that thyse thre kynges Melchior Balthazar and Iasper of thyse londes in whom thyse good and ryche gyftes wexed and-growyd that sholde be offred to god by the olde prophecies / Rather they maye be callyd kynges than kynges of other grete londes wherof sayth Dauid the prophete Beges tharsis insule munera offerent reges arabum saba dona domino deo adducent that is to saye / Kynges of Taars and of the yle shall offre gyftes kynges of Arabie of Saba shall brynge gyftes to our lorde god / ¶ Somtyme thyse kynges had other names / Melchior was called kinge of Nubie of Arabie / Balthazar was called kyng of Golie Saba Iasper was called kynge of Taars of thyle of Egris will / it was called the kyngdom of Taars bicause it was nexed to the same yle / And so the names of their kingdoms ben specifyed in specyall for dyfference of other cytees and yles of the countree / TO shewe ayen of thise thre worshypful kinges of the araye and ordenaunce wyth ryche tresour and ornamentes and wyth grete multytude of people as it is aforsayd / And whan they rode forth out of their kyngdoms none of them wyst ne knewe of others purpoos by cause of the long waye that was bytwyx eche kyngdom yet the sterre went euenly tofore thise thre kynges al theyr mey ne / And whan theistode styll or rested thenÌ„ the sterre stode styll whan they yede or rode the sterre alway yede forth tofore them in his vertu strength yaue lyght to al theâ—r wayes / And the tyme was peas in al the worlde wherfore in al cytees townes the they ye de by was no gate shyt nyght nor day but it semyd to those thre kynges to al theyr people that it was euer daye neuer nyght in all those .xiij. dayes / whefore all men of cytees townes that thyse thre kynges came by were wonderly aferde merueyled therof For they sawe kynges with somoche people bestes caryage that passyd by theym in grete hast in the nyghte / But they knewe not what they were ne from what place they came ne whyther they sholde goo / But on the morowe they sawe the waygretely defoylled and traced wyth hors fete other beestes / Wherfore they were in grete doubte what it shold be and grete altercacoÌ„n was amonge theym in that co untree longe tyme after / ¶ Soo ferthermore whan thyse thre kynges had rydden thrugh dyuers londes kyngdoms citees and townes they rode ouer hylles waters valeyes playnes and many other dyuers peryllouse places wythoute ony dysese or lettynge / For all the waye that they rode were it highe or lowe all semyd to theym euyn and playne and fayre waye / ¶ They toke neuer herberough by the waye nyghte nor daye ne neuer rested themself but to make water neyther their beestes that were in theyr company ne neyther ete nor dranke after the tyme that they had take their waye tyll they came in to Bedleem / And all thyse .xiij dayes Iourneyes semyd theym but one daye / And thus thorugh the grete myghte of god the ledynge of the sterre they came in to Iherusalem the thyrtenth daye after that Cryste was borne in the vprysynge of the sonne wherof this is noo doubte / For they founde oure lady and her sone in the same place and in the caue that Criste was borne in / he was layed in an olde maynger ¶ Also many bokes telle that they came in to Iherusalem and to Bedleem in the in the myddes of the daye wherof saynt Gregory sayth thus in an Omelie Si dimna operacio humana racione comprehendi posset non esset admirabilis nec haberet fides meritum cui humana racoÌ„ prebet experimentuÌ„ that is to saye / Yf the werkes of god mighte be coÌ„prehended in mannes wytte or reason it were noo wonder for fayth hath no mede where kynde reason shewyth if to man / ¶ For oure lorde god that in the olde Testament ledde Abakuc the prophete by one heere of his heed out of Iurye in to Babilonie Caldee that was a hundred dayes Iourneye bitwene goynge comynge to Danyel the prophete that was in a pytte among wylde lyens and anone restored the same Abakuc in to his owne place ayen / The same lorde god in the newe Testament was myghty to lede brynge thise thre worshipfull kynges out of theyr kyngdoms in the eest in to the londe of Iewery in twelue dayes wythoute ony dysese or lettynge / ¶ Also our lorde Ihesu Cryst after his resurrexcyon yede to his dyscyples in to an house wythout openynge of gate or locke / And as the fyre brente not ne dyde none harme to the thre chyldren whan they were putte in the furneys of fire ne noo sauour of smoke was founde in theym / Ryght soo in the tyme of thyse thre gloryous kynges our lady saynt Mary bare our lorde Ihesu Cryst that was and is very god man / And yet she was tofore and euer after a clene mayde / God almyghty myght harue brought thise thre kynges al their folke out of the Eest in to Iewerye in a moment as he broughte Abakuc the prophete forsayde / But though god almyghty made hymself lowe and was borne in grete pouerte and toke