Of the beastes which they eat, of their garments, and of their maner of hunting. Chap. 7.
Great lords haue cottages or granges towards the South, from whence their tenants bring them Millet and meale against winter. The poorer sort prouide themselues of such necessaries, for the exchange of rams, and of other beasts skins. The Tartars slaues fil their bellies with thick water, and are therewithall contented. They wil neither eate mise with long tailes, nor any kinde of mise with short tailes. They haue also certaine litle beasts called by them Sogur, which lie in a caue twenty or thirty of them together, al the whole winter sleeping there for the space of sixe moneths: [Footnote: Marmosets] and these they take in great abundance. There are also a kind of conies hauing long tayles like vnto cats: and on the outside of their tailes grow blacke and white haires. They haue many other small beasts good to eat, which they know and discerne right well. I saw no Deere there, and but a fewe hares but a great number of Roes. I saw wild asses in great abundance which be like vnto Mules. Also I saw another kind of beast called Artak, hauing in al resemblance the body of a ram and crooked hornes, which are of such bignes, that I could scarce lift vp a paire of them with one hand; and of these hornes they make great drinking cups. [Sidenote: Our falconers vse the left first. Another strange custome, which I leaue to be scanned by falconers themselues.] They haue Falcons, Girfalcons, and other haukes in great plenty all which they cary vpon their right hands: and they put alwaies about their Falcons necks a string of leather, which hangeth down to the midst of their gorges, by the which string they cast them off the fist at their game, with their left hand they bow doune the heads and breasts of the sayd haukes, least they should be tossed vp and downe, and beaten with the wind, or least they should soare too high. Wherefore they get a great part of their victuals, by hunting and hauking. Concerning their garments and attire be it knowen vnto your Maiestie, that out of Cataya and other regions of the East, out of Persia also and other countries of the South, there are brought vnto them stuffes of silke, cloth of gold, and cotton cloth, which they weare in time of summer. But out of Russia, Moxel, Bulgaria the greater, and Pascatir, that is Hungaria the greater, and out of Kersis (all which are Northerne regions and full of woods) and also out of many other countries of the North, which are subiect vnto them, the inhabitants bring them rich and costly skins of diuers sortes (which I neuer saw in our countries) wherewithal they are clad in winter. And alwaies against winter they make themselues two gownes, one with the fur inward to their skin, and another with the furre outward, to defend them from wind and snow, which for the most part are made of woolues skins, or Fox skins, or els of Papions. And when they sit within the house, they haue a finer gowne to weare. The poorer sort make their vpper gowne of dogs or of goats skins. When they goe to hunt for wild beasts, there meets a great company together, and inuironing the place round about, where they are sure to find some game, by litle and litle they approach on al sides, til they haue gotten the wild beasts into the midst, as it were into a circle, and then they discharge their arrowes at them. Also they make themselues breeches of skins. The rich Tartars somtimes fur their gowns with pelluce or silke shag, which is exceeding soft, light, and warme. The poorer sort do line their clothes with cotton cloth which is made of the finest wooll they can pick out, and of the courser part of the said wool, they make felt to couer their houses and their chests, and for their bedding also. [Sidenote: Great expense of wooll.] Of the same wool, being fixed with one third part of horse haire, they make all their cordage. They make also of the said felt couerings for their stooles, and caps to defende their heads from the weather: for all which purposes they spend a great quantity of their wooll. And thus much concerning the attyre of the men.
De rasura virorum et ornatu mulierum. Cap. 8.
