The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English People, vol 2 | Page 3

very great in stature, but exceedingly strong, and mainteined with little prouender. They vse to fight constantly and valiantly with iauelines, maces, battle axes, and swords. But specially they are excellent archers, and cunning warriers with their bowes. Their backs are slightly armed, that they may not flee. They withdraw not themselues from the combate, till they see the chiefe Standerd of their Generall giue backe. Vanquished, they aske no fauour and vanquishing, they shew no compassion. They all persist in their purpose of subduing the whole world vnder their owne subiection, as if they were but one man, and yet they are moe then millions in number. They haue 60000. Courriers, who being sent before vpon light horses to prepare a place for the armie to incampe in, will in the space of one night gallop three days iourney. And suddenly diffusing themselues ouer an whole prouince, and surprising all the people thereof vnarmed, vnprouided, dispersed, they make such horrible slaughters that the king or prince of the land inuaded, cannot finde people sufficient to wage battell against them, and to withstand them. They delude all people and princes of regions in time of peace, pretending that for a cause which indeed is no cause. Sometimes they say, that they will make a voyage to Colen, to fetch home the three wise kings into their owne countrey; sometimes to punish the auarice and pride of the Romans, who oppressed them in times past, some times to conquere barbarous and Northren nations; sometimes to moderate the furie of the Germans with their owne meeke mildnesse; sometimes to learne warlike feats and stratagems of the French; sometimes for the finding out of fertile ground to suffice their huge multitudes; sometimes again in derision they say, that they intend to goe on pilgrimage to S. Iames of Galicia. In regard of which sleights and collusions certaine vndiscreet gouernors concluding a league with them, haue granted them free passage thorow their territories, which leagues notwithstanding being violated, were an occasion of ruine and destruction vnto the foresayd gouernours, &c.
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Libellus historicus Ioannis de Plano Carpini, qui missus est Legatus ad Tartaros anno Domini 1246. ab Innocentio quarto Pontifice maximo. Incipit Prologus in librum Tartarorum.
Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos pr?sens scriptum peruenerit, frater Ioannes de Plano Carpini ordinis fratrum minorum, Apostolic? sedis Legatus, nuncius ad Tartaros et nationes alias Orientis, Dei gratiam in pr?senti, et gloriam in futuro, et de inimicis suis gloriam triumphalem. Cum ex mandato sedis apostolic? iremus ad Tartaros et nationes alias Orientis, et sciremus Domini Pap? et venerabilium Cardinalium voluntatem, eligimus prius ad Tartaros profiscisci. Timebamus enimne per eos in proximo ecclesi? Dei periculum immineret. Et quamuis à Tartaris et alijs nationibus timeremus occidi, vel perpetuo captiuari, vel fame, siti, algore, ?stu, contumelia, et laboribus nimijs, et quasi vltra vires affligi (qu? omnia multo plusquam prius credidimus, excepta morte vel captiuitate perpetua nobis multipliciter euenerunt) non tamen pepercimus nobis ipsis, vt voluntatem Dei secundum Domini pap? mandatum adimplere possemus, et vt proficeremus in aliquo Christianis, vt saltem scita veraciter voluntate et intentione ipsorum, possemus illam patefacere Christianis, ne forte subito irruentes inuenirent eos imparatos, sicut peccatis hominum exigentibus alia vice contigit: et fecerunt magnam stragem in populo Christiano. [Sidenote: Annus & 4 menses & amplius.] Vnde qu?cunque pro vestra vtilitate vobis scribimus ad cautelam, tanto securius credere debetis, quanto nos cuncta vel ipsi vidimus oculis nostris, qui per annum et quatuor menses et amplius, ambulauimus per ipsos et cum ipsis, ac fuimus, inter eos, vel audiuimus à Christianis qui sunt inter eos captiui, et vt credimus fide dignis. Mandatum etiam à supremo pontifice habebamus, vt cuncta, perscrutaremur et videremus omnia diligenter. [Sidenote: Frater Benedictus Polonus comes Ioannis de Plano Carpini.] Quod tam nos quam frater Benedictus eiusdem ordinis qui nostr? tribulationis fuit socius et interpres fecimus studiose.
De terra Tartarorum, situ, qualitate & dispositione aeris in eadem. Cap. 1.
Volentes igitur facta scribere Tartaroram, vt lectores facilius valeant inuenire, hoc modo per capitula describemus. Primo quidem dicemus de terra. Secundo de hominibus. Tertio de ritu. Quarto de moribus. Quinto de ipsorum imperio. Sexto de bellis. Septimo de terris quas eorum dominio subiugauerant. Octauo quomodo bello occurratur eisdem. De terra possumus hoc modo tractare. In principio quidem dicemus de situ ipsius: secundo de qualitate: tertio de dispositione aeris in eadem. Terra vero pr?dicta est in ea posita parte Orientis in qua oriens sicut credimus coniungitur Aquiloni. [Sidenote: Al. Solanganorum. Oceauns ab Aquilone.] Ab Oriente autem est terra posita. Kyraiorum et etiam Solangorum: à meridie sunt terr? Saracenorum inter Occidentem et Meridiem Huyrorum. Ab Occidente prouincia Naymanorum; ab Aquilone mari oceano circundatur. H?c vero in parte aliqua est nimium montuosa, et in aliqua est campestris, sed fere tota adimxta glarea, raro argillosa, plurimum est arenosa. In aliqua parte terne sunt aliqu?