Introduction: The Letter
For a more developed account of the legend's origins please see the Introduction to Path Two.
The popularity of the Letter was due, in part to how it linked the impulse to explore a global landscape with a desire for this landscape to be revealed as a continuation of, rather than a departure from, the known—as already Christian. But as central as the Letter of Prester John was to the development of a legend that survived for the next five centuries, it cannot fully account for the belief that such a kingdom came to inspire.
As this digital project shows, the Letter of Prester John grew into a legend upon which generations of writers and adventurers participated. As the physical location of John’s kingdom was re-imagined in order to sustain the belief that this kingdom might actually exist, Prester John became something of a nomad.