcher is the Cittie most strong and the great plaine that is betwéene the Cittie and the Church on the East side without the walles of the Cittie is the vale of Iosophat that commeth to the walles In this vale of Iosophat without the Cittie is the Church of Saint Stephen where he was stoned to death and thereby is the gate builded that may not bée opened Through this gate our Lord entered on Palme Sunday vpon an Asse and the gate opened vnto him when hée would goe to the Temple and yet are the steps of the Asse séene in thrée places the which stand in full hard stones Before the Church of the sepulcher two hundred paces is a great hospitall of Saint Iohn in the which hospitall are liiii pillers made of stone And to goe toward the East from the hospitall is a right faire church that men call our Lady the great and then is there another church by that that men call our Lady of the Latine and there it was that Mary Cleophe Mary Magdalene rent their haire when our Lord was put to death Of the temple of God Chap. xxij AND from the Church of the sepulcher toward the East at xvii paces is Templum Domini That is a faire house and it is all round and right high and couered with lead and it is well paued with white marble but the Sarasins will suffer no Christians ne Iewes to come therein for they say that so sinful men should not come into that holy place but I was suffered to go in and into other places where I would for I had letters of the Souldan with his great seale commonly other men haue but of his signet and men beare his letter with his seale before them hanging on a Speare and men doe great worship
thereto and knéele against it as it were against Gods body for those men that it is sent to before they take it they bow thereto and then they take it and lay it vpon their heads and afterward they kisse it and then they read it all bowing with great worship then they proffer them to do all that the bringer will And in this Templum Domini were wont to bée Chanons regulers and they had an Abbot to whom they were obediēt In this Temple was Charlemaine when the Angell brought him the Prepuis of our Lord when he was circumcised and after king Charles brought it to Acon into our Ladies chaypell Yet of the Temple of God Chap. xxiij AND yée shall vnderstand that this is not the temple that Salomon made for that temple lasted but a thousand an hundred and two yéere For Titus Vespasianus sonne that was Emperour of Rome that layd siege about Hierusalem for to discomfite the Iewes for that they had put Christ to death without leaue of the Emperour when hée had taken the Cittie hée did burne the Temple and cast it downe and tooke all the Iewes and put to death eleuen hundred thousand and the other hée put in prison sold xxx for a pennie for hée said that they bought Iesus Christ for xxx pence And since gaue Iulian Apostatate leaue to the Iewes to make the Temple of Hierusalem againe for hée hated Christians yet hée was a Christian but hée forsooke his law And when the Iewes had builded againe the Temple then came an earthquake as God would cast downe all that they had made Since that Adrian the Emperour who was of them of Troy made Hierusalem againe and the Temple in that same manner that Salomon made it and commanded that no Iewe should dwell there but Christians and although hée himselfe was not a Christian yet hée loued the Christians more then other men saue men of his owne faith And this Emperour did inclose and wall the Church of the holy Sepulcher within the cittie that before was far without the cittie and hée would haue changed the name of Hierusalem and called it Heliam but that name lasted not long And yée shall vnderstand that the Sarasins doe great worship in that Temple and they say that place is right holy and when they goe therein they goe bare foote and knéele many times downe And when I and my fellowes came therein wée put off our harneise and came bare foote into the Temple and thought that wée ought to do as much or more then they that were Infidels And this Temple is thréescore and thrée cubites in widenesse and as much in length and thirtie two cubites in height and couered with lead and it is within full of pillers of marble And in the midst of the Temple is an alter of twentie and foure steps of height and good pillers all about This place the Iewes called Sancta sanctorum That is to say holy of holiest and in that place commeth none but their prelate that maketh their sacrifice and the people stand all about in diuers Seates as they are of dignitie and worship and there bée foure enterings into the Temple and the doores are of Cipres well dight and within the East doore our Lord said here is Hierusalem And on the North side within the doore is a fountaine but it runneth not of the which holy writ speaketh and saith Vidi aquam egredientem de templo That is to say I saw water comming out of the Temple And vpon the other side is a rock that men called some time Moryach but