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by Jael, the wife of Heber, and Gideon drove beyond the river Jordan, by strength of the sword, Zeba and Zalmunna, and there he slew them. Also five miles from Nain is the city of Jezreel, which was formerly called Zarim, of which city Jezebel the wicked queen was lady and queen, who took away the vineyard of Naboth by force. Fast by that city is the field Mageddo, in which king Joras was slain by the king of Samaria, and after was carried and buried in Mount Sion. A mile from Jezreel are the hills of Gilboa, where Saul and Jonathan, that were so fair, died; wherefore David cursed them, as Holy Writ saith: 'Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you.' A mile from the hills of Gilboa, to the east, is the city of Cyropolis, which was before called Bethsain; and upon the walls of that city was the head of Saul hanged.

After men go by the hills, beside the plain of Galilee, unto Nazareth, which was formerly a great and fair city, but now there is but a small village, and houses scattered here and there. It is not walled, but it is situated in a little valley, with hills all about. Here our Lady was born; but she was begotten at Jerusalem; and because our Lady was born at Nazareth, therefore our Lord bare his surname of that town. There Joseph took our Lady

12 Sam. i. 21.

And

to wife when she was fourteen years of age; and there Gabriel greet our Lady, saying, 'Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee.' half a mile from Nazareth is the leap of our Lord; for the Jews led him upon a high rock, to make him leap down, and have slain him; but Jesus passed amongst them, and leaped upon another rock; and the steps of his feet are still to be seen in the rock where he alighted. And therefore men say, when in travelling they are in fear of thieves or enemies, 'Jesus autem transiens per medium illorum, ibat;' that is to say, 'But Jesus passing through the midst of them, went: ' in token and remembrance that as our Lord passed through the Jews' cruelty, and escaped safely from them, so surely may men escape the peril of thieves; and then men say two verses of the Psalter three times: 'Irruat super eos formido et pavor, in magnitudine brachii tui, Domine, fiant inmobiles quasi lapis, donec pertranseat populus tuus, Domine; donec pertranseat populus tuus iste, quem possedisti.' ['May fear and dread fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm, O Lord, let them be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.'] And then

men may pass without peril. And you shall understand, that our Lady had child when she was

1 Luke i. 28.

fifteen years old; and she was ❘ length one hundred furlongs,

conversant with her son thirtythree years and three months. And after the passion of our Lord she lived twenty-four years.

From Nazareth we go four miles to Mount Tabor, which is a very fair and lofty hill, where was formerly a town and many churches, but they are all destroyed; but yet there is a place, which they call the School of God, where he was wont to teach his disciples, and told them the secrets of Heaven. At the foot of that hill Melchisedek, who was king of Salem, met Abraham in the turning of the hill on his return from the battle, when he had slain Abimelech; and this Melchisedek was both king and priest of Salem, which is now called Jerusalem. On that hill of Tabor our Lord transfigured himself before St. Peter, St. John, and St. James; and there they saw, in spirit, Moses and Elias the prophets, and therefore St. Peter said, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here; let us make here three tabernacles.'

A mile from Mount Tabor is Mount Hermon, and there was the city of Nain, Before the gate of that city our Lord raised the widow's son. Three miles from Nazareth is the castle of Saffra. From Saffra we go to the sea of Galilee, and to the city of Tiberias, which is situated upon that sea, and although they call it a sea, it is neither sea, nor arm of the sea; for it is but a stank of fresh water, which is in

and in breadth forty furlongs.

From the land of Galilee men come back to Damascus, which is a very fair and noble city, and full of all merchandise, and three days from the sea, and five days from Jerusalem. Men carry merchandise thither upon camels, mules, horses, dromedaries, and other beasts; and thither come merchants by sea from India, Persia, Chaldea, Armenia, and many other kingdoms. This city was founded by Helizeus Damascus, who was yeoman and steward to Abraham before Isaac was born; for he expected to have been Abraham's heir, and he named the town after his surname, Damascus. And in that place, where Damascus was founded, Cain slew Abel his brother. And beside Damascus is Mount Seir. In that city of Damascus there is great plenty of wells; and within the city and without are many fair gardens, with diversity of fruits. No other city can be compared with it for fair gardens for recreation. The city is great and full of people, and well walled with double walls, and it contains many physicians; and St. Paul himself was there a physician, to keep men's bodies in health, before he was converted; and after that he was physician of souls. And St. Luke the Evangelist was a disciple of St. Paul to learn physic, and many others; for St. Paul held then a school of physic. And ne

Damascus he was converted; and after his conversion he dwelt in that city three days, without sight, and without meat or drink. And in those three days he was raised to heaven, and there he saw many secrets of our Lord. And close beside Damascus is the castle of Arkes, which is both fair and strong.

