than xxx thousand men, besides comers and goers, but xxx thousand there or in the court of the great Caane spendeth not so much as xii thousand in our countrey. He hath euermore vii kinges in his court to serve him and eche one of them serveth a moneth, and with these kinges serue alway Lxxii Dukes & CCC[13] erles, and euery day eat in his court xii archbishops and xx byshops. The patryarke of saint Thomas is as he were a pope and Archbishops and byshops & abbotes, all are kings in that countrey, and some of the lordes is master of the hall, some of the chambre, some steward, some marshal, and other officers, and therefore he is ful rychley served. And his land lasteth in breadth four moneths journey and it is of length without measure. [Footnote 1: The greatest.] [Footnote 2: A ball or knot.] [Footnote 3: ? Sardonyx.] [Footnote 4: Another edition says Amethysts.] [Footnote 5: Another edition says Onyx.] [Footnote 6: Probably Jasper.] [Footnote 7: Another edition says Amethyst, but as the whole is so apocryphal it does not much matter.] [Footnote 8: Sardine or Sardonyx.] [Footnote 9: Cornelian. What Seuton is I will not even venture to guess at.] [Footnote 10: Another edition says, "a great vessel."] [Footnote 11: The framework.] [Footnote 12: Others say four times.] [Footnote 13: Elsewhere it is 360.] CAP. XCIX. _Of the wildernesse wherein groweth the trees of the sonne & the Moone._ AND beyond that river is a great wildernesse as men that haue ben there say. In this Wildernesse as men saye are the trees of the Sonne and of the Mone that spake to Kyng Alexander and tolde him of his death, and men saye that folke that kepe these trees & eate of the fruits of them, they live foure or five hundred yeare through vertue of the fruite, and we woulde gladly haue gone thyther, but I beleve that an hundred thousand men of armes shold not passe that wildernesse for great plenty of wilde beastes, as dragons and serpents that sley men when they pass that way. In this lande are many Oliphantes all white and blew without number, and unicornes & lyons of many maners.[1] Many other yles are in the land of Prester John that were to long to tell, and much ryches and nobly of precious stones in great plenty. I beleve y^t we haue herd say why this Emperour is called Prester John but for those that know it not I wil declare. There was sometime an Emperour that was a noble prince, & doughty, & he had many christen Knights with him and y^e Emperour thought hee woulde see the service in Christen churches, and then was churches of christendome in Turkey, Surry and Tartary, Hierusalem, Palistine, Araby and Alappy,[2] and all the lordes[3] of Egypte. And thys Emperour came with a Christen Knight into a church of Egipt and it was on a saterday after Whit sonday when the byshop gaue orders, and he behelde the service and he asked of the Knight what folke those should be that stode