wery grete wyth childe and nyghe the tyme of her delyueraunce of her chylde / Thenne Ioseph ladde her in to this forsayd place that noo man toke hede of downe in to the lytyll derke denne / And there our lorde Ihesu Cryste that same nyght was borne of our lady wythout ony disese of her body / In that house of olde tyme was lefte a maynger of the lengthe nyghe of a fadom made in the walle / And by the same maynger was an oxe of a poore mannys tyed And besyde the oxe Ioseph tyed his asse / And in the same-mainger our lady wrapped her blessed sonne in suche clothes as she had layed him vpon the heye tofore thoxe thasse For there was none other place in that countree / In ostryes all the mayngers ben of thre or foure fete of lengthe that an horse or elles a nother beest may haue his meete by hymself / And suche a maynger was that that our lady laye in / THe place where the angell apperyd to the shepeherdes thaÌ„t nyghte that Cryste was borne is but half a myle from Bedleem / And in that same place Dauid kepte shepe in his chyldhede deffended them from beers lyens other wylde beestes / So me bokes saye that the shepeherdes of that conntree ke pe theyr shepe twyes in oo yere / And those tymes are whan the dayes nyghtes ben both of a lengthe And that londe abowte Bedleem is called the londe of byhest / And that place in the Eest is mnost parte mountayns for in some place a man shall not well knowe Wynter fro Somer / And in some place there it is ryght colde in some place is bothe Wynter Somer as it is in this countree after that the places ben playne or full of hylles / For abowte some of the hylles a man maye fynde snowe in August that snowe men of that countree gadre thenne laye it in theyr caues vnder the grounde / And afterward it is borne to the markettes and that wyll the lordes of the countree bye to set it in basons on their borde to make theyr drynke colde / And the poore men that gadre it carye it in chaffe that the heete sholde not melte it and the lordes that bye it vncoueren it out of that chaff thenne anone it is resolued molte to water For comynly in that countree of the Eest is alwaye snowe in Septembre Octobre / Whan the sonne comyth a lytyll lowe in that countree all sedes herbes begyn to sprynge and were as they done in this countree in Marche Aprill / And in some partyes of the Eest men repe corne in Marche Aprill but moost in May. after the place or ground lyeth hye or lowe / But by Bedleem ben many mo good fatte pastures hote than in other places in soo moche that at Crystmasse barleye begynnyth to were rype and thenne men of dyuerse countrees sende thether theyr horses mules to make theym fatte / And the tyme that we calle here Crystmas it is called there tyme of herbes / ¶ And for asmoche as whan Cryste was borne peas was in al the worlde therfore the angell sayd Par hominibus bone voluntatis And for the heete of that countree abowte Bedleem that is the cause that shepeherdes kept theyr beestes there that tyme of the yere as they done yet vnto this daye / IN those dayes whan the coÌ„maundment went out from Cezar August as it is aforsayde / thenne was Herode ordeyned made kynge of the londe of Iewes by the emperour by the Romayns yet was Herode noo Iewe ne kyng of Iewes borne / But by cause the same emperour the Romaynes had made subgette to theym the londe of Iewery many of the prouynces abowte theym vn to Inde Perse Caldee so by strong honde they made hym kynge / And all that countree knewe well that He rode was but a lyon neuer came of kyngis blood ne of Iewry bore but made kyng by theÌ„perour Romayns so that the prophecie of daniel shold be fulfylled in the tymeÌ„ of the byrthe of Cryste whan he sayd CuÌ„ venerit sanctus sactoÌ„rum c̈ as it is aforsayde / Yet the Iewes contynuynge in theyr malyce falsnesse sayde that longe tyme after the Natiuite of Cryste their vnccoÌ„n sessed not but that they had many kinges after / But yet the false Iewes forsake not that Herode came of a Iewe on the fader syde of a Paynym of the moders syde so he was noo very Iewe Wherfore crysten men make the Iewes vtterly confuled of the prophecye of Iacob theyr Patryarke the sayd thus Non auferetur ceptruÌ„ de iuda nec dux de femore