The Mysterious Letter: The Epistle of Prester John
Image: Manuel I Komnenos Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_I_Komnenos The following chapter investigates why the original Letter of Prester John gained so much popularity across the Latin Christendom. The extract belongs to Unit V of my ongoing book, The Enchanting Encounter with the East. I'm currently working on Unit VI, the last section which will include five chapters: a general introduction about medieval journeys to the Far East and Inner Asia, John of Plano Carpini, William of Rubruck, John of Montecorvino and the bottom line. Sorry for the long interruption in my updates. Here's a new extract: Twenty years later, long after the dust of the Second Crusade disaster settled, a bizarre missive was circulating with lightning speed all over the Latin West. Directed to the leading European royal houses, it somehow skipped the most important of all: the Curia Romana. This letter of introduction was penned by the paramount emperor of ...