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
wytnesse her of to Herode to all the Scribes and to all the Iewes And soo for the wonderfull doynge the Paynems that had noo knowynge of holy wrytte ne of the byrthe of Cryste called thise thre kynges Magos that is to saye wytches / And the Iewes that knewe the scrypture the byrthe of Cryste and the places of enuye falsnesse excyted the Paynems all abowte to calle theim wytches and soo it was broughte in to vsage that they call thise thre kynges so yet vnto this daye and therof beryth many dyuers bokes witnesse / But to put away all manere of doubtes and in repreuynge of all the false Iewes almyghty god that is euer wonderful in his werkynge gloryous in his sayntes wolde haue the preuyte of his birthe to be knowe to all the people / Soo that this gloryous name that was oonly hidde in the londe of Iewery vnto his byrthe / That same name all manere of nacoÌ„ns thrugh all the worlde sholde worshyppÌ„ knowe prayse / AFter thise thre kynges were come wyth grete traueylle to the hyll of Vaws afore sayde thenÌ„ they made there a fayr chapell in worshyppe of the chylde that they had sought / And they made couenaunt to mete togyder all thre at that same chapell ones in the yere at a certayn daye assygned / there they ordeyned their sepultures / ¶ ThenÌ„ a lytyll whyle after all the prynces the lordes and the worshipfull knyghtes of theyr londes kyngdomes herynge of the comynge home of thyse thre kynges anone they rode to theym wyth grete solempnyte and mette wyth theym at the sayde chapell / And wyth grete mekenesse reuerence they receyued theym / And whan the prynces lordes herde how merueyllously god had wroughte by thyse thre kynges / thenne they had theim in more reuerence loue and drede euer after / ¶ So whan thyse thre kynges had ordeyned theyr Testamentes done what they wolde thenne they toke leue eche of other / And eche of theym wyth his owne people rode hoome vnto hys owne londe wyth grete Ioye solempnyte and thê° eche kynge departed from other in theyr persones / but neuer in theyr hertes / And whan they were rested in their owne londes thenne they tolde and preched to all the people all that they had seen and done in theyr waye / And they dyde make in theyr Temples a sterre after the same fourme and liknesse as it apperyd to theim / Wherfore the Paynems lefte their errours and theyr mawmettes and worshypped the chylde whyche the kynges had soughte / ¶ And thus thise thre kynges dwelled in their londes and kyngdoms in worshypfull and honeste conuersacyon tyll after the AscencoÌ„n of our lorde Ihesu Cryste / And wythin shorte tyme after thenne came saynt Thomas thappostle in to theyr countrees / AFter the tyme that thise thre kynges were to me from Bedleem in to their owne countrees agayn / Thenne beganne to ryse sprynge a grete fame of our lady and of her childe and of the thre kinges abuote all the countree of Iherusalem Wherfore our lady for drede of the Iewes fledde oute of that lytyll house that god was borne in yede in to a nother derke caue vnder the erthe / And there she abode wyth her chylde to the tyme of her Purificacyon / And as goddys wyll was dyuers men wyÌ„ men louyd our lady saynt Mary and her sone and founde theym all manere necessaryes that theim neded / ¶ And after whan the fayth began to wexe and encrease thenne was edifyed there a chapell in the same caue in worshyppe of the thre kynges and of saynt Nicholas / ¶ And in that chapell there is a stone whyche our lady was wont to sytte on whan she yaue her chylde our lorde Ihesu Cryste sucke / And on a tyme as she satte vppon that stone in gyuynge to her swete chylde sucke there hapned to falle downe from her teete a lytyll droppe of that moost purest and moost clene vyrgynall mylke on the forsay yd stone the whyche moost precyous and purest mylke that fell from that blessyd vyrgyn is remaynyng and seen there vnto this daye / And the more it is shrapyd wyth knyues the more wexyth the mylke / And it is borne in to many dyuers places by pylgrymes ¶ Also whan our lady was goon out of the lytyll hous in to the caue she had forgote her smocke behynde her in the haye of the maynger there our lady laye in / And soo bothe haye smocke were hoole