| Prologue to the King our Sovereign |
1 |
| How Diogo Lopez de Sequeira succeeded to the government of
India after Lopo Soarez, who was governor before him, and
how he brought Mattheus to the port of Maçua |
3 |
| How the Captain of Arquiquo came to visit the Captain General,
and also some Friars of Bisam |
4 |
| How the Captain General ordered mass to be said in the chief
mosque of Maçua, and ordered it to be named St. Mary of
the Conception, and how he sent to see the things of the
Monastery of Bisam |
6 |
| How the Captain General and the Barnagais saw each other, and
how it was arranged that Rodrigo de Lima should go with
Mattheus to Prester John |
7 |
| Of the goods which the Captain sent to Prester John |
10 |
| Of the day that we departed and the fleet went out of the port,
and where we went to keep the feast, and of a gentleman who
came to us |
11 |
| How Mattheus made us leave the road, and travel through the
mountain in a dry river bed |
12 |
| How Mattheus again took us out of the road, and made us go to
the monastery of Bisam |
14 |
| How we said mass here, and Frey Mazqual separated from us, and
we went to a monastery, where our people fell sick |
16 |
| How Don Rodrigo sent to ask the Barnagais for equipment for his
departure |
20 |
| Of the fashion and situation of the monasteries and their customs,
first this of St. Michael |
21 |
| Where and how the bread of the Sacrament is made, and of a
Procession they made, and of the pomp with which the mass
is said, and of entering into the church |
28 |
| How in all the churches and monasteries in the country of Prester
John only one mass is said each day; and of the situation of
the monastery of Bisan where we buried Mattheus; and of
the fast of Lent |
30 |
| How the monastery of Bisan is the head of six monasteries, of the
number of the brothers, and ornaments, of the “castar”
which they do to Philip, whom they call a Saint |
33 |
| Of the agriculture of this country, and how they preserve themselves
from the wild beasts, and of the revenues of the monastery |
35 |
| How the friars impeded our departure, and of what happened to
us on the road |
37 |
| How we passed a great mountain in which there were many apes,
on a Saturday, and on the following Sunday we said mass in
a village called Zalote |
39 |
| How we arrived at the town of Barua, and how the Ambassador
went in search of the Barnagais, and of the manner of his
state |
41 |
| How they gave us to eat in the house of the Barnagais, and how
in this country the journeys are not reckoned by leagues |
43 |
| Of the town of Barua, and of the women and their traffic, and of
the marriages which are made outside of the churches |
44 |
| Of their marriages and benedictions, and of their contracts, and
how they separate from their wives, and the wives from them,
and it is not thought strange |
46 |
| Of the manner of baptism and circumcision, and how they carry
the dead to their burial |
48 |
| Of the situation of the town of Barua, chief place of the kingdom
of the Barnagais, and of his hunting |
50 |
| Of the lordship of the Barnagais, and of the lords and captains
who are at his orders and commands, and of the dues which
they pay |
52 |
| Of their method of guarding their herds from wild beasts, and
how there are two winters in this country: and of two churches
that are in the town of Barua |
54 |
| How the priests are, and how they are ordained, and of the reverence
which they pay to the churches and their churchyards |
56 |
| How we departed from Barua, and of the bad equipment we had
until we arrived at Barra |
58 |
| How the goods arrived at the town of Barra, and of the bad equipment
of the Barnagais |
59 |
| Of the church of the town of Barra, and its ornaments, and of the
fair there, and of the merchandise, and costumes of the friars,
nuns, and priests |
61 |
| Of the state of the Barnagais and manner of his house, and how
he ordered a proclamation to be made to go against the Nobiis,
and the method of his justice |
63 |
| How we departed from Barra to Temei, and of the quality of the
town |
66 |
| Of the multitude of locusts which are in the country, and of the
