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

Capitulum quintumdecimum. Iosue.

IOSUE, Moyses seruaunt, rulede þe peple sixe and twenty ȝere, so seiþ Iosephus. Neuerþeles þe Scripture rekeneþ not þe ȝeres. Iosue, [of Iosue, MS. (not Cx.)] þe firste ȝere of his ledynges [ledynge, α., Cx.] ladde þe peple into þe londe of byheste; and þe ryuer flom [flum, α., Cx.] Iordan oponede, and lete hem passe, and Iosue offrede þe Ester offrynge, and renewede þe circumsicioun þat was forbode fourty ȝere in wyldernesse. And whanne þey ete of fruyt of þat londe, þanne manna faillede þat hadde i-dured fourty wynter. Petrus. Eusebius in his book [cronike, α., Cx.] seiþ þat [that that, α., Cx.] ȝere was Iubileus, þe ȝere of grace, and was þat oon and fyfty ȝere of grace, as þeyȝ þoo were apassed from þe bygynnynge of þe world two þowsand þere fyue hondred and fifty, þat is oon and fifty [siþes fifty] [Added from α. and Cx.] ȝere. Þan forto take of eueriche fifty ȝere oon ȝere of grace it comeþ to oon and fifty ȝeres of grace; but by þe Seuenty þere were apassed meny mo ȝeres. And Beda folweþ þe Hebrewes, and preueþ [proued, Cx.] þat þere lakkede seuene ȝere of two þowsand fyue hondred and fifty. Þe firste ȝere of Iosue Erichthonius, [Eructonius, MSS.] þe fourþe kyng of Atthene, was þe firste þat

brouȝte charioth [chariot, α. β. γ.; charyote, Cx.] in to Grees, as me seiþ. Noþeles to fore honde were chariottes in oþer londes. Augustinus, libro 18^o. Þis ordeyned first playes to Appolyn, and to Minerua. Also þat tyme Busiris þe tyraunt, kyng of Egipt, he kydde [So α.; hidde, MS.; vsed, Cx.] his tyrauntyse [tyrannye, Cx.] on his gestes; for he slowh men, and offred hem to goddes. Me seiþ þat he was Neptunus his sone i-gete on Libya, Epaphus his douȝter. Iosue departed þe lond of Palestines to þe Iewes. Also þat tyme Fenix and Cadmus, [Candmus, MS. (not α.)] tweyne breþeren of Thebe, þat is in Egipt, wente into Syria, [Sciria, MS.] and reigned at Tyrus and at Sidon, tweie citees þat so hatte. Iupiter, kyng of Creta, rauesched Europa, þe douȝter of Agenor, [Agenore, MS.] kyng of Libya. Afterward Asterius, kyng of Creta, wedded [wedde, α.] Europa to his [his] om. α., Cx.] wyf. Augustinus, libro 18^o. Iupiter on Europa þat he rauisched he gat Radamanthus, Sarpedon, and Minos, [Minois, MS.; Minoys, Harl. MS.] þat reigned after hym in Creta. Noþeles, Marianus, libro primo, capitulo 610, [61, Cx.] seiþ þat Asterius on Europa gat þese þre sones. Isidorus, libro 14^o. Agenor, kyng of Libya, gat þre sones, Silex, [So MSS. for Cilix.] Phenix, Cadmus, and oon douȝter þat heet Europa. Whan Iupiter hadde i-rauisched hire, he dede hire in

his schippe þat was i-peynt wiþ a bole; and þerfore poetes feyneþ þat Iupiter was i-torned in to a boole. Agenor heet [bad, Cx.] his þre sones þat they schulde goo and seche her suster þat was so i-rauisshed and i-lad away, and forbede hem forto come aȝen, but ȝif þey brouȝte hir suster wiþ hem. And for [by cause, Cx.] þey myȝte not fynde hir, þey dredde þe wreþþe of here [So α. and Cx.; the, MS.] fader. Silex abood in a contray and cleped hit Scilicia [So α. and Cx. (for Cilicia); Scicilia, MS.] after his owne name, and Phenix [So α.; Fenix, MS.; and Fenicea below.] abood in Phenicia. But Cadmus chees his exilynge in Grecia. Þere he folowede þe fore [steppe, Cx.] of an oxe, and come to a contray, and aboode þere, and cleped it Boecia, Oxelond. Afterward he bulde þere þe citee of Thebe. ℞. Loke more here in þe firste book, capitulo Grecia. Au|gustinus, libro 18^o. Iupiter regned in þe ilond Creta, and his fader Saturnus was i-put out, and wente to Itali. Henricus. Þis was a wicked man and a greet werriour, and con|quered Grees. Þere after his deth, þe Grees þat were ful of lesynges hilde hym god of heuene, and nempned hym god of goddes for his grete power and myȝt. Þe men of Creta, fore he was i-buried among hem, wolde speke of his buriels. Þerfore þe Grees cleped hem lyȝers. Alexander in Myth. [So Cx. (Mith.); Math., α.; Mat|theum, MS.]