Viri radunt in summitate capitis quadrangulum, et ab anterioribus angulis ducunt rasuram cristæ capitis vsque ad tempora. Radunt etiam tempora et collum vsque ad summum concauitatis ceruicis: et frontem anterius vsque ad frontinellam, super quam relinquunt manipulum pilorum descendentium vsque ad supercilia. In angulis occipitis relinquunt crines, quibus faciunt tricas, quas succingunt nodando vsque ad aures. Et habitus puellarum non differt ab habitu virorum, nisi quod aliquantulum est longior. Sed in crastino postquam est nupta radit caluariam suam à medietate capitis versus frontem, et habet tunicam latam sicut cucullam monialis, et per omnia latiorem et longiorem, fissam ante, quam ligat sub dextro latere. In hoc enim differunt Tartari à Turcis: quod Turci ligani tunicas suas ad sinistram, Tartari semper ad dextram. Postea habent ornamentum capitis, quod vocant botta, quod fit de cortice arboris vel alia materia, quam possunt inuenire, leuiore: et est grossum et rotundum, quantum potest duabus manibus complecti; longum vero vnius cubiti et plus, quadrum superius, sicut capitellum vnius columnæ. Istud botta cooperiunt panno serico precioso; et est concauum interius: et super capitellum in medio vel super quadraturam illam ponunt virgulam de calamis pennarum vel cannis gracilibus longitudinis scilicet vnius cubiti et plus: et illam sibi virgulam ornant superius de pennis pauonis, et per longum in circuitu pennulis caudæ malardi, et etiam lapidibus præciosis. Diuites dominæ istud ornamentum ponunt in summitate capitis quod stringunt fortiter cum almucia, quæ foramen habet in summitate ad hoc aptatum, et in isto recondunt crines suos quos recolligunt à parte posteriori ad summitatem capitis quasi in nodo vno et reponunt in illo botta, quod postea fortiter ligant sub gutture. Vnde quum equitant plures dominæ simul et videntur à longe, apparent milites, habentes galeas in capitibus cum lanceis eleuatis. Illud enim botta apparet galea de super lancea. Et sedent omhes mulieres super equos sicut viti diuersificantes coxas; et ligant cucullas suas panno serico aerij coloris super renes, et alia fascia stringunt ad mamillas: et ligant vnam peciam albam sub occulis, quæ descendit vsque ad pectus. Et sunt mulieres miræ pinguedinis, et quæ minus habet de naso pulchrior reputatur. Deturpant etiam turpiter pinguedine facies suas: nunquam cubant in lecto pro puerperio.
The same in English.
Of the fashion which the Tartars vse in cutting their haire, and of the attire of their women. Chap. 8.
The men shaue a plot foure square vpon the crownes of their heads, and from the two formost corners they shaue, as it were, two seames downe to their temples: they shaue also their temples and the hinder part of their head euen vnto the nape of the necke: likewise they shaue the forepart of their scalp downe to their foreheads, and vpon their foreheads they leaue a locke of hayre reaching downe vnto their eye browes: vpon the two hindermost corners of their heads, they haue two lockes also, which they twine and braid into knots and so bind and knit them vnder each eare one. Moreouer their womens garments differ not from their mens, sauing that they are somewhat longer. But on the morrowe after one of their women is maried, shee shaues her scalpe from the middest of her head downe to her forehead, and weares a wide garment like vnto the hood of a Nunne, yea larger and longer in all parts then a Nuns hood, being open before and girt vnto them vnder the right side. For herein doe the Tartars differ from the Turkes: because the Turkes fasten their garments to their bodies on the left side: but the Tartars alwaies on the right side. They haue also an ornament for their heads which they call Botta, being made of the barke of a tree, or of some such other lighter matter as they can find, which by reason of the thicknes and roundnes therof cannot be holden but in both hands together: and it hath a square sharp spire rising from the top therof, being more then a cubite in length, and fashioned like vnto a pinacle. The said Botta they couer al ouer with a piece of rich silke: and it is hollow within: and vpon the midst of the sayd spire or square toppe, they put a bunch of quils or of slender canes a cubite long and more: and the sayd bunch, on the top thereof, they beautifie with Peacocks feathers, and round about al the length therof, with the feathers of a Malards taile, and with precious stones also. Great ladies weare this kind of ornament vpon their heads binding it strongly with a certain hat or coyfe, which hath an hole in the crowne, fit for the spire to come through it: and vnder the fore-said ornament they couer the haires of their heads, which they gather vp round together from the hinder part therof to the crowne, and so lap them vp in a knot or bundel within the said Botta, which afterward they bind strongly vnder their throtes. Hereupon when a great company of such gentlewomen ride together, and are beheld a far off, they seem to be souldiers with helmets on their heads carrying their launces vpright: for the said Botta appeareth like an helmet with a launce ouer it. Al their women sit on horsebacke bestriding their horses like men: and they bind their hoods or gownes about their wastes with a skie coloured silke skarfe, and with another skarfe they girde it aboue their breasts: and they bind also a piece of white silke like a mufler or mask vnder their eyes, reaching down vnto their breast These gentlewomen are exceeding fat, and the lesser their noses be, the fairer are they esteemed: they daube ouer their sweet faces with grease too shamefully: and they neuer lie in bed for their trauel of childbirth.
