The Travels of Sir John Mandeville

Now that Mandeville has talked about Muslim lands, he wants to talk about their laws and the Quran. Mandeville describes the belief in heaven as a place of delights: ripe fruit all year, rivers of wine, milk, and honey, palaces, and 80 virgin wives. He notes the practice of Ramadan, the acceptance of polygyny, Islam’s anti-Trinitarian views, and its belief in four prophets: Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (the true messenger). The shared beliefs about Jesus lead Mandeville to think that Muslims could quickly be converted to Christianity.

Mandeville then recounts a conversation he once had with the sultan. In a private audience, the sultan asked Mandeville how Christians govern their countries, to which Mandeville responded that they do well enough. The sultan told him this was not true. Christian priests do not serve God by living righteously and serving as a model of virtue. Rather, they model vice for the common people, who accordingly go to the tavern instead of church and quarrel with and kill each other. They do not act meek and truthful, like Jesus, but proud and dishonest. The sultan said that it is because of these sinful ways that the Muslims now control the Holy Land; if the Christians reformed themselves, they could easily retake it. When Mandeville asked how the sultan knew so much about Christianity, the sultan revealed that he sends his noblemen into Christian lands disguised as merchants to learn information. Mandeville felt greatly ashamed that Christians should be reproached by Muslims, who live in better accordance with their laws than Christians do with theirs.

Mandeville then provides a biography of Muhammad. Mandeville says that he was born a poor merchant in Arabia and experienced the first miracle of his life when entering a chapel; a low doorway grew tall. Later, he became wise, rich, and a great astronomer, so he was made ruler of the land of Cozrodane. Muhammad experienced seizures but his wife convinced him these were visions from the angel Gabriel. He often visited an old hermit on trips that greatly annoyed his men. One day, when he got very drunk near the hermit, his men killed the hermit but convinced Muhammad that he himself had done this. This led to the prohibition against wine in Islam.

Mandeville then gives the Arabic alphabet and notes on pronunciation.

Now that Mandeville has talked about the Holy Land, he wants to talk about the areas beyond that. People live in diverse nations across the world, which is separated into broad regions by the four great rivers that flow out of the Earthly Paradise: the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Nile, and the Ganges. Mandeville describes lands removed from the typical route of a pilgrimage, including the land of the Amazons, Albania (said to be north of the Caspian Sea), and Libya (described as stretching across Northern Africa).

To travel to Tartary (the Mongol lands), Persia, or beyond, one must sail from an Italian port to Trebizond (now known as Trabzon) on the Black Sea. In nearby “Lesser Armenia” is the Castle of the Sparrowhawk. Here a fairy woman sits next to a sparrowhawk. If someone sits next to the hawk for seven days and nights without sleeping, they will be granted a wish by the woman, but if they sleep, they will forever be lost. Of the people who have succeeded, one was a king of Armenia who asked to sleep with the fairy. She denied him, and when he continued to insist, she cursed his kingdom with war for nine generations. Another was a poor man who asked to be fortunate in trade and became the richest man on Earth. Third was a Knight Templar who asked for gold but was warned his greed would cause the destruction of his order. Mandeville notes that this castle is not directly on the path but is an interesting detour.

To go further east the traveler must go to Erzerum. On a mountaintop close to this, the wreck of Noah’s Ark is visible. It is too high up to reach, but one monk managed to do so and brought some of the timber from the ship to his monastery. Mandeville says that anyone can go there if they think he is lying.

From here, one should visit the city of Tabriz, which is the main trade hub for goods from farther east. The revenue from trade in this city makes the Persian emperor wealthier than every Western monarch. It is a long route to India from here, Persepolis being the last stop in the Persian Empire. Mandeville provides an alphabet used by the Persians (likely a Coptic alphabet).

Leaving Persepolis, the route takes people past the Land of Job, to Chaldea (roughly corresponding to southeastern Iraq), the homeland of Abraham’s father. Mandeville gives the alphabet used in this area.

North of Chaldea is the Amazonia, the area ruled by Amazon women. Mandeville claims that the Amazons gained control of their land when the best soldiers among the men died in war. There are no men in the land now; when the Amazons want children, they visit bordering villages. If the resulting child is a boy, they either kill him or send him away; if a girl, they cut off one breast and raise her as a warrior. The queen is the best fighter among the Amazons and is chosen by election.

Someway south of Chaldea is Ethiopia, a large and divided land. Mandeville describes its inhabitants as dark-skinned and the climate as unbearably hot. He reports that the Ethiopians get drunk easily, have little appetite, and have short life spans. Also in this area are people who each have one huge foot that lets them run at incredible speeds and is used to block out the sun.

Mandeville then begins to discuss India, which is divided into three parts: India the Great, India the Lesser, and the North. In the North it is so cold that water freezes into crystals, and from these diamonds grow. These diamonds are naturally cube-shaped, are either male or female, and can produce children. Carrying a true diamond confers various benefits, so Mandeville gives tests that can be performed to check the quality of diamonds.