1
7
مجھو
KOLMBY KANDLE
HOUSE CROS
VIRGINIBUS PUERISQUE
OLD COACH
DAYS
WILLIAM FORBES MORGAN
DOWN
THE
ROAD
書
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Imag. Voy.-
G
370
.M273
1722
THE
Voyages and Travels
OF
Sir John Mandevile, Knight:
Wherein is fet down the Way to the Holy Land, and to
Hierufalem: As alfo to the Lands of the Great Caan, and
of Preftor John; to India, and divers other Countries:
Together with many and ſtrange Marvels therein.
འར་
"
LONDON:
Printed by A. WILDE, for G. CONYERS, in Little
Britain, T. NORRIS, at London-bridge, and
A. BETTES WORTH, in Pater nofter Row. 1722.
Res.
Regent H. H. Huttard
at
8-10-14203
The PREFAC E.
MEN !7My 24
Here beginneth a fhort Treatife of Sir John Mandevile,
Knight, (who was Born in England, in the Town of
St. Albans) that ſpeaketh of the Ways to Hierufalem,
to India, and to the Great Caan, and Preftor John's
Land, and to many other Countries, and alfo of many
Marvels that are in the Holy Land.
F
Orafmuch as the Land beyond the Sea, that is, The Holy Land,'
which ſome call The Land of Beheft, or Promife, among all
other Lands is moft worthy. In that Land it pleaſed our Lord
to take Flesh and Blood of the Virgin Mary, and to Traverse that
Land with his own Feet, and there he did many Miracles, Preach,
and teach the Faith, and the Law of Chriftian Men, as unto his
Children; and there did fuffer many Reproofs and Scorns for us: And
be that was King of Heaven and Earth, and of all things that are
contained in them, would only be called King of that Land, wher
be faid, I am King of the Jews: For at that time it was the Land
of the Jews: And that Land be choſe before all other Lands, as the
mift worthy Part of all the World. And as the Philoſopher faith,
Vitus rerum in medio confiftit; that is, The Vertue of Things is
in the midst. In that Land he led his Life, and fuffered Death of the
Jews for us, to fave and deliver us from the Pains of Hell, and from
Death without end, the which was ordained to us for the Sin of our
Father Adam, and our own Sins alfo: For be that will do any thing
to have it known openly, will proclaim it in the middle Place of a
Town or City, fo that it may be known to all Parties of the City:
So be that was King of Glory, and of all the World, would fuffer
Death for us at Hierufalem, which is the midst of the World, that
it might be known to all Nations of the World how dear be bought
Man b dear God! what Love had he to his Subjects that when he
bad done no Trespass, would for his Trefpaffors fuffer Death? Right
well ought Men to Love, worship and ſerve ſuch a Lord, and praiſe
fuch an Holy Land that brought forth a Lord of fuch Fruit, thro' which
each Man is faved if it be not his own Fault. This is that Land pre-
pared for an Heritage to us: And in that Land would be die as feized
to leave it to his Children For which each good Chriftian man that
may, and bath wherewith, fhould strengthen him him for to conquer
A 2
bis
The PREFACE.
bis right Heritage, and purchaſe it out of evil Peoples bands; for we
are called Chriftian Men of Chrift our Father, and if we be the right
Children of Chrift, we ought to challenge the beritage that our Father
left us, and take it out of ſtrange Mens Hands. But now Pride, Co-
vetousness, and Envy, have fo inflamed the Hearts of the Lords of
the World, that they are more bufie to difinherit their Neighbours,
than to challenge or conquer their right Heritage aforefaid. And the
common Perple that would put their Bodies for to conquer this Heri-
tage, they may not do it without Lords: For affembling of the Peo-
ple without a chief Lord, is as a Flock of Sheep without a Shepherd,
which depart afunder, and wot nat whether they do go. But would
God the worldly Lords were at a good accord, and with other of their
common People would take this Holy Voyage over Sea, I trust well,
that within a little Time our right Heritage beforefaid, would be reco-
vered and put into the Hands of the right Heirs of Jefus Chrift.
Now forafmuch as it is a long time fince there was any general
Paffage thither, and that many Men defire to bear the Defcription of
the Holy Land, I will declare it.
I John Mandevile, Knight, who was born in England, in the
Town of St. Albans, paffed the Sea in the Year One Thousand Three
Hundred Thirty Two, on St. Michael's Day, and there remained long
Time, and went through many Lands, and many Provinces, King-
doms, and Ifles, and have paſſed through Turky, and through Armo-
ny the Little and Great, through Tartary, Sury, Arabia, Egypt
the High and the Low, through Liby, Chaldea, and a great part of
Ethiope, through Amazony, through India the Lefs and the More,
and through many other Ifle, which are about India, where many Peo-
ple dwell of divers Shapes Of the Men of which Lands and ifles, I
Shall Speak plainly, and shall declare Part of the Things I have seen.
For them that will vifit the Holy City of Hierufalem, and the
Places that are thereabout, I will tell the right way that they should
bold thither : För I have ridden it, and paſſed it with good Obferva-
tion.
Farewel
THE
[ 5 ]
THE
VOYAGES and TRAVELS
OF
Sir John Mandevile, Knight.
CHA P. I, A Defcription of the Way to Hierufalem on
Horſe, on Foot, or by Sea.
H
E that will travel to Hierufalem, may go many ways
both by Sea and Land, after the Country that he
cometh from: And think not, Kind Reader, that I
will tell all the Towns, Cities, and Caffles that
Men fhall pafs by going, for then I ſhould make
too long a Tale, but only the moft principal ones that Men ſhall
go by, and through, to go the right way.
First, If a Man come from the Weft fide of the World, as
England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Norway, he may if he
will, go through Almain, and thro' the Kingdom of Hungary,
which King is a mighty Lord, and holdeth many great Lands :
For he holdeth the Land of Hungary➡ Savoy; Camony, a great
part of the Kingdom of Ruffia, and reacheth to the Land of
Millain, and mai cheth on to Cyprus. And Men muft pafs then
thro' the Land of Hungary; and thro' the City that Men call
Capanumy, and near the Caftle of Nurburg, and by the Ile Tor-
ne, and fo by the River of Danube, that is a great River, and
goeth into Almain under the Hills of Lombardy, and it taketh
into it Forty other Rivers, and runneth throughout Hungary,
through Creffes and Chrochie, and goeth into the Sea fo ftrongly,
and with fo great might, that the Water is frefh Thirty Miles
within the Sea. And afterward Men go to Belgrave, and enter
into the Land of Bugres, and there Men paſs a Bridge of Stone
that is over the River of Morak, and ſo paſs the Land of Pin-
feras and come to Greece to the City of Stermiffe, and to the
Gry of Affinpan, that was called Bradre the Noble, and fo to
Conftan.
6
The Voyages and Travels
Conftantinople, that was fometime called Byzantium, and there
the Emperor of Greece bath his Court.
2.
At Conftantinople is the laireft Church in the World, and it is
called St. Stevens And before this Church is a gil Image of
Justinian the Emperor, and it is fit ing upon a Horfe, and
crowned; and it was wont to hold a round Apple in his hand,
and men fay there, That it is a Token that the Emperor hath
lof a great Part of his Lands, for the Apple is fallen out of the
Images hand, and fure he hath loft a great part of his Lordship;
for he was once fole Emperor of Rome, of Greece, and of all
Afia the less, of Sury, and of the I and of Judea, in the which
Hierufs lem is, and of the Land of Egypt, ot Perfia and Arabia,
but he hoth loft all but Greece, and that he holdeth only. They
would put the Apple into the Images hand, but it will not hold
it. The other band he lifteth up against the Eaft, to menace
Mildoers This Image ftandeth upon a Pillar of Marble.
Likewife at Conftantinople is the Crofs of our Lord, and his
Coar without Seam, the Spunge and the Reed, with which
the Jews gave our Lord Gall to drink on the Cross; and there
is one of the Nails that our Lord was nailed with to the Crofs.
Some Men think that half the Croſs of Chriſt is in Cyprus in
an Abbey of Monks, the which men call the Hill of the Holy
Crofs; but it is not fo: For the Crofs that is in Cyprus is the Crofs
อค
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
Z
A
on the which Demas the good Thief was hanged: But all men
know not that; yet for the getting of the Offering, they fay,
That it is the Crofs of our Lord. For ye shall underſtand,
That the Crofs of our Lord Jefus Chrift was made of four
manner of Trees, as is apparent by the Verfe following:
In Cruce fit Palma, Cedrus, Cypreffus, Oliva.
For the Piece that went up right from the Earth unto the
Head, was of Cypress, and the Piece that went overthwart, to
which
8.
The Voyages and Travels
which his Hands were nailed, were Palm; the Stock that ſtood
within the Earth, in which they made a Morteis, was of Ce-
dar, and the Table above his Head, on which the Title was
written, was of Olive. The Jews made this Crofs of thefe
four Woods, for they thought our Lord fhould have hanged as
long as the Croſs would laft, therefore made they the Foot of
Cedar, for Cedar will not rot in the Earth, nor in Water:
They thought that the Body of Chrift would have funk; there-
fore they made the Piece that went from the Earth upwards, of
Cypreſs, ſo that the Smell of his Body fhould grieve no Man
that came by; and that overthwart was made of Palm, in fig-
nification of Victory; and the Table wherein the Title was,
was made of Olive, for it betokeneth Peace; as the Story of
Noe witneffeth, when the Dove brought the Branch of Olive,
it betokened Peace made between God and Man,
And ye
fhall underſtand that the Men that dwell beyond the
Sea, fay, That the Piece of the Crofs that was of Cyprefs, was
of the Tree that Adam eat the Apple of; for ſo they find Writ-
ten: They ſay alfo, that their Scripture faith, that when Adem
was fick, he willed his Son Seth that he fhould go to Paradife,
and pray the Angel that kept Paradice, that he would fend
him Oil of the Tree of Mercy, for to anoint him, that he
might have Health; and Seth went, but the Angel would not
let him come at the Gate but faid unto him, That he might not
have of the Oil of Mercy, but he gave him three Kernels of
the fame Tree that his Father eat the Apple of and bid him
as foon as his Father was dead, that he fhould pet thofe Ker-
nels under his Tongue, and bury him, and he did fo; and of
theſe three Kernels fprang a Tree; and the Angel faid, When
the Tree bare Fruit, then ſhould Adam be made whole. And
when Setb came again and found his Father dead, he did with
the Kernels as the Angel bade him, of which came Three
Trees, whereof a Croſs was made that bare good Fruit that is,
Our Saviour Jefus Chrift, through whom Adam and all that
came of him fhall be delivered from Everlaſting Death if it be
not their own default. This Holy Cross had the Jews hid un-
der the Earth in the Rock of Mount Calvary, and it lay there
Two Hundred Years and more, as they fay, unto the time that
S. Elene found it; which S. Elène was the Daughter of Coel
King
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
9
King of England, and then was called Brittain, and after mar-
ried to Conftantius firft Conful, and after Emperor of Rome,
who had by her Iffue, Constantine the Great, born in England,
and after Emperor of Rome: Which Conftantine turned the
Name of Bizantium into Conftantinople: Ile re-edified that City
and made it the Monarchal Seat of all Europe and Afia Minor:
Alfo the Cross was eight Cubits in Length, and the Piece that
went overthwart was Three Cubits and a half.
A part of the Crown wherewith our Lord was Crowned,
and one of the Nails, and the Spear's Head, and many other
Relicks are in France and Paris, in the King's Chapel; and the
Crown lyeth in a Veffel of Chryftal richly deck'd: for the
French King bought thofe Relicks of the Jews, to whom the
Emperors had laid them to pledge for a great Summ of Gold,
And tho' Men ſay this Crown was of Thorns, ye thall under-
fland that it was of Junks of the Sea, which be White, and
prick as fharp as Thorns, for I have feen and beheld
many
times that at Paris, and that at Conftantinople, and they were
both made of the Junks of the Sea. And
And you ſhall underſtand
that our Lord in that Night he was taken, he was led into a
Garden, and there was examined fharply, and there the Jews
Crowned him with a Crown of Abbeſpine Branches that grew
in the fame Garden, and fet it on his Head fo faft, that blood.
ran down many places of his Vifage, Neck, and Shoulders; and
thereby the Abbefpine hath many Virtues; for he that beareth
B
a branch
10
The Voyages and Travels
a Branch of it about him, no Thunder nor Tempe can hurt´
hini; nor in the Houfe that it is in, may no evil Spirit come,
nor in any place where it is. And in that fame Garden Saint
Peter denied our Lord Thrice. And afterwards was our Lord
led before the Pharifees and Minifters of the Law, into another"
Garden of Annas, and there he was examined, Scourged,
and Crowned oft with fharp Thorns, that Men call Harbarenes,
that grew in the fame Garden, and that hath many Vertues.
And afterward he was led to a Garden of Caiphas, and there he
was crowned again with Eglantine, and after that he was led
to a Chamber of Pilate, and there he was Crowned, and the
Jews let him in a Chair, and clad him in a Mantle of Purple,
and then made they a Crown of the Junks of the Sea, and
there they kneeled to him, and mocked him, faying, Ave Res
Judæorum, that is, Hail King of the Jews: And of the Crown,
half is at Paris, and the other half at Conftantinople, the which
our Saviour Chrift had on his Head when he was nailed on the
Crofs. And the Spear's fhaft the Emperor of Almany hath;
but the Head which was put in his Side, is at Paris, they fay,
in the Holy Chapel: Likewife the Emperor of Conftantinople
faith, That he hath the Spear's Head, and I have feen his, bue
it is greater than that at Paris.
Allo at Conftantinople lieth St. Anne our Lady's Mother, whom
St. Elene caufed to be brought from Ferufalem, and alfo the Body
of St. John Chryfoftome, then Bishop of Conftantinople. There
lieth alfo St. Luke the Evangelift, for his Bones were brought
from Bitbany, where he was buried; and many other Reliques
are there; and there is a Veffel of Stone, as it were Masble,
which Men call Hydrius, that evermore droppeth Water, and
filleth it felf every Year once. Ye shall alfo know that Con-
ftantinople is a fair City and well walled, and is three cornered,
and there is an Arm of the Sea called Hellefpont, and fome the
Bunch at Conftantinople, and fome the Breach of St. George; and
this Water encloſeth two Parts of the City: And upward to the.
Sea, upon that water, was built the great City of Troy, in a fair
Plain, but that City was deftroyed by the Greeks.
A
CHA P. II. Of the Ilands of Greece.
Bout Greece are divers Illes that Men call Calabre, Cafcas
Settico, Thoforia, Minono, Faxion, Molo, Carpate and
Lampne;
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight. II
+
Lampne and in this Ifle is Mount Athoes that paffeth the Clouds.
And there are divers Speeches, and many Countries that are
obedient to the Emperor of Conftantinople; that is, Turcoply,
Pincy, Narde, Comage, and many other; Thrace and Macedony,
of which Alexander was King. In this Country was Aristotle
born, in a City called Strageris, a little from the City of Tragie;
and at Strageris is Ariftotle buried, and there is an Altar on his
Tomb, where they make a great Feait every Year as it were a
Saint. And upon this Altar the Lords hold their great Coun-
fels and Affemblies; for they think that through the Infpiration
of God and him, they have the better Counfel. In this Coun.
try are very high Hills: There is the Hill Olympus, that par
tech Macedony and Ibrace, whofe heighth reacheth ta the Clouds.
There is alfo the Hill Atboes, which is fo high that the ſhadow
of it reaches to Olympus, and it is near threelcore and Seventeen
Miles between. And above that Hill is an Air fo clear that no
Wind can be felt, neither may any Beaft live there, the Air is fo
dry. Some of the Country fay, That Philofophers ufed to go
up to the top of thofe Hills, holding to their Nofes a Sponge
wet with Water, becauſe of the driness of the Air) and in the
duft of the Hill write Letters with their Fingers, which when
they came again the next Year, they found without any Default,
even as they had written them the Year before; whereby it ap-
peareth that thoſe Hills paſs the Glouds to the pure Air.
B 2
At
12
The Voyages and Travels
At Conftantinople is the Emperor's Palace, whichis fair and
richly built, and therein is a Place for Jufting made about with
Stages, that every Man may well fee without hindring of one
another. Under thefe Stages are vaulted Stables for the En-
peror's Horſes, and all the Pillars are of Marble. Within the
Church of S. Sophie, an Emperor would have laid the Body of
his Father when dead; and as they made the Grave, they
found a Body in the Earth, and on the Body lay a great Plate
of fine Gold, and thereon was written in Hebrew, Greek and
Latin Letters thefe Words, Jefus Christus nafcetur de Virgine
Maria, & ego credo in eum; that is, Jefus Chrift shall be born of
the Virgin Mary, and I believe in him. And the Date was that
it lay in the Earth two hundred Years before our Lord Jefus
Chrift was born, and that Plate is yet in the Treatury of the
Church; and it is thought that Hermogenes the wife Man did
write it.
And though the Men of that Country be Chriffians, never-
theless they vary from our Faith: For they fay, That the Holy
Ghoft proceedeth not from the Son, but from the Father only;
neither are they obedient to the Church of Rome, nor to the
Pope; but they fay, their Patriarchs have as much power there,
as the Pope hath at Rome. And therefore Pope John the XXII.
fent Letters to them, how that Chriftians ſhould be all one, and
be obedient to the Pope; and among divers Anſwers, they fent
him this for one. Potentiam tuam fummam circa fubjectos tuos
firmiter credimus Superbitatem tuam fuftinere non poffumus. Avari-
tiam tuam fatiare non intendimus. Dominus tecum fit, quia Domi-
nus nobifcum eft. Vale. That is, We believe well that thy Power is
great over thy Subjects. We may not fuffer thy Pride. We are not
purpoſed to fulfil thy Covetousness. Our Lord be with thee, for our
Lord is with us: Farewel. Other Anfwer might he not have of
them. And alſo they make their Sacrament of the Altar of
tharf Bread, becauſe our Lord made it of tharf Bread when he
made his Maundy; and on Shrove-Thurſday make they their
bread in token of the Maundy, and dry it in the Sun, and keep
it all the Year, and give it to fick Men. And they make but
one Unction, when they chriften Children, and they anoint no
fick Men; alfo they fay there is a Purgatory, and that Souls
fhall have neither Joy nor Pain until the Day of Doom.
And
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
1}
And they fay, That Fornication is no deadly Sin, but a kind
thing, and that Men and Women fhould wed but once, and
whofo weddeth more than once, their Children are Baſtards,
and gotten in Sin; and their Priefts alfo are wedded; and they
fay that Ufury or Simony is no deadly Sin, and they fell Be-
nefices of the Church, fo do Men of other Places; but 'tis
great Pity, for now Simiony reigns in the Holy Church; God
amend it when his Will is; and they fay, that Laymen ſhould
not fing Mass but on the Saturday, and not on the Sunday; and
they fiſt on Saturday no time in the Year, unless it be Chrift-
mas or Eafter Eve. And they fuffer no man that is on this ſide
the Greek Sea, to fing at their Altars; and if it fall out that
one do, then they wash their Altar without tarrying, with
Holy Water; and they fay, that there fhould be but one Mafs
faid at one Altar in a Day. And they fay, that our Lord did
never eat Meat, but he made a thew of eating. They alſo fay,
We fin deadly in fhaving our Beards, for the Beard is a Token
of a Man, and a Gift of our Lord: And they fay, That we fin
in eating Beafts that were forbidden in the old Law, as Swine,
Hares, and other Beaſt‹.
And this they fay, That we fin in eating of Flesh on the day
before Ash Wednesday, and on the Wednesday, and when we eat
Cheeſe or Eggs on the Friday; and they curfe all thofe that eat:
no Flesh on the Saturday.
Allo the Emperor of Conftantinople maketh the Patriarchs,
Archbishops and Bifhops, and he giveth all the Dignities of
Churches, and depriveth them that are unworthy. Although
it be fo, that theſe touch not any way, nevertheless they fall.
ferve to fhew a part of the Cuftoms, Manners, and Diverſities
of Countries; and becauſe this is the firft Country difcordant
from the Faith, and oppoſeth it on this fide the Sea, therefore
have I fet it here, that ye may fee the Diverfity between our
Faith and theirs; for many Men love to have an Account of
ftrange Things.
CHA P. III.
To come again to Conftantinople, for to go:
towards the Holy Land.
WOW come we again to know the way from Conftantinople.
He that will go through Turkey, he goeth shorough the
No
A
City
14
The Voyages and Travels
y
City Nika; and paffeth through the Gate of Chevitat, which is
very high, and it is a Mile and a half from Nike: And wholo
will, may go by the Breach of St. George, and by the Greek sea,
where St. Nicholas Iyech.
&
Firft, Men come to the Ifle of Silo: And in that Ile grows
Maſtick, upon as fmall Trees as Palm Trees, or Cherry-Trees.
Thence Men go through the Ifle of Pathmo, where S. John the
Evangelift wrote the Apocalyps. You fhall alfo underftand,
When our Lord Jefus Chrift died, St. John the Evangelift was
of the Age of 32 Years, and he lived after the Paffion of
Christ 43 Years, then died. From Pathmos Men go to Ephe.
fim, which is a fair City near the Sea, and there died S. Joba,
and was buried behind the Altar in a Tomb, and there is a fair
Church, for Chriftians uſed to hold that Place. But in the Tomb
of S. John is nothing but Manna, for his Body was tranflated.
into Paradife; and the Turks hold now the City, and Church,
and all`Afia the Lefs; therefore is Afia the lefs called Turkey :
And you thall underland St. John made his Grave there in his
Life, and laid himfelf there being alive; and therefore fome fay
he died not, but refteth there until the Day of Judgment: And
therefore there is a great Marvel, for Men may fee there appa-
rently the Earth of the Tomb many Times ftir and move, as if
there were a quick Thing under. And from Ephefim Men go
thro' many Ifles, near the Sea, to the City of Pateran; where
St. Nicholas
เ
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
15″
*
1
Nicholas was born, and fo to Marca, where he by the Grace of
God was choſen Biſhop: And there is made right good Wine
and ftrong, that Men call Wine of Marca. From thence Men
go to the Ile of Creet which the Emperor gave fometime unto
Fonais. Then Men go thro' the lies of Cephas and Lango; of
which Ifle Ipocras was Lord; and fome fay, In the Ile of Lango
is Ipocras his Daughter, in the mer of a Dragon, who is an
hundred Feet long, as Men faydor I have not feen her, and
they of the lles call her Lady of the Country; and the lieth in
an old Caſtle, and fheweth her felf thrice in the Year, and the
doth no Man harm, and fhe is thus changed from a Damfel to
a Dragon, through a Goddeſs that Men call Diana; and fome
fay that the fhall dwell fo unto the Time that a Knight come
that is ſo hardy as to go and kiſs her Mouth; and then the
fhall turn again to her own kind and be a Woman, and after
that the fhall not live long. It is not long fince a Knight of
Rhodes, that was hardy and valiant, faid, he would kils her,
and when the Dragon began to lift up her Head, and he faw fhe
was fo hideous, he fled away, and the Dragon in her anger drove
the Knight to a Rock, and from thence caft him into the Sea.
CHA P. IV. Yet of the Dragon.
t
1
}
Ther
"Here was a young Man that thought not of the Dragon; he:
went out of a Ship and paffed through the Ille till he came
to the Caftic, entred into a Cave, and went fo long till he found
a Cham-
}
16
The Voyages and Travels
:
*
a Chamber, and then he faw a Damfel combing her head, and
looking in a Glafs, and ſhe had much Treaſure about her, and
he thought her to be a common Woman that dwelleth there to
lodge Men; and as he food by the Damfel, who feeing the
Shadow of him in the Glafs, turned towards him, and asked
him what he would? and he faid. He would be her Paramour.
or Lemman; and the asked him if he were a Knight, and he
faid, No, the replied, then might not be her Lemman: But
fhe bid him go again to his Fellows, and be made a Knight,
and come again on the Morrow, and fhe would come out of
the Cave, and then he fhould kifs her Mouth: And fhe bid him
have no dread, for fhe would do him no harm, although fhe
ſeemed hideous to him; the faid, it was done by Enchantment,
for the was not fuch as he faw her then. She faid alſo, that if
he kiffed her, he fhould have all the Treaſure, and be her
Lord, and Lord of thofe Ifles. Then departed he from her
and went to his Fellows to the Ship, and made him Knight,
and he came again on the morrow to kifs the Damfel: But when
he faw her come out of the Cave in form of a Dragon, he had
fo great dread that he flew to the Ship, and the followed him ;
and when the faw that he returned not again, he began to cry,
as one that had much Sorrow, and returned again, and foon
after the Knight died; and fince no Knight fee her but he died
preſently. But when a Knight cometh that is fo hardy as to
kifs, he ſhall not die, but he fhall turn that Damfel into ber
right ſhape, and fhall be Lord of the Country aforefaid.
:
From thence Men go to the Ifle of Rhodes, which Ifle the
Hofpitallers held and ruled, which they took before Time from
the Emperor, and it was wont to be called Colfos, and yet the
Turks call it Collos; and St Paul in his Epistle writeth to them
of the Ifle Coloffenfes. This Ifle is near one hundred and four-
fcore Miles from Conftantinople. And from the Ifle of Rhodes
Men po into Cyprus; where are many Vines, that firft are red,
and after a Year they wax all white; and thofe Vines that
are moſt white, are moſt pleaſant; and as Men paſs that Way
is a place where was wont to be a great City that was called
Salathy; for all that Country was loft through the Folly of a
young Man, who had a fair Damfel whom he loved well, and
The died fuddenly, and was buried in a Tomb of Marble; and
for
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
25
!
for they eat no Bread, except it be thoſe that dwell near a good
Town, and they roaft their Fish and Fleſh upon hot Stones,
againit the Sun, and they are ftrong Men and warlike, but
they do little but hunt wild Beafts for their fuftenance, and
they do not value their Lives, therefore they dread not the Sol-
dan, nor any Prince of the World. And they had great War
with the Soldan at the fame time I was with him. They bear
but a Shield and a Spear to defend them with, and they uſe no
other Armour, but they wind their Heads with a linen Cloth.
CHA P. XIV. When Men are paſſed this Wilderness
then to come again to Jerufalem.
AND
ND when Men have paffed this Wilderneſs, to come to
Jerufalem, they pafs by Berfheba, that was fome Time a
fair and rich Town of Chriftians, and yet there is ſome of the
Churches left: And in that Town dwelt Abraham the Patri-
arch. This Town of Bersheba was founded by Urias, on whoſe
Wife David begat Solomon the Wife, that was King of Jeruſa-
lem, and of the Twelve Tribes of Ifrael, and he reigned forty
Years: And from thence Men go to the Vale of Ebron, that is
from thence near twelve Miles, and fome call it the Vale of
Mambre, and it is called the Vale of Tears, forafmuch as Adam
in that Vale bewailed 100 Years the Death of his Son Abel,
whom Cain flew; and Ebron was the principal City of the Phi-
liftins, where dwelt Gyants, and it was free, fo that all that
D
had
f
26:
The Voyages and Travels
1
had done evil in other places were there faved. In Ebron, Fo
Shua and Caleb, and their Company came first to elpy how they
might win the Land of Promife. In Ebron, David reigned firft
Seven Years and a half: And in Jerufalem he reigned two and
thirty Years and a half: And there be the Graves of the Patri-
archs Adam, Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, and of their Wives,
Eve, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leab: And they lie in the fide of the
Hill. And befide this Hill is a right fair Church builded after
the faſhion and manner of a Caſtle, which the Sarafins keep
right well, and they have the Place in great Worfhip for the
Holy Patriarch's fake that lie there, neither do they fuffer either
Chriftians or Jews to come therein except they have leave of
the Soldan, for they hold Chriftians and Jews but as Hounds;
therefore they come not to that Holy Place, and they call the
Place Spelunk, or Double Cave, or Double Grave, for one lyeth
upon another. The Sarafins call it in their Language Caria-
therba, that is, The Place of the Patriarchs: And the Jews call
it Abboth, and in that Place was Abraham's Houfe, when he fat
in his Door, and faw three Perfons, and worshipped but one,
as Holy Writ witneffeth, faying, Tres videt & Unum adoravit;
that is, He Saw Three, and worshipped but One.
