time many good men and holy Hermits of whom the Book of the Fathers Lives make mention but now they are inhabited by Painims and Sarasins yet when it pleaseth God as these Lands were lost through the sin of Christians so through the help of God by Christians they shall be won again In the middest of this Church is a Tomb in the which Joseph of Aramathea laid the Body of our Lord when he had taken him off the Cross and upon the same place did he wash the féet of our Lord and that place men say is the middest of the world CHAP. XXXI Of the Church of the holy Sepulchre WIthin that Church by the Sepulchre on the North side is the place where our Lord was Imprisoned and there is a part of the Chain with the which he was bound and there he appeared first to Mary Magdalen when he was risen from death and she thought he had béen a Gardiner In the Church of the Sepulchre was wont to be the Canons of Saint Bâ—nnet and they had a Priory and the Patriarch was their Soveraign and without the doors of the Church on the right side as men go up eightéen steps our Lord said to his Mother Mulier Ecce filius tuus that is Woman behold thy Son Deinde dixit Discipulo Ecce mater tua that is Then afterward he said to his Disciple Behold thy Mother And these words he said when he hanged upon the Cross. And upon these steps went our Lord when he bare the Cross upon his Shoulder and under these stayers is a Chappel where the Priests sing And near there is the stone where our Lord rested him when he was weary with bearing of the Cross. And ye shall understand that before the Church of the Sepulchre is a most strong city and the great plain that is betwéen the city and the Church on the East side without the Walls of the city is the Vale of Josaphat that cometh even to the Walls In this Vale of Josaphat without the city is the Church of St. Stephen where he was stoned to death and thereby is a gate builded that may not be opened Through this gate our Lord entred on Palm Sunday upon an Ass and the gate opened unto him when he would go to the Temple and in full hard stones there are three steps like the steps of an Ass which the people say are the steps of the Ass that our Lord did ride on Before the Church of the Sepulchre two hundred paces is a great Hospital of St. John in the which Hospital are fifty four Pillars made of Stone And to go toward the East from the Hospital is a right fair Church that men call our Lady the Great and then is there another Church by that that men call our Lady of the Latin and there it was that Mary Cleophe and Mary Magdalen rent their Hair when our Lord was put to death CHAP. XXII Of the Temple of God AND from the Church of the Sepulchre toward the East at seventeen paces is Templum Domini that is a fair House and it is all round and right high and covered with Lead and it is well Paved with white Marble but the Sarasins will suffer no Christians nor Jews to come therein for they say that such 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 Soldan with his great seal and commonly other men have but of his signet and men bear his letter with his seal before them hanging on a spear and men do great worship thereto and they kneel to it and adore it as if it were a God also those men to whom it is sent before they take it do bow thereto and they take it and lay it upon their heads and afterward they kiss it and then they read it all bowing with great worship and then they prosser them to do all that the Bringer will And in this Templum Domini were wont to be Canons Regulars and they had an Abbot to whom they were obedient In this Temple was Charlemain when the Angel brought him the Prepcio of our Lord when he was circumcised and alter King Charles brought it to Acon into our Ladies Chappel CHAP. XXIII Yet of the Temple of God AND ye shall understand that this is not the Temple that Solomon made for that Temple lasted but one thousand one hundred and two years For Titus Vespasian his Son that was Emperour of Rome laid siege against Hierusalem for to discomfit the Jews because they had put Christ to death without leave of the Emperour When he had taken the City he burnt the Temple and cast it down and took all the Iews and put to death eleven hundred thousand and the rest he imprisoned and sold thirty for a penny for he said that they bought Iesus Christ for thirty pence And since Julian Aposlata gave leave to the Iews to build the Temple of Hierusalem again but he forsook his Law And when the Iews had builded again the Temple then came the Earthquake as God would and cast down all that they had made Since that Adrian the Emperour who was of Troy made Hierusalem again and the Temple in that same manner that Solomon made it and commanded that no Iew should dwell there but Christians for although he himself was not a Christian yet he loved the Christians more than other men save men of his own faith This Emperour did also enclose and wall the Church of the holy Sepulchre within the City that before was far without the City and he would have changed the name of Hierusalem and called it Helam but that name lasted not long And ye shall understand that the Sarasins do worship in that Temple and they