The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation, vol 9 | Page 8

maxima multitudo Iud?orum decem tribum Israel, per Dei voluntatem ita inclusa, vt in copiosa numerositate non possint à nostra parte exire, quamuis aliqui pauci nonnunquam sunt visi transisse. Haberent autem competentem exitum circa insulam Amazoni?, sed illum diligenter regina obseruat.
[Sidenote: Bacchari? Regnum vel Boghari?.] Porrò de regione Cadilla in orientem venitur ad regnum Backariae, in qua mali et multum crudeles habitant homines, nec est securum itinerare per illam, quòd ad modicam occasionem (si Deus non conseruaret) occiderent viatorem et manducarent. [Sidenote: Arbor Lanifera.] Illic sunt arbores ferentes lanam velut ouium, ex qua texunt pannos ad vestimenta. Hypocentauri sunt ibi pro media superiori parte in forma humana, et pro inferiori figura equorum, seu taurorum, venantes in terris, et piscantes in aquis quod comedunt, et super omnia carnes hominum, quos capere possunt. [Sidenote: Gryphones, de quibus Paulus Venet?] Nec non et gryphi illic apparent pro media posteriori parte in forma leonis, pro anteriori in forma aquil?. Sed sciatis, corpus magni gryphi maius esse octo leonibus de partibus istis. Nam postquam equum, bouem vel hominem, etiam asinum occiderit, leuat et asportat pleno volatu: tanquam cornua bouis aut vaccae sunt illi vngul?, de quibus etiam fieri solent ciphi ad bibendum, qui plurimùm reputantur preciosi. Fiunt quóque de pennis alarum eius arcus rigidi, et fortes ad iaciendum missilia et sagittas. Ad istius regni Baccariae extremitates in Orientum finitur terra potestatis Grand Can: Et iungitur ei terra potestatis magni Imperatoris Indi?, qui semper vocatur Pr?sbyter Ioannes. Notandum, quoties per prouincias totius Imperij Grand Can, quicquam accidit, quod Imperatorem non oportet latere, confestim mittuntur per reges aut barones nuncij in dromedarijs aut equis, qui celerrimè festinant ad certa hospitia, ad hoc ipsum, velut ábsque numero per imperium instituta: Isque nuncius hospitio appropinquans, et cornu resonans, dum auditor paratur minicius alter, qui de manu suscipiens literas, per recentem dromedarium festinat ad aliud hospitium, et sic in breui tempore perferuntur rumores ad curia aures. [Sidenote: Cursores, Chidibo Tartaricè dicti.] Similique modo nuncij pedites permutantur de hospitio in hospitium, vt citiùs percipiatur negocium huius nuncij: appellantur sua lingua Chidibo.
[Sidenote: Charita Mandeuilli.] Ergò per pr?missa satis elucet magnam esse nobilitatem, potestatem, reuerentiam, et dominationem Imperatoris Tartari? Grand Can de Cathay, et quòd nullus ab ista parte Imperator nec Persi?, nec Babylonia, nec Greci?, sed nec Rom? est illi comparandus. Vndè et multum miserandum est, quia ipse cùm toto Imperio nec est fide Catholica illustratus, nec salutari lauachro regeneratus: et hoc oremus vt in breui eueniat, per Iesum Christum Dominum nostrum.
Explicit pars secunda huius opens.
The English Version.
And whan the emperour dyethe, men setten him in a chayere in myddes the place of his tent: and men setten a table before him clene, covered with a clothe, and there upon flesche and dyverse vyaundes, and a cuppe fulle of mares mylk: And men putten a mare besyde him, with hire fole, and an hors saddled and brydeled; and thei leyn upon the hors gold and silver gret quantytee: and thei putten abouten him gret plentee of stree: and than men maken a gret pytt and a large; and with the tent and alle theise other thinges, then putten him in erthe. And thei seyn, that whan he schalle come in to another world, he schalle not ben with outen an hows, ne with owten hors, ne with outen gold and sylver: and the mare schalle zeven him mylk, and bryngen him forthe mo hors, tille he be wel stored in the tother world. For thei trowen, that aftre hire dethe, thei schulle be etynge and drynkynge in that other world, and solacynge hem with hire wifes, as thei diden here. And aftre tyme, that the emperour is thus entered, no man schalle be so hardy to speke of him before his frendes, And zit natheles somtyme fallethe of manye, that thei maken hem to ben entered prevylly be nyghte, in wylde places, and putten azen the grasse over the pytt for to growe: or elle men coveren the pytt with gravelle and sond, that no man schalle perceyve where, ne knowe where the pytt is, to that entent, that never aftre, non of his frendes schulle han mynde ne rememberance of him. And thanne thei seyn, that he is ravissht in to another world where he is a grettre lord, than he was here. And thanne aftre the dethe of the emperour, the 7 lynages assemblen hem to gidere, and chesen his eldest sone, or the nexte aftre him, of his blood: and thus thei seye to him; wee wolen and wee preyen and ordeynen, that zee ben oure lord and oure emperour. And thanne he answerethe, zif yee wile, that I regne over zou, as lord, do eyeryche of zou, that I schalle commanden him, outher to abyde or to go; and whom soever that I commaunde to ben slayn, that anon