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 ( MAY ^^7 1918 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 [HE origin of the mediaeval romance of 
 the Crofs is hard to difcover. It was 
 very popular. It occurs in a good num- 
 ber of authors, and is depided in a 
 good many churches in ftained glafs. 
 
 I may perhaps be allowed here to repeat what I 
 have faid in my article on the Legend of the Crofs, 
 in " Myths of the Middle Ages : " — 
 
 " In the churches of the city of Troyes alone it 
 appears in the windows of four : S. Martin-es-Vignes, 
 S. Pantaleon, S. Madeleine, and S. Nizier. It is 
 frefcoed along the walls of the choir of S. Croce at 
 Florence, by the hand of Agnolo Gaddi. Pietro 
 della Francefca alfo dedicated his pencil to the hiftory 
 of the Crofs in a feries of frefcoes in the chapel of 
 the Bacci, in the church of S, Francefco at Arezzo. 
 It occurs as a predella painting among the fpecimens 
 
of early art at the Accademia delle Belle Art! at 
 Venice, and is the fubje(5t of a pi(5ture by Beham, in 
 the Munich Gallery. The Legend is told in full in 
 the * Vita Chrifti,' printed at Troyes in 1 5 1 7 ; in the 
 
 * Legenda Aurea' of Jacques de Voragine ; in a French 
 MS. of the thirteenth century, in the Britifh Mufeum. 
 Gervafe of Tilbury relates a portion of it in his *Otia 
 Imperalia,' quoting Peter Comeftor ; it appears in the 
 ' Speculum Hiftoriale ' of Gottfried of Viterbo, in the 
 
 * Chronicon Engelhufii,' and elfewhere." 
 
 In the very curious Creation window of S. Neot's 
 Church, Cornwall, Seth is reprefented putting three 
 pips of the Tree of Life into the mouth and noftrils 
 of dead Adam, as he buries him. 
 
 Of the popularity of the ftory of the Crofs there 
 can be no doubt, but its origin is involved in obfcurity. 
 It is generally poflible to track moft of the religious 
 and popular folk tales and romances of the Middle 
 Ages to their origin, which is frequently Oriental, but 
 it is not eafy to do fo with the Legend of the Crofs. 
 It would rather feem that it was made up by fome 
 romancer out of all kinds of pre-exifting material, with 
 no other objedl than to write a religious novel for pious 
 readers, to difplace the fenfuous novels which were 
 much in vogue. 
 
We know that this was largely done after the third 
 century, and a number of martyr legends, fuch 
 as thofe of S. Apollinaris Syncletica, SS. Cyprian and 
 Juftina, the ftory of Duke Procopius, S. Euphrofyne, 
 SS. Zofimus and Mary, SS.Theophanes and Panfemne, 
 and many others were compofed with this objedl. The 
 earlieft of all is undoubtedly the Clementine Recog- 
 nitions, which dates from a remotely early period, 
 and carries us into the heart of Petrine Chriftianity, 
 and in which many a covert attack is made on S. Paul 
 and his teaching. On the other hand, we know that 
 an Afiatic prieft, as TertuUian tells us, wrote a romance 
 on "Paul and Thecla, out of love to Paul." S. Jerome 
 fays that a Pauline zealot, when convided before his 
 bifhop of having written the romance, tried to excul- 
 pate himfelf by faying that he had done it out of 
 admiration for S. Paul, but the Bifhop would not 
 accept the excufe, and deprived him. Unfortunately 
 this romance has not come down to us, though we 
 have another on S. Paul and his relations to Thecla, 
 who is faid to have accompanied him on his apoftolic 
 rambles, difguifed in male attire. 
 
 The Greek romance literature was not wholefome 
 reading for Chriftians. Some of the writers of thefe 
 tales became Chriftian bifhops, and probably devoted 
 
iv IPreface. 
 
 their facile pens to more edifying fubjefts than the 
 difficulties of parted lovers. 
 
 Heliodorus, who wrote " Theagenes and 
 Charicheia," is faid to have become Bifhop of 
 Tricca, in Theflaly. Socrates, in the fifth century, in 
 fpeaking of clerical celibacy, mentions the feverity of 
 the rule impofed on his clergy by this Heliodorus, 
 " under whofe name there are love-books extant, 
 called Ethiopica, which he compofed in his youth." 
 
 Achilles Tatius, author of the "Loves of Clitophon 
 and Leucippe," is faid alfo to have become a bifhop. 
 So alfo Euftathius of ThefTalonica, author of the 
 " Lives of Hyfemene and Hyfmenias," but this 
 is more than doubtful. 
 
 Three things conduced to the production of a 
 Chriftian romance literature in the early ages of the 
 Church : — ( i ) The neceflity under which the Church 
 lay of fupplying a want in human nature; (2) The 
 need there was for producing fome light wholefome 
 literature to fupply the place of the popular love- 
 romances then largely read and circulated ; (3) The 
 fadt that fome bifhops and converts were experienced 
 novel writers, and therefore ready to lend their hands 
 to fome better purpofe than amufing the leifure and 
 flattering the paflions of the idle and young. 
 
Much the fame conditions exifted in the Middle Ages. 
 There was an influx of fenfuous literature from the 
 Eaft, through the Arabs of Spain and Sicily; Oriental 
 tales easily took Weflern garb, in which the caliphs 
 became kings of Chriftendom, and the fakirs and 
 imauns were converted into monks and Catholic 
 priefts. To counterad: thefe ftories, colledlions of 
 which may be found in Le Grand d'Aufli and Von 
 der Hagen, and in Boccaccio, the Gefl:a Romanorum 
 was drawn up, a colledllon of moral tales, many of 
 them of fimilar Oriental parentage. But befide thefe 
 fliort ftories, or novels, were long romances, fome 
 heroic, and founded on early national traditions and 
 ballads. To thefe belong the Niebelungeh Lied and 
 Noth, the Gudrun, the Heldenbuch, the cycles of 
 Karlovingian and of Arthurian romance. 
 
 As It happens, we have two authors in the Middle 
 Ages, living much about the fame time, one Intenfely 
 heathen in all his conceptions, the other as entirely 
 Chriftian, each dealing with fubjeds from the fame 
 cycle, and the one writing in avowed oppofition 
 to the tendency of the other's book. I allude to 
 Wolfram of Efchenbach and Gottfried of Strafsburg. 
 The latter wrote the Triftram, the former the Parzival. 
 In Gottfried, the moral fenfe feems to be abfolutely 
 
dead ; there is no perception of the facrednefs of truth, 
 of chaftity, of honour, none of religion. Wolfram is 
 his exadl converfe. Wolfram gives us the hiftory of 
 the Grail, but he did not invent the myth of the 
 Grail, he derived it from pre-exifting material. 
 The Grail myth is almoft certainly heathen in its 
 origin, but it has been entirely Chriftianifed. The 
 holy bafin is that in which the Blood of Chrift is 
 preferved, and only the pure of heart can fee it ; but 
 the Grail was really the great cauldron of Nature, the 
 bafin of Ceridwen, the earth goddefs of the Kelts, or, 
 among Teutonic nations, the facrificial cauldron of 
 Odin, in which was brewed the fpirit of poefy, of 
 the blood of Mimer. The remembrance of the 
 myfterious vefTel remained after Kelt and Teuton 
 had become Chriftian, and the poets and romancifts 
 gave it a new fpell of life by chriftening it. It was 
 much the fame with the ftory of the Crofs. In the 
 Teutonic North, tree worfhip was widely fpread ; the 
 tree was facred to Odin, who himfelf, according to 
 the myfterious Havamal, hung nine nights wounded, 
 as a facrifice to himfelf, a voluntary facrifice, in *' the 
 wind-rocked tree." 
 
 That tree was Yggdrafill, theworld tree, whofe roots 
 extended to hell, and whofe branches fpread to heaven. 
 
Northern mythology is full of allufion to this 
 tree, but we have, unfortunately, little of the hiftory 
 of it preferved to us ; we know of it only through 
 allufions. The Chriftmas tree is its reprefentative ; it 
 has been taken up out of paganifm, and rooted in 
 Chriftian foil, where it flourifhes to the annual delight 
 of thoufands of children. 
 
 Now the mediaeval romancifts laid hold of this tree, 
 as they laid hold of the Grail bafin, and ufed it for 
 Chriftian purpofes. The Grail cup became the chalice 
 of the Blood of Chrift, and the Tree of Odin became 
 the Crofs of Calvary. They worked into the romance 
 all kinds of material gathered from floating folk-tale 
 of heathen anceftry, and they pieced in with it every 
 fcrap of allufion to a tree they could find in Scripture. 
 It is built up of fragments taken from all kinds of 
 old ftrudures, put together with fome {kill, and built 
 into a goodly romance ; but the tracing of every 
 ftone to its original quarry has not been done by 
 anyone as yet. The Grail myth has had many 
 ftudents and interpreters, but not the Crofs myth. 
 That remains to be examined, and it will doubtlefs 
 prove a ftudy rewarding the labour of invefliigation. 
 
 S. BARING-GOULD. 
 
T^he Legendary 
 Hiftory of the Crofs. 
 
 HE Crofs on which our 
 Lord and Saviour fuf- 
 fered, would, naturally, if 
 properly authenticated, 
 
 be an obje<5t of the 
 
 %^^^miM deepeft veneration to all 
 Chriftian men, be their creed, or fhade of 
 opinion what it might; but, for over 300 
 years it could not be found, and it was 
 referved for the Emprefs Helena in her 
 old age (for fhe was 79 years old) to 
 difcover its place of concealment." That 
 this Invention, or finding of the Crofs was 
 believed in, at the time, there can be no 
 manner of doubt, for it is alluded to by 
 
 A.D. 326. 
 
X 
 
 Cbe iLegennar^ 
 
 Riifinus on 
 the Invention. 
 
 St. Cyril, Patriarch of Jerufalem (a.d. 350 
 to 386), and by St. Ambrofe. Rufinus 
 of Aquila, a friend of St. Jerome, in his 
 Kcclejiajlical Hijlory, gives an account 
 of its finding, in the following words : 
 "About the fame time, Helena, the 
 mother of Conftantine, a woman ot 
 incomparable faith, whofe fincere piety 
 was equalled by her rare munificence, 
 warned by celeftial vifions, went to Jeru- 
 falem, and inquired of the inhabitants 
 where was the place where the Divine 
 Body had been affixed and hung on a 
 gibbet. This place was difficult to find, 
 for the perfecutors of old had raifed a 
 ftatue to Venus,' in order that the Chrif- 
 tians who might wifh to adore Chrift in 
 that place, fhould appear to addrefs their 
 homage to the goddefs ; and thus it was 
 little frequented, and almoft forgotten. 
 After clearing away the profane objedts 
 which defiled it, and the rubbiih that 
 was there heaped up, fhe found three 
 crofi^es placed in confufion. But the joy 
 
 Hadrian : 
 
 fatd to have 
 
 done this. 
 
iJ)iaotp of tbe Crof0. 
 
 XI 
 
 which this difcovery caufed her was 
 tempered by the impoffibility of dif- 
 tingaifhing to whom each of them had 
 belonged. There, alfo, was found the 
 title written by Pilate in Greek, Latin, 
 and Hebrew charad:ers; but flill there 
 was nothing to indicate fufficiently clearly 
 the Crols of our Lord. This uncertainty 
 of man was fettled by the teftimony of 
 heaven." And then follows the ftory of 
 the dead woman being raifed to life. 
 
 Not only did Rufinus write thus, but 
 Socrates, Theodoret, and Sozomen, all 
 of whom lived within a century after 
 the Invention, tell the fame flory, 
 fo that it mufl have been of current 
 belief. 
 
 The punifhment of the Crofs was 
 a very ordinary one, and of far wider 
 extent than many are aware. It was 
 common among the Scythians, the Greeks, 
 the Carthaginians, the Germans, and the 
 Romans, who, however, principally ap- 
 plied it to their flaves, and rarely crucified 
 
 Other 
 Authorities. 
 
 Funifliment 
 of the Crofs. 
 
Xll 
 
 Cfte LegenDarp 
 
 Funijhment 
 of the Crofs. 
 
 free men, unlefs they were robbers or 
 afTaflins. 
 
 Alexander the Great, after taking the 
 city of Tyre, caufed two thoufand in- 
 habitants to be crucified. 
 
 Flavius Jofephus relates, in his Anti- 
 quities of the Jews, that Alexander, the 
 King of the Jews, on the capture of the 
 town of Betoma, ordered eight hundred 
 of the inhabitants to fuffer the death of 
 the Crofs, and their wives and children 
 to be maffacred before their eyes, whilft 
 they were flill alive. 
 
 Auguftus, after the Sicilian War, cru- 
 cified fix thoufand flaves who had not 
 been claimed by their mafters. 
 
 Tiberius crucified the priefts of Ifis, 
 and defiiroyed their temple. 
 
 Titus, during the fiege of Jerufalem, 
 crucified all thofe unfortunates who, 
 to the number of five or fix hundred 
 daily, fled from the city to efcape the 
 famine; and fo numerous were thefe 
 executions, that crofi^es were wanting, 
 
©iflorp of tbz Ctof$. 
 
 xm 
 
 TAe different 
 forts ofCrofes. 
 
 and the land all about feemed like a 
 hideous forefl. 
 
 Thefe inflances are fufficient to (how 
 that death by crucifixion was a common 
 punifhment ; but, Angularly enough, the 
 fhape of the Crofs has never been fatif- 
 fadlorily fettled ; pradlically, the queftion 
 lies between the Crux capitata^ or immijfa, 
 which is the ordinary form of the Latin 
 Crofs, and the Crux an/at a, or commijfa, 
 frequently called the Tau Crofs, from the 
 Greek letter T. The T'fiw-fhaped Crofs 
 is, undoubtedly, to be met with moft 
 frequently in the older reprefentations ; 
 and the more ancient authorities, fuch 
 as Tertullian, St. Jerome, St. Paulinus, 
 Sozomen, and Rufinus, are of opinion 
 that this was the fhape of the Crofs. 
 After the fifteenth century, our Lord is 
 rarely depicted on the Crux commijfa, it 
 being referved for the two thieves. 
 
 M. xAdolphe Napoleon Didron, in 
 his Iconographie Chretienne, gives a few 
 illuftrations of the antiquity of the 
 
 Antiquity of 
 the Tau Crofs. 
 
T^au Crofs : " The Crofs is our crucified 
 Lord in perfon ; * Where the Crofs is, 
 there is the martyr/ fays St. Paulinus. 
 Confequently it works miracles, as does 
 Jefus Himfelf : and the lift of wonders 
 operated by its power is in truth immenfe. 
 By the fimple fign of the Crofs traced 
 upon the forehead or the breaft, men 
 have been delivered from the moft im- 
 minent danger. It has conftantly put 
 demons to flight, protefted the virginity 
 of women, and the faith of believers; 
 it has reftored men to life, or health, 
 infpired them with hope or refignation. 
 
 " Such is the virtue of the Crofs, that 
 a mere allufion to that facred fign, made 
 even in the Old Teftament, and long 
 before the exiftence of the Crofs, faved 
 the youthful Ifaac from death, redeemed 
 from deftru6tion an entire people whofe 
 houfes were marked by that fymbol, 
 healed the envenomed bites of thofe who 
 looked at the ferpent raifed in the form 
 of a Tail upon a pole. It called back the 
 
^iliot? Of tj)e Crof0, 
 
 XV 
 
 foul into the dead body of the fon of that 
 poor widow who had given bread to the 
 prophet. 
 
