The Voiage and Travayle of Sir John Maundeville Knight: Which treateth of the way towards Hierusalem and of marvayles of Inde with other ilands and countreysMandeville, John, Sir
Religion
The Voiage and Travayle of Sir John Maundeville Knight: Which treateth of the way towards Hierusalem and of marvayles of Inde with other ilands and countreys
Mandeville, John, Sir
Voyages and travels -- Early works to 1800
IN the foresaide citie foure of our friers had converted a mighty and
rich man unto the faith of Christ, at whose house I continually abode,
for so long time as I remained in the citie, Who upon a certain time
said unto me: Ara, that is to say, Father, will you go and behoulde
the citie? And I said, yea. Then embarked we ourselves, and directed
our course unto a certaine great Monastery: where being arrived, he
called a religious person with whom he was acquainted, saying unto
him concerning me: this Raban Francus, that is to say, this religious
Frenchman commeth from the Westerne parts of the world and therefore
you must show him some rare things, that when he returnes into his
owne countrey, he may say, this strange sight or novelty haue I seene
in the citie of Canasia. Then the said religious man tooke two greate
baskets full of broken reliques which remained of the table, & led
me unto a little walled parke, the doore whereof he unlocked with his
key, and there appeared unto us a pleasant faire green plot, into the
which we entred. In the said greene stands a litle mount in forme of
a steeple, replenished with fragrant herbes, and fine shady trees. And
while we stood there, he tooke a cymbal or bell, and rang therewith,
as they used to ring to dinner or bevoir in cloisters, at the sound
whereof many creatures of divers kindes came downe from the mount,
some like apes, some like cats, some like monkeys, and some having
faces like men. And while I stood beholding of them, they gathered
themselves together about him, to the number of 4200 of those
creatures, putting themselues in good order, before whom he set a
platter, and gaue them the saide fragments to eate. And when they had
eaten he rang upon his cymbal the second time, and they all returned
unto their former places. Then, wondring greatly at the matter, I
demanded what kind of creatures those might be? They are (quoth he)
the Soules of noble men which we do here feed, for the love of God who
governeth the world: and as a man was honorable or noble in this life,
so his soule after death, entreth into the body of some excellent
beast or other, but the soules of simple and rusticall people do
possesse the bodies of more vile and brutish creatures. Then I began
to refute that foule error: howbeit my speech did nothing at all to
prevaile with him, for hee could not be perswaded that any soule might
remaine without a body. From thence I departed unto a certaine citie
named Chilenso, the walls whereof contained 40 miles in circuit. In
this citie there are 360 bridges of stone, the fairest that euer
I saw, and it is wel inhabited, having a great navie belonging
thereunto, & abounding with all kinds of victuals and other
commodities. And thence I went unto a certaine river called Thalay
which where it is most narrow, is 7 miles broad: and it runneth
through the midst of the land of the Pygm[oe]i whose chiefe city is
called Cakam, and is one of the goodliest cities in the world. These
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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