meadow, with all the Court. On Monday we all set out together, the
Prester going in his curtain, as on the former days. On the first day
of January 1521, we came and stopped at another large church, which
they did not let us see on our first coming. Its dedication is Macham
Selasem, which means the Trinity. Before we arrived at this church, the
Prester travelling bareheaded (as has been said) with his crown on his
head and a cross in his hand as always, and inside his curtain, and
we in front of him as on the previous days--quite a league before we
arrived at this church, the Prester ordered eight saddled horses, very
large and handsome, which are prized in this country, to be brought,
and had them sent to the Portuguese that they might ride them and
skirmish before him; and so they did. At the distance of a quarter of
a league before reaching the church, an infinite number of people came
to receive him, in this manner. The people could not be reckoned, the
crosses were innumerable, clergy and friars exceeding twenty thousand
divided into bands, as there were many monasteries and churches, and
thus they accompanied their crosses. The friars must have been from
a distance, because in this kingdom of Amara there is no monastery,
nothing but great churches, and tombs of kings. There would be among
this clergy fully a hundred mitres, that is high caps; and there were
here sixty-four umbrellas, these could easily be counted, because they
were high above the people, and were large and rich, but not so much so
as those of the church of St. George, which the Prester ordered to be
shown to me. All these umbrellas belonged to the churches in which the
kings lie buried, and they leave them there when they die. This great
multitude of people thus assembled together, although a great number
of them were of the Court, yet a great part belonged to churches and
monasteries and had come for this reception. The business which had to
be done was that many people of the country came to see the Prester who
was travelling with his head uncovered, as they had never seen him. As
soon as we arrived at the church, and prayers were ended, the Prester
went to his tent; and before we set out from that place he sent to call
me, and he also sent word to the ambassador and his company to go to
their quarters. He sent to ask me what I thought of this reception, and
whether such were made for the King of Portugal. I replied that for the
King of Portugal they made great receptions and festivals; but that I
had never seen a reception or assembly of so many crosses and mitres,
nor so many people together at once; and that his reception appeared
to me so good that no better could be made in the world: and that it
also seemed to me that wherever a man should relate this outside his
kingdoms and lordships, he would not be believed unless it were on
account of the great fame which His Highness enjoyed in Christendom and
in all the world; and that this would more oblige the giving credit to
such a thing. To this came the reply that the people were yet much more
than they appeared to be, because they were naked people, and did not
look as numerous as they were, and that our people were clothed and
smart, and even though they were few they seemed to be many; and that I
might go in peace to my quarters with the ambassador. I found him still
on the road. When I reached him there came another message from the
Prester, to say that this church was new, and that as yet they had not
said mass in it; and that it was the custom for as many as entered it
to make an offering; and that the ambassador should give his arms, and
that I should give the hood which I had on my head, and likewise that
each should give the piece which he had to bestow. By this we knew that
he was delighted and rejoiced much at our opinion.
CAP. XCIV.--_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._
The following day the Prester sent to call us and conduct us to the
above-mentioned church, and he was already in it. This church is large
and high, and the walls are of white stone hewn masonry, and with good
tracery on the walls. However, they do not fix the upper woodwork upon
the walls, because they could not support it, from not being linked and
bound one with another, that is to say the stones and corner stones,
but they are laid one above another, without any going all through the
walls: though, at first sight it looks well to anyone who does not know
what is inside. It has the principal door lined with plates of metal
like that of the church of St. George, which we left behind us; and
in the midst of this plating are stones and false pearls well set. On
the top of the wall, over the principal door, are two effigies of our
Lady very well made, and two angels of the same fashion, all done with
the paint brush, and they say that they were painted by a friar, who
learned by himself, and I saw this friar. The church has three naves in
the body of the church raised on six supports. These supports are of
masonry in pieces. A third nave outside, which is closed and covered
in like a cloister and almost like part of the church, is raised upon
sixty-one high wooden props, like very tall masts; upon these props
rests the woodwork, almost flat, of very thick planks. There were
suspended all round the tower sixteen curtains that could be drawn, of
the length of the stuffs, which were all very rich brocade, and each
curtain was of sixteen pieces of stuff. The Cabeata went about showing
us these things. When we had seen all, the Prester sent to ask what we
thought of these things, works and stuffs. We answered that it seemed
to us very good, and that it looked as it should do, seeing to whom
it belonged. Then he asked if they could send him lead to cover this
church. The ambassador said that everything that His Highness might
wish for, the King of Portugal would send to him in abundance, as His
Highness would see, because all metals were in his possession. From
this place we set out with the Prester to his tents, he in his curtain,
and we on our mules, without any more ceremonies. The tents were close
to another church of the same form as this, only that it was smaller.
