The Prester Quest

by NicholasJubber (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2006

  $3.26

  In 1177, Pope Alexander III wrote a letter to the legendary Priest-King of the Indies, Prester John. As his emissary he chose his physician Master Philip. No one knew where the elusive monarch's kingdom lay (or whether he even existed), but Master Philip was undeterred and set out from Rome...and was never heard of again. Centuries later Nick Jubber found a copy of the Pope's letter and conceived a plan: to complete Master Philip's mission and deliver the letter, albeit eight hundred and twenty four years late. Crammed full of arcane history and learned trivia, both ancient and modern, The Prester Quest is the author's colourful account of a remarkable journey that began in Italy, encompassed the Middle East and ended in Ethiopia, at the subterranean tomb of a medieval king. Combining a young man's enthusiasm with an historian's understanding of time and place and a traveller's eye for the people and places he meets on the way, it's an ebullient, extremely readable (and somewhat eccentric) account of an extraordinary adventure.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2005

  $3.26

  In 1177, Pope Alexander III - keen to secure a Christian ally from the other side of the Dar al-Islam whose reputed wealth would prove invaluable to the Crusades - wrote a letter to the elusive King of the Indies, otherwise known as Prester John. The person the Pope personally selected to deliver this letter into the hand of Prester John was a physician called Master Philip. He was never heard of again.. Eight hundred and twenty-four years later, armed with a copy of Pope Alexander's letter and with a redoubtable travelling companion from his university days, Nick Jubber set out from Venice with the express intention of somewhat belatedly completing Master Philip's mission. Over the next four months he would travel by bus, train, tractor and horse-drawn cart around the Eastern Mediterranean, through the Middle East and North Africa before homing in on Ethiopia and the closely-guarded tomb of a medieval king who legend links with the mythical, mystical figure of Prester John. From insights into medieval history and mysticism, through observations on politics and religious tensions, to accounts of eccentric customs (ranging from the different names for the Middle Eastern water pipe to the unusual nature of Ethiopian time-keeping) and the day-to-day hurdles encountered while travelling through strange, sometimes, alien lands, THE PRESTER QUEST is an ebullient, eccentric, erudite, enlightening and extremely readable account of an extraordinary journey