Chapter 10 |
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Chapter 12
OF THE TEMPLE OF OUR LORD. OF THE CRUELTY OF KING HEROD. OF THE
MOUNT SION. OF PROBATICA PISCINA; AND OF NATATORIUM SILOE
AND from the church of the sepulchre, toward the east, at eight
score paces, is TEMPLUM DOMINI. It is right a fair house, and it
is all round and high, and covered with lead. And it is well paved
with white marble. But the Saracens will not suffer no Christian
man ne Jews to come therein, for they say that none so foul sinful
men should not come in so holy place: but I came in there and in
other places there I would, for I had letters of the soldan with
his great seal, and commonly other men have but his signet. In the
which letters he commanded, of his special grace, to all his
subjects, to let me see all the places, and to inform me pleinly
all the mysteries of every place, and to conduct me from city to
city, if it were need, and buxomly to receive me and my company,
and for to obey to all my requests reasonable if they were not
greatly against the royal power and dignity of the soldan or of his
law. And to others, that ask him grace, such as have served him,
he ne giveth not but his signet, the which they make to be borne
before them hanging on a spear. And the folk of the country do
great worship and reverence to his signet or seal, and kneel
thereto as lowly as we do to CORPUS DOMINI. And yet men do full
greater reverence to his letters; for the admiral and all other
lords that they be shewed to, before or they receive them, they
kneel down; and then they take them and put them on their heads;
and after, they kiss them and then they read them, kneeling with
great reverence; and then they offer them to do all that the bearer
asketh.
And in this TEMPLUM DOMINI were some-time canons regulars, and they
had an abbot to whom they were obedient; and in this temple was
Charlemagne when that the angel brought him the prepuce of our Lord
Jesus Christ of his circumcision; and after, King Charles let bring
it to Paris into his chapel, and after that he let bring it to
Peyteres, and after that to Chartres.
And ye shall understand, that this is not the temple that Solomon
made, for that temple dured not but 1102 year. For Titus,
Vespasian's son, Emperor of Rome, had laid siege about Jerusalem
for to discomfit the Jews; for they put our Lord to death, without
leave of the emperor. And, when he had won the city, he burnt the
temple and beat it down, and all the city, and took the Jews and
did them to death - 1,100,000; and the others he put in prison and
sold them to servage, - thirty for one penny; for they said they
bought Jesu for thirty pennies, and he made of them better cheap
when he gave thirty for one penny.
And after that time, Julian Apostate, that was emperor, gave leave
to the Jews to make the temple of Jerusalem, for he hated Christian
men. And yet he was christened, but he forsook his law, and became
a renegade. And when the Jews had made the temple, came an
earthquaking, and cast it down (as God would) and destroyed all
that they had made.
And after that, Adrian, that was Emperor of Rome, and of the
lineage of Troy, made Jerusalem again and the temple in the same
manner as Solomon made it. And he would not suffer no Jews to
dwell there, but only Christian men. For although it were so that
he was not christened, yet he loved Christian men more than any
other nation save his own. This emperor let enclose the church of
Saint Sepulchre, and walled it within the city; that, before, was
without the city, long time before. And he would have changed the
name of Jerusalem, and have clept it Aelia; but that name lasted
not long.
Also, ye shall understand, that the Saracens do much reverence to
that temple, and they say, that that place is right holy. And when
they go in they go bare-foot, and kneel many times. And when my
fellows and I saw that, when we came in we did off our shoes and
came in bare-foot, and thought that we should do as much worship
and reverence thereto, as any of the misbelieving men should, and
as great compunction in heart to have.
This temple is sixty-four cubits of wideness, and as many in
length; and of height it is six score cubits. And it is within,
all about, made with pillars of marble. And in the middle place of
the temple be many high stages, of fourteen degrees of height, made
with good pillars all about: and this place the Jews call SANCTA
SANCTORUM; that is to say, 'Holy of Hallows.' And, in that place,
cometh no man save only their prelate, that maketh their sacrifice.
And the folk stand all about, in diverse stages, after they be of
dignity or of worship, so that they all may see the sacrifice. And
in that temple be four entries, and the gates be of cypress, well
made and curiously dight: and within the east gate our Lord said,
'Here is Jerusalem.' And in the north side of that temple, within
the gate, there is a well, but it runneth nought, of the which holy
writ speaketh of and saith, VIDI AQUAM EGREDIENTEM DE TEMPLO; that
is to say, 'I saw water come out of the temple.'
