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1

A TREATISE OF THE ORDERS UNDER THE
2RULE OF ST. AUGUSTINE
3FROM A SERMON PREACHED BY JOHN CAPGRAVE
4AT CAMBRIDGE IN 1422.

5

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6    And here begynnyth a tretis of tho orderes þat be
7vndyr þe reule of oure fader Seynt Augustin, drawe oute
8of a sermon seyd be frer Ion Capgraue at Cambrige,
9þe ȝere of our Lord a M cccc xxij.
10
11    We may likne our fader Seynt Augustyn on-to þe holy
12patriark Iacob for many causes. On is for interpretacion
13of his name, for Iacob is as mech to say as a supplanter
14or a deceyuour, for he, at þe comaundment of God, supplanted his
15broþir, bying his fader blessing for a mese of potage and aftirward
16apperyng to his fader in Esaues cote. So may our blessid fader
17Augustyn be cleped a supplanter of þe Deuel, for whan þe same
18Deuel ha hold him in his seruyse xxx ȝere, þan ran he fro þe
19Deuel and took up-one him þe swete ȝok of our Lord Ihesu Crist.
20For xxj ȝere was he in paganite, and ix ȝere in þe heresie of þe
21Manychees. He may be cleped Iacob also, for euene as Iacob
22sey our Lord God fas to fas, so our maystir, with secret contemplacion,
23was as ny God as ony erdely man myte be, as may be
24wel perceyued be þe labour whech he had in inuestigacion of þe
25godhed in þe bokes whech he mad of þe Trynyte. This Iacob
26had xij sones, to whom all þe lond of byhest was distribute and
27departed be Moyses & Iosue. And þis Augustin hath xij religious
28cumpanies, be whech xij all holy cherch her in erde is replecchid.
29We wil at þis tyme on-to ȝour deuoute eres open þese Hebrew
30names of þese xij tribus, and referr hem to dyuers religions whech
31lyue vndir Seynt Austyn reule.
32    The first be-goten child hite Iudas. For Iudas is as mech
33to sey as a preyser, and þese men preise God nyte & day in holy
34songis & ympnis whech þei continuely be vsed too. And þis

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35Iudas eke may be referred on-to þoo heremites þat Seynt Augustin
36mad ny iij ȝere be-for þat he was bischop at Ypone, and mad þere
37chanones. This mater is proued with grete euydens in þe book
38whech I mad to a gentil woman in Englisch, and in þe book whech
39I mad to þe abbot of Seynt Iames at Norhampton in Latin, whech
40boke I named Concordia, be-cause it is mad to reforme charite
41be-twix Seynt Augustines heremites and his chanones. In þese
42same bokes may men se þe names of þe first faderes of þis order of
43heremites, whech heremites Simplician sent witȝ Augustin on-to
44Affrik.
45    The second child of þis Iacob, he hite Ruben, and þis Ruben is
46referred on-to chanones seculer swech as be in cathedral cherchis.
47For Ruben is as mech to sey as seing in þe myddis, or seing be þe
48myddis. What schal we calle bettir þe myddis þan þis present
49lif? What was be-for þis lif ordeyned for us is on-knowe. What
50we schal haue aftir þis lif it is in doute, saue we hope veryly, be þe
51good menes of þis myd lif, to come sumtyme to Goddis mercy.
52But men wil merueyle perauentur whi þat I sette seculer chanones
53be-for reguler, and þis is my cause. Thoo chanones þat dwelled
54with Seynt Augustin whan he was bischop went in cloþis of dyuers
55colouris and in precious furres and with girdel & barres of syluer
56and gilt, as is manifestly writyn in his sermones, Ad fratres in
57heremo , and þis aray long not to reguler chanones.
58    The þird son of Iacob he hite Gad, and his name is as mech to
59sey as a man þat is wel girt. Girdyng in holy scriptur is take
60for restreynyng of our body fro uices, and þis may be applied in
61þe best maner to chanones reguler, whech, with holy obseruaunces
62girdyn her bodies fro sinful werkis & here soules fro foule desires.
63If þese men be-gunne with Augustin in his cherch in þe same
64degre as þei stand now, sum men haue doute; but I wyl not
65stryue. I be-leue wel þat þere had þei her beginnyng but þe
66harder distinccion fro þe first ordr was mad sithe be oþir holy
67faderes, as þe munkis of Charturehous cam oute of þe blake
68ordr. Many euydens haue I mad in my book Concordia þat

