Transcriber's Note:

The [Transcriber's Note] is at the end of the book.

THE VOIAGE AND TRAVAYLE OF SIR
JOHN MAUNDEVILLE, KNIGHT.

THE VOIAGE AND TRAVAYLE
OF
SIR JOHN MAUNDEVILLE
KNIGHT
WHICH TREATETH OF THE WAY TOWARD HIERUSALEM
AND OF MARVAYLES OF INDE WITH OTHER
ILANDS AND COUNTREYS
Edited, Annotated, and Illustrated in Facsimile
BY
JOHN ASHTON

Author of "Chap Books of the 18th Century," "Social
Life in the Reign of Queen Anne," "English Caricature and
Satire on Napoleon I.," &c.

LONDON

PICKERING & CHATTO

66, Haymarket

1887

CHISWICK PRESS:—C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT,
CHANCERY LANE.

PREFACE.

I HAVE edited, and illustrated "The Voiage and Travayle of Syr John Maundeville, Knight," for two reasons. First, that a popular edition has not been published for many years—so much so, that many otherwise well educated people hardly know his name; or, if they do, have never read his book of Marvels. Secondly, a good edition has not yet been published. Putting aside the chap-books of the eighteenth century, which could only cram a small portion of his book into their little duodecimos, the only English versions of this century are the reprint by Halliwell, in 1839, of the reprint in 1725-1727, of the early fifteenth century MS. (Cotton, Tit. c. 16), which he again reprinted in 1866,[¹] the edition in "Bohn's Classical Library" ("Early Travels in Palestine"), 1848; and "The English Explorers," which forms part of Nimmo's "National Library," 1875. There was also a small edition published in Cassell's "National Library" in 1886 in modern English.

Halliwell's reprint of the Cotton MS. is open to objection, because the language of the MS. is specially rude, and can only be understood by professed antiquaries, no footnotes explanatory of the text being given, only a glossary at the end of the book. Also, Mr. Halliwell has taken his illustrations from various sources, not confining himself to English woodcuts—the Cotton MS. having no illustrations. If, however, the language in Halliwell's edition is too archaic, Bohn and Nimmo err in the opposite direction. Without illustrations, and clothed in modern English, they are bald in the extreme; whilst the editors of both have not been over careful to closely copy the text.

Seeing these difficulties, and dearly loving Sir John, in spite of his romancing, I cast about for a book which should fulfil the conditions of an edition I should like for my own reading; which should have the spice of the old language, without being unreadable, like the Cotton MS., and which contained the original quaint illustrations. This I have found in a reprint of Pynson's unique edition (now in the Grenville Library, British Museum), from which it varies very slightly, except in the modernizing of the language, which is rather an advantage; and which, by means of the copious footnotes I have made, will, I hope, be easily read by anybody.

This edition, too, was particularly rich in woodcuts, which I have faithfully facsimiled; and, in the Appendix, I have reproduced a few from other editions, showing the different treatment of some subjects. In the Appendix, also, I have given a list of all the editions of Sir John Mandeville's Travels now in the British Museum. A glance at this will show how popular his book was, in all civilized countries, and in all ages, since its first publication.[²] I have thought that an edition should be produced which could be read by all, and therefore have given explanations of words and facts, perfectly familiar to advanced students, by means of which they will not be inconvenienced, and the general reader much benefited.

Perhaps the Illustrations in one or two of the early foreign editions are quainter, but I wanted, and have got, a thoroughly representative English Edition, which gives Sir John's adventures, with their concomitant "Travellers' Tales," without the apocryphal stories which were introduced into some of the MSS. and foreign editions.

Of East, the printer of the exemplar I have chosen, very little is known; and, curiously, he is ignored in Herbert and Dibdin's edition of Ames' Typographical Antiquities. According to Ames, he was made free of the Stationers' Company 3rd December, 1565, and he gives his first known printed book as 1569, or a year later than the book I have copied. East, according to the same authority, was granted a patent for ruled paper for music, and worked both for Bird and Tallis. The date of his death does not seem to be known, but his widow, or daughter, printed a book of Bird's music in 1610.

JNO. ASHTON.

[1:] This has again been reprinted in 1884.

[2:] Colonel Yule, in "The Book of Ser Marco Polo," &c. (1871), says:—"And from the great frequency with which one encounters in catalogues both MSS. and early printed editions of Sir John Maundeville, I should suppose that the lying wonders of our English knight had a far greater popularity and more extensive diffusion than the veracious and more sober marvels of Polo. In Quaritch's last catalogue (November, 1870) there is only one old edition of Polo; there are nine of Maundeville. In 1839 there were nineteen MSS. of the latter catalogued in the British Museum Library. There are now only five of Marco Polo. At least twenty-five editions of Maundeville, and only five of Polo were printed in the fifteenth century."

INTRODUCTION.

I KNOW of nothing more likely to be provocative of a literary war than the question of Sir John Mandeville's personal entity. Were I to express an opinion either way—that he was a real being, or that he never existed—fierce would be the criticism on my views, and much good ink be spilt, which might well be devoted to a better purpose, so that I prefer letting the reader form his own opinion thereon,—a course which will save everybody any trouble or vexation of spirit.

We labour under this difficulty—all that is known about him is what he tells us himself, and no one who reads the book can altogether trust his absolute verity. If his book is a mere compilation from other sources, so then is that of Odorico (who died January, 1331), which I place in an Appendix, and which agrees with Mandeville in so many particulars, that one might reasonably suppose him to be the "fellawe," or companion, whom he frequently mentions, and connect him with that Minorite friar from Lombardy (for Odorico was born at Udine or Friuli) who shrove them before their entrance into "y^e Valey of Divels."[¹] According to his own account, he was a knight, that he was born at St. Albans, and that he left England on his wonderful voyage on 29th September, 1322. He informs us that he travelled through Asia Minor, Armenia, Tartary, Persia, Syria, Arabia, Upper and Lower Egypt, Libya, Chaldæa, a large portion of Ethiopia, Amazonia, Lower India, and the greater part of Upper India, together with the neighbouring islands. If his narrative can be trusted, he lived in most friendly relations with the ruler of Egypt, whom he served in his war against the Bedouins, and was on such familiar terms that they would privately argue on religious topics, and he was even offered a richly dowered princess as a wife, if he would but change his creed, and become a Mahometan. If he can be believed, he wandered all over the then known world, and gratified his military instincts by helping the Emperor of China in his war against the sovereign of Manzi. He tells us that after thirty-four years of wandering and exile he returned to England, taking Rome in his way home, in order to get the Pope's Imprimatur to his book, for which he naïvely gives as reason: "and, for as much as many men beleve not that they see with theyr eyen, or y^t they may conceiue & know in their mynde, therefore I made my way to Rome in my coming homewarde, to shew my boke to the holy father the pope, and tell him of the mervayles y^t I had sene in diverse countreys; so that he with his wise counsel wold examine it, with diverse folke y^t are at Rome, for there dwell men of all nations of the world, and a lytle time after whan he & his coũsel had examined it all through, he sayde to me for a certayne that it was true, for he sayd he had a boke of latin contayning all that, and much more, of y^e which Mappa Mundi is made, the which boke I saw, & therefore the pope hath ratyfied & confirmed my boke in all poyntes." If any portion of this is true, it is probable that the "boke of latin" may have been Pliny, Solinus, or some other equally veracious writer.

As to the "Mappa Mundi" constructed from such sources, that at Hereford may be taken as a type of ideal geography of the time. This was almost contemporary with Mandeville, and is ascribed to the very early part of the fourteenth century. Indeed, it can be proved to be of this date, for, among other inscriptions on the map, is the following:-

"Tuz Ki cest estoire ont.

Ou oyront ou lirront ou veront.

Prieut a ihesu su deyte.

De Richard de Haldingdam e de Lafford eyt pite.

Ki lat fet e compasse.

Ki ioie eu cel li seit donc."

Which may be thus translated:—

"All who have, or shall have, or shall read, or shall see this history—pray to Jesu in deity (or as God) that he may have pity on Richard of Haldingham and of Lafford, who has made and contrived it, that joy in heaven may be given unto him."

Richard of Haldingham, or Holdingham, whose real name was Richard de la Battayle, or de Bello,[²] held the prebend of Lafford (now Sleaford), in Lincoln Cathedral up to the year 1283, and afterwards held the prebend of Norton, in Hereford Cathedral. Hardy, in his edition of Le Neve's Fasti Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ, says he was appointed to this stall in 1305. He was afterwards preferred to the Archidiaconate of Berkshire. Perhaps the best description of this map is in a paper read before the Geographical Society of Paris, 30th November, 1861, by M. D'Avezac, President of the Society, a translation of which may be found in the Gentleman's Magazine of May, 1863. He considers it to have been executed early in the year 1314, because Lyons was not annexed to France till the 30th of April, 1313, and gives other reasons, equally strong, in support of his argument.

Thus, then, we have a contemporary map as a guide, and on this Hereford map are portrayed all the monsters described by Mandeville—the one-eyed men, those with their heads in their breasts, even the big-footed one-legged man—all those things which are regarded as fable in Mandeville—are here drawn, and evidently must have been currently believed in. So that when Mandeville, or some subsequent editor, challenged the Mappa Mundi as confirmatory evidence, he clearly knew what he was about.

A strong presumption of his personal being is drawn from the fact that Liège is said to be the place of his burial, see Appendix Harl., 3589. 2, "qui obiit Leodii a.d. 1382." That he was believed to have lived at Liège is also shown in Appendix Grenville, 6728/3, where he is said to have written his book in the year 1355; and if Weever[³] is to believed, he died there, but at an earlier date, namely, 1371. Speaking of St. Albans, he says: "This Towne vaunts her selfe very much of the birth and buriall of Sir Iohn Mandeuill Knight, the famous Trauailer, who writ in Latine, French, and in the English tongue, his Itinerary of three and thirty yeares. And that you may beleeue the report of the Inhabitants to bee true, they haue lately pensild a rare piece of Poetry, or an Epitaph for him, vpon a piller; neere to which, they suppose his body to haue beene buried, which I think not much amisse to set downe; for although it will not bee worth the reading, yet do but set it to some lofty tune, as to the Hunting of Antichrist, or the leke, I know it will be well worth the singing: marke how it runs.

"'All yee that passe, on this pillar cast eye,

This Epitaph read if you can;

'Twill tell you a Tombe onc't stood in this roome,

Of a braue spirited man.

Iohn Mandeuill by name, a knight of great fame,

Borne in this honoured Towne.

Before him was none that euer was knowne,

For trauaile of so high renowne.

As the Knights in the Temple, crosse-legged in marble,

In armour, with sword and with sheeld,

So was this Knight grac't, which time hath defac't,

That nothing but ruines doth yeeld.

His Trauailes being donne, he shines like the Sun,

In heauenly Canaan.

To which blessed place, O Lord of his grace

Bring vs all man after man.'

"That he was borne heere in this Towne I cannot much deny; but I am sure that within these few yeares, I saw his Tombe in the Citie of Leege, within the Church of the religious house of the Guilliammits, with this Inscription vpon it, and the verses following hanging by on a table.

"Hic iacet vir nobilis D. Ioannes de Mandevile, Al;[⁴] D. ad Barbam miles; Dominus de Campdi: natus de Anglia, Medicine professor, deuotissimus orator: et bonorum largissimus pauperibus erogator qui toto quasi orbe lustrato. Leodij diem vite sue clausit extremum. Ann. Dom. M.C.C.C.lxxi. Mens. Nouemb. die xvi.

ALIUD.

"'Hoc iacet in tumulo, cui totus patria vino

Orbis erat; totum quem peragrasse ferunt.

Anglus Equesque fuit, nunc ille Britannus Vlysses

Dicatur, Graio clarus Vlysse magis.

Moribus, ingenio, candore, & sanguine clarus

Et vere cultor Relligionis erat.

Nomen si queras, est Mandevil, Indus, Arabsque

Sat notum dicet finibus esse suis.'

"The Churchmen will shew you here his kniues, the furniture of his horse, and his spurres, which he vsed in his trauells."

Thus speaks Weever, and nobody doubts but that there was a tomb of a Jehan de Maundeville in the Abbey of the Guilelmites,[⁵] which is mentioned by Bollandus in his Acta Sanctorum (Februarius, Tom. 2, p. 481, edit. 1658) as "Domus de Motta extra Leodium, inchoata, anno CIↃCCLXXXI." The abbey, or hospital, is now destroyed; but, as side proofs, let me give two extracts from different works of the eighteenth century. One, "Abrégé curieux et nouveau de l'histoire de Liege," &c. (no date), 24mo., p. 117. "L'Hôpital & la Chapelle de S. Guilleaume aux Faux-bourgs de S. Walburge furent fondez l'an 1330," and in "Abrégé Chronologique de l'histoire de Liege, jusqu'a l'année 1784, &c." Liege, 1784, 12mo., p. 66. It says, "L'hôpital & la chapelle de Saint Guillaume au fauxbourg de Sainte Walburge furent fondés l'an 1330."

As I said before, regarding Mandeville it must be a question of faith. If Weever is to be relied on, he was a physician, and from the fact of his wearing a beard, probably acquired in his eastern travels, he received the sobriquet of "ad Barbam." This title, however, is claimed for a certain "Jehan de Bourgoigne dit à la Barbe," but the bare fact of anyone wearing a beard in France, in the clean-shaven fourteenth century, was sufficient to make him remarkable.

