Three Kings of Cologne : an early English translation of the "Historia Trium Regum" / by John of Hildesheim ; edited from the MSS., together with the Latin text, by C. Horstmann

Capitulum sextum.

Whan þe tyme of grace and of mercy was come þat god wolde haue mercy of aƚƚ mankynde, in wich tyme þe fadir of heuene sent downe his soone to take flessℏ and blode of oure lady seynt Marie and to be bore man of her for sauacioun of alle þe worlde: in þat tyme octouianus, þat was emperour of Rome and helde þe

empyre of [leaf 4a] aƚƚ þe worlde, in þe ȝeere of his empire .xlij., as seynt luk telleþ, he sent oute a commandement to descrye alle þe worlde--Exiit edictum. // And þis discrying̛ was first made vnder Cirinus, þat than was bisshop̄ of Cyrye. and euery man ȝede forþ in to his contrey. þan ȝede Ioseph oute of galile, þat is a cite in Naȝareth, in to a cite of Iury þat was kyng̛ dauid, þe wich cite was cleped Bedleem: bycause þat Ioseph was of þe howsholde and of þe meyne of kyng̛ dauid. þerfore he ȝede in to þat contreye, with oure lady seynt Marye, þat was his wyfe, and also gret with Childe. soo whan þei were þere, þe tyme was come þat oure lady seynt Marie scholde be deliuered of her childe: and was delyuered. and sche wrapped hym in cloþis, and leyde hym in a manger: for þer was noon oþir place. and scheperdys weren fastby in þe same contreye, kepyng̛ her schepe in þe nyȝt. and a aungeƚƚ of heuene comme and stode byside hem with a gret liȝt: whereof þei were gretlich adrad. and þan þe aungeƚƚ seyde to hem: "be noȝt adrad: for y teƚƚ ȝou a grete Ioye þat schal be to aƚƚ þe pepil: ffor þis daye is bore to vs oure lorde crist in þe cite of dauid. and þis schal be to ȝou a tokyn: ȝe schulle fynde a ȝong̛ childe wrapped in clothis and put in a manger." and þan sodeynlich þer cam a gret multitude of aungelis of heuen preysyng̛ godd and seyde Gloria in excelsis deo Et in terra pax hominibus bone voluntatis, // That is to seyȝe: Ioye be to god an hiȝe and pees in erthe to men of gode wiƚƚ.--& ȝe schul vndirstonde þat Bedleem was neuer of no grete reputacioun neþer no place of grete quantite. and hit hathe a goode fundament and a goode grounde: for þer be many caves and dennys vndir erþe. and þat bedleem is from ierusalem but .ij. litel Myle. and hit is but a casteƚƚ, but hit is cleped a citee bycause þat kyng̛ dauid was bore þere. and in þat toun was sumtyme a hows þe wich was þe

hows of ysaie þat was fader to kyng̛ dauyd,// In þe wich hows, as hit is aforseyde, was kyng̛ dauid bore an anoynte in to þe kyngdom of israel by samuel þe prophete: and in þe same place god, cristis soone of heuene, was bore of oure lady seynt Marie, þe holy virgine. and þis place was sumtyme in an ende of a strete þat þan was cleped þe couered strete--and þe cause þat þe strete is cleped so, is þis: bicause of gret hete and brennyng̛ of þe sunne hit was heled aboue with blak clothis and oþir thyng̛ to kepe þe sunne oute --and so hit is vsed ȝit there aƚƚwey. and in þis strete was wonte to be a grete chepyng̛, or a feyre, onys in þe weke of olde clothis and of oþir thyng̛, and specialicℏ of tre oþer of tymbyr. and in þat place þat was in þe ende of þe strete and in þe wicℏ stode sumtyme a hows [leaf 4b] þat was kyng̛ dauid and ysaye his fadir, þer left a litil hows tofore a denne vnder erþe, made and schaped like a litil celere: and þere ysaye, þat was fadir to kyng̛ dauid, and oþer þat dweiled aftir him̛ in þat place, putten certeyn necessaries þat longed to householde þer, fore hete of þe son̄ne. hit is also þe maner in aƚƚ þat contreye, boþe in citees and in townes, þat þer be certeyn howses þe wich be cleped there alchan, þat we clepe here ostryes: and in þes howses be Mulys, hors and assis and camayles aƚƚwey redy, þat, ȝif hit so be þat any pi'gryme or marchaunt or any man þat trauayleþ be þe weye be hit fer or nere, and him nede any beest, for hym-self̘ or for his marchaundiȝe, þan he goth to swich a hows þat is cleped alchan, and þere he may hyre a hors or what beest þat he wil for a certeyn prys. and whan he hathe what beest þat hym liketh, þan he goth forþ from þat cite to anoþer citee, þere as he wil abide and rest hym for a tyme: þan he dischargeþ his hors, or what beest þat he hathe, of his berthen and so sendeth hym in to swich a hows þat is cleped þere also alchan, in þe wych hows be also swich beestys