When we arrived and dismounted close to the tent, the Prester sent to
tell the ambassador that we should go and see the church of his mother,
which was close to the tents. We went there, and certainly it is well
made for its size. Here they told us not to find any fault with it,
because the Prester’s mother was so fanciful that if we found any fault
with it, or said that it was not so good as that of her son, that she
would order it to be thrown down and to be constructed afresh. When
we had seen this church, and while we were still in it, the Prester
sent to say that, since we had much gold in Portugal, why did we sell
rich stuffs to the Moors for gold? The ambassador replied that the
expenses of the King of Portugal and of his captains and fleets were
so great, on account of the many wars they continually waged with the
Moors, in many parts, that if they did not trade, they would not be
able to endure them, especially as these expenses and wars were a long
way off from the kingdom of Portugal, from which succours had to come;
and as they went so much by sea they carried with them merchandise,
and to some they sold and from others they took, and by this means
they supplied a part of the expense. To this there was no answer, but
he then sent word to show us in the church two large door curtains,
very rich with figures, and he asked where those stuffs were made.
He was told that all those were made in Christendom, and not in any
other part. Upon this he sent to ask if they would send him many of
those, and he would send much gold. The ambassador replied that if His
Highness wrote to the King of Portugal, that he would send him as many
as he wished for. At this they came with another rejoinder saying,
what had we brought him? The ambassador answered that he had brought
him that which he had given him, that is to say a valuable sword, and
a gold-mounted dagger, and two cannons with their chambers and balls
and powder, and four cloths for hanging on walls, and some handsome
cuirasses, and that this had been given him by the Captain-major of
India, and that he did not send these things except as a sample; and
that if it pleased him he should write to the King of Portugal, and he
would send him as much as he desired. They came with another addition,
saying, that it was the custom of all those who had sent ambassadors
to these countries to send many goods, and so they had always done to
his predecessors, and that we had come and had brought nothing. The
ambassador replied to this, that it was not the custom of the King of
Portugal and of his captains, when they sent embassies or messages
to other kings and great lords, to send any presents, except out of
friendship: rather, on the contrary, all those sent things to him to
make him their friend: and if the captain-major of India had sent him
those presents, he had sent them to serve him, and not on account of
any such custom; nevertheless, the King of Portugal had sent to the
Prester by another ambassador who died in Camaran, more than a hundred
thousand cruzados in goods, and he had sent them as to a brother, and
not from custom or obligation. With regard to what His Highness said,
that the King of Portugal had sent him many things and that they had
not presented them, he had already many times sent to tell him that
he would see by the captain-major’s letters what he had sent him;
and how what the King of Portugal had sent had remained in India, and
also he could know by the factor and clerk who came with them, because
the affairs of such sovereigns are conducted by factors and clerks.
