there thangell apperyd to the shepeherdes that nyght that god was borne / And in that same she dyde buylde a ryall chyrche namyd it Glia in excelsis so it is callyd vnto this daye / And this chirche was somtyme a grete Colage of Chanons whiche of specyall preuilege began al the Houres of the day with Glia in excelsis as we doo in this countree with Deus in adiutoriū some men vse that same yet this day in the same chyrche / Whan saynt Elyne had made the chirche thenne she went in to Bedleem in to the same place where Cryste was borne / And as it is tolde before the Iewes of enuye wolde suffre noo man chylde ne beest to goo in to that place for they helde it a cursyd place / And fro that tyme that our lady saynt Mary was goon out of that place that she bare in her chylde tyll saynt Elyne came in to that place came neuer man chylde ne beest / And whan saynt Elyne came in to that derke place she fonde the same haye that Cryste was layed in the maynger and that clothes that our lorde Ihesu was wrapped in our ladies smocke / All thise thynges our lady had lefte behynde her whan she yede out of that place in to Egypte whyche saynt Elyne founde bothe fayr hoole wounde to gyder in the maynger / ALl thyse thynges that be relykes saynt Elyne toke awaye wyth her sauf the maynger bare them in to Constantynople / And there wyth grete reuerence solempnyte she put theym in to a worshypful chirche that is called the chyrche of saynt Sophie / And therin the relykes were kepte vnto the tyme that a kynge of Fraunce that hight Carolus came vnto Iherusalem and there dyde many grete bataylles ayenst the Sarrasins / And delyured out of pryson all the crysten men that longe tyme had liued there / whan he had done he yede home ayen by Constantynople he sawe al thyse relykes / And wyth grete prayer he had all thyse relykes and bare theym home wyth hym in to Fraunce putt theym in a worshypful chyrche that is callyd our lady chyrche of Akon / And there is our ladyes smocke other relykes that ben worshypped of Crysten men there vnto this day / ¶ Whan saynt Elyne had made thise chyrches thenne she went in to the cite of Nazareth and there she made also a fayr chyrche / And ordeyned to theym bysshops preestes clerkes to mayntene therin dyuyne seruyse / And in the cyte of Nazareth than gell greted our lady it is in the londe of Galilee / And besyde Galilee is an hyll that is callyd Thabor / Vpon that hyll our lorde Ihesu Criste transfigured hym tofore thre of his dyscyples Peter Ioh̄n Iamys as the gospell tellyth / And this hyll is but lytyl of brede but it is wonder hyghe / And it is from Ierusalem thre dayes Iourney an half / And bitwyx Iherusalem this hyll Thabor was all the way the Cryst yede here in erthe with his discyples preched taught and dyde myracles ferder yede he not in his manhede than bytwene thise two places other places that were bytwene theym but ryght lytyll of brede and largenesse / WHan this quene saynt Elyne had visited al thise holy places had ordeyned chirches goddis mynystres for to serue and all thynge perfourmyd after her owne wyll to the worshyp of god / Thenne began she to thynke gretly on thyse thre kynges that had worshipped god in his chyldhede / And she arayed her wyth a certayn people yede in to the londes of Ynde / Whan she was there she dystroyed all the Synagoges fals mawmettes dyde make chirches monasteries / ordeyned in them preestes clerkes of the crysten faythe / And she prechyd the crysted fayth amonge the people the whyche was taughte by saynt Thomas thappostle and the thre kynges whyche fayth thrugh heresies was dystroyed she renewyd it thorugh her prechynge / For all the people whan they herde what myracles oure lorde Ihesu Cryste had wroughte by that worshypfull quene saynt Elyne of the fynding of the crosse of the naylles of our ladyes smocke of the haye and of the clothes that Cryste was wrapped in in his childehode / Thenne they came to her worshipped her and forsoke their fals lawe toke them to the lawe of god as saynt Elyne taughte theym / And thenne she began to enquere of the relykes of the thre kynges / And wyth grete traueylle yede abowte to haue theym / Soo our lorde Ihesu Cryste that euermore is