Ottfried Lieberknecht's passage from the `Letter of Prester John' about
gems being harvested from rivers is only slightly different from that in
the edition of the `Letter' by Friedrich Zarncke, `Der Priester
Iohannes. III. Text des Briefes', Abhandlungen der
philologisch-historischen Classe der koenigl-saechsischen Gesselschaft
der Wissenschaften VII (1879), 909-24, with citation at p.914. My memory
on spices was obviously faulty, but there is another passage in the
letter (at p.912 in Zarncke's edition) that could, if read hurriedly (or
half-remembered !) give the impression that herbs as well as gems were
meant:
Inter paganos per quandam provinciam nostram transit fluvius, qui
vocatur Ydonus. Fluvius iste de paradiso progrediens expandit sinus suos
per universam provinciam illam diversis meatibus, et ibi inveniuntur
naturales lapides, smaragdi, saphiri, carbunculi, topazii, crisoliti,
onichini, berilli, ametisti, sardii et plures preciosi lapides. Ibidem
nascitur herba, quae vocatur assidios, cuius radicem si quis super se
portaverit, spiritum immundum effugat et cogit cum dicere, quis sit et
unde sit et nomen eius.
none of the variant redactions given by Zarncke differs substantially
from this.
Andrew Jotischky
Dept of History
Lancaster University
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