damage they do, and how we made a procession, and the
locusts died |
67 |
| Of the damage which we saw in another country caused by the
locusts in two places |
71 |
| How we arrived at Temei, and the ambassador went in search of
Tigrimahom, and sent to call us |
72 |
| How the Tigrimahom sent a captain in search of our goods, and of
the buildings which are in the first town |
74 |
| How we departed from Bafazem, and went to the town called
Houses of St. Michael |
76 |
| Which speaks of the town of Aquaxumo, and of the gold which
the Queen Saba took to Solomon for the temple, and of a son
that she had of Solomon |
78 |
| How St. Philip declared a prophecy of Isaiah to the eunuch of
Queen Candace, through which she and all her kingdom were
converted, and of the edifices of the town of Aquaxumo |
80 |
| Of the buildings which are around Aquaxumo, and how gold is
found in it, and of the church of this town |
84 |
| How close to Aquaxumo there are two churches on two peaks,
where lie the bodies of two saints |
86 |
| Of the countries and lordships that are to the west and to the
north of Aquaxumo, where there is a monastery, named
Hallelujah, and of two other monasteries to the east |
87 |
| How we departed from the church and houses of St. Michael, and
went to Bacinete, and from there to Maluc; and of the monasteries
which are near it |
89 |
| Of the animals which are in the country, and how we turned
back to where the ambassador was |
92 |
| How the Tigrimahom being about to travel, the ambassador asked
him to despatch him, and it was not granted to him, and the
ambassador sent him certain things, and he gave him equipment,
and we went to a monastery, where the friars gave
thanks to God |
94 |
| How we went to the town of Dangugui, and Abefete, and how
Balgada Robel came to visit us, and the service which he
brought, and of the salt which is in the country |
97 |
| How we departed, and our baggage before us, and how a captain
of the Tigrimahom who conducted us was frightened by a
friar who came in search of us |
99 |
| How we departed from the town of Corcora, and of the luxuriant
country through which we travelled, and of another which was
rough, in which we lost one another at night, and how the
tigers fought us |
101 |
| How the friar reached us in this town, and then we set out on our
way to a town named Farso: of the crops which are gathered
in it, and of the bread they eat, and wine they drink |
105 |
| How we departed from the town of Farso, well prepared, because
we had to pass the skirt of the country of the Moors |
108 |
| How the people of Janamora have the conquest of these Doba
Moors, and of the great storm of rain that came upon us
during our halt in a river channel |
112 |
| How we departed from this poor place, and of the fright they gave
us, and how we went to sleep Saturday and Sunday at a
river named Sabalete |
114 |
| Of the church of Ancona, and how in the kingdom of Angote iron
and salt are current for money, and of a monastery which is
in a cave |
117 |
| Of a church of canons who are in another cave in this same lordship,
in which lie a Prester John and a Patriarch of Alexandria |
119 |
| Of the great church edifices that there are in the country of
Abuxima, which King Lalibela built, and of his tomb in the
church of Golgotha |
122 |
| Of the fashion of the church of San Salvador, and of other churches
which are in the said town, and of the birth of King Lalibela,
and the dues of this country |
125 |
| How we departed from Ancona, and went to Ingabelu, and how
we returned to seek the baggage |
131 |
| How the ambassador separated from the friar, and how those of
us who remained with the friar were stoned, and some captured,
and how the ambassador returned, and we were invited
by the Angote Ras, and went with him to church, and of the
questions he asked, and dinner he gave us |
133 |
| How the ambassador took leave of the Ras of Angote, and the
friar, with most of us, returned to the place where we were
stoned, and from there we went to a fertile country, and a
church of many canons |
138 |
| Of the mountain in which they put the sons of the Prester John,