after it was called Belet and the arke of God with the reliques of the Iewes This arke did Titus carry with him to Roome when hée had discomfited all the Iewes In that same arke were the ten commandements and Aarons rod and Moyses rod with which hée parted the red sea when the people of Israell passed through on dry foote and with that rod hée did many wonders and there was the vessell of gold full of manna and clothing and ornaments and the tabernacle of Aaron a table square of Gold with twelue precious stones and a boxe of Iaspes grauen with foure fingers and eight names of our Lord within and seuen candlestickes of Gold and foure censers of Gold and an aulter also of fine gold and foure Lyons of gold vpon the which they had a Cherubin of Gold twelue spans long and a Tabernacle of Gold and also xij trumpets of siluer and a table of siluer and seauen Barly loaues and all other reliques that were before the natiuitie of Iesu Also vpon this rock slept Iacob when hée saw Angels goe vp and downe and said Vere locus iste sanctus est ego ignorabam That is to say Surely this place is holy and I wist not And there the Angell changed Iacobs name and called him Israell And in that same place Dauid saw the Angell that slew the people with a sword and put it all bloody in the sheth And in this rock was Saint Simeon when hée receiued our Lord into the Temple and on this rock he set him when the Iewes would haue stoned him and the rock rent in two and in that reste hée hid him and after came downe and gaue him light And on this rock sate our Lady and learned her Psalter And there forgaue our Lord the sinnes to the woman that was taken and found in Adultery and there was our Lord Iesus Christ circumcised and there the Angell denounced to Zachary the Natiuitie of Saint Iohn Baptist and there offered first Melchisedech bread and wine water to our Lord in token of the Sacrament that was to come and there fell Dauid praying to our Lord for mercy for him and for his people when hée saw the Angell slay his people and our Lord anone heard his prayer and therefore would hée make the temple in that place but our Lord Iesus Christ forbad him by an Angel for he had committed murther in consenting to the slaying of the good knight Vrias for to haue his wife And therfore all that he had ordained for to make the Temple hée betooke it to Salomon his sonne and he made it and he prayed our Lord that all those that prayed in that place deuoutly and with good heart that he would heare their prayer and graunt that they asked right wisely and our Lord graunted it and therfore Salomons sonne called it the Temple of counsell and help of God Without the doores of that Temple is an aulter where Iewes were wont to offer Doues and Turtilles and in that Temple was Zachery slaine and on the pinacle the Iewes set Saint Iames that was the first Bishop of Hierusalem And a little from this Temple on the right side is a church couered with Lead that is called the schoole of Salomon And toward the South is the Temple of Salon that is a full fayre and a great place and in this place dwell
a rock where his steps bée yet séene and therefore some when they dread them of Théeues or else of Enimies say thus Iesus autem transiens per mediam illorū ibat and they say also these verses of the Psalter thrée times Irruat super eos formido te pauor in magnitudine brachij Domine fiant immobiles quasi lapis donec pertranseat populus tuos Domine populus iste quem redemisti And so when this is said a man may goe without any letting Also yée shall vnderstand and know that our blessed Lady bare her Childe when shée was xv yéeres of age and shée liued with him xxxij yéere and thrée moneths and after his passion shée liued xxij yéeres The way of Nazareth to the mount or hill of Tabor Chap. xxxvj ANd from Nazareth to the mount Tabor is thrée mile there our Lord was transfigured before S. Peter Saint Iohn and saint Iames. And there they saw spiritually our Lord and Moyses and Elias the Prophet And therefore Saint Peter said Bonum est nos hic esse faciamus tria tabernac c. That is to say It is good for vs to bée here let vs make thrée tabernacles And our Lord Iesus Christ bad them that they should tell it to no man vnto the time that hée was risen from death to life And vpon the same hill shall foure Angels sound their Trumpets and raise all men that are dead to life and then shal they come in body and Soule to the Iudgement but the Iudgement shall bée in the Vale of Iosaphat And also a mile from mount Tabor is the mount Hermon and there was the Citie of Naim before the gates of this Cittie our Lord raised the sonne of the widdow that had no more children Of the Sea of Galile Chap xxxvij ANd from thence men goe to a Cittie that is called Tyberias that butteth on the Sea of Galile though it be called the Sea of Galile it is no Sea nor arme of the sea for it is but a streame of fresh water it is more then an hundred forlongs long and xl broad and therein