Text (translated from the 1573 Dutch 1st Add/1573 Dutch, 1573Latin 1st Add., 1573German1Add/1573 German, 1573 Latin, 1574 French 1st Add/1574 French, 1574 Latin, 1575 Latin, 1579 Latin, 1580 German, 1581 French, 1584 Latin, 1587 French, 1588 Spanish, 1592 Latin, 1595 Latin, 1598 French, 1598 Dutch, 1601 Latin, 1602 German, 1602 Spanish and 1606 English edition. First the 1606 English text is presented, and after that the text as it occurs in other editions;)
19.1. {1606E only{ENGLAND
{OR
19.2. The Isle of GREAT BRITAIN, as it stood around the time of the arrival of the Normans, described by <a note that this lettering is referred to in the text below> Nubiensis the Arab.
19.3. The second section of the seventh Climate.
19.4. In this second part of the seventh Climate we include a part of the (b) Ocean sea where (c) ENGLAND, which is a very large island, in form and appearance not much unlike the head of a (d) Stork, stands apart from the rest of the world. On this island, there are many (e) populous Cities, well inhabited, steep Hills, running Waters, and excellent plains. (f) Here it is always Winter. The mainland nearest to it is (g) Wady-shant, in the province of Flanders. The passage between this Island and the Continent is a little over (h) twelve miles <wide>. Among the cities of this isle which are on its very borders to the West, and in the entrance of its narrowest place, is the city of (i) SIHSETER, which is <located> at a distance of about twelve miles from the (k) sea.
19.5. From this city to the city of (l) GORHAM by the sea shore is <a distance of> sixty miles. The same, from the city of Sihseter to the utmost Western border of the island is <a distance of> (m) three hundred-eighty miles. From it <=sihseter> to the harbour of (n) DARTERMOUTH is <a distance of> eighty miles. Then, from there to (o) LANDS END, called Cornwallia is one hundred miles. From the city of Sihseter to the city of (p) SALESBURES over land, Northwards, is sixty miles. Similarly, from the city of Gorham to the liberties of the city of (q) HANTONA, which lies on a Creek that flows into the sea, is twenty-five miles.
19.6. From the East, the river (r) Wynseter flows into this creek. From (s) WYNSETER to Salesbures, Westwards, is forty miles. From Hantona to the city of SHORHAM is sixty miles. This city is near the sea. From there along the sea coast to the city of (u) HASTINGES is fifty miles. From there, following the shore Eastwards to the city of (w) DUBRIS is seventy miles. This city is at the head of a (x) passage which people cross from England to the main Continent on the other side. From the city of Dubris to the city of (y) LUNDRES, inland, is forty miles. This city lies at a big river which flows into the sea between the cities of Dubris and (z) GIARNMOUTH.
19.7. From the city of Giarnmouth to the city of (a) TARGHIN is ninety miles. This city of Targhin rises up inland at a distance of about ten miles. From the city of Targhin to the city of (b) AGRIMES on the sea coast is eighty miles. From the city of Giarnmouth just mentioned the sea bends suddenly Northwards, in the manner of a circle. And from the city of Agrimes just mentioned to the city of (c) EPHRADIK is eighty miles. This city is far from the Ocean sea close to the borders of the island of SCOTIA which is nevertheless joined to the isle of England.
19.8. From the city of Ephradik to the fall of the river (d) Wyska is one hundred and forty miles. (e) This WYSKA is <also> a fortification on that river, higher up into the country, about twelve miles from the sea. From the city of Agrimes just mentioned to the city of (f) NICOLA, upland, is about one hundred miles. A (g) river divides this city in the middle, and runs from there to the city of Agrimes and on its South side flows into the sea as we have said before. From Nicola, an inland city, to the city of Ephradik is likewise ninety miles. From there to the city of (h) DUNELMA is eighty miles Northwards, inland, and far from the sea.
19.9. Between the coast of the Wild <part of> Scotia to the coast of the isle of (i) IRELAND is two days sailing Westwards. From the coast of the isle of England to the island of (k) DANAS is only one day sailing. From the coast of Scotia Northwards to the island of (l) ROSLANDA is three days sailing. From the coast of the isle of Roslanda Eastwards to the isle of (m) ZANBAGA is twelve miles. The length of the isle of Roslanda is (n) four hundred miles. The breadth of it, where it is broadest, is only one hundred and fifty miles.
19.10. ANNOTATIONS by the translator on some details for the better help and direction of the Reader.
19.10(a) The Arab Geography, published in Rome in the year of our Lord 1592, written by Baptist Raymund at the expense and charge of the most illustrious Prince Ferdinand Medices, Grand Duke of Tuscany in Italy, is only and Abridgement of a larger work entitled <the empty space occurring here seems to indicate that Arabic text was planned here, but was never typeset. We will indicate more of these empty spaces by the symbols < > to alert the reader> Nazahtilmoshtak that is, The pleasant garden, as the author himself in his Preface to that work plainly indicates. This abbreviator, as he states himself at the beginning of the fourth section of the first Climate, was an African, born in Nubia. For there he says that at this Parallel there are two rivers called Nile of which one, which is commonly known by that name and for the sake of <making a> difference <between the two> called the Nile of Egypt, runs along our country (< > Ardiana) from South to North. On its banks are almost all the cities of Egypt and of the Island are built and situated. Through many passages in his work it is evident that he was a Muslim, that is, by religion a Mohammedan. He lived, as I understand, about five hundred years ago, just after the Normans came to England. For in the second section of the fourth climate he says that when he wrote his work, Roger was King of Sicily. But whether this Roger was Roger the father, son of Tanchred the Norman who drove the Saracens from there, or Roger the son, who in the year after Christ's incarnation 1103 took upon him the government of that kingdom, is uncertain, and, for all I know, not to be gathered from his words.
