medieval history

Prester John 10: The End is not the End

It's the end of the Prester John story, or at least the end for now. The priest-king pops up in Tibet and dives into the world of fiction and comics, and the Dalai Lama makes an appearance.

Prester John 9: The End Part One

What happens to a mythical priest-king when you get too close to him? Does he just disappear?

Prester John 8: Ambassador Mateus and his Many Doubters

In the early years of the 16th-century, Ethiopia's regent, Eleni, sent an ambassador to Portugal to propose an alliance. She sent a man named Mateus. Unfortunately for Mateus, almost nobody believed him.

Prester John 7: The Way from Lisbon

It's part 7 of the Prester John story, on the trip to Prester John's Ethiopia, and on the Portuguese crown's pursuit of the priest-king and how that story was connected to the developing ones of exploration and colonialism.

Prester John 6: The Ethiopian Prester John

This is the first of two episodes on the next jump in the Prester John narrative, as the story pivots to Ethiopia and as Ethiopian envoys and pilgrims travel in 15th-century Italy and Spain.

Prester John 2.5: Papal Correspondence

A shorter episode, on a letter from Pope Alexander III to Prester John.

Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 6: There and Back Again

The Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo story reaches its conclusion, and so does that of Timur aka Tamerlane.

Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo 5: A Season of Feasting at Samarkand

Our travellers from early 15th century Spain arrive at the outskirts of Samarkand where they meet and feast with their host Timur.

Sir John Mandeville 5: Mongols, Mountains, and Myths

Finishing up with Mandeville's travels, we visit the palace of the Mongol khan, the fortress paradise of the Old Man of the Mountain, and a land that never sees the sun.