mortal nature hath ledde the mooste parte of theyr lyf in O syte and myspended theyr tyme passed ryght soone oute of membraunce / Of whiche lyf and deth is egal oblyuyon / The fruytes of vertue ben Inmortall / Specyally whanne t ben wrapped in the benefyce of hystoryes / Thenne it muste folowe / that it is mooste fayre to men Morta to suffre labours and payne / for glorye and fame Jnmortalle Hercules whan he lyued suffryd greete laboures and peryl wylfully puttyng hym self in many terryble and ferdful ieop dyes to obteyne of all peple the benefaytes of Inmortal laude renommee / I We rede of other noble men / somme lordes somme other of lower astates reputed as goddes in dyuerse gyons / the whos famous actes / and excelle[n]t1 vertues only hy torye hath preseruyd fro perysshyng in eternal memorye / Oth monymentes distributed in dy[u]erse 2 chaunges / enduren but for short tyme or season / But the vertu of hystorye dyffused spred by the vnyuersal worlde hath tyme / whiche consumeth all othe thynges as conseruatryce and kepar of her werke / Ferthermore eloquence is soo precious and noble / that almoost noo thyng can be founden more precious than it / By Eloquenc the grekes ben preferryd in contynuel honour to fore the rude ba bares / Oratours and lerned clerkes in like wise excelle vnlerne and brutyssh peple / Syth this eloquence is suche that causeth men emonge them self somme texcelle other / after the qualyte of the vertue and eloquence be seyn to be of valew / For somme we Iu ge to be good men digne of laude / whiche shewe to vs the way of vertue / and other haue taken another waye for tenflamme more the courages of men by fables of poesye / than to prouffyte And by the lawes and Institutes more to punysshe than to teche Soo that of thyse thynges the vtylyte is myxt with harme / For somme sothly techyth to lye / But historye representynge the thynges lyke vnto the wordes / enbraceth al vtylyte J prouffite Jt sheweth honeste / and maketh vyces detestable / It enhaunceth noble men and depresseth wicked men and fooles / Also thynges that historye descryueth by experyence / moche prouffyten vnto a ryghtful lif / Thenne syth historye is so precious ។ also prouffyta ble / J haue delybered to wryte twoo bookes notable / retenyng in them many noble historyes / as the lyues / myracles / passyons and deth of dyuerse hooly sayntes whiche shal be comprysed by 2 dynerse Sig. a 3. recto. 1 text: excelleut verso. and suffraunce of almyghty god in one of them, whiche ned legenda aurea / that is the golden legende / And that ■ook is named polycronycon / in whiche book ben comprised many wonderful historyees / Fyrst the descripcion of the al world / as wel in lengthe as in brede with the diuisions trees royammes empyres / the noble cytees / hye mountayns ryuers / merueylles ។ wondres / J also the historial Aconderful dedes syth the fyrst makyng of heuen Jerth vnto || gynnyng of the regne of kyng edward the fourth / J vnto Sign. a 3. re of our lord M/CCCC lx. As by thayde of almyghty al folowe al a longe / after the composynge J gaderynge of anulph monke of chestre fyrste auctour of this book / and rd englisshed by one Treuisa vycarye of barkley / which quest of one Sir thomas lord barkley translated this sak / the byble bartylmew de proprietatibus rerum out of la to englyssh / And now at this tyme symply emprynted a forme by me William Caxton and a lytel embelysshed Ide makyng / and also haue added suche storyes as I coude Fro thende that the said Ranulph fynysshed his book which eyere of our lord. M.CCC lvij vnto the yere of the saCCCClx / whiche an honderd J thre yere / whiche Jhaue finysshed vnder the noble protection of my most aturel and souerayne lord and moost cristen kynge / kyng the fourth / humbly besechyng his moost noble grace to - me yf ony thynge be sayd therynne of Ignoraunce / or other han it ought to be. And also requyryng al other to amenas ther is defaute / wherin he or they may deserue thank y ✓ And J shal praye for them that soo doo / For I knowle n Ignoraunce and also symplenes / And yf ther be thyng ay plese or prouffite ony man, I am glad that J have ait / And folowynge this my prohemye I shal set a table towchyd of the moost parte of this book / And where the uctor hath alle his werke in seuen bookes, J haue sette niche J haue added to after a parte. and haue marked it e booke / and haue made chapytres acordyng to the other Of whiche accomplysshyng / J thanke Almyghty God me be gyuen Honour / laude / and glorye / in secula seculonen/ Deo gracias. Sig. 49. 