is many good fishes and by that same sea standeth many good citties therefore this sea changeth often his name after the Citties that stand therevpon but it is all one water or sea and vpon this sea our Lord walked and there said hée to Peter when he came on the water and was néere drowned O exigua fide praedite quid dubitasti That is to say O Thou of little faith why didst thou doubt Of the table whereon Christ eate after his resurrection Chap. xxxviij IN this cittie of Tyberyas is the table that Christ eate on with his Disciples after his resurrection they knew him by breaking of bread as holy writ saith Et cognouerunt eum in fractione panis That is to say They knew him in breaking of bread and about the hill of Tyberyas is a cittie where our Lord fed fiue thousand people with fiue Barly loaues and two fishes and in that cittie did men cast in anger a firebrand or burning stick after our Lord but that same burning stick did fal on the earth and incontinent grew out of the same stick a trée and is waxen a big trée and there groweth yet and the scales of the trée be all black Yée shall vnderstand that the Riuer Iordane beginneth vnder the hill of Labany and there beginneth the Land of promise and it lasteth vnto Barsabe of length and from the North part to the South is nine score mile and of breadth from Iericho to Iaffe it is fortie mile and yée shall vnderstand that the land of promise beginneth at the kingdome of Surry and lasteth vnto the wildernesse of Araby Of straunge manners and diuers Chap. xxxix AND in this country and in many other lands beyond the sea it is a custome when they haue war that if a cittie or castle bée besieged so strongly that they may send no messengers to any Lords for succour then they write their Letters and binde them about the necks of Doues let them flie their wayes because the Doue is of that nature that he wil returne againe to the place where hée is bred and thus they doe commonly in that countrie And yée shall vnderstand that among the Sarasins in many places dwell Christians vnder tribute and they are of diuers manners and sundry sortes of monks who haue diuers lawes though they be all Christians and beléeue all well in our Lord God the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost but yet they faile in the Articles of our saith and they are called Iacobins For Saint Iames conuerted them to the faith and Saint Iohn Baptised them and they say that men néed only confesse their sins vnto God and not vnto man for they say that God bad not man confesse him vnto another man And therefore saith Dauid in this manner Confitebor tibi Domine in toto corde meo That is to say Lord I will confesse my selfe vnto thée in all my heart And in another place hée saith thus Peccatum meum cognitum tibi feci that is to say my trespasse I haue made knowne vnto thée And in another place Deus meus es tu confitebor tibi That is to say Thou art my God and I will confesse my selfe vnto thée And in another place Quoniā cogitatio hominis confitebitur tibi that is to say The thought of man shall bée knowne vnto thée and they read often the Bible Psalter but they say it not in Latine but in their owne language and they say that Dauid and other Prophets haue said it But Saint Austen and Saint Gregory say Qui scelera sua cogitat conuersus fuerit veniā sibi credat That is to say Who so knoweth his sin turneth hée may beléeue to haue forgiuenesse And Saint Gregory saith thus Dominus potius mentem quam verbum confiderat That is to say Our Lord taketh more héed to thought then to word And Saint Hillarius saith Longorū temporū crimina ictu oculi perient si corde nata fuerit temptatio That is to say Sins that are done of old time perish in twinkling of an eye if despising of them bée borne in a mans heart And therefore say they by these authorities that men shall confesse them onely to God and this way the Apostles taught but Popes that came since haue ordayned that men shall shriue them to priests and men as they are and the cause is this For they say that a man that hath sicknes men may giue him no good medicines except they know that kinde of sicknesse also they say a man may giue no couenable penance except hée know the sinne For there is a manner of sin that is grieuouser to one man then it is to another and therefore it is néedefull that a man know and vnderstand the kinde of sin And there bée also other men that are called Surriens and they hold
