AND sithen I have devised before of the holy land and countreys there about, and many wayes thether, and to mount Synay, and to Babilon, and other divers places which I have spoken of, now will I tell & speake of iles and of divers bestes, and divers folke and countreys that be departed[1] by the flouds that came out of Paradise terrestre. For Mesopotame and the kingdome of Calde and Araby are between two floddes, Tigre and Eufrace, and the kingedome of Media and Perce are betwene two flouds Tigre and Nyle, & the kingdome of Surrey, Palestine and Femines[2] are betweene Eufrace and the sea Mediterranean, it is of length from Marroch on the sea of Spaine, unto the great sea, and so lasteth it beyonde Constantinople three M and xx[3] myle of Lombardy and to the Occean sea. In Inde is the kingdome of Sichem,[4] that is all closed among hils, and beside Sichem is the lande of Amazony, wherein dwell none but women. [Illustration] And thereby is the kingdome of Albany, which is a great lande and it is called so bicause that men are more whiter there than in other places, & in this countrey are great houndes and stronge, so that they overcome Lions and slay them. And ye shall understande that to those countreys are many iles and landes, of the which were too long to tell, but of some I will speake more plainly afterwarde. [Footnote 1: Parted.] [Footnote 2: Ph[oe]nicia.] [Footnote 3: Others say 3,040.] [Footnote 4: Scythia.] [Decoration] CAP. XLVIII. _Of the haven Gene, for to go by the sea into divers countreys._ FOR he that wyll goe to Tartary, Percy, Caldee or Inde, he entreth the sea at Gene or at Venyce, or at any other haven, and so passeth by the sea, and arriveth at Topasonde,[1] that is a good citie, that sometime men call the haven of bridge, and there is the haven of Perce, of Medes, and of other marches.[2] In this citie lieth saint Athanasius, that was bishop of Alexandry, that made the Psalme, _Quicunque vult salvus esse_. This man was a great doctour of divinitie, and of the godheade, he was accused unto the Pope of Rome that he was an heritike, and the pope sent for hym and put him in prison, and while he was in that prison he made this Psalme and sent it unto the Pope & sayde if that he were an heretyke, then that was heresie, for y^t was his faith and his belefe: and when the Pope saw that he had sayde therein was all our faith, then anon he did deliver him out of prison, and he commaunded that Psalme to be sayd every day at prime, & so he held Athanasius for a good christen man, but he never would after goe to his bishoprych for they accused him of heresie. Topasond was some tyme holden of the Emperour of Constantinople, but a great man that he sent to help that countrey against the Turkes, did holde it to himselfe, & called himself Emperour of Topasonde. [Illustration]