_He that will go toward Hierusalem on horse, on foote, or by sea._
IN the name of God Almightie. He that will passe over the sea, he may
go many wayes both by sea and by lande, after the countreys that he
cometh from, and many of them cometh to one ende, but think not that
I will tell all the townes, cities & castelles that men shall goe by,
for then I should make to long a tale, but only some countries and
most principall cities and townes that men shall go by and through to
go the right way.
First, if a man come from the west side of the worlde as England,
Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Norway, he may if he wyl, go through
Almayne[1] and throughout the Kingdome of Hungary, which Kinge is
a great lord and a mightie, and holdeth many landes & great, for he
holdeth the land of Hungarie, Savoy,[2] Camonie,[3] a great part of
Bulgary, that men call the land of Bugres, and a great part of the
Kingdome of Rossie,[4] and that lasteth to the land of Mifland,[5] and
marcheth on Siprus,[5] and men passe thus through the land of Hungary
and through the Citie that men call Cipanum,[6] and through the
castell of Nuburgh,[7] and by the yll Torwe,[8] towarde the ende of
Hungarie and so by the river of Danubie, that is a full great ryver
and goeth into Almayne, under the hilles of Lumbardy, and it taketh
into him 40 other ryvers and it runneth throughout Hungary and through
Cresses[9] and Crochie,[9] and goeth into the sea so strongely and
with so great might that the water is freshe xxx[10] myle within the
sea and afterwards go men to Belgrave[11] and entereth the lande of
Bugres and there pass men a bridge of stone that is over the river
Marrock,[12] and so men passe through the lande of Pinseras[13]
and come to Grece to the citie of Stermis,[14] and to the citie of
Affinpane,[15] that was sometime called Bradre[16] the noble and so
to the citie of Constantinople that was sometime called Bessameron[17]
and there dwelleth commonly the Emperor of Grece.
[Illustration]
At Constantinople is the best and the fairest church of the worlde,
and it is of sainct Steven.[18] And before this church is a gylte
image of Justinian the Emperour, and it is sitting upon an horse and
crowned, and it was wont to holde a round appell[19] in his hand, &
men say there that it is a token that the Emperour hath lost a part of
his landes, for the appell is fallen out of the images hand: and also
he hath lost a great parte of his lordshippe. For he was wont to be
Emperour of Rome, of Grece, and of all Asia the lesse, of Surry, and
of the land of Jude,[20] in the which is Jerusalem, & of the land of
Egipt, of Percie & Arabia, but he hath lost all but Grece, and that
lande he holdeth all onely. Men would put the appell in the images
hande, but it will not holde it. This appell betokeneth the lordship
that he had over all the world, and the other hand he lifteth up
against the East,[21] in token to manasse[22] misdoers. This image
standeth upon a pyller of marble.
[Illustration]
At Constantinople is the crosse of our Lord and his cote without
seame, the sponge and the rede with which the Jewes gave our Lord gall
to drinke on the Crosse, and there is one of the nayles that our Lorde
Jesu Christ was nayled with to the Crosse. Some men think that halfe
the Crosse of Christ be in Cipres in an Abbey of Monkes, that men call
the hill of the holy crosse, but it is not so, for the crosse that
is in Cipres is the crosse on which Dysmas[23] the good theefe was
hanged, but all men wot[24] not that, & that is evil done but for the
getting of the offering they say that it is the crosse of our Lorde,
and ye shall understande that the crosse of our Lorde Jesus Christ
was made of foure maner of trees, as it is conteyned in this verse
following.
