The Three Princes of Serendip is the English version of the story
Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo published by Michele Tramezzino in Venice in 1557. Tramezzino claimed to have heard the story from one Christophero Armeno, who had translated the
Persian fairy tale into Italian, adapting Book One of
Amir Khusrau's
Hasht-Bihisht of 1302. The story first came to English via a French translation, and now exists in several out-of-print translations.
Serendip is the
Persian and
Urdu name for
Sri Lanka, which was adopted from
Sanskrit Suvarnadweepa, meaning golden island, or originally from
Tamil "Seren deevu". In contrast, some trace the etymology to
Simhaladvipa, which literally translates to "Dwelling place of the Sinhalese race".