The holy croſſe was founden two hondred yere after the reſurrexyon of our lord / It is redde in the goſpel of nychodemus[E] / that whan adam wexyd ſeck / Seth hys ſone wente to the gate of paradyſe tereſtre, for to gete the oyle of mercy for to enoynte wythal hys faders body / Thenne apperyd to hym ſaynt mychel thaungel and ſayd to hym / travayle not the in vayne / for thys oyle / for thou mayſt not have it till fyve thouſand and fyve hondred yere been paſſed / how be it that fro Adam unto the paſſyon of our lord were but fyve +MC+ and +xxxiii+ 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 fynde we in another place / that he gafe to hym of the tree that Adam ete of / And ſayd to hym that whan that bare fruyte he ſhould be guariſſhed[8] and alle hoole[9] /. whan ſeth 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 bycauſe he ſawe that it was fayre, he dyd[10] doo hewe it doun / and ſette it in his hows named ſaltus / and whan the quene of ſaba came to vyſyte Salamon / She worſhypped this tre bycauſe ſhe ſayd the ſavyour of alle the world ſhold be hanged there on / by whome the royame[11] of the Iewes that be defaced and ſeace.[12] Salomon for this cauſe made hit to be taken up / & dolven[13] depe in the grounde. Now it happed after that they of Ieruſalem (dyd do make a grete pytte for a pyſcyne[14] / where at the mynyſters of the temple ſholde weſſhe theyre beſtys / that they ſhold ſacrefyſe / and there founde thys tre / and thys pyſcyne had ſuche vertue, that the aungels deſcended and mevyd the water / and the firſt ſeke man that deſcendyd in to the water after the mevyng / was made hole of what ſomever ſekeneſſe he was ſeek of. And whan the tyme approched of the paſſyon of our lord / thys tree aroos out of the water and floted above the water / And of this pyece of tymbre made the Iewes the croſſe of our lord / Thenne after this hyſtorye / the croſſe by which we been ſaved / came of the tree by whiche we were dampned. And the water of that pyſcyne had not his vertue onely of the aungel / but of the tre/. With this tre wherof the croſſe 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 ſokette or mortys was maad that the body of the croſſe ſtood in ſoo that there were foure manere of trees / That is of palme of cypres / of cedre and of olyve. So eche of thyſe foure pyeces was of one of thoſe trees/. This bleſſed croſſe was put in the erthe and hyd by the ſpace of on hondred yere and more / But the moder of themperour which was named helayne[F] which founde it in thys manere / For Conſtantyn came wyth a grete multytude of barbaryns nygh unto the ryver of the