Here begynneth the kalendre of the newe legende of Englande — Nova legenda Anglie. English. Abridgments.

1516

¶Here begynneth the Kalendre of the newe Legende of Englande.

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¶The Prologe.

THe firste treatyce of this presēt boke is taken out of the newe Legende of the sayntys of Englande Irelande / Scotlande / and Wales for theym that vnderstande not the Laten tonge / that they atte theyr pleasure may be occupyed therwith / and be therby y ^e more apte to lerne the resydue when they shall here the hole Legende / And it is to vnderstande y ^t nat oonly those sayntes that were borne in theyse Countreys be in the sayde Legende and ī this lytell treatyse / But also dyuerse other blessyd sayntes that were borne beyonde the see / and that came into any of theyse countreys Englande / Irelande / Scotlā de / and Wales doynge there any notable thynge to the honour of god / and to the profyte of the people as to preche to theym the Faythe of oure Lorde / and to sette the people in good ordre / Or that haue lyued a blessyd lyfe ī any of theyse Countreys to gyue the people example of good lyuynge / Be also in the sayde Legende and in this present treatyse & be accompted to be of that countrey that they so came into / As seynt Augustyne the appostell of Englande whom blessyd seynt Gregorye then beynge pope sent fro Rome with seynt Paulyn / seynt Laurence the confessoure and dyuerse other in his company to preche the faythe of oure Lorde to the people of this Realme then beynge Idolatroures and clerely alyenatyd fro trueth wherupon Seynt Augustyne Faythfully accomplysshynge his Auctoryte with his company conuertyd Seynt Ethelbert then kynge of Kent and all his people to the fayth of our lorde / And after seynt Paulyne conuerted seynt Edwyn then kynge of Northamhumbre and all his people / in whiche countreys Churches were buylded Temples of Idollys destroyed or turned into Churches / bysshoppes & preestes ordeyned in all the countrey [Page] / And the fayth gladly resceyued with great deuocyon and after y ^e deth of seynt Augustyne and of kyng Ethelbert kynge Edbalde y ^t was sone to kynge Ethelbert fell to Idolatrye forsakynge the cristen fayth / wherby the faythe there was lyke to haue holly perysshed / whom y ^e sayd seynt Laurēce which was busshop of Caūterbury next after seynt Augustyne by especyall myracle of seynt Peter reduced agayne to the faythe / as in the lyfe of seynt Laurence apperyth / & longe after theyr tyme other holy men / seynt Adryan / seynt Honorye / seynt Felyx / seynt Beryn / and dyuers other cam fro beyonde the see and moche edefyed the people ī this Realme of Englande and establysshed greatly that fayth whiche seynt Augustyne / seynt Paulyne / seynt Laurence and theyr company had begon / & also dyuerse countreys in Englande whiche were nat holly conuerted in seynt Augustynes dayes / & some that after his dayes fell agayne to Idolatrye thē they reduced to the fayth of our lord. And neuerthelesse ryght fewe of this Realme of Englande specyally of y ^e Cōmen people haue harde of any suche men in soo moche y ^t y ^e oonly herynge of theyr names wyll be a lernynge to most men / and so it wyll be of dyuerse other blessyd men and women that were borne ī this Realme / whiche haue done many notable thynges for the comen welthe of the people therof as well ꝓfytable for this lyfe as for y ^e lyfe to come / as seynt Dunstane / seynt Deus dedit / seynt Wylfryde / Seynt Oswalde / seynt Cedd / and seynt Chadde bysshoppes / Seynt Ethelbert / seynt Edwyn / seynt Edgare / and seynt Oswalde kyngys / seynt Sexburgh / & seynt Ermenylde quenes / seynt Wallen / seynt Gylbert / seynt Wulryke / and dyuerse other holy men and women / as in the sayd Legende / and also in this treatyse apperyth / by which gloryouse sayntys w ^t [Page] other borne in other Countreys as before apꝑyth the fayth of our Lorde hath ben p̄ched receyued & greatly prosperyd in this Realme so that many of oure Auncestours neyghboures and frendes by the mercye of our lorde be now in y ^e Ioyes of heuyn to praye for vs. And for all the people & we also by the grace & goodnes of our lord be heyrys apparaū te to the kyngedome of heuyn / And if the lawe of god had nat ben knowen ī theyse parties both we & our Aūcestours myght ꝑcase haue lyued in erroures as other do / wherfore we be moche boūden to loue theym & honoure them / & in lykewyse to do that is in vs to helpe other as they dyd to helpe vs our Aūcestours and frendys / And veryly if there were nowe in thyse dayes the hygh Charyte & ꝑfyte loue to almyghty god & to oure neyghboure y ^t was in theyse blessyd seyntes or at leest a desyre therto with loue of Iustyce & zele of y ^e comen welthe & lyke desyre to brynge y ^e people to good lyfe with hole truste & sure faythe ī our lord as was ī theyse blessyd men & women. It wolde renewe y ^e face of this worlde and brynge a newe lyghte amonge the people / as it dyd in the tyme of y ^e sayd gloryous seyntys in whom florysshed & shyned all ꝑfeccyon of vertues as euydently wyll appere to theym that wyll rede theyr Legende trewe mekenes inuyncyble pacyence symple obedyence heuenly wysdome ꝑfyght charyte loue of Iustice with mercye / pyte / & cōpassyon vppon theyr neyghbourys ryches in pouerte / & pouerte in ryches with other lyke vertues and gracyous gyftes of god many of them were nedye outwarde but within forthe they were replenyssed with goostlye swetnes and Comforte / In the syght of the worlde and in theyr owne syght they were vyle and abiecte / but in the syght of almyghtye god & of all seyntes they were precyous & syngulerly elect / Wherfore [Page] the people of Irelande haue seynt Patryke for his blessyd lyfe and for that he conuerted moche people there to the faythe in great honour and in theyr necessyties they call vnto hym for helpe with great deuocyon / And in lykewyse in Scotlande the people there haue seynt Nynian cōmenlye called seynt Tronyon in great honoure for the same cause / And in Wales they haue deuocyon to seynt Dauyd for his blessyd lyfe / and for confermynge and establysshynge of y ^e people in the faythe by his prechynge & good example / but in this Realme of Englonde what so euer is the occasyon / fewe people in comparyson of the multytude haue deuocyon to any of thyse blessyd seyntes that haue laboured for the welthe of the people in this Realme ī tyme paste or that haue theym in honoure as other Countreys haue other seyntes in lyke case & yet we knowe ryght well that seyntys in heuyn be ī suche fauoure with almyghty god y ^e theyre prayer is herde for suche persones as they pray for and we maye not dowte but they be redye to pray for vs if we do worship theym and call vnto theym by our prayer for helpe. God forbede that any of vs shulde thynke or saye the contrarye as thynkynge in his mynde or sayinge in this wyse / Sayntes be aboue ī heuen and we be here bynethe and therfore they haue no mynde vppon vs for to helpe vs or to pray for vs so to thynke or so to saye is to thynke playnly and to saye that seyntys haue no charyte & that is not so for if they had charyte when they were here ī Erthe moche more they haue it nowe in heuen But when they were here they hadde great charyte as it is open by the great labourys that they hadde for the saluacyon of the people of this Realme and prayed for theym not callyd vppon so to doo / Thenne what shall the great charyte do that they haue nowe in heuen / Let vs [Page] beleue as seynt Paule sayth. Charitas nun (quam) excidit. The charyte that any persone hath here & doth contynewe therin whyle he lyueth seasyth not in Heuen neyther is there dimynysshed but it is there encreasyd and made more So of thyse sayntes theyr charyte is more in heuen nowe thenne it was here wherfore if the great charyte that they had here made them so redy to pray for the people that callyd not vnto theym for any helpe or prayer as is aforesayde / shall not theyr great charyte that they haue now ī heuen make them moche more redy to pray specyally for all suche as doth worshyp them & call for helpe vnto thē / More ouer if theyr prayer were harde here byneth in the Erthe where they were sofer from y ^e blessyd p̄sence of god / must not then theyr prayer be herde now aboue ī heuen where they haue god p̄sent face to face therfore sythen we be sure fyrste of this y ^t they be redye to pray for all y ^t wyll deuotly call vnto them sure also secōde of this that theyr prayer shalbe herde lette vs deuoutly as we can w ^t all our hartes call vnto them for helpe to pray for vs & by y ^e grace of our lorde they shall here our prayer & shall opteyne for vs y ^t we desyre or a nother thynge y ^t shalbe more ꝓphytable for vs & where y ^e people of this Realme of Englond honour the gloryous martyr seynt George as theyr chief patrone & defēder by whose prayer & speciall protecciō they haue ben ī tyme past p̄seruyd agaynste theyr enemyes & by y ^e grace of our lorde ī tyme to come shalbe yet neuerthelesse if they also honoure theyse gloryous seyntes y ^t haue laboured ī this Coūtrey for y ^e helthe of y ^e people as is aforesayde they shall therby ryghthyghly please theyr Patron seynt George / & so they shall do all other sayntes suche as they haue honoured & had deuocion to ī tyme past for there is amonge y ^e blessyd seyntes in heuen / one wyll / one loue [Page] & one full charyte / where y ^e honoure to all is honour to one / & the honoure to one is honoure to them all / & if any thynge herein be mystaken or nat spoken in cōuenyēt Englysshe or dewe ordre as it shulde be or if it be ouer shortlye touched or nat suffycyētly exp̄ssyd / wherby any maner of ꝑsone myght be offēded or take occasion of excepciō / y ^t it wyll please hym to take it for y ^e best / for so it is ment & charytably to refourme it by y ^e Legende Where nede shalbe takynge y ^e pryncypall intēt of this treatyse to be as a Kalendre / to shewe y ^e names of y ^e seyntes of theyr coūtrey & where they lye as it shal do / when it apperyth so ferre in y ^e Legende as it doth moost comēly but not ī all places / to shewe also some lytell thynge of theyr vertues & myracles with some ꝑte of theyr storyes shortlye towched / y ^t it maye be as a preparatyfe or a begynnynge to reduce the people of this Realme y ^e rather to haue the sayde blessyd seyntes in loue & honoure for there can no thynge be loued & honoured but it be knowē And for almoche as it is but of late tyme syth the sayde Legende was gatheryd to gyther in suche maner as it is nowe / and that euery thynge in this treatyse is shortly touched more lyke to be a Kalendre then a Legende cōsyderynge also that the most parte of tho sayntes that be in the sayd legende & in this kalender were eyther borne in this Realme or were abydynge therin & that theyse other countreys Irelande / Scotlande and Wales / of veray ryght owe to be subiecte & obedyent to this Realme of Englonde as it semyth this lytyll treatyce maye conuenyentlye be callyd the kalender of the newe Legende of Englonde.

¶Moreouer next after y ^e sayde Kalendre foloweth the lyfe of seynt Byrget shortlye abrygged a holy and blessyd wydowe / which lyfe is ryght expedyent for euery maner of persone [Page] to loke vpon moost in especiall for them that lyue imatrymony or in the estate of wydowhod y ^t they may se what grace and vertue was in this blessyd woman which lyued in the same degre as they do / and the rather to be encouraged to desyre to haue lyke grace and vertue In y ^e latter ende of this boke is a lytell draught of Mayster water Hyltō of the medled lyfe she wynge howe and by whome it shulde be vsed & though it haue ben Imprynted before this tyme yet take it charytably / for y ^e more a good thynge is knowen the better it is and parcase by this occasyon it may come to the knowlege of some men, that otherwyse shulde neuer haue hardespeke of it.

¶Explicit Prologus.

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Tabula.

¶Here after foloweth the Table of the seyntes.

De sancto Adriano Abbate & confessore. Folio.: i.
De sancto Aidosiue Aidano abbate. folio.: i.
De sancto Aidano Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: ii.
De sancto Albano martyre. fo.: iii.
De sancto Aldelmo ep̄o & confessore. fo.: iii.
De sancto Alredo Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: iiii.
De sancto Amphibalo martyre. fo.: iiii.
De sancto Anselmo archiep̄o. fo.: v.
De sancto Audoeno Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: vi.
De sancto Augustino Ep̄o & confessore: fo.: vi.
De sancto Bartholomeo monacho. fo.: viii.
De sancto Benedicto cognomento biscop. fo.: viii.
De venerabili Beda presbitero. fo.: ix.
De sancto Benigno Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: ix.
De sancto Bernaco Abbate & confessore. fo.: x.
De sancto Birino ep̄o & confessore. fo.: xi.
De sancto Bonifacio Ep̄o & martyre. fo.: xi.
De sancto Bothulpho Abbate & confessore. fo.: xii.
De sancto Bregwino Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: xiii.
De sancto Brendano abbate. fo.: xiii.
De sancta Brigida virgine. fo.: xiiii.
De sancto Brithuno abbate. fo.: xiiii.
De sancto Bertelino Heremita & confessore. fo.: xv.
De sancto Cadoco Ep̄o & martyre. fo.: xv.
De sancto Carodoco heremita. fo.: xvi.
De sancto Carantoco confessore. fo.: xvi.
De sancto Cedde Ep̄o & confessore. fo. fo.: xvii.
De sancto Cedda ep̄o & confessore. fo.: xvii.
De sancto Claro presbitero & martyre. fo.: xviii.
[Page]De sancto Iosephab Arimathia. fo.: lv [...]
De sancto Clitanco Rege & martyre. fo.: xviii.
De sancto Colfrido Abbate & confessore. fo.: xviii.
De sancto Columba Abbate & confessore. fo.: xix.
De sancto Columbano Abbate & confessore. fo.: xx.
De sancto Cuthberto Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: xx.
De sancta Cuthburga Regina & virgine. fo.: xxi.
De sancto Cungaro Heremita. fo.: xxii.
De sancto Dauid Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: xxii.
De sancto Decimiano Heremita & martyre. fo.: xxiii.
De sancto Deus dedit Archep̄o. fo.: xxiiii.
De sancto Dubacio Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: xxiiii.
De sancto Dunstano Archiep̄o. fo.: xxiiii.
De sancta Eanswida virgine & abbatissa. fo.: xxvi.
De sancto Eata Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: xxvi.
De sancta Ebba virgine & abbatissa. fo.: xxvii.
De sancta Edburga virgine & martyre. fo.: xxvii.
De sancta Editha virgine & abbatissa. fo.: xxvii.
De sancto Edmundo Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: xxviii.
De sancto Edmundo Rege & martyre. fo.: xxix.
De sancto Edwardo Rege & confessore. fo.: xxx.
De sancto Edwardo Rege & martyre. fo.: xxxi.
De sancto Edwino Rege & martyre. fo.: xxxi.
De sancto Edwoldo confessore. fo.: xxxii.
De sancto Egberto monacho. fo.: xxxiii.
De sancto Egbino monacho. fo.: xxxiii.
De sancto Egwino Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: xxxiiii.
De sancta Elfleda Abbatissa & virgine. fo.: xxxv.
De sancto Elphego Archiep̄o & martyre. fo.: xxxv.
De sancto Erkenwaldo Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: xxxvii.
De sancta Ermenilda Regina. fo.: xxxvii.
[Page]De sancto Esterwino Abbate. fo.: xxxviii.
De sancto Ethelberto Rege & confessore. fo.: xxvxiii.
De sancto Ethelberto Rege & martyre. fo.: xxxix.
De sancta Ethelburga virgine & abbatissa. fo.: xli.
De sancta Etheldreda virgine. fo.: xl.
De sanctis Ethelredo & Ethelbricto martyribus. fo.: xli.
De sancto Ethelwoldo ep̄o & confessore. fo.: xlii.
De sancto Felice ep̄o & confessore. fo.: xlii.
De sancto Fiacrio heremita & conessore. fo.: xliii.
De sancto Finane ep̄o & confessore▪ fo.: xliii.
De sancto Foillano ep̄o & martyre. fo.: xliiii.
De sancto Fremundo Rege & martyre. fo.: xlv.
De sancta Frediswida virgine. fo.: xlvi.
De sancto Furseo, Abbate & confessore. fo.: xlvi.
De sancto Gilda Abbate & martyre. fo.: xlvii.
De sancto Gilberto confessore. fo.: xlviii.
De sancto Godricoseruo dei & heremita. fo.: xlix.
De sancto Grimbaldo abbate & confessore.: l.
De sancto Gudwalo Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: l.
De sancto Gundleo Rege & confessore. fo.: li.
De sancto Guthlaco confessore. fo.: li.
De sancta Helena Regina. fo.: liii.
De sancto Henrico Heremita. fo.: liii.
De sanctis Hewaldo Nigro & Hewaldo albo martyribus. folio.: liiii.
De sancta Hilda virgine & Abbatissa. fo.: liiii.
De sancta Hildelitha virgine & Abbatissa. fo.: lv.
De sancto Honorio Archiepiscopo & confessore. fo.: lv.
De sancto puero Hugonea Iudeiscrucifixo. fo.: lvi.
De sancto Hugone Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lvi.
De sancto Iohanne de Byrdlyngton. fo.: lix.
[Page]De sancto Iituto Abbate & confessore. fo.: lx.
De sancto Indracto & sociis eius martyribus. fo.: lx.
De sancto Iohē de Beuerlaco Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxi.
De sancto Ithamar Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxi.
De sancto Iuone Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxi.
De sancto Iwyo confessore. fo.: lxii.
De sancto Iustinano martyre & monacho. fo.: lxii.
De sancto Iusto Archiep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxiii.
De sancto Iuthwara virgine & martyre. fo.: lxiii.
De sancto Kebio Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxiiii.
De sancta Keyna virgine. fo.: lxv.
De sancto Kynedo confessore. fo.: lxvi.
De sancto Kenelmo Rege & martyre. fo.: lxvi.
De sancto Kentegerno Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxvi.
De sancto Kylyano cum sociis suis martyribus. fo.: lxviii.
De sanctis Kyneburga Regina & abbatissa: & de sāctis Kyneswyda & tibba virginibus. fo.: lxviii.
De sancto Lamfranco Archiep̄o. fo.: lxix.
De sancto Laurencio Archiep̄o. fo.: lxix.
De sancto Lethardo Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxix.
De sancto Machuto Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxx.
De sancto Maglorio Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxii.
De sancto Malachia Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxii.
De sancta Margareta Regina scocie. fo.: lxxiii.
De sancta Maxencia virgine & martyre. fo.: lxxiiii.
De sancto Mellito Archiep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxiiii.
De sancto Melone Episcopo. fo.: lxxiiii.
De sancto Meloremartyre. fo.: lxxv.
De sancta Milburga virgine. fo.: lxxv.
De sancta Mildreda virgine & abbatissa. fo.: lxxvi.
De sancta Modwenna virgine & abbatissa. fo.: lxxvii.
[Page]De sancto Neoto abbate & confessore. fo.: lxxviii.
De sancto Niniano Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxviii.
De sancto Odone Archiepiscop. fo.: lxxix.
De sancto Odulpho confessore. fo.: lxxx.
De sancta Ositha virgine & martyre. fo.: lxxx.
De sancta Osmanna virgine. fo.: lxxxi.
De sancto Osmundo Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxxi.
De sancto Oswaldo Archiescopo & confessore. fo.: lxxxii.
De sancto Oswaldo Rege & martyre. fo.: lxxxiii.
De sancto Oswyno Rege & martyre. fo.: lxxxiiii.
De sancto Ondoceo Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxxv.
De sancto Paterno Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxxv.
De sancto Patricio Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxxvii.
De sancto Paulino Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxxviii.
De sancto Petroco Abbate & confessore. fo.: lxxxix.
De sancto Pirano Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxxx.
De sancto Richardo Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxxxi.
De seruo dei Roberto abbate venerabili. fo.: lxxxxii.
De sancto Rumwaldo confessore. fo.: lxxxxiii.
De sancto Sampsone Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxxxiiii.
De sancta Sexburga Regina. fo: lxxxxv.
De sancto Swithuno Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxxxv.
De sancto Thatheo Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxxxvi.
De sancto Theliao Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxxxvii.
De sancto Theodero Archiep̄o & confessore. fo.: lxxxxvii.
De sancto Thoma Ep̄o Herfordie. fo.: lxxxxvii.
De sancto Thoma Archiep̄o Can [...]. martyre. fo.: lxxxxvii.
De sancto Thoma Monacho a gallis occiso. fo.: lxxxxviii.
De sancta Walburga virgine. fo.: lxxxviii.
De sancto Walleno Abbate. fo.: lxxxxix
De sancto Walstano confessore. fo.: C.
[Page]De sancta Wenefreda virgine & martyre. fo.: Ci.
De sancta Werburga virgine. fo.: Ci.
De sancto Wilfrido Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: Cii.
De sancto Wyro Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: Ciii.
De sancto Willibrordo Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: Ciiii.
De sancto Wilhelmo puero & martyre. fo.: Cv.
De sancto Wilhelmo Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: Cvi.
De sancto Wilhelmo martyre. fo.: Cvi.
De sancto Wynwaloco Abbate & confessore. fo.: Cvii.
De sancto Wistano Rege & martyre. fo.: Cvii.
De sancta Withburga virgine. fo.: Cvii.
De sancta Ursula & vndecim milibus virginum martyribus. folio: Cviii.
De sancta Wlfhilda virgine. fo.: Cxiii.
De sancto Wlrico confessore. fo.: Cxiiii.
De sancto Wlsino Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: Cxv.
De sancto Uulstano Ep̄o & confessore. fo.: Cxvi.
De sancto Edgare Rege & confessore. fo.: Cxviii.
De sancta Birgi [...]ta. fo.: C.xxi.

