The imaginary king who changed the real world - Matteo Salvadore
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- Get to know the legend of the king known as Prester John, whose myth would impact the decisions of European leaders for 400 years.
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In 1165, copies of a strange letter began to circulate throughout Europe. It spoke of a fantastical realm, containing the Tower of Babel and the Fountain of Youth- all ruled over by the letter’s mysterious author: Prester John. Who was this powerful ruler, and was he even real? Matteo Salvadore shares the legend of a mythical king who impacted the decisions of European leaders for 400 years.
Lesson by Matteo Salvadore, directed by Anna Nowakowska.
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"he's over there!"
"where?!"
*continues to look for 350 years*
HiroClaw well we’ve been looking for 2000 years now.
@klfmc rjn no, I think maybe like 1000 to 500 because I heard the whole imagery king started somewhere between then ten thousands to sixteen hindreds
I admire your humor
People looking in africa and europe as if he was from there . I dont believe he was
@@Ffsdevgj Some people just don't get who you're talking about.
*Prester John, chilling on his throne with his thicc babes bathing in a fountain of youth, somewhere in Antarctica:* "Man, I wonder when they will finally find me. I've been itching for another holy crusade.
Antarctica! loool
Sorry, the fountain of youth was in America and it was destroyed by a templar knight, a spanish pirate and an ottoman commander
@@omeraraskaplan1519 Sounds like a Star Trek episode, but in the past.
Aras Kaplan age of empires 3
@@omeraraskaplan1519 British pirate and scottish knight
The author of the letter trolled an entire empire😂
Fae Trick yeah if it’s too good to be true ,it probably is🤷♂️
Rumor has it that Ken M is a descendent of the author.
Well, its medieval time... There still no common sense, people believes in anything.. The brightest person during medieval time are those who can read... and that brightest person in medieval time are equivalent to 10 years old modern kid...
@@gobzanuff5078 i don't think this makes sense
@@vato6884 it doesnt, he's wrong
The medieval version of click bait
Lmao
Lmao
laughing mine own rampallian off
I giggled at this
Thx
I actually laughed
Ah, yes. John Cena's ancestor; Prester John. They can't see him.
Highly underrated comment here
His time was then.
hahahahaha
W
That's a good one.
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."
how about “humans flying ”?
- Joseph Goebbels
Religion in a nutshell
@@manolomartinez5033 atheists in a nut shell
That’s what Shakespeare told me in Egypt in 2076 AD.
*Imagine being so bored, that you write a fake letter that caused a civil war...*
1st comment
Oops
350 years after you write it...
"Just a prank bro"
That’s seem like something a American would do.
The very first Nigerian Prince Email!
I suppose he must have millions to give away. What a shame we never found him
🤣😂😅
And look at that it was likely a white guy
Bruh
😄😄😄
Ah. So it all makes sense now. Prester John was obviously the ruler of Wakanda.
Or was he john cena's great-great grandfather
I argue with Idiots. Cause you can’t see him👋
@@1dollarlambo yes👏👏
This may be the inspiration for it.
Exactly Calalus!
Europe seems to have a habit of exploring and mapping large areas while looking for fictional places
Because it happened before, Who would have thought about China and it's silk robes and palaces ? What about the infinite goldmines of the musas ?
To be faire when you have the remains of 2 gaint empire in youre backyard, youll start to seek them everywhere
No, Europe had a habit of exploring places in general. What makes you think if Africans had the ships to sail to Europe and the desire to do so that they would have been better? Europeans just had more interest in exploration and were working with the information they had. There was no internet back then, no Google Earth, no archives of footage from abroad or very reliable travel books. They looked for fictional places because that’s the best in terms of sources they had. Stop being so anti-white.
The only reason Europeans were more interested in exploration was China. Europe wanted to find another way to China so they went around Africa then to India then China.
Christopher Colombus wanted to find another way to India and found 2 new continents.
@@thegoodlydragon7452 What does exploration have to do with anti whiteness?? Africans did have the ships to go to Europe and they did (have you not watched the video?), same with China, they went all the way to Africa. The difference is that they didn't have the need to colonize those places
The narrator's voice makes these stories more interesting and welcoming
True...really.
