EN72v
Facsimile
Seven hundred miles below the Nile,
more than half [of what you find] is dust and sand—
a country scorched by the hot wind
where no water emerges from any springs.
Then there is a mountain three hundred miles high,
which is commonly called Charena:
it is of soaring, unmeasurable heights
and is called Atlas in old stories.
From the mountain to the sea the air is mild
since the scorching winds cannot get through.
In certain areas, it is less than a day to the sea,
and [in others], three or four.
This area is well-populated,
with good orchard-covered lands that are fruitful,
and at the summit—because of the great height—
most of the time there is snow and great cold.
Beyond the mountain it is burning hot.
People are scarce and the land is sterile.
It is a torrid zone because of the dry winds
and is full of small poisonous creatures.
Now that we have finished with the land,
we shall continue with the sea
with the help of God, who shows it to us—
who has been and will be our guide.
Notes and Questions
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Paragraph 1, not sure about:
- treceto (trecento?)
- ulgarmente (probably vulgarmente)
Paragraph 2, a typo at the beginning of the last line: "El piu el piu... ?"
ok trecento (see the little sign over e and t)
I agree with vulgarmente (see the sort of apostrophe on l'; cfr. Capelli, Dizionario delle abbreviature..., there's a similar case ul't = vult)
Paragraph 1, I would separate the a in nona
E non a acqua che surga di vena
Paragraph 2, I would add an apostrophe:
Et in certa parte e men d'una giornata
and I would take it away here
E dove tre e quatro a presso al mare
[corr: a circumflex accent above "ceto" signals the missing "n"]: it does not seem to me a correction but a sign of abbreviation
"E non a acqua" doesn't need apostrophe, a=ha: it is quite common to find graphical variants for the third-person singular verb to have (a, à, ha). Someone in the transcription put the accent (à) to distinguish the verb (ha) from the preposition (a).
E'l piu e'l piu del tempo e neve e gran fredura ---> I would read "El piu el piu del tempo e neve e gran fredura": el = il (il più del tempo è neve e gran fredura), written twice probably by mistake.