Middle English Literature

et multiplicamini et replete terram.”
15
And for because that he multiplieth
so the world with children, therfore God sendeth him so the fissches of
dyverse kyndes of alle that ben in the see to taken at his wille for him and
alle his peple. And therfore alle the fissches of the see comen to maken him
homage as the most noble and excellent kyng of the world and that is best
beloved with God, als thei seyn.
I knowe not the resoun whi it is, but God knoweth. But this, me semeth,
is the moste merveylle that evere I saugh. For this mervaylle is ayenst kynde
and not with kynde, that the fisshes that han fredom to enviroun alle the
costes of the see at here owne list comen of hire owne wille to profren hem
to the deth withouten constreynynge of man. And therfore I am syker that
this may not ben withouten a gret tokene.
There ben also in that contree a kynde of snayles that ben so grete
16
that
many persones may loggen hem in hire schelles, as men wolde don in a
litylle hous. And other snayles there ben that ben fulle grete but not so
huge as the other. And of theise snayles and of gret white wormes that han
blake hedes, that ben als grete as a mannes thigh and somme lesse as grete
wormes that men fynden there in wodes, men maken vyaunde rialle
17
for
the kyng and for other grete lordes. And yif a man that is maryed dye in
that contree, men buryen his wif with him alle quyk, for men seyn there
that it is resoun that sche make him companye in that other world as sche
did in this.
From that contree men gon be the See Occean be an yle that is clept
Caffolos.
18
Men of that contree, whan here frendes ben seke, thei hangen
15
“Increase and multiply, and fill the earth,” Genesis 1.28.
16
I.e., tortoises.
17
A sweetened jellied dish.
18
Kafa, or Feodosiya, in the Crimea; if this interpretation is correct, it is unclear why this
region is described here.
The Far East
103

---

104
Gender, Sexuality, and Difference
hem upon trees and seyn that it is better that briddes that ben angeles of
God eten hem than the foule wormes of the erthe.
From that yle men gon to another yle where the folk ben of fulle cursed
kynde, for thei norysschen grete dogges and techen hem to strangle here
frendes whan thei ben syke. For thei wil nought that thei dyen of kyndely
deth, for thei seyn that thei scholde suffren to gret payne yif thei abyden to
dyen be hemself as nature wolde. And whan thei ben thus enstrangled, thei
eten here flesch instede of venysoun.
Afterward men gon be many yles be see unto an yle that men clepen
Milke.
19
And there is a fulle cursed peple, for thei delyten in nothing more
than for to fighten and to sle men. And thei drynken gladlyest mannes
blood, the whiche thei clepen dieu. And the mo men that a man may slee,
the more worschipe he hath amonges hem. And yif two persones ben at
debate and peraventure ben accorded be here frendes or be sum of here
alliance, it behoveth that every of hem that schulle ben accorded drynke of
otheres blood. And elles the accord ne the alliance is noght worth, ne it
schalle not be no repref to him to breke the alliance and the acord but yif
every of hem drynke of otheres blood.
And from that yle men gon be see from yle to yle unto an yle that is clept
Tracoda,
20
where the folk of that contree ben as bestes and unresonable
and duellen in caves that thei maken in the erthe, for thei have no wytt
to maken hem houses. And whan thei seen ony men passynge thorgh here
contrees, thei hyden hem in here caves. And thei eten flessch of serpentes,
and thei eten but litille, and thei speken nought but thei hissen as serpentes
don. And thei sette no prys be non aveer
21
ne ricchess but only of a pre-
cyous ston that is amonges hem that is of sixty coloures. And for the name
of the yle thei clepen it Tracodoun, and thei loven more that ston than ony
thing elles. And yit thei knowe not the vertue thereof, but thei coveyten it
and loven it only for the beautee.
After that yle men gon be the See Occean be many yles unto an yle that
is clept Nacumera,
22
that is a gret yle and good and fayr, and it is in kompas
aboute more than a thousand myle. And alle the men and wommen of that
yle han houndes hedes, and thei ben clept canopholos.
23
And thei ben fulle
resonable and of gode understondynge saf that thei worschipen an ox for
19
Probably Malacca or Malaya.
20
A fictional island, probably named after draconitis, a mythical precious stone.
21
possession.
22
Probably the Nicobar Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean.
23
The Greek cynocephali.

