Part 12
AND when this great Caane shall ryde from one countrey to another they ordeyne foure hostes of people, of which the fyrst goeth before a daies journey; for that hoste lyeth at even where the Emperour shall lye on the morow, and there is plenty of vitailes. And another host commeth at the right side of hym and an other at the left side, and in eche hoste is muche folke. And then commeth the fourth hoste behind hym a bowe draught, and there is more men in that than in any of the other. And ye shall understande that the Emperour rideth on no horse, but when hee will go to any seacrete place with a privy meyny[1] where he will not be knowne, but he rideth in a chariot with four wheles & there uppon is a chamber made of a tree that men call _Lignum aloes_ that commeth out of Paradise terrestre, & that chamber is covered with plates of fyne gold, and precious stones and perles, and foure Olyfants & foure Oxen all white go therein, and five or sixe great lordes ride about him, so that none other men shal come nigh him, except the Emperour call any, and in the same manner with a chariot & such hostes rideth the Empres by another side, and the Emperours eldest sonne in that same aray, and they haue so much people that it is a great marvaile for to see.
[Footnote 1: Private retinue.]
CAP. LXXIIII.
_How the empyre of the great Caane is departed[1] into xii provinces & how that they do cast ensence in the fyre where the great Caane passeth through the cities & townes in worship of the Emperour._
THE land of the great Caane is departed in xii provinces, and euery province hath more than two thousande cities and townes. And when the Emperour rideth through the countrey, & he passeth through cities & townes, eche man maketh a fyre before his house, & caste therein ensence & other things that giue good smell to the Emperour. And if any man of relygion that are Christen men dwel nere as the Emperour cometh they mete him with procession, with crosse and holye water, and they singe, _Veni creator spiritus_ with a loude voyce, and when he seeth them comming he commaundeth the lordes that they ride nere to him to make way that the religious men may come to him, and when he seeth the crosse, he doeth[2] of his hat that is made of precious stones and greate perles, & that hat is so riche that it is marvaile to tel, and then he enclineth to the crosse, & the prelate of the religious men sayth orisons before him and giveth him the benison[3] with the crosse, and he enclineth to the benison ful devoutly, and then the prelate giveth him some fruite to the number of ix in a platter of gold,[4] peares or apples or other fruite, & then the Emperour taketh one thereof and the other he giveth to his lordes, for the maner is such there, that no strange man shall come before the Emperour but he giue him somewhat, after the olde law that sayth, _Non accedat in conspectu meo manis_[5] That is to say, No man come into my sight idle. And then y^e Emperour biddeth these religious men that they shall goe forth, so that the men of his hoste defyle them not, and those relygious men that dwell where the Empresse or the Emperours sonne cometh, they do in the same maner.
[Footnote 1: Partitioned.]
[Footnote 2: Taketh off.]
[Footnote 3: Blessing.]
[Footnote 4: Others say silver.]
[Footnote 5: Misprint for _vacuus_, empty-handed.]
CAP. LXXV.
_How the great Caan is the mightiest lord of all the worlde._
THIS great Caane is the myghtiest lorde of the worlde, for prester[1] John is not so great a lorde as he, nor the Sowdan of Babilon, ne y^e Emperour of Percy. In this lande a man hath a hundred wives & some xi,[2] some more some lesse, & they take of their kin to wives, all saue their sisters, their mothers & daughters and they take also wel theyr stepmother if their father be dead, and men & women haue all one maner of clothing, so that they may not bee knowne, but y^t women that are wedded beare a token on theyr heads, & they dwell not with their housbandes, but he may lye by which he will. They have plenty of all maner of beastes save swine, and forsoth they wyll (_have_) none, and they beleve well in God that made all thing, & yet have they ydoles of golde and sylver, and to those Idols they offer theyr fyrst mylke of beastes.
[Footnote 1: In the 12th and 13th centuries there was a firm belief that ruling over a vast population in the far East was a most wealthy and powerful monarch of that name, who claimed to be descended from one of the three kings who adored the infant Christ.]
[Footnote 2: Others say 60.]
CAP. LXXVI.
