Sir John Mandeville ends his account with the tale of the land of Prester John. He claims Prester John is regarded as “the Emperor of India”, and that his land, called “the isle of Pentixoire”, is composed of many kingdoms of Christians. It is exceedingly clear that Mandeville has never been to India, as he begins by describing it as being composed of islands because of “great floods flowing in from Paradise”. Here, the author of Sir John Mandeville’s narrative really takes advantage of being able to describe the land as he wishes, with no contradictions from other travelers; he describes an idealistic and fanciful land full of riches and beauty, where good rules over all and the Christians are in power. He justifies the small amount of visitors by explaining that merchants find what they need in the isles of Cathay, which are closer and a much less dangerous trip than the journey to the lands of Prester John. However, Mandeville assures his readers that the lands of Prester John are nevertheless exceedingly wealthy.

John Mandeville concentrates mostly on describing the faith and piety of Prester John and the wealth and beauty his land possesses. He describes Prester John and his people as being devout Christians who believe wholeheartedly in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and who are loyal to one another and their faith. Even in battle, they are led by three gold crosses, who are protected by hundreds of thousands of guards. This is possible because, according to Mandeville, Prester John possesses an army composed of “innumerable men” to bring with him into battle. When not riding into battle, he carries a plain wooden cross with him, which seems to be a sign of humbleness, piety, and respect for the way his Lord died. However, despite the fact that Mandeville claims the people of Prester John’s kingdoms “set no store by material possessions”, he reports that Prester John also carries with him a vessel “full of gold and jewels, gems like rubies, sapphires, emeralds, topaz, irachite, chrysolites, and various other gems” as a symbol of his lordship and power. Sir John Mandeville then goes on to describe Prester John’s city, palace, and lands to be overflowing with exactly the type of material possession that he claims the people put no stock in. Mandeville seems to find it very important to emphasize the wealth and riches owned by the Prester John and his people. His descriptions of the gems and jewels that he apparently finds around every corner in Pentixoire seem intended to produce an awed and impressed reaction from his audience, rather than an accurate or realistic description of what a pious and humble Christian man might possess. In fact, most of Mandeville’s descriptions seem targeted towards producing a reaction rather than composing what might seem like a real world; he describes nearly everything as being either good and beautiful or evil and malevolent and therefore fought against by Prester John, and he finishes by reenforcing Prester John’s Christianity and the piousness of his people, even claiming that the kings under Prester John are all bishops, abbots, and other members of Christian clergy. Sir John Mandeville’s account of the lands of Prester John were designed to produce and amazed and dazzled reaction from his audience and connect that reaction to the idea of the greatness of Christianity.

In his narrative “The Book of John Mandeville” the author mentions Jerusalem many times before he actually talks about the city in a separate chapter, because Jerusalem is the destination of most of the routes in the first few chapters. The specific chapter about Jerusalem is, like many of the others, greatly religious based. Almost everything he mentions has a religious element to it. He talks about the location of the city, the terrain around it and the cities nearby. Many of these have religious names and he includes where the names came from. He describes various buildings in Jerusalem, and their religious importance. He goes off on a short tangent about the story of Jesus’ death on the cross, but then explains which places in Jerusalem are connected to the story.  Almost every attraction he talks about has religious significance. He discusses some of the history of Jerusalem, especially regarding the races of people who have controlled it (religious groups like Christians and Jews are included in his definition of races) and includes information about the mountains nearby as well as the dead sea. Many other religious stories and figures are mentioned in the chapter also.

While other chapters in “The Book of John Mandeville” have seemed to be more for entertainment purposes than actual practical use, this chapter actually appears more like a guidebook for the religious pilgrim visiting Jerusalem. The author discusses in detail many different religious buildings and attractions and in some cases even includes where they are located in the city. He describes how many miles away other prominent cities in the area are and includes some history of the city itself. Almost all the information he includes in this chapter is religiously connected, and the chapter seems like the perfect companion for a pilgrim visit Jerusalem. Many of the most important religious places a pilgrim would want to visit are included in the chapter, and the author gives information on the religious history and significance for each of these. He also includes helpful information about the surrounding terrain, about the mountains and the dead sea nearby. The inclusion of descriptions of where other cities are in miles and how many steps it takes to get from one religious attraction to the other also lends to the feeling that this chapter is like a guidebook.