Early Travels in Palestine Part 14

At Constantinople is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his coat without seams, and the sponge and the reed with which the Jews gave our Lord vinegar and gall on the cross; and there is one of the nails with which Christ was nailed on the cross. And some men believe that half the cross of our Lord is in Cyprus, in an abbey of monks called the Hill of the Holy Cross. But it is not so; for the cross which is in Cyprus is that on which Dismas[286], the good thief, was crucified. But all men know not that, and it is an evil act; because, for profit of the offering, they say that it is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And you shall understand that the cross of our Lord was made of four kinds of trees, as is contained in this verse-

"In cruce fit palma, cedrus, cypressus, oliva."

For the piece that went upright from the earth to the head was of cypress; and the piece that went across, to which his hands were nailed, was of palm; and the stock, that stood within the earth, in which was made the mortise, was of cedar; and the tablet above his head, which was a foot and a half long, on which the t.i.tle was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, was of olive. And the Jews made the cross of these four kinds of trees, because they believed that our Lord Jesus Christ should have hanged on the cross as long as the cross might last; and therefore they made the foot of the cross of cedar, because cedar may not rot in earth or water; and they thought that it should have lasted long. And because they believed that the body of Christ should have stunk, therefore they made the piece that went from the earth upwards of cypress, for it is well smelling, so that the smell of his body should not grieve men that pa.s.sed by. And the cross piece was of palm, because in the Old Testament it was ordained that when any one conquered, he should be crowned with palm; and because they believed that they had the victory of Christ Jesus, therefore made they the cross-piece of palm. And the tablet of the t.i.tle they made of olive, because olive betokens peace; and the story of Noah witnesseth that when the dove brought the branch of olive, it betokened peace made between G.o.d and man; and so the Jews expected to have peace when Christ was dead; for they said that he made discord and strife amongst them. And you shall understand that our Lord was nailed on the cross in a rec.u.mbent position, and therefore he suffered the more pain. And the Christians that dwell beyond the sea, in Greece, say that the tree of the cross that we call cypress was of that tree of which Adam ate the apple, and that they find written. And they say also, that their Scripture saith[287] that Adam was sick, and told his son Seth to go to the angel that kept Paradise, to pray that he would send him oil of mercy to anoint his members with, that he might have health. And Seth went, but the angel would not let him come in, telling him that he might not have of the oil of mercy; but he gave him three grains of the same tree of which his father ate the apple, and bade him, as soon as his father was dead, that he should put these three grains under his tongue, and bury him so: and he did. And of these three grains sprung a tree, as the angel said that it should, and bore a fruit, through which fruit Adam should be saved. And when Seth came again, he found his father near dead. And when he was dead, he did with the grains as the angel bade him; of which sprung three trees, whereof the cross was made, that bare good fruit and blessed, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom Adam, and all that come of him, should be saved and delivered from dread of death without end, unless it be by their own fault. The Jews had concealed this holy cross in the earth, under a rock of Mount Calvary; and it lay there two hundred years and more, till the time of St.

Helena, the mother of Constantine, emperor of Rome. She was the daughter of king Coel, born in Colchester, who was king of England, which was then called Britain the Greater; the emperor Constantius took her to wife for her beauty, and had by her Constantine, who was afterwards emperor of Rome.

And you shall understand that the cross of our Lord was eight cubits long, and the cross-piece was three cubits and a half in length. And one part of the crown of our Lord, wherewith he was crowned, and one of the nails, and the spear-head, and many other relics, are in France, in the king's chapel[288], the crown being placed in a vessel of crystal richly worked. For a king of France bought these relics of the Jews, to whom the emperor had given them in pledge for a great sum of silver. And if it be so, as men say, that this crown is of thorns, you shall understand that it was of rushes of the sea, which p.r.i.c.k as sharply as thorns; for I have seen and beheld many times that of Paris and that of Constantinople; for they were both one, made of rushes of the sea. But men had divided them in two parts; of which one part is at Paris, and the other part is at Constantinople. And I have one of these precious thorns, which seems like a white thorn; and it was given to me as a great favour; for there are many of them broken and fallen into the vessel that the crown lieth in; they break for dryness, when men move it, to show it to great lords that come thither.

And you shall understand that our Lord Jesus, on the night he was taken, was led into a garden, where he was first examined very sharply; and there the Jews scorned him, and made him a crown of the branches of aubespine, or white thorn, which grew in the same garden, and set it on his head, so fast and so sore, that the blood ran down on many parts of his face, neck, and shoulders. And therefore hath white thorn many virtues; for he that beareth a branch thereof upon him, no thunder nor tempest may hurt him; and no evil spirit may enter in the house in which it is, or come to the place that it is in. And in that same garden St.

Peter denied our Lord thrice. Afterward our Lord was led forth before the bishops and the masters of the law, into another garden belonging to Annas; and there also he was examined, reproved, and scorned, and crowned again with a white thorn, which is called barbarines, which grew in that garden, and which hath also many virtues. And afterward he was led into a garden of Caiphas, and there he was crowned with eglantine.

And after he was led into the chamber of Pilate, and there he was examined and crowned. And the Jews set him in a chair, and clad him in a mantle; and there they made the crown of rushes of the sea; and there they knelt to him, and scorned him, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!"