 " A beautiful painted window, belong- 
 ing to the thirteenth century, in the 
 Cathedral of Bourges, has a reprefen- 
 tation of Ifaac bearing on his fhoulders 
 the wood that was to be ufed in 
 his facriiice, arranged in the form of a 
 Crofs ; the Hebrews, too, marked the 
 lintel of their dwellings with the blood 
 of the Pafchal lamb, in the form of a 
 Tau or Crofs without a fummit. The 
 widow of Sarepta picked up and held 
 croflwife two pieces of wood, with which 
 fhe intended to bake her bread. Thefe 
 figures, to which others alfo may be 
 added, ferve to exalt the triumph of the 
 Crofs, and feem to flow from a grand 
 central picture which forms their fource, 
 and exhibits Jefus expiring on the Crofs. 
 It is from that real Crofs indeed, bearing 
 the Saviour, that thefe fubje<fts from the 
 Old Teftament derive all their virtue." 
 
 TheTau Crofs. 
 
XVI 
 
 C6e Legenuarp 
 
 Wood of the 
 Crofs. 
 
 The wood of which it was made is as 
 unfettled as its fhape. The Venerable 
 Bede fays that our Lord's Crofs was made 
 of four kinds of wood : the infcription 
 of box, the upright beam of cyprefs, the 
 tranfverfe of cedar, and the lower part of 
 pine. John Cantacumene avers that only 
 three woods were employed: the upright, 
 cedar ; the tranfverfe, pine ; and the head 
 in cyprefs. Others fay that the upright 
 was cyprefs, the tranfverfe in palm, and 
 the head in olive ; or cedar, cyprefs, and 
 olive. Moft authorities feem to concur 
 that it was made of feveral woods, but 
 there is a legend that it was made from 
 the afpen tree, whofe leaves flill tremble 
 at the awful ufe the tree was put to ; 
 whilfl that veritable traveller. Sir John 
 Maundeville, fays : " And alfo in Iheru- 
 falem toward the Weaft is a fayre church 
 where the tree grew of the which the 
 Croffe was made." Lipfius fays that it 
 was made of but one wood, and that 
 was oak ; but M. Rohault de Fleury (to 
 
^ifiorp of tfie Ctof0. 
 
 xvu 
 
 whofe wonderful and comprehenfive 
 work, M^moire fur les Injiruments de la 
 Pajjion de notre Sauveur Jefus Chrijly I 
 am deeply indebted, fays, " M. Decaifne, 
 member of the Inftitut, and M. Pietro 
 Savi, profelTor at the Univeriity of Pifa, 
 have fhewn me by the microfcope that 
 the pieces in the Church of the Holy 
 Crofs of Jerufalem at Rome, in the 
 Cathedral at Pifa, in the Duomo at 
 Florence, and in Notre Dame at Paris, 
 were of pine.'' And he adds, in a foot- 
 note, " Independently of the experiments 
 which M. Savi kindly made in my 
 prefence, he wrote me the refults of other 
 obfervations, which tended to confirm." 
 
 Starting with the Invention of the 
 Holy Crofs, the loving, but fervid, 
 imaginations of the faithful foon wove 
 round it a covering of imagery, as we 
 have juft feen in the cafe of the feveral 
 woods of the Crofs, and the facred tree 
 became the fubjed: of a legend (for fo it 
 always was only meant to be), which 
 
 Crofs made 
 of pine. 
 
XVlll 
 
 Cbe Legennatp 
 
 was incorporated in the Legenda Aurea 
 SanSlorumy or Goldefi Legend of the SaintSy 
 of Jacobus de Voragine, a colledion of 
 legends connected with the fervices of 
 the Church. This book was exceedingly 
 popular, and, when Caxton fet up his 
 printing-prefs at Weftminfter, he pro- 
 duced a tranflation, the hiftory of which 
 he quaintly tells us in a preface.* 
 Caxions As this Goldeu Legend is the ftandard 
 
 egen authority on the fubjeft, and as it will 
 
 * " And for as moche as this fayd worke was grete & over 
 chargeable to me taccomplifflie, I feryd me in the begynnynge 
 of the tianflacion to have contynued it / bycaufe of the longe 
 tyme of the tranflacion / & aifo in thenpryntyng of y^ fame 
 and in maner halfe defperate to have accompliflH it / was in 
 purpofe to have lefte it / after that I had begonne to tranflate 
 it / & to have layed it aparte ne had it be(en) at thynftance & 
 requefte of the puyffant noble & vertuous erle my lord wyllyam 
 erle of arondel / whych defyred me to procede & contynue the 
 faid werke / & promyfed me to take a refonable quantyte of 
 them when they were acheyeued &; accomplished / and fente to 
 me a worfhypful gentylman a fervaunt of his named John 
 Stanney which folycyted me in my Lordes name that I fliold 
 in no wyfe leve it but accomplifflie it promyfyng that my fayd 
 lord fhold duringe my lyf geve & graunt to me a yerely fee / 
 that is to wete a bucke in fommer / & a doo in Wynter / with 
 whiche fee I holde me wel contente," &c. 
 
^iftotp of ti)e Crofs. 
 
 XIX 
 
 much affift the intelligent appreciation 
 of the wood-blocks, I reproduce it, 
 premifing that I have ufed throughout 
 the firfl edition, 20 Nov., 1483 : — 
 
 ' But alle the dayes of adam lyvynge 
 here in erthe amounte to the fomme of 
 yere / And in thende of his lyf 
 
 igCggs' 
 
 * This apparently long life of Adam is admitted on all 
 hands, even in the Revifed Verfion of the Bible. The Talmud 
 fays that God promifed him one thoufand years of life, and it 
 is recorded that he begat Seth when he was a hundred and 
 thirty years old. On this the Talmud {Erwvin, fol. j8, col. 2) 
 has the following comment : " Rav Yirmyah ben Elazer faid : 
 All thofe years, which Adam fpent in alienation from God, 
 he begat evil fpirits, demons, and fairies ; for it is faid, ' And 
 Adam was an hundred and thirty years, and begat a fon in 
 his own likenefs, after his image ' ; confequently, before that 
 time, he begat after another image." 
 
 This term of one hundred and thirty years feems to.have 
 been a period in Adam's exiftence, for we again find {Ertiuin, 
 fol. 18 b.) : "Adam was a Chafid, or great faint, when he 
 obferved that the decree of death was occafioned by him ; he 
 fafiedd. hundred and thirty years, and all this time he ablhined 
 from intercourfe with his wife." 
 
 There is a Talmudical tradition that God fhowed the 
 future to Adam (Avoth d'Rab. Nathan, chap. 31): "The 
 Holy One — bleffed be He ! — fliewed unto Adam each genera- 
 tion, and its preachers, its guardians, its leaders, its prophets, its 
 heroes, its finners, and its faints, faying, ' In fuch and fuch a 
 generation fuch and fuch a King (hall reign, in fuch and fuch 
 a generation fuch and fuch a wife man fhall teach.' " 
 
 Page 39. 
 
 Length of 
 Adam's life. 
 
 Talmud 
 
 legends 
 
 refpeSiing 
 
 Adams length 
 
 of life. 
 
XX 
 
 Oi tl)pnucuc2on of ttplp 
 croffe / ant) firft of tl)gs ^i^o^te 
 Juuencton 
 
^iaotp of t\)t Crof0. 
 
 XXI 
 
 whan he fhold dye / it is faid but ot none 
 audtoryte / that he fente Seth his fone in 
 to paradys for to fetch the oyle of mercy 
 / where he receyuyde certayn graynes of 
 the fruyt of the tree of mercy by an 
 angel / And whan he come agayn / he 
 fonde his fader adam yet alyve and told 
 hym what he had don. And thenne 
 
 This is amplified in Midrafli Yalkut (fol. 12), where it is 
 laid that God ftiowed Adam all future generations of men, 
 with their leaders, learned and literary men, and there he 
 obferved that David was credited with only three hours 
 of life, and he faid, "Lord and Creator of the world, is this 
 unalterable ?" "Such was my firft intention," was the reply. 
 " How many years have I to live ? " aflced Adam. " One 
 thoufand." Then Adam faid, " I will lend him fome of my 
 years." And a document was drawn up whereby Adam 
 transferred feventy years of his life to David. 
 
 S. Baring-Gould, in his legends of Old Tejiament CharaSlers, 
 vol i. p. 77, referring to a MufTulman legend, fays : " Finally, 
 when Adam reached his nine hundred and thirtieth year, the 
 Angel of Death appeared under the form of a goat, and ran 
 between his legs. 
 
 " Adam recoiled with horror, and exclaimed, ' God has 
 given me one thoufand years ; wherefore comeft thou now ? ' 
 
 " ' What ! ' exclaimed the Angel of Death, ' haft thou not 
 given feventy years of thy life to the prophet David t ^ 
 
 "Adam ftoutly denied that he had done fo. Then the Angel 
 of Death drew the document of transfer from out of his beard, 
 and prefented it to Adam, who could no longer refufe to go.''* 
 
xxii 
 
 Cbe ilegennarp 
 
 Laughed or 
 rmileJ. 
 
 Obtained 
 true mercy. 
 
 Page 167. 
 Of old. 
 
 Adam lawhed' firft / and then deyed / 
 and thenne he leyed the greynes or 
 kernelHs under his faders tonge and 
 buryed hym / in the vale of ebron / and 
 out of his mouth grewe thre trees of the 
 thre graynes / of which the croiTe that 
 our lord fuffred his paffion on / was made 
 by vertue of which he gate' very mercy 
 and was brought out of darknes in to 
 veray light of heven / to the whiche he 
 brynge us that lyveth and regneth god 
 world with oute ende. 
 
 jfgJHE 3lnvencion*of the holy crolTe is 
 faid bycaufe that this day the holy 
 crofTe was founden / for to fore'* it was 
 founden of feth in paradyfe tereftre / lyke 
 as hit fhal be fayd here after / and alfo 
 it was founden of falamon in the mounte 
 of lybane and of the quene of faba / in 
 the temple of falamon / And of the 
 
 * The Fellival of the Invention, or finding of the Crol's, is 
 kept in the Roman and Englifh Churches on May 3. 
 
^ifior^ of tbe CroCg. 
 
 xxiu 
 
 lewes in the water of pyfcyne* / And on 
 thys day it was founden of Helayne in 
 the mounte of Calvarye/. 
 
 Of the Holy Croffe. 
 
 HE holy croffe was founden two 
 hondred yere after the refurrexyon 
 of our lord / It is redde in the gofpel of 
 nychodemus^ / that whan adarn wexyd 
 feck / Seth hys fone wente to the gate of 
 paradyfe tereftre, for to gete the oyle of 
 
 '■''■ Pifcina, a fifli-pond : Lat. In this inftance it is fuppofed 
 to be the Pool of Bethefda. 
 
 •f- Nicodenius, chap. 14 : — 
 
 But when the firft man our father Adam heard theie things, 
 that Jefus was baptized in Jordan, he called out to his fon 
 Seth, and faid, 
 
 Declare to your fons, the patriarchs and prophets, all thofe 
 things which thou didft hear from Michael the Archangel, 
 when I lent thee to the gates of Paradife to entreat God 
 that he would anoint my head when I was fick. 
 
 Then Seth, coming near to the patriarchs and prophets, 'V. 3. 
 
 faid : I, Seth, when I was praying to God at the gates of 
 Paradife, beheld the angel of the Lord, Michael, appear unto 
 me, faying, I am fent unto thee from the Lord j I am 
 appointed to prefide over human bodies. 
 
 I tell thee, Seth, do not pray to God in tears, and entreat <y. 4. 
 
 him for the oil of the tree of mercy, wherewith to anoint 
 thy father Adam for his headach ; 
 
XXIV 
 
 Cbe LegenDarp 
 
 mercy for to enoynte wythal hys faders 
 body / Thenne apperyd to hym faynt 
 mychel thaungel and fayd to hym / 
 travayle not the in vayne / for thys oyle 
 / for thou mayft not have it till fyye 
 thoufand and fyve hondred yere been 
 pafTed / how be it that fro Adam unto 
 the paflyon of our lord were but fyve 
 
 / / / 
 
 (Wl£ and JJjiti yere / In another place 
 it is redde that the aungel broughte hym 
 a braunche / and commaunded hym to 
 plante it in the mounte of lybanye / Yet 
 
 -y- 5- 
 
 i;. 6, 
 
 v. 7. 
 
 'y,9. 
 
 Becaufe thou canft not by any means obtain it till the laft 
 day and times, namely, till five thoufand and five hundred 
 years be paft. 
 
 Then will Chrift, the moft merciful Son of God, come 
 on earth to raife again the human body of Adam, and at the 
 fame time to raife the bodies of the dead, and when he cometh 
 he will be baptized in Jordan ; 
 
 Then with the oil of his mercy he will anoint all thole 
 that believe on him ; and the oil of his mercy will continue 
 to future generations, for thofe who fhall be born of the water 
 and the Holy Ghoft unto eternal life. 
 
 And when at that time the moft merciful Son of God, 
 Chrift Jclus, ftiall come down on earth, he will introduce our 
 father Adam into Paradife, to the tree ot mercy. 
 
 When all the patriarchs and prophets heard all theie things 
 from Seth, they rejoiced more. 
 
ij)iaorg of tlje €tois. 
 
 XXV 
 
 fynde we in another place / that he gafe 
 to hym of the tree that Adam ete of / 
 And fayd to hym that whan that bare 
 fruyte he fhould be guariffhed' and alle 
 hoole Y' whan feth came ageyn he founde 
 his fader deed / and planted this tree 
 upon his grave / And it endured there 
 un to the tyme of Salomon / and bycaufe 
 he fawe that it was fayre, he dyd 3 doo 
 hewe it doun / and fette it in his hows 
 named faltus / and whan the quene of 
 faba came to vyfyte Salamon / She wor- 
 fhypped this tre bycaufe fhe fayd the 
 favyour of alle the world fhold be hanged 
 there on / by whome the royame* of the 
 lewes that be defaced and feace.^ Salomon 
 for this caufe made hit to be taken up / 
 & dolven^ depe in the grounde. Now it 
 happed after that they of lerufalem (dyd 
 do make a grete pytte for a pyfcyne^ / 
 where at the mynyfters of the temple 
 fliolde weffhe theyre beftys / that they 
 (hold facrefyfe / and there founde thys 
 tre / and thys pyfcyne had fuche vertue. 
 
 Cured: 
 
 Frenchtguerir, 
 
 to heal. 
 
 mole. 
 
 Didfo — caufed 
 
 to be : 'words 
 
 of frequent 
 
 occurrence. 
 
 Kingdom : ' 
 French, 
 j royaume. 
 
 Ceafe. 
 
 6 
 
 Dug, p. part, 
 ofdel've. 
 
 Pond. 
 
 \K^ 
 
XXVI 
 
 Ci)e legennatp 
 
 that the aungels defcended and mevyd 
 the water / and the firfl feke man that 
 defcendyd in to the water after the 
 mevyng / was made hole of what fomever 
 fekenefTe he was feek of. And whan 
 the tyme approched of the pallyon of 
 our lord / thys tree aroos out of the 
 water and floted above the water / And 
 of this pyece of tymbre made the lewes 
 the crofTe of our lord / Thenne after 
 this hyftorye / the croffe by which we 
 been faved / came of the tree by whiche 
 we were dampned. And the water of 
 that pyfcyne had not his vertue onely of 
 the aungel / but of the tre/. With this 
 tre wherof the croffe was maad / there 
 was a tree that went over thwarte / on 
 whiche the armes of our lord were 
 nayled/. And another pyece above which 
 was the table / wherin the tytle was 
 wryten / and another pyece wherein the 
 fokette or mortys was maad that the 
 body of the croffe ftood in foo that 
 there were foure manere of trees / That 
 
©ifforp of tbe Ctocsi, 
 
 xxvii 
 
 is of palme of cypres / of cedre and of 
 olyve. So cche of thyfe foure pyeces was 
 of one of thofe trees/. This bleffed 
 crolTe was put in the erthe and hyd by 
 the fpace of on hondred yere and more / 
 But the moder of themperour which 
 was named helayne* founde it in thys 
 manere / For Conftantyn came wyth a 
 grete multytude of barbaryns nygh unto 
 the ryver of the dunoe / whyche wold 
 have goon over for to have deftroyed alle 
 the contree / And whan conftantyn had 
 
 * Alban Butler, in The Li'ves of the Fathers, Martyrs, 
 aud other Principal Saints, denies that St. Helena was an 
 Innholder [Stabularia) in Bithynia, when Conftantius married 
 her, and fays : " We are afTured by the unanimous tradition 
 of our Englifh hiftorians that this holy emprefs was a native 
 of our ifland. William of Malmefbury, the principal hiftorian 
 of the ancient ftate of our country after Bede, and before him, 
 the Saxon author of the life of St. Helen, in 970, quoted by 
 Ufher, expreffly fay that Conftantine was a Briton by birth." 
 Leland, in his Commentarii de Scriptoribus Britannicis, fays 
 that St. Helena was the only daughter of King Coilus, the 
 King Cool who firft built walls round Colchefter, and the 
 Englifh Church has generally recognifed her Britifh origin. 
 Her feftival is kept on Auguft 18. 
 
