Text, scholarly version, translated from the 1573 Latin 1st Add., 1573 Latin (AB), 1574 Latin, 1575 Latin, 1579 Latin (AB), 1580/1589 German, 1584, 1588 Spanish, 1592 Latin, 1595 Latin, 1601 Latin, 1602 German, 1602 Spanish, 1603 Latin, 1606 English, 1608/1612 Italian, 1609/1612 Latin and 1609/1612/1641 Spanish editions:
175.1. {1606E only{ETHIOPIA or ALHABAS, The country of}1606E only} {1573L1Add{The ABESSINES, or the empire of PRESTER JOHN.
175.2. The same whom we in Europe call Presbyter John {1606E only{or Priest Iohn,}1606E only} the Moors themselves call ATICLABASSI, that is, the Abyssines {1606E only{or Ethiopians}1606E only} ACEGVE and NEGVS, that is, emperor and king, for his proper name is given to him (as we do here {not in 1608/1612I & 1609/1612/1641S{in Europe}not in 1608/1612I & 1609/1612/1641S}) by the discretion of his parents. It also seems that he changed his name at his coronation, (like the popes of Rome do nowadays) and, {1606E only{together with his crown, also took to himself a new, proper name to be called}1606E only} for he who in our memory took possession of the throne and struck a league of friendship with the king of Portugal was before his coronation called Atani Tingil, but after he had assumed the imperial diadem, was named David. This Prester John now, is undoubtedly in this, our age, one of the greatest monarchs of the world.
175.3. His kingdom lies between the two tropics, and reaches from the Red Sea almost to the Ethiopian ocean. And to set down somewhat more precisely the bounds of this empire (to the extent that we can gather this from the surveys recorded by some learned men of our time) it has on its North Egypt (which is now under the command of the Turks), in the East it borders on the Red sea {not in 1588S, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S{and Barbaricum sinum}not in 1588S, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S} {1606E only{(Plinius calls it Troglodyticum sinum, others [call it] Asperum mare, the rough sea; the sailors nowadays vulgarly say Golfo de Melinde)}1606E only}, in the South it is strongly by nature fenced [off] and enclosed by Montes Lunę, the mountains of the moon, and in the West it is confined by the kingdom of {not in 1606E{Manicongi, the river Niger}not in 1606E}, the kingdom of Nubia and the river Nile.
175.4. These bounds seem to contain that area which the old writers called Ęthiopia beneath Egypt, together with Troglodytica & Cinnamonifera regio {1606E only{(the country where in those days cinnamon grew most plentifully}1606E only}, including part of inner Libya). These countries {1584L but not in 1588S, 1602G, 1602S, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612L & 1609/1612/1641S{are now divided into many smaller provinces, and}1584L but not in 1588S, 1602G, 1602S, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612L & 1609/1612/1641S} are called by various different names as you may see on the map. The people of this country are now {1606E only{generally by all our modern historiographers}1606E only} called ABYSSINI, {1606E only{or, as they themselves as well as the Arabs around them say Hlabas, with the word Al, the Arab article or pronoun prefixed [to it:] Alhabas, as Benjamin reports. And also Abexim, as Garcias ab Horto affirms.
175.5. All these words are originally the same, and only differ in their sounds or in the manner of writing. For the Eastern [character] Hheth (a letter belonging to [the languages of] those nations, and foreign to us, born in Europe, the Western part of the world) is differently expressed by different [people] (as those know who know something of the Hebrew, Arabic, Syrian, and Ethiopian languages), [namely] sometimes by our single h, sometimes by the double hh. at other times by ch, whereas others again wholly omit it, not finding any letter in the language in which they write, that is of the nature and power whereby they may truly express it. Again, the last letter of the word which the Jews and Arabs call Schin is sometimes expressed by sh, sometimes by ss, or by the Spanish as x (which they pronounce almost like our sh), and sometimes by s or z.
175.6. For this is the way in which I find this word often written in the holy Script translated into Arabic [empty space] and [empty space], [for instance] Habashi and Alhabassi [in] Psalm 68.32 and 74.14. The same in Genesis 2.13, where Ardzi'lhabas, the land of Ethiopia is the same that Avicenna in the 283rd chapter of the second tome of his second book calls B'ledilhhabashah, the country of the Abyssinians, or, as our fathers named it, India Occidentalis, the West Indies. The translator Gerardus Cremonensis has Terra alhabes, [but] Bellunensis has Terras Indię Minoris, the country of the Abyssinians, or of the lesser India.
