Part 8
FOR as muche, as many men may not suffer the savour of the sea, & better it is to go by lande even if it be more payne, and a man shall go to one of the havens of Lumberdy as Venys or another, and he shall passe into Grece to port Myroche, or another and shall goe to Constantinople, and shall passe the water that is called the brache of Saynt George that is an arme of the sea. And from thence ye shall come to Pulveral, and then to the castel of Synople. And from thence shall ye go unto Capadoce, that is a great countrey, wherein is many great hylles and he shall go thorow Turky, and to the citie of Nike, the which they wan from the Emperour of Constantinople, and it is a faire citie and well walled, and there is a river that men call the Lay, and there go men by the Alpes of Mormaunt, & through the vales of Malebrynes and the vale of Ernax, and so to Antioche lesser, that sitteth on the river richly, and there is about many good hills & fayre and many fayre woddes and wild beastes. And he that will go another way, he goeth by ye plaine of the Romain[1] Coste and the Romaine sea. On that coste is a fayre castell that men call Florage, and when a man is oute of the hilles, he passeth through the citie of Moryach and Artose, where there is a great bridge upon the river of Ferne, that men call Fassor,[2] & it is a great river bering ships, and beside the citie of Damas, is the river that cometh from the mount of Libany, and that men call Alban,[3] at the passing of this river Sainct Eustache lost his two sonnes when he had lost his wife. And it goeth through the playne of Archades, & to the red sea, and then men go to the citie of Fermyne, and so to the citie of Ferne, and then to Antioche & that is a fayre citie and well walled, for it is two myle long, and there is a bridge over the river, that hath at eche pillar, a good tower, and is the best citie of the Kingdome of Surrey. From Antioche, men go to the citie of Locuth[4] and so to Geble[5] and to Tortouse,[6] & thereby is the lande of Lambre & a strong castell, that men call Mambeke. And from Tortouse, men go to Trypelle[7] on the sea, and upon the sea men go to Dacres,[8] and there is two wayes to Hierusalem, on the lefte way men go first unto Damas by flom Jordan, and on the right syde men go throughe the lande Flagme and so to the citie of Cayphas,[9] in which citie Cayphas was lorde, & some call it the castell Pelleryus and from thence it is foure dayes journey to Hierusalem & they go throughe Cesarye Phylyp,[10] and Jaffe, and Ramas, Eumaux, & so forth to Hierusalem.
[Footnote 1: Roumanian.]
[Footnote 2: ? Pharphar of the Scriptures.]
[Footnote 3: ? Abana.]
[Footnote 4: Latakijah.]
[Footnote 5: Jebili.]
[Footnote 6: Tortosa.]
[Footnote 7: Tripoli.]
[Footnote 8: Acre.]
[Footnote 9: Caiffa.]
[Footnote 10: Philippi.]
CAP. XLIII.
_Yet another way by lande toward the lande of promission._
NOW haue I tolde you some wayes by land and by water how men may go to Hierusalem. And if it be so that there be many other wayes that men go by, after the countreys that they come from, neverthelesse they tourne all to one ende, yet is there a way all by land to Hierusalem, & passe no sea from Fraunce or Flaunders, but that way is full longe and perylous & of great travaile, & therefore few go that way, he that goeth that way, he goeth through Almayn & Pruse and so to Tartary, this Tartary is holden of the great Cane,[1] of whome I shall speake afterwarde, for thether lasteth[2] his lordeshippe, and all the lords of Tartary yelde to him tribute. Tartary is a full evill land, sandy and a lytle fruite bearing, for there groweth but little corne or fruyte, but bestes are there great plentie, and therefore eate they but fleshe without breade, and they sup the broth, and they drynke mylke of all maner of bestes, they eat Cattes, and all maner of wyld bestes, rattes & myce, and they haue but lyttle wodde,[3] and therefore they dyght[4] theyr meate with horse dounge & other bestes doung, when it is dry. Princes and other lordes eate but ones in the day, and ryght lyttle, and they be ryght foule folke, and of evyll lyking, and in somer there is many tempests and thonders, that sleaeth many men & bestes (_sodainly it is_) right colde, and sodainly it is right hot. The Prince that governeth that land they call him Roco and he dwelleth at a Citie that men call Orda, and forsoth there is no man that will