 When her hufband, Conftantine Chlorus, entered into an 
 arrangement with Diocletian, by which he had the countries 
 
xxvm 
 
 Cfte legenuarp 
 
 afTembled his hooft / He went and fette 
 them ageynft that other partye / But as 
 fone as he began to paiTe the ryver / he 
 was moche aferde / by caufe he {hold 
 on the morne have batayle / and in the 
 nyght as he flepte in his bedde / an 
 aungel awoke hym / and fhewed to hym 
 the fygne of the crofle in heven / and 
 fayd to hym / Beholde on hye on heven/. 
 Thanne fawe he the crofTe made of 
 ryght clere lyght / & was wryten there 
 upon wyth lettres of golde / In this 
 fygne thou fhalte over come the batayle/ 
 
 this fide the Alps, namely, Gaul and Britain, he was obliged, 
 as part of the bargain, to divorce St. Helena, and marry 
 Theodora, the daughter-in-law of Maximinianus. According 
 to Eufebius, fhe was not converted to Chriftianity at the fame 
 time as her fon Conftantine, who, when he came to the throne, 
 paid her the greateft deference, and gave her the title of 
 Augufta, or emprefs. After the Council of Nice, in 325, he 
 wrote to Macarius, Biftiop of Jerufalem, concerning the 
 building of a fplendid church upon Mount Calvary, and St. 
 Helena, although fhe was then 79 years of age, undertook to 
 fee it carried out. 
 
 It was then that the reputed Invention of the Crofs, together 
 ■with the nails, took place, and /he foon afterwards died, but 
 the exaft year is uncertain, fome authorities giving a.d. 316, 
 others 328. 
 
5)iGotp of t6e (Btots. 
 
 Thenne was he alle comforted of thys 
 vyiion / And on the morne / he put 
 in his banere the Crofle' / and made it 
 
 to be borne tofore hym and his hooft / 
 And after fmote in the hooft of his 
 enemyes / and flewe and chaced grete 
 plente / After thys he dyd doo^ calle the 
 byffhoppes of the ydoUes /and demaunded 
 them to what god the fygne of the crofle 
 apperteyned. And whan they coude not 
 anfwere / fome criften men that were 
 there tolde to hym the myfterye of tht 
 crofTe / and enformed hym in the faythe 
 of the trynyte / Thenne anone he bylevyd 
 parfytly (in) god / and dyd do baptyfe 
 hym / and after, it happed that conftan- 
 tyn his fone remembred the vycftorye of 
 his fader / Sente to helayn his modre 
 
 XXIX 
 
 The Labarum, 
 
 or Sacred 
 
 Banner of 
 
 Conftantine. 
 
 Caufed to be 
 called together. 
 
XXX 
 
 Cbe ilegenDarp 
 
 for to fynde the holy crofle / Thenne 
 helayne wente in to Iherufalem / and 
 dyd doo aflemble all the wyfe men of 
 the contre / and whan they were aflem- 
 bled / they wold fayn knowe wherfore 
 they were called / Thenne one ludas 
 Know. fayd to them / I wote' wel that fhe wyl 
 
 knowe of us where the crofle of Ihefu 
 crifle was leyed / but beware you al 
 that none of you tell hyr / for I wote 
 wel then fhall our lawe be deftroyed / 
 Grandfather. Por zacheus my olde"" fader fayde to 
 fymon my fader / And my fader fayde 
 to me at his dethe / be wel ware / that 
 for no tormente that ye may fuffre / telle 
 
 not where the crofTe of Ihefu crifle was 
 
 * 
 
 leyde / for after that hit fhal be founden 
 / the lewes fhal reygne no mour / But 
 the criften men that worfhypped the 
 crofTe fhal then reygne / And verayly 
 this Ihefus was the fone of god. 
 
 Then demaunded I my fader / wher- 
 fore had they hanged hym on the crofTe 
 fythe it was knowen that he was the fone 
 
g)llIorp of t\)t CtoC0* 
 
 XXXI 
 
 of god / thenne he fayd to me fayre 
 fone I never accorded thereto / But gayn 
 faid it alwaye /But the Pharifees dyd it 
 bycaufe he repreyvd theyr vyces / but he 
 aroos on the thyrd day / and his dyfciples 
 feeing / he afcended in to heven / 
 Thenne by caufe that Stephen thy broder 
 belevyd in him / the lewes ftoned hym 
 to dethe. 
 
 Then when ludas had fayd theyfe 
 wordes to his felawes / they anfwerd we 
 never herde of fuche thynges / never the 
 lefTe kepe the wel if the quene demaunde 
 the therof / that thou fay no thynge to 
 hyr / Whan the quene had called them 
 / and demaunded them the place where 
 our lord Ihefu crifte had been crucefyed/ 
 they wold never tell her nor enfygne^ 
 her /. Then commaunded fhe to brenne^ 
 them alle/. But then they doubted and 
 were aferde / & delyvered ludas to hyr 
 and fayd / lady thys man is the fone of 
 a prophete and of a jufte man / and 
 knoweth right wel the lawe / & can 
 
 Inform. 
 Burn. 
 
XXXll 
 
 Cbe legenDarp 
 
 More ado. 
 
 telle to you al thynge that ye flial 
 demaunde hym '. 
 
 Thenne the quene lete al the other 
 goo, and reteyned ludas without moo'/. 
 Thenne fhe fhewed to hym his life & 
 dethe & bade hym chefe whyche he 
 wold. Shewe to me fayd fhe the place 
 named golgota where our lord was 
 crucefyed / by caufe and to the end 
 that we may fynde the crolTe \ Thenne 
 fayd ludas, it is two hondred yere palTed 
 & more / & I was not thenne yet borne. 
 Thenne fayd to hym the lady / by him 
 that was crucyfyed / I flial make the 
 perifle for hungre/ yf thou telle not to 
 me the trouthe. 
 
 Thenne made flie hym to be cafte into 
 a drye pytte / and there tormented hym 
 by hungre / and evyl refte / whan he 
 had been feuen dayes in that pytte 
 thenne fayd he yf I myght be drawen 
 out / he ihold fay the trouthe / Thenne 
 he was drawen out / and whan he came 
 to the place / anone the erthe moevyd 
 
8)iftotp of tbz Crofs. 
 
 XXXlll 
 
 and a fume of grete fwettnefle was felte 
 in fuche wyfe that ludas fmote his 
 hondes togyder for ioye /and fayd / in 
 trouthe Ihefu crifte thou art the favyour 
 of the worlde. 
 
 It was fo that adryan the Emperour 
 had doo make in the fame place where 
 the croile laye a temple of a goddeffe by 
 caufe that all they that come in that 
 place {hold adoure that goddeffe/. But 
 the quene did doo deftroy the temple / 
 Thenne ludas made hym redy and began 
 to dygge / and whan he came to »g 
 paas' depe / he fonde three crolTes and 
 broughte them to the quene / And 
 bycaufe he knewe not whiche was the 
 crofTe of our lord / he leyed them in the 
 myddel of the cyte / and abode the 
 demonftraunce of god / and aboute the 
 houre of none / there was the corps of 
 a yonge man brought to be buryed / 
 ludas reteyned the byere / and layed 
 upon hit one of the crofTes / and after 
 the fecond / and whan he leyed on hit 
 
 Tiventy Paces , 
 
xxxiv 
 
 Cbe Legennarp 
 
 I 
 
 E'verlajling. \ 
 
 the third / anone the body that was dede 
 came ageyn to lyf/. 
 
 Thenne cryed the devyll in the eyre 
 ludas what haft thou doon / thou haft 
 doon the contrarye that thother ludas 
 dyd/. For by hym I have wonne many 
 fowles / and by the I ftial lofe many / 
 by hym I reygned on the peple / And 
 by the I have loft my royame / never 
 the lefTe I fhal yelde to the this bountee/. 
 For I fhal fend one that fhal punyflhe the / 
 and that was accomplyffhed by lulian the 
 apoftata / which tormented hym afterward 
 whan he was byffhop of Iherufalem / and 
 whan ludas herde hym he curfed the 
 devyl and fayd to hym / Ihefu cryfte 
 dampne the in fyre pardurableV- After 
 this ludas was baptyzed and was named 
 quyryache */. And after was made 
 byffhop of Iherufalem/. Whan helayn 
 had the crofTe of Ihefu crifte / and faw 
 fhe had not the nayles / Thenne he dyd 
 
 * Other accounts fay the CroflTes were found by Macarius, 
 then Biftiop of Jerufalem, 
 
©morp of tlje Ctof0. 
 
 XXXV 
 
 dygge in therthe (6 longe / that he 
 founde them fhynyng as golde/. thenne 
 bare he them to the quene / and anone 
 as fhe fawe them fhe worfhypped them 
 wyth grete reverence/. 
 
 Thenne gafe faynt helayn a part of the 
 crofTe to hir fone / And that other parte 
 fhe lefte in Iherufalem clofyd in golde / 
 fylver and precious flones/. 
 
 And hyr fone bare the nayles to 
 themperour / And the emperour dyd 
 do fette them in hys brydel and in hys 
 helme whan he wente to batayle/. This 
 referreth Eufebe whiche was byffhop of 
 Cezayr Y how be it that other fay other- 
 wyfe/. Now it happed that lulyan the 
 appoftate dyd doo^ flee quyriache that 
 was byffhop of Iherufalem / by caufe he 
 had founde the croffe / for he hated 
 hit foo mooche / that where fomever he 
 founde the croffe / he dyd hit to be 
 deflroyed / For whan he wente in batayle 
 ageynfle them of perfe / he fente and 
 commaunded quyriache to make facrefyfe 
 
 Eufebius, 
 Btjhop of 
 Cefaraa. 
 
 ■ Killed. 
 
XXXVl 
 
 C6e legentiarp 
 
 to thydolles / and whan he wold not doo 
 hit / he dyd do fmyte of his right honde 
 / and fayd wyth this honde haft thou 
 wryten many letters / by whyche thou 
 repellyd moche folke fro doynge facrefyfe 
 to our goddes/. 
 Mad dog. Quyriache fayd thou wood hounde' 
 
 thou hift doon to me grete prouffyte / 
 For thou haft cut of the hande / v\7th 
 whiche I have many tymes wreton to 
 the fynagoges that they (hold not byleve 
 Since. in Ihefu crifte / and now fythe^ I am 
 
 criften / thou haft taken from me that 
 whiche noyed me / thenne dyd lulyan 
 do melte leed, and cafte it in his mowthe 
 / and after dyd doo brynge a bedde of 
 yron / and made quyriache to be layed 
 and ftratched theron / and after leyed 
 under brennyng cooles / and threwe 
 therein grece and falte / for to torment 
 hym the more / and whan quyriache 
 moved not / lulyan themperour faid to 
 hym / outher thou fhalt facrefyfe (to) 
 our goddes / or thou ihalt fay at the 
 
J^iftorp of tbe Crofs, 
 
 xxxvn 
 
 lefte thou art not criften/. And whan he 
 fawe he wolde not do never neyther / 
 he dyd doo make a depe pytte ful of 
 ferpentes and venemous beflys / and cafte 
 hym therein / & whan he entred / anone 
 the ferpentes were al deed/. Thenne 
 lulyan put hym in a cawdron ful of 
 boylyng oyle / and whan he fhold entre 
 in to hit / he bleflyd it & fayd / Fayre 
 lord torne thys bane to baptyfm of 
 marterdom / Thenne was lulyan moche 
 angry / and commaunded that he fhould 
 be ryven thorough his herte with a 
 fwerde / and in this manere he fynyffhed 
 his lyff. 
 
 The vertue of the crofTe is declared to 
 us by many miracles / For it happed 
 on a tyme that one enchantour had 
 dyfceyved a notarye / and brought hym 
 to a place / where he had aflembled a 
 grete company e of devylles/and promyfed 
 to hym to have muche rychefle / and 
 whan he came there / he faw one perfone 
 blacke fyttynge on a grete chayer / And 
 
 'Turn this evil 
 
XXXVlll 
 
 C6e ILegenDarp 
 
 all aboute hym al ful of horyble people 
 and blacke whiche had fperes and fwerdes 
 / Thenne demaunded thye grete devyll 
 of the enchantour / who was thatclerke/ 
 thenchantour fayd to hym / Syr he is 
 oures / thenne fayd the devyl to hym yf 
 thou wylte worfhyp me and be my 
 fervaunte / and denye Ihefu cryfte / thou 
 (halt fytte on my right fyde / The clerke 
 anone bleflyd hym wyth the fygne of the 
 crofle / and fayd that he was the fervaunte 
 of Ihefu crifte / his favyour / And anone 
 as he had made the crofTe / that grete 
 multitude of devylles vanyffhed aweye. 
 It happed that this notarye after this on 
 a tyme entryd with hys lord in the 
 chyrche of faynt fophye / & knelyd doun 
 on his knees to fore the ymage of the 
 crucyfyxe / the which crucifyxe as it 
 femed loked moche openly and Iharpelye 
 on hym/. Thenne his lord made hym 
 to go aparte on another fyde / and 
 alleweye the crucifixe torned his eyen 
 toward hym/. Thenne he made hym 
 
lJ)iaorp of tbz CroR 
 
 xxxix 
 
 goo on the lefte fyde / and yet the 
 crucifixe loked on hym / Thenne was 
 the lord moche admerveyled/and charged 
 hym & commaunded hym that he fhold 
 telle hym wherof he had fo deferved that 
 the crucifyxe fo behelde and loked on 
 hym / Thenne fayde the notarye that he 
 coude not remembre hym of no good 
 thynge that he had doon / faufe that one 
 tyme he wold not renye nor forfake the 
 crucifixe tofore the devyl/. 
 
 Thenne late us fo blelTe us with the 
 fygne of the bleflyd crolTe that we may 
 therby be kepte fro the power of our 
 ghooftly and dedely enemye the devyl / 
 and by the glorious pafTyon that our 
 faveour Ihefu cryft fuffred on the crofle 
 after this lyf we may come to his 
 everlaftyng blyffe amen/. 
 
