_Of the faith and belyfe of Prester John, but he hath not all
the full beliefe as we haue._
THIS Emperour prester John is christen & a great part of his lande
also, but they haue not all the articles of our fayth, but they beleve
well in the Father, the Sonne, & the Holy Ghost, & they are full
devout and true to one another, & they make no force of Catal,[1] and
he hath under him Lxxii provinces and countries, and in eche one is
a king, & those kings haue other kinges under them. And in this lande
are many marvailes, for in that lande is the gravely sea, that is of
sande and gravaile and no drop of water, and ebbeth and floweth with
righte great waves as another sea doth, and it is never standing
still, nor never in rest, and no man may passe that land beyond it.
And al if it so be that there bee no water in the sea, yet men may
finde therein right good fishe, and of other fashion & shape than is
in any other seas, and also they are of full good savour & swete, and
good to eat. And three jorneys from that sea are many greate hills,
through which runneth a great floud that cometh from Paradise, and it
is full of precious stones, and no drop of water, and it runneth with
great waves into the gravely sea. And this floud runneth three dayes
in the weke so fast, & stirreth great stones of the roches with him
that make muche noise, and as sone as they come into the gravely sea,
they are no more sene, and in those three dayes when it runneth thus,
no man dare come in it, but the other dayes men go therein where they
will. And also beyond that floud towards that wildernesse is a great
plaine all sandy and gravely among hills, & in that plain grow trees
that at the rising of the Son ech day begin to grow, and so grow they
to midday, and beare fruit, but no man dare eate of that fruite, for
it is a maner of yron,[2] and after myddaye it turneth againe to the
earth, so that when the Sonne goeth downe it is nothinge seene, and so
doeth it every day. And there is in y^t wildernesse many wild men with
horns on their heads righte hidious, and they speke not but rout[3]
as swine & in y^t countrey are many popiniayes, y^t they call in theyr
language (pistak) & they speke through their own kind as a part as a
man, & those that speake well haue long tonges and large & on every
fote five toes, but there are som that haue but three toes but those
speake nought and very ill.
[Footnote 1: They care not for property.]
[Footnote 2: In other editions it is "for it is a thing of
Fayrye," or Magic.]
[Footnote 3: Root like hogs.]