V
CHAP. XV.
Here followeth a little of Adam and Eve
and other Things.
A
ND not far from that place is a Cave in a Rock, where-
Adam and Eve dwelt when they were driven out of Para-
dife, and there got their Children. And in that fame place was
Adam
3
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
27
Adam made, as fome fay; for Men called that place aforetime
the Field of Damafce, for it was in the Worship of Damafce,
and from thence he was tranflated into Paradife, as they fay,
and afterwards driven out of Paradife and put there again: For
the fame Day he was put into Paradife, he was driven out, as
foon as he had finned. And there beginneth the Inle of Ebron
that lafteth near unto Jerufalem, where the Angel bad Adam
that he fhould dwell with his Wife, and there they begot Seth,
of which Kindred Jeſus
the Field where Men Chrift was born. And in that Vale is
draw out of the Earth a thing which in
that Country they call Camball, and they eat it instead of Spice,
and bear it to fell, and they fay, Men cannot dig there fo deep
nor fo wide, but is is at the Years end full-again up to the fides
through the Grace of God. And two Miles from Ebron is the
Grave of Lot, that was Abraham's Brother.
CHA P. XVI. Of the dry Tree.
TH
Hen a little from Ebron is the Mount of Mambre, of the
which Mount the Vale took its Name, and there is an
Oak Tree, the Sarafins call Dypre, remaining fince Abraham's
time. This Tree is commonly called the Dry Tree, and
they fay it hath been from the Beginning of the World, and
was aforetime Green, and did bear Leaves unto the Time that
our Lord died, as did all the Trees of that kind in the World,
and yet there are many of thofe in the world. And fome Pro-
D 2.
phe-
28
The Voyages and Travels
}
phefies fay, That a Lord or Prince of the Weft-fide of the
World fhall win the Land of Promife, that is, the Holy Land,
with the Help of Chriftians, and he fhall worship God under that
Tree which fhall wax green and bear Fruit and Leaves, through
which Miracle many Sarafins and fews fhall be turned to the
Chriftian Faith, and therefore they do great worship thereto,
and keep it very choicely. And yet though it be dry, it hath a
great Virtue, for certainly be that hath a little thereof about
him, it healeth the Sickneſs called the Falling Evil. It has alfo
many other Virtues, and therefore is holden very precious.
CHA P. XVII. From Ebron to Bethlehem.
FR
}
Rom Ebron Men go to Bethlehem in half a day, for it is but
five Miles, and it is a very fair way and through pleaſant
Woods. Bethlehem is but a little City, long and narrow, and
was walled and encloſed with a great Ditch, it hath been for-
merly called Ephrata, as Holy Writ faith, Ecce audivimus cum
in Ephrata, &c. That is, Lo we heard of the fame at Ephrata..
And near the end of the City towards the Eaft, is a very fair
and goodly Church, which hath many Towers and Pinacles.
ftrongly built. In that Church are four and fourty great mar-1
ble Pillars, and not far from this Church is a Field that flourish-
ed very ftrangely, as you fhall hear,
CHA P. XVIII. Of a fair Maiden that should be put to
Death wrongfully.
HE caufe is, forafmuch as a fair Maiden, that was accu-
THE
Tfed wrongfully, for that she had done Fornication, for
which Cauſe he was doomed to die, and to be burnt in that
Place, to which fhe was led And as the Wood began to burn
about her, ſhe made her Prayer to our Lord, as he was not
guilty of that thing, that he would help her, that it might be
known to all men, and having thus prayed, the entred the fire,
and thoſe Branches that were burning became Red Rofes, and
thoſe that were not kindled became white Rofes, and theſe were
the firft Rofes that any Man ever faw: And fo was the Maiden
faved thro' the Grace of God, wherefore that Field is called the
Field that God flourished; for that it was full of Rofes. Near
the Quire of the Church aforefaid, at the right fide as men come
down-
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
29
downward twelve Steps, is the place where our Lord was born,
which is now built with Marble, and trimmed with Gold,
Azure, and other Colours. A little thence, about three paces,
is the Crib of the Ox or the Ais, and near that is the place
where the Star fell that led the three Kings, Jafper, Melchior and
Balthafor: Thefe three Kings offered to our Lord Incenſe,
Gold, and Myrrh, and they met together thro' the Miracle of
God in a City called Cafak, which is three and thirty days Jour-
ney from Bethlehem, yet were they at Bethlehem the fourth day
after they had feen the Star. Under the Cloyster of this
Church 18 degrees, at the right fide is a great Pit where the
Bones of the Innocents lie, and by that place is the Tomb of S.
Hierom, who tranflated the Bible and the Pfalter out of Hebrew
into Latin. And near unto that Church is the Church of St.
Nicholas, where our Lady refted her, when he was delivered of
Child: And forafmuch as fhe had fo much Milk in her Breafts
that paired her, fhe drew it out upon the Red Stones or Marble,
and People ſay, the traces may be yet feen white upon the
ftones. Ye fhall underſtand allo, they that dwell in Bethlehem
are Chriſtians, and there are fair Vines all about the City, and
great Plenty of Wine: But their Book that Mahomet gave them,
which they call Alcerán, and fome call it Maffap, and fome Har-
me, forbiddeth them to drink any Wine: For in that Book Ma
homet curfeth all that drink of that Wine, and all that fell it.
And fome Men fay that once he flew in his drunkenneſs a good
Hermit whom he loved, and therefore he curfeth the Wine, and
them that drink it; but his Malice is turned to himfelf, as Holy
Writ faith: Et in verticem ipfius iniquitas ejus defcendit: That is,
His wickedneſs ſhall defcend on his own Head. The Saracens alfo
eat neither Geefe nor Swines Flesh: For they fay, it is Brother
to a Man, and was forbidden in the old Law. Likewife in the
Land of Palestine, and in Egypt they eat little Veal or Beef,
except it be fo old that it may no more travel or work; Not be
cauſe it is forbidden, but they keep them for tilling their Land.
In this City of Bethlehem was King David born; he was King
of the Land of the Jews, reigned in Hierufalem, and had forty
And at Bethlehem to-
wards the South-fide is a Church of St. Markoret, that was.
Abbot there, for whom they had much forrow when he died; and
4es, and three hundred Concubines.
it
30
The Voyages and Travels
it was fhewed there how he made Lamentation when he died!
and it is a piteous thing to behold. From Bethlehem to Hieru.
falem is two miles: And in the way to Hierufalem, half a mile
from Bethlehem, is the Church where the Angel told the Shep-
herds of the Birth of Chriſt. In that way is the Tomb of Ra
chil that was mother to Jofeph the Patriarch, who died as foun
as Benjamin was born, and there fhe was buried, and Jacob her
Husband fet twelve great Stones upon her. In this way to Hi-
rufalem are many Chriftian Churches by the which mengo.
FOR
..
CHA P. XIX. Of the City Jerufalem.
R to ſpeak of Jerufalem, ye fhall understand that it ftan-
deth fair among Hills, and there is neither River nor Well,
but Water cometh by Conduit from Ebron. And ye fhall alfo
underſtand that at firft it was called Jebus, and fince it was cal-
led Salem, unto the Time of David, who called it Jerufalem,
and fo it is called yet. And about Ferufalem, is the Kingdom
of Sury, and thereby is the Land of Palestine and Askalon: But
Jerufalem is in the Land of Judea, and it is called Fudab: For
Judas Machabæus was King of that Land: And it bordereth al-
fo upon the Kingdom of Arabia on the South-fide, on the Weft-
fide on the great Sea, on the North-fide of the Kingdom of
Sury, and the Sea of Cyprus. About Jerufalem are thefe Cities:
Ebron at eight miles, Jericho at fix, Barfabe eight, Askalon 18,
Faff twenty five, Ramatha four miles.
This Land of Jerufalem bath been in the hands of divers Na-
tions, as Jews, Canaanites, Allyrians, Perfians, Macedonians,
Greeks, Romans, Chriftians, Sarafins, Barbarians, Turks and ma-
ny other. For Chrift will not fuffer lewd Sinners long to pof-
fefs it, be they Chriftians or others. And now hath the Land
been holden by Infidels an hundred Years and more, but God
grant they may not hold it long.
A
CHA P. XX. Yet of this Holy City Jerufalem.
ND ye shall underftand that when men first come to Fo
rufalem, they go firft on Pilgrimage to the Church where
the Holy Grave is, the which was out of the City on the
North fide, but it is now cloſed in with the Wall of the town.
And there is a fair Church, round, all flar above, and well
covered
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
3 C
covered with Lead; and
on the Weſt fide is a fair
and ftrong Tower for
Bells; and in the midft of
the Church is a Taber-
nacle, made like a little
Houſe, in manner of a
half Compafs, very rich-
ly trimmed with Gold,
Azure and other Colours.
On the right fide is the
Sepulchre of cur Lord
Chrift: And the Taber.
nacle is eight Foot long,
five foot wide, and ele
ven Foot high. And it
is not long fince the Se-
pulchre was all open, fo
that any man might them
touch it, but becaufe the
T
People that came thither, fpoiled and brake the Stones all into
Pieces, therefore hath the Soldan made a Wall about the Se-
pulchre, that no man may touch it. On the left fide is a Win-
dow, wherein are many Lamps lighted; and there hangeth a
Lamp burning before the Sepulchre, which they fay on Good
Friday goeth out by it felf, and lighteth again at the Hour our
Lord role from Death to Life. And within that Church upon
the right fide of mount Calvary, where our Lord was Cruci-
fied, the Cross was fet in a morteis in the Rock, that is white
of colour, and mingled with a little Red; and upon that Rock
dropped the blood of the Wounds of, cur Lord, when he was
nailed on the Crofs, and that is called Golgotha; and men go
up to that Golgotha upon Steps; and in that morteis was Adam's
Head found after Noah's Flood, in Token that the fin of Adam
should be redeemed in that place: And upon that Rock Abra-
bam offered Sacrifice to our Lord; and there is an Altar, before
which lieth Godfrey of Bouloign, Baldwin, and others that were
Chriftians, and Kings of Jerufalem..
*
Likewife
1
32
The Voyages and Travels
!
Likewife where our Lord was crucified it was written, Hic
Deus Rex nofter, ante fæcula, operatus eft falutem in medie terræ :
That is, This God our King, before Worlds, bath wrought Health
in the midst of the Church. Upon this Rock alfo where the
Crofs was fixed, is written within the Rock, Quod vides eft
fundamenta totius mundi, & hujus fidei; That is, That thou feeft
is the ground of all the World and of this Faith.
Ye fhall under-
ftand alfe, that when our Loid died he was Two and Thirty
Years old and three Months, yet the Prophefie of David faith
that he ſhould live Forty Years, when he ſaid thus, Quadra-
ginta annos proximus fui generationi huic, that is, Forty Years I was
Neighbour to this Generation: And thus it fhould feem that Pro-
phetie is not true, but it is, For in old Time Men counted but
Ten Months to a Year, of which, March was the firſt and
December the laft: but Caius Cæfar that was Emperor of Rome,
added to theſe, Two Months more, January and Febrrary, and
ordained the Year of Twelve Months, that is, three hundred
fixty five Days without Leap-Year, the proper courfe of the
Sun, and therefore after the accounting of Ten Months to the
Year, he did in the fortieth Year,
and after our Years of 12
Months it is 32 Years
and three Months,
Alfo within Mount Cal-
vary at the right fide,
there is an Altar where
the Pillar lieth that our
Lord was bound to when
he was fcourged, and there-
by are three other Pillars
that always drop Water;
and fome ſay, that thoſe
Pillars weep for our Lord's
Death. And near this
Altar in a place Forty
Steps deep was found the
very Crofs, by the know-
ledge of S. Elene under a
Rock, where the Jews had
hid it. And they found
Three
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
33
ľ
Three Croffes, one of our Lord, and two of the Thieves.
Thele Croffes St. Elene tried upon a dead Body, that did rife
as foon as the very Crofs of our Lord was laid upon him, and
thereby is the Vale of the place where the four Nails of our
Lord were hid, for he had two in his Hands and two in his
Feet, and with one of thofe Nails the Emperor of Conftantino-
ple did make a Bridle for his Horfe to bear him in Battle, by
the virtue whereof he overcame his Enemies, and won all the
Land of Afia, Turker, Damaffe the more and the lefs, Sury,
Hierufalem Arabia, Perfia and Mefopotamia, the Kingdoms of
Afape, Egypt the high and low, with many other Kingdoms,
even almoſt all unto India the lefs, that then were chriftened:
And there were at that Time many good men and holy Her-
mits, of whom the Book of the Fathers Lives make mention,
but now they are inhabited by Painims and Sarafins: Yet when
it pleafeth God, as thefe Lands were loft through the Sin of
Chriftians, fo through the help of God by Chriftians they fhall
be won again. In the midſt of this Church is a Tomb, in the
which Jofeph of Arimathea laid the Body of our Lord when he
had taken him off the Crofs, and upon the fame place did he
wash the Feet of our Lord, and that place men lay is in the
midſt of the World.
/
+
CHAP. XXI. Of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Withe
Ithin that Church by the Sepulchre, on the North-fide,
is the place where our Lord was impriſoned, and there
is a part of the Chain with which he was bound, and there he
appeared firſt unto Mary Magdalen when he was rifen from
Death, and the thought he had been a Gardiner. In the
Church of the Sepulchre uſed to be the Canons of St Bennet,
and they had a Priory, and the Patriarch was their Soveraign:
And without the Doors of the Church on the right fide, as men
go up 18 Steps, our Lord faid to his Mother, Mulier, Ecce filius
tuus! that is, Woman, behold thy Sun! Deinde dixie Difcipulo,
Ecce Mater tua! that is, Then afterward he ſaid to his Difciple,
Behold thy Mother! And theſe words he faid when he hanged
upon the Cross, and upon theſe Steps went our Lord when he
bare the Cross upon his Shoulder, and under thefe Stairs is a
Chapel where the Priefts fing. And near there is the Stone
E
where
34
The Voyages and Travels
where our Lord refted when he was weary with hearing of the
Crols. And ye thall underſtand that before the Church of the
Sepulchre is a moſt ſtrong City, and the great Plain that is be-
tween the City and the Church, on the Eaft-fide, without the
Walls of the City, is the Vale of Jofaphat, that cometh even
to the Walls.
}
D
In this Vale of Jofaphat, without the City is the Church of
St. Stephen. where he was ftoned to Death, and thereby is a
Gate builded that may not be opened. Through this Gate our
Lord'entred on Palm-Sunday upon an Afs, and the Gate open-
ed unto him when he would go to the Temple: And in full
hard Stones there are three Steps like the Steps of an Afs, the-
which People fay, are the Steps of the Afs that our Lord rode
on. Before the Church of the Sepulchre, two hundred Paces,
is a great Hofpital of St. John, in which Hofpital are fifty four
Pillars made of Stone. And to go toward the Eaft from the
Hofpital, is a right fair Church that Men call our Lady the
Great; and then is there another Church by that, that Men
call our Lady of the Latin: And there it was that Mary Cleophe
and Mary Magdalen rent their Hair when our Lord was put to
Death.
CHAP
:
་་་
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
35
}
CHA P. XXII. Of the Temple of Ged.
ND from the Church of the Sepulchre, toward the Eaſt,
at feventeen Spaces, is Templum Domini; That is a fair
Houſe, and it is all round, and right high, and covered with
Lead. And it is well paved with white Marble; but the Sara-
fins will ſuffer no Chriftians nor Jews to come therein; for they
fay, that fuch finful Men fhould not come in that Holy Place:
But I was fuffered to go in, and into other Places, where I
would; for I had Letters of the Soldan, with his great Seal,
and commonly other Men have but his Signet; and Men bear
his Letter with his Seal before them, hanging on a Spear, and
men do great worship thereto, and they kneel to it, and adore
it, as if it were a God: Alfo thofe Men to whom it is fent, be-
fore they take it, do bow thereto, and they take it and lay it
>
E 2
}
upon their Heads, and
afterwards they kifs it,
and then they read it,
all bowing with great
worship, and then they
proffer them to do all
that the bringer will.
And in this Templum Do-
mini were wont to be
Canons Regular, and
they had an Abbot, to
whom they were ob di-
ent. In this Temple was
Charlemain when
when the
Angel brought him the
Prepuce of our Lord when
he was circumciſed, and
after King Charles did
bring it to Acon into our
Ladies Chapel.
CHAP.
36
The Voyages and Travels
A
CHAP. XXIII. Yet of the Temple of GOD
ND ye fhall underſtand that this is not the Temple that
Solomon made, for that Temple lafted but one thouſand a
hundred and two Years. For Titus Vefpafi n his Son, that was
Emperor of Rome, laid fiege against Hierufalem, for to difcom--
fit the Jews, becauſe they had pat Chrift to Death without leave
of the Emperor. When he had taken the City, he burnt the
Temple, caft it down, took all the fews, put to death 1100000-
and the reff he impriſoned and fold thirty for a Penny: For he
faid that they bought Jefus Chrift for thirty pence. And fince
Julian Apoftata gave Leave to the Jews to build the Temple of
Hierufalem again, but he forfook his Law. And when the Jews
had builded again the Temple, then came the Earthquake (as
God would) and caft down all that they had made. Since
that,, Adrian the Emperor who was of Troy, made Hierufalem
again, and the Temple in that fame manner that Solomon made
it, and commanded that no few thould dwell there, but Chrift-
ians: For although he himfelf was not a Chriftian, yet he loved
the Chriftians more than other men, fave men of his own
Faith. This Emperor did alfo enclofe and wall the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre within the City, that before was far with-
out the City, and he would have changed the Name of Hieru
falem, and called it Hlam, but that Name lafted not long.
And ye fhall underftand that the Sarafins do worship in that
Temple, and they fay, that place is Holy; and when they go
in, they go bare Foot; and before I and my Fellows came
herein, we put off our Harnefs, and came barefoot into the
Temple; and thought that we ought to do as much or more
than they that were infidels." And this Temple is threeſcore and
three cubits in widenels, and as much in length, and thirty two
cubits in heighth, and covered with Lead, and it is within
full of Pillars of marble. And in the midft of the Temple is
an Altar and twenty and four fteps of Heighth. This place.
the Jews called Sanctus Sanctorum; that is, Holy of Holyeft;
and in that place cometh none but their Prelate that makes their
Sacrifice; and the People fit all about in divers feats as they are
in Dignity; and there be four Entrings into the Temple, and
the:
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight. 1.
37
the Doors are of Cyprefs; and within the Eaſt-door your Lord
faid, Here is Jerufalem. And on the North-fide within the
door is a Fountain, and it runneth out; of which Holy Writ
fpeaketh, and faith, Vidi aquam egredientem de Templo; Ifaw
Water coming out of the Temple. And upon the other ſide is
a Rock called fometime Moryach, but after it was called Belet,
and there is the Ark of God, with fome Reliques of the Jews.
This Ark Titus carried with him to Rome when he had dilcom-
fited the Jews
in that Ark were the Ten Commandments, and Aaron's
Rod, and Mofes's Rod, with which he parted the Red Sea,
when the People of Ifrael paffed thro' on dry foot: And there
was the Veffel of Manna, the Clothing and O.naments, and
the Tabernacle of Aaron and a ſquare Table of Gold, with
twelve precious Stones, and a Box of Jafper graven with four
Fingers, and eight Names of our Lord within, and feven Can-
dlesticks of Gold, four Cenfors of gold, an Altar of fine gold,
and four Lions of gold, unto the which they had a Cherubim
of gold twelve fpans long, and a Tabernacle of gold, alfo 12
Trumpets of Silver, and a Table of Silver, and feven Barley,
Loaves, and many other Reliques that were before the Nati-
vity of Chriſt.
Upon the Rock Jacob flept when he faw the Angels go up,
and faid, Vere locus ifle fanctus est, & ego ignorabam; that is,
Surely this place is holy, and I am ignorant of it. And there
the Angel changed Jacob's Name, and called him Ifrael.
In that fame place alfo David faw the Angel that flew the
People with a Sword, and put it all bloody into the Sheath.
And on this Rock was St. Simeon, when he received our Lord
into the Temple, and on this Rock dat he him when the Jews
would have ſtoned him, and the Rock rent in two, and in that.
Cleft he hid him, and after came down and gave him light.
+
And on this Rock fate our Lady and learned her Plaker.
There alfo our Lord forgave the Sins of the Woman that was
taken and found in Adultery: And there was our Lord Jefus
Circumcifed, and there the Angel denounced to Zachary the
Nativity of St. John Baptift; and there first offered Melchifedech.
Bread and Wine and Water to our Lord,` in token of the Sa-
crament
38
The Voyages and Travels
}
น
เ
Sacrament that was to come: and there David prayed to ous
Lord for Mercy for him, and for his People, when he faw the
Angel flay his Feople, and our Lord anen heard his Prayer, and
therefore he would have made the Temple in the place, but
cur Lord Jefus Chrift forbad him by an Angel, for he had com-
mitted Murther in the confenting to the flaying of the Knight
Uriah, to have his Wife; therefore all that he had prepared for
the building of the Temple, he left to Solomon his Son, and he
built it, and prayed to the Lord, That all thofe that prayed in
that place devoutly, and with good heart, that he would hear
their Prayer and grant them what they fervently asked; and
the Lord granted it: wherefore Solomon his Son called it, The
Temple of Council, and Help of God.
Without the doors of that Temple is an Altar, where the
Jews were wont to offer Doves and Turtles; and in that
Temple was Zachary flain; and on the Pinacles the Jews fet
St. James that was the firft Biſhop of Hierufalem: And a little
from this Temple on the right fide is a Church covered with
Lead, that is called the School of Solomon. Towards the
South is the Temple of Salon, which is a great place, and they
were the Founders thereof, and of their Order; and in that
Templum Domini dwell Canons
1
From this Temple towards the Eaft fix and twenty paces in
a corner of the City, is the Bath of our Lord; and this Bache
was wont to go Paradife: and 'not far thence is our Ladies,
and near that is St. Simeon's Tomb. Without the Cloyster of
the Temp eroward the North is a fair Church of St. Anne our
Ladies Mother; and there was our Lady conceived; and be-
fore that Church is a great Tree; which began to grow that
fame Night. And as Men go down from that Church two and
twenty fteps, lyeth Joachim our Ladies Father, in a Tomb of
Stone; and there near was laid fome time St. Anne, but S. Elena
did tranflate her to Conftantinople. In this Church is a Well in
manner of a Ciftern, that is called Probatica piscina, that hath
five Emtrings, and into that Ciftern an Angel was wont to de-
fcend and ſtir the Water, and what Man bathed therein, after
the ftirring was made whole, what diſeaſe foever he had. There
was the Man of the Palfie made whole, who had been fick
38 years
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
39
द
38 Years and there befide was the Houfe of Pilate, and a liz-
le from that the Houfe of King Herod who flew the Innocents..
TH
CHA P. XXIV. Of Herod the King.
His King Herod was a very wicked Man, and a Tyrant -
for he did firſt and foremoſt flay his Wife, whom he
loved well; and for the great Love of her went out of his
Wits, and fo he was a long time, and afterward he came
to himſelf. And after he flew his own Children that he had
by his faid Wife, and commanded likewife his fecond Wife
to be ſlain, and a Son he had by her," and after that he flew
his own Mother; and he would alfo have flain his own
Brother, but his Brother died fuddenly; and thus he did
all the ill that he might. And then he fell fick, and when
he faw that he ſhould die, he fent for his Sifter and all the
Lords of the Country; and when they were there, he did
put all the Lords into a Tower, and faid to his Sifter, he
knew well, that the Men of the Country would make no
forrow for him when he was dead; and therefore he made
her to fwear unto him that he would fmite off the Heads of
the Lords every one after his Death; and then would the
Men of the Country make forrow for his death in regard of
the Noble-Mens deaths; and then he made his laft Will. But
his Sifter fulfilled it not in relation to the Lords Deaths, for
affoon as he was dead, fhe delivered the Lords out of the
Tower, and fent every one home to their Houfes, and told
them what her Brother commanded her to do unto them.
And ye shall understand that in that time were three Herods of
Name This of whom I fpeak was called Herod Afcalonite;
great Name
and he that did fmite off S. John Baptift's Head, was called
Herod Antipa, and the third was called Herad Agrippa, and he
did flay S. James, and put S. Peter in Prifon.
A
\CHA P. XXV. of St. Salvator's Church.'
:
Little within the City is S. Salvator's Church, and therein
is St. John Chryfoftem's Arm, and the moft part of Saint:
Stephen's Head.
And on the other fide, toward the South, as Men go to
Mount Sion, is a fair Church of Saint James, where his Head
was.
!
40
The Voyages and Travels
was fmitten off, and there is Mount Sion, and a fair Church of
God and our Lady, where fhe was dwelling, and died; and
AN
1
there was fome Time an Abbey of Canons Regular, and from
that Place he was carried by the Apoftles unto the Vale of
Fofaphat. And there is the Stone that the Angel carried to
our Lady from Mount Sinai; and it is of that colour that the
Rock of St. Katherine is of and there befide is the Gate where
our Lady when he was with Child went thro' to Bethlehem.
And at the entering of Mount Sion is a Chappel, and in
that Chappel is that great and large. Stone with which the
Sepulchre
ג
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
41
Sepulchre was covered when Chrift was laid therein; the
which Store, as it is written, the three Maries faw turned up-
ward when they came to the Sepulchre, and they found an
Angel that told them that Chrift was rife from Death to Life:
And there is a little Pillar, to the which our Lord was bound
and fcourged; and there was Annas Houfe, that was Biſhop of
the Jews at that time; and in that fame Place denied St. Peter
our Lord thrice before the Cock crew, and there is a part of
the Table, at which Chrift eat his laft Supper with his Difci-
ples; and there is yet the Veffel with Water, out of which the
Difciples Feet were washed; and near by alfo is St. Stephen's
Grave: and there is the Altar where our Lord heard the An-
gel fing; and there appeared Chrift firft to his Difciples after
his Refurrection, when the Gates were fhut and faid, Pax vo-
bis, that is, Peace be to you: and upon that Mount appeared
Christ appeared Chrift to Saint Thomas, and bid him feel his
Wounds, and that was eight Days after his Refurrection, and
then he believed perfectly, and faid, Dominus meus Deus
meus, My Lord and my God.
In that fame Chapel behind the high Altar, were all the
Apoſtles on Whit-Sunday, when the Holy Ghoft defcended on
them in likeness of a Fire; and there God made peace with his
Difciples; and there flept St. John the Evangelift on our Lord's
Breaſt, and ſaw in his fleep many fecret things of Heaven,
Allo Mount Sion is within the City, and 'tis a little higher than
the other fide of the City, and that City is ftronger on the one
fide than on the other; for in the foot of Mount Sion is a fair
and ftrong Caftle, which the Soldan caufed to be made there.
On Mount Sin was King David buried. and Solomon, and
other Kings of Hierufalem, and there is the place where Saint
Peter wept bitterly, when he had denyed our Lord; and a
ftones caft from that, is another place where our Lord was
judged, for at that time Caiaphas's Houſe was there; and between
the Temple of Solomon and Mount Sion is the place where Chriſt
raiſed the Maid from Death to Life. Under Mount Sion in the
Vale of Fofaphat, is a Well called Natatory Silo, there was our
Lord wathed after he was Baptized. And thereby is the Tree
on which Judas hanged himſelf for deſpair, when he had fold
and betrayed Chriſt.
B
And
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And thereby is the Synagogue where the Bishops of the Jew's
and Pharifees came to hold their Councel, and there Judas caft
}
Thirty Pieces before them and faid, Peccavi, tradéns fanguinem
justum; that is, I have finned, in betraying the Innocent Blood.