Half of this crown is at Paris, and the other half at Constantinople.

And Christ had this crown on his head when he was placed on the cross; and therefore ought men to wors.h.i.+p it, and hold it more worthy than any of the others. And the emperor of Almaine possesses the spear-shaft, but the head of the spear is at Paris. Yet the emperor of Constantinople saith that he hath the spear-head, and I have often seen it; but it is greater than that at Paris.

CHAPTER III.

OF THE CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE, AND OF THE FAITH OF THE GREEKS.

At Constantinople lieth St. Anne, our Lady's mother, whom St. Helena caused to be brought from Jerusalem. And there lieth also the body of John Chrysostom, who was archbishop of Constantinople. There lieth also St. Luke the Evangelist, whose bones were brought from Bethany, where he was buried. And many other relics are there. And there is the vessel of stone, as it were of marble, which men call Enydros, and which continually drops water, and fills itself every year, till it run over, besides what men take from within. Constantinople is a very fair and good city, and well walled, and it is three-cornered. There is an arm of the sea of h.e.l.lespont, which some men call the mouth of Constantinople, and some men call it the Brace (or arm) of St. George; and that arm incloses two parts of the city. And upward to the sea, upon the water, was wont to be the great city of Troy, in a very fair plain; but that city was destroyed by the people of Greece, and little thereof now appears, because it is so long since it was destroyed.

About Greece there are many isles, as Calliste, Calcas, Cetige, Tesbria, Mynea, Flaxon, Melo, Carpate, and Lemne. In this latter isle is Mount Athos, that pa.s.seth the clouds. And there are divers languages and many countries obedient to the emperor, namely, Turcople, Pyneynard, Cornagne, and many others, as Thrace and Macedonia, of which Alexander was king. In this country was Aristotle born, in a city called Stagyra, a little from the city of Thrace. And at Stagyra Aristotle lieth; and there is an altar upon his tomb. And they make great feasts for him ever year, as though he were a saint. And at his altar they hold their great councils and their a.s.semblies, expecting that through inspiration of G.o.d and of him they shall have the better council. In this country are very high hills, toward the extremity of Macedonia. And there is a great hill, called Olympus, which divides Macedonia and Thrace, so high that it pa.s.seth the clouds. And there is another hill, called Athos, so high that the shadow of it reaches to Lemne[289], which is an island seventy-six miles distant. At the summit of this hill the air is so clear, that no wind is found there, and therefore no animal may live there; and the air is dry. And men say in those countries, that philosophers once went upon those hills, and held to their nose a sponge moistened with water, to have air, because the air above was so dry; and at the summit, in the dust of those hills, they wrote letters and figures with their fingers, and at the year's end they came again, and found the same letters and figures which they had written the year before, without any change. And therefore it appears evident that these hills pa.s.s the clouds and join to the pure air.

At Constantinople is the palace of the emperor, very handsome and well built; and therein is a fair place for joustings, or for other plays and sports. And it is made with stages, and hath steps about, that every man may see well, and not intercept the view of those behind. And under these stages are stables well vaulted for the emperor's horses; and all the pillars are of marble. And within the church of St. Sophia, an emperor once would have buried the body of his father when he was dead; and, as they made the grave, they found a body in the earth, and upon the body lay a fine plate of gold, on which was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, letters that said thus, "Jesus Christ shall be born of the Virgin Mary, and I believe in him." And the date when it was laid in the earth was two thousand years before our Lord was born. The plate of gold is still preserved in the treasury of the church. And they say that it was Hermogenes, the wise man.

Although the men of Greece are Christians, yet they vary from our faith; for they say that the Holy Ghost may not come of the Son, but only of the Father. And they are not obedient to the Church of Rome, nor to the pope; for they say that their patriarch hath as much power over the sea as the pope hath on this side the sea. And therefore pope John XXII.

sent letters to them, how Christian faith should be all one, and that they should be obedient to the pope, who is G.o.d's vicar on earth, to whom G.o.d gave his full power to bind and to a.s.soil, and therefore they should be obedient to him. But they sent back divers answers, amongst others saying thus: "We believe well that thy power is great upon thy subjects. We may not suffer thy great pride. We are not in purpose to fulfil thy great covetousness. The Lord be with thee; for our Lord is with us.-Farewell." And no other answer might he have of them. They make their sacrament of the altar of unleavened bread, because our Lord made it of such bread when he made his Maundy[290]. And on Shere-Thursday they make their unleavened bread, in token of the Maundy, and dry it in the sun, and keep it all the year, and give it to sick men instead of G.o.d's body. And they make but one unction when they christen children. They anoint not the sick. And they say that there is no purgatory, and that the souls shall have neither joy nor pain till the day of doom. They say, moreover, that fornication is not a deadly sin, but a thing that is according to nature; and that men and women should wed but once; and whosoever weddeth oftener than once, their children are b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, and begotten in sin. Their priests also are wedded. They say, also, that usury is no deadly sin; and they sell benefices of holy church; and so do men in other places, (G.o.d amend it when his will is!) and that is a great scandal; for now is simony king crowned in holy church: G.o.d amend it for his mercy! And they say that in Lent men shall not fast, or sing ma.s.s, except on the Sat.u.r.day and on the Sunday. And they fast not on the Sat.u.r.days, except it be Christmas Eve, or Easter Eve. They suffer not the Latins to sing at their altars; and if they do by any chance, they immediately wash the altar with holy water. And they say, that there should be but one ma.s.s said at one altar upon one day.

