Prester John

The legend of Prester John (also Presbyter John), popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, told of a mythical Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Reportedly a descendant of one of the Three Magi, Prester John was said to be a generous ruler and a virtuous man, with a realm full of riches and strange creatures, in which the Patriarch of St. Thomas resided. His kingdom was first imagined to be India, but later accounts shifted it to Central Asia and Ethiopia.

Origin of the legend

A kernel of the myth may have been drawn from Eusebius' quotes from Irenaeus on the shadowy early Christian figure John the Presbyter of Syria, supposedly the author of two of the Epistles of John (see the 5th-century Decretum Gelasianum). The martyr bishop Papias had been Irenaeus' teacher; Papias in turn had received his apostolic tradition from John the Presbyter. Little links this figure to the Prester John legend beyond the name, however.

Related Topics:
Eusebius - Irenaeus - John the Presbyter - Syria - Epistles of John - Decretum Gelasianum - Papias

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Also worth noting is the effect the St. Thomas cycle had on the myth.

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The legend began in earnest in the early 12th century with two reports of visits of an archbishop of India to Constantinople and of a Patriarch of India to Rome at the time of Pope Calixtus II (1119-1124). These visits apparently from the St. Thomas Christians of India cannot be confirmed, evidence of both being secondhand reports.

Related Topics:
12th century - Archbishop - Constantinople - Rome - Pope Calixtus II - 1119 - 1124 - St. Thomas Christians

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Later, Otto of Freising reports in his Chronicon of 1145 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/otto-prester.html that in 1144, he had met, in the presence of pope Eugene II in Viterbo, a certain Hugh, bishop of Jabala, an emissary of Raymond of Antioch who was seeking Western aid against the Saracens. Hugh told him that Prester John, a Nestorian Christian who served in the dual position of priest and king had defeated the brother monarchs of Media and Persia, the Samiardi, in a great battle "not many years ago" and had regained Ecbatana. After this battle, Prester John allegedly set out for Jerusalem to rescue the Holy Land, but the swollen waters of the Tigris compelled him to return to his own country. His fabulous wealth was demonstrated by his emerald scepter; his holiness by his descent from the Three Magi. During the Second Crusade, there was hope that Prester John would come to the aid of the holy cities and help recapture Edessa from the Muslims, and it is possible Otto recorded the tale to prevent complacency in the Crusade's European backers; according to his account no help could be expected from the powerful Eastern king.

Related Topics:
Otto of Freising - 1145 - 1144 - Eugene II - Viterbo - Hugh - Jabala - Raymond of Antioch - Nestorian - Media and Persia - Ecbatana - Jerusalem - Tigris - Scepter - Three Magi - Second Crusade - Edessa - Muslim

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Otto's story appears to be a muddled version of real events. In 1141, the Kara-Khitan Khanate under Yelu Dashi defeated the Seljuk Turks near Samarkand. The Seljuks ruled Persia at the time, and were the most powerful force in the Muslim world. The defeat at Samarkand damaged their power substantially, and encouraged the Crusaders. The Kara-Khitan were not Christians, however, and there is no reason to suppose Yelu Dashi was ever called Prester John.

Related Topics:
1141 - Kara-Khitan Khanate - Yelu Dashi - Seljuk Turks - Samarkand

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The "Nestorians" often reported by medieval travellers were not actually followers of Nestorius, but members of the Assyrian Church of the East.

Related Topics:
Nestorius - Assyrian Church of the East

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