 Thus endeth thynvencion of the holy 
 crofle. 
 
xl 
 
 rrrrr^ 
 
 ??)cre e)lo^i)ett) tfy (gjaltadon 
 of tl^ Iplp (StDiTe 
 
i^mts oi tbe Crocs. 
 
 xli 
 
 Exaltation of the holy Crofle' is fayd/ 
 bycaufe that on this daye the hooly crofTe 
 & fay the were gretely enhaunced/. And 
 it is to be underftonden that tofore the 
 paffion of our lord Ihefu cryfte / the 
 tree of the crofTe was a tree of fylthe / 
 For the croffes were made of vyle trees, 
 & of trees without fruyte / For al that 
 was planted on the Mount of Calvarye 
 bare no fruyt. It was a fowle place / 
 for hit was the place of torment of thevys/ 
 It was derke / for it was in a derke place 
 and without any beaute /It was the tree 
 of deth / for men were put there to 
 dethe / It was alfo the tree of ftenche / 
 for it was planted amonge the caroynesV 
 & after the paiTyon the CrofTe was moche 
 enhaunced / For the Vylte^ was tranf- 
 ported into precioufyte / Of the whiche 
 the bleflyd faynt Andrewe fayth / O 
 precious holy CrofTe god fave the / his 
 bareynes was torned into fruyte / as it is 
 fayd in the Canty ques / I fhall afcende 
 up in to a palme tree / et cetera / His 
 
 TAe Roman 
 and Englijh 
 Churches 
 celebrate this 
 Fejiival on 
 February 14, 
 
 Carrion. 
 
 Vilenefs. 
 
xlii 
 
 Cbe legennarp 
 
 Rifourced or 
 replinijhtd. 
 
 ignobylyte or unworthynes was tourned 
 into fublymyte and heyght / The Crofle 
 that was tormente of thevys is now born 
 in the front of themperours / his derkenes 
 is torned into lyght and clerenefTe/wherof 
 Chryfoftom fayth the CrofTe and the 
 Woundes fhall be more fhynyng than 
 the rayes of the Sonne at the jugement/ 
 his deth is converted into perdurabylyte of 
 lyf / whereof it is fayd in the preface / 
 that fro hens the lyf refourded ' / and the 
 flenche is torned into fwetenes / canti- 
 corum /. This exaltacion of the hooly 
 crofTe is folempnyfed and halowed 
 folempnly of the Chirche / For the 
 faythe is in hit moche enhaunced /. 
 
 For the yere of oure lord five honderd 
 & JP / our lord fuffred his people moche 
 to be tormentyd by the cruel te of the 
 paynyms / And Cofdroe* Kynge of the 
 Perceens fubdued to his empyre all the 
 Royaumes of the world / And he cam 
 into Iherufalem and was aferd and a 
 dred of the fepulcre of our lord & 
 
 Chofrots II., 
 
 tuho reigned in 
 
 thefrventh 
 
 Century. 
 
8>ifiotp of tfie Ctofs» 
 
 xliii 
 
 retorned / but he bare with hym the parte 
 of the hooly CrofTe / that faynte Helene 
 had left then And then he wold be 
 worfhiped of alle the peple / as a god / 
 & dyd do make a tour of gold and of 
 fylver wherein precious ftones fhone / 
 and made therein the ymages of the 
 fonne and of the mone and of the fterres 
 / and made that by fubtyle conduytes 
 water to be hydde / and to come doune 
 in the maner of rayne / And in the lafte 
 ftage he made horfes to draw charyotes 
 round aboute lyke as they had mevyd 
 the toure / and made it to feme as 
 it had thondred / and delyvered his 
 Royaume to his fone. And thus this 
 curfyd man abode in this Temple / and 
 dyd doo fette the crofTe of our lord by 
 hym and commaunded that he fhold be 
 callyd god of alle the peple / And as it is 
 redde in libro de mitrali* officio the faid 
 Cofdroe refydent in his trone as a fader / 
 
 ! 
 
 * The book of the office of Mithras or Mithra, the Sun, 
 worfliippcd by the Perfians. 
 
xliv C6e Legennacp 
 
 fette the tree of the CrofTe on his ryght 
 fyde in flede of the fonne / and a cock 
 in the lyft fyde in flede of the hooly 
 ghooft / & commaunded / that he fhold 
 be called fader /. And then Heracle* 
 themperour aflembled a grete hooft / 
 and cam for to fyght wyth the fonne of 
 Cofdroe by the ryver of danubie / & 
 thenne hit pleafyd to eyther prynce / 
 that eche of them Ihold fyght one 
 ageynfte that other upon the brydge / 
 6c he that fhold vaynquyffhe & over- 
 come his adverfarye fholde be prynce of 
 thempyre withoute hurtyng eyther of 
 bothe hostes / & fo hit was ordeyned & 
 fworn / & that who fomever fhold helpe 
 his prynce fhold have forthwith his 
 legges & armes cut of / & to be plonged 
 / & cafl in to the Ryver. 
 
 And then Heracle commaunded hym 
 all to god and to the hooly crofTe wyth 
 all the devocion that he myght. And 
 
 * Heraclius, Emperor of the Eaft, who from a.d. 62z to 
 627 fought Chofroes II., defeated him, and concluded peace. 
 
jj)jaotg of t6e Ctof0» 
 
 xlv 
 
 thenne they fought longe / And at the 
 lafl our lord gaf the vydtory to Heracle 
 and fubdued hym to his empyre / The 
 hooft that was contrary / and alle the 
 peple of Cofdroe obeyed them to the 
 Cryften faythe / and receyved the hooly 
 baptyfme / And Cofdroe knew not the 
 end of the batayll / For he was adoured 
 and worfhiped of alle the peple as a god 
 / fo that no man durft fay nay to him / 
 And thenne Heracle came to hym / and 
 fonde hym fyttinge in his fyege' of 
 golde / and fayd to hym / For as moche 
 as after the manere thou haft honoured 
 the Tree of the CrofTe / yf thou wyld 
 receyve baptym and the faythe of Ihefu 
 Cryft / I fhal gete it to the / and yet fhalt 
 thow holde thy crowne and Royamme 
 with lytel hoftages / And I fhall lete the 
 have thy lyf / and yf thou wylt not / I 
 fhall flee the wyth my fwerde / and 
 fhalle fmyte of thyne heed / andwhanne 
 he wold not accorde therto / he did anon 
 do fmyte of his hede / and commaunded 
 
 Throne torfeati 
 French, siige. 
 
xlvi 
 
 C8e iLegenDatp 
 
 that he fhold be buryed / by caufe he 
 had be(en) a Kynge /. And he fonde 
 with hym one his fone of the age of ten 
 yere / whome he dyd doo baptyfe and 
 lyft hym fro the fonte / and left to hym 
 the Royaume of his fader / and then he 
 dyd doo breke that Toure / And gaf the 
 fylver to them of his hoofte / and gaf 
 the gold and precious ftones for to re- 
 payre the chirches that the tyraunt had 
 deflroyed / and tooke the hoole crolTe / 
 and brought it ageyne to lerufalem / and 
 as he defcended from the mount of 
 Olyvete / and wold have entryd by the 
 gate by whiche our favyour wente to his 
 paflyon on horfbacke adourned as a Kynge 
 / fodenly the ftones of the gates de- 
 fcended / and ioyned them togyder in 
 the gate like a wall & all the peple was 
 Aftomjhtd, abafhed' / and thenne the Aungel of 
 oure lord appyeryd upon the gate hold- 
 yng the figne of the ligne {sic) of the 
 CrofTe in his honde / and fayd / Whanne 
 the Kynge of heven went to his paflion ' 
 
©iftorp of tbt Ctof0, 
 
 xlvii 
 
 by this gate / he was not arayed like a 
 Kynge / ne on horfbake / but cam 
 humbly upon an afTe / in fhewynge 
 thexample of humylite which he left to 
 them that honoure hym. And when 
 this was fayd / he departed and vanyffhed 
 aweye / Thenne th'emperour took of his 
 hoien and fhone' himfelf in wepynge / 
 and defpollyed hymfelfe of alle his clothes 
 in to his fherte / and tooke the crofTe of 
 oure lord / and bare it moche humbly 
 into the gate / and anone the hardnes of 
 the ftones felte the celeftyalle commaund- 
 ement / and remeved anone / and opened 
 and gaf entree unto them that entred / 
 Thenne the fweete odour that was felt 
 that day whanne the hooly CrofTe was 
 taken fro the Toure of Cofdroe / and 
 was brought ageyne to Iherufalem fro fo 
 ferre countre / and fo grete fJDace of 
 londe retourned in to Iherufalem in that 
 moment / and replenyffhed it with al 
 fwetnes / Thenne the ryght devoute 
 Kyng beganne to faye the prayfynges of 
 
 SAoea — ^ees. 
 
xlviii 
 
 Cbe legenDarj? 
 
 the CrofTe in this wyfe / O Crux fplen- 
 dydior / et cetera / O CrofTe more 
 fhynynge than alle the Sterres / honoured 
 of the world / right holy / and moche 
 amyable to alle men / whiche only were 
 worthy to here the raunfon of the world 
 Swete tree / Swete nayles / Swete yron / 
 Swete fpere berynge the fwete burthens 
 / Save thou this prefent company / that 
 is this daye affembled in thy lawe and 
 prayfynges /. And thus was the pre- 
 cious tree of the CrofTe re eftablyffhed in 
 his place /and the auncient myracles 
 renewed /. For a dede man was reyfed 
 to lyf / and foure men taken with the 
 palfey were cured and heled / JJ lepres 
 were made clene / and fyften blynde 
 receyved theyr fyghte ageyn / Devylles 
 were put out of men / and moche peple 
 / and many / were delyvered of dyverfe 
 fekenes and maladyes /. Thenne them- 
 perour dyd doo repay re the Chirches / 
 and gaf to them grete geftes / And after 
 retorned home to his Empyre / And hit 
 
lJ)iaotp of tfte Crofs!» xlix 
 
 is faid in the Cronycles that this was^- 
 done otherwife / For they fay that 
 whanne Cofdroe hadde taken many 
 Royammes / he took Iherufalem / and 
 Zacharye the patriarke / and bare aweye 
 the tree of the CrofTe / And as Heracle 
 wold make pees with hym / the Kyng 
 Cofdroe fwore a grete othe / that he wold 
 never make pees with Cryften men and 
 Romayns / yf they denyed not hym that 
 was crucyfyed / and adoured the fonne /. 
 And thenne Heracle / whiche was armed 
 wythe faythe / brought his hoofte ageynft 
 hym / and deftroyed and wafted the 
 Perfyens with many batayles that he 
 made to them / and made Cofdroe to 
 flee unto the Cyte of thelyfonte /. And 
 atte the lafte Cofdroe hadde the flyxe in 
 his bely / And wolde therefore crowne 
 his fone Kynge / which was named 
 Mendafa /. And whenne Syroys his 
 oldefl fone herde thereof he made alyance 
 with Heracle / And purfewed his fader 
 with his noble peple / and fet hym in 
 
Cfte HegenUarp 
 
 bondes / And fufteyned him with breede 
 of trybulacion / and with water of 
 anguyffhe / And atte laft he made to 
 fhote arowes at him bycaufe he wold not 
 bileve in god & fo deyde / & after this 
 thynge he fente to Heracle the patriarke 
 the tree of the CrofTe and all the pry- 
 foners / And Heracle bare into Iherufa- 
 lem the precious tree of the CrolTe /. 
 And thus it is redde in many Cronycles 
 alfo/. Sybyle fayth thus of the tre of the 
 CrolTe / that the bleflyd tree of the 
 Crofle was thre tymes with the paynyms 
 / as it is fayd in thyftorie trypertyte O 
 thryfe bleflyd tree on whiche god was 
 ftratched / This peradventure is fayd for 
 the lyf of Nature / of grace / and of 
 glorye / which cam of the crofle /. At 
 Conftantynople a lewe entyred in to the 
 chirche of feynt fophye / and confydered 
 that he was there allone / and fawe an 
 ymage of Ihefu cryfte / and tooke his 
 fwerde and fmote thymage in the throte 
 / and anone the bloode guyiJfhed oute / 
 
i^taots of tbe Ctots. 
 
 U 
 
 and iprange in the face and on the hide 
 
 of the lewe / And he thenne was aferd 
 
 and took thymage / and caft it into a 
 
 pytte / and anone fledde awey /. And it 
 
 happed that a Cryften man mett hym / 
 
 and fawe hym al blody / and fayd to 
 
 hym / fro whens comeft thou / thou 
 
 haft flayne foume man / And he fayd I 
 
 have not / the cryften man fayd Veryly 
 
 thou has commyfed fomme homycyde / 
 
 for thou art all beiprongen' with the Be/prinhUd. 
 
 blood. And the J ewe faid / Veryly the 
 
 god of Cryften men is grete and the 
 
 faythe of hym is ferme and approved in 
 
 all thynges / I have fmyten no man / 
 
 but I have fmyten thymage of Ihefu 
 
 Cryfte / and anone yfTued blood of his 
 
 throte /. And thenne the Jewe brought 
 
 the Cryften man to the pytte / and then 
 
 they drewe oute that hooly ymage /. 
 
 And yet is fene on this daye the wounde 
 
 in the throte of thymage / And the lewe 
 
 anone by cam a good Cryften man, & 
 
 was baptyfed / In Syre in the cyte of 
 
lii 
 
 Cbe LcgcnDarp 
 
 baruth there was a criften man / which 
 had hyred an hous for a yere / & he had 
 fet thymage of the crucifixe by his bedde 
 to whiche he made dayly his prayers and 
 faid his devocions / & at the yeres ende 
 he remeved and tooke another hous / & 
 forgate & lefte thymage behynde hym / 
 and it happed that a lewe hyred that 
 fame hows / & on a daye he had another 
 lewe one of his neyghbours to dyne / & 
 as they were at mete it happed hym that 
 was boden' in lookyng on the walle to 
 efpye this ymage whiche was fyxed to 
 the walle and beganne to grenne at it 
 for defpyte / and ageynfl hym that bad 
 hym / & alfo thretned & menaced hym 
 bycaufe he durft kepe in his hous 
 thymage of Ihefu of nazareth / & that 
 other lewe fware as moche as he myght / 
 that he had never fene it / ne knewe 
 not that it was there / & thenne the 
 lewe fayned as he had been peaiyd . / 
 &c after went ftrayt to the pry nee of the 
 lewes / & accufed that lewe of that 
 
 Invited. 
 
 Pacified, 
 appeafed. 
 
5)iaotg of M Crofs. 
 
 liii 
 
 whiche he hadde fene in his hous / 
 
 thenne the lewes aflembleden 6c cam to 
 
 the hous of hym / & fawe thymage of 
 
 Ihefu Cryft / and they took that lewe 
 
 and bete hym / & did to hym many 
 
 iniuryes / & cafle hym out half dede of 
 
 their fynagoge / & anone they defowled 
 
 thymage with their feet / & renewed in 
 
 it all the tormentes of the paffion of oure 
 
 lorde / & and when they perced his fyde 
 
 with the Ipere / blood and water ylTued 
 
 haboundauntly / in fo moche that they 
 
 fylled a vefTel / whiche they fet ther- 
 
 under / And thenne the lewes were 
 
 abaffhhed & bare this blood in to theyr 
 
 fynagoge & and alle the feke men and 
 
 malades that were enoynted therwyth / 
 
 were anone guaryfjfhed & made hool/ 
 
 & thenne the lewes told & recounted al 
 
 this thynge by ordre to the bifhop of 
 
 the countre / & alle they with one wyll 
 
 receyved baptyfm in the fay the of Ihefu 
 
 Cryfl / & the biffhop putt the blood in 
 
 ampulles' of Cryflalle & of glas for to b.nkfoMs. 
 
Uv 
 
 C6e LegenDatp 
 
 be kepte / & thenne he called / the 
 Cryften man that had lefte it in the hows 
 / & enquyred of hym / who had made 
 fo fayr an ymage / & he faid that Nycho- 
 demus had made it / And when he 
 deyde / he lefte it to gamalyel / And 
 Gamalyel to Zachee and Zachee to 
 laques / and laques to Symon / and 
 hadde ben thus in lerufalem unto the 
 deftrudtion of the Cyte / and fro thennes 
 hit was borne in to the Royamme of 
 Agryppe of Cryflen men / and fro 
 thennes hit was brought ageyne into my 
 countreye / & it was left to me by my 
 parentes by rightful herytage / & this 
 was done in y* yere of our lord feven 
 honderd and fifty / and thenne alle the 
 Confecrated. lewes halowed' their fynagogues in to 
 chirches and therof cometh the cuftoume 
 that Chirches ben hallowed / For tofore 
 that tyme the aultres were but halowed 
 only / and for this myracle the chirche 
 hath ordeyned / that the fyfte Kalendar 
 of december / or as it is redde in another 
 
l^iOotS of 4)e Ctofs. 
 
