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

Capitulum tertium.

BALTHASAR began to reigne amonge men of Caldea and of Babilon. In the firste yere of whom Daniel see the iiij^the [folio 127a] vision of iiij. wyndes in the see and of iiij. bestes, that is to say, of a lyon, a bere, of a catte of þe mowntaunce, and of a boore. That is to say, of iiij. principalle realmes, and of x. hornes, that is to say, of x. other realmes, sub|alternate to theyme, procedenge of a lytelle horne from the iiij^the beste, that schal be made subiecte to Antecriste. Petrus, capitulo 16^o. This Antecriste schalle be borne in Babilon, and geten of a woman of the tribe of Dan; but after the concepcion of hym a wickede spiritte schalle entre in to the wombe of his moder, thro the vertu of whom that childe schalle be norischede, be borne, and encrease, where of he is callede the son of perdicion, and schalle be callede. Also iij. of the firste hornes of the x. schalle be taken

awey from hym, that is to say, thre of the x. kynges, for he schalle slee the kynge of Affrike, of Egipte, and the kynge of Ethioppe. Then the other vij. kynges schalle summytte theyme to hym. This Antecriste schalle do thynges to be meruaylede thro negromancy, and schalle fynde moche treasure hidde in the erthe; whiche schalle circumcide hym, seyenge that he is Messias. The Iewes schalle goe to hym in a grete multitude, whiche schalle reedifie theire temple, in whom he schalle putte his regalle seete, and schalle conuerte mony men to hym, with ȝiftes, thro feere, and thro miracles. This seide Antecriste schalle slee Enoc and Helias, and other holy men of God, vn to a tyme, and to tymes, and to the halfe of a tyme. That is to say, by a yere, and ij. yere, and the halfe of oon yere, Also xlv.

daies schalle be ȝiffen to men that haue turnede to hym, in whom thei may do penaunce. Trogus, libro 2^o. Abowte this tyme Pisistratus, a man of Athenes, after the dethe of Salon the discrete man, woundenge hym selfe, seide afore the peple that he suffrede that peyne of the maistres of the cite for the luffe of theyme. Wherefore he was electe in to the kynge, a certeyn nowmbre of ministres as|signede to hym, whiche reignede at Athenes xxxiiij. yere. Policr., libro octavo. This Pisistratus, movede by his wife [folio 127b] to sle a man that kyssede his doȝhter in the hie way, seide to here, "If we sle the men that luffe vs, what schalle we do to theyme that hate vs." Daniel see the v^the vision of a weder hauenge inegalle hornes, that is to say, of the

realme of Medea and of Persia, and of a kydde, that was, of grete Alexander, whiche hade iiij. hornes, of whom oon was but litelle, whiche were iiij. successores, the litel horne was signifiede as by Antiochus Epiphanes commenge of Seleucus The vj^the vision of Daniel happede when Balthazar drunke with his concubines of the veselles of the temple of God, whom Nabugodonosor his grawntefader brouȝhte from Ie|rusalem, ageyne whom a honde apperede wrytenge in the walle, Mane, Techel, Phares; whiche thre wordes sownde as a nowmbre, a weiȝhte, and a diuision. Daniel the prophete, expownenge this worde, Mane, seide, "God hathe nowmbrede thy reigne other realme;" and for th' ex|posicion of this worde, Techel, he seide, "Thow art weiede in weiȝhtes hauenge but a litelle thynge," that is to say, "Thou schalle not lyffe longe;" Phares, that is to say, "Thy realme is diuidede and ȝiffen to men of Medea and of Persia." And hit folowede that the cite of Babilon was

taken that nyȝhte, and Balthasar was sleyne by Cirus and Darius, as subiectes vn to hym. Orosius. When Cirus, subduenge the este partes of the worlde, made haste to Ba|bilon the floode of that water callede Eufrates ȝafe re|sistence to hym; wherefore a bolde knyȝhte, luffede moche of Cirus, attemptenge that water, was drownede in hit. That kynge Cirus, replete with sorowe for the dethe of his knyȝhte, made a protestacion that he scholde make that water that hit scholde not atteyne to the knees of women in deipenesse. Wherefore he made cccc. and lx. diuisiones of that water in the feldes of that cuntre, whiche watere was wonte to flowe thro Babilon. And so the enmyes entrede [folio 128a] in to the cite, and toke hit, whiche cite to haue bene de|stroyede was as a thynge incredible amonge mortalle men. Petrus, capitulo 165^o. Mony men wylle that the doȝhter of Darius was moder to this Balthazar, for whom that hie gardyn dependente was made; other elles Darius, vncle to Cirus, ioynenge to gedre, occupiede that realme, in that

Balthazar had noo son. Petrus, capitulo 166^o. Balthasar ysleyne, Darius did translate the realme of men of Babilon and of Caldea in to Persia, and in to Medea. In whiche yere the vij^the vision of Daniel happede. But this prophete Daniel, folowenge Darius in to Medea, was sende by diuerse men in to a denne of lyones, for cause that he worschip|pede his God. Also the viij^the vision of Daniel happede in that yere, Gabriel certifienge hym of the final captiuite whiche scholde be by the Romanes, and of the commenge of Criste after lxx^ti wekes. For Gabriel seide to hym, lxx^ti wekes be abbreuiate on thy peple. But hit is to be vnderstonde that these wekes be not of daies but of yeres, so that vij. yere be oon weke. Gabriel callede the wekes abbreuiate, that we scholde vnderstonde þose wekes not to be of the son, but of the moone, for thei be schorter then the

wekes of the sonne by the space of xj. dayes. For lxx^ti wekes of yeres of the sonne make cccc. yere lxxxvj., and lxx^ti wekes of the yeres of the moone make cccc. and xc. yere. Bede dothe annumerate these lxx^ti wekes other yeres of the moone from xx^ti yere of Artarxerses kynge, in whiche yere Neemias hade licence to reedifie the temple vn to the xviij^the yere of Tiberius, th' emperoure, in whiche yere Criste suffrede passion. Affricanus, the writer of stories, accordethe w^t Bede as vn to þe begynnenge, but he dothe terminate the yeres in the xv. yere of Tiberius, in whiche yere Criste was baptisede. Tertullianus dothe acompte these yeres from the firste yere of Darius in whiche [folio 128b] yere this speche was made to Daniel, vn to the destruccion of the temple made in the tyme of Titus. Daniel see the ix^the vision, of a man clothede in clothes of lyne, the body

of whom was of crisolitus, and the x^the vision, of the suc|cession of kynges of Persia, and of the successores of kynge Alexander, and of Anticriste, in the thrydde yere of the reigne of kynge Cirus. But trewely noo certitude is had when Daniel didde dye, other elles how longe he did lyffe. ℞. Neverthelesse hit is redde in the booke of Daniel, in the ende of the firste chapitre, that he lyuede to the firste yere of kynge Cirus.