say that place is holy and when they go in They go barefoot and before I and my Fellows came herein we put off our Harness and came barefoot into the Temple and thought that we ought to do as much or more than they that were Infidels And this Temple is thréescore and thrée cubits in wideness and as much in length and thirty two cubits in height and covered with lead and it is within full of Pillars of Marble And in the middest of the Temple is an Altar of twenty and four steps of height This place the Jews called Sanctus Sanctorum that is Holy of Holyest and in that place cometh none but their Prelate that maketh their Sacrifice and the people sit all about in divers seats as they are in dignity and there be four Entrings into the Temple and the doors are of Cypress and within the East door our Lord said Here is Ierusalem And on the North side within the door is a Fountain and it runneth out of the which holy Writ speaketh and saith Vidiaquam egredientem de Templo I saw water coming out of the Temple And upon the other side is a Rock that men called
sometime Moryach but after it'was called Belet and there is the Ark of God with some Reliques of the Iews This Ark did Titus carry with him to Rome when he had discomfitted the Iews In that same Ark were the Ten Commandments and Aarons Rod and Moses Rod with which he parted the Red sea when the people of Israel passed through on dry foot and there was the Vessel of Hanna the Clothing and Ornaments and the Tabernacle of Aaron and a square Table of Gold with twelve precious Stones and a Fox of Iasper graven with four fingers and eight Names of our Lord within and seven Candlesticks of Gold and four Censors of Gold and an Altar also of fine Gold and four Lions of Gold unto the which they had a Cherubim of Gold twelve spans long and a Tabernacle of Gold and also twelve Trumpets of Silver and a Table of Silver and seven Earley Loaves and many other Reliques that were before the Nativity of Christ. Vpon the Rock slept Jacob when he saw Angels go up and said Vere locus iste sanctus est ego ignorabam that is Surely this place is holy and I wist not And there the Angel changed Jacobs Name and called him Israel In that same place also David saw the Angel that slew the People with a Sword and put it all bloody into the Sheath And on this Reck was S. Simeon when he received our Lord into the Temple and on this Rock set he him when the Iews would have stoned him and the Rock rent in two and in that Cleft he hid him and after came down and gave him Light And on this Rock sat our Lady and learned her Psalter There likewise our Lord forgave the sins of the woman that was taken and found in Adultery And there was our Lord Iesus Circumcised and there the Angel denounced to Zachary the Nativity of S. John Baptist. And there first offered Melchisedech Bread and Wine and Water to our Lord in token of the Sacrament that was to come and there David prayed to our Lord for mercy for him and for his people when he saw the Angel slay his people and our Lord anon heard his prayer and therefore he would have made the Temple in the place but our Lord Iesus Christ forbade him by an Angel for he had committed murther in consenting to the slaying of the good Knight Vriah for to have his wife therefore all that he had prepared for the building of the Temple he left to Solomon his Son and he built it and prayed to the Lord that all those that prayed in that place deboutly and with good heart that he would hear their prayer and grant that they servently asked and the Lord granted it wherefore Solomon his Son called it the Temple of Counsel and help of God Without the doors of that Temple is an Altar where the Iews were wont to offer Doves and Turtles and in that Temple was Zichary slain and on the Pinacle the Iews set St. James that was the first Bishop of Hierusalem And a little from this Temple on the right side is a Church covered with Lead that is called the School of Solomon Towards the South is the Temple of Salon which is a great place and they were the Founders thereof and of their Order and in that Templum Domini dwell Canons From this Temple toward the East six and twenty paces in a corner of the City is the Path of our Lord and this Path was wont to go to Paradise and not far thence is our Ladies Bed and near that is S. Simeons Tomb. Without the Cloyster of the Temple toward the North is a fair Church of St. Anne our Ladies Mother and there was our Lady conceived and before that Church is a great Trée which began to grow that same night And as men go down from that Church two and twenty steps lyeth Joachim our Ladies Father in a Tomb of stone and there near was laid sometime St. Anne but St. Elena did translate her to Constantinople In this Church is a Well in manner of a Cistern that is called Probatica piscina that hath five Enterings and into that Cistern an Angel was wont to descend and stir the water and what man had bathed first therein after the stirring was made whole what disease soever he had There was the man of the Palsie made whole who had béen sick eight and thirty years and there beside was the House of Pilate and a little from that the House of King Herod who slew