vpon him manhode maÌ„nes freeltee yet he wolde merueyllously shewe his byrth to all the worlde in heuen in erthe wyth the myghte of his godheed of his hyghe mageste / WHan thyse thre kynges eche in his waye with his hoste companye were almost come to Iherusalem saue two myle / Thenne a derke a grete clowde couered theym alle the erthe / And in that derke clowde they loste theyr sterre as the prophecye of Ysaye sayd Surge illuminare Ihrlm quia venit lumen tnuÌ„ et gloria dnÌ„i super te orta est quia ecce tenebre operient terram caligo populos that is to say / Iherusalem aryse and take lyght for thy lyghte is come to the the Ioye of god is sprongen vpon the. for loo derknesse shall couere the erthe and a clowde the people / ¶ Whan thyse thre kynges were nyghe Iherusalem thenne Mechior kynge of Nubie of Arabie wyth his people was fast by the hyll of Caluarie there Cryst was doon on the crosse by the wyll of god there he abode in the clowde in derknesse / And that tyme the hyll of Caluarie was a roche of twelue grees of heyghte / And on this hyll theues and other men for dyuers trespaces were put to theyr dethe / There was also besyde this hyll an hyghe way and to that highe waye were thre highe wayes metynge togyder / And soo for derknesse of the clowde and for they knewe not the way they abode there yede no ferther at that tyme / AFter that Melchior was thus come thenne nexte hym a lytyll vnder the clowde came
¶ Prologus HEre begynnyth the lyfe of the thre kynges of Colein fro that tyme ther â—ought our lorde god almyghty camÌ„ to Bedleem 〈◊〉 shypped hym and offied to hym vnto the tyme of theyr deth / As it is drawen out of dyuers bolâ—es and putte in one / And how they were traullaâ—e fro place to place / ¶ The matere of thise thre kynges fro the begynnynge of the prophecye of Balaam preest of Madians prophete that prophecied sayd Oâ—â—â— stella et Iacob et erurger homo de israel et ipe dâ—abitur oim genâ—…uÌ„ That is to say a slewe shall spâ—â—…ge of Iacob and a man shall ryse vp of Israel and shall be lorde of all folke as is conteyned in the olde Testament / ¶ Of this Balaam is altercacoÌ„n in yeâ—est partyes betwyx the Iewes the Crysten men / for Iewes saye in theyr bokes that Balaam was noo prophete but an enchauntour and thrugh whiche crafte the deuylles helpe he prophecied / Wherfore in Iewes wrytynge they calle hym an enchauntour and noo prophete ¶ Agayn the Iewes Crysten men alledge saye that Balaam was a Paynym and the fyrste prophete noo Iewe and he prophecyed to they in that were noo Iewes / And he prophecyed ryght gloryously of the Incarnacyon of our lorde and of the comynge of thyse thre kynges / for yf his prophecye had ben by the deuylles crafte the deuyll wold not haue forboden to curse Israel / But god by grete loue shewed to Balaam by an angell by grete tokens or that he greued god by his euyll counsell / ¶ Also in the Iewes bokes is a grete question of Iob whom god wyth his owne mouthe coÌ„mendyth / of whom the Iewes toke but lytyll hede or none for he was a Paynym none Ebrewe / Ferthermore they saye that Iob was before Moyses lawe and that tyme he dwellyd in Mesopotania notwythstondynge the scripture sayth he was of the londe of Hus in Sirie and dwelled in a towne that now is called Sabob that is fro Damaske a dayes Iourneye where his sepulture is seen vnto this day / And besyde that same towne saynt Poul was caste downe in the felde there recouered agayn by Cryste IhuÌ„ / ¶ Also the Iewes kepe ryght nought of the prophecies of Balaam ne of his wordes but in theyr bokes sette him at nought of whiche it were longe to telle / WHAN the chyldern of Israel were goon oute of Egypte had wonne Iherusalem all the londe lienge there abowte and no man was hardy in al that counfree to sette agaynst theym for drede that they hadde of theim / That tyme in Inde was an hylle that was callyd Vaws and also they callyd it that hyll of Vyctory / And on this hyll the warde and the kepyng of theym of Inde was ordeyned kepte by dyuers aspyes by nyghte and daye for the chyldern of Israel and afterwarde for the Romayns / Soo that yf ony peple purposed wyth stronge honde to entree in to the londe of the kyngdom of Inde anone aspyes of other hylles abowte by tokens shewed and warned the kepers of the hyll of Vaws / As by nyghte they made grete fyre and by day grete smoke / For that hyll of Vaws passyd of heyghte all other hilles of Inde and in al the Eest / And soo whan ony suche tokens were seen by nyghte or daye thenne anone all manere of men of that countree made theim redy for to withstonde yf ony enmyes came / ¶ Wherfore in the tyme of Balaam that gloryously prophecyed of the Incarnacyon of our lorde and of the sterre and say de Orietur stella c̈ Thenne al the grete lordes and all the people of Inde and in the Eest desyred gretly to se that sterre / And they promysed for to geue grete gyftes to the kepers of the hyll of Vaws / And hyred theym wyth grete rewardes and gyftes that at suche tyme as they sholde se by nighte or by daye ferre or nere ony lyghte or sterre in the firmamente other wyse fourmed than hathe be accustumed to be seen that Incontynent they sholde shewe lyght and sende theym worde / And soo longe tyme that comen fame and pronystifyeng of the sterre was gretely desyred and bore thorugh alle the londes of the Eest and also the name of the hyll of Vaws / ¶ Moreouer of the same hylle rose vp a grete kynredde in Inde and in the Eest that is callyd the progenye of Vaws vnto this daye / And there is not a more worshypful kynredde ne more noble and myghty in all the londes and all the kyngdoms in the Eest as it shall be shewed more plainly afterwarde / And the kynredde came fyrste of the kynredde of the worshypfull kynges blode that was callyd Melchior that offryd golde to Tryste Ihesu / IN the yere of our lorde a thousande two hundred whan the cyte of Akon that is called Acrys stode in Ioye and prosperite and was enhaunsed rychely wyth prynces and lordes and also wyth dyuers orders of men of religyon of all manere of dyuers nacoÌ„ns tonges in somoche that the name the praysynge of the cyte of Akon or Akers was borne thorugh the worlde And moreouer alle nacoÌ„ns and tonges came thither bothe by londe and sée of al manere of marchandise of the worlde / Soo there was noo cytee lyke thereto of nobles ne of worthynes and of myghte / Thenne for the grete name and many folde praysynges and merueyles that were there the grettest of byrthe of the progenye kynredde of Vaws came out of Inde in to Akon / And whan they sawe alle thynges there habunde in more worshyppe than in Inde and in alle the countrees of the Eest / Thenne by cause of so many playsures they taryed there and buylded a fayr toure a stronge castell in Akon for ony lorde or kynge / And they brought wyth theym out of Inde of the Eest many ryche ornamentes Iewelles / And amonge alle other Iewelles they broughte a costle we Dyademe of golde arayed wyth perles precyous stones / And in the hyhest place of the Dyademe stode letters of golde and a sterre lyke the sterre that apperyd to the thre kynges whan they sawe Cryst with a sygne of a Crosse beside hym / And that Dyademe was Melchiors kinge of Nubie of Arabie that offred golde to Cryste / For thorugh that Dyademe and the merytes of the thre blessyd kynges god almyghty heelyd sauyd both man beest of dyuers syknesses / what man was take with the fallyngeuyll whan the dyademe was layed on him anone he was hole / therfore after the mayster thorder of the TeÌ„plers gate that diademe with many precious Iewelles of whyche crowne they had grete offrynges / But after that the ordre of the Templers were dystroyed where that Dyade me and many other ryght precyous ornamentes became it was neuer knowen vnto this daye / Wherfore grece sorowe
wytnesse her of to Herode to all the Scribes and to all the Iewes And soo for the wonderfull doynge the Paynems that had noo knowynge of holy wrytte ne of the byrthe of Cryste called thise thre kynges Magos that is to saye wytches / And the Iewes that knewe the scrypture the byrthe of Cryste and the places of enuye falsnesse excyted the Paynems all abowte to calle theim wytches and soo it was broughte in to vsage that they call thise thre kynges so yet vnto this daye and therof beryth many dyuers bokes witnesse / But to put away all manere of doubtes and in repreuynge of all the false Iewes almyghty god that is euer wonderful in his werkynge gloryous in his sayntes wolde haue the preuyte of his birthe to be knowe to all the people / Soo that this gloryous name that was oonly hidde in the londe of Iewery vnto his byrthe / That same name all manere of nacoÌ„ns thrugh all the worlde sholde worshyppÌ„ knowe prayse / AFter thise thre kynges were come wyth grete traueylle to the hyll of Vaws afore sayde thenÌ„ they made there a fayr chapell in worshyppe of the chylde that they had sought / And they made couenaunt to mete togyder all thre at that same chapell ones in the yere at a certayn daye assygned / there they ordeyned their sepultures / ¶ ThenÌ„ a lytyll whyle after all the prynces the lordes and the worshipfull knyghtes of theyr londes kyngdomes herynge of the comynge home of thyse thre kynges anone they rode to theym wyth grete solempnyte and mette wyth theym at the sayde chapell / And wyth grete mekenesse reuerence they receyued theym / And whan the prynces lordes herde how merueyllously god had wroughte by thyse thre kynges / thenne they had theim in more reuerence loue and drede euer after / ¶ So whan thyse thre kynges had ordeyned theyr Testamentes done what they wolde thenne they toke leue eche of other / And eche of theym wyth his owne people rode