[Sidenote: The Prologue] For als moche as the Lond bezonde the See, that is to seye, the Holy Lond, that men callen the Lond of Promyssioun, or of Beheste, passynge alle othere Londes, is the most worthi Lond, most excellent, and Lady and Sovereyn of alle othere Londes, and is blessed and halewed of the precyous Body and Blood of oure Lord Jesu Crist; in the whiche Lond it lykede him to take Flesche and Blood of the Virgyne Marie, to envyrone that holy Lond with his blessede Feet; and there he wolde of his blessednesse enoumbre him in the seyd blessed and gloriouse Virgine Marie, and become Man, and worche many Myracles, and preche and teche the Feythe and the Lawe of Cristene Men unto his Children; and there it lykede him to suffre many Reprevinges and Scornes for us; and he that was Kyng of Hevene, of Eyr, of Erthe, of See and of alle thinges that ben conteyned in hem, wolde alle only ben cleped Kyng of that Lond, whan he seyde, "Rex sum Judeorum," that is to seyne, "I am Kyng of Jewes;" and that Lond he chees before alle other. Londes, as the beste and most worthi Lond, and the most vertouse lond of alle the world: For it is the herte and the myddes of all the world; wytnessynge the philosophere, that seythe thus; "Vertus rerum in medio consistit:" That is to seye, "The vertue of thinges is in the myddes;" and in that Lond he wolde lede his lyf, and suffre passioun and dethe of Jewes, for us; for to bye and to delyvere us from peynes of helle, and from dethe withouten ende; the whiche was ordeyned for us, for the synne of oure formere fader Adam, and for oure owne synnes also: for as for himself, he hadde non evylle deserved: For he thoughte nevere evylle ne dyd evylle: And he that was kyng of glorie and of joye myghten best in that place suffre dethe; because he ches in that lond, rathere than in ony othere, there to suffre his passioun and his dethe: For he that wil pupplische ony thing to make it openly knowen, he wil make it to ben cryed and pronounced, in the myddel place of a town; so that the thing that is proclamed and pronounced, may evenly strecche to alle parties: Righte so, he that was formyour of alle the world, wolde suffre for us at Jerusalem; that is the myddes of the world; to that ende and entent, that his passioun and his dethe, that was pupplischt there, myghte ben knowen evenly to alle the parties of the world. See now how dere he boughte man, that he made after his owne ymage, and how dere he azen boghte us, for the grete love that he hadde to us; and we nevere deserved it to him. For more precyous catelle ne gretter ransoum, ne myghte he put for us, than his blessede body, his precyous blood, and his holy lyf, that he thralled for us; and alle he offred for us, that nevere did synne. A dere God, what love hadde he to his subjettes, whan he that nevere trespaced, wolde for trespassours suffre dethe! Righte wel oughte us for to love and worschipe, to drede and serven suche a Lord; and to worschipe and preyse suche an holy lond, that broughte forthe suche fruyt, thorghe the whiche every man is saved, but it be his owne defaute. Wel may that lond be called delytable and a fructuous lond, that was bebledd [Footnote: Coloured with blood] and moysted with the precyouse blode of oure Lord Jesu Crist; the whiche is the same lond, that oure lord behighten us in heritage. And in that lond he wolde dye, as seised, for to leve it to us his children. Wherfore every gode Cristene man, that is of powere, and hathe whereof, scholde peynen him with all his strengthe for to conquere oure righte heritage, and chacen out alle the mysbeleevynge men. For wee ben clept cristene men, aftre Crist our Fadre. And zif wee ben righte children of Crist, we oughte for to chalenge the heritage, that oure Fadre lafte us, and do it out of hethene mennes hondes. But nowe pryde, covetyse and envye han so enflawmed the hertes of lordes of the world, that thei are more besy for to disherite here neyghbores, more than for to chalenge or to conquere here righte heritage before seyd. And the comoun peple, that wolde putte here bodyes and here catelle, for to conquere oure heritage, thei may not don it withouten the lordes. For a semblee of peple withouten a cheventeyn, [Footnote: Chieftain.] or a chief lord, is as a flock of scheep withouten a schepperde; the whiche departeth and desparpleth, [Footnote: Disperseth.] and wyten never whidre to go. But wolde God, that the temporel lordes and all worldly lordes weren at gode accord, and with the comen peple woulden taken this holy viage over the see. Thanne I trowe wel, that within a lytyl tyme, our righte heritage before seyd scholde be reconsyled and put in the hondes of the right heires of Jesu Crist.
And for als moche as it is longe tyme passed, that there was no generalle passage ne vyage over the see; and many men desiren for to here speke of the holy lond, and han thereof great solace and comfort; I John Maundevylle, Knyght, alle be it I be not worthi, that was born in Englond, in the town of Scynt Albones, passed the see in the zeer of our Lord Jesu Crist MCCCXXII, in the day of Seynt Michelle; and hidre [Footnote: There.] to have ben longe tyme over the see, and have seyn and gon thorghe manye dyverse londes, and many provynces and Kingdomes and iles, and have passed thorghe Tartarye, Percye, Ermonye [Footnote: Armenia.] the litylle and the grete; thorghe Lybye, Caldee, and a gret partie of Ethiope; thorghe Amazoyne, Inde the lasse and the more, a gret partie; and thorghe out many othere iles, that ben abouten Inde; where dwellen many dyverse folkes, and of dyverse manneres and lawes, and of dyverse schappes of men. Of which londes and iles, I schall speake more pleynly hereaftre. And I schall devise zou sum partie of thinges that there ben, whan time schalle ben, aftre it may best come to my mynde; and specially for hem, that wylle and are in purpos for to visite the holy citee of Jerusalem, and the holy places that are thereaboute. And I schalle telle the weye, that thei schulle holden thidre. For I have often tymes passed and ryden the way, with gode companye of many lordes: God be thonked.
