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

Capitulum vicesimum secundum.

IUSTINIANUS the secunde reignede ageyne with Tiberius his sonne vj. yers. This Iustinianus was expulsede afore by Leo,

rehersede ageyne in that he recurede thempere, whiche re|storede to thempere desirede the feithe of Criste, and worschip|ped moche the pope Constantyne; destroyenge Cersona, the place of his exile, and the peple of hit, childer excepte; whiche wyllynge to punysche the infantes, men of that province made [folio 280b] Philippicus a man putte into exile theire governoure, and goynge with hym to the cite of Constantinopole did sle Iustinianus. Alfride the kynge deide in this yere at Driffelde, whom Osredus his son havynge viij. yere in age did succede, whiche reignede xj. yere. Sisinnius the pope reioycede that office xx^ti. dayes, whom Constantinus þe firste succedid vij. yere, whiche denownecede Philippicus the owtelawe an heretike in that he destroyede the ymages of seyntes in churches. Beda, libro v ^o., capitulo xix ^o. Kenredus the kynge of the Marches levynge that realme to Colredus, sonne of his uncle, wente to Rome with Offa, sonne of the kynge of the Estesaxons, and with Egwinus, bischop of

the Wictions. Colredus, the kynge of the Marches, toke from the grownde the body of seynte Werburga virgyn at þe monastery of Hamburga, that lay ix. yere incorrupte, and so hit remayned at Repindon unto the commynge of Danes. Seynte Aldelme, bischop of Schirburn, diede in this tyme, whom Egwyne beriede, callede Aldelmus as olde holy, instructe nobly in Grewe and in Latyn, havynge in habite and in use instru|mentes of the arte off musike, as in harpes, pipes, recordres, and oþer kyndes of musike; firste monke, then preste, and abbot of Malmesbury. Whiche usede this penaunce, that when he hade eny grete fleschely temptation he reteynyde a faire maide in his bedde untille that he hade seide the complete sawter; prech|ynge oftymes in Seturdayes to peple and merchauntes com|mynge

to markethes. The fame of thys holy man spronge into ferre cuntres; Sergius the pope sende letters to hym that he scholde comme to Rome þat he myȝhte see his presence. Whiche takynge with hym vestimentes and thynges necessary to the seyenge of masse as he was wonte, come to Rome, and seide masse afore the pope in the churche Lateranense, whiche supposynge hym to have porrecte the chesable after to [Sic in MS.] masse to oon of his ministres, and he not presente, the beame of the sonne bare the chesable where eny oþer temporalle creature was not presente, the pope excepte, and bare hyt a longe season; whiche chesable is in the monastery of Malmesbury. In whiche tyme the pope diffamede of the getynge of a childe, seynte Aldelme adiured that childe, brouȝhte to be baptizede havynge ix. dayes in age, that hit scholde confesse openly and if Sergius the pope were fader to hit. Then the childe seide openly that

the pope was not gilty; wherefore after this doen seynte Aldelme returnyde to Briteyne with grete privileges, makenge mony noble bookes after that tyme, as of virginite, of the terme of Ester, of the flowres of the olde and newe testamente, of charite, of the nature of thynges insensible, of the rewles of feete metricalle, of metaplasmus, of dialog metricalle. Whiche was abbotte of Mal|mesbury xl. yere, and bischop by iiij. yere after, in whiche tyme the breþer of that monastery wolde not make eny other go|vernoure, but beryede hym afore. Whiche place seynte Dun|stan onornede and luffede moche, bryngynge to that churche organs, belles, relikes, and diverse ornamentes, ȝiffenge his curse to hym or theym that take eny of theym from that place, and writynge in this wise: "Organa de sancto Dunstanus presul Aldelmo perdat hic eternum qui vult hoc tollere regnum." And in the cruettes of water in this wise: "Idriolam hanc fundi Dunstan mandaverat Archipresul, ut in templo sancto serviret Aldelmo." Also he did write in the belle in the ffrater or refrectore, "Eliseam cœli nunquam ascendat ad aulam Qui

furat hanc nolam Aldelmi sede beati." Seynte Wilfride diede abowte this tyme, on the towmbe of whom these versus be insculpe or graven: "Wilfridus sanctus meritis et nomine dignus Mactatus multis per sæcula longa periclis Quindecies ternos egit hic episcopus annos Transiit et gaudens cœlestia regna petivit." Beda, libro quinto capitulo decimo nono. This Wilfride, excellente in witte, wente to the monastery of Lindisfarne in the xiiij. yere of his age; whiche instructe þer in diverse thynges, and perceyvynge diverse thynges to be observede of the Scottes not by ryȝhte, wente to Rome that he myȝte be instructe moore perfectely; where he lernede of Bonefacius the