If, again, Weever and others are to be relied on, he died in 1371, and it is a curious fact that the earliest French, or Romance, manuscript known in this country is one of that date, and, moreover, it is circumstantially dated, as will be shown hereafter. This MS. is in the Earl of Ashburnham's collection (catalogued Barrois 24), which every lover of literature will regret was not secured for the nation in its entirety. Its text is most beautiful, and the few illuminations are fine examples of fourteenth century French art. But what I want particularly to point out, is the curious coincidence of dates—absolutely contemporaneous. Whether there were any MSS. published before then I cannot tell, but here is a book published the year of his death, when inquiry would have proved easily whether such a man had ever lived, but the whole style of the MS. shows that he was well known as a traveller, and it is evidently copied from an earlier edition, as at the end it says, "Ce livre cy fist escrire honorables homes sages et discret maistre Gervaise crestien, maistre en medicine, et premier phisicien de tres puissant noble et excellent prince Charles, par la Grace de Dieu, roy de France, Escript par Raoulet dorliens lan de grace mil ccclxxj le xviij jour de Septembre."

Here we have an authentic date, which there could be no earthly reason to falsify, and this MS. was written—unless Weever and others are liars—during the man's lifetime. For, according to their authority, he did not die until November of that year, and we must not fail to remember that Liege was not a very far cry from Paris, and that his fame must have been great, or his book would never have been written as a present for the king, as it probably was.

This manuscript, being the earliest known, is also useful in another way. By some singular chance, all the English versions make out that Mandeville wrote his book first in Latin, then in French, and afterwards in English. But this manuscript settles the point, as it says, "Et sachies q̃ je eusse cest livret mis en latin pour plus briefment deviser. Mais pour ce que pluseurs entendent mieulx rom̃ant que latin je lay mis en rom̃ant par quoy q̃ chacun lentende." Which I translate: "And know that I should (or might) have written this book in Latin, for the sake of brevity. But, because more people know the Romance (or French) tongue, than Latin, I have written it in Romance, so that anyone may understand it." And this translation is endorsed by E. M. Thompson, Esq., the head of the MS. department in the British Museum. It all depends on the words "je eusse." They do not mean I had; and, even in modern French, might be used for I should have, although of course j'aurais would be better.

For many years he has been called the "father of English Prose," but this title, after the above, is doubtful, even if his existence is granted, and belongs of right to Wyclif.

Another book, and a very rare and curious one it is, is attributed to Mandeville. There is a copy of this book in the British Museum (C. 27, f. 2), which, although in Gothic letter, gives no clue as to its date, or place of birth, nor do any of the bibliographical authorities which I have consulted (and they are all that can be found in the British Museum) throw any light upon it. The museum authorities catalogue it as Lyons? 1530? Its title is "Le Lapidaire en francoys compose par messire Jehan de mandeuille chevalier." Its contents are of little worth, except that they contain a store of legendary lore relating to precious stones, such as are met with in most medieval treatises on jewels and it winds up with a prayer. The authorship of this book, too, must be a matter of faith, since it has nothing to guarantee it but its title-page.

It is somewhat singular too, that the Latin letter supposed to be written by Mandeville to King Edward the Third, and which is apropos of nothing, only exists in the French edition.

In the appended Travels of Oderico, the Minorite Friar, I have italicized many of the passages which are identical with Mandeville's description in order that the reader may have easier reference.

[1:] "And there were in our company two friers minours of Lombardy, & sayd, if any of us wold go in, they wold also, as they had sayd so, and upon trust of them we sayd that we wold go, & we dyd sing a masse, and were shriven & houseled, and we went in xiiii men, and whē we came out we were but x."

[2:] Havergal's Fasti Herefordenses, p. 161.

[3:] "Ancient Funerall Monuments, &c. Composed by the Travels and Studie of John Weever." Lond. 1631. It is exceedingly singular that a book published at Antwerp in 1584, "The Itinerarium per nonnullas Galliæ Belgicæ partes Abrahami Ortelii et Joannis Viviani," confirms Weever, in such almost identical words, that it is not worth while to append a translation. Ortelius, or Ortell, writes (p. 16):—"Est in hac quoq. regione Gulielmitarũ Cœnobium in quo epitaphiũ hoc Joannis à Mandeuille excepimus: Hic iacet vir nobilis dn͠s Joẽs de Mandeville al' dc͠vs ad barbam, miles dn͠s de Cãpdi, natus de Anglia, mediciẽ p̃f̃essor devotissimvs orator et bonorum largissimvs pauperibus erogata qui toto quasi orbe lustrato leodii diem vite sue clavsit extremum a͠no dn͠i M^o CCC^o LXXI mensis novẽbre' die XVII.

"Hæc in lapide, in quo cœlata viri armati imago, leonem calcantis, barba bifurcata, ad caput manus benedicens, & vernacula hæc verba: Vos ki paseis sor mi povr lamovr deix proies por me. Clypeus erat vacuus, in quo olim laminam fuisse dicebant æream, & eius in ea itidem cœlata insignia, leonem videlicet argenteum, cui ad pectus lunula rubea, in campo cœruleo, quem limbus ambiret denticulatus ex oro. Eius nobis ostendebãt & cultros, ephippioque, & calcaria, quibus usum fuisse afferebãt in perigrando toto fere terrarum orbe, vt clarius eius testatur Itinerarium, quod typis etiam excusum passim habetur."

[4:] "Otherwise called the Bearded Knight."

[5:] An order founded by Sir William of Maleval—a hermit—who died 10th Feb., 1157. The order was somewhat austere, as the members went barefoot, and their fasts were almost continual. They have nearly all been absorbed into the Augustines.

THE TABLE.

The Voiage and Travayle of Syr John Maundeville, Knight.

Here beginneth a lyttle treatise or boke, named John Maundevile Knight, borne in England in the towne of Sainct Albone, & speaketh of the wayes to Hierusalem, to Inde, and to the greate Cane,[¹] and also to Prester Johns land, & to many other countreys, & also of many marvailes that are in the holy Lande.

FOR AS MUCH as the lande over the sea, that is to say, the holy land, that men cal the land of Behest,[²] among all other lands is most worthy & Soveraine, for it is blessed, halowed, and sacred of the precious bloud of our Lord Jesu Christ, in the which land, it liked him to take flesh and bloud of the Virgin Mary, & to environ that lande with his owne feete, and there he wold do many myracles, preach and teach the fayth and the law of Christen men, as unto his children, & there he would suffer many reprouves and scornes for us, and he that was King of heaven and hell, of ayre, of sea, of lande, and of all things that are contained in them, wold alonely[³] be called King of that land, when he sayde, Rex sum Judeorum, I am King of Jewes: For that tyme was that lande of Jewes, and that lande he chose before all other landes, as the best & most worthy of vertues of all the world. And as the Philosopher sayth, Virtus rerum in medio consistit. That is to say, the vertue of things is in the midst: and in that lande he would leade his lyfe, and suffer passion and death of the Jewes for us, to save and deliver us from the paines of hell, and from deathe without ende, the which was ordeyned to us for the sinne of our father Adam, and our owne synnes also, for as for himself he had none evil done ne[⁴] deserved, for he never thought ne dyd any evyll, for he that was King of Glory and of joy might best in that place suffer death. For he that will do any thinge that he will haue knowen openly, he wyll proclayme it openly in the myddle place of a towne or of a citie, so that it may bee knowne to all parties of the citie, so he that was King of glory and of all the worlde would suffer death for us at Hierusalem, which is in the mydst of the worlde, so that it might be knowen to all nations of the worlde how deare he bought man, that he made with his handes in his owne likenesse, for the great loue that he had to us. Ah dere God, what love he had to his subjects, when he that had done no trespasse, would for us trespassours suffer death: for a more worthy catell[⁵] he might not have sette for us, then his owne blessed bodie and his owne precious bloud the which he suffered for us: right wel ought men to love, worship dreade, and serve such a Lord, and prayse such an holy lande that brought forth a lord of such fruite, through the which eche man is saved but if it be his own defaute. This is that lande prepared for an heritage to us, and in that lande would he dye as seased,[⁶] to leaue it to his children. For the which eche good Chrysten man that may & hath wherewith, should strengthen him for to conquere our righte heritage, and purchace[⁷] out of the evill peoples handes: for we are cleped[⁸] christen men of Christ our father, and if we be the ryght children of Christ, we oughte to challenge the heritage that our father lefte us & take it out of straunge mens handes. But now Pryde, Covetyse and Envy hath so inflamed the hearts of the lordes of the worlde, that they are more busy for to disheryte theyr neighbours than to challenge or conquere their right heritage aforesayde. And the common people that would put their bodies and theyr catell for to conquere our heritage, they may not do so without lordes: for assembling of the people without a chiefe lorde, is as a flocke of sheepe without a sheepherd, the which depart asunder, and wot not whether they shall go. But would[⁹] God, the worldly Lordes were at a good accorde, and with other of their common people would take this holy voyage over the sea. I trust well that within a little tyme our right heritage before sayd should be reconsiled and put into the hands of the right heires of Jesu Christ. And for as much as it is long time that there was any general passage over the sea, and that many men desire to here speaking of the holy lande, and have therefore great solace and comfort, therefore ye shall here by me John Maundevile Knight which was borne in England in the towne of Saint Albones, and passed the sea in the yeare of our Lord Jesu Christ a. MIII.C.[¹⁰] on the day of Sainct Michael, and there remained long tyme, and went through many landes, and many provinces, kingdomes and yles, & have passed through Turkey, and through Armony[¹¹] the lyttle and the great, through Tartary, Percy,[¹²] Surre,[¹³] Araby, Egypt the high and the low, through Libie, Caldee and a great part of Ethiope, through Amazonie through Inde the lesse & the more a great part, and through many other yles which are about Inde, where many people dwelleth of divers lawes and shapes. Of the men of which landes and yles I shall speake more plainly and I shall devise[¹⁴] a parte of the things what they are when time shall be, after it may best come to my mynde & specially for them that will, and are in purpose, for to visite the holy citie of Hierusalem and the holy places that are there aboute & I shall tell the way that they shall holde[¹⁵] thither, for I have many times passed and ridden it with good company and with many lordes.

[1:] Khan.

[2:] Promise.

[3:] Pynson, all oonly.

[4:] Nor.

[5:] Treasure, money, goods, property, possessions.

[6:] Possessing (seized).

[7:] Pynson, "and chase out the ylle trowand."

[8:] Called.

[9:] (to) omitted.

[10:] Pynson and other authorities say MCCCXXXII.

[11:] Armenia.

[12:] Persia.

[13:] Syria.

[14:] Relate.

[15:] Travel or journey.

CAP: I.

He that will go toward Hierusalem on horse, on foote, or by sea.

IN the name of God Almightie. He that will passe over the sea, he may go many wayes both by sea and by lande, after the countreys that he cometh from, and many of them cometh to one ende, but think not that I will tell all the townes, cities & castelles that men shall goe by, for then I should make to long a tale, but only some countries and most principall cities and townes that men shall go by and through to go the right way.

First, if a man come from the west side of the worlde as England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Norway, he may if he wyl, go through Almayne[¹] and throughout the Kingdome of Hungary, which Kinge is a great lord and a mightie, and holdeth many landes & great, for he holdeth the land of Hungarie, Savoy,[²] Camonie,[³] a great part of Bulgary, that men call the land of Bugres, and a great part of the Kingdome of Rossie,[⁴] and that lasteth to the land of Mifland,[⁵] and marcheth on Siprus,[⁵] and men passe thus through the land of Hungary and through the Citie that men call Cipanum,[⁶] and through the castell of Nuburgh,[⁷] and by the yll Torwe,[⁸] towarde the ende of Hungarie and so by the river of Danubie, that is a full great ryver and goeth into Almayne, under the hilles of Lumbardy, and it taketh into him 40 other ryvers and it runneth throughout Hungary and through Cresses[⁹] and Crochie,[⁹] and goeth into the sea so strongely and with so great might that the water is freshe xxx[¹⁰] myle within the sea and afterwards go men to Belgrave[¹¹] and entereth the lande of Bugres and there pass men a bridge of stone that is over the river Marrock,[¹²] and so men passe through the lande of Pinseras[¹³] and come to Grece to the citie of Stermis,[¹⁴] and to the citie of Affinpane,[¹⁵] that was sometime called Bradre[¹⁶] the noble and so to the citie of Constantinople that was sometime called Bessameron[¹⁷] and there dwelleth commonly the Emperor of Grece.

At Constantinople is the best and the fairest church of the worlde, and it is of sainct Steven.[¹⁸] And before this church is a gylte image of Justinian the Emperour, and it is sitting upon an horse and crowned, and it was wont to holde a round appell[¹⁹] in his hand, & men say there that it is a token that the Emperour hath lost a part of his landes, for the appell is fallen out of the images hand: and also he hath lost a great parte of his lordshippe. For he was wont to be Emperour of Rome, of Grece, and of all Asia the lesse, of Surry, and of the land of Jude,[²⁰] in the which is Jerusalem, & of the land of Egipt, of Percie & Arabia, but he hath lost all but Grece, and that lande he holdeth all onely. Men would put the appell in the images hande, but it will not holde it. This appell betokeneth the lordship that he had over all the world, and the other hand he lifteth up against the East,[²¹] in token to manasse[²²] misdoers. This image standeth upon a pyller of marble.

At Constantinople is the crosse of our Lord and his cote without seame, the sponge and the rede with which the Jewes gave our Lord gall to drinke on the Crosse, and there is one of the nayles that our Lorde Jesu Christ was nayled with to the Crosse. Some men think that halfe the Crosse of Christ be in Cipres in an Abbey of Monkes, that men call the hill of the holy crosse, but it is not so, for the crosse that is in Cipres is the crosse on which Dysmas[²³] the good theefe was hanged, but all men wot[²⁴] not that, & that is evil done but for the getting of the offering they say that it is the crosse of our Lorde, and ye shall understande that the crosse of our Lorde Jesus Christ was made of foure maner of trees, as it is conteyned in this verse following.

