Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden maonachi Cestrensis; together with the English translations of John Trevisa and of an unknown writer of the fifteenth century.

Of Affrike and the prouinces of hyt. Isidorus, libro quarto decimo. Capitulum nonum decimum.

ALLE scriptores historicalle and croniclers afferme þat Affrica toke the name of hit of Affer, son of Madian, the son

of Abraham, geten of Cethura. Whiche procedethe from the costes off Egipte, nye the meridien by the inferior Ethiop vn to the mownte Atlantyke, schutte of the este parte and northe with the grete see, hauenge on the weste to hit the westerne occean. ℞. This Affer, after Iosephus, libro primo, capitulo octavo, and also after Isidor, in his Ethimolo|gies, libro nono, hade an hoste, ledenge hit towarde Libya, hauenge victory of his enmyes thro helpe of grete Hercules. namede that cuntre Affrica, after his name; whiche toke to his wife Editha, doȝhter to Hercules, of whom he gate Dodoris. This regien of Affrike conteynethe mony pro|ninces, that is to say, the weste parte of Ethioppe, Libya, Tripolis, Getulia, Numidia, and tweyne Mauritanyes, of whom hit schalle be seyde by ordre. Ethioppe hathe thre [Ethiopia.] partes; the firste parte of it, that is in the weste, is fulle of hilles, whiche is protendede from that hie hille Atlantyke vn to Egipte. The mydde parte is fulle of gravelle. The thrydde parte, that is of the este, is alle moste fulle of deserte, whiche is sette between the sowthe occean and the floode of Nilus, hauenge on the este to hit the Redde See. Hit is callede Ethiopia, of the colour of peple whom

the nyȝhenesse of the sonne dothe brenne, whiche con|teynethe in hit peple to be meruaylede, that is to saye, Garamantes, Troglodytes, which renne and turne hertes and other bestes thro rennenge, somme of whom curse the sonne [Troglodyte.] for the grete feruent hete of hit. Somme do eite serpentes, somme men of theyme hunte panteres and lyonnes. Somme [folio 33a] of theyme make caves in the erthe, whiche berke rather then speke lyke men. Somme men of theyme goe nakede, not occupyenge theyme in eny exercise. Somme with owte hedes, hauenge theire mowthe and eiȝen in the breste. Somme of theyme haue a dogge to theire kynge, thro movenge of whom thei vse wycchecrafte. There be also cocatrice, cameles, cattes of the mownteyne, and dragones from the hedes of whom and breyne pannes gemmes be extracte. Isidorus, libro tertio decimo. There is a welle amonge the Troglodytes in Affrike, the water of whom y|drunke

yeldethe clere voices. Also thei seye an other welle to be amonge the Garamantes, the water of whom is soe colde on the day that hit may not be drunke, and soe hoote in the nyȝhte that hit may not be towchede. Libya Cyre|nensis [Libya.] [Cretensis, Harl. MS.] hathe of the este parte to hit Egipte, of the sowthe parte the weste Ethioppe, of the weste the more Syrtes and Troglodytes, of the northe the grete see. And Libya is callede, for libs, the sowthe wynde, blawethe from thens, and after Isidorus, libro xv^o, hit is callede of Libya, the doȝhter of Epaphus, reignenge þer; and peple be namede there Phutei of Phut, the son of Cam. The region Tripolitan [Tripoli|tana.] hathe of the este to hit the cuntre of Philenes, sette be|twene the grete Syrtes and the Troglodytes, and of the weste parte Byzantium [Bisancium, Harl. MS.] vn to the Dedde see, hauenge of þe northe to hit the see Mediterrany and the lesse Syrtes. Getulia [Getulia.] is a litelle region of Affricke. Sothely Getulia toke the

name of hit of Gothes, of whom Getuliones didde procede, and, as Seynte Gregory seythe in a [So the MS.] omely, that region hath no fischers in hit for the wontenge of fisches.