Knights who are called Templers and they were the founders thereof and of their order and in that Templum Domini dwelled Chanons From this Temple toward the East xxvi paces in a corner of the Cittie is the Bathe of our Lord and this Bathe was wont to goe to Paradise and beside is our Ladyes bed and néere there by is the Tombe of saint Simeon And without the Cloyster of the Temple toward the North is a right fayre Church of Saint Anne our Ladies mother and there was our Lady conceiued and before that Church is a great trée which began to grow that same night And as men go downe from the Church xxij steps lyeth Ioachim our Ladyes Father in a Tombe of stone and there néere was layd sometime Saint Anne but Saint Eline did translate her to Constantinople In this Church is a well in manner of a cesterne that is called Probatica piscina that hath fiue entrings and in that cesterne was wont an Angell to descend and stir the water and what man that bathed him first therein after the stirring was made whole that was sicke what sicknesse so euer hée had and there was the man of the Palsie made whole that was sicke xxxviii yéere and our Lord sayd to him in this manner of wise Tolle grabatum tuum et ambula That is to say take vp thy bed and walke And there beside was the house of Pilate and a little thence was the house of king Herode that did slay the Innocents Of Herod the King Chap. xxiiij THis king Herode was a full wicked man and a fell for he did first and formost slay his wife whom hée loued full well and for the great loue of her hée went out of his witte and so was hée a long time and afterward hée came againe to himselfe And after hée slew his owne children that hée had begotten of the said wife and commaunded likewise his second wife to bée slaine and a sonne that hée had begotten of her and after that hée slew his owne mother and hée would also haue slaine his owne brother but his brother dyed sodainely and thus hée did all the ill that he might And then he fel sick and when hée saw that hée should dye hée sent for his sister all the great Lords of the country and when they were there hée did put all the Lords into a towre and said to his sister hée wist well that the men of the country would make no sorrow for him when hée was dead and therefore hée made her for to sweare vnto him that shée should smite off the heads of the Lords euery one after his death and then would men of the Country make sorrow for his death in regard of the Noble mens death and then he made his last testament But his sister fulfilled it not as pertaining vnto the death of the Lords for as soone as hée was dead she deliuered the Lords out of the towre and sent euery one home to their houses and told them what her Brother commanded her to doe vnto them And yée shall vnderstand that in that time was thrée Herodes of great name This of whom I speake was called Herode Ascolonite and hée that did smite of Saint Iohn Baptists head was called Herod Antipa and the third was called Herod Agrippa and hée did slay Saint Iames and put Saint Peter in prison Of Saint Saluators Church Chap. xxv Also mount Sion is within the cittie and it is a little higher then the other side of the cittie and that Cittie is stronger on that one side then on the other for at the foote of mount Sion is a faire castle and strong which the Souldan did cause to bée made there On mount Sion was king Dauid buryed and Salomon and many other kings of Hierusalem and there is the place where Saint Peter wept full tenderly when hée had denyed our Lord and a stones cast from that is another place where our Lord was iudged for at that time was Caiphas house there and betwéene the Temple of Salomon and mount Sion is the place where Christ raised the mayden from death to life Vnder mount Sion toward the vale of Iosaphat is a well that men call Natatorie Silo there was our Lord washed after he was baptised And thereby is the trée on the which Iudas hanged himselfe for dispaire when hée had sold betraied Christ And thereby is the Sinagogue where the Bishops of the Iewes and Pharasies came to hold their counsell and there Iudas cast the xxx pence before them and said Peccaui tradens sanguinem iustum That is to say I haue sinned in betraying the innocent bloud Of the field of Acheldemack which was bought with the xxx pence Chap. xxvi ON the other side of mount Sion toward the South a stones cast is the field that they bought with those xxx pence for the which Christ was sold that men call Acheldemack that is to say the field of blood in that fild is many tombes of Christian men for there bée many pilgrims grauen And also in Hierusalem toward the West is a fayre Church where the trée grew of the which the crosse was made and thereby is a fayre Church where our Lady