THE BOOK OF JOHN MANDEVILLE: FOOTNOTES
1 Ingelond, England.
1–2 y-bore, born.
2 Seynt Albons, the monastery town of Saint Albans, near London; aboute, around.
3 se mervailes, see marvels; diversiteis, different kinds.
4 diverse, different; beistis, beasts; say, saw.
6 of, from; passid, crossed.
7 iles, islands; hit, it.
11 Bethtony, Bethany in Judea; hit, it.
12 y-halwed, hallowed; of, by.
13 liked, pleased.
15 wolde, wished to (i.e., chose to).
16 Cristyn, Christian; suffre, endure; repreves, insults.
18 beth y-conteyned on hem, are contained in them.
21 y-chose, chosen; vertuous, virtuous.
24 wolde, wished to; suffre, endure; of, by; bigge, buy (i.e., redeem).
25 eynde, end.
26 for, because of the; forme fader, ancestor.
26–27 As for Hymself nought, i.e., He did not suffer death for Himself.
27 yvel, evil; yll, evil.
28 wole, will.
29 knowe opynli, known publicly; crie, be announced.
30 other, or; parties, parts.
33 dire, dearly; bought, bought (i.e., redeemed).
33–34 licknys, likeness.
34 catel, treasure.
35 sette for, given to.
36 sogettes, subjects.
37 trespas, sin; Ryght, Very.
38 soche, such; preise, praise.
39 defaute, fault.
40 longeth, belongs; deyghe, die; seysed, took possession.
41 wherof, i.e., the capacity.
42 streynth hem, exert themselves; ryght, true.
43 myssetrewantes, misbelievers.
44 right, true; aughte, ought; chalenge, claim.
45 strange, foreign.
47 bien, are; bisy, busy; deserte her, disinherit (take from) their.
48 comyn, common.
49 catel, possessions.
50 asemblé, a gathering; beth, are.
51 parteth asoundre, divide asunder; woot, know; whyder, where.
52–53 acoord...peple, accord with one another and with the common people.
53 viage, voyage; see, sea; trowe, believe.
54 reconsiled, recovered.
55 eyres, heirs.
56 hyre, hear.
57 sey, seen.
58 thow, although; bore, born.
59 passed, crossed.
60 sithe hiderward, ever since then.
61 seye, seen; leygh, resided.
62 Turky, Turkey; Surry, Syria.
63 Hermony, Armenia; More, Greater; Tartari, Tartary; Perce, Persia.
64 Libie, Libya; Caldee, Chaldea; party, part; Amazayn, Amazonia.
65 Inde, India; iles, islands; aboute, nearby.
66 shappes, shapes.
67 plenerly, fully; divise, tell; parti, part.
68 seye, seen.
69 hem, them; wole, wish; beth in purpos, intend.
70 weyes, routes; thider, thither.
74 waies after, routes according to.
75 eynde, destination; troweth, believe.
77 stedes, places.
78 Ferst, First; Ingelonde, England.
79 Almayne, Germany.
80 marcheth, extends; Poyaline, Poland.
82 right, truly; holdeth, controls; fele, many.
83 party, part.
84 Rosse, Russia.
85 lastith, extends.
88 Danubye, Danube.
89 hym, itself.
93 brugge, bridge.
94 Sternes, i.e., Sophia.
96 Bessamoran, i.e., Byzantium; comunely, ordinarily.
99 image, statue.
100 hit, i.e., the statue of Justinian; woned, accustomed.
101 tockne, symbol; party, part.
102 gret party, large part.
103 Romayne, Romania.
104 Jude, Judea.
105 Percie, Persia.
107 in tockne, as a sign; manasse mysdowers, threaten evildoers.
110 Croys, i.e., at the Crucifixion; lyveth, believe.
111 Cipre, Cyprus.
113 woot, know [that].
114 y-do, done (i.e., the monks’ false claim).
116 maner, kinds of.
117 pece, piece; heed, head.
118 overthwart, crosswise.
119 mortais, mortice; table, tablet.
120 title, inscription; Ebru, Hebrew; Greu, Greek.
121 Jhesu...Judeorum, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.
122 wened, believed.
123 als, as; dured, endured.
124 rote, rot.
125 wente, believed; stonke, stunk.
127 greved, distressed; overthwart, crosswise.
129 table, tablet.
130 tokned, symbolized; Noe, Noah.
131 culver, dove.
132 trowed, thought.
133 bate, dispute.
137 her, their.
138 sike, sick; bad, ordered.
140 heel, health; theder, thither.
142 tho, then; toke, gave; graynes, seeds.
143 als so sone as, as soon as; tho, those.
144 grave, bury.
148 eyndelys, endless; here, their; defaute, fault.
149 i-hudde, hidden; roch, rock.
150 into, until; Seynt Eline, Saint Helen.
152 sheo, she.
155 overthwart, crossbeam.
158 beth, are.
159 y-dight, adorned.
160 somtyme, formerly; wham, whom.
161 i-leyd to wedde, pledged.
162 hit, i.e., the crown; risshes, rushes.
163 wecle, harmful; sey, seen.
165 departed, separated; parties, parts.
167 semeth, seems to be.
169 breken, break.
170 thider, thither.
173 albespine, hawthorn.
174 heed, head; faste, firmly.
175 visage, face.
176 vertues, powers.
177 deer, injure.
178 yvel, evil; wheer, where.
179 deneyd, denied.
181 Anne, Annas.
182 barbarines, barberry.
183 als, as.
183–84 Cayphas, Caiaphas.
184 englenter, briar rose.
185 tho, then.
188–89 halfen deel, half part.
191 Almayne, Germany.
192 lyth, lies; hure, i.e., St. Helen brought St. Anne’s body.
195 grave, buried.
196 vestel, vessel.
198 right, truly.
200 Bouch, Mouth.
201 Brace, Arm; Seynt Gorge, St. George; closeth, encloses.
202 was y-woned to be, there used to be.
203 ful, very; playn, plain.
205 Mount Athos, Mount Athanasi; passeth, surpasses.
206 spechis, languages; obesshant, obedient.
210 auter, altar.
211 tumbe, tomb; feste, festival; yer, year.
212 conseylis, councils; troweth, believe.
214 Macedone, Macedonia.
215 departith, separates; Trachie, Thrace.
216 Aches, i.e., Athos; shade, shadow.
217 neygh, nearly.
218 feile, feel.
219 drigh, dry.
219–20 somtyme, formerly.
220 thilke, this; here, their; i-moisted, moistened.
221 poudre, dust.
223 faute, fault.
224 y-dight, adorned; justyng, jousting; stages, tiers.
225 thilke, these; vauted, vaulted.
229 fyn, excellent; Ebru, Hebrew.
230 Gru, Greek.
233 yit, still.
235 yit, yet.
236 obesshent, obedient.
241 playn, complete.
246 sogettis, subjects.
247 in purpos, intending; stanche, satisfy.
249 loof, loaf.
250 in tockinyng, as a symbol; Maundé, Maundy Thursday.
251 sike, the sick.
252 unctioun, oil for anointing.
253 afor, before.
255 kyndely, natural.
256 ons, once.
257 i-gete, begotten; her prestis, their priests.
258 oker, usury; sillen benefis, sell benefices to ecclesiastical offices; simonie, usury.
262 Youle Eve, Christmas Eve; Pasche Eve, Easter Eve.
263 auters, altars; and, if.
264 falle, happens; happe, chance.
266 tocknyng, a sign.
267 chavyng, shaving.
268–69 defendid, forbidden.
269 als, such as.
270 als, as well as; eyron, eggs.
271 tho, those.
273 digniteis, offices.
275 thowe, although; yyt, yet; likith, is pleasing.
276 hyre, hear.
278 setten, written down; wite, know.
279 heres, theirs; desier, desire.
282 ful, very.
283 Brace, Arm.
284 mastik, resin.
287 eelde, age.
289 autre, altar; tumbe, tomb.
290 woned, accustomed to.
291 translatid, transported.
292 haldeth, hold.
293 by his lyve, during his life.
294 quyk, alive.
295 onto, until.
296 apartly, plainly.
297 meve, move.
301 then, thence; gaff, gave.
306 here, her.
307 shewith her, shows herself; but if, unless.
310 der, dare; hure, her.
311 heo, she.
312 ferne, long; doughti, brave.
316 bare, carried; maugre his teeth, despite his efforts.
318 wist, knew.
320–21 kembid hure heed, combed her hair.
321 trosour, treasure.
322 wente, thought; comyn womman, prostitute.
323 dele with here, have sex with her; abood, remained; tho, then; shade, reflection.
