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
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
that thyse thre kynges Melchior Balthazar and Iasper of thyse londes in whom thyse good and ryche gyftes wexed and-growyd that sholde be offred to god by the olde prophecies / Rather they maye be callyd kynges than kynges of other grete londes wherof sayth Dauid the prophete Beges tharsis insule munera offerent reges arabum saba dona domino deo adducent that is to saye / Kynges of Taars and of the yle shall offre gyftes kynges of Arabie of Saba shall brynge gyftes to our lorde god / ¶ Somtyme thyse kynges had other names / Melchior was called kinge of Nubie of Arabie / Balthazar was called kyng of Golie Saba Iasper was called kynge of Taars of thyle of Egris will / it was called the kyngdom of Taars bicause it was nexed to the same yle / And so the names of their kingdoms ben specifyed in specyall for dyfference of other cytees and yles of the countree / TO shewe ayen of thise thre worshypful kinges of the araye and ordenaunce wyth ryche tresour and ornamentes and wyth grete multytude of people as it is aforsayd / And whan they rode forth out of their kyngdoms none of them wyst ne knewe of others purpoos by cause of the long waye that was bytwyx eche kyngdom yet the sterre went euenly tofore thise thre kynges al theyr mey ne / And whan theistode styll or rested thenÌ„ the sterre stode styll whan they yede or rode the sterre alway yede forth tofore them in his vertu strength yaue lyght to al theâ—r wayes / And the tyme was peas in al the worlde wherfore in al cytees townes the they ye de by was no gate shyt nyght nor day but it semyd to those thre kynges to al theyr people that it was euer daye neuer nyght in all those .xiij. dayes / whefore all men of cytees townes that thyse thre kynges came by were wonderly aferde merueyled therof For they sawe kynges with somoche people bestes caryage that passyd by theym in grete hast in the nyghte / But they knewe not what they were ne from what place they came ne whyther they sholde goo / But on the morowe they sawe the waygretely defoylled and traced wyth hors fete other beestes / Wherfore they were in grete doubte what it shold be and grete altercacoÌ„n was amonge theym in that co untree longe tyme after / ¶ Soo ferthermore whan thyse thre kynges had rydden thrugh dyuers londes kyngdoms citees and townes they rode ouer hylles waters valeyes playnes and many other dyuers peryllouse places wythoute ony dysese or lettynge / For all the waye that they rode were it highe or lowe all semyd to theym euyn and playne and fayre waye / ¶ They toke neuer herberough by the waye nyghte nor daye ne neuer rested themself but to make water neyther their beestes that were in theyr company ne neyther ete nor dranke after the tyme that they had take their waye tyll they came in to Bedleem / And all thyse .xiij dayes Iourneyes semyd theym but one daye / And thus thorugh the grete myghte of god the ledynge of the sterre they came in to Iherusalem the thyrtenth daye after that Cryste was borne in the vprysynge of the sonne wherof this is noo doubte / For they founde oure lady and her sone in the same place and in the caue that Criste was borne in / he was layed in an olde maynger ¶ Also many bokes telle that they came in to Iherusalem and to Bedleem in the in the myddes of the daye wherof saynt Gregory sayth thus in an Omelie Si dimna operacio humana racione comprehendi posset non esset admirabilis nec haberet fides meritum cui humana racoÌ„ prebet experimentuÌ„ that is to saye / Yf the werkes of god mighte be coÌ„prehended in mannes wytte or reason it were noo wonder for fayth hath no mede where kynde reason shewyth if to man / ¶ For oure lorde god that in the olde Testament ledde Abakuc the prophete by one heere of his heed out of Iurye in to Babilonie Caldee that was a hundred dayes Iourneye bitwene goynge comynge to Danyel the prophete that was in a pytte among wylde lyens and anone restored the same Abakuc in to his owne place ayen / The same lorde god in the newe Testament was myghty to lede brynge thise thre worshipfull kynges out of theyr kyngdoms in the eest in to the londe of Iewery in twelue dayes wythoute ony dysese or lettynge / ¶ Also our lorde Ihesu Cryst after his resurrexcyon yede to his dyscyples in to an house wythout openynge of gate or locke / And as the fyre brente not ne dyde none harme to the thre chyldren whan they