Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Cronica Ranulphi Cistrensis Monachi De orbis dimensione prescianus in Cosmagraphia ¶ Capitulum quintum

IVlius Cezar by counseyl of the Senatours / And Aldermen of Rome sought and serched historyes and bokes of his yeres of doyng and dedes. And ordeyned wysemen and redy to me∣sure and descryue alle the world aboute. Thenne fro Iulius tyme to Saturmus tyme xxxij yere. Messagers wyse men and wel y taught in the practy∣ke of Geometrye cunnyng and prouffytable to mesure and g••s∣se hygnes and lownes· lengthe and brede and depnes also were redyly sente to euery londe aboute to Iugges and Capytayns / to Gouernours of londes / ffor they shold mesure and descryue Londe and water / woodes and laundes valeys and playnes / Montaynes and downes. And the see stronde and euery place where ony man myght goo or ryde. or shippe sayle· And wryte and certefye the senatours where and what wondres were foun∣den / R. This witnesseth Iherome in translatyng the hystorye of Eusebi libro secundo / ca^o. secundo / there he sayth that pylate Iuge of the Iurye certefyed. Tiberyus cezar of merueylles & wonders that Criste wrought in the Iewrye / & Tiberius certefyed the Se∣natours· but the Senatours byleued not· ffor they had not herd a fore so wonder werkes / prescianus & so by warnyng and certe∣fyeng of Capytayns of londes it was founden and knowen that alle the world aboute hath sees of dyuerse names ·xxx· I∣londes / lxxij. Famous montaynes / xl / Prouynces / lxxviij / No∣ble cytees / iij.C / lxx Grete Ryuers / lvij· Dyuerse nacions an. C and fyfe and twenty / ¶The roundenes of the world aboute is thre honderd sythes / and fyften sythes an honderd thousand paas The lengthe of the erthe that men dwelle Inne fro the eeste to the weste / that is fro Inde to the pylers of hercules in the See Ga∣dytan is iiij score sythes. & / v / sythes. an· C / lxxviij myle / but the waye from that one ende to that other is moche lasse by water∣than by londe. The brede of the erthe fro the southe to the north that is from the clyf of Occean in Ethyopia the londe of blak men to the mouthe of the Ryuer of Thany is wel nyghe haluen dele lasse than the lengthe. and conteyneth / liiij.C / and / lxij myle also it is fonde that the deppest place of the See of myddel erthe conteyneth doun right fyften furlonge depe. R / Tholomeus sayth

that the Roundenes of a Cercle about conteyneth thryes so moch as the brede and the seuendele of the brede / So that the propor∣cion of two and twenty to seuen· So that is acounted that the roundenes of the erthe aboute conteyneth twenty thousand and fourty myle / yf we departe that somme a thre and the seuenth part of the thyrde. the thycknes of the erthe thurghout is almost sex thousand and fyue honderd. four score and enleuen myle / Thenne half the thyknes of the erthe inward / and doun right / is thre thousand two C· fyue & fourty myle· and somwhat ouer as it were half a myle / So yf helle is in the myddel of the erthe doun right it may be knowen how many myle it is to helle.