Here begynneth a shorte and abreue table on the Cronycles ...

¶Anno diū lxxxiiii.

CLetus a martyr was pope .xi. yere thys Cletus was a Romayn and gretely be¦loued pylgrymages to sayntes sayenge it was more profyte to the helthe of mānes soule to vi¦syte the place y^t saynt peter was in than ••or to fast two yere. He cursyd alle tho men lettynge suche pylgrymages / or counsellers contrary therto. At the last he was martryd by Dami••••¦an the Emperour. ¶Titus sone to Vespasia¦nus was Emperour thys tyme & regned thre yere. And he abode stylle at Ierusalē after the eleccyon of his fader and destroyed the cytee. And slewe there as the storye sayth with bata∣yll and hungre .xi. hodred thousande Iewes And a hondred thousāde he toke and solde .xxx. for a peny. By cause they solde Cryst for .xxx. pens / and brought thens all thynge that was precyous / and put them in his hous at Rome whiche was called Tēplū pacis / But now is that place falle downe for y^e moost party / and all these grete Iewelles ben dystrybuted to cer¦tayne chirches in Rome. ¶This Titus was so full of vertue that all men loued hym / so set forth / that they called hym the moost delecta∣ble

of men. He was full lyberall to all mē in so moche that he sayd often tymes / y^e there sholde noo man goo from an Emperour with an he∣uy herte / but he shold som what haue of his pe¦tycyon. He wolde be sory that daye in the why¦che he hadde graunted no man no benefyte. ¶whan that he was deed euery man y^t was in Rome wept for hym / as that they had lost the¦yr fader. ¶Domician brother to Titus reg∣ned after him .xxiiii. yere & .v. monethes. First he was ••asy / and after ward full vnresonable For moche of y^e Senate was destroyed by his malyce / and also moche of his kynred. He be∣gan the secōde persecucōn after Nero ayenst crysten men / in the whiche persecucion Iohn̄ the euangelyst was exiled in to Pathius after the Emperoure had put hym in to a tonne of oyle brēnynge & hurte hym not. So this man was not the folower of his fader Vespasian / ne his brother Titus / but rathur lyke Nero & his kyn rede. And for these wycked condicyōs he was slayne in his owne palays at Rome in the .xxvii. yere of his aege· ¶Clemens a mar∣tyr was pope .ix. yere and he succeded Cletus. This Clemens fyrste of saynt Peter was or∣deyned to be successour to hym. And for peryll he wolde Linus and Cletus sholde be popes & fore hym / lest that thrugh that ensample pre∣lates sholde ordeyne vnder thē who some euer they wolde. This man made y^e lyf of martyrs to be wryten by regyons. And he made many bokes He ordeyned that a chylde shold be con¦fermed as soone as it myght / namely after it was crystened. And at y^e laste he was martred vnder Traian. ¶Nerua was Emperour af∣ter Domician oo yere & two monethes. And whan he was chosen he meued the Senate to make a lawe / that thynge whyche Domician comaunded to be kepte sholde be broken / By the whyche meane saynt Iohan the euāgelyst was losed out of his exyl: & suffrey to come a∣yen to Ephase. This man dyde an other thyn¦ge ryght comendable that he assyned soo wyse a man as Traian was to gouerne the people after hym. ¶Nota. ¶Traianus Hispani∣cus was Emperour .xxi. yere. This Traian{us} many man sayd. He was the best amonge all the Emperours: But in one thynge alone he was vicious In so moche as he for the loue of the fals goddes was aboute to destroye y^e cry¦sten fayth. Iugyng in hymself so moost to ple¦ase god. Some men say not by hymself but by other he pursewed the crysten fayth: and in y^e ende of his lyf he dyde but fewe to dethe. And all his louyng Isette at nought. But at saint Gregory meued with pyte wepyng: & prayed vnto our lord for hym: that he wold haue mer¦cy vpon hym and by his prayer haue hym out of helle: in to whiche place he was dampned. And now yf that he be saud or not: a grete al∣teracyon is amōge doctours. And to vs y^t wry¦te Crony eles: it is no parte of our charge to de¦termyn. But all the eest parte of y^e world. Ba¦bylon. Selencia: the vtter partes of the ynde. Germayne the seconde after Alexander hel¦de vnder. In all these thynges so pyteous and soo mekely he guyded hym to euery man as a kynge. He was gentyll: and to no man vngē∣tyll: the whiche is redde of fewe: All his dayes he lyued that men sayd he was the moost wor¦thy man in all his Empyre. And thought and sayde euer more: that noo man was more vn∣worthy to be Emperour than he.