In cruce fit Palma, Cedrus, et Cypressus, Oliva.

For the piece that went ryght up from the earth unto the head was of Cipres, and the piece that went overthwart, to the which his handes were nayled, was of Palme, and the stock that stood within the earth in the which they had made a morteys, was of Cedre, and the table aboue his head was a foote and a half long, on which y^e tytle was written, y^t was of Olyve. Y^e Jewes made this crosse of these foure maner of trees for they thought y^t our Lord shold have hanged as long as y^e crosse might last, therefore they made the foote of Cedre, for Ceder may not in the erth ne[²⁵] in water rot; they thought that the body of Christ shold have stonken, they made the piece y^t went from the yearth upwarde of Cipres so that the smell of his body shold greve no man that came by, and that overthwart was made of Palme in signification of Victory. And the table of the tytle was made of Olive, for it betokeneth peace, as the story of Noe witnesseth, when y^e dove brought y^e braunch of Olive that betokened peace made between God and man. And you also shal understande, that the Christen men that dwell over the sea, say that the pece of the Crosse that we call Cipres was of the tree that Adam eate the appell of, and so finde they written, and they say also that their scripture saith, that when Adam was sicke he sayd to his son Seth that he shold go to Paradise and pray that the Aungel that kepeth Paradise, y^t he wold send him oyle of the tree of mercy for to anoynte him that he might have health, & Seth went, but the Aungel would not let him com in at the gate, but said unto him that he might not have y^e oyle of mercy, but he took him three carnels[²⁶] of the same tree that his father eate the appell of, and bad him as sone as his father was dead, that he should put these carnels under his tongue and bury him, and he did so, and of these three carnels sprang a tree, as the Angel sayd and when the tree bare fruite, then shold Adam be made whole. And when Seth came againe and founde his father dead, he did with the carnels as the Aungell commaunded him, of the which came three trees, whereof a crosse was made that bare good fruite, that is to say, our saviour Jesu Christ, through whom Adam and all that came of him should be saved and delivered from everlasting death, but[²⁷] if it be their owne defaute.[²⁸] This holy crosse had the Jewes hid under the earth in y^e rock of the mount of Calvery, & it laye there two hundreth yeares and more, as they say, unto the tyme that Saint Elene found it, the which Saint Elene was daughter of Coel King of Englande, that then was called Britaine, and after maried to Constantius, fyrst Consul and after Emperour of Rome, who had by hir issue Constantine the great, born in England and afterward Emperour of Rome, which Constantine turned the name of Bezansium into Constantinople, he reedified that citie, and made it monarcall seate of all Europa and Asia Minor. Also ye shall understande that the crosse of our Lord was in length viii cubites and that the piece that went overthwart was three cubites[²⁹] and a halfe.

A part of the crowne of our Lord Jesu wherewith he was crowned & one of the nayles, and the speare head and many other reliques are in France at Paris in the chapell of the King, and the crowne lyeth in a vessell of cristall wel dight and richly, for y^e French King bought these reliques sometime of the Jewes, to whome the Emperour had laid them to pledge for a great sume of golde. And although men say that this Crowne was of thornes—ye shall understand that it was of Jonkes[³⁰] of the sea, which be white and pricketh as sharp as thornes, for I have seene and beheld many times that at Paris, and that at Constantinople, for they were both of one, and made of Jonkis of the sea. But men have departed him in two partes, of the which one parte is at Paris, and the other part at Constantinople, and I haue a point thereof that seemeth a white thorne, and that was given me for a great friendeship—for there are many of them broken and fallen into the vessell, when they shew the Crowne to great men or lordes that come theither. And ye shall understande that our Lord in that night that he was taken, he was led into a garden, and there he was examined sharply, & there the Jewes crowned him with a crown of abbespine[³¹] braunches that grew in the same garden & set it on his head so fast, that the blood came downe by many places of his visage, necke, and shoulders, and therefore hath the abbespine many vertues, for he that beareth a braunche of it about him, no thunder, nor any maner of tempest may hurt him, nor the house that it is in may no evill ghost come, nor in no place where it is. And in that same garden Sainct Peter denied our Lord thrise. And afterward was our Lord led before the Bishop and ministers of the lawe into another gardein of Anne[³²] and there was he examined, scorned & crowned efte[³³] with a swete thorn that men called barbareus[³⁴] that grew in the same gardein and that hath many vertues. And afterward he was led to a gardein of Caiphas, and there he was crowned again with eglentine,[³⁵] and after that he was led to a chamber of Pilate & there he was crowned, and the Jewes set him in a chaire and clad him in a mantell of purpure[³⁶] and then made they a crowne of Jonkes of the sea and there they kneled to him & scorned him saying Ave rex Judeorum. That is to say, haile King of Jewes. And of this crowne, halfe is in Paris and the other halfe at Constantinople, the which our Saviour Jesu Christ hadde on his head, when he was nayled on the crosse, and therefore shall men honour and worship it, and holde it more worthy then any of the other. And the speare shaft hath the Emperour of Almaine, but the head which was put in his side is at Paris they say, in the holy chappell, and oft tymes sayth the Emperour of Constantinople, that he hath the speare head & I have often seen it, but it is greater than that at Paris. Also at Constantinople lyeth Sainct Anne our ladie's mother, whom Saint Elene caused to be brought from Hierusalem, and there lieth also the body of Saint John Chrisostome that was bishop of Constantinople. There lyeth also sainct Luke the Evangelist, for his bones were brought from Bethany where he was buried: and many other relyques are there, and there is of the vessell of stone as it were marble, which men call Idryus, that evermore droppeth water & fylleth himselfe every yeare once. And ye shall wete that Constantinople is a fayre citie and well walled & it is three cornered, and there is an arme of the sea that men call Hellespon, and some men call it the bunch[³⁷] of Constantinople and some call it the brace[³⁸] of sainct George, and this water encloseth two partes of the citie, and upward to the sea upon that water was wont to be the great citie of Troy in a fayre plaine, but that citie was destroyed by the Grekes.

[1:] Germany.

[2:] Sclavonia.

[3:] Comania may now be placed as being on the north-west side of the Caspian Sea.

[4:] Or Rosia, was Russia proper, by the Baltic; the huge Empire now so termed being then called Muscovy.

[5:] Pynson says Nyflond, and in some MSS. it is written indifferently Nyfland, Nyflond, Nislan, and Neflond; but I have no doubt but that by it is meant Livonia, as is explained Apian's Cosmographie: "qui est la derniere Province d'Alemaigne, et de la Chrestiété, vulgairement appelee Liefland;" and this is the more likely as Siprus is spelt in Pynson and other editions Pruysse, i.e., Prussia.

[6:] Pynson says Chypron, other authorities Schyppronne, Cypron, and Chippronne.

[7:] Neuburgh; sometimes written Neaseburghe, Newbow, or Newborewe.

[8:] In other editions "evyll."

[9:] Cresses is rendered in other editions as Grece or Greece, but this is impossible, as also is Crochie, which Pynson calls Tracy, and others call Thracie or Thrace. It probably means Croatia, and he has muddled up the Save or Sau, a tributary to the Danube, which rises not far from Lombardy, joining the Danube at Belgrade.

[10:] Pynson and others say 20 miles.

[11:] Belgrade.

[12:] Now called the Morava.

[13:] Pynson says Pynteras, others Pyncemartz, and Pyncoras.

[14:] Pynson says Sternys, others Sternes, or Scernys.

[15:] Written elsewhere Affynpayn, Assynpayn, and ad fines Epapie.

[16:] This will best explain the difficulty of placing the localities, for this means Adrianople.

[17:] Byzantium, the ancient name for Constantinople, the seat of the Western Empire.

[18:] Pynson has Sophy, now the Mosque of St Sophia.

[19:] Probably an orb.

[20:] Judæa.

[21:] Pynson says West, but others give East.

[22:] Menace.

[23:] The names of the penitent and impenitent thieves vary slightly in different accounts. In the Apocryphal book of Nicodemus, cap. 7, vv. 10, 11, they are thus given: "But one of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus, whose name was Gestas, said to Jesus, If thou art the Christ, deliver thyself and us. But the thief who was crucified on his right hand, whose name was Dimas, answering, rebuked him, and said, Dost thou not fear God, who art condemned to this punishment? We indeed receive rightly and justly the demerit of our actions: but this Jesus, what evil hath he done?"

But in the Apocryphal book, I. Infancy, cap. 8, vv. 1-7 (a Nestorian and Gnostic book), the names are given differently: "In their journey from hence they came into a desert country, and were told it was infested with robbers; so Joseph and St. Mary prepared to pass through it in the night.

And, as they were going along, behold they saw two robbers asleep in the road, and with them a great number of robbers, who were their confederates, also asleep.

The names of those two were Titus and Dumachus; and Titus said to Dumachus, I beseech thee let those persons go along quietly, that our company may not perceive any thing of them;

But Dumachus refusing, Titus again said, I will give thee forty groats, and as a pledge, take my girdle, which he gave him before he had done speaking, that he might not open his mouth, or make a noise.

When the Lady St. Mary saw the kindness which this robber did show them, she said to him, The Lord God will receive thee to his right hand, and grant thee pardon of thy sins.

Then the Lord Jesus answered and said to his mother, When thirty years are expired, O Mother, the Jews will crucify me at Jerusalem.

And these two thieves shall be with me at the same time upon the cross, Titus on my right hand, and Dumachus on my left, and from that time Titus shall go before me into Paradise."

[24:] Know.

[25:] Nor.

[26:] Kernels—another edition says Greynes.

[27:] Except.

[28:] Fault.

[29:] This measure varied. It was generally accepted as being the length of a man's arm from the elbow to the extremity of the little finger. The Roman cubit is usually reckoned as 17-4/10 in., the Scriptural cubit at 22 in., and the English cubit at 18 in.

[30:] Rushes. Juncus Maritimus.

[31:] Albespine—probably meant for White thorn.

[32:] Annas.

[33:] Again.

[34:] ? berberis.

[35:] Honeysuckle.

[36:] Purple.

[37:] Bouche, the mouth.

[38:] Arm. Lat. brachium, as we should say, an arm of the sea.

CAP: II.

Of the Ilandes of Grece.

ABOUT Grece be many yles that men cal Calastre,[¹] Calcas Settygo, Thoysoria, Mynona, Faxton, Molo, Carparte and Lempne, and in this yle is mount Athos that passeth the clowdes & there are divers speaches and many countries that are obedient to the Emperour of Constantinople, that is to say Turcoply, Pyncy, Narde, Comage and many other, Tracy & Macedony, of which Alexander was king. In this countrey was Aristotle borne, in a citie that men call Strages, a little from the citie of Tragie, & at Strages is Aristotle buried, and there is an aulter on his tombe, and there they make a greate feast every yeare as he were a saint, & upon his aulter the lordes holde their great counsayles and assemblies and they think, that through the inspiration of God & him, they should have the better councill. In this countrey are right highe hilles, there is an hill that men call Olimphus that departeth Macedonie and Tracy, and is as high as the cloudes, and the other hill that men call Athos is so highe, that the shadow of him stretcheth unto Olimphus and it is neare lxxvii myle between, and above that hill is the aire so cleere, that men may fele no wynde there, and therefore may no beast live there the ayre is so drye, and men say in the countrey that Philosophers somtyme went up to these same hilles and helde to their noses a sponge wet with water for to have ayre, for the ayre was so drye there & above in the pouder[²] of the hill they wrote letters with their fingers, and at the yeares ende they came againe and found those letters which they had written the yeare before without any defaute,[³] and therefore it seemeth well that these hilles passe the cloudes to y^e pure aire.

