In a message dated 97-10-25 07:57:26 EDT, you write:
> My memory may be rusty, but I seem to recall that the `Letter of Prester
> >John', a curious document purporting to originate from a Christian
> >empire in India, that circulated in Europe in the twelfth century
> >(1160s-70s?) mentions spices and gems lying on the bed of one of the
> >rivers of Paradise, which passes through the Prester's lands.
>
>
1) I presume the implication is that spices are costly, perhaps as costly as
gems.
2) maybe the spices inspired, or were taken to support, a belief that the
document came from India. But they might argue the opposite, that the
document came from a place where spices were a great rarity. First. spices
would be less costly in India than in places where they had to be imported
(from India). So a person who thought spices were so costly (because of the
transportation costs) that they could actually be compared to gems might not
be living in India. Second, a writer who speaks of spices at the bottom of a
river might not be very familiar with spices (which would deteriorate if
stored in this manner). The Bible speaks of spices and the smell of spices
in many passages, but never, apparently, at the bottom of a river.
3) I believe there was a medieval tradition that the garden of Eden was in
India. This is brought up to explain, for example, why Hieronymus Bosch has
an elephant among the animals in his portrayal of the garden of Eden. Bosch,
of course, knew very little about the flora and fauna of India, and invents
fantastic or "exotic" examples to fill the gap. I'm wondering if the author
of the manuscript could have known as little about the spices of India as
Bosch knew about the flora and fauna.
pat sloane
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