Þere ben manye oþer dyuerse contrees and many oþer merueyles beȝonde,
þat I haue not seen: wherfore of hem I can not speke propurly, to tell
ȝou the manere of hem. And also in the contrees where I haue ben,
ben manye {265} mo dyuersitees of many wondirfull thinges þanne I make
mencioun of, for it were to longe thing to deuyse ȝou the manere.
And þerfore þat þat I haue deuysed ȝou of certeyn contrees, þat I
haue spoken of before, I beseche ȝoure worthi and excellent noblesse
þat i_t_ suffise to ȝou at this tyme. For {270} ȝif þat I deuysed
ȝou all þat is beȝonde the see, another man peraunter, þat wolde
peynen him and trauaylle his body for to go into þo marches for to
encerche þo contrees, myghte ben blamed be my wordes, in rehercynge
manye straunge thinges; for he myghte not seye no thing of newe, in
the {275} whiche the hereres myghten hauen ouþer solace or desport or
lust or lykyng in the herynge. For men seyn allweys þat newe thinges
and newe tydynges ben plesant to here. Wherfore I wole holde me stille,
withouten ony more rehercyng of dyuersiteeȝ or of meruaylles þat
ben beȝonde, to þat entent {280} and ende þat whoso wil gon into þo
contrees, he schall fynde ynowe to speke of, þat I haue not touched of
in no wyse.
And ȝee schull vndirstonde, ȝif it lyke ȝou, þat at myn hom
comynge I cam to Rome, and schewed my lif to oure {285} holy fadir
the Pope, and was assoylled of all þat lay in my conscience, of many
a dyuerse gr_e_uous poynt, as men mosten nedes þat ben in company,
dwellyng amonges so many a dyuerse folk of dyuerse secte and of beleeve,
as I haue ben. And amonges all, I schewed hym this tretys, þat I had
made {290} after informacioun of men þat knewen of thinges þat I had
not seen myself; and also of merueyles and customes þat I hadde seen
myself, as fer as God wolde ȝeue me grace: and besoughte his holy
fadirhode þat my boke myghte ben examyned and corrected be avys of his
wyse and discreet {295} conseill. And oure holy fader, of his special
grace, remytted my boke to ben examyned and preued be the avys of his
seyd conseill. Be the whiche my boke was preeued for trewe; in so moche
þat þei schewed me a boke, þat my boke was examynde by, þat comprehended
full moche more be an {300} hundred part; be the whiche the _Mappa
Mundi_ was made after. And so my boke (all be it þat many men ne list
not to ȝeue credence to no þing, but to þat þat þei seen with hire
eye, ne be the auctour ne the persone neuer so trewe) is affermed and
preued be oure holy fader, in maner and forme {305} as I haue seyd.
And I Iohn Maundevyll knyght aboueseyd, (allþough I be vnworthi) þat
departed from oure contrees and passed the see the ȝeer of grace
1322, þat haue passed many londes and manye yles and contrees, and
cerched manye full {310} strange places, and haue ben in many a full
gode honourable companye, and at many a faire dede of armes, all be it
þat I dide none myself, for myn vnable insuffisance; and now I am comen
hom, mawgree myself, to reste, for gowtes artetykes þat me distreynen,
þat diffynen the ende of my labour, aȝenst {315} my will, God
knoweth. And þus takynge solace in my wrechched reste, recordynge the
tyme passed, I haue fulfilled þeise thinges and putte hem wryten in this
boke, as it wolde come into my mynde, the ȝeer of grace 1356 in the
34th ȝeer þat I departede from oure contrees. Wherfore I preye to all
{320} the rederes and hereres of this boke, ȝif it plese hem, þat þei
wolde preyen to God for me, and I schall preye for hem. And alle þo þat
seyn for me a _Paternoster_, with an _Aue Maria_, þat God forȝeue me
my synnes, I make hem parteneres and graunte hem part of all the gode
pilgrymages, {325} and of all the gode dedes þat I haue don, ȝif
ony ben to his plesance; and noght only of þo, but of all þat euere I
schall do vnto my lyfes ende. And I beseche Almyghty God, fro whom all
godenesse and grace cometh fro, þat He vouchesaf of His excellent mercy
and habundant grace to {330} fullfylle hire soules with inspiracioun of
the Holy Gost, in makynge defence of all hire gostly enemyes here in
erthe, to hire saluacioun, bothe of body and soule; to worschipe and
thankynge of Him þat is þree and on, withouten begynnynge and withouten
endyng; þat is withouten qualitee good, {335} withouten quantytee gret;
þat in alle places is present, and all thinges conteynynge; the whiche
þat no goodnesse may amende, ne non euell empeyre; þat in perfyte
Trynytee lyueth and regneth God, be alle worldes and be all tymes. Amen,
Amen, Amen. {340}
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