175.7. Here it is also worth noting that this word, beyond any doubt, is derived from Hebrew [Hebrew letters:] kaw-vaw-shin Cush, which is what they used for this country and its people, as is apparent from Genesis 10.5 and 2.13 in the judgement of all interpreters, grammarians and Jewish rabbis. For the Hebrew vaw which indeed, of its own nature, is the same as our w, is pronounced in some nations and in some cases like the German V, or v consonant, as they call it, somewhat like the sound of b, altogether the same as that of the Hebrew Beth when it follows a vowel, as the modern grammarians and Jewish rabbis now teach. According to this custom it is not unlikely that this [Hebrew] word [Hebrew letters:] kaw-vaw-shin which the Jews pronounce as Cush might by [people from] other nations be pronounced and sound thus [Hebrew letters:] chet-vaw-shin, chavash, chabaas, habas or Abyssi.
175.8. And indeed, the Asians generally call themselves Chusaos, as Ortelius cites from Josephus. And as he [Ortelius] reports from the records of B. Arias Montanus Hispalensis, they are even today by the Portuguese still called Cussij of Cush unquestionably}1606E only}. The people [there] are yellowish {1606E instead{of a deep dark or blackish colour. And black, as we say in our common proverb, will take no other hue. On which the prophet Jeremy in the 23rd verse of the 13th chapter of his prophesy says the following: Can [Hebrew letters:] kaw-vaw-shin-jod Cushi (the Abyssinian or black Moor) change his skin, or the leopard his spots?
175.9. For the same reason the learned theologians have the opinion that David in the title or name of his seventh psalm by Cush [actually] meant Saul because his deadly hate towards him [Saul] that he could not by any means whatever make him change his mind, no more than an Indian can change [the colour of] his skin, as Kimchi, the great rabbi, interprets this passage}1606E only}.
175.10. The people [who live here] profess to Christianity, as appears from the letter of David just mentioned, written to pope Clement the seventh. Of their manners of life, customs and religion, we have gathered these few lines, from the travels of Francesco Alvarez, written and printed in the Italian tongue.
175.11. In these countries there are very many monasteries and religious buildings, both for men and women. Into the monasteries of men, neither a woman or any living creature of the female sex is admitted, {1606E only{nor may it even once look through its gates}1606E only}. Their monks, who here hold their Lent [40 or more days before Easter] for altogether fifty days, fast for the most part, only taking water and bread. In these countries there is but little fish, particularly when going into the land.
175.12. Although their rivers contain enough fish, they do not give their mind to fishing, because they do not know how to catch them. In time of Lent some of these monks do not eat any bread at all, but live on mere roots and herbs. Some of them during the entire period do not go sleep, but will sit up to their chin in water. In their churches they have bells as we do, but mostly made of stone. Their ministers and priests are married. They say mass, and go in procession with crosses and incense {1606E only{like those in some churches in Europe}1606E only}.
175.13. The friars wear their hair long, but priests do not. Neither of them wear shoes, and nobody, whether churchman or layman may ever enter the church doors with shoes on his feet. They observe {not in 1606E{Shabbat {1580/1589G, 1588S, 1602G, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S instead{Saturdays,}1580/1589G, 1588S, 1602G, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S instead; not in 1606E}, Sundays} {1606E only{and Holy days and do no work during them}1606E only}. They are all circumcised, both men and women, but they are also baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, but not until the fortieth day after their birth. They that do not live until this day are buried unchristened.
175.14. To all that are baptised, the holy communion or Eucharist as they call it is administered at the same time by pouring a great deal of cold water into the child's mouth to wash it down. The proper names which are then given to them are all of some significance. They say that they were converted to the Christian religion by Candace, (a queen of this country mentioned in the {1606E only{27th verse of the 8th chapter of the}1606E only} Acts of the Apostles), whose proper name they think was Judith. They have a book divided into eight parts (which they call Manda and Abetilis) which they truly believe was written by all the apostles, who all convened jointly for this purpose in Jerusalem.
175.15. The entire contents of this book they strictly observe. The simple people without any restriction or fear of punishment marry 2 or 3 wives, according to their ability and their capacity to maintain them, but these are forbidden by the clergy to enter the church. Their laws allow divorces. The noblemen are fond of raw beef, served in fresh or hot blood, {1606E & 1608/1612I only{in the same manner as we use our boiled meats with soup or stewed broth,}1606E only & 1608/1612I} as a great and exquisite dish.