324 wolde, wanted.
325 lemman, lover; wher, whether.
326–27 baad hym, told him to.
328 morghe, morrow.
330 thow, although; ghit, yet.
332 nough, now.
336 fleyghe, fled.
338 anoon, immediately.
339 sithen hiderward, ever since then; se, see.
342 thenne, thence.
344 yit, still; pistle, epistle.
345 fer, far.
347 wexen, grow.
351 y-do, put.
355 thow, thou; gyte, begotten; lette, neglect.
356 thee worth, you will; yede, went.
357 fley, flew; parolous, dangerous; anoon, immediately.
358 passages, routes.
362 haven, harbor.
364 monokis, monks.
365 weneth, believe.
367 Genonon, Sozomon; solemnté, solemnity.
368 Seynt Hillari, St. Hilarion.
369 paupyons, panthers; libardes, leopards.
370 sumdel more, somewhat larger.
371 maner, custom.
374 hatter, hotter.
375 strange, foreign; formes, tables.
376 hem were levere, they would rather.
378 haven, harbor.
379 entré, port of entry; somtyme, formerly.
380 destried, destroyed.
381 ryght, directly.
383 bye hem, purchase for themselves; bossh many, many a merchant ship.
387 thee baar, bore you; pappes, breasts.
388 thow, thou.
390 Seynt Savouris, St. Savior.
392 Helias, Elijah; raysed, raised from the dead.
394 somtyme Enyas, formerly Aeneas’.
396 Brenche, Beirut.
397 journeis, days’ journey.
402 yldest, oldest.
404 ryveth, arrives.
408 furlang, furlongs.
409 Carme, Mount Carmel; Elias, Elijah; frere Carmes, Carmelite friars.
410 funded, founded.
411 y-wasted, ruined.
412 lift, left.
414 Scale de Terreys, the Ladder of Tyre.
415 Fosse Ynone, Foss (Ditch) of Memnon; nyghe, nearly; brode, broad.
416 verres, glass.
417 fer, far.
420 fosse, ditch; troble, roil; do, put.
421 wex, become.
423 swolwyng, gulf.
426 slow, slew; fort, strong.
427 then, thence.
430 soudan, sultan.
431 sikerly, securely; or, before.
433 ful sondy, very sandy.
434 vitalles, food.
436 Egipt Canaphat, Egypt.
443 fuyr, fire.
445 soudan, sultan.
446 rooch, rock.
447 taketh, take care of.
449 soudier, a soldier; werris, wars.
453 y-gete, acquired.
457 he, i.e., the sultan.
458 heyr, higher.
460 with, by.
461 yit, still.
462 orison, prayer.
464 oon contré...stede, a country or a place; al oon name, all the same name.
466 sithen, after.
468 vitaylis, food.
469 ney, nearly.
470 Arabynes, Arabians; Bydoynes, Bedouins; Ascopardes, desert people.
471 maner, kinds of.
472 beistis, beasts’.
473 Reede See, Red Sea.
473–74 defaute, lack.
476 tylieth, cultivate; eny, i.e., any of them.
477 flessh, meat; ageyn, against.
479 tellen noght by, have no regard for.
480 soudan, sultan; werre, war.
481 hym2, i.e., the sultan; bare, carried.
482 hem, themselves.
485 Bersabe, Beersheba; somtyme, formerly.
487 Urie, Uriah; whas wyf, whose wife (i.e., Bathsheba); wyse, wise man.
489 Ebron, Hebron; neye, nearly.
490 Teres, Tears.
490–91 for as moche as, because.
492 Caim slow, Cain slew; somtyme, formerly; Philistiens, Philistines.
493 gyauntes, giants; Josue, Joshua; Calofe, Caleb; aspie, discover.
494 Londe of Promission, Promised Land.
497 hongynge, overhang; hull, hill.
498 corneld, crenelated; Sarasynnes, Saracens.
499 lygen, rest.
502 other, or; on is, one is.
504 Habrahamis, i.e., Abraham’s; he, i.e., Abraham.
506 hym toke...hous, i.e., Abraham took the angel into his house.
508 gete, begot.
510 Damas, Damascus; translatyd, transported.
514 lasteth, extends.
515 bad, ordered.
516 draweth, extract.
519 Loth, Lot.
522 hit hath be, it has existed.
524 hertes, heartwood.
527 Londe of Promission, Promised Land.
528 messe, liturgy of the Mass; wexe, grow.
529 turned, converted.
532 the fallyng yvel, epilepsy.
533 y-holde, considered.
534 Bethleem, Bethlehem.
535 perlous, dangerous; wodes, woods; lykynge, pleasant; Bedlem, Bethlehem.
539 toures, towers.
540 pynacles, turrets; corneld, crenelated.
543 Floryshid, Flowering.
544 heo, she; demed, judged.
545 brende, burnt; wode, wood.
547 that, so that.
548 ride, red.
549 rosers, rose bushes.
550 y-seyn afore, seen before.
552 queir, choir.
553 gres, steps; y-dyght, decorated.
555 thre paas, three paces; cribbe of the oxe and the asse, i.e., the manger where Jesus was laid.
559 sommen, together.
562 gres, steps.
563 Innocentis, the male children killed by Herod in an attempt to destroy the infant Jesus.
565 sautre, psalter; Ebru, Hebrew.
566 here, herself.
567 pappes, breasts; greved, distressed.
568 reed, red.
571 plenté, abundance; here, their.
572 Macametis, Mohammed’s; he acurseth, he (Mohammed) curses; tho, those.
573 for, because of the; heremyte, hermit.
573–74 in his dronknes, when drunk.
574 malys, malice.
577 bryngeth forth, rear; gryces, pigs.
578 brother, a brother.
580 beoff, beef; travayle, labor.
581 telynge, tilling.
582 Bedlem, Bethlehem.
583 lemans, concubines; bote, only.
584 beryng, i.e., birth.
585 Joseph moder, the mother of Joseph.
587 in tocknyng, signifying.
590 condiht, conduit.
591 Solomee, Salem.
592 in samen, together.
595 Jude, of Judea.
596 marcheth, extends.
598 the Gret See, the Mediterranean; Syrry, Syria; Cipre, Cyprus.
602–03 a cherche...deye, a confused way of saying that the church of Mercaritot was named for St. Mercaritot.
603 wham, whom.
604 deol, sorrow.
608 synwers, sinners.
609 mysbylive, unbelieving (i.e., non-Christians).
610 to, too.
612 holy grave, Christ’s sepulcher.
612–13 y-closed, enclosed.
613 cherche round, round church.
613–14 y-helid, covered.
614 leed, lead; a fayr tour and strong for bellys, a tower for bells that is fair and strong.
618 hythe, height.
619 siththe, since.
620 forfyde hem, misbehaved themselves.
621 pecys, pieces.
624 lyghtith, illuminates.
625 oure, hour.
627 morteyse, mortice.
628 reed y-medled, red mixed.
629 pyned, tortured.
630 mortais, mortice; Noeis, Noah’s; in tocknyng of, as a sign that.
631 bought, redeemed.
632 auter, altar; Godfray the Boleyn, Godfrey of Bouillon.
633 Baudewyn, Baldwin.
634 Gru, Greek.
637 hele, salvation; myd, middle.
638 pyght, placed.
640 seist, sees.
643 Quadraginta...huic, apparently a corruption of Vulgate Psalm 94:10.
646 Mars, March.
647 Gayus Cesar, Julius Caesar.
649–50 by a good countes … the 40 yer, i.e., according to the 10-month calendar, Christ’s age was 40.
650 after, according to.
653 pylour, pillar; y-skorgid, scourged; gres, steps.
654 cleped, called; Seynt Elene, St. Helen, mother of the emperor Constantine.
655 asayed, tested.
658 neygh, nearby.
661 wan, won.
662 Asy, Asia; Sirrye, Syria.
663 Perce, Persia.
664 Ynde, India.
665 paynems, pagans.
668 compas, circle; Joseph of Barmathia, Joseph of Arimathea.
673 aperyd, appeared; Uprysynge, Resurrection.
674–75 chanouns, canons; Seynt Benet, St. Benedict.
675 priour, prior.
680 prestes, priests.
681–82 Pater Noster, Our Father.
683 orisons in privité, private prayers. 685 feblist, most vulnerable.
687 Josaphat, Jehosaphat.
688 Seynt Stevene, St. Stephen; stened, stoned.
689 Gilden, Golden.
690 ageyn, before; yyt, still.
691 stappes, hoof marks.
692 pace, paces.
