Mandeville's travels : the Cotton version / from the edition by Paul Hamelius.

Chapter X

THE DESERT AND BETHLEHEM

OF THE DESERT BETWENE THE CHIRCHE OF SEYNTE KATERYNE & IERUSALEM; OF THE DRIE TRE, & HOW ROSES CAM FIRST IN ÞE WORLD.

NOW after þat men han visited þo holy places þanne wil þei turnen toward Ierusalem And þan wil þei take leue of the monkes & recommenden hem to here preyeres, And þanne þei ȝeuen the pilgrimes of here vitaylle for to passe with the desertes toward Surrye. And þo desertes duren wel a .xiij. iourneyes. In þat desert duellen manye of Arrabyenes þat men clepen Bedoynes & Ascopardes. And þei ben folk full of aƚƚ euyƚƚ condiciouns And þei haue none houses but tentes þat þei maken of skynnes of bestes as of Camaylles & of oþer bestes þat þei eten And þere benethe þei couchen hem & dwellen in place where þei may fynden water As on the Rede see or elleswhere, For in þat desert is full gret defaute of water [folio 30a] And often tyme it falleth þat where men fynden water at o tyme in a place it fayleth anoþer tyme And for that skyll þei make none habitaciouns þere. Theise folk þat I speke of þei tylen not the lond ne þei laboure nought for þei eten no bred but ȝif it be ony þat dwellen nygh a gode toun þat gon thider & eten bred somtyme And þei rosten here flesch & here fissch vpon the hote stones aȝenst the sonne. And þei ben stronge men & wel fyghtynge And þere is so meche multytude of þat folk þat þei ben with outen nombre And þei ne recchen of no thing ne don not but chacen after bestes to eten hem And þei recchen no þing of here lif And þerfore þei dowten not the Soudan ne non oþer prince, But þei dar wel werre with hem ȝif þei don ony thing þat is greuance to hem. And þei han often tyme werre with the Soudan & namely þat tyme þat I was with him. And þei beren but o scheld & o spere with outen oþer armes And þei wrappen here hedes & here

necke with a gret quantytee of white lynnen cloth And þei ben right felonouse & foule & of cursed kynde. And whan men passen this desert in comynge toward Ierusalem þei comen to Bersabee þat was wont to ben a full fair town & a delytable of cristene men And ȝit þere ben summe of here chirches. In þat toun dwelled Abraham the Patriark a longe tyme. Þat toun of Bersabee founded Bersabee the wif of sire vrye the knyght on the whiche kyng Dauid [folio 30b] gatt Salomon the wyse þat was kyng after Dauid vpon the .xij. kynredes of Ierusalem And regned .xl. ȝeer. And fro þens gon men to the cytee of Ebron þat is the montance of .ij. gode myle And it was clept somtyme the vale of Mambree And sumtyme it was clept the vale of teres because þat Adam wepte þere an .c. ȝeer for the deth of Abell his sone þat Caym slowgh. Ebron was wont to ben the princypall cytee of the Philistyenes And þere duelleden somtyme the Geauntz And þat cytee was also Sacerdotall þat is to seyne seyntuarie of the tribe of Iuda. And it was so fre þat men resceyued þere aƚƚ manere of fugityfes of oþer places for here euyl dedes. In Ebron Iosue Caleph & here companye comen first to aspyen how þei mygℏte wynnen the lond of beheste. In Ebron regned first kyng Dauid .vij. ȝeer & an half And in Ierusalem he regnede .xxxiij. ȝeer & an half. And in Ebron ben aƚƚ the sepultures of the Patriarkes Adam Abraham ysaac & of Iacob & of here wyfes Eue Sarre & Rebekke & of Lya the whiche sepultures the Sarazines kepen full curyously & han the place in gret reuerence for the holy fadres the Patriarkes þat lyȝn þere And þei suffre no cristene man entre in to that place but ȝif it be of specyaƚƚ grace of the Soudan, For þei holden cristene men & Iewes as dogges And þei seyn þat þei scholde not entre into so holy place. And men clepen [folio 31a] þat place where þei lyȝn double spelunke or double cave or double dych for als meche as þat on lyeth aboue þat other And the Sarazines clepen þat place in here langage KARICARBA