hoome vnto hys owne londe wyth grete Ioye solempnyte and thê° eche kynge departed from other in theyr persones / but neuer in theyr hertes / And whan they were rested in their owne londes thenne they tolde and preched to all the people all that they had seen and done in theyr waye / And they dyde make in theyr Temples a sterre after the same fourme and liknesse as it apperyd to theim / Wherfore the Paynems lefte their errours and theyr mawmettes and worshypped the chylde whyche the kynges had soughte / ¶ And thus thise thre kynges dwelled in their londes and kyngdoms in worshypfull and honeste conuersacyon tyll after the AscencoÌ„n of our lorde Ihesu Cryste / And wythin shorte tyme after thenne came saynt Thomas thappostle in to theyr countrees / AFter the tyme that thise thre kynges were to me from Bedleem in to their owne countrees agayn / Thenne beganne to ryse sprynge a grete fame of our lady and of her childe and of the thre kinges abuote all the countree of Iherusalem Wherfore our lady for drede of the Iewes fledde oute of that lytyll house that god was borne in yede in to a nother derke caue vnder the erthe / And there she abode wyth her chylde to the tyme of her Purificacyon / And as goddys wyll was dyuers men wyÌ„ men louyd our lady saynt Mary and her sone and founde theym all manere necessaryes that theim neded / ¶ And after whan the fayth began to wexe and encrease thenne was edifyed there a chapell in the same caue in worshyppe of the thre kynges and of saynt Nicholas / ¶ And in that chapell there is a stone whyche our lady was wont to sytte on whan she yaue her chylde our lorde Ihesu Cryste sucke / And on a tyme as she satte vppon that stone in gyuynge to her swete chylde sucke there hapned to falle downe from her teete a lytyll droppe of that moost purest and moost clene vyrgynall mylke on the forsay yd stone the whyche moost precyous and purest mylke that fell from that blessyd vyrgyn is remaynyng and seen there vnto this daye / And the more it is shrapyd wyth knyues the more wexyth the mylke / And it is borne in to many dyuers places by pylgrymes ¶ Also whan our lady was goon out of the lytyll hous in to the caue she had forgote her smocke behynde her in the haye of the maynger there our lady laye in / And soo bothe haye smocke were hoole tresshÌ„ in the same place vnto the tyme that saynt Eleyn that holy quene that was moder to kyng Constantyn came to the place / For the Iewes of malyce of enuye helde that place that Criste was borne in a foule cursyd place / In somoche-that they wold suffre no man nor woman ne chylde ne beest goo in to that place / ¶ Ferdermore whan our lady had offred vp her childe in to the temple wyth the turtles douues after Moyses lawe as holy wrytte telleth / And Symeon toke him in his armes sayd Nunc dimittis seruuÌ„ tuuÌ„ dnÌ„e c̈ that is to saye / Now lorde lete thy secuaunt be in peas after thy worde / The same tyme Symeon Anne the holy woman in presence of the Scribes Pharisees prophecied many thinges of our lorde Ihesu Cryste as holy wrytte tellyth / And so grete a name was spronge of our lady of her sone amonge the Iewes that she myghte not ne durst not noo lenger abide in that place for drede of Herode of the Iewes / And the Gospell sayth Angelus dnÌ„i apparuit in sompnis ioseph dicens Surge accipe pueruÌ„ c̈ that is for to saye / An angell of god apperyd to Ioseph in his slepe sayd Ryse and take the chylde and his moder and fle in to Egypte and be there tyll I tell the / For Herode shall seke the chylde to dystroye hym / Thenne Ioseph roos toke the childe and his moder yede in to Egypte by night and dwelled there tyll Herode was deed / Our lady her sone were in Egypte dwellynge .vij. yeres and it is from Bedleem .xij. dayes Iourney / And in this way as our lady went in to Egypte she sawe growe drie roses the whyche ben callyd the roses of Ierico and they growe in noo place of all the countree but onÌ„ly in the same way / And thise roses the shepeherdes of the same countree done gadre in tyme of yere selltheym to pylgrymes for bredde to other men of that countrees abowte and soo they ben-borne in to dyuers londes / ¶ And in the same place there our lady dwellyd with her sone in Egypte is now a gardyne therin growyth bawme and it is allong brode as a man maye caste stone / And in that gardyne ben vij welles in whom our lady wysshe her sone bathed hym and wasshyd her clothes