 Iv 
 
 place / the fyfthe ydus of Novembre 
 fhold be the memorye of the paflyon of 
 oure lord / wherfor at Rome the chirche 
 is halowed in thonoure of our favyour 
 whereas is kepte an ampulla with the 
 fame blood / And there a folempne fefle 
 is kepte and done / and there is proved 
 the ryght grete vertue of the croiTe unto 
 the paynyms and to the myfbylevyd men 
 in alle thynges /. 
 
 And faynt Gregory recordeth in the 
 thirdde booke of his dyalogues / that 
 whanne andrewe Biffhop of the Cyte of 
 Fundane fuffred an holy noune to dwelle 
 with him / the fende' thenemy beganne 
 temprynte in his herte the beaulte of her 
 / in fuch wife / that he thought in hys 
 bedde wycked and curfyd thynges / and 
 on a daye a lewe cam to Rome / and 
 whanne he fawe / that the day fayled / 
 and myghte fynde no lodgynge / he 
 wente that nyght / and abode in the 
 Temple of appolyn /. And bycaufe he 
 doubted of the facrylege of the place / 
 
 Fiend, 
 
Ivi 
 
 Cbe legenliarp 
 
 Ponver. 
 
 Each or every 
 one. 
 
 how be hit / that he hadde no faythe in 
 the Croffe / yet he markyd and gar- 
 nyffhed hym wyth the figne of the 
 CrofTe / then at mydnyght whan he 
 awoke / he fawe a companye of evylle 
 fprytes / whiche went to fore one / Uke 
 as he hadde fomme au<5loryte puyflance' 
 above thother by fubiedlion / and thenne 
 he fawe hym fytte in the myddes among 
 the others / and beganne to enquyre the 
 caufes and dedes of everyche' of thefe 
 evylle fprytes / whyche obeyed hym / 
 and he wold knowe / what evylle 
 everyche had doo /But Gregory paflyth 
 the maner of this vyfyon / bycaufe of 
 {hortnes /But we fynde femblable in the 
 lyf of faders / That as a man entryd in a 
 Temple of thydolles / he fawe the devylle 
 fyttynge / and all his meyny^ aboute 
 hym. And one of thefe wycked / fprytes 
 cam / and adouryd hym / and he de- 
 maunded of hym / Fro whens comefl 
 thow / and he fayd / I have ben in fuch 
 a provynce / and have moeved grete 
 
 Attendants. 
 
^ifiorp of tbe Crof0» Ivii 
 
 warres / and made many trybulacions 
 and have fhedde moche blood / and am 
 come to telle it to the / and Sathan fayd 
 to hym / in what tyme hath thow done 
 this / and he fayd in thyrtty dayes and 
 Sathan fayd / why haft thow be foo 
 longe there aboutes / and fayd to them 
 that ftode by hym / goo ye and bete hym 
 / and all to lafjfhe hym / Thenne cam 
 the fecond and worfihiped hym / & fayde 
 Syre I have ben in the fee / and have 
 moeved grete wyndes and tormentes / 
 & drowned many fhippes / & flayn many 
 men / and Sathan fayde how longe haft 
 thow ben aboute thys / & he fayd VViX 
 dayes / & Sathan fayd haft thou done no 
 more in this tyme / & commanded that 
 he {hold be beten / and the third cam / 
 & faid / I have ben in a Cyte & have 
 mevyd ftryves and debate in a weddynge 
 / and have fhed moche blood / & have 
 flayne the hoft)ond / & am come to telle 
 the / & fathan fayd / in what time haft 
 thou done this / & he faid in ten dayes / 
 
Iviii 
 
 Cbe ilegenDatp 
 
 Dreiv. 
 
 Jeft. 
 
 & he fayd haft thou done no more in 
 that time / & commanded them that 
 were aboute hym to bete hym alfo / 
 Thenne cam the fourth & fayd / I have 
 ben in the wyldernefs fourty yere / and 
 have laboured aboute a monke / 6c 
 unnethe at the lafte I have throwen & 
 made hym falle in the fynne of the 
 fleffhe / & when fatan herd that / he 
 aroos fro his fete / 6c kyffed hym / 6c 
 tooke hys crowne of his hede / 6c fet it 
 on his hede / 6c made hym to fytte with 
 hym / 6c fayde / thou haft done a grete 
 thynge / 6c haft laboured more / than 
 all thother / and this may be the maner 
 of the vyfyon / that faynt gregorye leveth 
 / whan eche had fayd / one fterte up in 
 the myddle of them alle / 6c feyd he 
 hadde mevid Andrewe ageynfte the 
 name / 6c had mevyd the fourth part of 
 his flefhe agenft her in temptacion / 6c 
 therto / y' yefterday he drough' fo moche 
 his mynde on her / that in the hour of 
 evenfonge he gaf to her in lapping^ a 
 
5)iflor5 of tfie Crofs. 
 
 lix 
 
 buffe' / & feid pleynly y' fhe muft here ki/s. 
 
 it that he wold fynne with her / thenne 
 
 the mayfter commanded hym that he 
 
 fhold perform y' he had begonne / & 
 
 for to make hym to fynne he fhold have 
 
 a fyngular Vydlory and reward among 
 
 alle the other /. And thenne commaunded 
 
 he that they fhold goo loke who that 
 
 was that laye in the Temple / And they 
 
 wente / & loked / And anone they were 
 
 ware / that he was marked with the 
 
 figne of the crofTe / And they levynge 
 
 aferd efcaped / and fayd / veryly this is 
 
 an empty veflel / alas / alas / he is 
 
 marked /. And with^ thus wys alle the ~i»this^ife. 
 
 company of the wykked fprytes van- 
 
 yffhed awaye / And thenne the lewe al 
 
 amoevyd cam to the biffhop / and told 
 
 to hym all by ordere what was happend / 
 
 And whan the biffhoppe herd this /he 
 
 wept ftrongly / and made to voyde all 
 
 the wymmen oute of his hows / And 
 
 thenne he baptyfed the lewe. 
 
 Seynt Gregory reherceth in his 
 
Ix 
 
 Cbe legenuatp 
 
 Bit. 
 
 dyalogues that a nonne entryd into a 
 gardyne / and fawe a letufe / and coveyted 
 that / and forgate to make the figne of 
 the CrofTe / and bote' it glotonoufly / 
 And anone fylle doune and was ravyflhed 
 of a devylle / And ther cam to her faint 
 Equycyon* / And the devylle beganne to 
 crye and to faye / What have I doo / I 
 fatte uppon a lettufe / and fhe cam / and 
 bote me / and anone the devylle ylfued 
 oute by the commaundement of the holy 
 man of god /. It is redde in thyftorye 
 Scolaftyke / that the paynyms had peyn- 
 ted on a walle the armes of Serapis / 
 And Theodofyen dide doo putt them 
 oute / and made to be paynted in the 
 fame place the figne of the CrofTe / And 
 when the paynims & prieftes of thydolles 
 fawe that / anone they dyde them to be 
 baptyfed / fayenge / that it was gyven 
 them to underftonde of their olders / 
 
 ''^ St. Equitius was a hermit, and looked after the welfare 
 of other hermits and monks. He took a fpecial intereft in a 
 convent of young virgins ; died about a.d. 540. 
 
lj)i(}orp of tbz Crofs, 
 
 that thofe armes fhold endure tyll / that 
 fuche a ligne were made then / in 
 whiche were lyf / And they have a lettre 
 / of whiche they ufe / y' they calle holy 
 / & had a forme that they faid it expofed 
 and fignyfyed lyf perdurable. 
 
 Thus endeth the exaltacion of the 
 holy Crofle. 
 
 Ixi 
 
 Having read thefe extracts from the 
 Golden Legend, we fhall be able to 
 underftand the accompanying illuftra- 
 tions, which reprefent fome frefcos of 
 the fifteenth century, which formerly 
 adorned the walls of the / Chapel of the 
 Gild of the Holy Crofs, at Stratford-upon- 
 Avon ; which ftands clofe by New Place, 
 Shakefpeare's houfe. Thefe frefcos, alas! 
 no longer exift, for, in 1804, the Chapel 
 underwent confiderable repair, during 
 which, under the whitewash, were dif- 
 covered traces of paint, and thefe, being 
 fcraped, a feries illuftrating the legend of 
 the Crofs was found in the chancel. 
 
Ixii 
 
 Clje Hegentiari? 
 
 which was built in 1450. In other 
 parts of the Chapel were found repre- 
 fentations of the RelTuredlion, and the 
 day of Judgment, St. George and the 
 Dragon, and the death of St. Thomas a 
 Becket, befides others. 
 
 Luckily, a gentleman from London, a 
 Mr. Fifher, was then flaying at Stratford- 
 on-Avon, and he drew, and painted them 
 — afterwards, in 1807, publifliing them 
 — and it is from his iketches that thefe 
 illuftrations are taken. The barbarians 
 of Stratford hacked the plafter on which 
 the Holy Crofs feries was painted to bits, 
 and whitewaflied all the other paintings. 
 It is prefumed they ftill exift, for, when 
 the Chapel was thoroughly reftored in 
 1835, traces of the other pi(flures were 
 vifible under the whitewafli. 
 
 Thefe pid:ures of the Invention, and 
 Exaltation, of the Holy Crofs are ef- 
 pecially interefting, not only on account 
 of their age and artiftic merit, but from 
 the fa(5l that they are of Englifli work. 
 
©iflorp of tbz Crof0. 
 
 Ixiii 
 
 and fhow the Englifh idea of treating 
 the fubjedl. I have reproduced them all 
 but two; one, the fight on the bridge 
 over the Danube between Heraclius and 
 the fon of Chofroes, and the other 
 reprefenting Heraclius fmiting off Chof- 
 roes' head. 
 
J^xaotp of tjje Crofs, Ixv 
 
 Plate A reprefents the vifit of the 
 Queen of Sheba to Solomon. Her name 
 was Balkis, and, in her legendary hiftory, 
 it is reported that Solomon, having heard 
 of her riches and power, fent her a 
 peremptory meflage to fubmit herfelf to 
 his rule. She, dreading war with fo 
 potent a fovereign, fent an embafly to 
 try and find out whether Solomon was 
 as wife as he was reprefented to be. 
 With this objed fhe dreffed five hundred 
 boys as girls, and a like number of girls 
 as boys, and, among other prefents, fent 
 a pearl, a diamond cut through in 
 zigzags, and a cryftal box; and fhe 
 fhould be able to judge of his wifdom 
 and power, if he could tell the boys from 
 the girls, pierce the pearl, thread the 
 diamond, and fill the goblet with water 
 that came neither from the earth nor 
 the iky. 
 
 Needlefs to fay, Solomon paiTed through 
 the ordeal triumphantly. He ordered 
 filver bafins to be brought, fo that the 
 
Ixvi 
 
 Cbe legenDarp 
 
 ambafTadors' fuite might wafh their hands 
 after their long journey, and the boys 
 were eafily diftinguifhed from the girls, for 
 they dipped their hands only in the water, 
 whilft the girls tucked up their fleeves 
 and wafhed their arms as well as their 
 hands. Then he opened the box con- 
 taining the pearl, diamond, and goblet, 
 and, taking out the pearl, he applied his 
 magic ftone, Samur, or Schamir, which 
 a raven had brought him, and which 
 had the power of cleaving anything, and 
 lo ! the pearl was pierced ; then he 
 examined the diamond, which was fo 
 pierced that no thread could be pafTed 
 through it; fo he took a worm, and 
 having placed a piece of filk in its mouth, 
 it wriggled through, and the diamond 
 was threaded. The next tafk was to fill 
 the goblet, which he gave to a negro 
 flave, and bade him mount a wild horfe 
 and gallop it till it ftreamed with fweat, 
 and then to fill the goblet with it, thus 
 fulfilling the impofed conditions. He 
 
^iaorp of tbz Crofti. Ixvii 
 
 then gave back thefe prefents to the 
 ambaiTadors, who fpeedily returned to 
 Queen Balkis. She at once faw that it 
 would be ufelefs to oppofe the powerful 
 will of Solomon, and immediately fet out 
 on her journey to that monarch. 
 
 It is here that her connection with the 
 holy Crofs comes in, for its wood, which 
 Solomon had cut down in order to 
 incorporate it into his Temple, and 
 which had the inconvenient property of 
 fitting in nowhere, being either too long 
 or too fhort for any purpofe, was in 
 confequence thrown afide, and ultimately 
 was ufed as a foot-bridge acrofs a brook. 
 Acrofs this plank the Queen had to pafs, 
 but fhe, recognifing its holy virtue, 
 refufed to walk acrofs it, preferring to 
 wade the brook, which, having done, fhe 
 expounded its value to Solomon, and 
 prophefied that out of it fhould be made 
 the Crofs on which Jefus fhould fufFer. 
 
 She afterwards became one of Solomon's 
 wives, and bore him a fon, and then 
 
^ifiorp of tlje Ctof0» Ixix 
 
 returned to her own land, and from this 
 fon are defcended the kings of Abyflynia. 
 The legend on the label is, as far as is 
 legible, Regina Saba fama Salomonis 
 (adducfl) A VENIT (lero)soLUMA ubi 
 
 LIGNUM IN . . . ABATICA . . . IT . . . 
 GENIS . . . PERSOLVETUR. 
 
 Plate B is, virtually, two; one fhowing 
 the angel appearing to Conftantine when, 
 early in the fourth century, he was 
 advancing towards Rome againft Maxen- 
 tius; but the legend of the miraculous 
 infcription which appeared in the fky, 
 " In hoc signo vinces," does not appear. 
 The other, and larger portion, reprefents 
 his vidlory over Maxentius, and he is 
 reprefented as fpearing and killing that 
 monarch; but this is not hiftorically 
 corre(ft, for, after his defeat, as Maxentius 
 fled towards Rome, effaying to crofs the 
 Tiber over a rotten bridge, it gave way, 
 and he was drowned. It is noticeable 
 that the Chriftian flag bears the Tau 
 Crofs. 
 
Ixx 
 
 Cbe Legcntarp 
 
 7he Plates Q and D run into each other ^ 
 although they portray different Jubje&Sy C 
 being the departure of St. Helena for Jeru/alem 
 on her quefi of the holy Crofs. The label in 
 this frejco is utterly illegible. 
 
 Plate D fhows Judas (called Julius in 
 the label) Cyryacus (the Quyryache of 
 the Golden Legend) being releafed, after 
 having been forced, through imprifon- 
 ment and ftarvation, into confefling 
 where the holy Crofs lay buried. In 
 the upper part St. Helena is receiving the 
 holy Crofs, whilft labourers are uncover- 
 ing the Tau CrofTes of the tw^o thieves. 
 
 The legend is mutilated, but enough 
 remains to make its meaning clear : 
 "Here Seynte helyne EXAMY(neth) 
 THE I(ews for) Y^ Holy cros .... 
 luLius cyryacus (faith that he knew 
 w)here hete was." 
 
 The legend in Plate E is nearly -perfeSi^ 
 and accurately defer ibes the paintings " Hyt 
 was proved evidently by myrakel 
 which was y^ very cros that cure 
 Savyour suffyred .... In resynge a 
 made from deth to lyfe." 
 
