Part 22

Now for the noble Germanes sake, two of whom were great Barens, Signior Strowse, and Signior Crushen, and borne Vassals to the Marquesse of Hanspauch, I resolved to imbrace the danger: Where downe I went, receiving every one of them, at every turne, first leading their feete by my hands, and then by inveloping them with mine armes: Well, having past halfe way downewards, wee came to the most scurrile and timorous Discent of the whole passage, where with much difficulty, I set safe the foure Germanes in our narrow Rode hewen out of the craggy Hill; and then was to receive the Frier: Whence hee comming downe from above, with his Belly and face to the Rocke, holding his hands grumbling above, the fellow fell on trembling; and as I was placing his feete in the holes, distempred feare brought him downe upon me with a rushling hurle: Whereuppon straight I mainly closed with my left arme his body fast to the Rocke, keeping strongly my Right shoulder to the same place: For I could not have saved my selfe, and letting him fall, but hee would have caught mee headlong with him, over the Rocke: And yet the Germanes cryed still to me, Lascia ti quel furfanto cascar alla fondo con il Diavolo, e salva caro fratello la vita vostra, viz. Let that Villaine fall to the ground with the Divell, and save, O deare brother, your owne life: But I neyther would nor durst: at last his feare, by my incouragement having left him, I suffered him to slide softly downe betweene my arme and the Rocke, to the solid path: Where by and by, hee fell downe uppon his knees, and gave mee a thousand Blessings, vowing for this, he would doe me a great good deede before I left Jerusalem.

At last towards the afternoone, wee safely arrived at the foote of the Mountayne, and having saluted the Guardian, and all the Rest, who then were ready to take journey, the Frier told his Reverence how I had saved his life: Whereupon the Guardian, and the other Friers, did imbrace me kindly in their Armes, giving me many earnest and loving thankes.

And now the Souldiers and wee being advanced in our Way, as wee returned to Jerusalem, wee marched by an [S. Jeromes Abbey.] olde Ruinous Abbey, where (say they) Saint Jerome dwelt, and was fed there by wilde Lyons: Having travailed sore and hard that afternoone, wee arrived at Jerusalem an houre within night, for the Gate was kept open a purpose for us and our Guard: and entring our Monastery, wee supped, and rested our selves till midnight; having marched that halfe Day, more as 34. miles. A little before midnight, the Guardian and the Friers, were making themselves ready to goe with us to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, called Sancto Salvatore; where wee were to stay Good-friday and Satturday, and Easter-Sunday till mid-night: They tooke their Cooke with them also to dresse our Dyet, carrying Wine, Bread, Fishes, and Fruites hither in abundance. Meane while, a Jew, the Trench-man of the Turkies Sanzacke, came to the Monastery, and received from every one of us Pilgrimes, first two Chickens of Gold, for our severall heads, and entrey at Jerusalem: and then nine Chickens a peece for our in going to the Holy Grave; and a Chicken of golde a man, to himselfe the Jew, as beeing due to his place.

[Our tributs for the Holy Grave.] Thus was there twelve Chickens from each of us dispatched for the Turke: And last one, and all of us, behoved to give to the Guardian two Chickens also for the Waxe Candles and fooleries hee was to spend, in their idle and superstitious Ceremonies, these three aforesayd nights, which amounted in all to every one of us, to foureteene Chickens of gold, sixe pounds sixe shillings starling. So that in the whole from the sixe Germanes, foure French men, and nine Commercing Franks in Cyprus and Syria, Venetians, and Ragusans, and from my selfe, the summe arose for this nights labour to a hundred and twenty sixe pounds starling.

This done, and at full mid-night wee came to the Church where wee found twelve Venerable like Turkes, ready to receive us, sitting in the Porch without the Doore; who foorthwith opened at randone the two great Brazen halfes of the Doore, and received us very respectively: We being within the doore made fast, and the Turkes returned to the Castle, the first place of any note we saw, was the place of Unction, which is a foure squared stone; inclosed about with an yron Reuele, on which (say they) the dead body of our Saviour lay, and was imbalmed; after hee was taken from the Crosse, whiles Joseph of Arimathea, was preparing that new Sepulcher for him wherein never man lay: from thence we came to the holy Grave. Leaving Mount Calvary on our right hand toward the East end of the Church; for they are both contained within this glorious edifice.