19.10(b) < > Albahrilmodtlim < > Bahrildtulimato, The dark or dangerous sea (for in Arabic the word means both <these things>). Basil the great Divine <scholar> calls it Mare magnum & navigantibus horrendum, The Great sea, hideous and fearful to sailors and seafaring men. In former times it was thought to be a miracle or strange wonder for any man to cross these seas in the dead of Winter, as Julius Firmicus (not the Astrologer but a different one, a Christian) tells us plainly in these words in his Tractate on the error<s> of profane religions, dedicated to the Emperors Constance and Constatius: Hyeme (quod nec factum est aliquando, nec fiet) tumentes & savientes undas calcastis Oceani Britannici, sub remis vestris. In English: In Winter, (which was never before known to have been done, nor ever shall be done after) by the strength of men and sturdy oars you cut through the raging waves of the British Ocean. So far from M<r>. Camdens Britannia, which you will also see in what follows <here>.
19.10(c) < > Alinkalaterra, as the Spaniards, Italians and French call it, that is, England, or the Angles' land (so named by Egbert, king of the West Saxons around the year of our Lord 800) is of the three the largest, most fertile and flourishing kingdoms of the whole isle. And therefore it is here by the author figuratively taken for Great Britain, the part for the whole. This is not a strange thing, or unusual in other <reports>. For Raymundus Marlianus, who compiled Alphabetical descriptions of Cities, Places, Mountains and Rivers to Cæsar's Commentaries puts down Angliam Insulam as well as Angliæ Insulam, <that is> The Isle England and The Isle of England, for Britannium, Britain. Such is the marvellous greatness of this island, that when it was first explored by the Romans, they thought it almost worthy of the name ALTERIUS ORBIS, Another world. And he who delivered the Panegyric oration to Constantius writes that Iulius Cæsar, who was the first to discover it for the Romans, ALIUM se ORBEM TERRARUM scripserit reperisse, tantæ magnitudinis arbitratus, ut non circumfusa Oceano, sed complexa Oceanum videretur, <that is:> he wrote to his friends that he had found Another World, supposing it to be of such size, that it could not possibly be surrounded on all sides by the sea, but, on the contrary, that it surrounded the sea. And because it is so far distant from the South, like Thule, it was by poets and other ancient writers entitled Ultima Britannia, Great Britain, the farthest part of the world Northwards.
(19.10d) < > Alnaama, in Avicen is a bird called Struthium by the Romans, or Ostrich, as Gerardus Cremonensis, his translator understands the word. And indeed, in the Southern part of the island, the sea intruding between Wales and Cornwall resembles the neck and head of such a bird, with its bill gaping wide open. Livy and Fabius Rusticus compared it Oblongæ scutulæ, vel biperunt, To a swinging stick or sword, <as> used by those who thresh hemp and flax, <or> to a twall or twibill, a kind of warlike weapon used for fighting by some Nations. And indeed, the whole island being triangular (triquerra they call it), but with unequal sides, (which kind of figure the Geometers call Scalenum) may as well as Sicily be named TRINACRIA. For from Tarvisium, a promontory or foreland in Scotland, now called Howburn, all along the shore to Belerium, the cape of Cornwall is <a distance of> 812 miles, from where it is 320 miles to Cantium, the promontory of Kent. From there again to Howburn in Scotland is <a distance of> 704 miles. By this account, the circumference of Britain is 1836 miles, which falls much short from Pliny's account, and is somewhat smaller than that of Cæsar.
19.11. (e) The first inhabitants that settled here shortly after the universal flood in the days of Noah came here from France, as the Proximity of place, Similarity in manners Government, Customs, Name and Language prove and demonstrate convincingly. And then they called themselves Cumro, as derived from Gomer, the son of Japhet (called Cimber by Historiographers) from whom descended the Celtæ or ancient Gauls, <who are> not only the inhabitants of France, but <more> generally of all of North-western Europe. What to think then of the story of Brute? <supposedly the source for the name Britain>. I think he aimed at honesty who first invented that fable, and wanted us to believe it.
19.12. But let Iohn Wheathamstead, once Abbot of St. Albans, a grave and learned man of good judgement speak for me: Totus iste processus, says he, de Bruto, poeticus est potius quam historicus, opiniatusque magis propter varias causas, quam realis, <that is> That whole discourse by Brutus is rather to be accounted for as a fable and fiction, forged in the poets brain, than as true history, indeed performed and enacted. Similarly, William of Newbury, a writer of good reputation and one that lived at the same time as Geoffrey of Monmouth accused him openly of forgery and challenged him with this.