tresshÌ„ in the same place vnto the tyme that saynt Eleyn that holy quene that was moder to kyng Constantyn came to the place / For the Iewes of malyce of enuye helde that place that Criste was borne in a foule cursyd place / In somoche-that they wold suffre no man nor woman ne chylde ne beest goo in to that place / ¶ Ferdermore whan our lady had offred vp her childe in to the temple wyth the turtles douues after Moyses lawe as holy wrytte telleth / And Symeon toke him in his armes sayd Nunc dimittis seruuÌ„ tuuÌ„ dnÌ„e c̈ that is to saye / Now lorde lete thy secuaunt be in peas after thy worde / The same tyme Symeon Anne the holy woman in presence of the Scribes Pharisees prophecied many thinges of our lorde Ihesu Cryste as holy wrytte tellyth / And so grete a name was spronge of our lady of her sone amonge the Iewes that she myghte not ne durst not noo lenger abide in that place for drede of Herode of the Iewes / And the Gospell sayth Angelus dnÌ„i apparuit in sompnis ioseph dicens Surge accipe pueruÌ„ c̈ that is for to saye / An angell of god apperyd to Ioseph in his slepe sayd Ryse and take the chylde and his moder and fle in to Egypte and be there tyll I tell the / For Herode shall seke the chylde to dystroye hym / Thenne Ioseph roos toke the childe and his moder yede in to Egypte by night and dwelled there tyll Herode was deed / Our lady her sone were in Egypte dwellynge .vij. yeres and it is from Bedleem .xij. dayes Iourney / And in this way as our lady went in to Egypte she sawe growe drie roses the whyche ben callyd the roses of Ierico and they growe in noo place of all the countree but onÌ„ly in the same way / And thise roses the shepeherdes of the same countree done gadre in tyme of yere selltheym to pylgrymes for bredde to other men of that countrees abowte and soo they ben-borne in to dyuers londes / ¶ And in the same place there our lady dwellyd with her sone in Egypte is now a gardyne therin growyth bawme and it is allong brode as a man maye caste stone / And in that gardyne ben vij welles in whom our lady wysshe her sone bathed hym and wasshyd her clothes
that Cryste dyde here in erthe and specyally of the sacrament af baptym / Anone notwythstondyng that they were of grete aege and feble yet they arayed them and came al thre kynges to saynt Thomas wyth other lordes and grete multitude of people / And saynt Thomas wyth grete Ioye and reuerence receyued theym and declaryd to theym all that Cryst taught here in erthe to his dyscyples and also his passyon / And how he roos from dethe to lyfe the thirde daye and also how he styed vp to heuen And how he sente downe the holy ghost to the apostles and many other artycles of the fayth / And specyally he tolde theym of the sacrament of Baptym wythout whyche sacrament there maye noo man come-to the kyngdom of heuen / And whan they were thus enfourmyd and Instructe in the fayth thenne saynt Thomas crystnyd theym and more ouer all the people that came wyth theym / And anone thise thre kynges were replete and fulfylled of the holy ghost / And began co preche wyth saynt Thomas goddys worde / And also they tolde the people how they had soughte Cryste goddys sone in Bedleem in his Natiuyte as it is tolde before / So whan all this was done thyse thre kynges wente wyth saynt Thomas all theyr people to the hylle of Vaws / And there saynt Thomas dyde halowe the chapell that those thre kynges had done made and edifyed vpon that hyll And there saynt Thomas those thre kynges preched agayne to all the people of Cristen byleue and of the sterre that apppered to the thre kyngis / And suche a Ioye and gladnesse was amonge the people and suche a name was rysen in al the londes aboute of saynt Thomas and of thise thre kynges cristned that all manere of people bothe men and wymmen came from dyuerse and ferre countrees wyth greate deuocyon to visyte that chapell that was made on the hyll of Vaws / And for that grete concours and deuocōn that was made to the chapell those thre kinges dyde make vnder that hylle a grete and a ryche cyte / And is called the cyte of Seuyll / And that is the rychest and the beste cyte of all Ynde / And yet vnto this daye in that cyte is the habytacyon of Prethyr Ioh̄n that is lorde of Ynde / And