and how they stoned us near it |
140 |
| Of the greatness of the mountain in which they put the sons of
Prester John, and of its guards, and how his kingdoms are
inherited |
143 |
| Of the punishment that was given to a friar, and also to some
guards, for a message which he brought from some princes to
the Prester; and how a brother of the Prester and his uncle
fled, and of the manner in which they dealt with them |
145 |
| In what estimation the relations of the Prester are held, and of
the different method which this David wishes to pursue with
his sons, and of the great provisions applied to the mountain |
148 |
| Of the end of the kingdom of Angote, and beginning of the kingdom
of Amara, and of a lake and the things there are in it,
and how the friar wished to take the ambassador to a mountain,
and how we went to Acel, and of its abundance |
150 |
| How we came to another lake, and from there to the church of
Macham Celacem, and how they did not let us enter it |
153 |
| How the Presters endowed this kingdom with churches, and how
we went to the village of Abra, and from there to some great
dykes |
156 |
| How we came to some gates and deep passes difficult to travel,
and we went up to the gates, at which the kingdom begins
which is named Xoa |
158 |
| How the Prester John went to the burial of Janes Ichee of the
monastery of Brilibanos, and of the election of another Ichee,
who was a Moor |
161 |
| How we travelled for three days through plains, and of the curing
of infirmities and of the sight of the people |
163 |
| How a great lord of title was given to us as a guard, and of the
tent which he sent us |
165 |
| How the ambassador, and we with him, were summoned by order
of the Prester, and of the order in which we went, and of his
state |
166 |
| Of the theft which was done to us when the baggage was moved,
and of the provisions which the Prester sent us, and of the
conversation the friar had with us |
170 |
| How the Prester moved away with his court, and how the friar
told the ambassador to trade if he wished, and how the ambassador
went to the court |
172 |
| Of the Franks who are in the country of the Prester, and how
they arrived here, and how they advised us to give the
pepper and goods which we brought |
174 |
| How they told the ambassador that the grandees of the court were
counselling the Prester not to let him return, and how he
ordered him to change his tent, and asked for a cross, and
how he sent to summon the ambassador |
177 |
| How the ambassador having been summoned by the Prester, he
did not hear him in person |
180 |
| How the ambassador was summoned another time, and he took
the letters he had brought, and how we asked leave to say
mass |
184 |
| Of the questions which were put to the ambassador by order of
Prester John, and of the dress which he gave to a page, and
also whether we brought with us the means of making wafers |
187 |
| How the Prester John sent to call me, the priest Francisco Alvarez,
and to take to him wafers and vestments, and of the questions
which he asked me |
188 |
| Of the robbery which took place at the ambassador’s, and of the
complaint made respecting it to Prester John, and how we
were robbed, and how Prester John sent a tent for a church |
194 |
| How the Prester sent to call the ambassador, and of the questions
he put to him, and how he sent to beg for the swords which
he had, and some pantaloons, and how they were sent |
195 |
| How Prester John sent certain horses to the ambassador for them
to skirmish, and how they did it, and of a chalice which the
Prester sent him, and of questions which were put, and of
the robbery in the tent |
197 |
| How the Prester sent to show a horse to the ambassador, and how
he ordered the great men of his Court to come and hear our
mass, and how the Prester sent to call me, and what he asked
me |
199 |
| How the Ambassador was summoned, and how he presented the
letters which he had brought to Prester John, and of his age
and state |
202 |
| How I was summoned, and of the questions which they put to me
respecting the lives of St. Jerome, St. Dominick, and St.