19.13. Firstly, the inhabitants never knew what the name Britons meant until the Romans came, and then it was as harsh to the Cumbri as is the name of Welchmen is to these today. Certainly, various people living inland do not acknowledge it, nor do they understand what it should mean. Again, Ludovicus Vives, Hadrianus Iunius, Buchanan, Polydore Virgil, Bodine and other great men all jointly testify that there was never in the world any such man as this Brutus. Moreover, it is very plain and manifest that immediately after the confusion at Babel, in the infancy of the world, when the isles of the Gentiles were divided into their lands, as the <Holy> Script tells us, everyone separated themselves after his language, after their families in their nations, by reason of the differences and diversities of languages, and split from those they did not understand and could not converse with, into several companies and groups, and took the name and denomination of their father and prince of that family.
19.14. But that any nation was named or called after the name of the chief leader and commander of a colony <i.e. Brutus> I do not find confirmed by any good author. It is most certainly and without any controversy true that various countries have been called by different names by foreigners and strangers, which are not known or acknowledged by the nations themselves. Do you think that the ancient inhabitants of Spain ever knew what Hesperia meant? No one ever called that country by this name, except the Greeks only.
19.15. Albion and Britannia were undoubtedly names similarly barbarous to these Cumbri and never heard of before the arrival of the Romans. Any Colony whatever small and insignificant, will retain much of its indigenous language, either wholly uncorrupted, or else manifestly distinguishing itself by phrase and propriety of speech. Those few people from Flanders who (their country being flooded and drowned by the sea that broke into it) obtained from King Henry the first a part of Pembrokeshire in Wales which the Welsh call Rosse, lying between two rivers, not far from Milford harbour, are they not to this day distinguished from their neighbours around them by their speech and language? And because their speech much resembles English, is not their country commonly called by those who live near to them Little England beyond Wales?
19.16. You see something similar in the British Colony which eleven hundred years ago settled in that part of France which ever since that time is known by the name of Bretagne. The same for Scottish settlements in Ireland, and of those of the Irish in Scotland. If anyone says that there is a close resemblance between the Welsh language and Greek or Latin, I would say there is as much resemblance as between Welsh and Arabic, and then again that these are as much like each other as an apple is like an oyster.
19.17. Moreover, this arrival of Brute was an absolute conquest, the giants (if there ever were any of those) being utterly destroyed or chased out of the land, and therefore there is no reason to the contrary but <is it evident> that they have, for a period of seven hundred years, kept their language <free> from corruption, as they have done since that time as well, having continued since the arrival of the Romans for sixteen hundred years and more. The Romans and Greek, always so lavish in praise of themselves, would certainly not have forgotten to record the continued existence of such a famous colony. Could this affinity have been kept hidden from Cæsar? Don't you think they would have claimed kindred of the Romans? Constans and Constantius, Emperors of Rome were the first, as testified by Iulius Firmicus, that ever dared to venture over these seas.
19.18. How then did this Brutus, so many hundreds of years before, in such small ships, so lightly built, cross that sea? Æneas, they report, lost all but one of his many ships before he could reach home, in the Mediterranean sea, which is in no way so dangerous and troublesome. Can it be thought credible that a nation as warlike as these Trojans, having so recently obtained a footing and having settled in so excellent a country as Italy, would suddenly move to such a far off and unknown place? The Romans, waging such dangerous wars, and having such a need for men and brave commanders, would never have allowed them to leave the country in such troops. If <Britain> took its name from Brutus, it should undoubtedly have been called Brutania, not Britannia, as Cæsar calls it, nor Bretania, Pretanice, or Pretanis, as the Greek write it.
19.19. But hear what Cæsar has to say on this matter. Britania pars interior, he says, ab ijs incolitur, quos natos in insula ipsi memoria proditum dicunt. Maritima pars ab ijs, qui prædæ ac belli inferendi causa ex Belgio transierant. <that is:> The inner part of the isle is inhabited by such people as were bred and born there, as they themselves report from their ancestors. The sea coast is occupied by those who have come there from Flanders to rob and spoil the country. If this were all that was known at the time, and if Gildas Sapiens and the Venerable Bede knew nothing to the contrary, how did our author, so many hundreds of years afterwards, obtain the knowledge of this straightforward history where not only persons <but also> places and actions are so distinctly recorded with their various precise occurrences in time as if it had only happened yesterday? The historian is believed on his word for things <happening> in his own time or not long before, but for such things as happened many ages before he was born, he must bring <forth> his sources to justify his assertion.
19.20. If there had been any such tradition handed down commonly from generation to generation, it would without any question have been reported to Cæsar. Records can only be preserved through writing, and such knowledge would come to the Romans. But if it is a question if there ever was such a city as Troy, so famous through that learned poem of the famous Poet Homer, what will become of the stories of Æneas (which, if I am not mistaken, are doubted by the great Historiographer Titus Livius) and <what will become of the stories> of our Brutus, who was never patronaged by any great, learned, wise man? I know it has been exaggerated by some, and I think that this can be demonstrated. For your further satisfaction, I refer you to M<r>. Camden's Britannia, where this argument is discussed at great length, and most learnedly.
19.21. Only in defence of Gaulfridus, lest anyone should think that I have all the time spoken against his person, I conclude with this saying by a learned man from our times. Cardanus ait, he says, illius ætatis scriptores tantopere e mendiaco & fabulus fuisse delectatos, ut in contentionem venerat quis plura confingeret. <that is:> Cardane says That Historians and Writers of those times (between four hundred and five hundred years ago) were so delighted with fables and lies that they competed who could lie fastest, and win the whetstone. It was, as you see, the fault of the time and age in which he lived, not of the man.