dwell in that lande, for it is good to sow in thornes & wedes, other good is there none, as I herd say, for I was not that way, but I have bene in other lordes landes marching thereon, and the land of Rossye and Nyflonde & the Kingedome of Grecon[5] and Lectowe, and the kingdome of Grasten[6] & in many other places, but I went neuer that way to Hierusalem & therefore I may not tell it, for I haue understande, that men may not well go that way but in winter, when the waters and marys[7] that be in that lande be frosen and covered with snow, so that men may passe thereon, for were not the snow, there might no man go in that lande but he wer lost. And ye shall understande that a man shall go three days journey from Pruse to passe this waye, tyll he come to the lande of Sarasyns, that men dwell in. And if by fortune any christen men passe that way, as once a yeare they doe, they cary theyr vitale with them, for they shoulde finde nothing there but a maner of things that they call Syleys, and they cary theyr vytales upon the yce on sleddes[8] and charyottes without wheles, and as long as theyr vitayles laste, they may dwell there, but no longer. And when spyes of the countrey see christen men come, they runne to the towns and castels and cry right loude, Kera, Kera, Kera, and as sone as they haue cryed, then dothe the people arme them. And ye shall understande that the yse there is harder than it is here, and euery man hath a stew[9] in his house, and therein they eat and do all things that them nedeth. And that is at the North part of the world, where it is commonly colde, for the Sonne cometh ne shineth but a little in that countrey, and that lande is in some places so colde, that there may no man dwel therein, and on the South side of the world it is in some places so hote, that there can no man dwel, the son giveth so great heate in those countreys.
[Footnote 1: Khan.]
[Footnote 2: For his dominions extend as far.]
[Footnote 3: Wood.]
[Footnote 4: Cook.]
[Footnote 5: Cracow.]
[Footnote 6: Darestan, or Silistria.]
[Footnote 7: Marais or marshes, meres.]
[Footnote 8: Sledges.]
[Footnote 9: Stove.]
CAP. XLIIII.
INASMUCH as I haue told you of the Sarasins and of other landes, if ye will I shall tell you a parte of theyr law, and of theyr beleve, after as theyr boke sayeth, that they call Alkaron,[1] and some call that boke Mysap,[2] some call it Harme[3] in diverse language of countreys, which booke Machomet gave them, in y^e which boke he wrote among other things as I have often red and sene, that they that are good shall goe to Paradise, and the evill folkes to hell, and that beleeve all the Sarasyns. And if a man aske of what Paradise they meane, they say it is a place of delytes, where a man shall finde all maner of fruites at all times, and waters, and rivers running with milke & hony, wine and fresh water, and they shall have faire houses & good as they have deserved, and those houses are made of precious stones, gold & sylver & every man shall haue ten[4] wives and all maydens. Also they speake often & beleve of the Virgin Mary and tell of the Incarnation, that Mary was learned[5] of Aungels and that Gabriel sayd to hir that she was chosen before all other from the beginning of the world, and that wytnesseth well theyr booke, & Gabriel tolde hir of the incarnation of Jesu Christ, and that she shoulde conceive and beare a childe and they saye that Christ was a holy prophet in word & dede, and also meke & rightwise to all men, and without any blame worthy. And they saye that when the Aungell tolde hir of the incarnation, she hadde great dread, for she was righte younge, and there was one in the countrey that medled with sorcery, that men called Takina,[6] that with enchauntements could make him lyke an Aungell and he went often and lay with maidens, and therefore was Mary the more aferde[7] of the Aungell, and thought in hir mynde that it had bene Takina that went to maydens, and she conjured him that he should tell hir if he were the same Takina, and the Aungell bad hir have no dreade for he was for certayne a true messenger of Jesu Christ. Also theyr booke of Alkaron saith, that she had a child under a palme tree, then was she greatly ashamed and sayde that she woulde she had bene dead. As sone as hir childe was borne, he spake and comforted hir and sayd, _Ne timeas Maria_, That is to say, Be not afraide Mary. And in many other places, sayth