In the 12th century, he supposedly sent a friendly letter to the Byzantine Emperor and the King of France in which he described his very unusual realm. Who was he?

Baloo55th

Prester John. (Means John the Priest.) Suposedly the priest-king of a Christian empire somewhere in the East. Or in northern Africa, in some versions. Load of rhubarb, but got prople quite wound up for a time. Apr 23 05, 5:12 PM

peasypod

Yeah, for a long time. Vasco de Gama carried a letter to Prester John. The story was plausible (although may contain traces of rhubabrb) since there were pockets of Nestorian Christians in the East, as well as the Kingdom of Armenia, the Christian Kingdom of Abassynia in Africa. There was hope for a time that the Mongols would convert to Christianity (the mother-in-law of Kublai Khan was a Nestorian from memory - that's probably what put him off the idea). Apr 23 05, 5:29 PM

lanfranco

Felicitations, Baloo! This is one of the more colorful and weirder legends of the Middle Ages. The "Letter from Prester John" described a Christian, but distant and exotic, eastern land filled with strange creatures, such as "horned men with one eye in front and three or four in back." Also griffins and tiger-birds who could "lift and kill with ease an armored man together with his horse." No one knows who wrote this letter, which is a melange of old myths and saints' stories. (There are scores of manuscript versions, in several languages.) However, the legend of Prester John inspired excitement during the Crusades and later encouraged sea-voyages that sought passages to eastern lands. http://www.saradouglass.com/prestjohn.html Apr 23 05, 5:30 PM

lanfranco

Good assist, peasy, but I'm still blutterbunged by your Nobel question. Apr 23 05, 5:33 PM

peasypod

Quite an animate escapade abounds within Umberto Eco's book 'Baudolino', freaky, but ever so amusing... Apr 23 05, 5:46 PM

lanfranco

Oh, "Baudolino" is definitely worth a read, especially if you're interested in the semiotics of yarn-spinning (freaky or otherwise). Apr 23 05, 5:54 PM

gmackematix

I asked about Prester John quite recently. If only I could find the dratted question number. Apr 23 05, 6:01 PM

lanfranco

Must have been before my time, Gmack. But I'm curious about what you asked. Apr 23 05, 6:06 PM