Part 17

MOREOVER, when the great emperour Can sitteth on his imperiall throne of estate, on his lefte hand sitteth his queene or empresse and upon another inferior seate there sit two other women, which are to accompany the emperour, when his spouse is absent, but in the lowest place of all, there sit all the ladies of his kinred. _All the married women weare upon their heads a kind of ornament in shape like unto a man's foote of a cubite and a halfe in length, and the lower part of the said foote is adorned with cranes feathers_, and is all ouer thicke set with great and orient pearles. Upon the right hande of the great Can sitteth his first begotten sonne and heire apparent unto his empire, and under him sit all the nobles of the blood royall. There bee also foure Secretaries, which put all things in writing that the emperour speaketh. In whose presence likewise stand his Barons and divers others of his nobilitie, with great traines of folowers after them, of whom none dare speake so much as one worde, unlesse they haue obtained licence of the emperour so to doe, except his jesters and stage players, who are appointed of purpose to solace their lord. Neither yet dare they attempt to doe ought, but onely according to the pleasure of their emperor, and as hee enjoineth by lawe. About the palace gate stand certaine Barons to keepe all men from treading upon the threshold of the sayd gate. When it pleaseth the great Can to solemnize a feast, he hath about him 14000 Barons, carying wreathes & litle crownes upon their heads, and giving attendance upon their lord, and eueryone of them weareth a garment of golde and precious stones, which is worth ten thousand florens. His court is kept in very good order, by governours of tens, governours of hundreds, and governours of thousands, insomuch that euery one in his place performeth his dutie committed to him, neither is there any defect to bee found. I Frier Odoricus was there present in person for the space of three yeares and was often at the sayd banquets: for wee friers Minorites have a place of aboad appointed out for us in the emperours court, and are enjoined to goe and to bestow our blessing upon him. And I enquired of certain courtiers concerning the number of persons pertaining to the emperors court. Moreouer, when he will make his progresse from one countrey to another, hee hath foure troupes of horsemen, one being appointed to goe a dayes journey before, and another to come a dayes journey after him, the third to march on his right hand and the fourth on his left, in the maner of a crosse, he himselfe being in the midst, and so euery particular troupe haue their daily journeys limited unto them, to the ende they may provide sufficient victuals without defect. Nowe the great Can himselfe is caried in maner following: hee rideth in a chariot with two wheeles, upon which a majesticall throne is built of the wood of Aloe, being adorned with gold and great pearles and precious stones, and foure elephants bravely furnished doe drawe the sayd chariot, before which elephants foure greate horses richly trapped and covered doe lead the way. Hard by the chariot on both sides thereof, are foure Barons laying hold and attending thereupon, to keepe all persons from approching neere unto their emperour. Upon the chariot two milke-white jer-falcons doe sit, and seeing any game which hee would take, hee letteth them fly, and so they take it, and after this maner doeth hee solace himselfe as hee rideth. Moreover, no man dare come within a stone's cast of the chariot, but such as are appointed. The number of his owne followers, of his wives attendants, and of the traine of his first begotten sonne and heire apparent, would seem incredible to any man; unless he had first seene it with his owne eyes. The foresayd great Can hath divided his Empire into twelue parts or provinces, and one of the said provinces hath two thousand great cities within the precincts thereof. Whereupon his empire is of that length and breadth, that unto whatsoever part thereof he intendeth his journey, he hath space enough for six moneths continual progress, except his islands which are at the least 5000.

_Of certaine Innes or hospitals appointed for traveilers throughout the whole empire._