theyr booke Alkaron, that Jesu Christ spake as sone as he was borne, & the booke sayth that Jesu Christ was sent of Almighty God to be ensample to all men, and that God shall deme[8] all men, the good to heaven and the wicked to hell & that Jesu Christ is the best prophete of all other and nexte to God and that he was a holy prophet, for he gave to the blynde theyr sight, and heled Mesels[9] & raysed men and went all quick[10] to heaven. And if they may finde a boke with gospels, namely, _Missus est Angelus_, they doe it great worship, they fast a moneth in the yere & they eate but in the night, and they kepe them from theyr wyves, but they that are syke are not Constrayned to that. And that booke Alkaron speaketh of Jewes and sayth, they are wicked people for they will not beleve that Jesu Christ is of God. And they say, y^t the Jewes lye on our Lady and hir sonne Jesu Christ, saying that they did him not on the crosse, for Sarasyns beleve so nere our fayth, that they are lightly converted when men preche the lawe of Jesu Christ, and they saye that they wote well by theyr prophicies, that theyr lawe of Machomet shall fayll as doth the law of Jews and that Christen mens laws shall last unto the worlds ende. And if a man aske them wherein they beleve they say that they beleve in god almightie, that is the maker of heaven and earth and all other things and without him is nothing done and at the day of Judgement when euery man shall be rewarded after his deserving, & that all things is soth[11] that Christ said through the mouthes of his prophetes.
[Footnote 1: The Koran.]
[Footnote 2: Some say Meshaf. Mishaf means written sheets of paper.]
[Footnote 3: Harme is "Haram," _sacred_.]
[Footnote 4: Some say 80.]
[Footnote 5: Taught by.]
[Footnote 6: Other editions have Taknia.]
[Footnote 7: Afraid.]
[Footnote 8: Judge.]
[Footnote 9: Lepers.]
[Footnote 10: Alive.]
[Footnote 11: True.]
CAP. XLV.
_Yet it treateth more of Machomet._
ALSO Machomet badde in his boke Alkaron, that euery man shoulde haue two wives or three or foure, but now they take nine and as many lemmans as them liketh, & if any of their wives doe amisse against their husbandes, he may driue hir out of his house, and take another, but he must giue to hir part of his goodes. Also when men speake of the Father, and the Sonne, and holy Ghost, they saye they are three persons, but not one God, for their boke Alkoran speaketh not thereof, nor of the trinitie, but they say that God spake or else he was dumb, and that God hath a ghost,[1] or else he were not alive, & they say Gods word hath great strength, and so saith theyr Alkaron & they say that Abraham and Moyses were greatly in favor with God, for they spake with him, & Machomet was right messenger of God. And they haue many good articles of our faith and some understand the scriptures, profites, gospels, and the Bible, for they haue them written in theyr language, in this maner they knowe holy writ, but they understande it not, but after the letter and so do the Jewes, for they understande it not, but after their letter ghostly, and therefore saith Sainct Paule, _Litera occidit: Spiritus vivificat_--that is to say, Letter dieth, and ghost maketh quicke. And the Sarasins say y^t Jewes are wicked, for they kepe not y^e lawe of Moyses the which he toke to them, & also chrysten men are yll, for they kepe not the commaundments of the gospels that Jesu Christ sent unto them & therefore I shall tell you what the Soudan tolde me upon a daye in his chamber, voiding[2] out all other men, as Lordes, Knightes & other, for he woulde speke with me in counsel, and then asked he me how christen men governed them in our countrey and I aunswered him & sayd, right well thankes be to God; & he sayd, secretly nay, for he sayd that our priestes made no force of gods service, for they shoulde giue good example to men, to doe well, and they giue ill example, and therefore when the people should go on the holy daies to church to serve God they go to the taverne to sin in glotony both day and nighte, and eate and drink as bestes, that wot not when they haue had ynough, and also Christen men he sayde, inforced them to fight together & eche to begile other and they are so proude, that they wot not how they may cloth them, now short, now long, now straite now wyde, of all manner of fassions. They shoulde be simple, meke and softe, and doe theyr almes as