_Of the yles and divers maner of people and of marvaylous beastes._
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]