cius doner veniat qui mittendê° est et ipÌ„e erit expectacoÌ„ genciuÌ„ that is to saye / The septie of Iuda shall not be borne away ne the stocke of lygnage tyl he come that shall be sente and he shall be that folke shall abyde / ¶ And many other questyons of the Iewes to the crysten men of the vnccoÌ„n of theyr kynges / WHan god was borne of our lady as it is afor sayd thenne this sterre that was prophecied by Balaam and long tyme abyden and loked after by the twelue Astronomers of the sayd hyll of Vaws / ¶ The same nyghte and the same houre that god was borne the same sterre began to ryse in manere of the sonne shynynge bryghte / And after that fourme of an egle ascended aboue the hylle / And all the daye in the highest place of the ayre it abode with out ony meuynge / Soo whan the sonne was moost hote and moost highe there was no dyfference in shinynge betwyx the sterre the sonne / Neuertheles some bokes sayen that in the same daye whan god was borne were seen many sonnes but whan the daye of Crystmas was paste the sterre ascended vp in to the fyrmament / And the sterre that thus was shewed was noo thynge lyke the sterres that ben paynted here in dyuerse places / For it had ryght many strakes and beemys more bryght brennynge than a bronde of fyre / And as an Egle fleenge betynge the ayre with his wynges ryght soo the strakes the beemes of that mouyd themselfe abowte / And the sterre had in hymself the fourme the liknesse of a yonge childe and aboue hym the sygne of a Crosse / And a voyce was herde in the sterre sayenge Natus est nobis hodie rex iudeorum qui est expectacoÌ„ genciuÌ„ dominator eorum ite ad inquirendum euÌ„ adoranduÌ„ that is to saye / This daye is borne to vs kynge of the Iewes that folke haue abyden and he is lorde of them god forth and seke hym and doo hym worshyppÌ„ / Therfore for strengthynge of our fayth to afferme thys matere forsayd almyghty god whose prouydence in his ordynaunce fayllyth not / ¶ And saynt Poul sayth Vocatea que
¶ Prologus HEre begynnyth the lyfe of the thre kynges of Colein fro that tyme ther â—ought our lorde god almyghty camÌ„ to Bedleem 〈◊〉 shypped hym and offied to hym vnto the tyme of theyr deth / As it is drawen out of dyuers bolâ—es and putte in one / And how they were traullaâ—e fro place to place / ¶ The matere of thise thre kynges fro the begynnynge of the prophecye of Balaam preest of Madians prophete that prophecied sayd Oâ—â—â— stella et Iacob et erurger homo de israel et ipe dâ—abitur oim genâ—…uÌ„ That is to say a slewe shall spâ—â—…ge of Iacob and a man shall ryse vp of Israel and shall be lorde of all folke as is conteyned in the olde Testament / ¶ Of this Balaam is altercacoÌ„n in yeâ—est partyes betwyx the Iewes the Crysten men / for Iewes saye in theyr bokes that Balaam was noo prophete but an enchauntour and thrugh whiche crafte the deuylles helpe he prophecied / Wherfore in Iewes wrytynge they calle hym an enchauntour and noo prophete ¶ Agayn the Iewes Crysten men alledge saye that Balaam was a Paynym and the fyrste prophete noo Iewe and he prophecyed to they in that were noo Iewes / And he prophecyed ryght gloryously of the Incarnacyon of our lorde and of the comynge of thyse thre kynges / for yf his prophecye had ben by the deuylles crafte the deuyll wold not haue forboden to curse Israel / But god by grete loue shewed to Balaam by an angell by grete tokens or that he greued god by his euyll counsell / ¶ Also in the Iewes bokes is a grete question of Iob whom god wyth his owne mouthe coÌ„mendyth / of whom the Iewes toke but lytyll hede or none for he was a Paynym none Ebrewe / Ferthermore they saye that Iob was before Moyses lawe and that tyme he dwellyd in Mesopotania notwythstondynge the scripture sayth he was of the londe of Hus in Sirie and dwelled in a towne that now is called Sabob that is fro Damaske a dayes Iourneye where his sepulture is seen vnto this day / And besyde that same towne saynt Poul was caste downe in the felde there recouered agayn by Cryste IhuÌ„ / ¶ Also the Iewes kepe ryght nought of the prophecies of Balaam ne of his wordes but in theyr bokes sette him at nought of whiche it were longe to telle / WHAN the chyldern of Israel were goon oute