Iewes and saith they are wicked people for they will not beléeue that Iesus Christ is of God Also they say that the Iewes speake falsely of our Lady and her sonne Iesus Christ saying that they did not hang him on the Crosse for Sarasins beléeue so néere our faith that they are easily conuerted when men preach the law of Iesus Christ and they say that they know right wel by their Prophesite that their law of Mahomet shall faile as doth the Law of the Iewes and that the law of Christians shall last to the worlds end And if a man aske them wherein they beléeue they say that they beléeue in God Almightie that is the maker of heauen and earth and all other things and without him is nothing done and at the day of Iudgement euery man shall bée rewarded after his deseruing and that all things is trueth that Christ said by the mouthes of the Prophets Yet further concerning Mahomet Chap. xlv ALso Mahomet had in his booke Alkaron that euery man should haue two wiues or thrée or foure but now they haue nine and as many lemmans as them liketh and if any of the wiues doe wrong to their husbands hée may driue her out of his house and take in an other but hée must giue to her part of his goods Moreouer where men speake of the Father and the Sonne and the holy Ghost they say that they are thrée persons but not one God for their booke Alkaron speaketh not thereof nor of the Trinitie but they say that God spake or else he was dumbe that God had a Ghost or else hée was not aliue and they say Gods word hath great strength and so saith their Alkaron and they say that Abraham and Moyses were greatly in fauour with God for they spake with him and Mahomet was a right messenger of God and they haue many good articles of our faith and some vnderstand the Scriptures Prophets Gospels and the Bible for they haue them written in their language in their manner they know holy writ but they vnderstand if not but after the letter and so doe the Iewes for they vnderstand it not but after their letter spiritually and therefore saith Saint Paul Litera occidit spiritus autem viuificat That is to say the letter killeth but the spirit quickneth and the Sarasins say that the Iewes are wicked for they kéepe not the Law of Moyses the which hée tooke to them and also Christians are euill for they kéepe not the commandements of the Gospels that Iesu Christ sent vnto them and therefore I shall tell you what the Souldan told mée vpon a day in his chamber shutting out all other men as Lords Knights and other for hée would speake with mée in counsell and then asked hée mée how Christians gouerned them in our country and I answeared him and said right well thanks bée to God and hée said secretly nay for hée said that our Priests made no force of Gods seruice for they should giue good example to men to doe well and they giue ill example and therefore when the people should goe on the holidayes to Church to serue God they goe to the Tauerne to sin in gluttony both day night and eat and drink as beasts that wot not when they haue enough and also Christians he said forced them to fight together and one to beguile other and they are so proud that they know not how they may cloth them now short now long now strait now wide of all manner of fashions They should bée simple méeke and soft and doe their almes as Iesus Christ did in whom they beléeue and hée sayd they are so couetouse that for a little money they sell their children their sisters and their wiues and one taketh another mans wife and none kéepeth his promise to another therefore said he for their sins God hath giuen these lands to our hands and not through our strength but all for your sins For wée wot well that when that yée serue well your God that he will helpe you so that no men shall win of you if that yée serue your God as yée ought to doe but while they liue so sinfully as they doe wée haue no dread on them for their God shall not helpe them And then I asked him how that hee knew the state of Christians in that manner and hée sayd that he knew well both of Lords and commons by his messengers which hée sent through all the countries as it were marchants with precious stones and other marchandise to know the manner of euery country And then hée did call againe all the Lords into his chamber to vs and then shewed hée vnto mée thrée persons that were great Lords of that country who shewed vnto mée the manner of my country and of all Christendome as though they had béene men borne in the same parties and they spake french right well and the Souldan also and then I had great meruaile of this slaunder of our faith and so they that should bée turned by our good examples to the faith of Iesus Christ they are drawne away through our euill liuing and therefore it is no wonder if that they call vs euill for they say truth but the Sarasins are true for they kéepe truely the commaundements of their Alkaron Of the birth of Mahomet Chap. xlvj And it befell sometime that Christians became Sarasins either through pouertie simplenesse or wickednesse and therefore their Archbishop when hée receiued them said thus Laelles ella Mahomet roses ella that is to say There is no God but one and Mahomet his messenger And sithen I haue told you a part of their law and of their customes Now I shall tell you of their letters with their names First they haue for a almoy bethat for b. cathi c. ethoti e. for d delphoye for f thy garophing g. hecum h. iochi i. kathi k. lothun l. malach m. nahalht n. orthy o. thoziri