¶Finis tubula.

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[Page i]

De sancto Adriano abbate & confessore.

SEynt adryan was abbot of the monastery of viridian / that is a lytle fro napuls And for his [...]tue / and cunnynge vitalian / the pope wolde haue made him archebussope of Caunterbury / & he of mekenes refusyd it for his escuse desyred y ^t saynt Theodre myghte be elected therto / & so he was vpon this cōdicion that he shulde accompany seynt Theodre into Englōde and he assentyd and so refusynge the honoure he toke the laboure / And when he came into Englōde he had cōmyttyd to hym the rule of the monasterye of seynt Augustyne of Caunterbury and there he gadered a great multytude of dyscyples & taught them metyr astronomye arythmetryke / & also dyuynite / & many of his dyscyples coulde greke & latē tōge as well as theyr owne / & he with seynt Theodre taught y ^e tewnes of syngynge in y ^e churche of Englond which afore theyr tyme was onely vsed in Kent / & he passed out of this worlde full of good werkes / & good exaumples the .v. I [...]s of Ianuary / in the yere of our lorde God seuyn hundred [...]iii. & lyeth in his monastery at Caūterbury And after his deth shypmē of Englōde which were lyke to haue ben robbed by pyratis ī y ^e see by prayer to seynt Adryan were delyuered / he reysed a man fro deth / & he appered to one / & bad hym shewe seynt Dunstane y ^t he dwellyd ī houses y ^t were well & sufficiētly couered / but y ^e moder of almyghty god & he / & other her seruauntes lay open to y ^e heuyns wherfore anone seynt Dūstane repayred the Churche of our Lady / and vsed moche to be there in contemplacyon / and on a nyght as he was there in prayers he sawe euydently our Lady & seynt Adryan in [Page] the sayd Churche laudynge & honourynge our Lorde.

¶De sancto aido siue Aidano abbate.

A Man of Irlonde callyd sedia / and his wyfe prayde certyen holy men to Praye for theym that they mought haue a Chylde / & after they had prayed / they bad the man & his wyfe goo whom & in the nyghte folowynge the husband sawe a bryght sterre falle into the mouthe of his wyfe / And she sawe a bryght mone falle īto y ^e mouth of her Husbōde / & after they had a sone whom they callyd Aidus / or Aidanus / And when he came to age / he & his felowe Molassus entendyd to goo on Pylgrymage / & they wiste not whether / And by Inspyraciō of our Lord they bad .ii. great Trees growinge therby tell them what they sholde do / And anon the two Trees fell downe oon towarde y ^e Northe / & y ^e other towarde the Southe / And so the Chyldren deuyded / & seynt Aidus came into the countrey of Lagmenciū / & an An̄gell brought hym to the place where he wolde be / and he went vppon the water to a place where two chyldren were drowned / & by his prayers he reysyd them to lyfe / & after he came to seynt Dauyd into Wales / & was w ^t hym a longe tyme / and there for haste as he went to the wood he lefte his boke open behynde hym / & though it rayned in other places / it rayned not vppō his Boke / And seynt Dauyd as he was by the seesyde blamyd hym for leuynge his Boke behynde hym / wherfore anon he lay ꝓstrat before seynt Dauyd / & of mekenes wolde not ryse tyll he were bydden / And seynt Dauyd retournyd whom & for gate to bydde hym ryse / & so the flowe of the see came / & as he lay y ^e see rose aboute hym & touchyd hym not / And [Page ii] when seynt Dauyd myssed hym he was moch heuy / and sent Bretherne for hym / & they founde hym lyenge in the bottome of y ^e see / & drewe hym vppe into theyr shyppe &c. And on a tyme whē seynt Aidus went fro seynt Dauyd into Irlonde / he forgate his Cymbale behynde hym in Wales / & when he had nede of it / it was sodenly brought ouer the see to hym / Wherfore he thanked our Lorde / & a nother tyme seynt dauyd sent for hym / & he went to hym And when he shulde goo agayne into Irlonde / he asked seynt Dauyd how he shuld gette ouer the see / and he bad hym goo to the see syde / & ony beest that he founde go on hym to his Monastery / And he foūde a beest lyke a Horse & on hym he went ouer the see into Irlonde / & then the Beest wente agayne into the see / He was a great gyuer of Almes / and fastyd .l. dayes. and .l. nyghtes to gedyr / & he dyed in great Age full of good Werkes & vertues the day before the fyrste kalendas of Marche. And at seynt Dauythys he is callyd moadoke / and there his Feest is kepte with great honoure.

¶De sācto Aidano episcopo & confessore.

THere is a monastery in y ^e Ile of hii which of olde tyme belōged to Brytayne nowe callyd Englōd / & the pyotys gaue it to y ^e scottys because they were firste cōuertyd by them / And se y ^t Aidā beynge busshope was sent fro y ^t Ile to preche to y ^e people of Englonde / and he taughte noon otherwyse but as he lyuyd hym selfe / what so euyr was geuyn to hym by the Kynge or Rychemen / He gaue it to poure men / he went on foote to Preche and Rode not withoute great nede / All that were in companye with hym shuld Rede or Praye / And when he was at dyner thoughe it were with the Kynge [Page] as it was seldome he wolde goo fourthe and praye / he wolde alwaye reproue Rychemen when they offendyd / and not forbere theym for fere / nor for theyr Auctoryte / he gaue oyle to a preest which was called vtta as he was goynge to fette enflede doughter to kynge Edwyn to be maryed to kynge oswy / And bad hym if any tempest toke hym in the see / that he sholde caste the oyle into the see And it shulde ceasse / and so it prouyd / and when penda had thoughte to haue burnyd the Cytie of bamburghe for y ^t he coulde not wyn it by streyngthe / he leyde moche wood / and hey nyghe to the towne / and seynt aidan then beynge in y ^e Ile of Ferne to myles fro thens when he saw the Fyre aboue the Cytie wallys prayed to our lorde for helpe / And by his prayer the wynde chaūged / and so the towne was saued / & he dyed the day before the kalendas of Septembre the yere of Grace .vi. hundred and .li. and was buryed a lytle fro the sayd Cytie / And now parte of his relykys be at Duresme and parte be had into Scotlande / and twyse the house wherein he dyed / which was adioynynge to the churche was saued / when the churche & all y ^e strete were burned / & venerable bede y ^t wrote his lyfe seyth of hym that he was a great louer of peace / and charyte & was an ouercomer of Ire & couetyse / a dispyser of vaynglory / a reprouer of proude men / and a comforter of syckemen and poore men / and that as farre as he coulde lerne this blessyd man omytted nothyng [...] he lerned by y ^e euangelystys or ꝓphyttys to be [...] fulfyllyd it in that he coulde / howe be it in y ^t he kepte [...] Estre at the due tyme / Bede prayseth hym not / [...] prayseth hym for he seyth ꝑcase he knewe it not [...] kepte it on a sonday / but he praysyth hym that [...] pynge of his Ester / he beleuyd / nor worsh [...] [Page iii] other thynge but as we doo / that is to say the Redempcion of mankynde by the Passyon / Resurreccyon / & Assē cyon of the medyator betwixte God & Man / our Lorde Ihesu Criste / And in the lyfes of Seynt Oswalde / and Oswyn kynges / And of Seynt Cuthbert dyuerse thynges thynges be spokyn of this Blessyd man.

¶De sancto Albano martire.

SEynt Albon dwellyd ī the Towne of verolame that now is callyd seynt Albons / And in the tyme of y ^e ꝑsecucyō of dioclesyan seynt Amphibell came into Brytayne and lodged in the house of seynt Albon / and exortyd hym to be cōuerted / And shewyd hym sumwhat of the beleue of our lorde / and he gaue lytle credence to his techynge / And the same nyght seynt Albon sawe a vision y ^t betokened the Misteryes of y ^e Incarnaciou / Passyon / Resurreccion / & Assencion of our Lorde as in the Legende apperyth / And in the mornynge he asked of seynt Amphibell what his visyō betokened / & whē seynt Amphibell had declared the hole misteryes therof how our Lorde suffred Passyon and Deth / And how he Rose agayne and assendyd to Heuyn / he sayd it was all trewe that he sayde / And anon he Beleued / and was Cristened / And thenne he was complaynyd on that he was Cristened / Wherfore he was sent for / and was Takyn as he was prayenge before a Crosse / And so he was broughte to the Iudge / And there constauntly he confessyd y ^t he was a Cristēmā / And so he was put ī prison / & there he lay .vi. Monethes / & in all y ^t tyme there felle no rayne And therfore y ^e people thynkynge y ^t y ^e god y ^t Albō worshypped ꝓhibited y ^e rayne / toke hym out of prysone / [Page] and wolde haue lette hym goo / And he seynge that [...] wold haue let hym goo prayde our Lorde that his martyrdome shuld not be lette / And opynly dyspysyd theyr Idollys / and soo he was had with great vyolence to be behedyd / and as he went a ryuer that wolde haue lettyd theyr passage by his Prayer dryed vppe / and oon of the Knyghtys that drewe hym to his marterdome seynge y ^e great Myracles that our lorde shewyd for hym was cō uertyd / & seynt Albō was behedyd the .x. kalēdas of Iuli the yere of our lorde god .CClxxx.vi. And anon the eyen of hym y ^t strake it offelle owte / & he was buryed at seynt Albons / & sumwhat the Legēd leuyth it for a dowte whether he lye now at seynt Albons or at ely / but it semyth to be the more lyke y ^t he shuld lye at seynt Albons / And in y ^e legend apperith how kynge Offa repayred the monastery ofseynt Albons / And how the heresy of Pelagian̄ began at Bangor / and how it was extyncte.

¶De sancto Aldelmo episcopo & confessore.

SEynt aldelme was of kynne to Iue kynge of we stesaxōs / & ī his youthe he ꝓphyted moch ī cōnynge / & after he was made monke at malmesbury & so preest / & then Abbot / And his fame went so ferre y ^t it came to y ^e pope Sergyus / & he sent for hym to Rome / & whē he had sayd masse in y ^e Church of lateranēse & helde y ^e vestemēt behynde hym to haue takyn it to one of his seruaūtis / & none was there / it hōge vppō a sonne beame a longe tyme / a womā y ^t was w ^t Chylde defamed y ^e Pop [...] therw ^t / And saynt Aldelme herynge y ^t was moch heuy & cōmaūdyd y ^e chylde which was but .ix. dayes olde ī y ^e name of our lorde Ihesu criste to shewe if y ^e Pope were his fader & he sayd nay / And so the Pope was delyuerd of y ^e [Page iiii] cryme / And seynt Aldelme brought w ^t hym fro Rome an Alterstone which by the way brake / & with his prayer & blessynge it was made hoole / And as it is sayd the same stone is yet ī the priory of Briton now callyd Bruton he was a great wryter of Bokes / & meynteyned moche the due kepynge of Ester / he neuer went out of his Monastery without a great cause / he gaue great almes & wold stonde in y ^e water thoughe it were froste / & snowe tyll he had sayd a hole psalter / And after he was made busshop of Shyryburne and in great age full of good werkes he went to our Lorde the .viii. kalendas of Iune. in the yere of our Lorde .vii. hundred & .ix. and lyeth in his monastery at Malmesbury.

¶De sancto alredo Ep̄o & confessore.

When seynt Alrede was in his Cradell his face shone lyke the sonne / And in his chyldehod he had the spirit of ꝓphecy / And tolde y ^e very day of the deth of the Busshop of yorke / & he was in so great fauoure w ^t Dauyd kynge of Scottys y ^t he was seconde to hym whiche a Knyght enuyed much w ^t great hatred insomoche y ^t somtyme in presence of y ^e kynge he wolde speke opprobrious wordys to hym / & he toke all paciently so y ^t the Knyght meruaylyd & toke penaūce & askyd hym forgeuenes / & he tolde hym that he ought to loue hym the more / for by his hatred he encresyd the more in y ^e loue of our lord / And by hym his paciēce was prouyd / And he was so meke that thoughe he were hurte he was not moche troubled therwith / and if any accused hym he was not prouokyd to vengeaunce / and he dyd alway good for euyll / and when the kynge wolde haue made hym busshope he for [...]oke it & entred [Page] into Relygyon at ryeuall which is of y ^e ordre of cisteaux and was mayster of the nouyces / & a Nouyce that was vnstable was by his prayers twyse brought agayne to y ^e Monasterye when he was goynge away / and when he was made Abbot oftymes he counceyled his Bretherne that noo foule worde shulde goo out of theyr mouthe ne any detraccion / or othe / And he refourmyd the hole coū trey of gallway / and wrote the lyfe of Seynt Edwarde Kynge & Confessoure and dyd many other thynges / he was of great abstynence / and wolde moche rede in Bokes that shulde moue compunccion / and he had great sykenes ten yeres before he dyed and toke it in great paciē ce and wolde no fysyke and oftymes was visityd with Aungells / and he knewe the veray daye of his Deth / he sayde to his Bretherne that after he entered into Relygyon / he neuer fret in malyce / nor detraccyō w ^t any ꝑson that for any cause taryed with hym tyll nyghte / and y ^t he had louyd alway peace / & Broderly loue / & his owne espirituell quietnes / & he wente to our lord y ^e day before y ^e firste Idus of Ianuarye in y ^e yere of our lorde god a.M.a hūdred .lxvi. and dyuers thynges be here omytted &c.

