It Has Many Civet-Cats, And
Produces, The Noblest Elephants In All The East.
Its rivers and shores
abound in a variety of excellent fish, and it has many excellent ports
fit for the largest ships.
_End of the Portuguese Asia_.
CHAPTER V.
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS IN EGYPT, SYRIA, ARABIA, PERSIA, AND INDIA. BY
LUDOVICO VERTHEMA, IN 1503[33].
INTRODUCTION.
This ancient itinerary into the east, at the commencement of the
sixteenth century, together with the subsequent chapter, containing the
peregrinations of Cesar Frederick, about 80 years later, form an
appropriate supplement to the Portuguese transactions in India, as
furnishing a great number of observations respecting the countries,
people, manners, customs, and commerce of the east at an early period.
We learn from the _Bibliotheque Universelle des Voyages_. I. 264, that
this itinerary was originally published in Italian at Venice, in 1520.
The version followed on the present occasion was republished in old
English, in 1811, in an appendix to a reprint of HAKLUYT'S EARLY
VOYAGES, TRAVELS, AND DISCOVERIES; from which we learn that it was
translated from _Latine into Englishe, by Richarde Eden_, and originally
published in 1576. In both these English versions, the author is named
_Lewes Vertomannus_; but we learn from the _Biol. Univ. des Voy._ that
his real name was _Ludovico Verthema_, which we have accordingly adopted
on the present occasion, in preference to the latinized denomination
used by Eden. Although, in the present version, we have strictly adhered
to the sense of that published by Eden 236 years ago, it has appeared
more useful, and more consonant to the plan of our work, to render the
antiquated language into modern English: Yet, as on similar occasions,
we leave the _Preface of the Author_ exactly in the language and
orthography of Eden, the original translator.
[Footnote 33: Hakluyt, iv. App. pp. 547 - 612. Ed. Lond. 1810-11.]
The itinerary is vaguely dated in the title as of the year 1503, but we
learn from the text, that Verthema set out upon the pilgrimage of Mecca
from Damascus in the beginning of April 1503, after having resided a
considerable time at Damascus to acquire the language, probably Arabic;
and he appears to have left India on his return to Europe, by way of the
Cape of Good Hope and Lisbon, in the end of 1508. From some
circumstances in the text, but which do not agree with the
commencement, it would appear that Verthema had been taken prisoner by
the Mamelukes, when fifteen years of age, and was admitted into that
celebrated military band at Cairo, after making profession of the
Mahometan religion. He went afterwards on pilgrimage to Mecca, from
Damascus in Syria, then under the dominion of the Mameluke Soldan of
Egypt, and contrived to escape or desert from Mecca. By some unexplained
means, he appears to have become the servant or slave of a Persian
merchant, though he calls himself his companion, and along with whom he
made various extensive peregrinations in India. At length he contrived,
when at Cananore, to desert again to the Portuguese, through whose means
he was enabled to return to Europe.
In this itinerary, as in all the ancient voyages and travels, the names
of persons, places, and things, are generally given in an extremely
vicious orthography, often almost utterly unintelligible, as taken down
orally, according to the vernacular modes of the respective writers,
without any intimate knowledge of the native language, or the employment
of any fixed general standard. To avoid the multiplication of notes, we
have endeavoured to supply this defect, by subjoining those names which
are now almost universally adopted by Europeans, founded upon a more
intimate acquaintance with the eastern languages. Thus the author, or
his translator Eden, constantly uses _Cayrus_ and _Alcayr_, for the
modern capital of Egypt, now known either by the Arabic denomination Al
Cahira, or the European designation Cairo, probably formed by the
Venetians from the Arabic. The names used in this itinerary have
probably been farther disguised and vitiated, by a prevalent fancy or
fashion of giving _latin_ terminations to all names of persons and
places in latin translations. Thus, even the author of this itinerary
has had his modern _Roman_ name, _Verthema_, latinized into
_Vertomannus_, and probably the _Cairo_, or _Cayro_ of the Italian
original, was corrupted by Eden into _Cayrus_, by way of giving it a
latin sound. Yet, while we have endeavoured to give, often
conjecturally, the better, or at least more intelligible and now
customary names, it seemed proper to retain those of the original
translation, which we believe may be found useful to our readers, as a
kind of _geographical glossary_ of middle-age terms.
Of _Verthema_ or _Vertomannus_, we only know, from the title of the
translation of his work by Eden, that he was a _gentleman of Rome;_ and
we learn, at the close of his itinerary, that he was knighted by the
Portuguese viceroy of India, and that his patent of knighthood was
confirmed at Lisbon, by the king of Portugal. The full title of this
journal or itinerary, as given by the original translator, is as
follows; by which, and the preface of the author, both left unaltered,
the language and orthography of England towards the end of the sixteenth
century, or in 1576, when Eden published his translation, will be
sufficiently illustrated. - Ed.
THE NAUIGATION AND VYAGES
OF
LEWES VERTOMANNUS,
GENTLEMAN OF THE CITIE OF ROME,
TO THE
REGIONS OF ARABIA, EGYPTE, PERSIA, SYRIA, ETHIOPIA
AND EAST INDIA,
BOTH WITHIN AND WITHOUT THE RYUER OF GANGES, ETC.
IN THE YEERE OF OUR LORDE 1503.
CONTEYNING
MANY NOTABLE AND STRAUNGE THYNGES,
BOTH HYSTORICALL AND NATURALL
TRANSLATED OUT OF LATINE INTO ENGLYSHE,
BY RICHARDE EDEN.
IN THE YEERE OF OUR LORDE 1576.
THE PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR.
There haue been many before me, who, to know the miracles of the worlde,
haue with diligent studie read dyuers authours which haue written of
such thynges. But other giuing more credit to the lyuely voyce, haue
been more desirous to know the same, by relation of such as haue
traueyled in those countreys, and seene such thinges whereof they make
relation, for that in many bookes, geathered of vncertaine aucthoritie,
are myxt false thinges with true.
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