there dwellyth also the Patryarke of Ynde that is called Patryarke Thomas / ¶ And why the Patriarke of Ynde is callyd Thomas and why the lorde of Ynde is called Ioh̄n ye shall here afterwarde / WHanne saynt Thomas the appostle hadde preched and conuertyd the people to the lawes of our Sauyour Cryste Ihesu thenne he sacred and made thyse thre kynges vnto thordre of preesthode and afterwarde vnto Archebysshops / And whan they were put in this degree thenne they ordeyned vnder theim bisshops preestes and clerkes to serue god / And thenne thyse forsayde thre kynges and bysshops halowed all the Temples in that coūtree in-worshippe honour of our lady and casted out all the mawmettes that were in the temples in that countree aboute / And to bisshops preestes and Thise thre kynges and Archebysshops gaaf many grete possessions to mayntene encrease goddis seruyse / Also saynt Thomas taughte thise kynges Archebysshops other bysshops and preestes the manere the fourme to saye a masse and enfourmyd theim also of the wordes that Cryste sayd to his discyples whan he made his supper that nyght that he was betrayed thrugh whiche wordes he made ordeyned the Sacrament of the awter / And also he taughte theym the Pater noster many other thynges he tolde theim / Also the fourme of crystnynge specyally charged theim that they sholde not forgete that And whan saynt Thomas had enfourmyd theym thus of the Crysten fayth thenne afterwarde he toke martyrdom for the lawe of Cryste as it is conteyned more fully in the story that is wreten of his passion / There it tellyth how he was slayne in what place / But sothly in all that countree abowte there saynt Thomas was slayn bothe men wȳmen haue vysages shapen after houndes but they ben not heery and soo they ben yet vnto this daye / AFter the dethe of saynt Thomas thyse thre kynges Archebisshops yede abowte citees townes other dyuers places and ordeyned many chyrches and putte in theim bysshops preestes clerkes other mynysters of holy chyrche to do diuine seruyte / And moche rychesse grete possessyons And thenne the thre kynges Arch̄bisshops forsoke the vanyte of the worlde and ordeyned theym to abyde in the cyte of Seuyll the whyche they had doo buylde / And they assygned certayne lordes to gouerne rule theyr kyngdoms londes bothe in spyritualtie temporalte / And all people of grete loue charyte were obedyent to theim as the sone to the fader / Then̄e the seconde yere tofore theyr dethe thyse thre kynges Archebysshops made a Conuocacōn of all the people bothe spyrytuall and temporall / And had theym all to a certayne place / And they warnyd counseyled the people that they sholde be perseueraunt in the crysten fayth as saynt Thomas had taught theim And counseyled the people that they sholde be all of one acorde and of one wyll to chose a man amonge theim that were able and discrete that had loue and desyre to mayntene the fayth of Crystendom And that man sholde be cheyf tofore alle other men as in spirytualte in saynt Thomas stede / And to hym all manere of men shall obeye as to theyr ghostly fader Whiche man in worshyp of saynt Thomas thapostle sholde be called the Patriarke Thomas for euer lastyng memory / And whan the Patriarke were de de thenne they sholde come togyder all in one place in his stede chese another to whom as it is aforsayd they sholde obeye as to theyr ghostly fader / Then̄e whan this matere was thus-spoke amonge the people they assented therto And of one accorde wyll they chose a man that was called Iacob the whyche was come out of the countree of Anchioche and he had alway folowed saynt Thomas the appostle into Ynde / And this Iacob the people chose and toke hym for theyr Patriarke / And chaunged his name and callyd hym Thomas / And this man Iacob was the firste Patriarke that was in that countree / And soo alwaye they of Ynde be obedient to the Patryarke Thomas as we ben to the Pope of Rome yet vnto thyse dayes / And to this Patriarke and so al his successours thyse thre kinges gaaf for euermore wych the assente of alle the people the Tythes of all theyr londes and kyngdoms / Whan all this was done and the Patryarke Thomas thenne chosen to be lorde of all the people in spirytualte / Thenne thise iij. kinges Archebysshops other bisshops of comin assente of all the people chose a nother man the was discrete to be lorde gouernour of
