A.D. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1253. 

 The length of tract of land stretching from the river of Tanais to the 

 Comania. }^]^g of Maeotis, and so along as farre as Danubius, the 

 countrey of Alania. And the same land continueth in 

 length from Danubius unto Tanais (which divideth 

 Asia from Europe) for the space of two moneths 

 journey, albeit a man should ride poste as fast as the 

 Tartars use to ride : and it was all over inhabited by 

 the Comanians, called Capthac : yea and beyond Tanais, 

 as farre as the river of Edil or Volga : the space be- 

 tweene the two which rivers is a great and long 

 Russia. journey to bee travailed in ten dayes. To the North 



of the same province lieth Russia, which is full of 

 wood in all places, and stretcheth from Polonia and 

 Hungaria, even to the river of Tanais : and it hath 

 bene wasted all over by the Tartars, and as yet is 

 daily wasted by them. 



Of our afflictions v^hich we sustained : and of 

 the Comanians maner of buriall. Chap. 15. 



Prussia. ^ I ^Hey preferre the Saracens before the Russians, 



A because they are Christians, and when they are 

 able to give them no more golde nor silver, they drive 

 them and their children like flockes of sheepe into the 

 wildernes, constraining them to keepe their cattell there. 

 Beyond Russia lieth the countrey of Prussia, which the 

 Dutch knights of the order of Saint Maries hospitall of 

 Jerusalem have of late wholly conquered and subdued. 

 And in very deede they might easily winne Russia, if 

 they would put to their helping hand. For if the 

 Tartars should but once know, that the great Priest, 

 that is to say, the Pope did cause the ensigne of the 

 crosse to bee displaied against them, they would flee 

 all into their desert and soHtarie places. We therefore 

 went on towards the East, seeing nothing but heaven 

 and earth, and sometimes the sea on our right hand, 

 called the Sea of Tanais, and the sepulchres of the 

 Comanians, which appeared unto us two leagues off, 

 in which places they were wont to burie their kinred 



256 