CHA P. XXVI. Of the Field Aceldama which was bought
with the Thirty Pieces.
N the other fide of Mount Sion, toward the South, a
Stones caft, is the Field they bought with thofe Thirty
Pieces for which Chrift was fold, that Men call Aceldama, that
is, The Field of Blood: In that Field are many Tombs of Chi-
ftian Men, for there be many Pilgrims buried. And alfo in
Hierufalem towards the Weft is a fair Church, where the Tree
grew of which the Crofs was made: and thereby is the Church
where our Lady met with Elizabeth when they were both with
Child, and St. John ftirred in his Mother's Womb, and did
worship to our Lord his Maker: And under the Altar of this
Church is the place where St, John was born, and thereby is the
Caftle of Emaux.
TW
CHAP XXVII. of Mount Joy.
WO Miles from Hierufalem is Mount Joy, this is a fair
place, and there lieth Samuel the Prophet in a fair Tomb.
It is called Mount Joy, for there thofe that travel, firft fee
Hierufalem. And in the middle of the Vale of Jofaphat is a
little
+
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
43
little River that is called Torrens Gedron, over which lies the
Tree for Men to pass over; of which the Crofs was made.
In this Vale is a Church of our Lady, and her Sepulchre, and
fhe was threefcore and Twelve Years of Age when ſhe died.
And there near is the place where our Lord forgave St.Peter his
fins and miſdeeds which he had done. Near unto that, is a
Chapel where Judas kiffed our Lord, that is called Gethſemain,
when he was taken of the Jews, and there Chrift left his Dil-
ciples before his Paffion when he went to pray and ſaid, Pater,
fi fieri poteft, tranfeat a me calix ifte: that is, Father, if it may be
done, let this Cup pafs from me. And thereby is a Garden where
our Lord fweat with Blood and Water: And there is the Tomb
of King Jofaphat, of whom the Vale had the Name: And on
the fide of that Vale is Mount Olivet; and it is called fo, for
there grow many Olive-Trees, and is higher than Hierufalem;
and therefore from that Hill men may fee into the Streets of
Hierufalem; and between the Hill and the City is nothing but
the Vale of Josaphat, and that is not very large, and upon that
Hill ſtood our Lord when he afcended into Heaven, and yet
there feemeth the ſtep of his left Foot in the Stone: And there
is an Abbey of black Canons, that was great fometimes, but
now there is but a Church; and a little thence eighteen Paces,
is a Chappel, and there is the Stone on the which our Lord
God fate, when he preached and faid, Beati pauperes fpiritus
quoniam ipforum eft regnum Cælorum: that is, Bleſſed be they that
be poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. And there
he tanght his Difciples their Pater Nofter, There alſo is a Church
of that bleffed Woman Mary Egyptian, and there is the buried.
And on the other fide toward the Eaft, three bow-fhoots from
thence, ftandeth Bethphage, where our Lord Jefus Chrift fent
Peter and James to fetch the Afs on Palm-Sunday.
CHAP. XXVIII. Of the Castle of Bethania:
To
}
Oward the Eaft is a Caftle called Bethania, and there
dwelt Simon the Leper that harboured our Lord, and
them that were baptized of his Difciples, and he was called)
Julian, and was made Bishop, and that is he Men call on for
good Harbour. In that fame place our Lord forgave Mary
F 2
Magdalee
!
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The Voyages and Travels
Magdalen her Sins, and there fhe washed his Feet with Tears,
and wiped them with her Hair: And there was Lazarus ra fed
after he had been four Days dead.
A
1
CHA P. XXIX. of Jericho, and other things.
T the returning to Mount Olivet, is the place where our
Lord wept upon Hierufalem, and thereby our Lady ap-
-peared to St. Thomas after her Affumption, and gave him her
Girdle: And thereby is a Stone on which our Lord fat of en and
preached. And there, is Munt Galilee, where the Apoftles
were gathered when Mary Magdalen told them of hril's Ri
fing. Between Mount Olivet and Mount Galilea Church,
where the Angel told our Lady when he should d'e.
And from Bethany to Jericho is five Miles. Jericho was fome-
times a little City, but it is wafted, and now it is but a little
Town: That Town took Joshua, thro' the Miracle of God,
and bidding of the Angel, and deftroyed it, and cu fed thofe
that fhould build it again. Of that City was Rabab.that com-
mon Woman that received the Meflengers of Ifrael, and kept
them from the peril of Death, therefore the had a good reward;
as Holy Writ faith, Quicunque accipit prophetam in nomine meo,
mercedem Prophetæ, &c. that is, He that receiveth a Prophet in my
Name, he shall receive the Reward of a Prophet.
CHA P. XXX. Of the Holy Places between Bethany and
the River Jordan, and other Th ngs.
A
Lfo from Bethany Men go to the River of Jordan through
the Wilderness, and it is near a Days Journey between.
Toward the Eaft is a great Hill where our Lord fafted fourty
Days: Upon this Hill was Chrift tempted of the Devil, when
he faid to him, Command that thefe Stones be made Bread:
And there is an Hermitage, where dwelleth certain Chriftians,
called Georgians, for St. George converted them: And upon that
Hill dwelled Abraham a great while: And as Men go to Jeri-
cho fate the fick Men crying, Jefu filii David miferere nobis, that
is, Jefus the Son of David, have mercy upon us. And two miles
from Jericho is the River Jordan, and ye fhall underſtand that
the Dead Sea parteth the Land of Juda and Arabia; and the
water
}
1
of Sir JOHN MANDE VILE, Knight.
45
water of that Sea is bitter; and it caftech out a thing that Men
call Afpatam, as great Pieces as an Horfe; And Hierufalem is
two hundred furlongs from the Sea; and it is called the Dead
Sea, becaule it runneth pot, neither may any Man or Beaft live
therein: "And that hath been proved many times, for they have
caft therein men that were judged to death: Nor no Man may
drink of the water: And if men caft Iron therein, it cometh
up again; but if a man caft a Feather therein, it finketh; the
which is againſt kind.
And thereabout grow Trees that bear fruit of fair colour, and
feem ripe; but when a man breaks or cutts them he findeth
nought in them, but Coals and Alhes, in token that through
the Vengeance of God thofe Cities were burnt with the Fire
of Hell.
And fome call that Lake the Lake of Afphaltid, and ſome
call it the Pool of the Devil, and fome the ftinking Pool, for
the water thereof flinketh. There funk thoſe five Cities thro'
the Wrath of God, that is, Sodom, Gomorrah, Aldema, Sabome
and Segot, for the Sin of Sodomy that reigned in thém; but
Segor thro' the Prayer of Lot was faved a great while, for it
flood upon a Hill, and yet appeareth much thereof above the
water, and men may fee the waters in clear weather: And in
this City of Segor, Lot was made drunk by his Daughters, and
lay with them; for they thought that God would deſtroy all the
World, as he did with Noe's Flood; and therefore they lay by
their
A
&
1
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The Voyages and Travels
1
their Father, that men' might be born by them into the World ;
and at the right fide of the Sea ftandeth Lot's Wife in a Pillar of
Salt, becauſe ſhe looked back when the City funk down.
CHA P. XXXI. Of Abraham and kis Generation.
ND ye fhall underſtand that Lot was Haran's Son, Abra-
A Nam Brother, and
ham's Brother, and Sarah, Abraham's Wite, was Lot's Sifter:
and Sarah was Ninety Years old when the bare Ifaac, and
Abraham had another Son named Ishmael, that he had gotten of
his maid Hagar, and he was fourteen Years of Age when Ifaac
was born; and when Ifaac was eight days old, he was circum-
cifed, and his other Son Ishmael was circumcifed the fame day,
and was fourteen years of Age; therefore the Sarafins that be
of the Generations of Ishmael, do circumcife them at fourteen
years of Age; and the Jews that be of the Generation of Ifaac,
do circumcife them the eighth day of their Age,
And into that dead Sea aforèſaid, runneth the River Jordan
and maketh there an end; and this is within a mile of S. John's
Church: And a little beneath that fame Church weftward,
were the Chriftians wont to bathe them: and a mile thence is
the River Loth, through which Jacob went, when he came to
Mefopotamia.
CHAP. XXXII. Of the River Jordan.
His River Fordan is no great nor deep River, but there is
much good Fith therein, and there cometh from Mount
Libany two Wells that Men call for and Dan, and of them it
taketh the Name; and upon the one fide of that River is Mount
"Gilboa, and there is a fair Plain. And on the other fide men go
by Mount Libany, to the Defart of Pharaon. Thofe Hills part
the Kingdom of Sury, and the Country of Phenice. On that
Hill grow Cedars, that bear fong apples as big as a man's head:
This River Jordan divideth Galilee, and the Land of Idumia,
and the Land of Betron, and it runneth into a Plain called
Metdam, in the Sarafins Language, and in Engliſh, Fair; be-
Caufe oftentimes there be kept great Fairs; and in that Plain is
the Tomb of Holy Fob.
In this River Fordan our Lord was baptized, and there was
the Voice of the Father heard, ſaying, Hic eft filius meus di-
lestus
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
47
?
i
lectus in quo acquiefco, ipfum audito; that is, This is my beloved San
in whom I am well pleaſed, hear him. And the Holy Ghoſt de-
fcended on him in likenefs of a Dove; and fo was there at his
Baptifm all the Trinity. And through the River Jordan paffed
the Children of Ifrael on dry Foot, and fet up ftones in the
midlt of the Water, in Token of that Miracle. And alfo in
that River Naaman the Affyrian bathed him, who was Leprous,
and he was made whole. And a little from thence is the City
of Ay, the which Joſhua affailed and took. And about the Ri
ver Fordan are many Churches, where Chriftians dwell. Alfo
by the River Jordan is the Vale of Mambre, which is a fair
Vale and plenteous.
•
CHA P. XXXIII. Of many other Miracles:
ND ye shall further underland, that as we go from the
A Red Sea, to pals forward to the Land of Promife, is a very
Strong Caftle, that men call Carran or Sermoyes, that is the King's
Hill. This Caftle did the King of France make, whofe Name
was Bawdewin, who conquered all the Land, and put it into the
hands of Chriftians to keep; and under that Caftle is a fair
Town called Sabaoth; and thereabout dwell many Chriſtians
under Tribute.
Then men go to Nazareth, of which our Lord had his Name:
and from Nazareth unto Jerufalem is three days Journey. Allo
men go thro' the Province of Galilee, through Romatba, thro'
Sophyn, and over the high Hill of Effrain, where dwelt Hannah
that
1
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3
}
*
that was the Propher Samuel's Mother, and there was be born,
and after his Death buried at Mount Joy, as I have laid before.
And after Men come to Sybula where the Ark of God was
kept under Heli the Prophet. And there made the People of
Ifrael their Sacrifice unto the Lord; and there fpake our Lord
firſt to Samuel. There also miniftred God the Sacrament. Near
thereby at the right fide is Gabaon, Rama, atid Benjamin, of
which Holy Writ fpeaketh; after that, Men come to Sychem,
that fome men call Sychar, and that is in the Province of the
Samaritans, and fometime there was a Church, but is all waft-
ed, and is a fair Vale, and pienteous, and there is a good City
that men call Neople, and from thence it is a Days Journey un-
to Hierufalem: And there is the Well where our Lord ſpoke to
the Woman of Samaria: And Sychem is ten miles from Hierufa-
lem, and it is called Neople, that is the new Town, and there is
the Temple of Jofeph, Jacob's Son, that governed Egypt, from
thence were his bones brought and laid in the Tomb, and thither
came Jews often in Pilgrimage with great Devotion, and in
that City was Dinah, Jacb's Daughter ravifhed, for whom, her
Brethren flew any Men: And thereby is the City of Corafin,
where the Samaritans make their Sacrifice.
་་་་་་་
On this Hill would Abra
bım have facrificed his Son´·
Ifaac: and there near is the
Vale of Dotany, and there is
the Pit wherein Jofeph was
caft by his Brethren before
that they Told him; and it
is two miles to Sychar; and
from thence men come to
Samary, that men call Saba-
ften, and that is the chief
City of that Country, and
in that City was the feat of
the twelve Kings of Ifrael,
but 'tis not fo great as it was
and there was S. John Bap-
tift buried between two
Prophets, Helizius & Abdon
1
1
bu
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
49
;
but he was beheaded in the Caftle of Marketen, near the dead
Sea, and was buried by his Difciples at Samaria; and there did
Julian Apoftata take his bones and burn them, for he was at that
time Emperor; but fome fay that Finger with which he the w
ed our Lord, faying, Ecce Agnus Dei; that is, Behold the Lamb
of God, would not be burnt; and St. Tecla the Virgin did bring
iunto Alphen, that is in the Mountains, in which place they do
it great Worship: And there was St. John Baptift's Head clofed
into a Wall, but the Emperor Theodofius did take it out, for he
found it lapped in a cloth all blooly, and he bare it to Conftan-
tinople; and there is yet the one half of the Head: And the
Veffel wherein his Head was laid, when it was fmitten off, is
at Gean, and they do it great Worſhip. Some fay, that Saint
Fobn's Head is at Amiens in Picardy; and fome fay it is S. Jobs's
Head the Biſhop: I know not, but to God it is known.
CHA P. XXXIV. Of the Samaritans.
:
Rom Sebaften or Samary to Hierufalem, is twelve Miles; and
among the Hills of this Country is a Well that Men call
Fons Jacobi, that is, Jacob's Well, that changeth his colour four
times a Year; for fometime it is Red, fometime Clear, fome-
time Green, and ſometime thick; and the men that dwell there
are called Samaritans, and they were converted by the Apoftles;
yet their Law differs from the Law of Chriftians, as alfo from
G
Fews
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រ
し
​է-,
J
Jews and Painims: They believe well in one God that fhall
judge all, and believe the Bible after the Letter, and they lay-
their heads in red linen Cloth, that they may be known from
others for Sarafins wrap their heads in white Cloth: the Chri-
ftians that dwell there in blew, and the Jews in yellow; in this
Country dwell many Jews, paying Tribute as Chriftians do.
And if you will know the Letters of the Jews, they are
thefe following, and are thus called: Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Da-
leth, Hevan, Zain, Heth, Teth, Fod, Caph. Lamed, Mem, Nun,
Samech, Ain, P, Xade, Koph, Refh, Schin, Tau,
FRO
CHA P. XXXV. Of Galilee.
'Rom this Country that I have ſpoken of, men go to the
Plain of Galilee, and leave the Hill on the one fide; for
Galilee is a Province of the Land of Promife, and in that Pro-
vince is the City of Naim, of Capernaum, and Bethfaide, the
where St. Peter and S. Andrew were born. Some fay Antichrift
should be born at Corafim, and nourished at Bethfaide, but fhall
reign at Corafim; therefore faith Holy Wit, Væ tibi Corafim,
Va tibi Bethfaida; that is, Woe be to thee Corafim, Woe be to thee
Bethfaida: But others, he thall be born in Babylon, therefore
faid the Prophet, De Babylonia Coluber exit qui tetum mundum
devorabit; that is, Out of Babylon fhall come a Serpent that shall
devour all the World. Cana, a chief City of Galilee is four miles
from Nazarerb of which City was the Woman of Canaan, of
whom the Gofpel fpeaketh, and there our Lord did his firft
Miracle, when at the marriage of the Architricline he turned"
Water into Wine. From thence men go to Nazareth; which
hath been a great City, but now there is but a little town, and
that unwalled: There was our Lady born, and of this City our
Lord took his Name. At Nazareth alfo Jofeph took our Lady
to Wife, when the was Fourteen Years of Age: There the
Angel faluted her, faying, Ave gratia plena, Dominus tecum,
that is, Fail full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. And there was
a great Church, but now there is but a little Room to receive
the Offerings of Pilgrims. There is the Well of Gabriel, where
our Lord he was wont to bathe him when he was little.
Nazareth was our Lord nourished: And Nazareth is called the
•
At
Flower
1 1
1
1
}
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
5x
>
1
Flower of Gardens; and it may well be fo called, for there
was nouriſhed the Flower of Life, even our Lord Jefus Chriſt.
About half a mile from Nazareth is the Blood of our Lord
for the Jews led him on a high Rock to caft him down and flay
him, but Jefus eſcaped them, and fled to another Rock, where
fteps be yet feen, which they ſay are thoſe of our Lord; there-
fore fome when in Danger of Thieves or Enemies, do fay
thus: Jefus autem tranfiens per medium illorum ibat: And they fay
theſe Verſes of the Pfalter three Times, Irruat fuper eos formido,
&pavor in magnitudine brachii. Domine, fiant immobiles quaf
lapis; donec pertranfeat populus tuus, Domine, & populus iste quem
redemifti. And fo when this is faid, a man may go without
any letting. Ye fhall underftand and know that our bleffed
Lady bare her Child when she was fifteen Years of Age, anď
The lived with him thirty three Years and three months, and
after his Paffion the lived two and twenty Years.
CHA P. XXXVI. The way from Nazareth to the Mount
or Hill of Tabor.
A
ND from Nazareth the Mount Tabor is three miles, and
there our Lord was Transfigured before S. Peter, S. John,
and S. James. And there they faw fpiritually our Lord, Mofer
and Elias the Prophet. For which caule S. Peter faid, Bonum eft
nobis hic effe, &c, that is, It is good for us to be here, let us make
Three Tabernacles. And our Lord Jefus Chrift bade them that
they fhould tell no man until the Time that he was rifen from
Death to Life From Mount Tabor, a mile diſtance is Moun
Hermon, and there was the City of Naius; before the Gates of
this City our Lord raifed the Son of the Widow that had no
more Children.
CHA P. XXXVII. Of the Sea of Galilee.
ND from thence men go to a City called Tiberias, that
butteth on the Sea of Galilee, and though it be called the
Sea of Galilee, it is no Sea, nor Arm of the Sea, for it is but a
Stream of fresh Water, and 'tis more than a hundred Furlongs
leng, and fifty broad; and therein are many good Fishes; and
by that fame Sea ftand many good Cities; therefore this Sea
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changeth often his Name after the Cities that ftand thereupon.
but it is all one Water or Sea; and upon this Sea our Lord
walked, and ſaid to Peter, when he came on the Water, and
was near drowned: O exigua fide prædite, qui dubitafti? that is,
O thou of little Faith, why didst thru doubt?
CHA P. XXXVIII. Of the Table whereon Chrift eat
after his Refurrection.
In this City of Tiberias, is the Table that Chrift eat on, with
his Difciples, after his Refurrection, and they knew him by
breaking of Bread, as Holy Writ faith, Et cognoverunt eum in
fractione panis: that is, They knew him in breaking of Bread. And
about the Hill of Tiberias, is a City, where our Lord fed five
Thoufand People, with five Barley-Loaves, and two Filhes:
In that City, alfo did Men caft in Auger a Firebrand or burning
flick after our Lord, but that fame, burning Stick did fall on the
}
Earth, and People fay, out of the fame Stick grew prefently, a
Tree, which is waxen a big Tree, and there groweth yet, and
the Scales of the Tree be all black. Ye fhall underſtand that
the River Jordan beginneth under the Hill of Lybany, and there
beginneth the Land of Promife, and it lafteth unto Berfebes of
length, and from the North part to the South is Ninefcore
Miles, and of breadth from Jericho to Jaffe, it is forty miles.
And ye fhall underſtand that the Land of Promife beginneth at
the Kingdom of Sury, and lafteth even unto the Wilderneſs of
Araby,
CHAP.
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
·53.
CHA P. XXXIX. Of ſtrange Manners and divers.
A
ND in this Country, as in many other Lands beyond the
Sea, it is a cuftom when they have War, that if a City or
Caftle he befieged fo ftrongly that they can fend no Meffenger
to any Lords for Succour, then they write their Letters, and
bind them about the Necks of Doves, and let them fly their
Ways, becaufe the Dove is of that Nature, that the will return
again to the place where he was bred, and thus they do com-.
monly in that Country And ye shall underftand that among
the Sarafins in many places dwell Chriftians under Tribute,
and they are of divers manners, and have divers Laws, tho'
they be all Chriftians, and believe all well in our Lord God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft; but yet they fail in
the Articles of our Faith, and they are called Jacobins: For
S. James converted them to the Faith, and S. John Baptized ·
them and they fay, that Men need only to confefs their Sins
unto God, and not unto Men; for they fay, that God bade
not one Man confefs himſelf to another Man. And therefore
faith David in this manner, Confitebor tibi Domine in toto corde meo;
that is, Lord, I will confefs my self unto thee with my whole Heart.
And again he faith thus, Peccatum meum cognitum tibi feci; that
is, My Treſpaſſes I have made kaown unto thee; and in another
place, Deus meus es tu, & confitebor tibi ; that is, Thou art my God,
and I will confess my self to thee; and in another place, Queniam.
sagitatio
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}
1
cogitatio hominis confitebor tibi: that is, The Thought of Man fhall
be known unto thee: And they read often the Bible and Pfalter,
bur they fay not in Latin, but in their own Language; for
they fay, that David and other Prophets did fo; and S. Auſtin
and S Gregory lay, Quifcelera fua cogitat, converfus fuerit, 've-
niam fibi credat, that is, bofo knows his Sin, and turneth, be
believe to have forgiveness; and S. Gregory faith thus, Dominus po.
tiu mentem quam verbum confiderat, that is, Our Lord taketh more
beed to Thought than Word. And S. Hillarius faith, Longorum tem-
may
Rorum crimina ictu oculi, &c. that is, Sins that are done of old time
perish in the twinkling of an Eye, if Hatred of them be in a Man's
Heart. And therefore they fay by theſe Authorities that men
fhould confefs them only to God; and this way the Apoftles
taught;
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
55
1
taught; but the Popes that came fince, have ordained that men
fhould confefs them only to Priefts and Men as they are; and
the cauſe is this: For they fay, that a man that hath fickneſs,
men can give him no good medicine, except they know the
kind of fickneſs: Alfo they fay, a man can give no good Ad-
vice unless he know the Sins.
For there is a manner of Sin that is grievoufer to one man
than it is to another, and therefore it is needful that a man do
know and underſtand the kind of fini
And there be alſo other men called Surreyens, and they hold
half our Faith, and half the Faith of the Greeks, and they
have long Beards, as the Greeks have.
And there be others called Georgians, whom St. George con-
verted, and they do worſhip more the Hallowes of Heaven than
others do, and they have their Crowns fhaven; the Clerks
have round Crowns, and the Lay men have fquare Crowns,
and they hold the Greeks Law. And there be others that men.
call Chriftians of girding, becauſe they wear Girdles under-
neath: Some others called Neftorians, fome Arians, fome Nubi-
Ins, fome Gregorians, fome Indians, that are of Prester John's
Land, and every one of thofe have fome Articles of dur Be-
hef. But each of them vary from other, and their variance
were too much to declare.
}
CHAP
گر
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A
CHAP. XL. For to return again on this fide Galilee.
Now
OW feeing I have told you of many Manners of Men
that dwell in the Countries aforefaid, now I will return
again to my way, for he that will turn from the Land of Galiz
lee that I fpeak of, to come on this fide, he must go thro' Damas,
or Damafcus, that is a fair City, and full of good Merchandi.
zes; and it is three Days Journey from Sea, and five from Hie-
rufalem; they carry their Merchandizes upon Camels, Mules,
Horfes, Dromedaries, and other manner of Beafts. This City
of Damas was founded by Helizeus, Abraham's Servant, who
before Ifaac was born fhould have been his Heir, and there he
named that City Damas. And in that place Cain flew his Bro-
ther bel; and befide Damas is the Mount of Syer: In this City
be many Physicians, and that holy Man S. Paul was a Phyfici-
an there, to cure Men, before he was converted, and after he
"
1
was a Phyfician of Souls. And from Damas Men go to a place
called our Lady of Sardmach, five Miles from Damas, and it
is on a Rock, where is a fair Church, and there dwell Chri-
ftians, Monks, and Nuns in that Church; between the City of
Darky and the City of Raphano is a River called Sabatory, which
fome fay on the Saturday it runneth faft, and all the Week elfe
it ftandeth ftill and runneth not, or but a little. And there is
another River that on the Night freezeth faft, and upon
the Day no Froft is feen. And fo Men go by a City that
Men
WLV.
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}
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
57.
Men call Berugh, and there thofe that will go to Cyprus
take Ship, and they arrive at the Haven of Sur, or of Tyre,
and then go to Cyprus: Alfo Men may go right from the Ha-
ven of Tyre, and not come to Cyprus, but arrive at the fame
Haven of Greece, and by thefe ways Men come into the
Countries before ſpoken of..
NOW
}
CHAP. XLI. How a Man may go the shortest way to Hierufalem,
OW have I told you the fartheft and longest ways by the
which Men go to Hierufalem, as by Babylon and Egypt
which is alfo called Kayre; and Mount Sinai, and many other
Places, thro' the which Men go to the Land of Promife. Now
will I tell you the fhorteft way to Hierufalem, for many will
go the long way, fome for want of Company and many
other reaſonable caufes; and therefore I fhall tell you fhortly
how a Man may go with little coft and fhort time.
A Man that cometh from the Land of the Weft, he goeth
through France, Burgundy, Lombardy, and to Venice, or to Gene,
or fome other Haven of thefe Marches, and taketh there Ship,
and goeth to the Ifle Griffe, or fo arriveth he in Greece, or elfe
in Port Myroch, or Valon, or Duras, or fome other Haven of
thofe Marches, and arriveth to Cyprus, and cometh not in the
Ile of Rhodes, but arriveth at Famagust, that is the chief Haven
of Cyprus, or elfe at Lamaton; and then taking Ship again,
he paffeth befide the Haven of Tyre, and cometh not to Land,
and fo paffeth by all the Havens to the Coaſt, till he come to
Jaffe, that is the next Haven to Hierufalem, for it is but
Twenty Eight Miles between. And from Jaffe Men go to
the City of Ramos, and that it is but little thence, and it is a
fair City, and befide Ramus is a fair Church of our Lady,
where our Lord fhewed himfelf unto her in three Shadows,be-
tokening the Trinity; and there near is a Church of S. George,
where his Head was fmitten off: And then to the Caſtle of
Emaus, and then to Mount Joy, and from thence Pilgrims fee
Hierufalem, and then to Mount Modin, and theh to Hierufalem:
At Mount Modin lyeth the Prophet Malachi, and over againſt
Ramatha is the Town of Donke, whereof the Prophet Amos
was.
H
CHAP
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CHAP. XLII. Of other ways for to go by Land to Hierufalem.
For
1
1
Orafmuch as many Men connot endure the trouble of the
Sea, and better it is to go by Land, although it be more
pain; then a Man fhall go to one of the Havens of Lombardy,
as Venice, or another; and ye fhall pafs into Greece, or Port My--
roch, or another; and ye fhall go to Conftantinople, and fhall
paſs the Water that is called the Breach of S. George, that is an
Arm of the Sea. And from thence ye fhall come to Pulveral,
and then to the Caftle of Synople, and fo to Cappadocia, which
is a great Country wherein are many great Hills: And ye fhall.
go thro' Turkey, and to the City of Nike, which they won.
from the Emperor of Conftantinople; and it is a fair City, and:
well walled, and there is a River that is called the Lay and
then Men go by the Alps of Mormount, and thro' the Vales of
Malebrines, and the Vale Ernax, and fo more eafily to Antioch,
which ftandeth richly on the River. And he that will go a-
nother way, he goeth by the Roman Coaft. And the Roman.
