¶Anno dm̄ .vii.C.xiiii.
GRegoryus the seconde was pope after Constantyne .xvii. yere / this Gregory{us} was a chaste man & a noble man in scrypture And about this tyme the popes began to deale more temporally wyth the Emperours than they were wonte for theyr falsnesse & theyr he resye. And also for to remeue thempyre fro oo people to an other as the tyme requyred / thys man cursyd Leo ye Emprrour by cause he brē¦te the ymages of sayntes. This same Leo cō∣maunded / Gregorius the pope yt he shold bren¦ne chirches & destroye them. And he sette noo thynge of hys sayenge / but cōmaūded the coū¦trary manly. And so it ys openly shewed / yt the destruccyon of the Empyre of Rome / was the cause of heresy. For certaynely faythfull peo∣ple wyth the prelates wyth one wyll / drewe to the pope & constrayned the Emperours for to leue theyr tyrannye and theyr heresye. ¶And thys tyme in the eest parte of ye worlde strong∣ly faylled the very fayth / for that cursyd lawe of the fals Machomete· ¶Theodosius was Emperour & regned but one yere And he was a very crysten man / & euen as he dyde so was he done vnto. For Leo deposyd hym & made hym a preest. ¶Leo ye thyrde with Constanty¦ne his sone was Emperour .xxv. yere this Leo whan he was myghty he deposyd Theodosy{us} & regned for hym / & was desceyned by a certay¦ne Apostata / the whiche badde hym yt he shol∣de take and brenne all the ymages of sayntes. wherfore he was punysshed both in batayll & in pestylence / & with other Infortunes. And by cause he was accursyd of Gregoryus / & bo¦de ther in thre dayes / therfore the pope wyth ye comyn peple toke for hym the best parte of hys Empyre / cōmaūdynge yt no man shold obeye hym ne socour hym / by cause he lyued lyke an heretyke. ¶Holy men sayde ayenst hym. And many by hym were marted & exyled. And at ye last in his misbyleue he deyed wretchedly. and in this manes dayes / but that Karolus Mar¦cellus holpe the Crysten fayth / & faught man∣ly nyenst the Sarrasyns / & draue them backe∣warde in Spayne the whyche they had subdu¦ed els they had entred in to Fraunce. And Ka∣rolus slewe thre hondred thousāde Sarasyns & moo· And of his people were slayne but .xv. thousande. ¶Nota. ¶This man for the contynuall batayll toke to laye men the tresou¦re of the chirche. wherfore Saynt Eucharius the bysshop of Aurelian / as he was in his pray¦ers / sawe that same Karolus in soule and bo∣dy payned in helle. And the aungell that she∣wed the bysshop this man sayde. That yt was the Iugement of all those that toke a waye the goodes of the chirche / or of poore men. And to fortifye that / that the bysshop sayd and ••∣ue it / the abbote of saynt Deuys wente to the sepulcre there that Karolus was burye•• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 opened the cheste that he laye in And there th•••• see a grete dragon go out but he had no 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ¶Gregorius the thyrde a Romayne 〈◊〉〈◊〉 po∣pe after Gregoryus the seconde. The 〈…〉〈…〉 confermed the woorshyppes of the 〈…〉〈…〉 sayntes / with ye coūseyll almooste of a thou••••••¦de bysshops. And he cursyd horrybly all the de∣spyers of these ymages. As the Emperour ••nd other that were of ye condycyon. ¶Constan••∣nus the fyfth was Emperour a••te: his 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Leo .xxxv. yere He was a cursed man & a p••••e heretyke / to yt he dyde sacrefyse to the deuylles He pursued the chyrche. And 〈…〉〈…〉 is good of hym is wryten. And so by ye ••∣ce of god the chyrche was trowbled longe t••∣me. About this tyme were many maruayl••es & there were merueyllous erth quakys. And cer¦tayne cytees that were sette on mountayns they were remeued & borne awaye with ye hyl∣les in to the feldes .vi. myle thens as they stode and the cytees were not broken ne hurte In the londe of Mesopotanian the erthe was broken by the space of two myle / And also there was a mule that spake in a mannes voys. Asshes fell fro heuen And in the see of Poncico there was yse for grete froste that was .xxx. cubytes of thykenesse. And the sterres fell fro heuen soo myghtely that men trowed that ye ende of the worlde had be comen. All these betokened mer¦uaylus thynges for to come.