Francis |
205 |
| How the lives of the said Saints were taken to him, and how he
had them translated into his language, and of the satisfaction
they felt at our mass, and how Prester John sent for us and
clothed us |
209 |
| Of the sudden start which Prester John made for another place,
and of the way in which they dealt with the ambassador
respecting his baggage, and of the discord there was, and of
the visit the Prester sent |
212 |
| How the Prester was informed of the quarrels of the Portuguese,
and entreated them to be friends, and what more passed, and
of the wrestling match and the baptism we did here |
214 |
| Of the number of men, horse and foot, who go with the Prester
when he travels |
217 |
| Of the churches at Court, and how they travel, and how the altar
stones are reverenced, and how Prester John shows himself to
the people each year |
219 |
| How Prester John sent to call me to say mass for him on Christmas-day,
and of confession and communion |
220 |
| How the Prester gave leave to go to the ambassador and the
others, and ordered me to remain alone with the interpreter,
and of the questions about Church matters, and how we all
sang compline, and how Prester John departed that night |
224 |
| How the Prester went to lodge at the church of St. George, and
ordered it to be shown to the people of the embassy, and
after certain questions ordered me to be shown some rich
umbrellas |
228 |
| Of the travelling of Prester John, and the manner of his state
when he is on the road |
231 |
| How the Prester went to the church of Macham Selasem, and of
the procession and reception that they gave him, and what
passed between His Highness and me respecting the reception |
233 |
| Of the fashion and things of this church of the Trinity, and how
the Prester sent to tell the ambassador to go and see the
church of his mother, and of the things which happened in it |
236 |
| How Prester John sent to tell those of the embassy and the Franks
to go and see his baptism, and of the representation which
the Franks made for him, and how he ordered that I should
be present at the baptism, and of the fashion of the tank, and
how he desired the Portuguese to swim, and gave them a
banquet |
240 |
| How I went with an interpreter to visit the Abima Mark, and how
I was questioned about circumcision, and how the Abima
celebrates the holy orders |
245 |
| How the Prester questioned me about the ceremony of holy
orders, and also how I went to the lesser orders which they
call zagonais, and what sort of people are ordained |
248 |
| How long a time the Prester’s country was without an Abima, and
for what cause and where they go to seek them, and of the
state of the Abima, and how he goes when he rides |
253 |
| Of the assembly of clergy, which took place in the church of
Macham Selasem when they consecrated it, and of the translation
of the King Nahum, father of this Prester, and of a
small church there is there |
256 |
| Of the conversation which the ambassador had with the Prester
about carpets, and how the Prester ordered for us an evening’s
entertainment and banquet |
258 |
| How the Prester sent to call the ambassador and those that were
with him, and of what passed in the great church |
261 |
| How the ambassador and all the Franks went to visit the Abima,
and of what passed there |
263 |
| How Pero de Covilham, Portuguese, is in the country of the
Prester, and how he came there, and why he was sent |
265 |
| How Prester John determined to write to the King and to the
Captain-major, and how he behaved with the ambassador and
with the Franks who were in his country, and of the decision
as to departure |
270 |
| How the Prester sent to the ambassador thirty ounces of gold, and
fifty for those that came with him, and a crown and letters
for the King of Portugal, and letters for the Captain-major,
and how we left the Court and of the road we took |
273 |
| Of what happened in the town of Manadeley with the Moors |
277 |
| How two great gentlemen from the Court came to us to make
friendship between us, and committed us to the captain-major |
279 |
| How they took us on the road to the Court, and how they brought
us back to this country |
283 |
| In what time and day Lent begins in the country of Prester John,
and of the great fast and abstinence of the friars, and how at
night they put themselves in the tank |
284 |
| Of the fast of Lent in the country of Prester John, and of the
office of Palms and of the Holy Week |
289 |
| How we kept a Lent at the Court of the Prester, and we kept it
in the country of Gorage, and they ordered us to say mass,
and how we did not say it |
293 |
| How Don Luis de Meneses wrote to the ambassador to depart,
