From those isles that I have spoken of before, in the land of Prester John, that are under earth as to us, and of other isles that are further beyond, whoever will pursue them may come again right to the parts that he came from, and so environ all the earth; but what for the isles, what for the sea, and what for strong rowing, few people assay to pass that passage. And therefore men return from the isles beforesaid by other isles, coasting, from the land of Prester John. And then come men, in returning, to an isle called Casson, which is full sixty days in length, and more than fifty in breadth. This is the best isle, and the best kingdom, that is in all those parts, except Cathay; and if the merchants used that country as much as they do Cathay, it would be better than Cathay in a short time. This country is well inhabited, and so full of cities and good towns, and inhabited with people, that when a man goes out of one city he sees another city before him. In that isle is great plenty of all goods to live with, and of all manner of spices; and there are great forests of chestnuts. The king of that isle is very rich and mighty; and yet he holds his land of the great chan, and is subject to him; for it is one of the twelve provinces which the great chan has under him, besides his own land, and other less isles, of which he has many.
From that kingdom come men, in returning, to another isle, called Rybothe, which, also, is under the great chan. It is a full good country, and rich in all goods, and wine and fruit, and all other riches. And the people of that country have no houses; but they dwell and lie all under tents made of black fern. And the principal city, and the most royal, is all walled with black and white stone; and all the streets, also, are paved with the same stones. In that city is no man so hardy as to shed blood of any man, nor of any beast, for the reverence of an idol that is worshipped there. And in that isle dwells the pope of their law, whom they call lobassy. This lobassy gives all the benefices, and other dignities, and all other things that belong to the idol. In that isle they have a custom, in all the country, that when any man's father is dead, and the son wishes to do great honour to his father, he sends to all his friends, and to all his kin, and for religious men and priests, and for minstrels also, in great plenty; and then they bear the dead body unto a great hill, with great joy and solemnity; and when they have brought it thither, the chief prelate smites off the head, and lays it upon a great platter of gold and silver, if he be a rich man; and then he gives the head to the son; and then the son and his other kin sing and say many prayers; and then the priests, and the religious men, smite all the body of the dead man in pieces; and then they say certain prayers. And the birds of prey of all the country about know the custom for a long time before, and come flying above in the air, as eagles, kites, ravens, and other birds that eat flesh. And then the priests cast the bits of flesh, and each fowl takes what he may, and goes a little thence and eats it; and they do so whilst any piece of the dead body remains. And after that the priests sing with high voice, in their language, "Behold how worthy a man, and how good a man this was, that the angels of God came to seek him, and to bring him into Paradise." And then it seems to the son that he is highly worshipped when many birds, and fowls, and ravens, come and eat his father; and he that has most number of fowls is most worshipped. Then the son brings home with him all his kin, and his friends, and all the others, to his house, and makes a great feast; and then all his friends make their boast how the fowls came thither, here five, here six, here ten, and there twenty, and so forth; and they rejoice greatly to speak thereof. And when they are at meat the son brings forth the head of his father, and thereof he serves of the flesh to his most special friends, as a dainty. And of the skull he makes a cup, and drinks out of it with his other friends in great devotion, in remembrance of the holy man that the angels of God had eaten. And that cup the son shall keep to drink out of all his lifetime, in remembrance of his father.
From that land, in returning by ten days through the land of the great chan, is another good isle, and a great kingdom, where the king is full rich and mighty. And amongst the rich men of his country is a passing rich man, that is neither prince, nor duke, nor earl; but he has more that hold of him lands and other lordships; for he has every year, of annual rent, more than three hundred thousand horses charged with corn of divers grains and rice; and so he leads a full noble and delicate life, after the custom of the country; for he has every day fifty fair damsels, all maidens, that serve him evermore at his meat, and to lie by him at night, and to do with them what he pleases. And when he is at the table, they bring him his meat at every time, five and five together; and in bringing their service they sing a song. And after that they cut his meat, and put it in his mouth; for he touches nothing, nor handles nought, but holds evermore his hands before him upon the table; for he has such long nails that he may take nothing, nor handle any thing. For the nobleness of that country is to have long nails, and to make them grow always to be as long as men may; and there are many in that country that have their nails so long that they environ all the hand; and that is a great nobleness. And the nobleness of the women is to have small feet; and therefore, as soon as they are born, they bind their feet so tight that they may not grow half as nature would. And always these damsels, that I spoke of before, sing all the time that this rich man eateth; and when he eateth no more of his first course, then other five and five of fair damsels bring him his second course, always singing, as they did before; and so they do continually every day, to the end of his meat. And in this manner he leads his life; and so they did before him that were his ancestors; and so shall they that come after him, without doing of any deeds of arms, but live evermore thus in ease, as a swine that is fed in a sty to be made fat. He has a full fair and rich palace, the walls of which are two miles in circuit; and he has within many fair gardens, and many fair halls and chambers; and the pavement of his halls and chambers are of gold and silver. And in the middle of one of his gardens is a little mountain, where there is a little meadow; and in that meadow is a little house, with towers and pinnacles, all of gold; and in that little house will he sit often to take the air and sport himself.