the Innocents CHAP. XXIV Of Herod the King THis King Herod was a very wicked man and a Tyrant for he did first and formost slay his Wife whom he loved full well and for the great love of her he went out of his wits and so was he a long time and afterward he came again to himself And after he slew his own Children that he had gotten of the said wife and commanded likewise his second wife to be slain and a son that he had begotten of her and after that he slew his own Mother and he would also have slain his own Brother but his Brother dyed suddenly and thus he did all the ill that he might And then he fell sick and when he saw that he should die he sent for his Sister and all the great Lords of the Country and when they were there he did put all the Lords into a Tower and said to his Sister he wist well that the men of the Country would make no sorrow for him when he was dead and therefore he made her to swear unto him that she would smite off the Heads of the Lords every one after his death and then would men of the Country make sorrow for his death in regard of the Noble mens deaths and then he made his last Testament But his Sister fulfilled it not as pertaining unto the death of the Lords for as soon as he was dead she delivered the Lords out of the Tower and sent every one home to their houses and told them what her Brother commanded her to do unto them And ye shall understand that in that time were thrée Herods of great name This of whom I speak was called Herod Ascolonite and he that did smite off St. John Baptists Head was called Herod Antipa and the third was called Herod Agrippa and he did slay St. James and put St. Peter in Prison CHAP. XXV Of Saint Salvators Church A Little within the City is St. Salvators Church and therein is Saint John Chrysostomes Arm and the most part of Saint Stephens Head And at the entering of Mount Sion is a Chappel and in that Chappel is that great and large Stone with which the Sepulcre was covered when Christ was laid therein the which Stone as it is written the thrée Maries saw turned upward when they came to the Sepulcre and they found an Angel that told them that Christ was Risen from Death to Life and there is a
them that have medled with them Also the land is all common for every man taketh what he will for that one man hath now this year another man hath the next year And all the goods as Corn Beasts and all manner of things in that country are common For there is nothing under lock and as rich is one man as another but they have an evil custome to eating of flesh for they eat mans flesh more gladly than other Nevertheless in that land is abundance of Corn of Flesh of Fich of Gold of Silver and of all manner of good And thither do Marchants bring children for to sell and those that are fat they eat but those that be lean they keep till they be fat and then are they eaten And besides this Isle of Lamory is another called Somober the which is a good Isle and there both men and women that are of the Nobility are marked in the Visage with a hot Iron that they may be known from other for they think themselves the worthiest of the world and they have evermore War with those men that are naked of whom I spake before And there are many other Isles and People of the which it where overmuch for to speak here CHAP. LVI Of the Country and Isle called Java which is a mighty Land ANd there is also a great Isle that is called Iava and the King of that country hath under him seven Kings for he is a very mighty Prince In this Isle groweth all manner of Spices more plenteous then in any other place as Ginger Cloves Nutmegs and other And ye shall understand that the Nutme g beareth the Mace Also in that Isle is great plenty of all things save wine The King of this land hath a rich Palace and the best that is in the world for all the Stairs of his Hall and Chambers are made one of Gold and another of Silver and all the Walls are plated with fine Gold and Silver and in those places are written Stories of Knights and Battels and the Floors of the Hall and Chambers are of Gold and Silver so that no man would belive the great riches that are there except he had seen it and the King of this Isle is so mighty that he hath many times overcome the great Caane of Cathay which is the mightiest Emperor that is in the world there is often war between them for the great Caane would make him hold his land Tributary of him CHAP. LVII Of the Kingdom of Pathen or Salmasse which is a goodly land ANd for to go forth by the Sea there is an Isle that is called Pathen and some call it Salmasse for it is a great Kingdom with many fair Cities In this land grow Trees that bear Meal of which men make fair Bread and white and of good savour and it seemeth like as it were Wheat And there be other Trees which bear venim against the which is no medicine but only to take of the leaves of the same Trees and stamp them and temper them with water and drink it or else he shall die suddenly for nothing else may help him And if ye will know how these Trees bear Meal I shall tell you men hew with an Hatchet about the root of the Tree by the Earth and they pierce it in many places and then cometh out a Liquor