De officio mulierum, et operibus earum, ac de nuptijs earum. Cap. 9.
Officium foeminarum est ducere bigas, ponere domus super eas et deponere, mungere vaccas, facere butirum et griut, parare pelles, et consuere eas, quas consuunt filo deneruis; diuidunt enim neruos in minuta fila, et postea illa contorquent in vnum longum filum. Consuunt etiam soculares et soccos et alias vestes. Vestes vero nunquam lauant, quia dicunt quod Deus tunc irascitur, et quod fiant torotrua si suspendantur ad siccandum: Imo lauantes verberant et eis auferunt. Tonitrua supra modum timent: tunc omnes extraneos emittunt de domibus suis; et inuoluunt se in filtris nigris, in quibus latitant, donec transierit. Nunquam etiam lauant scutellos, imo carne cocta alueum in quo debent ponere eam lauant brodio bulliente de caldaria, et postea refundunt in caldariam; faciunt et filtrum et cooperiunt domos. Viri faciunt solum arcus et sagittas, fabricant strepas, et fræna, et faciunt cellas, carpentant domos et bigas: custodiunt equos et mungunt equas, concutiunt ipsum cosmos et lac equinum, faciunt vires in quibus reconditur: custodiunt etiam camelos, et onerant eos Oues et Capras custodiunt mixtim et mungunt aliquando viri, aliquando mulieres. [Sidenote: Pellium paratio] De lacte ouium inspissato et salso parant pelles. Cum volunt manus vel caput lauare implent os suum aqua et paulatim fundunt de ore suo super manus, et eadem humectant crines suos, et lauant caput suum. De nuptijs eorum noueritis, quod nemo habet ibi vxorem nisi emat eam; vnde aliquando sunt puellæ multum aduitæ ante quam nubant: semper enim tenent eas parentes, donec vendant eas. Seruant etiam gradus consanguinitatis primum et secundum: nullum autem seruant affinitatis. Habent enim simul vel successiue duas sorores. Nulla vidua nubit inter eos, hac ratione; quia credunt quod omnes qui seruiunt eis in hac vita seruient in futura. Vnde vidua credunt, quod semper reuertitur post mortem ad primum maritum. Vnde accidit turpis consuetudo inter eos quod filius scilicet ducit aliquando omnes vxores patris sui, excepta matre. Curia enim patris et matris semper accidit iuniori filio. Vnde oportet quod ipse prouideat omnibus vxoribus patris sui, quia adueniunt eæ cum curia paterna. Et tunc si vult vtitur eis pro vxoribus, quia non reputat sibi iniuriam, si reuertatur ad patrem post mortem. Cum ergo aliquis fecerit pactum cum aliquo de filia accipienda, facit pater puellæ conuiuium, et illa fuagit ad consanguineos, vt ibi lateat: Tunc pater dicit, Ecce filia mea tua est, accipe eam vbicunque inueneris: Tunc ille quærit cum amicis suis, donec inueniat eam, et oportet, quod vi capiat eam et ducat eam quasi violenter ad domum.
The same in English.