[} [\A TREATISE OF THE ORDERS UNDER THE RULE OF ST. AUGUSTINE FROM A SERMON PREACHED BY JOHN CAPGRAVE AT CAMBRIDGE IN 1422.\] }]

And here begynnyth a tretis of tho orderes +tat be vndyr +te reule of oure fader Seynt Augustin, drawe oute of a sermon seyd be frer Ion Capgraue at Cambrige, +te +gere of our Lord a M cccc xxij. We may likne our fader Seynt Augustyn on-to +te holy patriark Iacob for many causes. On is for interpretacion of his name, for Iacob is as mech to say as a supplanter or a deceyuour, for he, at +te comaundment of God, supplanted # his bro+tir, bying his fader blessing for a mese of potage and # aftirward apperyng to his fader in Esaues cote. So may our blessid fader Augustyn be cleped a supplanter of +te Deuel, for whan +te same Deuel ha hold him in his seruyse xxx +gere, +tan ran he fro +te Deuel and took up-one him +te swete +gok of our Lord Ihesu # Crist. For xxj +gere was he in paganite, and ix +gere in +te heresie # of +te Manychees. He may be cleped Iacob also, for euene as Iacob sey our Lord God fas to fas, so our maystir, with secret # contemplacion, was as ny God as ony erdely man myte be, as may be wel perceyued be +te labour whech he had in inuestigacion of # +te godhed in +te bokes whech he mad of +te Trynyte. This Iacob had xij sones, to whom all +te lond of byhest was distribute # and departed be Moyses & Iosue. And +tis Augustin hath xij # religious cumpanies, be whech xij all holy cherch her in erde is # replecchid. We wil at +tis tyme on-to +gour deuoute eres open +tese Hebrew names of +tese xij tribus, and referr hem to dyuers religions # whech lyue vndir Seynt Austyn reule. The first be-goten child hite Iudas. For Iudas is as mech to sey as a preyser, and +tese men preise God nyte & day in # holy songis & ympnis whech +tei continuely be vsed too. And +tis

Iudas eke may be referred on-to +too heremites +tat Seynt # Augustin mad ny iij +gere be-for +tat he was bischop at Ypone, and mad # +tere chanones. This mater is proued with grete euydens in +te book whech I mad to a gentil woman in Englisch, and in +te book # whech I mad to +te abbot of Seynt Iames at Norhampton in Latin, whech boke I named Concordia, be-cause it is mad to reforme charite be-twix Seynt Augustines heremites and his chanones. In +tese same bokes may men se +te names of +te first faderes of +tis # order of heremites, whech heremites Simplician sent wit+g Augustin on-to Affrik. The second child of +tis Iacob, he hite Ruben, and +tis # Ruben is referred on-to chanones seculer swech as be in cathedral # cherchis. For Ruben is as mech to sey as seing in +te myddis, or seing # be +te myddis. What schal we calle bettir +te myddis +tan +tis present lif? What was be-for +tis lif ordeyned for us is on-knowe. What we schal haue aftir +tis lif it is in doute, saue we hope # veryly, be +te good menes of +tis myd lif, to come sumtyme to Goddis mercy. But men wil merueyle perauentur whi +tat I sette seculer # chanones be-for reguler, and +tis [{is{] my cause. Thoo chanones +tat # dwelled with Seynt Augustin whan he was bischop went in clo+tis of # dyuers colouris and in precious furres and with girdel & barres of # syluer and gilt, as is manifestly writyn in his sermones, (\Ad # fratres in heremo\) , and +tis aray long not to reguler chanones. The +tird son of Iacob he hite Gad, and his name is as mech # to sey as a man +tat is wel girt. Girdyng in holy scriptur is take for restreynyng of our body fro uices, and +tis may be applied # in +te best maner to chanones reguler, whech, with holy # obseruaunces girdyn her bodies fro sinful werkis & here soules fro foule # desires. If +tese men be-gunne with Augustin in his cherch in +te same degre as +tei stand now, sum men haue doute; but I wyl not stryue. I be-leue wel +tat +tere had +tei her beginnyng but +te harder distinccion fro +te first ordr was mad sithe be o+tir # holy faderes, as +te munkis of Charturehous cam oute of +te blake ordr. Many euydens haue I mad in my book Concordia +tat

