WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
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 cover

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

Chapter 104: CAP. XCVI.
By Sir John Mandeville
Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

History - Medieval/Middle AgesReligion/SpiritualityTravel Writing

About This Book

The narrator offers a medieval travelogue that traces routes toward Jerusalem and across regions of Asia, Africa, and India, blending eyewitness-style observations, borrowed reports, and fantastic tales. It catalogs cities, landscapes, animals, plants, trade goods, and unfamiliar customs, alternating itinerary notes with moral and religious commentary. Frequent digressions present marvels and monstrous races alongside practical details about pilgrim routes, local rites, and fortifications, producing a text that shifts between guidebook information and imaginative storytelling. The structure mixes descriptive chapters with episodic anecdotes, inviting readers to weigh veracity while encountering the era's geographical knowledge, commerce, and popular curiosities.

CAP. XCVI.

How King Alexander sent his men thither for to winne that lande.

AND King Alexander sometime sent his men to win that lande, and they sent him letters that sayde thus, What behoveth a man to have all the worlde, that is not content therewithal: thou shalt fynde nothing at al in us, why that thou shouldest make warre upon us, for we haue no ryches nor treasure, and all the cattell of our countrey are common, our meates that we eate are our riches, and instede of gold and silver, we make our treasure peace & concorde of love, and we have nought but a cloth uppon our bodies, our wyves are not arrayed rychely to pleasing, for we holde it a great foly for a man to tryme up his body with costly aparel to make it seme fairer than God made it. We haue ben evermore in peace til now yt thou wilt disherite us. We haue a king among us, not for nede of the law, nor to judge any man, for there are no trespassours among us, but all onely to learne us to be obedient to him & so maist you take from us but our good peace. And when King Alexander saw this letter he thought he shold doe to much harme if he troubled them, and sent to them that they should kepe well theyr good maners, & haue no dread of him.