¶De sancto Amphybalo martire.

WHen seynt Amphibell had cōuertyd seynt Albon / seynt Albon aduertysed hym to go oute of the Cytie / & so he went into wales & after when seynt Albon was martyred & a great multytude of people sawe a bryght Pyller ascende fro his toumbe to heuyn / they mere conuerted and sent for seynt Amphibell to instructe theym in y ^e feyth / & the messengers foūde hym in Wales prechynge to y ^e people / [Page v] and in the meane tyme a noyse rose in the Cytie that some of the Cytye wolde goo w ^t Amphybell ouer y ^e see & caste away y ^e worshyppynge of theyr goddes / wherfore a great company of the people furyously went to hym & when they founde hym they boūde his armes and made hym goo before theyr horses barefote / and in the way he helyd a syke man / Aud when men of verolame met hym they put hym to cruell Martyrdome / And many seynge his constaunce were conuerted / wherfore they were put to deth in his syghte a.M. persones whome he cōmytted ioyously to our Lord / & as he was stoned he was ī prayer / & sawe our Lord w ^t many aūgelles & seynt Albō was amōge them & a voyce sayd y ^t he shuld be with his discyples in ꝑadyse / And so Aungels toke his sowle to heuyn / And all y ^t dyd any thynge ageynst hym were greuously punysshed by y ^e hāde of god / & y ^e people seyng y ^e terryble punysshemēt y ^t folowid were all cōuertyd / & many went to Rome to do penaūce / & he was buryed at Radbourne & lay there longe [...]yme vnknowen / And by reuelacion of seynt albō his body was foūde / & brought to seint albōs.

¶De sancto Anselmo archiepiscopo.

SEynt anselme was borne in y ^e Cytie of Augustā in the moūtes of Alpey / and ī his youth he came to the monasterye of Becceuse in Normandye / And there he was .iii. yeres vnder lamfranke / & lyued a Religious lyfe / & whē lamfrāke was takyn to y ^e rule of y ^e monastery of cadomence anselme was made Pryour of Becceuse / & he abstractid hys mynde fro y ^e worlde & wordely thynges & gaue hym holly to study & cōtemplacyon And he assoylyd many doutes in scripture / that had not [Page] ben assoyled afore his tyme / And he absteynyd so moche that all glotony was extincte ī hym so that he had no hū gre nor desyre of etynge as other men haue / a yonge broder of frowarde maners enuyed hym / & he suffred hym all that he mought / not brekynge the rules of the religiō a longe tyme wherby at the laste the chylde began to loue seynt anselme / and wolde here his monycions and at laste take his correccyons and an olde broder that longe had enuyed hym when he lay syke / cryed out and sayd y ^t two wood wulphes were betwixte his armes that wolde strangle hym / and seynt Anselme herynge that / made y ^e signe of the Crosse / and so they wente away & then gladlye he toke penaunce / Seynt anselme wrote many Bokes / & the Deuyll had great enuy to them / & somtyme he tere them in pecys / And he shewyd by dyuerse / godlye exaūples y ^t chyldren shulde aswell be Instructyd by feyre meanes / as by rygoure / And after he was made Abbot he vsed moche contemplacyon / and appoyntyd other approuyd men to haue rule vnder hym / & he was dylygent in receyuynge of gestys / And after he came into Englōd where after the deth of seynt Lāfrāke he was made archbusshope of Caūterbury in the tyme of wyllyam Rufus which was a great tyraūte & oppresser of the Churche / And by cause seynt Anselme namyd Pope vrban as Pope / The kynge toke great displeasour / And anon dyuerse of the Busshoppes gaue vp theyr obedyēce to Seynt anselme / And after when he had asked thryseleue of the Kynge to goo to Rome / the Kynge bad hym leue y ^t purpose / or go his wey without Retournynge / and after he went to Rome / and there he had a decre for makynge of Busshopes y ^t they sholde not be made by geuynge of a staffe / and as he came homewarde he sawe in vyfyon y ^• [Page vi] [...]l the seyntys of Englond complayned to our lorde of y ^e Kynge / And our lorde gaue a burnynge Arowe to seynt Albon / & he sayde he wolde take it to a wicked spiryt that was a taker of vengeaūce for synne / And so he threwe it into the Erthe lyke a comet sterre by which vision seynt Anselme knewe y ^t the kynge was deed / And after he came into Englonde / & by deseyre of Kynge henry the furst he went agayne to Rome to chaūge the decre / & when y ^e Kynge knewe the Pope wolde not chaūge it he seased y ^e Busshopryche of Cauterbury into his handys / And after y ^• Kynge and he were agreed / And the kynge lefte y ^e olde custome of makynge of Busshoppes by geuynge of a staffe / and in the yere of our lorde a.M.a hundred &.ix. full of good werkys / he went to our Lorde the .xi. kalendas of Maii / and lyeth at Caunterbury.

¶De sancto Audoeno ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt audowen was archebusshpe of Roane / & after he was chosē / he wolde not p̄sume anon to take it vppō hym / but went fyrste into Spayne / And there prechyd to the people / and by his prayer they hadde abundaūce of Rayne that were before .vii. yerys w ^toute / And he went to our Lorde the .ix kalendas of september / and was buryed in Roan / And .xxx. yerys after his body was found vncorrupte / And in the tyme of kynge Edgare foure clerkys came to his courte / And tolde hym that they had brought w ^t them the Relykys of seynt Audoen / And when he doubtyd / and marueylyd therat they sayde without it appere by Myracles that it is soo let theym be punysshed / and put out of the Realme / and the Kynge sayde that it belonged to Spyrytuell examynacyon / and not to hym / And bad them tarye tyll the Archebusshope odo came / And whā y ^• Archbusshop came y ^e [Page] Clerkes ꝑseuered in that oppynyon / and prayde that it mought be tryed by y ^e shewynge of almyghty god / And so a Lepour was brought furthe / & with deuoute prayer the Archebussope made a Crosse ouer hym with Bones that they brought / And anon he was hoole / and a man syke of the palsey with y ^e hede / and with deuoute prayer made in the name of seynt Audoen was also made hoole And so y ^e relykys with great honoure were had to Caū terbury / and the sayde clerkys seynge y ^e place were made Monkes & they endyd theyr lyues in y ^e seruyce of our Lorde and of seynt Audoen / & in his Lyfe be many notable thynges of his vertues counceyles / and myracles.

De sancto Augustino episcopo & confessore.

SEynt gregory sawe englysshe Chyldrē to sell at Rome & when he had lerned y ^t they were callyd Angli / & y ^t they were not Cristened / he sayde it was great pyte y ^t the spyryte of Derkenes shuld haue so feyre People / for he sayde they were well callyd Angli / quasi angeli / And so he had great desyre to haue prechid y ^e seythe to them hymselfe but y ^t the people of rome wold not suffre hym to go so ferre / & therfore whē he was made Pope he sent seynt Augustyne & many other into Englonde as he had lōge desyred / & they toke w ^t them interpretours out of Fraunce / and they landyd in the Ile of Tannet / and Ethelbertus was then kynge in Kent / and he had maryed a Lady of the Kynges blode of Fraunce which was Cristened / And whē they shuld mete y ^e Kynge they brought before them a Crosse and an Image of our Lord / And when seynt Augustyne had made a lōge sermon to y ^e Kynge / of the power of our lorde / of his passyon [Page vii] / and resurreccyon / & of the entent of theyr cōmynge that it was to haue hym forsake Idollys / and beleue in our lorde / and so to come to an euerlastinge kyngedom / the Kynge fayde bycause they were come fro farre countres to shewe hym that they thought was best / he wolde receyue theym fauorably / and mynystre to theym suche as they neded / but as to chaūge his beleue / that his auncestoures had so longe kepte / he wolde take respyte therein / and so he appoynted theym a lodgynge in Caūterburye / and gaue theym lycence to conuerte as many as they coulde / and after the Kynge seynge theyr blessyd lyfe / & Myracles that they dyd / was conuerted / And seynt Augustyne was made archebusshope of Caunterbury / of the Busshope of Arelatense / and anone seynt Augustyne sent to rome to seynt Gregory certayn interrogacions wherto seynt gregory answered at great lēgth as ī y ^e Legēde apperyth / & also seynt Gregory wrote dyuers goodly Epystles to the Kynge ethelbert to the quene / to seynt Augustyn [...] & to seynt mellyte / & amōge other thynges he dispraysyth moche the vse in some contreys that women do not norysshe theyr owne Chyldren / and exorteth theym to do it / and seynt Augustyne with the helpe of the kynge Ethelberte had a great metynge with the Busshopes / and clergye of Wales / to refourme the tyme of kepynge of Estre / & dyuerse other thynges that they vsed agaynste the good ordre of the Churche / and to ha [...]e theym charytably by cōmon assent / mynystre the worde of god to the people / and they Refused / and whenne Seynt Augustyne hadde helyd a blynde Man in prouynge that theyr Tradycyons were not good / yet they toke lōger respyte to a nother day / & at y ^t day they retourned w ^tout makynge accorde / by cause seynt Augustyne [Page] rose not to them when they came which they Iudged to be of pryde / and many of the famous monasterye of Bā gor wherin were .xxi. hundred Monkys were there at y ^t day / wherfore moch parte of thē were after destroyed by Ethelfrydus kynge of Northamhumbre a pagā bycause it was shewyd hym they came to praye for a Kynge y ^t was his enemy / And seynt Augustyne went to yorke on foote to Preche / & there he helyd oon of the Palsey / and there he cristened aboue .x. thousande people / And as he went fro thēs he helyd a lepoure / at Cerne in dorset shyre our Lorde apperyd to hym / And famylierly spake to hym / and conforted hym and sayde he was with hym in all that he dyd / and in the place where our Lorde stode he sette his staffe / and there sprange vppe a fayre Welle whenne he was at Cumpton in oxforde shyre it was shewyd hym y ^t the lord there wolde not pay his tythes / & after as he was goynge to masse / he cōmaūded y ^t no man accursed shulde abyde within the Churche / And anon a deed Body arose and went into the Churcheyarde / and seynt Agustyne went to hym and askyd what he was / & he sayde he was somtyme Lorde of that maner / and because he wolde not pay his tythes / he was Accursyd by the Curat / and so he Dyed / And anon the curat by commaundement of seynt Augustyne rose / and there assoyled hym / & so they fell agayne to Asshes / & when he that denyed payment of his tythes had seen this / he fell downe to the foot of seynt Augustyne / and confessyd his offē ce & euer after was discyple to seynt Augustyne / he went alwayes on foot somtyme barefoot / and with longe knelynge he had great calles on his knees / and in his tyme kynge Ethelberte made seynt poules Churche in Lōdō [...] he made two Busshoppes oon at London & anoder at [Page viii] Rochester & he went out of this world the .vii. kalendas of Iune & lyeth at Caūterbury / & he was translatyd in y ^e yere of our Lorde god a.M.lxxxxi. the thyrde day before the natyuyte of our Lady.

¶De sancto Bartholomeo monacho.

SEynt bartylmew was borne in the prouynce of whithe / and in his youth he sawe w ^t his bodelye eye our Lady / seynt Peter & seynt Iohn̄ euāgelyst / & our Lady with a plesaunte countenaūce bad hym kys the steppes of her sone and aske of hym mercy / and whē he lay ꝓstrate / and cryed thryse haue mercy on me / our Lorde answeryd I haue mercy on the / and for euer shall haue mercy on the / and after he entred into relygyon at Duresme / And as he knelyd before the crucyfyx he sawe in spyryte the crucyfyxe bowe downe to hym / and take hym in his armes & kysse hym / And he lyued in grete humilite / & obedyence / & suche werkes of god as other Bretherne dyd forgette or coulde not doo he wolde perfourme for he wolde sey that oon Brother shuld euer helpe fourthe a nother / And after by monycyon of Seynt Cuthberte he wente to the Ile of Pharnense / for that place he sayde was ordeynyd for hym of God / and there he lyuyd a Strayghte / and Blessyd lyfe many yerys And a lyfe of great exaūple in his dyet Fastynge / Prayenge / and in his apparell / And he was of suche reuerence / and goodly demeanoure that Ryche proude men were aferde to appere afore hym / And at his desyre wolde [...]ote tymes cease fro hurtyng of poure men / And he was full of Charyte to syke men / & poure men & alwaye coū ceylyd theym to lede theyr lyfe in Pacyence the Deuyll hadde great malyce to hym / & apperyd to hym somtyme [Page] lyke a Lyon / lyke a Bulle / or lyke an Ape / and ones he laye so heuy vppon hym and helde his Throte so harde that he had well nere fayled vnder hym / and as he cryed oure Lady helpe / he was delyuered / And he was wonte to saye that the wycked spyryt was but frayle / and lyke Smoke and soon wolde be ouercōme / And on a nyghte he sawe seynt Cuthbert come vysybly to the Aulter / and make hym redye to saye Masse / And he helpyd hym to Masse to the ende / And the Ile of Pharnense is full of Byrdys that be callyd seynt Cuthbertys Byrdys / And one of theym hadde loste her Byrde in a Rocke / and she came and pullyd seynt bartylmewe by the Skyrte / and ledde hym to the place / And soo he toke out the Byrde / and anone they wente into the water / and he knewe the tyme of his Deth .ix. yere before he Dyed / And he dyed on mydsomerday / & lyeth in the Ile of Pharnense. &c.

¶De sancto Benedicto cognomento Biscop.

SEynt benet Byscop was of noble Blode of Englonde / and hadde great possessyons geuyn hym by Kynge oswy which he refused / and entred into Relygyon in the Ile of lyxmense / and whenne he had ben there .ii. yeres / he wente to Rome / and came agayne with Seynt Theodre whenne he came into Englonde / and broughte with hym many Relykys / And after he made. two Monasteryes / one of Seynt Peter / and anoder of Seynt Paule where venerable bede was broughte vppe / And he was Mayster to venerable Bede / and fyue tymes he was at Rome / and alwey retournyd with moche Rycheses of heuenly thynges / and he studyed alway to prophyt theym that were vnder hym / both in werke & [Page ix] exaumple / And he yeldyd vp his spyryt to our Lorde the day before the Idus of Ianuary / the yere of our Lorde seuyn hundred and thre.

¶De venerabili Bede p̄sbitero.

UEnerable bede was borne in Gyrwence a lytle fro y ^e ryuer of Tyne / And he was brought vpe vnder seynt Benet Busshope in the monasteryes that the sayde seynt Benet made by the Ryuers of Tyn and were / And after he had attayned great cūnynge in lyberall scyence he gaue hym to study of scrypture And he lernyd Greke / and Latten tonge of the discyples of seynt Theodre / and seynt Adryan / And as he encreasyd in cōnynge and wisdome / he encreasyd also ī the drede of our Lorde / And amonge .vi.C. Bretherne that were in bothe monasteryes what so euer any of theym had in vertue it was hoole in this blessyd man / & in the .ix. yere of his age he toke Dekon / and at Thyrty prechyd of seynt Iohn̄ of beuerlay / and all that tyme he gaue study to Rulys of his Relygyon and to Scripture / and was alway Redynge / Wrytynge / or Techynge / And many came to hym to be assoylyd of doughtys in Scrypture And those that myght not come sent to hym by Wrytynge / And his fame was spronge soo farre that it came to Rome / And the [...] wrote to his Abbotte coylfryde to sende hym to Rome to assoyle certeyn doughtis there in Scripture / but whether he went or not it was not exp̄ssyd / And .vii. wekes before his deth he had great desease in his stomake / and drewe his breth thycke & notwithstō dynge he lost not his study / And all that tyme besyde his duty he sayde dayly certeyne deuocyons / And he askyd [Page] of our Lorde that he that had geuyn hym grace to ha [...] cunnynge & vnderstondynge of his wordys / y ^t he wolde geue hym grace to come to the euerlastynge welle of cū nynge in heuyn / And thanne he teurned to his bretherne and sayd to them that he couetyd to be dissoluyd & to be with our Lorde / And prayed them if he had any thynge laboured for them / or prophytyd in any maner to y ^t churche of god that they wolde therfore haue hym in remembraūce in theyr prayers and lyuynge / vppon heere with hooll mynde / & mery Countenaunce he made a specyall Prayer to y ^e holy Goost / And as he sayd (Gloria patry & Filio et spiritui sancto) with y ^e namynge of y ^e holy Goost he yeldyd vp his spyryt the .vii. kalendas of Iune with so swete a Sauoure that all that were presente thoughte they had byn in paradyce / And lyeth nowe with the Bodye of Seynt Cuthbert / And in the legende appere two causes why he was callyd venerable Bede / & not seynt Bede that for shortnes be here omytted / And some men adde therto a nother cause that his om [...]lyes were of such Auctoryte that they were redde in his lyfe / And then he was callyd venerable Bede / And not seynt Bede for it hadde not ben cōuenyent / And so that name that he had geuyn hym in his lyffe cōtynued after his deth. &c.

¶De sancto Benygno ep̄o & confessore.