Sea, on that Coaft is a fair Caftle that is called Florage: And
when a Man hath paffed the Hills, he cometh to the City of
'Moriarch and to Artofe, where is a great Bridge upon the River
of Feſpe,´and that Men call Faffor; and it is a great River bear-
ing Ships: And befide the City of Damas is a River that com--
eth from the Mount of Labany, which is called Alban: At the
Paffage of this River, S. Euftace loft his two Sons, when he
had loft his Wife: And it runneth thro' the Plain of Chalcides;
and to the great Sea. Then Men go to the City of Fermein,
and fo to the City of Ferne, and then to Antioch. And that is
a fair City, well walled, and two miles long, and there is a
Bridge over the River, that hath at each Pillar a Tower, and
it is the beſt City of the Kingdom of Sury. From Antioch Men
go to the City of Locuth, fo to Geble, and to Tortoufe, and
thereby is the Land of Lambre, and a ftrong Caftle that Men
call Mambeke. And from Tirtoife, Men go to Tripoly on the
Sea, and by this Sea Men go to Dacres, and there is two ways
to Hierufalem; by the way on the Left-hand Men come first.
anto Damas by the River of Jordan, on the right Side Men go
thro' the Land of Flagme, and fo to the City Caiphas, in which
City Caiaphas was Lord, and fome call it the Caftle Pellerius,
1
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of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
59
and from thence is four Days Journey to Hierufalem, and
they go through Cæfari Philippi, Jaffe, Ramas, and Emaus,
and fo to Hierufalem.
!
CHAP. XLIII. Yet of another way by Land toward the
Land of Promiſe.
TOW have I told you fome ways by Land and by, Water,
how Men may go to Hierufalem; and there be many
other ways that Men go by, after the Countries that they
come from, nevertheleſs they come all to one end. Yet is
there a way all by Land to Hierufalem, and paſs no Seas but
to France or Flanders, but that way is very long, perilous, and
of great travel, wherefore few go that way; but he that will
go that way, muft go by Almain and Prufe, and fo to Tar-
tary. This Tartary is holden by the great Cham, of whom I
fhall ſpeak afterwards, for thither reacheth his Lordſhip, and
all the Lords of Tartary yield to him Tribute. Tartary is a
barren Country, and very Sandy, for there groweth little
either Corn or other Fruit, but there is a great plenty of
Beafts, and therefore they eat Flefh without Bread, and
they fup the Broth, and they drink Milk of all manner of
Beafts. And becauſe they have great Scarcity of Wood,
they dry the dung of Horfes and of other Beaſts, and burn
it for to drefs their Meat by. Princes and other Lords eat
but once in the Day, and that is but very little and they
be foul People, and of ill liking. In Summer there are ma-
ny great Tempefts, and Thunders, they flay many Men and
Beafts: Sometime on a ſudden it is very cold, and again on
a fudden it is very hot. The Prince of the Land they call
Roco, and he dwelleth at a City that is called Orda: But few
Strangers do defire to dwell in that Land, for it is good to
fow Thorns and Weeds in, but other good there is none, as
I heard fay, for I was not that way, but I have been in other
Countries marching thereon, as in the Land of Rufia and Ni-
fland, the Kingdom of Greco, and Leftow, and the Kingdom
Graften, and many other places: But I never went that way
to Hierufalem, therefore I cannot well tell it, for I have un-
derſtood that Men may not well go that way but in Winter,
when the Waters and Mires that be in that Land be frozen
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་
and covered with Snow, that Men may pafs thereon; for
were not that Snow, there might no Man go in that Land
but he were loft. And ye fhall underftand that a Man muft
go Three Days Journey from Prufe to pass this way, before
he can come to the Land of Sarafins.
.
And if by chance any Chriftian pals that way, as once a
Year they do, they carry their Victuals with them, for they
would find nothing there but a fort of Food that they call
Syles, and they carry their Victuals upon the Ice on Sleds,
and Chariots without Wheels, and as long as their Victuals
laft, they may dwell there, but no longer. And when the
Spies of the Countries fee Chriftians come, they run to the
Towns and Caftles, and cry aloud, Kara, Kara, Kara; and as
foon as they have-cry'd, then do the People arm them. And
ye fhall understand that the Ice there is harder than it is here,
and every Man hath a Stove in his Houfe, and therein they
eat and do all Things that they want; and that is at the
North part of the World, where it is commonly cold, for the
Sun appeareth not, nor fhineth but little in that Country:
And that Land is in fome places fo cold, that no Man can
dwell therein; and on the South fide of the World, it is in
fome places fo hot, that there can no Man dwell, the Sun
giveth fo great Heat in thofe Countries.
CHAP. XLIV. Of the Faith of the Sarafins, and of the
Book of their Law, Named Alcoran.
FOrafmuch as I have told you of the Sarafins, and of other
Lands, I purpoſe to fet down a part of their Law, and
of their Belief, as theit Book faith which they call Alcoran,and
fome call that Book Myfap, and fome call it Harme, in divers
Languages of Countries, which Book Mahomet gave them,
in which Book he wrote, among other things, as I have often
read and feen, that they that are good fhall go to Paradife,
and the Evil People to Hell; and fo believe all Sarafins. And
if a Man ask of what Paradife they mean, they fay it is a
Place of Delights, where a Man fhall find all manner of Fruits
at all time, and Waters and Rivers running with Milk and
Honey, Wine, and freſh Water, and they fhall all have fair
Houfes and good, as they have deferved, and thofe Houfes
are
f
Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
61
are made of precious Stones, Gold and Silver, and every Man
fhall have ten Wives and Maidens; and he fhall once a Day.
have to do with them, and yet fhall they ftill be Maidens.
And they speak often of the bleffed Virgin Mary, and tell of
the Incarnation, that Mary was learned of Angels, and that
Gabriel faid to her, that he was chofen before all other from
the beginning of the World. and that witneffeth well their
Book, and Gabriel told-her the Incarnation of Jeſus Chriſt,
and that the fhould conceive and bear a Child: And they fay,
that Chrift was a Holy Prophet in Word or Deed, and alfo
meek and right wife to all Men, and one not any way blame-
worthy, and they fay that when the Angeltold her of the In-
carnation, fhe had great dread, for fhe was very Young, and
there was one in that Country that practifed Sorcery, who
was called Takina, that with Enchantments could make him
like an Angel, and went often and lay with Maidens, there-
fore was Mary the more afraid of the Angel; and thought in
ker mind that it had been Takina, who went to Maidens ;
and ſhe charged him in the Name of God to tell her if he were
the fame Takina, and the Angel bid her have no dread, for
he was for certain a true Meffenger of Jefus Chrift.
Alfo their Book Alcoran faith, That ſhe had a Child under a
Palm-tree: Then was the greatly afhamed, and wiſhed her
felf dead, but as foon as her Child was born, he fpake and
comforted her, faying, Ne timeas, Maria; that is, Be not afraid
Mary. And in many other places faith their Book Alcoran, that
Jefus Chrift fpake as foon as he was born: And the Book:
faith, that Jefus Chrift was fent of Almighty God, to be an
enfample to all Men, and that God fhall judge all Men, the
good to Heaven, and the wicked to Hell, and that Jefus
Christ is the beſt Prophet of all other, next to God, and that
he was a Holy Prophet, for he gave the Blind their fight, and
healed all Difeafes, he raifed Men that were dead, and was
taken quick into Heaven, and if they may find a Book with
Gofpels, fuch as, Miflus eft angelus, they do it great Worship:
And they faft one Month in the Year, eat only at Night, and
they keep them from their Wives; but they that are fick are
not conftrained to it. And their Book Alcoran fpeaketh of
Jews, and faith, they are wicked People, for they will not
believe
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believe that Jefus Chrift is of God. Further they fay, that the
Jews fpake falfly of our Lady, and her Son Jefus Chrift, in
faying, that they did not hang him on the Crofs. Their Book
Alcoran forbiddeth Murther and Theft; and commandeth
chem to do fo to others, as they would have others to do to
them: For the Sarafins believed fo near our Faith, that they
are eafily converted when Men preach the Law of Jefus
Chrift. They fay alfo that they know right well by their Pro-
phefies, that their Law of Mahomet fhall fail, as the Jews Law
doth, and that the Law of Chriftians fhail laft to the Worlds
end. And if a Man ask them wherein they believe, they
fay, That they believe in God Almighty, that is the Maker of
Heaven and Earth, and all other Things, and without him is
nothing done. And at the Day of Judgment every Man fhall
be rewarded after his Deferving, and that all things are
Truth that God fpake by the Mouth of his Prophets...
紧
​CHAP. XLV. Yet further concerning Mahomet.
LSO Mahomet had writ in his Book Alcoran, that every
Man fhould have two Wives, or three, or four; but now
they have nine, and as many Lemmans as they pleaſe; and
if any of thefe Wives do wrong their-Husbands, he may
drive her out of his Houſe, and take in another, but he muft
give her part of his Goods. Alfo where Men fpeak of the Fa-
ther, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft, they fay, that they are not
Three Perfons, but One God: For the Book Alcoran speaketh
not thereof, nor of the Trinity; but they fay that God fpake,.
or elfe he was Dumb; and that God had a Ghoft, or elſe he
was not alive: They fay God's Word hath great ftrength, and
fo faith their Alcoran, and they fay that Abraham and Mofes
were greatly in favour with God, for they fpake with him,and
Mahomet was a true Meffenger of God; and they have many
good Articles of our Faith, and fome underftand the Scrip-
tures, Prophets, Gospels, and the Bible, for they have them
written in their Language. In their manner they know Holy
Writ, but they underftand it but after the Letter, and fo do
the fews, for they underſtand it not Spiritually, but after
their Letter; and therefore faith S. Paul, Litera occidit, Spiri-
tus autem vivificat, that is, The Letter killeth, bat the Spirit quick-
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netb. The Sarafins likewife fay, that the Jews are wicked,
for they keep not the Law of Mofes which he gave them; and
alſo Chriſtians are evil, for they keep not the Commandments
of the Goſpel that Jefus Chrift fent unto them.
And further, I fhall tell you what the Soldan told me upon
a Day in his Chamber, fhutting out all other Men, as Lords,
Knights, and other, for he would fpeak with me in Counfel;
and then he asked me,How Chriftians governed themſelves in
our Country? I anſwered him and faid, Right well, thanks be
to God: But he faid fecretly, nay, for he faid, that our Priefts
made no force of God's Service, for they fhould give good
Example to Mento do well, and they give it Example; and
therefore when the People fhould go on the Holy-Days to
Church to ferve God, they go to the Tavern to Sin in Glut-
tony both Day and Night, eating and drinking as Beafts that
know not when they have enough. He faid alfo, that there
was much Contention among Chriftians, and one would de-
fraud another, and they were fo proud that they knew not
how to cloath them, now fhort, now long, now ftrait, then
wide, and of all Fashions: whereas they ſhould be humble
and meek, giving their Alms as Jefus Chrift did, in whom
they believe. He faid alfo, that they were fo covetous, that
for a little Money they would fell their Children, Sifters, or
Wives, one Man taking another Man's Wife, and no Man
keeping his Promife: Therefore faith he, for their Sins hath
God given thefe Lands to our Hands, and not through our
ftrength, but all for your Sins: For we know certainly, that
while ye truly ferve God he will help you, fo that no Man
fhall win of you, if that you ferve God as you ought to do:
but while ye live fo finfully as ye do, we have no dread of
you,
for God will not help you. And then I asked him how he
knew the ſtate of Chriftians in that manner; and he ſaid, he
knew well the ftate both of Lords and of Commons, by his
Meffengers which he fent thro' all the Countries as it were
Merchants, with precious Stones and other Merchandifes, to
know the manner of every Country. And then he did call
again all the Lords into his Chamber to us, and then fhewed
he unto me Three Perfons that were great Lords of that
Country, who fhewed unto me the manner of my Country
and of all Christendom, as though they had been Men born in
the:
!
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the fame Parts, they spake French right well, and the Soldan
alfo; and then I had great marvel of this flander of our Faith;
and fo they that fhould be turned by our good Examples to
the Faith of Jefus Chrift, they are drawn away through our
Evil living; and therefore it is no wonder if that they call us
Evil, for they fay Truth: But the Sarafins are true, for they
keep, truly the Commandments of their Alecran,
+
CHAP. XLVI. Of the Birth of Mahomet.
ND ye fhall underſtand that Mahomet was born at Ibareb
in Araby, and his Father was a Painim, and his Mother a
Few; their Names were Abdal and Hemna, and they were but
poor People; and he was firſt a poor. Drudge, and kept
Horfe; and afterwards he followed Merchandize.
And the Sarafins fay,lhe came into Egypt with Merchandize,
and Egypt was the fame time Chriftened, and there was a
Chapel befide Araby, and there was an Hermit; and when
he came to the Chapel that was but a little low Houfe, as
foon as he entered, it began to be as great as it were a Palace
Gate; and that was the firft Miracle that the Sarafins fay he
did in his Youth. After began Mahomet to be wife and rich,
and became a great Aftronomer, and fince was the Keeper
of the Land for the Prince of Corafon, and govern'd, it full
well, that when the Prince was dead, he married the Lady
named Quadiga. And Mahomet fell often into the Falling-Evil;
wherefore the Lady was forry that he had taken him to be
her Husband; and he made her believe that every time he fell
fo, the Angel Gabriel fpake to him, and for the brightnefs of
the Angel he fell down. This Mahomet reigned in Araby, in
the Year of our Lord Six hundred and twenty: He was of the
Kindred of Ifmael that was Abraham's Son, whom he begat on
Hagar: The other are called Sarafins of Sara; but fome Moa-
bites, and fome Ammonites, after Lot's two Sons. And ye fhall
understand that the Turks, Arabians, and Perfians do profefs the
Alcoran, but they vary one from another in many Matters.
This Mahomet loved a good Man an Hermti, that dwelt in
the Wilderneſs, a Mile from Mount Sina, in the way as Men
go from Araby to Chaldee, a Days Journey from the Sea, whence
Merchants of Venice come; and Mahomet went often to this
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of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
65
this Hermit, for he heard gladly the Hermit preach; but his
Men were difpleafed at it, for they travelled fometime all the
Night; wherefore they wifhed the Hermit dead. So it befell
on a Night, that Mabomer was fo drunk with ftrong Wine that
he fell alleep; then his Men took his Sword out of his theach
whilſt he ilept, and therewith flew the Hermit, and when they
had done, they put up the Sword again all bloody; and on the
Morrow when that he found the Hermit thus dead, he was ve
ry angry in his mind, and would have put his Men to Death;
but they all with one accord, and with one Confent faid, that
嗯
​:
+
he himself had flain him, when he was drunken, and they
fhewed him his own Sword all bloody; and then he believed
that they ſaid Truth, and curfed the Wine, and all thoſe that
drank it. And therefore Sarafins that are devout, drink no
Wine openly, left they fhould be reproved, but they drink
good Beverage, fweet and nourishing, that is made of Cala
mels, and thereof is Sugar made.
And it befel fome Time that Chriſtians became Sarafins, ei-
ther thro' poverty, fimplenefs, or wickedness; and therefore
their Archbishop when he received them, faid, Laelles ella
Mahomet roses ella; that is to fay, there is no God but one, and
Mahomet is his Meffenger. And feeing I have told you a part
of their Law and their Cuftoms, now I fhall tell you of their
Letters, with their Nanies.
I
Firft,
!
66
The Voyages and Travels
1
First, they have for a almoj, b bet hat, c cathi, d delphy, e
ethoti, f thy, g gatophin, h becum, i iochi, k kathi, 1 lotbum, m
malach, n nabalbt, o orthy, p thorizi, ą zothii, r ruchelat, l'cho-
imus, t Jalatby, prichom, & mazor, zalephin, & jobetencen
theſe are the Names Four Letters have they yet more for di-
verfity of their Language, forafmuch as they fpeak fo in their
throats, as we have in our Language and Speech in England:
Two Letters more they alfo have in their A, B, C, that is to
fay, y, &, the which are called thrane and zawx.
A
CHA P. XLVII. Of divers Countries, and of mar-
vellous Beasts.
ND fince then I have fpoken before of the Holy Land
and Countries thereabout, and many ways thither; and
to Mount Sinai and to Babylen, and divers other places which I
have Ipoken of: Now will I fpeak of ftrange Beafts, of dive s
People, Countries and fles that are parted by the Rivers which,
run thro' Paradife terrestre. For Mefopotamia and the Kingdom
of Chalilee, and Araby, are between two Rivers, Tigris and Eu
phrates, and the Kingdom of Media and Perfia a: e between two
Kivers, Tigris and Indus: and the Kingdom of Sury, Palestine,
and Femines, are between Euphrates and the Mediterranean Sea.
It is of length from Moroch en the Sea of Spain, unto the great
Sea; and fo it laftech beyond Conftantinople 320 Miles of Lum-
bardy, and tothe Ocean Sea. In Inde is the Kingdom of Sichem,
which
}
}
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
67
which is all clofed among Hills, and befide Sichem, is the Land
of Amazony, wherein dwell none but Women,
And thereby is the Kingdom of Albany, which is a great
Land: and it is fe called becauſe that Men are more white
there than in other places. In this Country are great Hounds
and ſtrong ſo that they overcome Lyons, and Aay them. And
ye fhall understand that in thoſe Countries are many Illes and
Lands, of all which it were too long to tell, but of fome I
will ſpeak more plainly afterward.
CHA P. XLVIII. Of the Haven of Gene, for to go
by Sea into divers Countries,
Nov
Z
or
OW he that will go to Tartary, Perfia, Chalde or Inde, he
taketh Gene, or at
taketh Ship of Gene, or at Fenice, or at any other Haven
and fo he paffeth by the Sea, and arriveth at Topafond, that is a
good City, that fometime was called the Haven of Briga, and
thereby is the Haven of Perfia, of Media, and of other Marches.
In this City lieth St. Athanafius that was Biſhop of Alexandria,
and made the Pfalm Quicunque vult.
This Man was a great Doctor of Divinity, and of the God-
head, he was accufed unto the Pope of Rome, that he was an
Heretick, and the Pope fent for him, and put him in Priſon,
and while he was in that Priſon he made this Pfalm, and fent it
to the Pope, and ſaid, if that he were an Heretick then was that
Herefie, for that was his Faith and his Belief: and when the
Pope faw that what he had fafd therein, was all our Faith, he
loon delivered him out of´Priſon, and ordered that Pfalm to be
faid every day at the beginning of Service; aad fo he held
Athanafius for a good Chriftian; but he would never after go to
his Bishoprick becauſe they accufed him of HereGe. Topafond
was fometime holden of the Emperor of Conftantinople, but a
great man that he fent to help the Country against the Turks,
did hold it to himſelf and called himſelf Emperor of Topafond.
And from thence Men go through little Armony, and in that
Country is an old Caftle, that is on a Rock, that is called the
Caftle of Cyprus, there People fay, Men find an Hawk fitting
upon a Perch right well made, and a fair Lady of Fairy that
keepeth it; and he that will watch the fame Hawk feven days
I 2
and
し
​68
The Voyages and Travels
and feven nights, fome fay; that it is but three Days and three.
rights, alone without any Company, and without fleep, this
fair Lady will come to him at the feven or three days end, and
fhall grant to him the first things that he fhall ask of worldly
things, and that hath often been proved, the People fay: So
upon time it befel that a Man who at that time was King of
Armeny, that was a right valiant Man, watched upon a time,
and at the feven days end, the Lady came to him and bad him.
MV
}
ask what he would, for he had well done his Duty: And the
King anfwered, that he was a great Lord, and in good peace,
and was rich, fo that he would ask nothing but the continual
Love of the fair Lady, or to haye his Will of her. Then this
fair Lady answered and faid unto him, that he was a Fool, for
he knew not what he asked, neither might he have her; but he
fhould not have asked of her any worldly thing, for fhe was not
worldly. Then the King faith, he would have nothing elfe:
And the faid, fince he would ask nothing elfe, the would grant
him and all that came after him three things, and faid unto him,
Sir King, ye shall be in Subjection unto your Enemies, and ye
fhall have great need of good Cattle. And fince that Time all
the Kings of Armony have been in War, needy, and under the
Tribute of the Sarafins.
Alſo a poor Man's Son who watched on a time, asked of the
Lady that he might grow rich and happy by Merchandiſe, and
the
1
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
69
}
3
the Lady granted him, but the faid to him. that he had asked
his undoing, for great Pride that he should have thereof: And
this Man became fo great a Merchant both by Sea and Land,
that he was fo rich, that he knew not the thoufandth part of
his Goods.
Alfo a Knight of the Templers watched likewiſe, and when
he had done, he defired to have a Pui fe full of Gold; and what-
ever he took thereof, it fhould ever be full again; and ſhe did
grant it him, but he told him he had defired his own Deftru&i-
on, by the great mifpending that he ſhould have of the ſame.
Purfe; and fo it was. But he that fhall watch, hath great need
to keep from fleep; for if he fleep, he is loft, fo that he fhall be
never ſeen after. But this is not the right way but for a marvel.
From Topafond Men go to great Armony, to the City Artyron;
which aforetime was a fair City. but the Turks have fo deftroy
ed it, that there neither grows Vine nor Fruit From Artyron,-
Men go to the Hill Sabiffocal, and there is another Hill called
Arab, but the Jews call it Thano; where the Ark of Nab refted
after the Deluge, and on that hill a man may fee very far in
clear Weather, for the Hill is full feven Miles of heighth; and
fome ſay, they have been there and put their fingers in the holes
where the Fiend went out, when Noab faid in this manner Be-
nedicite. But I judge, that for Snow that is always upon that
Hill, both Winter and Summer, no Man hath ever gone up
fince Noab was there but only one is faid to have been there,
who brought a Plank that is yet in the Abbey of the Hills foot
for he defired to go up that Hill, and when he was three parts
up, he was fo weary that he could not go further, and he refted
and flept; and when he awaked, he was down at the Hili foot,
and then he prayed to God devoutly, that he would fuffer him
to go to the upper part of the Hill, and an Angel faid, that he
fhould have his Defire, and fo had; and fince that time no Man
did ever come there; but a Man ought not to believe all things
that are ſpoken of it.
And from thence men go to a City called Tanzire, which
is a fair and a rich City; befide in that City is an Hill of Salt,
and thereof every Man taketh what he will: And there dwell
many Chriftians under Tribute of the Sarafins. From thence
Men
J
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The Voyages and Travels
Mên go thro' many Cities, Towns and Villages toward Inde;
and then come to a City that is called Caffage, that is a fair City,
1
and near that is abundance of Corn, Vines, and all manner
of Fruits; and there the three Kings met together, that went to
make their Offerings to our Lord in Bethlehem. From that City
Men go to another called Carrapage, and Painims lay, that Chri-
ftians may not dwell there, but they die foon, yet they know
not the cauſe. From thence Men go through many Countries,
Cities and Towns; ſo that 'twere too long to tell all: And to
the City of Carnaa, that was fome time fo great, that the Wall
was five and twenty miles about, which may yet be feen, but 'tis
not
!
A
1
1
1
1
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
71
}
not inhabited, and at that place endeth the Land of the Em-
peror of Perfia.
CHA P. XLIX. Of the Country of Job, and of the
O
Kingdom of Chaldee.
N the other file of the City of Carnaa, Men enter into the
Land of Job, which is a good Land furnished with great
Plenty of all Fruits, and is alfo called Swire. In this Land is
the City of Thomar: This Job was a Painin, and allo Cofrad's
Son, and he held that Land as Prince thereof, and was fo rich-
he knew not the hundredth part of his Goods; and after his
Poverty God made him richer than ever he was before, fo that
he was King of Idumea, after the Death of King Efau; and
when he was King he was called Joab; and in that Kingdom:
he lived 170 Years, fo that when he died he was 248 Years
old. And in the Land of Job is no want of any thing that is.
needful for Man's Body. There are Hills where Men do find
Manna, which Manna is called Angel's Bread, it is white of
colour, and much tweeter than Sugar or Honey; and it comes
of the Dew of Heaven that falleth on the Herbs, and there it
congealeth and waxeth white, and it is ufed in Medicines for
rich Men.
This Land boundéth on the Land of Chaldee, which is a great
Land, and there the Men are very fair and well apparelled,
as with Cloth of Gold befet with.coftly Pearls, and many others
precious Stones. The Women are but hard favoured and go
barefoot, and meanly clad, with a wide and coaife Coat, but..
fo fhort that it foarce covers their Knees; their Sleeyes are
long, down to the Foot; they have long black hair hanging on
their Shoulders, and are not lovely to look on; but I had beft
fay no more, for I fear I fhall get fmall thanks for my praiſing
them. In this Land of Chaldee aforefaid, is a City called Har;
and in that City was Abrabam the Patriarch born.
•
CHAP.PL. Of the Kingdom of Amazony, where divell:
none but Wemen.
N
;-
Ear the Land of Chaldee is the Land of Amazony, wherein
dwell no Men but all Women, as Men fay; for they will
fuffer
72
The Voyages and Travels
Juffer no man to live among them, nor to have rule over them.
For afore time there was a King and men dwelling in that Land,
and they had Wives as in other Countries. Now it befel that
the King had great War with the Men of Scitby: This King
was called Colopius, and he was flain in Battle, and all the No-
bles of his Land. When the Queen and the other Ladies of the
Land, heard the King and Lords were flain, they gathered them
together and killed all the Men that were left in the Land among
them.
And when they will have any men to iye by them, they
Q
fend for them into a Country that is near their Land, and the
Men come and ſtay there eight days, or as the Woman likes, and
then
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight. 73
:
then go they again: And if they have Men children they fend
them to their Fathers when they can eat and go; if Female-
Children they keep them; and if they be of Noble Blood,
they burn the left Pap away, for bearing of a Shield and if
of baſe Degree they burn the right Pap away for ſhooting.
For the Women of that Country are good Warriours, and are
often in Pay with other Lords; and the Queen of that Land
governeth well the Land, the which is environed with Water.
Befide Amazony, is the land of Termagute, that is a good Land
and profitable, and for the goodness thereof, King Alexander
made a City there, and called it Alexandria.
O'
CHA P. LI. Of the Land Ethiope.
N the other fide of Chaldee, toward the South, is Ethiope,
which is a great Land; and ye fhall underſtand that the
Land of Ethiope, reaches Eaftward to the great Wilderness.
Weftward to the Land of Nuby, Southward to the land Mari-
tane and Northward to the Red Sea; and then is a Maertim that
lafteth from the Hills of Ethiope, to Lidy the high and the low,
that lafteth to the great Sea of Spain. In this land on the South
the People are very black. In this land is a Well that in the
day the Water is fo cold that no Man can drink thereof, and
in the night fo hot that no Man can bear to put his Hand in it.
In this Land the Rivers and all the Waters are troubled, and
fome yield Salt for the great Heat; and Men of that Land are
foon drunk, and have little Appetite to Meat.
They have
commonly the Flux of the Body, and live not long.
In Ethiope are fuch Men that have but one Foot, and they
go fo faft that it is great marvel, and that is a large Foot, for
the thadow thereof covereth the Body from Sun or Rain, when
they lie on their Backs; and when their Children are firſt born,
they look like Ruffet, but when they wax old, then they be all
black. In Ethiope is the Land of Suba, of which one of the
Kings that fought our Lord at Bethlehem, was King.
CHA P. LII. Of Inde the More and the Lefs: of Diamonds
and of their great Vertues.
Rom Ethiope Men go through many and divers Countries
before they come into Inde: and it is parted into three
K
parts,
74.
The Voyages and Travels
1
•
سة
parts, that is to fay, Inde the more, which is a hot Land and
Inde the lefs, which is a temperate Land; and the third part is
toward the North, and there 'tis very cold, fo that with great
Cold, Froft, and Ice, the Water becomes Cryftal, and upon
}
that, groweth the rich Diamonds that are of troubled Colour,
which Diamond is fo hard that no man may break it. Other
Diamonds men find in Araby, that are not fo good, becauſe
they are more foft, and there be fome in Cyprus. In Macedonia
men
1
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
75
*
Men find Diamonds likewife, but the best are in Inde, and fome
are many times found in a mafs in the mines where gold is got-
ten, when men break the mafs in pieces: fometimes men find
fome as great as a Pea, and fome leſs, and thofe are as hard
as chofe of Inde: Sometimes there are good diamonds found in
Inde upon the Rock of Cryſtal; and alfo upon the Rock of
Adamant in the Sea. And on other Hills are diamonds found
that are as great as Hazle-Nuts, which are fquare, and point-
ed of their own kind, and they grow two together, male and
female, and are nouriſhed with the dew of Heaven, and they
engender commonly and bring forth other fmall ones, which
encreafe and grow all the Year. I have many times tried that
if a man keep them with a little of the Rock, and wet them
often with the dew, they will grow every year, and the ſmall
will wax great: And if a man do bear that diamond on his
left fide, then it is of more vertue, for the ftrength of their
growing is toward the North, that is on the left fide as men
of thofe Countries fay. To him that beareth the diamond
with him, it giveth hardiness, it keepeth the limbs of the bo-
dy, it also giveth a Man Victory over his Enemies, if his
Cauſe be right, and it keeps him that bears it,in good temper,
free from ftrife, riot, ill dreams, forceries, and enchantments.