p. zothij q. rucholat r. routhi s salathy t. chotimus v. yrichom x. mazot z. zalepin ioheten con these are the names These foure letters haue they yet more for diuersitie of their language forasmuch as they speake so in their throts as wée haue in our language and speake in England Two letters may they then haue in their A. B. C. That is to say y. the which are called throne and zowx Of diuers Iles and manner of people and of meruailous Beasts Chap. xlvij AND sithen I haue spoken before of the holy land and countries thereabout many wayes thether and to mount Synay and to Babilon and diuers other places which I haue spoken of Now will I tell speake of Iles of diuers beasts and diuers folke and countries that bée parted by the flouds that come out of Paradise terrestre For Mesopotamia and the kingdome of Calde and Araby are betwéene two flouds Tigree and Euphrates and the kingdome of Media and Persia are betwéene two flouds Tigree Nylus
flesh of all manner of beasts when they haue all eate they wipe their hands in their skirts and they eate but once on the day and eate but little bread but the manner of the Lords is full noble Wherefore the Emperour of Cathay is called the great Caane Chap. lxviij ANd yée shall vnderstand why hée is called the great Caane yée know that all the world was destroyed with Noes floud but Noe his wife and children Noe had thrée sons Sem Cham and Iapheth C ham when hée saw his fathers priuities naked when hée slept hée scorned it and therefore hée was cursed and Iapheth couered it againe These thrée brethren had all the land C ham tooke the best part Eastward that is called Asia Sem tooke Afryke and Iapheth tooke Europe C ham was the mightiest and richest of his brethren and of him are come the Panim folke and diuers manner of men of the Iles some headlesse and other men disfigured for this Cham the Emperour there called him Cham and Lord of all But ye shall vnderstand that the Emperour of Cathay is called Caane and not Cham and for this cause it is not long agoe that all Tartary was in subiection and thrall to other nations about and they were made heardmen to kéepe beasts and among them was vii linages or kinds the first was called Tartary that is the best the second linage is called Tamahot the third Furace the fourth Valaire the fift Semoth the sixt Menchy and the seauenth Sobeth These are all holding of the great Caane of Cathay Now it befell that the first linage was an old man and he was not rich and men called him Chanius This man lay and slept on a night in his bed and there came to him a knight all white sitting vpon a white horse and said to him Caane sléepest thou God that is almightie sent mée to thée and it is his will that thou say to the vii linages that thou shalt be their Emperour for yée shall conquere all the land about you and they shall bée in your subiection as you haue béene in theirs and when morrow came he rose vp and said to the seuen linages and they scorned him and said hée was a foole and the next night the same knight came to the vii linages and bad them in Gods behalf to make Chanius their Emperour and they should be out of all subiection And on the morrow they chose Chanius to be Emperour and did him all worship that they might doe and called him Caane as the white knight called him they said they would doe as hée bad them Then he made many statutes and lawes the which they called Isakan The first statute was that they should be obedient to God almighty beléeue that hée should deliuer them out of thraldome and that they should call on him in all their works Another statute was that al men that might beare armes should be numbred and to each ten should bée a master and to a hundred a master and to a thousand a master Then hée commaunded to all the greatest and principallest of the vii linages that they should forsake all that they had in heritage or lordship and that they should hold them payed of that he would giue them of his grace they did so And also he bad them that each man should bring his eldest son before him and slay his owne Son with his owne hands and smite off their heads and as soone they did his bidding And when hée saw they made no letting of that he bad them then bad hée them follow his banner and then he put in subiection all the lands about him How the great Caane was hid vnder a tree and so escaped his enimies because of a Bird. Chap. lxix AND it befell on a day that the Caane rode with a few men to sée the land that he had won and hée met with a great multitude of his enimies and there hée was cast downe off his horse and his horse slaine and when his men saw him at the earth they thought hée had béene dead and fled and the enimies followed after and when hée saw his enimies were far he hid him in a bush for the wood was thick there and when they were come againe from the chase they went to séeke him among the wood if any were hid there and they found many and as they came to the place where hée was