Marston_MS_242

[Section 1: begins at the top of the page]

Consideryng the lenght and the hardnesse of holy scripture and nameli of the grund of the lettir historial the negligence also of sum[m]e that myght laboure and wilnat. su[m]me for lak of bokes. sekyng to gete solace to har sympelnesse. willyng as in a litel boke myn dely to holde that thei se in the stori. I haue put the names and the werkes of the holy old faderis by order and by rewe. the kynrades bothe of preestis and of kynges and har werkes. of whom crist came after the flesthe. to bryng it in to thys litel werk. to take away lenght fro ham that ben wery and of litel wille. comforte and solace in fourme and figure to the bodely eye: greet profet and comforte to the saules of ham that ben wele willed and liste by studye to laboure: as com pendiously under sewe wordis as god wil send me grace I shal sette to my laboure. no thyng puttyng owt. nor cuttyng away thyng to suche werke acordyng. beginnyng at Adam and descendying by patriarkes. Iuges. kynges. p[ro]phetes. and preestis. and of su[m]me oder in har tyme un to crist the ende of al lawe and pro phetes and by his grace to be endid. ¶ forther more I beholde how many men desire greetly to haue knowlege of cronycles of kyngis that afore tyme regnyd in this lond. therfore I haue put the names of ham to the seid werke. fro Iaphet the son of Noe lineally decendyng to Brute the first kyng in the seid lond. and fro hym to Edwarde the fourthe kyng of that name after the conquest of Englond. Cayin was an erthe tilier. and abel ashep herd. In aday of sacrifice cayin sawe his brodir giftes recey ued and not his. slue his bro der abel. and receued for his mede the curse of god. and atokyn ther with to be a wan derer and amycher at his life after. Iabel the first son of lameth by his witte brought furthe first tentys and tabernacles for shep herdes. and disposed flockes and drones of beestis. and after har age and kynde departed ham. Gubal the secunde son of lameth was fadir of al muns tresie in harp and orgone: the fynder of musike. he herd of adam the world shuld be drowned with water and brent at last with fire. he wrote hys cumyng in two pilers: oon of brend tile. ageyn fire that is to come. and that odir of marbel. ageyn the greet flode that was in Noe is dayes. Tubalcayin was fynder of smythcraft amaker of wepenys: agrauer in metalles. of whos hamer strokes tubal his broder delityng: gadred of musik the p[ro]porcions. Here at Noe endeth the first age. hauyng after the ebreis athousand yere. sexe hundred fifti and sexe. After the seuenti interpretoures two thousand two hundred and fourti and foure yere. Of these thre sones of Noe came kynrades seuenti and two. that is threstore and twelue. Of Iaphet: fiftene. Of Cham: thretti. Of sem: twenti and seuen. ¶ Sem had the lond of asie. Cham had affrik. Iaphet had europe. but we will laboure to write of Sem. for of the oder two came ????????

[Section 2: begins below a circle with a paint of Adam and Eve and inbetween a family tree connected to the circle named before as a root] Calmana was suster and wife to cayin. Delbora was suster and wife to seth. Lameth had two wiues at o tyme. and brough first byga mie. He slue Cayin. trowyng hym selfe that he had slayn abeest. for this la meth was blynde. therfore he slue the yunge man that lad hym. The na mes of his two wyues wer Ada and Sella. [Section 2 ends]

