Here begynneth the table of the rubryshys of the boke of the fayt of armes and of chyualrye whiche sayd boke is departyd in to foure partyes ...

¶Here saythe xprystyne to the mayster that she hath herself grete merueylle seeyng the litell feyth that regneth how ony body dare truste in saufconduyttes / And syn demaundeth that yf it happe that som prynce or crysten kynge gyue a

saufconduytte to som sar••asyn / whether it is so that other kynges ought suffre hym to passe by them vndre vertue of the same / Capytulo / iij /

MAyster wythout faylle thys semeth me grete merueyl¦le seeyng the lytel trouthe and fydelyte that this day renneth thrughe al the worlde / how a prynce or a lorde or som other gentylman / & namely what soeuere man y^• it be dare truste hym self vndre a saufconduyt for to goo in a place where his enemyes be more myghty and more stronge than he / ¶Crystyne yf thou therof haue merueylle / it is not without a cause / how well that a saufconduyt after / thaun¦cyent constytucyon of the ryght of armes & also of al lawe oughte for to be after hys nature a sure thynge betwyx par¦tyes and mortall enemyes whiche we call capytall enemy∣es in oure lawes / the whyche lettres of surete the good and valyaunt conqueroures that were in tyme past / shulde not haue broken ne enfrayned for to dey / But nowe in tyme pre¦sent for the barates / subtylnes / and deceyptes that be founde by whiche men haue noo shame for to make a lye brekynge theyre feyth and theyre othe amonge crysten folke moche more than ony Iewes· nor paynemys wolde doo / wherfore it is counseylled by som of oure maysters that men shal not truste of light in saufconduytes where as the tyme is now come that where the lawes doo calle frawde and barat it is now called subtyltee and cawtele / wherof foloweth ofty∣mes grete parell / For in dede yf a man of what astate or condycyon that he be of wyl do som treason to som other bo∣dy whan that he hathe the personne in a place where he fyn∣deth hym self y^e more stronge / he shal fynde a noone al ynou¦ghe wherof to coloure a cause to stryue wyth hym wherfore he shal slee hym / or poyson hym he wyl / or perhappes shal

brenne his hous or shall robbe hym / or otherwyse shall hurt hym vndre coulourable deceypte / And whan thys is so doon there nys noo ryght that can com tyme ynoughe for to recō∣pense hym therof by cause it is doon vndre false coulour / & for thees doubtes saith the lawe with gode ryght that for surete of a persone that putteth him self vndre the power of his enemye can not gyue hym self to grete a preuylege / For after the dede doon the restytucyon were nothynge / With out faille maister / it is trouthe / but yet to this propos telle thou me a questyon after ryght / I putte cas that a crys••en kynge had gyuen a saufconduyt to som sarasyn / I aske the what folke crysten ought to kepe hym his saufconduyt / for to the purpos of that that thou haste said to fore may s••me to me al first that the popis nor the em••eroures folke haue nothinge a doo therof where as they be belongynge to a gret¦ter lorde / than is the kynge / I knowe what thou wilt saye / For sothe they be not holden therto nor namely noon other kynge crysten after the wytnes of the lawes the whyche saye that a kynge can not giue noo maūdement nor ordy∣naunce wythout his Iurisdicyon / And therof I shall telle the the trouthe / For som of his owne subgettes myght also doubte that they be not holden therunto / the cause why is by cause that the sarrasyns ben generall enemyes of al crys••i••¦nyte / And it is a thynge of trouthe and also wryton that noo crysten man ought not to receyue ony maner enemye of the lawe of god / Soo is a man moche more bounde to obeye god / than his temporal lorde / as the lawe wytnesseth that saythe / that to euery persone is permytted for to gayn∣saye hys lorde / yf he be suche a man that he wil kepe / bere / sus¦teyne / gyue fauoure to the enemyes of the lawe of god / By what ryght thenne shulde be holden the subgett of the sayde

kynge for to kepe that same saufconduyt / And also the sar∣rasyns haue not werre onely wyth one kynge crysten but ayenst all / and with thys the lawe saith that that thynge whiche towcheth all ought to be approued of all / it is other wise nought / but nowe another thynge is there to be vn∣drestande / that is to wite / that yf it be soo / that for a raisona¦ble cause it is gyuen vnto hym as for to purchasse the raū∣son of som lord or knyght or som other that is in the sarra∣syns handes as a prysonner / or for som other cause Iuste & raysonable / dowbte not therof / that not onely the subgectes of the sayde kynge that gyue the sayde saufconduyt / but ge∣nerally all crysten men where as he must passe by / ought to suffre hym goo surely for two pryncypall raysons / that one is / by cause that they shal not saye by vs emonge themself that litel feythe and loue we shulde haue togyder amonge vs that are crysten people / whan we wolde not suffre that they shulde purchas the delyueraunce of thoos crysten that be prysoners in theyre handes for the feyth of oure god / that other / yf rudnes were doon to them of the crysten whan they come amonge vs / supposed that it were for vteraunce of theyre marchaundyses or as ambassatours or for som other Iuste enc••hoson / they myght selle hit ryght dere to oure crys∣ten people that for semblable causes goo amonge them full often / Soo ought we to kepe them suche ryght / as we wol that they shall doo to vs But yf it happed soo that a kyng or a towne had werre ayenst another / and for to aduenge hym self or for som other vnreasonable cause shulde doo co∣me to his aide or other wyse som myghty sarrasyn vndre saufconduyt / In suche a cas noo crysten folke subgette or other ought not to suffre hym / nor the vasselles nor capy∣taynes shulde not be reputed for forsworne nor vntrewe to

theyre lorde for the same / For the lawe namely sayth that yf eny body be founde berynge eny lettres ayenst the comon vtylyte men may take hem from him and breke hem wyth out leue of the iuge / and another like hyt sayth that al man ought to putte from a bout hym all heretykes and folke that doo ayenst the feyth /