Now I have told you some of the ways by land and water, how men may go to Jerusalem; but there are many other ways according to the countries from which they come. There is one way, all by land, to Jerusalem, without passing any sea, which is from France or Flanders; but that way is very long and perilous, and therefore few go that way. It lies through Germany and Prussia, and so on to Tartary. This Tartary is held of the great Chan, of whom I shall speak more afterwards; and the lords of Tartary pay the great Chan tribute. This is a very bad land, and sandy, and bears very little fruit; for there grows little corn, or wine, or beans, or peas; but there are plenty of cattle, and men eat nothing but flesh, without bread; and they drink the broth, and also they drink milk. And they eat all manner of animals, such as dogs, cats, and rats. And they have little or no wood, and therefore they warm and boil their meat with horse-dung, and cow-dung, and that of other beasts, dried by the sun; and princes and others eat but once a day, and that but little; and

they are very foul people, and of evil nature. And in summer, in all these countries, fall many tempests, and dreadful storms of thunder and lightning, which kill many people, and beasts also. And the temperature passes suddenly from extreme heat to extreme cold. It is the foulest country, and the most cursed, and the poorest, that men know. And their prince, whom they call Batho, dwells at the city of Orda. And truly no good man would dwell in that country, for it is not worthy for dogs to dwell in. It were a good country to sow thistles, and briars, and broom, and thorns; and it is good for no other thing. There is some good land, but very little, as men say.

I have not been in that country, but I have been in other lands which border on those countries, and in the land of Russia, and in Nyflan, and in the realm of Cracow, and Letto (Lithuania), and in Darestan, and in many other places which border on those parts, but I never went by that way to Jerusalem, wherefore I cannot describe it from personal knowledge; for no man may pass by that way well, except in time of winter, for the perilous waters and difficult marshes, which no man may pass except it be strong frost, and snow upon it; for if the snow were not there, men might not go on the ice. From this it is full three days from Prussia to the inhabited land of the Saracens.

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and to deceive one another. And they are so proud that they know not how to be clothed; now long, now short, now Straight, now large, now with sword, now with dagger, and in all manner of guises. They should be simple, meek, and true, and full of alms-deeds, as Jesus was, in whom they believe; but they are all the contrary, and ever inclined to evil, and to do evil. And they are so covetous, that for a little silver they sell their daughters, their sisters, and their own wives, where they come to shame. They are great lawbreakers, and none of them holdeth faith to another; but they break their law, that Jesus Christ gave them to keep for their salvation. And thus, for their sins, have they lost all this land which we hold. Because, for their sins here, God hath given them into our hands not only by our power, but for their sins. For we know well in very truth, that when you serve God, God will help you; and when he is with you, no man may be against you. And that know we well by our prophecies, that the Christians shall win again this land out of our hands when they serve God more devoutly. But as long as they are of foul and unclean liv

s;

THE Saracens say that the Jews are cursed, because they have defiled the law that God sent them by Moses. And the Christians are cursed also, as they say, for they keep not the commandments and the precepts of the Gospel, which Jesus Christ gave them. And, therefore, I shall tell you what the Sultan said to me one day, in his chamber. He sent out of his chamber all men, lords and others, because he would speak with me in counsel. And there he asked me how the Christian men governed themselves in our country? And I answered, 'Right well; thanked be God.' And he said to me, 'Truly, nay; for you Christians care not how untruly you serve God. You should set an example to the common people to do well, and you set them an example of doing evil. For the commons, upon festival days, when they should go to church to serve God, go to taverns, and are there in gluttony all day and night, and eat and drinking (as they are now), we have as beasts that have no reason, and know not when they have enough. And also, the Christians encourage one another, in all ways that they may, to fight,

no dread of them, for their God will not help them.' And then I asked him how he knew the state of the Christians? And he answered me, 'That he knew

E

all the state of the commons | boy that kept camels which went

also, by his messengers, whom he sent to all lands, in guise of merchants of precious stones, cloths of gold, and other things, to know the manners of every country amongst Christians.' And then he called in all the lords that he had sent out of his chamber, and he showed me four who were great lords, who told me of my country, and of many other Christian countries, as well as if they had been of the same country; and they spoke French perfectly well, and the Sultan also, whereof I had great marvel. Alas! it is great slander to our faith and to our law, when people that are without law shall reprove us of our sins. And they that should be converted to Christ and to the law of Jesus by our good examples and by our ac ceptable life to God, and so converted to the law of Jesus Christ, are through our wickedness and evil living, far from us, and strangers from the holy and true belief shall thus accuse us and hold us for wicked livers and accursed. And indeed they say truth. For the Saracens are good and faithful, and keep entirely the commandment of the holy book Alkoran, which God sent them by his messenger Mohammed; to whom, as they say, St. Gabriel the angel often told the will of God.

And you shall understand that Mohammed was born in Arabia, and was first a poor

with merchants for merchandise; and so it happened that he went with the merchants into Egypt. And in the deserts of Arabia he went into a chapel where a hermit dwelt ; and when he entered into the chapel, which was but little and low, and had a small low door, then the entrance became so great, and so large, and so high, as though it had been of a great minster, or the gate of a palace. And this was the first miracle, the Saracens say, that Mohammed did in his youth. Then he began to wax wise and rich; and he was a great astronomer; and afterwards he was governor and prince of the land of Cozrodane, which he governed full wisely; in such manner that, when the prince was dead, he took his lady, named Gadrige, to wife. And Mohammed fell often in the great sickness called the falling evil, wherefore the lady was sorry that ever she took him to husband. But Mohammed made her believe that when he fell so Gabriel the angel came to speak with him, and for the great brightness of the angel he might not help falling. And therefore the Saracens say that Gabriel came often to speak with him. This Mohammed reigned in Arabia in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 610; and was of the generation of Ishmael, who was Abraham's son, by Agar, his chambermaid. And, therefore, there are Saracens that are

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