74r

¶ Indi algieri son miglia cento vinti
Tra levante e grecco e posta bona
Piu su ducento pur per dicti venti
E l'una e l'altra cita si ragiona
Da Ivi a cento trenta poi seguenti
Trovi misserti che secondo che se rasona
Per fama quivi presso fu carthagine
La grande e si se vede alcuna ymagine

¶ Tunis fa piu la su residentia
Sexanta miglia e d'un gran golfo ha porto
La qual cita si guata cum firencia
Ad un occasso on quasi ad un horto
Capo di regno e di gran potentia
E ben doctata terra e none a torto
Ch'ella -e- nel meço de la barbaria
E presso a Italia piu ch'altra vi sia

¶ Sta cum ierusalem e cum sibilla
Inclinati da choro e da çephiro
E sta vicina per ducento miglia
A le due magior insule de giro
Le qual sum la sardegna e la cicilia
Quasi in triangulo quando ben vi miro
Africa sta poi ver merediano
Passato cavo bono a dextra mano

[image, from top down left margin and across bas de page: Map depicting a stretch of the Tunisian coasts and Libyan coasts from Cape Bon (Tunis) to the Gulf of Sidra with the Kerkennah Islands and Djerba. Ocean painted aquamarine with wave pattern in grey. On gutter-side shore, at ¶ 2: a fortified city in reddish-brown with blue roofs. Atop water at ¶ 1: three islands in green; on the water nearby, in red ink (label: cherchani). In top margin, inverted, in black ink: (label: Cavo bono). In left margin, from top downwards, in red ink: (label: Susa), (label: africa), (label: fachse), (label: Caps), (label: ixola di gervi), (label: rasamabes), (label: tripoli di barbaria .), and (inverted) (label: misurata). Bas de page, from left clockwise, in red ink: (label: Çianara), (label: Brinch), (label: Tolometa); in black ink: (label: Cavo de rausem); in red ink: (label: bonandrea), (label: luco).]

[image, right margin at ¶ 2: Map of an island, tinted green with rivers indicated by waving blue lines. Written vertically, in red ink (left to right): (label: mesina), (label: Ixola de cicilia).]

[image, right margin at ¶ 3: Map of an island, tinted pink, within a small patch of water painted aquamarine with wave pattern in grey. Upon the island, in black ink: (label: Ixola di sardigna); also on the island, above this, in red ink, inverted: (label: Calici).]

From there it is 120 miles to Bugia.^{1The Arsenal MS reads "algieri" (Algiers) here, but other MSS give "Buggeia" (now Bejäia, Algeria)}
Bona^{2Now Annaba, Tunisia} is also situated east by northeast
over 200 miles further in this direction.^{3Literally, "by these winds."}
Between these two cities we reckon
it is 130 miles, then beyond that
you find Biserta^{3Now Bizerte, Tunisia}; according to general repute
Carthage the Great was near here
but there are no traces of it left.^{4The text here can also be interpreted to mean "and here are some pictures of it", but we are not aware of any manuscripts that actually contain pictures of Carthage on the map for this page.}

Sixty miles further along sits Tunis,
which has a port on a large bay.
This city is so closely aligned with Florence
that they nearly share sunset and dawn.^{5Dante, Paradiso 9.91-3.}
It is the capital of a kingdom and a great realm,
with fruitful soil. In fact,
while it is in the middle of Barbary^{6The Barbary Coast, that is, the Muslim states of north Africa; the term derives from the tribe of the Berbers, which is why some medieval spellings appear as "Berberia".},
it is nearer to Italy than anything else on that coastline.

Tunis stands along a line drawn between Jerusalem and Seville,
going from southeast to west.
It is also located within 200 miles
of the two larger islands of the circuit,
which are Sardinia and Sicily—
as if they form a triangle, when you look carefully.
Next, Africa^{7Al Mahdiyya, Tunisia} lies towards the south,
past Cape Bon on the righthand side.

¶ Indi algieri son miglia cento vinti
Tra levante e grecco e posta bona
Piu su ducento pur per dicti venti
E l'una e l'altra cita si ragiona
Da Ivi a cento trenta poi seguenti
Trovi misserti che secondo che se rasona
Per fama quivi presso fu carthagine
La grande e si se vede alcuna ymagine

¶ Tunis fa piu la su residentia
Sexanta miglia e d'un gran golfo ha porto
La qual cita si guata cum firencia
Ad un occasso on quasi ad un horto
Capo di regno e di gran potentia
E ben doctata terra e none a torto
Ch'ella -e- nel meço de la barbaria
E presso a Italia piu ch'altra vi sia

¶ Sta cum ierusalem e cum sibilla
Inclinati da choro e da çephiro
E sta vicina per ducento miglia
A le due magior insule de giro
Le qual sum la sardegna e la cicilia
Quasi in triangulo quando ben vi miro
Africa sta poi ver merediano
Passato cavo bono a dextra mano

[image, from top down left margin and across bas de page: Map depicting a stretch of the Tunisian coasts and Libyan coasts from Cape Bon (Tunis) to the Gulf of Sidra with the Kerkennah Islands and Djerba. Ocean painted aquamarine with wave pattern in grey. On gutter-side shore, at ¶ 2: a fortified city in reddish-brown with blue roofs. Atop water at ¶ 1: three islands in green; on the water nearby, in red ink (label: cherchani). In top margin, inverted, in black ink: (label: Cavo bono). In left margin, from top downwards, in red ink: (label: Susa), (label: africa), (label: fachse), (label: Caps), (label: ixola di gervi), (label: rasamabes), (label: tripoli di barbaria .), and (inverted) (label: misurata). Bas de page, from left clockwise, in red ink: (label: Çianara), (label: Brinch), (label: Tolometa); in black ink: (label: Cavo de rausem); in red ink: (label: bonandrea), (label: luco).]

[image, right margin at ¶ 2: Map of an island, tinted green with rivers indicated by waving blue lines. Written vertically, in red ink (left to right): (label: mesina), (label: Ixola de cicilia).]

[image, right margin at ¶ 3: Map of an island, tinted pink, within a small patch of water painted aquamarine with wave pattern in grey. Upon the island, in black ink: (label: Ixola di sardigna); also on the island, above this, in red ink, inverted: (label: Calici).]

From there it is 120 miles to Bugia.^{1The Arsenal MS reads "algieri" (Algiers) here, but other MSS give "Buggeia" (now Bejäia, Algeria)}
Bona^{2Now Annaba, Tunisia} is also situated east by northeast
over 200 miles further in this direction.^{3Literally, "by these winds."}
Between these two cities we reckon
it is 130 miles, then beyond that
you find Biserta^{3Now Bizerte, Tunisia}; according to general repute
Carthage the Great was near here
but there are no traces of it left.^{4The text here can also be interpreted to mean "and here are some pictures of it", but we are not aware of any manuscripts that actually contain pictures of Carthage on the map for this page.}

Sixty miles further along sits Tunis,
which has a port on a large bay.
This city is so closely aligned with Florence
that they nearly share sunset and dawn.^{5Dante, Paradiso 9.91-3.}
It is the capital of a kingdom and a great realm,
with fruitful soil. In fact,
while it is in the middle of Barbary^{6The Barbary Coast, that is, the Muslim states of north Africa},
it is nearer to Italy than anything else on that coastline.

Tunis stands along a line drawn between Jerusalem and Seville,
going from southeast to west.
It is also located within 200 miles
of the two larger islands of the circuit,
which are Sardinia and Sicily—
as if they form a triangle, when you look carefully.
Next, Africa^{7Al Mahdiyya, Tunisia} lies towards the south,
past Cape Bon on the righthand side.