they saw a bird sit on a trée the which bird men cal an Owle then said they that there was no man for the bird sate there and so went they away and thus was the Caane saued from death and so he went away on a night to his owne men which were glad of his comming and from that time vnto this day men of that Country haue that Bird in great reuerence and for that cause they worship that bird aboue all other birds of the world And incontinent hée assembled all his men and rode vpon his enimies and destroyed them and when hée had won all the lands that were about him hée held them in subiection And when the Caane had won all the Lords to mount Belyan the white knight came to him in a vision againe and said vnto him Caane the will of God is that thou passe the mount Belyan and thou shalt win many lands and because thou shalt finde no passage goe thou to the mount Belyan that is vpon the sea side and knéele nine times thereon against the East in worship of God and hée shall shew thée a way how thou shalt passe the Caane did so anone the sea that touched the hill withdrew it selfe and shewed him a faire way of nine foote broad betwéene the hill and the sea and so he passed right well with all his men and then hée wan the land of Cathay that is the best land and the greatest of all the world and for those ix knéelings and the nine foote of way the Caane and the men of Tartary haue the number of nine in great worship Of the great Caanes letters and the writing about his Seale Chap. lxx AND when hée had won the land of Cathay hée dyed and then raygned after Cythoco the eldest Son of Caane and his other brothers went to win them lands in other countries and they wan the land of Pruisse of Rusie they did call themselues Caanes but hée of Cathay is the greatest Lord of all the world and so he called him in his letters and saith thus Caane filius Dei excelsi vniuersam terram colentium sumus imperator Dominus Dominantium That is to say Caane Gods son Emperour of all those that till all the land and Lord of Lords And the writing about his great seale is Deus in coelo Caane super terram eius fortitudo omniū hominum Imperatoris sigillum That is to say God in heauen Caane vpon earth his strength the seale of the Emperour of
faith neuerthelesse I beléeue that God liketh their seruice as hée did of Iob that was a Panim the which he held for his true seruant and many other I beléeue well that God loueth all those that loue him and serue him méekely and truely and that despise the vaine glory of the wolrd as these men doe and as Iob did and therefore sayd our Lord through the mouth of the holy Prophet Esay Ponam eis multiplices leges meas that is to say I shall put lawes to them in many manners and the gospell saith thus Alias oues habeo quae non sunt ex hoc ouili that is I haue other shéepe that are not of this fold and thereto accordeth the vision that S. Peter saw at Ioppa how the Angell came from heauen brought with him of all manner of beasts as serpents and diuers foules saying to Saint Peter Take and eate and Saint Peter answered I neuer eat of any vncleane beast And the Angell said to him Non dicas immunda quae Deus mundauit That is to say Call thou not those things vncleane that God hath clensed This was done in token that men should not haue any man in disdaine for their diuers lawes for wée wot not whom God loueth and whom God hateth Of two other Iles the one is called Pitan wherein be little men that can eate no meat and in the other Iles are the men all rough of feathers Chap. lxxxix THere is another I le that men call Pitan the men of this land till no ground for they eat nothing and they are small but not so small as Pigmens These men liue with smell of wilde apples and when they goe far out of the country they beare Apples with them for anone as they loose that sauour of apples they dye they are not reasonable but as wild beasts And there is another I le where the people are all feathers but their face and the palmes of their hands these men goe as well about the sea as on the land and they eate flesh and fish all raw in this I le is a Riuer that is two mile and an halfe broad that men call Renemar Of a rich man in Prester Iohns land named Catolonapes and of his garden Chap. xc IN an I le of Prester Iohns land that men call Miscorach there was a man that was called Catolonapes hée was rich and had a faire castell on a hill and strong hée made a wall about the hill right strong and faire within hée had a faire garden wherin were many trées bearing all manner of fruits that hée might finde and hée had planted therein all manner of hearbs of good smell and that beare flowers and there were many faire wels by them was made many hals and chambers well dight with gold and azure and hée had made there diuers stories of beasts and birds that sung and turned by engin or orbage as they had béene quick and he had in his garden all things that might bée to mans solace and comfort hée had also in that