---

here god. And also everych of hem bereth an ox of gold or of sylver in his
forhed in tokene that thei loven wel here god. And thei gon alle naked saf
a litylle clout that thei coveren with here knees and hire membres. Thei ben
grete folk and wel fyghtynge, and thei han a gret targe
24
that covereth alle
the body and a spere in here hond to fighte with. And yif thei taken ony
man in bataylle, anon thei eten him.
The kyng of that yle is fulle riche and fulle myghty and right devout after
his lawe. And he hath abouten his nekke three hundred perles oryent, gode
and grete and knotted as Pater Nostres here of amber. And in maner as wee
seyn oure Pater Nostre and oure Ave Maria, cowntynge the Pater Nostres,
right so this kyng seyth every day devoutly three hundred preyeres to his
god or that he ete. And he bereth also aboute his nekke a rubye oryent,
noble and fyn, that is a fote of lengthe and fyve fyngres large. And whan thei
chesen here kyng, thei taken him that rubye to beren in his hond, and so
thei leden him rydynge alle abouten the cytee. And from thensfromward thei
ben alle obeyssant to him. And that rubye he schalle bere allewey aboute
his nekke for, yif he hadde not that rubye upon him, men wolde not holden
him for kyng. The Grete Cane of Cathay hath gretly coveyted that rubye,
but he myghte never han it for werre ne for no maner of godes. This kyng is
so rightfulle and of equytee in his doomes that men may go sykerlych thorgh-
out alle his contree and bere with him what him list, that no man schalle
ben hardy to robben him but, yif he were, the kyng wolde justifye anon.
Fro this lond men gon to another yle that is clept Silha,
25
and it is welle
a eight hundred myles aboute. In that lond is fulle mochelle wast, for it is
fulle of serpentes, of dragouns, and of cokadrilles, that no man dar duelle
there. Theise cocodrilles ben serpentes yalowe and rayed aboven and han
four feet and schorte thyes and grete nayles as clees or talouns. And there
ben somme that han five fadme in lengthe, and somme of six and of eight
and of ten. And whan thei gon be places that ben gravelly, it semeth as
though men hadde drawen a gret tree thorgh the gravelly place. And there
ben also many wylde bestes and namelych of olyfauntes.
In that yle is a gret mountayne,
26
and in mydd place of the mount is a
gret lake in a fulle faire pleyn, and there is gret plentee of water. And thei of
the contree seyn that Adam and Eve wepten upon that mount an hundred
yeer whan thei weren dryven out of paradys. And that water thei seyn is of
here teres, for so moche water thei wepten that made the forseyd lake. And
24
shield.
25
Ceylon, Sri Lanka.
26
Sri Pada.
The Far East
105

---

106
Gender, Sexuality, and Difference
in the botme of that lake men fynden many precious stones and grete
perles. In that lake growen many reedes and grete cannes, and there withinne
ben many cocodrilles and serpentes and grete waterleches.
And the kyng of that contree ones every yeer yeveth leve to pore men to
gon into the lake to gadre hem precyous stones and perles be weye of
almess for the love of God that made Adam. And alle the yeer men fynde
ynowe. And for the vermyn that is withinne thei anoynte here armes and
here thyes and legges with an oynement made of a thing that is clept
lymons, that is a manere of fruyt lych smale pesen,
27
and thanne have thei no
drede of no cocodrilles ne of non other venymous vermyn.
This water renneth flowynge and ebbynge be a syde of the mountayne,
and in that ryver men fynden precious stones and perles gret plentee. And
men of that yle seyn comounly that the serpentes and the wilde bestes of
that contree ne wil not don non harm ne touchen with evylle no strange
man that entreth into that contree but only to men that ben born of the
same contree.
In that contree and othere therabouten there ben wylde gees that han
two hedes.
28
And there ben lyouns alle white and als grete as oxen, and
many othere dyverse bestes and foules also that be not seyn amounges us.
And witeth wel that in that contree and in other yles thereabouten the see
is so high that it semeth as though it henge at the clowdes and that it wolde
coveren alle the world. And that is gret mervaylle that it myghte be so, saf
only the wille of God that the eyr susteyneth it. And therfore seyth David in
the Psautere, “Mirabiles elaciones maris.” . . .
29
[Mandeville continues to describe the lands of the Far East, coming to
present-day Korea.] In that same regioun ben the mountaynes of Caspye
that men clepen Uber
30
in the contree. Betwene tho mountaynes the Jewes
of ten lynages ben enclosed, that men clepen Goth and Magoth, and thei
mowe not gon out on no syde. There weren enclosed twenty-two kynges
with hire peple that dwelleden betwene the mountaynes of Sychye,
31
there
Kyng Alisandre chacede hem betwene tho mountaynes, and there he thoughte
for to enclose hem thorgh werk of his men. But whan he saugh that he
myghte not don it ne bryng it to an ende, he preyed to god of nature that
he wolde parforme that that he had begonne. And alle were it so that he
27
peas.
28
hornbills.
29
“The floods have lifted up their waves,” Psalms 92.4.
30
The classical Ubera Aquilonis, “the breasts of the North Wind,” the Caucasian Mountains.
31
Scythia, Caucasus.