^iflotp of tbt Ctof0. Ixxi 
 
 Here all the CroiTes are of the Tau 
 type, and the fcene is laid in a foreft, 
 where an old labourer, and a bill- 
 man, and the deer nibbling the trees, 
 give a rural aiped:, inftead of in the 
 City of Jerufalem, as faith the Golden 
 Legend. 
 
 Plate F evidently confifts of two 
 feparate paintings — one, where St. Helena 
 is reverently carrying the Crofs into 
 Jerufalem, whilft the angels in heaven are 
 difcourfing celeftial mufic ; and the other, 
 its reception either in Jerufalem or 
 Byzantium, whither St. Helena fent a por- 
 tion as a prefent to her fon. And this 
 latter feems the more probable, if we 
 imagine the King, who, with St. Helena, 
 is adoring the Crucifix, to be the emperor 
 Conftantine, a fad: which might have 
 been fettled had the label been legible. 
 
 The legend at the bottom is un- 
 fortunately mutilated, but that evidently 
 relates to that portion of the Crofs which 
 remained at Jerufalem, becaufe it Ipeaks 
 
Ixxii 
 
 H 
 
JDiflor^ of tbz Crofs- 
 
 Ixxiii 
 
 of Chofroes : " Here the hole cros 
 
 WAS BROUGHTE SOLEMLY YN TO THE 
 . . . . IN Y^ BYSSHOPS HANDS EASILY 
 
 AND (remaynyd) un to the tyme of 
 (King Codfd)RoE. 
 
 Plates G and H reprefent the ftory 
 told in the Golden Legend, of Heraclius 
 bearing the Crofs into Jerufalem, how 
 the gate miraculoufly clofed, and an 
 angel appeared in the heavens and 
 reproved Heraclius for riding in ftate 
 on the very fpot where Jefus had gone 
 in all meeknefs, and lowlinefs, to His 
 paffion. The legend is erafed in parts, 
 the unmutilated portion reading, " As 
 the nobul kynge eraclyus com 
 rydyng towarde y^ cytte of jeru- 
 SALEM BERYNG Y^ CROSSE SO GRETE 
 PRYDE .... WHERE Y^ . . . ." 
 
 Naturally, the pofleffion of a piece of 
 the true Crofs would be efteemed as a 
 moft precious property. No matter how 
 fmall, it would be reverentially enclofed 
 in cryftal and gold, and was more than 
 
I XXIV 
 
 Cbc legennacp 
 
 a prefent fit for an emperor or king, and 
 we cannot marvel that finall pieces were 
 diftributed all over Chriftendom. Poffibly 
 fome of the relics fhown as pieces of the 
 very Crofs might not have been what 
 they were fuppofed to be, but it is hard 
 to believe what John Calvin* wrote 
 about it : — 
 
 " And fyrft of all let us begynne to 
 fpeake of his crolTe, whereupon he was 
 hanged. I know that it is holden for a 
 certaintie that it was founde of Heline 
 the mother of Conftantine the Romaine 
 Emperour. I knowe alfo what certaine 
 Do6tours have written touching the 
 approbation hereof, for to certifie that 
 the croiTe which flie found was without 
 doute the felfe fame on the whiche 
 lefus Chrift was hanged. Touchynge 
 all this I reporte me to the thynge it felfe, 
 fo much is there t4iat it was but a folilli 
 curiofitie of her, or at the leaft a folillie 
 
 * I quote from the tranflation by Steven Withers, 1561. 
 
jj)ilJotg of tfte CroC0. 
 
 Ixxv 
 
 and unconfidered devotion. But yet put 
 the cafe it had ben a worke worthy of 
 prayfe to her, for to have taken paynes 
 to fynde the trewe crolTe, and that our 
 lord had then declared by myracle that 
 it was his crolTe which ihe found; Yet 
 let us onely conlider that which is of our 
 time. Every one doeth holde that this 
 croffe which Helene founde is yet at 
 lerufalem, and none doeth doute thereof. 
 Although the Ecclefiafticall hiftory againft 
 fayeth the fame notablye. For it is ther 
 recited that Helene toke one part thereof 
 to fend to the Emperour her fonne, who 
 put the fame at Conftantinople upon a 
 fyne pyller of Marble in the myddeft of 
 the market. Of the other part, it is 
 fayde that Ihe did locke the fame in a 
 copher of lilver, and gave it to the Bifhop 
 of lerufalem to kepe. So then eyther 
 we fhall augment the hiftorie of a lie or 
 els that which is holden at this daye of 
 the true CrolTe, is but a vayne and 
 triflyng opinion. 
 
Ixxvi 
 
 tizbt Legennarp 
 
 Blocks— billets 
 
 " Let us confider on the other part 
 howe many peeces there are thereof 
 throug out the worlde. Yf I would 
 onely recite that whiche I coulde fay 
 there woulde be a regifter fufficient to 
 fyl a whole boke. There is not fo little 
 a town where there is not fome peece 
 thereof, and that not onelye in cathedrall 
 churches, but alfo in fome parishes. 
 Likewiie ther is not fo wicked an abbey 
 where there is not of it to be fhewed. 
 And in fome places ther are good great 
 fhydes : ' as at the holye chappell of Paris, 
 and at Poitiers & at Rome, where there 
 is a great crucifix made thereof as men 
 faye. To be fhort, yf a man woulde 
 gather together all that hath bene founde 
 of this crofTe, there would be inough to 
 fraighte a great jfhip. The Gofpell tefti- 
 fieth that the crofTe myght be caried of 
 one man. What audacitie then was this 
 to fyll the earth with pieces of wod in 
 fuche quantitie, that thre hundred men 
 can not cary them," &c. 
 
ft)illorp of tbe Ctof0, 
 
 Ixacrii 
 
 Calvin was full of zeal, and could not 
 ftoop to particularife. Witnefs his affer- 
 tion that the Crofs would freight a fhip, 
 and yet that three hundred men could 
 carry it. M. Rohault de Fleury has 
 gone very minutely into this matter. 
 Knowing, from microfcopical examina- 
 tion, that feveral of the relics of the 
 Crofs were of pine, he accepts this wood 
 as his bafis, and, from its probable lize, 
 he deduces a weight of loo kilogrammes, 
 equal to about 240 Engliih lbs. ; and, 
 taking the average denlity of pine, he 
 eftimates that this would give 178 mil- 
 lions of cubic millimetres. He then 
 defcribes all the known pieces in Europe, 
 Jerufalem, and Mount Athos, with their 
 meafurements, and he puts the outcome 
 at 3,941,975 cubic millimetres; thus, 
 according to his fhewing, there is but a 
 very fmall portion of the Holy Crofs in 
 exiftence. I fubjoin his lift of the 
 places in which pieces of the Crofs are 
 known to exift, as it is moft interefting. 
 
Ixxviii 
 
 Ci)e Legentiarp 
 
 fhowing the comparative bulk of the 
 pieces, in cubic milHmetres : — 
 
 Aix la Chapelle ... 150 
 
 Amiens 4>5oo 
 
 Angers 2,640 
 
 Angleterre 3o>5i6 
 
 Aries 8,000 
 
 Arras io,3H 
 
 Athos (le Mont) . . . 878,360 
 
 Autun 50 
 
 Avignon 220 
 
 Bauge 104,000 
 
 Bernay 375 
 
 Befan^on 1,000 
 
 Bologne 15,000 
 
 Bonifacio 47,960 
 
 Bordeaux 3>42o 
 
 Bourbon I'Archambault . 29,275 
 
 Bourges 22,275 
 
 Bruxelles 516,090 
 
 Chalmarques .... „ 
 
 Carried forward 1,674,145 
 
J^iflorp of toe Crofs. 
 
 Ixxix 
 
 Brought forward 1,674,145 
 
 Chalons 200 
 
 Chamirey 605 
 
 Chatillon „ 
 
 ChefFes (Anjou) ... 100 
 
 Chelles „ 
 
 Compiegne 1,896 
 
 Conques 108 
 
 Cortone 3,000 
 
 Courtrai 200 
 
 Dijon 33,091 
 
 Donawert 12,000 
 
 Faghine „ 
 
 Florence 37>64o 
 
 Fumes 5^250 
 
 Gand 436,450 
 
 Genes ....... 26,458 
 
 Gramont 5,000 
 
 Jancourt (Aube) . . . 3>5oo 
 
 Jerufalem 5*045 
 
 Langres 200 
 
 Laon 
 
 Carried forward 2,244,888 
 
Ixxx 
 
 C6e legenDarp 
 
 Brought forward 2,244,888 
 
 Libourne 3,000 
 
 Lille 15,1 12 
 
 Limbourg 133,768 
 
 Longpont i>i36 
 
 Lorris „ 
 
 Lyon 1,696 
 
 Micon 2,000 
 
 Maeftricht 10,000 
 
 Marfeille 150 
 
 Milan 1,920 
 
 Montepulciano .... 500 
 
 Naples 10,000 
 
 Nevers 176 
 
 Nuremberg „ 
 
 Padoue 64 
 
 Paris 237,731 
 
 Pifa 8,175 
 
 Poitiers 870 
 
 Pontigny 12,000 
 
 Ragufe 169,324 
 
 Riel les Eaux .... 671 
 
 Carried forward 2,853,181 
 
^iflorp of tbz €toi$. 
 
 Ixxxi 
 
 Brought f 
 Rome . . 
 Royaumont . 
 Saint Die 
 
 orw 
 
 '■arc 
 
 L 
 
 2,853,181 
 • 537^5^7 
 
 99 
 
 
 Saint Florent 
 
 
 
 
 400 
 
 
 Saint Quentin 
 
 
 
 
 5,000 
 
 
 Saint Sepolcro 
 Sens . . . 
 Sienne 
 
 
 
 
 200 
 
 ■ 69,545 
 
 1,680 
 
 
 Tournai . . 
 
 
 
 
 2,000 
 
 
 Treves 
 
 
 
 
 18,000 
 
 
 Troyes . . 
 Turin . 
 
 
 
 
 20I 
 6,500 
 
 - 
 
 Venice 
 Venloo 
 
 
 
 
 445,582 
 
 
 Walcourt . . 
 
 
 
 
 2,000 
 
 
 Wambach . . 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 » 
 
 
 Total . . 
 
 3»94i>975 
 
 According to this table we are credited 
 in England with 30,5 1 6 cubic millimetres 
 of the holy Crofs, and it is interefting 
 to know where they are iituated. M. 
 
 
Ixxxii 
 
 Cbe iLcgennarp 
 
 Rohault de Fleury, writing in 1870, 
 fays there were pieces at Iflevvorth; St. 
 Gregory, Downfide, near Bath; in the 
 poflefTion of Lord Petre; at Bergholt 
 Eaft, in Suifolk; at Plowden ; at the con- 
 vent of St. Mary, York ; at Weft Grinftead ; 
 at St. George's, Southwark; and SHndon, 
 Suflex. 
 
 Thefe pieces of the holy Crofs are not 
 large, as the following table, in cubic 
 millimetres, fhows: — 
 
 At Ifleworth 1,000 
 
 „ College of St. Gregory . 6,120 
 
 Lord Petre (two relics) . 8,287 
 
 At St. Mary, Bergholt Eaft 1,008 
 
 „ Plowden Hall, Salop . 262 
 
 „ St. Mary, York (two relics) 5,600 
 
 „ Weft Grinftead „ 38 
 „ St. George's, Southwark 
 
 (four relics) .... 63 
 
 „ St. Richard, Slindon . 8,100 
 
 Total 
 
 30,516 
 
^iftorp of tfie Crofs. 
 
 Ixxxiii 
 
 One relic at St. Mary's Convent, York, 
 is very fine ; it is ornamented with fcroU- 
 work of the tenth century, and bears 
 three impreffions of the feal of the Vicar 
 Capitular of the diocefe of Saint Omer, 
 1657 ^^ 1662. It is a perioral crofs that 
 is fuppofed to have belonged to the 
 patriarch Arnulph, who was with Robert, 
 Duke of Normandy. 
 
 The other is fuppofed to have been 
 attached to the above, and to have 
 belonged equally to Arnulph, patriarch 
 of Jerufalem. This is kept in a lilver 
 reliquary, which alfo contains relics of 
 SS. Ignatius Loyola and Francois Xavier. 
 
 We fee by the Golden Legend, that 
 St, Helena, after finding the Crofs, feeling 
 certain that the nails were not far off, 
 profecuted a further fearch for them, and 
 they were difcovered "fhynyng as gold." 
 As with the fafhion of the Crofs, whether 
 it was immijfa or commijfa, there is, and 
 was, a controverfy with regard to the 
 nails, whether three or four. 
 
Ixxxiv 
 
 C()e legenDarp 
 
 ■ 
 
 Bolius in his learned and exhauftive 
 book, Crux Triumphans et Gloriofa* gives 
 several authorities for three nails only — 
 foremoft, Gregory Nazianzen; but he 
 does not give the palTage where it may 
 be found ; the quotation, however, is 
 
 Vv\ivov TfiurifKtf KEifi(.vov |uX^ \a€wv, 
 
 " having taken from the three-nailed 
 wood the dead (or hanging) body." Thus 
 clearly showing the number of nails he 
 confidered right. 
 
 Bofius then goes on to quote ApoUinaris 
 Laodicenus, who, in his tragedy entitled 
 Chrijlus pattens^ called the holy Crofs by 
 the fame words, rpiai]\ov ^v\o>, "three-nailed 
 wood"; and he also quotes from the 
 Meditat. vitce Chrijlioi Bonaventura, "////' 
 tres clavi fujlineni totius corporis pondusT 
 Nonnus, the Greek poet, writing in the 
 fifth century, alfo fays that our Lord's 
 feet overlapped each other, and were 
 
 * From this book I hare taken the head and tail piece here 
 given.— J. A. 
 
S)iftor? of tbe Crof0- 
 
 Ixxxv 
 
 faftened by only one large nail. So that 
 there is a very fair amount of antiquity 
 in favour of three nails. 
 
 Againft this theory may be quoted the 
 authority of St. Cyprian, St. Auguftine, 
 St. Gregory of Tours, Pope Innocent III., 
 Ruiinus, Theodoret, and others, w^ho fay 
 four nails vsrere ufed in the Crucifixion of 
 our Saviour. The battle waged pic- 
 torially ; but perhaps the earlieft known 
 reprefentation of the Crucifixion, that 
 found in the Cemetery of St. Julian, 
 Pope, or of St. Valentine in Via Flaminia 
 at Rome, ought to bear moft weight. 
 Our Saviour is reprefented as being clothed 
 in a long fleevelefs robe, which reaches 
 to His ankles ; the feet are feparate, and 
 are each nailed. It is faid that Cimabue 
 was the firfi: to paint the feet overlapping, 
 and one nail. His example, however, 
 was much followed, and hence the 
 controverfy. 
 
 Of thefe nails, univerfal tradition fays 
 that St. Helena fent two to her fon 
 
Ixxxvi 
 
 Constantine, and, as the Golden Legend 
 has it, "the emperour dyd do fette them 
 in hys brydel and in hys helme when he 
 wente to batayle." One can underftand 
 one of thefe facred nails being worn in 
 the Emperour's helmet as a prefage 
 of vi<5lory and as a fafeguard againft 
 danger, but the utility of incorporating 
 one of fuch pricelefs relics in a horfe's 
 bridle is not fo eafy to comprehend; but 
 the fathers of the Church, St. Cyril of 
 Alexandria, St. Ambrofe, Theodoret, and 
 St. Gregory of Tours, recognife in it the 
 fulfilment of the prophecy of Zecharius, 
 chap. xiv. 20: "In that day fhall be 
 upon the bridles of the horfes. Holiness 
 UNTO THE Lord." 
 
 This bridle, or rather bit, is now faid 
 to be in exiftence in France at Carpentras, 
 department of Vauclufe. How it got 
 there is not clearly known, but probably 
 it was taken at the time of the Crufades 
 — as leaden feals on which it is engraved 
 exift, attached to parchments of the dates 
 
J^iflorp of tbe Crof0. 
 