redy to al men that crye to hym in truthe ryghtwysnes / As he shewed to this holy quene the crosse the naylles that were hydde depe in the erthe ryght soo he shewed the bodies of the thre kinges to her / So this lady had suche a name amonge the people that the Patriarke Thomas Preter Ioh̄n by counsell of the lordes yaue to saynt Elyne the .ij. bodies of thyse .ij. kynges Melchior Balthazar to the worshippe of god of the holy kynges / The body of the thyrde kynge Iasper the Nestorynes had borne it in to the yle of Egriswill / And by cause the saynt Elyne wold not that thise thre kynges shold be departed she made grete meanes grete prayers and yaue grete gyftes to the cheyf lordes of the-yle and so she gate the thyrde body that is to saye of Iasper / And for that body she gaaf to theym the body of saynt Thomas the appostle whyche she had that tyme in her kepynge And the body of saynt Thomas hath ben twyes boren awaye from the yle euer restored ayen for certayn causes / ¶ And crysten men that haue ben in the I le saye that they myghte neuer se the body of saynt Thomas / For it is a comyn prophecye in alle the countree that the body of saynt Thomas the apostle shall be translated to the cyte of Coleyne putte to the thre kynges / And in what manere this shall be done thei tell saye / ¶ In tyme comyng whan god wyll there shall be an archebisshop of Coleyne that shall be soo wyse prudent soo myghty that he shall make a contracte of matrimonye bytwene the emperours sone of Rome themperours doughter of Tartarin / And wyth this contracte frendshyp the holy londe shall be yelden in to cristen mennys hondes / And in the tyme shall the body of saynt Thomas be translated born to Coleyne layed bi the thre kynges therfore the Heretykes of this yle that ben called Nestorines taken but lytyll hede of saynt Thomas body ne doo but lytyll reuerence therto by cause of prophecye ¶ And thenne saynt Elyne put the bodyes of thyse thre kynges togyder in a cheste / arayed it wyth grete rychesse thenne brought it to
Constantynople wyth grete Ioye and reuerence / And layed theim reuerently in a chyrche that was callyd saynt Sohpie / and that same chyrche kynge Constantyn dyde make / And he alone wyth a lytyll chylde sette vp all the pylars of marbyll of the same chyrche / And therin was somtyme the crowne of thorne that Cryst was crowned wyth / And whan the Turkes Sarrasyns came downe to Constantynople distroyed a grete party therof thenne themperour sent to saynt Lowes that was thenne kyng of Fraunce for socour helpe thenne king Lowes came with strength to the themperour recouered ayen the moost party of that londes the themperour had lost / And for his labour themperour gaaf hym the crowne of thorne wherfore the Grekes made moche sorowe / And so came the holy crowne of thorne in to Fraunce out of Constantynople and the cyâ—e is the cheif cyte of al the londe of Grece ¶ And whan thise thre knges were brought vnto Constantynople all the people of the countree abowte came visyted theym wyth grete deuocoÌ„n worshypped theym / And there they were longe tyme / AFter the thise thre worshipfull kynges bodies were brought vnto Constantynople kynge Constantyn his holy moder saynt Elyne deyed / And ayenst the fayth of crysten men began to ryse a newe heresye also persecucoÌ„n of dethe ayenst all those the wolde mayntene the crysten faythe the lawe of Cryste / But in this persecucoÌ„n the Grekes though it were that they had many worshipfull doctours bysshops of the same countree of Grece borne Yet thei forsoke the lawe of holy chirche the fayth and chose theim a Patriarke by themself to whom they obeye yet vnto this daye as we do to the pope / in this persecucoÌ„n the bodies of thise thre kinges were had in noo reuerence nor none of the other relikes but vtterly set at nought / And the Sarrasyns Turkes in this tyme wanne with stronge honde batayll the londes of Grece Armonye dystroyed a grete parte of those londes / And thenne came themperour of Rome Mauricius thrugh him the helpe of theim of Melayne recoueryd-all thise londes agayn ¶ And as it is sayd amonge theym there in the countree thrugh counseyle of the same emperour thyse .iij kynges bodies were translate