_Of other maners of this countrey._
THIS Emperour the great Caane hath three wives, and the principall wife was Prester Johns daughter. And the people of this countrey begin to doe all theyr thinges in the newe Moone, and they worshippe muche the Sonne and the Moone, those men ryde commonly without spoores, & they holde it a great sinne to breake one bone[1] with another, and to spyll mylke on the grounde, or any other lycour y^t men may drinke.[2] And when they haue eaten they wipe their handes uppon theyr skyrts, for they haue no table clothes except it be right great lordes, and when they haue all eaten they put their dishes or platters not washed in the pot or cauldron with flesh that is left when they haue eaten, until they will eate another time, & rich men drink milke of mares, of asses, or other beastes, and other beverage that is made of milke and water togither, for they haue neither beere nor wine. And when they go to warre, they warre full wysely, and eche man of them bereth two or three bowes and many arowes and a great hatchet, gentilmen haue short swords,[3] and he that flyeth in batayle they sleay him, & they are ever in purpose to bring all the land in subjection to them, for they say prophecies say that they shall be overcome by shot of archers, and that they shall turne them to their law, but they wot not what men they shall be, and it is great peril to pursue the Tartaries when they flee, for they will shoot behinde and slea men as well as before, and they have small eyen[4] as little birdes, and they are commonly false for they holde not their promise. And when a man shal die among them, they stick a speare in the earth beside him, and when he draweth to the death, they go out of the house till he dead, and then they put him in the earth in the fielde.
[Footnote 1: A bone.]
[Footnote 2: A passage is here omitted.]
[Footnote 3: Other editions say spears.]
[Footnote 4: Eyes.]
CAP. LXXVII.
_How the Emperour is brought unto his grave when he is dead._
AND when the Emperour is dead, they set him into a carte[1] in the middes of his tente, and they set before him a table covered with a cloth, & there upon they set flesh and other meat & a cup full of milke of a mare, and they set a mare with a colte by him, & a horse sadled & bridled, and they lay upon the horse golde & silver, and all about him they make a greate grave, and with all the things they put him therein, as the tente, hors, golde & silver, and all that is aboute him & they say, when he cometh in to another worlde he shall not be without an house, nor hors, ne silver nor gold, and the mare shall give him milke & bringe forth more horses till he be well stored in the other worlde, & one of his chamberlaines or servants is put with him in the earth for to doe him service in the other worlde, for they belieue that when hee is dead he shall go to another world, and be a greater lord there than here; & when that he is laid in the earth no man shal be so hardy[2] for to speake of him before his frendes.
[Footnote 1: Other editions say a chair.]
[Footnote 2: _I.e._, his name is never mentioned.]
CAP. LXXVIII.
_When the Emperour is dead how they chose and make an other._
AND then when the Emperour is dead the seaven linages gather them togither, and they touch his son or the next of his blood, & they say thus, We wyll, and we ordeyne, and we pray thee that thou wilt be our lord & Emperour, and he enquireth of them and sayth, if ye will that I raigne upon you, then must ye doe all that I bidde you to doe. And if he bid that any shal be slaine, he shal be slaine, & they aunswere all with one voyce, y^t ye bid shall be done. Then saith ye Emperour, fro henceforth, my word shal cut as my sword, and then they set him in a chaire, & crowne him, & then all the good townes thereabout send to him presents, so much that he shall haue more than a C Camelles[1] laden with gold and silver, beside other Jewels y^t he shall haue of lords, of precious stones & gold without number & horse, & riche clothes of Camacas[2] and Tarins,[3] & such other.
[Footnote 1: Other editions say 60 chariots.]
[Footnote 2: See footnote, _ante_, p. 168.]
[Footnote 3: Tartarins, a kind of silken fabric.]
CAP. LXXIX.
_What countreys and kingdomes lye next to the land of Cathay and the frontes thereof._
THIS lande of Cathay is in Asia the depe,[1] and this same lande marcheth toward the west upon the kingdome of Sercy,[2] the which was sometyme to one of the three kings that went to seke our Lord in Bethlem and all those that come of his kin are christen men. These men of Tartary drinke no wine. In y^e land of Corosaym,[3] y^t is at the north side of Cathay is right great plenty of goods, but no wine, the which hath at the east side a great wildernesse, that lasteth more than an hundred journeys, and the best citie of that land is called Corasaym, & after the name of that citie is the lande called after, and men of this lande are good warriors and hardy, and thereby is the Kingedome of Comayne, this is the most & the greatest kingedome of the world, but it is not all inhabited, for in one place of the lande is so great cold, that no man may dwel ther for colde, and in an other place is so great heat, that no man may dwell there, & there are so many faithes[4] that a man wot not on what side hee may turne him, & in this lande are fewe trees bering fruite. In thys lande men ly in tentes, and they burne donge[5] of beastes for defaut of wood. This lande descendeth toward Pruse & Rossy & through this land runneth the river Echell,[6] that is one of the greatest rivers in y^e world & it is frosen so hard euery yeare that men fight thereupon in great battayles on horse and footemen more than a C.M[7] at once. And a lyttle from y^e river is the great sea of Occyan, that they cal Maure[8] and betwene this Maure & Caspy[9] is a full straight passage to go towarde Inde and therefore King Alexander did make there a citie y^t men call Alexander, for to kepe that passage, so that no man may passe but if he haue leave, & now is that citie called Port de fear,[10] and the principall citie of Comayne is called Sarachis,[11] this is one of the thre ways to go to Inde, but through this way may not many men go but if it be in winter, & this passage is called Berbent.[12] And another way is to go from y^e land of Turkescon[13] through Percy, & in this way are many journeys in wildernesse. And y^e third way is that cometh from Cosmane & goeth through y^e great citie & through y^e Kingedome of Abachare.[14] And ye shall understand y^t all these kingedomes & lords unto Percy are holden of y^e great Caan & many other & therefore he is a great lorde of men & of lande.