At Constantinople is the Emperours palaice which is fayre and well dight,[⁴] and therein is a palaice for justing,[⁵] and it is made about with stages that eche man may well see and none greve,[⁶] other & under these stages are stables vauted for the Emperours horses and all the pillers of these stables are of marble. And within the church of Saint Sophy, an Emperour wold haue layd the body of his father when he was dead, and as they made the grave they found a body in the earth & upon that body lay a great plate of fine gold & there upon was written in Ebrew, Greke & Latin letters that sayde thus: Jesus Christus nascetur de virgine Marie, et ego credo in eum. That is to say, Jesu Christ shal be borne of the Virgin Mary & I believe in him. And the date was that it lay in the earthe 200[⁷] yeare before our Lord Jesu Christ was borne, and yet is that plate in the treasory of the Church, and men say that it was Hermogenes[⁸] the wise man. And neverthelesse if it be so that men of Grece be Christen, yet they vary from our fayth, for they say that the holy ghoste commeth not out of the sonne, but all onely of the father, and as they are not obedient to the Church of Rome, nor to the Pope, and they saye that theyr Patryarkes haue as much power over the sea, as the Pope hath on this syde the sea. And therefore Pope John the XXII. sente letters to them, how Christen fayth should be all one, and that they shoulde be obedient to a pope that is Christes Vykar in earthe, to whome God gave plaine[⁹] power to binde and to assoyle,[¹⁰] and therefore they should be obedient to him. And they sent him divers aunsweres, and among other they said thus. Potentiam tuam summam circa subjectos tuos firmiter credimus. Superbitatem tuam sustinere non possumus. Avaritiam tuam satiare non intendimus. Dominus tecum fit, quia Dominus nobiscum est. Vale. That is to say, we beleve wel that thy power is great upon thy subjectes. We may not suffer thy pryde. We are not in purpose to fulfille thy covetyse.[¹¹] Our Lorde be with thee, for our Lorde is with us. Farewell. And other aunswere might not be haue of them. And also they make theyr sacrament of the aulter of therf bread,[¹²] for our Lord made it of therf bread when he made his maunde.[¹³] And on sherthursday[¹⁴] make they theyre bread in tokening of the maunde, and they dry it at the sonne,[¹⁵] and kepe it all the yeare & give it to sick men instede of gods body. And they make but one unction when they Christen Children, and they anoynt no sick men, and they say there is no purgatory, and soules shall haue neither joy ne payne untill the day of dome.[¹⁶] And they say that fornication is no deadly sinne, but a kindly thing, and that men & women shoulde wed but once, and who so weddeth more than once theyr children are bastards and gotten in sinne, and theyr priestes also are wedded, and they say that usury or simony is no deadly sinne and they sell benefices of holy churche, and so did men of other places and is great sclaunder,[¹⁷] for now is Simony King crowned in holy churche, God amende it when his will is. And they say that in Lent men should not singe masse but on the Saterday and on the Sonday, and they fast not the Saterday no tyme in the yeare, but if it be Christmas or Easter even. And they suffer no man that is on this side the Grece sea to sing at theyr aulters, and if it fall that they do through any hap,[¹⁸] they wash theyr aulters as sone without tarieng with holy water, and they say that there should be but one masse sayde at one aulter in a day. And they say that our Lorde did neuer eate meate but that he made a token[¹⁹] of eating. And also they say that we sinne deadly in shaving of our berdes, for the berde is a token of a man, and a gift of our Lord and they saye that we sinne in eating of beastes that were defended[²⁰] in the olde lawe, as swyne, hares and other beastes.

And thus they saye that we sinne in eating of fleshe on the dayes before Ashwednesday, and in eating of fleshe on the Wednesdaye, and when we eate chese or egges on the Fryday and they curse all those that eate no fleshe on the Saterday. Also the Emperour of Constantinople maketh the Patriarkes, Archebishoppes and Bishoppes, and he giveth all the dignities of the churches, and depryveth them that are unworthy, although it be so that these touch not the way, nevertheless they touch that which I haue behight[²¹] to shew a parte of the custome, maners, and diversitie of countries, and for this is the first countrey that is discordaunt from our faithe and letteth[²²] our faithe on this side the sea, therefore haue I sette it here that ye may see the diversitie between our faith & theirs, for many men haue great liking to here speake of straunge things.

[1:] Calliste, which Ferrarius, in his Lexicon Geographicum (edit. 1670), says is an island in the Ægean Sea. The other islands have different names in different MSS., but are not worth the trouble of identifying, except Lampne as Lemnos—where Mandeville places Mount Athos. Plutarch and Pliny said that, in the summer solstice this mountain projected its shadow on the market-place of Myrina, the capital city of Lemnos, and that a brazen cow was there erected to mark the termination of the shadow; but this is as probable as the distance given, namely, seventy-seven miles, which is manifestly erroneous. The spelling of the geographical names is very bad, and renders it a difficult task to identify them: for instance, if it were not a well-known fact that Aristoteles was born and buried at Stagira, it would be very difficult to identify Strages as being the same place. Again, Olimphus is used instead of Lemnos, in connection with the shadow of Mount Athos.

[2:] Powder, dust.

[3:] Uninjured.

[4:] Furnished.

[5:] Jousting or tilting.

[6:] Inconvenience.

[7:] Pynson and other editions say Two thousand.

[8:] Here the chronology is somewhat involved, as Hermogenes lived in the time of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, who was born a.d. 121.

[9:] Plenary.

[10:] Absolve.

[11:] Covetousness.

[12:] Unleavened bread.

[13:] Last Supper.

[14:] Shrove Thursday.

[15:] In the sun.

[16:] Doom, or the day of judgment.

[17:] Scandal.

[18:] If by chance they should do so.

[19:] Only seemed to eat.

[20:] Forbidden.

[20:] Promised.

[20:] Hinders.

CAP: III.

To come againe to Constantinople for to go toward the holy land.

NOW come we againe for to know the way from Constantinople. He that will go through Turkey, he goeth through the citie of Nyke,[¹] and passeth through the gate of Chivitot that is right highe, and it is a myle and a halfe from Nyke, and who so wyll go by the brache[²] of Sainct George, and by the Greeke sea there as Sainct Nicolas lyeth, and other places. First men come to the yle of Silo, and in that ile groweth mastike upon small trees as plomtrees, or chery trees. And then after men go through the ile of Pathmos, where Saint John the Evangelist wrote the Apocalips and I do you to wete,[³] when our Lorde Jesu Christ died, Saint John the Evangelist was of the age of xxxii yeare and he lived after the passion of Christ lxiii[⁴] year and then died. Fro Pathmos men go to Ephesim which is a faire citie and neare to the sea, and there died sainct John & he was buried behind the high aulter in a tombe, and there is a fayre church, for Christen men were wont to holde that place, but in the tombe of sainct John is nothing but Manna, for his body was translated[⁵] into paradise, & the Turkes hold now that citie and the church, and all Asia the lesse, & therefore is Asia the lesse called Turkey. And ye shall understand that sainct John did make his grave ther in his lyfe and laied himselfe therein all quick[⁶] & therefore some say he dyed not, but that he resteth there unto the day of judgement, and therefore truely there is a great marvaile, for men may see there apertly[⁷] y^e earth of the tombe many times stirre and move, as there were a quick thing under. And from Ephesim, men go through many iles in the sea unto the citie of Pateran[⁸] where sainct Nicolas was borne and so to Marca[⁹] where he by the grace of God was chosen Bishop, and there groweth right good wyne and strong, that men call the wyne of Marca. From thence men go to the yle of Crete, which the Emperor gave sometime to Jonais.[¹⁰] And then men passe through the yles of Cophos and Lango[¹¹] of the which yles Ipocras[¹²] was lord, and some say that in the yle of Lango is Ipocras daughter in maner of a Dragon, which is a hundred foote long as men saye, for I have not seene it, and they of the yles call hir the lady of the countrey, and she lyeth in an olde castell and sheweth hir thrise in the yeare, and she doth no man harme and she is thus changed from a damosell to a dragon through a goddesse that men call Diana, and men say that she shall dwell so unto the tyme that a knighte come that is so hardy as to go to hir and kisse hir mouthe, and then shall she tourne againe to hir owne kinde, and be a woman, and after that she shall not live long. And it is not long sith[¹³] a knight of the Rodes[¹⁴] that was hardy and valiant said that he would kisse hir, and whan the Dragon began to lifte up hir head againste him, and he saw it was so hideous, he fled awaye, and the Dragon in hir anger bare the knight on a roche, and of[¹⁵] that cast him into the sea and so he was lost.

[1:] ? Salonika.

[2:] See foot note, ante, p. 19.

[3:] Know.

[4:] Pynson says 67.

[5:] Taken up to heaven.

[6:] Living, alive.

[7:] Openly.

[8:] Patera, a city of Lycia.

[9:] Myra, also in Lycia.

[10:] The Genoese.

[11:] The island of Cos.

[12:] Hippocrates, the famous physician, who was born at Cos.

[13:] Since.

[14:] The island of Rhodes.

[15:] Off.

CAP: IIII.

Yet of the same Dragon.

ALSO a young man that wist not of the Dragon, went out of a shippe and went through the yle till he came to a Castell, and came into the cave and went so long till he founde a chamber, and there he saw a damosell that kemde[¹] hir heade & loked in a mirrour, and she had much treasure aboute hir, and he trowed[²] she had been a common woman that dwelled ther to kepe men, and he abode[³] the damosel, and the damosel saw the shadowe of him in the mirrour, & she tourned toward him and asked what he would, and he said he would be hir paramoure or lemman,[⁴] and she asked him if he were a knight, and he sayd nay, and she sayd then might he not be hir lemman, but she bad him go againe to his fellowes and make him knighte and come againe on the morow and she woulde come oute of the cave and then hee shoulde kisse hir on the mouth, and she badde him haue no dread, for she would do him no harme, although she semed hidious to him, she sayd it was done by inchauntment, for she sayd that she was such as he saw hir then, and she sayd that if he kissed hir, he should haue all the treasure, and be hir lord, and lord of all those yles. Then he departed from hir and went to his fellowes in the ship, and made him knight, and came againe on the morow to kisse the damosel, and when he saw hir come out of the cave in forme of a dragon, he had so great dread, that he fled to the ship, and she folowed him, and when she saw that he tourned not againe, she began to crye as a thing that had much sorow, and tourned again, and sone after the knight dyed, and sithen[⁵] hetherto might no knight see hir but he died anon. But when a knight commeth that is so hardy to kisse hir, he shall not dye, but he shall tourne that damosel into hir right shape and shal be lord of the countrey aforsayde. And from thence men go to the yle of Rodes, the which the hospitallers held and governed, and that they took sometime from the Emperour, and it was wont to be called Colles[⁶] and so yet the Turkes call it Colles. And sainct Paule in his Epistels writeth to them of the yle Collocenses.[⁷] This yle is nere CLxxx[⁸] myle from Constantinople. And from this yle of Rodes, men go into Cipres where are many vines, the first is red and after a yeare they war all white, and those vines that are most white, are most cleare and best smelling, And as men passe by the way by a place where was wont to be a great citie that men call Sathalay, and all that countrey was lost through the folly of a young man, for he had a faire damosell that he loved well, and she dyed sodenly & was buried in a grave of Marble & for the great love he hadde to hir, he went in a nighte to hir tombe and opened it, & went and lay by hir and when he had done he went away, & when it came to the ende of ix monthes a voice came to him & sayd in this maner as in the next chapter foloweth.

[1:] Kemped or combed.

[2:] Thought.

[3:] Pynson says "obeyed unto the damsell"—that is, made obeisance, or bowed to her.

[4:] Sweetheart.

[5:] Since then.

[6:] From the Colossus there, a statue of Jupiter 70 cubits high, and which was accounted as one of the wonders of the world.

[7:] This is not so. The Epistle to the Colossians was addressed to the inhabitants of Colossæ, a city in Phrygia—which is clearly shown by his referring in cap. 4, v. 13, to two neighbouring cities. "For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis."

[8:] Pynson and others say 800.

CAP: V.

Of a young man and his lemman.

GO unto the tombe of the same woman that you hast lien by & opē it, behold well that which thou hast begotten on hir and if thou let for to go, thou shalt haue a great harme, and he went and opened the tombe and there flew out an head[¹] right hideous for to see, the which head flew all about the citie and countrey, and sone after the citie and the countrey sanke downe, & ther are many perilous passages. Fro Rodes to Cipres is five hundred mile and more, but men may go to Cipres and come not at Rodes. Cipres is a good yle & a great, and there are many good cities, and there is an Archbishoppe at Nichosy,[²] and foure other Bishops in the lande. And at Famagost is one of the best havens on the sea that is in the worlde, and there are christen men and Sarasins and men of all nations. In Cipres is the hill of the holy crosse, and there is the crosse of the good thefe Dismas, as I sayd before, and some wene[³] that there is halfe of the crosse of our lord, but it is not so, and they do wrong that make men to believe so. In Cipres lieth S. Simeon, of whome the men of the countrey make a great solempnitie, and in the Castell of Amours lyeth the body of Saint Hillarion, and men kepe it worshipfully, and beside Famagost was sainct Barnarde[⁴] borne.

[1:] An edder, or adder—really meaning a winged serpent.

[2:] Nicosia.

[3:] Imagine.

[4:] Barnabas.

CAP: VI.

Of the maner of hunting in Cipres.

IN Cipres men hunte with Pampeons[¹] that be lyke to Leopards, and they take wylde beastes right well and they are somewhat more than lions, and they take more sharply wilde beastes then houndes. In Cipres is a maner that lordes and other men eate upon the earthe, for they make diches within the earth all about the hall depe to the knee, and they pave them, and when they will eate, they goe therein & sit there, this they do to be more freshe, for that lande is hotter then it is here. And at great feastes and for strange men, they set formes and bordes as they do in this countrey, but they had lever[²] sit in the earth. From Cipres men go by lande to Hierusalem, and by sea, and in a day and a night he that hath good wind may come to that haven of Tyre that now is called Sur, and it is also at the entre of Surry.[³] There was sometime a fayre citie of christen men, but the Sarasins haue destroyed the most parte thereof, and they kepe y^e hauen righte well, for dread that they haue of Christen men. Men might go right to that haven and come not in Cipres, but they go gladly to Cipres to rest them on the lande, or else to by[⁴] thinges that they haue nede of to their living. Upon the sea side men may find many rubies, and there is a well that holy write speaketh of

Fons ortorum et puteus aquarum viventum.

That is to say, The well of gardeines and diches of waters living. In the citie of Tyre sayde the woman to our Lorde, Beatus venter qui te portavit et ubera que succisti. That is as much to say, Blessed be the body that bare thee, and the pappe of the which thou suckest. And there our Lorde forgave the woman of Canee hir sinnes, and there was also in that place wont to be the stone on which our Lord sat and preached & on the same stone was founded the Church of Sainct Saviour. And upon that See is the citie of Saphon, Sarep, or Sodome and there was wont to dwell Elias the prophet & there was raised Jonas the prophete the widowes sonne, and fiue myle from Saphen is the citie of Sydon, of which citie Dido that was Eneas wife after the destruction of Troy was queene, and that founded the Citie of Carthage in Affryke and now is called Didonsart. And in the citie of Tyre raigned Achilles, the father of Dido and a myle[⁵] from Sidon is Beruth, & from Beruth to Sardena is three days journey and from Sardena is five myle to Damas.

