Of Moscow, the Chief City of the Kingdom, and of the Emperor thereof.
It remaineth that a large discourse be made of Moscow, the principal city of that country, and of the prince also, as before we have promised. The empire and government of the king is very large, and his wealth at this time exceeding great. And because the city of Moscow is the chiefest of all the rest, it seemeth of itself to challenge the first place in this discourse. Our men say, that in bigness it is as great as the city of London, with the suburbs thereof. There are many and great buildings in it, but, for beauty and fairness, nothing comparable to ours. There are many towns and villages also, but built out of order and with no handsomeness; their streets and ways are not paved with stone as ours are; the walls of their houses are of wood; the roofs, for the most part, are covered with shingle boards. There is hard by the city a very fair castle, strong, and furnished with artillery, whereunto the city is joined directly towards the north with a brick wall; the walls also of the castle are built with brick, and are in breadth or thickness eighteen feet. This castle hath on the one side a dry ditch, and on the other side the river Volga, whereby it is made almost impregnable. The same Volga, trending towards the east, doth admit into it the company of the River Occa.
In the castle aforesaid there are in number nine churches or chapels, not altogether unhandsome, which are used and kept by certain religious men, over whom there is, after a sort, a patriarch or governor, and with him other reverend fathers, all which for the greater part dwell within the castle. As for the king’s court and palace, it is not of the neatest, only in form it is four-square and of low building, much surpassed and excelled by the beauty and elegancy of the houses of the kings of England. The windows are very narrowly built, and some of them by glass, some other by lattices admit the light; and whereas the palaces of our princes are decked and adorned with hangings of cloth of gold, there is none such there; they build and join to all their walls benches, and that not only in the court of the emperor, but in all private men’s houses.
Now after that they had remained about twelve days in the city, there was then a messenger sent unto them to bring them to the king’s house, and they being after a sort wearied with their long stay, were very ready and willing so to do; and, being entered within the gates of the court, there sat a very honourable company of courtiers, to the number of one hundred, all apparelled in cloth of gold down to their ankles, and therehence being conducted into the chamber of presence, our men began to wonder at the majesty of the Emperor. His seat was aloft in a very royal throne, having on his head a diadem or crown of gold, apparelled with a robe all of goldsmith’s work, and in his hand he held a sceptre garnished and beset with precious stones; and, besides all other notes and appearances of honour, there was a majesty in his countenance proportionable with the excellency of his estate. On the one side of him stood his Chief Secretary, and on the other side the Great Commander of Silence, both of them arrayed also in cloth of gold; and then there sat the Council, of one hundred and fifty in number, all in like sort arrayed, and of great state. This so honourable an assembly, so great a majesty of the Emperor and of the place, might very well have amazed our men, and have dashed them out of countenance; but, notwithstanding, Master Chanceler, being therewithal nothing dismayed, saluted and did his duty to the Emperor after the manner of England, and withal delivered unto him the letters of their King Edward VI. The Emperor having taken and read the letters, began a little to question with them, and to ask them of the welfare of our king, whereunto our men answered him directly and in few words. Hereupon our men presented something to the Emperor by the Chief Secretary, which at the delivery of it put off his hat, being before all the time covered; and so the Emperor having invited them to dinner, dismissed them from his presence; and going into the chamber of him that was Master of the Requests to the Emperor, and having stayed there the space of two hours, at the last the messenger cometh, and calleth them to dinner. They go, and being conducted into the Golden Court (for so they call it, although not very fair), they find the Emperor sitting upon a high and stately seat, apparelled with a robe of silver, and with another diadem on his head; our men, being placed over against him, sit down. In the midst of the room stood a mighty cupboard upon a square foot, whereupon stood also a round board, in manner of a diamond, broad beneath, and towards the top narrow, and every step rose up more narrow than the other. Upon this cupboard was placed the Emperor’s plate, which was so much that the very cupboard itself was scant able to sustain the weight of it. The better part of all the vessels and goblets was made of very fine gold; and, amongst the rest, there were four pots of very large bigness, which did adorn the rest of the plate in great measure, for they were so high, that they thought them at the least five feet long. There were also upon this cupboard certain silver casks, not much differing from the quantity of our firkins, wherein was reserved the Emperor’s drink. On each side of the hall stood four tables, each of them laid and covered with very clean table-cloths, whereunto the company ascended by three steps or degrees, all which were filled with the assembly present. The guests were all apparelled with linen without, and with rich skins within, and so did notably set out this royal feast. The Emperor, when he takes any bread or knife into his hand, doth first of all cross himself upon his forehead. They that are in special favour with the Emperor sit upon the same bench with him, but somewhat far from him; and before the coming in of the meat the Emperor himself, according to an ancient custom of the Kings of Muscovy, doth first bestow a piece of bread upon every one of his guests, with a loud pronunciation of his title and honour in this manner, “The Great Duke of Muscovy and Chief Emperor of Russia, John Basiliwich (and then the officer nameth the guest), doth give thee bread,” whereupon all the guests rise up and by-and-by sit down again. This done, the Gentleman Usher of the hall comes in with a notable company of servants carrying the dishes, and having done his reverence to the Emperor, puts a young swan in a golden platter upon the table, and immediately takes it thence again, delivering it to the carver and seven other of his fellows to be cut up, which being performed, the meat is then distributed to the guests with the like pomp and ceremonies. In the meantime, the Gentleman Usher receives his bread and talketh to the Emperor, and afterward, having done his reverence, he departeth. Touching the rest of the dishes, because they were brought in out of order, our men can report no certainty; but this is true, that all the furniture of dishes and drinking vessels, which were then for the use of a hundred guests, was all of pure gold, and the tables were so laden with vessels of gold, that there was no room for some to stand upon them.
We may not forget that there were one hundred and forty servitors arrayed in cloth of gold, that in the dinner-time changed thrice their habit and apparel, which servitors are in like sort served with bread from the Emperor as the rest of the guests. Last of all, dinner being ended, and candles brought in (for by this time night was come), the Emperor calleth all his guests and noblemen by their names, in such sort that it seems miraculous that a prince, otherwise occupied in great matters of estate, should so well remember so many and sundry particular names. The Russians told our men that the reason thereof, as also of the bestowing of bread in like manner, was to the end that the Emperor might keep the knowledge of his own household, and withal, that such as are under his displeasure might by this means be known.