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.

The Letter of Prester John

No more of the tale is recorded until about 1165 when copies of the Letter of Prester John started spreading throughout Europe. An epistolary wonder tale with parallels that suggest its author knew the Romance of Alexander and the Acts of St. Thomas, the Letter was supposedly written to the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus (1143-1180) by Prester John, descendant of one of the Three Magi and King of India. The many marvels of richness and magic it contained captured the imagination of Europeans, and it was translated into numerous languages including Hebrew. It circulated in ever more embellished form for centuries in manuscript, a hundred examples of which still exist. The invention of printing carried on the letter's popularity in printed form; it was still current in popular culture during the period of European exploration. Part of the essence of the letter was that a lost kingdom of Nestorian Christians still existed in the vastnesses of Central Asia.

Related Topics:
1165 - Romance of Alexander - Acts of St. Thomas - Byzantine Emperor - Manuel I Comnenus - 1143 - 1180 - Three Magi - Printing - Popular culture - European exploration

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The reports were so far believed that Pope Alexander III sent a letter to Prester John via his emissary Phillip, his physician, on September 27, 1177. Of Phillip, nothing more is recorded, but it is most probable he did not return with word from Prester John. The Letter continued to circulate, accruing more embellishments with each copy.

Related Topics:
Pope Alexander III - September 27 - 1177

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In modern times textual analysis of the letter's variant Hebrew versions have suggested an origin among Jews of Northern Italy or Languedoc: several Italian words remained in the Hebrew texts http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~barilm/presjohn.html. At any rate, the Letters author was most likely a Westerner, though his or her purpose remains unclear.

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