AFter seynt Benygne had ben many yerys a Busshope in Irlande he was warnyd by an Aungell that he shuld leue his owne Coūtrey And lyue in Deserte / and soo he lefte Irlonde / and came to Glastonbury / And there he founde seynt Patryke / & he bad hym goo forthe and set his staffe in the grounde [Page x] and if it were y ^e place that was appoyntyd for hym by oure Lorde it shulde growe / And soo he went fourthe with one Chylde / and came into the Ile of Ferramoure And there he sette his staffe in the Groūde which grewe and bare leuys / And that place lackyd water / And as y ^e chylde was fettynge water farre of and slepte by the way the deuyll stale away his vessell / Wherfore when he awoke he was very heuy / And chargyd hym that had takyn it awaye in the name of god whom his Mayster benygne dyd worshyppe / that he shuld brynge it agayne / And thē y ^e Deuyll had no power to kepe it ony lōger but brought it agayne / And when his Mayster harde therof he prayde hertely to our Lord / and an Aungell apperyd to hym and bad hym sende his Chylde into the Eest parte of his Celle / and byd hym sette his staffe in the grownde / and he shulde haue water / and soo he dyd and hadde Water in suche habundaunce that a Ryuer is rysen therof where was none before / And he mette with the Deuyll on a Brydge / and askyd hym what he dyd there / And he sayde he came to deceyue hym and he toke hym / & with his staffe all to bete hym / and after he threwe hym into a depe Pytte where to this Daye no man dare come / for it is sayd it hath no bottom / & he shewyd y ^e Bretherne y ^e very houre of his deth and in theyr handys lyftynge / vp his eyen into Heuyn / he yeldyd his sowlle to our Lorde the thyrde nonas of Nouembre / And in the yere of our Lorde a thousande foure score & aleuyn his body was takyn vppe & borne to the Churche of Glastonbury / And the Abbot with one of his Bones blessyd the people and dyuerse of theym were helyd of theyr diseases.

[Page]

De sancto Bernaco abbate & confessore.

SEynt bernake was of noble Blode & fro his you the kepte the commaundementys of God / And had great Ryches whiche he forsoke and wente to Rome / and there by his Prayer he dystroyed a cruell Monstre that had dystroyed moche people / And when he began to be moche magnyfyed of the people he withdrewe hymselfe pryuely and came to lytle Brytayne and there dyd many myracles / and eftsones eschewynge the prayse of the worlde he came alone to the Seesyde / and when he founde no Shyppe redy he cōmytted hymselfe to our Lorde / and vpon a stone he came ouer the See in to Northwales and there he droue away wicked spryrytys fro a place that he enhabyted in the whiche afore his tyme was inhabytable / And he punysshed his Body w ^t great fastynge ofte / vigyllys / and sharpe Clothes / And that he kepte fro hym selfe he gaue to poure men / He made somtyme Hartys to drawe in the chare / And a wulfe to kepe his Cowe / And on a tyme when his Cowe was taken away by the kynges commaundement the water y ^t she shuld haue ben soden in wolde in no wyse be hoote wherfore the kynge came to hym on his bare feet / And asked forgeuenes And he forgaue hym and afore them all reysyd the Cowe agayne / And for the Kynges souper of water he made wyne / and of stonys Fysshe / And in y ^e mornynge the Kynge discharged his place and all therto ꝑteynynge fro all exaccyons And he went to our Lorde the .vii. Idus of Apryll.

¶De sancto Birino ep̄o & confe [...]ore.

[Page xi]SEynt birine was made Busshope by [...] honoryus and wassente into Englonde to Preche the worde of god in tho partyes where it hadde not ben prechyd afore / And when he was on the see he remembred that he had forgotten behynde hym his palle y ^t he was wonte to mynystre the blessyd sacrament vppon And so he armyd hym selfe with faythe / and went out of the Shyppe into the see & went vpon the water / & fet his palle & came agayne to the Shyppe & foūde it standyng styll vnto his cūmynge agayne which before went a grete course / And many in the shyppeseynge that Myracle were conuertyd. And so .xxxviii. yere after the cōmynge of seynt Augustyne he came into a porte amonge the people of the westsaxons that were then all Paganes / And there he helyd a woman that myght neytherhere nor see And cristenyd the Kynge kynegylfus and seynt Oswalde the Kynge that then was come into tho partyes to mary the Kynge kynegylfus doughter was his godfader & both the Kynges gaue to seynt Byryne dorchestre to make a Busshoppes see therin / And putte therin two Chanons seculers / And in the tyme of Wyllyam conqueroure that see was translatyd to Lyncolne by the Busshope remyge / And in the tyme of Kynge steuyn the Bussope Alexaunder put Chanons reguler into Dorchestre / and bede de gestys Anglorū wrytyth y ^t after so y ^t byryne had conuertyd moche people / & buylded many Churches he dyed & was buryed in Dorchester & y ^t he was after translatyd to wynchester by hedda the busshope / & thereupon was great sute bytwixte Wynchestre / & Dorchestre for his Body & the [...] [...]rote downe a Bulle to enquere the trouthe / And it apperyth not in the Legende what ende it toke / but it semyth to be the more ꝓbable oppynyon [Page] that he lyeth at Dorchester for it was prouyd that myracles had be doon in his name at Dorchester.

¶De sancto Bonifacio ep̄o & martyre.

SEynt bonyface was borne in Englonde / & whē he was but fyue yere olde / he wolde heresermōs and dylygētly enquere what shulde be prophytable to hym for the lyfe to come / And after he entered into Relygyon at huntstell / And there he opteynyd great lernynge in holy Scripture / and gaue all men exaumple of good lyuynge so that his name was spred ī all monasteryes / And vppon great delyberacyon he askydlycense of his Abbot to preche to paganes to cōuerte them to y ^e fayth / And after he went to Rome And there he was honorably reseyuyd of the [...] Gregory the seconde & was made Busshope / And after he cōuertyd moche people to the faythe in the countreys of Fryson / Turynge / Saxony / and Hesson / And diuersemen of Englonde he rynge his fame came out of Englond / and assysted hym moche in Wrytynge / Redynge / and Prechynge / And after he sent to Rome and made reporte to the [...] of that he hadde doon / And when he hadde Buyldyd dyuerse Monasteryes & Chyrches he went to Rome hymselfe w ^t a great Cumpany of dyscyples and there moche people cam to here his doctryne / And Charlemayne Kynge of Fraunce made hym after Busshope of Magunce / And anon he destroyed Heresyes there / And enducyd y ^e People to kepe the synodales after the Lawe of the Church [...] whiche afore his tyme were in tho partyes nyghe forgo [...] [...]on he wrote a Letter to Ethelbalde kynge of Englond praysynge hym moch in that he was a great geuer of ab [...] [Page xii] [...]es / And y ^e he punysshed offenders / louyd peace / & defē dyd Wydowes & Orphanes but that he lefte his Wyfe & lyuyd in aduoutry / He reprouyd hym moche / & shewyd hym exaūples of dyuerse Kynges y ^t for y ^• vyce were greuously punysshed of almyghty god / & the sayd ethelbald bycause he folowed not his Counceyll was slayne by a Tyrant / and was buryed at Repyngedon̄ / And when saynt Bonyface was of great age he lefte his Busshopryche to lullo a man of approuyd maners & sheuyd hym that his tyme of Resolucion out of this worlde drewe nere / And anon after he went into y ^e coūtrey of Frysons / & there he cōuertyd many thousand is of people / And buyldyd Churches / and made a Monasterye & ordeynyd to them a Busshope / And on a tyme as he with his company was lodged in a Medowe in tentys Theuys supposynge them to haue moche Ryches murdered them / and for theyr stufe the theuys daryed so y ^t one of them kyllyd another / And at laste a fewe that were lefte a lyue lokyd in the Fardellys & founde nothynge but a fewe Relykys & Bokys / And lullo brought his Body to a Monastery that he had made a lytyll fro Magunce / he dyed in y ^t nonas of Iune / in the yere of oure Lorde god seuen Hundred .lv.

¶De sctō Botulpho abbate & cōfessore.

AFter the sanxons had cōquered this realme of Englonde / and after y ^e Faythe was somwhat receyuyd but that it was moche grosely / many noble men of Englonde sente theyr Chyldren into olde Saxony to be more fully Instructe in the Feythe & in Holy conuersacion / Amonge whome Botulphe and [Page] his broder adulphe were sent thyder which anon sought for a Monastery / and entered into Relygyon where bothulphe amonge parfyt men was reseyuyd to be a mayster / And after he dysposyd hym selfe to cum agayne into Englonde / And .ii. Systers of the Kynge of South englonde / which were also sent into those partyes to lerne vertues sent by Bothulphe to the Kynge theyr Broder / And desyred that he shulde gyue to Bothulphe a certeyn grounde to buylde a Monasterye vppon / And he agreed therto / And so he buyldyd a Menasterye in a deserte callyd Ikanhoo which then was full of wyckyd spiritys / And by his prayers & with the sygne of the Crosse he droue theym all away / And anone he gaderyd dyscyples / and that he had lernyd by yonde the see he shewyd to his dyscyples dylygentlye / He hadde no pryde nor frowarde maners but in all thynge he was humble / & meke he dyd many Myracles in his Lyfe / And he had the spyryte of prophecye / and shewyd thynges y ^t were to come as though they had ben paste / And when he was sykelyke Iobbe he was pacyent euer spekynge for the helth of soulys / & of y ^e Ioyes of heuen / And admonysshed his bretherne to obserue the rule of theyr relygyon and he went fro the Pryson of this Lyfe the .xv. kalendas of Iune / & was buryed in the Monastery that he had made which after his Deth was destroyed by Danes / And after a p̄ ste by commaundement of seynt Ethelwolde wolde haue takyn vppe his Relykes / and they wolde not remoue tyll he toke vppe also y ^e relykes of seynt adulphe / and the hed of seynt Botulphe was sente to Ely and his Bodye with the bodye of seynt Adulphe were had to thorney.

¶De sancto Bregwino ep̄o & cōfessore.

[Page xiii]SEynt bregwyn was borne in saxonye & he was chosen of god in his moders wombe / And for loue of the great lernynge that fro y ^e tyme of seynt Theodre flowryd in Englonde / he lefte his owne Countre & came into Englōd / And anon he prophyted moche in holy Techynge & heuynly wisdome / And at last forsakynge this deceytfull Worlde / he assocyatyd hym selfe to a college of Monkys / and he was Busshope after seynt Cuthbert / And shone soo clere in vertuous werkes that euery man myghte se in his steppys the wey to lyue vertuously / And y ^e thyrde yere after he was made Busshop he went to heuyn the .vii. kalendas of Septēbre / & lyeth at Caunterbury / A man without reuerence set his corne vppon seynt Bregwyns toumbe / and anone it was throwen a good space of / And the seconde tyme it was sparkled all the pauement wherfore his shryne was after had in more reuerence / And a lame man that went of all foure at his toumbe was made hoole.

¶De sancto Brendano abbate.

SEynt brendane was borne in the weste parte of Irlonde / And his Moder when she was w ^t chylde w ^t hym sawe her bosome full of shynyge gold And hyrtetys Shynynge with a merueylous bryghtnes whiche vysyon Ercus the Busshope enterpretyd to sygnyfye that she shulde bere a Chylde of great holynes And in the nyght when he was borne Ercus the Busshope sawe all the prouynce illumyned with a great lyghte And aungells fleynge aboute in whyte vesture / And the Busshope nourysshyd the Chylde / and brought hym vp in holy lernynge & as y ^e Busshope & the Chylde were together [Page] a man came faste rennynge for fere of his enem [...] es / And the chylde bade hym goo to a stone therby & fe [...] nothynge / And whan his enemyes came they stroke the stone takynge it for the man / & the man for the stone / and when they knewe the meruaylous werke of God therin they toke penaunce / & to theyr deth lyued with the Busshope Laudynge / and praysynge our Lorde / And after seynt Brendan shewyd the Busshope that he wolde goo lerne the Rulys of the holy Faders of that Ile / And the Busshope assentyd thynkynge that that mocyō came of our Lorde / And whē he had byn with a nother holy Busshope an Aungell bad hym wryte a Rule / and soohe dyd whiche contynueth to this day / And after he lefte y ^e worlde / and was Fader of .iii.M. mōkys / and he made .xiiii. Rulers ouer theym / and lyuyd hymfelfe in an Oratorye with them / and after he saylyd many longe wayes in the See / and escapyd many peryllys in that iourney by the speciall assystaunce of our Lorde / and when he had ben fourthe .vii. yere he retournyd agayne to his Monastery / and there his staffe was leyde vppon a Chylde that was deed / & after .iii. dayes he rose agayne to lyffe whē .ii. kynges varyed / & entendyd to haue destroyde others cuntrey & by his entreatyce wolde not ceace by his prayers they were made in such case that they coulde not goo out of y ^e place where they were / wherby they knewe theyre defaute / and lefte theyr enterpryse / And he went oute of this Worlde full of good Werkys / and great Myracles the .xvii. kalendas of Iune / at cluenarca.

¶De sancta Brigida virgine.

[Page xiiii]SEynt bryde was borne in Irloude / & her moder when she was with Chylde with her was solde in bondage to a wiche and she caste vppe all the mete that she reseyuyd of the wyches / And he perceyuyd it & sayd that he was vnclene / and that the Mayde was full of y ^e spirit of god / and coulde not take his mete / and so he gaue her a Cowe of her owne with whose Mylke she was fedde / She was full of Pyte / & hadde great cō passyon to pore men and gaue all that she had to theym in Almes in her youth she gaue Butter to pore men / And whenne the wich which was her Mayster was angrye therwith by her prayer it encreasyd agayne / And he seynge that / was conuertyd and gaue her .xii. Kyne / and made her free / and sent her to her fader & after her fader thoughte to sell her agayne bycause she gaue pryuely to poure men all that she myghte gette / And offerd to selle hyr to the Kynge / And when the kynge askyd of her why she gaue awaye her faders swerde / she sayde she had geuyn it to our Lorde / and if he askyd of her the Kynge & her father both / she sayde she wolde gladly gyue theym both vnto hym / and then the Kynge gaue her aswerde to gyue her Father / She was euer ententyfe to a hoole clēnesse / & sobrenes / And euer encreasyd fro vtue to vtue And she prayde to our Lorde y ^t some deformyte myghte falle vppō her / y ^t no man shuld aske her in maryage / and anone [...]on of her eyen wente out / And when she was made a Nonne her eye was hole agayn / Certeyne Ale y ^t she made of a stryke of malte seruyd moch people all y ^e vtas of ester / she helyd Lepours men syke of y ^e Palsey / blynde obcessyd of deuyllys / a vgyn y ^t was blynde prayde seynt [Page] Bryde to blesse her eyen y ^• she myghtse / & she dyd so Aranon she had hyr syghte / & thē she prayde her to close her eyen agayne for the more y ^t a man is absent fro y ^e world the nerer he is to God / And then seynt Bryde closyd her eyen agayne / and on a nyght in frost & snowe whē other slepte / she went into a Ponde wepynge & prayde / And so she thoughte to haue perseueryd / but y ^t oure Lord other / wyse dysposyd / And she knewe when her tyme to passe out of this worlde drewe nere / And aboute y ^e yere of our Lorde fyue hundred and .xviii. she went to our Lorde in the kalendas of February.

¶De sancto Brythuno abbate.

SEynt brythune was borne in Englōd / and was Discyple to seynt Iohn̄ of Beuerlay many yerys / And for his holy Lyfe / and laudable cōuersacion he hadde hym in great famylyaryte before other / And he made him Abbot of deirwodde now callyd Beuerley / He was a Louer of vertues / and a persecutor of vyces / A dyspyser of the worlde / and desyrous of y ^e kyngdome of heuyn / and a dylygent instructour of the flocke to hym commyted a executoure of Iustyce and Pyte / A great gyuer of Almes / And a keper of Hospytalyte and redye to doo all thynges that he myghte please our Lorde with all / And he lyued in good Werkys vnto grea [...] Aege / And endyd his Lyfe in the Ious of Maii / and was Buryed in his Monasterye / And after the Clergy and the people seynge the great Myracles & Sygnys that our Lorde shewyd for hym by a comyn assent translatyd his Body / and leyde it by his mayster seynt Iohn̄ of Beruerley.

[Page xv]

De sctō Bertelmo heremita & confessore.

SEynt bartelyn was sone of the kynge of Kynge of the countrey of Stafforde / & he lefte his countrey and went into Irlonde / & there was in grete famylyaryte with a Kynge of Irlonde / And there by entysynge of the Goostly enemy / he gate the Kynges doughter with chylde and pryuely brought her into Englonde / And in a Forest she traueylyd where bothe she & the Chylde were kyllyd with Wolfes / which he accompted to be his defaute wherfore he dyd great penaūce many yerys / and the Deuylle temptyd hym to make of stone Brede / and to the contrary he made of Brede a stone that yet remaynyth at Bertesmesley / and after he wente with seynt Guthlake fro kependon / to Croulande & there he lyuyd with hym many yerys in great penaunce doynge / And when seynt Guthlake was goon oute of this transytorye Lyfe / And seynt Bertelyn hadde seen hym Buryed he retourned agayne to his Fader / And he gaue hym y ^e groūde where staff is now Buyldyd thē beynge growen with Busshes / & breerys to lyue therin a solytary Lyfe / but his fader knewe not that it was his sone / And after his faders deth a Kynge that enteryd the Realme by myght wolde haue takyn the grounde fro hym vnder coloure of lawe / and offerde to ioyne batayle therfore / And by an Aungell that was his champyon he defendyd it / and after that the Kynge and all the people louyd hym as theyr owne Father / And he aduoydynge tē porall honoure / Lefte that place and Lyued in Deserte placys in prayers & vygyll & endyd this Lyfe y ^e .v. Ious of September / And at Stafforde our Lorde hathe she [...]yd for this holy man many great Myracles.