19.22. The learned Orator Tully, in the second book of his Offices, as I remember, thus describes the virtues of a true Historiographer: Ne quid falsi scribere audeat; Ne quid veri non audeat; Ne quam in scribendo suspitionem gratiæ; Ne quam simultatis ostendat. <that is:> A good Historian may not dare to write anything that is false; He may not be afraid to write anything that is true; He must not show any partiality or favour in writing; He ought to be void of all affection and malice. Learned Antiquaries follow this good counsel of the grave philosopher. Sell us no more rubbish for pure metal. Refine what you read and write. Not every tale that is told is true. Some authors lack judgement, others honesty. Let no man be believed for being ancient.
19.23. For you know what Meander says: <Greek lettering:> Ouk ai piches poiusin ai loukai phronein, <that is> Grey hairs are not always a sign of wisdom and deep understanding. Old men sometimes doze, and will lie as well as others. One says Nescio quo casu illud evenit, ut falsa potius quam vera animum nostrum captant, <that is:> I cannot tell, he says, how it comes to pass but it is surely true that we are more easily carried away by lies and fables than by truth. And how hard it is to remove an opinion, once it has settled, however false and absurd, any one with ordinary experience knows.
19.24. (f) Yet Cæsar says that Britanniæ Loca sunt temperatiora, quam in Gallia, remissioribus frigoribus, <that is:> The Temperature of the air in England is better than in France, the cold being not so bitter. That is, as the author of the Panegyric oration addressed to Constantius the Emperor interprets it, In ea nec rigor est nimius hyemis, nec ardor æstatis <that is:> In it <=England> neither the cold of winter nor the heat of summer is very excessive. And Minutius Felix writes that Britannia sole deficitur, sed circumfluentis maris tepore recreatur, <that is> In England the Sun shines not very hot, but this is compensated by some steam or hot vapour which rises from the sea that surrounds this island on all sides.
19.25. (g) What place this may be I do not dare to assert as a truth. Perhaps he means Vitsam or as we call it Whitsan, a little town in the country of Boulogne, some five or six miles from Calais, situated upon the sea coast, built at the mouth of a small river, which he happens to call Shant. For in the Arabic language Wadi-shant means that much.
19.26. (h) This is false, and contradicted by himself. For in another place, if I am not wrong, he makes it more than twenty miles. For this reason I do not doubt that for a mile the author put down a parasang <=Greek-Persian distance measure>, which contains three English miles. And this is somewhat nearer the mark.
19.27. I take it that he means Cercester in Gloucestershire, which they now commonly call Ciceter. It is an ancient city called Corinium by Ptolemy, Durocornovium by Antonine, and by the Saxons Cyrenceaster, taking its name from the river Corinus or Churne, upon which it is situated. The course of its decayed walls are two miles around, testifying that once it was a very great city. Many ancient objects and monuments plainly show that in Roman times it was a place with a good reputation. Now it is no longer so populous or well inhabited.
19.28. From the Severn, I understand, which at every high tide brings salt water a great way into the country.
19.29. Warham is a sea town in Dorsetshire, strongly fortified by nature on the South and North <side> by two rivers, Ware and Trent (which they now call Piddle), on the East by the main sea, <but> only on the West lies it open to the attacker. In former times it was defended by a fair wall and a strong Castle. It was very populous, well inhabited, and graced with the Kings mint, for the refining and coining of his money, until the time of Henry the Second. Since those days, because of civil wars, casualties through fire, and the sanding of its harbour, it has much decayed, and lost much of its former beauty.
19.30. This distance is much too large, <regardless> whether he means Lands End in Cornwall or the farther part of Wales Westwards, which I am rather inclined to <think>. But note for once and for all, that no great importance need be attached to his accounts of miles and distances.
19.31. Dartmouth, a harbour town in Devonshire, situated on a little hill running out into the sea, at the mouth of the river Dart or Dert, as some write it. The harbour is defended by two strong castles or Block houses. It is very populous, well frequented by Merchants, and it has many good, tall ships belonging to it. King Iohn granted them certain privileges and <allowed them> to choose a Mayor as their supreme magistrate and governor in civil causes under the King.
19.32. This is what our seamen call it. The Arabs call it < > Tafi'lgarbi mina'lgiezira, The Western bound of the island. Let me note, by the way, that Master Camden in his Scotland confirms that Tarvus in Welsh means the end of a limb or of anything. Here in Arabic, as you see, it means the same. And in English we call it, if I am not mistaken, the edge of a hat, the Tarfe.
19.33. SALISBVRY or rather SARISBVRY <is> a sweet and pleasant city in the County of Wilt<shire>, situated in a plain where the rivers Anone and Nadder meet. It is not the ancient city of Sorbiodunum, mentioned by Antoninus in his Journal, but built on the ruins of it, as seems very probable. For this old town was often distressed by lack of water, and was finally spoiled and levelled to the ground by Swein the Dane, in the year of our Lord 1003 (although it was revived again a little later, around the time of William the First), <then> it was forsaken and abandoned by its citizens, who laid the foundations of this new city about 400 years later, at the time that Richard the First was King of England. That most stately Cathedral Church which they say has as many doors as there are months in a year, as many windows as the year has days, and as many pillars as there are hours in a year <=8760!> was at the same time begun by Richard, Bishop of Sarum, on an excellent plot of ground, which was commonly called MERIFIELD, and in forty years, with infinite costs and charges, was finished by him and others and brought to that perfection which it has at this very day.