695 Marie Cleophe, Mary Cleophas; Marie Magdalene, Mary Magdalene.
696 to-drow her her, tore their hair; dayde, died.
697 the 8 score pace, 160 steps.
698 hye, tall.
699 heelyd, covered; suffre, allow.
702 seel, seal.
703 synet, signet.
706 encline, bow; take...heed, allow it to touch their head.
707 redith, read; profre, offer.
710 Charlemayn, Charlemagne; prepuys, the foreskin.
713 lestid, lasted; Titus, and Vaspasianus son, Titus, who was Vespasian’s son.
715 leyt brenne, caused to burn.
717 oo, one.
718 pens, pence.
719 Julius Apostata, Julian the Apostate.
723 Adrian, Hadrian.
727 let close and walle, caused to be enclosed and walled.
731 thiderynne, therein.
732 of, off; shone, shoes.
735 hithe, height.
737 stage, tier; grecis, steps.
738 Halwes, Holies.
739 prelate, churchman of superior rank.
740 in stages...degré, on tiers according to their rank.
741 ontrees, entrances.
742 poule, pool.
745 Beleth, Bethel.
748 Aarons yerd, the rod of Aaron.
751 hym, it.
755 pottes, vessels; ensensures, censers.
757 cherubyn, cherubim; trumpes, trumpets.
758 loves, loaves.
760 scale, stairway.
761 wist, knew; heilde, beheld.
762 hym, himself.
763 on, in.
764 shethe, sheath.
765 y-stened, stoned.
766 cleff, cleaved.
768 denounced, proclaimed.
772 dyde sle Urye, he had Uriah killed.
774 thilke, those.
777 Zacary, Zechariah.
779 Templers, Knights Templar.
783–84 leet translate, transported.
785 entrees, entrances.
786 stere, move.
788 in the palasye y-helyd, with palsy healed.
791 let sle, caused to be killed.
792 fel, cruel.
794 waxe out of his wytte, went crazy; long, for a long time.
799 wyste, knew.
800 of, off.
803 delyveryd, freed.
807 Ascolonyte, Herod the Great.
808–09 Seynt Jame, St. James (brother of St. John).
811 most partye, largest part.
815 with, by.
818 entré, beginning.
821 scorged, scourged; was...the bysshopes of the Lawe, i.e., belonged to the spiritual leader of the Jews (other versions identify him as Annas).
822 3, i.e., three times.
823 Maundy, Maundy Thursday, i.e., Last Supper; apeyred, appeared.
824 Uprysyng, Resurrection; shytte, shut.
825 asay, test.
826 leved he ferst, he (Thomas) first believed.
828–29 Wit Soneday, Whitsun (Pentecost).
829 licknes, likeness.
830 Pasche, Passover.
831 sey, saw; prevy, secret.
832 strengre, more fortified.
835 stones cast, stone’s throw; jugged, judged.
836 Cayphas, Caiaphas’.
837–38 Natatori Silo, the Pool of Siloam.
840 pens, pence; Fariseis, Pharisees.
841 synwed, sinned; disseyved ryghtfull, deceived righteous.
845 biried, buried.
847 Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist.
851 lykyng, pleasant.
852 that1, i.e., that mountain.
854 overtwert, across; yede, went.
856 elde, age.
858 Gessamain, Gethsemane; byleved, left.
861 Josaphat, Jehosaphat.
862 Olyvete, Olivet.
863 heyer, higher.
866 stappes, footprints.
867 blake canons, i.e., Augustinian canons.
871 her, theirs.
872 Pater Noster, Our Father; Besfage, Bethphage.
873 Betonye, Bethany.
874 Symon lepre, Simon the leper; herborwed, sheltered.
875 y-called Julian, [later] named Julian.
876 herborgh, lodging.
877 Mari Maudeleyn, Mary Magdalen.
878 eyen, eyes; her here, her hair.
879 Lazar arered, Lazarus raised.
880 Assumpcioun, Assumption; gerdel, belt.
882 Day of Dome, Day of Judgment.
884 Rysyng, Resurrection.
887 toke Josue, Joshua captured.
889 Raab, Rahab; comune womman, prostitute.
893 take mede, receive the reward.
894 Flom, River.
897 maked, made into.
899 a greet while, for a long time.
900 seet, sat.
902 departeth, separates.
903 Sara, Zoar.
904 better, bitter; aspaltoun, asphalt.
904–05 as greet pecis as, in pieces as large as.
905 forlang, furlongs.
906 beist, animal; leve, live.
907 assayed, tested.
908 ire, iron.
909 gronde, the bottom; kynde, nature.
911 venjaunce, vengeance.
913 Flom, River.
914 sonke, sank; Gomor, Gomorrah.
915 sodomyte, sodomy; regned on, flourished in.
916 Loth, Lot.
918 dronke, drunk.
919 delede, had sexual intercourse; trowed, believed.
920 Noeis, Noah’s; men, i.e., children.
923 ageyn, back.
924 heit, was called.
926 elde, age.
932 Libanye, Lebanon.
935 Surrye, Syria.
942 payd, satisfied.
943 culver, dove.
946 mesel, leper.
947 whoch, which; entré, beginning.
948 plentouous, abundant.
949 marche, borders.
951 Ryal Mount, Mount Royal.
952 Baudewyn, Baldwin.
957 heyghe, high.
958 Anna, Hannah.
959 Sybole, Shiloh; Elye, Eli.
961 ney by, nearby.
964 Samaritane, Samaritan.
965 plenteuous, abundant.
966 Neaple, Neopolis, i.e., new city.
967–68 in leed, encased in lead.
973 kyndes, tribes.
974 byhedid, beheaded.
975 Makaryn, Machareus; translated, transported.
976 Julius Apostata, Julian the Apostate.
978 Lombe, Lamb.
979 Seynt Tecle, St. Thecla.
980 worship, honor.
981 y-closed, enclosed.
982 Theodosy, Theodosius.
984 halfendell, half.
985 vestel, vessel; leed, put.
986 Gene, Genoa.
987 Amyas, Amiens.
988 wot, know.
992 acounted, known.
994 deme, judge.
995 after, according to; wrappeth, wrap.
999 y-wyte, know.
1004 on, one; Land of Promission, Promised Land.
1007 Antecrist, Antichrist.
1010 colver, dove.
1011 norshed, nurtured.
1013 Cane, Cana.
1018–19 y-gete, conceived.
1020 salved, greeted.
1022 closet, room.
1024 norshed, nurtured.
1031 stappes, footprints.
1032 agast, afraid.
1035 had chelde, gave birth to her child.
1036 leved, lived.
1039 sey, saw.
1040 Hely, Elijah.
1042 her, here.
1043 arise, risen.
1044 arere, raise.
1045 Dome, Doom (i.e., Last Judgment).
1046 Pasch, Easter.
1048 Ermon, Hermon.
1049 arered, raised; wyduwe sone, son of the widow.
1050 Tybourne, Tiberias; See, Sea.
1052 broke, brook; forlonge, furlongs.
1053 brede, breadth.
1054 yede drie foot, walked dry-footed.
1055 sonke, sunk.
1066 diverseth, differ; of, from.
1068 shryve, confess.
1075 Forwhy, Therefore.
1076 shreve, confessed.
1077 conne, know; Sauter book, Psalter; alegge, read.
1078 Seynt Austyn, St. Augustine; Seynt Gregore, St. Gregory.
1080 y-turnd, turned away [from it]; hope, expect.
1082 Hillary, St. Hilary.
1084 pershe, perish; twynclyng, the twinkling.
1085 despisyng, rejection.
1086 shryve, confess.
1087 alonliche, alone; ferste, early.
1088 sithe, after.
1089 hy, they; skyle, reason.
1090 but, unless; kynde, nature.
1091 convenable, appropriate.
1095 crones, crowns of their heads; clerkes, educated men; roonde, round.
1097 Cristen of girdyng, belted Christians; were, wear; gerdeles, belts.
1098 Nideus, Nestorians.
1100 wonderfull, amazing.
1102 eer, before.
1103 Damas, Damascus; good, goods.
1106 founded Ebreus Damask, Eleazar of Damascus founded.
1107 hoped, expected.
1108 eyr, heir; Caym, Cain.
1110 Syrie, Seir; fucissions, physicians.
1113 fusike, medicine.
1115 cleped, called.
1117–18 table of tre, wood panel.
1120 oyle, oil.
1121 vestel, vessel.
1127 fresith, freezes; forst, frost.
1128 Beruch, Beirut.
1129 Cipre, Cyprus; Tyri, Tyre.
1130 right, directly.
1135 passe hit, proceed that way (i.e., the longest way).
