IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Marco Polo : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
19 0. ESCEQE • IVORY & CAMELS FLESH IN MOGEDAXO r'MARCO POLO
z avail; and so these Christians of this island do the enchantments at their will both secretly and openly when they have need. Moreover I will tell you about them something of the enchantments which they do. For you may know quite truly that these
charmers do many strange things and great part of those that they wish. For if any pirates were to cause any loss to the island, they detain them with their enchantments so that their ships can never freely leave this island till that which was taken has been wholly replaced. For I tell you that if a ship may be going with sails set and have a good wind and
z fair enough on her way, they will make another contrary wind come to her [9ib]
and will make her turn back to the island with these enchantments. And again I tell FB you that they make that wind blow which they wish. And they make the sea quiet FB when they wish, and when they wish they make a great storm and great wind on the VB sea. They know how to make many other most strange & wonderful enchantments
v which it is not good to tell in this our book, because they are enchantments which bring about things which when men heard them they would wonder much; and so we will leave them then and will tell you nothing more about them. There is nothing else in this island which does to mention and so we will leave it and will
z tell you of another thing farther in front and will tell you of the island of Mogedaxo.
191 • ERE HE TELLS OF THE ISLAND OF MOGEDAXO. Mogedaxo is an island
R which is toward midday and is about i000 miles distant sailing toward
midday and the south-west wind after departing from the island of Scotra. VA Z FA P And • the people of it they are Saracens who worship the law of the abominable Mahomet.
L P R And. they have not a king, but they have four' esceqe; this means to say in our tongue four z elder men, and these four elders have the rule of all this island' and govern it. And
you may know that this island is one of the most noble and of the greatest and
v most rich that are in all this world, for I tell you that one says that it is in circuit z about 40003 miles round. They live indeed by trade and by crafts. Moreover I tell z you quite truly that more elephants are bred in this island than in any other P FB vB provinces in the world, • & in Çanghibar also there are many of them; • and they are carried to different places. And you may know that so many elephants tusks are not sold nor bought in all the rest of the world as is done in this island and that of Çanghibar, R and the number is an incredible thing. And you may know that nothing is eaten in this vL z R island but elephants and camels flesh; and yet they eat of many other kinds of flesh, • but of camels above the others. Moreover I tell you that so great quantity of them are
1 V: quatro houer sie perhaps with some misunderstanding of esceqe which is otherwise omitted. TA: iiij° veschovi VL: quatro saracini (S: moros) See PN.
2 VB: ano liij chadi chome nui dizemo vescoui i quali iiij chadi signoria questa ixolla
3 Z, V, R: 3000 FB: " four score"
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