met with Elizabeth when they were both with childe Saint Iohn stirred in his mothers wombe and made worship to our Lord his maker and vnder the aulter of this Church is a place where Saint Iohn was borne and thereby is the Castell of Emax Of Mount Ioy. Chap. xxvij TWo mile from Hierusalem is the mount Ioy that is a faire place and a liking and there lyeth Samuel the prophet in a faire tombe and it is called mount Ioy for there those that trauaile sée first Hierusalem And in the middle of the vale of Iosaphat is a little riuer that is called Torrens Cedron and ouerthwart this lay a trée of the which the Crosse was made that men passed ouer Also in this vale is a Church of our Lady and there is the sepulcher of our Lady and shée was lxxij yéeres of age when shée dyed and there néere is the place where our Lord forgaue Saint Peter all his sinnes and misdéedes that hée had done And béeside that is a Chappell where Iudas kissed our Lord that men call Gethsemaine and hée was taken of the Iewes and there left Christ his Disciples before his passion when hée went to pray and said Pater si fieri potest transeat a me calix ista that is to say in English Father if it may bée done let this Cup passe from me And therby is a Chappel where our Lord swet both blood and water and there is the tombe of king Iosaphat of whom the vale had the name and on the side of that vale is the mount Oliuet and it is called so for there groweth many Oliue trées and it is higher then Hierusalem and therefore from that hill men may sée into the stréetes of Hierusalem and betwéene the hill
default of water and it falleth oft where a man findeth water one time hée findeth it not another time and therefore make they no houses in those countries These men that I speake of till not the Land for they eate no bread except it bée such as dwell néere a good towne and they rost their fishes and flesh vpon hot stones against the Sun and they are strong men and well fighting and they doe nothing but chase wilde beasts for their sustenance and they set not by their liues therefore they dread not the Souldan nor no Prince of the world And they haue great war with the Souldan and the same time that I was with the Souldan they bare but a shield and a speare for to defend them with and they vse none other armour but they winde their heads and necks in a great linnen cloth and they are men of full ill kinde As men are passed this wildernesse againe comming to Hierusalem Chap. xiiij AND when men haue passed this wildernesse toward Hierusalem they come to Barsabe that was somtime a faire and a rich towne of Christian men and yet is their some of the churches left and in that towne dwelled Abraham the Patriarke this towne of Barsabe founded Vrias wife of whom Dauid begat Salomon the wise that was king of Hierusalem and of the xii Tribes of Israel and he raigned xl yéere and from thence men goe the vale of Ebron that is from thence néere xii mile and some call it the vale of Mambre also it is called the vale of Teares forasmuch as Adam in that vale bewailed an hundred yéere the death of his sonne Abel that Caine slew And this Ebron was somtime the principal cittie of the Philistines and there dwelled giants there it was so frée that all that had done euill in other places were there saued In Ebron Iosua and Caleb and their company came first to espie how they might win the land of promise In Ebron Dauid raigned first viii yéere and a halfe and in Hierusalem hée raigned xxxij yéeres and a halfe and there bée the graues of the Patriarks Adam Abraham Iacob and their wiues Eue Sara Rebecca and they lye in the side of the hill and beside this hill is a right faire Church builded after the fashion and manner of a castle which the Sarasins kéepe right well and they haue the place in great worship for the holy Patriarkes that lye there and they suffer no christian men ne Iewes to come therein except they haue speciall grace of the Souldan for they hold christian men Iewes but as hounds that should come to the holy place and they call the place Spelunke or double caue or double graue or one lyeth on an other and the Sarasins call it in their language Caryatherba that is to say the place of the Patriarkes and the Iewes call it Arboth and in that same place was Abrahams house and that was the same Abraham that sate in his doore and saw thrée persons worshipped but one as holy writ witnesseth saying Tres vidit vnum adorauit That is to say He saw thrée and worshipped but one and him tooke Abraham into his house Here followeth a little of Adam and Eue and other things Chap. xv AND right néere to that place is a caue in a rock where Adam and Eue dwelled when they were driuen out of Paradise and there got they their children And in that same place was Adam