Verrey storie seiþ þat Saturnus þe fader [and Iupiter] [Added from α. β. γ., Cx.] þe sone hadde tweie kyngdoms ioynynge to gidres in Creta, and for endes and bondes of feeldes was a bataile bytwene hem; and Iupiter hadde þe maistrie, and Saturnus was i-chased out and wente into Ytaly; and þere Ianus þe kyng feng hym to a part of þe empere, by cause þat he kouþe skile of vynes [So α. β. γ., Cx.; wyne, MS.] and [and] om. α.] in repynge and in telyenge of feeldes. And he was i-cleped Saturnus of saturitas, þat is plente; for he made a [α] om. α. and Cx.] grete plente in þat lond. Eutropius. Þis Saturnus fly [So α.; fleeþ, MS.; flemed, Cx.] his sone Iupiter out of Grees to þe endes of Tuscia nouȝt fer from þe place of Rome; he hidde hym þere in a place, and cleped þe place Saturnia after his owne name; and afterward he cleped hit Latium, þat is his hydynge place. Þere he tauȝte boistous men to bulde and to erye and sowe, and to sette vynes. For to forehonde þey lyued by acres, [akres, α.; akornes, β., Cx.; akkarns, γ.] and wonede vnder bowes and twigges i-wounde [i-weue, α.; wouen, β., Cx.] to gidres. Also þis ordeyned pannes of bras; þerfore þe vplondische men hilde hym a god. ℞. And þey poetes mene þat Iupiter gildede [geldede, α.] Saturnus, for he schulde not gete children to supplante hym, neuerþeles þe storie of Rome seiþ þat Saturnus gat Picus in Itali.

Alexander in Mythologia. Oþere myȝty tyrauntis fondede to putte out þis Iupiter, þat [þat] þis Jupiter, α., Cx.] was ful cruel and desturbed þe pees, after þat his fader was i-put out, and ouercome þe geantes wiþ gynnes of werre. Me feyneþ þat he liȝtnede out geantes. Petrus. Iosue, or he deide, [Some words repeated in α.] helte [hyeld, Cx.] water on þe erþe to fore þe peple in tokene of þe couenante þat was i-made bytwene God and þe peple; [þat was, þat þe peple] [Added from α. and Cx.] hadde i-chose þe sooþfast God. Petrus. Mysbyleued men vsede to helde out [out water, MS. (not α. or Cx.)] and schede out [out] om. α. β. γ.] þe blood of a sowe þat is i-slawe [þat is i-slawe] om. α. β. γ., Cx.] in tokene of couenant i-made. Hugutio, capitulo Fedus. Fedus, þat is a couenant, is i-seide of feda, [So α., Cx.; pheda, MS.] a sowe þat is so [So α. β. γ.; is i-slawe, MS., Cx.] i-slawe, as it were to mene, þat is blood þat brekeþ þe couenant schulde in þat manere be i-sched. Petrus. But þe Hebrewes hilde out water in token þat as þe water is al i-schad and nouȝt i-left, so he þat brekeþ þe couenant schulde be ded, and al his kyn. [So α. and Cx. (MS. has repeti|tions from above).] Also men in olde tyme vsede to arere signes and tokenes þat myȝte longe dure in mynde of couenant to [to] of, Cx.] hem þat come afterward; and so somme arered [arered and enhaunced, Cx. Slight corrections of orthography in the proper names have been tacitly made in this chapter for both ver|sions.] stones and hepes of stones in mynde of couenantes.