the which they take into vessels and set it in the Sun and dry it and when it is dry they carry it unto the Mill to grind and thereof is fair Meal and White Also Honey Wine and Venim are drawn out of other Trees in the same manner and they put it into vessels to keep In that Isle is a dead Sea which is a water that hath no bottom and if any man fall therein he can never be found beside that Sea groweth great Canes and under their Roots men find precious Stones of a great vertue for he that beareth one of those Stones about him there may no Iron wound him nor draw blood of him and therefore they that have those Stones fight full hardy for there may no weapon that is of Iron wound them therefore they that know the manner make their weapons without Iron and so they slay them CHAP. LVIII Of the Kingdom of Talonach the King Whereof hath many Wives ANother Isle there is that men call Talonach the same is a great land and therein is great plenty of fish and other goods as you shall hereafter hear And the King of that Land hath as many Wives as he will a thousand and more and he never lieth but once by any one of them And also in that Land is a great marvel for all manner of Fishes of the Sea come thither once a year one after another and they lye near the land sometime on the land and so lye three days and men of that land come thither and take of them what they will and then go those Fishes away and another sort cometh end lyeth also three days and men take of them and thus do all manner of Fishes till all have been there and men have taken what they will But no man can tell the cause why it is so But they of that country say that those Fishes come so thither to do worship to their King for they say he is the worthiest King of all the world for he hath so many Wives and getteth so many children of them And that same King hath fourteen thousand of Elephants or more which be tame and they be kept for his pleasure by the men of that country so that he may have them ready at his hand when he hath any War against any King or Prince and then he doth put upon their back Castles and men of War as the use of that land is as other Kings and Princes do thereabout CHAP. LIX Of the Island called Raso Where people be hanged if they be sick past hope of recovery ANd from this Isle men go to another Isle call'd Raso and the men of this Isle when their friends are sick and that they believe surely that they shall die they take them and hang them up quick on a tree and say it is better that Birds that are Angels of God eat them then Worms of the earth From thence men go to an Isle where the men are of an ill kind for they nourish Hounds for to strangle men And when their friends are sick that they think they shall die then do those Hounds strangle them for they will not that they die a kindly death for then should they suffer too great pain as they say and when they are thus dead they eat theiâ— flesh for Venison CHAP. LX Of the Island of Melk wherein dwelleth evil people FRom thence men go by sea through many Isles into an Isle called Melk and there be full ill people for they have none other delight but for to fight and slay men for they drink gladly mans-blood which blood they call good and
and some black all the red are of Rubies of Creams or Allovance the white are of Christal or Byral the yellow are of Topaces the gréen of Emeralds and Chrysolites and the black are of Dutcks and Gorands and this Vine is made thus of precious stones so properly that it seemeth that it were a Vine growing And before the board of the Emperor standeth great Lords and no man is so hardy to speak unto him except it be Musicians to solace the Emperor And all the Vessels that are served in his Hall or Chambers are of precious Stones and specially at the Tables where great Lords eat that is to say of Iasper Chrystal Amathist or fine Gold and the cups are of Emeralds Saphirs Topaces and other of any manner of stones and of Silver have they no Vessels for thy esteem but little of silver to make Vessels of but they make of Silver Greeces Pillars and Pavements of Halls and Chambers And ye shall understand that my Fellow and I were in wages with him sixteen moneths against the King of Mancy upon whom he made War and the cause was we had so great desire to see the Nobility of his Court if it were such as we heard speak of and truly we found it more rich and of greater Royalty then ever we heard speak of and we should never have believed it had we not seen it but ye shall understand the use of eating and drinking is more evil among us then in those countries for all the Commons eat upon skins of Beasts on their knees and eat the flesh of all manner of Beasts and when they have all eat they wipe their hands on their Shirts and they eat but once in the day and eat but little bread but the manner of the Lords is full Noble CHAP. LXVIII Wherefore the Emperour of Cathay is called the great Caane ANd ye shall understand why he is call'd the great Caane ye know that all the World was destroyed with Noes Floud but Noe his wife and children Noe had three sons Sem Cham and Japhat Cham when he saw his Fathers Privities naked when he slept he scorned it and