They say also that our Lord never ate, but that he made sign of eating.

They say, moreover, that we sin deadly in shaving our beards; for the beard is token of a man, and the gift of our Lord. And they say that we sin deadly in eating of animals that were forbidden in the Old Testament and by the old law, as swine, hares, and other beasts that chew not their cud. And they say that we sin in eating flesh on the days before Ash Wednesday, and in eating flesh on the Wednesday, and eggs and cheese on the Fridays. And they curse all those who abstain from eating flesh on the Sat.u.r.day. The emperor of Constantinople appoints the patriarch, the archbishops, and the bishops, and gives the dignities and the benefices of churches, and deprives those who deserve it, when he finds any cause; and so is he lord both temporal and spiritual in his country[291].

And although these things touch not to our way, nevertheless they touch to that that I have promised you, to show you a part of the customs, and manners, and diversities of countries. And because this is the first country that is discordant in faith and in belief, and varies from our faith on this side the sea, therefore I have set it here, that you may know the diversity that is between our faith and theirs. For many men have great liking to hear of strange things of diverse countries.

CHAPTER IV.

OF THE WAY FROM CONSTANTINOPLE TO JERUSALEM.-OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, AND OF THE DAUGHTER OF YPOCRAS, TRANSFORMED FROM A WOMAN TO A DRAGON.

Now return I again to explain to you the way from Constantinople to Jerusalem. He that will proceed through Turkey, goes towards the city of Nice, and pa.s.ses through the gate of Chienetout, and men see constantly before them the hill of Chienetout, which is very lofty: it is a mile and a half from Nice. And if you will go by water, by the Brace of St.

George, and by the sea where St. Nicholas lieth, and towards many other places, first, you go to an isle that is called Sylo, in which mastic grows on small trees, out of which comes gum, as it were of plum-trees, or of cherry-trees. And after men go by the isle of Patmos, where St.

John the Evangelist wrote the Apocalypse. And you shall understand that St. John was thirty-two years of age when our Lord suffered his pa.s.sion, and after his pa.s.sion he lived sixty-seven years, and in the hundredth year of his age he died. From Patmos men go to Ephesus, a fair city, and nigh to the sea. And there died St. John, and was buried in a tomb behind the high altar. And there is a fair church, for the Christians were always wont to hold that place. And in the tomb of St. John is nothing but manna, which is called angels' meat, for his body was translated into Paradise. And the Turks now hold all that place, with the city, and the church; and all Asia the Less is called Turkey. And you shall understand that St. John caused his grave to be made there in his life, and laid himself therein, all alive; and, therefore, some men say that he did not die, but that he rests there till the day of doom[292]. And, in truth, there is a great marvel, for men may see there the earth of the tomb many times openly stir and move, as though there were living things under.

And from Ephesus we go through many islands in the sea to the city of Patera, where St. Nicholas was born, and so to Myra, where he was chosen to be bishop; and there grows very good and strong wine, which they call wine of Myra. And from thence men go to the isle of Crete, which the emperor once gave to the Genoese. And then we pa.s.s through the isles of Colos and of Lango[293], of the which isles Ypocras was lord; and some men say, that in the isle of Lango is still the daughter of Ypocras, in form and likeness of a great dragon, which is a hundred fathoms in length, as they say, for I have not seen her. And they of the isles call her lady of the land. And she lies in an old castle, in a cave, and appears twice or thrice in the year; and she doth no harm to any man unless he do her harm. She was thus changed and transformed from a fair damsel into the likeness of a dragon by a G.o.ddess named Diana; and they say that she shall remain in that form until the time that a knight come, who shall be so bold that he dare come to her and kiss her on the mouth; and then she shall turn again to her own nature, and be a woman again, but after that she shall not live long. And it is not long since a knight of Rhodes, who was bold and doughty in arms, said that he would kiss her; when he was upon his courser and went to the castle, and entered into the cave, the dragon lifted up her head towards him, and when the knight saw her in that form, so hideous and horrible, he fled away. But the dragon carried the knight upon a rock, and from thence she cast him into the sea, and so was lost both horse and man. A young man that knew not of the dragon, went out of a s.h.i.+p, and proceeded through the isle until he came to the castle and entered the cave, and went so far that he found a chamber; and there he saw a damsel who was combing her head and looking in a mirror, and she had much treasure about her, and he believed that she had been a common woman, who dwelled there to receive men to folly; and he abode till the damsel saw the shadow of him in the mirror, and she turned her towards him and asked him, what he would? And he said, he would be her paramour. And she asked him if he were a knight? And he said, nay. And then she said, that he might not be her leman; but she bid him go again unto his fellows and get him knighted, and come again upon the morrow, and she would come out of the cave before him; and then he should come and kiss her on the mouth, and have no fear, "for I shall do thee no harm, although thou see me in likeness of a dragon; for though thou see me hideous and horrible to look upon, know that it is made by enchantment. For without doubt I am no other than thou seest now, a woman, and therefore fear not; and if thou kiss me, thou shalt have all this treasure, and be my lord, and lord also of all the isle." And he departed from her and went to his fellows, in the s.h.i.+p, and was made a knight, and returned on the morrow to kiss this damsel. But when he saw her come out of the cave, in form of a dragon, so hideous and so horrible, he had so great fear that he fled again to the s.h.i.+p; and she followed him. And when she saw that he turned not again, she began to cry as a thing that had much sorrow, and then she returned to her cave; and anon the knight died. And from that time to this might no knight see her, but he died anon. But when there shall come a knight who is bold enough to kiss her, he shall not die; but he shall turn the damsel into her right form and natural shape, and he shall be lord of all the countries and isles abovesaid.