And on that other side of the temple there is a rock that men clepe
Moriach, but after it was clept Bethel, where the ark of God with
relics of Jews were wont to be put. That ark or hutch with the
relics Titus led with him to Rome, when he had discomfited all the
Jews. In that ark were the Ten Commandments, and of Aaron's yard,
and Moses' yard with the which he made the Red Sea depart, as it
had been a wall, on the right side and on the left side, whiles
that the people of Israel passed the sea dry-foot: and with that
yard he smote the rock, and the water came out of it: and with
that yard he did many wonders. And therein was a vessel of gold
full of manna, and clothing and ornaments and the tabernacle of
Aaron, and a tabernacle square of gold with twelve precious stones,
and a box of jasper green with four figures and eight names of our
Lord, and seven candlesticks of gold, and twelve pots of gold, and
four censers of gold, and an altar of gold, and four lions of gold
upon the which they bare cherubin of gold twelve spans long, and
the circle of swans of heaven with a tabernacle of gold and a table
of silver, and two trumps of silver, and seven barley loaves and
all the other relics that were before the birth of our Lord Jesu
Christ.
And upon that rock was Jacob sleeping when he saw the angels go up
and down by a ladder, and he said, VERE LOCUS ISTE SANCTUS EST, ET
EGO IGNORABAM; that is to say, 'Forsooth this place is holy, and I
wist it nought.' And there an angel held Jacob still, and turned
his name, and clept him Israel. And in that same place David saw
the angel that smote the folk with a sword, and put it up bloody in
the sheath. And in that same rock was Saint Simeon when he
received our Lord into the temple. And in this rock he set him
when the Jews would have stoned him; and a star came down and gave
him light. And upon that rock preached our Lord often-time to the
people. And out that said temple our Lord drove out the buyers and
the sellers. And upon that rock our Lord set him when the Jews
would have stoned him; and the rock clave in two, and in that
cleaving was our Lord hid, and there came down a star and gave
light and served him with clarity. And upon that rock sat our
Lady, and learned her psalter. And there our Lord forgave the
woman her sins, that was found in avowtry. And there was our Lord
circumcised. And there the angels shewed tidings to Zacharias of
the birth of Saint Baptist his son. And there offered first
Melchisadech bread and wine to our Lord, in token of the sacrament
that was to come. And there fell David praying to our Lord and to
the angel that smote the people, that he would have mercy on him
and on the people: and our Lord heard his prayer, and therefore
would he make the temple in that place, but our Lord forbade him by
an angel; for he had done treason when he let slay Uriah the worthy
knight, for to have Bathsheba his wife. And therefore, all the
purveyance that he had ordained to make the temple with he took it
Solomon his son, and he made it. And he prayed our Lord, that all
those that prayed to him in that place with good heart - that he
would hear their prayer and grant it them if they asked it
rightfully: and our Lord granted it him, and therefore Solomon
clept that temple the Temple of Counsel and of Help of God.
And without the gate of that temple is an altar where Jews were in
wont to offer doves and turtles. And between the temple and that
altar was Zacharias slain. And upon the pinnacle of that temple
was our Lord brought for to be tempted of the enemy, the fiend.
And on the height of that pinnacle the Jews set Saint James, and
cast him down to the earth, that first was Bishop of Jerusalem.
And at the entry of that temple, toward the west, is the gate that
is clept PORTA SPECIOSA. And nigh beside that temple, upon the
right side, is a church, covered with lead, that is clept Solomon's
School.
And from that temple towards the south, right nigh, is the temple
of Solomon, that is right fair and well polished. And in that
temple dwell the Knights of the Temple that were wont to be clept
Templars; and that was the foundation of their order, so that there
dwelled knights and in TEMPLO DOMINI canons regulars.
From that temple toward the east, a six score paces, in the corner
of the city, is the bath of our Lord; and in that bath was wont to
come water from Paradise, and yet it droppeth. And there beside is
our Lady's bed. And fast by is the temple of Saint Simeon, and
without the cloister of the temple, toward the north, is a full
fair church of Saint Anne, our Lady's mother; and there was our
Lady conceived; and before that church is a great tree that began
to grow the same night. And under that church, in going down by
twenty-two degrees, lieth Joachim, our Lady's father, in a fair
tomb of stone; and there beside lay some-time Saint Anne, his wife;
but Saint Helen let translate her to Constantinople. And in that
church is a well, in manner of a cistern, that is clept PROBATICA
PISCINA, that hath five entries. Into that well angels were wont
to come from heaven and bathe them within. And what man, that
first bathed him after the moving of the water, was made whole of
what manner of sickness that he had. And there our Lord healed a
man of the palsy that lay thirty-eight year, and our Lord said to
him, TOLLE GRABATUM TUUM ET AMBULA, that is to say, 'Take thy bed
and go.' And there beside was Pilate's house.