that Cryste dyde here in erthe and specyally of the sacrament af baptym / Anone notwythstondyng that they were of grete aege and feble yet they arayed them and came al thre kynges to saynt Thomas wyth other lordes and grete multitude of people / And saynt Thomas wyth grete Ioye and reuerence receyued theym and declaryd to theym all that Cryst taught here in erthe to his dyscyples and also his passyon / And how he roos from dethe to lyfe the thirde daye and also how he styed vp to heuen And how he sente downe the holy ghost to the apostles and many other artycles of the fayth / And specyally he tolde theym of the sacrament of Baptym wythout whyche sacrament there maye noo man come-to the kyngdom of heuen / And whan they were thus enfourmyd and Instructe in the fayth thenne saynt Thomas crystnyd theym and more ouer all the people that came wyth theym / And anone thise thre kynges were replete and fulfylled of the holy ghost / And began co preche wyth saynt Thomas goddys worde / And also they tolde the people how they had soughte Cryste goddys sone in Bedleem in his Natiuyte as it is tolde before / So whan all this was done thyse thre kynges wente wyth saynt Thomas all theyr people to the hylle of Vaws / And there saynt Thomas dyde halowe the chapell that those thre kynges had done made and edifyed vpon that hyll And there saynt Thomas those thre kynges preched agayne to all the people of Cristen byleue and of the sterre that apppered to the thre kyngis / And suche a Ioye and gladnesse was amonge the people and suche a name was rysen in al the londes aboute of saynt Thomas and of thise thre kynges cristned that all manere of people bothe men and wymmen came from dyuerse and ferre countrees wyth greate deuocyon to visyte that chapell that was made on the hyll of Vaws / And for that grete concours and deuocōn that was made to the chapell those thre kinges dyde make vnder that hylle a grete and a ryche cyte / And is called the cyte of Seuyll / And that is the rychest and the beste cyte of all Ynde / And yet vnto this daye in that cyte is the habytacyon of Prethyr Ioh̄n that is lorde of Ynde / And there dwellyth also the Patryarke of Ynde that is called Patryarke Thomas / ¶ And why the Patriarke of Ynde is callyd Thomas and why the lorde of Ynde is called Ioh̄n ye shall here afterwarde / WHanne saynt Thomas the appostle hadde preched and conuertyd the people to the lawes of our Sauyour Cryste Ihesu thenne he sacred and made thyse thre kynges vnto thordre of preesthode and afterwarde vnto Archebysshops / And whan they were put in this degree thenne they ordeyned vnder theim bisshops preestes and clerkes to serue god / And thenne thyse forsayde thre kynges and bysshops halowed all the Temples in that coūtree in-worshippe honour of our lady and casted out all the mawmettes that were in the temples in that countree aboute / And to bisshops preestes and Thise thre kynges and Archebysshops gaaf many grete possessions to mayntene encrease goddis seruyse / Also saynt Thomas taughte thise kynges Archebysshops other bysshops and preestes the manere the fourme to saye a masse and enfourmyd theim also of the wordes that Cryste sayd to his discyples whan he made his supper that nyght that he was betrayed thrugh whiche wordes he made ordeyned the Sacrament of the awter / And also he taughte theym the Pater noster many other thynges he tolde theim / Also the fourme of crystnynge specyally charged theim that they sholde not forgete that And whan saynt Thomas had enfourmyd theym thus of the Crysten fayth thenne afterwarde he toke martyrdom for the lawe of Cryste as it is conteyned more fully in the story that is wreten of his passion / There it tellyth how he was slayne in what place / But sothly in all that countree abowte there saynt Thomas was slayn bothe men wȳmen haue vysages shapen after houndes but they ben not heery and soo they ben yet vnto this daye / AFter the dethe of saynt Thomas thyse thre kynges Archebisshops yede abowte citees townes other dyuers places and ordeyned many chyrches and putte in theim bysshops preestes clerkes other mynysters of holy chyrche to do diuine seruyte / And moche rychesse grete possessyons And thenne the thre kynges Arch̄bisshops forsoke the vanyte of the worlde and ordeyned theym to abyde in the cyte of Seuyll the whyche they had doo buylde / And they assygned certayne lordes to gouerne rule theyr kyngdoms londes bothe in spyritualtie temporalte / And all people of grete loue charyte were obedyent to theim as the sone to the fader / Then̄e the seconde yere tofore theyr dethe thyse thre kynges Archebysshops made a Conuocacōn of all the people bothe spyrytuall and temporall / And had theym all to a certayne place / And they warnyd counseyled the people that they sholde be perseueraunt in the crysten fayth as saynt Thomas had taught theim And counseyled the people that they sholde be all of one acorde and of one wyll to chose a man amonge theim that were able and discrete that had loue and desyre to mayntene the fayth of Crystendom And that man sholde be cheyf tofore alle other men as in spirytualte in saynt Thomas stede / And to hym all manere of men shall obeye as to theyr ghostly fader Whiche man in worshyp of saynt Thomas thapostle sholde be called the