Early Travels in Palestine Part 28

The mountains just spoken of contain mines of gold and salt, each of which pay annually to the king one hundred Hungarian florins. He had given up that of gold to the lord of Prussia and to count Mathico, on condition that the first would guard the frontier against the Turk, and the second Belgrade. The queen had reserved to her own use the revenue from salt. The salt is beautiful. It is cut out of a rock like freestone, into pieces of about a foot long, squared, but a little convex on the upper side. Whoever should see them in a cart would take them for stone. It is afterwards pounded in a mortar, and turns out tolerably white, but finer and better than any I have elsewhere tasted.

In my road through Hungary I have frequently met wagons with six, seven, or eight persons in them, and drawn by only a single horse; for it is customary with them, when they make long journeys, to use only one. They universally have the hind wheels higher than the fore wheels. There are some covered in their country manner, which are very handsome, and so light that, including wheels, it seemed that a man could carry one of them suspended to his neck. As the country is perfectly smooth and level, there is nothing to prevent the horse from being always on the trot. It is from this great evenness of the ground that, when they plough, they draw furrows of an extraordinary length. Until I came to Pest I had no servant; but there I treated myself with one, and took one of those French masons into my service whom I found at Pest. He was from Brai-sur-Somme.

On my return to Buda I accompanied the Milanese amba.s.sador to pay our compliments to the grand count of Hungary, a t.i.tle which answers to that of lieutenant of the emperor. The grand count received me with much distinction, because, from my dress, he took me for a Turk; but, when he learnt I was a Christian, he was somewhat colder. I was told that he was a man whose conversation was little to be depended on, and that no great trust must be placed in his promises. This is somewhat generally the reproach made of the Hungarians; and, for my own part, I own that, after the idea given me of them by my acquaintance, I should have less confidence in an Hungarian than in a Turk. The grand count is an old man. It was he, as I heard, who formerly arrested Sigismond, king of Bohemia and Hungary, and afterwards emperor, and threw him into prison, whence he afterwards released him by an amicable agreement. His son was just married to a beautiful Hungarian lady. I saw him at a tournament after their manner, when the combatants were mounted on small horses and low saddles. They were gallantly dressed, and had strong and short lances. It was a pleasing spectacle. Whenever the two champions. .h.i.t, both perhaps, but certainly one of them, must be unhorsed; and it is then seen who has the firmest seat[515].

When they tilt for golden wands, all the horses are of the same size, all the saddles of the same form; and they are drawn for by lot, and the jousters are taken by pairs. Should one of two adversaries fall, the victor is obliged to retire, and is not permitted to tilt again.

I had never quitted the company of the Milanese amba.s.sador until we came to Buda; but he had told me on the road that we must there separate, that he might continue his route to Milan. Soon after my return to Buda I called, in consequence, on Clays Davion, who gave me a letter of recommendation to a merchant of his acquaintance at Vienna. As I had fully opened myself to him, not thinking it right to make a secret of my rank, my name, or the country I had come from, or the honour I had of belonging to my lord duke of Burgundy, he had inserted all this in his letter, and I profited from it.

From Buda I came to Thiat, a country town, where the king is said to be fond of residing; then to Janiz, in German, "Jane,"[516] a town on the Danube. I afterwards pa.s.sed by another town, built on an island in that river, which had been given by the emperor to one of the dependants of the duke of Burgundy, whom I believe to be Sir Renier Pot. I also pa.s.sed through Brut[517], situated on a river that divides the kingdom of Hungary from the duchy of Austria. The river runs through a marsh, where a long and narrow causeway has been constructed. This is an important place; and I am convinced that a small body of men could effectually defend it on the Austrian side.