[The Holy Grave.] The Holy Grave is covered with a little Chappell, standing within a round Quiere, in the west ende of the Church: It hath two low and narrow entries: As we entred the first doore, three after three, and our shoes cast off, for these two roomes are wondrous little, the Guardiano fell downe, ingenochiato, and kissed a stone, whereupon (he sayd) the Angell stood, when Mary Magdalen came to the Sepulchre, to know if Christ was risen, on the third day as he promised: And within the entry of the second doore, we saw the place where Christ our Messias was buried, and prostrating our selves in great humility, every man according to his Religion, offered up his prayers to God.

The Sepulchre it selfe, is eight foote and a halfe in length, and advanced about three foote in height from the ground, and three foote five inches broad, being covered with a faire Marble stone of white colour.

In this Chappell, and about it, I meane without the utter sides of it, and the inward incirclings of the compassing Quiere, there are alwayes burning above fifty Lampes of oyle, maintained by Christian Princes, who stand most of them within incircling bandes of pure Gold, which is exceeding sumptuous, having the names of those, who sent or gave them, ingraven upon the upper edges of the round circles: each of them having three degrees, and each degree depending upon another, with supporters of pure Gold, rich and glorious. The fairest whereof was sent thither by King John of England, whereon I saw his Name, his Title, and crowne curiously indented, I demanded of the Guardiano if any part of the Tombe was here yet extant, who replied, there was; but because (said he) Christians resorting thither, being devoutly moved with affection to the place, carried away a good part thereof, which caused S. Helen inclose it under this stone; whereby some relicts of it should alwaies remaine. I make no doubt but that same place is Golgotha, where the holy Grave was, as may appeare by the distance, betweene Mount Calvary and this sacred Monument; which extendeth to forty of my pases: [The glorious Chappell of the Holy Grave.] This Chappell is outwardly decored, with 15. couple of Marble Pillars, and of 22. foote high; and above the upper coverture of the same Chappell, there is a little sixe-angled Turret made of Cedar wood, covered with Lead, and beautified with sixe small Columnes of the same tree. The Chappell it selfe standeth in a demicircle or halfe Moone, having the little doore or entry looking East: to the great body of the Church, and to Mount Calvary, being opposite to many other venerable monuments of memorable majesties.

The forme of the Quiere wherein it standeth, is like unto that auncient Rotundo in Rome, but a great deale higher and larger, having two gorgeous Galleries; one above another, and adorned with magnificent Columnes being open at the top, with a large round; which yeeldeth to the heavens the prospect of that most sacred place.

In which second Gallery we strangers reposed all these three nights we remained there: whence we had the full prospect of all the spacious Church, and all the Orientall people were there at this great feast of Easter day, being about 6000. persons: from this curious carved Chappell we returned through the Church to Mount Calvary; To which we ascended by twenty one steps, eighteene of them were of Marble, and three of Cedar-wood: where, [The beauty of Mount Calvary.] when we came I saw a most glorious & magnifick roome, whose covert was supported all about with rich columnes of the Porphyre stone, and the oversilings loaden with Mosaick worke, & overgilded with gold, the floore being curiously indented with intermingled Alabaster and black shining Parangone: On my left hand I saw a platformd rocke, all covered with thicke and ingraven boords of silver; and in it a hole of a cubits deepe, in which (say they) the Crosse stood whereon our Saviour was crucified: And on every side thereof a hole for the good & bad theeves, were then put to death with him. Discending from Mount Calvarie, we came to the Tombe of Godfrey du Bulloine, who was the first proclaimed Christian King of Jerusalem, and refused to be crowned there, saying; It was not decent, the Servants head should be crowned with gold, where the Maisters head had beene crowned with thornes; having this Inscription ingraven on the one side:

[Two famous Sepulchers.] Hic jacet inclytus Godfridus de Bullion, quitotam hanc terram acquisivit cultui divino, cujus anima requiescat in pace.