Agreed!
True⛩️
yep. Whenever I click on a ted-ed videoclip whose topic really interests me but hear a different narrator I immediately stop watching and look for another one of this guy's clips. So soothing to listen to his voice...
777th
to be honest, looking for him about 350 years after the letter isnt copmpletely insane considering they believed he ruled over the fountain of youth
Agreed.
Might not have even been that. People have searched for Atlantis for centuries even though Plato clearly stated it was an allegory.
This is the only fanfic that will change the world
Wicked?
Paradise lost?
Dante's inferno?
Hamilton?
Fifty shades of grey?
The book of mormon?
Dante's Divine Comedy is just a self-insert fanfic with his senpai Virgil.
What about all the religious texts?
varun shah
Oh yeah the Bible was totally a self-insert fanfic
The Great Gatsby
Who tf reads fifty shades of grey???
This is what happens
when the game of "Pass the Message" fails miserably
The original message was "Tell my pal John that we're out of eggs."
@@veryberry39 you sure about that? 🤣😂😅
Or the most successful, depending on how you look at it.
Chinese whispers?
What about the book of Enoch what do u say is it a fiction or not
From Ethiopia, thank you for using Ethiopian imagery and styling when depicting the Ethiopian, this is one of the most monumental phases of the country's history.
I wonder what Prester John was thinking through all of this
I bet he wasn't expecting 😅😂
zestypantsyeah probably a social experience made by a postman or a king. Cuz, writing many letters must be expensive back then.
zestypantsyeah well, considering he was the ideal Christian, probably something along the lines of “thank God they never found me. They’ve killed Kingdom after kingdom in Jesus name, when Jesus told us to love one another, and they’ve got the nerve to call themselves Christians. So glad I never went into all of that.“
@@christianali5431 lol, ironic.
The irony of the situation is ALMOST as ironic as the irony of someone named ¡@@christianali5431 ! 🧐
"Prankster John" fixed that for you🤣
Thanks mate
jester john
Prester Joker
“Prank’em John *!!”* 😆
When you're a medieval scribe and your practical joke gets way out of hand.
oof
@@gsjdndnndns1818 I love it when Google translates words that definitely need translation.
Maybe someone played Chinese whispers with Genghis Khan and the last person heard it as Prester John
Hardcore history mentions something about that.
@@hansolowe19 What such thing is hardcore as hardcore history?
@@loop5720 it is a podcast 👍
But Genghis Khan was never a Christian. He did have children and relatives who became Christians, however.
@@bluesdealer Yeah but he fought Muslims during the time of the Crusades
Ethiopia seems to have a fascinating history with europe(and on its own of course). The ancient Greeks mention Ethiopia in their myths. Andromeda was specified to be an Ethiopian princess(as was mother, Cassiopeia, and her father, Cepheus, the queen and king of Ethiopia).
Well, yeah. They were a long-standing kingdom who traded with the Egyptians, who were Mediterraneans, hence connected to Greece, hence connected to Rome and eventually the rest of Europe. Although, to some ancient Greeks, the term "Ethiopia" was a blanket term used for all of sub-Saharan Africa.
@@bluesdealer Ethiopia is a term that took a while to solidify into one place. Initially, to ancient Greeks, it was thought to be somewhere in the distant east, where the sun rose and, being close to the ground, burned the inhabitants' skin to a dark colour. In the context of the myth of Andromeda, I think it was initially assumed to be somewhere in the Middle East. In later centuries, when Greeks came out of their dark age isolation and started to travel again, it became apparent that certain characteristics associated with Ethiopians (specifically their very dark skin) weren't found in the east but in the south, on the other side of Egypt. So they associated Ethiopia with either all of Sub-Saharan Africa or specifically Nubia, in today's Sudan. At some (I think much later) later point the name migrated to what we now know as Ethiopia, after its kingdom of Axum conquered Nubia.
