thanne at Bizans, and he biganne in so ferforth that touris weren there seen bi many ȝeeris aftir: but bi warnyng in his sleep he turned his purpos and bi|ganne of the newe his citee at Bizant, which newe citee he clepid sumwhat aftir his own name Con|stantynopil, and wolde that it schulde be as a newe Rome. And herfore the seid epistle is an vntrewe apocrife, namelich sithen historiers, dwelling in thilk same cuntre and soone after the deede doon, kouthen knowe better the treuthe of the deede than othere men dwelling ferther fro thens in rombe.
Thus miche is ynouȝ (as here) for answere to the iiije. semyng skile, sett bifore in the viije. chapiter of this present iije. partie. What is seid ouer schortli here for answere to the seid iiije. semyng skile mai be seen in more lengthe to be trewe, if the reder of this wole encerche famose stories and cronicles diligentli. [This paragraph follows the end of the next but one preceding (after the words aȝens me) in the MS. Pecock, no doubt, wrote his eighth argument after he had finished the chapter, and forgot to make the necessary transposition.]
xiiij. CHAPITER.
To the ve. semyng skile it is to be seid, that thilk stiward, of which it is spoken in the ve. skile, iugith not in the bischopis name or stide, or in the abbotis name or stide; thouȝ the avauntage and the forfete iustli comyng bi thilk iugement be ȝouun to thilk bischop or to thilk abbot; but the seid [seid is added by a later hand.] stiward iug|ith in the kingis name and in the kingis stide, which comyttith to thilk stiward power forto sitte and knowe and iuge in thilk cause and mater of deeth. And so the king iugith to deeth and executith into