of Egypte had wonne Iherusalem all the londe lienge there abowte and no man was hardy in al that counfree to sette agaynst theym for drede that they hadde of theim / That tyme in Inde was an hylle that was callyd Vaws and also they callyd it that hyll of Vyctory / And on this hyll the warde and the kepyng of theym of Inde was ordeyned kepte by dyuers aspyes by nyghte and daye for the chyldern of Israel and afterwarde for the Romayns / Soo that yf ony peple purposed wyth stronge honde to entree in to the londe of the kyngdom of Inde anone aspyes of other hylles abowte by tokens shewed and warned the kepers of the hyll of Vaws / As by nyghte they made grete fyre and by day grete smoke / For that hyll of Vaws passyd of heyghte all other hilles of Inde and in al the Eest / And soo whan ony suche tokens were seen by nyghte or daye thenne anone all manere of men of that countree made theim redy for to withstonde yf ony enmyes came / ¶ Wherfore in the tyme of Balaam that gloryously prophecyed of the Incarnacyon of our lorde and of the sterre and say de Orietur stella c̈ Thenne al the grete lordes and all the people of Inde and in the Eest desyred gretly to se that sterre / And they promysed for to geue grete gyftes to the kepers of the hyll of Vaws / And hyred theym wyth grete rewardes and gyftes that at suche tyme as they sholde se by nighte or by daye ferre or nere ony lyghte or sterre in the firmamente other wyse fourmed than hathe be accustumed to be seen that Incontynent they sholde shewe lyght and sende theym worde / And soo longe tyme that comen fame and pronystifyeng of the sterre was gretely desyred and bore thorugh alle the londes of the Eest and also the name of the hyll of Vaws / ¶ Moreouer of the same hylle rose vp a grete kynredde in Inde and in the Eest that is callyd the progenye of Vaws vnto this daye / And there is not a more worshypful kynredde ne more noble and myghty in all the londes and all the kyngdoms in the Eest as it shall be shewed more plainly afterwarde / And the kynredde came fyrste of the kynredde of the worshypfull kynges blode that was callyd Melchior that offryd golde to Tryste Ihesu / IN the yere of our lorde a thousande two hundred whan the cyte of Akon that is called Acrys stode in Ioye and prosperite and was enhaunsed rychely wyth prynces and lordes and also wyth dyuers orders of men of religyon of all manere of dyuers nacoÌ„ns tonges in somoche that the name the praysynge of the cyte of Akon or Akers was borne thorugh the worlde And moreouer alle nacoÌ„ns and tonges came thither bothe by londe and sée of al manere of marchandise of the worlde / Soo there was noo cytee lyke thereto of nobles ne of worthynes and of myghte / Thenne for the grete name and many folde praysynges and merueyles that were there the grettest of byrthe of the progenye kynredde of Vaws came out of Inde in to Akon / And whan they sawe alle thynges there habunde in more worshyppe than in Inde and in alle the countrees of the Eest / Thenne by cause of so many playsures they taryed there and buylded a fayr toure a stronge castell in Akon for ony lorde or kynge / And they brought wyth theym out of Inde of the Eest many ryche ornamentes Iewelles / And amonge alle other Iewelles they broughte a costle we Dyademe of golde arayed wyth perles precyous stones / And in the hyhest place of the Dyademe stode letters of golde and a sterre lyke the sterre that apperyd to the thre kynges whan they sawe Cryst with a sygne of a Crosse beside hym / And that Dyademe was Melchiors kinge of Nubie of Arabie that offred golde to Cryste / For thorugh that Dyademe and the merytes of the thre blessyd kynges god almyghty heelyd sauyd both man beest of dyuers syknesses / what man was take with the fallyngeuyll whan the dyademe was layed on him anone he was hole / therfore after the mayster thorder of the TeÌ„plers gate that diademe with many precious Iewelles of whyche crowne they had grete offrynges / But after that the ordre of the Templers were dystroyed where that Dyade me and many other ryght precyous ornamentes became it was neuer knowen vnto this daye / Wherfore grece sorowe