4. recto Simple illuminated capital T. Polycronicon [BK VII. EPILOGUE.] e Hus endeth the book [n]amed 1 Proloconycon made y compil by Ranulph monk of chestre / whiche ordeyned it in latyn atte request of the ryght worshipful lord / Thomas lord of ber ley it was translated into englisshe by one Treuisa thenne vy rye of the Paryssh of barkley / And for as moche as syth the a complyssheme[n]te 2 of this sayd booke made by the sayd Ranul ended the yere of oure lord a / M / CCC/lvij / many thynges h ue fallen whiche ben requysyte to be added to this werke / by caus mennes wyttes in this tyme ben oblyuyous and lyghtly forg ten many thynges dygne to be putte in memorye / and also ther can not be founden in these dayes but fewe that wryte in they regystres suche thynges as dayly happen and falle Therfore William Caxton a symple persone haue endeuoyred me to wryt fyrst ouer all the sayd book of proloconycon / and somwhat haue chaunged the rude and old englyssh / that is to wete certayn wor des / which in these dayes be neither vsyd ne vnderstanden / J fur thermore haue put it emprynte to thende that it maye be had J the maters therin comprised to be knowen / for the boke is general touchyng shortly many notable maters / J also am auysed to ma ke another booke after this sayd werke whiche shal be sett here after the same / And shal haue his chapytres J his table a parte For J dar not presume to sette my booke ne ioyne hit to his / for dyuerse causes / one is for as moche as I haue not ne can gete no bokes of auctoryte treatyng of suche cronykes / except a lytel boke: named fasciculus temporum / and another callyd Aureus de vniuerso / in whiche bookes J fynde ryght lytel mater syth the sayde tyme / And another cause is / for as moche as my rude symplenesse and ignorant makyng ought not to be compared / set ne ioyned to his boke / Thenne J shal by the grace of god set my werke after a parte for to accomplysshe the yeres syth that he fynysshed his book / vnto the yere of our lord / M / CCCC / lx / and the fyrst yere of the Regne of kyng edward the fourthe / whiche amounte to an honderd and thre yere / 1 text: uamed 2 complysshemeute Polycronicon [1482] [PROLOGUE TO Liber ultimus] Incipit Liber ultimus Henne folowyng this fore wreton booke of. Prolicronycon J haue emprysed to ordeyne this newe booke by the sufnce of Almyghty god to contynue the sayd werk bryefly/ to sette in hystoriall thynges / such as J haue conne gete/ the tyme that he lefte / that was in the yere of oure lord Dusand thre honderde and seuen and fyfty vnto the yere of ayd lord thousand four honderd and syxty and to the fyrst of the regne of kynge Edward the fourth / Sig. 50. i. recto. Simple illuminated capital. XVI The Book of Fame recto. e nomore of this werke to fore sayd / For as fer as I can sig. d. iiij Conde / This noble man Gefferey Chaucer fynysshyd at the onclusion of the metyng of lesyng and sothsawe / where they ben chekked and maye not departe / whyche werke as eth is craftyly made / and dygne to be wreton J knowen / towchyth in it ryght grete wysedom J subtyll vnderstonAnd so in alle hys werkys he excellyth in myn oppynyother wryters in our Englyssh / For he wrytteth no voy les / but alle hys mater is ful of hye and quycke senten whom ought to be gyuen laude and preysyng for hys nokyng and wrytyng / For of hym alle other haue borowed ad taken / in alle theyr wel sayeng and wrytyng / And bly beseche praye yow / emonge your prayers to rememsoule / on whyche and on alle crysten soulis I beseche algod to haue mercy Amen Emprynted by wylliam Caxton 1 XVII The Golden Legende 1483 [PROLOGUE 1] f. 3 recto, col. 1, beneath woodcut of horse. ND FOR AS MOCHE AS THIS sayd werke was grete J ouer chargeable to me taccomplisshe I feryd me in the begynnyng of the translacyon to haue contynued it / by cause of the longe tyme of the translacion / Jalso in thenpryntyng of pe same Jin maner halfe desperate to haue accomplissd it / was in purpose to haue lefte it / after that I had begonne to translate it / to haue layed it aparte ne had it be at thynstaunce J requeste of the puyssant noble J vertuous erle my lord wyllyam erle of arondel / whi che desyred me to procede ។ contynue the said werke / J promysed me to take a resonable quantyte of them when they were achyeued J accomplisshed / and sente to me a worshypful gentylman a seruaunte of his named Iohn Stanney whych solycyted me in my Lordes name that I shold in no wyse leue it but accomplisshe it promysyng that my sayd lord shold duryng my lyf yeue J graunte to me a yerely fee / that is to wete a bucke in sommer / Ja doo in wynter / with whiche fee I holde me wel contente / Thenne atte contemplacion y reuerence of my sayd lord / J haue endeuoyred me to make an ende Jfynysshe thys sayd translacion / and | also haue enprynted it in the moost wyse that I haue coude or myght / presente this sayd book 1 to his goo noble lordshyp / as chyef causer of achyeuyng of hit / prayeng hym to t it in gree of me Wyllyam caxton poure seruaunte / J that it lyke hym remembre my fee / I shal praye v almyghty god for his longe lyf a welfare / J after this shorte y tran torye lyf to come in to euerlastyng ic in heuen / the whiche he sende to hyn me / J vnto al them that shal rede a here this sayd book / that for the loue feythe of whome al these holy saynt hath suffred deth and passyon amen / And to thende eche hystory[e] 2 lyf passyon may be shortely founden I hau ordeyned this table folowyng / where in what leef he shal fynde suche a shal be desyred / and haue sette the non bre of euery leef in the margyne / 1 text: boook 2 text: hystoryy |