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
wery grete wyth childe and nyghe the tyme of her delyueraunce of her chylde / Thenne Ioseph ladde her in to this forsayd place that noo man toke hede of downe in to the lytyll derke denne / And there our lorde Ihesu Cryste that same nyght was borne of our lady wythout ony disese of her body / In that house of olde tyme was lefte a maynger of the lengthe nyghe of a fadom made in the walle / And by the same maynger was an oxe of a poore mannys tyed And besyde the oxe Ioseph tyed his asse / And in the same-mainger our lady wrapped her blessed sonne in suche clothes as she had layed him vpon the heye tofore thoxe thasse For there was none other place in that countree / In ostryes all the mayngers ben of thre or foure fete of lengthe that an horse or elles a nother beest may haue his meete by hymself / And suche a maynger was that that our lady laye in / THe place where the angell apperyd to the shepeherdes thaÌ„t nyghte that Cryste was borne is but half a myle from Bedleem / And in that same place Dauid kepte shepe in his chyldhede deffended them from beers lyens other wylde beestes / So me bokes saye that the shepeherdes of that conntree ke pe theyr shepe twyes in oo yere / And those tymes are whan the dayes nyghtes ben both of a lengthe And that londe abowte Bedleem is called the londe of byhest / And that place in the Eest is mnost parte mountayns for in some place a man shall not well knowe Wynter fro Somer / And in some place there it is ryght colde in some place is bothe Wynter Somer as it is in this countree after that the places ben playne or full of hylles / For abowte some of the hylles a man maye fynde snowe in August that snowe men of that countree gadre thenne laye it in theyr caues vnder the grounde / And afterward it is borne to the markettes and that wyll the lordes of the countree bye to set it in basons on their borde to make theyr drynke colde / And the poore men that gadre it carye it in chaffe that the heete sholde not melte it and the lordes that bye it vncoueren it out of that chaff thenne anone it is resolued molte to water For comynly in that countree of the Eest is alwaye snowe in Septembre Octobre / Whan the sonne comyth a lytyll lowe in that countree all sedes herbes begyn to sprynge and were as they done in this countree in Marche Aprill / And in some partyes of the Eest men repe corne in Marche Aprill but moost in May. after the place or ground lyeth hye or lowe / But by Bedleem ben many mo good fatte pastures hote than in other places in soo moche that at Crystmasse barleye begynnyth to were rype and thenne men of dyuerse countrees sende thether theyr horses mules to make theym fatte / And the tyme that we calle here Crystmas it is called there tyme of herbes / ¶ And for asmoche as whan Cryste was borne peas was in al the worlde therfore the angell sayd Par hominibus bone voluntatis And for the heete of that countree abowte Bedleem that is the cause that shepeherdes kept theyr beestes there that tyme of the yere as they done yet vnto this daye / IN those dayes whan the coÌ„maundment went out from Cezar August as it is aforsayde / thenne was Herode ordeyned made kynge of the londe of Iewes by the emperour by the Romayns yet was Herode noo Iewe ne kyng of Iewes borne / But by cause the same emperour the Romaynes had made subgette to theym the londe of Iewery many of the prouynces abowte theym vn to Inde Perse Caldee so by strong honde they made hym kynge / And all that countree knewe well that He rode was but a lyon neuer came of kyngis blood ne of Iewry bore but made kyng by theÌ„perour Romayns so that the prophecie of daniel shold be fulfylled in the tymeÌ„ of the byrthe of Cryste whan he sayd CuÌ„ venerit sanctus sactoÌ„rum c̈ as it is aforsayde / Yet the Iewes contynuynge in theyr malyce falsnesse sayde that longe tyme after the Natiuite of Cryste their vnccoÌ„n sessed not but that they had many kinges after / But yet the false Iewes forsake not that Herode came of a Iewe on the fader syde of a Paynym of the moders syde so he was noo very Iewe Wherfore crysten