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The Original Chronicle of Andrew of Wyntoun

printed on parallel pages from the Cottonian and Wemyss mss., with the variants of the other texts: Edited with introduction, notes, and glossary by F. J. Amours

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CHAPTER LXXII.

Off Octoviane þe emperour
And of his hap and his honour.
Twa and fourty ȝeris beforne
Or Ihesu wes of Mary borne,
Octoviane than, nevow
To Iulius þat þe Romanis slew,
Raiss of Rome baith lord and syre,
And stoutly gouernyt the empyre.
Five fell batallis in his ȝouthheid
He did, and preffit gret manheid.

182

The first of thai five and the last,
That I haif lichtly heire oure past,
He did stoutly with Marcus,
Be surname hattyne Antonyus.
Quhen xv. winter wes bigane
Fra fyrst begouth Octoviane
For to regne, in sic plente
Off Rome þe thesaure ekit he,
The stait, þe worschip and þe fame,
That þai þan ekit till his name
August, þat in propirte
Ekyne or nobilite
Betakynnis, and all emperouris syne
Haldis that still ȝit in Latyne;
And sa the Romanis fra þat day
Callit him Cesare August ay;
And, as I said, his successouris,
That succedis till emperouris,
In the titill or thare stait
All tyme Cesare August wrait;
And all the empyre efter þan
Fra þin wes subiect till a man,
And he the first wes lord and syre
Off all the warld aucht the empyre,
And wes callit in Grew forthy
Fra þin furþ the monarchy;
Off all the warld, that is to say,
Lord he wes haill in till his day.
Syne þis ilk Octoviane
With batall wan þe landis of Spayne,
And mony vthire landis seire
Off weire he wan with his powere.
In thai dais all Pannony,

184

That merchis neire wiþ Wngary,
Tiberius, his stepsone,
With felloune slauchter had vndone;
And Ducheland is callit Germany,
Lyis strekand fra Pannony
To the gret ryvere of Ryne,
As Orosyus sais and Martyne.
Thai say thai ryveris thre
Off Germany suld callit be,
Alba, that throu Bewm rynnis,
And Adra, þat neire it begynnis,
And þe Gissill, that in Pillens land
Begynnis, and throu it is rynnand.
Tiberius wes than werreyand
Thre ȝeris in to Ducheland
With xii. legiones of knychtis gud,
That neire thare sa cruell stude
That nane wes till it of outrage,
Outtane the fell weire of Cartage;
For þan of Rome thare legiones thre
Were slane and tane in þat cuntre,
And ilk legioun is vi. thousand
Sex hundreth sexty and sex, beand
Cuþer of angellis, men, or devillis,
Ihesu defend ws fra thire euillis!
Bot efter þat till hie empyre
Octoviane, þan lord and syre,
Wan all thare landis halely,
Off all the warld the monarchy;
Monarchy in Grew I wiss
The warld round haill it is.
He duelt in quyet and in pese,
And emperour þare of haill he wes,

186

Regnand in gret ryalte,
In honour, stait and maieste,
That all þe men of his empyre
Nocht anerly him lord and syre,
Or emperour thai wald him call,
Bot for haill counsall, thai said all,
For his hie price and his valour,
As god þai wald him haill honour.
All his tyme wes vnyte
In all þe warld and cherite,
And ilk man of ane accord,
And kend him anerly for þare lord;
There to þe Ewangell beris witnes,
For intill his tyme Crist borne wes.
He passit nocht, withoutin weire,
Off eild ane and twenty ȝere
Quhen he first wes maid emperour,
Bot it he led in gret honour;
Sa for his price and his gud fame
August þai ekit till his name;
Syne of his name þat moneth ay
Is August callit to this day;
Befor þan Sextile it wes callit.
Be this ensampill ȝit we hald it,
The moneth nixt it followand,
The first at Merche begynnand,
And sa be nomyre þaim to tell,
Five per ordre as þai fell;
Bot now fra August nomer we,
The moneth per ordre ȝe se
Fra August to December,
And syne begynnis at Ianuer,
And Februare nixt it followand,
And þir twa monethis, ȝe vnderstand,
Ȝe may fynd in þis tretyss,
Quha gert þaim be set on þis wiss;

188

Bot Sextyle turnyt þe name
In August for the ryall fame
Off Octoviane, for þat he
With Antone maid þat gret melle
Off þat moneth þe first day;
For thi thai call it August ay.
In till þe xxv. ȝere
Off his empyr, withoutin weire,
The pohete þan in Rome Orass
Deit, and þare beryit wes.
Virgill deit in Burdyis,
His body in till Napillis lyis.
And in to the xxx. ȝere
Off his empyr, withoutin weire,
All þe warld in quyet wes,
In cherite, lufrent and pess,
And he regnand in maieste,
In honour and in ryalte,
Commendit of gret douchtynes,
Off largyte and of worthynes;
He wes at poynt proper and plesand,
Honest, abill and avenand,
Faire of fassoune and of face,
And large of lyme and lyth it wes,
Cunnand, curtass and cumly,
Off latis nocht licht, bot lufly.
And he þus regnand lord and syre,
All the warld wes his empyre,
Tharfor he set him for to wit,
And for to put in autentick writt
All kinrikis and all regionis,
All citeis, cuntreis, castellis and tovnis,

