situated directly under the equinoctial line between
the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer; but they are two hundred fifty leagues
nearer our tropic than the other. The name of Prester John signifies Great
Lord, and is not Priest [Presbyter] as many think. He has always been a
Christian, but often schismatic. At the present time he is a Catholic and
recognizes the Pope as sovereign pontiff. I met one of his bishops in
Jerusalem, and often conversed with him through the medium of our guide. He
was of grave and serious bearing, pleasant of speech, but wonderfully
subtle in everything he said. He took great delight in what I had to relate
concerning our beautiful ceremonies and the dignity of our prelates in
their pontifical vestments. As to other matters I will only say that the
Ethiopian is joyous and merry, not at all like the Tartar in the matter of
filth, nor like the wretched Arab. They are refined and subtle, trusting no
one, wonderfully suspicious, and very devout. They are not at all black as
is commonly supposed, by which I refer to those who do not live under the
equator or too near to it, for these are Moors as we shall see."

With respect to this translation it should be said that the original forms
of the proper names have been preserved, although they are not those found
in modern works. It should also be stated that the meaning of Prester is
not the one that was generally accepted by scholars at the time the work
was written, nor is it the one accepted to-day. There seems to be no doubt
that the word is derived from Presbyter as stated in note 103 on page 71,
since the above-mentioned chronicles of Otto, bishop of Freisingen about
the middle of the twelfth century, states this fact clearly. Otto received
his information from the bishop of Gabala (the Syrian Jibal) who told him
the story of John, _rex et sacerdos_, or Presbyter John as he liked to be
called. He goes on to say "Should it be asked why, with all this power and
splendor, he calls himself merely 'presbyter,' this is because of his
humility, and because it was not fitting for one whose server was a primate
and king, whose butler an archbishop and king, whose chamberlain a bishop
and king, whose master of the horse an archimandrite and king, whose chief
cook an abbot and king, to be called by such titles as these."

[106] Thomas Fienus (Fyens) was born at Antwerp in 1567 and died in 1631.
He was professor of medicine at Louvain. Besides the editions m