The European tradition
Inside the study
Five historical reproductions, with catalogue references and image credits.
The legend’s changing geography and a comparison with the Georgian hypothesis.
Chronicles, manuscripts and maps
Prester John in European Written and Visual Traditions
A source-critical and historiographical study
How did Europe record, picture and relocate the kingdom of Prester John?
Giorgi Kavtaradze follows the legend through chronicles, letters, manuscripts and maps preserved in European collections, and compares this evidence with his research into its possible Georgian background.
English edition · PDF
Read the first 5 pages ↗The first 5 pages of the complete edition — cover, contents and the opening discussion.
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From written testimony to visual tradition
Abstract
The study examines the making and transmission of the Prester John tradition: Otto of Freising, the Letter of Prester John, crusading reports, travel narratives, the Ethiopian association and the maps that gave the kingdom a changing location. Catalogue records, surviving reproductions and critical editions are distinguished throughout. A separate chapter places Giorgi Kavtaradze’s Georgian hypothesis alongside the European evidence and identifies what a documentary link would still need to establish.
A documented selection of witnesses, with shelfmarks and links for further investigation. This study does not claim to include every surviving manuscript or to prove a continuous chain from the tenth-century Georgian figures to the later legend.
Related research
Suggested citation
Kavtaradze, Giorgi. Prester John in European Written and Visual Traditions. Tbilisi: Kavtaradze Historical Research & Licensing, 2026.
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