[427-1] Stochfissi. The English word “stockfish” Italianized. Of the English fish trade with Iceland, Biggar gives a full account, Voyages of the Cabots, pp. 53-62, making frequent citations from G. W. Dasent, Icelandic Annals, IV. 427-437. He quotes also a passage from the Libell of English Policy, 1436, beginning:
“Of Yseland to wryte is lytille nede
Save of stokfische;” etc.
[427-2] El Levante, here again as a known place, oriented from Europe. His destination, not the direction of his route.
[427-3] In Cabot’s mind the Cipango of Marco Polo is confused with the Spice Islands. Marco Polo says nothing of the production of spices in his account of Cipango. The confusion is probably to be traced to Columbus’s reports that he had discovered Cipango and that the islands he had discovered produced spices.
[427-4] From 1425 Jiddah on the east shore of the Red Sea rapidly displaced Aden as an emporium of the spice trade where the cargoes were transshipped from Indian to Egyptian vessels. Jiddah is the port of entry for Mecca, distant about forty-five miles, and Mecca became a great spice market. See Heyd, Histoire du Commerce du Levant au Moyen-Age, II. 445 et seqq., and Biggar, Voyages of the Cabots and Corte-Reals, pp. 31-36. Biggar quotes interesting passages on the Mecca trade from The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema, Hakluyt Society (London, 1863).
[428-1] I.e., a place far enough east from Arabia to be thought of as west from Europe. After making all due allowances one may be excused for feeling some misgiving whether John Cabot actually ever was in Mecca. While some of the spices and eastern commodities were brought overland by caravan from Ormuz or Bassora, the greater part came by water to Jiddah. At Jiddah he could hardly have failed to get fairly accurate information as to where the spices came from. That one who had seen that great commerce should have remained so much in the dark as to conclude that spices came from northeastern Asia is strange enough.
[428-2] In imitation of Columbus.
[429-1] English social joys in the fifteenth century did not appeal to the more refined Italians. An interesting parallel to this comment of Raimondo de Soncino is to be found in Vespasiano’s life of Poggio. “Pope Martin sent him with letters to England. He strongly condemned their life, consuming the time in eating and drinking. He was used to say in pleasantry that oftentimes being invited by those prelates or English gentlemen to dinner or to supper and staying four hours at the table he must needs rise from the table many times to wash his eyes with cold water so as not to fall asleep.” Vespasiano da Bisticci, Vite di Uomini Illustri del Secolo XV. (Florence, 1859), p. 420.
[429-2] The original is in the archives at Simancas partly in cipher. It was discovered and deciphered by Bergenroth and published in the Calendar of State Papers, Spanish Series, I., pp. 176-177. The Spanish text was published by Harrisse, Jean et Sébastien Cabot, pp. 329-330, and in Weare, Cabot’s Discovery, pp. 160-161. Bergenroth’s translation is given here, carefully revised. The contents of this letter were briefly summarized in a despatch to the Catholic sovereigns by Dr. Puebla, their senior ambassador, which was transmitted at or about the same time with that of Ayala. The Puebla despatch, which contains nothing not in the Ayala despatch, can be seen in Weare, p. 159.
[430-1] In this Ayala would seem to have been misinformed. Cf. [pp. 423], [425].