Catching the Prester John Bug 
John Mullan
- Baudolino by Umberto Eco, translated by William Weaver
Somewhere in the skirts of the fabled land of Prester John, late in the 12th century, Baudolino, the protagonist of Umberto Eco’s latest novel, encounters a pygmy. He discovers that ‘the greeting to exchange with him was Lumus kelmin pesso desmar lon emposo, which means that you pledged not to make war against him and his people.’ Baudolino’s quickness with tongues is what has allowed him to prosper, or at least to survive. He has assured his companions that ‘unknown languages would create no problems, because when he had spoken with barbarians for a little while, he learned to speak as they did.’
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John Mullan, who edited Moll Flanders and Robinson Crusoe for Everyman, is a professor of English at University College London. How Novels Work will appear in October.
Other articles by this contributor:
High-Meriting, Low-Descended · The Unpolished Pamela
Zone of Anecdotes · Betrothed to Christ and in a muddle
Taking Sides · on the high road with Bonnie Prince Charlie
Unpranked Lyre · The Laziness of Thomas Gray
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