Two leagues further the amba.s.sador took leave of me, and followed another road to return to the duke of Milan, his lord. I took that leading to Vienna, where I arrived after five days' journey. On my entering the town no one would lodge me, supposing I was a Turk. At last, by accident, some one pointed out to me an inn, where I was received. Fortunately my servant, whom I had hired at Pest, knew the Hungarian and high German languages. He desired that the merchant to whom I had a letter might be sent for. On seeking him he came, and not only offered me every service in his power, but went to inform my lord duke Albert[518], cousin-german to my lord, of my arrival, who instantly despatched to me a poursuivant-at-arms, and shortly after Sir Albrech de Potadorf. Not two hours after my arrival I saw Sir Albrech dismount at the gate of my inn, and, hearing him ask for me, I thought myself undone. A little before my departure for the Holy Land, I, with some others, had arrested him between Flanders and Brabant, because we thought him a subject of Frederic of Austria[519], who had challenged my lord; and I now doubted not but that he was come, in his turn, to arrest me, and perhaps do worse. He told me, however, that his lord, duke Albert, having learned that I was attached to the duke of Burgundy, had sent him to me to offer, on his part, every service that was in his power; that he desired me to ask whatever I might want as boldly from him as from my own lord; for that he wished to treat his servants in the same manner as he would his own. Sir Albrech then spoke for himself. He presented me with money, and offered me horses or any thing else. In short, he rendered me good for evil; although, after all, I had not done any thing to him but what honour permitted and even obliged me to do.

Two days after duke Albert sent to say he wished to speak with me; and Sir Albrech again came to conduct me to him. I presented myself to him the moment he came from ma.s.s, attended by eight or ten old knights of a respectable appearance. Scarcely had I made my reverence when he took me by the hand, and would not suffer me to speak to him on my knees. He asked many questions, particularly about my lord, which induced me to think he had a great affection for him.

He was of a tolerably good size, brown complexion, good-humoured, affable, valiant, and generous, and was said to possess every good quality. Among the persons who accompanied him were some lords from Bohemia, whom the Hussites had expelled from that country because they would not be of their religion. At the same time a great lord of that country, called Paanepot, was presented to him, who had come with several others, on the part of the Hussites, to treat with him and establish peace. These last proposed to march to the a.s.sistance of the king of Poland, against the lords of Prussia, and made, as I heard, great offers to duke Albert, if he would second them; but he replied, according to my information, that, until they submitted themselves to the religion of Jesus Christ, he would never make truce nor peace with them as long as he should live. In fact, at this very time, he had twice beaten them in battle; had conquered from them all Moravia; and, by his conduct and valour, had aggrandized himself at their expense.

On quitting his presence, I was conducted to that of the d.u.c.h.ess, a tall, handsome woman, daughter to the emperor, and heiress, after him, to the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia and their dependencies. She had just been brought to bed of a daughter, which had occasioned festivals and tournaments, that were the more numerously attended because, hitherto, she had not had any children.

On the morrow the duke sent Sir Albrech to invite me to dinner, and made me sit at his table with an Hungarian lord and another, an Austrian. All his attendants are on board wages, and no one dines with him unless invited by the master of his household. The table was square; and the custom is, for one dish to be brought at a time, and for him who is nearest to eat of it, which supplies the place of a taster[520]. Fish and flesh were served; and, above all, a quant.i.ty of meat, strongly seasoned, but always dish by dish. After the dinner I was carried to see the dancing in the apartments of the d.u.c.h.ess. She gave me a bonnet of gold thread and silk, a ring, and a diamond to wear on my head, according to the fas.h.i.+on of the country. There were present many n.o.bles of each s.e.x; and I saw there some very handsome women, with the finest heads of hair that can be conceived. When I had remained in these apartments some time, a gentleman named Payser, who, though but a squire, was a chamberlain and keeper of the jewels of the duke of Austria, came, by his orders, to show them to me. I saw the crown of Bohemia, which has some very fine diamonds, and the largest ruby I ever saw. It seemed bigger than a full-sized date; but it is not clear, and there are some cavities toward the bottom that show a few black spots.

The keeper then carried me to see the wague-bonnes[521], which the duke of Austria had constructed to combat the Bohemians. I perceived none that could hold more than twenty men; but he a.s.sured me there was one that would contain three hundred, and did not require more than eighteen horses to draw it.

I met at this court the lord de Valse, a gallant knight, and the greatest baron in Austria after the duke. I saw there, also, Sir Jacques Trousset, a handsome Swabian knight; but there was another, named Le Chant, hereditary cup-bearer to the emperor, who having lost his brother and many friends at the battle of Bar, and hearing that I belonged to my lord of Burgundy, caused me to be watched, to know the day of my departure, that he might seize me as I was travelling through Bavaria.

Luckily for me, the duke of Austria was informed of his intentions, and sent him away, making me stay longer at Vienna than I intended, to wait for the departure of the lord de Valse and Sir Jacques Trousset, that I might accompany them.

