Early Travels in Palestine Part 30

[486] These devout plays were then as common in the Greek church as in the Latin. They were called "Mysteries" in France; and this is the name given by our traveller to the one he saw in St. Sophia.

[487] The Greek hippodrome-the atmeidan of the Turks.

[488] There are four.

[489] Since the conquest of the East by the Latins, in 1204, to which conquest the Venetians greatly contributed.

[490] The _pucelle_ had been made prisoner in 1430, by an officer of Jean de Luxembourg, the duke's general, and, being afterwards sold by Jean to the English, was burnt the following year.

[491] La Brocquiere must have thought these joustings ridiculous, from being accustomed to our tournaments, where the knights, cased in iron, fought with swords, lances, and battle-axes, and where, very frequently, men were killed, wounded, or trodden under foot by the horses. This has made him twice say, that in this jousting with sticks no one was wounded.

[492] Perhaps Larissa (Seres), in Phrygia.

[493] Demetica?

[494] Cypsela?

[495] Eno.

[496] Samothraki?

[497] Trajanopoly was not so called from having been built by Trajan, but because he died there. It existed before his time, and was named Selinunte. Hadrian was not the father of Trajan, but his adopted son, and, in this right, became his successor. Adrianople was not founded by Hadrian. An earthquake had ruined it, and he ordered it to be rebuilt, and gave it his name. Such errors are excusable in an author of the fifteenth century. As for the sheep's ear, it is spoken of as a Saracenic fable.

[498] There must be here an error of the copyist, for 25,000 ducats as tribute is too small a sum. We shall see, further on, that the despot of Servia paid annually 50,000 for himself alone.

[499] The sultan mentioned here under the name of Amourat Bey is Amourath II., one of the most celebrated of the Ottoman princes. History records many of his victories, which are indeed for the most part posterior to the account of our traveller. If he did not conquer more, it was owing to having Huniades, or Scanderberg, opposed to him. But his glory was eclipsed by that of his son, the famous Mohammed II., the terror of Christians, and surnamed by his countrymen "the Great," who twenty years after this period, in 1453, took Constantinople, and destroyed what little remained of the Greek empire.

[500] The _quarte_, so called from being the fourth part of the chenet, which contained four pots and one French pint. The pot held two pints, consequently the quarte made two bottles more than half a septier; and twelve gondils made twenty-three bottles.

[501] The origin of the t.i.tle of "The Sublime Porte."

[502] Having court fools was a very ancient custom at the eastern courts. It had been introduced by the Crusaders at the courts of Christian princes, and was continued at that of France until the reign of Louis XIV.

[503] The grandfather of Amurath II. was Bajazet I., who died prisoner to Tamerlane, either treated with kindness by the conqueror, as some authors pretend, or confined in an iron cage, according to others. This story of the Servian cannot, therefore, regard him. But we find in the life of Amurath I., father to Bajazet, and, consequently, great-grandfather to Amurath II., a circ.u.mstance that may have been the foundation for this story of the a.s.sa.s.sination. This prince had just gained a complete victory over the despot of Servia, in which he was made prisoner, and was pa.s.sing over the field of battle near to a Servian soldier, mortally wounded, who, knowing him, exerted his remaining strength and poniarded him. According to others, the despot, named Lazarus, or Eleazer Bulcowitz, finding himself attacked by Amurath, with an irresistible army, and seeing no other chance of opposing him but by treason, gains over one of the great lords of his court, who, feigning discontent, pa.s.ses over to the party of the sultan, and a.s.sa.s.sinates him. (Ducange, 'Familiae Bisant.,' p. 334.) According to another account, Amurath was slain in the combat; and Lazarus, being made prisoner by the Turks, was hewed to pieces on the bleeding corpse of their master. It seems, from the recital of La Brocquiere, that the account of the a.s.sa.s.sination by the Servian is the true one. This, at least, appears probable, from the precautions taken in subsequent times, at the Ottoman Porte, against foreign amba.s.sadors; for, when they were introduced to the sultan, they were held by the sleeves of their coats.

[504] Perhaps Kruzcevaz, or Alagia Hisar.

[505] It was in fact this same year, 1433, that the renowned Scanderbeg having, by a stratagem, regained possession of Albania, of which his ancestors were the sovereigns, commenced that sagacious war against Amurath, which covered him with glory, and tarnished the last years of the sultan.

[506] This prince was named George Brancovitz or Wkovitz. Some account of him and his family is to be found in Ducange. ('Familiae Bisant.,'

page 336.)

[507] This _holy_ council concluded its sittings by citing to its tribunal, and deposing the pope, whilst the pope commanded it to dissolve itself, and convoked another at Ferrara. At Florence he had undertaken to form a union of the Greek and Latin churches, and with this design had sent the amba.s.sadors to the emperor. He came actually to Italy, and signed at Florence that political and simulated union before mentioned.

[508] The reader may perhaps be surprised that our author, when he speaks of the garrison of any strong place, particularizes only cavalry; and that, when he mentions the contingent sent by the despot to the Turkish army, he specifies but horse. The reason is, that, when he wrote, Europe paid no attention but to cavalry; and the infantry, badly armed, formed, and equipped, was not considered of any consequence.

