Then The Monk Said, That The Devil Brought Clay On Die First Day,
From All The Corners Of The Earth, Of Which He Made The Body Of Man, Which
God Inspired With A Soul.
On this I sharply reproved him for his heretical
ignorance, and he scorned me for my ignorance of the language:
I departed,
therefore, from him to our own house. But when he and the priests went
afterwards in procession to the court without calling me, Mangu earnestly
enquired the reason of my absence; and the priests being afraid, excused
themselves as well as they could, and reported to me the words of the khan,
murmuring at the monk. After this the monk was reconciled to me, and I
entreated him to aid me in acquiring the language, promising to help him to
the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures.
After the first week of fasting, the lady ceased from coming to the
oratory, and to give meat and drink, so that we had nothing but brown
bread, and paste boiled in melted snow or ice, which was exceedingly bad.
My companion was much grieved at this diet, on which I acquainted David,
the teacher of the khans eldest son, with our necessities, who made a
report to the khan, and we were then supplied, with wine, flour, and oil.
The Nestorians and Armenians eat no fish in Lent; but the monk had a chest
under the altar, with almonds, and raisins, and dried prunes, and other
fruits, on which he fed when alone.
About the middle of Lent, the goldsmiths son came from Caracarum, bringing
a silver cross made in the French fashion, with an image of Christ, as a
present for Bulgai, the chief secretary of the court; and the young man
informed Mangu, that the great work he had commanded to be made by his
father, was completed. In the neighbourhood of Caracarum, Mangu has a large
court, inclosed with a brick wall like our priories. Within that court is a
great palace, in which the khan holds feasts twice a-year, once in Easter,
and the other in summer; but the latter is the greater, as all the nobles
meet then at the court, when the khan distributes garments among them, and
displays all his magnificence. Beside the palace there are many great
buildings like our barns, in which the victuals and treasures belonging to
the khan are stored. Because it was indecent to have flaggons going about
the hall of the palace, as in a tavern, William, the goldsmith, constructed
a great silver tree, just without the middle entrance of the great hall, at
the root of which were four silver lions, having pipes discharging pure
cows milk. Four pipes were conveyed up the body of the tree to its top,
which spread out into four great boughs, hanging downwards; on each of
these boughs was a golden serpent, all their tails twining about the body
of the tree, and each of these formed a pipe, one discharging wine, a
second caracosmos, a third ball, or mead made of honey, and the fourth
teracina or drink made of rice; each particular drink having a vessel at
the foot of the tree to receive it. On the top, between the four pipes,
there stood an image of an angel with a trumpet. Under the tree there was a
vault, in which a man was hidden, and from him a pipe ascended to the
angel; and when the butler commands to sound the trumpet, the man below
blows strongly, and the trumpet emits a shrill sound. In a chamber without
the palace, the liquors are stored, and servants who are waiting, pour the
liquors each in its proper pipe, at the signal, when they are conveyed by
concealed pipes up the body of the tree, and discharged into, their
appropriate vessels, whence they are distributed by the under butlers to
the visitors. The tree is all ornamented with silver boughs, and leaves and
fruit all of silver. The palace is like a church, having a middle aisle
and two side ones, beyond two rows of pillars, and has three gates to the
south, and before the middle gate stands the silver tree. The khan sits at
the north wall, on a high place, that he may be seen of all, and there are
two flights of steps ascending to him, by one of which his cup-bearer goes
up, and comes down by the other. The middle space between the throne and
the silver tree is left vacant for the cup-bearers and the messengers who
bring presents; on the right side of the khan the men sit, and the women on
the left. One woman only sits beside him, but not so high as he.
About Passion Sunday, the khan went before with his small houses only,
leaving the great ones behind, and the monk and we followed. On the journey
we had to pass through a hilly country[7] where we encountered high winds,
extreme cold, and much snow. About midnight the khan sent to the monk and
us, requesting us to pray to God to mitigate the severity of the weather,
as the beasts in his train were in great jeopardy, being mostly with young,
and about to bring forth. Then the monk sent him incense, desiring him to
put it on the coals, as an offering to God: Whether he did this or no, I
know not, but the tempest ceased, which had lasted two days. On Palm Sunday
we were near Caracarum, and at dawn of day we blessed the willow boughs, on
which, as yet, there were no buds. About nine o'clock we entered the city
of Caracarum, carrying the cross aloft with the banner, and passing through
the street of the Saracens, in which the market is held, we proceeded to
the church, where the Nestorians met; us in procession. We found them
prepared to celebrate the mass, and they all communicated; but I declined
this, having already drank, and the sacrament should always be received
lasting.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 99 of 217
Words from 100504 to 101522
of 222093