During my stay I witnessed three of the tournaments I mentioned, with small horses and low saddles. One took place at court, the others in the streets; but at the last several were unhorsed so heavily that they were dangerously wounded.

The duke of Austria made me, in private, offers of money. I received similar offers from Sir Albert and Sir Robert Daurestoff, a great lord in Austria, who, the preceding year, had travelled in disguise through Flanders, and had there seen my lord duke, and spoke very handsomely of him. In short, I received very pressing ones from a poursuivant of lower Brittany, named Toutseul, who, after having served under the admiral of Spain, was now in the service of the duke of Austria. This Breton called on me every day to go to ma.s.s, and attended me wherever I wished to go.

Persuaded that I must have expended on my journey all the money I had, a little before my departure he presented me with the value of fifty marcs in enamels, and insisted that I should sell them for my profit; but, as I equally refused to accept them or to borrow, he protested that no one should ever know any thing of it.

Vienna is a tolerably large town, well inclosed with deep ditches and high walls, inhabited by rich merchants and all sorts of tradesmen. The Danube washes its wall on the north side. The surrounding country is pleasant and good; and it is a place of amus.e.m.e.nt and pleasure. The natives are better dressed than those of Hungary, although they all wear coa.r.s.e doublets, very thick and wide. In war they cover the doublet with an haubergeon, a glacon[522], a large hat of iron, and other armour usual in that country. They have many crennequiniers, for such is the name given in Austria and Bohemia to those called archers in Hungary.

Their bows are like those of the Turks, but not so good nor so strong; and they do not use them so well as they do. The Hungarians pull the string with three fingers, and the Turks with the thumb and ring.

When I went to take leave of the duke and d.u.c.h.ess of Austria, he recommended me himself to my two travelling companions, sir Jacques Trousset and the lord de Valse, who was setting off for his command on the frontiers of Bohemia. He repeated his question, as to my wanting money; but I answered, as I had before done to all who had offered me some, that my lord of Burgundy had so amply supplied me on my departure, that I had a sufficiency for my return to him, but that I requested he would grant me a safe conduct, which he did.

The Danube, for three days' journey on leaving Vienna, runs eastward; from above Buda to the point of Belgrade, it takes a southerly direction, and then, between Hungary and Bulgaria, it resumes its easterly course, and falls, as they say, into the Black Sea at Mont Castre. I left Vienna in company with the before-mentioned lord of Valse and sir Jacques Trousset. The first was going to his lady at Lintz, and the second to his country-seat. After two days' travelling, we came to St. Polten, where the best knives of the country are made. Thence to Molke on the Danube, where is the best manufacture of cross-bows, having besides a very handsome Carthusian monastery. Thence to Valse, which belongs to the aforesaid lord. The castle is constructed on an elevated rock, that commands the Danube. He himself showed me the ornaments of the altar of the chapel; I never before saw any so rich in embroidery and in pearls. I there also noticed boats drawn up the Danube by horses.

The morrow of our arrival, a Bavarian gentleman came to pay his respects to the lord of Valse. Sir Jacques Trousset, informed of his arrival, declared he would hang him on a thorn in the garden. The lord de Valse hastened to him, and entreated he would not put such an affront on him in his own house. "Well," replied sir Jacques, "should he come elsewhere within my reach, he shall not escape hanging." The lord de Valse went to the gentleman, and made him a sign to go away, which he complied with.

The cause of this anger of sir Jacques was, that he himself and the greater part of his attendants were of the secret company, and that the gentleman, having been also a member, had misbehaved[523].

From Valse we came to Ens, situated on the river Ems; thence to Evresperch, on the same river, and within the domain of the bishop of Pa.s.sau; and then to Lintz, a very good town, with a castle on the Danube, and not far from the frontiers of Bohemia. It belongs to the duke of Austria, and the lord of Valse is governor of it. I saw there madame de Valse, a very handsome lady from Bohemia, who gave me a flattering reception. She presented me with an excellent trotter for the road, a diamond to put in my hair, after the Austrian fas.h.i.+on, and a bonnet of pearls ornamented with a ring and a ruby[524]. The lord of Valse remaining at Lintz with his lady, I continued my journey in company with sir Jacques Trousset, to Erfurt, which belongs to the count de Chambourg. Here Austria ends, and it had taken us six days to come from Vienna hither. From Erfurt we came to Riet, a Bavarian town belonging to duke Henry; then to Prenne on the river Sceine; to Bourchaze, a town with a castle on the same river, where we met the duke; thence to Mouldrof, where we crossed the Taing. In short, having traversed the country of duke Louis of Bavaria, without entering any of its towns, we arrived at Munich, the prettiest little town I ever saw, and which belongs to duke William of Bavaria.

