In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Ruthenia and Livonia 147 ety of the man are an indication of his credibility. I have reported what I heard without alteration. I do not take responsibility for its truth, but my companions and I were convinced of it when we left his presence. 27 RUTHENIA 94. THE RUTHENIANS,326 whom Strabo appears to call Roxanians ,327 border on the Lithuanians. They are a rough and barbarous race, among whom Cardinal Isidore of Santa Sabina, whom I mentioned previously, secured a wealthy diocese.328 In this nation, there is said to be a huge city called Novgorod, which German merchants succeed in reaching only with much hardship. Rumor holds that it contains great wealth, an abundance of silver, and valuable pelts. Buyers and sellers use weighed, not coined, silver. There is a square stone in the middle of the marketplace. Whoever is able to climb this without being pulled down attains the rulership of the city. They fight over this with weapons, and they say that often several men have climbed it in a single day owing to the frequent outbreak of political strife within the population. 28 LIVONIA 95. NEXT IS Livonia, the most distant of the Christian countries, which borders on the Ruthenians to the north. It is often invaded by the Tartars, who have suffered bloody defeats there in our time. The Teutonic Brothers of St. Mary conquered this country and forced 326. A term which roughly corresponds to Ukrainians. 327. Strabo, Geography, 7.3.17 (actually Roxolanians). 328. Orthodox metropolitan of Kiev from 1436/37–42, Isidore became a Unionist and was raised to the rank of cardinal in 1439 and named Latin patriarch of Constantinople in 1452. See also paras. 19 and 43 on Isidore. ...

Share