There is a vale between the mountains, that dureth nigh a four mile. And some clepen' it the Vale Enchanted, some clepen it the Vale of Devils, and some clepen it the Vale Perilous; in that vale hearen men oftentime great tempests and thunders, and great murmurs and noises, all day and nights; and great noise as it were sound of tabors and of nakeres and trumps, as though it were of a great feast. This vale is all full of devils, and hath been always. And men say there, that it is one of the entries of hell. In that vale is plenty of gold and silver; wherefore many misbelieving men, and many christian men also, gon in often time, for to have of the treasure that there is, but few comen again; and namely, of the misbelieving men, ne of the christian men nouther: for they ben anon strangled of devils. And in mid place of that vale, under a rock, is an head of the visage of a devil bodily, full horrible and dreadful to see; and it sheweth not but the head, to the shoulders. But there is no man in the world so hardy, christian man ne other, but that he would ben adrad for to behold it; and that it would seemen him to die for dread; so is it hideous for to behold. For he beholdeth every man

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3 Nakeres.-Nacara, (Du Cange,) a kind of brazen drum used in the cavalry.

5 neither.

4 go.

• afraid.

sharply with dreadful eyen1 that ben evermore moving and sparkling as fire, and changeth and steereth so often in divers manner, with so horrible countenance, that no man dare not nighen2 towards him. And fro3 him cometh smoke and stink, and fire, and so much abomination, that unethe1 no man may there endure. But the good christian men, that ben stable in the faith, entren well withouten peril for they will first shriven hem3, and marken him with the token of the Holy Cross; so that the fiends ne han no power over hem. But albeit that they ben withouten peril, zit nathales ne ben they not withouten dread, when that they seen the devils visibly and bodily all about hem, that maken full many divers assauts and menaces in air and in earth, and agasten hem with strokes of thunder-blasts and of tempests. And the most dread is, that God will taken vengeance then, of that men han1o misdone again" his will. And ye should understand, that when my fellows and I weren in that vale, we weren in great thought whether that we dursten putten our bodies in aventure, to gon in or non, in the protection of God. And some of our fellows accordeden12 to enter, and some noght.13 So there were with us two worthy men,

9

;

riars minors that were of Lombardy, that said, that if any man would enter, they would go in with us. And when they had said so, upon the gracious trust of God and of hem', we let sing mass and made every man to be shriven and houseld; and then we entered fourteen persons; but at our going out, we were but nine. And so we wisten never, whether that our fellows were lost, or elle turned again for dread; but we ne saw them never after; and tho were two men of Greece and three of Spain; and our other fellows that would not go in with us, they went by another coast to ben before us, and so they were. And thus we passed that perilous vale, and found therein gold and silver and precious stones and rich jewels great plenty, both here and there, as us seemed; but whether that it was, as us seemed, I wot nere; for I touched none, because that the devils be so subtle to make a thing to seem otherwise than it is, for to deceive mankind; and therefore I touched none; and also because that I would not be put out of my devotion: for I was more devout then than ever I was before or after; and all for the dread of fiends, that I saw in divers figures; and also for the great multitude of dead bodies that I saw there lying by

1 themselves.

2 to be confessed, and to have the Lord's Supper administered to him.

3 knew. 4 else. 5 they. 6 I never knew.

the way, by all the vale, as though there had been a battle between two kings, and the mightiest of the country, and that the greater part had been discomfitted and slain. And I trow' that unethe should any country have so much people within him, as lay slain in that vale, as us thought; the which was an hideous sight to seen. And I marvelled much, that there were so many, and the bodies all whole withouten rotting. But I trowe that fiends made them seem to be so whole, withouten rotting. But that might not be to my avys, that so many should have entered so newly, ne so many newly slain, without stinking and rotting. And many

of them were in habit of Christian men; but I trowe well, that it were of such, that went in for covetyses of the treasure that was there, and had overmuch feebleness in faith; so that their hearts ne might not endure in the belief for dread. And therefore were we the more devout a great deal; and yet we were cast down, and beaten down many times to the hard earth, by winds and thunders and tempests; but evermore, God, of his grace, helped us. And so we passed that perilous vale, without peril, and without incumbrance. Thanked be Almighty God.

1 suppose.
4 advice, understanding.

2 scarcely.

3 sec.

5 covetousness.

The reason why The Great Khan, emperor of India, was known in Europe by the name of Prester John, Mandeville states to be the following:

I trow that ye know well enow, and have heard say, wherefore this emperor is clept Prester John. But natheless1 for them that know not, I shall say you the cause. It was sometime an emperor there that was a worthy and full noble prince, that had Christian knights in his company, as he hath that is now. So it befel, that he had great list for to see the service in the church, among Christian men. And then dured Christendom beyond the sea. All Turkey, Syria, Tatary, Jerusalem, Palestine, Arabia, Halappu, and all the land of Egypt. So it befel that this emperor came, with a Christian knight with him, into a church in Egypt; and it was the Saturday in Whitsun week. And the bishop made orders. And he beheld and listened the service full tentyfly. And he asked the Christian knight, what men of degree they should be, that the prelate had before him. And the knight answered and said, that they should be priests. And then the emperor said, that he would no longer be clept king, ne emperor, but priest; and that he would have the name of the first priest that 2 attentively.

I nevertheless.