Prester John, legendary Christian priest and monarch of a vast, wealthy empire in Asia or in Africa. The legend first appeared in the latter part of the 12th cent. and persisted for several centuries. At first the utopian realm of this Christian king was supposed to be in Asia, but later it was more generally placed in Africa. Letters supposed to have been written by him and about him were widely circulated in Western Europe.

Bibliography

See studies by V. Slessarev (1959) and R. Silverberg (1972).

Prester John

Legendary Christian ruler of the East. He was believed to be a Nestorian and a king-priest (prester being short for presbyter, “elder” or “priest”) reigning in an unspecified part of the Far East. The legend arose during the Crusades in the 12th century, among European Christians who hoped that Prester John would prove an ally in the effort to regain the Holy Land from the Saracens. In the 13th–14th century various missionaries and travelers, including Marco Polo, searched for his kingdom in Asia. After the mid-14th century, Ethiopia was the centre of the quest, as Prester John became identified with the emperor of that African Christian nation.

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No references found	What mind, that is not wholly barbarous and uncultured, can find pleasure in reading of how a great tower full of knights sails away across the sea like a ship with a fair wind, and will be to-night in Lombardy and to-morrow morning in the land of Prester John of the Indies, or some other that Ptolemy never described nor Marco Polo saw? Don Quixote by Cervantes, Miguel View in context Its tales of the Ethiopian Prester John, of diamonds that by proper care can be made to grow, of trees whose fruit is an odd sort of lambs, and a hundred other equally remarkable phenomena, are narrated with skilful verisimilitude and still strongly hold the reader's interest, even if they no longer command belief. A History of English Literature by Fletcher, Robert Huntington View in context I have it from my husband, who is a cinquantenier**, at the Parloir-aux Bourgeois, and who was this morning comparing the Flemish ambassadors with those of Prester John and the Emperor of Trebizond, who came from Mesopotamia to Paris, under the last king, and who wore rings in their ears. Notre-Dame de Paris by Hugo, Victor View in context	pressure-surface map pressure-tendency chart Pressure-Tolerant Bacteria pressure-travel curve pressure-treated lumber pressure-treated wood pressure-tube anemometer pressure-tube reactor pressure-type vacuum breaker pressurization pressurize pressurized area pressurized blast furnace pressurized cabin pressurized escape route pressurized stairway enclosure pressurized stoppings pressurized structure pressurized water reactor presswork prestage presteaming period Presteigne Prestel prester Prester John Prester John's mirror Prestes, Luis Carlos Prestes, Luís Carlos Prestidigitator prestidigitization Prestissimo Presto Preston Preston County Preston James Preston, Andrew W. Preston, Ann Preston, John Smith Preston, Lewis Thompson Preston, William Campbell Prestonpans Prestopino, Gregorio prestore prestress prestressed concrete prestressed concrete wire prestressed pile Prestressed Structure prestressing prestressing cable	Prestamo sin aval personal Prestamo sin garantia Prestamo sin interes Prestamo sin intereses Prestamo sindicado Prestatario Prestation Prestation d'Accueil du Jeune Enfant Prestation de Maintenance Intégrée Prestation money Prestation Solidarité Dépendance Prestations Accueil Restauration Scolaire Prestations Familiales Extra Légales Prestations Globales d'Assistance Chantier Prestbury and Pittville Youth Prestbury Yacht Club preste preste preste presteaming period presteaming period Prestedge Retief Dresner Wijnberg Ltd. Presteign Presteigne Prestel Prestel Prester Prester Prester John Prester John's mirror presternal presternal calcification presternal region presternal region presternal region presternal region presternum presternum Prestes, Luis Carlos Prestes, Luís Carlos Presti Presti Presti Prestidigital prestidigitation prestidigitation prestidigitation prestidigitator prestidigitator prestidigitator prestidigitators prestidigitators prestidigitization prestige prestige Prestige (sociology) Prestige (sociology) Prestige (sociology) Prestige and Collections

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What mind, that is not wholly barbarous and uncultured, can find pleasure in reading of how a great tower full of knights sails away across the sea like a ship with a fair wind, and will be to-night in Lombardy and to-morrow morning in the land of Prester John of the Indies, or some other that Ptolemy never described nor Marco Polo saw?

Don Quixote by Cervantes, Miguel View in context

Its tales of the Ethiopian Prester John, of diamonds that by proper care can be made to grow, of trees whose fruit is an odd sort of lambs, and a hundred other equally remarkable phenomena, are narrated with skilful verisimilitude and still strongly hold the reader's interest, even if they no longer command belief.

A History of English Literature by Fletcher, Robert Huntington View in context

I have it from my husband, who is a cinquantenier**, at the Parloir-aux Bourgeois, and who was this morning comparing the Flemish ambassadors with those of Prester John and the Emperor of Trebizond, who came from Mesopotamia to Paris, under the last king, and who wore rings in their ears.

Notre-Dame de Paris by Hugo, Victor View in context

pressure-surface map

pressure-tendency chart

Pressure-Tolerant Bacteria

pressure-travel curve

pressure-treated lumber

pressure-treated wood

pressure-tube anemometer

pressure-tube reactor

pressure-type vacuum breaker

pressurization

pressurize