The imaginary king who changed the real world - Matteo Salvadore episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 15, 2026 · 8 MIN

The imaginary king who changed the real world - Matteo Salvadore

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Get to know the legend of the king known as Prester John, whose myth would impact the decisions of European leaders for 400 years. --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.Educator's website: https://aus.academia.edu/MatteoSalvadoreAnimator's website: https://animationworkshop.via.dk/Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterSupport us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagramView full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-imaginary-king-who-changed-the-real-world-matteo-salvadoreThank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Monkeypatcher, Laurence McMillan, Connor Roberts, Dmitry Neverov, Tonya Ratliff-Garrison, Avinash Amarnath, Eric McDaniel, Cristian Cristian, France Lipužič, EdoKun , Rare Media, Rayo, Faizan, Elizabeth Gu, Nazmul Idris, Po Foon Kwong, Siobhan O'Connor Gwozdz, NinjaBoffin, Jesse Jurman, Josue Perez Miranda, Jan-Erik, Scott Markley, Kaitlyn holland, Elija Peterson, Michele Lynn Rose, Jai Prasanth, Vack91, David Lucsanyi, Xavier dupont, Marisa Miller, Boytsov Ilya, Steven Razey, Javier Aldavaz, Nathan Giusti, Mada Arslan, Joichiro Yamada, Ritul Raghavan, Aline de Paula Zillig, Yambu Ganesh Shaw, Abeer Rajbeen, John Hong, Minh Tran, Helen Lee, Anthony Benedict, Turine Tran, Mathew Samuel, Karthik Balsubramanian, Lee, Livia-Alexandra Sarban and Annastasshia Ames. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 15, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

The imaginary king who changed the real world - Matteo Salvadore

0:00 8:18

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of TED-Ed?

This episode is 8 minutes long.

When was this TED-Ed episode published?

This episode was published on August 15, 2026.

Can I download this TED-Ed episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!