And over against it, is the Tombe of King Baldwine his brother, which hath these Verses in golden Letters curiously indented.

Rex Baldevinus, Judas alter Machabeus Spes patriæ, Vigor Ecclesiæ, Virtus, utriusque; Quem formidabant, cui dona, tributa ferebant. Cæsar, Ægypti Dan, ac homicida Damascus; Proh dolor! in modico clauditur hoc Tumulo.

The other things within the Church they shewed us, were these, a Marble Pillar, whereunto (say they) our Saviour was bound, when he was whipped, and scourged for our sakes: the place in a low Celler, about fourteene stone degrees under the ground, where the Crosse was hid [Where Christ was nailed to the Crosse.] by the Jewes, and found againe by S. Helen: the place where Christ was crowned with thornes, which is reserved by the Abasines, and where the Souldiers cast lots for his Garment; the place where he was imprisoned, whiles they were making of his Crosse, and where the Crosse, being laid along upon the ground, our Saviour was nailed fast to it; the Rocke, which (as they say) rent at his crucifying, which is more likely to be done with hammers, and set one peece a foote from another, for the slit lookes, as if it had beene cleft with wedges and beetles. And yet the sacred Scriptures say that it was not a Rocke, but the Temple that did rent in two from the bottome to the top, wherein these silly soule-sunke Friers are meerely blinded, understanding no more than leying traditions; perfiting this their nationall Proverb;

Con arte, et con inganno, ci vivono medzo l' anno Con inganno et con arte, ci vivona l' altera parte.

With guile and craft, they live the one halfe yeare With craft and guile, the other halfe as cleare.

And lastly, they take upon them below Calvary to shew us where the head of Adam was buried. These and many other things, are so doubtfull, that I doe not register them for trueth (I meane in demonstrating the particular places) but onely relates them as I was informed.

There are seven sorts of Nations, different in Religion, and language, who continually (induring life) remaine within this Church, having incloystered lodgings joyning to the walls thereof: their victuals are brought dayly to them by their familiars, receiving the same at a great hole in the Church-doore; for the Turkes seldome open the entry unlesse it be when Pilgrimes come, save one houres space onely every Saturday in the afternoone, and at some extraordinary Festivall daies: and yet it doth not stand open then, but onely opened to let strangers in and shut againe: [Seven religious Families.] For this purpose each family have a Bell fastened at their lodging, with a string reaching from thence to the Church doore, the end whereof hangeth outwardly, By the which commodity, each furnisher ringing the Bell, giveth warning to his friends, to come receive their necessars, for through the body of the Church they must come to the porch-doore, and returne from it, to the cloyster.

The number of those, who are tied to this austere life, are about three hundred and fifty persons, being Italians, Greekes, Armenians, Æthiopians, Jacobines, a sort of circumcised Christians, Nestorians, and Chelfaines of Mesopotamia.

The day before the Resurrection, about the houre of mid-night, the whole Sects and sorts of Christians Orientall (that were come thither in Pilgrimage, and dwelt at Jerusalem) convened together, which were about the number of sixe thousand men, women, and children: for being separated by the Patriarkes in two companies, they compassed the Chappell of the Holy Grave nine times; holding in their hands burning Candles, made in the beginning pittifull, and lamentable regreetings, but in the ending, there were touking of kettle-drummes, sounding of horne-trumpets, and other instruments, dauncing, leaping, and running about the Sepulcher, with an intollerable tumult, as if they had beene all mad, or distracted of their wits.

Thus is the prograce of their procession performed in meere simplicitie, wanting civilitie, and government. But the Turkes have a care of that; for in the middest of all this hurley burley, they runne amongst them with long Rods, correcting their misbehaviour with cruell stroakes: and so these slavish people, even at the height of their Ceremonious devotion are strangely abused.

