Source Evidence: Where in the World is Prester John?
Prester John first appears in 1145 within Otto of Friesing’s universal chronicle of Christian history based on a comparison between the heavenly kingdom of Jerusalem and the earthly kingdom of Babel. After this initial appearance in 1145, the notion of an eastern “Priest John” goes unremarked for some twenty years, at which point a letter materializes, reportedly authored by John himself. In what has come to be known as the Letter of Prester John, John professes to be a devout Christian king of an immense, militarily powerful kingdom. According to the Letter, this eastern warrior priest-king possesses the richest kingdom on earth, replete not only with a vast store of jewels, spices, and Christian soldiers, but also home to monsters, Jews, and pagans.
In the Middle Ages, there are few individuals, fictional or historical, who have exercised a stronger pull than Prester John. A product of anxious cultural imaginings mixed with hope for historical change, Prester John has commanded consistent interest since 1145. Over the course of six centuries, Prester John figured centrally in Christendom’s understanding of what the distant world was like: crusading aspirations depended on his materialization; missionary undertakings in the East leveraged their chances of converting the "heathen" against a presumption of his existence, and, mercantile-minded men from Marco Polo through Christopher Columbus dreamt of the putative riches of his kingdom. Rather than another political hoax faded from historical memory, Prester John’s kingdom began to appear on maps and in travel narratives and romance tales.
For this assignment, take a look at this project about the locations of Prester John: https://scalar.usc.edu/works/prester-john/list-of-annotated-maps
Select one of the maps that says "explore prester john's kingdoms". Click on one of the locations and provide a post that describes where and when in that moment Prester John was located. Then read other posts, and contemplate all of the various regions this mysterious king was located and what that means for global encounters/ knowledge.