Patriarke Thomas for euer lastyng memory / And whan the Patriarke were de de thenne they sholde come togyder all in one place in his stede chese another to whom as it is aforsayd they sholde obeye as to theyr ghostly fader / Then̄e whan this matere was thus-spoke amonge the people they assented therto And of one accorde wyll they chose a man that was called Iacob the whyche was come out of the countree of Anchioche and he had alway folowed saynt Thomas the appostle into Ynde / And this Iacob the people chose and toke hym for theyr Patriarke / And chaunged his name and callyd hym Thomas / And this man Iacob was the firste Patriarke that was in that countree / And soo alwaye they of Ynde be obedient to the Patryarke Thomas as we ben to the Pope of Rome yet vnto thyse dayes / And to this Patriarke and so al his successours thyse thre kinges gaaf for euermore wych the assente of alle the people the Tythes of all theyr londes and kyngdoms / Whan all this was done and the Patryarke Thomas thenne chosen to be lorde of all the people in spirytualte / Thenne thise iij. kinges Archebysshops other bisshops of comin assente of all the people chose a nother man the was discrete to be lorde gouernour of
sayth he went hynge hymself / Thenne the Iewes bought wyth xv of those pence a felde for the sepultures of pylgrymes as the gospell tellyth / And the other .xv. pence the Iewes gaaf to the knyghtes that kept the sepulcre of Cryste / ¶ Ye shall vnderstonde that the lyknesse of thise .xxx. pence was vsed in all the countree bothe in name in moneye from Abrahams tyme vnto the dystruccoÌ„n of Iherusalem the whyche was by Titus Daspasianus dayes distroyed / But from the tyme of Abraham vnto the tyme of Crystys passion thise .xxx. pence were neuer dysceuered ne departed but euermore were bore hole togyder / And whan Cryste was solde for theym anone they were departed sparpled aboute in dyuers places / ¶ And the cause why thyse .xxx. Pence were callyd syluer in the gospell not wythstondyng they were fyne golde / For it is the comyn vsage in all the countree soo for to calle theym / As men calle of this countree golde of beyonde the see as Scutes motenes or florens / And yet in the Eest the same prynte is made bothe in golde syluer and copre and is kept amonge grete lordes of that countree / And the prynte of thyse pence is on the one side a kynges heed crowned and on that other syde it is wreten wyth lettres of Caldee the whyche wrytynge men can not redde now / And one of theym is worche .x. shelynges or better than thre floreyns / And many moo merueylies ben tolde of thyse thyrty pence of whom it were a longe processe to telle / ¶ Also whan our lady and Ioseph were warned to come out of Egypt bi an angel as the gospell tellyth / Thenne they were bydden to goo in to Galilee and there they dwelled in a cyte whiche was called Nazareth / And so the prophecye was fulfylled QuoniaÌ„ nazarenus vocabitur that is to say He shall be called a man of Nazareth / ¶ And what Cryste dyde werke in erthe from that tyme tyll the thyrde yere afore his passion the Euangelistes openly declare not in theyr gospelles / WHan our lorde Ihesu Criste was styed vp in to heuen after that he sente saynt Thomas thapostle in to Ynde to preche there goddys worde / In whiche Ynde as it is aforsayd thise thre kynges the tyme regnyd were lordes of those londes And though it soo were that saynt Thomas ayenst his will yede in to the londes of Ynde yet it was done of grete prouydence of god that the same appostle the put his honde in to goddys syde to knowe the he was very god the was rysen fo deth to lyfe for saluacoÌ„n of man shold go preche the Passion of Cryst his ResurreccoÌ„n his AscencoÌ„n to those worshypful kinges that sought our lorde in Bedleem in his byrth and there wyth yeftes worshypped him / ¶ And as saynt Gregory sayth Quod omnibus nobis ê“fuit ê™ hij tres reges eiusdem dnÌ„i nostri ihÌ„u xpÌ„i infanciam que sierunt et oculis viderunt et deuotissime muneribus adorauerunt probauerunt that is to saye / It was prouffyte to vs all that thyse worshypfull kynges theyr people soughte the childhede of Cryste with theyr eyen dyde se hym and wyth theyr gyftes worshypfully deuoutly honoured hym and sothly preuyd it / ¶ Also the saynt Barthylmew Symon Iude that were Cristis appostles were sente in to Ynde to preche the faythe amonge all the people / For there ben many partyes of Ynde / And one parte of Ynde is more than all the partie of the worlde on this halfe of the see / For this partye of Cristendom on this halfe the see is no more acounted in all theest but an hundred dayes Iourney / AFter that saynt Thomas thappostle had prechid in the kingdom of Ynde goddis worde had goon abowte all the Yndes the prouynces done many myracles thorugh the sygne token of the Crosse of goddis worde / As he yede aboute