---

was a payneme
32
and not worthi to ben herd, yit God of his grace closed
the mountaynes togydre so that thei dwellen there alle faste ylokked and
enclosed with high mountaynes all aboute, saf only on o syde, and on that
syde is the see of Caspye.
Now may sum men asken, “Sith that the see is on that o syde, wherfore
go thei not out on the see syde for to go where that hem lyketh?” But to
this questioun I schal answere: that see of Caspye goth out be londe under
the mountaynes and renneth be the desert at o syde of the contree and after
it streccheth unto the endes of Persie. And alle though it be clept a see, it is
no see ne it toucheth to non other see, but it is a lake, the grettest of the
world. And though thei wolden putten hem into that see, thei ne wysten
never where that thei scholde arryven. And also thei conen no langage but
only hire owne, that no man knoweth but thei. And therfore mowe thei not
gon out.
And also yee schulle understonde that the Jewes han no propre lond of
hire owne for to dwellen inne in alle the world but only that lond betwene
the mountaynes. And yit thei yelden tribute for that lond to the queen of
Amazoine, the whiche that maketh hem to ben kept in cloos fulle diligently
that thei schulle not gon out on no syde but be the cost of hire lond. For
hire lond marcheth to tho mountaynes.
And often it hath befallen that summe of the Jewes han gon up the
mountaynes and avaled
33
down to the valeyes. But gret nombre of folk ne
may not do so, for the mountaynes ben so hye and so streght up that thei
moste abyde there maugree
34
hire myght. For thei mowe not gon out but
be a litille issue that was made be strengthe of men, and it lasteth wel a four
grete myle. And after is there yit a lond alle desert where men may fynde no
water ne for dyggynge ne for non other thing. Wherfore, men may not
dwellen in that place, so is it fulle of dragounes, of serpentes, and of other
venymous bestes that no man dar not passe, but yif it be strong wynter.
And that streyt passage men clepen in that contree Clyron.
35
And that is the
passage that the queen of Amazoine maketh to ben kept. And thogh it
happene sum of hem be fortune to gon out, thei conen no maner of
langage but Ebrew so that thei can not speke to the peple.
And yit natheles men seyn thei schulle gon out in the tyme of Antecrist
and that thei schulle maken gret slaughter of Chistene men. And therfore
32
pagan.
33
descended.
34
in spite of.
35
Direu, a region on the Caspian shore.
The Far East
107

---

108
Gender, Sexuality, and Difference
alle the Jewes that dwellen in alle londes lernen alleweys to speken Ebrew in
hope that whan the other Jewes schulle gon out, that thei may understonden
hire speche and to leden hem into Cristendom for to destroye the Cristene
peple. For the Jewes seyn that thei knowen wel be hire prophecyes that thei
of Caspye schulle gon out and spreden thorghout alle the world and that
the Cristene men schulle ben under hire subjeccoun als longe as thei han
ben in subjeccoun of hem.
And yif that yee wil wyte how that thei schulle fynden hire weye, after
that I have herd seye, I schalle telle you. In the tyme of Antecrist a fox
schalle make there his trayne
36
and mynen an hole where Kyng Alisandre
leet make the gates, and so longe he schalle mynen and percen the erthe til
that he schalle passe thorgh towardes that folk. And whan thei seen the fox,
they schulle have gret merveylle of him because that thei saugh never such
a best. For of alle othere bestes thei han enclosed amonges hem, saf only
the fox. And thanne thei schullen chacen him and pursuen him so streyte
tille that he come to the same place that he cam fro. And thanne thei
schullen dyggen and mynen so strongly tille that thei fynden the gates that
Kyng Alisandre leet make of grete stones and passynge huge, wel symented
and made stronge for the maystrie. And tho gates thei schulle breken and so
gon out be fyndynge of that issue . . .
And beyonde the lond and the yles and the desertes of Prestre Johnes
lordschipe
37
in goynge streight towardes the est, men fynde nothing but
montaynes and roches fulle grete. And there is the derke regyoun where
no man may see nouther be day ne nyghte, as thei of the contree seyn. And
that desert and that place of derknesse duren fro this cost unto paradys
terrestre, where that Adam oure formest fader and Eve weren putt that
dwelleden there but lytylle while, and that is towardes the est at the
begynnynge of the erthe. But that is not that est that we clepe oure est on
this half where the sonne riseth to us. For whanne the sonne is est in tho