The nauigations, peregrinations and voyages, made into Turkie by Nicholas Nicholay Daulphinois, Lord of Arfeuile, chamberlaine and geographer ordinarie to the King of Fraunce conteining sundry singularities which the author hath there seene and obserued: deuided into foure bookes, with threescore figures, naturally set forth as well of men as women, according to the diuersitie of nations, their port, intreatie, apparrell, lawes, religion and maner of liuing, aswel in time of warre as peace: with diuers faire and memorable histories, happened in our time. Translated out of the French by T. Washington the younger.

Of the aduenturers called Dellis or Zatas∣nicis.

Chap. 13.

DEllis are aduenturers, like vnto light horsemen, whose pro∣fession is to seeke their aduentures in the most daungerous places,* 1.1 where by warlike feates of armes they make proofe of their strength and manhood, and therfore do loue to follow the armye of the great Turke, without any wages (like vnto the Anchises) but that the most part of them are kept and intertai∣ned at the charges of the Basshas, Beglierbeis and Sangiaques, which euery one of them haue a number of the brauest & vali∣antest in their trayn. These do dwel in the parties of Bossine, & Seruia, bordering vppon Graecia on the one side, and on the other, Hungarie and Austria, and at this present time are cal∣led Seruians or Crouats, whiche are the true Illirians, whom Herodian in the life of Seuerus, describeth to bee men most valiaunt, of greate stature, well shapen, and bigge sette, their colour beyng yealowishe, but of nature most malitious, and of custome more then barbarous, of grosse vnderstanding, and easie to be deceiued. Notwithstanding they were in great e∣stimation with Alexander the great: yea, so that oftētimes they durst vndertake to take in hand the occupying of Macedonia. The Turks doe call them Dellys, which is to say hardye fooles: but amongest them they call themselues Zatasnicis, which sig∣nifieth in their language, defyers of men, for that euerye one of them are bounde to fight agaynst tenne (before they can at∣tayne to the name and token of Delly, or Zatasnici) they chal∣lenge alwaies body for body, to breake the speare vppon their enimies, vsing in their fightes many guyles and craftes, which are remained to them from their auncestors, with such dexteri∣ty & hardines, that most often they remaine victorious. The first Delly, that I saw, was in Andrinopole, being then with the Lord of Arramont, in the house of Rostan Basha, too whom the sayde Delly was retaynour, who not onelye at my request:

but also in hope to haue some present, as he had, did follow vs vnto our lodging, where whilest he was making good cheere, I tooke the extract of his person, and of his strange habite, which was suche as followeth, his doublet and his longe and large hosen, by the Turkes called Saluares, were of the skinne of a young beare, wyth the haire outward: and vnder theyr Salua∣res, bootes, or buskins of yeallowe Marokin, sharpe before and very high beinde, shodde vnderneath with yron, and com∣passed with long and large spurres. Vppon the head he hadde a long cappe after the Polonian or Georgian fashion, hangyng downe ouer one of his shoulders made of a Leopardes skynne well spotted, and ouer the same before the foreheade for too shew more ferefull, was fastned a long tayle of an Eagle and the two winges nayled vpon the target with two great yron nailes, which hee carryed in a scarfe about his shoulders: hys armes were the Cymiter or skayne, and the dagger: and in the ryghte hande the Busdegan, whiche is to saye, the mase of armes well damaskaned. But certaine when hee departed from Andrino∣pole, with the forces whiche Achmat Bascha (whiche since the great Turke caused to bee strangled in his bedde) carryed for the great Lord into Transsiluania, I saw him mounted on a fair Turkie horse decked with the whole skinne of a great Lion, fa∣stened with the two formost feet before vpon the brest, and the other two hanging downe behind, his Busdegan hung at his sadle bow, & in his right hand bare a long launce, the poleaxe at the point being well steeled, altogeather beeing as yee may liuely see in the picture following. I was moreouer curious to aske him by a Dragoman of what nation he was, and what re∣ligion he kept, wherupon wisely he gaue me to vnderstand that he was of nation a Seruian, but that his grandfather was descē∣ded of the Parthes, a people sometimes renowmed & estemed to be the most warlike in all the East parts: and that as for his religion notwithstanding that hee dissembled to liue with the Turks according to their law, yet was he frō his birth of heart & wil, a christian, & the better to make me beleeue it, he sayde in the vulgare Greeke, and in the Esclauon tongue, the Lordes Prayer, the salutation of the Aungell, and the Symbole of

the Apostles. Furthermore I asked him why hee did apparrell himselfe so strangely, and with such great feathers, his aunswere was, that it was to shew and appeare vnto his enemies▪ more fu∣rious & fearefull. And as for the feathers, the custome amongst them was, that to none other it was permitted to weare them: but vnto suche as had made some memorable proofe of their person for that amongst them the feathers were estemed to be the true ornament of a valiant man of warre, which was al that I could learne of this prety Delly.

[illustration]

Delly which signifieth foole hardy.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Dellys.