men make the Iewes vtterly confuled of the prophecye of Iacob theyr Patryarke the sayd thus Non auferetur ceptruÌ„ de iuda nec dux de femore cius doner veniat qui mittendê° est et ipÌ„e erit expectacoÌ„ genciuÌ„ that is to saye / The septie of Iuda shall not be borne away ne the stocke of lygnage tyl he come that shall be sente and he shall be that folke shall abyde / ¶ And many other questyons of the Iewes to the crysten men of the vnccoÌ„n of theyr kynges / WHan god was borne of our lady as it is afor sayd thenne this sterre that was prophecied by Balaam and long tyme abyden and loked after by the twelue Astronomers of the sayd hyll of Vaws / ¶ The same nyghte and the same houre that god was borne the same sterre began to ryse in manere of the sonne shynynge bryghte / And after that fourme of an egle ascended aboue the hylle / And all the daye in the highest place of the ayre it abode with out ony meuynge / Soo whan the sonne was moost hote and moost highe there was no dyfference in shinynge betwyx the sterre the sonne / Neuertheles some bokes sayen that in the same daye whan god was borne were seen many sonnes but whan the daye of Crystmas was paste the sterre ascended vp in to the fyrmament / And the sterre that thus was shewed was noo thynge lyke the sterres that ben paynted here in dyuerse places / For it had ryght many strakes and beemys more bryght brennynge than a bronde of fyre / And as an Egle fleenge betynge the ayre with his wynges ryght soo the strakes the beemes of that mouyd themselfe abowte / And the sterre had in hymself the fourme the liknesse of a yonge childe and aboue hym the sygne of a Crosse / And a voyce was herde in the sterre sayenge Natus est nobis hodie rex iudeorum qui est expectacoÌ„ genciuÌ„ dominator eorum ite ad inquirendum euÌ„ adoranduÌ„ that is to saye / This daye is borne to vs kynge of the Iewes that folke haue abyden and he is lorde of them god forth and seke hym and doo hym worshyppÌ„ / Therfore for strengthynge of our fayth to afferme thys matere forsayd almyghty god whose prouydence in his ordynaunce fayllyth not / ¶ And saynt Poul sayth Vocatea que
sayth he went hynge hymself / Thenne the Iewes bought wyth xv of those pence a felde for the sepultures of pylgrymes as the gospell tellyth / And the other .xv. pence the Iewes gaaf to the knyghtes that kept the sepulcre of Cryste / ¶ Ye shall vnderstonde that the lyknesse of thise .xxx. pence was vsed in all the countree bothe in name in moneye from Abrahams tyme vnto the dystruccoÌ„n of Iherusalem the whyche was by Titus Daspasianus dayes distroyed / But from the tyme of Abraham vnto the tyme of Crystys passion thise .xxx. pence were neuer dysceuered ne departed but euermore were bore hole togyder / And whan Cryste was solde for theym anone they were departed sparpled aboute in dyuers places / ¶ And the cause why thyse .xxx. Pence were callyd syluer in the gospell not wythstondyng they were fyne golde / For it is the comyn vsage in all the countree soo for to calle theym / As men calle of this countree golde of beyonde the see as Scutes motenes or florens / And yet in the Eest the same prynte is made bothe in golde syluer and copre and is kept amonge grete lordes of that countree / And the prynte of thyse pence is on the one side a kynges heed crowned and on that other syde it is wreten wyth lettres of Caldee the whyche wrytynge men can not redde now / And one of theym is worche .x. shelynges or better than thre floreyns / And many moo merueylies ben tolde of thyse thyrty pence of whom it were a longe processe to telle / ¶ Also whan our lady and Ioseph were warned to come out of Egypt bi an angel as the gospell tellyth / Thenne they were bydden to goo in to Galilee and there they dwelled in a cyte whiche was called Nazareth / And so the prophecye was fulfylled QuoniaÌ„ nazarenus vocabitur that is to say He shall be called a man of Nazareth / ¶ And what Cryste dyde werke in erthe from that tyme tyll the thyrde yere afore his passion the Euangelistes openly declare not in theyr gospelles / WHan our lorde Ihesu Criste was styed vp in to heuen after that he sente saynt Thomas thapostle in to Ynde to preche there goddys worde / In whiche Ynde as it is aforsayd thise thre