Prester John's Kingdom

I have become obsessed with the idea of Prester John and his kingdom's influence upon history. Between the 12th and 17th Centuries many believed Prester John, a.k.a. Presbyter Johannes, lived in a mythical kingdom and reigned as a Christian monarch even further east than Persia. Prester John is a character that has influenced scholars throughout the ages, spurned exploration, missionaries, and treasure hunters, east of Europe. I did not know about the concept of Prester John until I read the book Baudolino by Umberto Eco. However, the Prester John idea has popped up here and there since I "discovered" him via Eco.

Prester John was a descendant of one of the Magi, and his kingdom was a Nestorian Christian stronghold amongst Muslim nations. Additionally his extremely wealthy kingdom held the Fountain of Youth, and was populated by strange creatures, including the chimeras, manticores, skiapods, cynocephali, blemmyae. Western Europe learned of Prester John and his kingdom through a famous letter that made its way around Europe in the Middle Ages.

The famous letter made its way across Europe in around 1165, and described a kingdom with unbelievable treasure, and some of the most sacred Christian relics under its auspices: in short, Prester John's kingdom was a veritable utopia. The famous letter was addressed to several rulers, including Frederick Barbarossa.

In the novel, Baudolino, the protagonist, Baudolino is one the greatest liars that ever lived (besides the author, Eco.) He believed his lies were necessary to protect and promote his adoptive father, the Emperor Barbarossa. Lies he created in the book influenced the outcome of real history. In the novel, it is Baudolino who forges the letter from Prester John and addresses it to Barbarossa. Subsequently Baudolino and his entourage are sent to find Prester John's kingdom.

Outside of Baudolino, the non-fiction Christian world of the middle ages also sought Prester John's kingdom. Any ruler who could form an alliance with Prester John would certainly be the most powerful ruler in Western Europe. Explorers were sent to find Prester John's kingdom, resulting in a better understanding of our world, improved mappaemundi. It was also recognized that if Prester John could have a powerful and rich kingdom in the midst of non-Christian nations, missionaries could establish Christian communities throughout the world. Eventually when Prester John's kingdom was not found, stories circulated that the kingdom moved to Africa, or was always there, however, the letter had been misinterpreted. As a result, Africa became ripe for exploration.

The irony and beauty of this story is that Prester John did not exist. It is for this reason, incredible that his myth had such an enormous impact on the West, and for that matter, catapulted the West to its Renaissance. It has been said Prester John sparked the entire Age of Exploration.

I hereby nominate the non-existent Prester John as one of the most influential people in history.

Where have I seen references to Prester John?

• Eco, Umberto, "Baudolino"
• Marvel Comics
• Edson, Evelyn, "The World Map, 1300-1492: The Persistence of Tradition and Transformation", John Hopkins Press.
• Wagner, Richard, "Parsifal"
• see references compiled by others