þat is to seyne the place of Patriarkes And the Iewes clepen þat place ARBOTH. And in þat same place was Abrahames hous And þere he satt & saugh .iij. persones & worschipte but on as holy writt seyth: “TRES VIDIT & VNUM ADORAUIT”, þat is to seyne: he saugh .iij. & worschiped on. And of þo same resceyued Abraham the Aungeles in to his hous. And right faste by þat place is a cave in the roche where Adam & Eue duelleden whan þei weren putt out of paradyse & þere goten þei here children. And in þat same place was Adam formed & made, after þat summen seyn. For men weren wont for to clepe þat place the feld of Damasce, be cause þat it was in the lordschipe of Damask. And fro þens was he translated into paradys of delytes, as þei seyn. And after þat he was dryuen out of paradys he was þere left. And the same day þat he was putt in paradys, the same day he was putt out, For anon he synned. þere begynneth the vale of Ebron þat dureth nygh to Ierusalem. There the Aungell commaunded Adam þat he scholde duelle with his wyf Eue, Of the whiche he gatt Seth, of whiche tribe þat is to seye kynrede Ihesu crist was born. In þat valeye is a feld where men drawen out of the erthe a thing þat men clepen Cambyll & þei ete it in stede of spice [folio 31b] & þei bere it to selle. And men may not make the hole ne the cave where it is taken out of the erthe so depe ne so wyde, but þat it is at the ȝeres ende full aȝen vp to the sydes, þorgh the grace of god. And .ij. myle from Ebron is the graue of loth þat was Abrahames broþer sone. And a lytill fro Ebron is the mount of Mambre, of the which the valeye taketh his name, And þere is a tree of Oke þat the Sarazines clepen DIRPE þat is of Abrahames tyme, the whicℏe men clepen the drye tree. And þei seye þat it hath ben þere sitℏe the begynnynge of the world & was sumtyme grene & bare leues vnto the tyme þat oure lord dyede on the cros And þanne it dryede & so diden aƚƚ the trees þat weren

þanne in the world or elles þai failed in þaire hertes and become holle within, of whilk þer er many ȝit standand in diuerse placez of the world And summe seyn be here prophecyes þat a lord, a Prince of the west syde of the world schall wynnen the lond of promyssioun þat is the holy lond with helpe of cristene men & he schall do synge a masse vndir þat drye tree & þan the tree schall wexen grene & bere bothe fruyt & leves And þorgh þat myracle manye Saraȝines & Iewes schuƚƚ ben turned to cristene feyth. And þerfore þei don gret worschipe þereto & kepen it fuƚƚ besyly. And all be it so þat it be drye natheles ȝit he bereth gret vertue for certeynly he þat hath a litill þere of vpon him it heleth him of the fallynge euyƚƚ, And his hors schaƚƚ not ben afoundred & manye oþer vertues it hath, Wherefore men [folio 32a] holden it full precyous. From Ebron men gon to Bethlem in half a day, for it is but .v. myle & it is full fayre weye be pleynes & wodes full delectable. Bethleem is a lityll cytee long & narwe & wel walled & in eche syde enclosed with gode dyches And it was wont to ben cleped Effrata, as holy wrytt seyth: “ECCE AUDIUIMUS EUM IN EFFRATA”, þat is to seye: lo wee herde him in effrata. And toward the est ende of the cytee is a full fair chirche and a graciouse & it hath many toures, pynacles & corneres fuƚƚ stronge & curiously made And within þat chirche ben .xliiij. pyleres of marble grete & faire. And betwene the cytee & the chirche is the feld Floridous, þat is to seyne, the feld florissched. For als moche as a faire mayden was blamed with wrong & sclaundred þat sche hadde don fornycacioun, For whiche cause sche was demed to the deth & to be brent in þat place, to the whiche sche was ladd. And as the fyre began to brenne aboute hire sche made hire preyeres to oure lord þat as wissely as sche was not gylty of þat synne þat he wolde helpe hire & make it to be knowen to aƚƚ men of his mercyfull grace. And whan sche hadde þus seyd sche entred in to the