And zee schulle undirstonde, that I have put this boke out of Latyn into Frensche, and translated it azen out of Frensche into Englyssche, that every man of my nacioun may undirstonde it. But lordes and knyghtes and othere noble and worthi men, that conne Latyn but litylle, and han ben bezonde the see, knowen and undirstonden, zif I erre in devisynge, for forzetynge, [Footnote: Forgetting.] or elles; that thei mowe redresse it and amende it. For thinges passed out of longe tyme from a mannes mynde or from his syght, turnen sone into forzetynge: Because that mynde of man ne may not ben comprehended ne witheholden, for the freeltee of mankynde.
To teche zou the Weye out of Englond to Constantinoble.
[Sidenote: Cap I.] In the name of God Glorious and Allemyghty. He that wil passe over the see, to go to the city of Jerusalem, he may go by many wayes, bothe on see and londe, aftre the contree that hee cometh fro; manye of hem comen to on ende. But troweth not that I wil telle zou alle the townes and cytees and castelles, that men schulle go by; for than scholde I make to longe a tale; but alle only summe contrees and most princypalle stedes, that men schulle gone thorgh, to gon the righte way.
CAPVT. 2.
Iter ab Anglia tam per terras quam per aquas vsque in Constantinopolim.
Qui de Hybernia, Anglia, Scotia, Noruegia, aut Gallia, iter arripit ad partes Hierosolymitanas potest saltem vsque ad Imperialem Greciæ Ciuitatem Constantinopolim eligere sibi modum proficiscendi, siue per terras, siue per aquas. Et si peregrinando eligit transigere viam, tendat per Coloniam Agrippinam, et sic per Almaniam in Hungariam ad Montlusant Ciuitatem, sedem Regni Hungariæ. [Sidenote: Regis Hungariæ olim potentia.] Et est Rex Hungariæ multum potens istis temporibus. Nam tenet et Sclauoniam, et magnam partem Regni Comannorum, et Hungariam, et partem Regni Russiæ. Oportet vt peregrinus in finibus Hungariæ transeat magnum Danubij flumen, et vadat in Belgradum; Hoc flumen oritur inter Montana Almaniæ, et currens versus Orientem, recipit in se 40. flumina antequam finiatur in mare. De Belgrade intratur terra Bulgariæ, et transitur per Pontem petrinum fluuij Marroy, et per terram Pyncenars, et tunc intratur Græcia, in Ciuitates, Sternes, Asmopape, et Andrinopolis, et sic in Constantinopolim, vbi communiter est sedes Imperatoris Greciæ. Qui autem viam eligit per aquas versus Constantinopolim nauigare, accipiat sibi portum, prout voluerit, propinquum siue remotum, Marsiliæ, Pisi, Ianuæ, Venetijs, Romæ, Neapoli, vel alibi: sicque transeat Tusciam, Campaniam, Italiam, Corsicam, Sardiniam, vsque in Siciliam, quæ diuiditur ab Italia per brachiam maris non magnum. [Sidenote: Mons ætna.] In Sicilia est mons Ætna iugiter ardens, qui ibidem apellatur Mons Gibelle, et præter illum habentur ibi loca Golthan vbi sunt septem leucæ quasi semper ignem spirantes: secundum diuersitatem colorum harum flammarum estimant. [Sidenote: Aeolides insulæ.] Incolæ annum fertilem fore, vel sterilem, siccum vel humidum, calidum, vel frigidum: hæc loca vocant caminos Infernales, et à finibus Italiæ vsque ad ista loca sunt 25. miliaria. [Sidenote: Temperes Siciliæ Insulæ.] Sunt autem in Sicilia aliqua Pomeria in quibus inueniuntur frondes, flores, et fructus per totum annum, etiam, in profunda hyeme. Regnum Siciliæ est bona, et grandis insula habens in circuitu ferè leucas 300. [Sidenote: Leuca Lombardica. Quid sit dieta.] Et ne quis eret, vel de facili reprehendat quoties scribo leucam, intelligendum est de leuca Lombardica, quæ aliquantò maior est Geometrica; et quoties pono numerum, sub intelligatur fere, vel circiter, siue citra, et dietam intendo ponere, de 10. Lombardicis leucis: Geometrica autem leuca describitur, vt notum est, per hos versus.
Quinque pedes passum faciunt, passus quoque centum
Viginti quínque stadium, si millia des que
Octo facis stadia, duplicatum dat tibi leuca.
[Sidenote: Portus Greciæ.] Postquam itáque peregrinus se credidit Deo et mari, si prospera sibi fuerit nauigatio, non ascendet in terram, donec intret aliquem portum Greciæ, scilicet, Myrroyt, Valonæ, Durase, siue alium prout Diuinæ placuerit uoluntati, et exhinc ibit Constantinopolim praædictam, quaæ olim Bysantium, vel Vesaton dicebatur. Hic autem notandum est, quòd a portu Venetie, vsque ad Constantinopolim directè per mare octingentæ leucæ et 80. communiter computantur ibi contentæ.