Did You Know?

The Legend of Prester John
The title cartouche (a cartouche is any image on a map) for the circa 1649 map by Mathew Merian at left shows African natives bathed in rays of sunlight. More importantly, the title cartouche also refers to the legend of Prester John. While the words are written in latin, Presbiter Ioannis in the title, refers to Prester (or Presbyter, or Priestly) John.

In the late 12th century tales circulated among the educated elite of a letter written by a mysterious European king. This king ruled over a vast kingdom in the east. It was rumored to have streets of gold, a fountain of youth, and was inhabited by many strange and wondrous beasts such as the unicorn. In addition to being a king, the ruler of this land was also a Christian priest, which only added to the mystery. At first Europeans thought this unknown kingdom was in India. However they searched the vast sub continent of India for some clues to this wondrous land without finding any trace of this mysterious land. Over the years many letters said to be from Prester John appeared. About 300 years after the letter of Prester John first appeared, Europeans decided that the kingdom referred to in the letters was in Ethiopia and not India.

The search for this wondrous land of Prester John sparked an age of exploration for Europeans, first in India and then in Africa. AfricaMaps has hundreds of antique maps of Africa, each with it's own story to tell. Visit our map gallery and find out more.

You can find more information on this interesting legend and read one of the (many) letters attributed to Prester John at the Museum of Hoaxes .