[Page]

De sancto Cadoco ep̄o.

SEynt cadoke was sone to Kynge gūdlens / and before his byrthe there were seen in the Chaumber where is moder was .iiii. Laūpes at .iiii. corners of the Chaumber with a great lyghte / And when he was borne an Aūgell bad the Kynge take a holy Eremyte which on the morowe shulde come vnto hym to crysten his sone / And the same Nyght of his Byrthe all the Cellers were founde full of Oyle and Hony / And when he came to age in vyle habyt he vsyd to be at the Church And at nyghte he toke a lytell Brede and Water / and all that he had he gaue to poure men / And when he was desyryd to play he wolde go to the Churche and pray cryenge out of the blyndenesse of man that euer couetyd trā sitorye thynges / and forsoke thynges euerlastynge / seyinge that when the dredefull day of our Lord shall come laughynge shall be tournyd into waylynge / and waylynge into Ioye / This blessyd man was a man of great perfeccyon / And had synguler gracys of oure Lorde as in his Lyfe apperyth which be here omyttyd / he was thryse at Iherusalem / and .vii. tymes at Rome / And by the gyfte of our Lorde he spake in dyuerse langages / And by his prayer a Quene that was Barayne conceyuyd & had a sone that after was his successoure / by his prayers a great Derkenes fell aboute a Kynge that wolde haue dystroyed his Countrey so that the Kynge myght se nothynge / And when the Kynge repentyd hym the lyghte came agayne / He conuertyd moche people in Scotlande / & there reryd a gyant that had ben many yerys deed & was in Hell / His monastery was in wales .iii. myle fro conbrydge and as he was comynge fro seynt myghellys moūte in Cornewalle and was very drye / he strake his [Page xvi] staffe in the groūde & a fayre watersprange vp / & therby is a Churche buyldyd in honoure of his name / & after by the porueyaunce of god he was made Abbot of beneuen tane beyonde y ^• see / & he was sodeynly had thyder by aū gels / and there he was namyd sophye / And after he was made Busshope there / And as he was seyinge masse he was stryken to the deth by company of a Tyraunt that came to destroye the Cyte / and he had grauntyd to hym of our Lord that who so euerbeynge in trouble callyd to hym for helpe / our Lorde shuld delyuer hym / And soo he yeldyd his spirit to our Lord y ^e .ix. kalēdas of February.

¶De sancto Carodoco.

SEynt carodoke was borne in wales / and in his youth he went to Lernynge / & after he was in seruyce with the Prynce of south wales / & there he had the kepynge of two Greyhoundes / & for Lesynge of them the kynge thret hym with great Punysshement of deth / And then Carodokesayde he wolde serue a Mayster that wolde geue a better rewarde to his sernauntys And so he went to Landanense / and there he toke orders and after went to seynt Dauythys / and there he toke order of preesthod / and encreacyd fro vertue to vertue / the Deuyll on a tyme apperyd to hym vysybly in lykenes of a man / & he knew hym & feryd hym nothynge / & y ^e deuyll offeryd hym his seruyce / And he sayde he wolde none of his seruyce / And after he was in the prouynce of Rosence / at the Monastery of seynt Ismaell / & there the see by his prayers went fro the Monasterye a great space / and he knewe by reuelacyon as he was at masse y ^e certeyne daye of his Deth / & he dyed of the Ares in y ^e yere of oure Lord a.M.a.C. & .xxiiii. & is buryed at seynt Dauythis & [Page] many yerys after his body was founde vncorrupte / And when a monke of malmesbury of deuocyon wolde haue cut of oon of his fyngers for a Relyke / He closyd his hande and drewe it awaye wherfore the Monke ferynge askyd mekely forgyuenesse.

¶De sancto carantoco.

SEynt carantoke was sone to Kynge keredicus / And when y ^e people wolde haue made hym kynge he fled awaye rather folowynge the wyll of God thē the fauoure of the people / & a whyte doue wente before hym to a place where he made a Churche / after he went into Irlande for loue of seynt Patryke about .xxx. yere before seynt Dauyd was Borne / and he dyd many Myracles / And wyther soo euer he went / an Aungell in lykenes of a doue accompanyed hym / and Daylye / and nyghtlye he sayde Innumerable of prayers / And when he hadde conuertyd moche people in Irlande / he came agayne into his owne countrey at Keretyca / And there our Lorde gaue hym an Aulter that no man coulde tell of what Coloure it was / and he put it into Seuerne and badde it goo before hym thyder as oure Lorde wolde he shuld fynde it / And after at the desyre of Kynge arthour he kyllyd a Serpent / And the Kynge of his Aulter wold haue made a table / and what so euer he set appon it was caste a way / and then it was caste into the see / And there as it came vppe / the Kynge gaue hym the twelfyth parte of the grounde / and there he made a Churche / and after by monycyon of an Aungell he went agayne into Irlande / And there in great Age full of good werkys he went out of this worlde the .xvii. kalendas of Iune / and [Page xvii] is Buryed in a Cytie callyd chernac.

¶De sancto cedd episcopo & confessore.

SEynt Cedd / and thre other Prestys were sente by Oswy kynge of Northamhumbre with peada Kynge of mydle Englonde which hadde marryed his Doughter to Instructe hym and his people in the feythe / And the sayde peada was Crystenyd before / by the Busshope fynanus / And there seynt Cedd with his companye conuertyd moche people to the Faythe / & after he was takyn fro thens by kynge Oswy / And was sent to Sabertus / Kynge of Eest saxons to Preche the Feythe there / And when he had there conuertyd moche people he resortyd into his contrey / And there the Busshope Fynanus made hym Busshope of eest Englonde / And then he went agayne and gatheryd a great company of dyscyples / and taught them regular discyplyne as theyr rudenesse myght bere / And he resortyd ofte īto his coūtrey of Northamhumbrorum / And the Kynge there gaue hym a grounde to make a Monasterye whiche he callyd lestyngey / and he enfourmyd his dyscyples there after the manner of the Monasterye of Lyndyffernens that he was brought vppe in / And before he beganne the foundacyon he Fastyd / and Prayed that the Grounde myght be clensyd fro the olde synnes / And there he went to oure Lorde and lefte his Broder cedda Abbotte after hym / and it is not knowen what daye / nor what yere he Dyed.

¶De sancto Ceddaep̄o & confessore.

[Page]SEynt Chadde broder to seynt Cedd was dyscyple to seynt Aidā / And he was sent by Kynge Oswy to Caūterbury to be made Busshope of yorke / And bycause the see of Caunterbury was voyde / he was cōsecrate by wyne Busshope of westsaxons / For at that tyme there was no Busshope in all Englonge laufully made Busshope but wyne / And anon he gaue grete dylygence to Redynge / Prayinge / and in humylyte / & went on Prechynge in his dyocyse on Foot / and not on horsbacke / And when seynt Theodre tharchebusshope was sent frome / & sayd he was not duely cōsecrate / he answeryd mekely y ^t if he thought he was not duely cōsecrate he was cōtentyd to resygne / And he seynge his humylyte sayde he hought not to leue his Busshopryke / but rather to haue his eleccyon confermyd / And after he was desyred by wlferus Kynge of Marshlonde to be Busshope there and in Lyndesey and so he was / And he had a see in Lychefelde / and in a place two myle fro thens he was wonte to be ofte in Prayers / And the Kynge gaue hym a certeyne grounde in the Prouynce of Lyndesey where he made a Monastery callyd barwe he was full of the drede of god in soo moche that when he harde any contraryous weder he woldelye prostrate in prayer for hym and for the people for fere of Punysshement / for he callyd it a Thretnynge of God and feryd that punysshement shulde ensue / And a lytyll before his deꝑtynge oute of this worlde oon of his Dyscyples herde a swete voyce of Aungellys syngynge that cam fro heuyn downe to the house where seynt Chadde was in prayer / And they taryed there nyghehalfe an our & after they went agayne [Page xviii] to Heuyn / And the Aungellys shewyd hym that the .vii. Daye folowynge he shulde departe out of this worlde / And then he admonysshyd his Bretherne that they shulde kepe Loue and Peace amonge theym / and kepe the rulys of theyr Relygyon / and in the .vii. Daye whiche was the .vi. nonas of Marche as the Aungell hadde shewyd hym / he gaue vppe his soule to our Lord as the Aū gell had shewyd hym.

¶De sctō Claro presbytero & martyre.

IN the tyme of the gloryous Kynge Edmonde a man of orchester callyd Edwarde and his wyfe prayed to our Lorde with great deuocyon that they myght haue a Chylde that shulde be obedyēt to his wyll / And so they had a sone whome they callyd clare / & they instructyd hym in lernynge / And when he came to age they porposyd to haue maryed hym wherfore he fled ouer the see into Normandy / And there he helyd an Eremyte that was sore woundyd / and wente to a Monasterye where seynt odebert was / And after he was desyred by the Eremytys to shewe theym howe they myght saue theyr soullys / And he bad theym here the wordys of our Lorde y ^t seyed he y ^t wyll folowe me let hym forsake hym selfe take his Crosse & folowe me / & also loue thy Lorde god with all thy Hart & Mynde / & thy Neyghboure as thy selfe / And he sayd to loue God aboue all thynge is to withdrawe thy mynde fro all erthely thynges & to put all his hooll Entente besyly in oure Lorde / & after he wente aboute moch ꝑte of Fraūce and buyldyd a Monasterye [Page] at wicassyno / and there he lyued only with Rotys of Erbys / and after of malyce he was behedyd the .iiii. daye of Nouember / And he bere his hed to his Monastery / and there he lyeth Buryed where our Lord hath shewyd for hym many myracles.

¶De sctō Clytanco Rege & martyre.

SEynt clytanke was Kynge in south walys / and kepte Iustyce and peace amonge his subiectys And a virgyn that was Doughter to a myghty man Louyd the yonge Kynge / and sayde she wolde neuer be maryed but vnto hym / and oon of the Kyngys seruauntys kendlyd with the Fyre of lybydyousnes which carnally louyd the sayde damesell herynge that answere of malyce / as the Kynge was by a Waters syde in his prayers and deuocyon abydynge / a company of Hūters kyllyd hym traytorously / And when they wolde haue remouyd hym ouer the water his Body was so heuy that it wolde not remoue tyll by goodnes of our Lord it was hadde to a place that our Lord shewyd vnto them / And in the nyghte folowynge a Pyller of Fyre was seen ascē dynge fro his Toūbe to heuyn / where a Church is buyldyd in the honoure of his name.

¶De sancto Colfrydo abbate & confessore.

SEynt Colfryde was made Abbot in the monasterye of seynt Paule by the Ryuer of Tyne / And also in the Monastery of Seynt Peter .v. myle [Page xix] [...]o thens whiche were foūdyd by Seynt Benet byscop / And he was a man of great wytte / and great dyscressyon and feruent ī Loue of Relygyon / And by desyre of the Kynge of Pyctes he wrote an Epystell to hym of the tyme of obseruaūce of Estre for in tho dayes were dyuerse oppynyons therin / And also for the tonsure of Clerkys / And whenne the Epystell was redde before the Kynge and his Lordys it was of suche Prophytte Truthe / and profounde sentence / and soo hoole grundyd in scrypture that the Kynge knelyd downe / and thankyd our Lorde that hadde sente hym suche a werke out of the Londe of Englonde / And after moche Spyrytuall exercyse in techynge / Fastynge / and Prayenge in his decrepit age he went towarde Rome / And by the way at Lingonas he was buryed / He dyed the .vii. kalendas of octobre in the yere of our Lord seuyn hundred and syxtene / And in his Iourney dayly he sayd twyse y ^e Psalter besyde his houres canonycalle / And euery daye Masse excepte one day whenne he was on the See / And thre Dayes before he dyed.

¶De sancto Columba abbate & confessore.

SEynt columbe was borne of noble Blode in Irlande / And he came into great Brytteyne into y ^e Northe pyctes to preche to theym the worde of God the yere of oure Lorde fyue Hundred .lxv. And the south pyctys were before that tyme conuertyd by seynt Ninian / And whenne he hadde couuertyd theym to the faythe he made a Monasterye in the Ile of Hii / he was [Page] a man of Aungellys aspecte and of great Eloquence / he suffred no houre to passe but he was Prayenge / Redynge / or Doynge some good werkys / He had the spyryte of prophecye / and shewyd thynges to come / as thoughe they hadde ben paste / He was on a tyme accursyd wrongefully / And whē he came to the coūceyll seynt Brendan rose to hym / & dyd hym reuerence / & he was blamyd for that he dyd reuerence to a man accursyd / And he sayd he sawe a bryght Pyller of Fyre before hym / and Aūgellys accompanyenge hym wherfore the other began to Honoure hym / he sawe a great companye of blacke Deuyllys come to his Monasterye / And by his Prayers they were all dreuyn a waye fro thens / & they wente streyghte to a nother Monastery / and brought thyder Sykenes / and Pestylence / and kyllyd many / and Appuls that were Bytter by his prayer were made swete / his Face was oftymes seen veray bryght Shynynge / And on a tyme he was very mery countenauncyd / And anon very heuy / and by great instaunce he shewyd the that our Lord longe tyme before hadde promysyd hym that that Daye he shulde haue you to Heuyn wherfore he was gladde and by Prayer of odermen / and to prophyt to other oure Lorde shewyd hym that he shuld tary foure yerys lenger / wherfore he was Heuy and thre Dayes he was in a Chaumber without mete / and drynke / and was cōforted by Aungellys and harde there many great Secrecys of god shewyd vnto hym / and his voyce was somtyme herde farre of / that to theym y ^t were present was but smalle And he dyed in the Ile of Jona the .v. Ide of Iune / and in y ^e Monastery there he was buryed with great honoure / and many notable thynges be here omyttyd.

[Page xx]

De sancto Columbano abbate et confessore.

SEynt Columbane was borne in Irlande / And whenne he in his youthe hadde prophyted moche in vertue he entendyd to forsake the worde / And toke leue of his Moder / and his company / And his Moder wolde in no wyse assent to his goynge / but stoude on the Tbressholde / and Stoppyd his waye / And he sayde Moder haue ye not harde the wordys of our Lorde / that sey the he that louyth his Fader and Moder more thenne me / he is not me worthye / And anone his Moder wepte / and waylyd / and laye prostrate and sayde She wolde neuer assent / And he wente ouer Her and prayde Her be merye / and sayde She shulde neuer see hym agayne in this worlde / And so he wente to the Monasterye of Benechor / And there he was made Monke / And when he was .xx. yerys of age / He wente into Fraū ce / And there prechyd the worde of God / And he hadde meny Bretherne / and if any of his Bretherne hadde onythynge in propre / he shulde be put oute of theyr companye / and no man durste Speke to other a hasty worde soo that they lyuyd an Aungellys lyfe / And in a wyldernes callyd vosague he made a Monasterye / He made also dyuerse other Monasteryes in Fraunce / And in Almayne / And in some of theym as it is sayde they Amytte none but Irysshe men / Nyne yere he and his Bretherne hadde none other mete but Rootys / and Herbys / and then an Abbot by monycyon of our Lorde sente them mete / And a Monke that broughte it sayde if it be the wylle [Page] of god that they shulde haue it / the Horse shall goo to the Monasterye the streyght way without ledynge / & so he lette theym goo in the wyldernes at large and they went streyghte to the Monasterye of seynt Colūbane he was wonte to say that they y ^t seruyd oure Lord shuld not perysshe & so it prouyd / for oftymes when he & his Bretherne lackyd they had helpe of our Lord in so moche y ^t somtyme theyr barnys were sodenly fyllyd with Corne somtyme mete was sent sodēly / somtyme brede multyplyed / And somtyme Byrdys were sent sodēly fro heuyn y ^t none suche had ben seen / And for Iustyce he suffered great ꝑsecuciō / & he departyd this worlde aboute y ^e yere of our Lorde syx hundred & .xv. the .ix. kalendas of Decembre.

