An abridgement of the notable woorke of Polidore Vergile conteignyng the deuisers and firste finders out as well of artes, ministeries, feactes & ciuill ordinaunces, as of rites, and ceremonies, commo[n]ly vsed in the churche: and the originall beginnyng of the same. Co[m]pendiously gathered by Thomas Langley

The .vii. Chapiter. ¶The Laborynthes, turrettes, sundry fashions of burials.

* 1.1LABORINTHES which we may cal Ma¦ses, were certain intri¦cate & wyndyng wor∣kes with many entri∣es and dores, in suche sort that yf a mā were once entred, he could not yssue oute, without ether he had a perfect guide or els a clewe of thredde to be his cō∣ducte. There were foure of them moost notable as it is reported:* 1.2 The fyrst was in Egypte, and was called of some the palace of kyng Motheru∣des, of some the sepulthre of Meres: but there bee other that saye, it was buylded in honoure of the sonne by

kyng Petesucus or Tithoes, albeeit Herodotus saieth it was the commō toumbe of the kynges of Egipt: this stoode a litle from the Poole of My∣rios.* 1.3 The second was made in Crete by Daedalus at the commaundement of kyng Minos, wherein Theseus of Athens slewe the Minotaure. The third was wrought in the Isle Lem¦nos by Zmilus, Rhodus,* 1.4 and Theo∣dorus carpēters of the same countree

The fourthe Porsena kyng of the Hetrurians caused too bee made and sette vp in Italy for his sepulchre,* 1.5 it was all of free stone & vaulted. The high steples or turrettes that the E∣gipciās cal Pyramides, wer betwene Memphis and Delta twoo citees of Egipte, of suche highte,* 1.6 that it was meruaill how the stone and morter could be caried so high. One of them that was greatest, was the worke of three thousande and .lx. menne. in .xx yere, at the coste of kyng Chemis,* 1.7 whom Herodotus nameth Cheopis, Chabreus brother to the same kyng made the second turret not equall in hight. The thirde, kyng Mycerinus caused to bee wrought .xx. ••ote shor∣ter

then his fathers was.* 1.8 The occa∣siō that thei wer made, as Plinie tel∣leth, was leaste the people should bee idle, and Iosephus saieth the Egipci∣ans enforsed the Hebrues to buylde those Pyramides, bicause thei should bee in subieccion too theim, and that thei might bee made slaues and drud¦ges: or els leaste the kynges should leaue so muche treasure to their suc∣cessours, that it might moue them to sedicion or treason. Mausoleum that was the toumbe of Mausolus kyng of Caria,* 1.9 * 1.10 his wife Artemesia builded moste sumteously, and for that faith∣full loue that she bare to hym, she re∣maigned a widowe all her life tyme. The maner of buriall in diuerse coū∣trees is of sundry fashions:* 1.11 as y^e Mas¦sagetes & Derbians iudge theim that die in sickenesse verie wretches, and therfore when their parentes, & kins∣folke waxe aged, thei strangle theim and eate theim, supposyng that it is better that thei should eate them, thē y^e wormes.* 1.12 The Albanes, that dwell by the mount Caucasus, take it to be a mortall crime if thei regard or once name theim that bee ded. The Thra∣cians

kepe solemnely the funeralles of the ded corps of men with greate ioye & solace:* 1.13 bicause thei bee dispat∣ched by the death of the miseries hu∣mane, and rest in felicitee e••e••ne: and cōtrariwise at the birth of their chil∣dren thei make greate sorowe and la∣mentacion, bicause of the calamities that thei must sustain in this misera∣ble life. The women of Inde take it for a greate honesty and triumphe if thei maie bee buried with their hous∣bande:* 1.14 for it is graunted to her that loued hym beste, there bee other di∣uerse maner of buriynges emong the Paganes and Heathen people, whi∣che for so muche, as thei excede the bondes of humanitie, & haue in them no hope of resurreccion at this pre∣sente I omit and ouer passe thē. The Romaines,* 1.15 bicause the dedde coarses that died in externe battaill were af∣ter their buriall digged oute of the grounde, instituted the maner of bur∣nyng the carcases of menne departed whiche rite was executed on Sylla chief of al the house and kyndrede of the Corneliās,* 1.16 whiche feared leste he should bee serued as he had vsed Ma∣rius.

Thei had also in Rome a maner of deifiyng or hallowyng their em∣peroures ded bodies,* 1.17 after this sorte Whē the emperour was ded and his body reuerently buried with greate exequies, thei fourmed an Image of the emperour, pale as though he wer sicke, and laied it at the gate of the palace in a bed of Iuory,* 1.18 and the phi∣sicions resorted thither to the bed .vi daies continually, the lordes of the senate, and noble ladies and matrōs stādyng on euery side of the bed. The seuēth daie the young lordes and no∣bilitie bare hym on their shulders in the bed▪ first into the old place of iud∣gementes called Forum Vetus and then into the felde named Campus Martius where thei chose their ma∣gistrates and highe officers: where thei laied hym in a tente buylded for the nones, like a towre and filled it with drie woode and swete oyntemē∣tes, and after thei had finished the ri∣tes and ceremonies of their lawe, he that should succede, in the empire put a fire brande to the tente, and then o∣ther laied to the fire good plēty. And by and by after all was burned, thei

let flie an Egle out of the top of the turret, whiche, as thei supposed, ca∣ried the solle of the emperour to hea∣uen, and from thence furth thei hono¦red hym as a God. Commendacions to the worship of ded bodies at fune∣rales,* 1.19 Valerius Publicola first made in y^e praise of Brutus, and that was long afore the Grekes had any, not∣withstandyng Gellius writeth that Solon ordained that lawe in Athens in the tyme of Tarquinnins Priscus.* 1.20 The Romaines vsed to praise the wo¦men at their burialles bicause on a time thei wer contented to giue their goldē iuelles to make a boulle to sēd to Delphos, to the God Apollo.* 1.21

Notes

• * 1.1

  Laborinthes.
• * 1.2

  Foure labo∣rinthes,
• * 1.3

  Crete. Dedalus.
• * 1.4

  Lemnos.
• * 1.5

  Porsena.
• * 1.6

  Piramides.
• * 1.7

  The greatest spire Chemis made.
• * 1.8

  The cause of makyng the spires.
• * 1.9

  Mausoleum
• * 1.10

  Artemesia.
• * 1.11

  Rites of bu∣riyng.

  Massagetes.
• * 1.12

  Albanes.
• * 1.13

  Thrariēs fa∣shion.
• * 1.14

  Women of Inde.
• * 1.15

  The Romai∣nes burned their dedde bodies
• * 1.16

  Sylla.
• * 1.17

  Deifiyng of the emperour
• * 1.18

  Herodian.
• * 1.19

  Commenda∣cions.
• * 1.20

  Solon.
• * 1.21

  Women had commendaci∣ons in Rome