Moreover, no wild Beaft fhall affail or any way hurt them.
This diamond fhould be neither bought nor fold, but given
freely, for then it is of moft vertue. It healeth the Lunatick
and him that is poffeffed with a devil; and as foon as any
Venom or Poyſon is brought near it, it moifteneth, and be-
gins to fweat. And men eafily polish them, tho' fome think
they may not be poliſhed, and men may affay them well in
this manner: Firft, cut them on precious Stones, Saphires,
or on Cryſtal, and then take a Stone that is called Adamant,
and lay a Needle before that Adamant, and if the diamond
be good and of vertue, the Adamant draweth not the Need-
le to it, whilft the diamond is there. And this is the proof
they make beyond Sea. But it chanceth fometime that the
good diamond lofeth the Vertue through him that beareth it,
and therefore it is needful for to make it recover the Vertue
again, or elle it is of little Value.
}
'
K 2
}
CHAP.
}
1
76
The Voyages and Travels
CHA P. LIII. Of divers Kingdoms and Ifles in the Land of
Inde, and of People there that are of a yellow and green Colour,
and of many strange Things.
The
*
Here is in Inde many Countries and divers Kingdoms, and
it taketh the Name of a River that runneth' through it,
which is called Inde alfo, and there are many precious Stones in
the faid River and divers other ftrange things, as Eels of thirty
foot long and Men that dwell near that River are of evil co-
lour, yellow and green. In that Land of Inde are more than
fooo Ifles that are inhabited, beſides divers uninhabited, and in
each one of thoſe, are great Plenty of Cities and much People;
for the Indians are of that condition, that commonly they pals
not out of their Land, for they dwell under the Planet Saturn,
which maketh his Courfe through the twelve Signs but once in
thirty Years; yet the Moon paffeth through the Twelve Signs
in one Month, and for that Saturn is of fo little ftirring, theres.
fore Men that dwell under it, and in that Climate, have no
good will to ftir much abroad. But in our Country it is con-
trary, for we are in a Climate that is under the Moon, and of
light ftirring, and therefore it giveth us will to much moving
and firring, and to go into divers Countries of the World, for
it goeth about the World fwifter than any other Planet: doth.
:
Alfo Men pafs through Inde to many Countries by Sea, and
and then they come to the Ifle of Hermes, where Merchants of
Venice, and of Gene, and of divers other parts of Christendom
come to buy their Merchandize. And it is fo warm there in
that ifle that Mens Members hang down to their fhanks, for
the great diffolving of the Body. But Men of that Country
that know better Manners bind them ftrait, and anoint them
with Ointments, made to hold them up, whereby they may
live more civilly. In this Inland Men and Women lie all naked
in the Rivers, from the beginning of the heat of the day till ic
be paft Noon, and they lie all in the Waters but the Face, for
the great heat that is there, and the Women be not afhamed
for the Men. In this fle the Ships are without Nail or bands.
of Iron, leaft the Rocks of Adamant in the Sea fhould draw.
the Ships to them. From this Ille Men go by Sea to the Iſle of
Lana, where is great plenty of Corn, and the King of this Iſle
屉
​was
}
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight. 7.7
1
1
was fometime fo mighty that he held War againft K. Alexander
with great frength: Men of this Ifle have many forts of Be-
liefs and Faith, and have alfo divers Laws; for fome worship
the Sun, fome Fire, fome Trees, and fome Serpents, or any
other Thing that they first meet in the Morning, and fome do
worship fimple Simulacres and Idols; but between Simulacres
and Idols is no Difference, for they are but Images made to
what likeneſs foever a Man may invent: for fome Image hath
an head like an Ox, and fome have three or four Heads, one
of a Man, or an Horfe, or an Ox, or any other Beaft that a
Man hath feen
And ye thall underſtand, That they that worship Simulacres,
they worship them for worthy Men that were fometime, as
Hercules and others, who did many marvels when they lived;
for they fay, and know well that they are rot that God which
created all things, but that they are in Eftimation with God
for the Marvels they did, and therefore they worship them.
And fo fay they of the Sun, for it changeth oft-times, and
giveth fometime great heat for to nourish all things on Earth:
and becauſe it is fo great profit, they know well that is not
God, but it is in God's Favour, and he loveth it more than any
other thing, and for this caufe they worship it.
2
Alfo
The Voyages and Travels
}
}
Alſo they have their Reafons for other Planets, and Fire
alfo, for it is profitable and needful. And of Idols, they fay
the Ox is holieft they find on Earth, and more profitable than
any other; for he doth much good, and none ill, and they
know well that it may not be without the fpecial Grace of
God, and therefore they make their God one half like an Ox
and other half like a man, for man is the faireft and chiefeft
Creature in the World. And they worship Serpents and other
Beafts that they first meet in the Morning, and namely thoſe
Beafts that have good meeting, after whom they ſpeed well all
1
rextrent
the
1
}
i
}
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
79
the day after, the which they have proved of long time, and
therefore they ſay that this meeting cometh of God's Grace,
and therefore they do make Images like unto theſe things, that
they might worſhip them before they meet any thing elſe.
And there are fome of them that fay fome Beaſts are better
to meet than others; for Hares, Swine, and other Beaſts are
ill to meet first, as they fay. In this Ifle of Lana are many
wild Beafts, and Rats in that Country are as great as Hounds
here, and they take them with Maftiffs, for Cats cannot take
them. From thence Men go to a City called Sarchis, and it
is a fair and good City, and there dwell many true believing
Chriftians, and Men of Religion. From thence men come
to the Ille of Lombe, and in that Land groweth Pepper, in a
Forrest that is called Tombar, and it groweth in none other
place more in all the Country, than in that Forrest, which
is fifty days Journey; and there by the Land of Lombe is the
City of Polomes, and under it is a Hill that Men call Polombe,
and thereof taketh the City its Name.
And fo at the foot of the fame Hill is a right fair and clear
Well, that hath a full good and fweet Savour, and fmells of
all manner of forts of Spices. And alfo at each hour of the
day it changes its favour diverfly; and whofo drinketh thrice
a day of it, is made whole of all manner of Sickness that
he hath; I have fometimes drank of it, and I think yet that
I fare the better: Some call it the Well of Youth, for they
that drink thereof feem to be young always and have little.
fickness; and they fay this Well comes from Paradiſe terrestre,
becauſe of ſuch Vertue. In this Land groweth Ginger, and
thither come many rich Merchants for Spices. In this Coun-
try, Men worſhip an Ox, for his great fimplicity and meek-
nefs, and the profit that is in him, for they make him labour
fix or seven Years, and at ten they eat him, and the King of
that Land hath evermore an Ox with him, and he that keeps.
him, every day taketh his Fee for the keeping. And alfo puts
every day his Urine and dung in a Veffel of Gold and carries
it to the Prelate that they call Areth porta paparon, and the
Prelate carries it to the King, and makes thereupon a great
ftir, and the King putteth his hand therein, and they call it
Gaul,
;
8,0
The Voyages and A
Travels
"
Gaul, and he anointeth his Frort and his Breaft therewith, and
they do it great worship, and fay he fhall be fulfilled with the
Vertue of the Ox beforefaid, and that he is holy thro' Vertue.
of thofe holy Things, as they fay, and when the King hath
thus done, then other Lords do it, and after them other Men
according to their Degree, if they have any of the remnant.
In this Country, their Idols are half Man and half Ox, as
in the Figure in page 78 is before fhewed; and out of thefe
Idols the wicked Spirit fpeaks unto them, and gives them an-
fwer of what thing they ask him; and before thefe Idols they
oft-times flay their Children, and ſprinkle their blood on the
Idols, and fo make Sacrifices, And if any Man dye in that
Country, they burn them in token of Pennance, that he may
fuffer no Pennance, if he were laid in the Earth, by eating of
Worms; and if his Wife have no Children, then they burn her
with him, and they fay it is good reafon, that the keep him
company in the other World, as fhe did in this; but if the
have Children fhe may live with them if the pleafe, alfo if he
will. In this Country groweth good Wines, and Women do
drink Wine, and Men none, and Women fhave their Heads,
and not Men.
F
CHA P. LIV. Of the Kingdom of Mabaron.
Rom this Land Men go many a Days Journey to a Country
called Mabaron, and this is a great Kingdom, there are
பரு
G
}
many
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
81
串​。
many fair Cities and Towns. In this Land lieth S. Thomas in
a fair Tomb, in the City of Calamy, and the arm and the hand
that he put into our Lord's fide after his Refurrection, when
Chrift faid unto him, Noli effe incredulus, fed fidelis ; that is,
Be not of vain hope, but believe: That fame hand lieth yet with-
out the Tomb bare; and with this hand they give their dooms
in that Country, to wit, who faith right, and who doth not
for if any Strife be between two Parties, they write their names
and put them into the hand, and then incontinently it cafteth
away the Bill of them that do wrong, and holdeth the other
ftill that doth right, and therefore Men come from far Coun-
tries to have Judgment of Cauſes that are in doubt.
In this Church of St. Thomas is a great Image, that is an Idol
and is richly befet with precious Stones and Pearls; to that
Image Men come in Pilgrimage from far Countries with great
Devotion, and there come fome Pilgrims that bear fharp knives
in their hands, and as they go by the way, they flaſh their
Shanks and Thighs, that the Blood may come out for the Love
of that Idol; and they fay he is holy that will die for that Idol's
fake And there be fome that from that time that they go out
of their Houſes, at each third ftep they kneel till they come to
this Idol; and when they come there, they have Incenſe, or
fome other thing to offer the Idol; and there before that Min-
fter or Temple of this Idol, is a River full of Water; and in
L
that
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!
}
that River Pilgrims caft Gold, Silver, Pearls, and other preci
ous Stones without number, inftead of Offerings; and there-
fore when the Minifter hath need of mending, then the Ma-
fter of the Minifter goes unto the River, and takes out there-
of as much as is needful for the mending of the Minifter.
And ye shall underſtand that when any great Feafts of that
Idol come, as the Dedication of the Temple, or, of the thro-
ning of the Idol, all the Country thereabout affemble there to-
gether then they fet the Idol with great Reverence in a Chair
richly beſet with Gold and Tapestry, and fo carry him with
great Reverence and Worship round about the City; and be
fore the Chair goeth firft in Procuffion, all the Maidens of the
Country two and two together, and fo after them go the Pil-
grims that are dome from far Countries, of which Pilgrims
tome fall down before the Chair, and fo let all go over them,"
infomuch, that fome are flain, and others have their Arms and
Legs broken: This they do for Love of the Idol, thinking the
more pain they fuffer here for their Idol, the more Joy thall
they have in the other World. But one fhall find low Chri-
fians that will fuffer fo much Pennance for our Lord's Sake as.
they do for their Idol. And nigh before the Chair go all the
Miniftrels of the Country, which are without number, with
gréat Melody.
事
​3
{
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up
And when they are come again to the Temple, they fet
the Idol again in his Throne, and for Worfhip of the Idol two
or three are wil ngly llain with sharp Knives; and the Men
in that Country think they have great Worfhip, if that Holy
Man which is flain be of their kindred: likewife they fay, that
all thoſe flain there are holy Men and Saints, and they are writ.
ten in their Litany; and when they are thus lain, their Friends
burn their Bodies, and they take the Afhes, and thofe are kept
as Reliques, and they fay it is an holy Thing, and that they do
fear no Danger while they have of thoſe Alhes.
Ć HA P. LV. Of a great Country called Lamory, where
the People go naked, and of other Things.
言
​1
Rom ebis Country fity two days Journey, is a Country
that is called Lamory, and in that Land is great heat; and
it is the Cufton there that Men and Women gò naked, and they
ſcorn all them that are clad; for they fay, that God made Adam
and Eve all naked, and that Men fhould have no fhame of that
God made and they believe in the fame God tnat made Adam
and Eve, and alPthe World. And there is no Woman married
but Women are all common there, and they refufe no man.
And they' fay:'God commanded Adam and Eve, and all that
come of them faying, Crefcite & multiplicamini, & replete terras.
Encreaſe and multiply, and fill the Earth. No man there may ſay,
L2
This
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This is my Wife, nor no Woman may fay, This is my Hus-
band: And when they have Children, they give them to who
they will of them that have meddled with them. /
Alfo the Land is all common, for every Man taketh what he
will; for that one Man hath now this Year, another man bath
the next. And all the Goods, as Corn, Beafts, and all manner
of Things in that Country are common. For there is nothing
under Lock, and as rich is one man as another: But they have
an evil Cuſtom of eating of Flesh, for they eat man's Fleſh:
more gladly than other. Nevertheless, in that Land is abun-
dance of Corn, of Fleſh, of Fish, of Gold, of Silver, and of
all manner of Good. And thither Merchants bring. Children.
་་་་
for to fell, and thofe that are fat they eat, but thofe that be lean
they keep till they be fat, and then they are eaten. And be-
fide this Ifle of Lamory, is another called Somober, the which is
a good Ifle: And there both Men and Women that are of the
Nobility, are marked in the Vifage with a hot Iron, that they
may be known from others, for they think themfelves the wor-
thieft of the World, and they have evermore War with thoſe
Men that are Naked, of whom I fpake before. And there
are many other Ifles and People, of the which it were over-
much for to ſpeak here.
"
CHA P.
HAP.
I
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85
CHAP. LVI. Of the Country and Iſle called Java, which
is a mighty Land.
ND there is alſo a great Ifle that is called Java, and the
King of that Country hath under him feven Kings, for
he is a very mighty Prince. In this Inland groweth all manner
of Spices more plenteous than in any other place, as Ginger,
Cloves, Nutmegs, and other. And ye fhall underſtand that the
Nutmeg beareth the Mace. Alfo in that Ifle is great plenty of
-
all things but Wine. The King of this Land has a rich Palace
and the beft in the World; for all the Stairs of his Hall and
Chambers are made, one of Gold, and another of Silver; and
all the Walls are plated with fine Gold and Silver, and in thoſe
places are written Stories of Knights and Battles: And the
Floors of the Hall and Chambers are Gold and Silver; that no
Man would believe the great Riches that are there, except he
had feen it: And the King of this Ifle is fo mighty that he has
many times overcome the great Caan of Cathay, which is the
mightiest Emperor that is in the World; there is often War be--
tween them, for the great Caan would make him hold his land
Tributary of him.
•
CHA P. LVII. Of the Kingdom of Pathen, or Salmaffe,
·which is a goodly Land.
A
ND for to go forth by Sea, there is an Ifle that is called
Pathen, and fome call it Salmaffe, for it is a great kingdom
with
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XXX
with many fair Cities; in this Land grow Trees that bear meal,
of which men make fair Bread and white, and of good favour,
and it feemeth like Wheat, and there be other Trees which
bear Venom, againſt the which is no Medicine, but only to t.ke
of the Leaves of the fame Trees, and ftamp, them, and temper
them with water, and drink it, or elfe he thall die fuddenly,
for nothing elfe may help him. And if ye will know how
thefe Trees bear meal, 1 fhall tell you: men hew with an hat-
'chet about the Root of the Tree by the Earth, and they do
pierce it in many Places, and then cometh oat a Liquor, the
which they take into Veffels, and fet it in the Sun and dry it,
and when it is dry, then carry it unto the Mill to grind, and
thereof is fair meal and white. Alfo Honey, Wine and Ve-
nom are drawn out of other trees in the fame manner, and they
put it into Veffels to keep. In that Ifle is a dead Sea, which is
a Water that hath no bottom; and if any one falls therein, he
can never be found: Befide that Sea groweth great Canes, and
under their Roots men find precious tones of a great Vertue;
for he that beareth one of thofe ftones about him, there may no
Iron wound him nor draw blood of him, and therefore they
that have thofe ftones fight full hardy; for there may no wea-
pon that is ef Iron wound them; therefore they that know the
manner, make their Weapons without Iron, and fo they flay
them.
CHA P. LVIII. Of the Kingdom of Talonach, the King
whereof bath many Wives.
A Nother Ifle there is, that men call Talonach; the fame is a
great Land, and therein is great plenty of Fish, and other
Goods as you fhall hereafter hear. And the King of that land
hath as many Wives as he will, a thoufand and more, and he
never lieth but once by any one of them: And alfo in that and
is a great marvel, for ail manner of Fishes of the Sea come thi-
ther once a year one after another, and they lie near the land;
fometimes on the Land, and fo lie three days, and the men of
the Land come thither and take of them what they will, and
then go thofe Fishes away, and another fort cometh, and lieth
alfo three days and men take of them; and thus do all manner
of Fishes, cill all have been there, and men have taken what
་་
they
1
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of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
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1
་ ་ ་ །
they will. But no one can tell the cauſe why it is fo: but they
of that Country fay, thofe Filhes that come thither, do worſhip
to their King, for they fay, he is the worthieft king of all the
World, for he hath fo many Wives, and getreth fo many Chil-
dren of them. And that fame King hath fourteen thouſand
Elephants, or more, of which be tame, and they be kept för
宫
​དད་དོ
น
his pleaſure by the Men of that Country, fo that he may have
them ready at his Hand when he hath any War againſt apy
King or Prince, and then he doth put upon their backs, Ca-
tles and Men of War, as the ufe of that Land is, as other
Kings and Princes do thereabout.
GHA P
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CHA P. LIX. Of the Iland called Rafo, where People be
hanged if they be fick, and past hope of Recovery.
A
ND from this ifle Men go to another called Rafo, and
the Men of this Ifle, when their Friends are fick, and
they believe furely that they fhall die, they take them and hang
them up quick on a Tree, and lay, it is better that Birds, that
are Angels of God, eat them, than Worms of the Earth. From
thence men go to an Ile where men are of ill kind, for they
nouriſh Hounds to ftrangle Men. And when their Friends are
fick that they think they fhall die, then thofe Hounds ftrangle
them, for they will not that they die a kindly Death, for then
fhould they fuffer too great Pain, as they fay: and when they
are thus dead, they eat their fleſh for Veniſon.
CHAP. LX. Of the Iland of Melk, wherein dwell
Evil People.
Rom thence Men go by Sea through many Ifles, into an
Iſland called Melk, and there be full ill People, for they
have no other delight but to fight and kill Men, for they drink
gladly Man's Blood, which Blood they call good, and he that
can kill moft, is of moft Fame amongst them. And if there
be two Men at ftrife, and after be made Friends, then muft they
drink either others Blood, or elfe the Accord is of no Value.
From
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From this Iſle Men go to another Ifle called Tarkonet, where
all men are as Beafts, for they are unreaſonable, and they do
dwell in Caves, for they have not wit to make Houfes: Thefe
Men eat Adders, and ſpeak not, but make fuch Noiſe as the
3
Beafts do one to another: And they make no force of Riches,
but of a Stone that is of forty Colours, and is called Tarkonet,
and in that Ifle they know not the Vertue thereof, but they
covet it for the fairneſs.
M
CHAP.
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CHAP. LXI. Of the Ifle named Macumeran, where the
People have Heads like Hounds.
7
From
Rom this Ifle men go to another that is called Macumeran,
which is a great Ifle and fair; and the men and Women
of that Country have heads like hounds; they are reaſonable,
and worſhip an Ox for their God; they go all naked, but a
little Cloth before their privy members, they are good men to
fight, and bear a great Target, with which they cover all their
Body, and a Spear in their hand. And if they take any man
in Battle, they fend him to their King, which is a great Lord
and devout in his Faith: For he hath about his Neck a Chain
three hundred great Pearls; and as the Papifts fay their Pater-
Nofter, and other Prayers, fo their King faith every Day three
hundred Prayers to his God, before ne either eat or drink; and
he beareth alfo about his Neck a Ruby, Orient fine and good,
that is near a foot and five fingers long. For when they chufe
their King, they give to him that Ruby to bear in his Hand,
and then they lead him riding about the City, and then ever
after they are fubject to him, and therefore he beareth that Ru-
by always about his Neck; for if he bear not the Ruby, they
would no longer hold him for their King. The great Caan of
Catbay hath much coveted this Ruby: But he might never have
it neither by War nor other means: And this King is a full true
and
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t
and vertuous man, for men may go fafely and furely through
his Land, and bear all that they will, for there is no Man fo
hardy as to hinder them. And from thence men go to an Iſle
that is called Silo, this Ile is more than an hundred Miles about,
and therein be many Serpents which are great, which yellow
freaks, and they have four Feet with fhort Legs and great claws,
fome be five fathom of length, and fome of eight, and fome of
ten, and fome more, fome lefs, and they be called Crocodiles:
And there he alfo many wild Beafts and Elephants.
M 2
illi
Alfo
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Alfo in this Ile and in many Ifles thereabout, are many wild
Geefe with two heads, and there are alfo in that Country white
Lions, and many other ftrange Beafts: But if I thould tell all,
It would be too long.
1
CHA P. LXII. Of a great Ifland called Dodyn, there are
many Men of evil Condition.
THE
Here is another Ifle called Dodyn, and it is á great Ifle, in
the fame Ifle are many and divers forts of men who
have Evil manners, for the Father eateth the Son, and the Son
the Father, the Husband his Wife, and the Wife her Husband.
And if it be fo that the Father be fick, or the Mother, or any
Friend, the Son goes foon to the Prieft of the Law, and prays
him that he will ask of the Idol, if his Father fhall die of that
Sickneſs, or not, And then the Priest and the Son kneel down
before the Idol devoutly, and ask him, and he anfwereth to
them: And if it fay he thall live, then they keep him well :
and if it fay that he fhall die, then cometh the Prieft with the
Son or the Wife, or any that is a Friend unto him that is fick,
and they lay their hands over his mouth to ftop his Breath,
and fo they flay him, and then they fmite all the Body into
pieces and pray all his Friends for to come and eat of him that
is dead, and they make a great Feaft thereof, and have many
Minftrils there, and eat him with great melody.
And fo when they have eaten all the Flesh, then they take the
Bone
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Bones and bury them, all finging with great mirth, and all
thofe of his Friends that were not there at the eating of him,
have great fhame and reproof ſo that they fhall never more be
taken as Friends.
وم
Ant the King of this Ifle is a great Lord and mighty, and he
hath in many Illes other Kings under him; and in one of thefe.
Illes are Men that have but one Eye, and that is in the midst of
1
their Front and they eat their leth and Fith all raw.
in another Ifle are Men that have no Heads and their Eyes
are in their Shoulders, and their Mouth is in their Breaft. In
And
1
another
1
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The Voyages and Travels
another Ife are Men that have no Head nor Eyes, and their
Mouth is in their. Shoulders. And in another Ifle are Mea that
Faces without Nofes and withou Eves, hut they have
tw fomall round holes initead of Eyes, and they have flat
Mouths without Lips. And in that lle are Men afo that have
their Faces all flat withou Eyes, without mouth, and without
Nofe, but they have the Eyes and their Mouth behind, on
their Shoulders.
And in another le are foul Men, that have their Lips - abeur
their Mouth fo great, that when they fleep in the Sun, they do
-cover
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
95
7
cover all their face with their Lips. In another Ifle are lit le
men as Dwarfs, who have no mouth but a little round hole,
and through that hole they eat their meat with a pipe; and
they have no Tongue neither do they fpeak, but biow and do
whiſtle, and to make Signs one to another. In another Iſle are
wild men with Ears hanging unto their Shoulders In another
Ifle are wild men with hanging Ears, who have feet like an
Horfe, and they run faft, they take wild Beafts, and eat them.
And in another Ifle are men that go on their Hands and Feet
like Beafts, and are all rough, and will leap upon a Tree like
Cats or Apes. In another Ifle are men that go ever upon their
Knees marvellously, and have on every foot eight Toes. And
in another Ifle are People that are both men and women and
hare members of both to engender with, and when they will
they u's one at one Time, and another at another Time, and
!
they get Children when they ufe eche mmbers of a man, and
they bear Children when they uſe the members of a woman:
many other manner of People be in the fame Ifles thereabout,
of whom it were too long to tell all
CHA P. LXIII. Of the Kingdom of Mancy, which is
a large Kingdom..
T
O go from this Ifle towards the Eaft, after many Days
Journey, a man fhall come to a Kingdom called Mancy,
and
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1
and this is in great India, and it is the moſt delectable and plenti-
ful Land in all the World. "In this Land dwelt Chriftians and
Saralins, for it is a great Land; and therein are fair Women.
And therefore fome men call that Land Albany, for the white
People: and there is a City called Latorim, and is bigger than
Paris: and therein are two thouſand great Cities, and many
other Towns. In this Land no man goeth a begging, for there
is no poor man, and there men have Beards like Cats. In this
Ifle are Birds twice greater than they be here, and there is all
manner of Vi&uals good and cheap. In this Country are white
Hens; and they bear no feathers but Wool, as Sheep do in our
Land, and Women of that Country that are wedded, wear
Crowns upon their Heads that they may be known by it. In
this Country they také a Beaſt that is called a Loyre and they
keep it to go into Waters and Rivers, and ſtraitway he bringeth
forch of the Water great fishes; and thus they take fiſh as much
as them needeth.
From this City men go many Days Journey to another City
called Caffay, which is one of the faireft in the World, for that
City is near fifty miles about, and there is in that City abovè
Twelve Principal Gates without. From thence within three
miles is another great City, and within this City are more than
ten thouſand Bridges, and upon each Bridge is a ftrong Tower,
where the keepers dwell, to keep it againſt the great Caan, for it
bounderh
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boundeth on his Land; and on each fide of the City runneth a
great River, and there dwelleth Chriſtians and others, for it is
a good and plenteous Country, and there groweth very good
Wines. In this City the King of Mancie was wont to dwell,
and there dwell yet Religious Men. And Men go upon this
River till they come to an Abbey of Monks a little from the
City, in which Abbey is a great Garden, and therein is fundry
forts of Trees of divers Fruits: In that Garden are divers forts
of Beafts, as Baboons, Apes, Marmozets, and others: And
when the Convent have eaten, a Monk taketh the remainder
and bears it into the Garden, ringeth once with a Bell of Silver,
which he holds in his hand, and anon come all thofe Beafts L
ſpeak of, and many more, near 2 or 3000, and he gives them
Meat in fair Veffels of Silver. And when they have eaten, he
ſmiteth the Bell again and they go away: and the Monk faith
that thoſe Beafts are Souls of Men that are dead, and thoſe
Beaſts that are fair, are Souls of Lords, and other rich Men;
and thoſe that are foul Beafts, are Souls of other Commons:
And I asked them if it had not been better to give that Relief
to poor men; and they faid, There is no poor man in that
Country; but if there were, yet were it more Alms to give it
to thofe Souls that fuffer there their Pennance, and may go no
further to get their Meat, than to men that have Wit, and may
travel for their meat. Then men come to a City that is called
Chibens, and there was the firft Siege of the King of Mancie.
In this City are threefcore Bridges of Stone as fair as may be
made.
CHA P. LXIV. Of the Land of Pigmie, the People whereof
are but Three Spans long.
W
Hen Men pafs from the City of Chibens, they paſs over
a great River of freſh Water, and it is near four miles
broad, and then men enter into the Land of the great Caqne;
This River goeth through the Land of Pigmie, and there men
are of little Stature, for they are but three fpans long, and
there are very fair both men and women, though they be little
and are married when they are half a Year old, and they live
but eight years, for he that liveth eight years, is holden very
old: thefe fmall men are the beft workmen of Silk and Cotton
and all manner of things that are in the World; and theſe men
travel not, nor till Land, but they have among them great
men, as we are to travel for them, and have great fcorn of thofe
N
great
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The Voyages and Travels
great Men, as we would have of Gyants, or of them if they
were among us.
