<County: Warwickshire>
<Code: L4684>
<MS reference: Oxford, Balliol College 239>
<Text: Mandeville's Travels>


<Tranche 1>

<fol. 96ra><lat></lat> . ¶ This is to say
Jhesu criste shal be bore of the virgine
marie and J leue in him and the date
when this was wrete and this was leid
in the erthe was . ij . Ml yere bifore oure
lord was y bore . and yit is that place
in the tresory of that chirche and men
seyn that it was the body of Ermogenes
the wise man ¶ And if al it be so that
men of the lond of Grece ben cristen .
my3t they varie fro oure feyth . For /
they seyn that the holy goste cometh
not oute of the sonne . but onely oute
of the fader . and thei beth not obeisshaunt
to the churche of Rome neither to the
Pope And thei seyn that the Patriark
hath as moche power be-yond
the see as the Pope hath on this
side the see . and therfor pope Jon
the . xxij. sent lettres to hem how
cristen feith shold be al oon // And that
thei shuld be obesshaunt al to o pope
that is cristes vicorie in erthe to
whom god yaf power for to bynnde
and to assoile . and ther-for ye shal
be obediaunt to him . and thei sent to
him mony answeres and a monge
other thei send and said thus <lat></lat>
<lat></lat>
<lat></lat>
<lat></lat>
<lat></lat>
<lat></lat>
<lat></lat>
<fol. 96rb><lat></lat> This is to sai . we
Leue wel thi power is vpon thi
power sogettes . we may+not suffre
thi grete pryde we ben not
in purpose to staunche thi grete couetise
. Lord be with the . Lord is
with us . fare wel . And other
answere had he not of hem . and
also thei maketh her sacrament
of the auter of therf brede . for
oure lord made therf brede . when
he made his maunde . And on the
Sherethursday thei maketh her
therf brede in tokenyng of the
maunde . and drye it at the sonne
and kepith it al the yere and yefe
it to syke men in stede of goddis
body And thei maketh but oon
vnctioun when thei cristen children
And thei a-noynteth no syke men
And thei sei ther is no purgatorie
And that sowles shul nether haue
Joy ne peyne til the day of dome
And thei seyn fornicacioun is no
dedely synne but a kyndly thyng
And that men and wymmen shal
not be wedded but ones And ho
that is wedded more then ones
her children ben bastardes and
goten in synne . And her preestes
also ben y-wedded . and thei seyn
Oker is no dedely synne . and
thei selle the benefis of holy chirche
. and so doth men in other
<fol. 96va>places . And that is grete sclaunder
For now is Symony kyng
crouned in holy chirche . god
may amend it when his wil is
¶ And thei sey that men in
latyn . shal+not synge masse but
on the Saturday . and on the Sunday
. and thei fast not the Saturday
no tyme of the yere . but it be
Midwinter yeue or estre eue And
thei suffre no man that cometh
fro this side the see syng at her
awters ¶ And if it falle that
thei done through eny happe thei
wassh her awters with holy
water . and thei seyn that ther
shuld but oon masse be seid at
a awter vppon oon day ¶ And
ouer that seyn that oure Lord
ete neuer mete but he made tokene
of etyng ¶ And also thei
seyn that we synnen dedely in
chaungyng of oure berdis . For
the berde is tokene of man and
thei seyn that we synnen in etyng
of bestes that were for-bode in
the olde testament and the olde
Lawe . as swyne . haris . and other
bestes ¶ Also that we synne in
etyng of flessh in the dayes bifore
Axwedenesday . and also in
etyng of flessh the wedenesday
when we ete chese or eyren in
<fol. 96vb>the friday . And thei curse al tho þt
etith no flessh on the Saturday
¶ Also the Emperour of Constantinople
maketh patriarches Erchebisshopes
and Bysshopes ¶ And he yeueth
al dignitees and chirches
and preueth hem that ben worthi
¶ And thei that al it be so that þes
thyngis touche not to the wey .
