The account of the journey of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, in his embassy to the court of Timour, at Samarcand, is the oldest Spanish narrative of travels of any value. Indeed the literature of Spain then consisted only of ballads, and a few chronicles. John II, the poet, and patron of literature, was in his cradle ; and the exquisite serranas of the Marquis of Santillana were still unwritten. None of the great historians and poets, who afterwards raised Spanish literature to such a height of excellence, had appeared, and no Spaniard had yet produced a narrative of travels which is at all worthy of remembrance.

It was in the earliest dawn of Spanish literature that the good and trusty old knight, Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo carefully wrote the journal of his embassy; and this fact alone gives a peculiar interest to the work. In a historical point of view it is also important, because the descriptions of the Spanish knight corroborate many of the statements of Ali of Yezd, Mirkhond, and other eastern writers; and, as a narrative of what he saw and heard, his journal describes travels which are equal in interest to those of Marco Polo and of Sir John Mandeville.

The peaceful reign of Henry III of Castille is famous for the attempts of that prince to extend the diplomatic relations of Spain to the remotest parts of the earth. Mariana tells us that he sent embassies to the princes of Christendom, and to the Moors, to gather information respecting their affairs, and to collect all the knowledge that could be useful for the good government of his own country.