made as some men say for men called that place sometime the field of Damasse for it was in the worship of Damasse and from thence he was translated into Paradise as they say and afterward he was driuen out of Paradise and put there againe for the same day that he was put into paradise the same day he was driuen out for as soone hée sinned And there beginneth the I le of Ebron that lasteth néere to Hierusalem and the Angell bad Adam that hée should dwell with his wife and there they begat Seth of the which kinred Iesus Christ was borne And in that vale is the field where men draw out of the earth a thing the which men in that country call Camball and they eate that in stead of spice and they beare it to sell and men cannot graue there so déepe nor so wide but it is at the yéeres end full againe vp to the sides through the grace of God and two miles from Ebron is the graue of Lot that was Abrahams brother Of the dry Tree Chap. xvj THen a little from Ebron is the mount of Mambre of the which Mount the dale tooke his name and there is an oke trée that the Sarasins cal dypre remaining since Abrahams time that men cal the dry trée and they say that it hath béene from the beginning of the world and was sometime gréene and bare leaues vnto the time that our Lord dyed and so did all the Trées of that kinde in the world and yet is there many of those in the world And some prophesies say that a Lord or Prince of the West side of the world shall win the land of Promise that is the holy land with the helpe of christian men and he shal worship God vnder that Trée and the Trée shall waxe gréene and beare fruite and leaues and through that miracle many Sarasins and Iewes shall bée turned to the Christian Faith and therefore they doe great Worship thereto and kéepe it right charily And yet though it be drye it hath a great vertue for certainely hée that hath a little thereof about him it healeth a sicknesse called the falling euill and hath also many other vertues and therefore it is holden right precious From Ebron to Bethlehem Chap. xvij FRom Ebron men goe to Bethlehem in halfe a day for it is but fiue mile and it is a fayre way and through Woods full pleasant Bethlehem is but a little cittie long and narrow and was walled and enclosed with a great ditch and it was wont to be called Ephrata as holy writ saith Ecce audiuimus eum in Ephrata c. That is to say Loe wée heard of the same at Ephrata And toward the end of the cittie toward the East is a right fayre and goodly Church and it hath many towres and pinnacles full strongly made and within that Church is foure and fortie great pillers of marble and not farre from this Church is the field which flourished very strangely as yée shall heare Of a fayre mayden that should bee put to death wrongfully Chap. xviij THe cause is forasmuch as a fayre mayden that was blamed with wrong that shée had done fornication for the which cause she was déemed to die and to be brent in that place to the which shée was lead And as the wood began to burne about her shée made her prayer to our Lord as shée was not guiltie of that thing that hee would help her that it might bée knowne to all men And when shée had
little red and vpon that rock dropped the bloud of the wounds of our Lord when hée was pained on the crosse and that is called Galgatha and men go vp to that Galgatha vpon steps and in that mortyes was Adams head found atter Noes Floud in token that the sins of Adam should be redéemed in the same place and aboue that rock made Abraham sacrifice to our Lord and there is an aulter and before that aulter lyeth Godfray of Boleyn Bawdewin and other that were Christians kings of Hierusalem And there as our Lord was crucified is this written in Gréek O Theos basilon ysmon persemas ergast sothyas ayos That is to say in Latin Hic Deus Rex noster ante secula operatus est salutem in medio terrae That is to say This God our king before worlds hath wrought health in the midst of the earth And also vpon this rock where the Crosse was fixed is written within the rock Gros guyst basys tou pestes thoy thesmosy That is to say in Latine Quod vides est fundamenta totius mundi huius fidei And it is to say that thou séest is ground of all the word and of this faith And yée shall vnderstand that our Lord when hée dyed was thirtie and two yéere olde and thrée monethes and the prophesie of Dauid saith that hée should liue fortie yéeres when hée sayth thus Quadraginta annis proximus fui generationi huic That is to say Fortie yéere was I neighbour to this kinde and thus should it séeme that Prophesie were not true but it is For in old time men called yéeres of ten moneths of the which March was the first and December the last But Caius Caesar that was Emperour of Roome did set to these two Monethes