kynges the tyme regnyd were lordes of those londes And though it soo were that saynt Thomas ayenst his will yede in to the londes of Ynde yet it was done of grete prouydence of god that the same appostle the put his honde in to goddys syde to knowe the he was very god the was rysen fo deth to lyfe for saluacoÌ„n of man shold go preche the Passion of Cryst his ResurreccoÌ„n his AscencoÌ„n to those worshypful kinges that sought our lorde in Bedleem in his byrth and there wyth yeftes worshypped him / ¶ And as saynt Gregory sayth Quod omnibus nobis ê“fuit ê™ hij tres reges eiusdem dnÌ„i nostri ihÌ„u xpÌ„i infanciam que sierunt et oculis viderunt et deuotissime muneribus adorauerunt probauerunt that is to saye / It was prouffyte to vs all that thyse worshypfull kynges theyr people soughte the childhede of Cryste with theyr eyen dyde se hym and wyth theyr gyftes worshypfully deuoutly honoured hym and sothly preuyd it / ¶ Also the saynt Barthylmew Symon Iude that were Cristis appostles were sente in to Ynde to preche the faythe amonge all the people / For there ben many partyes of Ynde / And one parte of Ynde is more than all the partie of the worlde on this halfe of the see / For this partye of Cristendom on this halfe the see is no more acounted in all theest but an hundred dayes Iourney / AFter that saynt Thomas thappostle had prechid in the kingdom of Ynde goddis worde had goon abowte all the Yndes the prouynces done many myracles thorugh the sygne token of the Crosse of goddis worde / As he yede aboute in the temples he founde a sterre paynted in euery temple after the sterre that apperyd to the .iij. kynges whan Cryste was borne in whiche sterre was the signe of a crosse a chylde aboue / And whan saynt Thomas sawe the sterre he asked of bysshops of the temple what is was / And bisshops tolde saynt Thomas how suche a sterre apperyd of olde tyme vpon the hyll of Vaws in tokenynge of a chylde the was borne sholde be kynge of Iewes as it was herde out of the same sterre / And for that cause thyse thre kynges yede out of theyr londes in to Bedleem worshypfully thrugh ledynge of the sterre came in to Bedleem in .xiij. dayes and there offred to the childe that was bore but with grete traueyle afterwarde they came home in to theyr owne londes in two yere / And as those thre kynges hadd done seen the bysshops of the temple tolde to saynt Thomas thapostle / Whan saynt Thomas herde all this he thanked god with grete Ioye he preched to the bysshops to all the peple the chyldhede of god his passion his resurreccoÌ„n his ascencyon and all the werkis of Cryste whyle he was in erthe / Where thorugh the bysshops of the temples many other folke were conuerted to Cryste were crystned / Ferthermore saynt Thomas mekely declared and dyde expowne to al the people the vnderstondyng of this sterre of the Crosse / And he casted out of the Temples all mawmettes / And he halowed theym in the name in the worshyppe of that chylde Cryste Ihesu / And thenne suche a fame beganne to rise in all that countree abowte of saynt Thomas for the grete myracles that he wroughte that all folke that hadde Infyrmytees or ony other tormentynge of wyckyd spyrytes they came to saynt Thomas / And he in the name of god and by the sygne of the Crosse heelyd theym and conuerted theym to Crystis fayth and crystned theym and they that were soo conuerted to Cryste dyde many myracles thorugh the vertue sygne of the Crosse afterward in dyuers places there as saynt Thomas hadde not vysited ne ben / SO whan saynt Thomas had thus preched and taughte the people / Thenne he yede to the kyngdoms of those thre kynges founde them hole of body and of grete aege / And as Symeon had answere of the holy ghost that he sholde not deye tyll he had seen Cryste goddis sone and so he abode him tyll he was broughte in to the temple and there he toke hym in his armes / So in lyke wyse thyse thre kynges prayed to god that they sholde not deye tyll they were renewed wyth the holy ghost wyth the sacrament of Baptym / Soo whan they herde that a man that was disciple of Cryst was come in to theyr londes that was callyd Thomas prechyd to the people of the chyldhode of Cryst and of his Passyon ResurreccoÌ„n and Ascencyon and of those werkes