1136 defaute, lack; costages, money.
1140 Gene, Genoa.
1141 marches, region.
1142 ryveth, arrives.
1147 costes, coasts; Jafphe, Jaffa.
1151 licknes, likenesses.
1152 George, St. George.
1155 mowe, may; savour, smell; is lever, prefer.
1159 Bras of Seynt Jorge, Arm of St. George.
1162 Torkye, Turkey; Nyke, Nicea.
1165 Aunteoch, Antioch.
1167 Romayn, Romany.
1168 costande, sailing along the coast.
1170 brygge, bridge.
1175 pylour, i.e., city boundary.
1180 Triple, Tripoli.
1185 Sesarye Philippum, Cesarea Philippi.
1190 perelous, dangerous; travel, difficulty.
1191–92 Almayne, Germany.
1192 Spruse, Prussia; Tartaryse, Tartary.
1193 y-holde of, controlled by; Cane, Khan.
1194 last, extends.
1195 sondy, sandy.
1196 corne, wheat; pesyn, peas.
1197 soupeth, sup.
1198 ratons, rats; meese, mice.
1199 make, cook.
1200 mocke, dung.
1205 neteles, nettles.
1207 Rossye, Russia.
1208 Lettow, Lithuania.
1210 marys, marshes.
1211 but yf, unless; forst, frost.
1213 Pruys, Prussia.
1215 vitayles, food.
1217 cariage, carriages; dreys, sleds; mowe, may.
1220 kepith, capture; vylonye, harm.
1221 hatter, hotter.
1222 styve, heated room.
1229 party, part; Akkaron, the Koran.
1231 Macamete, Mohammed.
1236 ther, i.e., in Paradise.
1241 lerid of, taught by.
1246 ryghtwys, righteous.
1248 delid, dealt; sorceryes, witchcraft.
1251 wende, thought.
1254 her, their (i.e., the Saracens’).
1255 gradde, wept.
1259 deme, judge.
1261 mesalles, lepers.
1262 quyke, alive.
1265 constrayned, compelled.
1267 on, about.
1269 fay, faith; lightly, easily.
1270 wyteth, know.
1275 Dome, Judgment; demed, judged.
1277 Ackaron, Koran.
1278 lemmans, lovers.
1280 hym byhoveth, it is necessary for him; godes, goods.
1282 oo, one.
1284 gost, spirit; on lyve, alive.
1287 fay, faith; tho, those.
1289 after the lettre, literally; gostly, spiritually.
1291 maketh quyke, gives life.
1293 toke, brought.
1296 lete voyde, emptied.
1297 in counseil, secretly.
1300 Sikerly, Certainly; maketh no force of, care nothing for.
1304 ynow, enough.
1305 enforseth hem, exert themselves; bygyle, deceive.
1306 prout, proud.
1307 werth, wear.
1308–09 do almes dede, give charity.
1315 do ageyn, act against.
1320 comens, common people.
1324 devised, described.
1326 mervayll, marvel; sclaundre, blame.
1328 withdrawe, turned away.
1334 he, i.e., Mohammed.
1335 entré, entrance.
1336 Machamete byfell, happened to Mohammed.
1337–38 asterlaberer, user of an astrolabe.
1338 prins, prince.
1340 fallyng yvell, epilepsy.
1341 wroth, angry.
1345 kynde, tribe; Agar, Hagar.
1346 chamberer, servant.
1350 Synay, Sinai.
1352 wende, went.
1353 leet all his men walke, made all his men stay awake.
1357 put up, put away.
1360 leved, believed.
1361 soth, the truth.
1363 prevely, privately.
1364 calamele, sugarcane.
1365 falleth, happens.
1366 skyll, reason; Larchesleven, a Saracen religious leader.
1368 on, one.
1378 sithen, since.
1380 yles, places.
1381 flodes, rivers.
1382 Paradys Terrestre, the Earthly Paradise.
1383 Mesopotanye, Mesopotamia; Caldé, Chaldea.
1384 Tygre, Tigris; Mody, Media; Perce, Persia.
1385 Syrri, Syria; Palastyn, Palestine.
1386 Fimes, Phoenicia; See Metterane, Mediterranean Sea.
1387 Marrok, Morocco; Greet See, Black Sea; byyonde, beyond.
1388 myle of Lombardye, Lombard miles.
1391 Gene, Genoa.
1392 coste, coast.
1393 Trapasond, Trebizond.
1394 marches, regions.
1395 Attonas, Athanasius; Elisaundre, Alexandria.
1408 fayre, faerie (i.e., the supernatural world).
1409 wake, keep awake.
1412 asayed, tested.
1415 bade aske, told him to ask.
1416 dever, task.
1418 fole, fool.
1419 noght worldly, not of this world.
1423–24 in subjeccioun of, ruled by.
1424 good, goods.
1425 out of reson, unreasonable.
1426 needfull, poor.
1428 wake, keep awake.
1435 Archa Noe, Noah’s Ark.
1436 yit, still.
1439 theder, thither.
1441 plancke, plank [from the Ark].
1443 aforsed hym, forced himself; at the thrydde part of the hylle upward, a third of the way up the hill.
1447 suche, i.e., otherwise.
1448 gabbe, lie.
1453 thre kynges, i.e., the Wise Men.
1454 to make present, to give gifts.
1462 plenteuous, abundant.
1465 sithe, after.
1472 marcheth, borders on.
1473 lothlych, loathly.
1475 gret here, big hair.
1476 Amasoyn, Amazonia.
1480 good blood, highborn men.
1487 knave, male; con, are able to.
1489 pappe, breast; for beryng of a shyld, to carry a shield.
1490 shetyng, shooting.
1491 werryours, warriors; y-souded, united.
1492 closed, enclosed.
1494 profyte, good.
1494 Kyng Alysaundre, Alexander the Great.
1499 trobel, turgid.
1500 somdel salt, somewhat salty.
1502 mervayl, a marvel; covert, covering.
1506 parties, parts.
1507 tempered, temperate.
1508 forst, frost.
1509 dyamaunde, diamond; trobul, murky.
1511 nessh, soft.
1512 Cipre, Cyprus; Macydoyn, Macedonia.
1513 mas, mass; myne, mine.
1515 adamaundes, lodestones.
1516 hasel notes, hazelnuts.
1517 maule, male; femaule, female.
1520 asayd, tested.
1523 vertu, power.
1524 lift, left.
1527 hole, whole.
1528 and, if.
1532 y-traveyled, oppressed.
1535 swete, sweat.
1537 adamaund, lodestone; draweth, attracts; nedel, needle.
1539 vertuous, powerful.
1540 preve, test.
1541 byyonde, beyond the; falleth, happens.
1544 elys, eels; mille, thousand.
1548 torn, orbit; signes, astrological signs; late steryng, slow moving.
1549 good wyll, desire.
1549–50 mech styryng, much traveling.
1550 our contré, i.e., England.
1551 leyght, quick; way, travel.
1553 leyghtlych, quickly.
1555 Gene, Genoa.
1556 partyes, regions; bygge, buy.
1557 ballockys, testicles; shankes, legs.
1558 byndeth, bind; straytly, tightly; oynementz, ointments.
1559 therfore, for that purpose.
1560 undren, about 9 a.m.
1562 yre, iron; bondes, bands.
1563 drawe, attract.
1564 corne, wheat.
1567 addres, adders.
1568 mete on the morwenynge, encounter in the morning.
1568–69 simulacres, images.
1570 what thyng a man wol, whatever thing one chooses.
1571 on, one.
1574 were somtyme, lived previously.
1576 kynde, nature; ryght wel with, pleasing to.
1581 fure, fire; skyles, reasons.
1583 quyke, living.
1586 eddres, adders.
1588 ratons, rats.
1589 her, here; mastyves, mastiffs.
1595 oure, hour.
1596 hole, whole (i.e., healthy).
1599 leven, live.
1600 vertuous, virtuous; gyngyner, ginger.
1602 profyt, good.
1603 travayle, work.
1605 gadreth, collects.
1606 donge, dung; vestel, vessel; prelate, churchman of superior rank.
1610 fulfeld thorgh vertu, fulfilled by the power.
1612 as they ben of degré, according to their rank.
1615 gostes, spirits.
1616 sleyn, kill; sprengeth, sprinkle.
1618 in toknyng, as a sign.
1621 good resoun, right.
1627 honde, hand.
1628 y-ryse, risen.
1629 thow, thou; wanhope, despair; trywe, faithful.
1630 bare, uncovered.
1632 ryght, claim; mater, argument; bylles, formal statements.