therefore he was cursed and Japhat covered it These thrée Brethren had all land Then Cham took the best part Eastward that is call'd Asia Sem took Africk and Jâ—phat took Europe C ham was the mightiest and richest of his brethren and of him are come the Painim Folk and divers manner of men of those Isles some headless other men disfigured for this Cam the Emperor they called him Cham and Lord of all But ye shall understand that the Emperor of Cathay is called Caane and not Cham and for this cause It is not long ago that all Tartary was in subjection and thrall to other Nations about and they were made Heardsmen to keep beasts and among them were vij Linages or Kings the first was called Tartary that is the best the second Linage is called Tamahot the third Furace the fourth Vilatre the fifth Semoth the sixth Menchy and the seventh Sobeth These are all holden of the great Caane of Cathay Now it befel 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 upon a white horse and said to him Caane sléepest thou God that is Almighty sent me to thee and it his will that thou say to the vij Linages that thou shalt be their Emperor for you shall conquer all the land about you and they shall be in your subjection as you have béen in theirs and when the morrow came he rose up and told it to the vij Linages and they scorned him and said he was a fool and the next night the same Knight came to the seven Linages and have them in Gods behalf to make Chanius their Emperor and they should be out of all subjection And on the morrow they those Chanius to be Emperor and did him all worship that they might do and called him Caane as the white Knight called him and they said they would do as he have them Then he made many statutes and Laws the which is called Isakan The first Statute was that they might be obedient to God Almighty and believe that he would deliver them out of thraldom and that they should call on him in all their works Another Statute was that all men that could bear arms should be numbred and to each ten should be a Master and to a hundred a Master and to a thousand a Master Then he commanded 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 apaid of that he would give them of his Grace and they did so And also he had them that each man should bring his eldest Son before him and slay his own Son with is own hands and smite off his Head and presently they did his bidding And when he saw they made no letting of that he bade them then he bade them follow his Banner and then he put in subjection all the Land about him CHAP. LXIX How the Great Caane was hid under a Tree and so escaped his Enemies because of a Bird. ANd it befell on a day that the Caan rod with a few men to see the Land that he had won and he met with a great multitude of his enemies and there he was cast down off his Horse and his Horse slain and when his men saw him at the earth they thought he had béen dead and fled and the Enemies followed after and when he saw his Enemies were far he hid him in a Bush for the Wood was thick there and when they were come again from the Chase they went to séek among the Wood if any were hid there and they found many and as they came to the place where he was they saw a Bird sit on a Trée the which Bird men call an Owl and then say they that there was no man for the Bird sat there and so went they away and thus was the great Caane saved from death and so he went away on a night to his own men which were glad of his coming and from that time unto this day men of that Countrey have that Bird in great reverence and for that cause they worship that Bird above all other Birds of the World And incontinent he assembled all his men and rod upon his Enemies and destroyed them and when he had won all the lands that where about him he held them in subiection And when the Caane had led all the Lords to Mount Belyan the white Knight came to him in a vision again and said unto him Caane the Will of God is that thou pass the Mount Belyan and thou shalt win many Lands and because then shalt find no passage go thou to the Mount Belyan
men say there is an entry to Hell In this Valley is much Gold and Silver whereof many Christian men and other go thither for desire of that Gold and Silver but few of them come out again for they are anon strangled with Divels And in the middest of that Valley on a Rock is a Visage and the head of a Fiend bodily very hideous and dreadful to sée and there is nothing séen but the head and the shoulders but there is no Christian man or other in the world so hardy but that he would be greatly afraid to behold it for he beholdeth each man so sharply and his eyes are so stairing and sparkling as fire and he changeth so often his countenance that no man dare come near for all the World and out of his Nose conteth great plenty of fire of divers colours and sometime is the fire so stinking that no man may suffer it but alway a good Christian man and one that is stedfast in the Faith may go thereto without harm if they call to God only for forgiveness of their sins then shall the Devils have no power over them And ye shall understand that when my Fellows and I were in that Valley we had very great