Jesu Christe dyd, in whome they beleve, and he sayde they are so covetouse, that for a lyttle money they sell theyr children, theyr systers, and theyr wyves, and one taketh another mans wife, and none holdeth his fayth to other, therefore sayde he, for theyr sinnes hath God given these landes to our handes, and not through our strength, but all for your synnes. For we wot well, that when that ye serve well your god, that he wyll helpe you, so that no man shall winne of you, if that ye serve your god as ye oughte to doe, but while they lyve so sinfully as they doe, we have no dread[3] on them, for theyr God shall not helpe them. And then I asked him how that he knew the state of Chrysten men in that maner, & he sayde that he knewe well both of lordes and of commons, by his messengers which he sent through all the countreys as it were merchants with precious stones & other marchandise to know the manner of euery countrey. And then he did call againe all the lordes into his chamber to us & then shewed he unto me iiii persons that were great lordes of that countrey, that shewed me the maner of my countrey, and of all Christendome, as though they had bene men borne in the same partes, and they speak french right well and the Soudain also, and then I had greate marvaile of this slaunder of our faith and so they that should bee turned by our good examples to the fayth of Jesu Christe, they are drawen away through our evyl living, and therefore it is no wonder if that they call us evyll, for they saye soth, but the Sarasins are true for they kepe truly the commaundements of their Alkaron that God sent them by his messenger Machomet, to whome they say, Gabryell the Aungell spake often, and tolde to him the will of God.
[Footnote 1: Spirit.]
[Footnote 2: Turning.]
[Footnote 3: Fear of.]
CAP. XLVI.
_Of the byrth of Machomet._
AND ye shall understande y^t Machomet was borne in Araby, and that he was first a pore drudge & kept horse & went after marchaundise. And so he came once into Egipt with marchaundise & Egipt was the same time Christen, & there was a chappell besyde Araby, & there was an hermite & when he came to the chappell y^t was but a lyttle house and a lowe, as sone as he entered, it began to be as great as it were of a palas gate and that was the first miracle that the Sarasyns saye that he did in his youth. After began Machomet to be wise and rich and became a great Astronomer, and sithen was he keper of the lande of the prince Corodan and governed it full well, in such maner that when the prince was dead he maryed the lady y^t men call Quadryge.[1] And Mahomet fell often in the falling evill,[2] wherefore the lady was wroth that she had taken him unto hir husband, & he made hir to understande that every tyme that he fell so, he said that Gabriel the aungell spake to him, and for the great brightnesse of the aungell he fell downe. This Machomet raigned in Araby the yeare of our Lord, vi hundred and xx[3] and he was of the kinde of Ismael that was Abrahams son that he begat of Agar, and other are called Sarasins of Sara, but some are called Moabites and some Amenites after the two sons of Loth. And also Machomet loved well a good man an hermite that dwelled in the wildernesse a myle from Mounte Sinay in the way as men go from Araby to Caldee, and a dayes journey fro the sea where marchaunts of Venice come, and Machomet went so often to this hermyte that all his men were wroth, for he harde[4] gladly the hermit preach, and his men did walke all the night & thought they would this hermyte were dead. So it befell on a night that Machomet was full dronken of good wine, and he fell in a slepe, and his men toke Machomets sworde out of his sheath whyles he lay and slept, and therewith they slew the Hermit, and afterwarde they put up the sword againe all bloudy, and upon the morow when that he founde the Hermite thus dead, he was in his mynde verye angry, and right wroth, and woulde haue done his men unto the death, but they all with one accorde, and with one will sayde that he himselfe hadde slaine hym when he was dronken, and they shewed his own swerd all bluddy & then he beleved that they sayde soth, & then cursed the wine & all those that drank it. And therefore Sarasins that are devout drinke no wine openly, else they should be reprouved but they drynke good beverage & sweete & nourishing that is made of Calamelles, and thereof is suger made.