Ianuary and Februarie and ordained the yéere of twelue moneths That is to say thrée hundred dayes without leape yéere the proper course of the Sun and therefore after the accounting of ten moneths to the yéere hée dyed in fortie yéere after our yéeres of twelue moneths it is thirtie two yéere and thrée moneths Also within mount Caluery at the right side is there an alter where the piller lyeth that our Lord was bound to when he was scourged and thereby are thrée other pillers that alway drop water some say that those pillers wéepe for our Lords death and néere this aulter in a place xlii steps déepe was founde the verie Crosse by the assent of Saint Eleyne vnder a rock where the Iewes had hyd it and it was assayed for they found thrée crosses one of our Lord and two of the théeues And saint Eleine assaied them on a dead body that rose as soone as the very crosse of our Lord was layd vpon him And thereby in the vale is the place where the foure nayles of our Lord were hid for hée had two nayles in his hands and two in his féete and with one of those nayles the Emperour of Constantinople did make a bridle for his horse to beare him in battaile for by the vertue that it had hée ouercame his enimies and won all the land of Asia Turky Damasse the more and the lesse Surry and Hierusalem Araby Persia and Mesopotamie the kingdome of Alebe Aegypt the high and the low and other kingdomes many full nigh all vnto Ethyope the low and also vnto Inde the lesse that then was christned and there was in that time many good men and holy hermits of whom the booke of the Fathers liues speaketh and there are now in them Panims and Sarasins but when God will as these lands are lost through the sin of Christian men so shall they bée won againe by christian men through the helpe of God And in the middest of this Church is a compasse in the which Ioseph of Aramathia laid the body of our Lord when he had taken him oft the crosse and vpon the same place did he wash the féete of our Lord and that compasse men say is the middest of the world Of the Church of the holy Sepulcher Chap. xxi IN that Church by the Sepulcher on the North side is the place where our Lord was imprisoned and there is a part of the chaine with the which he was bound and there hée appeared first to Marie Magdalene when hée was risen from death and shée thought hée had béene a gardiner In the Church of the Sepulcher was wont to bée Cannons of saint Benet and they had a Priourie and the Patriarke was their Soueraigne and without the doores of the Church on the right side as men goe vp xviii steps our Lord said to his mother Mulier Ecce filius tuus That is to say Woman behold thy Sonne Deinde dixit discipulo Ecce mater tua That is to say Then said hée to his Disciple Beholde thy mother And these words hée said when hée hanged vpon the Crosse and vpon the steps went our Lord when hée bare the Crosse vpon his shoulder and vnder these staires is a Chappell where the Priests sing And néere there is the stone where our Lord rested him when hée was weary with bearing of the Crosse And yée shall vnderstand that before the Church of the Sepulcher is the Cittie most strong and the great plaine that is betwéene the Cittie and the Church on the East side without the walles of the Cittie is the vale of Iosophat that commeth to the walles In this vale of Iosophat without the Cittie is the Church of Saint Stephen where he was stoned to death and thereby is the gate builded that may not bée opened Through this gate our Lord entered on Palme Sunday vpon an Asse and the gate opened vnto him when hée would goe to the Temple and yet are the steps of the Asse séene in thrée places the which stand in full hard stones Before the Church of the sepulcher two hundred paces is a great hospitall of Saint Iohn in the which hospitall are liiii pillers made of stone And to goe toward the East from the hospitall is a right faire church that men call our Lady the great and then is there another church by that that men call our Lady of the Latine and there it was that Mary Cleophe Mary Magdalene rent their haire when our Lord was put to death Of the temple of God Chap. xxij AND from the Church of the sepulcher toward the East at xvii paces is Templum Domini That is a faire house and it is all round and right high and couered with lead and it is well paued with white marble but the Sarasins will suffer no Christians ne Iewes to come therein for they say that so sinful men should not come into that holy place but I was suffered to go in and into other places where I would for I had letters of the Souldan with his great seale commonly other men haue but of his signet and men beare his letter with his seale before them hanging on a Speare and men doe great worship