[1:] Large wild dogs; they are described by Jacobus de Vitriaco (the Cardinal), in his Historiæ Orientalis, thus: "Papiones quos appellant, canes silvestres, acriores quam lupi."

[2:] Liefer, rather.

[3:] Syria.

[4:] Buy.

[5:] Other editions say 16 miles.

CAP. VII.

Of the haven of Jaffe also named.

WHO so will go lenger upon the sea and come nerer to Hierusalem—you shall go from Cipres by sea to porte Jaffe, for that is the next haven to Hierusalem, for from that haven it is but a days journey & a halfe to Hierusalem And that haven is called Jaffe, and the towne Affe after one of Noyes[¹] sonnes that men call Japheth that founded it, and now it is called Jops. And ye shall understand that it is the eldest town of the world, for it was made before Noes floud and there be the bones of a giaunts side that be XL fote long.

[1:] Noah's.

CAP: VIII.

Of the haven of Tyre.

AND who arriveth at the first haven of Tyre, or of Surrey beforesayde, may go by land if he will to Hierusalem, and he goeth to the citie of Acon in a day, it was called Tholomayda, and it was a citie of christen men sometime, but it is now destroyed and it is on the sea. And it is from Venice to Acon by the sea two thousand and Lxxx myle of Lombardy & from Calabre or fro Cicill it is to Acon a thousand three hundred miles of Lombardy.

CAP. IX.

Of the hill Carme.

AND the yle of Grece[¹] is right in the mid way, and beside this citie of Acon towarde the sea at viii[²] hundred furlonges on the righte hande towarde the southe is the hil Carme[³] where Elias the prophet dwelled, and there was the ordre of Carme[⁴] fyrst founded. This hyl is not ryghte greate, ne hygh, and at the foote of this hill was sometime a good citie of chrysten men, that was called Cayphas, for Cayphas founded it, but it is nowe all wasted. And at the lyfte syde of the hyll is a Town that men call Saffre, and that is sette upon another hil, there was Sainct James and saynt John borne, and in the worshippe of them is there a faire church made. And from Tholomayda that men now call Acon, to a great hill that men call Ekale[⁵] de Tyrreys is an hundred furlongs, and beside that citie of Acon runneth a lyttle ryver that men call Belyon, and there nere is the fosse of Minon[⁶] all round that is a hundred cubytes or shaftments[⁷] broade, and it is all full of gravell, cleare shyninge, whereof men make white glasse cleare, and men come from far countreys by shippe, and by lande with cartes to take of the gravell & if there be never so much taken thereof in a daye, on the morow it is full againe as ever it was, and that is great marvaile, and there is alwaye winde in that fosse that styreth alway the gravell and maketh it troubled. And if a man put or do therein any mettal, as sone as it is therein it waxeth glasse, and the glasse that is made of this gravell if it be done[⁸] into the gravell tourneth againe into the gravell as it was before & some say that it is a swallow[⁹] of the sea gravell.[¹⁰]

[1:] Crete.

[2:] Pynson and others say 120 furlongs.

[3:] Carmel.

[4:] Carmelite friars.

[5:] The scale, or ladder, of Tyre.

[6:] Meaning the sepulchre of Memnon.

[7:] A shaftment was a measure taken from the top of the extended thumb to the outmost part of the palm—usually taken as six inches.

[8:] Buried.

[9:] Whirlpool.

[10:] This story is said to come from Solinus, and is mentioned in Münster's Cosmographia, and in other books.

CAP. X.

How Sampson slew the King and his enimies.

ALSO from Acon beforesaid, men go three[¹] journeys to the citie of Philisten, that now is called Gaza, that is to say the rich citie & it is right fayre and full of folke and it is a little uppon the sea, and from that citie broughte the strong Sampson the gates of the Citie uppon a highe hill, where he was taken in the Citie, and there he slewe the King in his palace, and many thousande more with him, for he made an house to fall on them. And from thence shal men go to the citie of Cesaryen,[²] and so to the castell of Pylleryns[³] and then to Askalon, and so forth to Japhat[⁴] and so unto the holy citie of Hierusalem.

[1:] Pynson and others say four.

[2:] Cæsarea.

[3:] Pilgrims.

[4:] Jaffa.

CAP. XI.

The waye to Babylon whereas the Soudan dwelleth.

AND whoso wyll go through the lande of Babylon where the Soudan[¹] dwelleth, to have leave to go more sykerly[²] throughe the Churches & countreys, and to go to mount Sinay before he come to Hierusalem, and then turne agayne by Hierusalem; he shall goe from Gaza to the castell Dayre. And after a man commeth out of Surry, and goeth in the wildernesse, where the waye is full sandy, and the wyldernesse lasteth eyght Journeys,[³] where men findeth all that them nedeth of vytayles and men call that wyldernesse Archelleke,[⁴] and whan a man commeth out of this deserte, hee entreth into Egypte, and they call Egypte, Canopat,[⁵] and in another language men call it Mersyne,[⁶] and the fyrste goode towne that men fynde is called Beleth, and it is at the ende of the Kingdome of Alape,[⁷] and from thence men come to Babylon and to Kayre,[⁸] and in Babylon is a fayre churche of our lady, where she dwelled vii yeare when she was oute of the lande of Jewes, for dreade of Kynge Herode. And there lyeth the bodye of Saynte Barbara vyrgyn, and there dwelled Joseph whan he was solde of his brethrene, and there made Nabugodonosor put the children in (the) fire, for they were of right[⁹] trouth, the which chyldren men call Anania, Azaria, and Misael (as y^e psalme of Benedicite saith) but Nabugodonosor called them thus, Sydrac, Mysac, Abdenago, that is to say, God glorious, God victorious, God over all Kingedomes, and that was for myracle that he made Goddes sonne, as he sayd, go wyth those chyldren throughe the fyre. There dwelleth the Soudan, for there is a faire citie and a stronge castell and it standeth upon a rocke. In that Castell is always dwellyng to kepe the castell and to serve the soudan, above viii[¹⁰] thousand persons or folk that take all theyr necessaries at the Soudans courte. I should well knowe it, for I dwelled with him soudiour[¹¹] in his warres a great while agayne the Bedions,[¹²] and he wold haue wedded me to a great princes daughter ryght richly, if I would haue forsaken my faith.

[1:] Sultan.

[2:] Certainly, surely.

[3:] Day's march.

[4:] Athylec, Abylech, Alhylet, Alhelet, Abylet.

[5:] Query Canopus, a city 12 miles from Alexandria, named after the pilot of Menelaus' vessel, who was buried here.

[6:] Mersur, Morsyn.

[7:] Aleppo.

[8:] Cairo.

[9:] True faith.

[10:] Other editions say 6,000.

[11:] Soldier.

[12:] Bedouins.

CAP. XII.

YET here followeth of the Soudan and of his Kingdomes that he hath conquered, which he holdeth strongly with force.

AND ye shall understand that the Soudan is lorde of v Kingdomes: the which he hath conquered and gotten to him by strength, and these be they—the Kingdome of Canopate (that is) the Kingdome of Egipte, the Kingdome of Hierusalem: whereof David and Salomon were Kings, the Kingdome of Surry, of the which the citie of Damas[¹] was the chiefe, the Kingdome of Alape in the lande of Dameth, and the Kingdome of Arabya: which was one of the three Kinges that made offeryng to our Lorde when he was borne, and many other landes he holdeth in his hande, and also he holdeth Calaphes[²] that is a great thing to the Soudan, that is to say, among them Roys[³] yle and this vale is colde.

And then men go uppon the mount of Sainct Katherina and that is much higher than the mount Moyses. And there as saint Katheryn was graven[⁴] is no church ne castell, ne other dwelling place, but there is an hyll of stones gathered togither, about the place there she was graven of Aungels, there was wont to be a chapell, but it is all cast downe & yet lyeth there a great parte of the stones.

But under the foote of mount Sinay is a monasterie of Monkes, and there is the church of Sainct Katherine wherein be many lamps brenning, and they have oyle onlye enough to eate and to brenne, and that they haue by myracle of God, there come certaine of all maner of byrdes euery yeare once, lyke pylgrymes and eche of them bringeth a braunch of olyve in token of offering, whereof they make much oyle.

[1:] Damascus.

[2:] Khalifs.

[3:] Who are accounted there as kings.

[4:] Buried.

CAP. XIII.

For to returne fro Sinay to Hierusalem.

NOW sythen a man hath visited this holy place of Sainct Katheryn and he will torne to Hierusalem, he shall fyrst take leave of the Monkes, and recommend him specially to their prayers, then those Monks will freely giue to Pilgrims victuals to pass through the Wildernesse to Surry & that lasteth well xiii Journeys. And in that wyldernesse dwell many Arabyns that men call Bedoins and Ascoperdes,[¹] these are folk that are full of all maner of yll condycyons, and they have no houses, but tentes, the wyche they make of beastes skinnes, as of camelles and other beastes the whyche they eate, and thereunder they lye, and they dwell in places where they maye fynde water, as on the rede sea, for in that wildernesse is greate defaute of water, and it faileth ofte where a man findeth water one time, he fyndeth it not another tyme, and therefore make they no houses in those countreys. These men that I speake of tyll not the land, for they eate no breade, but[²] yf it be anye that dwelleth neare a goode towne. And they rost al theyre fishes and flesh upon the hote stones agaynst the sonne, and they are stronge men and well fyghtynge, and they do nothinge but chace wyld beastes for theyr sustenaunce, and they sette[³] not by theyr lyves, therfore they dreade not the Soudan nor no prince of all the worlde. And they haue greate warre wythe the Soudan, and the same tyme that I was dwelling with him they bare but a shelde and a speare for to defende them with, and they holde[⁴] none other armour, but they wynde theyr heades and neckes in a great lynnen clothe,[⁵] and they are men of full yll kynde.

[1:] Or Giants from the Arabic askhaf, a tall, big-boned man. It will be remembered that Sir Bevis of Southampton brought home a Giant Ascapart—who probably was one of them.

[2:] Unless.

[3:] They value not.

[4:] Have.

[5:] A turban.

CAP. XIIII.

As men are passed this wyldernesse againe comming to Hierusalem.

AND when men are passed this wyldernesse towarde Hierusalem they come to Barsabe[¹] that was sometime a fayre and a lykyng towne of Christen men, and yet is some of their churches, and in that towne dwelled Abraham the Patryarke. This towne of Barsabe founded Uryas wife, of whom David engendred Salomon the wyse that was Kyng of Hierusalem, and of the xii kindes[²] of Israell, and he raigned xl yeare. And from thence go men to the vale of Ebron, that is from thence nere xii myle and some call it the vale of Mambre,[³] and also it is called the vale of Teeres, for as much as Adam in that vale he wept a hundred yeare the death of his sonne Abel that Cayne slew. And Ebron was sometime[⁴] the principall Citie of the Philistines & there dwelled giaunts & there it was so free, that all that had done evill in other places were there saved. In Ebron Josue and[⁵] Calope and theyr felowship came fyrst to espy how they might wynne the lande of promyssion. In Ebron David raigned fyrst vii yeare and a halfe & in Hierusalem he raigned xxxii[⁶] yeare and a halfe, and there be the graves of the Patryarkes—Adam, Abraham, Jacob and theyr wyves, Eve, Sare, Rebecca[⁷] and they are in the hanging[⁸] in the hyll. And under them is a right fayre Churche Kirnelde[⁹] after the facion and maner as it were a Castell, the which the Sarasins keepe right well, and they haue that place in greate worship for the holy Patryarkes that lieth there, and they suffer no Christen men ne Jewes to come therein but they have speciall grace of the Soudan, for they holde Christen men and Jewes but as houndes that should come in no holy place, and they call the place Spelunke[¹⁰] or double cave or double grave; for one lyeth on another, and the Sarasins call it in theyr language Caryatharba, that is to say the place of Patryarkes, and the Jewes call it Arboth. And in that same place was Abrahams house, and that was the same Abraham which sat in his dore, and saw three persons and worshipped but one, as holy wryt witnesseth saying, Tres videt et unum adoravit. That is to saye, he saw three and worshipped but one, and him took Abraham into his house.

[1:] Beersheba.

[2:] Tribes.

[3:] Mamre.

[4:] Formerly.

[5:] Jehoshua and Caleb (see Numbers, cap. 13).

[6:] Pynson and others say 33 years and a half.

[7:] All other editions have "and of Lya," or Leah, who is evidently here forgotten.

[8:] Caves cut in the side of the rock.

[9:] Crenelated or battlemented.

[10:] Lat. Spelunca, a cave.

CAP. XV.

Here foloweth a lyttle of Adam & Eve and other things.

AND right nere to that place is a cave in a Roche where Adam and Eve dwelled whan they were dryven out of Paradyse, and there got they theyr chyldren. And in that place was Adam made as some men saye, for men called sometime that place the felde of Damasse,[¹] for it was in the worshippe[²] of Damasse; and fro thence he was translated into Paradyse as they saye, and afterwarde he was driven out of Paradyse, and put there agayne, for the same daye that he was put into Paradyse, the same day he was driven out, for so soone he synned. And there begynneth the yle[³] of Ebron that lasteth nere to Hierusalem, and the Aungell bad Adam that he should dwell wyth his wyfe, and there they engendred Seth, of the which kyndred[⁴] Jesu Christ was borne. And in that vale is the felde where men draw out of the earth a thinge the which men in that countrey call Chambell and they eate that thinge in the stede of spyce & they beare it to sell, and men may not grave[⁵] there so deepe ne so wyde, but it is at the yeares ende full againe up to the sydes through the grace of God. And two myle from Ebron is the grave of Loth[⁶] that was Abraham's brother.