neuer the lese thei touchith to
that that J haue promesed to shew
a partye of custumes and maners
and diuersitees of cuntreyes And
for this lond of Grece is the next
cuntreye that varieth and is
discordyng in feith therfor y haue set it
here that ye may wete the diuersitee
that is bitwene owre feith
and heres ¶ For mony men haue
grete lykyng and comforte to here
speke of straunge thyngis
A-yeyne to the waye
NOw come a-yeyne to the
waye fro Constantinople
he that wil go through <exp>Enn</exp> urke
he goth toward the Citee
of Nyke and passith through the
yate of Chiuitot that is right
high And it is a myle and a half
fro Nike in the weye ¶ ho that
wil go bi the brache of Seynt
George and bi the grete see
<fol. 97ra>where seynt Nicholas Lithe and
other places furest men cometh
to the Jle of Syle in that Jle
<?> groweth mastike vppon smale trees
as plumbtrees or cheritees and
then men gon through the Jle of
Patmos ther wrote seynt Jon Euangeliste
the apokelips . and J do you
to wete when oure lord died .Seynt
Jon was . xxxij yere olde and he leved
after the passioun of criste . lxij .
yere ¶ Fro patmos a fayer Citee &
a nygh to the see . And there deied seynt
John and was y-buryed bi-hynnde
the auter in a tombe and ther is a
fayer chirche ¶ For cristen men were
wont to holde that place . but in
the tombe of seynt Jon is no thyng
but Manna for his bodi was translated
in to paradis ¶ And Turkes
holdeth now that Citee and that chirche
and al Assie the lesse And therfor
is Assie the lesse J-clepid Turkye
And ye shul vnderstond that seynt
Jonn lete make his graue there in
his lyfe . and leide him silf ther Jnne
al qwik and therfor some men seyn
that he died not but rested him there
to the day of dome And for sothe þer
is a ful grete merueyl . for men
may see herthe of the tombe mony
tymes stere and meue as there /
<fol. 97rb>were a qwik thyng vnder ¶ And
fro Eusesinne men gon thorugh mony
Jles in the see to the Citee of
Pateran where seynt Nicholas
was born. and so to Marcha where
he was chosen to be Busshopp . ther
groweth ryght good wyne and
strong that men clepith it wyne
of Marcha . and fro thens men may
see the Jle of Grece . whiche the
Emperour some tyme yaf to Jonas
And then men passeth through the
Jles of Cophos and longo . of whiche
Jles ypocras was born And some
seithe in that Jle of longo is ypocras
doughtour in the shappe of a
dragoun that is a .C . fote longe as
men seyth for y haue not se it And
thei of the Jles clepen her ladi of
that countre And heo lyeth in a
olde castel and sheweth her thries
in the yere . And heo doth no mon harme
but if eny man do her harme .
And heo was thus chonged fro a faier
damesel to a dragoun through
her goddis the wiche men clepith
deane . and men seyth that heo
shal dwelle so to the tyme that
a knyght come that is so hardi
that dare go to her and kis her
mowth . And then shal heo turne
a-yene to her owne kynde and be
<fol. 97va>a woman. And aftur that heo shal not life
long ¶ And it is not longe seth a
knyght of Rodos that was doughti
and hardi said he wold kisse her And
when he was vp on his consere he went
in to the castel and entred in the caue .