garden maydens within the age of xv yéere the fairest that hée might finde and men children of the same age and they were clothed with clothes of gold hée sayd that they were Angels and he caused to bée made certaine hils and enclosed them about with precious stones of Iaspy and christal and set in gold and pearles and other manner of stones and hée made a conduite vnder the earth so that when he would the Wels ran sometime with milke sometime with wine sometime honie and this place hée called Paradise and when any yong bacheler of the country knight or squire commeth to him for solace or disport hée leadeth him into his paradise sheweth them these things as the songs of birds and his damsels and wels and hée did strike diuers instruments of musick in a high tower that might bée heard and said they were Angels of God and that place was paradise that God had graunted to those that beléeued when hée saith thus Dabo vobis terram fluentem lac mel That is to say I shall giue you land flowing milke and honie And then this rich man did make these men drinke a manner of drinke of which they were dronken and hée said to them if they would dye for his sake when they were dead they should come to his Paradise and they should bée of the age of those maydens and should dwell alway with them and hée would put them in a fairer Paradise where they should sée God in his ioy and in his maiestie and when they graunted to doe that hée would and hée bad them goe and slay such a Lord or a man of the Countrie that hée was wroth with and that they should haue no dread of any man and if they were slaine themselues for his sake hée should put them in his Paradise when they were dead And so went those Batchelers to slay great Lords of the country and were slaine themselues in hope to haue that Paradise thus hée was auenged of his enimies through his deceit and when rich men of the country perceiued his cautell and malice and the will of this Catolonapes they gathered themselues together and assailed the castle and slew him and destroyed all his goods and his fayre places and riches that were in his Paradise and the place of the wals are there yet and some other things but the riches are not and it is not long agoe since it was destroyed Of a perillous valley that is beside the Riuer of Pison Chap. xcj. AND a little from that place on the left side beside the riuer of Pison is a great meruaile There is a valley betwéene two hils and that is foure myle long and some men call it the valley enchaunted some the valley of Diuels some the valley perillous and in that valley are many tempests and a great noyse very hydeous both day and night and sound as it were a noyce of Tabers and Trumpets as it were at a great feast This valley is full of Diuels and hath béene alway and men say there is an entrie to hell In this valley is much gold and siluer wherfore many christian men and other goe thether for couetise of that gold and siluer but few of them come out againe for they are anone strangled with Diuels and in the middest of that Valley on a Rocke is a Visage and the head of a flend bodely right hidious and dreadfull to sée and there is nothing séene but the head to the shoulders but there is no Christian men nor other in the world so hardy but that hée would bée greatly afraid to béehold it for hée beholdeth each man so sharply and felly and his eyes are so staring and sparkling as fire and hée chaungeth so oft his countenance that no man dare come néere for all the world and out of his nose commeth great plentie of fire of diuers colours and sometime is
then xxx thousand men beside commers and goers but xxx thousand there or in the court of the great Caane spendeth not so much as xij thousand in our countrie Hée hath euermore vii kings in his court to serue him and each one of them serueth a moneth and with these kings serue alway lxxii Dukes CCC Earles and euery day eate in his court xii Archbishops and xx Bishops The Patriarke of Saint Thomas is as it were a Pope and Archbishops Bishops and Abbots all are kings in that country and some of the Lords is Maister of the hall some of the chamber some steward some Marshall and other Officers and therefore hée is full richly serued And his Land lasteth in breadth foure monethes iourney and it is of length without measure Of the wildernesse wherein groweth the trees of the Sunne and the Moone Chap. xcix AND béeyond this place is a great wildernesse as men that haue béene there say In this wildernesse as men say are the trées of the Sunne and of the Moone that spake to king Alexander and told him of his death and men say that folke that kéepe these trées and eate of the fruits of them liue foure or fiue hundred yéere through vertue of the fruit and wée would gladly haue gone thether but I beléeue that an hundred thousand men of armes should not passe that wildernesse for great plenty of wilde beasts as Dragons and serpents that slay men when they passe that way In