1634 ryghtfull, honest.
1640 kytte, cut; shankes, legs; thyes, thighs.
1643 pase, step.
1644 ensense, incense.
1645 Goddis body, i.e., the Host.
1646 stocke, basin.
1652 chayre, chariot.
1653 solempnité, ceremony.
1657 wheles, wheels.
1658 to-broke, broken.
1659 joye, i.e., joy in heaven.
1660 overthwert, opposite.
1662 trone, throne.
1664 good wylle, consent; worship, honor.
1666 letenyes, litanies.
1667 askes, ashes; relykes, relics.
1668 hit, i.e., such a relic; doute, fear.
1675 in comune, in common.
1680 haveth delyd, who have had sex.
1682 cornes, crops.
1683 loke, lock.
1684 gladloker, more gladly.
1688 y-clepid, called; evene, due; stereth, moves.
1689 y-lad, guided.
1690 Anteryke, Antarctic; evene agenst, just opposite.
1693 apereth, appear.
1696 after that, according to what.
1697 hey, high.
1698 heyth, height.
1701 styreth, move.
1702 extre, axletree.
1704 heythe, height.
1707 4 score, 80.
1708 bote, only.
1709 sykerly, truly.
1710 hadde shipyng, could get passage.
1711 thylke, that same.
1724 y-preved, proved; and, if.
1727 hele, salvation.
1736 wende, went; seynge, seeing.
1741 travayl, hardship.
1743 droff, it drove.
1745–46 of all hyt be that, even though.
1746 simple men of connyng, men of simple understanding.
1748 by more skyle, more reasonably.
1751 of noght, from nothing.
1752 if be al, though it is.
1757 repreve, gainsay.
1758 more aboute, bigger around.
1759 that, what. 1760 by, is.
1761 lymes, limbs.
1763 the lasse, smaller.
1769 forlanges, furlongs.
1770 also, as.
1774 heythe, height.
1775 y-cliped, called.
1780 merke hem, mark themselves.
1780–81 hoot yre that, hot iron so that.
1786 gyngyner, ginger; clowes, cloves; canel, cinnamon.
1787 notemyge, nutmeg; maces, mace.
1789 greces, steps.
1793 y-seyn, seen.
1796 soget, subject.
1802 fenym, venom.
1803 stampe, mash.
1804 tryacle, treacle.
1806 rynde, bark; pershid, pierced.
1807 vestell, vessel.
1808 do, take.
1811 ground, bottom.
1812 cannes, canes.
1814 yre der, iron harm.
1815 haven of, have any of.
1817 quarelles, arrows.
1820 oons, once.
1824 hem lyst, they wish.
1830–31 y-herborwed, sheltered.
1832 quyke, alive; skyle, wisdom; heo, she.
1833 dude, did.
1835 wene, believe.
1836 an, on.
1839 norsheth, raise; strangly, kill; hope, expect.
1840 hy, they.
1841 kyndely, natural.
1842 feneson, venison.
1845 at most name, most famous.
1846 makyd at oon, reconciled.
1846–47 every otheris, each other’s.
1849 resenable, reasonable; eddres, adders.
1851 make noon fors of, do not care for.
1857 prevyteis, genitals; targe, shield.
1860 perlys orient, oriental pearls.
1861 pater-noster of aumbre, amber-beaded rosary; Pater Noster, "Our Father" prayer; Ave Maria, "Hail Mary" prayer.
1862 or, before.
1863 rubye orient, oriental ruby.
1864 chese, choose.
1866 hy, they.
1873 prest, priest.
1880 preye, invite.
1883 haven gret vylonye, are scorned.
1884 ben y-holde, are considered.
1887 myddes, middle.
1888 eyen, eyes.
1890 plat visage, flat face.
1891 lyples, lipless.
1893 membres, genitals.
1899 holgh, hollow.
1901 Occian, Ocean.
1906 poure, poor.
1909 more, larger.
1910 breddes, birds; moche, large.
1911 chepe, trade; vitayles, food.
1912 solempnytees, rituals.
1913 dyghte, make; deynté, fine (delicious); ordeyne, order.
1914 geve hem to mete, offer them for dinner.
1915 woll, wool.
1919 most, largest.
1921 marcheth uppon, borders on.
1928 baboyn, baboons.
1929 covent, convent; relyfe, remnant.
1930 cleket, clapper.
1932 hem, to them; fessel, vessel.
1937 though yit, still.
1939 travayle, work.
1940 thenne, thence; sege, seat.
1944 pegmans, pygmies.
1945 spanne, handspans.
1946 travelen, work.
1952 good2, goods.
1953 marchaundes, merchants.
1961 aboute, i.e., in circumference; sege, seat.
1964 diverse, diverse [kinds].
1965 fast by, close by.
1968 dight, adorned.
1970 panters, panthers; for, because.
1972 unnethe, hardly.
1973 preesen, prize; for as moche hit were goold, as if they were gold.
1974 over, uppermost.
1975 y-bordured, bordered.
1976 greces, steps.
1978 sege, seat; gre, degree.
1982 kynne, good family.
1984 contrefeit, likeness.
1991 yolgh, yellow.
1997 cremans, possibly light garnets; alabans, albandines.
1998 byrrel, beryl; topaces, topazes.
1999 oniches, onyx; geraundes, possibly dark garnets.
2000 as properly, so well.
2001 borde, table.
2006 coppes, cups; pydos, peridots.
2007 deynté, appreciation; greces, steps.
2008 pament, floors.
2009 soudeours, soldiers.
2011 nobleye, worthiness; y-shewed, shown.
2013 y-leved, believed; y-sey, seen.
2014 honeste, temperate.
2019 Noeis, Noah’s; outtake, except.
2023 parte, divide between them.
2025 bycom, descended; paynymes, pagans.
2026 hedles, headless.
2027 hem, themselves.
2029 skyle, reason.
2031 lynages, families (tribes).
2032 lynage, family, (tribe).
2037 stede, horse.
2041 be, been.
2042 fole, fool.
2043 bad, ordered.
2046 chese, chose; to, as.
2049 tho, then.
2050 lyve, believe.
2051 thraldom, servitude.
2053 numbred, counted; mayster, leader.
2059–60 maked no lettyng of, did not refuse.
2065 wende, thought.
2066 fer, far away.
2067 bossh, bush.
2073 fayn of, joyful at.
2078 for, because.
2083 wan, won.
2084 most, largest.
2089 het hym, called themselves.
2092 tylieth, till.
2093 gret seel, imperial seal.
2096 prevy, private.
2102 beryng, birth.
2105 araed, arrayed.
2109 cammaka, a silk-like fabric.
2110 prys, price.
2112 shewed hem, shown themselves.
2116 astrelabers, astrolabes.
2117 orlages, clocks.
2119 seith tyme, see it is time.
2122 loute, bow.
2130 prevyly, privately; maystres, masters.
2133 heste, behest.
2134 tocknynge, significance.
2137 dightteth, gives.
2138 but, except.
2139 wole werry, wants to make war.
2140 wite, know.
2142 bryddes, birds.
2142–43 faucon gentel, falcons of excellent breed.
2143 laurettes, lanners (a type of Mediterranean falcon); sacres, sakers (female lanners); paupenjayes, parrots.
2144 olyfauntz, elephants; fusicions, physicians; loke, study.
2145 tretith, has dealings.
2150 charbocle, carbuncle.
2153 somer, summer.
2156 ostes, hosts.
2159–60 bowe draught, the length of a bowshot.
2162 wole wende, wants to go; with privé mayne, in secret.
2168 aray, array.
2179 dooth of, takes off.
2180 louteth, bows.
2181 priour, prior; prelat, churchmen of superior rank; religious, order.
2183 beneson, blessing.
2187 voyde, empty-handed.
2194 formest mylk of her beestes, first milk from their beasts.
2197 nywe mone, new moon.
2202 shryve hem, confess themselves.
2203 halwed, ritually purified.
2207 bordes, table linens.
2208 doblers, plates.
2214 gentyles, gentlemen.
2215 fleith on, flees in.
2217–18 turnd to her lawe, converted to their religion.
2218 wyte never, do not know.
2220 shet, shoot; also, as.
2221 byheit, promised.
2226 y-helid, covered.
2228 leggen, lay.
2232 astored, provided for.
2235 be hardy, dares.
2238 wole, will.
2243 sheryng, sharp.
2247 camacas, silk-like fabric.
2248 Asye the Depe, Deepest Asia.
2257 habited, inhabited.
2259 flyen, flies.
2260 mucke, manure.