But our Procession begun before theirs, and with a greater regard, because of our tributes: The Turkes meane while guarding us, not suffering the other Christians to be participant in the singular dottage of the [An abhominable Idolatry.] Romish folly, being after this manner: First the Guardian, and his Friers brought forth of a Sacrastia, allotted for the same purpose, the wodden Portracture of a dead Corpes, representing our Saviour, having the resemblance of five bloody Wounds, the whole body of which Image, was covered with a Cambricke vale: Where having therewith thrice compassed the Chappell of the Holy Grave, it was carried to mount Calvary, and there they imbalmed the five Timber holes; with Salt, Oyle, Balme, and Odoriferous perfumes.

Then the Guardian, and the other twelve Friers kneeled downe, and kissed each one of the five Suppositive Wounds: the Turkes meanewhile laughing them to scorne in their faces, with miserable derision. Thence they returned, and layd the senselesse blocke uppon the Holy Grave, whence being dismissed, the Papall Ceremony ended.

Truely hereupon, may I say, if the Romane Jesuites, Dominicans and Franciscans, there Resident in certayne speciall parts of the Turkes Dominions, had onely behaved themselves as their polliticke charge required, and dismissed from the Paganisme eyes, onely their idolatrous images, veneration of Pictures, Crosses, and the like externall superstitious Rites: These Infidels I say, had long agoe (without any insight of Religion) bene converted to the Christian Faith. For besides all this blindnesse, what infinite abhominable Idolatries commit they in Italy and Spaine; in clothing the Pictures of dead Abbots, Monkes, Priors, Guardians, and the better kind of officiall Friers and Priests, with robes of Sattin, Velvet, [Damnable and intolerable superstition.] Damas, Taffaty, long gownes and coules of cloth, shirts, stockings, and shoes: And what a number of livelesse portrayed Prioresses, motherlesse Nunnes, yet infinite mothers, be erected (like the Maskerata of Morice-dancers) in silver, gold, gilded brasse, yron, stone, tynne, lead, copper, clay, and timber shapes, adorned with double and triple ornaments: over-wrought with silke, silver, and gold-laces, rich bracelets, silke grograine, and cambricke vales, chaines, smockes, ruffes, cuffes, gloves, collers, stockings, garters, pumpes, nose-gayes, beeds, and costly head-geire; setting them on their Altars, O spectaculous Images! adoring them for gods, in kneeling, praying, & saying Masses before them: Yet they are none of their avowed, allowed, and canonized pontificall Saints: for although they be bastards & wooden blocks, yet are they better clad, then their lupish legitimate ones, no, I may say, as the best Kings daughter alive. Which is a sinfull, odious, and damnable idolatry; and I freely confesse at some times, and in some parts I have torne a peeces those rich garments from their senselesse images and blockes, thinking it a greater sinne not to do it than to stand staring on such prodigall prophannesse, with any superstitious respect, or with indifferent forbearance to winke at the wickednesse of Idolaters.

Here the Guardiano offered for ten peeces of gold (although my due be thirty Chickens sayd he) to make me Knight of the holy Grave, or of the order of Jerusalem, which I refused, knowing the condition of that detestable oath I behooved to have sworne; but I saw two of these other Pilgrimes receive that Order of Knighthood.

[The Knights of the Holy Grave.] The manner whereof is thus: First they bind themselves with a solemne vow, to pray (during life) for the Pope, King of Spaine, and the Duke of Venice, from whom the Friers receive their maintenance; and also in speciall, for the French King, by whose meanes they obtaine their liberty of the great Turke, to frequent these monumentall places. Secondly, they are sworne enemies to Protestants, and others, who will not acknowledge the superiority of the Romane Church. Thirdly, they must pay yearely some stipend unto the Order of the Franciscans. These attestations ended, the Frier putteth a gilded spurre on his right heele, causing the yong made Knight stoope downe on his knees, and lay his hands on the holy Grave: after this he taketh a broad sword from under his gray gowne (being privately carried for feare of the Turkes) which is (as he sayd) the Sword, wherewith victorious Godfrey conquered Jerusalem, and giveth this new upstart Cavaliero, nine blowes upon the right shoulder. Loe here the fashion of this Papisticall Knighthood, which I forsooke.

