Primary Source Reading:The Travels of Sir John Mandeville

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER I: To teach you the way out of England to Constantinople

CHAPTER II: Of the cross and the crown of our Lord Jesu Christ

CHAPTER III: Of the city of Constantinople, and of the faith of Greeks

CHAPTER IV: [Of the Way from Constantinople to Jerusalem.] Of Saint John the Evangelist. And of the Ypocras Daughter, transformed from a Woman to a Dragon

CHAPTER V: [Of diversities in Cyprus; of the Road from Cyprus to Jerusalem, and of the Marvel of a Fosse full of Sand]

CHAPTER VI: Of many names of Soldans, and of the Tower Of Babylon

CHAPTER VII: Of the country of Egypt; of the bird phoenix of Arabia; of the city of Cairo; of the cunning to know balm and to prove it; and of the garners of Joseph

CHAPTER VIII: Of the isle of Sicily; of the way from Babylon to the Mount Sinai; of the church of Saint Catherine and of all the marvels there

CHAPTER IX: Of the desert between the church of Saint Catherine and Jerusalem. Of the dry tree; and how roses came first into the world

CHAPTER X: Of the pilgrimages in Jerusalem, and of the holy places thereabout

CHAPTER XI: Of the temple of our Lord. Of the cruelty of King Herod. Of the Mount Sion. Of probatica piscina; and of natatorium siloe

CHAPTER XII: Of the Dead Sea; and of the flome Jordan. Of the head of Saint John the Baptist; and of the usages of the Samaritans

CHAPTER XIII: Of the province of Galilee, and where antichrist shall be born. Of Nazareth. Of the age of Our Lady. Of the day of doom. And of the customs of Jacobites, Syrians; and of the usages of Georgians

CHAPTER XIV: Of the city of Damascus. Of three ways to Jerusalem; one, by land and by sea; another, more by land than by sea; and the third way to Jerusalem, all by land

CHAPTER XV: Of the customs of Saracens, and of their law. And how the Soldan reasoned me, author of this book; and of the beginning of Mohammet

CHAPTER XVI: Of the lands of Albania and of Libia. Of the wishings for watching of the sparrow-hawk; and of Noah’s ship

CHAPTER XVII: Of the land of Job; and of his age. Of the array of men of Chaldea. Of the land where women dwell without company of men. Of the knowledge and virtues of the very diamond

CHAPTER XVIII: Of the customs of isles about Ind. Of the difference betwixt idols and simulacres. Of three manner growing of pepper upon one tree. Of the well that changeth his odour every hour of the day; and that is marvel

CHAPTER XIX: Of the dooms made by St. Thomas’s hand. Of devotion and sacrifice made to idols there, in the city of Calamye; and of the procession in going about the city

CHAPTER XX: Of the evil customs used in the isle of Lamary. And how the earth and the sea be of round form and shape, by proof of the star that is clept Antarctic, that is fixed in the south

CHAPTER XXI: Of the palace of the king of the isle of Java. Of the trees that bear meal, honey, wine, and venom; and of other marvels and customs used in the isles marching thereabout

CHAPTER XXII: How men know by the idol, if the sick shall die or not. Of folk of diverse shape and marvellously disfigured. And of the monks that gave their relief to baboons, apes, and marmosets, and to other beasts

CHAPTER XXIII: Of the Great Chan of Cathay. Of the royalty of his palace, and how he sits at meat; and of the great number of officers that serve him

CHAPTER XXIV: Wherefore he is clept the Great Chan. Of the style of his letters, and of the superscription about his great seal and his privy seal

CHAPTER XXV: Of the governance of the Great Chan’s court, and when he maketh solemn feasts. Of his philosophers. And of his array, when he rideth by the country

CHAPTER XXVI: Of the law and the customs of the Tartarians dwelling in Cathay. And how that men do when the emperor shall die, and how he shall be chosen

CHAPTER XXVII: Of the realm of Tharse and the lands and kingdoms towards the septentrional parts, in coming down from the land of Cathay

CHAPTER XXVIII: The emperor of Persia, and of the land of darkness; and of other kingdoms that belong to the Great Chan of Cathay, and other lands of his, unto the sea of Greece

CHAPTER XXIX: Of the countries and isles that be beyond the land of Cathay; and of the fruits there; and of twenty-two kings enclosed within the mountains

CHAPTER XXX: Of the royal estate of Prester John. And of a rich man that made a marvellous castle and cleped it paradise; and of his subtlety

CHAPTER XXXI: Of the devil’s head in the valley perilous. And of the customs of folk in diverse isles that be about in the lordship of Prester John

CHAPTER XXXII: Of the goodness of the folk of the isle of Bragman. Of King Alexander. And wherefore the emperor of Ind is clept Prester John

CHAPTER XXXIII: Of the hills of gold that Pismires keep. And of the four floods that come from paradise terrestrial

CHAPTER XXXIV: Of the customs of kings and other that dwell in the isles coasting to Prester John’s land. And of the worship that the son doth to the father when he is dead