the Cittie is nothing but the vale of Iosaphat and that is not very large and vpon that hill stoode our Lord when hée went into heauen and yet séemeth there the step of his lefte foote in the stone and there is an abbey of black Chanons that was great sometime but now is there but a Church And a little thence xviij paces is a Chappell and there is the stone on the which our Lord God sate when hée preached and said thus Beati pauperes spiritu quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum that is to say in English Blessed bée they that are poore in spirit for theirs is the kingdome of heauen and there hée taught his Disciples their Pater noster There also is a Church of that blessed woman Mary Egyptian and there is shée buryed And vpon the other side toward the East thrée bow shootes from thence standeth Bethphage where our Lord Iesus Christ sent Saint Peter and Saint Iames for to fetch an Asse on Palme Sunday Of the Castle of Bethania Chap. xxviij THere toward the East is a castle that men call Bethania and there dwelled Simon the Leper that harboured our Lord and them that were baptised of his disciples and hée was called Iulian and was made Bishop and that is hée that men call on for good Harboure In that same place our Lord forgaue Mary Magdalene her sins and there shée washed his féete with teares and wiped them with her heire and there was Lazarus raised when hée was foure dayes dead Of Iericho and other things Chap. xxix IN the retourning to mount Olyuet is the place where our Lord wept vpon Hierusalem and therby our Lady appeared to Saint Thomas after her assumption and gaue him her girdle and thereby is the stone on the which our Lord sate often and preached and thereon hée shall sit at the day of iudgement as himselfe sayd And there is mount Galile where the Apostles were gathered when Mary Magdalene told them of Christs rising Betwéene mount Oliuet and mount Galile is a Church where the Angell told our Lady when shée should dye And from Bethany to Iericho is fiue myle Iericho was sometime a little cittie but it was wasted and now it is but a little towne that towne tooke Iosua through the miracle of God and bidding of the Angell and destroyed it and cursed all those that builded it againe Of that cittie was Rahab that common woman that receiued messengers of Israell and kept them from many perils of death and therfore shée had a good reward as holy writ saith Quando accipis Prophetam in nomine meo mercedem Prophetae c. That is to say hée that taketh a Prophet in my name hée shall receiue the reward of a Prophet Of the holy place betweene Bethany and the riuer Iordane and other things Chap. xxx ALso from Bethany men goe to the riuer of Iordane through the wildernesse and it is néere a daies iourney betwéene Toward the East is a great hill where our Lord fasted xl daies and vpon this hill was Christ tempted of the Diuel when he said to him Dic vt lapides isti panes fiunt That is to say Commaund that these stones be made bread and there is an hermitage where dwelled a manner of Christians called Georgiens for saint George conuerted them and vpon that hill dwelled Abraham a great while and as men goe to Iericho sate many sicke men crying Iesu fili Dauid miserere nobis that is to say Iesu the Sonne of Dauid haue mercy vpon vs. And two mile from Iericho is the riuer Iordane yée shal vnderstand that the dead sea parteth the land of Inde Araby the water of that sea is right bitter and it casteth out a thing that men call Aspatum as great péeces as an horse and Hierusalem is two hundred fourlongs from the sea and it is called the dead sea because it runneth not neither may any man or beast liue therein and that hath beene proued many times for they haue cast therein men that were iudged to death nor no man may drinck of that water and if men cast yron therein it commeth vp againe but if a man cast a feather therein it sinketh which is against kinde And thereabout grow Trées that beare fruite of faire coulour and séeme ripe but when a man breaketh or cutteth them hée findeth naught in them but coales or ashes in token that through the vengeance of God these Citties were burnt with the fire of hell And some men call that lake the lake of the Alphited and some call it the poole of the diuell and some call it the stinking poole for the water thereof stinketh There sancke these fiue citties through the wrath of God that is to say Sodome Gomor Aldema Solome and Segor for the sin of Sodome that reigned in them but Segor through the prayer of Lot was saued a great while for it stood vpon an hill and yet appeareth much thereof aboue the water and men may sée the wals in cléere weather and in this cittie of Segor Lot dwelled a great while and there he was made dronk by his daughters and lay by them and