190

And quha þai landis were haldand,
Possedand or inhabitand,
And all þe names of þai regiones,
Castellis, cuntreis, citeis and tovnis,
And all thare names þat duelt thare in,
Baith ȝoung and auld, and mare and myn,
Breiffit vp in writt and roll,
And registerit be name ilk poll;
And efter þat, foroutin baid,
Fra thare were summondis to þaim maid,
That euerilk man in þare cete,
In to þe quhilk steid borne wes he,
Or ellis to þat ilk tovne
That cheif were of þat regioune,
Suld cum, and thare for his awne poll
Pay his trewage and his toll,
Off gud siluer a denere,
That soundis ten in nomer here.
A denere, to say schortly,
In oure langage is a penny;
Bot þat denere þat þai suld pay
Wes þan of valew in that day
Ten penneis vsuall þan,
That in to Rome for money ran,
Haiffand the emperouris dyademe

192

In it, and his ymage seyne,
All about it þe circumscriptioun,
Writtin weill sa invyroune;
And þat ilkane offerit in knawlege
To þe emperour for homage,
That þai suld to Rome of det,
Sen þai were maid till it subiect;
And þat þai callit professioun,
And sum callit it discriptioun;
Bot professioun in propirte
Granting with mouth may callit be,
For quhen þai payit þe trewage
With mouth þai grantit þat homage,
And abussin ilk personis poll,
There name writtin and þere toll;
Discriptioun is writting
In till oure langage vndeying,
For all þare names writtin ware
That payit toll, baith less and mare,
And ȝit ilk kinrik, land and tovne,
By that laid þare trewage doune;
In citeis maire or alderman
At thai bodyis first began,
And ilk man tald wes be his poll,
And laid his trewage doune and toll,
And in the citeis of ilk land
Wes certane deputis resavand;
Within Rome wes the trewage tane
That þir bodyis payit ilkane.
On þis wiss baith be land and tovne
To Rome wes maid contributioun,

194

And Cesare August, lord and syre,
Aucht all the warld in ane empyre;
Sa excellent in all bewte
Till ilk manis sicht wes he
That to behald him inkirly
Men had gret liking generaly;
Sa happy wes he als in deid
That all thing at his liking ȝeid,
And till his purposs and his thocht,
And all at eiss his will wes wrocht.
The senatouris [alhaill] for thy
Gaif him for counsall fermly
Oure all þe warld þat he
A god suld gere him callit be,
Bot he kest weill intill his thocht,
A dedly man [sen] he wes wrocht,
Oure him he had a creature
That aucht of ressoune that honour,
And till vsurp till him þat name
It were but vainglore and defame.
Sua þat fra he herd þare entent,
And efter thare avissment,
Sybill Tiburtyne þat tyme in hy
He callit, and tald [hir] halely
Off the senaturis entent,
And quhat [was] thare avissment.
[This] Sybill a woman was
In to Rome, and haldin a prophes,
That is to say of halynes
Scho wes inspyrit and of grace.
The space of thre dais fellely

196

Scho askit to byde in hir study;
And thai thre dais in fasting
Scho baid and in till thra praying,
And syne as in till prophecy
Scho maid efter þat study
Iudicii signum in to verss,
That were lang now to reherss;
Bot thai are maid of Cristis birth,
And of his deid and rysing with,
And of his come to þe day of dome,
And of takinnis þat befor sall cum.
The emperour vp þan to þe hicht
Scho gert behald, and sic a lycht
Him vmbelappit in þat place
That þare of gretly affrayit he was;
And syne he saw a madin faire
Apone ane altare in þe aire,
And ane litill barne alsua
Haldand in hir armes twa;
And, till he ferlyit of þat sycht,
He herd a voce þat said him rycht:
“Ȝone þov wit withoutin hone
The altare is of Goddis Sone.”
Than to þe erd rycht sodanely
He fell, and prayit deuotly,
With greting on his kneis baire,
In honour of þat blessit paire;
And syne the senatouris gert he call
And tald þaim þare þir faire sycht all,
Quhare of þai ferlyit rycht gretly.
That chalmer syne full deuotly,
In honour of þat paire sa fre,
With gret worschip hallow gert he;
For þare he saw that visioun

198

That raissit his deuocioun;
There in a kirk of oure Lady
Is, and Freris Minoris ythandly
In to þat ilk chapell alway
Seruice God baith nycht and day;
And þat kirk foundit in þat place
Syne Ara Celi callit wes,
Bot in oure leid it is to say
The altare of hevin or God verray.
Bot quhen the contributioun
Wes payit, baith of land and tovne,
Off Naȝareth and Galyle
Ioseph þat tyme in Iude
Passit to the cete Dawy,
With his spouss myld Mary,
Bethlem callit in þat quhile,
For [of] þat house and þat famyle
He wes of kyne and of renovne;
Forthy þare his professioun
For to mak he sped him ȝarne
With Mary his spouse with barne.
Bot all the innys euerilkane,
Or thai come to þe tovne, wes tane;
And þan þare wes sic multitude
Within that tovne of men and gud
That to pure men it wes ill
For to get herbery at þare will;
And þarefor Iosephe and Mary
Within houss mycht get na herbery,
Bot betuix houssis twa
Quhare men had gert a [pentiss] ma
To hald confabulatioun
Efter thare recreatioun

200

Off meit and drink, and thare repaire
Quhen þaim likit to tak þe aire.
Thare Ioseph wiþ Mary [his] spouss
His innys tuke into þat houss,
And thare intill his bestis twa,
Ane oxe and ane ass were thai;
The oxe he had to the tovne to sell,
To pay for tribut at þaim fell,
The ass to beire his spouss sa myld,
For scho wes neire hir tyme wiþ child.
To thai twa bestis a crib he maid,
Or maid perchans he funding had,
He band þaim vp and gaif þaim hay;
And þat ilk nycht, or it wes day,
That madyne baire þat blessit byrth
That is the causs of all our myrth.