And the dragoun lift vp his hede ayenst
him . And the knyght saw it so meruylsly
and flough a-way . And the
dragoun aftur the knyght and toke him
and bare him on a roche . and of that
roche he cast hym in the see And so
was the knyght lost ¶ Also a yong
man that wist+not of that dragoun went
owt of a shipp and yode through the
Jle til he come to that castel . and he
come in-to that caue . and yode so long
til he founde a chambre . and ther he
say a damesel that kemed her hede
and loked in a mirrour . and heo had
moche tresour aboute her And he trowed
that heo had be a commune woman
that dwellid there to kepe men . and
he abode til the damesel say hym &
askud him what he wold . And he
said he wold be her peramour other lemman
. And heo asked him if he were
a knyght and he said nay . And then
heo seid he might not be her leman
But heo bad him him go a-yeyne to
the shipp to his fellawes and make
him knyght and come a-yeyne on
the morwen and heo wold come owt


<Tranche 2>

<fol. 124ra>dragouns and cocadrilles that men
Theis cocadrilles beth eddres 3elowe
and rayed a-boue . And thei haue
iij short fete grete shankes and meruelous
nayles and when thei goth
bi a sondi wey . it semeth as a man
had drawe a bussh of thornes And
ther beth oder mony wikked bestes
and nameli Olifauntes Jn this lond
is a hille & in the medele of that
hille is a grete Ponde in a playne
wherjn is moche water And men
in that cuntree seith that Adam
and Eue weped vppon that hille a
.C. yere after thei were put oute
of paradis and thei seith . that watur
his her teres And in that watur
beth mony Cocadrilles and other
eddres And the kyng of þt lond
euery yere o tyme . yeueth leue
to pore men of that lond for the
loue of Adam to go in-to that
water and gader precious stones
for there beth mony And for the
venym that is wt Jnne that water
men a-noynteth her armes and
shankes wt an oynnement made
therfor And then haueth thei no
drede of Cocadrilles nother of
eddres And men seith there that
eddres and wilde bestes doth no
harme to+strange men that cometh
thider but to men of the
<fol. 124rb>same cuntree Jn this lond &
in mony other theraboute it
beth wilde gees wt . ij . hedes &
ther beth lyons al white as grete
as Oxen and moni other /
bestes and briddes and ye shul
vnderstond that the see is so
high there that it semeth vp
to the clowdes and that it
shuld falle ouer al the lond .
and therfor seith Dauid
<lat>Mirabilis elaciones maris</lat>
that is to sei wonderful beth
risyngges of the See
The lond of Maney
He that goth fro this
lond toward the see
that is j-cleped Oman toward
the este he shal go mony iournees
til he come to the kyngdome
of Maney . and this is
in ynde the best lond and þe
moste likyng and the plenteuous
of al goodes that is in
power of man Jn this lond
dwelleth cristen men and Sarsins
Jn this lond beth faier
wymmen and therfor sum
clepith id Albanie And there
is grete plente of viteylles
and also of grete eddres of
whiche thei maketh grete festes
For if a man lete make
<fol. 124va>a feste and he had yeue al
the best metes that he myght
gete and if he has no eddres
he hath no thank of al his mete
¶ In this cuntre beth hennes
that bereth no fetheres
but white wolle as shepe doþ
in oure cuntre . wymmen þat
beth wedded there bereth crownes
vppon her hedes that
thei may be knowe . Jn this
lond thei taketh a beste that
is J cleped loyris and he goþ
in to watres and Riueres and
he taketh his keper moche
good fissh as mony as his
keper wil haue . Fro thens
men goth to a Citee þt is J
cleped Cassay that is the
moste Citee of the world . and
that Cite is . L . myle aboute
And ther is in that Citee mo
then . xij . ml. brigges . and at
euery brigge a goode towre
and ther beth euermore to kepe
þt brigge a-yenst the grete
Cane for it marcheth vppon
his lond And bi the o side
of the Citee Rynneth a grete
Riuer and there groweth good
<fol. 124vb>wyne whiche thei clepeth tigoun
and þer dwelleth cristen men and
other also And there was the
kyng of Mancy wont to dwelle
And men goth bi that Riuer til þei
come to an Abbey of monkes a
litel fro that Citee and that
Abbey is grete and faier and þer
beth mony trees of diuers freutees
And in a gardeyn ther is mony
diuers bestes as marmesettes and
other . And when the Couent hath
ete a monke taketh the relefe
and berith it in to the gardyn . &
he smiteth o tyme vppon a cliket
of Siluer . and then cometh out
al the bestes of her+claperes mo
then a . ml . and then thei sitteth
on a rewe and the monke yeueth
hem al the relefe in a fayer siluer
and there thei eteth fast . And when
thei haueth al ete . the monke
smyteth on the cleket and then
thei goth to her clapers a-yene :
And the monke seith . tho bestes
that beth faier and gentel thei
beth sowles of lordes & gentelmen
And J asked him if it were not
better to yeue this relefe to pore
men than to theis bestes And he
<fol. 125ra>mannes subieccioun And thei that
beth+not wedded hath no suche . And
at the right side of his trone sitteth
his oldest sone whiche shal
be Emperour after him in suche a sege
as the Emperour hath . And then other
lordes of his kynne as thei beth in
degree And the Emperour table that
he sitteth at is bordred wt golde and
ful of precious stones and euery of
his wifes hath a table bi hem selfe
And vnder the Emperour table sitteth
. iij . clerkes at his fote to write al that
he seyth both good and euel And at
grete festes a-boue the Emperour table
and al a-boute the halle is J-made a
grete vine of fine goold and it hath
mony braunches of grapes of vynes
of whiche some beth white .