19.34. SOUTH-HANTON (we now call it) built upon an arm of the sea between two rivers, is enclosed by a double ditch and a fair stone wall. To improve the defence of its harbour, Richard the Second had a very good castle built all of stone. It is a reasonably fine city very populous, rich, and well frequented by Merchants. Clausentum, the ancient city mentioned by Antoninus, was situated at one time in that field which at this day is called Saint Maries, was often spoiled and sacked by the Danes, and was finally, at the time of Edward the Third, utterly destroyed and burnt to the ground by the French. On its ruins the New city was built in a place much better and more commodious.
19.35. This river, perhaps, was anciently called WENT, and from that the city of Wentchester happily took its name, like the city of Colnchester in Essex took its name from the river Colne upon Which it stands.
19.36. WINCHESTER, <is> A very ancient city, well known to the Romans, and often mentioned by the old historians. Later, in the time of the Saxon Heptarchy, the West Saxon Kings ordinarily kept court here. Directly after the arrival of the Normans, or perhaps somewhat before <that>, the Records for the whole land were gathered and filed here. It was once or twice ravaged by casualty of fire, and often spoiled and sacked by unruly soldiers in times of civil wars. But Edward the Third, to repair these damages and hindrances to the citizens and townsmen, established the STAPLE here, a market for wool and cloth. At this time, it is very populous and well inhabited. The walls of this city are about a mile and a half in circumference. It has six fair gates, and very large Suburbs joined to each of them.
19.37. SHORHAM, an ancient Borough and harbour town in Sussex, first called, as Master Camden writes, CIMENSHORE after Cimen, the brother of Cissa, who together with Ælla, their father, landed a great multitude of their Saxons <here>. But in the course of time a great part of that city was engulfed by the sea, and the mouth of the harbour dried up by beaches and sand, so that from an excellent town it turned into a small village, at this day known by the name of OLD SHOREHAM, the deacy of which provided the occasion for building and naming of another <city> not far away from it, called NEW SHOREHAM.
19.38. Here did Athelstan, King of the West Saxons, who made a law that no man should be so foolhardy as to dare to mint money outside great towns privileged by the King for that purpose, establish a Mint for the coining of Silver and other metals, through which it became so famous that in the time of the Saxons it deserved to be called a city, and was then called HASTINGACEASTER. On a plain close to this town, that bloody battle between William, the bastard, Duke of Normandy, that cruel tyrant, and Harold the usurper, son of Earl Goodwin, was fought on the fourteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord 1066. It is one of the five harbours.
19.39. (w) DOVER before the arrival of the Saxons was called Dubris, as Antoninus testifies in his Journal, calling it Portus Dubris. Next to the sea, it was once fortified with a strong wall, of which parts are still to be seen today. Victred, King of Kent, erected an excellent church here, which he dedicated to Saint Martines. The castle stands on the top of a high cliff extending into the sea, and is considered to be the best stronghold of all England, and therefore by Matthew Paris called Clavis & repagulum Angliæ, <that is> The key and bar to England. Its <construction> was probably begun by the Romans, but not <as early as> in Cæsar's time, as some would like people to believe. On another rock or cliff, on the other side of the city, there was, as it seems, a lighthouse or watch tower (Pharus they call it) opposite and communicating with that which the Romans had built at Boulogne, beyond the straights in France, which after a <period of> decay was repaired by Charles the Great, and <which> at this day is called by the French Tour d'ordre, and by the English THE OLD MAN OF BULLEN.
19.40. (x) This is the famous passage (traiectus) from the Continent to this Island by which Cæsar and his Romans always entered and had access to this place. For until the time of Constans and Constantine, Emperors of Rome, it was thought almost impossible to come here from Rome with a navy through the main Ocean. And since that time it was, in the time of Christianity by proclamation forbidden, whoever it concerned, born within the allegiance of England, if he had the intention to go beyond the seas for <purposes of> religion or pilgrimage, and it would be unlawful for him to take a ship anywhere else but here. The Frenchmen commonly call it Le pas de Calais and the English The straights of Dover.
19.41. (y) London (we now call it), but by the French and <by> strangers it is commonly called Londres or Londra. But Tacitus, Ptolemey, Antonine and Ammianus Marcellinus agree to write it LONDINVM or LONGIDINVM, so named by the Britons, as is probable, after Llong ships, and Dinas, a City, similar to those places of Greece <called> Naupactus, Nausthatmo &c., denominating Ships. It is undoubtedly a very ancient city, as Ammianus Marcellinus tesifies, who twelve hundred year earlier called it Vetusdum oppidum, An ancient town. Yet Julius Cæsar never mentions it in all his writings. Cornelius Tacitus, who lived in the days of Nero, that bloody Emperor, was the first, if I am not mistaken, who ever wrote about it, calling it by the name of Oppidum, copiam negotiatorum & commeatu maxime celebre, A Town very famous both for traffic and great gatherings of Merchants, as also for victuals and all manner of provisions whatsoever.