in to Melayne / ¶ Ferthermore it is in many bokes in that countree that there was an emperour of Grece whiche was called Ginamiell he sent vnto a relygyous man that was callyd Gustorgius in to Melayne vpon a certayn message thenne the religious man asked of themperour to haue thyse thre kynges bodies / And by cause the emperour loued well this man also he was a wyse man themperour graunted hym the bodyes of thise kyngis / And so this man Gustorgius sent the bodyes to Melane layed theim there in a fayre chirche of frere Prechours wyth grete solempnyte / And there our lorde shewed many fayre myracles / ¶ And so at yet we shal leue to speke of the translacoÌ„n of thise holy kynges bodyes speke of another matere in vsage of the londes of Ynde / PReter IohÌ„n that is lorde of Ynde of alle the kynges that ben vnder hym on the xij daye the is called the Epiphanie they araye theym as kynges sholde with their crownes on their hedes with ryche ornamentes so they go to theyr temple here masse / thre tymes that day they offre at masse The fyrste offrynge in the begynnyng of the masse the seconde after the gospell the thyrde at that Postcomyn of the masse / And they offre golde encense myrre and that wyth grete deuocoÌ„n mekenes and also other lordes of lesse degree offre thries after the yr power / Ferdermore all other men of crysten faythe that ben diuyded in dyuers partyes sectes holde dyuers opinyons of heresies as Nubiani Soldani nestorini Indi Grecy Simani Ifymum Nycholaite Mandopoly of thise eche party hath a deuocoÌ„n to the thre kynges to the feest of the Epyphanie as ye maye here afterwarde / But fyrste or we procede ony ferther we shall speke of the thre kynges bodies lefte at Melayne / THenne after by processe of tyme the cyte of Melane beganne to rebell agaynst the Emperour theyr souereyne lorde whyche emperour was called Fredericus / And this emperour sent to the bisshop of Loleyne that was called Reynolde for helpe of dyuers lordes of the londe for dyuers lordes that were his enmyes toke the cyte of Melane distroyed a grete parte therof / And in that tyme the grete men of the cyte toke the bodyes of thyse thre kynges hydde them preuely in the erthe / Amonge al other there was a lorde in that cyte that highte Asso them perour hated this Asso more than al the people of that cyte / And so it happed that in the dystruccoÌ„n of the cyte the Archebisshop of Colayn wan this lordis place thorugh strong honde laye therin a grete whyle / And this Asso was take and put in prison / Thenne this Asso sent preuely by the kepers of the prison to tharchebysshop of Coleyne prayed hym that he wolde come speke wyth hym / And soo whan he was come before tharchebysshop he promysed him yf he myghte wolde gete hym grace of themperour his loue lordshyp he wolde yeue hyÌ„ the bodyes of the thre kynges / And whan the bysshop herde this anone he yede to themperour prayed for him and gate hym grace good loue of the emperour / Whan this was done this lorde Asso brought preuely the bodyes of the thre kynges to tharchebisshop of Colayn / And thenÌ„ the Archebysshop sente preuely thyse thre bodyes by his preuy meyne a grete waye out of Melayne / And thenne he yede to the Emperour prayed hym that he wolde graunt hym the bodyes of the thre kynges / themperour graunted theim to him / And thenne the Archebysshop openly wyth grete processyon solemnyte brought thise holy sayntes in to Coleyne there layed theym in a fayr chyrche of saynt Peter worshypfully / And all the people of the countree with all reuerence that they myght receyued thyse holy relykes / there they ben worshypped of all manere of nacoÌ„ns vnto this daye / And thus endyth the translacoÌ„n of thyse thre kynges melchior balthazar Iasper / NOw to speke of thusages in Ynde that we haue begon before aswell of Crysten as Heretykes Sysmatykes eche of theym both religyous seculars fasten on Crystmas daye vnto it be nyght / And eche man spredyth his table settith on it asmoche meete drynke as may suffyse for his lyuynge fro Cristmas daye tyll the .xij. daye / And so of the that is sett on the borde they ete drynke with theyr wyues chyldern meyne wyth all Ioye myrthe the they can in that tyme / Also they lyghte a candell