Can we take a moment to appreciate how Ted-Ed colors everything so that we don’t get bored.
oh, I think we're a bit different. I play the video and read the comments simultaneously. That is pretty dope of them to do that though.
their animations are always so captivating
Prester John: Tells tales of foreign lands full of wonders and unique societies which inspired people on travels around the world.
John Titor: Tells tales of future times full of conflicts and fractured societies which inspired people on time travels.
These Johns man.
Lol 😂😂😂
I wonder if Prester John inspired John Titor later on in time, or maybe its just a coincidence
@Hoàng Nguyên um, what? 😂😂
A Letter from an alternate timeline, the mail man crossed over dimensions👅
Prestee John is an isekai man who transported in the medieval times.
Okay, thats a joke.
European Christendom: we’ve all been looking in the wrong place. Where is Prester John? Does Prester John even exist.
Panther John: Wakanda forever!
I've never been this early.
"It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness."
-Leo Tolstoy
The battle wasn't a lie .
The lie was that the Mongols were christians.
Ps: the Christians helped the Mongols even on of the khan's wife was Christian
Nah some Mongols converted to Christianity while some to Islam ..... The Mughals who invaded India were Muslims the remains of the illkhanate and the temurid empire .....
@@emuemujin5906 some Mongols were Christian
Mongols practiced religious tolerance. That's why their religions are diverse.
@@morgothbauglir3609 The Mughals were descendants of Genghis Khan and Timur.
I've been reading books on maps lately, and one of them mentioned a "Preste Juan" (the books are in Spanish), and the connection between him and Paradise. How timely, how you published this video now!
The power of fanfic continues to baffle me.
"Through an Action, a Man becomes a Hero.Through Death, a Hero becomes Legend.Through Time, a Legend becomes Myth.Through hearing a Myth, a Man takes an Action...."
When you just want to prank one king but ended pranking an entire empire
...and which empire is that exactly...?
@@Max-Blast_Media ethiopia
@@Max-Blast_Media Ethiopia and the whole continent of Europe.
*If an apocalypse ever happens ted ed was one of my survival guide.*
I used to rule the world...
Chunks would load when I gave the word...
Now every night I go stow away...
Hide from the mobs I used to slay...
Eveytime I looked into their eyes
Villagers would cheer my way
For a hero I was, that’s what they’d say
I cried after watching the parody... it hit me really hard
lol.. stop it.. just stop #coldplayfanoverhere
@@kevin080592 let them be, they will know Coldplay's great songs later on
Ted Ed is the only channel that conveys such deep messages in small 4-5 minute videos
Beautiful
I've never been this early! Binge-watching TED-Ed videos during the coronavirus quarantine is perfect. ;)
In the future their gonna talk about the corona probly
+ ...and this was the legend of Prester John!
- Woa! great history! i'm gonna tell the king about it!
+ Mmm... that's not necessary...
- It is! if he wants to know more i will summon u to court!
+ (writes fake letter to avoid being hanged for lying)
LOL
And now I will google Ethiopian icons and religious art.
So the so-called "Mandela Effect was supposed to be "Prester John Effect"
Hehehe, you are right!
What if he actually existed somewhere else, and we are declaring he didn't.
because the west wins lol
Makes sense
Does anyone remember the Marvel Comics character named Prester John, based on this legend? He appeared in Fantastic Four and Thor comics, and (I think?) the Inhumans in the 1960s and 1970s. In the comics he was the original King from the legends, had become immortal (somehow), and had traveled the world for hundreds of years following the fall of his Kingdom. That was the first time I ever heard of the legend of Prester John.
Always been wondering who he was. Nice vid, Ted-Ed!
I guess now you know who he wasn't.
@@user-jh3kz7dp2z lol
That moment that you realize that a made up king has done more in 5 years of “existence” has done more than me and you combined ever will do in our lives
1000s of European explorers, scholars, and historians spanned over centuries
vs
One Ethopian boi
The 'ethiopian boi' would win. Ethiopians have never been colonised, created some of the oldest scriptures in the world and have even invented coffee. We have been mentioned in the Bible 60 times, and is one of the first countries mentioned in the Bible. We too have many scholars and intellectual so don't go judging.
