Dear Ron and Barbara,
I did some work on the Prester John legend around Cologne while
trying to trace how preachers of the fifth crusade managed the legend
during the seige of Damietta. One in particular, Oliver scholasticus
of Cologne, picked up his knowledge of the cult as scholasticus of the
cathedral devoted to the recent and booming cult of the three Magi,
linked to Prester John. Would it be stretching it to posit that
Hildegard came across Prester John through Eckbert of Schonau's aid in
repressing the heretics of Cologne in 1163? She did address that
letter to the clergy of Cologne as well in 1163, which points to
something other than a completely casual relation. Also, Caesarius of
Heisterbach, though a later witness, points to thriving connections
between the cistercian network and the cathedral clergy and school in
Cologne, with many Cistercians recruited from former scholars and
canons of the city, who may have known the Prester John myth. The
real hoofwork on the letters has been done admirably by:
Bernard Hamilton, ³Prester John and the Three Kings of Cologne.²
Studies in Medieval History presented to RHC Davis. Ed. Henry
Mayr-Harting and R.I. Moore. London: Hambledon Press, 1985,
pp.177-91.
Hope this helps.
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