29The Roman and English Churches celebrate this Festival on February 14.
30Carrion.
31Vileness.
32Resourced or replenished.
Exaltation of the holy Crosse29 is sayd / bycause that on this daye the hooly crosse & faythe were gretely enhaunced/. And it is to be understonden that tofore the passion of our lord Ihesu cryste / the tree of the crosse was a tree of fylthe / For the crosses were made of vyle trees, & of trees without fruyte / For al that was planted on the Mount of Calvarye bare no fruyt. It was a fowle place / for hit was the place of torment of thevys / It was derke / for it was in a derke place and without any beaute / It was the tree of deth / for men were put there to dethe / It was also the tree of stenche / for it was planted amonge the caroynes30 / & after the passyon the Crosse was moche enhaunced / For the Vylte31 was transported into preciousyte / Of the whiche the blessyd saynt Andrewe sayth / O precious holy Crosse god save the / his bareynes was torned into fruyte / as it is sayd in the Cantyques / I shall ascende up in to a palme tree / et cetera / His ignobylyte or unworthynes was tourned into sublymyte and heyght / The Crosse that was tormente of thevys is now born in the front of themperours / his derkenes is torned into lyght and clerenesse/ wherof Chrysostom sayth the Crosse and the Woundes shall be more shynyng than the rayes of the Sonne at the jugement / his deth is converted into perdurabylyte of lyf / whereof it is sayd in the preface / that fro hens the lyf resourded32 / and the stenche is torned into swetenes / canticorum /. This exaltacion of the hooly crosse is solempnysed and halowed solempnly of the Chirche / For the faythe is in hit moche enhaunced /.
33Chosroes II., who reigned in the seventh Century.