2265 Oxean, Ocean; Maure, the Black Sea.
2270 Port de Feare, Gate of Iron.
2281 Gregyssh, Greek.
2286 playn, flat.
2295 of name, famous.
2307 derknes, darkness.
2309 voys, voices.
2318–19 overclapped, enshrouded.
2319 oste, host.
2322 y-do, done.
2327 playn, flat.
2328 vuryk and rychasse, wealth and riches (?).
2329 flum, river.
2330 Fame, River.
2339 obesshant, obeisant.
2340 beth yende, are beyond.
2343 sher, shear.
2344 lombe, lamb; wolle, wool.
2349 clowes, cloves; notemyges, nutmegs; canel, cinnamon.
2350 besy, hard-pressed.
2353 kynde, kin.
2356 worchyng, the work.
2359 y-loke, locked.
2360 Syth, Since.
2362 stonk, swamp.
2367 Antecrist, Antichrist.
2369 Ebreu, Hebrew; thilke2, these same [hills].
2370 trowe, believe.
2375 say yow, tell you.
2376 worche, work; that, [so] that.
2377 seyn, see.
2380 grave, dig.
2381 y-dight, constructed.
2384 wolle, wool.
2386 egle, eagle; lyon, lion.
2391 shet, shoot.
2403 chepe, bargaining; for, because of.
2405 adamaundes, adamant (lodestone); yre, iron.
2406 as stockes, like stalks.
2408 vertu, power.
2412 barlich, barley; ryse, rice.
2413 popynjayes, parrots.
2415 communely, usually.
2420 make noon fors of, do not care for.
2425 neyther, nor.
2426 wyse, way.
2430 ire, iron.
2431 nothyng y-sene, not seen.
2432–33 of her owen kynde, by nature.
2433 pertly, clearly.
2434 weyndith, goes.
2438 of pees, at peace.
2439 tree, wood.
2442 noght, nothing.
2446 pomelles, rounded knobs.
2447 charbocles, carbuncles.
2448 sardyn, sardonyx; bordure, border.
2449 yvour, ivory.
2450 mastyk, resin.
2451 pelers, pillars.
2453 greces, steps; sege, seat.
2454 jaspe, jasper.
2458 baume, aromatic balm.
2459 forme, frame; y-boonde, bound.
2463 withoute, not counting.
2465 he, i.e., the Great Khan.
2466 every of ham, each of them.
2472 ful ryal, very royal.
2479 asure, azure; gynne, engine.
2480 orlage, clock.
2481 knave, male.
2483 condite, conduit.
2486 solacy hym, solace himself.
2489 seye, seen.
2494 Fendes, Fiends.
2495 Perlous, Perilous; And, In.
2496 thondres, thunders.
2499 covetyse, greed.
2500 astrangled with, killed by.
2502 devel bodylich, devil incarnate.
2505 sprynclynge, sparkling.
2508–09 clene y-shryve, well confessed.
2513 trist, trust.
2514 y-shryve, confessed; houseled, given communion.
2515 whoder, whether.
2518 say, saw.
2519 we semed, it seemed to us.
2524 gyauntes, giants.
2526 gladloker, more gladly.
2529 sey, saw.
2530 lither, evil.
2534 hit is y-ordeyned therto a man, there is a man specially designated.
2535 gret hire, good pay.
2536 travayle, work.
2538 playne hym, make a complaint.
2539 he, i.e., the gadlybyrien; dever, task; gryvouslich, grievously.
2543 yerd, penis.
2544 or, before.
2545 aventure, danger.
2548 ryghtwys, righteous; trywest, fairest.
2549 conseil, counsel.
2552 defende, forbid.
2555 cocthrylles, crocodiles.
2557 gryntynge, groaning.
2561 gyrsaunt, giraffes.
2562 heyer, taller; courser, charger.
2563 cruper, hindquarters; hert, deer.
2568 hy, they; founes, fawns.
2569 stedes, horses; lonhorauns, rhinoceroses.
2571 sheryng, cutting; olyfaunt, elephant.
2574 lyff, life.
2574–75 of lawe of kynde, according to natural law.
2576 proute, proud.
2578 make noon fors of, care nothing for.
2584 thefes, thieves; morthereres, murderers; comen wymmen, prostitutes.
2587 apayed of her levynge, pleased by their way of life.
2587–88 they leven so honestly in mete and drynke, they eat and drink so moderately.
2589 ylde, old age.
2596 araed, arrayed.
2597 dyght, adorn.
2599 desert, disinherit (take from).
2600 al onlich, only; lere, teach.
2603 sturbled, disturbed.
2606 lyveng, living.
2611 noght worth, worth nothing.
2613 dedelych, mortal.
2616 as hit were a god, and thow hast no terme of thyn lyf, as if you were a god, whose life would never end.
2617 or, before.
2618 by leve, be left.
2622 purpoos, intentions.
2622–23 they take her the same degré as He dide of Jope, they get the same consideration He gave to Job.
2625 meckly, meekly.
2628 godespell, gospel.
2638 tylyeth, till.
2640 pigmans, pygmies.
2643 but, except.
2663 makyde orders, ordained priests.
2678 myne, a mine.
2679 sterres, stars.
2681 pismeres, ants; fynyth, refine.
2683 queyntise, cunning.
2684–85 fro undre of the day to none, from mid-morning to midday.
2686 charge, load.
2687 or, before.
2688 meres, mares; foles, foals.
2689 tome, empty.
2695 than, then.
2697 est, east; myrke, dark.
2708 mone, moon.
2712 mydes, middle; flodes, rivers.
2723 troble, murky.
2726 best, beast; tygrys, tiger.
2727 brennynge, burning.
2731 for, because.
2732 wawes, waves.
2733 asayed, tried.
2734 wery, weariness.
2744 coostynge, lying off the coast.
2745 comynge, traveling.
2746 brede, breadth.
2752 withoute, outside.
2757 tre, wood.
2759 mawmet, idol.
2764 send after, call together.
2766 smyteth of, chops off.
2768 orysons, prayers.
2777 y-worshiped, honored.
2780 his fadir his heed, father’s head.
2781 sherith, carves; yif, gives.
2782 denté, delicacy.
2783 lyfftyme, lifetime.
2786 lyvyng, way of life.
2788 messes, servings.
2789 kytteth, cut.
2792 nobleye, sign of nobility.
2795 gentrise, show of status.
2796 strayt, tightly.
2797 wexe, grow.
2801 hulle, hill; toures, towers.
2802 eyr, air.
2807 clipe, call.
2810 but, except; kyndely witte, common sense.
2816 mamettes, idols.
2817 Our Lady, the Virgin Mary.
2818 wit, understand.
2819 tre, wood.
2820 pentours, paintings; lewed, unlettered.
2832 hyre, hear.
2839 conseyve, conceive.
2845 soath, true.
2846 uppon, written in.
2846–47 mappa mundi, world map.
2849 hureth hit y-rad, hear it read.
THE BOOK OF JOHN MANDEVILLE: EXPLANATORY NOTES
As exhaustive notes to the Book are available both in Warner's Egerton edition and in Seymour's recent Defective edition (though without the support of a bibliography), no effort has been made here to research each source comprehensively or to parse each individual instance of note. Rather, these notes seek to provide sufficient supporting material to aid in close reading of the text, to direct readers' attention to significant issues in scholarship on the Book, and to offer suggestions for further reading on areas of potential interest. While many errors of fact and inconsistencies within the text are here noted, no effort has been made to consistently note every instance in which the Book's information is skewed or erroneous.
In addition to the notes, we have supplied a detailed glossary of proper names indexed to the text (see pp. 153-76) as well as an overview of the major sources that underlie the Book as we have it (see the Appendix, pp. 135-42).
Biblical references are to the Douay-Rheims version. References to the "Book" are general, whereas references to particular manuscripts and versions of the Book are so noted.
ABBREVIATIONS: B: The Bodley Version of Mandeville's Travels, ed. Seymour (1963); D: The Defective Version of Mandeville's Travels, ed. Seymour (2002 ); K: The Book of John Mandeville, ed. Kohanski (2002); S: Mandeville's Travels, ed. Seymour (1967); R: London, British Library MS Royal 17 C xxxviii; W: The Buke of John Maundeuill, ed. Warner (1889).