@@mri127 ethiopia was occupied by italy and even though they have problems now they are still independant.
oh my Ethiopia, I love listening your name in history.
thank you for mentioning my country
As a Portuguese I already knew this story, and even today there are Portuguese marks in Ethiopia. Just a curiosity: was Portugal that started the civil war after converted the emperor Susenyos I to Catholicism (yes we also did it in Japan)
Yes, thanks for your help.
I heard that Prester John is breaking down
Was looking for this comment
1:05 You left out the part that they were called in responses to the Muslim jihads by the Byzantine emperor.
Well it wasnt really jihad seeing as what caused the Romans to lose anatolia was expansionist seljuk turk vassals after the defeat at manzikert and assassination of Emperor Romanos
The people who disliked this are Prester Johns hidden army
and yes, they are alive and well....
How do you know.......... ⚠️👁
@@LongDogg0 yo, Luka Jayaseelan is right. I know cos he and I are in the king's squad. We rollin' we smokin' and we gonna be hittin' soon enuffin'
So it doesn't exist?
*ANIMAL COLLECTIVE FANS UNITE*
Prester John did exist...His name may not have really been Prester John but many ancient writers wrote about him including Marco Polo. Funny Marco Polo described other people/animals in his travel and modern researchers thought his writings were just tales until hundreds of years later when they found the origins of his stories to be true.
This can be translated into 2020:
The entire nation traveled through the galaxy to find the decedent of 69jesusBoi420
The game of "Telephone" played out in epic proportions.
Yo, I'm from Ethiopia, and I have never heard of this before
The same goes for King Arthur, who inspired noble ideals, or more cynically, did great PR to sell the noble robbers as higher beings to the populace.
Robber?Arthur?Do u mean robin hood
But wasn't that the guy who solved mysteries with his sidekick doctor in London
"No, son, I didn't walk out on you and your mother, I went to go find Prester John!"
Imagine if Prester John was just dared to do that as a joke
Is nobody gonna talk about how those Ethiopians managed to play that game Wisely
I know right
Some members of royal of family of Qara Khitai converted to Christian faith of Nestorian rites around 1150s. Nestorian Christians had considerable influence in that Khanate. So it was possible that the Khan and the inner circle of the Khanate elites wanting to establish diplomatic ties with Christendoms in Europe.
The fantasy series "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" by Tad Williams takes place in a kingdom called Osten Ard that is ruled by Prester John. If you love fantasy, especially the Game of Thrones novels, you'd like these books. The first one is titled "The Dragonbone Chair".
This is so oversimplified that scares me. Portugal sailed around africa to get to India and start the spice trade not to find prester John. Portugal helped Ethiopia against Adal not only bc of the comon Christian faith and the prester John mith but algo because it was during the Portuguese ottoman war and Portugal wanted more friendly ports in the area. With adal conquering the coast of Ethiopia Portugal felt the need to help them, not only bc of religion but much more importantly bc of power in the area. They could not let the ottomans through Adal take control of those ports and an African Christian friend in that region would be much appreciated.
It could be possible there was a Pester John but he acted like wakandan kings and hid from the world.
Oh, so this is why Italy wanted to invade Abyssinia
"intolerant roman Catholic Church"
Ok atheist
Catholic Church most murderous institution in human history. Change my mind.
@LagiNaLangAko23 Say it Boomer...
@@sebastianelytron8450 have you heard of the Mongols
Meanwhile, the real Preston John is wondering when the Europeans will arrive.
A big thanks to Ted Ed for this free treasure trove of knowledge 💜💜💜
Prester John did exist. Except his name was never "Prester John", that he was an Ethiopian and not an Asian king, and that his descendants were not the way the Portuguese/Europeans had expected or perceived.
A book (also) about this is "Baudolino" by Umberto eco, a wonderful novel about legends of Middle age
Such an amazing narrator.
I thought Umberto Eco had just made it up in Baudolino, I didn't know this whole Prester John thing had actually happened
Anyone else watch ted Ed to feel like smart?