some yelowe . some rede . some blake
. some grene . And theis that beth
rede beth of Rubies other cremans .
other alabauce pares . The grene
beth of emeraudes other crissolites .
The blake of Quintes other geraundes
and the yelowe of Mastik And
this vine is y-made of precious stones
as properly that it semeth it is a
vine growyng . and bi-fore the
table of the Emperour stondeth grete
lordes and [not] so hardy that one of hem
speke o worde . but yf he speke to hem
safe his menstrell And al the
vessel the whiche he serued of
in his halle and chambres beth
of precious stones and namely at
the tables where grete lordes
sitteth that is to sey . of Jasper . cristal
of mastik other of fine goold
and the cuppes beth of Emeraudes
. saphres . topaces . perides and
other mony maner of precious stones
. Siliuer vessel haue thei
none For thei preyseth siluer but
litel . to make vessel . but thei
maketh of it grete pilores & pauymentes
to hall and to chambres .
And ye shul understond that my
felowes and J were in sowde wt
the grete Cane . xvj . monthes
a-yenst the kyng of Mancy and
the cause was for he herd moche
speche of him . for we desired to
se the nobilite of his cuntree . if
it were suche as men seyde . and
we fownde it moche more riche
and noble then euer we herd seye
And we shuld neuer haue trowed
it but if we had sene it . And
ye shul vnderstonde that mete &
drinke is more honest in oure
cuntree then there . for the comunes
eteth flessh of al maner
of bestes . And when thei haue
<fol. 125v>J-ete thei wipe her knyfes vppon
her skirtes and thei drinke milke
of al maner bestes . And whihe
is J-cleped the grete Cane

And whi he is J cleped
the grete Cane some
thus that noe had . iij . sones .
Sem . Cham. and Jafeth Cham
was he that saw his fader bak
naked when he was s slepe . &
he scorned hym and therfor was
he cursed . And Japhet keuered
it a-yeyne . theis . iij . brethren
had al the lond of the world
Cam toke the best partye estward
whiche is j-cleped Assye . Sem
toke Affrike Japheth toke Ethiopie
Cam was the myghtiest
and the ricchest of his brethren
And of him beth J-come the payen
folk . and diuers maner of
men of the Jles . some meruellous
and other disfigured and
mys-shaped men And for this
the Emperour cleped him Cam for
he holdeth that lond and so
he clepeth him lord of al . but
ye shul vnderstonde that the
Emperour of Daty is not cleped
<fol. 125vb>Cam but Chan and for this skille
hit is not . viij . yere a-go that al
Tartarye was in subieccioun & thral
to her naciouns a-boute . and thei
were J-made herdmen to kepe
bestes And a-mong hem was
. vij . linages of whom the furst
was j-cleped Tartarie . The secunde
was j-cleped Tanget . The thrid
was j-cleped Euras . The ferth
valayr . The fifte Semeth . The
sixte Menchi . The . vij . Sobeth .
Theis beth J-holde of the grete
Cane Now it bi-fille so that
in the furst kynne was an olde
man and was not riche and men
cleped him Changwise . This man
lay in his bed vppon a nyght and
ther come to him a knyght al white
sittyng vppon a white hors and
said to him Cam slepest thou . god
that is al-myghti sent me to the
And it is wille þt thou seye to the
vij . kynnes þou shalt be her emperour
For thou shalt wynne al the londes
that beth a-bout you And thei shal
be in thi subieccioun as ye haue
be in heres . And on the moruen
he said thus to the .vij . kynnes