1-9 This preface, written in the third person and seemingly compiled from information found elsewhere in the text (see the Appendix) is not found in other versions of the Book. The real identity of the traveler "Sir John Mandeville," if indeed such a person existed, has been the subject of long-standing debate. (For an overview of the authorship controversy, see K, pp. xxiii-xxviii; Seymour, Sir John Mandeville, pp. 5-24; and Higgins, Writing East, pp. 8-13.) While "Mandeville's" identity as an English knight from St. Albans who traveled through the Holy Land and the Far East in the early to mid-1300s was long accepted as a nucleus of fact, even these basic assumptions are no longer considered valid. Seymour states categorically that "(a) Mandeville's Travels was written on the continent in French, by an unknown hand, c. 1357" and "(b) The author was probably not an Englishman, and the existence of 'Sir John Mandeville' is completely fictitious" (B, p. 176 n147/13). It is now generally supposed that the earliest versions of the Book were in French, rather than English.
Whether the author of the Book ever in fact traveled has also been a longstanding source of debate. From the classic comment that the author probably never traveled "farther than the nearest library," to Giles Milton's recent assertion of the real travel experience of the author based upon a modern excursionin the footsteps of Mandeville, opinions vary widely. What is clear is that much of the Book is based on other written sources, many of which have been traced (see the Appendix for sources for the Book).
Even if one accepts "John Mandeville" as a real person and a world traveler, the dates of travel and of composition of the Book remain problematic. In many of the Insular French texts, the excursion date is given as 1322 and the book is reported as having been written "after 34 years," i.e., in 1356. Most Continental texts, however, claim it was written in 1357. In the English Defective tradition, the date of "Mandeville's" departure ranges from 1300 to 1366 - tending to cluster in the 1320s and 1330s (British Library MS Arundel 140 no. 1's date of 1366 is clearly a scribal error, as the date "1332" is crossed out and "1366" substituted, apparently as a result of confusion over whether the date of departure or composition is being given). As Seymour notes, "Jean le Long's translations, which the author used, were completed in 1351, and the earliest dated manuscript was written in 1371" (B, p. 175n147/5). He concludes, "A study of the scribal tradition suggests a date c. 1357," a sensible estimate.
19 I am kyng of Jewes. John 19:19-21.
23 vertu of thynges is in the myddel. Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics 2.6) and Cicero ("On Duties" 1.25), among others, speak of the virtue of the middle way. In a clever semantic shift, the narrator turns Aristotle's idea that every virtue exists as a mean between vices to his own ends, as proof for Jerusalem's geographical location as the "mean point" of greatest holiness in a world of sin.
It should be noted, however, that in order for Jerusalem to occupy the "middle of the world," the world would have to be flat: an idea firmly contradicted by the narrator later in the text.
48 conquere here ryght heritage. Warner suggests that the narrator's criticism of great lords' interest in "disinheriting their neighbors" rather than taking up the noble cause of crusading in the Holy Land may be a comment upon Edward III's wars with France, and more specifically the Battle of Poitiers, fought in 1356 (W, p. 157n2.14). Crusading zeal was much diminished in the Mandeville-author's time, the last crusade having embarked for the Holy Land in 1270 and ended in failure.
72 The Cotton Version declares here that its text was translated from Latin into French and then from French into English. Most authorities, however, now believe that the Book was originally written in French (see note to lines 1-9).
82-91 Hungary expanded its holdings significantly in the mid-1300s, with the annexation of Bulgaria lasting into the late 1360s. Thus the inclusion of Bulgaria as a Hungarian territory in this passage is sometimes thought significant to the dating of the text. Arpad Steiner's "Date of Composition" is devoted to this brief passage, arguing that it attests to a date of composition between 1365 and 1371. While the Mandeville-author appears to derive his route through Hungary to Constantinople from Albert of Aix's early twelfth-century history of the First Crusade, Hungary's holdings in the passage clearly reflect a much later time period. Slavonia (Savoyze) and Cumania (Comayne) were not annexed until 1180 and 1233, respectively (see W, p. 157n4.2).
98-106 In his Bodley text, Seymour takes this passage as partial proof that the Mandeville-author worked exclusively from sources: "The huge bronze statue of Justinian, erected in 543, originally held in the left hand a gilt orb, the appil of gold, surmounted by a cross. This cross was blown down in 1317 and restored in 1325. The legend recorded here, in an account otherwise derived from William of Boldensele, probably stems from this accident. The confusion of the cross and the orb, said to equal a fifteen-gallon jar in size, proves that the author was not writing from personal observation" (B, p. 150n7/1). In the more recent edition of the Defective Version, however, Seymour accedes to the belief that the orb itself had fallen, thus rendering the source-question open once again (D, p. 138n6/31). The fourteenth-century Byzantine scholar Nicephorus Gregoras reports the absence of the cross from 1317 to 1325. William of Boldensele, the Book's main source for this section, reports the orb with cross in the hand of the statue.
Fazy ("Jehan de Mandeville, " p. 44) reflects that the period in which the cross/orb was missing was just around the time that the Mandeville-author might have been in Constantinople, but by the time his chief source, William of Boldensele, arrived in 1333 it would have been restored. Thus the Mandeville-author's account of its absence may be a firsthand observation, unless culled directly from Gregoras.
98 Seynt Sophie. "Hagia Sopia" is, in the case of the renowned church, properly translated not as "Saint Sophia," but as "Holy Wisdom." The Hagia Sophia is dedicated not to the saint, but to the Holy Wisdom of God.
110-15 The Monastery of Stavrovouni (literally "Cross Mountain") in Cyprus is dedicated to the Holy Cross. According to tradition, it was founded by St. Helena (see Indexed Glossary: "Eline"), who visited the island with the True Cross after finding it in Jerusalem. The Cross vanished during her stay, but for three nights a bright light was seen on the mountaintop. Investigating, Helena and her companions found the Cross floating above the ground: an event that was interpreted as a sign that a monastery should be constructed there. Thus the hill and the monastery both came to be known as "Stavrovouni."
Cypriot tradition states that Helena left a fragment of the Cross in the keeping of the monks at Stavrovouni. By the 1300s it was generally believed, as here, to be a fragment of the cross of Dismas rather than of Christ. See also the explanatory notes to lines 152 and 653-57 .
Warner offers several local variations on the story of the Cross' coming to Stavrovouni as well as an account of the disposition of the sponge, reed, and other holy relics (W, pp. 158-59nn5.5, 5.7). Varying accounts of the movements of the most sacred relics (the sponge and reed, the spear, pieces of the Cross and the crosses of the two thieves, the crown of thorns, etc.) abound, sometimes out of honest confusion but all too often, as the narrator here goes on to lament, because the claim of possessing a holy relic so often translates to tourism, prestige, and wealth.
113 Dismas . . . was honged. See Luke 23:32-43.
116-17 In . . . oliva. "The Cross was made of palm, cedar, cypress, and olive." The idea of the Cross as composed of numerous different woods is probably based on a type from Isaias: "The glory of Libanus shall come to thee, the fir tree, and the box tree, and the pine tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary" (60:13). Warner (W, p. 159n5.10, 6.6) offers a lengthy overview of the tradition and its permutations, noting the Book's apparent debt to the version found in Jacobus of Voragine's Golden Legend (1.278).
Warner notes that the following story "of Seth's visit to Paradise . . . is found in the second part of the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, stopping short, however, at the angel's refusal of the oil of mercy," and that the story exists in numerous versions, the most popular of which has Seth emerging with "grains" to place on his father's tongue, as here. Commonly Seth emerges with three grains, in accordance with the three-wood type of Isaias 60:13 as well as other early accounts of the Cross as being of three, not four, woods: cypress, pine, and cedar. The Book here gives Seth four grains, presumably to accord with the four-wood model found in Jacobus.
152 doughter of a kyng. Helena's father is elsewhere identified as the legendary King Coel of Britain ("Old King Cole"). The story of her discovery of the True Cross is subject to question, but has long been considered historically true by much of the Catholic world. See also the explanatory notes to lines 110-15 and 653-57.
157-61 The King's Chapel here is Sainte-Chapelle, "founded by St. Louis in 1246 as a reliquary for the holy relics redeemed by him from the Venetian merchants (not the Jews) to whom Baldwin II had pawned them" (D, p. 139n9/17). That the Venetian pawnbrokers should be transformed by the text into Jews is unsurprising, not only because the Jews were so strongly associated with money-lending throughout the Middle Ages, but also because the Book shows a marked tendency to represent the Jews as dangerous to and subversive of Christianity. Their depiction here as infidel purveyors of the holy relics of Christendom is well in keeping with this motif.
165 The risshes of the see described here are more commonly referred to in the texts as "jonques of the see, " prompting Seymour's identification of them with juncus glaucus, the bog-rush (D, p. 139n9/21). Seymour goes on to observe, rightly, that "the exhibits at Sainte-Chapelle were medieval forgeries" and that "The Crown of Thorns reported in the gospels is now believed to have been made of the spines of the date palm (phoenix dactylifera) . . . the only suitable flora then available in Jerusalem."