It does make me feel 2% smarter 😂😂
So it seems at around 11:00pm my time, most contents air
@mushroom cream soup
Malaysia, to be exact
I feel you.
I just want so say thank you to the animators who included the Assassins Creed symbol and who wrote “Assassins” next to the crusade map.
I really enjoyed this short, but I think it mischaracterizes a lot of the motivations of the parties involved. I don't think the letter was a "prank" and I do think that the royal Ethiopians of the era did believe themselves to be descendants of "Prester John". There are already indications that they do share genetic and genealogical ties to King Solomon through the Queen of Sheba, who were likely based on actual historical figures that interacted. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction and Ethiopia is a notable Christian oasis for the region with a fascinating history.
Prester John had a cousin who traveled to uncharted lands far to the west, beyond the Atlantic, and helped found a new nation. His name was John Deere.
The king might not have existed, but there was a Christian kingdom in the region, the Mongols destroy it. The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia--and How It Died, by John Philip Jenkins
Was this the first whatsapp forward ever recorded then?
The Ethiopians actually told the Portuguese(multiple times) they didn't know who prester John was till they understood the Portuguese and their value. Also, the Axumite empire was the empire they heard about, a real and great empire but what remained of it wasn't.
Imagine if Prester John actually exists in an island, but the island sank and all ppl on there died.
Well thats scarily similar to how misinformation finds roots in seemingly logical people, and its telling consequences.
Parabéns pelo excelente trabalho realizado.
treating every day as an image of a moment that's passed
PRESTER JOHN IS BREAKING DOWNNNNN
Onde é que estão os meus Tugas crlh?
That was a wonderful mountain of nonsense. Here’s a tip, the maker of this already knows, when the establishment buries something, dig for it with all your might.
How about the imaginary god who changed the real world 2000 years ago?
There is a Wikipedia page in Portuguese about this Prester John, I read about it and was so interested, I remember at the time I was procrastinating instead of studying. It's funny cause the page treats the king as a non fictional, and I didn't know it was not
Mans original character do not copy FanFiction got leaked and the whole world went crazy 😂😂
The animation from 0:57 to 1:00 is AMAZING
For those confused about ethiopian christianity. They're not catholic, protestant, or Eastern Orthodox. They're labelled "Oriental Orthodox". They share communion with the Coptic and Armenian Orthodox Church. The "Oriental Orthodox" schismed in the fith century, because they refused to confess that Christ has two distinct natures. Rather, they confessed that Christ has one nature that was a combination of the two natures.
Another perfect video from ted-Ed,thank your😀😀
Interesting story
I, an introvert, have been watching TED-ED because i have nothing else to do in the quarantine for COVID-19
And because i don’t want to move
same lol
Prester John may be behind only Odysseus as the most influential person who never lived.
Who came here after noticing the similarity between Salvatore and Salvadore
The crusades were in Egypt & Carthage Jerusalem had no intrinsic value for a 400 yr. War
First
Cool
Cool
Cool
You’re actually first. Good job.
Kathy 1162 ur finally the first first 😂😂
Ethiopians literally did the medieval equivalent of a Nigerian prince scam email,but with an entire European nation
That level of dedication demands my admiration...
The great gossip of the Golden age.
See history of the Mozarabic rite, the Franciscan order, and the Franciscan custody of Jerusalem. St. Catherine of Alexandria pray for us and St. Monica of Hippo. Who did Solomon call to help build the first temple??? Lincol, Blinken, and the land of Nod... Use of Lincoln Rite of York. Santiago on the kings Rd. Hey 99.
Imagination creates wonders.
As a portuguese let me just provide some context to why no one actually has a clue about this war.
The Finding of a new route to India is a subject Portuguese People Cherish, and it is in fact what started out "Boom" in Europe, but there is no mention of the Civil War with Ethiopia anywhere in books neither for kids nor grown ups. Mostly because history in Portugal doesn't really add up to Mythological Tales or Myths in general. So my guess is we erased that part of History because of Preston John
I love the animation. cross✝️ turning into sword🗡 symbolising religions wars is really impressive 🤍
That was really cringe, actually.
I thought this was about jesus
F.