Note 22 — Chapter LVI

In Prester John’s letter quoted by Baring Gould, Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, New Edition, p. 43, we find, “In one of our lands, hight Zone, are worms called in our tongue Salamanders. These worms can only live in fire, and they build cocoons like silkworms, which are unwound by the ladies of our palace, and spun into cloth and dresses, which are worn by our Exaltedness. These dresses, in order to be cleansed and washed, are cast into flames.”