THE foresayd Emperor (to the end that travailers may haue all things necessary throughout his whole empire) hath caused certaine Innes to be provided in sundry places upon the highwayes, where all things pertaining unto victuals are in a continuall readinesse. And when any alteration or newes happen in any part of his Empire, if he chance to be farre absent from that part, his ambassadors upon horses or dromedaries ride post unto him, and when themselves and their beaste are weary, they blowe their horne, at the noise whereof, the next Inne likewise provideth a horse and a man, who takes the letter from him that is weary, and runneth unto another Inne: and so by divers Innes, and divers postes, the report, which ordinarily could skarce come in 30 dayes, is in one naturall day brought unto the Emperour: and therefore no matter of any moment can be done in his empire, but straightway he hath intelligence of it. Moreouer when the great Can himselfe will go on hunting, he useth this custome. Some 20 days journey from the citie of Kambaleth there is a forrest containing six dayes journey in circuit, in which forrest there are so many kinds of beasts and birds as it is incredible to report. Unto this forrest, at the ende of euery thirde or fourthe yeere, himself with his whole traine resorteth, and they all of them together environ the said forrest, sending dogs into the same, which by hunting doe bring foorth the beasts: namely lions and stags, and other creatures, unto a most beautifull plaine in the midst of the forrest, because all the beasts of the forrest doe tremble, especially at the cry of hounds. Then cometh the great Can himselfe, being caried upon three elephants, and shooteth fiue arrowes into the whole herd of beasts, and after him all his Barons, and after them the rest of his courtiers and family doe all in like maner discharge their arrowes also, and euery mans arrow hath a sundry marke. Then they all goe unto the beasts which are slaine (suffering the living beasts to returne into the wood that they may haue more sport with them another time) and euery man enjoyeth that beast as his owne, wherein he findeth his arrow sticking.

_Of the foure feasts which the great Can solemnizeth euery yeere in his court._

FOURE great feasts in a yeere doeth the emperor Can celebrate: namely the feast of his birth, the feast of his circumcision, the feast of his coronation, and the feast of his mariage. And unto these feasts he inviteth all his Barons, his stage players, and all such as are of his kinred. Then the great Can sitting in his throne, all his Barons present themselves before him, with wreaths and crowns upon their heads, being diversely attired, for some of them are in greene, namely the principall: the seconde are in red, and the third in yellow: and they hold each man in his hand a little Ivorie table of elephants tooth, and they are girt with golden girdles of halfe a foote broad, and they stand upon their feete keeping silence. About them stand the stage-players or musicians with their instruments. And in one of the corners of a certaine great pallace, all the Philosophers or Magicians remaine for certaine howers, and do attend upon points or characters; and when the point and hower which the sayd Philosophers expected for, is come, a certain crier crieth out with a loud voice, saying, Incline or bowe your selves before your Emperour; with that all the Barons fall flat upon the earth. Then hee crieth oute againe: Arise all, and immediately they all arise. Likewise the Philosophers attend upon a point or character the second time, and when it is fulfilled the crier crieth out amaine: Put your fingers in your eares; and foorthwith againe he saieth: Plucke them out. Againe, at the third point he crieth, Boult this meale. Many other circumstances also doe they performe, all which they say haue some certaine signification, howbeit neither would I write them, nor giue any heed unto them, because they are vaine and ridiculouse. And when the musicians houre is come, then the Philosophers say, Solemnize a feast unto your Lord: with that all of them sound their instruments, making a great and melodious noise. And immediately another crieth, Peace, Peace, and they are all whist. Then come the women-musicians, and sing sweetly before the Emperour, which musike was more delightfull unto me. After them come in the lions and doe their obeisance unto the great Can. Then the juglers cause golden cups full of wine to flie up and downe in the ayre & to apply themselves unto mens mouths that they may drinke of them. These any many other strange things I sawe in the court of the great Can, which no man would beleeve unlesse he had seen them with his owne eies, and therefore I omit to speake of them. I was informed also by certaine credible persons of another miraculous thing, namely, that in a certaine Kingdome of the sayd Can, wherein stand the mountains called Kapsei (the Kingdomes name is Kalor) there _groweth great Gourds or Pompions,[1] which being ripe, doe open at the tops, and within them is found a little beast like unto a yong lambe, even as I my selfe have heard reported, that there stand certain trees upon the shore of the Irish Sea, bearing fruit like unto a gourd, which at a certaine time of the yeere doe fall into the water, and become birds called Bernacles, and this is most true_.

[Footnote 1: Pumpkins.]