¶De sctō Cuthberto ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt cuthbert was a Kyngessone of Irlonde / And at his byrthe the House was full of a heuēly lyght wherfore a holy Busshoppe thankyd out Lorde / & desyred to haue the bryngynge vp of the Chylde / And after y ^e deth of the Busshop seynt cuthbert went with his Moder into Bretayne to Seynt Columbe and by the waye his Boke fell into the see and a Fysshe swalowyd it vp / And whan they landyd caste it vp to theym safe to Londe / And after his Moder lefte hym with two Busshoppes that were her bretherne in Scotlāde / and went to Rome / And the chylde in the nyghtys wolde be in prayer in a Hylle where he droue a waye the Deuylle with his staffe / And theyr steppys be seen there yet / And as he was kepynge Bestys on a nyghte beynge in prayer he sawe y ^e sowle of seynt Aidane had into heuyn & ther vpon he lefte the kepynge of Bestys & entryd into Relygyon [Page xxi] at y ^e monastery of maylros / where anon he was lyke to his felowys ī redynge / syngynge / prayenge / & workyng / & after in y ^e monastery of Rypō he was put into y ^e offyce to receyue gestys / & there he receyuyd an Aūgell as a geest / And anon he wesshed his feet / and gaue hym water to his Hādys / & wēt to fet hym brede & ar he came agayne the Aungell was goon leuynge behynde hym ī the House ameruaylouse swete sauoure / And thre louys of Brede which were whyte as a Lylye / And they sauouryd lyke Roses y ^t neuer noon suche had ben seen in y ^t coū trey / & fro y ^t tyme fourth he was oftymes vysytyd with Aūgellys / And whē he was made Abbot of lyndyffernē se oftymes he argued with his bretherne of theyr Rule & sufferyd somtymes Iniuryes of theym pacyently / But neuerthelesse he wolde a noder tyme gyue the same monycyon as he dyd before / tyll by lytell and lytell with sobrenes he brought them to reformacyon / He was a man of great pacyence / and hauynge troubles he neuer bere the more heuy Countenaunce / He vsyd suche cōtynuall knelynges / that he had great drusyd Flesshe vppon his knees / and he toke so lytyll hede to his Body / that some yere he chaungyd his Shone but ones / No man wente fro hym without comforte the sorowe that they brought went not with theym fro hym / And at a Coūceyle in presence of the Kynge / and of y ^e archebusshope Theodre he was made Busshope of Lyndefernens though he moch refusyd / But the Kynge on his knees desyryd hym to take vppon hym / And anon he defendyd the people to hym commyttyd with dylygent prayers and techynges / and as he taught he dyd / And at his departynge oute of the worlde he sussered great sykenes pacyētly / And venerable Bede was with hym in his sykenes / And he yeldyd [Page] vp his spyryte the .xiii. kalendas of Apryll in the yere of oure Lord syx hundred .iiii. score and seuyn / and .xi. yere after that he was Buryed his Body was founde hoole more lyke to be a slepe / then to be deed / and his senewys were flexyble and his Clothis vnhurte / And also in the yere of our Lorde a Thousand a hundred and foure / his Body was agayne foūde vncorrupte / And he lyeth now at Duresme in the latter ende of seynt Cuthbertys Lyfe is made mencyon of many Kynges in Englond that haue lefte theyr Kyngdomes / And some entered into Relygyon / some went on Pylgrymage to Rome or otherwyse made a blesyd ende as in the Legende apperyth.

¶De sctā Cuthburga regina & virgyne.

SEynt cuthburge was Syster to Ibe kynge of westsaxones / And alfryde Kynge of Northamhumber herynge the fame of her beauty & vertusent Ambassatoures to her Broder / desyrynge to haue her in maryage / And when her Broder had shewyd to her the message / she Answeryd that if she myght lyue after her owne Appetyte there shulde no Husbonde in all Bretayne please her / but she sayde she wolde not be dysobedyent to hym if he otherwyse ordeynyd lest it shulde be a dysobedyens to god puttynge her truste only in our Lorde and so she was maryed / And whan her Husbond & she came into the Chaūber / she shewyd hym her purpose of kepynge virginyte / and exortyd hym therto in such maner with such great charyte / & mekenes that he was therto cōtentyd / And so she lefte all pompe of the worlde and buyldyd a Monasterye in wymburne and there she punysshed her Body with fastyngys / and watchyngys / [Page xxii] and vsyd cōtynuall prayers / and was very meke to god and man / and in her monasterye she gatheryd many virgyns / And whenne she knewe that her tyme drewe nere to go out of this worlde she exortyd her systers to consyder desceytfulnes of the worlde / And with all dylygence to kepe theyr hert / for of that lyfe procedyth / And to loue all that our Lorde which is theyr spouse Louyth / and to hate all that he hatyth and to loue eche other / and alway to desyre the euerlastynge Lyfe / and when she had made theym a longe exortacyon she chaūgyd thys lyfe the day before the kalendas of September.

¶De sancto Cinigaro heremyta.

SEynt cinigar was sone to the Emperour of Cō stantynople / and to the Empryse lucyna / And when he shulde haue ben maryed to a great kyngys Doughter / he wente a way pryuely in poure apparell / And the Emperoure sent messāgers after hym / but our Lorde sauyd hym fro theym / And soo he came into Fraunce / and so to Englonde and with all his dylygens he entendyd to kepe a solytary Lyfe / and beynge in that porpose he came into somerset shyre / And by monycyon of an Aungell he came to a place now callyd Cūgresbury he were the heer / and dylygently kepte Fastyngys / & Prayers / and euery mornynge he stode in the water tyll he had sayd thre Pater nosters / And at .ix. of the cloke he refresshyd hymselfe with harley Breed / The kynge Iue gaue hym the terrytorye about Cungresbury / And there he made a tēple of .xii. Chanōs / & by reasō of his great Myracles there was suche great Resorte to hym that [Page] for his more quyetnes / he lefte that place / and went into Wales / And in a place shewyd to hym by an Aungell / he made an Oratory / and after he went on pylgrymage to Rome / & so to Iherusalem / And at Iherusalem he chaū gyd his Lyfe / And as it is sayde his Company brought his Body with theym into Englonge to cungresbury.

¶De sancto Dauyd ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt dauyd was sone to the Kynge of Nortwales / And his moders name was Nūnyta / And as seynt Patryke was in the vale of Rosyn where is nowe seynt Dauithis / An aungell apperyd to hym and sayd that that place was not ordeynyd for hym / but for oon that shulde be Borne .xxx. yerys after / And when seynt Patryke was therwith astonyed that he was soo abiectyd for oon not yet borne / an Aungell shewyd hym beynge in Wales all the lande of Irlande and tolde hym that in that Countrey he shulde suffre moche for our Lorde / And that our Lorde shulde be with hym in all that he dyd / And when the Chylde was Borne all y ^e place where he was shone with a great clerenes / And a stone at y ^e feet of Nonyta in her traueyle gaue place to her Feet as if it had ben waxe / And in y ^e same place a Churche is made / And when he was at scole his felawes sawe a Doue with a golden byll fleynge before his face / and Techynge hym / and he helyd his Mayster that was blynde / He made .xii. Monasteryes / and came to Glastonbury and made the churche / And with his blessynge puryfyed waters at Bath and made them contynually to be hote and holsome to be wasshed in / when brede poysonyd was seruyd to hym he Blessyd it / and gaue oon parte to a Lytyl [Page xxiii] dogge which strayghte way dyed / & a nodre parte he gaue to a Crowe which also Dyed / & y ^e thyrde ꝑte he ete hym felfe & had no hurte / an Abbot vpon a Horse that he borowyd of seynt Dauyd and trustynge on his Blessynge rode on hym ouer the See safe on a tyme whenne his dyscyples and he had sufferyd a great wronge / He sayd to theym that he that wyll serue oure Lorde shall suffre trybulacyon / but he may not be ouerome with euyll / but he muste ouercome euyll with goodnes / for he sayd if oure Lorde be with vs who shalbe agaynste vs / he wolde haue all his discyples laboure seyinge with the appostell he that wyll not laboure / shall not ete / and as they laboured they other prayed or thought some thynge plesaunte to almyghty god / and they lyuyd with Breed and Lekys / & toke Mylke for theyr drynke / & whē laboure was doon they wolde be Prayenge / redyng / or wrytynge / he wolde take no thynge of theym that shulde be resceyuyd amonge theym into Relygyon / and after by monycyon of an Aūgell he went to Iherusalem with seynt Thelyans and seynt Patrone / And there they prechyd agaynste the Iewes and strengthyd many in the faythe / And euery man vnderstode theym in theyr owne tonge / and there he was made an Archebusshope & y ^e patryarke gaue hym an Aulter / a staffe / a belle / & a cote coueryd with Golde wherby great Myracles haue bē don / And whē he was come home agayne / He was desyryd to Preche agaynste the Heresye of Pelagyen / and as he stode amō ge the people he had a Chylde that he hadde Reysyd by the way fro deth to Lyfe ley his napkyn vnder his feet & standynge therupon he began to Preche / And as he prechyd the grounde that he stoude on rose with hym lyke a Hyll wheruppon a Churche is buldyd / And by his prechynge [Page] the people were confermyd / And all the Clergye toke there doctryne at hym / And he was as a Father to all the people / And he knewe the verye Day of his Deth And at his departynge our Lorde apperyd vnto hym w ^t a great company of Aūgellys / And he sayde to hym Lorde take me with the / And so he wente with oure Lorde in the kalendas of Marche and he was Buryed at Seynt Dauythys / and oure Lorde hath shewyd for hym many Myracles bothe in his lyfe / and after his Deth / And foure hundred and .xxi. yere after his departynge out of this worlde his Body was translatyd to Glastonbury as in the latter ende of seynt Patryckys lyfe apperyth.

¶De sancto decimiano heremyta & martyre

SEynt Decymyan otherwyse callyd Dekeman was borne in the west parte of Walys and when he was paste yerys of Chyldhode he suffred not his mynde to be vagarant / But kepte it vnder discyplyne / And when his felowes wolde goo on hūtynge / he wolde goo to the Churche and pray / he sette not his pryncypall intent to great connynge / but to good Lyfe and contemplacyon / and after for that he moughte the more quyetly serue our Lorde / he thoughte to leue his Countrey / And soo he dyd and whenne he came to Seuerne he had no Shyppe to goo ouer / And vppon a borden of Roddys that he made / he came ouer into Englonde nygh to the Castell of Dorochester where was thenne a great wyldernes and there he lyuyd with Herbys / & Rootys [Page xxiiii] with Fastyngys and Prayer / and vsyd the heer / And y ^e lesse that he was vysytyd with men y ^e more he was visyted w ^t Aungellys / & a cursyd man for enuy that he had to his holy Lyfe stroke of his hed / and he toke vp his heed & bare it to a well that he was wonte to wasshe his Heed in / and there he was foūde and was buryed honorably.

¶De sancto Deusdedit archiep̄o.

SEynt deusdedyt was of the Countrey of Westsaxones in Englonde / His very name was Frythona but for his great merytys the people chaū ged his name / and caullyd hym Deusdedith that is god sent hym / And after the Deth of the Archebusshope honoryus / he was made archebusshope of Caūterbury / And he was a Louer of vertues / a destroyer of vyces / a dylygent sower of the worde of god / And was busy in prayers / fastyngys / and in gyuynge of Almes / And with grete studye laboured for the people cōmytted to hym / And after that he had takyn the Ordre of preesthode / he had alwayes his mynde fyxyd to our Lorde / and refresshyd poure men / Clothed the nakyd / vysytyd the syke / & had perseueraunt Loue to god / and to his neyghboure / and was full of the spyryt of wysdome / and mekenes / and y ^t that seynt Augustyne / seynt Laurence / seynt Mellytus iustus / & Honoryus succedynge one after a nother had begon / this Blessyd man by Prechynge / Admonysshynge / correccyō & hygh charyte more fully stablysshed / and whē he had brought all thyngys to good ordre in y ^e yere of our Lorde god syx. hūdryd .lxiiii. in the Idus of Iuly [Page] he went to our lorde / And lyeth at Caūterbury.

¶De sancto Dubry con ep̄o & confessore.

THe moder of seynt Dubryce had no Husbonde wherfore her Fader whiche was a Kynge in Wales perceyuynge her to be with Chylde in great woodnes caste her into y ^e water in a vessell of glasse / and as ofte as she was caste in / she was brought agayne safe to Londe / And thenne her Fader caste her into a great Fyre / and in the mornynge whenne they thoughte she had ben all to brent they founde her safe / and her sone newe borne in hir armys / and not one heer of hyr hurte / And the Kynge herynge therof sent for theym / And as he kyssyd the Chylde / & the Chylde with his Hande touchyd the kynges Face / anon he was made hooll of a grete desease that he had in his Mouthe / & when he was set to lernynge he prophytyd so moche therin & in good maners that men of great cūnynge came to here hym / amō ge whom was seynt Thelyans / Sampson / Aidanus / & many other / and after the Kynge made hym Archebusshope of the Cytie of Legyons / And in the yere of oure Lord .v.C. & .xii. he went out of this worlde / and now he lyeth at Landanense / & in his Legende be dyuerse goodly thynges of Kynge arthur of Stonthynges / and of dyuerse Myracles here omyttyd.

¶Desc [...]ō Dunstano archiep̄o.

SEynt dunstane was borne of noble blode of Englonde of the countrey of westsaxons in the tyme of Kynge Ethelstane in the whiche tyme the lyfe [Page xxv] of obedyence was lytell desyred / And the name of an Abbotskaresly knowen / seynt Aldelme archebusshop of caū terbury vncle to seynt Dunstane commyttyd hym to the kynge Athelstone / of whom he was moche cherysshyd / & somtyme he vsyd Prayers / some tyme Iudged causys of the people / And so he vsyd hym selfe that he dipleased no man that lyuyd well / As he was makynge avestemēt for a preest / his harpe without touchynge sownyd y ^e (antiphone gaudent in Celis) And though all the company thought it was by veyll cōnynge yet he toke it for a warnynge that it was the wyll of our lord that he shulde lyue a harder lyfe / And after certeyn malycyous persones by entysement of the Deuyll persuadyd the kynge to beleue that Dūstan dyd nothynge by the helpe of god / But by wichecrafte & so he lefte the courte / and went to his vncle elphegus Busshope of wynchester & there he toke order of preesthode / & was made Monke at glastonbury / and there as he was workynge in a forge the deuyll apperyd to hym lyke a woman to tempte hym / And he by spyryt knowynge who it was toke hym by the nose with his hote Tongys so sore that he cryed out so terrybly that it feryd all the Inhabytaūtys in the towne / The deuyll had great enuy to hym because of his blessyd lyfe / and he had suche especyall grace that he knewe euer in Spyryte the leest thynge that the enemy dyd / And euer he had the victorye / And he lyuyd .vii. Kynges dayes Athelstan / Ede [...] Edred / Edwyn / Edgare / Edwarde the martyr / & Ethel drede his Broder / he was in suche fauoure with Edrede that he preferryd hym aboue all Men in soo moche that there was nothynge doon in the Realme without hym & he dyd Iustyce and equyte in all the Realme / And after the deth of Edred he reprouyd Edwyn of his abhomynable [Page] auoultre wherwith the Kynge toke displeasure and banysshyd hym the Realme / and so he taryed in Flaunders all the dayes of Edwyn / and there he lyuyd a blessyd Lyfe in the Monasterye of Gandanense / And after the deth of Kynge Edwyn kynge Edgare brought hym agayne with great honoure / And after the deth of Odo archebusshope of Caūterbury elsynus which longe had labouryd for it / by corrupcyon of money was made Archebusshope / wherefore as he was goynge towarde [...]ome he dyed of Colde in y ^e snowe / And shortly after seynt Dūstane was electyd archebushope / And he fet his pall at rome / and the fyrste daye that he came home and was howselynge the people / sodeynly a Clowde came ouer y ^e Churche and a whyte Doue was seen descende vppon hym / And after on a tyme he came to Kynge Edgare & reprouyd hym for kepynge of a Nonne / And when the Kynge wolde haue had hym syt downe by hym / he sayd he wolde not be frēde with hym to whom our Lord was Enemy / And the Kynge herynge that was aferde / And anon knowlegyd his offence and askyd penaunce & forgyuenesse / And seynt Dunstane gaue hym in Penaunce that he shuld not were his Crowne of .vii. yere / and that he shulde faste twyse euery weke / whiche Penaunce the Kynge dyd / And after seuyn yere he were his Crowne agayne / whiche Penaunce doynge was great Ioye to all y ^e realme / And this blessyd man full of good werkys wente to oure Lorde the .xiiii. kalendas of Iune / And he was Buryed at Caūterbury / and after was translatyd to Glas [...]bu [...]y / And he prophycyd that great and longe Punysshement shulde falle vppon the people of Englonde by estraūge nacyons and that there in the ende of dayes the mercy of our Lorde shulde fall [...]ppon theym.

[Page xxvi]

De sancta Eauswida virgine & abbatissa.

SEynt eauswyda was doughter to y ^e Kynge son to kynge ethelbert Edbaldus / And fro her youthe she forsoke the pompys of the worlde / and enducyd her Fader to make her an Oratorye at Folkstan that she myghte in virgynyte serue our Lorde / And as y ^e oratory was in buyldynge / the kynge of Northamhumbrorū which was a paynym / desyryd to haue her in maryage and her Father counceylyd her therto / and praysyd the Kynge moche / And she sayd if he coulde in the name of his goddys make a beame of her Oratorye which was to shorte longe I nough she wolde assente to hym / if not she desyryd to be let a lone / And the kynge trustynge in his Goddes gladly assentyd / And when he hadde longe Prayde / all was in vayne that he dyd / and soo he went away with shame / And thenne the virgyn Prayed in the name of oure Lorde / And anone her Prayer was herde / and the Bame made longe Inoughe / And so the Kynge departyd / And by her prayer water came agaynste the Hylle fro a Towne callyd Swecton to her oratory / And it came by a noder Ryuer and yet Ioynyd not with it / foure Bretherne of great Ryches denyed to geue Dysmes to seynt Eauswyda / And after many yerys. iii. of theym were compuncte / and aduertysyd the .iiii. to goo with them to her sepulcre to doo penaunce / and make satysfaccyon / and he denyed it / And anon the Deuyll enteryd into hym / And soo his Bretherne bounde hym And broughte hym to her Aulter / And anone he was made Hoolle and Payed his Tythes / And she wente [Page] fro this present lyfe the day before the kalēdas of september And bycause her church was dystroyed with the see her bodye was brought to Folkstane.

