-
"Francigenis nostris illis ignota diebus
Res erat omnino quid balistarius arcus,
Quid balista foret, nec habebat in agmine toto
Rex quenquam sciret armis qui talibus uti."
- Duchesne, Hist. Franc. Script., V. 115.
Anna Comnena calls it [Greek: Tzagra] (which looks like Persian
charkh), "a barbaric bow, totally unknown to the Greeks"; and she
gives a very lengthy description of it, ending: "Such then are the
facts about the Tzagra, and a truly diabolical affair it is."
(Alex. X. - Paris ed. p. 291.)
[4] The construction is best seen in Figs. 17 and 19. Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
in the cut are from Chinese sources; Figs. 6, 7, 8 from Arabic works;
the rest from European sources.
[5] Christine de Pisan says that when keeping up a discharge by night
lighted brands should be attached to the stones in order to observe and
correct the practice. (Livre des faits, etc., du sage Roy Charles,
Pt. II. ch. xxiv.)
[6] Professor Sprenger informs me that the first mention of the Manjanik
in Mahomedan history is at the siege of Tayif by Mahomed himself, A.D.
630 (and see Sprenger's Mohammed [German], III. 330). The Annales
Marbacenses in Pertz, xvii. 172, say under 1212, speaking of wars of
the Emperor Otho in Germany: "Ibi tunc cepit haberi usus instrumenti
bellici quod vulgo tribok appellari solet."
There is a ludicrous Oriental derivation of Manjanik, from the Persian:
"Man chi nek"! "How good am I!" Ibn Khallikan remarks that the word
must be foreign, because the letters j and k ([Arabic] and [Arabic])
never occur together in genuine Arabic words (Notes by Mr. E.
Thomas, F.R.S.). It may be noticed that the letters in question occur
together in another Arabic word of foreign origin used by Polo, viz.
Jathalik.
[7] Dufour mentions that stone shot of the mediaeval engines exist at
Zurich, of 20 and 22 inches diameter. The largest of these would,
however, scarcely exceed 500 lbs. in weight.
[8] Georg. Stellae Ann. in Muratori, XVII. 1105; and Daru, Bk. viii.
sec. 12.
[9] Shaw, Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages, vol. i. No 21.
CHAPTER LXXI.
CONCERNING THE CITY OF SINJU AND THE GREAT RIVER KIAN.
You must know that when you leave the city of Yanju, after going 15 miles
south-east, you come to a city called SINJU, of no great size, but
possessing a very great amount of shipping and trade. The people are
Idolaters and subject to the Great Kaan, and use paper-money.[NOTE 1]
And you must know that this city stands on the greatest river in the
world, the name of which is KIAN. It is in some places ten miles wide, in
others eight, in others six, and it is more than 100 days' journey in
length from one end to the other.