be lerned in Astronomye / For in Inde and in other places abowte ben many sterres in the fyrmament whyche maye not be seen and perceyued by nyghte playnly / ¶ But on the hyll of Vaws in a bryght weder and clere ben seen perceyued many dyuerse straunge sterres / This hyll of Vaws passyth of heyghte alle the hylles of the eeste / And aboue it is nomore of brede than a lytyll chapell that is made therupon / The whyche the thre kynges dyde make of stone tymbre / And there ben aboute this hyll many steppes for to goo vp to the chapell / And there growe trees and good herbes and dyuers spyces abowte this hyll / for elles men myghte not goo vp to the hyll it is so hye narowe / There is also a piller of stone aboue that chapell of a wonder height / On the heed of this pyller stondyth a sterre gylte well made fayre and tornyth wyth the wynde as a fane / And thrugh the lyghte of the sonne by daye of the mone by nyght the same sterre geuyth lyghte a grete waye in to the countree abowte / And many other merueylles ben tolde of this hyll of Vaws / WHan the tyme of mercy grace was come that god wolde haue mercy on mankynde / whan the fader of heuen sent downe his sone to take flesshe blode of our lady saynt Mary to be borne of her for our saluacyon / In that tyme the Emperour of Rome Octauian helde the empyre of all the worlde / In the yere of his empyre .xlij. as saynt Luke tellyth he sente out a coÌ„maundment to discryue all the worlde Exiit edictuÌ„ c̈ And the discriuynge was fyrste vnder Cirinus that was bysshopp of Syrie / And euery man went home to his owne countree / Thenne yede Ioseph out of Galilce in to Nazareth in the Iewrie and that was kynge Dauids londe the whyche cytee was callyd Bedleem By cause Ioseph was of the house of the meyne of kynge Dauid therfore he yede in to his countree with his wyfe our lady saynt Mary grete wyth chil de / Soo whan they were there the tyme was come that oure lady sholde be delyuered / And soo she was delyuered by goddys owne myghte mynystracyon of angelles she wrapped him in clothes layed him in a mainger for there was none other place ¶ And ye shall vnderstond that Bedleem was neuer of grete reputacoÌ„n nor place of grete quantyte but it hath a good fundament / For there ben many caues vnder the erthe / And Bedleem is fro Iherusalem but two myles / It is but a castell but it is callyd a cytee by cause kynge Dauid was borne there / And in that towne was somtyme an hous of Ysaye that was fader to kynge Dauid in the whyche hous kyng Dauid was borne enoynted to be kynge of Israel by Samuell the prophete / And in the same place Cryste was born goddis sone of heuen / And that place was somtyme in the ende of a strete that was callyd the Coueryd strete / And this was the cause why it was soo called for the grete heete brennynge of the soÌ„ne it was soo coueryd wyth blacke clothes other clothes to kepe awaye the heete of the sonne and soo it is yet to this daye / And in that strete was wonte to be a markette ones in the weke of olde clothes and other thynges and specyally of tymbre / In that stâ—ete stode somtyme an hous and Ysaye kyng Dauids fader lefte a lytyll hous before a denne vnder the eithe and it was shapen lyke a lytyll sellar / Ysaye the fader of Dauid and other after theym putt in that caue certayn necessaryes that longed to houshold for heete of the sonne / It is also the maneâ—e in alle the countree bothe in cytces and townes to be certayne houses that ben called there Alchan whiche we calle here Hostrees and in those houses ben mules horses asses and camelles alwaye redy yf soo be that ony pilgryme marchaunt or other man that traueyle by the waye yf hym nede ony beest for hym or for his marchandyse thenne he gooth to suche an house as is callyd Alchan and there he maye hyre what beest that he woll haue / And thenne he gooth forth to cyte or towne where he woll abyde and there he dyschargeth him of his horse or beest and sendyth him in to suche an hous that is called Alchan / And there ben beestes on that manere to hyre / And the mayster of the hous taketh the beest and yeueth it meete and whan he maye he sendyth hym home agayne there he came fro / And yf soo be