Embassy to Tamerlane, 1403-1406 / translated from the Spanish by Guy Le Strange with an introduction.
- Ruy González de Clavijo
- Date:
- [1928]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Embassy to Tamerlane, 1403-1406 / translated from the Spanish by Guy Le Strange with an introduction. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![be counted as the equivalent of one thousand foot soldiers: indeed so it is, for when they are surrounded by a crowd fighting they trample down and crush the men on every hand. When wounded they but fight the better, not perceiving the point of danger. As regards their tusks, as these are long and so set that by nature they only serve to ¿Irike a blow upwards, it is the custom to cut them down short, and then arm the base each with a sword blade, as already said, which thus armed enables them to ¿Irike the blow downwards. The elephant can go for a whole day, or even two days without feeding: and they say that when engaged in battle they will fight even for three days and require no food. Upon the fea¿l-day of which we have been speaking Timur and his wives having continued drinking their wine during some time, next it was ordered that the food should be brought in for them to dine. Horses and sheep had been roa¿led whole, the hair having been removed from the hide of the horse, while with the sheep these were fir¿l flayed. The viands when ready were served on great round trays [as already described^ of ¿lamped leather [like our Cordovan leather] callee. Guadamacir, which the attendants dragged over the grass from one part to the other; and such was the quantity of meat to be served that three hundred men and more had to attend the gue¿ls as waiters. Great was the shouting they all made, as the meat was finally arranged in the trenchers that were now laid in front of Timur, and as usual the meat was served without bread to be eaten with it. All the while a succession of carts were coming in charged with yet more meat, and next camels loaded up with other viands that were laid in panniers athwart either way, and all was turned out on the ground to be served to the various gueáls, where indeed it lay in great heaps: yet soon all would be eaten up and gone. When the place was clear of](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b31354932_0298.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