_Of divers provinces & cities,_

AND after three yeeres I departed out of the empire of Cataie, traveiling fiftie dayes journey towards the West. And at length I came unto the empire of Pretegoani,[1] whose principall citie is Kasan, which hath many cities under it. From thence passing many dayes travel I came unto a province called Casan, which is for good commodities, one of the onely provinces under the Sunne, & is very well inhabited, insomuch that when we depart out of the gates of one city we may beholde the gates of another city, as I myselfe sawe in divers of them. The breadth of the said province is 50 dayes journey and the length aboue sixtie. In it there is great plenty of all victuals, and especially of chesnuts, and it is one of the twelve provinces of the great Can. Going on further, I came unto a certaine Kingdome called Tebek,[2] which is in subjection unto the great Can also, wherein I thinke there is more plenty of bread and wine then in any other part of the worlde besides. The people of the sayd countrey do, for the most part, inhabit in tents made of blacke felt. Their principall city is invironed with faire and beautifull walls, being built of most white and blacke stones, which are disposed checkerwise one by another, and curiously compiled together: likewise all the high wayes in this countrey are exceedingly well paved. In the said countrey none dare shed the bloud of a man, or of any beast, for the reverence of a certaine idol. In the aforesayd citie their Abassi, that is to say, their Pope is resident, being the head and prince of all idolaters (upon whom he bestoweth and distributeth gifts after his maner) euen as our Pope of Rome accounts himselfe to be the head of all Christians. The Women of this countrey weare aboue an hundreth tricks & trifles about them, and they haue two teeth in their mouthes as long as the tuskes of a boare. _When any mans father deceaseth among them, his sonne assembleth together all the priests and musicians that he can get, saying that he is determined to honour his father: then causeth he him to be caried into the field (all his kinsfolks, friends, and neighbours, accompanying him in the sayd action) where the priests with great solemnity cut off the fathers head, giving it unto his sonne, which being done, they divide the whole body into morsels, and so leaue it behinde them, returning home with prayers in the company of the said sonne. So soone as they are departed, certain vultures, which are accustomed to such bankets, come flying from the mountains, and cary away all the sayd morsels of flesh: and from thenceforth a fame is spread abroad, that the sayd party deceased was holy, because the angels of God carried him into paradise. And this is the greatest and highest honour, that the sonne can devise to performe unto his father. Then the sayd sonne taketh his fathers head, seething it and eating the flesh thereof, but of the skull he maketh a drinking cup, wherein himselfe with all his family and kinred do drinke with great solemnitie and mirth, in the remembrance of his dead and devoured father._ Many other vile and abominable things doth the sayd nation commit, which I meane not to write because men neither can nor will beleeve, except they should haue a sight of them.

[Footnote 1: Prester John.]

[Footnote 2: Or Thibet.]

_Of a certaine riche man, who is fed and nourished by 50 virgins_.

WHILE I was in the province of Mancy, I passed by the palace of a certaine famous man, which hath fifty virgin damosels continually attending upon him, feeding him euery meale as a bird feeds her yoong ones. Also he hath sundry kinds of meat served in at his table and three dishes of ech kinde: and when the said virgins feed him, they singe most sweetly. This man hath in yeerely revenues thirty thuman of tagars of rise, euery of which thuman yeeldeth tenne thousand tagars, and one tagar is the burthen of an asse. His palace is two miles in circuit, the pavement thereof is one plate of golde and another of silver. Neere unto the wall of the sayd palace there is a mount artificially wrought with golde and silver, whereupon stand turrets and steeples, and other delectable things for the solace and recreation of the foresayd great man. And it was tolde me that there were foure such men in the sayd kingdome. It is accounted a great grace for the men of that countrey to haue long nailes upon their fingers, and especially upon their thumbes which nailes they may folde about their handes: but the grace and beauty of their women is to haue small and slender feet: and therefore the mothers when their daughters are yoong, do binde up their feete that they may not grow great. Travelling on further towards the South, I arrived at a certain countrey called Melistorte, which is a pleasant and fertile place. In this countrey was a certain aged man called Senex de monte, who round about two mountaines had built a wall to inclose the said mountaines. Within this wall there were the fairest and most chrystall fountaines in the whole world: and about the sayd fountaines there were the most beautifull virgins in great number, and goodly horses also, and in a word, euery thing that could be devised for bodily solace and delight, and therefore the inhabitants of the countrey call the same place by the name of Paradise. The olde Senex, when he saw any proper and valiant yoong man, he would admit him into his paradise. Moreover by certain conducts he makes wine and milke to flow abundantly. This Senex when he hath a minde to revenge himselfe or to slay any king or baron, commandeth him who is governor of the sayd paradise, to bring thereunto some of the acquaintance of the sayd king or baron, permitting him a while to take his pleasure therein, and then to give him a certaine potion being of force, to cast him into such a slumber as should make him quite voide of all sense, and so being in a profound sleepe to convey him out of his paradise: who being awakened and seeing himselfe thrust out of the paradise, would become so sorrowfull, that he could not in the world devise what to do, or whither to turne him. Then would he goe unto the foresaid old man, beseeching him that he might be admitted again into his paradise, who saith unto him, You cannot be admitted thither, unlesse you will slay such or such a man for my sake, & if you will giue the attempt onely, whether you kill him or no, I will place you againe in paradise, that there you may remain always: then would the party without faile put the same in execution, indevouring to murther all those against whom the old man had conceived any hatred. And therefore all the kings of the east stood in awe of the sayd olde man, and gaue unto him great tribute.