that noo man goo in to that cyte or towne in longe tyme. he takyth the same beest and ledyth hym out of the towne and settyth hym in the way hom warde / And so the beest gooth forth home with out ony ledinge euyn to his maysters hous without peryll of beestes or of theues / Soo euery man that hath ony suche beestes euery man knoweth other beestes ben they neuer soo ferre asondre / And of suche houses lordes of the grounde haue grete wynnynge tolle of suche beestes hytynge / And suche a manere house was that house a lytyll before or Cryste was borne in / ¶ But abowte the byrth of IhuÌ„ that hous was all dystroyed soo that there was no thyng lefte but broken walles on euery syde and a lytyll caue vnder the erthe and a lytyll vnthryfty hous tofore that caue / there men solde breede in the same grounde ¶ It is also the vsage in all the countree that all the breede that shal be solde shall be brought in to a certayn place / And of the breede that is solde in the day the kynge the lorde of the grounde atte nyght shal haue a certen money / And whan Dauid was made kynge of Israel by processe of tyme Iherusalem was dystroyed and all the countree abowte Noo man toke hede of this hous by cause it was all dystroyed noo thynge lefte but that broken house the caue / And bredde tymbre that myght not be solde on the daye sholde be putte in that hous to the next market day / Asses horse other beestes that came to the market were tyed abowte this broken hous / FOr to speke ayen of the matere / Whan Octauian Emperoure of Rome had scnte out his coÌ„maundment that eche man shold goo to the same towne that he was borne in / Thenne went Ioseph and our lady rode vpon an asse they came so late wythin nyght to Bedleem as it is afore sayd therfore all the Innes hostries were stuffed wyth pylgrymes other men And by cause they came in poore araye they wente abowte the cyte noo man wolde receyue theym / specyally for they sawe that our lady was a yonge woman syttynge vpon an asse heuy sorowfull full
sayth he went hynge hymself / Thenne the Iewes bought wyth xv of those pence a felde for the sepultures of pylgrymes as the gospell tellyth / And the other .xv. pence the Iewes gaaf to the knyghtes that kept the sepulcre of Cryste / ¶ Ye shall vnderstonde that the lyknesse of thise .xxx. pence was vsed in all the countree bothe in name in moneye from Abrahams tyme vnto the dystruccoÌ„n of Iherusalem the whyche was by Titus Daspasianus dayes distroyed / But from the tyme of Abraham vnto the tyme of Crystys passion thise .xxx. pence were neuer dysceuered ne departed but euermore were bore hole togyder / And whan Cryste was solde for theym anone they were departed sparpled aboute in dyuers places / ¶ And the cause why thyse .xxx. Pence were callyd syluer in the gospell not wythstondyng they were fyne golde / For it is the comyn vsage in all the countree soo for to calle theym / As men calle of this countree golde of beyonde the see as Scutes motenes or florens / And yet in the Eest the same prynte is made bothe in golde syluer and copre and is kept amonge grete lordes of that countree / And the prynte of thyse pence is on the one side a kynges heed crowned and on that other syde it is wreten wyth lettres of Caldee the whyche wrytynge men can not redde now / And one of theym is worche .x. shelynges or better than thre floreyns / And many moo merueylies ben tolde of thyse thyrty pence of whom it were a longe processe to telle / ¶ Also whan our lady and Ioseph were warned to come out of Egypt bi an angel as the gospell tellyth / Thenne they were bydden to goo in to Galilee and there they dwelled in a cyte whiche was called Nazareth / And so the prophecye was fulfylled QuoniaÌ„ nazarenus vocabitur that is to say He shall be called a man of Nazareth / ¶ And what Cryste dyde werke in erthe from that tyme tyll the thyrde yere afore his passion the Euangelistes openly declare not in theyr gospelles / WHan our lorde Ihesu Criste was styed vp in to heuen after that he sente saynt Thomas thapostle in to Ynde to preche there goddys worde / In whiche Ynde as it is aforsayd thise thre kynges the tyme regnyd were lordes of those londes And though it soo were that saynt Thomas