CHA P. LXV. of the City Manke, where a great Navy is.
Rom this Land Men go through many Countries, Cities,
and Towns, till they come to a City men call Manke:
In that City is a great Navy of Ships, and they are as white
as Snow, by reafon of the Colour of the Wood they are made
of, and they are made as it were great Houſes, with Halls and
Chambers and other Eafements.
CHA P. LXVI. Of the Land named Cathay, and of
the great Riches thereof.
AND from thence men go upon a River that men cail Ce-
remolan, and this River goeth through Cathay, and doth
many times harm when it waxeth great; Cathay is a fair Coun-
try and rich, full of Goods and Merchandize: Thither come
Merchants every Year for to fetch Spices, and other merchan-
dize more commonly than they do to other Countries. And
ye fhall underftand that the merchants that come from Venice,
or from Gene, or from other Places of Lombardy, or of Italy,
they go by Sea and Land eleven months or more, e'er they do
come to Cathay.
CHA P. LXVII. of a great City named Cadon, wherein
is the great Palace and Siege.
N the Province of Cathay towards the Eaft, is an old City,
and beſide that City the Tartarians have made another City
that men call Cad.n, that hath twelve Gates, and between each
two Gates is a great mile, for thoſe two Cities the old and the
new is round about twenty miles: In this City is the Palace
and Siege of the great Caan: It is a very fair place and great,
of which the Walls about be two miles, and within that, are
many fair places, and in the Garden of that Palace is a great
Hill, on which is another Palace, and it is the faireft that may
be found in any place; and all about the Hill are many Trees
bearing divers Fruits, and about the Hill is a great Ditch, and
there near are many Rivers on each fide, and in thofe are many
wlid Fowls that he may take and not go out of the Palace.
Within the Hall of that Palace are thirteen Pillars of Gold,
and all the Walls are covered with rich Skins of Beafts that
men call Panthers.
Thefe
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight. 99
Theſe are fair Beaſts and well ſmelling, and by the fmell of
thofe skins, no evil ſmell may come to the Palace: thofe skins
are as red as blood, and they ſhine ſo againſt the Sun, that a
Man can ſcarcely behold them, and thofe skins are efteemed
there as much as Gold. In the midst of the Palace is a place
made, that they call the Mountor, for the great Caane: That is
well deck'd with great and precious ftones hanging about; and
at the four corners of the Mountor are four Nedders of Gold,
and under that Mountor, and about are Conduits of Beverage
that they drink in the Emperor's Court. And the Hall of that
Palace is richly decked: And firft, at the upper end of the
Hall is the Throne of the Emperor, very high, where he fits
at Meat, at a Table that is well bordered with Gold, and that
Border is full of precious Stones and great Pearls, and the
Greeces on which he goeth up, are of divers precious Stones
bordered with Gold.
At the left fide of this Throne, is the Seat of his Wife, a
Degree lower than he fitteth, and that is of Jafper, bordered
with Gold, and the Seat of his fecond Wife, is a degree lower
than the firſt, and that is alſo of good Jafper bordered with
Gold; and the Seat of the third Wife a degree lower than the
fecond, for always he hath three Wives with him, where-ever
he is Befide thefe Wives, on the fame fide fitteth other Ladies
of his kin, each one lower than other, as they are of Degree:
And all thofe that are married, have a Counterfeit of a Man's
Foot upon their Heads, near a Cubit long, all made with preci-
ous Stones, and about they are made with fhining Feathers of
Peacocks, or fuch other, in Token that they are in Subjection
of Man, and under his Feet; and they that are not wedded,
have none fuck. And on the right fide of the Emperor fitteth
his Son, the which ſhall be Emperor after him, and he fitteth a
Degree lower than the Emperor, in fuch manner of Seats as
the Emperor fits, and by him fit other Lords of his Kin,
each one lower than another, as they are of Degree: And the
Emperor hath his Table by himſelf alone, that is made of
Gold and precious Stones, or of white Crystal, or yellow, bor-
dered with Gold, and each one of his Wives hath her Table
by herſelf.
And under the Emperor's Table fittèth four Clerks at his feet,
that write all that the Emperor faith, be it good or ill. And
at great Feafts about the Emperor's Table, and all other Tables,
N 2
in
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;
in the Hall is a Vine made of Gold, that goeth all about the
Hall, and it hath many Branches of Grapes like to Grapes of
the Vine, fome are white, fome yellow, fome red, fome green
and fome black all the red are of Rubies, of Creams, or Al-
lobance; the white are of Cryſtal or Byral, the yellow are of
Topaces, the green of Emeralds and Cryfolites, and the black
of Quicks and Gerands; and this Vine is made thus of precious
Stones fo properly, that it feemeth as it were a Vine growing.
And before the Board of the Emperor ftand great Lords, and
no man is fo hardy to speak to him, except it be Muficians to
folace the Emperor. And all the Veffels that are ferved in his
Hall or Chambers, are of precious Stones, and eſpecially at
the Tables where great Lords eat, that is to fay, of Jafper,
Cryſtal, Amethift, or fine Gold, and the Cups are of Eme--
ralds, Saphirs, Topaces, and other of any manner of Stones
and of Silver have they no Veffels, for they efteem but little of
Silver to make Veffels of, but they make of Silver, Greeces,
Pillars, and Pavements of Halls and Chambers And ye shall
underſtand that my Fellow and I were in Wages with him fix-
teen months against the King of Manchy, upon whom he made
War, and the caufe was, we had fo great defire to fee the Nobi-
lity of his Court, if it were fuch as we heard fpeak of; and
truly we found it more rich, and of greater Royalty than ever
we heard ſpeak of; and we ſhould never have believed it, had
we not feen it: but ye fhall understand, the ufe of eating and
drinking is more evil among us than in thofe Countries, for all
the Commons eat upon skins of Beats on their knees and eat the
Flesh of all manner of Beafts, and when they have all eat, they
wipe their hands on their skirts; and they eat but once a day,
and eat but little bread; but the manner of the Lords is full
Noble,
CHA P. LXVIII. Wherefore the Emperor of Cathay is
called the Great Caane,
ND ye shall underſtand why he is called the great Caane:
Ye know that all the World was deftroyed with-Noah's
Flood, but Noah, his Wife and Children. Noah had three Sons
Sem, Cham, and Japhat; Chan, when he ſaw his Father's Pri-
vities naked when he slept, he fcorned thereat, and therefore he
was curfed, and Faphat covered it. Theſe three Brethren had
all Land. Then Cham took the beſt part Eastward, called Afia,
Sem took Africa, and Japhat took Europe. Cham was the greateſt
4
and
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
IOF
•
and richeſt of his Brethren, and of him came the Painim folk:
and divers manner of Men of thofe Ifles, fome headless, and
others disfigured: For this Cham the Emperor, they called him
Cham and Lord of all But ye thall underſtand that the Empe-
ror of Cathay is called Caane, and not Cham: and for this caufe:
It is not long ago that all Tartary was in ſubjection and thrall to
other Nations about, and they were made Herdsmen to keep
Beafts, and among them were feven Lineages or Kings: The
firft was called Tartary, that is the belt; the fecond Lineage is
called Tamabst, the third Furace, the fourth Vilatre, the fifth
Semoth, the fixth Menchy, and the feventh Sobeth: Thefe are all
holden of the great Caane of Cathay. Now it befell that the
firſt Lineage was an old Man, and he was not rich, and men
called him Chanius: This man lay and flept on a Night in his
Bed, and there came to him a Knight all white, fitting upon a
white Horſe, faid to him, Caane, fleepeft thou? God that is
Almighty ſent me to thee, and it is his Will that thou fay to the
feven Lineages that thou shall be their Emperor, for you fhall
conquer all the Land about you, and they fhall be in your fub-
jection, as you have beer in theirs: And when the morrow
came, he roſe up and told the ſeven Lineages and they ſcorned
him, and faid, he was a Fool: And the next Night the fame
Knight came to the feven Lineages, and bad them in God's Be
half to make Chanius their Emperor, and they should be out of
all Subjection. And on the morrow they chofe Chanius to be
Emperor, and did him all Worship that they might do, and
called him Caane, as the white Knight called him, and they
ſaid they would do as he bade them
Then he made many Statutes and Laws, which they called
Isakan. The firft Statute was, That they might be obedient to
God Almighty, and believe that he would deliver them out of
Thraldom, and that they fhould call on him in all their Works.
Another Statute was, That all men that could bear Arms fhould
be numbred, and to each ten fhould be a mafter, and to a hun-
dred a maſter, and to a thouſand a mafter. Then he comman-
ded to all the greateft and principalleft of the feven Lineages
that they ſhould forfake all they had in Heritage or Lordship,
and that they ſhould hold them apaid of that he would give them
of his Grace, and they did fo. And alfo he bade them, that
each man fhould bring his eldest Son before him, and flay him
with his own Hands, and fmite off his Head; and preſently
they
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The Voyages and Travels
they did at his bidding. And when he faw they made no let-
ting of that he bid them, then he bid them follow his Bann er,
and then he put in Subjection all the Land about him.
CHA P. LXIX. How the great Caane was bid under a Tree,
and fo efcaped his Enemies because of a Bird.
ND it befel on a day that the Caane rode with a few men
to fee the Land he had won, and he met with a great
Multitude of his Enemies, and there he was caft down off his
Horſe, and his Horfe flain; and when his Men faw him on the
Earth, they thought he had been dead, and fled, and the Ene-
mies followed after; and when he faw his Enemies were far,
he hid him in a Bush, for the Wood was thick there, and when
they were come from the chafe, they went to feek among the
Wood, if any were hid there, and found many; and as they
came to the place where he was, they faw a Bird fit on a Tree,
which Bird men call an Owl, and then fay they, there was no
Man, for the Bird fat there, and fo they went away, and thus
was the great Caane faved from Death, and fo he went away
on a night to his own men, who were glad of his coming: and
from that time unto this Day, Men of that Country have that
Bird in great Reverence, and for that caufe they worship that
Bird above all other Birds of the World.
And incontinent he affembled all his Men, and rode upon his
Enemies and deftroyed them; and when he won all the Lands
that were about h m, he held them in fubjection: and when the
Caane had led all the Lords to Mount Belyan, the white Knight
came to him in a Vifion again, and faid to him, Caane the Will
of God's, that thou pals the Mount Belyan, and thou shalt win
many Lands; and becauſe thou shalt find no Paffage, go thou
to the Mount Belyan, that is upon the Sea fide, and kneel nine
Times thereon against the Eaft. Worship of God, and he ſhall
fhew thee a way how thou shalt pafs; and Caane did fo, and
anon the Sea that touched the Hill withdrew itfelf, and fhewed
him a fair way of nine Foot broad between the Hill and the
Sea, and fo he paffed right well with all his Men, and then he
won the Land of Cathay, that is the beſt Land and the greateſt
of all the World: And for thefe nine kneelings, and the nine
foot of Way, the Caane and Men of Tartary have the Number
of Nine in great Worship,
CHAP.
C
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
103
CHA P. LXX. Of the great Caane's Letters, and the
Writing about bis Seal.
A
ND when he had won the Land of Cathay he died, and
then reigned after Cychoco the eldest Son of Caane, and
his other Brothers went to win them Lands in other Countries,
and they won the Land of Prufic, and of Ruffe, and they call
themſelves Caanes; but he of Cathay is the greateft Lord of the
World, and fo he calls himfelt in his Letters, and faith thus,
Caane filius Dei excelfi, univerfam terram colentium fummus Impe-
rator Dominus Dominantium: that is to fay, Caane God's Son,
Emperor of all thofe that Till the Land and Lord of Lords. And
the Writing about the great Seal is, Deus in Calo, & Caane fu-
per terram ejus fortitudo, omnium hominum Imperatoris Sigillum
that is to fay, God in Heaven, Caane upon Earth the strength, the
Seal of the Emperor of all Men. And the Writing about his
Privy Seal is, Dei fortitudo, omnium hominum Imperatoris Sigillum:
that is, The Strength of God, the Seal of the Emperor of all Men:
although it be fo that they be not Chriftians, yet the Emperor
and the Tartarians believe God Almighty.
CHA P. LXXI. Of the Governance of the Country of
the great Caane
NOW
OW have I told you why he is called the great Caane:
Now fhall I tell you of the governing of his Court, when
they make great Feafts, and he keeps four principal Feafts in
the Year; the firft is of is Birth, the fecond when he is carried
to the Temple to be circumcifed, the third is of his Idols when
they begin to ſpeak, and the fourth when the Idol begins firſt
to do Miracles, and at thofe times he hath men well arrayed by
thouſands, and by hundreds, and each one knows what he ſhaft
do. For there is first ordained 4000 rich Barons to order the
Feaft and ferve the Emperor; and they have Crowns of Gold
decked with precious Stones; and are clad in Cloth of Gold and
Camachas, as richly as they can be made; and they may well
have fuch Cloaths, for they are there of lefs Price than woollen
cloth is here. And thofe four thoufand Barons are parted into
four parts, and each Company is clad in divers Colours very
richly; and when the firft thouſand is paffed, and fhewed them-
felves, then come the fecond thoufand, and then the third thou-
fand, and then the fourth; and none of them fpeak a Word.
And on the one fide of the Emperor's Table fitteth many Phi-
lofophers of many Sciences, fome of Aftronomy, Necromancy,
Geometry,
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The Voyages and Travels
{
Geometry, Pyromancy, and many other Sciences, and fome
have before them Aftrolabes of Gold and precious Stones, full
of Sand or of-Coals burning; fome have Horologies well dight
and richly, and many other Inftruments after their Sciences;
and at a certain Hour when they fee time, they lay to Men that
ftand before them, Make Peace; and then fay thofe men with
a loud Voice to all the Hall, Now be ftill awhile; and then faith
one of the Philofophers, Each man make Reverence, and en-
cline to the Emperor, that is God's Son, and Lord of all the
World, for now is the time and the hour: And then all men
bow to him, and kneel on the Earth, and then the Philofopher
biddeth them ufe up again; and at another Hour, another Phi-
lofopher biddeth them put their Finger in their Ears, and they
do fo; and at another Hour another Philofopher biddeth that
all men ſhould lay their Hands on their Heads, and they do fo:
and then he biddeth them take them away, and they do fo:
and thus from hour to hour they bid divers things. And I as-
ked privately what it ſhould mean, and one of the Mafters faid
that the bowing and kneeling on the Earth at that time hath this
token, that all thofe men that knee ed fo, fhall evermore be
true to the Emperor, that for no Gift nor Threatning they
ſhall never be Traytors nor falfe to him; and the putting the
Finger in the ear hath this Token, that none of thofe fhall
hear any ill ſpoken of the Emperor or his Council; and ye shall
underftand that men bring nothing, as Cloaths, Bread, Drink,
nor no fuch Things to the Emperor, but at certain Hours that
the Philofophers tell; and if any man raie War againſt the
Emperor in what Country foever it be, thefe Philofophers
know it foon, and tell the Emperor, or his Council; and he
fendeth men thither, for he hath many men. Alfo he hath
many men that keep Bids as Ge faulkens, Sparhawks, Fawk-
hens, Gentles, Lavers,, Sacres, Popinjays, that can fpeak, and
many other: IHe hath 10000 Elephants, Baboons, Marmozets,
and others, and hath ever about him many Phyficians, more
than 200 that are Chriftian men, and Sarafins, but yet he trufts
more in Chriſtian men than in Sarafins. And there is in that
Country many Sarafins that are converted to the Faith, thro'
the Preaching of good Chriftian Men that dwell there, and
there are many that will not be known they are Chriftians.
CHAP.
}
1
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
105
CHA P. LXXII. Of the great Riches of the Emperor,
and of his Expending.
TH
HIS Emperor is a great Lord, he may expend what he
will, becauſe he ſpendeth neither Silver nor Gold, and
maketh no Money but of Leather or Skins, and this fame
Money goeth through all his Land, and of the Silver and Gold
buildeth he his Palace: and he hath in his Chamber a Pillar of
Gold, in which is a Ruby and Carbuncle a Foot long, which
lighteth all his Chamber by Night: and he hath many other
precious Stones and Rubies, but this is the richeſt,
This Emperor dwelleth in the Summer towards the North,
in a City Men call Saydus, and there it is very cold; and in the
Winter he dwelleth in a City called Camalach, and there it is
very hot, but for the most part he is at Cadon, that is not far
from thence.
CHAP. LXXIII of the Ordinance of the Lords of the Em-
peror, when be rides from one Country to another, to War.
A
ND when the great Caane doth ride from one Country to
another, they ordain four Hofls of People, of which the
firft goeth before a days Journey, and that Hoft lieth at Even
where the Emperor fhall lie on the morrow, and there is plenty
of Victuals. And another Hoft cometh at the right fide of him
and another at the left fide, and in each hoft is many men, and
cometh the fourth Hoft behind him a Bow fhot, there is more
men in that than in any other. And ye shall underſtand that
the Emperor rideth on no Horſe: but when he will go to any
fecret place with a ſmall Train, where he will not be known,
then he rideth in a Chariot with four Wheels, and thereupon
is a Chamber made of a Tree that Men call Lignum Aloes, that
cometh out of Paradice Terreftre, and that Chamber is covered
with fine Gold and precious Stones and Pearls, and four Ele-
phants, and four Oxen all white, go therein, and five or fix
great Lords ride about him, fo that none other man may come
nigh him, except the Emperor call, and in the fame manner
with a Chariot, and fuch a Train, rideth the Emprefs by ano-
ther fide, and the Emperor's eldeft Son in the fame Array]
and they have ſo many People, that it is a great marvel for
- to fee.
CHAP.
106
The Voyages and Travels
CHA P. LXXIV. How the Empire of the great Caane is
divided into Twelve Provinces; and how they do caft Incenfe in
the Fire, where the great Caane paffes through the Cities and
Towns, in worship of the Emperor.
HE Land of the great Caane is divided into twelve Pro-
vinces, and every Province hath more than two thoufand
Cities and Towns: And when the Emperor rideth through the
Country, as he paffes thro' Cities and Towns, each man mak-
eth a fire before his Houfe, and caffeth therein Incenfe, and
other Things that give good Smell to the Emperor: And if any
Men of Religion that are Chriftian Men dwell near where the
Emperor cometh, they meet him with Proceffion, with Crofs
and Holy Water, and they fing Veni Creator Spiritus, with loud
Voice; and when he feeth them coming, he commandeth the
Lords to ride near them to make way, that the Religious men
may come to him; and when he feeth the Crofs, he doth off
his Hat that is made of precious Stones, and great Pearls, and
that Hat is fo rich, that it is a marvel to tell, and then he in-
clineth to the Crofs, and the Prelate of the religious men faith
Orifons before him, and giveth him the Bleffing with the Crofs,
and he inclineth to the Bleffing full devoutly and then the
Prelate giveth him fome Fruit, to the Number of nine Pears or
Apples, or other Fruit in a Platter of Gold, and then the Em-
peror taketh one thereof, and the other he giveth to his Lords
for the manner is fuch there, that no ftrange Man may come
before the Emperor, but he gives him fomewhat, after the old
Law, that faith, Non accedit confpectu meo inanis: that is to ſay
No Man comes into my fight empty. And then the Emperor bid-
deth thoſe Religious men that they go forth, fo that Men of
his Hoft defile them not, and thofe religious men that dwell
where the Emprefs or Emperor's Son cometh, they do in the
fame manner.
CHA P. LXXV. How the Caane is the mightiest Lord of
all the World.
TH
HIS great Caane is the mightieft Lord of the World, for
Prefter John is not fo great a Lord, nor the Soldan of Ba-
bylon, nor the Emperor of Perfia In this Land a Man hath an
hundred Wives, fome torty, and fome more, fome leſs, and
they take of their Kin to Wives, all fave their Sifters, Mothers,
and Daughters, and they alfo take their Step-Mother, if that
their Father be dead; And men and women have all one man-
ner
of Sir JOHN MANDEVIL E, Knight.
107
ner of Cloathing, ſo that they may not be known; but the
Women that are married, bear a Token on their heads, and
dwell not with their Husbands, but he may lie by any as he
will; they have Plenty of all manner of Beafts fave Swine, for
they will keep none: and they believe in God that made all
Things, and yet have they Idols of Gold and Silver, and to
thofe Idols they offer their firft Milk of Beaks.
THE
CHA P. LXXVI. Yet of other Manners of this Country:
HE Emperor the great Caane hath three Wives, and the
principal one was Prefter John's Daughter, And the Peo-
ple of this Country begin to do all their Things in the New
Moon, and they worship much the Sun and the Moon; thofe
men ride moſtly without Spurs, and hold it a great Sin to break
one Bone with another, and to fpill Milk on the ground, or
any Liquor Men may drink; and the moft fault that they may
do, is to pils in the Houfes where they dwell; and he that
piffes in his Houfe fhall be flain; of that Sin they fhrieve them
to their Priests and for their Pennance they give Silver, and
the place where they have piffed fhall be hallowed, or elfe may
none come there. And when they have done their Pennance
they fhall pass through a fire or two, to make them clean of
their fins. When they have eaten, they wipe their Hands on
their skirts, for they have no Table-cloths except it be very
great Lords; and when they have all eaten, they put their
Dithes or Platters not washed into a Pot or Cauldron with the
Flefh that is left when they have eaten, until they eat again;
and rich men drink milk of Mares, Affes or other Beafts, and
other Beverage, that is made of Milk and Water together, for
they have neither Beer nor Wine. And when they go to war,
they war full wifely, and each man beareth two or three Bows
and many Arrows, and a great Hatchet. Gentlemen have
fhort Swords, and he that flieth in Battle they flay him, and
they are ever in purpoſe to bring all the Land in Subjection to
them; for they fay, It is prophefied that they they fhall over-
come by fhot of Archers, and that they hall turn men to their
Law, but they wot not what men they ſhall be; and it is great
peril to purfue the Tartarians when they flee, for they will
fhoot behind and flay men as well as before; and they have
fmall Eyes as little Birds, and they are commonly falfe, for they
hold not their Promife. And when a man fhall die among them
they
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The Voyages and Travels
they ſtrike a Spear in the Earth bèfide him; and when he draw-
eth to Death, they go out of the Houfe till he be dead, then
they put him into the Earth in the Field.
C H A P. LXXVII. How the Emperor is brought unto his
Grave when he is dead.
ND when the Emperor is dead, they fet him in a Cart,
in the midſt of his Tent; and they fet before him a Ta-
ble covered with a Cloth, thereupon they fet flesh and other
Meat, and a Cup full of Mares Milk, and they ſet a Mare with
a Colt by him, and a Horfe faddled and bridled, and they lay
upon the Horfe Gold and Silver, and all about him they make a
great Pit, and with all the things they put him therein, as the
Tent, Horfe, Gold and Silver, and all that is about him: and
they ſay that when he cometh into another World, he ſhall not
be without an Houſe, nor Horſe, nor Silver nor Gold, and the
Mare fhall give him Milk, and bring forth more Horfes tili he
be well ftored in another World: And one of his Chamberlains
or Servants is put with him in the Earth, for to do him Service
in the other World; for they believe that when he is dead, he
fhall go to another World, and be a greater Lord there than
here, and when he is laid in the Earth, no one may be fo har-
dy for to ſpeak of him before his Friend
CHA P. LXXVIII. When the Emperor is dead, how they
chufe and make another.
ND when the Emperor is dead, feven of the Kindred ga-
or
ther together, and touch his Son or the next of his Blood,
and fay thus, We Will, and we ordain, and we pray thee, that
thou wilt be our Lord and our Emperor: And he enquireth of
them, and faith, If ye Will that I reign over you, then muft
you do all that I bid you. And if I bid that any ſhall be ſlain
he fhall be flain: And they anſwer all with one loud Voice,
All that ye bid fhall be done. Then fays the Emperor, From
henceforth, my Word fhall cut as my Sword: And then they
fet him in a Chair and crown him, and all the good Towns
thereabout fend to him Prefents fo much, that he fhall have above
100 Camels laden with Gold and Silver, befide other Jewels
which 'he fhall have of Lords, as precious Stones and Gold
without Number, and Horfes, and rich Cloaths of Camachas
and Tarius, and fuch other.
CHAP.
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
109
CHA P. LXXIX. What Countries and Kingdoms be next to
the Land of Cathay, and the Fronts thereof.
This
His Land of Cathay is in Afia the deep, and this fame Land
reacheth towards the Weft upon the Kingdom of Sercie,
which belonged fome time to one of the three Kings that went
o feek our Lord at Bethlehem; and all thoſe that came of this
Kin are Chriftian Men. These men of Tartary drink no wine.
In the Land of Corofayme, that is, at the North-fide of Cathay,
is a very great Plenty of Goods, but no Wine, the which has
at the Eaſt fide, a great Wilderneſs that lafteth more than a
hundred days Journey, and the beft City of that Land is called
Carofayme: And after the Name of that City is the Land called:
And men of this Land are good Warriours, and hardy; and
thereby is the Kingdom of Comayne, that is the moft and the
greatest Kingdom of the World, but is not all inhabited; for
in one place of the Land is fo great cold, that no man may
dwell there for cold; and in another place is fo great Heat,
that no one can dwell there; and there are fo many Faiths, as
a man cannot tell on what fide he may turn him: and in this
Land are few Trees beating Fruit. In this Land men lie in
Tents, and they burn Dung of Beafls for want of Wood.
This Land defcendeth toward Prufie and Rufte, and thro' this
Land runneth the River Echel, one of the greateſt Rivers of
the World, and it is frozen fo hard every Year, that men fight
thereon in great Battles on Horfe, and Footmen more than
100,000 at once. And a little from that River is the great
Ocean they call Maure; and between this Maure and Alpy is a
very ftrait Paflage to go toward Inde, and therefore King Alex-
ander did make there a City men cali Alexandry, for to keep
that Paffage, io that no man may pafs unless he have Leave,
and now is that City called Port de Fear, and the Principal
City of Comaine is called Sarachis, that is one of the three ways
to go to Inde; but thro' this way men may not go, unleſs it be
in Winter, and this Paffage is called Berbent. Another way is
to go from the Land of Tulkefcon through Perfia: In this Way
are many Days Journey in a Wilderneſs. And the third way
is that which comes from Cofmane, and goes thro' the great City
and thro' the Kingdoms of Abachare. And ye fhall underſtand
that all theſe Kingdoms and Lord hips unto Perfia, are holden
of the great Guane, and many other, and therefore he is a
great Lord of Men and of Land.
CHAP.
ΓΙΟ
The Voyages and Travels
CHAP. LXXX. Of other ways coming from Cathay toward
the Greek Sea, and of the Emperor of Perfia.
OW that I have fhewed the Land toward the North, to
N come from the Lanc's of Catbay to the Lands of Pruſie
and Rufie, where Chriftian men dwell; now I fhall thew unto
you of other Lands and Kingdoms, in coming down from Ca-
thay to the Greek Sea, where Chriftian men dwell and foraf
much as next the great Caane of Cathay, the Emperor of Perfia
is the greateft Lord, therefore I fhall fpeak of him; and they
fhall understand he hath two Kingdoms, one begins caftward,
and is the Kingdom of Turkefcon, and it lafteth Weftward to
the Sea of Cafpy, and Southward to the Land of Inde.
Land is great and plain, and well manned, with good Cities,
but two moft chief, which are called Bacirida and Sormaguant.
The other is the Kingdom of Perfia, and lafteth from the River
of Pifon, unto great Armony, and Northward unto the Sea of
Cafpy, Southwards to the Land of Inde; and this is a full plen-
teous Country, and good: In this Land are three principal
Cities, Naffabor, Saphen, and Sermee.
This
CHAP. LXXXI. Of the Land of Armony, which is a good
Land, and of the Land of Middy.