Seint Ruffus not be-gan +tis ordr, but +tat he reformed +tis # ordre. So may I wel be-leue +tat her first fundacion cam fro Augustin. The iiij son of Iacob, he hite Aser. Aser is as mech to sei as blessed, and +tis blessing is referred to +te grete noumbir # of +tat holy congregacion whech Seynt Dominice gadered and ordeyned, to +tis entent, +tat +tei schuld labour in +te world and with # here preching distroy synne in +te puple and plant vertue. This # ordre be-gan Seyn Dominice +te +ger of oure Lord a M cc xvj. The v. son of Iacob hite Neptalim, as mech for to sey as gret brede; be +tis vndirstund we +te knytes of Seynt Ion whech begunne first at Ierusalem, and now ar +tei spred +torw-oute # all +tis world. Her institucion is to defende Cristen feith a-geyn # Turkes and Sarsines. And all +too possessiones whech +tei haue in # londis of pees pay tribute to +te hous of Rodes. The sext son hite Manasse, and he is for [{to{] sey as # obliuious. This son be-tokneth +te heres of Pruce whech wer institute to # +te same entent to defense of +te bordures of cristen men a-geyn # +te enmyes of +te crosse. Obliuious be +tei cleped be-cause +tei # must for+gete +te delectable lyf of +tis world and put her bodies # in grete perel for +te honour of Crist. The differens of +te habite of # +tese too knytes is +tis, +tat +tei of Seynt Iones haue blak mantell # with a crosse, and +tei of Pruce white mantell with a crosse. The vij son of Iacob, he hite Simeon, whech soundith in our tonge heuynesse or pencifnesse, and +tis may be applied with # grete conueniens on-to +tat ordre +tat was founded at Sempyngham be +te solicitude of Seynt Gilbert, of whech Seynt, be-cause I mad a special tretis on-to +te maystir of +tat ordr, +terfor in # +tis place I touch no mor of him. The viij son of Iacob, he hite Leui, +tat soundeth in owre langage a moryng or a multipliyng of +ting +tat was be-gunne, and be +tis name we vndirstande +te ordr of Premonstracenses, whech be-gan in Fraunce vndir a holy man +tei cleped Norbertus, +te +ger of our Lord a M and a hundred, and be-cause +tat I mad his lyf in Englisch to +te abbot of Derham +tat deyid last, # +terfor as now I wil no lenger tarie in +tat fundacion. The ix son of Iacob, he hite Ysacar; he soundeth in our

langage grete mede for laboure; +tis wil we applie to +tat # ordre whech +tei clepe +te Freres of +te Crosse, for +tis cause, for # +tat crosse on her breest schul make hem so to labour in +te weye of Crist +tat +tei schuld come aftir her labour to euyrlasting # mede. Off +tis ordre haue I as +get no certeyn knowlech, who was her foundor, or vndir what Pope, or kyng, +tei be-gunne. The x son of Iacob, he hite +gabulon, and in our langage it may be cleped a dwellyng-place of strength. Ful wel longith # +tis interpretacion on-to +te ordr of Seynt Bryde; +tei haue a # mansion of strength, for +tei be sperd fro vanites of +te world, whech # vanytes ar ouyr open to many men. This holy woman Bryde be-gan +tis order and went to Rome for confirmacion; who wil se hir lyf and hir reuelaciones he may diffusely se it in hir book, as now I # haue no tyme to tary lenger in +tat mater. The xj son hite Ioseph, and he is to sey a moring or # augmentacion; +tis is applied to certeyn chanones of +tat hous whech be of +te ordr of Seynt Victor. This hous of Seynt Victour is in Paris, to whech I trowe +tei longe. We haue in our libraries # many sundry bookes +tat to chanones of +tat hous mad; on of hem hite Hewe, +te o+tir hite Richard, notabel clerkis +tei wer and men # of holy lyf. The xij son hite Beniamin; he is +te son +tat longith to # +te rite hand, as euery religious man with +te mercy of God doth. This son, be-cause he is +gongest of age, is likned on-to an ordre # whech is not in +te world, as +tei sey, but in Northfolk. Four # houses had +tei and on of hem is fall on-to +te kyngis hand, & he gaue it # to Walsingham; +te hous hite Petirston: o+ter informacion of hem haue I not at +tis tyme.