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

Capitulum sextum.

THE waters of that grete floode dryede, and Noe goen furthe from his schippe the xxvij^ti day of the secunde monethe, whiche was Maii, God promisede to Noe that the waters scholde sease, in a signe where of he put his bawe in the clowdes of heuyn. Petrus, 22^o capitulo. That bawe is a signe of ij. iuggementes, oon paste by water, whiche scholde not be dredde, and an other iugge|mente to comme by fyre whiche scholde be taryede. Therefore hit is that a bawe hathe ij. coloures, the coloure exterialle as of water, whiche is paste, and a coloure of fire with ynne, whiche is to comme. Also holy men expresse that the bawe schalle not be seen by xl^ti yere afore the iuggemente. Also they say that there was noo reyne from Adam vn to the grete floode, neiþer that bawe did appere, neither the exercise of flesche, fische, either of vynes, was vsede; for that tyme was as the temperate tyme of ver, and habundaunce of hollesomme thynges whiche were chaung|ede afterwarde by synne. Wherefore the eitenge of flesche

was grauntede to man after that grete floode, vsenge a fore that tyme to eite yerbes and rootes. Noe lyvede after that floode by ccc. and l^ti yere, and so he lyvede in alle ix^c. and l^ti yere, whiche dyenge lefte his iij. childer after hym, Sem, Cham, and Iapheth, of whom alle the kynde of man was disseminate. Genesis. Sem beenge of a c. yere in age, in the secunde yere after the grete floode, gate Arphaxat, and lyvede after v^c. yere. Arphaxat, the fader of men of Caldea, after Seynte Ierom, beenge of a c. and xxxv^ti yere after Ysoder and men of Hebrewe, when he was of the age of xxxv^ti yere, he gate Sale, and lyvede after ccc.iij. yere. But after the lxx^ti interpretatores, and after Seynte Luke Euangeliste, whiche foloede theyme, Arphaxat of a c. and xxxv^ti yere in age, gate Cainan, and lyvede after ccc. and xxx^ti yere. Cainan, hauenge a c. and xxx^ti yere in

age, gate Sale, of whom the olde Samarites come. Sale, after men of Hebrewe, beenge of xxx^ti yere in age, gate Heber of whom men of Hebrewe toke name, and lyvede after cccc. yere; but after the lxx^ti interpretatores a c. yere be put afore xxx^ti yere, and after that ccc. and xxx^ti. Heber, of whom men of Hebrewe toke name, hauenge xxxiiij. yere in age, gate Phaleg, and lyvede after cccc. and xxx^ti yere; but the lxx^ti interpretatores put a c. yere afore xxxiiij^ti yere. Phaleg, after men of Hebrewe, of xxx^ti yere in age, gate Reu or Ragau, and lyvede after ij^c. and ix. yere; but the lxx^ti interpretatores and Ysoder putte a c. yere afore xxx^ti and cc. and vij. yere after, and he was callede Phaleg, as diuision by interpretation, in that the langage were confusede in his daies in the construccion of the towre of Babel, and so the peple were diuided. Ragau, after men of Hebrewe, hauenge xxxij^ti yere in age, gate Sarug, lyvenge after cc. and vij. yere; but the lxx^ti interpretatores and Ysoder putte an c. yere afore xxxij^ti and after ij^c. vij. yere. Sarug, after men of Hebrewe, of xxx^ti

yere in age, gate Nachor, and lyvede after ij^c. and ij. yere; but the lxx^ti interpretatores and Ysoder putte a c. yere afore xxx^ti, and after that cc. yere. Nachor, after men of He|brewe, hauenge xxix^ti yere in age, gate Thare, and lyvede after a c. and ix. yere But Ysoder seithe Nachor to haue been of lxxix. yere when that he did gette Thare. Thare, after men of Hebrewe and Ysoder, of lxx^ti yere, gate Abra|ham, and lyvede after a c. and [x] xx^ti yere; but the lxx^ti interpretatores putte a c. yere afore lxx^ti. Petrus, capitulo 38^o. And so the secunde age of the worlde is terminate from the grete floode to the natiuite of Abraham by x. generaciones, hauenge, after men of Hebrewe, Iosephus, and Seynte Ierom, ix^c. xc. and ij. yere; but after the lxx^ti interpretatores and Seynte Austyn, m^l yere, lxxij., vnder a xj. generaciones. And after Ysoder, ix^c. yere xlij^ti. And after Methodius, hit hathe a ciliade. The cause of this

diuersite may be assignede þat the lxx^ti interpretatores, and Seynte Austyn putte a c. yere to the age of euery man from Arphaxat to Nachor. Beda. And lyke as Noe was the x^the from Adam, soe Abraham was the x^the from Noe; but truly Seynte Luke folowede the lxx^ti interpre|tatores in the ordre of his genealogy when he seyde "whiche was Sale, whiche was Cainan," whiche putte oon genera|cion more then men of Hebrewe putte. Augustinus de Civi|tate Dei, libro quinto decimo, capitulo 13^o. When a thynge is founde variable and diuerse in mony translaciones, that hit may stonde accordenge to the trawethe of the gestes, then hit is to ȝiffe moste specialle credence to that lan|gage from whom the translacion is made. Beda. The translacion of the lxx^ti interpretatores was made insuffi|cientely, either hyt was corrupte of peple afterwarde. Eusebius. There is noo storye founde from Adam vn to Abraham in Grewe other in the langage of Barbre. Me|thodius. Ionicus, the son of Noe, was borne in the c. yere of the thridde ciliade; to whom Noe ȝafe mony dominations; and God ȝafe to hym a ȝifte of sapience that he myȝhte

fynde astronomy, and to knowe thynges to comme, and specially of the spryngenge and fallenge of iiij. realmes, that is to say, men of Assiria scholde [come] of Cham, of whom Belus come. Afterwarde men of Media, of Persa, and men of Grewe scholde comme of Sem, and the Romanes of Iapheth. Ionicus schewede this to Nemproth his dis|ciple, whiche accende in luste of dominacion reignede in Babilon among the childer of Cham, whiche obteynede men of Assiria and of Egipte vn tille that Ninus reignede there. Iosephus, libro primo, capitulo quinto. After the dethe of Noe in the daies of Phaleg, when the erthe was of oon langage, Nemproth techenge theyme, son of Chus, the son of Cham other Chuder, [The MS. has been corrected, and the reading is somewhat uncertain.] the son of Noe, trawenge felicite not to be of God but of theire propre vertu, supposede that God wolde separate theyme that he myȝhte subiecte theym diuidede the rather to hym, dredenge an other floode to comme, made to theyme an hie towre of sodde, tyle, ston, made sure with pycche, in the felde of Sennar, where Babilon was edifiede afterwarde. ℞. But truly God dispersede theyme

rather leste thei scholde make dissencion amonge theyme selfe, whiche place was callede Babel, sowndenge a confu|sion, in that the langages of men edifienge hit were con|fusede by the wylle of God. But Heber was trawede to be with owte blame from conspiracion in the makenge of that towre, wherefore he was partelesse in the confusion of the langage of theyme. Petrus, 15^o. There Nemproth the bos|tuous oppressor of men, expellenge Assur, began to reigne in the cite of Babilon amonge the childer of Cham, whiche cite he made, whom whene Semiramis made more large. After that Nemproth wente to men of Persa, and tauȝhte theyme to worschippe fire, where he made the cite of Niniuen, whom Ninus and Semiramis did ampliate after|warde.