ABSTRACT
Since it is so that the land beyond the sea, that is to say the land of repromission, that men call the Holy Land, among all other lands is the most worthy land and sovereign of all other, and is blessed and sacred and hallowed of the precious blood of our Lord Jesu Christ; in the which land it liked him to take life and blood of our Lady Saint Mary and to environ that land with his blessed feet. And there he did many miracles and preached and teached the faith and the law of us Christian men, as unto his childer; and there he suffered many reproofs and scorns by us. And he that was king of heaven and of earth, of the air and of the sea, and of all things that are contained in them, would be called all only king of that land as the prophet says, Noli timere, filia Syon: ecce, rex tuus venit tibi mansuetus, 1 that is to say, ‘thou daughter of Syon, dread thou nought, for, lo, thy king comes to thee, duly mild and meek’; and that land he chose before all other lands as the best and the most worthy of the world; for, as the philosopher says, Virtus rerum in medio consistit that is to say, ‘the virtue of things is in the midst’. And in that land he would lead his life and suffer hard passion and death of the Jews for us sinful worms, to buy and deliver us from death without end, which was ordained til us for the sin of our forefather Adam and for our own also. For, as for himself, he deserved never none evil; for he did never evil ne thought never evil. And he that was king of glory and of joy, mightiest and best, would in that place suffer 2 the death titter [sooner] than in another. For he that will do anything that he will be known openly til all men, he will ger [cause] cry it openly in the middle of a town or of a city, so that it may be known til all the parts of the city. On the same wise he that was king of all the world would suffer death at Jerusalem, that is in midst of the world, so that it might be known to men of all the parts of the world how dear he bought man that he had made til his own likeness for the great love that he had til him. For more worthy chattel might he not have set for us than his own blessed 2body and his precious blood, the which he suffered be shed for us. Ah, dear God! what love he had til his subjects when he that never did trespass would for trespassers suffer death ! Right well ought men to love and serve such a lord, and worship and praise such a holy land that brought forth such fruit, through which ilk man is saved, but if it be his own default. This is the land that is hight til us in heritage; and in that land he would die seised therein to leave it to his childer. For the which land ilk a good Christian man that may and has whereof, should enforce him for to conquer our right heritage and chase out thereof them that are mistrowing. For we are called Christian men of Christ our father; and if we be right childer of Christ, we owe for to challenge the heritage that our father left to us, and for to do it out of strange men’s hands. But now pride, envy and covetise have so inflamed the hearts of lords of the world that they are more busy for to disherit their neighbours than for to challenge or conquer their right heritage beforesaid. And the common people, that would put their bodies and their chattels in jeopardy for to conquer our heritage, they may nothing do without lords. For assembly of the people without lords that may govern them is as a flock of sheep that has no shepherd, the which departs sunder and wots never whither they should go. But would God that their worldly lords were at good accord and, with other of their common people, would take this holy voyage over the sea, I trow well that within a little time our right heritage beforesaid should be reconciled and put into the hands of the right heirs of Jesu Christ.