¶De sancto Eata ep̄o & confessore.

WHen seynt Oswalde had opteynyd the kyngdomes of Deyre & Bernysshe / & had sent for seynt Aidan to instructe his people in the feythe of our Lorde / seynt Aidan toke .xii. Englysshe chyldren to Instructe whereof [...]ata was oon / which anon folowyd the exaumples & techynges of his maister And after he enteryd into Relygyon / and was made abbot of May [...]rose otherwyse callyd menrose / And thenne he shewyd to his Bretherne moo tokyns of mekenes and charyte then he dyd before / And he made many monasteryes / and gaderyd many dyscyples wherof seynt Cuthbert was oon / And after he was made Abbot of lyndyffernens that nowe is callyd the holy Ilonde / And after he was electyd Busshope of hagustaldēse w ^t great gladnes of all y ^e people he was busy ī prayenge / dylygēt in exortynge y ^e people / & ententyffe to geue Almes / And what soeuer he knew by the holy goost was to be don besyly / & deuotlye he wolde se it to be doon / And he endyd this lyfe of a sykenes callyd the Dyssentory by longe / and greuous contynuaunce / And lyeth at Hagustaldense / Thomas archbusshope of yorke wolde haue translatyd hym to yorke / And on the nyghte before he wolde haue trāslatyd hym seynt Eata apperyd to hym and tolde hym that he had attemptyd to do that that was not the wyll of our [Page xxvii] Lorde shulde be doon / And so he cessyd that enterpryse.

¶De sancta Ebbavirgyne & abbatissa.

SEyntebba was syster to Kynge Oswy / And she forsoke the worlde / and all the pleasure therof / & was made a Nonne of seynt Fynan Busshope of Lyndyffernense / and after she was Abbes of the Monastery of Coludy now callyd coldynghm .vi. mylys fro Berwyke / And it is enhabytyd with Monkys of Durham / And she made a noder Monasterye vppō [...] callyd Ebbcester / which was destroyed by Danes / And seynt Etheldred was her dyscyple / & though seynt Cuthbert fro his youth fledde the company of women as Pestylens / yet he wolde speke with this blessyd Woman / & tary with her to informacyon of her / and of her company certeyn tymes / And she went to our Lorde .iiii. yere before seynt Cuthbert the. viii. kalendas of September and was buryed in her Monasterye / And after her Monasterye was destroyed for synne & wretchydnes as it was shewyd to her it shuld be / And her Relykys were hadde to the Churche of our Lady / A yonge man that hadde a Bone in his Throte wasshyd his throte at her well and receyuyd helthe / And wiste not where the Bone became / she helyd dyuerse that were mute blynde obsessyd of Deuyllys / and of dyuerse other diseasys.

¶De sancta Edburga virgin [...] & martyre.

[Page]SEynt edburgh was doughter to Kynge Ethelbert and she was great graūtmoder to Seynt Myldrede / And after seynt Myldredis deth she toke the rule of y ^e Monastery & was made Abbasse / and amonge the wauys [...]o the worlde she confortyd her selfe with holy scrypture / prayers / and geuynge of Almys / And all the pleasure of this worlde she dyspysyd / she reputyd Golde and Syluer but oonly for ornamentys of y ^e Churche and for other thynges / for deuyne seruyet as donge / And couetyd to be dyssoluyd / and to be with our lorde / And she endyd this lyfe in the Idus of december / And lyeth now at Caūterbury / she helyd a Chylde that was mute / & a these that toke wytnesse of her that he was not gyltye / And prayde god if he were that he shulde neuer goo ferther / Anon expyryd a wrytynge of hers after her Dethe was vnauysydly throwen into the Fyre with other scrowes / an it wolde not burne.

¶De sctā Edytha virgine & abbatissa.

SEynt edyth was Doughter to Kynge Edgare / And her Moder mulstrudys after she was borne enteryd into Relygyon at wylton / where she was made Abbesse / And Edyth beynge in kepynge of her moder / by assent of the Kynge Edgar her Fader also enteryd into Relygyon vnder her Moder / And she was moche mouyd and comfortyd therto by the blessyd [Page xxviii] lyfe of her Aunte callyd also edyth which in tho dayes lyuyd a blessyd Lyfe in Polles worthe / as she dyd at wyltō she was full of Pyte / and compassyon / and the more dyfformyte of sykenes that she saw in any creature the more charytable and helpynge she wolde be vnto hym / And vnder her vtter apparell that was sumwhat precyous she were the heer / And seynt Ethel wolde sayde vnto her that suche apparell was not the way to please her spouse And then she shewyd hym the trouche what she were inwardly wherfore he was gladde / consyderynge that all was oon purpure and sacclothe so that the mynde be clene / And after she was made ab [...]esse of thre monasteryes Wynton / Barkynge / and another / But she sent spirituell moders for her to euery place / and taryed her selfe in obedyēce vnder her moder / and seynt Edyth vsed alway whatso euer she dyd to make a Crosse [...]her forhede / and seynt Dūstane whē he came to halow a Church of seyn [...] nys that she had buyldyd / seynge her soo ofte make Crosses in her forhed prayde our lord that that thumbe shuld neuer rotte that made so many Crosses / And at y ^e masse he had knowlege geuyn to hym by our Lorde when she shulde dye / And he sayde the wretchyd worlde was not worthy to haue such a lyghte / And he was present at her deth / which was the .xvi. kalendas of october aboute the yere of our Lorde .ix.C. fourscore & .iiii. And she lyeth a [...] wyltone in the Church of seynt Denys that she had made / & .xiii. yere after her deꝑtynge she apperyd to Seynt Dunstan / and tolde hym it was the wyll of oure Lorde that her Bodye shulde be translatyd / And it was truthe / and no illusion / She tolde hym that he shulde fynde all her Bodye vncorrupte / as it was vncorrupte fro Lybydiousnes & Glotony / And that her Feet / Ieu / & Haudys [Page] which in her youthe she had mysusyd were corrupte excepte her thumbe that she had vsyd to Crosse her with / & he founde all as she sayde / A monke of Glastonbury boldly cut of a pece of her Cote / And it happenyd to touche her Body and the Blood folowed as if she had ben alyue And an [...]n he fell prostrate and wepte for his offence and when he r [...]se agayne the blod was go [...]n.

¶De sancto Edmundo ep̄o & confess [...].

SEynt edmonde was borne ī abyugd [...] [...]n seynt Edmondys day the kynge / and martyr / And after hym he was callyd Edmonde / hys Fader enteryd into relygyon / And his moder lyuyd a blessyd lyfe [...]he were the here & a haberieouvppon it / And she taught her sone to kepe vyrgyn [...]te and to were the heer / and e [...]ery holyday or he e [...]e he sayd the hooll [...]auyth [...]is Psalter And especyally he auowyd hymselfe to oure Ladye / he vsyd to Faste euery Frydaye Brede and Water / And he was so broughte vp in vertue that ī maner naturally he forsoke all euyll / our Lorde apperyd to hym lyke a chyld And (iesus nazarenus rex iudeorū) was Wrytten in his forhed / And after that tyme he toke in vse euery oure to remember sumwhat of the Passyon / as he was studyinge arythmetryke / his moder then latlye deed apperyd to hym and made in her ryght hand .iii. serklys / And wrote in theym the Fader / the sone / and the holy goost and bad hym fro thens forthe take hede of tho fygures / The herys of his hed and berde / for great abstynēce went away he wolde hexe no Seculercausys / He wolde make couenaunte with his seruauntys that they shulde be [...]lene of [Page xxix] theyr Bodyes / or departe his seruyce he had such honoure to holy scrypture that he neuer openyd the Byble but be kyssyd it / his olde herys if they were leyde in the Fyre wolde not burne / As he studyed in the nyght his candell fell vppon his byble and it burned not / And he was electyd Busshope of Caunterbury or he were ware / And he sayd but that he dred that he shulde haue dyspleasyd almyghtye god if he had refusyd he wolde neuer haue ass [...] tyd / he was all tymes redye to forgeue them that had offendyd hym / And to take theym agayne into famylyaryte / And some aboute hym sayde he gaue therbye occasyon to the people to offende hym / And he sayde our Lord dyd not resy [...]e / And seyde that the punysshement of offensys is to be referryd to hym and not to be doon by mā This blessyd man had great trouble & dyspleasure for y ^e lybertyes of the Churche wherfore he toke counceyle of other prelatys what was to be doon therin / And it was thought that he shuld admonysshe the Kynge / and other offenders to ceas [...] / And so he dyd / and the Kynge toke a day of aduysement / And at y ^t day no amendement was had and yet pacyently he taryed many dayes / And whē he sawe there was noon admendement he gaue sentence into other offenders / And sparyd the Kynge / And when he sawe that yet they were not compū [...]te / he thought better to geue place to theyr malyce then to do the streyghtnes of the lawe specyally seynge the [...] legate was then in Englonde and myght percase haue adnullyd all that he had doon wherfore he wēt ouer the see to pōtiniacum / And there he fell syke / And so he wente to fasyacum And promysyd to be there agayne at pontiniacum in the feest of seynt Edmonde Kynge & martyr / And so he was to be buryed and there he lyeth / And at his departynge [Page] he had suche great honour and feruour to the sacrament of the aulter that it may be exaūple to other men / At his toumbe Blynde men haue recoueryd theyr syghte / Lame men theyr goinge / dome men theyr speche / deffe men theyr herynge / Men obsessyd of deuyllys haue ben delyueryd / And deed men haue ben reysyd fro Deth to Lyfe / And in the yere of our lorde god a Thousande two hundred and fyftye. the monkes at pontynyacense cut of his Arme for what concyderacyon it is not knowen / and after the Myracles cessyd.

¶De sancto Edmundo rege et martite.

SEynt edmonde was borne in saxony / And was sone to the kynge Alcmunde whiche was of kynne to offa kynge of eest Englonde / And as kynge Offa hauynge no chyldren was goynge to Iherusalem / he went by kynge alkmūde / And there seynt Edmō de gaue hym suche dylygent attendaunce that he lykyd hym moche / And when he departyd he shewyd to Edmō de a Rynge / and bad hym if he sent to hym by y ^e tokyn / y ^e he anon shulde execute that he desyryd / And when Kynge Offa at the arme offeynt George fell syke to the deth he delyueryd the Rynge to his seruauntys / and bounde theym by an othe that they shulde delyuer it to Edmonde / And take hym with theym / And make hym kynge of [...]est Englonde / and so they dyd / And anone he was humble / & benygne to his subiettys goynge in y ^e veray ryght way of a Kynge / And was a fader to wydowes and orphanes / And to all men that were de [...]tytute a specyall re [...]uge and helpe / And after in the tyme of the persecucyon [Page xxx] of the danes for that he wolde not forsake the fayth of our Lorde he was taken by the Danes hunguar / and hubba and was bounde to a stocke and shot with arrowes so y ^t he was lyke to an Irchyn / And when they sawe that in all that marterdome he cryed vppon our Lord / they stroke of his hedde / and hyd it in a wood / And when the warre was sumwhat appesyd / crysten men sought the hedde in the wood / And asoon of them cryed to anoder where arte thou / the hed answeryd thryse here here here / and so it was founde / And a great Wolfe kepte it bytwyxte his Leggys / And so it was takyn vp and leyde to the Body And was buryed honorably / And after when his Body was remouyd he was founde vncorrupte / And his Hed was growen agayne to his bodye / And nothynge apperyd of the Cu [...]tynge but a lytell redde serkyll aboute his necke / After when swanus kynge of Danes destroyed y ^e Countrey / and blasphemyd seynt Edmonde and askyd a great Trybute of the people / they feryd moche / And a Monke that then was very deuoute to seynt Edmonde / went to seynt Edmonde wasshyd his body and kembed his hed as he had ben a Lyue / And prayed hym of Helpe And he spake to hym famylyarlye / and bad hym goo to swanus And commaunde hym in his name to ceasse / & when the monke had soo doon / and it nothynge auayled but y ^t he had moch a doo to skape with his lyfe / the same nyght the Kynge swanus was kyllyd amonge his people with seynt Edmondys swerde & no man knew howe Wherfore kunt that was swanus sone fro thensfourthe delt more mekely with seynt Edmonde / And made a dyke aboute his groūde dischargyd it of all trybutys / And made a Chyrche ouer his Body / and enduyd it with grete possessyons.

[Page]

De sancto Edwardo rege & confessore.

SEynt Edwarde was sone to kynge Etheldrede And for fere of the Danys he was sent into Normandye & there he wolde be ofte at the Churche in prayers / he was Chast of Bodye / trewe of dede / and of lytell speche / He wolde vysyt Monasteryes / and accō pany hymselfe with those Monkys that he sawe moost vertuous / And when he sawe howe he was destytute of all worldly helpe / his Father ded his Brother kyllyd his Moder maryed to his enemy with deuout prayers he cō myttyd hym hooly to oure Lord / And after the Dethe of Kynyte he was sent for and was chosen Kynge & enoyntyd with great gladnes of all the people / And anone all thynges were broughte in good ordre the Clergye dyd theyr dutye / the people dyd theyr duetye / and Monasteryes kepte theyr relygyon / He was neuer seen enflamyd with pryde or angre nor dyshonestyd with glotonye / He was neuer the meryer for gettynge of money / nor the soryer if he lost it / He sawe oon of his seruauntys stele his Treasure and yet he wolde not dyscouer hym / but after thryse cōmynge bad hym beware his stewarde / By coū cell of his Lordys he toke to Wyfe the doughter of goodwyn a Blessyd vyrgyne And they Lyuyd chast all theyr Lyues / At the tyme of Leuacyon he sawe the Kynge of Denmarke as he was commynge into Englōde to warre drownyd in the See / He repayryd the abbey of westmester / & newely enduyd it for Redēpcyō of his aduowe to Rome / He sawe y ^e Deuyll sytte vppon Money y ^t his coūcell had gaderyd of y ^e cōmōs / & he causyd it to be repayed / at westin our lorde shewyd hym selfe Bodely to hym at masse / and with his ryght hāde blessyd hym w ^t y ^e sygne of y ^e Crosse / As y ^e Kynge & y ^e Erle goodwyn sate at dyner the Erle prayde God that if he were Gyltye of the Dethe of Alerude the Kynges Broder that a pece [Page xxxi] of Breed whiche he entendyd to Ete shulde neuer goo thrugh hym / and the Kynge blessyd it / And anone as he wolde haue etyn it he was stranglyd therwith / And as they sate at dyner he dyed / He sawe the seuyn slepars turne theym on the lefte syde that longe a fore had lyen on y ^e Ryght syde whiche betokenyd great trouble to come in the worlde / seynt Iohn̄ euangelyst sent hym a Rynge by two Pylgrymes whiche he had before that ryme gyuen to seynt Iohn̄ in Almys / in lykenes of a poure man / And he sent hym worde that within syx monethes he shuld departe this worlde / and so he dyd / our Lorde shewyd for hym many Myracles in so moche that the water that he wasshyd in helyd many persones of dyuerse sykenes / all his dayes was full peace in Englonde / and Immedyatlye after his dayes rose great trouble / He dyed y ^e yere of our Lorde god. M.lxvi. the Daye before y ^e fyrste nonas of Ianuary / And he lyeth at westmester .xxxvi. yere after he was buryed his Body was founde vncorrupte

¶De sancto Edwardo rege & martyre.

SEynt edwarde Kynge / and Martyr was sone to kynge Edgar / And after his Faders deth by helpe of seynt Dunstane / & of seynt Oswalde he was made Kynge as his Fader commaundyd / But yet his mother in lawe Alfryth coueytyd to haue her Sone ethelrede Kynge / & as seynt Edwarde was Goynge to corffe Castell w ^t a smalle company to se his Broder ethel rede / & came by his moder ī lawe she offerd hym Drynke & causyd hym to be kyllyd traytorously as he was drynkynge the .xv. kalendas of apryll in y ^e yere of grace .ix.C. foure score & one / And in y ^e nyght folowyng a lyght cam into y ^e Chaūber where his body lay y ^t helyd a blynde woman y ^t kepte hym / And y ^t knowyn y ^e quene Alfrythe hyd [Page] his Bodye a yere in vyle placys / And by a bryghte beame that shone there as the Budye a laye / it was knowen & was takyn vppe & buryed at warreham by the people of that prouynce / And when his myracles were knowyn he was takyn vp agayne & was founde vncorrupte / & was buryed honorably with dyuerse Busshopes at the monastery of Septon / His syster Edyth and her Moder wulstrude beynge present / & as it is sayde the quene Alfryth for her penaunce made the Monasteryes of wharwell & Malmesbury / And enduyd them with great possessiōs.

¶De sctō Edwino rege & martire.