And from thence men come to the isle of Rhodes, which isle the Hospitalers[294] hold and govern, having on a time taken it from the emperor. It was formerly called Collos, and so the Turks call it still; and St. Paul, in his Epistles, writes to the people of this isle, _ad Colossenses_[295]. This isle is nearly eight hundred miles from Constantinople.

From this isle of Rhodes we go to Cyprus, where are many vines, which first produce red wine, and after one year they become white; and those wines that are most white are the clearest and best of smell. And men pa.s.s that way by a place which was a great city and a great land; and the city was called Sathalie. This city and the land were lost through the folly of a young man, who had a fair damsel whom he loved well for his paramour, and she died suddenly and was placed in a tomb of marble; and for the great love that he had to her, he went in the night to her tomb, and opened it and went in. And when it came to the end of nine months, there came a voice to him, and said, "Go to the tomb of that woman, and open it, and behold what thou hast begotten on her; and if thou omittest to go, thou shalt have a great harm." And he went and opened the tomb; and there came out a snake, very hideous to behold, which immediately flew about the city and the country, and soon after the city was swallowed up[296]. And there are many perilous pa.s.sages.

From Rhodes to Cyprus are five hundred miles and more; but we may go to Cyprus without touching at Rhodes. Cyprus is a very good, fair, and great island, and it hath four princ.i.p.al cities, with an archbishop at Nicosia, and four other bishops; and at Famagosta is one of the first harbours of the sea in the world; and there arrive Christians, Saracens, and men of all nations. In Cyprus is the hill of the Holy Cross, where there is an abbey of black monks, and there is the cross of Dismas, the good thief, as I have said before. And some men believe that there is half of the cross of our Lord; but it is not so, and they do wrong who make people believe so. In Cyprus lies St. Zenomyne, of whom men of that country make great solemnity; and in the castle of Amours lies the body of St. Hilary, which they keep very wors.h.i.+pfully. Near Famagosta St.

Barnabas the apostle was born. In Cyprus they hunt with papyons[297], which resemble leopards, and they take wild beasts right well, and they are somewhat larger than lions, and take more sharply and more cleverly than hounds do. In Cyprus it is the custom for lords and all other men to eat on the earth; for they make trenches in the earth about in the hall, deep to the knee, and pave them; and when they will eat, they go therein and sit there. And the reason is that they may be cooler; for that land is much hotter than it is here. And at great feasts, and for strangers, they set forms and tables as men do in this country; but they themselves prefer sitting on the earth.

From Cyprus they go to the land of Jerusalem by sea, and in a day and night he that hath good wind may come to the haven of Tyre, which is now called Sur. Here was once a great and good city of the Christians; but the Saracens have destroyed it in great part; and they guard that haven carefully for fear of the Christians. Men might go more direct to that haven, without touching at Cyprus; but they go gladly to Cyprus, to rest them in the land, or to buy things that they need for their living. On the sea-side many rubies are found. There is the well of which Holy Writ speaketh, saying, "A fountain of gardens, and a well of living waters."[298] It was in this city of Tyre that the woman said to our Lord, "Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked."[299] And there our Lord forgave the woman of Canaan her sins.

And before Tyre stood formerly the stone on which our Lord sat and preached, and over which was built the church of St. Saviour.

Eight miles from Tyre, towards the east, upon the sea, is the city of Sarphen, in Sarept of the Sidonians. There dwelt Elijah the prophet, and he raised there Jonas, the widow's son, from death to life. And five miles from Sarphen is the city of Sidon, of which Dido was lady, who was wife of Eneas, after the destruction of Troy, and who founded the city of Carthage in Africa, and now it is called Didon Sayete. And in the city of Tyre reigned Agenor, the father of Dido. Sixteen miles from Sidon is Beruthe (Beirut); and from Beruthe to Sardenare is three days.

And from Sardenare it is five miles to Damascus.

And those who are willing to go a long time on the sea, and come nearer to Jerusalem, may proceed from Cyprus by sea to the port of Jaffa, for that is the nearest port to Jerusalem, the distance being only one day and a half. The town is called Jaffa, because one of the sons of Noah, named j.a.phet, founded it, and now it is called Joppa. And you shall understand that it is one of the oldest towns of the world, for it was founded before Noah's flood. And there may still be seen in the rock there the place where the iron chains were fastened, wherewith Andromeda, a great giant, was bound and put in prison, before Noah's flood; a rib of whose side, which is forty feet long, is still shown[300].