19.42. He who made the Panegyric oration to Constantius the Emperor, and to Marcellinus who lived after him, could not give it a better name. Yet at this day it is An abridgement or brief view of the whole island, The imperial seat of the British Isles, Regnumque Angliæ Camera, The Chamber of English Kings. And therefore it may most justly assume the title of AUGUSTA, The royal city, which Ammianus gave it so many hundreds of years ago. And being situated on a small hill rise, in most wholesome and healthy air, in the middle of the richest fields of the land, all along the North side of the <river> Thames, one of the most excellent rivers of Europe, it is at this day as famous a Market, for all kinds of trade and traffic, as any in the whole world. The walls of this city, which are about three miles in circumference, are not ancient, although some write that Constantine the Great ordered them to be built at the arrival of Queen Helena.
19.43. Next to those numerous and large Suburbs outside the <city> walls, there is joined to it on the West the city of WESTMINSTER, and on the South <it is connected by> a fair stone bridge to the BOROVGH OF SOVTHWARKE, equal in size and multitude of people to many great and good cities, so that London in this respect may justly be called Tripolis d'Angliterra. This Bridge was first begun of timber, and later, in the time of King Iohn it was all made of stone. The foundation of that excellent Mynster or Cathedral Church of Saint Paul was first laid by Ethelbert, King of Kent.
19.44. (z) Yarmouth, as we now call it, an excellent sea town in the county of Norfolk, is situated at the mouth of the river Gerne (Garienis) from which it took its name. It was first called Giernemouth and then by corruption in the course of time Garmouth, <and then> Yarmouth. It is almost on all sides enclosed by water, on the West by the river just mentioned, <and> on the South and East by the main sea. Only on the North does it lie open to the main land, on which side it is defended against assaults from the enemy by a very strong wall which, together with the river, make it into a kind of square figure, one side <being> longer than the other.
19.45. On the East side there is a Block house, well furnished with great ordinance to defend the harbour and town against pirates and robbers. It has only one church, but that is a marvellous and great one, with a very high Spire that can be seen from far both on sea and on land.
19.45(a) What this town should be, and where it should stand, I cannot say for certain. The name in Arabic and the amount of distance between Yarmouth and Grynsby directly point at Drayton in Northamptonshire. But because it is too far from the sea, and was never larger than it is now, and because I often find him faulty in these accounts, I do not believe that he meant that place. The name comes very close to Torksey, which is situated upon the Trent, and, as Master Camden has said, although it is only a small town now, yet, in the past, it was much greater and more famous. For in the time of William the First, as appears from the Doomsday book, it had two hundred citizens and enjoyed many great and extended privileges.
19.45(b) Grimsby in Lincolnshire was once a great Market town, much frequented from all quarters, both by Sea and Land as long as it was accessible to receive Ships with any reasonable cargo. But as the harbour decayed in the course of time, so the glory of the town vanished little by little, and it resigned its trade to Kingston-upon-Hill, its next door neighbour, which since the time of Richard the Second flourished greatly. In his days, it began to grow from a small village with very few poor fishermen cottages to such greatness that of a sudden it was not much inferior to many pretty cities.
19.45(c) York is an excellent city situated on the river Ouse. In beauty, greatness and power it is inferior to no <city> in all of England, except London. Old writers call it EBORACUM, the Welsh <call it> Ebrauc or Effroc, the Saxons Eferwic, and therefore I think that our author wrote < > Efferwic, not Effradic, but I alter nothing. It is a very ancient city, often mentioned on Roman coins and in histories, from which it becomes clear that Legio sexta victrix, the sixth conquering legion, ordinarily resided in this city. The Emperors Severus and Constantius, father of Constantine the Great, as long as they resided on this island, kept their court here, and since they died in these parts, were buried in this city. This Constantius, being a very godly and religious Christian Prince, made it first a Bishops see, as our histories report, and Honorius, Bishop of Rome, later promoted it to the dignity of a Metropolitan <city> or Archbishopric, which, next to its large jurisdiction over England, also commanded all of Scotland.
19.45(d) Wiske it is called nowadays. It stands out in Richmondshire, not far from Wharleton Castle, as Christopher Saxton convinces me.
19.45(e) I find no mention at all of this place, either in Master Camden or anywhere else. Only in Saxton just mentioned on the river referred to, some two or three miles above Northalverton do I find Danby Wiske, but whether our author meant this <city> or not, I cannot tell. But I would be glad to hear from where the Lord of Vescy derived his name.
19.45(f) Lincoln, a large and fair city, situated now on the North side of the river Witham, called LINDUM by Ptolemey and Antonine, <called> Lindecollinum by Beda, and Nichol by the Normans, as Master Camden reports.
19.45(g) This is totally wrong. For this river, which has bent its course from its source Northward, as if it meant to unload itself at Grimesby, in spite of this does here alter that determination, and turning itself clearly the other way, finally empties into the sea at Boston, a place almost directly South of both Lincoln and Grimesby.
19.45(h) Durham, situated on top of a hill by the river Weare which runs almost around it, and for that reason called Dun-holme by the Saxons, that is, if we interpret this in English, The hill-isle, is no ancient city. For its first stone, as our histories report, was laid by the monks of Lindisfarne in the year of our Lord 995. Before that, we find no mention of it. William the First built its Castle on the top of the hill, which was since that time called the Bishops palace.
19.45(i) Ireland, the largest island in this sea excepting Britain. For it extends in length from North to South for about four hundred miles, and where it is at its narrowest, is still well over two hundred miles. But we have spoken about this elsewhere.