And although they sent factors, the Portuguese were not accustomed
to act falsely, but to deal with great truth in all that was charged
or commanded to them, and he had told him the truth several times,
and if he chose to believe it he might believe it, and if not, let it
be as His Highness commanded. And His Highness should know that the
ambassador had come by order of the great captain-major of the King
of Portugal who governed the Indies, and the manner in which he had
come had been such as was usual for going to all kings and emperors:
and that His Highness should not send to say to him that which was
not usual among the Portuguese, but rather should dismiss him, for he
wanted to go because the time had arrived. The Prester sent to say that
if we had come in the times of the preceding kings that they would not
have done us any honour such as he had done us, unless we had brought
them much goods. The ambassador replied that, on the contrary, many
injuries had been done to us in his countries, and robberies, stealing
whatever we had, and that there did not remain to us clothes, nor the
goods we had brought for our maintenance, and that if we died in this
country we should all go to Paradise as martyrs, on account of the
affronts which we had met with and experienced, for already they had
attempted three or four times to kill us in his countries, and that
we endured all with patience, for the love of God, and of the King
of Portugal, to whom we belonged: and that the King of Portugal had
done other honour to Matheus, because he said he was the Prester’s
ambassador. Withal he entreated him to despatch us, that we might go
and give an account of that which we had been commanded, because the
Portuguese were not accustomed to lie, but to do and speak truth. To
this came an answer that neither the Portuguese nor the ambassador
told lies, but that Matheus had been a liar, and that he well knew the
honour which had been done to him by the King of Portugal, and his
captain in India, as soon as he arrived there, and that we should not
be angry, and we should soon be despatched, with much satisfaction to
ourselves, and that we should go in peace to dine.
CAP. XCV.--_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._
On the 4th day of the month of January Prester John sent to tell us to
order our tents, both that of the church and our own, to be taken from
this place to a distance of about half a league, where they had made
a large tank of water, in which they were to be baptized on the day
of the Kings, because on that day it is their custom to be baptized
every year, as that was the day on which Christ was baptized. We took
thither a small tent for resting in and the church tent. The next day,
which was the vigil of the day of the Kings, the Prester sent to call
us, and we saw the enclosure where the tank was. The enclosure was a
fence, and very large, in a plain. He sent to ask us if we intended to
be baptized. I replied that it was not our custom to be baptized more
than once, when we were little. Some said, principally the ambassador,
that we would do what His Highness commanded. When they perceived that,
they came back again with another message to me, asking what I said as
to being baptized. I answered that I had been already baptized, and
should not be so again. They still sent word that if we did not wish
to be baptised in their tank, they would send us water to our tent. To
this the ambassador replied that it should be as His Highness ordered.
The Franks and our people had arranged to give a representation of
the Kings,[181] and they sent to tell him of it. A message came that
it pleased him, and so they got ready for it, and they made it in the
inclosure and plain close to the King’s tent, which was pitched close
to the tank. They gave the representation, and it was not esteemed,
nor hardly looked at, and so it was a cold affair. Now that it was
night they told us to go to our tent, which was not far off. In all
this night till dawn a great number of priests never ceased chaunting
over the said tank, saying that they were blessing the water, and about
midnight, a little earlier or later, they began the baptism. They say,
and I believe that such is the truth, that the first person baptized
is the Prester, and after him the Abima, and after him the Queen, the
wife of the Prester. They say that these three persons wear cloths
over their nakedness, and that all the others were as their mothers
bore them. When it was almost the hour of sunrise, and the baptism in
fullest force, the Prester sent to call me to see the said baptism. I
went and remained there till the hour of tierce, seeing how they were
baptized; they placed me at one end of the tank, with my face towards
Prester John, and they baptize in this manner.
The tank is large, the bottom of it in the earth, and it is cut very
straight in the earth, and well squared; it is lined with planks, and
over the planks waxed cotton cloth is spread. The water came from a
rivulet through a conduit, like those to irrigate gardens, and it fell
into the tank through a cane, at the end of which was a bag that was
full; because they strain the water which falls into the tank; and it
was no longer running when I saw it: the tank was full of blessed
water, as they said, and they told me that it contained oil. This tank
had five or six steps at one end, and about three fathoms in front
of these steps was the dais of Prester John, on which he sat. He had
before him a curtain of blue tafetan, with an opening of about a span,
by which those who were baptized saw him, because he was with his
face to the tank. In the tank stood the old priest, the master of the
Prester, who was with me Christmas night, and he was naked as when his
mother bore him (and quite dead of cold, because it was a very sharp
frost), standing in the water up to his shoulders or thereabouts, for
so deep was the tank that those who were to be baptized entered by
the steps, naked, with their backs to the Prester, and when they came
out again they showed him their fronts, the women as well as the men.
