Mandeville's travels : the Cotton version / from the edition by Paul Hamelius.

Chapter IV

THE LADY OF LANGO

OF SEYNT JOℏN THE EUUANGELIST & OF YPOCRAS DOUGℏTER TRANSFORMED FROM A WOMMAN TO A DRAGOUN.

AND aƚƚ be it þat þeise thinges touchen not to .o. way neuertheles þei touchen to þat þat I haue hight ȝou to schewe ȝou a partie of custumes & maneres & dyuersitees of contrees. And for this is the firste contree þat is discordant in feyth & in beleeue & varieth from oure feyth on this half the see,descriptionOpen page þerefore I haue sett it here, þat ȝee may knowe the dyuersitee þat is betwene oure feyth & theires. For many men han gret likyng to here speke of straunge thinges of dyuerse contreyes. [folio 10a] Now returne I aȝen for to teche ȝou the way from Constantynoble to Ierusalem. He þat wol þorgℏ Turkye he goth toward the cytee of NikedescriptionOpen page & passeth þorgh the ȝate of Chieuetout & aƚƚ weys men seen before hem the hiƚƚ of Chieuetout þat is right high & it is a myle & an half from Nike. And whoso wil go be watre be the brace of seynt George & by the see where seynt Nicholas lyetℏ & toward many oþer places First men gotℏ to an jle þat is clept Sylo.descriptionOpen page In þat Ile groweth Mastyk on smale trees & out of hem cometh gomme as it were of plombtrees or of cherietrees.

And after gon men þorgℏ the Ile of PathmosdescriptionOpen page & þere wrot seynt Joℏn the Euuangelist the apocalips. And ȝee schuƚƚ vnderstonde þat seynt Joℏn was of age .xxxij. ȝeer whan oure lord suffred his passioun And after his passioun he lyuede .lxvij. ȝeer And in the .c. ȝeer of his age he dyede. From Pathmos men gon vnto Ephesim a faire citee & nygh to the see And þere dyede seynte Joℏn & was buryed behynde the high awtiere in a toumbe. And þere is a fair chirche For cristene men weren wont to holden þat place alweys. And in the tombe of seynt Joℏn is nought but Manna þat is clept Aungeles mete for his body was translated in to paradys.descriptionOpen page And Turkes holden now aƚƚ þat place & the citee & the chirche And aƚƚ Asie the lesse is ycleped Turkye. And ȝee schuƚƚ vnderstonde þat seynt Joℏn leet make his graue þere in his lyf & leyd himself þerejnne aƚƚ quyk And þerfore somme men seyn þat he dyed nought, but þat he resteth þere til the day of doom. And forsothe þere is a gret merueyle for men may see þere the erthe of the tombe [folio 10b] apertly many tymes steren & meuen as þere weren quykke thinges vnder. And from Ephesim men gon þorgh many Iles in the see vnto the cytee of PateranedescriptionOpen page where seynt Nicholas was born & so to martha where he was chosen to ben Bisschopp & þere groweth right godedescriptionOpen page wyndescriptionOpen page & strong And þat men callen wyn of martha. And from thens gon men to the Ile of Crete þat the Emperour ȝaf somtyme to Janeweys And þanne passen men þorgℏ the Iles of ColcosdescriptionOpen page & of lango of the whiche Iles ypocras was lord offe. And somme men seyn þat in the Ile of lango is ȝit the doughter of ypocras in forme & lykness of a gret dragoun þat is an hundred fadme of lengtℏe as men seyn, for I haue not seen hire. And þei of the Iles callen hire lady of the lond And sche lyeth in an olde castell in a cave & scheweth twyes or thryes in the ȝeer and sche doth non harm to no man but ȝif men don hire harm. And sche was thus chaunged & transformed from a fair damysele in to lykness of a dragoun be a Goddess þat was clept Deane. And

men seyn þat sche schal so endure in þat forme of a dragoun vnto tyme þat a knygℏt come þat is so hardy þat dar come to hire & kisse hire on þe mouth and þan schall sche turne aȝen to hire owne kynde & ben a womman aȝen but after þat sche schaƚƚ not lyuen longe. And it is not longe sithen þat a knyght of the hospital of Rodes þat was hardy & doughty in armes seyde þat he wolde kyssen hire. And whan he was vpon his coursere & wente to [folio 11a] the casteƚƚ & entred in to the cave the dragoun lifte vp hire hed aȝenst him And whan the knyghtdescriptionOpen page saugh hire in þat forme so hidous & so horrible he fleygℏ awey & the dragoun bare the knyght vpon a roche mawgree his hede And from þat roche sche caste him in to the see & so was lost bothe hors & man. And also a ȝonge man þat wiste not of the dragoun wente out of a schipp & wente þorgh the Ile til þat he come to the castell & cam in to the cave and wente so longe til þat he fond a chambre & þere he saugh a damysele þat kembed hire hede & lokede in a myrour. And sche hadde meche tresoure abouten hire & he trowede þat sche hadde ben a comoun womman þat dwelled þere to resceyue men to folye. And he abode tiƚƚ the damysele saugh thedescriptionOpen page schadewe of him in the myrour.descriptionOpen page And sche turned hire toward him & asked hym what he wolde And he seyde he wolde ben hire lemman or paramour and sche asked him ȝif þat he were a knyght & he seyde nay. And þan sche seyde þat he myghte not ben hire lemman But sche bad him gon aȝen vnto his felowes & let make him knyght & come aȝen vpon the morwe & sche scholde come out of the cave before him & þanne come and kysse hire on the mowth. & haue no drede, for I schaƚƚ do þe no maner harm all be it þat þou see me in lykeuess of a dragoun For þough þou se me hidouse & horrible to loken onne I do þe to wytene þat it is made be enchauntement. For withouten doute I am non oþer þan þou seest now, a womman, [folio 11b] And þerfore drede þe nought. And ȝif þou kisse me þou schalt haue aƚƚ this tresoure & be my lord & lord also of all þat Ile. And

he departed fro hire & wente to his felowes to schippe & leet make him knyght & cam aȝen vpon the morwe for to kysse this damysele. And whan he saugh hire comen out of the cave in forme of a dragoun so hidouse & so horrible he hadde so gret drede þat he fleygℏ aȝen to the schipp & sche folewed him. And whan sche sawgh þat he turned not aȝen sche began to crye as a thing þat hadde meche sorwe And þanne sche turned aȝen in to hire cave And anon the knyght dyede & sithen hiderwardes myghte no knyght se hire but þat he dyede anon. But whan a knyght cometh þat is so hardy to kisse hire he schall not dye, but he schall turne the damysele in to hire right forme & kyndely schapp & he schal be lord of all the contreyes & Iles aboueseyd.descriptionOpen page And from þens men comen to the Ile of Rodes the whiche Ile hospitaleres holden & gouernen And þat token þei sumtyme from the Emperour And it was wont to be clept Collos & so calle it the Turkes ȝit And seynt Poul in his epistles writeth to hem of þat Ile AD COLLOCENSES. This Ile is nygh .viij^c. myle long from Constantynoble.