Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum 20

AFter Conradus the fyrst frederyk was Emperour of Al∣mayns and of Romayns seuen and thyrtty yere / After pope adryans deth that hym had crowned this was a gre∣uous enemy to pope alysau ndre / for in preiudyce of hym / he hel∣de with four fals popes eche after other / ¶ Also by cause that the pope was fledde to the kyng of Fraunce / he fought ageynste the kyng of Fraunce with grete strength of boemes and of danes but he was put of by help of rychard kyng of Englond / Than the yere of our lord enleuen honderd thre score and tweyne he cam to mylan that was the hyghest walled of ony toune / and destroyed it downe to the grounde / At last after that this had do the pope many greues / he drad the rebelnesse of the lombardes / And prayd foryeuenesse of the pope / and toke the crosse in his flessh to the holy land as it were in amendemente of his synnes / And he was drowned in a lytel ryuer besydes armenye / and be¦ryed at Tyrus / And his sonne a noble yonglyng deyde at the sie¦ge of tholomayda that is Aron and nygh al̄l the noble of cristen men deyde that tyme / After Eugenius Anastasius was pope as it were two yere / ¶ That yere deyd saynt bernard abbot of cler∣uaulx that was borne in burgoyne in the Castel of Founteyns He was a noble knyghtes sonne and was fyrst fedde with his owne moders mylk and afterward norysshed with greter metes

Than the yere of oure lord enleuen honderd and twelue after the begynnynge of the ordre Cistersiensis that is the ordre of whyte monkes fyftene / of his owne age two and twenty / He entred with thyrtty felawes in to Cystercy / and after the fyfte yere of his conuersacion he was ordeyned abbot of Clereuaus / There he vsed wakynge passyng the vsage of mankynde / he sayde that he lost no tyme more than whanne he slepte / he lykened slepe to deth / vnnethe that he myghte suffre hym that routed and aferde foule in his slepe / he wente to mete as it were to tormente for grete ab∣stynence that he vsed / he hadde loste his taste and sauour of mete & of drynke / Soo that he wold take oyle in stede of wyn and blo∣de in stede of botter / he wold say that hyin sauoured water for hit keled his mouth and his Iowes al that he lerned of Scryptu∣re / he dranke hit in wodes and in feldes in his medytacions and and beedes / he knowleched none other maystres that he hadde but¦okes and beches / In his clothyng was pouert without ony fylth He sayde that clothynge is Iuge and wytnesse of herte and thought of negligence other of pryde and veyne glorye / that pro¦uerbe he had oft in his mouth and alwey in his herte al men wō¦dryth of hym that doth that as none other doth / To the ••ouyce that sholde come to the Relygyon / he wolde saye yf ye hye to that is within / leueth here without the bodyes that ye broughte of the world / the spyryte shal entre / the flesshe doth no prouffyte As ofte as. men prayd hym to be Bisshop he sayde that he was not his owne / but that he was ordeyned to seruyce of other men / Alwey he was founde other byddynge other redyng / other wry∣tyng other in medytacions other prechyng and techyng his bre¦theren / The yere of oure lord enleuen honderd and thre & fyfty / whanne his deth neyghed he bytoke his bretheren thre poyntes to kepe / and sayde that he had kepte hem in his wyse al his lyf ty∣me· and sayde / I wold noo man sklaundre / but yf ony sklaun∣der were aryse / I ceesed it what I myghte / I trowe myn owne wyt lasse than other mēnes dome / yf I were greued I axed no wreche of hym that had greued me / Bernard wrote many noble bookes and specially of the incarnacion of cryst / and dyde many myracles / and buylded thre score Abbayes / and passed oute of this world to oure lord of heuene / Also that yere deyd the Se∣cond Ranulph that hight Gercious by his surname / he was the fourth Erle of Chestre / after the conquest / his sonne second hughe was lord after hym in that Ducherye nyne and twenty

and dyde many grete dedes / ¶ Also that yere deyd kyng ste∣uen in kente in the abbaye of Feuersham that he buylded vp of the grounde / In this steuens tyme a knyght that hight owen wente in to the purgatory of the second patryk abbot and not bis¦shop / he cam ageyne and dwellyd in the nedes of the Abbaye of ludene of whyte monkes in Irlond and told of ioye and of pay¦nes that he had seen as it is sayd byfore in the fyrst capitulo / 34 / of the wondres of Irlond