[509] From our author thus noticing the bra.s.s cannon, it should seem they were still rare in his time, and looked on as wonders. Louis XI.

had a dozen cast, and gave them the names of the twelve peers of France.

[510] It was then the fas.h.i.+on to make pieces of artillery of an enormous size. Mohammed II., at the siege of Constantinople, employed cannon cast on the spot that threw, as they say, b.a.l.l.s of two hundredweight.

Monstrelet speaks of a gun that Louis XI. had cast at Tours, and carried afterwards to Paris, that flung b.a.l.l.s of five hundred pounds. In 1717, prince Eugene, after his victory over the Turks, found in Belgrade a cannon twenty-five feet long, that shot b.a.l.l.s of one hundred and ten pounds, whose charge was fifty-two pounds of powder. It was also then customary to make the b.a.l.l.s of marble or stone, worked to fit the mouths of different cannons.

[511] Sigismond, king of Bohemia and Hungary. It is pretended that Sigismond gave them in exchange for Belgrade.

[512] A sort of light casque then in use, which, not having vizor nor throat piece, had need of projecting plates of iron to guard the face.

[513] John, count of Nevers, surnamed _sans peur_, and son to Philippe le Hardi, duke of Burgundy. Sigismond having formed a league to check the conquests of Bajazet, Charles VI. sent him a body of troops, in which were two thousand gentlemen, under the command of the count of Nevers. The Christian army was defeated at Nicopolis in 1396, and the French slain or made prisoners. See further particulars in Froissart.

When Jean succeeded his father, as duke of Burgundy, he caused the duke of Orleans, brother to the king of France, to be a.s.sa.s.sinated. He was murdered in his turn by Tannegui du Chatel, an ancient servant of the duke of Orleans. These facts prove that La Brocquiere was in the right, when speaking of John, to pray that G.o.d would pardon him.

[514] Sigismond, in his travels to France, had visited the manufactories, and particularly those of Flanders, at that time famous for its tapestries. He wished to establish similar ones in his capital of Hungary, and for this effect had engaged different workmen to follow him.

[515] The knights in France were mounted for tournaments or battle on large strong horses, called "palefrois." Their saddles were high-piqued before and behind, which afforded them the greater means of resisting the shock of the lance than the small horses and low saddles of the Hungarians; and this is the reason our author says that, in the tilts of the Hungarians, it may be easily seen which knight has the best seat on his horse.

[516] Jane, perhaps Gen.

[517] Bruck?

[518] Albert II., duke of Austria, emperor after the death of Sigismond.

[519] Frederic, duke of Austria, succeeded Albert II. as emperor.

[520] Formerly there was, at the tables of sovereigns, an officer to taste every dish before it was put on the table. This precaution had originally been taken against poison.

[521] A wague-bonne was a sort of wagon, or moveable tower, used in war.

[522] Glacon, or glachon, a kind of defensive armour. The French called "glacon," a sort of fine cloth that was doubtless glazed. Glacon, in German, was perhaps a kind of coat-armour made of many folds of quilted cloth, such as our gambisons. Perhaps it may be only a cuira.s.s.

[523] This relates, probably, to the famous secret tribunal; and the Bavarian, whom Trousset wanted to hang, may have been a false brother, who had revealed the secrets of it.

[524] These bonnets must not be mistaken for such as ours. They were only wreaths, or circular crowns.

[525] Jean Germain, born at Cluni, and consequently a subject to the duke of Burgundy, had, when a child, pleased the d.u.c.h.ess, who sent him to study at the university of Paris, where he distinguished himself. The duke, whose favour he afterwards gained, made him, in 1431, _chancellor_ of his order of the Golden Fleece, and not _knight_, as La Brocquiere says. The year following he was nominated bishop of Nevers; sent in 1432 amba.s.sador, first to Rome, and then to the council at Basil, as one of his representatives. In 1436, he was translated from the see of Nevers to that of Chalons-sur-Saone. What La Brocquiere says of this bishop seems peevish; but if the reader will consider, not hearing any thing of the two interesting ma.n.u.scripts he had brought from Asia, he had cause for being out of humour. Germain, however, was employed on them, but he was labouring to refute them. At his death, in 1461, he left two works in ma.n.u.script, copies of which are to be found in some libraries; one ent.i.tled, "De Conceptione beatae Mariae Virginis, adversus Mahometanos et Infideles, Libri duo:" the other, "Adversus Alcoranum, Libri quinque."

A JOURNEY FROM ALEPPO TO JERUSALEM,

AT EASTER, A.D. 1697.

BY HENRY MAUNDRELL.

TO THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN G.o.d, THOMAS, LORD BISHOP OF ROCHESTER.

MY LORD,

From a large and constant experience of your lords.h.i.+p's favour, I have all reason to believe that you will not think it tedious to hear something of my affairs, though in themselves below your lords.h.i.+p's notice and regard.