[1:] Through woods.
[2:] Battlements.
[3:] The flowered field.
CAP. XVIII.
Of a fayre mayden that should be put to death wrongfully.
THE cause is, for as much as a fayre maiden yt was blamed wyth wrong that she hadde done fornication, for the which cause she was demed[1] to dye and to bee brente[2] in that place to the which she was ledde. And as the woode began to brenne about hir, she made hir prayer to our Lorde as she was not gyltie of that thing, that he would helpe hir that it might be knowne to all men. And whan she had thus sayde, she entred the fyre and anone the fyre went out, and those braunches that were brenninge became red Roses and those braunches that were not kindled became white Rosiers[3] full of white roses, and those were the fyrst roses and rosyers that any man sawe, and so was the mayden saved through the grace of God, and therefore is that felde called the feeld of God florished, for it was full of Roses. Also besyde the quire of that Church aforesayd at the right side as men come downwarde xii[4] grees[5] is the place where our Lorde was borne that is now full well dyght[6] of Marble & full rychely depaynted of golde, sylver and asure and other colours. And a lyttle thens by three paces is the crybe[7] of the Oxe and the Asse, and besyde yt is the place where the sterre[8] fell that lede the three Kinges Jasper, Melchior and Balthasar, but men of Grece call the Kinges thus, Galgalath, Saraphy, Malgalath. These three Kinges offered to our Lorde, Encence, Gold & Mirre and they came together through myracle of God, for they mette togither in a citie that men call Chasak, that is liii journeys from Bethleem, and there they were at Bethleem the fourth[9] daye after they hadde seene the sterre. And under the cloyster of this church xviii grees[10] at the righte syde is a great pytte where the bones of the Innocentes lie, and before that place where Chryst was borne is the tombe of Sainct Jerom that was a priest and a Cardinal that translated the Byble and the Sauter[11] from Hebrew into Latyn, and beside that church is a Church of Saynte Nycolas, where our Lady rested hir whan she was delivered of chyld, and for as much as she had so much mylke in hir pappes that it greved hir, she mylked it out uppon the redde stones of Marble, so that yet may the traces bee seene whyte uppon the stones. And ye shall understande that all that dwell in Bethleem are Chrysten men, and there are fayre vynes all aboute the citie and great plentie of wine, for their booke that Mahomet betoke[12] them, the which they call Alkaron and some call it Massap and some call it Harme, forbiddeth them to drinke any wyne, for in that booke Machomet curseth all those that drynke of that wyne and all that sell it, for some men saye that he onse slewe a good hermite in his dronkennesse which[13] he loved much, and therefore he cursed the wyne, and them that drynke wyne, but his malyce is torned to hymselfe, as holye writ sayth "Et in verticem ipsius iniquitus ejus descendit," That is to say in Englyshe, His wickednesse shall descende on his owne head. And also the Sarasins bringeth forthe no geise,[14] ne they eate no swines fleshe, for they say it is brother to manne and that it was forbidden in the olde lawe. Also in the lande of Palestine ne in the lande of Egypte they eate but lyttle veale and beefe but it be so olde that it may no more travayll[15] ne werke, not that it is forbidden but they kepe them to tylling of their lande. In this castell of Bethleem was Kyng David borne and he had Lx wives and ccc lemmans. From Bethleem to Hierusalem is two myle, and in the way of Hierusalem halfe a myle from Bethleem is a Church where the aungell sayd to the shepherdes of the bearing of Christ. In that waye is the tombe of Rachel that was Josephs mother the Patryarke and she dyed as soone as she hadde borne Benjamyn and there she was buried, and Jacob hir husbande set xii great stones upon hir in tokening that she had borne xii children. In this way to Hierusalem are many Christen churches by the which men go to Hierusalem.
[1:] Condemned.
[2:] Burnt.
[3:] Rose bushes.
[4:] Other editions say 16.
[5:] Steps.
[6:] Adorned.
[7:] Crib or Manger.
[8:] Star.
[9:] Other editions say "thirteenth."
[10:] Paces.
[11:] Psalter.
[12:] Gave.
[13:] Whom.
[14:] Breed no pigs.
[15:] Plough or draw loads.
CAP. XIX.
Of the citie of Hierusalem.
FOR to speake of Hierusalem, ye shall understande that it standeth fayre among hylles, and there is neither ryver nor well, but water commeth by conduit from Ebron, and ye shall wete that men called it first Jebus and sythen it was called Salem unto the time of King David, and he set those two names togither and called it Hierusalem and so it is called yet. And aboute Hierusalem is the Kingdome of Surry, & thereby is the lande of Palestyne and Askalon, but Hierusalem is in the lande of Jude, and it is called Judee, for Judas Maccabeus was King of that lande, and also it marcheth afterward on the Kingedome of Araby, on the South side on the lande of Egipt, on the west side on the great sea, on the north syde on the Kingdome of Surry and the sea of Cipres. About Hierusalem are these cities. Ebrone at viii[1] myle, Jerico at vi myle Barsebe at viii myle Askalon xviii[2] myle, Jaffa at xxv[3] Ramatha at iiii[4] mile. At Bethlem towarde the South is a church of saint Markerot,[5] that was abbot there, for whom they made much sorow when he should dy & it is painted there how they made dole[6] when he dyed, and it is a piteous thing to beholde. This lande of Hierusalem hath ben in dyvers nations hands, as Jewes, Cananens, Assyrians, Percians, Macedons, Grekes, Romayns & Chrysten men, Sarasins, Barbaryans, Turkes & many other nacions. For Chryste wyll not that it be long in the handes of traytours ne sinners be they Christen or other. And now hath the mistrowing[7] men holden that lande in theyre handes Lx yeare & more, but they shall not holde it long and if[8] God wyll.