as hit is aforeseyde to hyre. and þan þe maister of þe hows takeþ þis beest and ȝifeþ hym mete, and whan he may, he sendeþ hym home to þe same place þat he comme fro. // And ȝif hit so be þat he may noȝt kepe hym, þan he wil take þe same beest and lede hym oute of þe citee and bryng̛ in þe weye; and so þe beest wil go forþ home withoute ledyng̛ of any man, euene to his maister hows, withoute perile of wylde beestys or thefys in þe weye. and so euery man þat haþ any swichbeestees, euery man knoweþ otheris beest, be þei neuer so fer fro oþir. and of swich howsys þe lordys of þe grounde haue grete wynnynge and grete toƚƚ of hyryng̛ of þes beestes. // And swich a maner hows was tofore þe berthe of crist in þe same place þere criste was bore. but aboute þe Natiuite of oure lord ihesu crist þat hows was alle destruyed, in so mochel þat þer was nothyng̛ left bote broke wallys on euery syde, and a litel cave vndir erþe and a litil vnthrifti hows tofore þe cave: and þere men solde brede on þe same grounde. // hit is also vsage in aƚƚ þat contreye þat alle þe brede þat schal be solde, schal be brouȝte in to a certeyn place: and of þe brede þat is solde in þe daye, þe kyng̛ and þe lorde of þe grounde at nyȝt schul haue þerof a certeyn of moneye. and whan kyng̛ dauid was made kyng of israel, þan þe hows þat was sumtyme is fadir, left onlich to hym; but by processe of tyme, whan ierusalem was destruyed and alle þe contreye aboute, noman toke kepe of þis hows, because hit was also destruyed [leaf 5a] and no thyng̛ left but, as hit is aforseide, a litil vnþrifty hows and a cave vndir erþe, and wallys on euery side. and tofore þis hows was brede solde; and tymber and oþir thynges þat were brouȝt to market, þat myȝt noȝt be solde at o tyme, were put in to þis litil hows tyl þe next market; and assis and hors and oþir beestys þat com to þe market, were teyde aboute þis vnthrifti hows. // But for to speke of þe first matere aȝen:

Whan Octouianus had sent houte a commaundement as hit is aforseyde, þat euery man and womman scholde go to his cite and to his towne þere he was bore, than ȝede Ioseph and oure laydy seynt Marye, rydynge on a asse, late in þe euetide toward þe citee of bedleem, as hit is aforseyde. and bycause þey cam so late and alle placys were occupied with pilgrymes and oþir men, and also þey com in poure aray, and ȝede aboute þe cite and noman wolde resceyue hem, and specialich for men sayȝe oure lady Mary, a ȝonge womman, sittyng̛ vppon an asse heuy and sory and ful wery of þe wey, and also gret with childe and nyȝe at þe tyme of beryng̛ of her childe: þan Ioseph ledde oure lady in to þis forlete place þat noman toke kepe of, downe in to þe litiƚƚ derk̘ hows. and þere oure lorde ihesu crist þe same nyȝt was bore of oure lady, þe blessed virgine, withoute any dissese or sorwe of her body, for sauacioun of alle mankynde. and in þat hows tofore þe cave of olde tyme was left a manger, of þe lengthe of a fadome, made in a waƚƚ; and to þat same manger was an ox of a poure man teyde þat noman myȝt euerherborwe. and byside þat ox Ioseph teyde his asse: and in þat same manger oure lady seynt Marye wrapped her blessed sone in clothis and leyde hym þeryn in heiȝe tofore þe asse and þe ox--for þer was noon oþir place. // ȝe schulle vndirstonde also þat in aƚƚ þat contrey hit is þe maner þat in diuers ostrijs be mangeres, summe made of erþe and summe of stoone, and euery manger is of .iij. or .iiij. feet of lengthe, in so mocheƚƚ þat a hors or any oþer beest may haue his manger by hym-self: and swich a manger was made of stone in the same place þere crist was bore, and in þat same manger oure lady seynt Marie leyde her soone, as hit is tolde afore.

Notes

• Lat. petrosum fundum (MS. Corp. Chr. preciosum fundamentum)
• r. crist, godis
• r. thyngis
• r. thyngis
• MS. hym his
• Tit.: any suche hous with suche
• r. and
• r. þei
• r. owher?