The famous history of the seven champions of Christendom St. George of England, St. Denis of France, St. James of Spain, St. Anthony of Italy, St. Andrew of Scotland, St. Patrick of Ireland, and St. David of Wales. Shewing their honourable battels by sea and land: their tilts, justs, turnaments, for ladies: their combats with gyants, monsters and dragons: their adventures in foreign nations: their enchantments in the Holy Land: their knighthoods, prowess, and chivalry, in Europe, Africa, and Asia; with their victories against the enemies of Christ. Also the true manner and places of their deaths, being seven tragedies: and how they came to be called, the seven saints of Christendom. The first part.

CHAP. III.

How St. George's Sons, after they were Knighted by the English King, travelled towards Barbary; and how they redeemed the Duke's Daughter of Normandy from Ravishment, that was assailed in a Wood by three Tawny-moores; and also of the tragical Tale of the Virgin's strange Miseries, with other Accidents.

MAny days had not these three magnanimous Knights endu∣red the danger of the swelling Waves, but with a pro∣sperous and successful Wind, they arrived upon y^e Tirritories of France, where being no sooner safely set on shore, but they boun∣tifully rewarded their Marriners, and betook themselves fully to their intended Travels.

Now began their costly trapped Steeds to pace it like the scud∣ding Winds, and with their wa••like Hoofs to thunder on the beaten passages; now began true Honour to flourish in their princely Breasts, and the Renown of their Father's Atchieve∣ments to encourage their Desires. Although tender Youth sat

but budbing on their Cheeks, yet portly Man-hood triumpht in their Hearts; and although their childish Arms as yet never try∣ed the painful adventures of Knight-hood; yet bore they high and princely Cegitations in as great esteem as when the•• Fa∣ther slew the burning Dragon in Aegypt, for preservation of their Mother's life.

Thus travelled they to the farther part of the Kingdom of France (guided only by the Direction of Fortune) without any Adventure worth the no••ing, till at last riding thorow a mighty Fortess standing on the Borders of L••sitania, they hea••d (as at off as it were) the ruful cries of a distressed Woman; which in this manner filled the Air with ••••hees of her Moans:

O Heavens! (said she) be kind and pitiful unto a Maiden in Distress, and send some happy Passengers that may deliver me from these inhu∣mane Monsters.

This woful and unexpected noise, caused the Knights to alight from their Horses, and to see the event of this Accident: So af∣ter they had tyed their Steeds to the body of a Pine-tree, by the R••ins of their B••••ole••, they walked on foot into the thickest of the Forrest with their Weapons drawn, ready to withstand any assaysment whatsoever; and as they drew near to the distressed Uirgin, they heard her breathe forth this pi••iful moving La∣mentation the second time:

Come, come, some courteous Knight, or else I must forgo that pre∣cious Jewel which all the World can never again recover.

These words caused them to make the more speed, and to run the nearest way for the Maiden's Succour. Where, approaching her presence, they found her tyed by the locks of her own hair to the trunk of an Orange-tree, and three cruel and inhumane Ne∣groes standing ready to dispoil her of her pure and undefiled Cha∣stity, and with their Lusts to blast the blooming Bud of her dear and unspotted Uirginity.

But when St. George's Sons be held her lovely Countenance besmeared in Dust, that before seemed to be as beautiful as Roses in Milk, and her crystal Eyes (the perfect patterns of B••shful∣ness) imbrewed in floods of Tears, at one instant they ran up∣on the Negroes, and sheathed their angry Weapons in their loath∣some Bowels; the Leacher•• being slain, their Blonds sprinkled about the Forrest, and their Bodies cast out as a Prey for rave∣nous Beasts to feed on; they unbound the Maiden, and like courteous Knights demanded the cause of her Captivity, and by what means she came into that solitary Forrest: Most noble

Knights (quoth she) and true renowned Men at Arms, to tell the cause of my passed Misery, were a prick onto my Soul, for the Discourse there∣of will burst my Heart with Grief; but consider your Nobilities, the which I do perceive by your princely Behaviour, and kind Courtesies extended towards me, being a Virgin in Distress, under the hands of these lustful Negroes whom you have justly murthered, shall so much imbolden me, though unto my Heart's great Grief, to Discourse the first cause of my miserable Fortune:

My Father (quoth she) whilst gentle Fortune smiled upon him, was Duke and sole Commander of the State of Normandy, a Country now situated in the Kindom of France, whose Lands and Revenues in his prosperity was so great, that he continually kept as stately a Train, both of Knights and Gentlemen, as any Prince in Europe; wherefore the King of France greatly envied, and by bloody Wars deposed my Fa∣ther from his Princely Dignity, who for safeguard of his life, in com∣pany of me his only Heir and Daughter, betook us to these solitary Woods, where ever since we have secretly remained in a poor Cell or Hermitage; the which by our industrious Pains hath been Builded with plants of Vines and Oaken boughs, and covered over-head with clods of Earth, and turfs of ••ra••s: seven Years we have continued in great Extremities, sustaining our Hunger with the Fruits of Trees, and quench∣ing of our Thirst with the Dew of Heaven, falling nightly upon fra∣grant Flowers; and here instead of princely Attire, imbroidered Gar∣ments, and damask Vestures, we have been constrained to cloath our selves with Flowers, the which we have painfully woven up together; here instead of Musick, that wont each morning to delight our Ears, we have the whilstling Winds resounding in the Woods; our Clocks to tell the Minutes of the wandring Nights; are Snake and Toads, that sleep, in roots of rotten Trees; our Canopies to cover us, are not wrought of Median Silk, the which Indian Virgins Weave upon their silver Looms, but the fable Clouds of Heaven, when as the chearful day hath closed her crystal Windows up: Thus in this manner continued we in this solitary Wilderness, making both Birds and Beasts our chief Com∣panions, these merciless Tawny-moores (whose hateful Breasts you have made to water the parched Earth with streams of Blood) who as you see came into our Cell, thinking to have found some store of Treasure (but casting their gazing Eyes upon my Beauty, they were presentl•• 〈…〉〈…〉 with lustfull Desires, only to crop the sweet B••d of my Virginity then with furious and dismal Countenance, more black than the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Garments of sad Me••ponis••it, when she mourn••ully writes of bloudy Frage••hes and with Hearts more cruel than was Nero's the tyranous Roman Empe∣rour, when he beheld the Entrails of his natural Mother la••d open by