175.16. In the entire kingdom of Prester John they have no kind of {not in 1580/1589G, 1588S, 1602S, 1608/1612I & 1609/1612/1641S{brass or}not in 1580/1589G, 1588S, 1602S, 1608/1612I & 1609/1612/1641S} money, but instead they use pure gold, unminted, of a certain weight. In a similar manner (not only in these provinces but generally throughout Africa) {1580/1589G & 1602G have instead{Europa}1580/1589G & 1602G instead} salt is used in exchange, for buying and selling instead of money. In some places small pieces of iron, bright and polished, serve the same purpose. But pepper is amongst these people valued so highly, that whatever a man will want to buy, he can easily obtain it in exchange for this merchandise.
175.17. These countries have almost all sorts of beasts and fowls, such as elephants, lions, tigers, lynx {1606E only{(Lynces the Romans call them),}1606E only} badgers, apes and deer (this in contrast to what the old writers think, who have generally denied that Africa yields this kind of animal), but in the entire six years during which Alvarez lived in these countries, he writes that he never saw any bears, rabbits, finches, magpies or cuckoos. {1592L, not in 1602G{Yet, Johannes Leo, {1606E only{an African by birth}1606E only}, in his 9th book tells that in Mauretania {1606E has instead{Barbary}1606E instead} there are wonderful amounts of rabbits}1592L, not in 1602G}.
175.18. The locusts do more vexation and damage to this country than to any other place in the world, {1606E only{so that this plague is almost proper and peculiar to them}1606E only}. Their numbers and abundance is sometimes so great that as they fly they seem to darken the air {1606E only{and cast a shadow on the earth}1606E only}. They fly together in such great flocks and thick swarms that they utterly spoil and consume the products of now one province, then another. They devour all the corn in the fields, eat the leaves and barks of trees, leave meadows and pastures bare of any grass, so that people sometimes leave their native land where they were bred and born, and are forced, by lack of food, to leave and seek some other place to live.
175.19. There is in these quarters a city named Cassumo, in former times the seat (as their histories record) and place of the queen of Saba, they say she was called Maqueda {1606E only{(that is, I think, Antistes, a provost or president)}1606E only}. They affirm that Salomon{1580/1589G & 1602G have instead{David}1580/1589G & 1602G instead}, {1606E only{king of Israel}1606E only} had a son named Meilech {1606E only{(that is the king)}1606E only} with her. It is believed that queen Candace later lived here.
175.20. But I advise the studious reader to consult who writes best about these matters, namely Francesco Alvarez who diligently has written down what he observed during his stay there. {1579L(B), but not in 1580/1589G & 1602G{The same for Johannes Bermundes, who published his experiences of the Abessines in the Portuguese language}1579L(B), but not in 1580/1589G & 1602G}. Let him also read a little booklet by Damianus ą Goes, which he wrote about Ęthiopia, and Sabellicus in his 10th [volume of] Enneas, 8th book. About the origins of Prester John and how he came out of Asia (where he was known to writers about 200 years ago) and settled in Africa, read Jacobus Navarchus in his Epistola Asiatica and [look at] the universal map [world map] by Gerard Mercator}1573L1Add, 1573L(AB), 1574L, 1575L, 1579L(AB), 1580/1589G, 1584L, 1588S, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1602G, 1602S, 1603L, 1606E, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612L & 1609/1612/1641S end here}.
Vernacular text version, translated from 1571 Dutch 1Add/1573 Dutch, 1572 German 1Add/1573 German, 1574 French 1 Add/1574 French, 1581 French, 1587 French, 1598 French and 1598/1610/1613 Dutch editions:
175.21. {1571D1Add{ABESSINIA, or the empire of PRESTER JOHN.
175.22. The same whom we in Europe call Prester John, the Moors themselves call ATICLABASSI, that is, the Abyssines ACEGVE and NEGVS, that is, emperor and king, for his proper name is given to him (as we do here) by the discretion of his parents. It also seems that he changed his name at his coronation, (like the popes of Rome do nowadays) and for he who in our memory took possession of the throne and struck a league of friendship with the king of Portugal was before his coronation called Atani Tingil, but after he had assumed governance, was named David. This Prester John now, is undoubtedly in this, our age, one of the greatest monarchs of our time.
175.23. His kingdom lies between the two tropics, and reaches from the Red sea almost to the Ethiopian ocean. And to set down somewhat more precisely the bounds of this empire (to the extent that we can gather this from the surveys performed by men of our time) it has on its North Egypt (which is now under the Turks), in the East it borders on the Red sea and the Indian sea {1572G1Add/1573G instead{the Barbarian Gulf}1572G1Add/1573G instead}, in the South it is strongly by nature fenced off and enclosed by the mountains of the Moon, and in the West it is confined by the kingdom of Manicongi, the river Niger, the kingdom of Nubia and the Nile.