Adam was made in damascene feeld by the hand of god. and put in a place of delites callyd para dise. fro the which place come foure flodes. and whan Adam was in aslepe: god made of aribbe of hys side awo[m]man and brought hyr to adam. and adam gafe hyr aname as he had do to al odir thynges. and callid hyr eua. ¶ After bothe adam and eua ete of the frute of [life: erased] that the lord had forbode ham. wherfore bothe na ked: cuuered ham with fyge leues. But for the disobediens god put ham bothe out of paradise. and sette cherubyn with a tran chand bren[n]yng swerd to kepe it fro adam and eua. and or deyned ham to gete har liuyng with laboure and swe tyng of the erthe. that for the synne of adam was acursed. ¶ Adam at fiftene yere old after hys makyng gate Cayin. and at thertti yere gate Abel. and whan he was two hundred and thret ti yere old he gate Seth. An hundred yere he wailed for Abel. the which moyses spake not of. And whan he had lyved athowsand yere and thretti he died. After the greet flode that was in the daies of Noe the foure principal kyngdomes had har beginnyng. The assiri ans in the est: where belus was first kyng. The sichiomites in the west: where egealius was first kyng. The scithes in the north: where Ninus was first kyng. The egipcians in the southe: where Mineus was first kyng. ¶ To belus kyng of assyrie: succeded his wife Semiramis that ordeyned babilon for the hed citi of the reume. ¶ To semiramis succeded Ninus that was first maker of ydoles or maumettis. that made an ymage of his fadyr belus. to the which ymage if amysdoer rennyng askyd refute: he shuld haue it. After sardanapallus had the same kyngdom. and after hym Arba ces translated the same kyngdom to the medes and perses. vpon whom regned after Astriages the which had adoughtir. of which doughtir came Cirus kyng of perse. ¶ This Cirus gate babilon by strength by the wei there as the ryuer ran in. Vpon the same babilon regned after Cirus: and his cosyn Darius as ye mai se in har place benethe. This Enoch plesid god and was translatid in to para dise. and lyueth with helia. and wrote aboke that Judas the apostel broder to James the lasse spekit of. and in his tyme su[m]me say that adam died. Noe was charged of god to make ashippe in the space of an hundred yere: and twenti yere. After the shippe or the arke was made: it rayned fourti daies and fourti nyghtes. ¶ God co[m]maunded Noe than of age sixe hundred yere: and hys wife and har sones. Sem. Cham. and Japhet. and har wyues. eight saules in al. to entre in to the arke. And the greet flod was of height fiftene cubites above the mountaynes. whan Noe had with hym of al be estis and foules: he sent out aravon to se if the water with drowe. and efte adowue two tymes. and at the secunde tyme: she brought abranche of an olyue tre w[i]t[h] grene leuys in hyr mouthe. than wist Noe the water was cessid. and went out of the shippe and his peple with hym ayere after that he entred in. the shippe restid on the mountaynes of armenie. ¶ Noe whan he had offred on an auter brent sacrifices: god gaf hym leeue to ete fische and flesche: but the blood of ony beest shuld he not ete. ¶ He receyued also [erased/blank] the rayne bowe: that neuer so greet flood shuld be after. And whan he was an erth tilier: he drank wyne of a vyne that he had plaunted. and lai open vnhelid whan he was drunke. hys myddel son Cham woldnot couere hym. but scorned hym. wher fore Noe cursed chanaan. Cham is sone. and made hym seruant and bond to Sem and Japhet.

Upper left roundel: Cham Upper right roundel: Japhet Middle roundel: Chus Lower roundel: Nemp roth

On the right, a drawing of the ark, with the inscription: This is the fourme of the arke after Austyn.

Within the ark: Upper left: Tame beestis. Upper middle: Men & birdes. Upper right: Wilde beestis and noyous. Middle left: The place for mete. Middle right: The defou lyng place. Bottom: The place of filthe.

The first age of the world was fro adam vn to Noe. The secunde fro Noe vn to abraham. The thrid fro abraham vn to da uid. Thhe fourth fro dauid vn to the transmigracion of babilon. ¶ The childer of israel wer take i[n] to thral dom for synne fro the long of behest that is Jerusalem and the cuntri a- boute by Nabugodonosor and brought vn to babilon. and wer there in cap tiuite or thraldom threscore yere and ten. and that is called the transmi gracion. The fifthe age was fro the transmigracion of babilon vn to crist. The sext fro crist vn to the ende of the world. ¶ These sexe ben of ham that ben liuyng. The seuenth is of ham that restyn and ben deed. that began fro the passion of oure lord: and shal last vn to the day of dome. The eight shal be of ham that shal rise. that shal begynne at the day of dome and shal last with oute ende. ¶ It is to knowe these ben not called ages for the nu[m]ber of yeres. as athousand shuld be an age: but for meruelous thynges that befel at the begynning of everi age. As in the begynning of the first: the world was made. In the begynning of the secunde: was the world clensid by the greet flode. In the begynning of the thrid: was ordeyned circu[m]cision ageyn original synne. In the begynning of the fourth: anoyntyng of kynges. In the begynning of the fifthe: the transmigracion in to [babilon]. In the begynning of the sext: the incarnacion. that is that goddis son toke fleishe and blod and bicame man. In the begynning of the seuenth: the openyng of the yeates of heuen. In the begynning of the eight: shal be raisyng of alle that ben deed. and arewarde for good and yvel.