I quitted Bavaria at Lansperch to enter Swabia, and pa.s.sed through Mindelheim, that belongs to the duke, through Memingen, an imperial town, and thence to Walporch, one of Sir Jacques's castles. He did not arrive until three days after me, because he had some friends to visit in the neighbourhood; but he had given orders to his people to treat me as they would do himself. On his return, we set out for Ravensburg, an imperial town, and thence to Martof, and Mersbourg, a town of the bishop of Constance seated on the lake of this name. The lake, in this part, may be about three Italian miles broad. I crossed it and came to Constance, where I pa.s.sed the Rhine, which there first a.s.sumes this name on issuing from the lake.

It was at this town that sir Jacques Trousset left me. This knight, one of the most amiable and valiant in Germany, had done me the honour and pleasure of accompanying me so far from respect to the duke of Austria, and would have escorted me further had he not been engaged at a tournament; but he gave me, in his stead, a poursuivant, whom he charged to escort me as far as I should wish. This tournament had been undertaken by the lord de Valse. They loved each other like brothers, and were to tilt with war lances, bucklers, and helmets of iron, according to the custom of the country, thirteen against thirteen, all friends and relations. Sir Jacques was well furnished with every sort of arms, which he had shown me himself in his castle of Walporch. I took my leave of him, and quitted him with much regret.

From Constance I went to Stein, where I crossed the Rhine; thence to Shaffhousen, a town belonging to the emperor; to Waldshutts, to Lauffembourg, to Rhinfeld, all the property of duke Frederick of Austria; and to Basil, another imperial town, whither, on account of the council then a.s.sembled there, the emperor had sent duke William of Bavaria, as his lieutenant.

The duke and d.u.c.h.ess were desirous to see me. I a.s.sisted at a session of the council, where he represented the emperor; and among the numbers were the lord cardinal of St. Angelo, legate from the holy father pope Eugenius, seven other cardinals, many patriarchs, archbishops and bishops. I met there several on the part of my lord of Burgundy, among whom were sir Guillebert de Lannoy, lord of Villerval, his amba.s.sador, master Jean Germain, and the bishop of Chalons. I had a conversation with the legate, who inquired much about the countries I had seen, especially Turkey. He seemed to have the conquest of this last country much at heart, and recommended me to repeat to my lord of Burgundy certain particulars that I had told to him relative to such conquest.

At Basil I parted with my poursuivant, who returned to Austria; and having travelled through the country of Ferette, belonging to duke Frederick of Austria, and pa.s.sed by Montbeliart, which is the property of the countess of that name, I entered Franche Compte, which belongs to my lord duke, and arrived at Besancon. I supposed that he was in Flanders, and consequently travelled on the frontiers of Bar and Lorraine to Veson; but at Villeneuve I learnt that he was on the frontier of Burgundy, and had caused Mussi l'Eveque to be besieged. I went then by Auxonne to Dijon, where I found the lord chancellor of Burgundy, in whose company I went to pay my respects to the duke. His people were at the siege, and he himself at the abbey of Poictiers. I appeared in his presence dressed in the same manner as when I left Damascus, and had the horse led before him which I had purchased in that town, and which had brought me to France. My lord received me with much kindness. I presented to him my horse, my dress, with the Koran, and Life of Mohammed, written in Latin, which the chaplain to the Venetian consul at Damascus had given me. He had these books delivered to master John Germain to examine; but I have never heard one word concerning them since that time. This master John was a doctor of divinity; he was bishop of Chalons-sur-Saone, and knight of the Golden Fleece[525].

If I have said little respecting the country between this place and Vienna, it has been because it is well known. With regard to the others I have travelled through, I inform my readers, that the journey was not undertaken through ostentation or vanity, but for the guidance and information of such persons as may have similar desires as I have had to see and be acquainted with these countries, and in obedience to my highly redoubted lord the duke of Burgundy, who commanded me to write these travels. I always carried with me a small book, in which I wrote down my adventures whenever time permitted; and it is from these memorandums that I have composed the history of my journey. If it be not so well composed as others could have done it, I must beg my readers to excuse me.