19.45(j) Denmarke (as we now call it) is mostly surrounded and washed by the salt sea, and therefore he is not entirely wrong when he calls it An Island.
19.45(k) Island, as reported by Solinus in the thirty fifth chapter of his Polyhistory (if I am not mistaken) is two days sailing from Cathnesse, the North cape of Scotland. His words are these: A Caledoniæ promontorio Thulen petentibus bidui navigatio est. <that is:> Those that travel between the Cape of Caledonia or Cathnesse and Thule sail for two days. Similarly in the same chapter, a bit further, he writes that Ab Orcadibus Thulem usque quinque dierum et noctium navigatio est, From the Orkney isles to Thule are five days and nights sailing. But Iceland is not that ancient Thule, as Master Camden in his Britannia proves at length. The position and distance fit Thule well, but in terms of quantity and size it is evident that he meant Iceland, which is much farther off the coast of Norway, or from the borders of Scotland, as we shall show more plainly later.
19.45(l) Apparently this is the way it has been written. But note here that various Arabic letters resemble each other much in form and shape, and are only distinguished from one another by dashes or dots written above or underneath them. That is why the Arabic word which I here call < > Zanbaga (supposing that only one character has been misplaced, which might be the fault of the printer) may either be < > Norbage or Norwega as the Danes call it, or < > Neriga or Nerigon of which Pliny speaks, which effectively is the same. And Pomponius Mela says that Thule Bergarum (this is what the learned Clarenceux writes, not Belgarum) litori apposita est, that is, Thule is off the Norwegian coast, opposite the city of Bergen. And it is totally out of the question, says the same author, that by Nerigon Pliny meant the same country that we now call Norway.
19.45(m) That our author did mean Iceland, if there were no other arguments, is sufficiently proved here. For I do not remember that any of the ancient writers ever attempted to define Thule according to its length and breadth. Only Ptolemey and those other authors have pointed at it, as we demonstrated before, and have told us where it is located in the Sea by its longitude and latitude, as also by its position with respect to Scotland. The Orkney islands and Bergen in Norway. Where he says that the length of Rosland is 400 miles, it is apparent, in my opinion, that he meant Iceland. For Ortelius on his Iceland <map> writes about it: Patet hæc insula in longitudine centum milliarium, ut vulgus scriptorum habet, <that is> The length of this island, as the common writers report, is one hundred German miles. That a common or ordinary Dutch mile contains four English or Italian miles is something so commonly known that it needs no proof. But having discussed, Gentle Reader, most of the particulars at various places, I will cease, lest I be too tedious in what does not need much more, to trouble you any longer}1606E only}.
<The text for this map in the 1573 DutchIAdd/1573 Dutch, 1573 Latin, 1573 German, 1574 French 1st Add/1574 French, 1574 Latin, 1575 Latin, 1579 Latin, 1580 German, 1581 French, 1584 Latin, 1587 French, 1588 Spanish, 1592 Latin, 1595 Latin, 1598 French, 1598 Dutch, 1601 Latin, 1602 German & 1602 Spanish edition is very different, and therefore given below separately>.
19.46. {1573D1Add/1573D{England.
19.47. That part of the island Albion that lies in the South, called Anglia by those using Latin, {1574F1Add/1574F, 1581F & 1598F only{Angleterre by those using French}1574F1Add/1574F, 1581F & 1598F only} {not in 1573L1Add, 1573L, 1574F1Add/1574F, 1574L, 1575L, 1581F, 1592L, 1595L & 1598F{and by almost all foreigners England}not in 1573L1Add, 1573L, 1574F1Add/1574F, 1574L, 1575L, 1581F, 1592L, 1595L & 1598F}, is not called like that by its own inhabitants, for the English divide it into two, calling the Eastern part situated at the Germanic sea England {1573L1Add, 1573L, 1573G, 1580G, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L & 1602G only{meaning as much as the land of the Angels}1573L1Add, 1573L, 1573G, 1580G, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L & 1602G only} (although the Saxons occupied it a long time ago), but the Western part, which is bordered by the rivers Dea and Sabrina, where they still use the old Britannic language, is by the English just mentioned called Wallia or Wales.
19.48. But those Britans call themselves {1573L1Add, 1573L, 1573G, 1574F1Add/1574F, 1574L, 1575L, 1580G, 1581F, 1587F, 1588S, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1602G & 1602S only{with an old word}1573L1Add, 1573L, 1573G, 1574F1Add/1574F, 1574L, 1575L, 1580G, 1581F, 1587F, 1588S, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1602G & 1602S only} Cambros and their country Cambria. And they call the English Saissons, {1573D, 1573L1Add, 1573L, 1573G, 1574F1Add/1574F, 1574L, 1575L, 1580G, 1581F, 1587F, 1588S, 1592L, 1595L, 1598F, 1601L, 1602G & 1602S only{as if saying Saxons,}1573D, 1573L1Add, 1573L, 1573G, 1574F1Add/1574F, 1574L, 1575L, 1580G, 1581F, 1587F, 1588S, 1592L, 1595L, 1598F, 1601L, 1602G & 1602S only} and their country Lhgria in their ancient language, unfamiliar as they are with the words England and English. This shows how large the difference is between the languages of the inhabitants of this island {1580G & 1602G only{although they are not situated far from each other}1580G & 1602G only}.