[within a T-O map of the world] [top] Asia. [bottom left] Euro- pa. [bottom right] Africa.

[captioning a diagram of the ark] This is the four me of the arke after Joseph the Jue.

[within the diagram of the ark] [highest level] men and birdes. [second highest level] Tame beestis. [middle level] The place for mete. [second lowest level] Wilde beestis and noyous. [lowest level] The place of filthe.

This fale whan luke callith Caynan made salem. that afterward and yet is called Jerusalem.

Of this heber ben said after su[m]me men the heber is. and su[m]me say of Abraham as ho wold sai abraheis.

Thare myght not bere the wronges doon to hy[m] of wirshippyng of fire in the lond of chaldee. where his eldest son Aram was slayn. And than he went i[n] pylgrymage in to aplace callid Charram in the cuntry of mesopotamie. and toke with hym Abram and Na chor and the childer that came of Aram. And after two hun dred and fyue yere was deed and buried.

Whan abraham was of age fourescore and sexe yere ysmael his son was borne. And whan he was an hundred . ysaac was borne. And whan he was sexscore and eight sara his wife died.

Nachor the son of Thare whan he went out of chal dee toke to hys wyfe Melcha the dougter of his broder Aram. and dwellid in Charram in the cuntri of mesopotamie where his broder died. Nachor had by his wife Melcha. thre sones. Hus. Buz. and Batuel. and fyue odir. Of buz came balaam the which after the ebreis is is callid in Job Œlin [?] buzites.

Aram was strangled in Chaldee. and laste ason callid loth. and adoughter callid sarai.

Here endith at abraham the secunde age. ha uyng after the ebreis athousand two hundred fourescore and twelve yere. And after the seuenti interpretoures two lasse.

[On the right-hand side of the page is a column of personal names. Each name appears in a circle within a square; the first is aligned with the first line of text, the last is aligned with the last line of text. The names are rendered alternately in red text and black, starting with red. They are: ‘heber’, ‘phaleg’, ‘Reu . l’ Ragau’, ‘Saruch’, ‘Nachor’, ‘Thare’, ‘Abraham’.]

In the tyme of this phaleg was the division of languages in the bildyng of the toure of babel i[n] the lond or feld of sennaar. And for the ebrewe tunge is the eldest and the abode stille with this phaleg: therfore had he that name. for phaleg is as myche to saie as departid fro odir. Abraham was brodyr to Aram. and toke Sarai to Wife. and loth as hys son. and went i[n] pilgrimage with hys fadir in to Charram. And whan hys fadyr was deed he came in to chanaan and so in to Sichem. And after pight his ta bernakel or tent betwexe bethel and hay. And for hunger went fro thens in to egipt: seyng that hys wife was hys siister. And whan he turned ageyn came to the vale of a man that hight Mambre. Where these thre men. Mambre. Esthol. and Aner wer ensured to Abram. and there he dwellid fast by the fyve kyngdomes of Sodom. Gomor. Adame. Seboym. and Segor. ¶ After that: abram and his feode men Mambre. Esthol. and Aner with thre hundred and eightene of his houshold manny had scumfited foure kynges. he turned agey[n] and came to Melchisedech kyng of Salem that was preest of the hieghest god. and there he offred his tethynges of the goodes getyn in the bateil. and had the blessyng of Melchisedech. and receyued [red square with a circle inside, text reads: Melchi|sedech] atokyn of god in offryng of beestis and birdes that he and his childer shuld be lordes of manny londes. And after god seid his name shuld be Abraham. And the name of his wife Sara. Where hire name was afore Sarrai.