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

Capitulum quintum.

CAYN the firste son of Adam gate Enoc, whiche gate Iradus, whiche gate Mauaiel; and he gate Matussale, whiche

gate Lamech. This Lamech, takenge to hym ij. wifes, Ada and Sella, gate of Ada Iabel and Tubal, and of his other wife, Sella, Tubalcaym, whiche was a smythe, and Noema, his suster, whiche founde firste the arte of weyvenge. Iosephus. Cayn gedrenge violentely richesse, desirede men to thefte and robbery, chaungenge the simple lyfe of men, founde measures firste, and made a cite, dredenge men, whom he hurte. Isidorus, libro quinto decimo, capitulo secundo. The firste men, as bare and with owte armore, not sure ageyne men either bestes, hauenge as noo places for coldenesse other hete, made places to theyme by naturalle reason of roddes and reedes, that theire life myȝhte be in more suerte. Petrus, capitulo vicesimo septimo. Lamech, the vij^the from Adam, and the moste wickede man, inducede firste bigamy, and so adultery, ageyne the lawe of God and of nature, and ageyne the ordinaunce of God. Iosephus. Iabel or|deynede firste flockes, diuidenge kyddes from lambes with

carectes, and the elder from the yonger. Petrus, capitulo 27^o. Tubalcaym founde firste the arte of smythes and gravenge, whiche laborenge at the foerge, Tubal hauenge delectacion in the sownde of the malles founde proporciones and con|sonance of the weiȝhtes of theyme; that is to say, Tubal was an exciter of consonances but not the fynder of instrumentes musicalle, for thei were founde by a longe season after that tyme. ℞. But discrete men say, thauȝhe Tubal exercisede firste musike to alleuiate the tediosenes pastoralle, neuerthe|lesse he was not the firste fynder of the reason of conso|nance by weiȝhtes, but rather Pitagoras, of whom hit schalle be schewede in the thrydde booke. Petrus, 27^o capitulo. Lameche the schoter hade a yonge man to his gouernoure and leder, whiche vsenge to hunte for delectacion and vse of skynnes, for men vsede not flesche afore the grete floode, did slee Cayn lyenge priucly in couerte, trawenge hit to haue bene a dere, whiche did slee also his leder, in that he ȝafe not to hym a monicion þer of. Therefore, sythe the synne of Cayn was punyschede vij. folde, that is to say, in

the vij^the generacion; the synne of Lamech was punyschede lxx^ti tymes vij. tymes, for lxxvij. sawles commenge furthe from Lamech were pereschede in the grete floode. Other clles so mony generaciones were betwene Lamech and Criste, which redemede mankynde. Iosephus. I move that a man thenke not this to be fals that is redde of the longe lyfe of men in that tyme, sythe thei were religious men, and oportune exhibicion was ȝiffen to theyme, hauenge glorious vertues, as astrology and geometry, whom thei serchede besily, whiche thynges they myȝhte not haue lernede with|owte thei hade lyvede vj^c. yere, for the grete nowmbre of sterres is fullefillede in that space. Petrus. The childer of Seth were goode vn to the vij^the generacion; but after that men abusede men, and women abusede women. Genesis. The childer of God goenge to the doȝhters of men, that is to say the sonnes of Seth to the doȝhters of Cayn, gate gigantes. Petrus. And hit myȝhte be that spirittes gate gigantes, in whom hugenesse of sawle was corespondente to the hugenesse of theire body. But other gigantes were

borne in Ebron after the grete floode, and other in Tan, [Can, Harl. MS.] a cite of Egipte, whiche were callede Titanes, of the stokke of whom Enachim was, whose childer dwellede in Ebron, of whom Golias come. Iosephus. Men in that tyme know|enge by Adam that thei scholde peresche with water other fyre, did write artes whom thei hade geten by labore in ij. pillers of diverse ston, that hit scholde not peresche from memory. Oon ston was of marbole, ageyne the floenge of water; that other was of tyleston, ageyne the brennenge of fyre; whiche pillers be seyde to be ȝitte in Siria. Genesis. Þerefore Noe beenge of v^c yere in age, gate Sem, Cham, and Iapheth, that is to say, when Noe was of that age, he hade geten those childer, Sem, Cham, and Iapheth; and after that, by the space of a c. yere, Noe made the schippe of pleyne burdes, dressede with picche with ynne and with owte, conteynenge iij^c. cubites in longitude and l^ti cubites in brode|ness, xxx^ti cubites in hiȝhte, that was from the bothom of hit vn to the hacches, where he made a wyndowe, and a

durre in the side downewarde. And also mansiones and other chambres, endenge theym in a cubite. Petrus, 30. That schippe was made after similitude of the man, in whom the longitude, whiche is from the soole of the foote vn to the toppe of the hede, is in vj. tymes more then the brode|nesse of hym, whiche is extended from side to side; and also the longitude of hym is x. tymes more then the hiȝhte whiche is extended from the bak to the bely. Hugutio de Arca. That schippe myȝte not conteyne so mony thynges with owte the cubites were geometricalle, for the commune cubite and vsualle conteynethe a foote and a dimidia, a geo|metricalle cubite conteynethe vj. commune cubites, whiche make ix. footes. Genesis. Noe endenge that schippe in the

vj^c. yere of his life, entrede in to hit þe firste day of the secunde monethe, bryngenge to hit by viij^the dayes thynges commaunded to be brouȝhte to hit, or the reyne began: after that a floode was made, occupienge the erthe allemoste by a yere. The water of þat floode was above the hieste hilles by xv. cubites, by whiche altitude hit is seide the werkes of men to haue corrupte the aier. In whiche yere the firste age of the worlde is terminate, from Adam to the grete floode, vnder x. generaciones, hauenge, after Iosephus, libro 1^o, capitulo 4^o, and after men of Ebrewe, ij^ml vj^c. lvj. yere. But after the lxx^ti interpretatores, and after Isidorus, libro 5^to, ij^ml ij^c. xlij^ti yere; after Seynte Ierom not fully ij^ml; after Methodius ij^ml, but he levethe yeres, if þer be eny ouer m^l, for he dothe calcle the ages by ciliades. [(Here follow diagrams of the ark, entitled, Descriptio arcæ Noe, secundum doctos.)]