[1:] Damascus.

[2:] Pynson and others say lordship.

[3:] Vale.

[4:] Kindred or tribe.

[5:] Dig.

[6:] Lot.

CAP. XVI.

Of the dry tree.

WHEN a lyttle from Ebron is the mounte of Mambre, of the which mount the vale toke his name, and there is the tree of oke that the Sarasins call dypre,[¹] that is of Abraham's time, that men call the dry tree. And they say that it hath ben from the beginning of the worlde, and was sometime grene and bare leaves, unto the tyme that our Lorde dyed, and so did all the trees in the worlde, or else they fayled in their heartes, or else they faded, and yet is there many of those in the worlde. And some prophesies say, that a lorde or prince of the weste syde of the worlde shall winne the lande of promission, that is the holy lande, with the helpe of Christen men, and he shall do singe[²] a masse under that tree, and the tree shall waxe grene and beare fruite and leaves, and through that miracle many Sarasins and Jewes shal be turned to the Christen fayth, and therefore they do great worship therto, and kepe it right[³] basely. And yet though it be dry, it beareth a great vertue, for certainly he that hath a lyttle thereof about him, it healeth a sicknesse called the falling evill, and hath many other vertues also, and therefore it is holden right precious.

[1:] Pynson and others read Dyrpe or Dirpe.

[2:] Cause a mass to be sung.

[3:] To keep it carefully.

CAP. XVII.

Fro Bethlehem.

FROM Ebron men go to Bethlehem in halfe a daye, for it is but five myle, and it is a fayre waye & thorow[¹] woddes full pleasaunt. Bethlem is but a little citie long and narowe, and well walled, and enclosed with a great diche and it was wont to be called Effrata as holy wryte sayth Ecce audivimus eum in Effrata &c., That is to saye, Lo we herde him in Effrata. And toward the ende of the citie toward the East, is a ryght fayre churche and a gracious and it hath many toures, pinacles and kirnelles[²] full strongly made & within that Church is xliiii great pyllers of marble & betwene this church the field[³] florished, as ye shall here.

[1:] Through woods.

[2:] Battlements.

[3:] The flowered field.

CAP. XVIII.

Of a fayre mayden that should be put to death wrongfully.

THE cause is, for as much as a fayre maiden y^t was blamed wyth wrong that she hadde done fornication, for the which cause she was demed[¹] to dye and to bee brente[²] in that place to the which she was ledde. And as the woode began to brenne about hir, she made hir prayer to our Lorde as she was not gyltie of that thing, that he would helpe hir that it might be knowne to all men. And whan she had thus sayde, she entred the fyre and anone the fyre went out, and those braunches that were brenninge became red Roses and those braunches that were not kindled became white Rosiers[³] full of white roses, and those were the fyrst roses and rosyers that any man sawe, and so was the mayden saved through the grace of God, and therefore is that felde called the feeld of God florished, for it was full of Roses. Also besyde the quire of that Church aforesayd at the right side as men come downwarde xii[⁴] grees[⁵] is the place where our Lorde was borne that is now full well dyght[⁶] of Marble & full rychely depaynted of golde, sylver and asure and other colours. And a lyttle thens by three paces is the crybe[⁷] of the Oxe and the Asse, and besyde y^t is the place where the sterre[⁸] fell that lede the three Kinges Jasper, Melchior and Balthasar, but men of Grece call the Kinges thus, Galgalath, Saraphy, Malgalath. These three Kinges offered to our Lorde, Encence, Gold & Mirre and they came together through myracle of God, for they mette togither in a citie that men call Chasak, that is liii journeys from Bethleem, and there they were at Bethleem the fourth[⁹] daye after they hadde seene the sterre. And under the cloyster of this church xviii grees[¹⁰] at the righte syde is a great pytte where the bones of the Innocentes lie, and before that place where Chryst was borne is the tombe of Sainct Jerom that was a priest and a Cardinal that translated the Byble and the Sauter[¹¹] from Hebrew into Latyn, and beside that church is a Church of Saynte Nycolas, where our Lady rested hir whan she was delivered of chyld, and for as much as she had so much mylke in hir pappes that it greved hir, she mylked it out uppon the redde stones of Marble, so that yet may the traces bee seene whyte uppon the stones. And ye shall understande that all that dwell in Bethleem are Chrysten men, and there are fayre vynes all aboute the citie and great plentie of wine, for their booke that Mahomet betoke[¹²] them, the which they call Alkaron and some call it Massap and some call it Harme, forbiddeth them to drinke any wyne, for in that booke Machomet curseth all those that drynke of that wyne and all that sell it, for some men saye that he onse slewe a good hermite in his dronkennesse which[¹³] he loved much, and therefore he cursed the wyne, and them that drynke wyne, but his malyce is torned to hymselfe, as holye writ sayth "Et in verticem ipsius iniquitus ejus descendit," That is to say in Englyshe, His wickednesse shall descende on his owne head. And also the Sarasins bringeth forthe no geise,[¹⁴] ne they eate no swines fleshe, for they say it is brother to manne and that it was forbidden in the olde lawe. Also in the lande of Palestine ne in the lande of Egypte they eate but lyttle veale and beefe but it be so olde that it may no more travayll[¹⁵] ne werke, not that it is forbidden but they kepe them to tylling of their lande. In this castell of Bethleem was Kyng David borne and he had Lx wives and ccc lemmans. From Bethleem to Hierusalem is two myle, and in the way of Hierusalem halfe a myle from Bethleem is a Church where the aungell sayd to the shepherdes of the bearing of Christ. In that waye is the tombe of Rachel that was Josephs mother the Patryarke and she dyed as soone as she hadde borne Benjamyn and there she was buried, and Jacob hir husbande set xii great stones upon hir in tokening that she had borne xii children. In this way to Hierusalem are many Christen churches by the which men go to Hierusalem.

[1:] Condemned.

[2:] Burnt.

[3:] Rose bushes.

[4:] Other editions say 16.

[5:] Steps.

[6:] Adorned.

[7:] Crib or Manger.

[8:] Star.

[9:] Other editions say "thirteenth."

[10:] Paces.

[11:] Psalter.

[12:] Gave.

[13:] Whom.

[14:] Breed no pigs.

[15:] Plough or draw loads.

CAP. XIX.

Of the citie of Hierusalem.

FOR to speake of Hierusalem, ye shall understande that it standeth fayre among hylles, and there is neither ryver nor well, but water commeth by conduit from Ebron, and ye shall wete that men called it first Jebus and sythen it was called Salem unto the time of King David, and he set those two names togither and called it Hierusalem and so it is called yet. And aboute Hierusalem is the Kingdome of Surry, & thereby is the lande of Palestyne and Askalon, but Hierusalem is in the lande of Jude, and it is called Judee, for Judas Maccabeus was King of that lande, and also it marcheth afterward on the Kingedome of Araby, on the South side on the lande of Egipt, on the west side on the great sea, on the north syde on the Kingdome of Surry and the sea of Cipres. About Hierusalem are these cities. Ebrone at viii[¹] myle, Jerico at vi myle Barsebe at viii myle Askalon xviii[²] myle, Jaffa at xxv[³] Ramatha at iiii[⁴] mile. At Bethlem towarde the South is a church of saint Markerot,[⁵] that was abbot there, for whom they made much sorow when he should dy & it is painted there how they made dole[⁶] when he dyed, and it is a piteous thing to beholde. This lande of Hierusalem hath ben in dyvers nations hands, as Jewes, Cananens, Assyrians, Percians, Macedons, Grekes, Romayns & Chrysten men, Sarasins, Barbaryans, Turkes & many other nacions. For Chryste wyll not that it be long in the handes of traytours ne sinners be they Christen or other. And now hath the mistrowing[⁷] men holden that lande in theyre handes Lx yeare & more, but they shall not holde it long and if[⁸] God wyll.

[1:] Other editions say respectively 7, 17, 16.

[2:] As Footnote 1.

[3:] As Footnote 1.

[4:] Other editions say 3 miles.

[5:] Variously written, Markertot, Karitot, Karscati, and Mercaritot.

[6:] Grieved, from Lat. Dolor.

[7:] Unbelieving, or heathen.

[8:] Unless it is God's pleasure.

CAP. XX.

Yet of the holy citie of Hierusalem.

AND ye shall understand that whan men fyrst come to Hierusalem, they go fyrste a pylgrimage to the Church, where that the holy grave is, the whiche is out of the citie on the North syde, but it is now closed in with the wall of the towne, and there is a full fayre church rounde, all open aboue, and well covered with leede and on the west syde is a fayre toure and a strong for belles.

And in the middes of the church is a Tabernacle made like a little house, in maner of halfe a compasse, ryght well and richly of gold and asure and other coloures well dyght & on the ryght syde is the sepulchre of oure Lorde, and the tabernacle is viii foote long and v fote wide and xi fote of height. And it is not longe sythen the sepulchre was all open, y^t men might kysse it and touche it: but for men that came thether payned[¹] them to breake the stones in peces or pouder, therefore the Soudan hath made a wall about the sepulchre that no man may touch it. On the lefte syde is no wyndowe, but therein is many lampes light, and there is a lampe that hangeth before the sepulcre lyght brenning and on the fryday it goeth oute by itselfe, and lyghteth againe by itselfe at the houre that our Lorde rose from death to life. And within that church upon that right side is the mount Calvary, where our Lord was done on the crosse, and the crosse was sette in a morteys[²] in the roche that is white of coloure, and a lyttle redde medled[³] with, and upon that roche dropped the bloude of the woundes of our Lord whan he was pained on the crosse & that is called Golgatha and men go up to that Golgatha upon greces.[⁴] And in that mortays was Adams head founde after Noyes flood, in token that the sinnes of Adam, shoulde bee boughte in the same place, and aboue that roche made Abraham sacryfice to our Lord, and there is an auter,[⁵] and before that auter lyeth Godfry of Boleyn,[⁶] Bawdewyn[⁷] and other that were Christen and kinges of Hierusalem. And ther as our Lord was done[⁸] upon the crosse, is thys wrytten in greke, Otheos[⁹] basylon, ysmon persemas, ergaste sothyas oyos. That is to say in latine, Hic Deus Rex noster ante secula operatus est salutem in medio terræ, That is to saye, This God our King before worldes, hath wrought healthe in the myddes of the earth. And also upon the roche where the crosse was fyxed is wrytten within the roche, Eros[¹⁰] guyst basys, thou, pestes, thoy, thesmoysy. That is to say in latin, Quod vides est fundamentum totius mundi et hujus fidei. And it is to saye, that thou seest, is grounde of all the world and of this faith. And ye shall understande that our Lorde whan he dyed was thyrty & two[¹¹] yeare olde and three monethes and the prophecie of David sayth that he should haue xl yeares, when he saith thus. Quadraginta annis proximus fui generatione huic, that is to say, fourtie yeare was I neighbour to this kinde, and thus it should seme that prophecie were not sothe,[¹²] but it is. For in olde time men called yeares of ten monethes of the which Marche was the fyrst & December the last. But Cayus Cezar[¹³] that was Emperour of Rome dyd sette to these two moneths Januarie & Februarie and ordeyned the yere of xii months. That is to say ccc[¹⁴] dayes without lepe yere the proper course of the sonne and therefore after the accompting of x moneths to the yeare, he dyed in xl yeare and three moneths.

Also within mounte Calvary at the ryghte syde is there an aulter where the piller lyeth that our Lorde was bound to when he was scourged and thereby are three[¹⁵] other pyllers that alwaye drop water, and some saye that those pyllers weepe for our Lords death, and neare this aulter in a place xlii grees[¹⁶] depe was founde the verye crosse by the assent[¹⁷] of sainct Eleyn[¹⁸] under a roch where the Jewes had hydde it and it was assayed, for they founde three crosses, one of our Lorde and two of theves. And Saint Elene assayed them on a dead body that rose as sone as the very[¹⁹] crosse of our Lorde was laid on him. And thereby, in the vale, is the place where the foure nayles of our Lord were hyd, for he had two nayles in his handes and two in his fete, and one of those nailes the Emperour of Constantinople[²⁰] dyde make a bridell for his horse to beare him in bataile, for by[²¹] the vertue that it had, he overcame his enimies, and wan[²²] all the land of Asye, Turky, Damasse the more[²³] and the lesse, Surrey and Hierusalem, Araby, Percy, and Mesopotamy, the Kingdome of Alabe,[²⁴] Egipt the high and the lowe, and other kingdomes many full nyghe all unto Ethyope the low, and also unto Inde the lesse, that then was chrysten. And there was in that tyme many good men and holy hermits, of whome the booke of[²⁵] the fathers lyves speaketh, and they are now in Paynims & Sarasins handes, but whan God will righte[²⁶] as these landes are lost through sinne of Christen men, so shall they be won againe by christen men throygh the helpe of God. And in the myddes of this Church is a compasse,[²⁷] in the which Joseph of Armath[²⁸] layd the body of our Lord whan he had taken him of[²⁹] the crosse & upon the same place dyd he wash the fete of our Lorde, & that compasse men say is in the myddes of the world.

[1:] Tried hard.

[2:] Mortise.

[3:] Mixed.

[4:] Steps.

[5:] Altar.