they thought that God would haue destroyed all the world as hée did with Noes floud and therefore they lay by their father that men might be borne of them into the world but if he had not béene dronken he had not lyen by them And at the right side of this sea standeth Lots wife in a piller of salt because shée looked back when the cittie sanck downe Of Abraham and his generation Chap. xxxj AND yée shall vnderstand that Lot was Aarons sonne Abrahams brother and Sara Abrahams wife was Lots sister and Sara was xc yéere olde when she bare Isaac and Abraham had an other sonne named Ismaell that hée had gotten of his mayden Agar and hée was xiiij yéeres of age when Isaac was borne and when Isaac was viij dayes old hée was circumcised and his other sonne Ismael was Circumcised the same day and was xiiij yéeres of age therefore the Sarasins that be of the generation of Ismael doe circumcise them at xiiij yéeres of age and the Iewes that bée of the generation of Isaac doe circumcise them the eight daye of their age And into that dead Sea aforesaid runneth the riuer Iordane and maketh there an end and this is within a mile of Saint Iohns Church and a little beneath that same Church Westward were the Christians wont to bath them and a mile thence is the riuer Loth through which Iacob went when hée came from Mesopotamia Of the riuer Iordane Chap. xxxij THis riuer Iordane is no great nor no déepe riuer but there is much good fish therein and there commeth from Mount Lybany two Wels that men call Ior and Dane and of them it taketh the name and vpon the one side of that riuer is mount Gelboe and there is a fayre plaine And on that other side men goe by Mount Libany
to the desert of Pharaon These hils part the Kingdome of Surry and the Countrie of Phenys On that Hill grow Ceders that beare long apples which are as much as a mans head This riuer Iordane deuideth Galile and the land of Idumea and the land of Botron and it runneth into a plaine that men cal Meldam in Sarasins language and in English fayre béecause oft times bée there kept great faires and in the plaine is the tombe of Iob. In this riuer Iordane our Lord was baptised and there was the voice of the father heard saying Hic est filius meus dilectus in quo acquiesco ipsum audite That is to say in English This is my beloued sonne in whom I am well pleased heare him And the holy Ghost descended on him in likenesse of a Doue and so was there in this Baptising all the Trinitie And through the riuer Iordane passed the children of Israell on dry foote and they set stones in the middest of the water in token of great miracle And also in that Riuer Naman the Assyrian bathed him who was leprouse and hée was made whole And a little from thence is the Cittie of Aye the which Iosua assayled and tooke And about the riuer Iordane are many Churches where Christians dwell Also by the Riuer Iordane is the Vale of Mambre the which is a faire Vale and a plenteous Of many other meruailes Chap. xxxiij AND yée shall vnderstand that as we goe from the dead Sea afterward out of the march to the land of promise is a strong Castle that men call Carran or Sermoys that is to say in English the Kings hill This Castell did a King of Fraunce make whose name was Baudewin who had conquered all the land and put it into the hands of Christians to kéepe and vnder that castle is a fayre towne that is called Sabaoth and thereabout dwell many Christians vnder tribute Then men goe to Nazereth of the which our Lord had his name and from Nazareth vnto Hierusalem is thrée dayes iourney Also men goe through the prouince of Galile through Romatha through Sophyn and ouer the high hill of Effraine where dwelled Anna that was the Prophet Samuels mother and there was hée borne and after his death was buryed at mount Ioy as I haue said before And after men come to Sybula where the arke of God was kept vnder Helie the Prophet And there made the people of Israell their sacrifice vnto our Lord and there spake our Lord first vnto Samuell There also ministred God the Sacrament Néere there by at the right side is Gabaon Rama and Beniamin of the which holy Writ speaketh After that men come to Sychem that some men call Sycar and this is in the prouince of the Samaritaines somtime there was a Church but it is all wasted and it is a fayre vale and plenteous and there is a good Cittie that men call Neople and so from thence it is a dayes iourney vnto Hierusalem and there is the well where our Lord spake to the woman of Samaria and Sychem is ten myle from Hierusalem and it is called Neople that is to say the new towne And there is the Temple of Ioseph Iacobs sonne that gouerned Egypt from thence were his bones brought and laid in the Temple and thether came Iewes often in pilgrimage with great deuotion and