in the temples he founde a sterre paynted in euery temple after the sterre that apperyd to the .iij. kynges whan Cryste was borne in whiche sterre was the signe of a crosse a chylde aboue / And whan saynt Thomas sawe the sterre he asked of bysshops of the temple what is was / And bisshops tolde saynt Thomas how suche a sterre apperyd of olde tyme vpon the hyll of Vaws in tokenynge of a chylde the was borne sholde be kynge of Iewes as it was herde out of the same sterre / And for that cause thyse thre kynges yede out of theyr londes in to Bedleem worshypfully thrugh ledynge of the sterre came in to Bedleem in .xiij. dayes and there offred to the childe that was bore but with grete traueyle afterwarde they came home in to theyr owne londes in two yere / And as those thre kynges hadd done seen the bysshops of the temple tolde to saynt Thomas thapostle / Whan saynt Thomas herde all this he thanked god with grete Ioye he preched to the bysshops to all the peple the chyldhede of god his passion his resurreccoÌ„n his ascencyon and all the werkis of Cryste whyle he was in erthe / Where thorugh the bysshops of the temples many other folke were conuerted to Cryste were crystned / Ferthermore saynt Thomas mekely declared and dyde expowne to al the people the vnderstondyng of this sterre of the Crosse / And he casted out of the Temples all mawmettes / And he halowed theym in the name in the worshyppe of that chylde Cryste Ihesu / And thenne suche a fame beganne to rise in all that countree abowte of saynt Thomas for the grete myracles that he wroughte that all folke that hadde Infyrmytees or ony other tormentynge of wyckyd spyrytes they came to saynt Thomas / And he in the name of god and by the sygne of the Crosse heelyd theym and conuerted theym to Crystis fayth and crystned theym and they that were soo conuerted to Cryste dyde many myracles thorugh the vertue sygne of the Crosse afterward in dyuers places there as saynt Thomas hadde not vysited ne ben / SO whan saynt Thomas had thus preched and taughte the people / Thenne he yede to the kyngdoms of those thre kynges founde them hole of body and of grete aege / And as Symeon had answere of the holy ghost that he sholde not deye tyll he had seen Cryste goddis sone and so he abode him tyll he was broughte in to the temple and there he toke hym in his armes / So in lyke wyse thyse thre kynges prayed to god that they sholde not deye tyll they were renewed wyth the holy ghost wyth the sacrament of Baptym / Soo whan they herde that a man that was disciple of Cryst was come in to theyr londes that was callyd Thomas prechyd to the people of the chyldhode of Cryst and of his Passyon ResurreccoÌ„n and Ascencyon and of those werkes
trybutory to hym so the he wold helpe them / And then̄e Preter Ioh̄n was in good wyll to helpe theim The next night as Preter Ioh̄n laye in his bedde slepte the thre kynges apperyd to hym spake to hȳ charged hym the he sholde not in noo manere helpe ne socour the Nestorines for it is goddys wyll that thei sholde vtterly be distroyed for theyr wyckydnes and malyce / And whan the Nestorines herde tell that Preter Ioh̄n had suche a vysion of the thre kynges they yede abowte to the grete lordes that were abowte Preter Ioh̄n yaue theim grete yeftes to speke to theyr lorde the they myght haue helpe of hym / And thenne dyuers lordes counseyled Preter Ioh̄n to take noo he de of dremes nor of suche vysions but to holde his purpoos promyse to helpe thise Nestorines / And thenne Preter Ioh̄n assented to theyr counsell sence his eldest sone Dauid wyth a stronge oost in helpyng of the Nestorines / And whan thyse two hostes mette togyder the Tartarines had the vyctory and slewe Dauid all his oost soo that there ascaped none alyue / And also they dystroyed many londes cytees castelles that were longynge to Preter Ioh̄n / And whan preter Ioh̄n herde therof thenne he was sory therfore that he dide ayenst the cōmaundment of the thre kynges that apperyd to hym in his slepe / And thenne with grete sorowe of herte he asked god mercy foryeuenes and the thre kynges he prayed of grace helpe / Thenne on a tyme the thre kynges appered to themperour of Tartaryn as he lay in his bed and charged hym that he sholde doo nomore harme to Preter Ioh̄n / And badde he shold sende to hym and make a fynall peas wyth hym for euermore but the londes castelles the themperour had wonne of Preter Ioh̄n to kepe theym styll to hymself for by cause Preter Ioh̄n was inobedyent to our cōmaundment / Thenne themperour anone though he were a Paynym yet he was sore adradde of his visyon / Anone he sente messagers to Preter Ioh̄n made a fynall peas betwene theym for euer more In somoche that the eldest sone of thyse two lordes sholde wedde the tothers doughter euer more after to the worldes ende soo it is yet contynued unto this daye / ¶ So