The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 08: Asia, Part IHakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 08: Asia, Part I
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English; Voyages and travels
Fro Rodes to Cypre ben 500 myle and more. But men may gon to Cypre, and
come not at Rodes. Cypre is righte a gode ile and a fayr and a gret, and it
hathe 4 princypalle cytees within him. And there is an erchebysshoppe at
Nichosie, and 4 othere byschoppes in that lond. And at Famagost is on of
the princypalle havenes of the see, that is in the world: and there arryven
Cristene men and Sarazynes and men of alle naciouns. In Cipre is the hille
of the Holy Cros; and there is an abbeye of monkis blake; and there is the
cros of Dismas the gode theef, as I have seyd before. And summe men trowen,
that there is half the crosse of oure Lord: but it is not so: and thei don
evylle, that make men to beleeve so. In Cipre lythe Seynt Zenomyne: of whom
men of that contree maken gret solempnytee. And in the Castelle of Amours
lythe the body of Seynt Hyllarie: and men kepen it right worschipfully. And
besyde Famagost was Seynt Barnabee the apostle born. In Cipre men hunten
with papyonns, that ben lyche lepardes: and thei taken wylde bestes righte
welle, and thei ben somdelle [Footnote: Somewhat.] more than lyouns; and
thei taken more scharpely the bestes and more delyverly [Footnote:
Deliberately.] than don houndes. In Cipre is the manere of lordis and alle
othere men, alle to eten on the erthe. For thei make dyches in the erthe
alle aboute in the halle, depe to the knee, and thei do pave hem: and whan
thei wil ete, thei gon there in and sytten there. And the skylle is, for
thei may ben the more fressche: for that lond is meche more hottere than it
is here. And at grete festes and for straungeres, thei setten formes and
tables, as men don in this contree: but thei had lever sytten in the erthe.
From Cypre, men gon to the lond of Jerusalem be the see: and in a day and
in a nyghte, he that hathe gode wynd may come to the haven of Thire
[Footnote: Tyre.], that now is clept Surrye. There was somtyme a gret cytee
and a gode, of Crystene men: but Sarazins han destroyed it a gret partye;
and thei kepe that havene right welle, for drede of Cristene men. Men
myghte go more right to that havene, and come not in Cypre: but thei gon
gladly to Cypre, to reste hem on the lond, or elles to bye thingis, that
thei have nede to here lyvynge. On the see syde, men may fynde many rubyes.
And there is the welle, of the whiche Holy Writt spekethe offe, and seythe,
_Fons ortorum, et puteus aquarum viventium_: that is to seye, _The welle of
gardyns, and the dyche of lyvynge watres._ In this cytee of Thire, seyde
the woman to oure Lord, _Beatus venter qui te portavit, et ubera quae
succisti_: that is to seye, _Blessed be the body that she baar, and the
pappes that thou sowkedest._ And there oure Lord forzaf the woman of
Chananee hire synnes. And before Tyre was wont to be the ston, on the
whiche oure Lord sat and prechede: and on that ston was founded the Chirche
of Seynt Savyour.
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