Of the faith and belyfe of Prester John, but he hath not all the full beliefe as we haue.

THIS Emperour prester John is christen & a great part of his lande also, but they haue not all the articles of our fayth, but they beleve well in the Father, the Sonne, & the Holy Ghost, & they are full devout and true to one another, & they make no force of Catal,¹ and he hath under him Lxxii provinces and countries, and in eche one is a king, & those kings haue other kinges under them. And in this lande are many marvailes, for in that lande is the gravely sea, that is of sande and gravaile and no drop of water, and ebbeth and floweth with righte great waves as another sea doth, and it is never standing still, nor never in rest, and no man may passe that land beyond it. And al if it so be that there bee no water in the sea, yet men may finde therein right good fishe, and of other fashion & shape than is in any other seas, and also they are of full good savour & swete, and good to eat. And three jorneys from that sea are many greate hills, through which runneth a great floud that cometh from Paradise, and it is full of precious stones, and no drop of water, and it runneth with great waves into the gravely sea. And this floud runneth three dayes in the weke so fast, & stirreth great stones of the roches with him that make muche noise, and as sone as they come into the gravely sea, they are no more sene, and in those three dayes when it runneth thus, no man dare come in it, but the other dayes men go therein where they will. And also beyond that floud towards that wildernesse is a great plaine all sandy and gravely among hills, & in that plain grow trees that at the rising of the Son ech day begin to grow, and so grow they to midday, and beare fruit, but no man dare eate of that fruite, for it is a maner of yron,² and after myddaye it turneth againe to the earth, so that when the Sonne goeth downe it is nothinge seene, and so doeth it every day. And there is in y^t wildernesse many wild men with horns on their heads righte hidious, and they speke not but rout³ as swine & in y^t countrey are many popiniayes, y^t they call in theyr language (pistak) & they speke through their own kind as a part as a man, & those that speake well haue long tonges and large & on every fote five toes, but there are som that haue but three toes but those speake nought and very ill.

1: They care not for property.

2: In other editions it is "for it is a thing of Fayrye," or Magic.

3: Root like hogs.