And it befel[5] sometime, y^t christen men became Sarasins, either through povertie, simplenesse, or wickednesse & therefore theyr Archbishop when he received them, sayd thus,[6] _Laeles ella Machomet roses ella_. That is to say, there is no God but one, and Machomet is his messengere. And sithern[7] I have told you a part of theyr law, and of theyr customes, now I shall tell you of theyr letters that they haue with theyr names. First they have for A- almoy, B- bethath, c- cathi, d- delphoy, e- ephoti, f- forthy, g- garophin, h- hechum, i- iocchi, k- kattu, l- lothum, m- malach, n- nahalgt, o- orthy, p- choziri, q- zothii, r- rucholat, s- routhi, t- solathy, v- chorimus, x- yrithom, y- mazot, z- alepin & ioheten- com--these are the names. These foure letters have they yet more for diversitie of their language, for as much as they speake so in their throtes, as we have in our language and speake in England. Two letters may they then have in theyr A. B. C that is to say, y &, the which are called thorne- and zowx.
[Footnote 1: Kadijah.]
[Footnote 2: Had epileptic fits.]
[Footnote 3: Other editions have it 610, but it was A.D. 611 when Mahomet professed to have received his call.]
[Footnote 4: Heard.]
[Footnote 5: _Pynson_ says "befalleth."]
[Footnote 6: The Mahometan Confession of Faith is Lá iláha illá 'lláh Muhammadun rasúlu 'lláh.]
[Footnote 7: Since.]
CAP. XLVII.
_Of the yles and divers maner of people and of marvaylous beastes._
AND sithen I have devised before of the holy land and countreys there about, and many wayes thether, and to mount Synay, and to Babilon, and other divers places which I have spoken of, now will I tell & speake of iles and of divers bestes, and divers folke and countreys that be departed[1] by the flouds that came out of Paradise terrestre. For Mesopotame and the kingdome of Calde and Araby are between two floddes, Tigre and Eufrace, and the kingedome of Media and Perce are betwene two flouds Tigre and Nyle, & the kingdome of Surrey, Palestine and Femines[2] are betweene Eufrace and the sea Mediterranean, it is of length from Marroch on the sea of Spaine, unto the great sea, and so lasteth it beyonde Constantinople three M and xx[3] myle of Lombardy and to the Occean sea. In Inde is the kingdome of Sichem,[4] that is all closed among hils, and beside Sichem is the lande of Amazony, wherein dwell none but women.
And thereby is the kingdome of Albany, which is a great lande and it is called so bicause that men are more whiter there than in other places, & in this countrey are great houndes and stronge, so that they overcome Lions and slay them. And ye shall understande that to those countreys are many iles and landes, of the which were too long to tell, but of some I will speake more plainly afterwarde.
[Footnote 1: Parted.]
[Footnote 2: Ph[oe]nicia.]
[Footnote 3: Others say 3,040.]
[Footnote 4: Scythia.]
[Decoration]
CAP. XLVIII.
_Of the haven Gene, for to go by the sea into divers countreys._
FOR he that wyll goe to Tartary, Percy, Caldee or Inde, he entreth the sea at Gene or at Venyce, or at any other haven, and so passeth by the sea, and arriveth at Topasonde,[1] that is a good citie, that sometime men call the haven of bridge, and there is the haven of Perce, of Medes, and of other marches.[2] In this citie lieth saint Athanasius, that was bishop of Alexandry, that made the Psalme, _Quicunque vult salvus esse_. This man was a great doctour of divinitie, and of the godheade, he was accused unto the Pope of Rome that he was an heritike, and the pope sent for hym and put him in prison, and while he was in that prison he made this Psalme and sent it unto the Pope & sayde if that he were an heretyke, then that was heresie, for y^t was his faith and his belefe: and when the Pope saw that he had sayde therein was all our faith, then anon he did deliver him out of prison, and he commaunded that Psalme to be sayd every day at prime, & so he held Athanasius for a good christen man, but he never would after goe to his bishoprych for they accused him of heresie.
Topasond was some tyme holden of the Emperour of Constantinople, but a great man that he sent to help that countrey against the Turkes, did holde it to himselfe, & called himself Emperour of Topasonde.