Shortened

BBC Radio 4 LW

In Our Time

Discussion & Talk

Podcasts

Factual: History

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas, people and events that have shaped our world.

BBC Radio 4 FM

Melvyn Bragg

Marianne O'Doherty

Martin Palmer

Amanda Power

Simon Tillotson

In Our Time: Prester John

Prester John

04/06/2015

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, Prester John

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the legend of Prester John.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Prester John, the legendary Christian king said to rule over a lost nation in 'The Indies' and ready to support Christians in Europe.

In the Middle Ages, Prester John was seen as the great hope for Crusaders struggling to hold on to, then regain, Jerusalem. He was thought to rule a lost Christian kingdom somewhere in the East and was ready to attack Muslim opponents with his enormous armies. There was apparent proof of Prester John's existence, in letters purportedly from him and in stories from travelers who claimed they had met, if not him, then people who had news of him. Most pointed to a home in the earthly paradise in the Indies, outside Eden, with fantastical animals and unimaginable riches. Later, Portuguese explorers thought they had found him in Ethiopia, despite the mystified denials of people there. Melvyn Bragg asks why the legend was so strongly believed for so long, and what facts helped sustain the myths.

With

Marianne O'Doherty
Associate Professor in English at the University of Southampton

Martin Palmer
Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education, and Culture

And

Amanda Power
Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Sheffield.

Producer: Simon Tillotson.

BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

In Our Time

Prester John

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4