and lamentacyon was thenne made in all that countree abowte / ¶ Moreouer the forsayde prynces of Vaws broughte also wyth theym out of Inde bokes whyche were wreten in Ebrewe and Caldee langage berynge wytnesse of the lyfe of the dedes of those thre renōmed kynges / The why the bokes were after translated in to Frensshe / And soo of those bokes and of herynge and of syght and of sermon̄s and of Omelies that ben drawen out of dyuerse bokes this presente treatyse is thus wryten togyder and comprysed in one libell or lytyll boke / ¶ Also the olde kynred of this Progenie of Vaws beren alwaye in theyr baners vnto this daye a sterre wyth a sygne of a Crosse on the same manere and in lyke fourme as it appered to the thre kynges in time of the byrthe of oure Sauyoure Cryste Ihesu / ¶ And soo alwaye after that the prophete Balaam had prophecied of that sterre the more the fame and desyrynge of the sterre encreased and the more gretly it was had in remembraunce thorugh out all the londe of Inde and of Caldee and also the more the people desyred to se it in theyr lyue dayes / WHan Ezecheas regned and was kynge and souereyne of the londe of Iewes / Thenne Ysaye the prophete prophecyed gloryously of our lady saynt Mary and of her sone and sayd Ecce virgo concipiet pariet filium c̈ Loo sayd the prophece a mayde shall conceyue and bere a chylde / ¶ In the tyme of Ysaye kynge Ezecheas was greued with an Infirmite vnto the dethe / And Ysaye the prophete in the name of god tolde hym that he sholde deye wherfore Ezecheas torned to the walle and wept sorowed as holy wrytte telleth / And not for drede of dethe oonly but for he had noo eyre and for the byheste of Abraham and of Dauid and also the prophecye of Balaam and of Ysaye sholde faylle and perysshe in hym / Wherfore our lorde had mercy on hym And encreaced and prolonged his lyfe xv-yeres lenger / And Ezecheas askyd a token of god thereof / The whyche token was this / That the sonne sholde goo bakwarde or wythdrawe hym ayenst his kinde / And soo god suffred it to be / ¶ And whan the Caldees sawe this merueyllous and wonderfull token in the sonne in the ayre they merueyled ryght gretly therof / And whan they vnderstode that this token was shewed for Ezecheas the kynge thenne they sente hym many gyftes and were in purpose wyll to come and worshyppe hym / For the kynge Ezecheas of very Innocencie of herte made dissimulacyon wolde knowlege that this token was shewed for hym / And also he wolde not thanke god therof but had a lytyll pryde in his herte / Wherfore god was somdele wrothe wyth hym / And therfore god sent to Ezecheas by his prophete Ysaye that al those gyftis whyche were sente to hym by the Caldees sholde be borne in to Babilonie as is wryten in the Byble / For though Ezecheas were kynge of the Iewes borne and that wonderfull token was shewed for hym yet he was not that man that sholde aryse vp of Iherusalem and be lorde of all folke as Ballaam prophecyed / ¶ And in that tyme the Caldees and the Grekes gaue theim moche to Astronomye and had grete delyte therin / In soo moche that euery mayde and chylde in mennes howses knewen the course of the sterres and of the planetes And yet alway they gyue them therto specyally kynges prynces / For they haue maysters of that scyence and gyue theym grete wages to teche theim / AFter Ezecheas regned Manasses and slewe Ysaye the prophete / And after Manasses regned Amon. and after him Iosias / And in his tyme prophecyed Iheremy and thenne Ioachim / The same tyme the Caldees byfeged Iherusalem and dystroyed if and bare away all the vessell and the ornamentes that were in the temple of god and in the kynges house and bare theym in to Babilonie as Ysaye hadde prophecyed before / And they ledde many Iewes prysoners in to Babilonie the whiche is fro Iherusalem l. dayes Iourney / And they were in captiuite and in pryson l. yere to whom Iheremye sent many bokes of the lawe of prophecyes that they sholde not be forgete as the boke tellyth / ¶ And in this captiuyte of Iewes Danyel prophecyed vnder Tyrus kynge of Perse of the Incarnacyon of Ihesu Cryste and sayd De lapide absciso de monte sine manibus conscidenciū As ye maye here after / ¶ Amonge all other Danyel sayd to the Iewes Cū venerit sanctus sctōrum sessabit vnctio vestra