 Ixxxvii 
 
 1226 and 1250, and it was mentioned in 
 an inventory of relics in the year 1322. 
 I have reproduced it, as w^ell as the 
 
 ' The iron crown of Lombardy. ^ The holy bridle at Car- 
 pentras. ' Nail at Venice. * Nail at Rome in Sta. Maria in 
 Campitelli. * Nail at Arras. ®Nail at CoUe. ' Nail in the 
 Church of the Holy Crofs of Jerufalem, at Rome. ^ Portion 
 of nail at Toul. ^ Nail at Treves. 
 
Ixxxviii 
 
 Cbe LegenDarp 
 
 Iron Crown of Lombardy and the nails, 
 from M. Rohault de Fleury's work, and, 
 as will be feen, it is undoubtedly of 
 great antiquity, clofely refembling the 
 bits of the Romans. 
 
 According to Bofius, who quotes 
 Gregory Nazianzen, a third nail was 
 thrown by St. Helena into the Adriatic 
 Sea, in order to calm a tempeft; and the 
 fame authority fays that the fourth was 
 depoiited in the head of a ftatue of Con- 
 ftantine, but this militates much againft 
 the number of holy nails faid to be in 
 exiftence. Calvin notices this, and is 
 down upon it with fledge - hammer 
 force : — 
 
 " Yet there is a greater combat of the 
 nayles. I wyll recite them only that are 
 come to my knowledge. Thereupon 
 there is not fo lytle a childe but wyll 
 judge that the Devyll hath to much de- 
 luded the worlde in takyng from it both 
 underftandyng and reafon, that it coulde 
 difcerne nothynge in this matter. If the 
 
8)ifiotp of tfte Crofs. 
 
 Ixxxix 
 
 auncient writers faye trewe, and namely 
 Theodorite Hiftoriographer of the aun- 
 cient churche, Helene caufed one to be 
 nayled on her fonne's helmet, the other 
 two fhe put in his horfe bitte. How be 
 it Saindl Ambrofe fayeth not fully fo. 
 For he fayeth that one was put in 
 Conftantine's crowne, of the other his 
 horfebit was made, and the thirde Helene 
 kept. Wee fe y* already more than 
 twelve hundred yeres agone this hath 
 bene in controverlie, to wit, what was 
 become of the nayles. What certentie 
 can be had of them then at this prefent 
 time ? 
 
 "Now at Millan they bofte that thei 
 have y nayle that was put in Conftantine's 
 horfe bitte. To the whiche the towne 
 of Carpentras oppofeth herfelfe, fayinge 
 that it is fhe that hath it. Nowe S. 
 Ambrofe doth not faye that the nayle 
 was knit to the bitte, but that the bitte 
 was made thereof Whiche thynge can 
 in no w^fe be made to agre eyther w' 
 
xc Cbe LegenDar^ 
 
 their faying of Milan or w' theirs of 
 Carpentras. 
 
 " Moreover there is one in Rome at 
 Saindl Helenes ; another alfo at Sene, 
 another at Venife. In Germany two : 
 at Collyne one, at the three Maries : 
 another at Triers, one in Fraunce at the 
 holy chappell of Paris, another at y^ 
 Carmes, one alfo at Saindt Denis in 
 France : one at Burges : one at Tenaill, 
 one at Draguine. 
 
 "Beholde here fourteene, whereof 
 account is made ; in every place they 
 alledge good approbation for themfelves, 
 as they fuppofe. And fo it is that everye 
 one hath as good right as aunother. 
 Wherefor there is no better way then to 
 make them all pafTe under one fidelium. 
 That is to faye, to repute all that they 
 faye hereof to be but lyes, fey in g that 
 otherwife a man Ihoulde never come to 
 an ende." 
 
 What would Calvin have faid if he 
 had feen the formidable lift of holy 
 
©iUorp of tU CtofjS. xci 
 
 nails enumerated by Guifto (or Juftus) 
 Fontanini, Archbifhop of Ancyra ? which 
 is as follows : — 
 
 1 . Aix la Chapelle. 
 
 2. Ancona, in the Cathedral. 
 
 3. Bamberg. 
 
 4 . In Bavaria, Convent of Audechfen. 
 
 5. Carpentras. The Holy Bit. 
 
 6. Catania, Sicily. 
 
 7. Colle, in Tufcany. 
 
 8. Cologne. 
 
 9. The Efcurial in Spain. 
 
 10. Milan. 
 
 11. Monza. The Iron Crown. 
 
 12. Naples. Monaftery of S. Patricius. 
 
 13. Nuremberg. Church of the Holy 
 
 Virgin. 
 
 14. Paris. 
 
 15. Rome. Two Nails. Church of 
 
 the Holy Crofs of Jerufalem ; 
 Church of Santa Maria in 
 Campitelli. 
 
 16. Sienna. Hofpital Sainte Marie de 
 
 de I'Echelle. 
 
xcii 
 
 Clje LegenDarp 
 
 
 17. Spoleto. 
 
 18. Torcello, near Venice. Church 
 
 
 of S. Anthony. 
 19. Torno, on the Lake of Como. 
 
 
 20. Toul. 
 
 
 21. Treves. 
 
 
 22. Venice. Three nails. 
 
 
 23. Vienna. 
 
 
 But this lift is further fupplemented 
 by M. Rohault de Fleury, who gives 
 fix more : — 
 
 
 I . Arras, according to M. le Chev. de 
 Linas, 
 
 
 2. Compiegne. A point. 
 
 3. Cracow^, in Poland, according to 
 
 
 M. Goffelin. 
 
 
 4. Florence. 
 
 
 5. Lagney. 
 
 6. Troyes. 
 
 So that no lefs than twenty-nine towns 
 
 .. 
 
 claim the pofTeffion of thirty-two nails, all 
 differing in form, the number of which 
 can only be accounted for by the lup- 
 pofition that only a portion of the holy 
 
©iflotp of tfje Crof0. 
 
 xciu 
 
 nails has been incorporated into each of 
 them. 
 
 One of the moft interefting relics in 
 connection with the holy nails is the 
 Iron Crown of Lombardy. This, as may 
 be feen by reference to the illuftration 
 (Fig. I ), is a circlet of gold, ornamented 
 with precious ftones, and it is indebted 
 for its name of "Iron" to a thin band (A) 
 of that metal, which is inside the gold 
 circlet. The Crown itfelf is of very 
 antique form, being even devoid of rays, 
 and is too fmall to go on the head. 
 Charlemagne was crowned with it in 
 774, and Napoleon did not think him- 
 felf King of Italy until he had placed 
 this precious diadem on his head, in 
 1805. It is kept at Monza, nine miles 
 from Milan, in the Cathedral, which is 
 of great antiquity. There it repofes in 
 a huge crofs placed over the altar. 
 
 Of the relics of the Crofs there now 
 remains but two fpecks of the title or 
 infcription thereon, and here, again, I am 
 
©iftotp of tit Crofs. xcv 
 
 indebted to M. Rohault de Fleury for 
 the illuftration on page xciv., as it feems 
 to me to be the beft yet pubUfhed. 
 
 The Evangelifts, although agreeing in 
 the fpirit of the infcription, vary as to the 
 letter. 
 
 Says St. Matthew : '* This is Jefus the 
 King of the Jews." 
 „ St. Mark: '*The King of the 
 
 Jews." 
 „ St. Luke : *'This is the King of 
 
 the Jews." 
 
 „ St. John: " Jefus of Nazareth the 
 
 King of the Jews." 
 
 Neither St. Matthew nor St. Mark note 
 
 the tri-lingual charadler, and SS. Luke 
 
 and John vary as to the order of the 
 
 different languages ; the former faying 
 
 it was in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew — 
 
 the latter that it was in Hebrew, Greek, 
 
 and Latin. The latter is the generally 
 
 accepted form, and the reafon given is, 
 
 that Hebrew, being the common 
 
 language, it would naturally come firft, 
 
XCVl 
 
 Cbe HegenUarp 
 
 as we {hould do in an Englifh notice, firft 
 in Englifh, then, fay in French and 
 German, for the benefit of foreigners, 
 as were the Greeks and Romans in 
 Jerufalem. 
 
 The tradition is that, along with the 
 Crofs, St. Helena found the infcription, 
 and that fhe fent it, together with a piece 
 of the Holy Crofs and a number of other 
 facred relics, to Rome, where it was 
 depofited in the bafilica of Santa Croce. 
 Here it remained until Valentinian, 
 fearing that it might fall into the hands 
 of the Goths and Huns, hid it in the 
 wall of the building, until it was found 
 in 1492. 
 
 Valentinian died A. D. 375, and Antoninus 
 Martyr, in his De Locis Sanctis (fee. 20), 
 written about a.d. 570, fays he faw the 
 infcription which had been placed on the 
 Crofs, and that the words were, " lefus 
 Nazarenus Rex ludaeorum." He fays that 
 he held it in his hand, and kifTed it, in 
 the Church of Conftantine at yerufalem. 
 
IDiftorp of fte Crofs- 
 
 xcvu 
 
 Hence it is evident that either tradition is 
 incorrect, or that Antoninus did not tell 
 the truth. 
 
 But the claim is that it is, and always 
 has been, in Rome, and Bofius, in his 
 Crux Triumphans (p. 60), gives an account 
 of its re-difcovery. He fays that in 
 February, 1492, Monfeigneur Pedro 
 Gonfalvo de Mendoza, Cardinal Sandias 
 Crucis, vv^as repairing and cleanling his 
 church, and on the firfl day of that month, 
 v^hen the workmen reached the top of 
 the arch which was in the middle of the 
 balilica, and near the roof, they faw two 
 fmall columns ; and finding a fpace, they 
 difcovered a niche in which they found a 
 leaden box, well clofed, and on its lid 
 was a tablet of marble, on which were 
 engraved thefe words : Hic est Titvlvs 
 Ver^ Crucis. In this box was found 
 a little board, about a hand's breadth 
 and a half, much corroded on one lide 
 by time, and bearing, in grooved, engraved 
 charadters, which were coloured red, the 
 
XCVlll 
 
 Cbe LegenDarp 
 
 following infcription : Iesvs Nazarenvs 
 RexIvd^orvm. ButthewordlvD^oRvM 
 was not entire, the laft two letters VM 
 having crumbled to pieces by reafon of 
 old age. The iirft line was written in 
 Latin charadlers, the fecond in Greek, 
 and the third in Hebrew. 
 
 All the city went to fee it ; and three 
 days afterwards. Pope Innocent went alfo, 
 and ordered the relic to be preferved in 
 its . box, and covered with a iheet ot 
 glafs. Every one was convinced that 
 they had before their eyes the infcription 
 which Pilate placed upon the Crofs over 
 our Saviour's head, and which Saint 
 Helena had depofited in the church at 
 the time of its building. 
 
 The relic, as now feen, is very worm- 
 eaten, but the letters are ftill vifible, 
 and have been cut with a fmall gouge. 
 They read from right to left, as Hebrew 
 does, thus lending great plaufibility to 
 the idea that it was done by fome Jewifh 
 artificers ; and it feems to be of fome 
 
©iftorp of t6e Crof0» 
 
 xcix 
 
 clofe-grained wood. Taking the piece 
 now at Santa Croce, the whole inicrip- 
 tion, if reftored, would be thus : 
 
 i*i>nMi nfn >^-^T y^"^' 
 
 H^3A^IDV3XDA83VH3^A2AH iD>(03l 
 MV5l03aVlX33ZVkll^AXA.M )SU\ 
 
 'ihe Infcription at Santa Croce^ reftored. 
 
Notes on the Woodcuts. 
 
 HE Hiftory of the Legend 
 of the Holy Crofs which 
 is here reproduced, is 
 fomewhat fuller than the 
 Golden Legend of Caxton, 
 there being particulars 
 about Mofes, David, and Solomon not 
 to be found therein; but they may be 
 found in other verfions of the Legend, fome 
 in the Latin of Jacobus deVoragine, others 
 in two MSS. in the Britifh Mufeum.* 
 
 The engravings are taken from a very 
 rare book, of which, as far as is known. 
 
 * Arundel, No. 507, and Add. MSS. 6514. 
 
cii Cbe Legenuarp 
 
 there are but three copies in exiftence : 
 one is in the Royal Library at BrufTels, 
 another at the Hague, in the collection 
 of Mr. Schinkel, and the third is in the 
 polTeflion of Lord Spencer at Althorp. 
 It is from this book that thefe fac-fimiles 
 (made by M. J. Ph. Berjeau) were taken. 
 The book itfelf has one woodcut on each 
 page, with a verfe in Dutch, at the 
 bottom, explanatory of each engraving. 
 It is called indifferently Htyiona SanSla 
 Crucis or Boec van den houte (Book of 
 the wood or tree). 
 
 It was printed at Kuilenburg on March 
 6th, 1483, by John Veldener,* who had 
 juft removed from Louvain. Thefe 
 fixty-four engravings were originally on 
 thirty-two blocks,! and evidently belonged 
 to fome much older block book, now 
 
 '''- His life and labours may be read in Mr. Hottrop's 
 Monuments Typographiques des Pays-bas — . 
 
 I See The JVoodcutters of the Netherlands in the isth Century, 
 by W. M. Conway, and an article by him in the Bibliographer 
 of May, 1883, p. 32. 
 
jj)ilJotp of tbe Crofi5, 
 
 cm 
 
 loft. Thefe, Veldener cut in half, as he 
 had already treated a Speculum^ and 
 brought them out as a frefh book. 
 
 The Legend as told by thefe engravings 
 is as follows : — 
 
 Adam, feeling himfelf about to die, 
 
 fent Seth to Paradife to beg for fome ot 
 
 the oil of mercy," which, however, the 
 
 Archangel Michael refufed to give him, 
 
 but, inftead, prefented him with three 
 
 feeds of the tree of life.^ On his return, 
 
 he found Adam dead, and, being unable 
 
 to adminifter thefe feeds to his father in 
 
 any other manner, he put them under 
 
 his tongue, and then buried him.^ Pre- 
 
 fently thefe feeds germinated and (hot 
 
 through the ground, and are traditionally 
 
 faid to have been a cedar, a cyprefs, and 
 
 a pine/ They grew until Mofes had led 
 
 the Ifraelites out of Egypt, when he found 
 
 them in the Valley of Hebron, and he 
 
 recognized them as typifying the Trinity. 
 
 He removed them, and they were his 
 
 conftant companions.^ With them he 
 
 Woodcut No. 1 . 
 
 No. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 No.^. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
CIV 
 
 Cl)e LegenDarp 
 
 IVoodcut 
 No. 6. 
 
 Nos. 7, 8. 
 No. 9, 
 
 No. 10. 
 
 A'b. II. 
 No 12. 
 
 ^(7. 13. 
 
 A'o. 14. 
 
 No. 15. 
 //o. 16. 
 
 fmote the rock, and the waters gufhed 
 out/ and the bitter waters of Marah 
 became fweet.^*^ 
 
 He then planted them in the land of 
 Moab,'' and there they remained, until an 
 angelic vilion appeared unto David, and 
 commanded him to go, and take them 
 up, and bring them to Jerufalem.'^ On 
 his return the three rods worked miracles, 
 healing the lick," and the leprous, with 
 a touch ;'' nay, more, on being applied to 
 three black men, they inftantly became 
 white.'3 
 
 Arrived at Jerufalem, they wifhed to 
 plant them, but for the night they left 
 them in a ciflern, by the Tower of 
 David,"* and lo ! during the night, they 
 ftruck root, and, entwining themfelves, 
 became but one ftem,'^ which, when 
 David faw, he had a wall built round it.'^ 
 And the tree grew for thirty years, David 
 ornamenting it with rings of fapphire 
 and other precious flones, adding one for 
 every year, and under this tree he com- 
 
©illorp of tfte Crof0, 
 
 cv 
 
 pofed the Pfalms, and praifed God 
 exceedingly.'' 
 