and how they did not find him at Court, and how the King
Don Manuel had died |
298 |
| Of the battle which the Prester had with the King of Adel, and
how he defeated Captain Mahomed |
304 |
| How the Prester sent us a map of the world which we had brought
him, for us to translate the writing into Abyssinian, and
what more passed, and of the letters for the Pope |
311 |
| How in the letters of Don Luis it was said that we should require
justice for certain men of his who had been killed, and the
Prester sent there the Chief Justice of the Court, and Zagazabo,
in company of Don Rodrigo to Portugal |
314 |
| How Zagazabo the ambassador returned to the Court, and I with
him, for business which concerned him, and how they flogged
the Chief Justice and two friars, and why |
317 |
| How, after the death of Queen Helena, the great Betudete went
to collect the dues of her kingdom, and what they were, and
how the Queen of Adea came to ask assistance, and what
people came with her on mules |
321 |
| How assistance was given to the Queen of Adea, and how the
Prester ordered the great Betudete to be arrested, and why,
and how he became free, and also he ordered other lords to
be arrested |
325 |
| How the Tigrimahom was killed, and the other Betudete deposed,
also Abdenago from his lordship, and the ambassador was
provided for, and Prester John went in person to the kingdom
of Adea |
329 |
| Of the manner in which the Prester encamps with his Court |
331 |
| Of the tent of justice and method of it, and how they hear the
parties |
333 |
| Which speaks of the manner of the prison |
335 |
| Where the dwellings of the Chief Justices are situated, and the
site of the market place, and who are the merchants and
hucksters |
336 |
| How the lords and gentlemen and all other people pitch their
tents, according to their regulations |
337 |
| Of the manner in which the lords and gentlemen come to the
Court, and go about it, and depart from it |
338 |
| How those who go to and come from the wars approach the
Prester more closely, and of the maintenance they get |
340 |
| Of the manner in which they carry the Prester’s property when
he travels, and of the brocades and silks which he sent to
Jerusalem, and of the great treasury |
340 |
| How three hundred and odd friars departed from Barua in pilgrimage
to Jerusalem, and how they killed them |
342 |
| Of the countries and kingdoms which are on the frontiers of
Prester John |
345 |
| Of the kingdom of Adel, and how the king is esteemed as a saint
amongst the Moors |
346 |
| Of the kingdom of Adea, where it begins and where it ends |
346 |
| Of the lordships of Ganze and Gamu, and of the kingdom of
Gorage |
347 |
| Of the kingdom of Damute, and of the much gold there is in it,
and how it is collected, and to the south of this are the Amazons,
if they are there |
347 |
| Of the lordships of the Cafates, who they say had been Jews, and
how they are warriors |
349 |
| Of the kingdom of Gojame which belonged to Queen Helena,
where the river Nile rises, and of the much gold there is there |
350 |
| Of the kingdom of Bagamidri, which is said to be very large, and
how silver is found in its mountains |
351 |
| Of some lordships which are called of the Nubians, who had been
Christians, and of the number of churches which are in the
country which they border upon |
351 |
| Of the officials that Solomon ordained for his son that he had of
the Queen Sabba when he sent him to Ethiopia; and how
they still draw honour from these offices |
353 |
| How the ambassador of Prester John took possession of his lordship,
and the Prester gave him a title of all of it, and we departed
to the sea |
354 |
| How the Portuguese came for us, and who was the captain |
356 |
| How the Barnagais made ready, and we travelled with him on
the road to the sea |
360 |
|
| Of how we departed from the port and island of Masua until
arriving at Ormuz |
364 |
| Of the translation of the letter which Prester John sent to Diego
Lopez, and which was given to Lopo Vaz de Sampayo |
368 |
| Of the voyage we made from Ormuz to India, as far as Cochim |
374 |
| Of the voyage we made from Cananor to Lisbon, and of what
happened to us by the way |
378 |
| Of the journey we made from Lisbon to Coimbra, and how we
remained at Çarnache |
382 |
| How we departed from Çarnache on the way to Coimbra, and the
reception that was made, and how the embassage was given,
and of the welcome which the King our Sovereign gave us |
385 |
| Of the translation of the letter which the Prester sent to Don
Manuel |
389 |
| Translation of the letter of Prester John to the King Don Joam
our Sovereign |
396 |
| Of certain questions which the Archbishop of Braga put to
Francisco Alvarez, and the answers which he gave |
401 |