And those who go to the port of Tyre or Sur, before mentioned, may proceed by land, if they will, to Jerusalem. They go from Sur in a day to the city of Akoun (Acre), which was called formerly Ptolemais, and it was once a very fine city of Christians; but it is now destroyed. It stands upon the sea. From Venice to Akoun, by sea, is two thousand and eighty Lombard miles. From Calabria, or from Sicily to Akoun, by sea, is thirteen hundred Lombard miles. And the Isle of Crete is just midway.

Near the city of Akoun, toward the sea, one hundred and twenty furlongs on the right, toward the south, is the hill of Carmel, where Elijah the prophet dwelt, and where the order of friars Carmelites was first founded. This hill is not very great, nor very high. At the foot of this hill was formerly a good city of the Christians called Caiphas, because Caiaphas first founded it; but it is now all waste. And on the left side of the hill of Carmel is a town called Saffre, which is situated on another hill. There St. James and St. John were born, and there is a fair church in honour of them. And from Ptolemais, which is now called Akoun, it is one hundred furlongs to a great hill, called the scale (or ladder) of Tyre. And near the city of Akoun runs a little river called Belon; and there nigh is the foss of Memnon, which is all round; and it is one hundred cubits broad, and all full of gravel, s.h.i.+ning bright, of which men make fair and clear gla.s.ses[301]. Men come from far, by water with s.h.i.+ps, and by land with carts, to fetch of that gravel; and though ever so much be taken away thereof one day, on the morrow it is as full again as ever it was. And that is a great wonder. And there is always great wind in that foss, that continually stirs the gravel and makes it troubled; and if any man put therein any kind of metal, it turns to gla.s.s, and the gla.s.s made of that gravel, if it be thrown back into the gravel, turns to gravel as it was first; and therefore some men say that it is a whirlpool of the gravelly sea.

From Akoun, above mentioned, it is four days' journey to the city of Palestine, which was of the Philistines, now called Gaza, which is a gay and rich city; and it is very fair, and full of people, and is at a little distance from the sea. From this city Samson the strong brought the gates upon a high land, when he was taken in that city: and there he slew, in a palace, the king and himself, and great numbers of the best of the Philistines, who had put out his eyes, and shaved his head, and imprisoned him, by treason of Delilah, his paramour. And therefore he caused a great hall to fall upon them when they were at meat. From thence we go to the city of Cesarea, and so to the Castle of Pilgrims, and so to Ascalon, and then to Jaffa, and so to Jerusalem.

CHAPTER V.

OF MANY NAMES OF SULTANS, AND OF THE TOWER OF BABYLON.

And he who will go by land through the land of Babylonia, where the sultan dwells commonly, he must get leave and grace of him, to go more safely through the lands and countries. And to go to the Mount of Sinai, before men go to Jerusalem, they shall go from Gaza to the castle of Daire. And after that, they come out of Syria and enter a wilderness where the way is sandy; and that wilderness and desert lasts eight days.

But men always find good inns and all they need of victuals. And that wilderness is called Athylec. And when a man comes out of that desert, he enters into Egypt, which is called Egypt Canopac: and after other language, men call it Morsyn. And there men first find a good town, called Belethe, which is at the end of the kingdom of Aleppo; and from thence men go to Babylon and to Cairo.

At Babylon there is a fair church of our Lady, where she dwelt seven years, when she fled out of the land of Judea for dread of king Herod.

And there lieth the body of St. Barbara, the virgin and martyr. And there dwelt Joseph after he was sold by his brethren. And there[302]