fuyr And anon was the fuyre quenched & oute. And the brondes þat weren brennynge becomen red roseres And the brondes þat weren not kyndled nor tend becomen white roseres full of roses. And þeise [folio 32b] weren the first Roseres & Roses bothe white & rede, þat euere ony man saugh. And þus was þis mayden saued be the grace of god And þerfore is þat feld clept the feld of god florysscht, for it was full of roses. Also besyde the queer of the chirche at the right syde as men comen dounward .xvj. greces is the place where oure lord was born, þat is full wel dyght of marble & full richely peynted with gold syluer azure & oþer coloures. And .iij. paas besyde is the crybbe of the ox & the asse. And besyde þat is the place where the sterre fell þat ladde the .iij. kynges Iaspar Melchior & Balthazar, But men of Grece clepen hem þus: Galgalath Malgalath & Saraphie, And the Iewes clepen hem in this manere in Ebrew: APPELIUS AMERRIUS & DAMASUS. Theise .iij. kynges offreden to oure lord gold ensence & myrre And þei metten to gedre þorgh myracle of god, For þei metten to gedre in a cytee in ynde þat men clepen Cassak þat is .liij. iourneyes fro Betℏƚeem. And þei weren at Bethleem the .xiij. day And þat was the .iiij. day after þat þei hadden seyn the sterre whan þei metten in þat cytee, And þus þei weren in .ix. dayes fro þat cytee at Bethleem & þat was gret myracle. Also vnder the cloystre of the chirche be .xviij. degrees at the right syde is the charneƚƚ of the Innocentes where here bones lyȝn And before the place where oure lord was born is the tombe of seynt [folio 33a] Ierome þat was a preest & a Cardynaƚƚ þat translatede the bible & the psaultere from Ebrew in to latyn And withoute the mynstre is the chayere þat he satt in whan he translated it. And faste besyde þat chirche a .lx. fedme is a chirche of seynt Nicholas where oure lady rested hire after sche was lyghted of oure lord And for as meche as sche had to meche mylk in hire pappes þat greued hire, sche mylked hem on the rede stones of marble so þat the traces may

ȝit ben sene in the stones aƚƚ whyte. And ȝee schuƚƚ vnderstonde þat aƚƚ þat dwellen in Bethleem ben cristene men And þere ben faire vynes aboute the cytee & gret plentee of wyn þat the cristene men han don let make But the Sarazines ne tylen not no vynes ne þei drynken no wyn. For here bokes of here lawe þat Makomete betoke hem, whiche þei clepen here ALKARON & summe clepen it MESAPH & in anoþer langage it is cleped HARME And the same boke forbedeth hem to drinke wyn, For in þat boke Machomete cursed aƚƚ þo þat drynken wyn & alle hem þat sellen it. For summen seye þat he slough ones an heremyte in his dronkeness þat he loued ful wel And þerfore he cursed wyn & hem þat drynken it. But his curs be turned in to his owne hed as holy writt seith: “ET IN VERTICEM IPSIUS INIQUITAS EIUS DESCENDET”, þat is for to seye: his wykkedness schall turne & falle in his owne heed. [folio 33b] And also the Sarazines bryngen forth no pigges nor þei eten no swynes flessch, for þei seye it is brother to man & it was forboden be the olde lawe & þei holden hem alle acursed þat eten þereof. Also in the lond of Palestyne & in the lond of Egypt þei eten but lytill or non of flessch of veel or of boef but he be so old þat he may nomore trauayle for elde, for it is forbode And for because þei hauen but fewe of hem, þerfore þei norisscℏe hem for to ere here londes. In this cytee of Bethleem was Dauid the kyng born And he hadde .lx. wyfes & the firste wyf highte Michol And also he hadde .ccc. lemmannes. And fro Bethleem vnto Ierusalem nys but .ij. myle And in the weye to Ierusalem half a myle fro Bethleem is a chirche where the aungel seyde to the schepperdes of the birthe of crist. And in þat weye is the tombe of Racheƚƚ þat was Iosephes moder the patriarke. And sche dyede anon after þat sche was delyuered of hire sone Beniamyn & þere sche was buryed of Iacob hire husbonde, And he

leet setten .xij. grete stones on hire in tokene þat sche had born .xij. children. In þat same weye half myle fro Ierusalem appered the sterre to the .iij. kynges, In þat weye also ben manye chirches of cristene men be the whiche men gon towardes the cytee of Ierusalem.