[Sidenote: Moria is the sea.] The places of Lucomoria, neare vnto the sea, are saluage full of woods, and inhabited without any houses. And albeit, that the author of this iourney, said, that many nations of Lucomoria are subiect to the prince of Moscouia, yet for asmuch as the kingdome of Tumen is neare thereunto, whose prince is a Tartar, and named in their Tongue, Tumenski Czar, that is, a king in Tumen, and hath of late done great domage to the prince of Moscouia: It is most like that these nations should be rather subiect vnto him.
Neare vnto the riuer Petzora (whereof mention is made in this iourney) is the citie and castle of Papin or Papinowgorod, whose inhabitants are named Papini, and haue a priuate language, differing from the Moscouites. [Sidenote: High mountaines, supposed to be Hyperborei, and Rhiphei.] Beyond this riuer are exceeding high mountaines, reaching euen vnto the bankes, whose ridges or tops, by reason of continuall windes, are in maner vtterly barren without grasse or fruits. And although in diuers places they haue diuers names, yet are they commonly called Cingulus mundi, that is, the girdle of the world. In these mountaines doe Ierfalcons breede, whereof I haue spoken before. There growe also Cedar trees, among the which are found the best and blackest kinde of Sables: and onely these mountaines are seene in all the dominions of the prince of Moscouia which perhaps are the same that the old writers call Rhipheos or Hyperboreos, so named of the Greeke word, Hyper, that is, Aboue, and Boreas, that is, the North; for by reason they are couered with continuall snow and frost, they can not without great difficultie be trauayled, and reach so farre into the North, that they make the vnknown land of Engronland. The Duke of Moscouia, Basilius the sonne of Iohn, sent on a time two of his Captaines, named Simeon Pheodorowich Kurbski, & Knes Peter Vschatoi, to search the places beyond these mountaines, and to subdue the nations thereabout. Kurbski was yet aliue at my being in Moscouia, & declared vnto me that he spent xvii. daies in ascending the mountaine, & yet could not come to the top thereof, which in their tongue is called Stolp, that is, a piller. This mountaine is extended into the Ocean vnto the mouthes of the riuers of Dwina and Petzora.
But now hauing spoken thus much of the said iourney, I will returne to the dominions of Moscouia, with other regions lying Eastward and South from the same, toward the mighty Empire of Cathay. But I will first speake somewhat briefly of the prouince of Rezan, and the famous riuer of Tanais.
[Sidenote: The fruitfull prouince of Rezan.] The prouince of Rezan, situate betweene the riuers of Occa and Tanais, hath a citie builded of wood, not far from the bank of Occa: there was in it a castle named Iaroslaue, whereof there now remainethr nothing but tokens of the old ruine. Not farre from that citie the riuer Occa maketh an Iland named Strub, which was sometime a great Dukedome, whose prince was subiect to none other. This prouince of Rezan is more fruitful then any other of the prouinces of Moscouia: Insomuch that in this (as they say) euery graine of wheat bringeth forth two, and sometimes more eares: whose stalkes or strawes grow so thicke that horses can scarsely go through them, or Quayles flie out of them. There is great plenty of hony, fishes, foules, hirdes, and wilde beasts. The fruits also due farre exceede the fruits of Moscouia. The people are bolde and warlike men.
A speciall note gathered by the excellent Venetian Cosmographer M. Iohn Baptista Ramusius out of the Atabian Geographie of Abilfada Ismael, concerning the trending of the Ocean sea from China Northward, along the coast of Tartarie and other vnknowen lands, and then running Westwards vpon the Northerne coasts of Russia, and so farther to the Northwest.
Descriuendo poi il predetto Abilfadai Ismael luoghi della terra habitabile, che circuendo il mar Oceano tocca, dice cosi.
[Sidenote: La regione delle Cine. Contini delli vltimi Tartari. Alcune Terre Incognite. Contini Settentrionali della Rosia.] Riuoltasi l'Oceano da leuante verso la regione delle Cine, et vÓ alla volta di Tramontana, et passata finalmente la detta regione, se ne giunge a Gogi et Magogi, cio Ŕ alli confini de gli Vltimi Tartari, et di quiui ad Alcune Terre che sono Incognite: Et correndo sempre per Ponente, passa sopra li confini Settentrionali della Rossia, et vÓ alla volta di Maestro.
The same in English.
The aforesaid Abilfada Ismael describing afterward the habitable places of the earth, which the Ocean sea in his circuit toucheth, sayth in this manner following.
[Sidenote: The Countrey of China. The coasts of the vttermost Tartars. Certaine vnknowne Countreys. The Northern coasts of Russia. The Northwest.] The Ocean sea turneth from the East toward the Countrey of the Chinaes, and stretcheth toward the North, and at length hauing passed the sayd Countrey, it reacheth vnto the Gogi and Magogi, that is, to the confines of The vttermost Tartars, and from thence vnto certaine vnknowen Countreys: and running still Westward it passeth vpon the Northerne coasts of Russia, and from thence it runneth toward Northwest, (which it doth indeede vpon the coast of Lappia.) By this most notable testimony it appeareth, that the Ocean sea compasseth and enuironeth all the East, Northeast, and North parts of Asia and Europe.