Thursday, March 26, 2020

Aventinus complains about the Turks in Alexander Depiction

I missed this on the first reading of Chapters 153 and 158, but when Aventinus gives the context for the Battle against Darius (Book I, 158 of the Bavarian Chronicle), he complains in Chapter 157 about how the Alexandrian Empire had been converted to Christianity by St Paul and then lost to the Turks (Aventinus began the translation "at Abensberg on Saturday evenings in the year 1526").

Nach obgenanter schlacht [i.e. mit den kaiserischen hauptleuten, RCK] viel zu im von den Persiern das ganz clain Asia, so vom nidergang gegen Constantinopel und Kriechen über ligt, an mitternach an das mer, darein die Thonau felt, von süd an das mer, darin gegenüber Rhodis und Cypern ligen, stöst; und von osten schaidet's von gros Armenien der wasserflues Euphrates und das pirg, so man den Taurn und Aman nent. Hat grosse mechtige geweltige (ân die grossen insel Cypern, so auch ein künigreich ist, Rhodis und ander vil mêr) künigreich: Pontus, Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Galatia, Cappadocia, clain Armenien, Phrygia, Mysia (pêde, gros und clain), Troia, Meonia, Lycaonia, Aeolia, Jonia, Caria, Lydia, Lycia, Isauria, Pisidia, Pamphilia, Cilicia. Die land hat s. Pauls alle pekert zum glauben und alda prediget; ietzo hat der Türk alles in, haist die gros Türkei. 
My own translation:
After the aforementioned battle [with the imperial diadoches, RCK] fell to him from the Persians all of Asia Minor, vom the lowlands toward Constaninople across from the Greeks, toward Midnight [i.e. North, RCK] from the sea into which the Danube empties, toward the south to the sea in which Rhodos and Cyprus lie; and from the east it separates from Greater Armenia the waterflowing Euphrates and the Mountains, which are called Taurus or Aman. It has mighty powerful (in the large island of Cyprus, which is also a kingdom, in Rhodes and in many others) kingdoms: Pontus, Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Galatia, Cappadocia, Armenia Minor, Phrygia, Mysia (both, the Greater and the Lesser one), Troy, Meonia, Lycaonia, Aeloia, Jonia, Caria, Lydia, Lycia, Isauria, Pisidia, Pamphilia, Cilicia. These lands had St Paul convert all to the [Christian, RCK] Faith and preached all over there; now the Turks control it all, now called Turkey Maior.

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