his inhumane and merciless Commandment, or when he stood upon the highest top of a mighty Mountain, to see that famous and imperial City of Rome set on fire by the remorseless hands of his unrelen••ing Mini∣sters that added unhallowed Flames to his unholy Furies. In this kind, I say these merciless and wicked minded Negroes with violent hands took my aged Father, and most cruelly bound him to the blasted, Body of a withered Oak, standing before the entry of his Cell; where neither the rever and honour of his silver Hairs, glistering like the frozen Isikles up∣on the Northern Mountains, nor the strained Sighs of his Breast, where∣in the Pledge of Wisdom was inthronized, nor all my Tears or Excla∣mations could any whit abate their Cruelties, but (grim Dogs of Bar∣bary) in they left my Father, fast bound unto the Tree, and like egregious Vipers took me by the Trammels of my golden Hair, draging me like a silly Lamb unto this flaughtering place, intending to satisfie their Luft∣with the flower of my Chastity. Being used thus, I made my humble Supplication to the highest Majesty, to be revenged upon their Cruel∣ties: I reported to them the rewards of ••••oudy Ravishments, by the Example of Tereus, sometime King of Thrace, and his furious Wife, that in revenge of her Sister's Ravishment, caused her Husband to eat the Flesh of his own Son. Likewise, (to preserve my undefiled Honour) I told them that for the Rape of Lucroce the Roman Matron, Tar∣qui••ius and his whole Name was ever banished out of Rome, with many other Examples: thus, like the Nightingale, recorded I nothing but Rape and Murther, yet neither the Fears of Heaven, nor the ter∣rible Threats of Hell could mollifie their bloudy Minds; but they pro∣tested to persevere in that Wickedness, and vowed that if all the Leaves of the Trees, that grew within the Wood, were turned into Indian Pearls, and that place made as wealthy as the golden Streams of Pa••t••∣lus, where M. das washt••her golden Wish away, yet should they not redeem my Chastity from the stain of their insatiable and lustful Desires. This being said, they bound me with the Trammels of mine own Hair to this Orange tree, and at the very instant they proffered to defile my unspotted Body, you happily approached, and not only redeemed me from their tyrannous Desires, but quit the World from three of the wick∣edest Creatures that ever Nature framed; for which (most noble and in∣vincible Knights) if ever Virgin's Prayers may prevail, humbly will I make my Supplications to the Deities that you may prove as valliant Champions as ever put on Helmet, and that your Fames may ring to e∣very Prince's Ear, as far as bright Niperion doth shew his golden Face.

This tragical Tale was no sooner ended; but the three Knights (with remorseful Hearts sobbing with Sighs) imbraced the sor∣rowful Maiden betwixt their Arms, and earnestly requested her

to conduct them unto the place whereas she left her Father bound unto the withered Oak; to which she willingly consented, and thanked them ••ighly to their kindness; but before they approach∣ed to the old Man's presente, what for the grief of his Banish∣ment, and violent Usage of his Daughter, he was forced to yield up his miserable Life to the mercy of unavoidable Death.

When St. George's valiant Sons, in company of this sorrow∣ful Maiden came to the Tree, and (contrary to their Expectati∣ons) found her Father cold and 〈◊〉〈◊〉, devoid of Sense and Feel∣ing, also his Hands and Face covered with green Moss, which they supposed to be done by the Robin Red-breast, and other lit••le Birds, who do use naturally to cover the bare parts of any Bo∣dy that they find dead in the Field, they all fell into a new confu∣sed extremity of grief; but especially his Daughter, having lost all Ioy and Comfort in this World, made both Heaven and Earth resound with her exceeding Lamentations, and mourned without Comfort, like weeping Niobe, that was turned into a Rock of Stone, Lamenting for the loss of her Children: thus when the three young Knights perceived the comfortless Sor∣row of the Uirgin, and how she had vowed never to depart from those solitary Groves, but to spend the remnant of her days in company of her Father's dead Body; they courteously assisted her to bury him under a Chesnut-tree, where they left her behind them bathing his senseless Grave with her Tears, and returned back to their Horses, where they left them at the entry of the Forrest tyed to a lofty Pine, and so departed on their Iourney, where we will leave them for a time, and speak of the Seven Champions of Christendom, that were gone on Pilgrimage to the City of Jerusalem, and what strange Adventures hapned to them in their Travel.