Nebuchadnezzar, the king, caused the three children to be thrown into the furnace of fire because they were in the true belief; which children were called Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, as the psalm of _Benedicite_ says. But Nebuchadnezzar called them otherwise, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that is to say, G.o.d glorious, G.o.d victorious, and G.o.d over all things and realms, on account of the miracle, that he saw G.o.d's Son go with the children through the fire, as he said. The sultan dwells in his Calahelyke (for there is commonly his residence), in a fair castle, strong and great, and well set upon a rock. In that castle dwell always, to keep it and to serve the sultan, more than 6000 persons, who receive here all necessaries from the sultan's court. I ought to know it well, for I dwelt a great while with him as soldier in his wars against the Bedouins; and he would have married me full highly to a great prince's daughter if I would have forsaken my law and my belief. But I thank G.o.d I had no will to do it for anything that he promised me. And you shall understand that the sultan is lord of five kingdoms, that he hath conquered and taken possession of by strength; and these are their names: the kingdom of Canopac, that is Egypt; and the kingdom of Jerusalem, where David and Solomon were kings; and the kingdom of Syria, of which the city of Damascus was chief; and the kingdom of Aleppo, in the land of Mathe; and the kingdom of Arabia, that belonged to one of the three kings who made offering to our Lord when he was born. And he holds many other lands in his hand. And therewithal he holds khalifs, which is a full great thing in their language, being as much as to say, kings. And there were wont to be five sultans, but now there is no more but he of Egypt. The first sultan was Sarocon[303], who was of Media (the father of Saladin), who took the khalif of Egypt and slew him, and was made sultan by strength. After him was sultan Saladin, in whose time the king of England, Richard I., with many others, kept the pa.s.sage, that Saladin might not pa.s.s. After Saladin, reigned his son Boradin; and after him his nephew. After that the Comanians, who were in slavery in Egypt, feeling themselves of great power, chose them a sultan amongst them, who took the name of Melechesalan, in whose time St. Louis, king of France, entered into the country and fought with him; and the sultan took him prisoner. This sultan was slain by his own servants. And after, they chose another to be sultan, who was called Tympieman; he delivered St. Louis out of prison for a certain ransom. After him one of the Comanians reigned, named Cachas, and slew Tympieman, in order to be sultan; he took the name of Melechemes. He was succeeded by one named Bendochdare, who slew Melechemes to be sultan, and called himself Melechdare. In his time the good king Edward of England entered into Syria, and did great harm to the Saracens. This sultan was poisoned at Damascus; and his son thought to reign after him by heritage, and took the name of Melechsache; but another, named Elphy, drove him out of the country, and made himself sultan. This man took the city of Tripoli, and destroyed many of the Christian men, in the year of Grace 1289; but he was soon after slain. Elphy's son succeeded as sultan, and took the name of Melecha.s.seraff; he took the city of Acre, and expelled the Christians; and he also was poisoned, upon which his brother was made sultan, and called Melechna.s.ser. And after, one who was called Guytoga took him and threw him into prison in the castle of Mount Royal, and usurped the sovereignty by force, and took the name of Melechcadelle; and he was a Tartar. But the Comanians drove him out of the country, and caused him much sorrow; and made one of themselves sultan, named Lachyn, who a.s.sumed the name of Melechmanser. One day he was playing at chess, and his sword lay beside him, and it befel that one angered him, and he was slain with his own sword. After that there was great discord before they could choose a sultan, and finally they agreed to take Melechna.s.ser, whom Guytoga had put in prison at Mount Royal. He reigned long and governed wisely; so that his eldest son, Melechemader, was chosen after him; he was secretly put to death by his brother, who succeeded him, and was called Melechmadabron. And he was sultan when I departed from that country[304].

Now you must know that the sultan can lead out of Egypt more than 20,000 men of arms; and out of Syria, and Turkey, and other countries that he holds, he may raise more than 50,000. And all these are at his wages; and they are always ready, besides the people of his country, who are without number. And each of them has six score florins by the year; but he is expected to keep three horses and a camel. And in the cities and towns are admirals, that have the government of the people. One has four to govern, another five, another more, and another a much greater number. And the admiral, himself alone, receives as much as all the other soldiers under him. And therefore, when the sultan will advance any worthy knight, he makes him an admiral. When there is dearth, the knights are very poor, and then they sell both their horses and their harness. The sultan has four wives, one Christian, and three Saracens; of whom one dwells at Jerusalem, another at Damascus, and another at Ascalon. And when they please they remove to other cities; and when the sultan will he may go and visit them. And he has as many paramours as he pleases; for he causes to be brought before him the fairest and n.o.blest damsels of his country, who are kept and served full honourably, and when he will have one to lie with him, he makes them all come before him, and looks at them all to see which is most to his liking, and to her anon he sends or throws a ring from his finger; and then anon she shall be bathed and richly attired, and anointed with delicate things of sweet smell, and then led to the sultan's chamber. And thus he acts as often as he likes, when he will have any of them. No stranger comes before the sultan without being clothed in cloth of gold, or of Tartary, or of Camaka, in the Saracens' guise, and according to the usage of the Saracens. And when men see the sultan for the first time, be it at the window, or in any other place, they must kneel to him and kiss the earth, for that is the manner for those who speak with the sultan to do reverence to him. When messengers of foreign countries come before him, the sultan's people, when the strangers speak to him, stand round the sultan with drawn swords and gysarmes and axes, their arms raised up on high with their weapons, to smite them, if they say any word that is displeasing to the sultan. Neither does any stranger come before him without receiving a promise and grant of what he asks reasonably, if it be not against his law; and so do other princes beyond. For they say that no man should come before a prince without being the better, and departing from his presence in greater gladness than when he came before him.

