_Of the governaunce of the countrey of the great Caane._
NOW haue I tolde you why he is called the great Caane, now shall I
tell you of the governinge of his courte when they make great feastes,
and he kepeth foure principall feastes in the yeare, the fyrste of his
byrth, the seconde when he is borne to the Temple to be circumcised,
the third is of his ydoles when they begin to speake, and the fourth
when the ydole beginneth fyrst to do myracles, & at those tymes he
hath men well arayed by thousands and by hundreds and eche one wote
well what he shal do. For there is fyrst ordeined 4000 rich barons and
mighty for to ordeine the feast & to serve the Emperour & all these
barons haue crowns of gold well dight with precious stones and
pearles, and they are clad in clothes of golde & camathas[1] as richly
as they may bee made & they may well have suche clothes for they
are there of lesse pryce than wollen cloth is here. And these foure
thousande barons are departed in foure parties, & eche company is clad
in diverse colour ryght richely, and when the first thousand is passed
and hath shewed them, then come the seconde thousande, and then the
thirde thousande & then the fourth, and none of them speketh a word.
And on the one side of the Emperours table sitteth many phylosophers
of many sciences, some of Astronomie, Nygromancie[2], Geometry,
Pyromacy,[3] & many other sciences, and some haue before them
Astrolabes[4] of golde or of precious stones full of sande or of coles
brenning, some haue horologes[5] well dight and richly, and many other
instruments after their sciences. And at a certaine houre when they
see time, they say to men that stand before them, make peace, and
then saye those men with a loude voyce to all the hall, now be
styll awhile, and then saith one of the philosophers, eche man make
reverence and encline to the Emperour, that is Gods sonne, and lorde
of the worlde, for now is time and houre, and then all men enclyne
to him, and knele on the earth, and then the Phylosopher biddeth them
rise up againe. And at another houre another philosopher biddeth them
put their fingers in theyr eares and they do so, and at another houre
another philosopher biddeth that all men shall laye their hande on
their heads, and they do so, and then he biddeth them take them away
and they doe so, and thus from houre to houre they bid divers thinges.
And I asked privily what it shoulde meane and one of the masters said
that the enclining and the kneling on the earth at that time hath this
token, that all those men that kneled so shall evermore be true to the
Emperour, that for no gift nor thretning they shal never be traitours
nor false to him and the putting of the finger in the eare hath this
token, that none of those shall here any yll spoken of the Emperour
or his counsayll. And ye shall understande that men dight nothing,
as clothes, bread, drinke nor no such things to the Emperour but at
certaine hours that the Philosophers tell, and if any man reyse
war against the Emperour in what countrey so ever it bee these
Philosophers know it sone, & tell y^e Emperour or his counsail and he
sendeth men thether, for he hath many men. Also he hath many men
that kepeth birdes, as gerfaukons[6], sperhaukes,[7] faucons,[8]
gentils,[9] lavers, sacres,[10] popyniaye[11] that can speake, and
many other, ten thousande olyphants, baboynes, marmosets and other and
he hath ever aboute him many Physicions more than two hundred that are
Christen men & xx sarasyns, but yet he trusteth more to Christen men
than in Sarasyns. And there is in that countrey many Sarasins and
other Servaunts that are Christen and converted to the faith, through
preching of good Christen men that dwel there, but there are many that
will not that men[12] wete that they are Christen.
[Footnote 1: A rich silken or thread stuff.]
[Footnote 2: Necromancy, or foretelling events by pretended
communion with the dead.]
[Footnote 3: Divination by fire.]
[Footnote 4: An astronomical instrument.]
[Footnote 5: Timepieces.]
[Footnote 6: Girfalcons.]
[Footnote 7: Sparrowhawks.]
[Footnote 8: Falcons.]
[Footnote 9: Gentles.]
[Footnote 10: Sakers or Peregrine hawks.]
[Footnote 11: Parrots.]
[Footnote 12: Will not let men know.]