[Footnote 1: Lower Asia.]
[Footnote 2: Others write it Tharse.]
[Footnote 3: ? Khorassan.]
[Footnote 4: A misprint for flies.]
[Footnote 5: The usual fuel in an unwooded Asiatic country.]
[Footnote 6: Volga.]
[Footnote 7: Others say 200,000.]
[Footnote 8: The Black Sea.]
[Footnote 9: The Caspian Sea.]
[Footnote 10: Port de Fer, or Iron Gate. Other editions have it "Gate of Hell."]
[Footnote 11: Sarai, or Sara, on the Volga. Chaucer, in "Cambuscan," speaks of it thus:--
"At _Sarra_ in the Londe of Tartarie There dwelt a King that werriëd Russie." ]
[Footnote 12: The Pass of Derbend, still called in Turkish _Demir Kapi_, or the Iron Gate.]
[Footnote 13: Turkestan.]
[Footnote 14: Variously written Abcaz or Abkhas.]
CAP. LXXX.
_Of other wayes comming from Cathay toward the Grekes sea & also of the emperour of Percy._
NOW I haue devysed you the landes towardes the North, to come from the lands of Cathay to the lands of Pruse & Rossy where Christen men dwel. Now shall I devise unto you other lands & kingdoms, in comming down from Cathay to the Grekes sea wher Christen men dwell, and for as muche as next the great Caane of Cathay the Emperour of Percy is the greatest lorde, therefore I shall speake of him, & ye shall understande that he hath two kingdomes, the one beginneth eastward and it is the kingdome of Turkescon & it lasteth westward to the sea of Caspy & southward to the lande of Inde. This lande is good & playne and well manned,[1] with good cities but two most principal, ye which are called Bacirida & Sormagaunt.[2] The other is the kingedome of Percy, and lasteth from the river of Phison[3] unto great Armony,[4] & northward unto the sea of Caspy & southward to the land of Inde & this is a full plenteous countrey and good. In this lande are three principall cities Nessabor, Saphan, & Sermesse.[5]
[Footnote 1: Peopled.]
[Footnote 2: Bokhara and Samarcand.]
[Footnote 3: Pison.]
[Footnote 4: Armenia]
[Footnote 5: Otherwise spelt Messabor, Caphon, and Sarmassane.]
CAP. LXXXI.
_Of the lande of Armony, which is a good land & of the lande of Middy._[1]
THEN is the lande of Armony, in the which was sometime three kingdomes, this is a good land and a plentious, & it beginneth at Percy, & lasteth westward to Turkey of length, and in breadth lasteth from the citie of Alexander (that is now called Port de fear) unto the lande of Myddy. In this Armony are many fayre cities, but Cauryssy[2] is most of name. Then is the land of Myddy, and it is full long and not brode & beginneth eastward at the land of Percy, & Inde the lesse, and lasteth westward to the kingdome of Calde,[3] & northward to little Armony. In this Myddy are many great hyls, & little (_of_) plaines & ther dwel Sarasins & other maner of men, that men call Cordines.[4]
[Footnote 1: Media.]
[Footnote 2: Other editions have it Taurizo--in all probability the modern _Tabriz_ is meant.]
[Footnote 3: Chaldæa.]
[Footnote 4: Kurds.]
CAP. LXXXII.