_Of the death of Senex de monte._

AND when the Tartars had subdued a great part of the world, they came unto the sayd olde man, and tooke from him the custody of his paradise: who being incensed thereat, sent abroad divers desperate and resolute persons out of his forenamed paradise, and caused many of the Tartarian nobles to be slaine. The Tartars seeing this, went and beseiged the citie wherein the sayd olde man was, tooke him, and put him to a most cruell and ignominious death. The friers in that place haue this special gift and prerogative, namely, that by the vertue of the name of Christ Jesu, & in the vertue of his precious blood, which he shedde upon the crosse for the salvation of mankinde, they doe cast foorth devils out of them that are possessed. And because there are many possessed men in those parts, they are bound and brought ten dayes journey unto the sayd friers, who being dispossessed of the uncleane spirits, do presently beleeve in Christ, who delivered them, accounting him for their God, and being baptised in his name, and also delivering immediately unto the friers all their idols and the idols of their cattell, which are commonly made of felt or of womens haire: then the sayd friers kindle a fire in a publicke place (whereunto the people resort, that they may see the false gods of their neighbors burnt), and cast the sayd idols thereinto: howbeit at first those idols came out of the fire againe. Then the friers sprinkled the sayd fire with holy water, casting in the idols the second time, and with that the devils fled in the likenesse of black smoake, and the idols still remained till they were consumed unto ashes. Afterward, this noise and outcry was heard in the ayre: Beholde and see how I am expelled out of my habitation. And by these means the friers doe baptise great multitudes, who presently revolt againe unto their idols; insomuch that the sayd friers must eftsoones, as it were, underprop them, and informe them anew. _There was another terrible thing which I saw there: for passing by a certaine valley, which is situate beside a pleasant river, I saw many dead bodies, and in the said valley also I heard divers sweet sounds and harmonies of musike, especially the noise of citherns, whereat I was greatly amazed. This valley conteineth in length seven or eight miles at the least, into the which whosoeuer entreth, dieth presently, and can by no means passe aliue thorow the middest thereof; for which cause all the inhabitants thereabout decline unto the one side. Moreover, I was tempted to go in & to see what it was. At length, making my prayers and recommending my selfe to God in the name of Jesu, I entred, and saw such swarmes of dead bodies there, as no man would beleeve unless he were an eyewitnesse thereof. At the one side of the foresayde valley upon a certaine stone, I saw the visage of a man, which behelde me with such a terrible aspect that I thought verily I should haue died in the same place. But alwayes this sentence, the word became flesh, and dwelt amomgst us, I ceased not to pronounce, signing my selfe with the signe of the crosse, and neerer than seven to eight pases I durst not approach unto the sayd head: but I departed & fled unto another place in the sayd valley_, ascending up into a little sande mountaine, where looking about, I saw nothing but the sayd citherns, which methought I heard miraculously sounding and playing by themselves without the helpe of musicians. And being upon the toppe of the mountaine, I found silver there like the scales of fishes in great abundance, and I gathered some part thereof into my bosome to shew for a wonder, but my conscience rebuking me, I cast it upon the earth, reserving no whit at all unto my selfe, and so, by God's grace I departed without danger. And when the men of the countrey knew that I was returned out of the valley alive, they reverenced me much, saying that I was baptised and holy, and that the foresayd bodies were men subject unto the devils infernall who used to play upon citherns, to the end they might allure people to enter, and so murther them. Thus much concerning these things which I beheld most certainly with mine eyes, I frier Odoricus haue heere written: many strange things also I haue of purpose omitted, because men will not beleeue them unlesse they should see them.

_Of the honour and reverence done unto the great Can._