ABSTRACT:
The Prester John myth of a rich and powerful Christian saviour-sovereign beyond the Muslim Middle East was enmeshed for centuries in the desire for a revival of the crusading cause. This article examines a later phase when the legend shifted to Africa, the significance of which has not been wholly appreciated, nor the ensuing contacts between continents fully elaborated. Embassies between Ethiopia and Christian potentates of the Mediterranean – in Aragon, Portugal, Italy and Burgundy – were perceived as exchanges with the Prester. Steps were taken by both sides in the hopes of building a powerful alliance against Islam. Europe gained new information on sub-Saharan Africa and found its racial paradigm challenged. Yet reality could not match all that was imaginatively imposed on Christian Ethiopia, as gradually reflected in historical narratives and literature from the late fifteenth century. The strength of the myth and its impact on global events is nonetheless extraordinary.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Kurt, Department of History, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America. Currently Dr. Kurt is investigating the many contacts between European and Ethiopian rulers in the 14th to 16th centuries aimed primarily at a Crusade against Muslim states in the Red Sea region. He hopes his examination of Muslim sources and Christian sources (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Ethiopian) will help him to create a narrative of the multi-faceted relations between peoples of different continents at a time of continuing discovery. In May of 2009 he delivered a paper titled “Mapping Prester John as African (1350-1600): the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese Perspectives,” at the International Medieval Congress at Western Michigan University. In October 2012 he gave a paper at the Southeast Regional Middle East and Islamic Studies Seminar titled “Between Holy War and Symbiosis: the Delicate Balance of Late Medieval Ethiopia, the Neighboring Sultanates, and Mamluk Egypt.” Both are being expanded as articles
SOURCE:
The search for Prester John, a projected crusade and the eroding prestige of Ethiopian kings, c.1200–c.1540
By Andrew Kurt
In Journal of Medieval History: Published online: 22 Apr 2013
Routledge
DOI:10.1080/03044181.2013.789978