The Book's story of the four successive crownings of Christ (with albespina, barberry, briar rose, and finally the "jonques of the see") may reflect a medieval effort to encompass conflicting theories about the Crown of Thorns as well as to allow for a wider range of the thorn-relics on display to be regarded as genuine, much as stories of the separation and distribution of the True Cross to protect it from the infidel helped validate the claims of the many places claiming to own a segment of it.
166-67 Y have a poynt therof. The narrator's claim to possess a thorn from Christ's crown is an example of his linking his own life to the narrative, a truth-claim model found often in the course of the Book.
175-76 And therfor hath the albespyne many vertues. Warner notes that the protective properties of the albespina are referenced as far back as Ovid and thus long predate the coming of Christ (W, p. 160n6.26).
188 Hayl, kyng of Jewes. Matthew 27:29; Mark 15:18; John 19:13.
196 [Y]drions probably stems from Greek anydros (anhydrous; free of water vapor). Both Pliny and Isidore of Seville describe"enhydros" as a kind of agate that expels water.
210-13 The report of reverence for Aristotle's tomb, including the detail that proximity to the tomb was believed to provide a person with insight into the truth of matters, is also noted in the widely circulated tradition of sentential materials rooted in the Arabic Mokhtâr el-Hikam, translated into Spanish as Bocados de Oro, which was in turn translated into Latin as Liber Philosophorum Moralium Antiquorum, the source for Guillaume de Tignonville's French translation, Dits Moraulx. It appears in Middle English, for example, in Dicts and Sayings of the Philosophers, as part of the background for Aristotle (ed. Sutton, 13.56-70 [pp. 65-66]).
216-19 In most versions of the story the peak of Athos is said to cast the marketplace of Myrina on the isle of Lemnos into shadow. Pliny the Elder reports the phenomenon in his Natural History (Book 4, chapter 2) as does Solinus, who goes on to relate that Athos towers above the precipitation line and that as a result the ash at its peak never washes away (chapter 20).
223 emperouris paleis. Neither the palace of Boukoleon nor the Hippodrome adjoining it is noted by the Book's main source of information about Constantinople, William of Boldensele. Such details, not traceable to available sources, have convinced some scholars of the authenticity of at least part of the Book as the firsthand account of a traveler. Those supporting the idea of the Mandeville-author as a traveler to at least some degree notably include Bennett (Rediscovery of Sir John Mandeville) and Moseley (Travels). For an overview of arguments pro and con, see Kohanski, "Uncharted Territory, " pp. 64-68.
228-34 The story of the engraving found in the grave of the wise man, asserting his proto-Christian faith, was commonly attached to the mythic figure Hermes Trismegistos. Here, Hermes is conflated with Hermogenes of Tarsus, the Greek rhetorician of the late second century AD. The Book's direct source for the story is unclear, but Oliverus Scholasticus refers to "certain heathen gentiles" who "had the Holy Sprit on their lips, but not in their heart, and prophesied plainly about Christ" (Capture of Damietta, p. 50), and Roger Bacon notes that Trismegistos' views on the creative nature of God accord with those of St. John the Evangelist despite the fact that the former "lived near the time of Moses and Joshua" (Moral Philosophy, pt. 1, p. 646). Other analogues are found in Jacobus of Voragine's Golden Legend (2:376) and elsewhere.
238-39 the Pope John the Twelfthe sende lettres. In other manuscripts of the Book, these letters are generally attributed to Pope John XXII, who held the office from 1316 to 1334. The reference here to "John the Twelfthe," who was pope from 955 to 964, probably results from an error in transcribing the Roman numeral. The papal power "to bind and to assoil" is a reference to the Roman Catholic belief that Christ gave power to the popes as successors to St. Peter, the first pope, both to damn and to forgive.
248 greet covetise. John XXII was roundly criticized after his death for his efforts to assert dominion over the Greek Church. Although the emperor Andronicus III did firmly reject the pope's assumption of power, this return message with its reference to John's"great covetousness" was a widely circulated fake.
249-74 Many of the practices attributed to the Greek Church in this passage are reversed or unfounded. For example, the reference to the Greeks as "anointing no sick man before his death" suggests that the Greeks practice the sacrament of unction only on the deathbed. In fact, however, Greek practice diverged from Roman in that the Greeks offered frequent unction for the sick, and the Romans only "extreme" (deathbed) unction. The accusation that the Greek Church sanctions fornication is, of course, absurd, and hardly accords with the harsh moralism of the following statement: that if one marries more than once, one's children are bastards. The prohibition of second marriages held only for clergy. Lay people were, however, discouraged from marrying more than three times (a prohibition the Wife of Bath would doubtless have challenged).
250 Maundé. The Maunde was the ceremony of washing the feet of the poor on Holy Thursday, also known as Maundy Thursday (Dies Mandati). The sacrament of sour or wheaten bread is in token of the church's ministry to the poor, in accordance with Christ's new mandate to "love one another" (see John 13:34). That the Greek Church considered the bread consecrated on Maundy Thursday especially holy, as the passage goes on to suggest, was considered an error of their belief by the Roman Church.
284 mastik. Resinous gum which has been produced on the Greek island of Scios for centuries. The Genoese in the Middle Ages held a profitable monopoly on the island's mastic, which was marketed as a medicine. It was (and is) also chewed recreationally, like chewing gum, especially in the Middle East. The book later reports tables and stairs made of "mastyk" at lines 2450 and 2454.
292-93 Turkes haldeth Turkey. By the time the Book was written, the Hospitallers had in fact retaken parts of Asia Minor, notably the city of Smyrna (Izmir) which they held from 1344 to 1402. The Mandeville-author follows Boldensele, whose account was written in 1336, before the capture of Smyrna.
293-98 The story of St. John having commissioned his own tomb and lain down in it while still alive, as well as the report that when opened the tomb was found to contain only manna (lines 290-91), dates back as far as the sixth century, where it is found in pseudo-Abdias' Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. The Book probably takes the story from Jacobus of Voragine's Golden Legend. In any case, the idea that nothing but manna is to be found in the tomb clearly conflicts with the idea that St. John remains in his tomb alive, his stirrings causing the earth above him to shift.
301 iles of Grece. The "isle of Greece," i.e., Crete, was never given to the Genoese ("Jonays," line 302). Rather, after the fall of Constantinople to the Latins in 1204, it was sold to the Venetians. The Book has a tendency to confound the Venetians with others; see, for example, lines 157-61 (and the corresponding explanatory note), where they are misidentified as Jews.
302 Both Cofos and Lango appear to refer to the Greek isle of Cos, with which the story of Hippocrates' daughter is generally associated. Warner suggests that the story may owe a debt to the role of the serpent in the cult of Asculepius, prominent on the island (W, p. 163n12.16), or to Hippocrates' son Draco. Although most of the surrounding material derives from William of Boldensele, the Book's source for this story - which does not appear in Boldensele, but survives elsewhere in many forms - is unknown. Common speculation is that it was transmitted through a crusader history, as were many such tales.
344 Seynt Poule in his pistle. The text makes a leap here, common in the Middle Ages, from "Collos," the archaic name for Rhodes, to St. Paul's letter to the Colossians. According to Catholic tradition, however, the Colossians were the people of Colossae, east of Ephesus in Asia Minor, not the people of Rhodes. The Hospitallers held the island of Rhodes from 1309 to 1523, when it was captured by the Turks.
346-48 It is not entirely clear whether the Book refers here to the grapes themselves, on the vine, or to the wine. Cypriot wine (later known as "Commanderia") was highly valued in the Middle Ages, and there are numerous reports of its changing color over time, although accounts disagree as to whether it becomes darker or lighter with age.
350-58 Believed to stem ultimately from the classical story of the beheaded Gorgon, this story was apparently current in the Middle East during the time of the Crusades. Variants are recorded by Walter Map, among others. Warner (W, p. 164-65n14.6) offers several variations of the story.
368 castel of Amors. According to tradition, the "castle of Love" is so called because it occupies the site of a former temple of Eros. The site is famous, too, as the fourth-century hermitage of St. Hilarion. Although Hilarion was buried at the site, his chief biographer, St. Jerome, reports that his body was later removed to his birthplace in Palestine.
377-81 Tyre (Sűr), one of the key ports of the Holy Land, was under Christian control from 1124 to 1291. It was recaptured in 1291 by the Saracens and subsequently razed.
383 bossh many. The text here seems to be unique in noting that bossh may be found on the shoreline. Other manuscript