[6:] Bouillon.

[7:] Baldwin.

[8:] Placed.

[9:] Should read Ὁ θεὸς βασιλεὺς ἡμῶν πρὸ αἰώνων εἰργάσατο σωτηρίαν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς.

[10:] Should read Ὃ εἲδες, ἐστὶ βάσις τῆς πίστεως ὅλης τοῦ κόσμου τούτου.

[11:] Other editions have 33 years and 3 months.

[12:] Sooth, true.

[13:] Caius Julius Cæsar.

[14:] Other editions give the proper number of days, viz., 365.

[15:] Other editions say four, which is the number represented in the engraving.

[16:] Paces.

[17:] Perception, or sagacity. Lat., sensus.

[18:] Helena, mother of Constantine.

[19:] True, veritable.

[20:] Another is said to be incorporated in the so-called Iron Crown of Lombardy. Guisto Fontanini, Archbishop of Ancyra, gives a list of twenty-three places claiming to have a nail—Venice having three. M. Rohault de Fleury gives six more—whilst, according to tradition, Helena sent two to her son, and threw one in the sea to still a storm, thus leaving but one to meet all demands.

[21:] Through.

[22:] Won or conquered.

[23:] Greater.

[24:] Aleppo.

[25:] The Vitæ Sanctorum Patrum, many old printed copies of which exist.

[26:] When God thinks fit.

[27:] A linen swathing-band.

[28:] Arimathæa.

[29:] Off.

CAP. XXI.

Of the church of the holy sepulchre.

IN that Churche of the sepulcre on the north syde is the place where our Lord was done[¹] (in) prison, and there is a part of the cheyne with which he was bound, and there he appeared fyrst to Mary Magdeleyne when he was risen from death and she trowed[²] that he had bene a gardeiner. In the Church of the sepulcre was wont to be[³] Chanons of sainct Benet and they had a pryour; but the Patryarke was theyr soveraigne.

And without the dores of the Churche on the righte syde as men go up xviii grees,[⁴] our Lorde sayde to his mother[⁵] Ecce filius tuus. That is to say, Woman beholde thy sonne, De inde dixit discipulo, Ecce mater tua. That is to say, Then said he to his disciple, Behold thy mother.[⁶] And these wordes he sayde when he hanged upon the crosse. And upon these greces went our Lorde when he bare the crosse uppon his shoulder, and under these greces is a Chappell where the priestes synge, but not after our lawe, and alway they make theyr Sacrament of the aulter of bread, say Pater noster &c., and other prayers, as with the which thing they say the wordes of whome the sacrament is made, for they know not of the addicions that many Popes haue made but they singe in good devocion. And nere there is the stone wher our Lord rested him when he was wery for bearing of the crosse. And ye shall understand that before the Churche of the Sepulcre is the citie most strong[⁷] for the great playne that is betwene the citie & the church; on the East side without the walles of the citie is the vale of Josaphat that commeth to the walles. In that vale of Josaphat without the citie, is the churche of sainct Stephen where he was stoned to death, and thereby is the gate gylted that may not be opened. Through this gate our Lord entred on palme Sonday upon an asse, and the gate opened against him whan he would go to the Temple, and yet are the steppes of the asse sene in three places the which stand[⁸] in full harde stones. Before the churche of the sepulcre two hundred paces, is a great hospitall of Sainct John, in the which hospytall are liiii pyllers made of stone.

And to go towarde the East from the hospitall is a righte fayre churche that men call our lady the greate, and then is there another church after that, that men call our lady of the latyn,[⁹] and there it was Mary Cleophe and Magdeleyne drew[¹⁰] theyr here whan oure Lord was put to death.

[1:] Put.

[2:] Thought or believed.

[3:] Were formerly Canons of the Order of St. Benedict.

[4:] Should be greces or steps.

[5:] The printer has omitted the word "Mulier ecce," &c.

[6:] Gospel according to St. John, cap. 19, vv. 26, 27.

[7:] Pynson says, "most wake" or weak, and other editions say, "feeble."

[8:] Pynson has this passage: "The wyche are full of harde stones."

[9:] Pynson says "Nostre dame de Vatyns."

[10:] Tore.

CAP. XXII.

Of the Temple of God.

AND from the churche of the sepulcre towarde the East at xviii[¹] paces is Templum Domini. That is a fayre house and it is all rounde and ryghte high & covered with leed,[²] and it is well paved with white marble, but y^e Sarasins wyl suffre no christen men ne Jewes to come therein, for they say that so[³] foule men should not come into that holye place, but I came therein and in other places where I woulde, for I had letters of the Soudan, wyth hys great seal, and, commonly, other men but have of his signet, and men beare hys letter with his seale before them hanginge on a speare, and men do great worship thereto, and kneele against[⁴] it as it were against God's body: for those men that it is sent to, before they take it, they encline[⁵] thereto and then they take it, and laye it upon their heads, and afterward they kisse it, and then they reade it, all enclining with great worship, and then they profer[⁶] them to do all that the bringer will. And in this Templum Domini were wont to be Chanons regulers, and they had an Abbot to whome they were obedient, in this Temple was Charlemaine when the Aungell brought him the prepuis of our Lorde when he was circumsised, and after King Charles brought it to Acon[⁷] into our Ladies Chapell.

[1:] Other editions say 160 paces.

[2:] Lead.

[3:] Such unclean.

[4:] Before.

[5:] Bow.

[6:] Proffer or offer.

[7:] Pynson and others say Paris.

CAP. XXIII.

Yet of the temple of God.

AND ye shall understande that this is not the temple that Salomon made, for that temple lasted but a thousand, an hundred and two yeare. For Titus, Vespasianus Son, that was Emperour of Rome that layde syege about Hierusalem for to discomfyte the Jewes, for they hadde put Chryst to death without leave of the Emperour, and when he had taken the citie he did brenne the temple and caste it downe, and toke all the Jewes and put to death CXIM and the other he put in prison, and solde xxx for a peny for they sayd that they bought Jesu Christ for xxx pence. And sithen[¹] gave Julian Apostata leve to y^e Jewes to make the Temple of Hierusalem againe for he hated christen men, and yet he was Chrysten, but he forsoke his lawe. And whan the Jewes hadde made the Temple, then came an earthe quacke (as God woulde) and caste downe all that they had made. Sythen Adryan the Emperour that was of them of Troye made Hierusalem againe and the Temple in that same maner that Salomon made it, and would that no Jewe should dwell there but all christen men, for if all it were[²] so that he was not chrystened, he loved the christen men more than other men, save men of his owne fayth. And this emperour dyd enclose and wall the church of the holy sepulcre within the citie, that before was farre without the citie, and he would have chaunged the name of Hierusalem and called it Helyam,[³] but that name lasted not longe. And ye shall wete[⁴] that the Sarasins do greate worship to that Temple and they saye that place is right holy, and when they go therein they go bare foote and knele many times downe. And when I and my felowes came therein, we did of[⁵] our harnesse[⁶] and came bare foote into the Temple & thought that we should doe as much or more than they that were mistrowing.[⁷] And this Temple is three score[⁸] and three cubites of wydenesse and as much of length and xxxii[⁹] cubites in height and covered with lead and it is within full of pillers of Marble. And in the middes of the Temple is a stage of twenty[¹⁰] and foure greces of height and good pillers all about. This place called of Jewes Sancta Sanctorum. That is to say Holy of Holyest and in that place cometh none but their prelate that maketh theyr sacrafyce, and the people standeth all about in divers stages, after they are[¹¹] of dignitie and worshippe, and there be foure entrings into that Temple and the dores are of Cipres well dighte,[¹²] and within the East dore our Lord sayd, here is Hierusalem. And on the northe syde within the dore is a fountaine but it runneth not; of the which holy writ speaketh & saith thus—Vidi aquam egredientem de templo. That is to saye, I saw water comming out of the temple. And upon the other side is a roche that men calle sometyme Moryach, but after it was called Belet,[¹³] or the arke of God, with the reliques of the Jewes. Thys arke did Titus cary with him to Rome when he had discomfited all the Jewes. In that same arke were the ten commandementes and Aarons rodde and Moyses rodde with which he departed[¹⁴] the red sea, when the people of Israeli passed through on dryefoote & with that rod he did many wonders, and there was the vessell of gold ful of manna, & clothing & ornaments & the tabernacle of Aaron, and a table square of golde with twelve precious stones, & a box of Jasper graven with four figures & eight names of our Lorde within, & seven candlesticks of golde, & foure sensers of golde, and an aulter also of fine gold & foure lions of gold, uppon the which they had Cherubin of gold twelve spanne long, & a tabernacle of golde & also twelve[¹⁵] trumpets of silver & a table of sylver & seven barly loves and all other reliques that were before the nativitie of Jesu. Also upon this roch slept Jacob, when he sawe Aungels go up and downe, and sayde, Vere locus iste sanctus est, et ego ignorabam, That is to say Forsooth this place is holy & I wist[¹⁶] it not. And there the Aungel chaunged Jacob's name and called him Israell. And in that same place David saw the aungell that slew the people with a sworde, and put it all blody in the shethe. And in this roch was saynct Symeon when he received our Lorde into the temple, and on this roch he set him when the Jewes would have stoned him and the roch rived in two and in that refte[¹⁷] he hid him and after a sterre came downe & gave him light. And on this roch sat our Lady and learned hir sauter.[¹⁸] And there forgave our Lord the sinnes of the woman that was taken and found in adoultry, and there was our Lorde Jesu Christ circumcised, and there the Aungell denounced to Zachary the nativitie of sainct Jhon Baptist, and there offred fyrst Melchisedech bread and wine and water to our Lorde in tokening of the sacrament that was to come, and there fell Davyd, praying to our Lorde for mercy for him and for his people, when he sawe the Aungell slea[¹⁹] his people, and our Lorde anon herde his prayer, & therefore woulde he make the Temple in that place, but our Lorde Jesu Christ forbadde hym by an Aungell, for he had done treason when he did slea Euryas, a good knight, for to haue his wyfe. And therefore all that he had ordeined for to make the Temple he betoke[²⁰] it to Salomon hys sonne, and he made it, and he prayed our Lorde, that all those that prayed in that place devoutly, and wyth good hearte, that he woulde heare theyr prayer and graunt that they asked ryght wysely, and our Lorde graunted it, and therefore Salomons son called it the Temple of counseyll and helpe of God. Wythout the dores of that Temple is an auter, where Jewes were wont to offer doves[²¹] and turtylles, and in that Temple was Zachary slayne, and on that pynacle the Jewes sette Sainct James that was the fyrst Byshoppe of Hierusalem. And a lyttle from this temple on the right syde, is a church covered with lead, that is called the scole[²²] of Salomon. And toward the south is the temple of Salomon that is full fayre, and a greate place, and in this place dwell knightes y^t are called Templars and that was the founder thereof and of theyr order and in that Templum Domini dwell Chanons. From this Temple towarde the East xxvi[²³] paces in a corner of the citie, is the bathe of our Lorde, and (in) thys bath was wont to go[²⁴] to Paradise & beside is our Ladies bed and nere there is the tombe of Saynt Symeon. And without the Cloyster of the Temple towarde the North is a ryght fayre Churche of Sainct Anne our Ladies mother, & there was our ladye conceyved, and before that churche is a great tree that began to grow that same nighte. And as men go downe from y^t Church xxii greces lieth Joachim our ladyes father, in a tombe of stone and there nere was layde sometyme sainct Anne, but saint Eleyne did translate hir to Constantinople. In this churche is a well in maner of a cesterne that is called Probatica piscina that hath five entrings, and in that cesterne was wont an Aungell to discende and sterre the water, and what man that bathed him firste therein after the morning,[²⁵] was made hole that was sicke, what sycknesse so euer he had, and there was the man of the palsye made hole, that was sicke xxxviii yeare and our Lorde sayde to him in this maner of wyse Tolle grabatum tuum et ambula. That is to say, take thy bed and go. And there besyde, was the house of Pylate and a little thence was the house of Kinge Herode that dyd slea the Innocentes.

[1:] Since then.

[2:] For even if he were not baptised.

[3:] Ælia.

[4:] Know.

[5:] Put off.

[6:] Armour.

[7:] Unbelieving.

[8:] Other editions say, respectively, 64, 120, and 14.

[9:] As Footnote 8.

[10:] As Footnote 8.

[11:] According to their dignity, &c.

[12:] Finely ornamented.

[13:] Bethel.

[14:] Divided.

[15:] Other editions say 2.

[16:] Knew.

[17:] Rift or cleft.

[18:] Psalter.

[19:] Slay.

[20:] Bequeathed.

[21:] Pigeons and turtle doves.

[22:] School.

[23:] Other editions say 120.

[24:] Others say, "wont to come water from Paradise."

[25:] Pynson has it "moving."

CAP. XXIIII.

Of Herod the King.

THIS King Herod was a full wycked man and a fell,[¹] for he did firste and formost slea his wife which he loved full well, and for the greate love of hir, he went out of his witte,[²] and so was he a long time, and afterwarde he came againe to himselfe. And sythen he did slea his own children that he had gotten of that same wyfe, and after he made slea[³] the other, his second wife & a son that he had gotten of that same wyfe, and after he did slea his owne mother, & he wold also haue slaine his owne brother, but his brother died sodeinly, and thus he did all the yll that he might. And then he fell syke and when he sawe that he should dye, he sent for his sister, and all the great lordes of that countrie, and when they were there, he did put all the Lordes into a toure and sayde to his syster, he wist well that the men of the countrey should make no sorowe for him when he was deade, and therefore he made hir for to sweare unto him that she should[⁴] do smite of the heads of his lordes every one, after his death and then shoulde men of the countrey make sorowe for his death or else they woulde not sorowe and then he made his testament. But his sister fulfylled it not as of that thing that pertayned unto the lordes, for, as sone as he was deade, she delyvered the lordes out of the toure, and sent every one home to theyr houses, and tolde them what hir brother would that she do unto them. And ye shall understande that in that tyme was three Herodes of great name. This of whome I speake, men called him Herode Ascolonite, and he that did smite of Saint John Baptist heade, was called Herode Antipa and the thirde was called Herode Agrypa that did sleay Saint James and put Saint Peter in prison.