Then
Hen is the Land of Armony, in which was fometimes
three Kingdoms; that is a good land and plenteous, and
it beginneth at Perfia, and lafteth weftward to Turkey in length,
and in breadth from the City of Alexander (now called Port de
Fear) unto the land of Middy. In this Armony are many Cities,
but Canrifly is moft noted. Then is the land of Middy, which
is very long and not broad, and beginneth Eaſtward to the land
of Perfia and Inde the lefs, and lafteth weftward to the Kingdom
of Chaldee, and Northward to little Armony: In this Middy are
many great Hills and little Plains, and there dwell Sarafins and
other fort of men, called-Cordiner and Kermen,
CHAP. LXXXII. Of the Kingdom of Georgy and Ab-
can, and many Marvels.
THen
Hen next is the Kingdom of Georgy that begins Eaftward at
a great Hill called Abior, this land lafteth from Turkey to
the great Sea, and to the land of Middy, and to great Armony ;
and in this land are two Kingdoms, one of Abcay, and another
of
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
III
of Georgy; but he of Georgy is in Subjection unto the Great
Caane, but he of Abcan hath a ftrong Country, and defendeth
him well againft the Enemies: And in this land of Abcan
is a great marvel, for there is a Country in this land that is near
three days Journey, called Hampton, and it is all covered with
darkneſs, that no man may fee there, nor dare go therein for
Darkness, yet men of that Country thereby fay, they can fome
time hear therein the Voices of Men and Horfes crying, and
Cocks crow, and they know men dwell there, but not what fort
of men; and they fay this darkness came thro' the work of God,
that he did for Chriſtian men there. For there was a wicked
Emperor of Poy, called Saures, and he purſued ſometime the
Chriſtian men to deſtroy them, and did make them do Sacri-
fice to his falle Gods, for in that Country dwell many Chrifti-
an men, who left all their Goods and Cattle, and Riches, and
went to Greece; and when they were all in a great Plain that
is called Mecon, the Emperor and his men came for to flay the
Chriftian men, and then the. Chriftian men kneeled down and
prayed to God, and anon came a thick Cloud and covered the
Emperor and all his Bealls, fo that he might not go away, and
ſo they dwelt in darkneſs, and never came out after: and the
Chriſtian men went forward as they would; and therefore they
fay thus, A Domino factum eft istud, & eft mirabile in oculis no-
fris: that is to fay, Of our Lord is this done, and it is marvellous
in our Eyes. Out of this land cometh a River whereby Men
may fee by good Tokens that men dwell therein
CHA P. LXXXIII. Of the Land of Turkey, and divers
other Countries, and of the Land of Mefopotamia.
to
HE next is the Land of Turkey, that reacheth to great-
The next
Armony,
and therein are many Countries, as Capedoce,
Saure, Brikes, Queccion, Patyn, and Geneth: in each of thefe
Countries are many good Cities, and it is a plain Land, with
few Hills and Rivers. And then is the Kingdom of Mefopota-
mia, that beginneth Weftward at the River of Tygre, at the
City that Men call Mofel, and it lafteth Weftward to the Ri-
ver Euphrates, to a City called Rochaim, and Weftward from
high Armony, unto the Wildernels of Inde the lefs, and it is a
good Land and plain, but there are few Rivers, and there are
but two Hills in that Land, one is called Simar, and the other
Lifon, and it reacheth unto the Land of Chaldee.
CHAP.
*
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The Voyages and Travels
CHA P. LXXXIV. Of divers Countries, Kingdoms, and
Ifles, and Marvels beyond the Land of Cathay.
NOW
OW have I faid and fpoken of many Things on this fide
the great Kingdom of Cathay; of whom many are obey.
lant to the great Caane. Now I fhall tell of fome Lands, Coun-
tries, and Ifles that are beyond the Land of Cathay. Whofo
goeth from Cathay "to Inde the High and the Low, he ſhall go
thro' a Kingdom Men call Cadiffen, and it is a great Land:
there groweth a fort of Fruit as it were Gourds, and when it
is ripe, Men cut it afunder, and they find therein a Beaſt as it
were of fleth, bone and blood, as it were a little Lamb without
Wool, and Men eat the Beaft and Fruit alfo, and fure it feem-
eth very strange. Nevertheless I faid to them, that I held that
for no marvel, for I faid that in my Country are Trees that do
bear Pruit that become Birds flying, and they are good to eat,
and that which falls on the Water, lives, and that which falls on
the Earth, dies; and they wondered much thereat. In this
Land, and many other thereabout, are Trees that bear Cloves,
Nutmegs, Mace, and many other Spices; and there be Vines
that bear to great Grape, that a ftrong Man fhall have enough
to bear a Clufter of them. In that fame Land are the Hills of
Cafpy, the which Men call Uber, and incloſed within thoſe Hills
are the Jews of the Ten Kinds, that man call Gog and Magog,
and they may come out on no fide; there were enclos'd twenty
two Kings, with their Folk, that dwelleth between the Hills of
Syche; and King Alexander chafed them thither among thoſe
Hills, for he hoped to incloſe them there, through the working
Men,
1
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
113
Men, but he might not; and when he faw he might not, he
prayed to God that he would fulfil that which he had begun:
God heard his Prayer and incloſed the Hills all about them,
but at one fide, and there is the Sea of Cafpy. Here fome men
might ask, if there be a Sea on one Side, why go they not
out there? to which I anſwer, That altho' it be called a Sea, it
is not a Sea, but a Pool ftanding among Hills, and it is the
greatest Pool of all the World; and tho' they do go over that
Pool, yet they know not where to arrive, for they can ſpeak
no ſpeech but their own: and ye fhall underſtand that thoſe
Jews which dwell among the Hills have no Law among them,
and yet they pay Tribute for their Land to the Kings of Armo-
ny: and fometimes it is fo, that fome of thofe Jews go over the
Hills, but may not país there together, for the Hills are ſo big
and high; yet men fay in that Country thereby, that in the
Time of Antichrift they fhall do much harm to Chriftians, and
therefore all the Jews that dwell in divers parts of the World,
learn to ſpeak Hebrew, for they hope that thefe Jews, that do
dwell among the Hills aforefaid, fhall come out of the Hills,
and ſpeak all Hebrew and nothing elſe, and then fhall theſe
Jews fpeak Hebrew to them, and lead them into Chriftendom
for to deftroy Chriftian Men. For thefe Jews fay they know
by their Prophefies, that thofe Jews that are among thoſe Hills
of Cafpy fhall come out, and Chriftian men be in their Subjecti-
on, as they be under Chriftian men now. And if ye will know
how they ſhall find the Paffage out as I have underſtood I fhall
tell you. In the Time of Antichrift a Fox fhall make his Den
in the fame Place where King Alexander did make his Gates, and
he fhall dig in the Earth fo long till he pierce it thorough, and
come among the Jews; and when they fee the Fox, they fhall
have great marvel of him, for they never faw fuch a Beaft,
but other Beafts they have among them many; and they fha!!
chafe this Fox and purfue him until that he be fled again into
his Hole he came from, and then shall they dig after him, until
they come to the Gates that Alexander did make of great Stones
well laid with Mortar; then fhall they break thofe Gates, and
find the way-forth.
CHA P. LXXXV. Of the Land of Bactrie, and of many
Griffins and other Beafts.
Rom this Land Men fhall go to the Land of Bactrie, where
are many wicked and cruel Men: In this Land are Trees
that bear Wool, as it were Sheep, of which they make Cloth,
P
In
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In this Land are Ypotains that dwell fometimes on Land, and
fometime on Water, and are half Man half Horfe, and feed on
men when they can get them. In this Land are many Griffins
more than in other Places, and fome fay they have the Body
before as an Eagle, and behind as a Lyon; and it is true, for
they are made fo; but the Griffin hath a Body bigger than eight
Lions, and fronger than roo Eagles, for certainly, he will bear
to his Neft flying, a Horfe and a Man upon his Back, or two
Oxen yoked together as they go to Plow, for he hath long
Nails on his Feet as great as Horns of Oxen, and of thofe they
make Cups there to drink with, and of his Ribs they do make
Bows to fhoot with.
CHA P. LXXXVI. Of the Way to go to Prefter John's
Land, which is Emperor of Inde.
From this Land of Battrio, Men go in many Days Journey
to the Land of Preftor John, that is a great Emperor of
Inde, and Men call his Land the Isle of Pantrore. This Empe-
ror Prefter John, holdeth a great Land and many good Cities
and Towns. In this Kingdom are many good Ifles and large;
for the Land of Inde is parted into Ifles, becaufe of
becauſe of great Ri-
vers that come out of Paradife, and alfo into the Sea are many.
great Ifles. The beft City that is in the Ifle of Pantrore is cal-
led Nile, that is a Noble City and rich. Prefter John hath un.
der him many Kings, and divers Lords, and his Land is good
and rich; but not fo rich as the Land of the great Caane, for
Merchants come not fo much thither as they do into the Land
of the great Caane, for it is too long a Journey. And alfo they
find in that Ifle of Cathay all things they have need of, as Spi-
cery, Cloth of Gold, and other Riches; and altho' they might
have better cheap in the Land of Preftor John than in the Land
of Cathay, and finer, yet they will not go thither by reaſon of
the length of the Journey, and great Perils on Sea: for there
are many places in the Sea where are many Rocks of a Sone
called Adamant, which of his own kind draweth to it all man-
ner of Iron; and therefore there may be no Ships that have
Iron Nails pals, but it draweth them to it, and therefore they
dare not go into that Country with Ships, for fear of the Ada
mant. I went once into that Sea, and faw as it had been a
great Ifle of Trees, ftocks and branches growing, and the
Shipmen faid thofe were great Ships that abode there thro' the
Vertue
}
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of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
115
Vertue of the Adamants; and of things that were in the Ships,
whereof theſe Trees fprung; and fuch Rocks are there many
in divers places of the Sea, and therefore no Shipmen dare to
paſs that way. And another Thing alfo is, That they fear the
long way; and therefore they go moft to Cathay, and that is
nearer to them. And yet it is not fo near, but that from Venice
or Gene, by Sea to Cathay is eleven or twelve Months Journey.
The Land of Frefter John is long, and Merchants paſs thither
through the Land of Perfia, and come into a City that Men do
call Hermes, for a Philofopher that was called Hermes founded it;
and then pass an Arm of the Sea, and come to another City
that Men call Saboth, and ther they find all Merchandizes, and
Fopinjays as great Plenty as Larks in our Country. In this
Country is litle Wheat or Barley, and therefore they eat Rice,
Milk, Cheeſe, and other Fruits. This Emperor Prefter John
wedded commonly the Daughter of the great Caane, and the
great Caane his Daughter. In the Land of Prefter John is many
ftrange Things and precious Stones fo great and large, that they
make of them Veffe's, Platters and Cups, and many other
Things, of which it were too long to tell. But fomewhat of
his Law and of his Faich I fhall tell you.
་
:
CHA P. LXXXVII. Of the Faith and Belief of Prefter
John; but he hath not the full Belief as we have.
T
His Emperor Prestor John is chriftened, and a great part
of his Land alſo, but they have not all the Articles of
our Faith; but they believe well in the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghoft, and they are very devout and true one to ano-
ther, and they make no force of Cattle, and he hath under
him feventy two Provinces and Countries, and in each one is a
King, and thoſe Kings have other Kings under them. And in
this Land are many Marvels; for in this Land is a gravelly Sea
that is of Sand and Gravel, and no drop of Water, and it ebbs
and flows with very great waves as another Sea doth, and it is
never ftanding fill, never quiet; and no Man can pass to the
Land beyond it. And altho' there be no water in the Sea, yet
Men may find therein very good Fish, and of other Fashion
and thape, than are in any other Sea; and alfo they are of a.
very good tafte, and fweet, and good to eat; and three days
journey from that Sea, are many great Hills, thro' which runs
a great Flood that cometh from Paradiſe, and it is full of preci-
*
P 2
ous
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The Voyages and Travels
ous ſtones, and no Drop of Water, and it runneth with great
Waves into the gravelly Sea: and this floood runneth three
days in the Week fo faff, that it carries great ftones of the Rock
with it, that make fuch Noife, and as foon as they come into
the gravel Sea, they are no more feen; and in thoſe three days,
when it runneth thus, no man dare come in it; but the other
days men go therein when they will. And fo beyond that Flood
toward the Wilderneſs is a great Plain among Hills all Sandy
and Gravelly, and in that Plain groweth Trees, that at the ri
fing of the Sun each day, begin to grow, and fo grow they
till mid-day, and bear Fruit; but no Man dare eat of that
Fruit, for it is a manner of Iron, and after mid-day it turneth
again to the Earth; fo that when the Sun goeth down, it is no-
thing feen, and fo doth it every day; and there is in that Wil-
derneſs many wild men with horns on their heads, very hideous
and ſpeak not, but rout as Swine: And in that Country are
many Popinjays, that they call in their Language Pistake, and
fpeak thro' their own kind, partly as a man, and thoſe that ſpeak
well have long Tongues and large, and on every foot five Toes,
but there are some that have three Toes, but thoſe ſpeak not, or
very ill.
•
}
CHA P. LXXXVIII. of another Island, wherein alfo dwell
good People, and is called Synople.
Hen is there another Ifle called Synople, wherein alfo are
good People and true, and full of good Faith, and they
are much like in their living to the Men aforefaid, and they go
all naked: into that Iſland came King Alexander, and when he
faw their good Faith and Truth, and their good Belief, he faid
he would do them no harm, and bid them ask of him Riches
or any thing elfe, and they fhould have it. And they answer-
ed, that they had Riches enough when they have Meat and
Drink to fuftain their Bodies; and they ſaid alfo, That Riches
of this World are nought worth; but if it were ſo that he might
grant them that they fhould never die, that would they pray
him. And Alexander faid, that he might not do, for he was
mortal, and ſhould die as they ſhould. Then faid they, why
art thou fo proud, and wouldft win all the World, and have it
in Subjection, as it were a God, and haft no Term of thy
Life, and thou wilt have all Riches of the World, which ſhall
forfake thee, or thou forfake them, and thou shalt bear nothing
with thee, but it shall remain to others; but as thou wert born
naked,
}
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
117
1
;
"
naked, fo fhalt thou be done in Earth? And Alexander was
greatly aftoniſhed at this Speech And tho' it be fo that they
have not the Articles of our Faith, nevertheleſs I believe that
God liketh their Service as he did of Job that was a Painim,
the which he held for his true Servant and many other. I believe
verily that God loveth all thoſe that love him, and ſerve him
meckly and truly, and that deſpiſe the vain-glory of the World,
as theſe men do, and Job did; and therefore faid the Lord
thro' the Mouth of the holy Prophet Efay, Ponam eis multipli-
ces leges meas; that is to fay, I shall put Laws to them in many
manners: And the Gospel faith thus, Alias oves babeo, quæ non
funt ex boc ovili: that is, I have other Sheep that are not of this.
Fold and there agreeth the Vision S Peter faw at Foppa, how
the Angel came from Heaven, and brought with him all man-
ner of Beaſts, as Serpents, and divers Fowls, ſaying to Saint
Peter, Take and eat: And S. Peter anſwered, I never eat of any
unclean Beaſt And the Angel faid unto him, Non dicas immun-
da que Deus mundavit: That is to fay, Call thou not thoſe Things
unclean that God hath cleanfed. This was done in Token that
Men thould not have any Man in Diſdain for their divers Laws
for we know not whom God loveth, or whom he hateth.
:
CHA P. LXXXIX. Of two other Ifles, the one is called
Pitan, wherein be little Men that can eat no Meat: And in the
other Ife the Men are full of Feathers.
→
TH
Here is another Ifle that men call Pitan, the men of this
land till no Ground, for they eat nothing; and they are
fmall, but not fo fmall as Pigmies. Thefe Men live with the
Smell of wild Apples, and when they go far out of the Coun-
try they bear Apples with them; for as foon as they loſe the Sa-
vour of Apples, they die; they are not reaſonable, but as wild
as Beafts, and there is another Ifle where the People are feather-
ed, but their Face and the Palms of their Hands: thefe Men go
as well about the Sea as on the Land, and they eat flesh and fifh
all raw: In this Ifle is a River two Miles and a half broad, cal-
led Kenemar.
CHAP XC. Of a Rich Man in Prefter John's Land, na-
med Catolonapes, and of his Garden.
A
Lfo in an Iſle of Prefter John's Land, called Mifcorab, there
was a Man that was called Catelonapes, he was rich, and
had a fair Caftle on a Hill, and ftrong, and he made a Wall
about
1
118
The Voyages and Travels
about the Hill very ftrong, and fair, within he had a fair Gar-
den, wherein were many Trees bearing all manner of Fruits
that he might find, and had planted therein all manner of
Herbs of good fmell, and they bear Flowers, and there were
many fair Wells; and by them was made many Halls and Cham-
bers, well deckt with Gold and Azure, and he had made there
divers Stories of Beafts and Birds that fung and tuned by Engine
or Orbage, as if they had been alive; and he had in his Gar.
den alf things that might be to man's folace and comfort; he had
alfo in that Garden, Maidens of the Age of Fifteen Years, the
faireft that he might find, and men-children of the fame age,
and they were cloathed with Cloth of Gold, and he ſaid that
they were Angels, and he caufed to be made certain Hills, and
encloſed them about with precious Stones of Jafper and Chry
ftal, and with Gold and Pearl, and other manner of Stones;
and he made a Conduit under the Earth, fo that when he would
the wells ran fometime with milk, fometime with wine, and
fometime Honey; and this place he called Paradife, and when
any young Batchelor of the Country, Knight or Squire comes
to him for folace or fport, he leadeth them into his Paradife,
and fheweth them thefe things, as the Songs of Birds, his Dam-
fels and Wells: And he did ftrike divers Inftruments of Mufick
in a high Tower that might be heard, and faid, they were
Angels of God, and that Place was Paradife, that God had
granted to thofe that believed, when he faith thus, Dabo vobis
terram fluentem ladle & melle: That is, I will give you a Land
flowing with Milk and Honey: And then this man did make thefe
men drink a-fort of drink which made them drunk and he
faid to them, if they would die for his fake, when they were
dead, they fhould come to his Paradife, and they fhould be of
the age of thofe maidens, and fhould always dwell with them,
and he would put them in a much fairer Paradife, where they
should fee God in his Joy, and his Majefty. And when they
granted to do that he would, then he bid them go and flay fuch
a Lord, or a Man of the Country that he was wroth with, and
that they ſhould have no Fear of any Man; and if they were
flain themfelves for his fake, he would put them into his Para-
dife, when they were dead. And fo went thofe Batchelors to
flay great Lords of the Country, and were flain themſelves, in
hopes to have that Paradife; and thus was he avenged of his
Enemies through his Deceit: And when the rich Men of the
› Country
'
;
W
1
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
119
•
Country perceived his Malice, and the Will of this Catolo-
nepes, they gathered themselves together and affailed the
Caffle, flew him, deffroyed his Goods, his fine places and
Riches that were in his Paradife; and the place of the Walls
is there yet, and ſome other things, but the Riches are gone:
and it is not long ago fince it was deftroyed.
CHAP. XCÍ, "Of a perillous Valley befide the River Piſon,
ND a little from this place, on the left fide, beſide the
River of Pifon is a great marvel: there is a Valley be-
tween two Hills, and that is four miles long, and fome call
it the Valley inchanted, fome the Valley of Devils, fome
the Valley perillous and in that Valley are many Tempefts
and a great Noife very hideous both day and night, and a
found as it were anoife of Tabers and Trumpets, as it were
a great Feaft. This Valley is full of Devils, and hath been
always, and Men fay there is an Entry to Hell.
f
In this Valley is much Gold and Silver, whereof many
Chriftian men and others, go thither for defire of that Gold
and Silver, but few of them come out again, for they are
anon Arangled with Devils: and in the midst of that Val-
ley on a Rock is a Vifage, and the head of a Fiend bodily,
very hideous and dreadful to fee, and there is nothing feen
but the head and fhoulders, but there is no Chriftian man or
other in the World fo hardy, but he would be afraid to fee
it; for he beholdeth cach man fo fharply and his Eyes are fo
ftaring, and ſparkling as Fire, and he changeth.fo often his
Countenance that none dare come near for all the World ;
and out of his Nofe cometh great plenty of Fire of divers
Colours; and fometimes is the fire fo ftinking, none can bear
it; but always a good Chriftian man, and one that is ftedfaft
in the Faith, may go thereto without harm, if they call to
God only, for Forgivenefs of their fins, then fhall the Devils
have no power over them. And ye fhall underſtand when
my Fellows and I were in that Valley, we had a great doubt
if we ſhould venture our Bodies to go through it, and fome
of my Fellows agreed thereunto, and fome would not; and
there were in our Company two Fryars Minors of Lombar--
dy, who faid, if any of us would go in, they would alfo ;
as they had faid, fo upon Truft of them, we faid that we
would go in, and we did make our Prayers to God for our
Safeguard, and fo we went in 14 Men, and when we came
out
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The Voyages and Travels
..
out we were but 1o; and we knew not whether thofe four
were loft there, or whether they turned again, but we 'faw
them no more: others of our Company that would not go in
with us, went about another way to be before us, and fo they
were, but we went thro' the Valley, and faw there many
ftrange Things, as Gold, Silver, Precious Stones and Jewels,
great Plenty, as we thought; whether they were fo or no, I
know not, for Devils are fo fubtle they make things feem that
they be not, to deceive men; therefore I would touch no-
thing for fear of Enemies I faw there in many Shapes, fome
of dead Bodies, that I faw lie in the Valley, but I dare not
fay, they were all bodies, but bodily Shapes through the
making of Devils, and we were often thrown down by Wind
Thunder, and Tempeft, but God helpt us always and ſo we
paffed thro' that Valley without Péril or Harm, Thanks be
to God.
1
CHA P. XCII. Of an Iſland where dwell People as big as
Gyans, of 28 or 30 Foot of Length, and of other Things.
AND
ND beyond that Valley is a great Ifle, where be Peo-
ple as big as Gyants, of 28 Foot long, and have no
Cloathing but Beafts Skins that hang on them, they eat no
Bread but raw Fleth, and they drink Milk, and have no
Houfes, and they gladlier eat Man's Fleſh than other: And
Men told us that beyond that life is another, wherein are-
greater Gyants of 45 or so Foot long, fome so Cubits, but
I faw them not: And among thofe Gyants are great Sheep,
as it were young Oxen, and they bear much Wool: thefe
Sheep have I feen many Times..
1
Another Ifle there is Northward, where are many evil and
foul Women, but have precious Stones in their Eyes, and
have fuch Force that if they behold any Man with Wrath,
they flay him with beholding as the Bafilisk doth. Another
fle is there, of fairer People and good. where the Cuſtom
is fuch, the firft night they are wedded, they take a certain
man, that is ordained therefore, and let him lie by their
Wives to have their Maidenheads, and they give him a great
Reward for his Pains, and thofe men are called Gadly brien:
For men of that Country hold it a great Thing to make a
Woman no maiden: And if it be fo that the Husband find
her a maiden the next night after (for peradventure he that
lay by her was drunk, or fome other Caufe) the Husband
thall
!
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
121
fhall complain of him to the Lawyers that he has not done his
devoir, and he shall be grievously punished and chaftifed; but
after the first night they keep their Wives well, that they speak
not with thoſe men. And I asked what was the Cauſe why
they had that Cuftom; and they faid, heretofore Men lay with
their Wives firft, and no other, and their Wives had Serpents
in their Bodies, and ſtung their Husbands in the Yard or their
Bodies, and fo were many Men flain, and therefore they had
that Cuftom to let other Men have their Maidenheads, for fear
of death and thus they fuffer them to affay the Paffage before
they adventure.
CHA P. XCIII. Of Women which make great Sorrow when
their Children are Born, great Joy when they are dead.
A
Nother Ifle there is, where Women make great Sorrow
when their Children are born, and when they are dead
they make great Joy, and caft them into a great fire and burn
them: And they that love well their Husbands, when they are
dead, they caft them into the Fire and burn them; for they
fay fire fhall make them clean of all filth and vices; and they
fhall be clean in another World; and the caufe why they weep
when their Children are born, and that they joy at their death
is, they fay a Child when it is Born cometh into this World to
have Travel, Sorrow and Heaviness, and when they are dead,
they go to Paradife, where Rivers are of Milk and Honey: and
there is Life and Joy and plenty of Goods without Travel or
Sorrow. In this Ifle they elect their Kings by Voices; and
chufe him nor for his Riches and Nobleneſs, but him that is of
good condition, and moft righteous and true, that judges every
man truly, little and much, after their Trefpals; and the King
may judge no man to Death, without Counſel of his Barons,
and that they all aflent. And if it be fo that their King do a
great Trefpafs; as flay a Man, or fuch like, he thall die alfo,
but he fhall not be lain, but they charge and command that no
Man be fo hardy as to keep him Company, nor to speak to
him, nor give him meat nor drink, and thus he dieth: for
they fpare no Man that hath done a Trefpafs, for Love, Lord-
fhip, Riches or Noblenefs, but they do him right as he hath de
ferved.
CHAP.
A
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CHA P. XCIV. Of an Island where Men wed their own
Daughters and Kinfwomen.
THe
Here is another Ifle where is that great plenty of People,
and they never eat Flesh of Hares, nor of Hens, nor of
Geefe, yet is there many of them, but they eat of all other
Balts, and drink Mik. In this Country they wed their own
Daughters, and other of their Kin, as they like, and if there
be ro or 11 Men in one Houfe each one of their Wives (hall
be common to other, and at night one has one of their Wives,
another Night another and if the has any Child fhe may give
it to whom the will, fo that no Man knoweth it to be his In
this Land, and many o her places of Inde, are many Croco-
diles, that is a manner of long Serpent; and at Night they do
dwell on Water, and on Days on Land and Rocks, and they
eat not in Winter: Thefe Serpents flay men, and do eat them
weeping, and have no Tongue.
"
་
In this Country and many other, Men caft feed of Cotton,
and fow it each Year, and it grows as it were fmall Trees, and
they bear Cotton. In Araby is a kind of Beafts Men call Ger
fants, that is a fair Beaft, and is higher than a great Courfer or
Sreed, but his Neck is near 20 Cubits long and his Tail like a
Hart, and he may look over an high Houfe. And there are
many Camelions, that is a little Beaft, and he never eateth or
drinketh, and he changeth his Colour often, for fometimes he
is of one Colour and fometimes of another, and he can change
him into all colours that he will, except black and red. There
are many wild Swine of many Colours, and as great as Oxen, ·
and fpotted as it were fmall Fawns; and there are Lions all
white, and other Beafts as great as Steeds, that Men call Lam-
borans. And fome call them Tonts, and their Head is black,..
and three long Horns in his Front, as cutting as tharp Swords,
and he chafeth and will flay Elephants. And there are many
other manner of Beafts, concerning whom it were too long to
write all.
T
CHAP. XCV. Of an Ife where dwell good People and true.
Here is another and good, great and plenteous, where
are good men and true, ani of godly Life after their
Faith, and tho" they be not Chriftians, nevertheless of kind
they are full of good Verrues; and they fly Vices, and all Ma-
lice, for they are not envious, proud, covetous, letcherous nor
gluttonous, and they do unto another man that they would he
"
did
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight. 123
dd to them, and they fulfil their Commandments, and they
take no force of Riches, nor of having; and they ſwear not,
but they ſay Yea and Nay, for they fay he that ſweareth will
deceive his Neighbour and ſome call this Ifle Bragamen, and
fome the Land of Faith; and thro' it runs a great River men
call Thebe; and generally all men in thoſe Iſles and other there-
by, are truer and wifer than in other Countries: In this Ifle
are no Thieves, Murderers nor Beggars. And forafmuch as
they are ſo true, and fo good, there is no Tempeft nor Thun-
der, War, Hunger nor Tribulation: and thus it feemeth well
God loves them well, and is well pleaſed with their deeds; and
they believe in God that made all Things, and him they wor-
fhip: they live fo temperately in meat and drink, that they live
very long, and many of them die without fickness, and their
Life faileth them with Age.