were putte in the furneys of fire ne noo sauour of smoke was founde in theym / Ryght soo in the tyme of thyse thre gloryous kynges our lady saynt Mary bare our lorde Ihesu Cryst that was and is very god man / And yet she was tofore and euer after a clene mayde / God almyghty myght harue brought thise thre kynges al their folke out of the Eest in to Iewerye in a moment as he broughte Abakuc the prophete forsayde / But though god almyghty made hymself lowe and was borne in grete pouerte and toke vpon him manhode maÌ„nes freeltee yet he wolde merueyllously shewe his byrth to all the worlde in heuen in erthe wyth the myghte of his godheed of his hyghe mageste / WHan thyse thre kynges eche in his waye with his hoste companye were almost come to Iherusalem saue two myle / Thenne a derke a grete clowde couered theym alle the erthe / And in that derke clowde they loste theyr sterre as the prophecye of Ysaye sayd Surge illuminare Ihrlm quia venit lumen tnuÌ„ et gloria dnÌ„i super te orta est quia ecce tenebre operient terram caligo populos that is to say / Iherusalem aryse and take lyght for thy lyghte is come to the the Ioye of god is sprongen vpon the. for loo derknesse shall couere the erthe and a clowde the people / ¶ Whan thyse thre kynges were nyghe Iherusalem thenne Mechior kynge of Nubie of Arabie wyth his people was fast by the hyll of Caluarie there Cryst was doon on the crosse by the wyll of god there he abode in the clowde in derknesse / And that tyme the hyll of Caluarie was a roche of twelue grees of heyghte / And on this hyll theues and other men for dyuers trespaces were put to theyr dethe / There was also besyde this hyll an hyghe way and to that highe waye were thre highe wayes metynge togyder / And soo for derknesse of the clowde and for they knewe not the way they abode there yede no ferther at that tyme / AFter that Melchior was thus come thenne nexte hym a lytyll vnder the clowde came
trybutory to hym so the he wold helpe them / And then̄e Preter Ioh̄n was in good wyll to helpe theim The next night as Preter Ioh̄n laye in his bedde slepte the thre kynges apperyd to hym spake to hȳ charged hym the he sholde not in noo manere helpe ne socour the Nestorines for it is goddys wyll that thei sholde vtterly be distroyed for theyr wyckydnes and malyce / And whan the Nestorines herde tell that Preter Ioh̄n had suche a vysion of the thre kynges they yede abowte to the grete lordes that were abowte Preter Ioh̄n yaue theim grete yeftes to speke to theyr lorde the they myght haue helpe of hym / And thenne dyuers lordes counseyled Preter Ioh̄n to take noo he de of dremes nor of suche vysions but to holde his purpoos promyse to helpe thise Nestorines / And thenne Preter Ioh̄n assented to theyr counsell sence his eldest sone Dauid wyth a stronge oost in helpyng of the Nestorines / And whan thyse two hostes mette togyder the Tartarines had the vyctory and slewe Dauid all his oost soo that there ascaped none alyue / And also they dystroyed many londes cytees castelles that were longynge to Preter Ioh̄n / And whan preter Ioh̄n herde therof thenne he was sory therfore that he dide ayenst the cōmaundment of the thre kynges that apperyd to hym in his slepe / And thenne with grete sorowe of herte he asked god mercy foryeuenes and the thre kynges he prayed of grace helpe / Thenne on a tyme the thre kynges appered to themperour of Tartaryn as he lay in his bed and charged hym that he sholde doo nomore harme to Preter Ioh̄n / And badde he shold sende to hym and make a fynall peas wyth hym for euermore but the londes castelles the themperour had wonne of Preter Ioh̄n to kepe theym styll to hymself for by cause Preter Ioh̄n was inobedyent to our cōmaundment / Thenne themperour anone though he were a Paynym yet he was sore adradde of his visyon / Anone he sente messagers to Preter Ioh̄n made a fynall peas betwene theym for euer more In somoche that the eldest sone of thyse two lordes sholde wedde the tothers doughter euer more after to the worldes ende soo it is yet contynued unto this daye / ¶ So afterwarde this emperour enqueryd of the thre kinges of theyr lyues dedes / Thenne in mynde in worshyppe of theym themperour ordeyned that his fyrst sone al the chyldren of his successours sholde beere the names of thyse thre kynges for euermore after / And thus the Nestorines were dystroyed put oute of theyr londes kyngdoms / And after warde were fugytyf and dwellynge abowte in dyuers