archidiacon the iiij. gospells, the compte of Ester, and mony oþer thynges necessary to the use of the churche. And in returnynge to Ynglonde he taryede with Alfinus the bischoppe Lugdunense by thre yere, tylle he was sleyne by Batilda the qwene. Then Wilfridus commynge into Briteyne desyrede of kynge Oswynus grownde in Ripen to edifye a monastery; where he was made preste of Agilbertus, and after the contra|versy hade of the observaunce of the feste of Ester, he was electe to be tharchebischop of Yorke. And after the dethe of seynte Wilfride, Atta his preste was successour at the churche of Hangustald. Beda, libro v ^to, cap. xx ^o. Adrianus, abbot of Seynte Petre, and cooperator of Theodorus the archebischop, [folio 281b] diede in this yere; whose successor was Albuinus, of whom hit is schewide afterwarde. Item, capitulo secundo. Nactanus the kynge of Pictes, sende to Colfridus, abbot of the monastery Girwiense, for the tru observacion of Ester. To whom Col|fridus

did write, seyenge that thre rules ar to be observede in the tru kepynge of Ester, tweyne of whom be contenede in the lawe of Moyses, and the thridde is of the gospelle by the institucion of thapostles. That is to wete, Ester awe to be kepede in the firste monethe of þe yere, in the thrydde weke of the same monethe, that is from the xv^the day unto the xxj. day, and also that the Sonne day awe to be tarryede in the thridde weke, comptynge in this wyse, not that the xiiij^the day, but the eve of hit, awe to be taryede, that is to say, þe xiiij^the moone, whiche is þe begynnynge of the thrydde weke, and the nyȝhte of the xv^the moone awe to be taryede after the bible. The childer Israel goen from Ramesse in the xv^the day of the firste monethe, kepede Ester in that oþer day, and soe hit awe to be protended unto þe eve of the xxj^ti day. Also hit may be founde by the equinoccialle of ver whiche monethe of the yere is firste, and whiche is laste. For the equinoccialle

of ver is wonte to falle, after men of the este and of Egipte, in the xij. kalendes of Aprile, whiche we have provede to be so by inspeccion horologicalle. Wherfore what moone hit be that is fulle, wheþer the xiiij^the or xv^the afore the equinoccialle, hit perteynethe to the laste parte of the yere precedent, and þerefore hit is not able to kepe Ester þer. But what moone hathe plenitude or fullnesse in that equinoccialle or after, as hit was in the begynnynge of the worlde, then Ester awe to be kepede in the Sonneday nexte foloynge. Iustinianus the secunde, sendynge an hoste to take Philippicus, whom he hade lefte at Cersona, the hoste turnede to the parte of Philippicus, and did slee Iustinianus. Philippicus the secunde, other Dardanicus, was emperoure oon yere and vj. monethes, whiche fledde into Sicille for the hoste of the Romanes; whiche causede pictures

to be scrapede aweye owte of churches; wherefore the Romanes refusede every thynge printede after hys ymage. Anastasius þe secunde was emperoure iij. yere after that he hadde sleyne Philippicus. In the tyme of whom Dagobertus succedid Childebertus his fader in the realme of Fraunce, by sufferaunce [folio 282a] of Pipinus the olde, whiche governede that tyme the kynges howse, and reignede xj. yere. Gregorius the secunde succedid Constantinus the pope xvj. yere. In whiche [Sic in MS.; yere has slipped out.] Guthlacus the confessor diede at Crowelonde. Also Ine kynge of the Weste|saxons and Colredus kynge of þe Marches fawȝhte at Wood|denisburghe, soe unhappely to either parte that men cowthe not telle whiche of theym hade þe bettyr parte. Theodosius the thrydde was emperoure oon yere, whiche was of grete mekenesse, and hade victory ageyne Anastasius his predeces|sor, whom he made a preste. Also this Theodosius was deposid by Leo the thrydde, a myȝhty prynce, and made a clerke by hym. In the tymes of whom the Saracenys segede

the cite of Constantinopole by thre yere. In whiche tyme also hit semethe Iohn Damascene to have bene and to have be brouȝte into Persida. Where a letter caste afore the prince by enemes to Iohn Damascene in whom conspiracion was con|tenede ageyne the prince, his ryȝhte honde was kytte awey, that he scholde not write after that. But his honde was re|storede to hym by helpe of oure blissede lady, to whom he hade grete devocion. ℞. And hit is not to kepe oppinion that this Iohn was Iohn the heremite, put nye to Hillario in Vitis patrum, and schewede to Theodosius that he scholde have certeyne victoryes. But hit is anoþer Iohn whiche was in the londe of Grece in the tyme of Theodosius the thrydde, and after that in Persida, and made mony noble processes in either philosophy. Iohn the heremite aforeseide was afore grete Gregory by mony yeres, and this Iohn Damascene succedid hym mony yeres, whiche thynge is schewide in that Iohn Damascene in his bookes of divinite dothe allegate for suffragyes

doen for dedde men that laudable miracle of grete Gregory doen of the liberacion of Trajan themperoure. Whiche miracle is not to be understonde of Gregory Nazanzene, sithe that he was conversaunte abowte Pontus and Constantinopole, and come to Rome unnethe in alle his lyfe. But that miracle of þe liberacion of the sawle of Trajan was doen by Gregory the noble pope at the sepulcre of thapostles Petur and Paule in the cite of Rome, as the churche remembrethe yerely.