in that Cittie was Diana Iacobs Daughter rauished for whom her Brethren slew many men and thereby is the Cittie of Corasim where the Samaritaines make their sacrifice Of the Samaritaines Chap. xxxiiij FRom Sebasten to Hierusalem is xij mile among the hils of this country is a well that men call fons Iocob That is to say Iocobs well that changeth his coulour foure times in the yéere for sometime it is red sometime cléere sometime gréene and sometime thick and men that dwell there are called Samaritaines and they were conuerted by the Apostles and their law varyeth from the law of Christians and Sarasins as also from Iewes and Panims They beléeue wel in one God that all shall iudge and beléeue the Bible after the letter and they lap their heads in red linnen cloth that they may be knowne from others for Sarasins wrap their heads in white cloth and Christians that dwell there in blew choth and Iewes in yealow and in this countrie dwell many Iewes paying tribute as christians doe And if yée will know the letters of the Iewes they are these following and are thus called Alpha for a. deth b. gymel c. he d. van e. zay f. ex g. ioth i. karph k. lam l. men m. sameth o. ey p. phe q. lad r. cloth s. fir t. soun v. than x. lours y. Now you shall haue the figures D. li. xh rz S D S li. n h R f cc ' h n d i k. Of Galile Chap. xxxv FRom this country that I haue spoken of men goe to the plaine of Galile and leaue the hill on the one side and Galile is in the Prouince of the Land of Promise and in that prouince is the land of Naim and Caparnaum and Corasim and at Bethsaida was S. Peter and Saint Andrew borne at Corasim shal Antichrist be borne and as some men say he shall be borne in Babilon therefore said the Prophet De Babilonia coluber exiet qui totum mundum deuorabit That is to say Of Babilon shall come a Serpent that shall deuoure all the world And this Antichrist shall bée nourished in Bethsaida shall raigne in Corasim therefore saith holy writ Vae tibi Corasim vae tibi Bethsaida That is to say Woe bée to thée Corasim woe bée to thée Bethsaida and the Caue of Galile is foure myle from Nazareth of that Cittie was the woman of Canaan of whom the Gospell speaketh and there our Lord did the first miracle at the wedding of the Archdecline when hée tourned water into wine And from thence men goe vnto Nazareth that was sometime a great Cittie but now there is but a little Towne and is not walled and there was our Lady borne but shée was begotten at Hierusalem and our Lord tooke his name of this Cittie At Nazareth Ioseph tooke our Lady to wife when she was fouretéene yéeres of age and there the Angell saluted her saying Aue gratia plena Dominus tecum That is to say Haile full of grace the Lord bée with thée And there was sometime a great church and now is there but a litle chappel to receiue the offering of Pilgrimes and there is the Well of Gabriell where our Lord was wont to bathe him in when hée was little At Nazareth was our Lord nourished and Nazareth is to say floure of garden and it may well bée called so for ther was nourished the floure of life euen our Lord Iesus Christ About halfe a mile from Nazareth is the blood of our Lord for the Iewes lead him vpon an high rock to cast him downe and slay him but Iesus Christ passed them and lept on
flesh of all manner of beasts when they haue all eate they wipe their hands in their skirts and they eate but once on the day and eate but little bread but the manner of the Lords is full noble Wherefore the Emperour of Cathay is called the great Caane Chap. lxviij ANd yée shall vnderstand why hée is called the great Caane yée know that all the world was destroyed with Noes floud but Noe his wife and children Noe had thrée sons Sem Cham and Iapheth C ham when hée saw his fathers priuities naked when hée slept hée scorned it and therefore hée was cursed and Iapheth couered it againe These thrée brethren had all the land C ham tooke the best part Eastward that is called Asia Sem tooke Afryke and Iapheth tooke Europe C ham was the mightiest and richest of his brethren and of him are come the Panim folke and diuers manner of men of the Iles some headlesse and other men disfigured for this Cham the Emperour there called him Cham and Lord of all But ye shall vnderstand that the Emperour of Cathay is called Caane and not Cham and for this cause it is not long agoe that all Tartary was in subiection and thrall to other nations about and they were made heardmen to kéepe beasts and among them was vii linages or kinds the first was called Tartary that is the best the second linage is called Tamahot the third Furace the fourth Valaire the fift Semoth the sixt Menchy and the seauenth Sobeth These are all holding of the great Caane of Cathay Now it befell that the first linage