Freiburger historische Bestände - digital

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The third of the Holy Kings is located in East Africa,
near the mouth of the Red Sea. Here is a royal tent
with the following legend (F 10):—

das konikreich der heilige drei The kingdom of one of the Three
konik einer von saba. Holy Kings, him of Saba.

Below this we read Saba (F 4), which clearly stands
for Shoa or Shewa, and to the west is a picture of this
Prester John of Abassia with a kneeling figure in front of
him.

The following legends refer to Presbyter John.

Marco Polo (I 05) is the authority for the first of
these legends, which locates the Presbyter in Tenduk
(J 37), at Thian-te-kiang on the Hwang-ho, to the southwest
of Kuku-khotan.

jn difen land wohnt der grofmechtig In this country resides the mighty

kai/er genant der meifter Johan der Emperor known as Master John,

ein venoefer geftelt ift iiber daf who is appointed governor of the

konikreich di drei heil konik Jaspar three holy kings Caspar, Balthasar

balthafar und melchior in morenland and Melchior in the land of the

und feine nachkome find gute kriften Moors. And his descendants are

und vil konik di unter in find (I 37). good Christians, as are also many

kings who are under them.

og (J 38) to the west and magog (J 34) to the south
of Tenduk are described by Marco Polo as being subject
to the Prester. These are the tribes of the Apocalypse
(xx. 8), but Polo says that they are known to the natives
as Ung and Mongul, that is, the Un-gut, a Turkish tribe,
and Mongols.

To the east of Tenduk we read :—

daf land gegen mittcrnacht regirt The country towards midnight is

der kaifer mango kann von tattaria ruled by the Emperor Mangu, khan

def do ein reicher man ift def grofen of Tartary, who is a wealthy man

keifers meifter Johan von jndie ift of the great Emperor, the Master

alfo ift des groffe koniks weib ein John of India ; the wife of the great

criftin (J 36). King is likewise a Christian.

Mangu-khan ruled 1251-59. He was a grandson of
Chinghiz-khan and Kublai's elder brother. The above
information as well as that given in the remaining legends
may have been taken from Mandeville (cc. 21, 27), who
himself is indebted to Haiton, Friar Odorico and others.

In the Sinus magnus of Ptolemy we read :—

difs mer land und Jlett gehert ah This sea, land and towns all
den grofzen kaifer prifter johan aus belong to the great Emperor Prester
jndia (I 15). John of India.

In the southern hemisphere embedded in other legends
is the following:—

alles difs landt mber und jnseln All this land, sea and islands,

landt und konik fein von de heilige countries and kings were given by the

drey konike gegebe geweft dem kaifer Three Holy Kings to the Emperor

priefler Johan und sindt etwan al Presbyter John, and formerly they

eriften geweft aber jetzundt waifs man were all Christians, but at present

nit von 72 eriften die unter jnen fein not even 72 Christians are known

(H 40 s). to be among them.

Mandeville, c. 27, says that 72 provinces and kings
were tributaries of Prester John, on the authority of an
apocryphal letter supposed to have been sent to Manuel
Commenus (1143-80), the Pope and others.

The Romance of Alexander.

The legendary history of Alexander the Great has
been ascribed (erroneously) to the learned Callisthenes,
who wrote a work on the Wars of Alexander, only
fragments of which have reached us. The legend origin
ated probably at Alexandria, became popular, was translated
into Latin, by Julius Valerius, at the beginning of
the fourth century, and other languages. The oldest
German versions by Lamprecht der Pfaffe (the Priest)
and Rudolf of Ems, are of the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries. For a literary history of this legend, see
Krumbacher, ' Geschichte d. byzant. Litteratur,' Munich,
1897, p. 849-853.

porta deferi (F 43), only shown by Jom and Ghil, with
a flag. The famous " Iron Gates " at Derbend, said to
have been erected by Alexander as a defence against the
Scythians, and destroyed by Tamerlan (comp. M. Polo
I 14).

Alexander altar (F 46), Ptolemy's Alexandri arae,
III 5.

bif an dif feile ift der grof As far as this column came
alexander kome und nit ferner gegen Alexander the Great, and not further
mitternacht (F 51). towards midnight.

The column, " Alexandri Columni " of Ptolemy III 5,
is shown. Am. Marcellinus, XXII 8, also notices these
apocryphal cairns or altars of Alexander.

Me ftryt alexander mit dariuf Here fought Alexander with
(G 29). Darius.

Gaugemela, where the final battle overthrowing Darius
was fought in 331 b.c, is in Assyria, and not in Carmania,
as shown on the globe.

die paminen [piiume von] fuiie und The trees of the Sun and Moon
mont di mit konik alexander reden which speak with King Alexander.
(H 30).

These are the " Speaking Trees " questioned by Alexander
on reaching the Indus. They are inserted as
" Oraculum Sobs et Lunae " upon St. Jerome's map of
Palestine (Miller, " Mappa mundi," III., p. 13) as " Arbores
solis et lunae " upon the Beatus map of 776, and upon
many later maps.

Africa.

Ptolemaic Nomenclature.

The following names are taken from Ptolemy's
Geography, lib. IV., cc. 6, 7, 8.
libia (D 16) Libya.
getulia (D 20).
dudiru (D 19), Dudum.

. . . mia (D 18) Armiae, now Hermaua, on the old
fort, 26° N., 13° E.
dolopes (E 14).

jaramajores (E 5), Garamantes.