_Of the Kingdome of George & Abcan, and many marvayles._
THEN next is the kingdome of George,[1] that beginneth eastward at a great hil that men call Abiorz,[2] this land lasteth to Turkey to the great sea, & to the land of Myddy, and great Armony & in this land are two kynges, one of Abcan, and another of George but he of George is in subjection of the great Caane, but he of Abcan hath a strong countrey, and defendeth him well against his enimies, & in this land of Abcan is a great marvaile, for there is a countrey in this land that is nere III dayes long and about, & is called Hanison, and that countrey is all covered with darknesse, so that it hath no light that no man may see there, and no man dare go into that countrey for darkenes. And neverthelesse men of that countrey thereby say that they may sometime heare therein the voyce of man and horse crying, and cocks crow, and they know wel that men dwel there, but they know not what maner of men, and they saye this darknesse came through miracle of God that he dyd for Christen men there. For there was a wicked Emperour y^t was of Poy[3] & was called Saures, & he pursued sometime all Christen men to destroy them, and did make them do sacrifice to their false gods, & in that countrey dwelled many Christen men y^e which left al their goods & catel, and riches, and wold go to Grece, and when they were all in a great plain y^t is called Megon the Emperour and his men came to sley the Christen men, & then the christen men kneled down & prayed to God, and anon came a thick cloude and covered the Emperour and al his host, so that he might not go away, and so dweled they in darkness, and they neuer came out after, and y^e Christen men went there as they would, and therefore they might say thus, _A domino factum est istud, & est mirabile in oculis nostris_, that is to say, of our Lord is this done, & it is wonderful in our eyes. Out of this lande cometh a river y^t men may se by good tokens y^t men dwel therein.
[Footnote 1: Georgia.]
[Footnote 2: Probably Mount Elburz, one of the Caucasian range.]
[Footnote 3: Misprint for Persia.]
CAP. LXXXIII.
_Of the land of the land of Turky & divers other countreys and of the land of Mesopotamy._
THEN next is the land of Turky, that marcheth to Great Armony and therein are many countreys as Capadoce, Saure,[1] Bryke, Quecion, Patan & Genethe, in eche one of the countreys are many good cities, and it is a plaine land, & few hills and few rivers, and then is the kingdome of Mesopotamy that beginneth eastwarde at flom of Tygre[2] at a citie that men call Mosell,[3] and it lasteth westwarde to the flom of Euphraten, to a citie that men call Rochaym[4] & westwarde from high Armony unto the wildernesse of Inde the lesse, and it is a good land and playne, but there is few rivers, and there is but two hils in that lande, the one is called Simar, and the other Lison, & it marcheth unto the lande of Caldee, and ye shall understande that the land of Ethyope marcheth eastward to the great wildernesse westwarde to the land of Nuby,[5] southwarde to the lande of Maratan[6] and northward to the redde sea & then is the Maritan that lasteth from the hilles of Ethiope unto Liby,[7] the high, and the low that lasteth to the great sea of Spayne.[8]
[Footnote 1: Otherwise written Brique, Quesiton, Pytan, and Cemethe.]
[Footnote 2: The river Tigris.]
[Footnote 3: Mosul.]
[Footnote 4: Otherwise Roiantz.]
[Footnote 5: Nubia.]
[Footnote 6: Mauritania.]
[Footnote 7: Lybia.]
[Footnote 8: The Mediterranean.]
CAP. LXXXIIII.