_In cruce fit Palma, Cedrus, et Cypressus, Oliva._
[Illustration]
For the piece that went ryght up from the earth unto the head was of
Cipres, and the piece that went overthwart, to the which his handes
were nayled, was of Palme, and the stock that stood within the earth
in the which they had made a morteys, was of Cedre, and the table
aboue his head was a foote and a half long, on which y^e tytle was
written, y^t was of Olyve. Y^e Jewes made this crosse of these foure
maner of trees for they thought y^t our Lord shold have hanged as long
as y^e crosse might last, therefore they made the foote of Cedre, for
Ceder may not in the erth ne[25] in water rot; they thought that the
body of Christ shold have stonken, they made the piece y^t went from
the yearth upwarde of Cipres so that the smell of his body shold
greve no man that came by, and that overthwart was made of Palme
in signification of Victory. And the table of the tytle was made of
Olive, for it betokeneth peace, as the story of Noe witnesseth,
when y^e dove brought y^e braunch of Olive that betokened peace made
between God and man. And you also shal understande, that the Christen
men that dwell over the sea, say that the pece of the Crosse that we
call Cipres was of the tree that Adam eate the appell of, and so finde
they written, and they say also that their scripture saith, that when
Adam was sicke he sayd to his son Seth that he shold go to Paradise
and pray that the Aungel that kepeth Paradise, y^t he wold send
him oyle of the tree of mercy for to anoynte him that he might have
health, & Seth went, but the Aungel would not let him com in at the
gate, but said unto him that he might not have y^e oyle of mercy, but
he took him three carnels[26] of the same tree that his father eate
the appell of, and bad him as sone as his father was dead, that he
should put these carnels under his tongue and bury him, and he did so,
and of these three carnels sprang a tree, as the Angel sayd and when
the tree bare fruite, then shold Adam be made whole. And when Seth
came againe and founde his father dead, he did with the carnels as
the Aungell commaunded him, of the which came three trees, whereof
a crosse was made that bare good fruite, that is to say, our saviour
Jesu Christ, through whom Adam and all that came of him should be
saved and delivered from everlasting death, but[27] if it be their
owne defaute.[28] This holy crosse had the Jewes hid under the earth
in y^e rock of the mount of Calvery, & it laye there two hundreth
yeares and more, as they say, unto the tyme that Saint Elene found it,
the which Saint Elene was daughter of Coel King of Englande, that then
was called Britaine, and after maried to Constantius, fyrst Consul and
after Emperour of Rome, who had by hir issue Constantine the great,
born in England and afterward Emperour of Rome, which Constantine
turned the name of Bezansium into Constantinople, he reedified that
citie, and made it monarcall seate of all Europa and Asia Minor. Also
ye shall understande that the crosse of our Lord was in length viii
cubites and that the piece that went overthwart was three cubites[29]
and a halfe.
[Illustration]
A part of the crowne of our Lord Jesu wherewith he was crowned & one
of the nayles, and the speare head and many other reliques are in
France at Paris in the chapell of the King, and the crowne lyeth in a
vessell of cristall wel dight and richly, for y^e French King bought
these reliques sometime of the Jewes, to whome the Emperour had laid
them to pledge for a great sume of golde. And although men say
that this Crowne was of thornes--ye shall understand that it was
of Jonkes[30] of the sea, which be white and pricketh as sharp as
thornes, for I have seene and beheld many times that at Paris, and
that at Constantinople, for they were both of one, and made of Jonkis
of the sea. But men have departed him in two partes, of the which one
parte is at Paris, and the other part at Constantinople, and I haue a
point thereof that seemeth a white thorne, and that was given me for
a great friendeship--for there are many of them broken and fallen into
the vessell, when they shew the Crowne to great men or lordes that
come theither. And ye shall understande that our Lord in that night
that he was taken, he was led into a garden, and there he was examined
sharply, & there the Jewes crowned him with a crown of abbespine[31]
braunches that grew in the same garden & set it on his head so fast,
that the blood came downe by many places of his visage, necke, and
shoulders, and therefore hath the abbespine many vertues, for he
that beareth a braunche of it about him, no thunder, nor any maner of
tempest may hurt him, nor the house that it is in may no evill ghost
come, nor in no place where it is. And in that same garden Sainct
Peter denied our Lord thrise. And afterward was our Lord led before
the Bishop and ministers of the lawe into another gardein of Anne[32]
and there was he examined, scorned & crowned efte[33] with a swete
thorn that men called barbareus[34] that grew in the same gardein
and that hath many vertues. And afterward he was led to a gardein of
Caiphas, and there he was crowned again with eglentine,[35] and after
that he was led to a chamber of Pilate & there he was crowned, and the
Jewes set him in a chaire and clad him in a mantell of purpure[36] and
then made they a crowne of Jonkes of the sea and there they kneled
to him & scorned him saying _Ave rex Judeorum_. That is to say, haile
King of Jewes. And of this crowne, halfe is in Paris and the other
halfe at Constantinople, the which our Saviour Jesu Christ hadde on
his head, when he was nayled on the crosse, and therefore shall men
honour and worship it, and holde it more worthy then any of the other.
And the speare shaft hath the Emperour of Almaine, but the head which
was put in his side is at Paris they say, in the holy chappell, and
oft tymes sayth the Emperour of Constantinople, that he hath the
speare head & I have often seen it, but it is greater than that at
Paris. Also at Constantinople lyeth Sainct Anne our ladie's mother,
whom Saint Elene caused to be brought from Hierusalem, and there
lieth also the body of Saint John Chrisostome that was bishop of
Constantinople. There lyeth also sainct Luke the Evangelist, for his
bones were brought from Bethany where he was buried: and many other
relyques are there, and there is of the vessell of stone as it were
marble, which men call Idryus, that evermore droppeth water & fylleth
himselfe every yeare once. And ye shall wete that Constantinople is
a fayre citie and well walled & it is three cornered, and there is
an arme of the sea that men call Hellespon, and some men call it the
bunch[37] of Constantinople and some call it the brace[38] of sainct
George, and this water encloseth two partes of the citie, and upward
to the sea upon that water was wont to be the great citie of Troy in a
fayre plaine, but that citie was destroyed by the Grekes.
[Footnote 1: Germany.]
[Footnote 2: Sclavonia.]