ayenst his will yede in to the londes of Ynde yet it was done of grete prouydence of god that the same appostle the put his honde in to goddys syde to knowe the he was very god the was rysen fo deth to lyfe for saluacoÌ„n of man shold go preche the Passion of Cryst his ResurreccoÌ„n his AscencoÌ„n to those worshypful kinges that sought our lorde in Bedleem in his byrth and there wyth yeftes worshypped him / ¶ And as saynt Gregory sayth Quod omnibus nobis ê“fuit ê™ hij tres reges eiusdem dnÌ„i nostri ihÌ„u xpÌ„i infanciam que sierunt et oculis viderunt et deuotissime muneribus adorauerunt probauerunt that is to saye / It was prouffyte to vs all that thyse worshypfull kynges theyr people soughte the childhede of Cryste with theyr eyen dyde se hym and wyth theyr gyftes worshypfully deuoutly honoured hym and sothly preuyd it / ¶ Also the saynt Barthylmew Symon Iude that were Cristis appostles were sente in to Ynde to preche the faythe amonge all the people / For there ben many partyes of Ynde / And one parte of Ynde is more than all the partie of the worlde on this halfe of the see / For this partye of Cristendom on this halfe the see is no more acounted in all theest but an hundred dayes Iourney / AFter that saynt Thomas thappostle had prechid in the kingdom of Ynde goddis worde had goon abowte all the Yndes the prouynces done many myracles thorugh the sygne token of the Crosse of goddis worde / As he yede aboute in the temples he founde a sterre paynted in euery temple after the sterre that apperyd to the .iij. kynges whan Cryste was borne in whiche sterre was the signe of a crosse a chylde aboue / And whan saynt Thomas sawe the sterre he asked of bysshops of the temple what is was / And bisshops tolde saynt Thomas how suche a sterre apperyd of olde tyme vpon the hyll of Vaws in tokenynge of a chylde the was borne sholde be kynge of Iewes as it was herde out of the same sterre / And for that cause thyse thre kynges yede out of theyr londes in to Bedleem worshypfully thrugh ledynge of the sterre came in to Bedleem in .xiij. dayes and there offred to the childe that was bore but with grete traueyle afterwarde they came home in to theyr owne londes in two yere / And as those thre kynges hadd done seen the bysshops of the temple tolde to saynt Thomas thapostle / Whan saynt Thomas herde all this he thanked god with grete Ioye he preched to the bysshops to all the peple the chyldhede of god his passion his resurreccoÌ„n his ascencyon and all the werkis of Cryste whyle he was in erthe / Where thorugh the bysshops of the temples many other folke were conuerted to Cryste were crystned / Ferthermore saynt Thomas mekely declared and dyde expowne to al the people the vnderstondyng of this sterre of the Crosse / And he casted out of the Temples all mawmettes / And he halowed theym in the name in the worshyppe of that chylde Cryste Ihesu / And thenne suche a fame beganne to rise in all that countree abowte of saynt Thomas for the grete myracles that he wroughte that all folke that hadde Infyrmytees or ony other tormentynge of wyckyd spyrytes they came to saynt Thomas / And he in the name of god and by the sygne of the Crosse heelyd theym and conuerted theym to Crystis fayth and crystned theym and they that were soo conuerted to Cryste dyde many myracles thorugh the vertue sygne of the Crosse afterward in dyuers places there as saynt Thomas hadde not vysited ne ben / SO whan saynt Thomas had thus preched and taughte the people / Thenne he yede to the kyngdoms of those thre kynges founde them hole of body and of grete aege / And as Symeon had answere of the holy ghost that he sholde not deye tyll he had seen Cryste goddis sone and so he abode him tyll he was broughte in to the temple and there he toke hym in his armes / So in lyke wyse thyse thre kynges prayed to god that they sholde not deye tyll they were renewed wyth the holy ghost wyth the sacrament of Baptym / Soo whan they herde that a man that was disciple of Cryst was come in to theyr londes that was callyd Thomas prechyd to the people of the chyldhode of Cryst and of his Passyon ResurreccoÌ„n and Ascencyon and of those werkes
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