And fast by is King Herod's house, that let slay the innocents.
This Herod was over-much cursed and cruel. For first he let slay
his wife that he loved right well; and for the passing love that he
had to her when he saw her dead, he fell in a rage and out of his
wit a great while; and sithen he came again to his wit. And after
he let slay his two sons that he had of that wife. And after that
he let slay another of his wives, and a son that he had with her.
And after that he let slay his own mother; and he would have slain
his brother also, but he died suddenly. And after that he did all
the harm that he could or might. And after he fell into sickness;
and when he felt that he should die, he sent after his sister and
after all the lords of his land; and when they were come he let
command them to prison. And then he said to his sister, he wist
well that men of the country would make no sorrow for his death;
and therefore he made his sister swear that she should let smite
off all the heads of the lords when he were dead; and then should
all the land make sorrow for his death, and else, nought; and thus
he made his testament. But his sister fulfilled not his will.
For, as soon as he was dead, she delivered all the lords out of
prison and let them go, each lord to his own, and told them all the
purpose of her brother's ordinance. And so was this cursed king
never made sorrow for, as he supposed for to have been. And ye
shall understand, that in that time there were three Herods, of
great name and fame for their cruelty. This Herod, of which I have
spoken of was Herod Ascalonite; and he that let behead Saint John
the Baptist was Herod Antipas; and he that let smite off Saint
James's head was Herod Agrippa, and he put Saint Peter in prison.
Also, furthermore, in the city is the church of Saint Saviour; and
there is the left arm of John Chrisostome, and the more part of the
head of Saint Stephen. And on that other side in the street,
toward the south as men go to Mount Sion, is a church of Saint
James, where he was beheaded.
And from that church, a six score paces, is the Mount Sion. And
there is a fair church of our Lady, where she dwelled; and there
she died. And there was wont to be an abbot of canons regulars.
And from thence was she borne of the apostles unto the vale of
Jehosaphat. And there is the stone that the angel brought to our
Lord from the mount of Sinai, and it is of that colour that the
rock is of Saint Catherine. And there beside is the gate where
through our Lady went, when she was with child, when she went to
Bethlehem. Also at the entry of the Mount Sion is a chapel. And
in that chapel is the stone, great and large, with the which the
sepulchre was covered with, when Joseph of Arimathea had put our
Lord therein; the which stone the three Marys saw turn upward when
they came to the sepulchre the day of his resurrection, and there
found an angel that told them of our Lord's uprising from death to
life. And there also is a stone in the wall, beside the gate, of
the pillar that our Lord was scourged at. And there was Annas's
house, that was bishop of the Jews in that time. And there was our
Lord examined in the night, and scourged and smitten and villainous
entreated. And that same place Saint Peter forsook our Lord thrice
or the cock crew. And there is a part of the table that he made
his supper on, when he made his maundy with his disciples, when he
gave them his flesh and his blood in form of bread and wine.
And under that chapel, thirty-two degrees, is the place where our
Lord washed his disciples' feet, and yet is the vessel where the
water was. And there beside that same vessel was Saint Stephen
buried. And there is the altar where our Lady heard the angels
sing mass. And there appeared first our Lord to his disciples
after his resurrection, the gates enclosed, and said to them, PAX
VOBIS! that is to say, 'Peace to you!' And on that mount appeared
Christ to Saint Thomas the apostle and bade him assay his wounds;
and then believed he first, and said, DOMINUS MEUS ET DEUS MEUS!
that is to say 'My Lord and my God!' In the same church, beside
the altar, were all the apostles on Whitsunday, when the Holy Ghost
descended on them in likeness of fire. And there made our Lord his
pasque with his disciples. And there slept Saint John the
evangelist upon the breast of our Lord Jesu Christ, and saw
sleeping many heavenly privities.
Mount Sion is within the city, and it is a little higher than the
other side of the city; and the city is stronger on that side than
on that other side. For at the foot of the Mount Sion is a fair
castle and a strong that the soldan let make. In the Mount Sion
were buried King David and King Solomon, and many other kings, Jews
of Jerusalem. And there is the place where the Jews would have
cast up the body of our Lady when the apostles bare the body to be
buried in the vale of Jehosaphat. And there is the place where
Saint Peter wept full tenderly after that he had forsaken our Lord.
And a stone's cast from that chapel is another chapel, where our
Lord was judged, for that time was there Caiaphas's house. From
that chapel, to go toward the east, at seven score paces, is a deep
cave under the rock, that is clept the Galilee of our Lord, where
Saint Peter hid him when he had forsaken our Lord. ITEM, between
the Mount Sion and the Temple of Solomon is the place where our
Lord raised the maiden in her father's house.