[Footnote 3: Comania may now be placed as being on the
north-west side of the Caspian Sea.]
[Footnote 4: Or Rosia, was Russia proper, by the Baltic; the
huge Empire now so termed being then called Muscovy.]
[Footnote 5: _Pynson_ says Nyflond, and in some MSS. it is
written indifferently Nyfland, Nyflond, Nislan, and Neflond;
but I have no doubt but that by it is meant Livonia, as
is explained Apian's _Cosmographie_: "qui est la derniere
Province d'Alemaigne, et de la Chrestiété, vulgairement
appelee Liefland;" and this is the more likely as Siprus
is spelt in _Pynson_ and other editions Pruysse, _i.e._,
Prussia.]
[Footnote 6: _Pynson_ says Chypron, other authorities
Schyppronne, Cypron, and Chippronne.]
[Footnote 7: Neuburgh; sometimes written Neaseburghe, Newbow,
or Newborewe.]
[Footnote 8: In other editions "evyll."]
[Footnote 9: Cresses is rendered in other editions as Grece
or Greece, but this is impossible, as also is Crochie, which
_Pynson_ calls Tracy, and others call Thracie or Thrace. It
probably means Croatia, and he has muddled up the Save or Sau,
a tributary to the Danube, which rises not far from Lombardy,
joining the Danube at Belgrade.]
[Footnote 10: _Pynson_ and others say 20 miles.]
[Footnote 11: Belgrade.]
[Footnote 12: Now called the Morava.]
[Footnote 13: _Pynson_ says Pynteras, others Pyncemartz, and
Pyncoras.]
[Footnote 14: _Pynson_ says Sternys, others Sternes, or
Scernys.]
[Footnote 15: Written elsewhere Affynpayn, Assynpayn, and ad
fines Epapie.]
[Footnote 16: This will best explain the difficulty of placing
the localities, for this means Adrianople.]
[Footnote 17: Byzantium, the ancient name for Constantinople,
the seat of the Western Empire.]
[Footnote 18: _Pynson_ has Sophy, now the Mosque of St
Sophia.]
[Footnote 19: Probably an orb.]
[Footnote 20: Judæa.]
[Footnote 21: _Pynson_ says West, but others give East.]
[Footnote 22: Menace.]
[Footnote 23: The names of the penitent and impenitent thieves
vary slightly in different accounts. In the Apocryphal book of
Nicodemus, cap. 7, vv. 10, 11, they are thus given: "But one
of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus, whose name
was Gestas, said to Jesus, If thou art the Christ, deliver
thyself and us. But the thief who was crucified on his right
hand, whose name was Dimas, answering, rebuked him, and said,
Dost thou not fear God, who art condemned to this punishment?
We indeed receive rightly and justly the demerit of our
actions: but this Jesus, what evil hath he done?"
But in the Apocryphal book, I. Infancy, cap. 8, vv. 1-7 (a
Nestorian and Gnostic book), the names are given differently:
"In their journey from hence they came into a desert country,
and were told it was infested with robbers; so Joseph and St.
Mary prepared to pass through it in the night.
And, as they were going along, behold they saw two robbers
asleep in the road, and with them a great number of robbers,
who were their confederates, also asleep.
The names of those two were Titus and Dumachus; and Titus
said to Dumachus, I beseech thee let those persons go along
quietly, that our company may not perceive any thing of them;
But Dumachus refusing, Titus again said, I will give thee
forty groats, and as a pledge, take my girdle, which he gave
him before he had done speaking, that he might not open his
mouth, or make a noise.
When the Lady St. Mary saw the kindness which this robber did
show them, she said to him, The Lord God will receive thee to
his right hand, and grant thee pardon of thy sins.
Then the Lord Jesus answered and said to his mother, When
thirty years are expired, O Mother, the Jews will crucify me
at Jerusalem.
And these two thieves shall be with me at the same time upon
the cross, Titus on my right hand, and Dumachus on my left,
and from that time Titus shall go before me into Paradise."]
[Footnote 24: Know.]
[Footnote 25: Nor.]
[Footnote 26: Kernels--another edition says Greynes.]
[Footnote 27: Except.]
[Footnote 28: Fault.]
[Footnote 29: This measure varied. It was generally accepted
as being the length of a man's arm from the elbow to the
extremity of the little finger. The Roman cubit is usually
reckoned as 17-4/10 in., the Scriptural cubit at 22 in., and
the English cubit at 18 in.]
[Footnote 30: Rushes. _Juncus Maritimus._]
[Footnote 31: Albespine--probably meant for _White thorn_.]
[Footnote 32: Annas.]
[Footnote 33: Again.]
[Footnote 34: ? _berberis_.]
[Footnote 35: Honeysuckle.]
[Footnote 36: Purple.]
[Footnote 37: _Bouche_, the mouth.]
[Footnote 38: Arm. _Lat._ _brachium_, as we should say, an arm
of the sea.]