Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum 25

DIoclysianus the sonne of dalmata the wryter was fyrste consul and thenne he was made emperour and he was em¦perour twenty yere Anone this smote Aprus in a gadryng of knyghtes and swore that withoute his tresonne and gyle Numerianus had not be slayne / This man was ful ofte ••esy & subtyl of wytte. soo that he couthe fulfylle his cruelnes by the enuye of other This badde and commaunded that men sholde worshipe as it were god almyghty 〈◊〉〈◊〉 He vsed clothes ho••en & shoen ryally araied with precious stones· though emperours that were to fore hym were salewed as Iuges and had a re••e man¦tel more than other men and none other dyuersite fro the comyn clothyng of other men / but suche a reede mantell ¶ Also for wer¦re and b ataylles that were toward / this toke one herculius max¦mianus and made hym his felawe in the kyngdome ¶ This her¦culius wa•• openly grym and sterne. and wold not be vnder the ••awe▪ his sternes was sone knowen by his grysly countenaūce and semblaunt ¶ But dyoclysianu•• made him fyrste Cesar And afterward Augustus ¶He bare doune a greete multitude of chorles and yelded 〈◊〉〈◊〉 to the galles ¶ In that Iourneye was the legyon at A••pe•• that heete legy•• thebea Seynt M••ury•••• was one of that ••••gyon. ¶Atte laste

dyoclysianus made constanciu•• and galerius cesars / And soo thempyre was gouerned by two Augustus and dioclysianus and maximianus and by two cesars constancius and galeri{us} He that is Augustus is gre••er than he that is cesar. And for he wolde haue the gretter affynyte / dyoclysianus made constancius forsake his wyf and wedde theodora the stepdoughter of herculi{us} Max••mianus and constancius gate on her six children· And he made galerius wedde his doughter and forsake his wyf. and atte last dyoclysianus and Maximianus lefte of thempyre by their fre wyll and begonne to be philosophres Thenne constan∣cius and galerius deled thempyre bytwene them tweyne And so Iliricum and the est londes fill to galerius and the west bondes fille to constancius but he helde him content with fraunce and spayne and graunted the other londes to galerius Therfore Galerius ordeyned two cesars Maximinus in the est And seue¦rus in ytalye and helde hym content with Iliricum al one that is grece In the mene tyme dyoclysianus fonde to sle constan∣tinus that was the sone of helene. But constantinus was ware of that gile and fledde to his fader ¶ That yere seynt george of capadocia that was tribunus in perce at a cyte that heyte dyospo¦lis that is besides Ioppen. And he was martryd vnder dacian{us} the Iugge / By doome of the counseyll of nycene his legende is acompted for wryting that is callyd Apocryfa Treuisa ¶Apo¦crifa is a wrytyng of none auctoryte by cause thauctor therof is vnknowen Thenne it foloweth in thystory ¶Aftre that gains was martred marcellinus was pope eight yere ¶Dioclysianus compe••lyd him somtyme & he assented to do sacrifice to mawmettes but af••erward in counseyll that was made in campania. he knou¦leched his trespaas to fo••e nyne score Bisshops and clothed him self in heer and threwe powder and duste on his owen hede and submytted hym to stonde to the dome and Iugement of the bis∣shops ¶Thenne the bisshops sayde thou hast forsake / and peter forsoke and was demed of none other man but wente oute and wepte bytterly and soore / therfore deme thou thy self / ¶And I sayde he deme that I be deposed and sette doune And I acoorse alle them that burye my body in holy buryels ¶Afterward he knowleched byfore dyoclysianus that he was a cristen man and soo he was beheded and his bodye lay thirtty dayes in the strete vnburyed / And seint peter appered in a night to marcellus the preest that was pope after marcellinus and saide to him in this

