THERE is another yland good and great, and plentiouse, where are good men and true and of godly lyfe after their faith, & all if they be not christen neverthelesse of kinde they are full of good vertues and they fly all vices, and all sinne and malice, for they are not envious, proud, covetous, lecherous nor glotenus, and they do not unto another man but that they wold he did to them, and they fulfill the x commaundementes and they make no force of ryches nor of having, & they Swere not, but they say ye and nay, for they say he that swereth will deceive his neighbour, and some men call this yle the yle of Bragamen, and some call it the land of faith, and through it runneth a great river that men call Thebe, and generally al men in those iles, and other iles thereby are truer and rightwiser than in other countreys. In this ile are no theves, murderers nor beggers. And for as much as they are so true and so good, there is no tempest nor thunder, warre, hunger, nor tribulation, and thus it semeth well that God loveth them wel, and he is well payed of theyr dedes, and they beleve in God yt made all thing & him they worship and they live so ordinately in meate and drinke that they live right longe, and many of them dye without sicknesse, that kinde[1] faileth them for age.
[1:] They only die of old age.
CAP. XCVI.
How King Alexander sent his men thither for to winne that lande.
AND King Alexander sometime sent his men to win that lande, and they sent him letters that sayde thus, What behoveth a man to have all the worlde, that is not content therewithal: thou shalt fynde nothing at al in us, why that thou shouldest make warre upon us, for we haue no ryches nor treasure, and all the cattell of our countrey are common, our meates that we eate are our riches, and instede of gold and silver, we make our treasure peace & concorde of love, and we have nought but a cloth uppon our bodies, our wyves are not arrayed rychely to pleasing, for we holde it a great foly for a man to tryme up his body with costly aparel to make it seme fairer than God made it. We haue ben evermore in peace til now yt thou wilt disherite us. We haue a king among us, not for nede of the law, nor to judge any man, for there are no trespassours among us, but all onely to learne us to be obedient to him & so maist you take from us but our good peace. And when King Alexander saw this letter he thought he shold doe to much harme if he troubled them, and sent to them that they should kepe well theyr good maners, & haue no dread of him.
CAP. XCVII.
How the Emperour Prester John when he goeth to batayle, he hath three crosses borne before him of fine gold.
THIS Emperour Prester John, when he goeth to batayle, he hath no baner borne before him, but he hath borne before him three crosses of fine gold, & those are large & great, and well set with precious stones, & for to kepe eche crosse, is ordeyned a thousand[1] men of armes, in maner as men kepe a standerde in other countreys, and he hath men without number when he goeth in any batayle against any other lord. And when he hath no battayle but rydeth with privy company, then doth he beare before him a crosse of tree[2] not painted, and without gold or precious stones, and all playne in token that our lord Jesu Christ suffered death on a cross of tree. And also he hath borne before him a platter of gold ful of earth, in token yt lordship and noblenesse shal tourne to nought, & his flesh shall turne to earth. And also he has borne before him another vessell full of Jewels, and golde and precious stones, in token of his noblenes and of his might.
[1:] Others say 10,000.
[2:] A wooden cross.