That is to say whan he that is moost holy of sayntes comyth thenne shall your vnccōn sesse / ¶ After this the kynge of Perse the Caldees cōmaunded and dyde wryte and translate out of Ebrewe in to Caldee all the bokes of the Iewes lawes and the prophecies of Ysaye chore Ieremye Danyel Mychie Balaam other prophecies / Among all thise bokes prophecies they fonde the many thinges shold be fulfylled by the Caldees theym of Perse specyally by the Caldees theym of Perse specyally after the prophecie of Balaam that sayd Oriet̄ stella ex Iacob And for thyse prohecyes and bokes of the Iewes and for other causes the Caldees the men of Perse were the more feruente and studyenge after the sterre / ¶ Wherby we shall vnderstonde that alle this is by goddys ordynaunce of his habundannte mercy and also to the strenthynge of oure faythe / ¶ Balaam that was the fyrste prophete and was noo Iewe prophecyed by a sterre the fyrste callynge clepynge of theym that were noo Iewes whanne he sayd Orietur stella ex Iacob exurget homo c̈ And this callynge of the people god fyrste began perfourmyd by his byrthe by thyse gloryous kynges / And how be it that thei of Perse and of Caldee were Paynemes yet by thyse prophecyes and bokes of the Iewes they founde and wyst well that what soo euer god had promysed by his prophetes he was myghty to fulfyll and perfourme it / ¶ Soo they ordeyned twelue of the grettest clerkes of Astronomye that were in all the countreee and gaaf theym grete rewardes to kepe the hyll of Vaws aforsayde for bicause of the sterre that was prophecied by Balaam ¶ And the cause that there were twelue men ordeyned was this / That yf soo were that one man deyed a nother sholde be put in his stede / And nother cause was that some of theim sholde kepe the hyll one tyme / And some a nother tyme to loke after the sterre that Balaam prophecyed / Neuertheles the people loked not oonly after the sterre but after the man that it betokenyd whyche sholde be lorde of all folke / ¶ And they of Inde and Caldee came often tymes to Iherusalem by cause of marchaundyses and also for playsure / And they for the moost parte
wytnesse her of to Herode to all the Scribes and to all the Iewes And soo for the wonderfull doynge the Paynems that had noo knowynge of holy wrytte ne of the byrthe of Cryste called thise thre kynges Magos that is to saye wytches / And the Iewes that knewe the scrypture the byrthe of Cryste and the places of enuye falsnesse excyted the Paynems all abowte to calle theim wytches and soo it was broughte in to vsage that they call thise thre kynges so yet vnto this daye and therof beryth many dyuers bokes witnesse / But to put away all manere of doubtes and in repreuynge of all the false Iewes almyghty god that is euer wonderful in his werkynge gloryous in his sayntes wolde haue the preuyte of his birthe to be knowe to all the people / Soo that this gloryous name that was oonly hidde in the londe of Iewery vnto his byrthe / That same name all manere of nacoÌ„ns thrugh all the worlde sholde worshyppÌ„ knowe prayse / AFter thise thre kynges were come wyth grete traueylle to the hyll of Vaws afore sayde thenÌ„ they made there a fayr chapell in worshyppe of the chylde that they had sought / And they made couenaunt to mete togyder all thre at that same chapell ones in the yere at a certayn daye assygned / there they ordeyned their sepultures / ¶ ThenÌ„ a lytyll whyle after all the prynces the lordes and the worshipfull knyghtes of theyr londes kyngdomes herynge of the comynge home of thyse thre kynges anone they rode to theym wyth grete solempnyte and mette wyth theym at the sayde chapell / And wyth grete mekenesse reuerence they receyued theym / And whan the prynces lordes herde how merueyllously god had wroughte by thyse thre kynges / thenne they had theim in more reuerence loue and drede euer after / ¶ So whan thyse thre kynges had ordeyned theyr Testamentes done what they wolde thenne they toke leue eche of other / And eche of theym wyth his owne people rode hoome vnto hys owne londe wyth grete Ioye solempnyte and thê° eche kynge departed from other in theyr persones / but neuer in theyr hertes / And whan they were rested in their owne londes thenne