When they came to the said priest, he put his hands on their head,
and put it three times under the water, saying in his language, “In
name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”: he made the
sign of the cross as a blessing, and they went away in peace. (The “I
baptize thee”, I heard him say it.) If they were little people they
did not go down all the steps, and the priest approached them, and
dipped them there. They placed me at the other end of the tank, with
my face looking to the Prester, so that when he saw the backs, I saw
the fronts, and the contrary way when they came out of the tank. After
a great number of baptized persons had passed, he sent to call me to
be near him; and so near that the Cabeata did not stir to hear what
the Prester said, and to speak to the interpreter who was close to me:
and he asked me what I thought of that office. I answered him that
the things of God’s service which were done in good faith and without
evil deceit, and in His praise, were good, but such an office as this,
there was none in our Church, rather it forbade us baptizing without
necessity on that day, because on that day Christ was baptized, so
that we should not think of saying of ourselves that we were baptized
on the same day as Christ; also the Church does not order this
sacrament to be given more than once. Afterwards he asked whether we
had it written in books not to be baptized more than once. I replied,
Yes, that we had, and that in the Creed, which was made at the Council
of Pope Leon, with the three hundred and eighteen bishops, about which
at times His Highness had questioned me, it was said: “Confiteor unum
baptisma in remissionem peccatorum.” Then they said to me that such was
the truth, and so it was written in their books; but what were they
to do with many who turned Moors and Jews after being Christians and
then repented, and with others who did not believe well in baptism,
what remedy would they have? I answered: For those who do not rightly
believe, teaching and preaching would suffice for them, and if that
did not profit, burn them as heretics. And so Christ spoke, and St.
Mark wrote it: “Qui crediderit et baptizatus fuerit salvus erit, qui
vero non crediderit condemnabitur.” And as to those who turned Moors or
Jews, and afterwards of their own free will recognised their error, and
asked for mercy, the Abima would absolve them, with penances salutary
for their souls, if he had powers for this, if not, let them go to the
Pope of Rome, in whom are all the powers. And those who did not repent,
they might take them and burn them, for such is the use in Frankland
and the Church of Rome. To this there came the reply, that all this
seemed to him good, but that his grandfather had ordained this baptism
by the counsel of great priests, in order that so many souls should not
be lost, and that it had been the custom until now; and he asked if
the Pope would concede to the Abima to hold these powers, and how much
it would cost him, and in how much time could they come. I answered
him that the Pope desired nothing except to save souls, and that he
would esteem it fortunate to send to him, the Abima, with such powers,
and that it would only cost him the expenses of the journey, which
would not be much, and also the letters of his powers: and that they
could go and come through Portugal in three years: and by the road of
Jerusalem, that I did not know it. To this there came no answer except
that I might go in peace to say mass. I said it was no longer time for
saying mass, that midday was long passed. So I went to dine with our
Portuguese and the Franks.
This tank was all closed in and covered over with coloured tent cloths,
so well that more could not be said, and so well arranged, with so many
oranges and lemons, and boughs suspended and so well disposed, that
the boughs, oranges, and lemons appeared to have grown there, and that
it was a well ordered garden. The large tent which was over the tank
was long and ...,[182] and above covered with red and blue crosses of
the fashion of the crosses of the order of Christ. This day, later in
the afternoon, Prester John sent to call the ambassador and all his
company. The baptism was already ended, and His Highness was still
within his curtain where I left him. We entered there, and he at once
asked the ambassador what he thought of it. He replied that it was very
good, although we had not got such a custom. The water was then running
into the tank, and he asked if there were here Portuguese who could
swim. At once two jumped into the tank, and swam and dived as much as
the tank allowed of. He enjoyed greatly, as he showed by his looks,
seeing them swim and dive. After this he desired us to go outside
and go to one end of the enclosure or circuit; and here he ordered a
banquet to be made for us of bread and wine (according to their custom
and the use of the country), and he desired us to raise our church tent
and the tent we were lodging in, because he wished to return to his
quarters, and that we should go in front of him because he was ordering
his horsemen to skirmish in the manner in which they fight with the
Moors in the field. So we went in front of him, looking at the said
skirmish. They began, but soon there came such heavy rain that it did
not allow them to carry out the skirmish which they had begun well.[183]
CAP. XCVI.--_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._