Indeed upon the Knight-hood they have certaine priviledges among the Papists, of which these are two: If a malefactor being condemned and brought to the Gallows, any of these Knights may straight cut the rope and releeve him: The other is, they may carry and buy silkes through all Spaine and Italy, or elsewhere, and pay no Custome, neither in comming nor going, nor for any silke ware, where the Romish Church hath any commandement.

After our Guardiano had ended his superstitious Rites and Ceremonies, upon Easter day, before midnight, we returned to the Monastery, having stayed three dayes within that Church: And the next day thereafter, the nine Ragusan and Venetian Factors left us, returning backe to their severall Stations.

About sixe of the clocke, on monday morning, the Padre Viccario, and the aforesayd John Baptista accompanying us, we travailed abroad in the hilly Countrey of Judea. In this dayes journey, the places of any note we saw were these: [Certaine relicts of Monuments.] First, where the Daughters of Jerusalem came foorth to meete Saul, crying, Saul hath slaine his thousand, and David his ten thousand: And for memory of this standeth a certayne olde pillar of Marble. Next, the valley of Trebin, where David slew the great Goliath. And for remembrance of that, there are a great heape of stones layd together in the bottome of the valley, like to the Relickes of an old monument. Thirdly, Bezura, where Absalom killed his brother Ammon for Thamars sake, whereof nothing but the name is onely reserved.

[Emaus.] Fourthly, the Castle of Emaus, now altogether ruinated, except only three fire houses of Moores; in which our Saviour was knowne after his Resurrection, by the two Disciples in breaking of bread; where now the remanents of that house being vaulted, is turned over for a shelterage to sheepe; and a soft paved lodging for quivering Goates.

Fifthly, the Valley of Gibeon, where the ray-beaming Sunne stood still, at the voice of Joshua, from his naturall course. Joshua 10. 12.

Sixtly, the Toombe or buriall place of Samuel, that divine Prophet of the Lord: over the which the Moores have a Moskque erected, wherein we could not enter, but hard by and without it, we found one of the finest Fountaines in all Judea, and yet not a dwelling house neere unto it by three miles, in regard of the sassinous and infertile ground about it, the water whereof was exceeding light, sweete, and pleasant in digestion. Seventhly, the Tombes of the valiant Captaine Judas Macchabeus, and his Children, whereupon are now onely the ruines of an old Chappell, which is converted in a [The buriall place of the Kings and Queenes of Israel.] hould for Sheepe and Goates: And last of all, the buriall place of the noble Family of the Kings and Queenes of Israel, or Jerusalem, being neere unto the Citty, and within a short halfe mile. The entry whereto was so straite, that on our backes we behoved to slide downe, above ten paces under the ground, with light candles in our hands.

In that spacious place we saw twenty foure Chambers hewen out of a Marble Rocke. Each roome hath a hanging stone doore of a great thicknesse, so artificially done by the skilfull Art of Masons, that the rarest spirit of tenne thousand cannot know how these doores have bene made, so to move as they do, being a firme Rocke both below and above; and the doores have neither iron nor timber-worke about them: but by cunning are made so to turne, and in that same place where they grew they are squared; yea, and so exquisitely done, that the most curious Carpenter cannot joyne a peece of boord so neatly, as these stone doores joyne with the Rocke. In each of these roomes are two Sepulchers, wherein I saw the bones of some of these dead Princes.

Thursday, the tenth day of my being at Jerusalem, not reckoning the two dayes we spent in going to Jordan, the weeke before: We I say, ishued forth of the Citty earely, with our aforesayd guides, riding Westward: The first remarkeable thing we saw, was the place (as they say) where the Crosse grew, whereon Christ suffered: being reserved by Greekes, who have a Convent builded over it: That Crosse is sayd to have bene of foure sundry kinds of wood, and not of one Tree, for they shewed us but one hole where it grew, and so they hold it to have bene of one peece of Olive Tree, but this I suspend, leaving it to be searched, by the pregnancy of riper judgements then mine, howsoever opinious.