ABSTRACT
Among all the interests of medieval people, Indians scarcely hold a leading place. Yet the medieval West did turn its attention to India and the East, and it absorbed from this interest a number of cultural features. The Brahmans, often confused or conflated with the Gymnosophists, were introduced to the West through the first-hand accounts of India written by those who accompanied Alexander the Great on his expedition. Medieval acquaintance with the Brahmans, then, depended upon whatever information passed through the hands of these writers. One of the fairly consistent features especially of the later Beatus maps is the juxtaposition of India and the Garden of Eden. Philippe uses the Indians as models for Richard's understanding of the ideals of international Christianity and the consistency of the literary understanding of the Indian tradition as a vehicle for satire and gentle self-criticism.
