And this seyde boke, at the instavnce and praer off a fulle wyse gentylwoman of Frawnce called Dame Cristine, was compiled and grounded by the famous doctours of the most excellent in clerge the nobyl Vniuersyte off Paris, made to the ful noble famous prynce and knyght off renovnne in his dayes, beyng called Jon, Duke of Barry, thryd son to Kyng Jon of Frawnce, that he throwe hys knyghtly labourys, as welle in dedys of armes temporell as spirituell exercisyng by the space and tyme of .c. yeerys[104] lyvyng, flowrid and rengnyd in grete worchip and renownne of cheualry. And in thre thyngges generaly he exercisyd his knyghtly labowris. Thereof oon was in victories, dedis of cheualrie and of armys, in defendyng the seyde royalme of Frawnce from his ennemyes. [The second was] in grete police vsyng, as of grete cowneseylles and wysdomys, yevyng and executing the same for the conseruacyon of iustice and transquillite and alsoo pease kepyng for all the comon welleffare of that noble royaulme. The thredde was in spirytuell and gostly dedys yovyn ontoo for the helthe and wellfare of hys sovle. And in euery of these thre thynggys the seyde prynce was holden ful cheualrouse and suremounted in his dayes above all othir. Wych schewyth welle opynly to euery vnder-stander [Sidenote: f. 4.] in the seyde booke redyng that it was made acordyng to hys seyde victorious dedis and actis of worchip exercysyng. And the seyde booke ys diuidyd in thre partys gederid in a summe of an .c. textys, drawen vpon the dictis and conceytys of the seyd most famous poetys off olde tyme beyng, as Vyrgyl, Ouyde, Omer and othir; and also with an .c. commentys therevpon, callid exposicyons or glosis vpon the seyde textys, of exemplys temporell of policie gouernaunce and worldlye wysdoms and dedys, grovndyed and also exempled by experiens and by auctorite of the auncient philosophurs and clerkes, as Hermes,[105] Plato, Salomon, Aristotiles, Socrates, Ptholome and suche othir. And vpon thies exemplis and glosis is made and wretyn also an othyr .c. allegories and moralizacions, applied and moralized to actis and dedys of werkyng spirituell, for to doctrine enforme and to lerne euery man nov lyvyng in this world how he schuld be a knyht exercisyng and doyng the dedys of armys gostly, for euerlastyng victorie and helthe of the sovle. Which allegories and moralizacions ben grovnded and auctorised vpon the .iiii. holy doctoris of the chirche, as Austyn, Jerom, Gregorie, Ambrose, alsoo vpon the Bible, the Holy Ewaungelistes and Epistollys and othyr holy doctorus, as here textis more opynly schalle appere hereafftyr. Fiat. Fiat. Amen. I.