manere ¶ Marcelle why buriest thou not my bodye / by whiche he vnderstode marcellinus bodye / haste thou not redde that euery man that loweth and meketh hym shal be made hye ¶ Thenne burye hym thou fast by me. that buryels departe vs not / for one grace hath made vs rightful / Beside lyngons constancius Au∣gustus slough sixty thousand almains· for he was closed within the cyte and late oute by a roope ouer the wal vnwetynge the hoost Galerius was ouercome of narsus and flye to dyoclysi∣anus. And me sayth that he was receyued of hym in the waye with soo grete booste and triumphe that dyoclysianus ranne by galerius chare many long myle clothed as an emperour Marc ¶ After the passion of marcellinus the pope· the see was voyde many dayes / And thenne marcellus Was pope fyue yere / he or∣deyned in the cyte fyften cardynals for the seruyse of crystnyng and buriyng Maximianus themperour made this pope kepe bees¦tes for he wold not doo sacryfice to mawmettes. thenne in a night his clerkes lad hym oute of the stable / and in the broode way he halowed an hows and made therof a chirche / And maximianus made of the chirche a stable and closed marcellus in the comyn warde for he shold efte kepe beestes and there marcellus deyd•• clo¦thed in heer / After hym eusebius the phisician was pope eyght monethes R ¶ By the cronyk of eusebius and of beda this eyghten yere of dyoclysianus was the fyrst yere of the grete per¦secucion that was vnder dyoclysianus in the eest and maximian{us} in the west ¶That persecucion was grettest and lengest duryng for it dured ten yere continuelly· for though dyoclysianus and maximianus left and yelde vp thempyre in the thyrdde yere of this persecucion as it is sayd to fore hond / yet the persecucion that was bygonne seced not to fore the seuenth yere of the grete con∣stantin / Me sayth that this persecucion was so greuo{us} & so grete y^t chirches & bookes of goddes lawe were brēt / & within one mo∣neth in dyuerse places of the world were xvij thousand ••oly mē & women crowned with martirdom / no man shold bye ne selle ne take vp water of ony place but yf he dyd sacryfyce to maumetrie That tyme were martred many noble martres pancraci{us} the first felician{us} sebastian{us} felix & audaci{us} vij bretheren & her moder be don grysogon{us} & the .iiij that ben callyd quatuor coronati. Also vyncent george and pantaleon / vitus modest{us} ciprian{us} & iustina cosmas and damianus & that childe Barala / fidis & Eufenna Lucia / Anastasia· Agne•• and gorgonius and alle in one Cyte

in frigia Beda libro· capitulo sexto ¶ That tyme seynt Al∣bon was martred in brytayne· of hym fortunatus the pree••st in libro quē de laude virginum intitulauit speketh in this manere

The plentynous ••rytayne bryngeth forth the noble albon Whan this Albon was a paynym he l••dged a cristen man and was couertyd by his loore and toke vpon hym the habyte of the clerk and cam to fore the Iugge and was dampned to the deth And couertyd moche folk fast by the broke that was dreyed by his prayers / 〈◊〉〈◊〉 And afterward on the toppe of the hil where as he deyde / he made by his prayers a welle sprynge oute of the erthe. And tourned the tormentours that shold slee hym to the feyth of holy chirch / he was martred fast by the cyte verolanium that hete in englysshe verlamchestre or watlyngchestre

Beda ¶That tyme come vp Arrians heresye that enfected not only the grete londes of the world. but also the Ilondes of the world that ben alwey redy to here newe thynges and holde no thynge certayne ¶Dioclisianus and maximianus forsoke thempyre and ladde a pryuate lyf that one at nychomedia and that other at melan ¶ Melchiades was pope four yere he for¦bade fastynge on the sonday and an the thursday for paynems worshipen thylke dayes ¶ Galerius was emperour one yere and ordeyned tweyne cesars ma••••••ius and seuerus· ¶Beda libro primo That tyme con••tancius deyde at yorke in Brytayne / the yere of his pryncipate x••ij ¶And left after hym his oldest sonne goten on helene that was constantyn kynge of brytayne and fraunce