_Of the Cross and the Crown of our Lord Jesu Christ_
AT Constantinople is the cross of our Lord Jesu Christ, and his coat
without seams, that is clept _Tunica inconsutilis_, and the sponge, and
the reed, of the which the Jews gave our Lord eysell and gall, in the
cross. And there is one of the nails, that Christ was nailed with on the
cross.
And some men trow that half the cross, that Christ was done on, be in
Cyprus, in an abbey of monks, that men call the Hill of the Holy Cross;
but it is not so. For that cross that is in Cyprus, is the cross, in the
which Dismas the good thief was hanged on. But all men know not that;
and that is evil y-done. For for profit of the offering, they say that
it is the cross of our Lord Jesu Christ.
And ye shall understand that the cross of our Lord was made of four
manner of trees, as it is contained in this verse,—_In cruce fit palma_,
_cedrus_, _cypressus_, _oliva_. For that piece that went upright from
the earth to the head was of cypress; and the piece that went overthwart,
to the which his hands were nailed, was of palm; and the stock, that
stood within the earth, in the which was made the mortise, was of cedar;
and the table above his head, that was a foot and an half long, on the
which the title was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, that was of
olive.
And the Jews made the cross of these four manner of trees; for they
trowed that our Lord Jesu Christ should have hanged on the cross, as long
as the cross might last. And therefore made they the foot of the cross
of cedar; for cedar may not, in earth nor water, rot, and therefore they
would that it should have lasted long. For they trowed that the body of
Christ should have stunken, they made that piece, that went from the
earth upwards of cypress, for it is well-smelling, so that the smell of
his body should not grieve men that went forby. And the overthwart piece
was of palm, for in the Old Testament it was ordained, that when one was
overcome he should be crowned with palm; and for they trowed that they
had the victory of Christ Jesus, therefore made they the overthwart piece
of palm. And the table of the title they made of olive; for olive
betokeneth peace, as the story of Noe witnesseth; when that the culver
brought the branch of olive, that betokened peace made between God and
man. And so trowed the Jews for to have peace, when Christ was dead; for
they said that he made discord and strife amongst them. And ye shall
understand that our Lord was y-nailed on the cross lying, and therefore
he suffered the more pain.
And the Christian men, that dwell beyond the sea, in Greece, say that the
tree of the cross, that we call cypress, was of that tree that Adam ate
the apple off; and that find they written. And they say also, that their
scripture saith, that Adam was sick, and said to his son Seth, that he
should go to the angel that kept Paradise, that he would send him oil of
mercy, for to anoint with his members, that he might have health. And
Seth went. But the angel would not let him come in; but said to him,
that he might not have of the oil of mercy. But he took him three grains
of the same tree, that his father ate the apple off; and bade him, as
soon as his father was dead, that he should put these three grains under
his tongue, and grave him so: and so he did. And of these three grains
sprang a tree, as the angel said that it should, and bare a fruit,
through the which fruit Adam should be saved. And when Seth came again,
he found his father near dead. And when he was dead, he did with the
grains as the angel bade him; of the which sprung three trees, of the
which the cross was made, that bare good fruit and blessed, our Lord Jesu
Christ; through whom, Adam and all that come of him, should be saved and
delivered from dread of death without end, but it be their own default.
This holy cross had the Jews hid in the earth, under a rock of the mount
of Calvary; and it lay there two hundred year and more, into the time
that St. Helen, that was mother to Constantine the Emperor of Rome. And
she was daughter of King Coel, born in Colchester, that was King of
England, that was clept then Britain the more; the which the Emperor
Constance wedded to his wife, for her beauty, and gat upon her
Constantine, that was after Emperor of Rome, and King of England.
And ye shall understand, that the cross of our Lord was eight cubits
long, and the overthwart piece was of length three cubits and a half.
And one part of the crown of our Lord, wherewith he was crowned, and one
of the nails, and the spear head, and many other relics be in France, in
the king’s chapel. And the crown lieth in a vessel of crystal richly
dight. For a king of France bought these relics some time of the Jews,
to whom the emperor had laid them in wed for a great sum of silver.
And if all it be so, that men say, that this crown is of thorns, ye shall
understand, that it was of jonkes of the sea, that is to say, rushes of
the sea, that prick as sharply as thorns. For I have seen and beholden
many times that of Paris and that of Constantinople; for they were both
one, made of rushes of the sea. But men have departed them in two parts:
of the which, one part is at Paris, and the other part is at
Constantinople. And I have one of those precious thorns, that seemeth
like a white thorn; and that was given to me for great specially. For
there are many of them broken and fallen into the vessel that the crown
lieth in; for they break for dryness when men move them to show them to
great lords that come thither.
And ye shall understand, that our Lord Jesu, in that night that he was
taken, he was led into a garden; and there he was first examined right
sharply; and there the Jews scorned him, and made him a crown of the
branches of albespine, that is white thorn, that grew in that same
garden, and set it on his head, so fast and so sore, that the blood ran
down by many places of his visage, and of his neck, and of his shoulders.
And therefore hath the white thorn many virtues, for he that beareth a
branch on him thereof, no thunder ne no manner of tempest may dere him;
nor in the house, that it is in, may no evil ghost enter nor come unto
the place that it is in. And in that same garden, Saint Peter denied our
Lord thrice.
Afterward was our Lord led forth before the bishops and the masters of
the law, into another garden of Annas; and there also he was examined,
reproved, and scorned, and crowned eft with a sweet thorn, that men
clepeth barbarines, that grew in that garden, and that hath also many
virtues.
And afterward he was led into a garden of Caiphas, and there he was
crowned with eglantine.
And after he was led into the chamber of Pilate, and there he was
examined and crowned. And the Jews set him in a chair, and clad him in a
mantle; and there made they the crown of jonkes of the sea; and there
they kneeled to him, and scorned him, saying, _Ave_, _Rex Judeorum_! that
is to say, ‘Hail, King of Jews!’ And of this crown, half is at Paris,
and the other half at Constantinople. And this crown had Christ on his
head, when he was done upon the cross; and therefore ought men to worship
it and hold it more worthy than any of the others.
And the spear shaft hath the Emperor of Almayne; but the head is at
Paris. And natheles the Emperor of Constantinople saith that he hath the
spear head; and I have often time seen it, but it is greater than that at
Paris.