175.24. These bounds seem to contain that area which the old writers called Ęthiopia beneath Egypt, together with Troglodytica & Cinnamon land, including part of inner Libya. These countries are now called by various different names as you may see on the map. The people of this country are now called ABYSSINI.
175.25. The people there are yellowish. They profess to Christianity, as appears from the letter of David just mentioned, written to Pope Clement the seventh. Of their manners of life, customs and religion, we have gathered these few lines, from the travels of Franciscus Alvarez, written in the Italian tongue.
175.26. In these countries there are very many monasteries, both for men and women. Into the monasteries of men, neither a woman or any living creature of the female sex is admitted. Their monks, who here hold their Lent [40 or more days before Easter] for altogether fifty days fast, only taking water and bread. In these countries there is but little fish, particularly when going inland.
175.27. Although their rivers contain enough fish, they do not give their mind to fishing, because they do not know how to catch them. In time of Lent some of these monks hardly eat any bread at all, but live on mere herbs. Some of them during the entire period do not go to bed to sleep, but will sit up to their chin in water. In their churches they have bells as we do, but mostly made of stone. Their priests and ministers are married. They say mass, and go in procession with crosses and incense.
175.28. The friars wear their hair long, but priests do not. Neither of them wear shoes, and nobody, whether churchman or layman may enter the church doors with shoes on his feet. They observe Saturdays {1572G1Add/1573G instead{Shabbat}1572G1Add/1573G instead}, Sundays and do no work during them. They are all circumcised, both men and women, but they are also baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, but not until the fortieth day after their birth. They that do not live until this day are buried unchristened.
175.29. To all that are baptised they give the {not in 1571D1Add/1573D{Eucharist}not in 1571D1Add/1573D} {1571D1Add/1573D & 1598/1610/1613D instead{Sacracament}1571D1Add/1573D & 1598/1610/1613D instead}, pouring a great deal of cold water into the child's mouth to wash it down. The proper names which are then given to them are all of some significance. They say that they were converted to the Christian religion by Candace, (a queen mentioned in the acts of the apostels), whose proper name they think was Judith. They have a book divided into eight parts (which they call Manda and Abetilis) which they believe was written by all the apostles, who convened jointly for this purpose in Jerusalem.
175.30. The contents of this book they strictly observe. The simple people without any restriction marry 2 or 3 wives, according to their ability to maintain them, but these are forbidden by the clergy to enter the church. Their are allowed divorces. The noblemen are fond of raw beef, served in fresh or hot blood, as a great and exquisite dish.
175.31. In the entire kingdom of Prester John they have no kind of money, but instead they use pure gold, unminted. In a similar manner (not only in these provinces but generally throughout Africa) salt is used in exchange instead of money. {not in 1574F1Add/1574F, 1581F, 1587F & 1598F{In some places small pieces of polished iron serve the same purpose}not in 1574F1Add/1574F, 1581F, 1587F & 1598F}. But pepper is amongst these people valued so highly, that whatever a man will want to buy, he can easily obtain it in exchange for this merchandise.
175.37. These countries have almost all sorts of beasts and fowls, such as elephants, lions, tigers, lynxes, badgers, apes and deer (this in contrast to what the old writers think, who have generally denied that Africa yields this kind of animal), but in the entire six years during which Alvarez lived in these countries, he writes that he never saw any bears, rabbits, finches, or cuckoos.
175.38. The locusts particularly afflict these countries. Their numbers are sometimes so great that they seem to darken the air. They fly together in such thick swarms that they utterly spoil now one province, then another. They devour all the corn in the fields, eat the leaves and barks of trees, leaving meadows and pastures bare, so that people sometimes leave their native land, and are forced by lack of food, to leave.
175.39. There is in these quarters a city named Cassumo, in former times the seat (as their histories record) and place of the queen of Saba, they say she was called Maqueda. They affirm that king Salomon had a son named Meilech with her. It is believed that queen Candace later lived here. {1572G1Add/1573G only{It is best that the reader who likes these matters may read Francesco Alvarez, who diligently described what he noticed during his stay here. Also look at what Damianus ą Goes has written in a booklet dealing with Ęthiopian matters, and Sabellicus in his Enneas chapter 10 book 8}1572D1Add/1573G only}.
175.40. About the origins of the name of Prester John and how he came out of Asia (where he was known to writers about 200 years ago) and settled in Africa, read Jacobus Navarchus in his Asian Letters and [look at] the World Map by Gerard Mercator}1571D1Add, 1572G1Add/1573G, 1574F1Add/1574F, 1581F, 1587F, 1598F & 1598/1610/1613D end here}.