they tolde and preched to all the people all that they had seen and done in theyr waye / And they dyde make in theyr Temples a sterre after the same fourme and liknesse as it apperyd to theim / Wherfore the Paynems lefte their errours and theyr mawmettes and worshypped the chylde whyche the kynges had soughte / ¶ And thus thise thre kynges dwelled in their londes and kyngdoms in worshypfull and honeste conuersacyon tyll after the AscencoÌ„n of our lorde Ihesu Cryste / And wythin shorte tyme after thenne came saynt Thomas thappostle in to theyr countrees / AFter the tyme that thise thre kynges were to me from Bedleem in to their owne countrees agayn / Thenne beganne to ryse sprynge a grete fame of our lady and of her childe and of the thre kinges abuote all the countree of Iherusalem Wherfore our lady for drede of the Iewes fledde oute of that lytyll house that god was borne in yede in to a nother derke caue vnder the erthe / And there she abode wyth her chylde to the tyme of her Purificacyon / And as goddys wyll was dyuers men wyÌ„ men louyd our lady saynt Mary and her sone and founde theym all manere necessaryes that theim neded / ¶ And after whan the fayth began to wexe and encrease thenne was edifyed there a chapell in the same caue in worshyppe of the thre kynges and of saynt Nicholas / ¶ And in that chapell there is a stone whyche our lady was wont to sytte on whan she yaue her chylde our lorde Ihesu Cryste sucke / And on a tyme as she satte vppon that stone in gyuynge to her swete chylde sucke there hapned to falle downe from her teete a lytyll droppe of that moost purest and moost clene vyrgynall mylke on the forsay yd stone the whyche moost precyous and purest mylke that fell from that blessyd vyrgyn is remaynyng and seen there vnto this daye / And the more it is shrapyd wyth knyues the more wexyth the mylke / And it is borne in to many dyuers places by pylgrymes ¶ Also whan our lady was goon out of the lytyll hous in to the caue she had forgote her smocke behynde her in the haye of the maynger there our lady laye in / And soo bothe haye smocke were hoole tresshÌ„ in the same place vnto the tyme that saynt Eleyn that holy quene that was moder to kyng Constantyn came to the place / For the Iewes of malyce of enuye helde that place that Criste was borne in a foule cursyd place / In somoche-that they wold suffre no man nor woman ne chylde ne beest goo in to that place / ¶ Ferdermore whan our lady had offred vp her childe in to the temple wyth the turtles douues after Moyses lawe as holy wrytte telleth / And Symeon toke him in his armes sayd Nunc dimittis seruuÌ„ tuuÌ„ dnÌ„e c̈ that is to saye / Now lorde lete thy secuaunt be in peas after thy worde / The same tyme Symeon Anne the holy woman in presence of the Scribes Pharisees prophecied many thinges of our lorde Ihesu Cryste as holy wrytte tellyth / And so grete a name was spronge of our lady of her sone amonge the Iewes that she myghte not ne durst not noo lenger abide in that place for drede of Herode of the Iewes / And the Gospell sayth Angelus dnÌ„i apparuit in sompnis ioseph dicens Surge accipe pueruÌ„ c̈ that is for to saye / An angell of god apperyd to Ioseph in his slepe sayd Ryse and take the chylde and his moder and fle in to Egypte and be there tyll I tell the / For Herode shall seke the chylde to dystroye hym / Thenne Ioseph roos toke the childe and his moder yede in to Egypte by night and dwelled there tyll Herode was deed / Our lady her sone were in Egypte dwellynge .vij. yeres and it is from Bedleem .xij. dayes Iourney / And in this way as our lady went in to Egypte she sawe growe drie roses the whyche ben callyd the roses of Ierico and they growe in noo place of all the countree but onÌ„ly in the same way / And thise roses the shepeherdes of the same countree done gadre in tyme of yere selltheym to pylgrymes for bredde to other men of that countrees abowte and soo they ben-borne in to dyuers londes / ¶ And in the same place there our lady dwellyd with her sone in Egypte is now a gardyne therin growyth bawme and it is allong brode as a man maye caste stone / And in that gardyne ben vij welles in whom our lady wysshe her sone bathed hym and wasshyd her clothes