Under the Mount Sion, toward the vale of Jehosaphat, is a well that
is clept NATATORIUM SILOE. And there was our Lord washed after his
baptism; and there made our Lord the blind man to see. And there
was y-buried Isaiah the prophet. Also, straight from NATATORIUM
SILOE, is an image, of stone and of old ancient work, that Absalom
let make, and because thereof men clepe it the hand of Absalom.
And fast by is yet the tree of elder that Judas hanged himself
upon, for despair that he had, when he sold and betrayed our Lord.
And there beside was the synagogue, where the bishops of Jews and
thePharisees came together and held their council; and there cast
Judas the thirty pence before them, and said that he had sinned
betraying our Lord. And there nigh was the house of the apostles
Philip and Jacob Alphei. And on that other side of Mount Sion,
toward the south, beyond the vale a stone's cast, is Aceldama; that
is to say, the field of blood, that was bought for the thirty
pence, that our Lord was sold for. And in that field be many tombs
of Christian men, for there be many pilgrims graven. And there be
many oratories, chapels and hermitages, where hermits were wont to
dwell. And toward the east, an hundred paces, is the charnel of
the hospital of Saint John, where men were wont to put the bones of
dead men.
Also from Jerusalem, toward the west, is a fair church, where the
tree of the cross grew. And two mile from thence is a fair church,
where our Lady met with Elizabeth, when they were both with child;
and Saint John stirred in his mother's womb, and made reverence to
his Creator that he saw not. And under the altar of that church is
the place where Saint John was born. And from that church is a
mile to the castle of Emmaus: and there also our Lord shewed him
to two of his disciples after his resurrection. Also on that other
side, 200 paces from Jerusalem, is a church, where was wont to be
the cave of the lion. And under that church, at thirty degrees of
deepness, were interred 12,000 martyrs, in the time of King Cosdroe
that the lion met with, all in a night, by the will of God.
Also from Jerusalem, two mile, is the Mount Joy, a full fair place
and a delicious; and there lieth Samuel the prophet in a fair tomb.
And men clepe it Mount Joy, for it giveth joy to pilgrims' hearts,
because that there men see first Jerusalem.
Also between Jerusalem and the mount of Olivet is the vale of
Jehosaphat, under the walls of the city, as I have said before.
And in the midst of the vale is a little river that men clepe
TORRENS CEDRON, and above it, overthwart, lay a tree (that the
cross was made of) that men yede over on. And fast by it is a
little pit in the earth, where the foot of the pillar is yet
interred; and there was our Lord first scourged, for he was
scourged and villainously entreated in many places. Also in the
middle place of the vale of Jehosaphat is the church of our Lady:
and it is of forty-three degrees under the earth unto the sepulchre
of our Lady. And our Lady was of age, when she died, seventy-two
year. And beside the sepulchre of our Lady is an altar, where our
Lord forgave Saint Peter all his sins. And from thence, toward the
west, under an altar, is a well that cometh out of the river of
Paradise. And wit well, that that church is full low in the earth,
and some is all within the earth. But I suppose well, that it was
not so founded. But for because that Jerusalem hath often-time
been destroyed and the walls abated and beten down and tumbled into
the vale, and that they have been so filled again and the ground
enhanced; and for that skill is the church so low within the earth.
And, natheles, men say there commonly, that the earth hath so been
cloven sith the time that our Lady was there buried; and yet men
say there, that it waxeth and groweth every day, without doubt. In
that church were wont to be monks black, that had their abbot.
And beside that church is a chapel, beside the rock that hight
Gethsemane. And there was our Lord kissed of Judas; and there was
he taken of the Jews. And there left our Lord his disciples, when
he went to pray before his passion, when he prayed and said, PATER,
SI FIERI POTEST, TRANSEAT A ME CALIX ISTE; that is to say, 'Father,
if it may be, do let this chalice go from me': and, when he came
again to his disciples, he found them sleeping. And in the rock
within the chapel yet appear the fingers of our Lord's hand, when
he put them in the rock, when the Jews would have taken him.
And from thence, a stone's cast towards the south, is another
chapel, where our Lord sweat drops of blood. And there, right
nigh, is the tomb of King Jehosaphat, of whom the vale beareth the
name. This Jehosaphat was king of that country, and was converted
by an hermit, that was a worthy man and did much good. And from
thence, a bow draught towards the south, is the church, where Saint
James and Zachariah the prophet were buried.