 But Solomon, who muft needs have 
 all that was rare and coflly to adorn his 
 temple, caft his eyes upon this precious 
 tree, and ordered it to be cut down.'^ It 
 was duly felled, and fquared, and trimmed, 
 and it meafured thirty cubits in length.'' 
 But when the carpenters came to put it 
 into a place of that length, it was a cubit 
 too fhort, and when it was fitted into 
 a place of twenty-nine cubits, lo ! it 
 meafured thirty, and the carpenters mar- 
 velled much, and were greatly aftonifhed, 
 and fo, being ufelefs, it was laid afide/° 
 Yet the people came to fee this wonderful 
 tree, and amongft them was a maid 
 named Maximilla, who fat down upon 
 it, and inftantly her clothes were in a 
 blaze." Then fhe began to lift up her 
 voice, and prophefy, crying, " My God, 
 and my Lord Jefu Chrift." " Then the 
 Jews took her, and fcourged her to 
 death.^3 
 
 ff^oodcut 
 No. 17, 
 
 No. 18. 
 
 No. 19. 
 
 No, 20. 
 
 No. 
 
 No. 22. 
 
 No. a 3. 
 
CVJ 
 
 ^bt Hegentiatp 
 
 Woodcut 
 No. 24. 
 
 The Jews, not knowing what to do 
 with this miraculous tree, laid it acrofs a 
 brook/* and, when the Queen of Sheba 
 came to vifit Solomon, (he recognized 
 the virtue of the wood; and, refufing to 
 defile it with her feet, (he difmounted, 
 and adored it, and waded through the 
 brook/^ Then, when (he met Solomon, 
 (he reproved him, and told him that on 
 that tree would the Saviour of the world 
 fu(fer death. "^ And Solomon commanded 
 the holy wood to be taken up,^^ and 
 caufed it to be carried into the Temple, 
 there to be placed over the door, fo that 
 all men might blefs, and adore it, and he 
 coated it over with gold and filver.'^ 
 There it remained until Abias ftripped it 
 of its coftly coverings,""' and the Jews 
 buried it deep in the earth.^° 
 
 There it remained for many years, 
 until the Jews wi(hed to make a pool, 
 where the priefts might wa(h the beafls, 
 to purify them, previous to facrificing 
 them, and, unknowingly, they dug over 
 
 No. 25. 
 
 No. 26. 
 No, 27. 
 
 No. 28. 
 
 No. 29. 
 No. 30. 
 
©iflorp of tbt Ctof0, 
 
 evil 
 
 the burial-place of the Holy Crofs.^' This 
 imparted fuch a virtue to the water of 
 that pool, which was called Bethefda, 
 that the fick were healed thereat, and an 
 angel at times defcended from heaven, 
 and ftirred the waters, and then whoever 
 could get iirfl into the waters was ftraight- 
 way healed of any infirmity he might 
 havc^"* 
 
 We now come to the Crucifixion, 
 and there was a lack of wood to make 
 Chrift's crofs — when, fuddenly, from the 
 depths of Bethefda, leaped up the tree 
 of the Crofs, and floated gently to land. 
 One ran to the High Prieft," and told 
 him of the timely find of fuitable wood, 
 and he at once gave orders for it to be 
 fafhioned into a Crofs.^* Then comes 
 the mournful proceffion to Calvary, with 
 our Saviour fainting under the weight of 
 the Crofs, and Simon the Cyrenean is 
 prefixed into the fervice to help Jefus.^^ 
 And then the Crucifixion.^^ 
 
 And whilft the crofifes were ftill ftand- 
 
 JVoodcut 
 No. 31. 
 
 ^0. 3z. 
 
 No. 33. 
 
 No. 34. 
 
 No. 35. 
 No. 36. 
 
CVlll 
 
 Cbe Legenuarj? 
 
 tVoodcut 
 No. 37. 
 
 No.'ii. 
 No. 39. 
 
 ing, the difciples came to them and 
 prayed, and many were healed of their 
 infirmities, and many devils were caft 
 out." This (6 angered the Jews that 
 they took the crofTes down, and buried 
 them,^^ and there they remained until 
 their invention by St. Helena, a.d. 326. 
 On her arrival at Jerufalem,'' fhe con- 
 vened a meeting of the principal Jews, 
 and they denied all knowledge of it, but, 
 on threat of being burnt, they faid that 
 one of their number, named Judas, knew 
 where the crofTes were buried/° Judas, 
 however, refufed to tell, and, to compel 
 him to impart his knowledge, St. Helena 
 had him lowered into a dry well, " and 
 there tormented hym by hongre and evyl 
 refle."'*' Seven days of this treatment 
 made him fubmifTive, and at the end of 
 that time he capitulated. He was then 
 drawn up,"*' and prayed to God to dired: 
 him to the right fpot."*^ His prayer was 
 heard, and after fome digging, the crofTes 
 were difcovered."** 
 
 No. 40. 
 
 No. 4.1. 
 
 No. 42. 
 No. 43. 
 
 No. 44. 
 
J^iaor^ of tt)e Ctof0. 
 
 cix 
 
 The news was brought to St. Helena, 
 who villted the fpot/* but although there 
 were certainly three crofTes, no one knew 
 which was the one upon which Jefus 
 fufFered, A teft, however, was applied, 
 which proved to be fatisfadtory. The 
 body of a maid was being borne on a 
 bier for burial, but the funeral proceflion 
 was flopped, and the body was touched 
 by the different crolTes. The two iirft 
 produced no effe<fl,^^ but when the third 
 touched the dead maiden, fhe was at 
 once reftored to life/^ Here, then, was 
 proof pofitive ; this was the very Crofs ; 
 and St. Helena, mindful of her fon Con- 
 ftantine, divided the facred wood; part 
 fhe enclofed in a cafe of precious metal, 
 and kept at Jerufalem ; ''^ and part fhe 
 fent to her fon, at Byzantium, who 
 received it with due reverence,'^' and 
 depofited it in the church, with great 
 ceremony.^" 
 
 Here it remained, until it was taken 
 away, with other fpoil, by Chofroes, the 
 
 Woodcut 
 No. 45. 
 
 No. 46. 
 Ne. 47. 
 
 No. 48. 
 No. 49. 
 No. 50. 
 
 r 
 
ex 
 
 C()e legentiarp 
 
 Woodcut 
 No. 51. 
 
 ^0. 5». 
 
 No. 53. 
 No. 54. 
 
 King of Perfia, who, aware of the fandlity 
 of the relic, had it placed on the right 
 hand of his throne. He was fo puffed 
 up with pride, that he ordered himfelf 
 to be adored. His people, hitherto, had 
 worfhipped the fun, but now he ordained 
 that henceforth he was to be confidered 
 the principal Perfon in the Trinity (the 
 Father), and that the relic of the Crofs 
 was to be looked upon as the Son, whilft 
 a golden cock which he had made was 
 to reprefent the Holy Ghoft.^' 
 
 Then Heraclius made war againft 
 Chofroes, and meeting with a Perlian 
 army under one of the fons of that 
 monarch, it was agreed that, in order to 
 prevent a ufelefs effufion of blood, the 
 two commanders fhould fight it out 
 between them, and whoever was van- 
 quifhed fhould fubmit.^' The duel was 
 fought on a bridge over the Danube, and 
 Heraclius vanquifhed and killed the fon 
 of Chofroes." The Perfian army then 
 made their fubmiflion,'^ and the penance 
 
5)iflorp of tbt Ctof0. 
 
 CXI 
 
 impofed upon them by the conqueror 
 was that they fhould all be baptized, 
 which was duly done. 
 
 Heraclius then went to Chofroes, and 
 told him what he had done, offering him 
 his life if he too would embrace Chrif- 
 tianity," but the Perfian monarch refufed, 
 and Heraclius fmote off his head.^^ He 
 then crowned a fon of Chofroes, and 
 caufed him to be baptized," himfelf Hand- 
 ing fponfor, and buried the flain king 
 with befitting honours.^^ Then, taking 
 poffeffion of the holy relic," he fet out 
 with it for Jerufalem. But, as he was 
 bearing it in great ftate, he came to that 
 gate of the City through which Jefus 
 went to His paffion, worn, buffeted, 
 fcorned, and weary, carrying the heavy 
 burden of His crofs. And fuddenly the 
 gateway became folid mafonry, fo that he 
 could not pafs through, and an angel 
 appeared in the heavens, and reproved 
 him for his often tatious difplay in a place 
 which his Saviour had previoully trodden 
 
 Woodcut 
 No. 55. 
 
 No. 56. 
 
 No. 57. 
 
 No. 58. 
 No. 59. 
 
CXll 
 
 Cbe Legentarp 5)iftorp of tbe Crofs. 
 
 IVoodcut 
 No. 60. 
 
 A^o. 61. 
 //o. 61. 
 
 JVo. 6 J. 
 iVo. 64. 
 
 in fuch deep humility/" Heraclius dif- 
 mounted from his horfe, and, dripping 
 himfelf of all the trappings of royalty, 
 barefoot, and in his fhirt,^' he meekly 
 bore the Crofs to its appointed place,^" 
 the mafonry difappearing as foon as he 
 had humbled himfelf. 
 
 A piece of the Crofs was afterwards 
 fent to Rome, where it duly arrived 
 after a very ftormy voyage,^^ and it was 
 there preferved for the adoration of the 
 faithful.^^ 
 
 JOHN ASHTON. 
 
CXlll 
 
 Adamjends Seth to Faradije for Jome of the Oil of Mercy 
 
CXIV 
 
 The Archangel Michael gives Seth three feeds of the 
 Tree of Life. 
 
cxv 
 
 Setb buries Adam and •puts the three feeds of the 
 ^ree of Life under his tongue. 
 
CXVl 
 
 The three feeds /pring up. 
 
cxvu 
 
 JS^Wwl'^flWBreflrfttijffiept^ 
 
 Mofes always has the three rods with him. 
 
^///& //»^w ^^ makes water flow from the Rock. 
 
CXIX 
 
 tS^mA 
 
 An Angel tells Mqfes how tojweeten the hitter waters. 
 
Mo/£?j, /'_y dipping the rods in the waters of Mar ah, 
 Jweetens them. 
 
CXXl 
 
 ptoP foe f^g B6tttt«n|teffo 
 
 Mo/"^j plants the rods in the land of Moab. 
 
CXXll 
 
 lO 
 
 
 ^iarcocm*>fC«j^tt)(P<«w^ 
 
 An Angel appears to David and tells him to bring the rods 
 to Jerufalem. 
 

 The rods heal the fick. 
 
CXXIV 
 
 12 
 
 The rods heal a leper. 
 
13 
 
 cxxv 
 
 ^itim{Ni2£ oft te^le^f^ 
 
 71?^ ri'^^'j turn three black men white. 
 
David /eaves the rods for the nights 
 
IJ 
 
 cxxvu 
 
 ^ M 
 
 
 In the morning he finds the rods have taken root and have 
 become one tree. 
 
David builds a wall round the miraculous tree. 
 
'7 
 
 CXXIX 
 
 David compojes the Pfalms and praifes God, under the (hadow 
 
 of the tree. 
 
 K 
 
cxxx 
 
 i8 
 
 Solomon orders the tree to be cut down and ufed in the Temple. 
 
Artificers fajhion the tree. 
 

 The holy wood will fit nowhere. 
 
.21 
 
 CXXXlll 
 
 Sf. Maximilla Jitting on the wood, her clothes catch alight. 
 
CXXXIV 
 
 22 
 
 Sl Maximilla propheftes concerning the wood. 
 
23 
 
 cxxxv 
 
 St. Maximillajcourged to death. 
 
CXXXVl 
 
 24 
 
 ^tt) Aet) Met outf/^iStt^ 
 
 7*^^ wo^^ u/ed as a foot-bridge over a brook. 
 
Tbe ^ueen of Sheba prefers wading through the brook^ to 
 walking over the holy wood. 
 
cxxxvin 
 
 26 
 
 The ^een of Sbeba tells Solomon of the holy, nature 
 of the wood. 
 
CXXXIX 
 
 
 The holy wood is taken up. 
 
cxl 
 
 tn?^ i?(?/y wood is carried into the 'Temple. 
 

 Abias defpoils the holy wood of its precious covering. 
 
The Jews bury the holy wood. 
 
31 
 
 cxliii 
 
 
 Digging the Pool of Bethefda. 
 
cxliv 
 
 32 
 
 Tbejick being healed at the Tool of Bethejda. 
 
33 
 
 cxlv 
 
 fri\ "\immt mB 
 
 |Doej^n!{f!u«fftoHf^ 
 
 The High Prieji told of the difcovery of the holy wood. 
 
cxlvi 
 
 34 
 
 The holy wood is made into the Crofs. 
 
Cbrifi bearing the Crofs, 
 
cxlviii 
 
 3^ 
 
 The Crucijixion. 
 
37 
 
 cxlix 
 
 Difciples adore the Crojs^ thejick are healed ^ and devils 
 
 caji out. 
 
^x^ 
 
 The Jews bury the Crojjes, 
 
St. Helena comes to Jerujalem, 
 
:lii 
 
 40 
 
 *$*/. Helena calls together the Chief Jews. 
 
41 
 
 cliii 
 
 ^1 
 
 Judas is put into a dry well. 
 
of Urn wwbm^ifim iom 
 
 Judas is liberated from confinement. 
 
Jui^as prays for Divine dire5fion» 
 
Jtt) imiMw bat tmotmit 
 
 The CroJJes are dif covered. 
 
45 
 
 civil 
 
 St. Helena views the CroJJes, 
 
clviii 
 
 46 
 
 Hi 
 
 i«)<!>w<eoflw«* «i<mW 
 
 $mm^^ (tpm^^ti^^mrrmf 
 
 Trial of the true Crofs, 
 
47 
 
 clix 
 
 A dead maiden raijed to life by being touched by the 
 true Crofs, 
 
:lx 
 
 48 
 
 ^M^fei^^^bui^et^ c»v6 M9 
 
 S/. Helena depo/tts a portion of the Crojs in Jerujalem. 
 

 St. Helena gives a portion of the Crojs to Conftantine. 
 
 M 
 
clxii 
 
 5° 
 
 Conjiantine depojits his portion of the Crofs in Byzantium. 
 
51 
 
 clxi 
 
 xui 
 
 Cho/roes commands his people to adore him. 
 
clxiv 
 
 52 
 
 
 
 Meeting of Heraclius and Chofroes' [on. 
 
S3 
 
 clxv 
 
 Heraclius fights the/on of Chofroes and kills him. 
 
:lxvi 
 
 54 
 
 
 The Per/tan army Jubmit to Heraclius. 
 
55 
 
 clxvii 
 
 
 or\ 
 
 
 Heraclius vifits Chofroes. 
 
:lxviii 
 
 J6 
 
 iD«t)^flnne of M^i&lli^ ^^ftfi 
 
 Heradius kills Chojroes. 
 
57 
 
 c'xix 
 
 
 Heraclius crowns and baptizes the /on of Chqfroes. 
 
clxx 
 
 58 
 
 Burial of Chojroes. 
 
59 
 
 cl.xxi 
 
 ^W " " ■" 
 
 Heraclius takes pojfejjion of the relic cf the Crofs. 
 
Heraclius, attempting to enter Jerujakm^ is miraculoujly 
 prevented J and is reproved by an angel. 
 
Heraclius divejis him/elf of ft ate. 
 
clxxiv 
 
 62 
 
 Heraclius places the relic of the Crofs in its appointed place. 
 
y/ portion of the Cro/s is/ent to Rome^ the veJJ'el hearing it 
 meeting with a ft or m. 
 
The relic of the Crqfs exfojed for adoration.