You must understand that the Babylon of which I have spoken, where the sultan dwells, is not that great Babylon where the diversity of languages was first made by the miracle of G.o.d when the great tower of Babel was begun, of which the walls were sixty-four furlongs high; for that is in the great deserts of Arabia, on the way as men go toward the kingdom of Chaldea. But it is full long since any man dare approach to the tower; for it is all desert and full of dragons and great serpents, and infested by divers venomous beasts. That tower, with the city, was twenty-five miles in the circuit of the walls, as they of the country say, and as men may judge by estimation, according to what men of the country tell. And though it is called the tower of Babylon, yet there were ordained within it many mansions and great dwelling-places, in length and breadth; and it included an extensive district, for the tower alone was ten miles square. That tower was founded by king Nimrod, who was king of that country, and he was the first king in the world. He caused an image to be made in the likeness of his father, and obliged all his subjects to wors.h.i.+p it, in imitation of which other lords begun to do the same, and this was the commencement of idols and simulacres[305]. The town and city were situated in a fair country on a plain, which they call the country of Samar: the walls of the city were two hundred cubits in height, and fifty cubits in breadth. The river Euphrates ran through the city and about the tower; but Cyrus, king of Persia, took from them the river, and destroyed all the city and the tower also, for he divided the river into three hundred and sixty small rivers, because he had sworn that he would put the river in such point that a woman might easily pa.s.s it without taking up her clothes; because he had lost many worthy men that tried to pa.s.s the river by swimming[306]. And from Babylon, where the sultan dwells, to go right between the east and the north, towards the great Babylon, it is forty days across the desert. But the great Babylon is not in the land and power of the said sultan, but in the power and lords.h.i.+p of the king of Persia, who holds it of the great chan, who is the greatest emperor and the most sovereign lord of all the parts beyond; and he is lord of the isles of Cathay and of many other isles, and of a great part of India.

His land borders unto Prester John's land; and he possesses so much land, that he knoweth not the end of it. And he is a mightier and greater lord without comparison than the sultan. I shall speak more fully of his royal estate and of his might when I treat of India.

The city of Mechon (Mecca), where Mohammed is buried, is also in the great desert of Arabia. His body lies there very honourably in their temple, which the Saracens call mosque. It is from Babylon the Less, where the sultan dwells, to Mechon, about thirty-two days. The realm of Arabia is a very great country; but therein is over much desert, and no man may dwell there in that desert, for want of water, because the land is all gravelly and full of sand. And it is dry and entirely barren, because it hath no moisture, and therefore is there so much desert. And if it had rivers and wells, and the land were as in other parts, it would be as full of people and as well inhabited as in other places. For there is a great mult.i.tude of people wherever the land is inhabited.

Arabia reaches from the borders of Chaldea to the extremity of Africa, and borders on the land of Idumea, towards the end of Botron. And in Chaldea the chief city is Baldak[307]. The chief city of Africa is Carthage, which Dido, who was Eneas's wife, founded. Mesopotamia stretches also unto the deserts of Arabia; it is an extensive country, and in it is the city of Haran, where Abraham's father dwelt, and from whence Abraham departed by command of the angel[308]. And of that city was Ephraem[309], who was a celebrated scholar. Theophilus was also of that city, whom our Lady saved from the evil one[310]. Mesopotamia reaches from the river Euphrates to the river Tigris, lying between those two rivers; and beyond the Tigris is Chaldea, which is a very extensive kingdom. In that realm, at Baldak abovesaid, the khalifs formerly dwelt, who were both as emperors and popes of the Arabians, lords spiritual and temporal. They were the successors of Mohammed, from whom they were descended. The city of Baldak was formerly called Sutis[311], and was founded by Nebuchadnezzar. There dwelt the holy prophet Daniel, and there he saw visions of heaven, and there he made the exposition of dreams[312]. There were formerly three khalifs, and they dwelt in the city of Baldak abovesaid.

The khalif of Egypt dwelt at Cairo, beside Babylon; and at Marrok, on the west sea, dwelt the khalif of the Barbarians[313] and Africans. But there are now none of the khalifs, nor have there been any since the time of the sultan Saladin, since which the sultan calls himself the khalif, and thus the khalifs have lost their name. You must know that Babylon the Less, where the sultan dwells, and the city of Cairo, which is near it, are great and fair cities, the one nearly adjacent to the other. Babylon is situated on the river Gyson, sometimes called the Nile, which comes out of terrestrial Paradise. The river Nile, every year, when the sun enters the sign of Cancer, begins to increase, and continues increasing as long as the sun is in Cancer and in Leo. And it increases to such a degree, that it is sometimes twenty cubits or more deep, and then it does great harm to the goods that are upon the land; for then no man can till the earth on account of its great moistness, and therefore there is dear time in that country. And also, when it increaseth little, it is dear time in that country, for want of moisture. And when the sun is in the sign of Virgo, then begins the river to wane and decrease gradually, so that when the sun is entered into the sign of Libra, then they enter between these rivers. This river comes from terrestrial Paradise, between the deserts of India; and after it descends on the earth, and runs through many extensive countries under earth; and after it comes out under a high hill, which they call Alothe, between India and Ethiopia, at a distance of five months'

journey from the entrance of Ethiopia; and after it environs all Ethiopia and Mauritania, and goes all along from the land of Egypt, to the city of Alexandria, to the end of Egypt, where it falls into the sea. About this river are many birds and fowls, as storks, which they call ibes.

Egypt is a long country, but it is narrow, because they may not enlarge it towards the desert for want of water. And the country is situated along the river Nile; so that that river may serve by floods or otherwise, that when it flows it may spread abroad through the country.

For it raineth but little in that country, and for that cause they have no water, unless it be by the overflowing of that river. And as it does not rain, the air is always pure and clear; therefore, in that country are good astronomers, for they find there no clouds to obstruct them.