[1:] Crafty.

[2:] In Pynson's version it is "and for the greate love that he had to hir, whan she was dede, he behelde her, and want out of his wyt."

[3:] Killed.

[4:] Cause to be smitten off.

CAP. XXV.

Of Saynte Salvators church.

A LYTTEL within the citie is saynct Salvatours church & therein is Saint Jhon Crysostoms arme, and the most part of Sainct Stephens head.

And on the other syde towarde the south as men go to mount Syon is a fayre church of sainct James where his head was smitten of, and there is mounte Syon and there is a fayre church of God and of our Lady where she was dwelling and dyed, and there was sometime an Abbey of Chanons regulers and from that place she was borne of the Apostles unto the Vale of Josaphat. And there is the stone that y^e aungel bare to our ladye from mount Synay & it is of that colour that the roche of Sainct Katheryne is of, and there besyde is the gate where our Ladye when she was with Childe went through to Bethlem. Also at the entrynge of Mount Syon is a chappell and in that Chapell is that stone greate and large, with which the Sepulcre was covered when Christe was layde therein, the which stone as it is wrytten y^e three Maryes saw turned upward when they came to the sepulcre, and they found an Aungell that sayd to them, that Christ was rysen from death to lyfe. And there is a litle piller to the which our Lord was bounde and scourged, and there was Anas house that was bishop of the Jewes in that time, and in that same place forsoke Saint Peter our Lord thrise before the Cocke crewe. And there is a part of the table on the which God made his maunde with his disciples & yet is there the vessell with water out of the which his disciples feete were washed, and thereby is Sainct Stephens grave and there is the Aulter where our Lady heard the Aungels sing masse and there appeared Christ fyrst to his disciples after his resurrection, and when the gates were sperde,[¹] and sayde Pax vobiscum. That is to saye, Peace be to you. And on that Mount apeared Christ to Sainct Thomas, and badde him assaye hys Wounde, and that was the viii daye after his resurrection and then he beleved perfectly & sayde Dominus meus & deus meus. That is to say in English, My Lorde & my God. In that same Chappell behind the highe aulter were all the Apostles on Witsonday, when the holy ghoste descended on them in likenesse of fyre, and there made God Paske[²] with his disciples, and there slepte Saynt Jhon the Evangelyst on our Lordes breast and saw sleping many privy things of heaven. And mount Syon is within the Citie, and it is a lyttle hygher than the other syde of the Citie, and that Citie is stronger on that one syde than on the other, for at the fote of mount Syon is a fayre Castell & strong which the Soudan did cause to be made there. On mount Syon was King David buried and Salomon and many other Kings of Hierusalem, and here is the place where saint Peter wepte full tenderly when he had forsaken our Lorde, and a stones cast from that is another place where our Lord was judged, for that time was there Caiphas house & betwene that Temple (of) Salomon and Mount Sion is the place where Christ raysed the mayden from death to lyfe. Under mount Syon toward the vale of Josaphat is a well that men call Natatorium[³] Sylo, there was our Lord washed after he was baptized. And thereby is the tree on which Judas hanged himselfe for dispaire when he had soulde Christ. And thereby is the synagoge where the Bishops of Jewes and the Pharyses came to hold theyr counsel and there Judas cast the xxx pence before them & said Peccavi tradens sanguinem justum, That is to saye, I haue sinned in betraying the innocent bloude.

[1:] Shut.

[2:] Kept the Passover.

[3:] The Pool of Siloah.

CAP. XXVI.

Of the feelde of Acheldemack[¹] which was bought with the xxx pence.

ON the other syde of mount Syon towarde the South a stons Cast, is the feeld that was bought with those xxx pence for which Christe was sold, that men call Acheldemack, that is to say the feeld of bloude, in that feelde is many tombes of Chrysten men for there bee many pylgrims graven.[²] And also in Hierusalem toward the weast, is a fayre churche where the tree grew of which the crosse was made and thereby is a fayre churche where our lady mette with Elizabeth when they were both with Chylde & sainct Jhon styrred in his mothers wombe and made worship to our Lord his maker, and under the aulter of the church is a place where Sainct Jhon was borne and thereby is the castell of Emax.[³]

[1:] Aceldama.

[2:] Buried.

[3:] Emmaus.

CAP. XXVII.

Of mount Joye.

TWO myle from Hierusalem is the mounte Joye that is a fayre place and a liking, & there lieth Samuell the prophete in a fayre tombe, and it is called mount Joye for there many pylgrims se first Hierusalem. And in the middle of the Vale of Josaphat is a lyttle ryver that is called Torrens[¹] Cedron, and over thwart this laye a tree, of the which the crosse was made, that men passed over on. Also in y^e vale is a churche of our lady, and there is the sepulchre of our lady, and our lady was of age when she dyed, lxxii yeare. And there nere is the place where our Lorde forgaue Sainct Peter all his sinnes and mysdedes that he had done. And beside that is a chappell where Judas kissed our Lorde, that men call Getsemay,[²] and he was taken of the Jewes, and there lefte Christ his disciples before his passion, when he went to praye, and seyd, Pater si fieri potest, transeat a me calix iste, that is to say in English, Father if it may be done, let this chalice go from me. Also thereby is a chapell where our Lord swet both bloud & water and there is the tombe of King Josaphat, of whom the Vale had the name, and on the syde of that Vale is the mount Olivet, and it is called so for there groweth many Olive trees, and it is higher than Hierusalem & therefore from that hill men may see into the streetes of Hierusalem. And betwene that hill and the citie is nothing but the vale of Josaphat and that is not full large, and uppon that hyl stode our Lorde when he went into heaven, and yet semeth there the steppe[³] of his left foote in the stone. And there is an Abbey of black chanons that was great sometime, but now there is but a church. And but a little thence xviii paces is a chapell, and there is the stone on the which our Lord God sate and when he preched, and sayde thus, Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum celorum. That is to saye in English, Blessed be they that are poore in spirite, for theyrs is the Kingdome of heaven, and ther he taught his disciples theyr Pater noster. There also is a churche of that blessed woman Mary Egypcian, and there is she buryed. And uppon the other side towarde the East three bow shotes from thence, standeth Bethephage, where our Lorde Jesu Christ sente Sainct Peter and saynte James, for to fetch an asse on Palme Sonday.

[1:] The Brook Kedron.

[2:] Gethsemane.

[3:] Footprint.

CAP. XXVIII.

Of the Castell Bethania.

THERE toward the East is a castel, that men call Bethania and there dwelled Symon the lepruse, that harborowed[¹] our lord, and them that were Baptysed of his disciples, and he was called Julyan and was made Bishop and that is he that men call on for good harborow.[²] In that same place our lord forgave Mary Magdeleyne hir sinnes, and there she washed his fete with teares & wiped them with hir here & there was Lazarus raised that was foure dayes deade.

[1:] Lodged.

[2:] Protection.

CAP. XXIX.

Of Jerico and other things.

IN the returning to mount Olivet, is the place where oure Lorde wept uppon Hierusalem and thereby[¹] our Lady apeared to Sainct Thomas after hir assumption and gave him hir gyrdell and thereby is the stone on the which our Lorde sat often upon and preched and thereon he shall syt at the day of Judgement, as himselfe sayd. And there is mount Galile where the appostels were gathered when Mary Magdelein tolde them of Christe's rising. Betwene mount Olivet & mount Galile is a church, where the Aungell sayde to our Lady when she should die. And from Bethany to Jerico is fiue myle. Jerico was sometime a little citie but it was wasted, and now it is but a lyttle towne, that towne toke Josue through miracle of God, & bydding of the aungell, and destroyed it, & cursed all those that builded it againe. Of that citie was Raab that common woman, that received messengers of Israel & kept them from many perils of deth, & therefore she had a good rewarde, as holy writ sayth "Quando accepit prophetum in nomine meo mercedem prophetæ accipiet." That is to say, He that taketh a prophet in my name, he shall take mede of a prophet.[²]

[1:] Close by.

[2:] Matt. x. 41, "He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward."

CAP. XXX.

Of the holy place betwene Bethany and flom Jordane and other things.

ALSO from Bethany men go from Jordan thorow the Wildernesse and it is nere a daies journey betwene. Toward the East is a great hill where our Lord fasted XL dayes & upon this hill was Christ brought of the fende[¹] of Hell, & sayd to him thus, Dic ut lapides isti panis fiant. That is to say, Commaund that these stones be made bread. And there is an Hermitage wher dwelled a maner of Christen men called Georgins[²] for sainct George converted them, and upon that hill dwelled Abraham a great whyle. Also as men go to Jerico, in the way sate many sicke men crying, Jesu fili David, misere nobis. That is to say, Jesu the sonne of David have mercie upon us. And two myle from Jerico is flom[³] Jordan & ye shall wete the dead sea departeth the lande of Jude and of Araby and the water of the sea is right bitter and this water casteth out a thinge that men call aspatum[⁴] as great pieces as a horse. And Hierusalem is cc furlonges from this sea, and it is called the dead sea, for it runneth not, nor no man, ne beast, that hath life, that is therein, may lyve, and that hath bene proved many times, for they have cast therein men that were judged to death, nor no man may drinke of that water & if men cast yron therein it commeth up againe, and if a man cast a fether therein it goeth to the grounde, and that is against kinde.[⁵]

And there about grow trees that beare fruite of faire color and seme rype, but when a man breaketh them or cut them, he findeth naught in them but coales or asshes, in tokening that throughe the vengaunce of God these cities were brent with the fyre of hell. And some men call that lake the lake of Alphytedde,[⁶] and some call it the flome of the divell, and some call it the stinking flome, for the water thereof stynketh. There sanke these five cities through the wrath of God, that is to saye, Sodome, Gomor,[⁷] Aldema,[⁸] Solome,[⁹] and Segor, for the sinne that raigned in them, but Segor through the prayer of Loth, was saved a great while, for it sat on an hyll, and yet apeareth much thereof above the water, and men may see the walles in cleare weather. And in this citie of Segor, Loth dwelled a great while . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and at the ryght side of this see dwelled Lothes wife in a stone of salt for that she looked againe when the citie sanke downe.

[1:] Fiend.

[2:] Georgians.

[3:] River. Lat., Flumen.

[4:] Asphaltum.

[5:] Nature.

[6:] Assafœtida.

[7:] Gomorrah.

[8:] Aldama.

[9:] Seboym.

CAP. XXXI.

Of Abraham and his generation.

AND ye shall understande that Lothe was Arons sone, Abraham's brother, and Sara Abraham's wyfe was Loths syster, and Sara was xc yere olde when she gate Ysaac and Abraham had another son named Ismael that he had gotten on his mayden Ager. And when Ysaac was viii days olde he was circumcised and his other son Ismaell was cyrcumcised the same day and was xiiii yeare of age, therefore the Jewes that be of the generation of Isaac do circumcyse them at the viii day of theyr age and the Sarasyns that be of Ismaels kinde doe cyrcumsise them at theyr xiii yeare of age. And into that dead sea aforesayde runneth flome Jordan and maketh there an ende and this is within a myle of saint Jhons church & a lyttle beneth that same church Westward, were the Christen men are wont to bath them & a myle thence is the river Loth, through which Jacob went when he came from Mesopotamye.

CAP. XXXII.

Of the river Jordan.

THIS flom Jordan is no great ryver nor depe, but there is much good fishe therein, and it commeth from mount Lybany from two welles, that men call Jor and Dane and of them it taketh the name. And upon the one syde of that river is mount Gelboe,[¹] and there is a fayre playne. And on that other syde men goe by mount Lybany, to the desert of Pharon.[²] These hylles departe the kingdome of Surry and the countreys of Phenys.[³] On that hyll grow Cedres that beare longe apples which are as muche as a mannes heade. Thys flom Jordan departeth Galily and the lande of Idumea and the lande of Botron[⁴] & it runneth into a playne that men call Meldam[⁵] in Sarasyns language, and in Englyshe, fayre, because ofte tymes bee there kepte great fayres, and in the playne is the tombe of Job. In this flom Jordane our Lord was baptised, and there was the voice of the Father hearde saying, Hic est filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacui, ipsum audite. That is to saye in English, Here is my sonne that I love, in whome I am well pleased, heare him. And the holy ghost descended on him in lykenesse of a doue & so was there in thys baptysing all the Trinitie. And through the flome Jordan passed the children of Israell all dry, and they sette stones in the myddest of the water, in token of great myracle. And also in that flome Naaman of Surry bathed him, that was mesel, and he was made hole, and a lyttle from thence is the citie of Hay, the which Josue assayled and toke. And about flom Jordan are many churches where Christen men dwel, also by flom Jordan, is the vale of Mambre that is a fayre vale & a plenteous.

[1:] Gilboa.

[2:] Pharan.

[3:] Phœnicia.

[4:] Betron.

[5:] In all probability the same as the Arabic word Multamin, which means a congregation of visitors.

CAP. XXXIII.

Of many other mervailes.