_Of divers countreys kingedomes & yles, and marvayles beyond the land of Cathay._
NOW haue I sayd and spoken of many things on this side of the great Kingedome of Cathay, of whome many are obeysant[1] to the great Caane. Now shall I tell of some landes, countreys & yles that are beyond the lande of Cathay. Whoso goeth from Cathay to Inde the high and the low, he shal go through a kingdome that men call Cadissen[2] & it is a great lande, there groweth a maner of fruite as it were gourdes, & when it is ripe men cut it a sonder, and men fynde therein a beast as it were of fleshe and bone and bloud, as it were a lyttle lambe without wolle, and men eate the beast & fruite also, and sure it semeth very strange. Neverthelesse I sayd to them that I held y^t for no marvayle, for I sayd that in my countrey are trees y^t beare fruit y^t become byrds flying, and they are good to eate, & that that falleth on the water liveth & that that falleth on earth dyeth, & they marvailed much thereat. In this countrey & many other thereabout are trees that beareth cloves, & nutmigs and canel[3] and many other spyces, & there be vines that beare so great grapes that a strong man shall enough to beare a cluster of grapes. In that same lande are the hils of Caspy that men cal Uber & amonge those hilles are the Jewes of the x kindes[4] enclosed therein, that men call Gog & Magog & they may not come out on no syde. There were inclosed xxii kynges with theyr folke that dwelled betwene y^e hills of Syche,[5] and King Alexander chased them thither among those hilles, for hee trusting for to haue enclosed them there through the working of men, but he might not, and when he saw he might not, he prayed to God that he woulde fulfyll that which hee had begun. God heard his prayer and enclosed the hilles all about them but[6] at the one side, and there is the sea of Caspy. Here some men mighte aske, there is a sea on one side, why go they not out there, for thereto aunswered I that all if it be called a sea, it is not a sea, but a stange[7] standing among hyls, and it is the greatest stange of all the world, and all if they went over the sea, they wot not wher to arive, for they can no speach[8] but their own. And ye shall understand that the Jewes haue no law[9] of their owne in all the world, but they dwell in those hils, and yet they pay tribute for their land to the quene of Armony[10] & sometime it is so that some of the Jewes go over the hils but many men may not passe there togither, for the hils are so great and high. Neverthelesse men say in that countrey therby, that in the time of Antechrist they shall doe much harme to Christen men and therefore all the Jewes that dwell in diverse partes of the worlde lerne for to speake Ebrew, for they hope that the Jewes that dwel among the hils aforesayde, shall come out of the hils and speake all Ebrew and nought else, & then shall these Jewes speake Ebrew to them and lede them into Christendome for to destroye Christen men. For these Jewes say they know by their prophecies that those Jewes y^t are among those hils of Caspy shall come out, and Christen men shall be in their subjection, as they bee under christen men. And if ye wyll know how they shall finde the passage out, as I have understand I shall tell you. In the time of Antechriste a foxe shall make his denne in the same place wher King Alexander dyd make the gates & he shall dyg in the earth so long til he pearce it through and come among the Jewes, and when they see the Foxe, they shall haue great marvaile[11] of him, for they saw neuer such a beast, for other beastes have they among them many, and they shall chase this foxe and pursue him until y^t he be fled againe to his hole that he came from, & then shall they dig after him untill they come to y^e gates y^t Alexander did make of great stones well dight[12] with siment, then shall they brake these gates, and they shall find the issue.
[Footnote 1: Obedient, or under the rule of.]
[Footnote 2: Other editions say Caldithe.]
[Footnote 3: Cinnamon.]
[Footnote 4: Tribes.]
[Footnote 5: Scythia.]
[Footnote 6: Except.]
[Footnote 7: Lake or pool.]
[Footnote 8: Can only speak their own language.]
[Footnote 9: Misprint for _land_.]
[Footnote 10: Other editions say Amazony.]
[Footnote 11: Be astonished at him.]
[Footnote 12: Well cemented.]
CAP. LXXXV.
_Of the land of Bactry, and of many Griffons and other beastes._
FROM this land men shal go unto the land of Bactry,[1] where are many wicked men & fell,[2] in that land are trees that beare wol,[3] as it were shepe, of which they make cloth. In this land are ypotains[4] that dwel sometime on land, sometime on water, and are halfe a man and halfe a horse, and they eate not but men, when they may get them. In this land are many gryffons, more than in other places, and some say they haue the body before as an Egle, and behinde as a Lyon, and it is trouth, for they be made so; but the Griffen hath a body greater than viii Lyons and stall worthier[5] than a hundred Egles. For certainly he wyl beare to his nest flying, a horse and a man upon his back, or two Oxen yoked togither as they go at plowgh, for he hath longe nayles on hys fete, as great as it were hornes of Oxen,[6] and of those they make cups there to drynke of, and of his rybes[7] they make bowes to shoote with.
[Footnote 1: Bactria.]
[Footnote 2: Crafty.]
[Footnote 3: Wool.]
[Footnote 4: Hippopotamuses.]
[Footnote 5: Stouter, braver.]
[Footnote 6: The editor of the edition of 1827 says, in a footnote, p. 325: "One 4 foot long, in the Cotton Library, has a Silver Hoop about the end, whereon is engraven _Griphi Unguis, Divo Cuthberto Dunelmensi sacer_. Another, about an Ell long, is mentioned by _Dr. Greis_, in his History of the Rarities of the Royal Society, p. 26; tho' the Doctor there supposes it rather the horn of a Rock Buck, or of the _Ibex mas_." Such was science a little over fifty years since!]
[Footnote 7: Ribs.]
CAP. LXXXVI.