And above the vale is the mount of Olivet; and it is clept so for
the plenty of olives that grow there. That mount is more high than
the city of Jerusalem is; and, therefore, may men upon that mount
see many of the streets of the city. And between that mount and
the city is not but the vale of Jehosaphat that is not full large.
And from that mount styed our Lord Jesu Christ to heaven upon
Ascension Day; and yet there sheweth the shape of his left foot in
the stone. And there is a church where was wont to be an abbot and
canons regulars. And a little thence, twenty-eight paces, is a
chapel; and therein is the stone on the which our Lord sat, when he
preached the eight blessings and said thus: BEAU PAUPERES SPIRITU:
and there he taught his disciples the PATER NOSTER; and wrote with
his finger in a stone. And there nigh is a church of Saint Mary
Egyptian, and there she lieth in a tomb. And from thence toward
the east, a three bow shot, is Bethphage, to the which our Lord
sent Saint Peter and Saint James for to seek the ass upon Palm-
Sunday, and rode upon that ass to Jerusalem.
And in coming down from the mount of Olivet, toward the east, is a
castle that is clept Bethany. And there dwelt Simon leprous, and
there harboured our Lord: and after he was baptised of the
apostles and was clept Julian, and was made bishop; and this is the
same Julian that men clepe to for good harbourage, for our Lord
harboured with him in his house. And in that house our Lord
forgave Mary Magdalene her sins: there she washed his feet with
her tears, and wiped them with her hair. And there served Saint
Martha our Lord. There our Lord raised Lazarus from death to life,
that was dead four days and stank, that was brother to Mary
Magdalene and to Martha. And there dwelt also Mary Cleophas. That
castle is well a mile long from Jerusalem. Also in coming down
from the mount of Olivet is the place where our Lord wept upon
Jerusalem. And there beside is the place where our Lady appeared
to Saint Thomas the apostle after her assumption, and gave him her
girdle. And right nigh is the stone where our Lord often-time sat
upon when he preached; and upon that same he shall sit at the day
of doom, right as himself said.
Also after the mount of Olivet is the mount of Galilee. There
assembled the apostles when Mary Magdalene came and told them of
Christ's uprising. And there, between the Mount Olivet and the
Mount Galilee, is a church, where the angel said to our Lady of her
death.
Also from Bethany to Jericho was sometime a little city, but it is
now all destroyed, and now is there but a little village. That
city took Joshua by miracle of God and commandment of the angel,
and destroyed it, and cursed it and all them that bigged it again.
Of that city was Zaccheus the dwarf that clomb up into the sycamore
tree for to see our Lord, because he was so little he might not see
him for the people. And of that city was Rahab the common woman
that escaped alone with them of her lineage: and she often-time
refreshed and fed the messengers of Israel, and kept them from many
great perils of death; and, therefore, she had good reward, as holy
writ saith: QUI ACCIPIT PROPHETAM IN NOMINE MEO, MERCEDEM
PROPHETAE ACCIPIET; that is to say, 'He that taketh a prophet in my
name, he shall take meed of the prophet.' And so had she. For she
prophesied to the messengers, saying, NOVI QUOD DOMINUS TRADET
VOBIS TERRAM HANC; that is to say, 'I wot well, that our Lord shall
betake you this land': and so he did. And after, Salomon,
Naasson's son, wedded her, and from that time was she a worthy
woman, and served God well.
Also from Bethany go men to flom Jordan by a mountain and through
desert. And it is nigh a day journey from Bethany, toward the
east, to a great hill, where our Lord fasted forty days. Upon that
hill the enemy of hell bare our Lord and tempted him, and said, DIC
UT LAPIDES ISTI PANES FIANT; that is to say, 'Say, that these
stones be made loaves.' In that place, upon the hill, was wont to
be a fair church; but it is all destroyed, so that there is now but
an hermitage, that a manner of Christian men hold, that be clept
Georgians, for Saint George converted them. Upon that hill dwelt
Abraham a great while, and therefore men clepe it Abraham's Garden.
And between the hill and this garden runneth a little brook of
water that was wont to be bitter; but, by the blessing of Elisha
the prophet, it became sweet and good to drink. And at the foot of
this hill, toward the plain, is a great well, that entereth into
from Jordan.
From that hill to Jericho, that I spake of before, is but a mile in
going toward flom Jordan. Also as men go to Jericho sat the blind
man crying, JESU, FILI DAVID, MISERERE MEI; that is to say, 'Jesu,
David's Son, have mercy on me.' And anon he had his sight. Also,
two mile from Jericho, is flome Jordan. And, an half mile more
nigh, is a fair church of Saint John the Baptist, where he baptised
our Lord. And there beside is the house of Jeremiah the prophet.
Chapter 10 |Index | Chapter 12