The Spanish Mandeuile of miracles. Or The garden of curious flowers VVherin are handled sundry points of humanity, philosophy, diuinitie, and geography, beautified with many strange and pleasant histories. First written in Spanish, by Anthonio De Torquemeda, and out of that tongue translated into English. It was dedicated by the author, to the right honourable and reuerent prelate, Don Diego Sarmento de soto Maior, Bishop of Astorga. &c. It is deuided into sixe treatises, composed in manner of a dialogue, as in the next page shall appeare.

Title: The Spanish Mandeuile of miracles. Or The garden of curious flowers VVherin are handled sundry points of humanity, philosophy, diuinitie, and geography, beautified with many strange and pleasant histories. First written in Spanish, by Anthonio De Torquemeda, and out of that tongue translated into English. It was dedicated by the author, to the right honourable and reuerent prelate, Don Diego Sarmento de soto Maior, Bishop of Astorga. &c. It is deuided into sixe treatises, composed in manner of a dialogue, as in the next page shall appeare.

Author: Torquemada, Antonio de, fl. 1553-1570.

Collection: Early English Books Online

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to gesse thereat. It is a thing naturall to all children, to giue a turn in their mothers belly, & to come into the world with the head forwards, yet this generall rule oftentimes fai∣leth, & some come forth thwartlong, & some with their body double, neither of the which can liue, their body is so crusht and broken, the mothers also of such are in exceeding danger. Others come to be borne with their feet forward, which is al∣so passing dangerous, as well for the mother as the child: vn∣lesse they chaunce to come foorth with their armes hanging down close by their sides, vvhich if they hold vpward or cros∣wise, they crush them or put them out of ioynt, so that fevve such liue. Of these cam the linage of Agrippas in Rome, which is as much to say as Aegrè parti, brought forth in paine, and The linage of Agrippas. cōmonly those that are so borne, are held to be vnlucky, & of short life. Some say that Nero was so borne of his mother A∣grippina, who though he seemed in obtaining the Empire to Nero borne with his feet forward. be fortunate, yet in losing it so soon with a death so infamous, his end proued him vnfortunate & miserable. It happeneth also sometimes that the mothers die, and that the children by opening their sides are taken out aliue, & come to liue & doe vvell. Of these was Scipio Affrican, which was therfore the first that was called Caesar, & another Romaine Gentleman called Scipio Affri∣can called Caesar quiae Caesus ex v∣tero.Manlius, as Pliny vvriteth in his seauenth booke.BER.It is a matter so true & notorious, that there is no dout to be made therof, which we read in the chronicles of Spaine, of the birth of Don Sanches Garcia, king of Nauarre, vvhose mother Don∣na Ursaca, being at a place called Baruban, to take her plea∣sure The strange birth of Don Sanches Garcia king of Nauarre. in the fields, vvas by certaine Mores which of a sodaine came thither to spoile and make booty, thrust into the body vvith a speare, in such sort, that the babe vvith which she went great, appeared out of the wound, as though he vvould faine come foorth, she her selfe liuing in pittifull extreamity, and painfully gasping for life: vvhich her seruants perceauing, o∣pened the wound a little more, and tooke the Infant out, cau∣sing him to be nourished, the which prospered so vvel, that he aftervvards cam to attaine the royall Diademe, and raigned many yeeres. And not much before our time, a Gentleman The like of Diego Oso∣rio. called Diego Osorio, of the house of Astorgo, vvas borne 0