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69Seint Ruffus not be-gan þis ordr, but þat he reformed þis ordre.
70So may I wel be-leue þat her first fundacion cam fro Augustin.
71    The iiij son of Iacob, he hite Aser. Aser is as mech to sei
72as blessed, and þis blessing is referred to þe grete noumbir of þat
73holy congregacion whech Seynt Dominice gadered and ordeyned,
74to þis entent, þat þei schuld labour in þe world and with here
75preching distroy synne in þe puple and plant vertue. This ordre
76be-gan Seyn Dominice þe ȝer of oure Lord a M cc xvj.
77    The v. son of Iacob hite Neptalim, as mech for to sey as
78gret brede; be þis vndirstund we þe knytes of Seynt Ion whech
79begunne first at Ierusalem, and now ar þei spred þorw-oute all þis
80world. Her institucion is to defende Cristen feith a-geyn Turkes
81and Sarsines. And all þoo possessiones whech þei haue in londis
82of pees pay tribute to þe hous of Rodes.
83    The sext son hite Manasse, and he is for to sey as obliuious.
84This son be-tokneth þe heres of Pruce whech wer institute to þe
85same entent to defense of þe bordures of cristen men a-geyn þe
86enmyes of þe crosse. Obliuious be þei cleped be-cause þei must
87forȝete þe delectable lyf of þis world and put her bodies in grete
88perel for þe honour of Crist. The differens of þe habite of þese
89too knytes is þis, þat þei of Seynt Iones haue blak mantell with
90a crosse, and þei of Pruce white mantell with a crosse.
91    The vij son of Iacob, he hite Simeon, whech soundith in our
92tonge heuynesse or pencifnesse, and þis may be applied with grete
93conueniens on-to þat ordre þat was founded at Sempyngham be
94þe solicitude of Seynt Gilbert, of whech Seynt, be-cause I mad
95a special tretis on-to þe maystir of þat ordr, þerfor in þis place
96I touch no mor of him.
97    The viij son of Iacob, he hite Leui, þat soundeth in owre
98langage a moryng or a multipliyng of þing þat was be-gunne,
99and be þis name we vndirstande þe ordr of Premonstracenses,
100whech be-gan in Fraunce vndir a holy man þei cleped Norbertus,
101þe ȝer of our Lord a M and a hundred, and be-cause þat I mad
102his lyf in Englisch to þe abbot of Derham þat deyid last, þerfor as
103now I wil no lenger tarie in þat fundacion.
104    The ix son of Iacob, he hite Ysacar; he soundeth in our

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105langage grete mede for laboure; þis wil we applie to þat ordre
106whech þei clepe þe Freres of þe Crosse, for þis cause, for þat
107crosse on her breest schul make hem so to labour in þe weye of
108Crist þat þei schuld come aftir her labour to euyrlasting mede.
109Off þis ordre haue I as ȝet no certeyn knowlech, who was her
110foundor, or vndir what Pope, or kyng, þei be-gunne.
111    The x son of Iacob, he hite ȝabulon, and in our langage it
112may be cleped a dwellyng-place of strength. Ful wel longith þis
113interpretacion on-to þe ordr of Seynt Bryde; þei haue a mansion
114of strength, for þei be sperd fro vanites of þe world, whech vanytes
115ar ouyr open to many men. This holy woman Bryde be-gan þis
116order and went to Rome for confirmacion; who wil se hir lyf and
117hir reuelaciones he may diffusely se it in hir book, as now I haue
118no tyme to tary lenger in þat mater.
119    The xj son hite Ioseph, and he is to sey a moring or augmentacion;
120þis is applied to certeyn chanones of þat hous whech be
121of þe ordr of Seynt Victor. This hous of Seynt Victour is in
122Paris, to whech I trowe þei longe. We haue in our libraries many
123sundry bookes þat to chanones of þat hous mad; on of hem hite
124Hewe, þe oþir hite Richard, notabel clerkis þei wer and men of
125holy lyf.
126    The xij son hite Beniamin; he is þe son þat longith to þe rite
127hand, as euery religious man with þe mercy of God doth. This
128son, be-cause he is ȝongest of age, is likned on-to an ordre whech
129is not in þe world, as þei sey, but in Northfolk. Four houses had
130þei and on of hem is fall on-to þe kyngis hand, & he gaue it to
131Walsingham; þe hous hite Petirston: oþer informacion of hem
132haue I not at þis tyme.