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The International Prester John Project: How A Global Legend Was Created Across Six CenturiesMain MenuOrientation to ProjectPath One: 1122-1235Path Two: 1236-1310 ADPath Three : 1311-1460 ADPath Four : 1461-1520 ADPath Five: 1521-1699 ADPath Six: 1700-1800 ADChristopher Taylor // christopher.eric.taylor@gmail.com946e2cf6115688379f338b70e5b6f6c039f8ba6f Global Middle Ages
Politics of the Letter
12015-07-18T14:22:18-07:00Christopher Taylor // christopher.eric.taylor@gmail.com946e2cf6115688379f338b70e5b6f6c039f8ba6f52811plain2015-07-18T14:22:19-07:00Christopher Taylor // christopher.eric.taylor@gmail.com946e2cf6115688379f338b70e5b6f6c039f8ba6fAs Bernard Hamilton points out, Prester John's kingdom resembles Emperor Frederick I’s vision for the West. As if to leave any doubt of the political leverage John’s imagined support garnered, early copies of the Letter that were addressed to Barbarossa shifted the dynamic between emperor and pope enough that the latter tried to requisition the support of John himself. Pope Alexander sent a request to meet through an emissary in 1177, the same year that the Peace of Venice ended the power struggle between the two leaders and forced Frederick to recognize papal supremacy.Although scholars, including Hamilton, have tried to explain the legend as a hoax perpetuated by Frederick’s inner circle that spiraled out of control, this explanation fails to account for the survival of the legend beyond the political intrigues of the twelfth century. By proposing a kingdom under which heretics, pagans, and monsters coexist, the Letter offers a glimpse of a confidently universal Christendom that need not force assimilation or extermination to extend its rule.