doubt if we should put our Bodies in a venture to go through it and some of my Fellows agréed thereunto and some would not and there were in our campany two fryers minours of Lumbardy who said If any of us would go in they would also As they had said so upon trust of them we said that we would go and we did make our Prayers to God for our safeguard and so we went in 14 men and when we came out we were but 10 and we wist not whether those four was lost there or whether they turned again but we saw them no more other of our company who would not go in with us went about another way for to be before us and so they were but we went through the Valley and saw there many strange things as Gold Silver precious Stones and Iewels great plenty as we thought whether they were so or no I know not for Devils are so subtil and false that they make many times a thing to séem that it is not for to deceive men and therefore I would touch nothing for fear of enemies that I saw there in many likenesses some of dead bodies that I saw lie in the Valley but I dare not say that they were all bodies but they were bodily shapes through making of Devils and we were often thrown down to the earth by wind thunder and tempest but God helped us alway and so passed we through that Valley without peril or harm thanks be to God CHAP. XCII Of an Island wherein dwell People as great as Gyants of eight and twenty or thirty foot of length and of other things ANd beyond that Valley is a great Isle where be people as great as Gyants of 28 foot long and they have no clothing but Beasts Skins that hang on them and they eat no bread but raw flesh and they drink Milk and they have no Houses and they gladlier eat mens flesh than other And men told us that beyond that Isle is another wherein are greater Gyants of 45 or 50 foot long some 50 cubits long but I saw them not And among those Gyants are great Shéep as if it were young Oren and they bear great Wool these shéep have I séen many times Another Isle there is Northward where are many evil and foul Women but they have precious stones in their eyes and they have such force that if they behold any man with wrath they slay them with beholding as the Basilisk doth Another Isle is there of fairer Folk and good where the custome is such the first night that they are Wedded they take a certain man that is ordained therefore and let him lie by their Wives to have their Maiden-heads and they give him a great reward for his travel and those men are called Gadsybrien for men of that country hold it a great thing to make a Women no Maiden and if it be so that the Husband find her a Maiden the next night after for peradventure he that lay by her was drunken or for any other cause the Husband shall complain of him to the Lawyers that he hath not done his Devour and he shall be grievously punished and chastized but after the first night they keep their Wives well that they speak not with those men and I asked what was the cause why they had that custom and they said Heretofore men lay with their Wives first and no other and their Wives had Serpents in their bodies and stung their Husbands in the Yard or on their bodies and so were many men slain and therefore they had that custom to let other men have their Maiden-heads for fear of death and thus they suffer them to assay the passage ere they adventure CHAP. XCIII Of women which make great sorrow when their Children are born great joy when they are dead ANother Isle there is where women make great sorrow when their children are born and when they are dead they made great joy and cast them into a great fire and burn them And they that love well their Husbands when they are dead they cast them in a fire and burn them for they say that fire shall make them clean of all filth and vices and they shall be clean in another world and the cause why they wéep when their children are born and that they joy at their death is they say a child when he is born cometh into this World to have travel sorrow and heaviness and when they are dead they go to Paradise where Rivers are of Milk and Honey And there is life and joy and plenty of goods without travel or sorrow In this Isle they Elect their Kings by voices and they chuse him not for his riches and nobleness but him that is of good conditions and most righteous and true that judgeth every man truly little and much after their trespass and the King may judge no man to death without counsel of his Barons and that they all assent And if it be so that their King do a great trespass as slay a man or such like he shall die also but he shall not be slain but they charge and command that no man be so hardy to keep him company nor to speak to him nor give him meat nor drink and thus he dieth for they spare no man that hath done a trespass for Love Lordship Riches or Nobleness but they do him right after he hath deserved CHAP. XCIV Of an Island where men wed their own Daughters and Kinswomen THere is another Isle where is that great plenty of people and they never eat flesh of Hares nor of Hens nor Geese yet is there many of them but they eat of all other Beasts and they drink Milk In this country they wed their own daughters