was an old man and he was not rich and men called him Chanius This man lay and slept on a night in his bed and there came to him a knight all white sitting vpon a white horse and said to him Caane sléepest thou God that is almightie sent mée to thée and it is his will that thou say to the vii linages that thou shalt be their Emperour for yée shall conquere all the land about you and they shall bée in your subiection as you haue béene in theirs and when morrow came he rose vp and said to the seuen linages and they scorned him and said hée was a foole and the next night the same knight came to the vii linages and bad them in Gods behalf to make Chanius their Emperour and they should be out of all subiection And on the morrow they chose Chanius to be Emperour and did him all worship that they might doe and called him Caane as the white knight called him they said they would doe as hée bad them Then he made many statutes and lawes the which they called Isakan The first statute was that they should be obedient to God almighty beléeue that hée should deliuer them out of thraldome and that they should call on him in all their works Another statute was that al men that might beare armes should be numbred and to each ten should bée a master and to a hundred a master and to a thousand a master Then hée commaunded to all the greatest and principallest of the vii linages that they should forsake all that they had in heritage or lordship and that they should hold them payed of that he would giue them of his grace they did so And also he bad them that each man should bring his eldest son before him and slay his owne Son with his owne hands and smite off their heads and as soone they did his bidding And when hée saw they made no letting of that he bad them then bad hée them follow his banner and then he put in subiection all the lands about him How the great Caane was hid vnder a tree and so escaped his enimies because of a Bird. Chap. lxix AND it befell on a day that the Caane rode with a few men to sée the land that he had won and hée met with a great multitude of his enimies and there hée was cast downe off his horse and his horse slaine and when his men saw him at the earth they thought hée had béene dead and fled and the enimies followed after and when hée saw his enimies were far he hid him in a bush for the wood was thick there and when they were come againe from the chase they went to séeke him among the wood if any were hid there and they found many and as they came to the place where hée was they saw a bird sit on a trée the which bird men cal an Owle then said they that there was no man for the bird sate there and so went they away and thus was the Caane saued from death and so he went away on a night to his owne men which were glad of his comming and from that time vnto this day men of that Country haue that Bird in great reuerence and for that cause they worship that bird aboue all other birds of the world And incontinent hée assembled all his men and rode vpon his enimies and destroyed them and when hée had won all the lands that were about him hée held them in subiection And when the Caane had won all the Lords to mount Belyan the white knight came to him in a vision againe and said vnto him Caane the will of God is that thou passe the mount Belyan and thou shalt win many lands and because thou shalt finde no passage goe thou to the mount Belyan that is vpon the sea side and knéele nine times thereon against the East in worship of God and hée shall shew thée a way how thou shalt passe the Caane did so anone the sea that touched the hill withdrew it selfe and shewed him a faire way of nine foote broad betwéene the hill and the sea and so he passed right well with all his men and then hée wan the land of Cathay that is the best land and the greatest of all the world and for those ix knéelings and the nine foote of way the Caane and the men of Tartary haue the number of nine in great worship Of the great Caanes letters and the writing about his Seale Chap. lxx AND when hée had won the land of Cathay hée dyed and then raygned after Cythoco the eldest Son of Caane and his other brothers went to win them lands in other countries and they wan the land of Pruisse of Rusie they did call themselues Caanes but hée of Cathay is the greatest Lord of all the world and so he called him in his letters and saith thus Caane filius Dei excelsi vniuersam terram colentium sumus imperator Dominus Dominantium That is to say Caane Gods son Emperour of all those that till all the land and Lord of Lords And the writing about his great seale is Deus in coelo Caane super terram eius fortitudo omniū hominum Imperatoris sigillum That is to say God in heauen Caane vpon earth his strength the seale of the Emperour of