countrees alwaye vnder trybute as Iewes other nacyons that ben alway dwellynge vnder trybute / But yet some of theym dwelle in thyle of Egriswyll paye therfore euery yere grete trybute / Also there is a nother secte that is callyd Indy and they ben of Preter Ioh̄ns londe they ben good cristen men / Add the preestis of that londe whan they goo to masse they hange a crowne of golde on the awter And the preest deaken subdeaken mete togider in thre partyes soo they goo to the awter / And thys they doo in tokenynge of the thre kinges that mette so denly togider in an hye waye whiche was departed in thre wayes / so thrugh ledynge of the sterre they yede vnto Bedleem offred yeftes to god almyghty the twelfthe daye after his byrthe / There is also a nother secte whiche is called Grecij there preestes haue wyues / And they byleue on the fader on the sone but not in the holy ghost / also they byleue saye there is no purgatory / And whan they synge masse they kytte a pece of breede that is made four square / And this breede they putte in a dissh̄ of golde or of syluer aboue that they lay a sterre that is couered with a fayr whyte clothe / And at the Offetory of the masse they take the dissh̄ wyth thost with the sterre sette it aboue on their heedes so wyth sencers and candelles they goo abowte the chyrche wyth grete worshyppe reuerence and soo ayen to the awter / And thenne all the people fallen downe to the grounde doon grete worship to the sacrefyse / And thus they doo in tokenyng of the thre kynges that sought god almyghty in Bedleem and offryd to him ryche yeftes thrugh ledyng of a stere came to the maynger there Cryst laye / And there they fell downe worshyped hym / Also there is another manere of secte whiche is called Simiani / they ben men of Yndore for that londe aboute Ihrlm whiche of olde tyme was called Pude is now callyd Symis / But thise men haue but lityl of heresye amonge theym / they doo grete worshyp to saynt Barbara watche all her nyghte as men doo in this countree on Mydsomer nighte / And soo thenne euery frende gooth to other and bereth aboute-dyuers seedes whyche shall be sowen in gardynes ¶ And thise men whan they shall swere afore Iustices for ony cause thenne they swere by the gospell and by the thre kynges / And that they done in tokenyng of the thre kynges that sought god in the londe of Iewes / There is also a nother secte whiche is called Maronice and they dwelle in dyuers londes aboute / And theyr preestes theyr Deakens and theyr Subdeakens haue wyues / And they saye noo masse in all the yere but at the feest of Crystmas Ester / And they saye masse of saynt Thomas the appostle of the thre kynges / And this they vse yet vnto this daye / Also there is a nother secte whiche is called Ysimij / And whan the preestes goo to masse they blysse the people and prayed god rule theym lede theym as he ledde the thre kynges by a sterre in to Bedleem to doo hym worshyppe / Also there is another secte that is called Maronij / And thise men whan they begyn ony thynge then̄e they saye in the name of god the thre kynges / Also there is a nother secte that is called Nicholaite And those men vse to gyue euery daye thre manere of almesse in the worshyppe of god the thre kynges to poore men there abowte / A nother there is and they ben called Mandopoles And they holde noo specyall fayth they are in heresye ne they haue noo preestes amonge theym / And ones in the yere they gone togyder in procession to the chyrche fastynge / And that shall be on a Sonday there they woll here masse in the worshyp of god the thre kynges / And all those dyuerse sectes other crysten men haue many other specyall deuocyons to thyse thre worshipfull kynges whiche were longe to telle / And in all the countrees of Ynde in the Eest and in al the londes and kyngdoms there thyse thre kynges were lordes all manere of people haue thyle thre kynges in reuerence moche more than men haue in this countre / ¶ And our lord Ihesu Cryst shewyth many myracles abowte in dyuers places in the Eest thrugh the merytes prayers of thise worshipfull kinges whiche thre kynges now regne in eternall blysse in heuen / To whiche blysse by the merytes Intercessions of those thre blessyd kynges he the sytteth aboue all sayntes brynge vs all / AMEN And thus we make an ende of this moost excellenct treatyse of those thre gloryous kynges whoo 's corps reste in the cyce of Coleyne / Enprynted at Westmester by Wynkyn the Worde /