Chapter JOHN o' Groat of J by Brewer's Readers Handbook

(Before 1241 a letter was addres sed by Prester John to Manuel Comnenus, emperor of Constantinople. It is to be found in the Chronicle of Albericus Trium Fontium, who gives the date as 1165.)

N.B.—In Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, xvii., Prester John is called Senapus king of Ethiopia. He was blind. Though the richest monarch of the world, he pined “in plenty with endless famine,” because harpies carried off his food whenever the table was spread; but this plague was to cease “when a stranger came to his kingdom on a flying horse.” Astolpho came on a flying griffin, and with his magic horn chased the harpies into Cocy’tus.

John (Prince), son of Henry II., introduced by sir W. Scott in The Betrothed (1825).

John (Prince), brother of Richard I., introduced by sir W. Scott in The Talisman (1825).

John (Sir). (See Luke, p. 639.)—Foote: The Lame Lover (1770).

John and the abbot of Canterbury. King John, being jealous of the state kept by the abbot of Canterbury, declared he should be put to death unless he answered these three questions: (1) “How much am I worth?” (2) “How long would it take me to ride round the world?” and (3) “What are my thoughts?” The king gave the abbot three weeks for his reply. A shepherd undertook to disguise himself as the abbot, and to answer the questions. To the first he said, “The king’s worth is twenty-nine pence, for the Saviour Himself was sold for thirty pence, and his majesty is mayhap a penny worse than He.” To the second question he answered, “If you rise with the sun and ride with the sun, you will get round the world in twenty-four hours.” To the third question he replied, “Your majesty thinks me to be the abbot, but I am only his servant.”—Percy: Reliques, II. iii. 6.

There is doubt whether the age of these questions is as great as is claimed, or certainly the true shape of the earth must have been generally known before it is usually supposed to have been.

In Sacchetti’s Fourth Novella is a similar story: The miller answers the questions of Messer Bernabo lord of Milan, who imagined that he was questioning the abbot.

In Eulenspiegel (the fifteenth section) is a disputation between Eulenspiegel and the rector of Prague. Eulenspiegel replies to the questions with similar answers to the “shepherd.” Thus, being asked, “How far is it to heaven?” Owlglasse replies, “Not far; for a prayer whispered ever so low can be heard there instantly.” Being asked, “How large is heaven?” he replied, “Twelve thousand leagues by ten thousand; and if you doubt my word, go and measure it yourself.” Being asked, “How many days have passed since the creation of Adam?” he replied, “Only seven; for when seven days are passed they begin again.”

In another section, called The Miller and the Magistrate, the same questions and answers occur as in king John and the abbot, but the last answer is varied thus: “You believe that I am your curate, but I am only your miller.”

Another curious story of hard questions is related of Aberdeen, only in this case the conversation is in dumbshow, which gives rise to a rich vein of humour, because of the ambiguity. A Spanish ambassador, who is also a professor of “signs,” is informed by the Scottish king that there is a brother professor in the north of his kingdom. The professor must see him. The king requests the civic authorities to make the best of the situation. A one-eyed butcher agrees to meet the professor. The don holds up one finger; the butcher, two; the Spaniard holds up three of his fingers; the other, his clenched fist; the professor displays an orange; the butcher, a dry crust. The professor is delighted: When he had replied there was one God, the other had replied that there were Father and Son; when he had declared faith in the Trinity, the other had as strongly asserted the Unity; when he had said the earth was as round as an orange, the other had replied that bread was the staff of life. The butcher was no less pleased with the way in which he had met the insulting remarks of the Spaniard: When the latter had held up one finger, thereby hinting that the butcher had but one eye, he had replied that probably he could see a thing as clearly with that one as the professor with his two; when the don gently intimated that they had but three eyes between