And you shall understand that of all these countries and isles, and of all the divers people that I have spoken of before, and of divers laws, and of divers beliefs that they have, there is none of them all but they have some reason and understanding in them, and they have certain articles of our faith, and some good points of our belief; and they believe in God that created all things and made the world; but yet they cannot speak perfectly (for there is no man to teach them), but only what they can devise by their natural understanding; for they have no knowledge of the Son nor of the Holy Ghost; but they can all speak of the Bible, namely of Genesis, of the Prophets' laws, and of the books of Moses. And they say well that the creatures that they worship are no gods; but they worship them for the virtue that is in them. And of simulacres, and of idols, they say that there are no people but that they have simulacres; and they say that we Christian men have images, as of our lady, and of other saints, that we worship; not the images of wood or of stone, but the saints in whose name they are made; for right as the books of the Scripture teach the clerks how and in what manner they shall believe, right so the images and the paintings teach the ignorant people to worship the saints, and to have them in their minds, in whose name the images are made. They say, also, that the angels of God speak to them in those idols, and that they do many great miracles. And they say truth, that there is an angel within them; for there are two manner of angels, a good and an evil; as the Greeks say, Cacho and Calo. This Cacho is the wicked angel, and Calo is the good angel: but the other is not the good angel, but the wicked angel, which is within the idols to deceive them and maintain them in their error.
There are many other divers countries, and many other marvels beyond, that I have not seen; wherefore I cannot speak of them properly. And, also, in the countries where I have been are many diversities of many wonderful things, more than I make mention of; for it were too long a thing to devise you the manner of them all. And therefore now that I have devised you of certain countries, which I have spoken of before, I beseech your worthy and excellent nobleness that it suffice to you at this time; for if I told you all that is beyond the sea, another man, perhaps, who would labour to go into those parts to seek those countries, might be blamed by my words in rehearsing many strange things; for he might not say any thing new, in the which the hearers might have either solace or pleasure.
And you shall understand that, at my coming home, I came to Rome, and showed my life to our holy father the pope, and was absolved of all that lay in my conscience of many divers grievous points, as men must need that are in company, dwelling amongst so many divers people, of divers sects and beliefs, as I have been. And, amongst all, I showed him this treatise, that I had made after information of men that knew of things that I had not seen, myself; and also of marvels and customs that I had seen myself, as far as God would give me grace; and besought his holy fatherhood that my book might be examined and corrected by advice of his wise and discreet council. And our holy father, of his special grace, gave my book to be examined and proved by the advice of his said council, by the which my book was proved for true, insomuch that they showed me a book, which my book was examined by, that comprehended full much more, by an hundredth part, by the which the Mappa Mundi was made. And so my book (albeit that many men list not to give credence to any thing but to what they see with their eye, be the author or the person ever so true) is affirmed and proved by our holy father in manner and form as I have said.
And I, John Maundeville, knight, abovesaid, (although I be unworthy,) that went from our countries, and passed the sea, in the year of Grace 1322, have passed many lands, and many isles and countries, and searched many full strange places, and have been in many a full good and honourable company, and at many a fair deed of arms, (albeit that I did none myself, for my insufficiency,) now I am come home (in spite of myself) to rest; for rheumatic gouts, that distress me, fix the end of my labour, against my will (God knoweth). And thus, taking comfort in my wretched rest, recording the time passed, I have fulfilled these things, and written them in this book, as it would come into my mind, the year of Grace 1356, in the thirty-fourth year that I departed from our country. Wherefore I pray to all the readers and hearers of this book, if it please them, that they would pray to God for me, and I shall pray for them.
THE TRAVELS OF BERTRANDON DE LA BROCQUIÈRE.
A.D. 1432, 1433.