19.49. This entire England, or as we should say Lhgria and Cambria has a king of its own, to whom many Dukes, Counts and Princes of these lands are subjected. This is a country with a very temperate climate all through the year. Its air is thick, usually resulting in clouds, winds and rain, with few extremes in heat and cold. For although it is further North than Brabant, Flanders and other countries at this side of the sea, yet {1573G only{experience tells us that}1573G only} there is never in England as much frost in winter as there is here. There are many hills here, without any trees or fountains, which produce scanty vegetation but still enough to feed their sheep abundantly.
19.50. On these hills you find very white flocks of sheep which, either through characteristics of the air or the earth produce the softest and finest wool. And since there are no wolves here, nor any other predatory beasts, you can see flocks of sheep and other cattle which roam the mountains, valleys and common grounds by day and by night, or in the fields where, after the harvest has been taken in, according to an ancient custom, they are allowed to graze together.
19.51. Old tales say a lot about the sheep with the Golden Fleece, but it seems truly to be the case that the inhabitants of this island keep their riches in this respect, that they obtain much gold and silver through the sales of their merchants, which all remains there, since it is forbidden to take it out of the country, and elsewhere. It abounds with all kinds of cattle, except Asses, Mules, Camels and Elephants. Nowhere can bigger or more ferocious dogs be found.
19.52. Its fertile ground does not only yield corn and seeds, but also all kinds of timber except poplars and (as Cæsar states) beeches. But now you everywhere see beeches too.
The green Laurel nowhere thrives better than in these northern regions here. Also Rosemary grows so lushly that gardens are fenced with it. But vines do not grow here, because the grapes do not ripen, so that in the gardens it is planted for its shade, rather than produce. Nowhere do you see so many crows as you do here, which inflict much damage, because not only do they eat fruits, but they also pick seeds, so that they equip children with bows and arrows to chase them away, because shouts do not deter them.
19.53. The Ocean bordering this island abounds with all kinds of fish, amongst which much highly esteemed Pike, as also in large ponds, where they lose their stench and are fed with eals and other small fish and become miraculously fat.
19.54. When this fish is sold on the market, its belly will be opened with a knife, (which is remarkable), to show how fat it is, and if it is not sold, it will not die of that wound, and is sown together again with needle and thread, and instantly heals again in the pond through its slime. Nowhere are more delicious oysters to be found in abundance than here.
It also produces Gold, Silver, Copper and Iron, but only in small quantities. Lead and Tin of excellent quality is mined here and exported.
19.55. The people of this country are tall in stature, fair, and of a white countenance, mostly with grey eyes and like their language is not very different from that of the Italians, they also hardly differ in bodily appearance and in manners. Their clothes resemble those of the French. The women are white as snow, and of excellent stature, dressed daintily. Their food consist mostly of meat. They drink beer made of barley, which is a good and profitable drink, also very popular in the Netherlands, and imported there. Their lunch and dinner is taken merrily, pleasantly, courteously and abundantly.
19.56. In war they are courageous, very good marksmen, but impatient to wait long or to persist, and if they come to blows, they fight as bravely as they can, because the winner takes it all. They do not build castles or bulwarks, and those that were built in old times, and which are in dilapidating condition are not kept up with labour. They have splendid cities and many nice villages (1573L1Add, 1573L, 1573G, 1574L, 1575L, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L & 1602G only{and beautiful mayor houses}1573L1Add, 1573L, 1573G, 1574L, 1575L, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L & 1602G only}.
19.57. The metropolitan city is London, where the Kings Court is found, a Merchant City situated on the river Thames. A beautiful stone bridge on twenty pillars has been made across it, which on both sides has been built up with so many houses that it seems to be a street, rather than a bridge. {1573L1Add, 1573L, 1573G, 1574L, 1575L, 1580G, 1584L, 1588S, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1602G and 1602S only{So much about its climate and soil, as also about the nature and habits of these people, which we mostly took from the English Chronicle of Polydorus, who has written diligently about this island}1573L1Add, 1573L, 1573G, 1574L, 1575L, 1580G, 1588S, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1602G & 1602S only}. {1592L, 1595L, 1601L & 1602S only{There is a saying in England touching on many of the things we have said: Mons & fons, & pons, ecclesia, femina, lana which means: Mountains, fountains, bridges, Churches, Women and Wool}1592L, 1595L, 1601L & 1602S only}.
19.58. To this Kingdom also belongs the island named Ireland, and some other smaller islands, such as Wight, Menauia and Mona, where the Druids used to live, which the English call Anglesey, nowadays also called Sorlingen. The islands Guernsey and Jersey, although they seem to be nearer to France, are yet under the jurisdiction of England}1573D1Add/1573D, 1574F1Add/1574F, 1581F, 1584L, 1587F, 1598D & 1598F end here}.
19.59. {1573L1Add{This England and its history have been described with great diligence by Humfredus Lhuidus, whereas some other writers seem to be hallucinating when describing it}1573L1Add}. {1579L, not on 1580G & 1602G{Read the booklet Noruicus by Alexander Neuyllius}1579L, not in 1580G & 1602G}. {1573L1Add{My good friend {1602G only{and nephew}1602G only} Daniel Rogerius has written about the manners and laws of the ancient Britains, and he intends to publish about Britannia under Roman rule}1573L1Add} © Marcel van den Broecke ©.