afterwarde this emperour enqueryd of the thre kinges of theyr lyues dedes / Thenne in mynde in worshyppe of theym themperour ordeyned that his fyrst sone al the chyldren of his successours sholde beere the names of thyse thre kynges for euermore after / And thus the Nestorines were dystroyed put oute of theyr londes kyngdoms / And after warde were fugytyf and dwellynge abowte in dyuers countrees alwaye vnder trybute as Iewes other nacyons that ben alway dwellynge vnder trybute / But yet some of theym dwelle in thyle of Egriswyll paye therfore euery yere grete trybute / Also there is a nother secte that is callyd Indy and they ben of Preter Ioh̄ns londe they ben good cristen men / Add the preestis of that londe whan they goo to masse they hange a crowne of golde on the awter And the preest deaken subdeaken mete togider in thre partyes soo they goo to the awter / And thys they doo in tokenynge of the thre kinges that mette so denly togider in an hye waye whiche was departed in thre wayes / so thrugh ledynge of the sterre they yede vnto Bedleem offred yeftes to god almyghty the twelfthe daye after his byrthe / There is also a nother secte whiche is called Grecij there preestes haue wyues / And they byleue on the fader on the sone but not in the holy ghost / also they byleue saye there is no purgatory / And whan they synge masse they kytte a pece of breede that is made four square / And this breede they putte in a dissh̄ of golde or of syluer aboue that they lay a sterre that is couered with a fayr whyte clothe / And at the Offetory of the masse they take the dissh̄ wyth thost with the sterre sette it aboue on their heedes so wyth sencers and candelles they goo abowte the chyrche wyth grete worshyppe reuerence and soo ayen to the awter / And thenne all the people fallen downe to the grounde doon grete worship to the sacrefyse / And thus they doo in tokenyng of the thre kynges that sought god almyghty in Bedleem and offryd to him ryche yeftes thrugh ledyng of a stere came to the maynger there Cryst laye / And there they fell downe worshyped hym / Also there is another manere of secte whiche is called Simiani / they ben men of Yndore for that londe aboute Ihrlm whiche of olde tyme was called Pude is now callyd Symis / But thise men haue but lityl of heresye amonge theym / they doo grete worshyp to saynt Barbara watche all her nyghte as men doo in this countree on Mydsomer nighte / And soo thenne euery frende gooth to other and bereth aboute-dyuers seedes whyche shall be sowen in gardynes ¶ And thise men whan they shall swere afore Iustices for ony cause thenne they swere by the gospell and by the thre kynges / And that they done in tokenyng of the thre kynges that sought god in the londe of Iewes / There is also a nother secte whiche is called Maronice and they dwelle in dyuers londes aboute / And theyr preestes theyr Deakens and theyr Subdeakens haue wyues / And they saye noo masse in all the yere but at the feest of Crystmas Ester / And they saye masse of saynt Thomas the appostle of the thre kynges / And this they vse yet vnto this daye / Also there is a nother secte whiche is called Ysimij / And whan the preestes goo to masse they blysse the people and prayed god rule theym lede theym as he ledde the thre kynges by a sterre in to Bedleem to doo hym worshyppe / Also there is another secte that is called Maronij / And thise men whan they begyn ony thynge then̄e they saye in the name of god the thre kynges / Also there is a nother secte that is called Nicholaite And those men vse to gyue euery daye thre manere of almesse in the worshyppe of god the thre kynges to poore men there abowte / A nother there is and they ben called Mandopoles And they holde noo specyall fayth they are in heresye ne they haue noo preestes amonge theym / And ones in the yere they gone togyder in procession to the chyrche fastynge / And that shall be on a Sonday there they woll here masse in the worshyp of god the thre kynges / And all those dyuerse sectes other crysten men haue many other specyall deuocyons to thyse thre worshipfull kynges whiche were longe to telle / And in all the countrees of Ynde in the Eest and in al the londes and kyngdoms there thyse thre kynges were lordes all manere of people haue thyle thre kynges in reuerence moche more than men haue in this countre / ¶ And our lord Ihesu Cryst shewyth many myracles abowte in dyuers places in the Eest thrugh the merytes prayers of thise worshipfull kinges whiche thre kynges now regne in eternall blysse in heuen / To whiche blysse by the merytes Intercessions of those thre blessyd kynges he the sytteth aboue all sayntes brynge vs all / AMEN And thus we make an ende of this moost excellenct treatyse of those thre gloryous kynges whoo 's corps reste in the cyce of Coleyne / Enprynted at Westmester by Wynkyn the Worde /