The city of Cairo is very great, more extensive than that of Babylon the Less; and it is situated above towards the desert of Syria, a little above the river aforesaid. In Egypt there are two parts; Upper Egypt, which is towards Ethiopia, and Lower Egypt, which is towards Arabia. In Egypt is the land of Rameses and the land of Goshen. Egypt is a strong country, for it has many dangerous havens, because of the great rocks, that are strong and dangerous to pa.s.s by. Towards the east of Egypt is the Red Sea, which extends to the city of Coston; and towards the west is the country of Lybia, which is a very dry land, and unfruitful, on account of the excess of heat. And that land is called Fusthe. And towards the south is Ethiopia. And towards the north is the desert, which extends to Syria. Thus the country is strong on all sides. And it is full fifteen days' journey in length, and more than twice as much of desert, and it is but two days in breadth. Between Egypt and Nubia there is full twelve days of desert. The men of Nubia are Christians, but they are black, like the Moors, on account of the great heat of the sun.

In Egypt there are five provinces: one is called Sahythe; the other, Demeseer; another, Resithe[314], which is an isle in the Nile; another, Alexandria; and another, the land of Damiette. This latter city was once very strong, but it was twice taken by the Christians, and therefore the Saracens have beaten down the walls. And with the walls and the tower thereof the Saracens made another city farther from the sea, and called it New Damiette, so that now the older town of Damiette is uninhabited.

That city of Damiette is one of the havens of Egypt, and at Alexandria is the other. This is a very strong city; but it has no water except what is brought by conduit from the Nile, which enters into their cisterns; and if any one stopped that water from them they could not hold out a siege. In Egypt there are but few forts or castles, because the country is so strong of itself.

In Egypt is the city of Heliopolis, that is to say, the city of the Sun, in which there is a temple, made round, after the shape of the temple of Jerusalem. The priests of that temple have all their writings dated by the bird called Phnix, of which there is but one in the world. It comes to burn itself on the altar of the temple at the end of five hundred years, for so long it lives; and then the priests array their altar, and put thereon spices, and sulphur, and other things that will burn quickly, and the Phnix comes and burns itself to ashes. The next day they find in the ashes a worm; and the second day after they find a bird, alive and perfect; and the third day it flies away[315]. This bird is often seen flying in those countries; it is somewhat larger than an eagle, and has a crest of feathers on its head greater than that of a peac.o.c.k; its neck is yellow, its beak blue, and its wings of a purple colour, and the tail is yellow and red. It is a very handsome bird to look at against the sun, for it s.h.i.+nes very gloriously and n.o.bly.

Also, in Egypt, there are gardens with trees and herbs which bear fruit seven times in the year. And in that land abundance of fair emeralds are found, which are on that account cheaper than elsewhere. When it rains, once in the summer, in the land of Egypt, the country is all full of great mires. At Cairo they sell commonly in the market, as we do beasts, both men and women of a different religion. And there is a common house in that city, which is all full of small furnaces, to which the townswomen bring their eggs of hens, geese, and ducks, to be put into the furnaces; and they that keep that house cover them with horse-dung, without hen, goose, or duck, or any other fowl, and at the end of three weeks or a month they come again and take their chickens, and nourish them and bring them forth, so that all the country is full of them. And this they do there both winter and summer.

In that country also, and in some others, are found long apples in their season, which they call apples of Paradise; and they are very sweet and of good savour. And though you cut them in ever so many slices or parts, across or end-wise, you will always find in the middle the figure of the holy cross. But they will rot within eight days, for which reason they cannot be carried to far countries. They have great leaves, a foot and a half long, and proportionately broad. They find there also the apple-tree of Adam, the fruit of which has a bite on one side. And there are also fig-trees which bear no leaves, but figs grow upon the small branches; and men call them figs of Pharoah. Also near Cairo is the field where balm grows: it comes out on small trees, that are no higher than the girdle of a man's breeches, and resemble the wood of the wild vine. And in that field are seven wells, which our Lord Jesus Christ made with one of his feet, when he went to play with other children[316]. That field is not so well closed but men may enter at their will; but in the season when the balm is growing good guards are placed there, that no man dare enter. This balm grows in no other place but this; and though men bring of the plants to plant in other countries, they grow well and fair, but they bring forth no fruit; and the leaves of balm never fall. They cut the branches with a sharp flint stone, or with a sharp bone; for if any one cut them with iron, it would destroy their virtue and nature. The Saracens call the wood _Enochbalse_; and the fruit, which resembles cubebs, they call _Abebissam_; and the liquor that drops from the branches they call _Guybalse_. They always cause that balm to be cultivated by Christians, or else it would not fructify, as the Saracens say themselves, for it hath been oftentimes proved. Men say also that balm grows in India the Greater, in that desert where the trees of the sun and moon spake to Alexander[317]. But I have not seen it, for I have not been so far upward, because there are too many perilous pa.s.sages. And you must know that a man ought to take great care in buying balm; for, if he does not know it well, he may very easily be deceived; for they sell a gum called turpentine instead of balm, putting thereto a little balm to give a good odour. And some put wax in oil of the wood of the fruit of balm, and say that it is balm; and some distil cloves of gilofre and spikenard of Spain, and other spices that are well smelling, and the liquor from it they call balm; and they imagine they have balm, but they are mistaken.