The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation, vol 9 | Page 5

ben grete princes. And thei eten houndes, lyounes, lyberdes, mares and foles, asses, rattes and mees, and alle maner of bestes, grete and smale; saf only swyn, and bestes that weren defended by the olde lawe. And thei eaten alle the bestes, with outen and with inne, with outen castynge awey of ony thing, saf only the filthe. And thei eten but litille bred, but zif it be in courtes of grete lordes. And thei have not, in many places, nouther pesen ne benes, ne non other potages, but the brothe of the flessche. For littile ete thei ony thing, but flessche and the brothe. And whan thei han eten, thei wypen hire hondes upon hire skirtes: for thei use non naperye, ne towaylles, but zif it be before grete lordes: but the common peple hathe none. And whan thei han eten, thei putten hire dissches unwasschen in to the pot or cawdroun, with remenant of the flessche and of the brothe, till thei wole eten azen. And the ryche men drynken mylk of mares or of camaylles or of asses or of other bestes. And thei wil ben lightly dronken of mylk, or of another drynk, that is made of hony and of watre soden to gidre. For in that contree is nouther wyn ne ale. Thei lyven fulle wrecched liche; and thei eten but ones in the day, and that but lyttle, nouther in courtes ne in other places. And in soothe, o man allone in this contree wil ete more in a day, than on of hem will ete in 3 dayes. And zif ony straunge messagre come there to a lord, men maken him to ete but ones a day, and that fulle litille.
And whan thei werren, thei werren fulle wisely, and alle weys don here besynes, to destroyen hire enemyes. Every man there berethe 2 bowes or 3, and of arwes gret plentee, and a gret ax. And the gentyles han schorte speres and large, and fulle trenchant on that o syde: and thei han plates and helmes, made of quyrboylle; and hire hors covertoures of the same. And who so fleethe fro the bataylle, thei sle him. And whan thei holden ony sege abouten castelle or toun, that is walled and defensable, thei behoten to hem that ben with inne, to don alle the profite and gode, that it is marveylle to here: and thei graunten also to hem that ben with inne, alle that thei wille asken hem. And aftre that thei ben zolden, anon thei sleen hem alle, and kutten of hire eres, and sowcen hem in vynegre, and there of thei maken gret servyse for lordes. Alle here lust and alle here ymaginacioun, is for to putten alle londes undre hire subieccioun. And thei seyn, that thei knowen wel be hire prophecyes, that thei schulle ben overcomen by archieres, and be strengthe of hem: but they knowe not of what nacioun, ne of what lawe thei schulle ben offe, that schulle overcomen hem. And therfore thei suffren, that folk of alle lawes may peysibely duellen amonges hem.
Also whan thei wille make hire ydoles, or an ymage of ony of hire frendes, for to have remembrance of hym, thei maken alle weys the ymage alle naked, with outen any maner of clothinge. For thei seyn, that in gode love scholde be no coverynge, that man scholde not love for the faire clothinge, ne for the riche aray, but only for the body, suche as God hathe made it, and for the gode vertues that the body is endowed with of nature; but only for fair clothinge, that is not of kyndely nature.
And zee schulle undirstonde, that it is gret drede for to pursue the Tartarines, zif thei fleen in bataylle. For in fleynge, thei schooten behynden hem, and sleen bothe men and hors. And whan thei wil fighte, thei wille schokken hem to gidre in a plomp; that zif there be 20000 men, men schalle not wenen, that there be scant 10000. And thei cone wel wynnen lond of straungeres, but thei cone not kepen it. For thei han grettre lust to lye in tentes with outen, than for to lye in castelle or in townes. And thei preysen no thing the wytt of other naciouns. And amonges hem, oyle of olyve is fulle dere: for thei holden it for fulle noble medicyne. And alle the Tartarienes han smale eyen and litille of berd, and not thikke hered, but schiere. And thei ben false and traytoures: and thei lasten noghte that thei behoten. Thei ben fulle harde folk, and moche peyne and wo mow suffren and disese, more than ony other folk: for thei ben taughte therto in hire owne contree, of Zouthe: and therfore thei spenden, as who seythe, right nought.
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