CHA P. XCVI. How King Alexander fent his Men to
win that Land.
Ome time. Alexander ſent men to win that Land.
Some
And they
fent him Letters that faid thus: What behoveth it a man to
have all the World that is not content therewithal? Thou shalt
find nothing at all in us. Why fhouldeſt thou make War upon
us? For we have no Riches nor Treaſure, and all the Cattle of
our Country are common; our meals that we do eat are our
Riches, and inftead of Gold and Silver, we make our Treature
Peace, Concord and Love, and we have nought but a Cloth on
our Bodies; our Wives are not arrayed richly to pleaſe, for
we hold it a great Folly for a man to trim up his Body with
coftly Apparel, to make it feem fairer than God made it. We
have been evermore in Peace till now that thou wilt difinherit
us.
We have a King among us, not for need of the Law,
nor to judge any man, for there are no Tiefpaffers among us;
but all only to learn us to be obedient to him ; and ſo mayeft
thou take from us but our good Peace. And when King Alex-
ander faw this Letter, he thought he thould do too much harm
if he troubled them, therefore he fent to them, to keep well
their good manners, and have no dread of him.
CHA P. XCVII. How the Emperor Pefter J hn, when he
goes to Battle, has three Croffes of fine Gald borne before him.
HE Emperor Prefter John when he goeth to Battle, bath
no Banner borne before him, but has born before him
three Croffes of fine Gold, large and great, and richly fet with
TH
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precious Stones; and for to keep each Crofs he ordains a thou-
fand men of Arms in the manner as men keep a Standerd in
other Countries: and he hath men without number, when he
goeth to any Battle against any other Prince. And when he
has no Battle, but rides to take the Air, then he has borne be-
fore him but a Crofs of a Free not painted and withour Gold
or precious Stones, and all plain in token that our Lord Jefus
Chrift fuffered Death on a Crols of Tree. And alfo he hath
borne betore him.a Veffel full of Jewe's and Gold, and precious
Stones in token of his prefent Nobleness and of his Mght:
he has born before him alfo a Platter of Gold full of Earth, in
Token that all Lordship and Nobleness fhall turn to. Nought,
and all Fleih fhall turn to Earth.
CHA P. XCVIII Of the most Refident place of Prefter John,
which is in a City called Sufe.
مل
ND he dwells commonly at the City of Sufe, and there
is his principal Palace, which is fo rich that it is. ftrange
to tell; for about the principal Tower of the Palace are two
Pomels of Gold all round, and each one of thefe has two Car-
buncles, great and large, that thine very clear in the Night,
and the principat Gates of this Palace are of precious Stones,
called Sardine, and the Borders of the Bars Ivory, the Win-
dows of the hall and Chambers are of Cryftal, the Tables they
eat on are fome of Emeralds, fome of Mayk, fome of Gold
and precious Stories, and the Pillars that bear the table, of fuch
Stones alfo; and the Stairs on wirich the Emperor goes up to
his Table where he fits at meat, one is of Maflick, another of
Diafper, another of Sardine, another of Cornelian, another of
Senton, and that he fets his Foot upon is of Cryfolites, and all
theſe Stairs are bordered with fine Gold and well fet with great
Pearls, and other precious Stones; and the fides of the Table
are Emeralds, bordered with Gold and with precious Stones:
the Pillars in his Chamber are of fine Gold, with many Car--
buncles and other fuch Stones that give great Light in the
Night; and although the Carbuncles give great Light, never-
theleſs there burns twelve great Veffels of Criftal full of Balm,
to give good ſmell, and to drive away evil Air The Frame of
his Bed is all Saphire, well bound with Gold to make him fleep
well, and for to deftroy Lerchery, for he will not lye by his
Wife but thrice a Year, after the Seafons, and that only for the
getting of Children. He has a fair Palace in the City of Nife
where
•
of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
125
where he lives when he will; bur the Air is there not ſo tempe-
rate as it is in the City of Tufe. And he hath every Day in
his Court more than thirty thousand men, befice comers and
goes, but thirty thoufand there, or in the Court of the great
Caane fpend not ſo much as twelve thouſand in our Country.
He hath evermore eight Kings in his Court, to ferve him, and
each one of them ferveth a Month, and with thefe Kings ferve
always 72 Dukes, and 300 Ea ls; and every Day in his Court
12 Archbishops, and 20 Bithops. The Patriarch of S. Thomas
is as it were a Pope; and the Arch. Bishops, Bifhops and Ab-
bors, all are Kings in that Country; and fome one of the
Lords is Mafter of the Hall, fome of the Chamber, fome
Sceward-Marshals, and other Officers; and thereby he is richly
ferved, and his Land extendeth in breadth four months Jour
ney, and is of length without meaſure.
CHA P. XCIX of the Wilderneſs wherein grows Trees of
the Sun and of the Moon.
;
ND beyond this Place is a great wilderness, as men that
have been there fay. In the Wildernefs, as men fay,
are Trees of the Sun and the Moon, that fpake to Alexander,
and told him of his Death: and men fay, that thoſe who do
keep the Trees, and eat of the Fruits of them, live four or
five hundred Years, through the vertue of the Fruit: and we
would gladly have gone thither but I think that a 100,000
men of Arms could not pass that Wilderneſs for the many wild
Beafts, as Dragons, Serpents, that day men that pafs that way.
In this Land are many Elephants, both white and blue, with-
out number, and Unicorns, and Lions of many Colours Ma-
ny other Ifles are in the Land of Prefter John, that were too
long to tell, and much Riches, and of precious Stones Plenty.
I have heard fay why this Emperor is called Prefter John, and
for thoſe who know it not I will declare, Some time there
was an Emperor, a noble and valiant Prince, and he had many,
Chriftian Knights with him, and he thought he would fee the
Service in the Chriftian Churches, and then were Churches of
Christendom in Turkey, Sury and Tartary, Hierufalem, Paleſtine,
Araby and Alapy, and in all the Land of Egypt and this Em-
peror came with a Chriftian Knight into a Church in Egypt,
and it was on a Saturday after Whit-Sunday, when the Bithop
gave Order, and he beheld the Service, and asked the Knight
who thoſe People were that ftood before the Bilhop, and the
Knight
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f
Knight faid they fhould be Priefts: And he faid he would no
more be called King nor Emperor but Prieft, and would have
the Name of him that came firft out of the Priefts, and was
called Jobs, and fo have all the Emperors fince been called
Prefter John. In this Land are many Chriftian men, of good
Faith and good Law, and they have Prieſts to fing Service, and
they receive the Sacrament as Men of Greece do, and they fay
not otherwiſe but as the Apoſtle faid, as St. Peter and St Tho-
mas, and other Apoftles, when they fung and faid Pater Nofter
and the Words with which the Communion is Sacred; we have
many Additions of Popes that have been ordained, of which
Men of thefe Countries know not.
CHAP. C. Of the great land and Kingdom called
TOW
Taprobane.
"Oward the Eaft-fide of Prefter John's Land is an Ile that
Men call Taprobane, and it is right good and fruitful; and
there is a great King and a rich, and he is obedient to Prefter
John, and the King is always made by Election. In this Ifle
are two Winters and two Summers, they reap Corn twice in
the Year, and Gardens flourish at all times in the Year. There
dwell good People and reafonable; and many Chriftian men
among them are full rich; and the Water between the fide of
Prefter John and this Ifle is not very deep, for men may ſee the
Ground in many places.
CHA P. CI. Of two other Ifles, one is called Oriel, and the
other Argete, wherein are many Gold Mines.
The
Here are more Eallward two other Ifles, the one is called
Orith, and the other Argete: of which, all the Land is full
of Mines of Gold and Silver. In thofe des Men can fee no
Stars clear fhining, but one called Canapos; and the Men fee
not the moon but in the last quarter. In that Ifle is a great
Hill of Gold that Pifmires keep, and they part the fine Gold
from other not fine, and the Pilmires are as big as Hounds; fo
that no one dare come there for dread of Pilmires that would
affail them: fo that men cannot dig for the gold nor get there-
of, but by Subcilty and therefore when it is very hot, the Pif
mi es hide themselves in the Earth from morn to noon of the
Day; and then Men of the Country take Camels and Dro-
medaries, and other Beaffs, and go thither, and lade them with
Gold, and go faft away before the Pifmires come out of the
Earth. And other Times when it is not to hot that the Pil-
*
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of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
127
}
mires hide them not, they take Mares that have Foals, and lay
upon thoſe Mares two long Veffels as it were two long Barrels
with the mouth upwards, and drive them thither; and keep
their Foals at home; and when the Pifmires fee thefe Veffels
they leap thereto, for by kind they leave no Hole nor Pit open,
and anon they fill thofe Veffels with Gold; and when the men
think the Veſſels be full, they take the Foals and bring them as
near as they dare, and when they whinny, and the Mares hear
them, and anon they come to their Foals, and ſo they take the.
Gold: for thofe Pilmires will fuffer Beaſts to come among them,
but no Men.
CHAP. CI. Of the dark Country, and Hills, and Rocks of
Stone, nigh to Paradife.
B
Eyand the Iſles of the Land of Prefter Jobs. and his Lord-
fhip or Wilderness, to go right Eaft, Men shall find no-
thing but Hills, great Rocks, and other dark Land where none
may fee Day or night, as men of that Country fay: And this
Wilderneſs and dark Land reaches to Paradife Teeftre, where.
Adam and Eve wa fet, but they were but a little while there,
and that is towards the Eaft, at the beginning of the earth; but
that is not our Eaft that we calf, where the Sun rifes, for when
their Sun rifts there, then it is midnight in our Country, by
reafon of the roundnefs of the Earth: for our Lord made the.
Earth all round in the midst of the Firmament Of Paradife
can I not fpeak properly, for I have not been there but that I
have heard, I shall tell you. Men fay Paradife Terestre is the
higheft Land of all the World, and is ſo high that it coucheth
near to the Circle of the Moon, for 'tis fo high that Noah's Flood:
might not come thereto, which covered all the Earth about.
CHA P. CLI. A little of Paradife Terreftre.
T
His Paradife Terreftre, is inclofed all about with a Walk
and it is covered with Mofs, as it feemeth, thaɛ Ment
may fee no ftone nor nothing ente whereof it is; and in the
higheſt place of Paradife in the midit of it is a Weil, that oalts
out the four floods that run thro' divers Lands. The trit Hooda
is called Pifon or Ganges, and that runneth though 'nde; in that
River are many precious Stones, and much Lignum alues; and
Gravel of G Id. Another is called Niles, Or Giron, and that:
runneth through Esbiopia and Egypt The third is called Tygree:
and that runs through siffyria and zirmony the great. And the
fourth is called Euphrates, that runneth through among the lets,
anda
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:
and Perfia: And men fay, that the fweet and fresh Waters of
the World take their Spring from them. The first River is cal-
led Pifon, that is to fay. gathering of many Rivers together and
falling into one; and fome call it Ganges. of a King that was
in Inde, called Gangeras, for it runs through his Land: and this
River is in fome places dean, in fome troubled, in fome hot,
in fome cold. The fecond River is called Nolus or Giron, for
it is ever troubled: for Giron fignifies Trouble. The third Ri-
ver is called Tigree, that is to fay, faft running, for it runneth
fafter than any of the other, fo named of a Beaft called Tygris,
for he runneth faft. The fourth River is called Euphrates, that
is to fay, well-bearing, for there groweth many good Things
upon that River. And ye fhall underſtand that no Man living
may go upon that Paradife, for by Land he may not go for
wild Beafts that are in the Wilderness, and for Hills and Rocks
which no man may pafs: Neither by thofe Rivers may any one
pafs, for they come with fo great a Courſe, and fo great Waves
that no Ship may fail against them. Many great Lords have
affayed many Times to go by thefe Rivers into Paradiſe, but
they might not fpeed in their way; for fome died for wearinefs
in rowing, fome were blind, and fome deaf with the noile of
the Waters; fo no man may pafs there but through the fpecial
Grace of God. I can tell you no more of that place, which I
may fpeak of, upon my own fight.
CHA P. CIV. How Prefter John's Land lieth Foot
TH
against Foot to England.
Hefe Ifles of the Land of Prefter John, they are under the
Earth to us, and lie foot againit foot to England; and
other Iſles there are whofo would purfue them, for to compaſs
the Earth, having the Grace of God to help the way, he might
come right to the fame Countries he were come of, and come
from, and go about the Earth; but for that is asketh fo long
Time, and alfo there are fo many perils to pafs, that few men
try to go fo; and yet it might be done, for Men come from
thofe Mes to others coalling on the Lordship of Prefter John,
called Caſſay, and that Country is near nine days Journey long,
and more than fifty of breadth, and this Cuffay is the beit Land
that is in thole Countries, fave Cathay; attd it Merchants came
thither, as commonly as they do to Cathay, it would be better
than in Cathay: for it is fo thick of Cities and Towns, that
when a Man goeth out of a City he feeth another at each
+
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of Sir JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
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}
fide: there is good plenty of Spices and other Goods; the King
of this Ifle is rich and mighty, and holdeth his Land of the
great Caane, for that is one of the twelve Princes that the great
Caane hath under him, befides his own Land.
CHA P. CV. Of the Kingdom of Riboth.
Rom this Ifle men go to another Kingdom called Riboth, and
that is alſo under the great Caane. This is a good Coun-
try, and plenteous of Corn, Wine, and other Things: Men
of this Land have no Houfes, but do dwell in Tents made of
Trees; and the principal City of that Country is all black,
made of black Stones and white: and all the Streets are paved
with fuch Stones, and in the City is no Man fo hardy to ſpill
blood of Man or Beaft, for Worship of an Image that is wor-
hipped there. In that City dwelleth the Pope of their Law,
and they call him Lopaffe: he giveth all Dignities and Benefices
that fall to the image: And men of Religion, and thofe that
have Church-Livings in that Country are obedient to him, as
men here to the King. They have a Cuftom in this Country,
that when a man's Father is dead, whom they will do Worship
they ſend after all his Friends, Religious Priefts, and many
others, and they bear the Body to an Hill with great Joy and
Mirth; and when it is there, the greateſt Prelate fmites off his
head, and lays it upon a great Plate of Gold or Silver, and
giveth it to his Son, who taketh it, and gives it to other of his
Friends, finging and faying many Orifons: And then the
Prieft and Religious Men cut the Flesh off the Body in pieces,
and ſay Oriſons, and the Birds of the Country come thither,
for they know well the Cuftom, and fly about them, as the
Eagles and other Birds that eat Flefh, and the Priefts cat the
pieces unto them, and they carry it away a little from thence,
and then eat it ; and as the Priefts were wont to fing for Souls,
„Subvenite Sančti Dei, fo thoſe Prieſts there fing, with high voice
in their Language, in this manner, See and behold how good
and gracious a Man this was, that the Angels of God come to
fetch him and carry him into Paradiſe. And then thinketh the
Son of his Father that he is greatly worshipped when Birds have
eaten him; and when there are moft plenty of Birds there is
moft Worſhip. And then cometh the Son home with all his
Friends, and maketh them a great Feaft, then maketh he clean
his Father's Scalp, and giveth them drink therein, and the Fleſh
of his Father's Head he cutteth off, and giveth to his moft fpecial
Friends
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Friends, each a little for Dainty: And in Remembrance of
this holy Man that the Birds have eaten, the Son keepeth the
Scalp for a Cup, in which he drinketh all his Life, in Remem--
brance of his Father.
CHAP CVI. Of a Rich man that is neither King, Prince,
Duke nor Earl.
1
5
AND
ND from this Place Men go ten days Journey through -
the Land of the great Caane, which is a very good. Iffe:
and a great Kingdom, and the King is very mighty. And in.
this lle is a rich man, who is neither King, Prince, Duke nor
Earl, but has yearly four thousand Horfes laden with Rice and
Corn, and he liveth nobly and richly after the manner of the
Country, for he has fifty Damfels who ferve him every day at
his Table and Bed, and do what he will. And when he fits at
the Table they bring him Meat, and at each Time five Meffes
together; and they fing in the bringing in, a Song, and cut
his meat and put it into his Mouth: And he hath very long
Nails on his Hands, for that is great Nobility in that Country,
and therefore they let their Nails grow as long as they may:
and fome let them grow fo long as to come about their Hands,
which is great Honour and the Gentry of a Woman is to have
Small Feet, and therefore fo foon as they are born, they bind
their Feet fo ftrait, that they cannot grow half as they should.
And he hath a very fair Palace and rich, where he dwelleth,
of which the Wall is two Miles about, and there are many
fair Gardens, and all the Pavements of the Hall and Chambers
are of Gold and Silver: and in the midft of one of his Gar-
dens, is a little Hill whereon is a place made with Towers and
Pinacles all of Gold, and there he will fit often to take the Air
and difport, for it is made for nothing elſe. From this Land -
Men may go to the Land of Caane.
.
4.
CH A P. CVII. How all the Lands, Ifles, and Kingdoms be--
fore rebearfed, have fome Articles of our Faith.
A
ND fhall underſtand that all theſe Men and People that
ye
have reaſon, that I have ſpoken of, have fome Articles of
our Faith, and though they be of divers Laws and Beliefs, they
have fome good Points of our Faith, and they believe in God,
as the Prophefie faith, Et metuent eum omnes fines terræ ; that is
to fay, And all the Ends of the Earth fhall fear him. And in
another place, Omnes gentes fervient eum, that is, All Nations
hall ferve him. But they cannot fpeak perfectly, but as their
`
Natural
of Str JOHN MANDEVILE, Knight.
131
Natural Wit teacheth them, neither of the Son, nor the Holy
Ghöft; but they can fpeak well of the Bible, and efpecially of
Genefis and the Books of Mofes. And they fay, thofe Creatures
which they worship, are no Gods, but they worship them for
the great Vertue that is in them, which may not be without
the fpecial Grace of God: And of Simulacres and Idols they
ſay that all men have Simulacres, whereby they mean the Pa-
pifts, who have Images of our Lady and others, but they think
they worship the Images of Stone and Wood, and not the
Saints whom they do reprefent; for as the Letter teaches the
Clerks how they fhall believe, fo Images and Pictures teach
Lay-Men: They fay alfo that the Angel of God fpeaketh to
them in their Idols, and doth Miracles, and they fay thus: but
it is the evil Angel that doth Miracles to maintain them in their
Idolatry.
CHÁ P. CVIII. How Sir John Mandevile_leaveth
Marvels unwritten, and the Caufes wherefore.
THE
many
Here are many other Countries where I have not yet been
nor feen, and therefore I cannot speak properly of them.
Alfo in Countries where I have been, are many Marvels that
Ifpeak not of, for it were too long a Tale, and therefore hold
you content at this Time with what I have faid, for I will fay
no more of Marvels that are there, fo that other Men that go
thither, may find enough to ſay, that I have not told.
CHA P. CIX. What Time Sir John Mandevile departed
out of England.
ND I John Mandevile Knight, was borò in England, in
the Town of St. Albans, went out of my Country, and
paffed the Sea, in the Year of our Lord 1322 on St. Michael's
Day; and have paffed through many Lands, Ifles and Coun-
tries, and now come to reft. I have compiled this Book, and
writ it in the Year of our Lord, 1364. thirty two years after
my departing from my Country; the rather for the Pleaſure
of all fuch as delight to read the ſtrange and wonderful Marvels
of other foreign Countries, as alſo for a Direction to all fuch as
fhall defire to fee either all or fome of thefe Countries herein
ſpecified: and becauſe fome things herein ſpoken of, may feem
ftrange and ſcarcely credible, therefore I have thought good to
make known to all that will fee more Proof hereof, in the
Book called Mappa Mundi, there they shall find the most part
R 2
of
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The Voyages and Travels, &c.
of the fame ratified and confirmed And I pray all that read
this Book, and look for no farther Proof, to judge favourably
thereof, fince they ſhall in conceit fee as much at Home with-
out much Pains, as I did after many weary and dangerous Steps
paffed: And I pray to God of whom all Grace cometh, that
he will fulfill with his Grace the Readers, and Hearers thereof,
and fave them Body and Soul; and bring them to his Joy that
ever fhall laft. Amen.
T
The TABLE.
HE Way towards Hierufalem on Horse, Foot,
or by the Sea.
Of the Land of Greece
To come again to Conftantinop, to go to the H. Land. 3
'Chap. Page
I
5.
2
ΙΟ
13
Of a terrible Dragon
4
15
Of a Young Man and bis Lemman
5
17
f the Manner of Hunting in Cyprus
6.
18
Of the Haven called-Jaffe
7
19
Of the Haven Tyre
8
ib.
Of the Hill Crame
9
20
How Samplon flew the King and his Enemies
10
21
II
ib.
The way by Babylon where the Soldan dwelleth
Of the Soldan and of his Kingdom, that he bath conquered,
which he boldeth ftrongly by Force
For to return from Sinai to Jerufalem
When Men are paſſed this Wilderness, then to come again to
Jerufalem
Here follows of Adam and Eve, and other things.
Of the dry Tree
12
22
13
24
14
25
15
26
16
27
From Ebron to Bethlehem
17
28
Of a Maiden that should be put to Death wrongfully 18
រ
ib.
of the City Jerufalem
19
30
Yet of this Holy City Jerufalem
20 ib.
Of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
Of the Temple of God
Tet of the Temple of God
of Herod the King
21
22
23.
24
33
35
· 36
39.
Of
The T A B-L E.
TABLE.
Of St. Salvator's Church
Chap. Page
25 ib.
ོ
Of the Field Aceldama which was bought with the Thirty
Pieces.
26
42
of Mount Joy
27
ib.
Of the Castle of Bethania
28
43
Of Jericho and other Things
29
44
Of the Holy Places between Bethany and the River Jordan,
and other Things
30
ib.'
of Abraham and his Generation
31
46
Of the River Jordan
32
ib.
Of many other Miracles
33
47
Of the Samaritans
34
49
Of Galilec
35
50
The way from Nazareth to the Mount or Hill of Tabor
Of the Sea of Galilee
36
SI
37
JI
of the Table whereon Chrift eat after his Reſurrection 38
Of Strange Manners and divers
For to return again on this fide Galilee
How a man shall go the shortest way to Hierufale n
Of other ways for to go by Land to Hierufalem
Of
an ther way by Land toward the Land of Promiſe
Of the Faith of the Sarafins, and of the Book of their Law,
named Alcoran
Yet further concerning Mahomet
Of the Birth of Mahomet
Of divers Countries, and of marvellows Beufts
Of the Haven of Gene, for to go by Sea into divers Coun-
tries
Of the Country of Job, and the Kingdom of Chaldee 49
Of the Kingdom of Amazony, where there dwells none but
Women
Of the Land Ethiope
Of Inde the More aad the Lefs: of Diamonds, and of their
great Vertues
Of divers Kingdoms and Iſles to the Land of Inde, and of
People there that are of a yellow and green colour, and of
many Strange Things
Of the Kingdom of Mabaron.
53
76
54
80
155 8 3/4
Of a great Country called Lamory, where the People go na-
ked, and of other Things,
22
39.
53
40
56
41
57
42
58
43
59
44
60
45
62
46
64.
47
66
48
67
71
50
ib.
Sr
73
52
ib
The TABLE.
Of the Country' and' Ifle called Java, the which is a mighty
Lana
Of the Kingdom of Pathen or Salmaffe, which is a goodly
Land
17
Of the Kingdom of Talonach, the King whereof bath many
Wives
Chap. Page
56
85
ib.
86
59 88
60
ib.
90
58
Of the Ifland called Rafo, where People be hanged if they be
fick, and past b pe of Recovery
Of the Inland of Melk, wherein dwell evil People
Of the Ifle named Macumeran, where the People have beads
like Hounds
61
Of a great Iſland called Dodyn, there are many Men of Evil
Condition
62
63
Of the Kingdom of Mancy, which is a large Kingdom
Of the Land of Pigmie, the People whereof are but Three
Spans
Of the City of Manke, where a great Navy is
of the Land named Cathay, and of the great Riches
thereof
Of a great City named Cadon, wherein is the great Palace
and Siege
888
92
95
long
64
97
65
98
66
ib.
67
ib.
68
100
102
10%
ib.
Why the Emperor of Cathay is called the great Caane
How the great Caane was bid under a Tree, and fo efcaped
bis Enemies because of a Bird.
69
Of the great Caan's Letters, and of the writing about bis
Seal
70
72
Of the Governance of the Country of the great Caane 71
of the
great Riches of the Emperor, and concerning his Ex-
pending
Of the Ordinance of the Lords of the Emperor, when he rides
from one Country to another to War
How the Empire of the great Caane is divided into Twelve
Provinces; and bow they do caft Incense in the Fire, where
the great Caane paffath through the Cities and Towns, in
Worship of the Emperor
73
105
ib.
74 106
How the Caane is the mightiest Lord of all the whole
World
Yet of other reamers of this Country
75 ib.
76 107
77
1Q8
When
How the Emperor is brought unto his Grace when that be
is dead
The TABLE.
العلم
When the Emperor is dead, bow they chuſe another
Chap. Page
78 ib.
What Countries and Kingdoms be next to the Land of Cathay,
and the Fronts thereof
79 109
Of other ways coming from Cathay toward the Greek Sea,
and of the Emperor of Perfia
80
Of the Land of Armony, which is a good Land, and of the
Land of Middy
81
Of the Kingdom of Georgy and Abcan, and of many Mar.
vels
82
Of the Land of Turkey, and divers others Countries, and of
the Land of Mefopotamia
8.3
Of divers Countries, Kingdoms and fles, and Marvels beyond
the Land of Cathay
84
Of the Land of Bactrie, and of many Griffons and other
Beafts
.85
Of the Way to go to Prefter John's Land, which is Emperor
of Inde
IIO
ib.
ib.
III
112.
113
86
114
Of two other Ifles, the one is called Pitan, wherein be little
men that can eat no meat: And in the other Ile the Men
are full of Feathers
Of another find, where alfo dwell good People therein, and
is called Synople
Of the Faith and Belief of Prefter John, but he hath not all
the full Belief as we have
87
115
88
116
89
117™™
Of a Rich man in Prefter John's Land, named Catolona-
pes, and of his Garden.
90* ib:
Of a Perillous Valley that is befide the River Pifon 91 119
Of an Iſland where dwell People as great as Gyants, of 28 or
30 Feet long, and of other things
92
Of Women who make great Sorrow when their Children are
born, great Foy when they are dead
120.
93 121.
Of an Inland where Men wed their own Paughters and Kinf-
Moren
94 ·
122
95
ib.
123
Of an Ifle where dwell good People and true
How King Alexander fent his Men to win that Land 96
How the Emperor Prefter John, when he goes to Battle, bas
three Croffes of fine Gold born before bim
Of the most Refident Place of Prefter John, the which is in
a City called Sufe
97
98
ib.1]
124
of
The TABLE.
Chap. Page
Of the Wilderness wherein groweth Trees of the Sun and of the
Moon
99
125
Of the great Inland and Kingdom caleed Taprobane, 100 126
Of two other Ifles, one is called Oriel, and the other Argete,
wherein are many Gold Mines
101
Of the dark Country and Hills, and Rocks of Stone, nigh to
Paradife
little
of Paradife Terreftre
102
103
How Prefter John's Land lyeth foot against Foot unto En-
gland
Of the Kingdom of Riboth
ib.
127
ib.
TO4
T28
129
130
1ος
Of a Rich Man that is neither King, nor Prince, Duke, nor
106
107 ib.
Earl
How all the Lands, Ifles, and Kingdoms before rehearsed, have
fome Articles of our Faith.
How Sir John Mandevile leavetb many Marvels unwritten,
and the Caufes wherefore
108
At what time Sir John Mandevile did depart out of En-
gland
109
131
ib.
FINIS.
M
hel
131
сегд
45
ཅམ་
A
ARTES
1837
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OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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