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

Capitulum undecimum.

YSAAC was borne of Sara beenge of xc. yere in age, whiche, hauenge iij. yere in age, was weynede, and then a grete feste was made, in that Ysaac comme that tyme firste to the burde of his fader. Crees began to reigne in the yle callede Creta, of whom that yle tooke name, whom thei seye to be oon of theym whiche did hyde Iupiter and noryschede hym secretely. Sara beenge of a cxxvij. yere diede, and was beriede in Hebron: after that Heleeser, proctor of Abraham, was sende to gette a wife for Ysaac, whiche brouȝhte Rebecca. Abraham did wedde Cethura in to his wife, of whom he gate vj. childer, whom he departede from Ysaac his son. Petrus, 59^o capitulo. Men of Hebrewe say Cethura to be a nowne appellatiue, as cowplede, by inter|pretacion, whom thei say Agar, whiche beenge his concu|byne, was made his wife after the dethe of Sara. Ysaac was of xl^ti yere in age when he did wedde Rebecca,

whiche was bareyne by xx^ti yeres. Augustinus, libro decimo octavo. A woman callede Tritona apperede at a water callede Tritonides, [Tratonides, Harl. MS.] whom men of Grewe calle Minerua, whiche was callede also Pallas, of an yle in Tracia of that name, where sche was norischede, other elles of Pallas the gigante, whom sche did slee. ℞. Hit is to be attendede that this gigante, called Pallas, was an other then Pallas son of Euander, whom Turnus did sle in the tyme of Eneas. Augustinus, ubi supra. That virgyn callede Pallas other Minerua founde mony artes, and specially of makenge clothe, þe originalle of the byrthe of whom is not knowen, where|fore sche is callede a godesse. Ysaac gate ij. childer of Rebecca, Esau and Iacob. Augustinus, ubi supra. The realme of men callede Argyues, in Grece, began vnder Inachus fader of Ysides, otherwise callede Io, whiche Inachus reignede l^ti yere; and that realme contynude by v^c. and xliiij^ti yere, under xiiij. kynges, vn to the laste, Acrisius, whom Persius did sle ageyne his wille, in the xij^the yere of Delbora iugge of Israel. Wherefore Persius dredenge

lefte the Argyues, and translate that realme to Micenas. Abraham beenge of a clx. and xv. yere in age, diede and was beryede in Hebron. Petrus, 66 capitulo. The maner of men of Hebrewe is to accompte the lesse nowmbre afore the more nowmbre, as by grace of exemple we say, that Abraham lyvede an c. yere lxxv. Men of Hebrewe say, that Abraham lyvede v. xx. l. and a c. yere. Augustinus de Civitate Dei, libro decimo octavo. Foroneus, the secunde kynge of the Argiues, began to reigne, continuenge by lx. yere. This Foroneus ordeynede firste lawes amonge the Grekes, whiche ordeinede also causes to be ventilate afore a iugge, callenge the seete and place of the iugge Forum, after his name; whiche hade a sustyr, callede Isis other Io, whiche saylenge to Egipte tauȝhte theyme firste letters, and to tylle the londe, wherefore sche was made a goodesse

after here dethe. Isidorus, libro 3^o, et ℞. That men say Iupiter to have rauesched Io, and to haue geten Epaphus, is but a fable, and a fenynge of poettes, for the famose excellence of bothe persones. For poetes feyne mony nowble men to haue ben geten by Iupiter, that the kynde of theyme myȝhte be made more nowble þere by. For Io was in the tyme of Ysaac, and Iupiter was after the tyme of Iosue. Thessalus the son of Grecus reignede in Grece. Iacob wente in to Mesopotamy, [Egipte, Harl. MS. (first hand).] after the cownselle of his moder, after that he hade bouȝhte the fyrste frutes of Esau, and after the blessenge of his fader. Petrus, sexa|gesimo quarto capitulo. The firste geten thynges were callede certeyne dignites and prerogatifes, whom the firste childer hade in theire cognaciones vn to Aaron; that is to say, they were induede with a specialle vesture, in sacrifices and oblaciones to be offrede, that thei scholde receyve also the benediccion of the fader, and thei scholde haue also a dowble portion in festes, and in the diuision of inheritaunce, and that thei scholde blesse the yongers of theyme. Iacob gate of Lia Ruben his firste son. A particuler floode was that yere in Achaia, vnder Ogiges [Ogides, Harl. MS.] kynge, whiche renewenge

the cite of Athenes made the cite of Eleusis. Iacob, beenge that tyme of xcj. yere, gate Ioseph of Rachel. Petrus, 74^o capitulo. The xiiij. yere ypaste in whom Iacob did seruyce for his wifes, he made a couenant with Laban that he scholde haue alle lambes of diuerse coloures that comme of ewes of oon coloure. Wherefore Iacob gate roddes of almonde trees, of populer, and of other trees, whiche takenge barke from þeim putte the roddes in the places of water, afore the siȝhte of schepe when thei scholde be blissomede, that thei myȝhte haue lambes of diuerse coloure, lyke to

the coloure of the water whom thei did beholde. Iacob returnede, or that he come to his fader in the xij^the yere afore the dethe of Ysaac, Ioseph a childe of the age of xvj. yere, was solde in to Egipte, where he tariede xxij^ti yere or that his fader Iacob comme to hym. Ioseph solde of his breder to Ismaelites merchaundes, was solde ageyne in to Egipte to Putiphar maister of knyȝhtes of Pharao. Augustinus super Genesim. This Putiphar was not of theyme whiche were geldede when thei were childer, for he hade a wife and childer, whose doȝhter Ioseph did wedde. But this Putiphar seenge the beawte of Ioseph, bouȝte hym, that he myȝhte vse hym after the vse of sodomy. But Godde made hym so colde of nature that he myȝte not fullefylle the luste of the flesche, whiche was made after that the bischop of Heliopolis. [Oliopolis, Harl. MS.] Apis the son of Foroneus, the thrydde kynge of Argiues, began to reigne, contynuenge hit by xxij^ti yere. Ysaac of clxxx. yere in age, diede and [was] beriede in the dowble denne in Hebron. In whiche yere Pharao hade the dreame of vij. eieres of corne, and of vij. oxen.