this land are many Elephants all white and blew without number and Vnicornes and Lyons of many coulours Many other Iles are in the land of Prester Iohn that were too long to tell and much riches and of precious stones is great plentie I haue heard say why this Emperour is called Prester Iohn and for those that know it not I will declare Therefore sometime an Emperour that was a noble Prince and doughtie and hée had many Christian Knights with him and the Emperour thought hée would sée the seruice in christian Churches and then was Churches of Christendome in Turky Surry and Tartary Hierusalem Palistine Araby and Alapy and all the Lords of Aegypt And this Emperour came with a Christian Knight into a Church of Aegypt and it was on a Satterday after Whitsunday when the Bishop gaue Orders and hée beheld the Seruice and asked of the knight what folke those should bée that stood before the Bishop and the Knight sayd they should bée Priests and hée sayd hée would no more bée called king ne Emperour but Priest and hée would haue the name of him that came first out of the Priests and hée was called Iohn and so haue all the Emperours since béene called Prester Iohn In this land are many Christian men of good faith and good law and they haue priests to sing seruice and they receiue the sacrament as men of Gréece doe and they say not otherwise but as the Apostles said as Saint Peter and Saint Thomas and other Apostles when they sung and sayd Pater noster and the words with the which the Communion is sacred wée haue many additions of Popes that haue béene ordained of which men of those countries know not Of a great Iland and Kingdome called Taprobane Chap. c. TOward the East side of Prester Iohns Land is an I le that men call Taprobane and it is right good and fruitfull and there is a great King and a rich and he is obedient vnto Prester Iohn the King is alway made by election In this I le are two winters and two Summers and they reape corne twice in the yéere and gardens flowrish at all times in the yéere There dwelleth good people and reasonable and many christian men among them are full rich and the water betwéene the side of Prester Iohn and this I le is not very déepe for men may sée the ground in many places Of two other Iles one is called Oriell and the other Argete where are many gold mines Chap cj. THere are more Eastward two other Iles the one is called Oriell and the other Argete of which all the land is full of mines of gold and siluer In those Iles many men sée no Stars cléere shining but one Star that is called Canapos and there many men sée not the Moone but in the last quarter In that I le is a great hill of gold that Pismires kéepe and they do the fine gold from other that is not fine gold and the Pismires are as great as hounds so that no man dare come there for dread of pismires that should assay them so that men may not worke in that gold nor get therof but by subtiltie and therefore when it is right hot the pismires hide themselues in the earth from morne to noone of the day and then men of the country take Cammels and Dromedaries and other beasts and goe thether and charge them with gold and goe away fast or 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 haue soles and they lay vpon these mares two long vessels as it were two small barrels and the mouth vpwards and driue them thether and hold their foles at home and when the pismires sée these vessels they spring therin for by kinde they leaue no hole nor pit open and anone they fill these vessels with gold and when men thinke that the vessels bée full they take the foles bring them as néere as they dare and then they whine and the mares heare them and anone they come to their foles and so they take the gold for these pismires will suffer beasts to come among them but no men Of the darke country and hils and rocks of stone nigh to Paradise Chap. cij BEyond the Iles of the land of Prester Iohn and his Lordship of wildernesse to goe right East men shall finde nothing but hils great rocks and other darke land where no man may sée a day or night as men of the Country say and this wildernesse and darke land lasteth to Paradise terrestre where Adam and Eue were set but they were but a little while there and that is toward the East at the beginning of the Earth but that is not our East that we call where the Sun riseth for when the Sunne riseth there then it is midnight in our country by reason of the roundnesse of the Earth for our Lord made the earth all round in the middest of the firmament Of Paradise can I not speake properly for I haue not béene there but that I haue heard I shall tell you Men say that Paradise terrestre is the highest land of all the world and it is so high that it toucheth néere to the circle of the Moone for it is so high that Noes floud might not come thereto which couered all the Earth about A little of Paradise terrestre Chap. ciij. THis Paradise terrestre is enclosed all about with a wall and