FOOTNOTES:

[416] Burgundy was divided into two parts, the duchy and county. The last, since known under the name of Franche Comte, began, at this period, to take that appellation; and this is the reason why our author styles Philip duke and count of Burgundy.

[417] In 1414, Sigismund, elected emperor, had received the silver crown at Aix-la-Chapelle. In the month of November, 1431, a little before the pa.s.sage of our traveller, he had received the iron crown at Milan; but it was not until 1443 he received at Rome, from the hands of the pope, that of gold.

[418] We shall see hereafter, that la Brocquiere left Rome on the 25th March, and Eugenius had been elected on the first days of the month.

There is some doubt whether his election took place on the 3rd, 4th, or 6th of March; he occupied the papal see till Feb. 23, 1447.

[419] Martin V., predecessor to Eugenius, was a Colonna; and there was a declared enmity between his family and that of the Orsini. Eugenius, when established in the holy chair, took part in this quarrel, and sided with the Orsini against the Colonnas, who were nephews to Martin. The last took up arms, and made war on him.

[420] The sultans of Egypt are here meant. Palestine and Syria were at that time under their power. The sultan will be often mentioned in the course of the work.

[421] See before, p. 189.

[422] The family name of this person is left blank in the original.

These names, of which the first five are those of great lords in the states of the duke of Burgundy, show that several persons of the duke's court had formed a company for this pilgrimage to Palestine, and are, probably, those who embarked with our author at Venice, although he has not before named them. Toulongeon was created this same year, 1432, a knight of the golden fleece, but was not invested with the order; for he was then a pilgrim, and died on the road.

[423] From this vague description, it should seem that the animal spoken of was the great lizard, called _monitor_, because it is pretended that it gives information of the approach of a crocodile. The monitor is common in the Euphrates, where it is sometimes seen four or five feet in length. The terror of the Arabs was groundless.

[424] This is what is called in French, _ma.s.ser_, a method used in several parts of the east for certain disorders.

[425] Sur is the ancient Tyre-Seyde, Sidon-Baruth, Berytus. What la Brocquiere here says is interesting for geography: it proves that all these sea-ports of Syria, formerly so commercial and famous, but at this day so degraded and completely useless, were, in his time, for the greater part, fit for commerce.

[426] More probably the cold was caused by the ascent of Mount Liba.n.u.s.

[427] It is only lately that the people of Damascus have been cured of their bigoted conduct towards black hats.

[428] This explanation may possibly admit of a doubt; _bir_, in Arabic, signifies a well; _kut_ is also an Arabic word frequently found in names of places, as Kut-el-Amara, &c.

[429] De la Brocquiere doubtless means the Euphrates.

[430] Jacques Cur was an extraordinary character, and a striking instance of the ingrat.i.tude of monarchs. Although of low origin, he raised himself by his abilities to high honours, and acquired by his activity immense riches. He was one of the most celebrated merchants that ever existed; and had it not been for his superior management of the finances, the generals, able as they were, of Charles VII. would never have expelled the English from France.

[431] See before, p. 47.

[432] M. de la Brocquiere is here probably mistaken. The cotton tree resembles in its leaves the vine: but the cotton is formed in capsules, and not on the leaves. There are many trees whose leaves are covered externally with a white down, but none that in this manner produce cotton.

[433] This is an early mention of portable fire-arms in the East: they were at this time novelties in Europe.

[434] Our traveller is mistaken. The tomb of Mohammed is at Medina, and not at Mecca: and the house of Abraham is at Mecca, and not Medina, where pilgrims gain pardons, and where that great commerce is carried on.

[435] Brusa.

[436] Many authors of the thirteenth century mention this Virgin of Serdenay, which was famous during the crusades; and they speak of this oily sweat, that had the reputation of performing miracles. (See before, p. 190.) These fabulous accounts of miraculous sweatings were common in Asia. Among others, that which exuded from the tomb of the bishop Nicholas, one of those saints whose existence is more than doubtful, was much vaunted. This pretended liquor of Nicholas was even an object of adoration; and we read that, in 1651, a clergyman at Paris, having received a phial of it, demanded and obtained permission from the archbishop to expose it to the veneration of the faithful.-_Le Buf_, "Hist. de Paris," t. i. part 2, p. 557.