SEynt edwyn was sone to Elle kynge of Northā humbre and deire / And by Etherfryde that had maryed his suster Acca / he was put oute of his Realme / And soo he fled to rad wolde Kynge of eest Englōde / And what by threttys & promysse of rewardys he was lyke to haue ben delyuerd by Kynge Radwolde to his broders handys / And as he was in great Heuynes therfore / a man cam to hym & tolde hym if he wolde promyse to be cristened he shuld not be delyueryd to his broder but restoryd ageyne to his Kyndome / And when he had made promes to be crystenyd / the man set his ryght hand vppon his heed / and bad hym whē that sygne cam to hym not to dyffer to be cri [...]tenyd / and that doon he vanysshyd away / And so the kynge Radwolde chaunged his mynde and after kyllyd Ethelfryde in Batayle / and sette Seynt Edwyn in his Kyndome / And after the kynge Edwyn maryed Alburghe doughter to kynge Ethel [...]ert vppon condycyon y ^t he shulde nothynge doo to lette her kepe the cristen feythe & he assentyd / And seynt paulyn [Page xxxii] was assygnyd to be with her / And after the kynge of westsaxons vnder treason sent a messynger to the Kynge edwyn which with a venemyd Knyfe sholde sodeynly haue kyllyd hym / And when y ^e kynge was sauyd by meanes of a feythfull seruaunte of his that put hym selfe bytwene the Kynge and the stroke / The kynge prepayryd warre agaynste that Kynge that had wrought that treason / And promysyd seynt pawlyn if he spede well in that Iourney he wolde be crystenyd / & a doughter y ^t he had thē newely borne he comyttyd to our Lord & to be in y ^e kepynge of Paulyn / & he crystenyd her & callyd her eāfledā which was y ^e fyrste y ^t euer was Crystenyd ī tho ꝑtyes / & after he sped well in his Iourney & had the victorye & neuertheles he dyfferryd to be crystenyd / And the [...] Bonyface wrote a Letter to hym to exorte hym to it / & after seynt paulyn by spyryt knewe the tokyn aforesayd & leyd his Ryght hāde vppō his heed / & bad hym remēber y ^e tokyn / & then he sayd he wolde counceyle with his Lordys and so he dyd / And oon of theym sayd veryly thys feythe that we haue kept is of no vertue nor prophyt but veyne & the newe is y ^e better / and all the other were of y ^e same oppynyon And so the Kynge hymselfe dystroyed the Idollys and was crystenyd at yorke on Ester day / the yere of our Lord .vi.C. & .xxvii. And all the people folowyd his exaumple / And seynt paulyn was made Archebusshope of yorke And anon seynt Edwyn had such feruoure to Crysten Relygyon that he enducyd the Kynge of eest Englō de to be Crystenyd / And soo greatpeace was in his Realme that a Chylde myghte haue goon fro the oon See to the other withoute Hurte / and brasen Uessellys that the Kynge sette vppe at commen Wellys for ease of the people noo man durste take awaye. / And after he was [Page] kyllyd in batayle by penda kynge of Marchelonde / and cedwalla kynge of Brytons the .iiii. Ide of October in y ^e yere of our lorde .vi.C. and .xxxiii. And his Hedde lyeth at yorke in the Churche of seynt Petyr that he began / & seynt Oswalde his successoure perfourmyd it.

¶De sancto Edwoldo confessore.

SEynt Edwolde was broder to seynt Edmonde Kynge and martyr / And he was a deuoute folower / and very heyer of vertues to his Broder / He hard gladlye spirituall Doctyre / he worshyppyd the Churche / he helpyd the nedye / And had alway the pleasurys of the worlde suspecte / And by lytell and lytell he lefte the pompe therof cleerly / And he couetyd moche to kepe the lyfe of an Anker / wherfore when all y ^e people after y ^e dethe of his Broder wolde haue made hym Kynge he prayde to our lord to sende hym coūceyle / & it was she wyd vnto hym y ^t he shuld seke a sylue [...] well at which well he shuld fynde such a place as he desyred / but it was not she wyd hym in what countrey y ^e well was / And so he gaue all that he had to poore men / and pryuely lefte his coū trey / And when he had sought many prouyncys & coulde not fynde the sayde well / he cam to Septon and there a Shepherd tolde hym where he shulde fynde the Syluer well / And when he came thyder he set his staffe into the grounde / And therof grewe a feyre tre / and there he made a Celle / And hyred the shepherde to brynge hym thryse in the weke barly bredde / and somtyme mylke / & gaue hym for euery tyme .i. d. And bad hym neuer dyscouer hym / for if he dyd he shulde lose his rewarde / And after the shepherde dyscoueryd hym / And thenne when he [Page xxxiii] came to hym nexte / he gaue hym a peny and tolde hym it was y ^e laste that euer he shuld haue of hym / And when y ^e shepherde cam to hym the next tyme / he founde hym departyd fro this worlde / he dyed the .iiii. kalendas of september / And was buryed in his Celle .iiii. myle fro the Abbey of Cerue / And after he was hadde to Cerue by seynt Dūstane and seynt Ethelwolde / And with the water of his welle dyuers haue ben helyd of theyr dyseases

De sancto Egberto monachr [...].

SEynt Egbart was borne in Englonde / And he went into Irlande to the Busshoppes fynauus and colniauus to lerne cunnynge and good lyuynge as dyuerse other of Englonde dyd in tho dayes / And there in the Monastery of Rathemaell he was stryken with the pestylence / And when he thought he shulde haue dyed he began to remembre his lyfe past with many terys and great compunccyon for his synnes / And be sought almyghty god if it were his wyll that he myghte yet Lyue and make amendys for his neclygencys / And therupō for y ^e more restraynynge of his owne affeccyon he aduowyd y ^t he wolde neuer come in Englonde where he was borne / & y ^t if sykenesse lettyd it not he wolde dayly sey the hoole saulter / and euery weke faste oon daye & nyght / And his felawe that was then also syke of a sykenesse wherof he dyed / by reuelacyon knewe his petycyon / and tolde hym that he was herd of all almyghty god And whē he was hoole he thought to haue goon into germania fro whens Englysshe men came to preche to them the feythe for some of them then were paynymmys / & after [Page] one of his bretherne shewyd hym that his master bayfylus lately deed apperyd to hym / and shewyd hym that it was not the wyll of god that he shulde goo into germania but that it was the wyll of god that he shulde go to y ^e Monasteryes of seynt Columbe to set them in good order / And when he was twyse warnyd by the sayde Broder therof / And moreouer that he shulde not goo though he wolde / yet he beleuyd hym not but made redy his cō pany and his shyppys / and when he was apon the see a contraryouse wynde / & tempest rose agaynste hym wherby he knewe it was not the wyll of oure Lorde y ^t he shuld goo theder / wherfore he sent thyder seynt wyllybrorde & aleuyn other / And he wente into the Ile of Hii in the scottyshe see to the sayde Monasteryes of seynt Columbe to set theym in good ordre / And there he was gladlye receyuyd / And there he taughte theym the veray Catholycall waye of lyuynge / And brought theym to kepe the due tyme of Ester / And he departyd fro this worlde the yere of our Lorde .vii.C. and .xxix. the .viii. kalendas of Maye which then was Ester day / on which daye he had sayde Masse / and kepte the feest of Ester after the due ordre.

¶De sancto Egbino monacho.

SEynt egbyne was borne in Brytayne / And after his deth his Moder enteryd into Relygyō & was made a Nunne of seynt sampson / & whē he harde y ^e wordys of our Lorde in y ^e gospell seyinge y ^t he y ^t wyll not renoūce all thynge may not be his dyscyple / he forsoke all thynges & was made a mōke in y ^e monastery of Tanrake where seynt wynwalogus was / & as seynt winwalogus with seynt Egbyn thē beynge deken wēt to sey masse a myle fro y ^e monastery a pore lepourfull of sorys prayed them of helpe / & he sayd if he had not theyr helpe [Page xxxiiii] he shulde dye / for he sayd his nostrellys were brennyd with the fyfth of his sykene [...] so that he coulde not contynue / And then Egbynus toke hym vppe in his armys / & seynt wynwalogus with his hāde wolde haue clensyd y ^e place / And the poore man sayd not soo but that he wolde with his conge clense it / And than he mekely assayed to do it / and when he thought to haue easyd the poore man it was the sone of god our Lorde crist Ihesu / And a merueylous ston fell into his mouthe / And as seynt Egbyne helde our Lorde in his armys he lokyd vp and sawe beuyn open / and a crosse apperyd vppon the hed of our lorde / and Aūgellys came to mete hym / And so he assendyd seyinge vnto theym bycause ye haue not refusyd me in my trouble I shall not refuse you in the kyngedom of heuyn / And so he was receyuyd into heuyn / and seynt winwalogus arettyd it to y ^e merytys of seynt Egbyn for his great obedyence / And seynt Egbyn referryd it to seynt wynwalogus for his order of presthode / And after seynt Egbyn went into Irlonde and there made a Churche & helyd a lame man / & reysyd a Chylde fro deth / and when he was nyghe foure score yere olde & thre / he yeldyd his spirit to our lorde the .xiiii. kalendas of Nouember.

¶De sancto Egwino ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt egwyn was of y ^e Kyngys blood of marsshes / & lyuyd a Relygyous lyfe at worcestre & leuynge all pleasure of Tēporall thyngys / He toke order of Presthod / & gaue hym all to lyue a cōtēplatyf lyfe / & by holle assent of y ^e Kynge ethel drede / & of his people he was made busshop of worcestre / & after y ^t he vsyd moche p̄chynge / & here prouyd the people of theyr vnlaw full matrymony / And other synnys soo terryble that of [Page] malyce they rose agaynste hym with feyned tales & putte hym out of his see / And complaynyd of hym not only to the kynge but also to the [...] And so he disposyd hym selfe to goo to Rome / And thoughe he knewe he had not offendyd the worlde yet for offencys doon to almyghty god he fetteryd his Leggys to geder and lokkyd the fetters / and threwe the key into the ryuer of auyn / And soo he wente feterd to Rome / & there as he was prayenge in seynt peters Church / he sent his seruauntys to bye mete And the key was founde in a fysshes bely that his seruā tys had bought / And so he vnfetteryd hym selfe / And y ^t Myracle fyllyd all Rome & moche people cam to se hym and to haue his blessynge / And the [...] herynge of his great laboryouse Iourney / and of the sayd myracle sent for hym / And had hym in great famylyaryte / a herynge the cause of his commynge he sent hym Downe ageyne to his see / And the kynge herynge his myracles and vertues was very gladde and restoryd hym agayne to his see / And gaue hym a grounde wherin he foundyd the abbey of Euyshame / And he buyldyd it in a place there as our Ladye apperyd to hym / and also to a shepherde / and for foundacyon therof he went agayne with off a Kynge of est Englonde / and with kenred kynge of Marshes to rome / And had great auctoryte fro the [...] for the foū daciō therof / he alway were the heer / and say often in asshes and were a gyrdell with knottys next his bare skyn and with drewe his mynde holly fro y ^e worlde / & worldly thynges / And gaue hym to contemplacyon / redynges fastynges and vigyllys / and especyally to prechynge / and when he had ben longe syke / And alwayes thankyd our Lorde therof / He callyd his bretherne to hym & shewyd theym the very perfyght way of good lyuynge / and exortyd [Page xxxv] them to beware y ^t the worlde deceyuyd theym not / & so full of good werkys / he lefte this present lyfe aboute y ^e yere of oure Lorde seuyn .C. & .xx. the thyrde kalendas of Ianuary / And he lyeth at euesham / & our lorde hath shewyd for hym many myracles bothe in his lyfe / and after his deth.

¶De sancta Elfleda virgine & abbatissa.

SEynt Elfied was borne in Englond / And when her moder was with chylde w ^t her / she sawe ī her slepe a thynge lyke a shynynge beame of lyghtenynge descend vppon her Hedde / And it taryed there a longe tyme / And whē she was borne the more she grew in age the more she wantyd the Ambycyousnes of all flesshelye pleasures / And after her faders deth her moder by her faders wyll gaue his mansyon that he dwellyd in callyd clare to the monasterye of Romsey and after her moder toke a noder husbonde / And then as is ofte seen in suche case enfled lakkyd oftymes that that she nedyd wher fore Kynge Edgare remembrynge the good seruyce of her fader put her to the monastery of Romsey vnder the Abbesse merwenne / & she louyd her as her owne doughter / And broughte her vppe in all vertue / And on a tyme her candell fell oute / and the fyngers of her ryght hande gaue lyght to all that were aboute her / & when she was therfore the more honouryd of her systers she studyed to be therfore the more Meke / & obedyent / And after when she was made abbesse no man can tell the almes that she gaue / nor the prayers / & wepyngys that she vsyd aswell for her selfe as for the people / & on a tyme when she was with the quene she went in the nyghtys into the water & was there in prayer / And on a nyghte the quene seynge her goo furthe suspectyd it had ben for incontinence and [Page] folowyd / & whē she sawe her goo into y ^e water sodēly / she was astonyed & went in maner oute of her mynde & turnyd in agayne cryenge / & coulde take no reste tyll seynt Elfled prayed for her seyinge lorde forgyue her this offē se / for she wiste not what she dyd / And soo she was made hoole / & whē she was reprouyd as a waster of y ^e goodys of the monasterye certeyn money that she had geuyn in almys by hyr prayer was put into the Baggys agayne & when she had lyuyd many yerys in good lyfe / she went to our lorde the fourth kalendas of Nouember aboute y ^e yere of our Lourde .ix.C. and .lix.

¶De sancto Elpheger archiep̄o & martyre.

SEynt elphege was borne in Englōde and in his youthe he was so apte to lernynge of cōnynge & vertue that his fader & moder marueylyd at his capacyte / & let hym to scole / and after his Faders deth he forsoke his enherytaūce / and his moder y ^t louyd hym tenderly he lefte / And enteryd into relygyon at deherst and he prophyted to all men that he colde / And those that he coulde not prophet to / he studyed y ^t he hurtyd theym not and after he cam to bathe where he lyuyd a merueylous lyfe of penaunce / And there a great cōpany of Monkys anon resortyd vnto hym / And when there was great varyaunce bytwyrte the clerkys and monkys for eleccyon of the busshope at wynchester seynt Andrew apperyd to seynt Dunstane and bad hym chose Elphegus / And soo he was electyd / And after when seynt Dunstane knewe he shulde dye he prayed to our lorde y ^t Elphegus myght be his successour at caūterbury / And so he was at this tyme Danys moche oppressyd this Realme / And this blessyd [Page xxxvi] man wolde preche to them the worde of god / & wolde redeme theym that were in captyuyte / and fede theym y ^t were oppressyd with hunger / And after when the Cytie of Caunterbury was destroyed by Danys thrughe coū sell of helpe of Edryke the traytoure / whome the Kynge had put in great auctoryte / And bycause the Kynge put his broder to deth for his offencys he went out of the courte and confeterd hymselfe with danes / and they besegyd the Cyte of Caunterbury / And when they had wonne it they dyd Merueylouse great cruelte to the people wherfore seynt Elphegus offerde hymselfe to them / and bad them spare the people and take hym / And so he was taken and put in pryson / And there he lay tyll the offenders were so punysshed with sykenes by y ^e stroke of god y ^t they toke hym out of prysone & cryed hym mercye / and he forgaue them and blessyd Brede and gaue it to them And anon they were hoole / and when they were hoole y ^e rulers askyd of hym if he wolde haue his lyfe and lyberte thre thousande marke / And because he wolde not greue the people to leue the Money he denyed it / And soo he was put agayne in cruell pryson and there the Deuylle apperyd to hym lyke an Aūgell of lyght and perswadyd hym to go out of pryson by many exaūples / and soo he folowyd hym / and when he had brought hym amonge waters in the derke nyght he lefte hym and then he knewe it was the crafte of the enemye wherfore he lyftyd hys mynde to our Lorde and cryed for helpe / And anone a yonge man in bryghte shynynge apparell apperyd to hym and had hym goo agayne to receyue the Crowne of martyrdome and when he came to the pryson and there he was truellye takyn / Betyn. / And foule Stynkynge Donge was caste vppon hym / And thenne Seynt Dunstanne [Page] aperyd to hym / and comfortyd hym / And at the laste he was betyn with stones / And his owne godson with a hachet stracke hym in the Hed / and soo martyryd hym the .xiii. kalendas of Maii / & the punysshemēt of god felle vppō the offenders so y ^t some kyllyd theymselfe / And some went madde / many fledde to the see and theyr Shyppys were drownyd about a .C. and .lx. Shyppes / And after when Kunt came into Englonde and sawe great punyshement fall vppon hym and his pleople he toke counceyle of some Englysshemen y ^t toke his ꝑte / & they thoughte it was for the wronge don to seynt Elphege / And soo by theyr counceyle he promysyd that when he had peace / he wolde brynge the body of seynt Elphege to caūterbury And .xvii. yere after he foūde his Body vncorrupte And brought it to Caūterbury honorably as he had ꝓmysed.

¶De s [...]tō Erkenwaldo ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt erkenwalde and his syster Ethelburghe / comonly callyd Alburgh were borne in that parte of Englonde callyd Lynsey / And seynt Erkenwalde was conuertyd to the feythe / when seynt Augustyne came into Englond and was dyscyple to the Busshope Mellyt / And his syster folowed the exaūple of her broder / And when she was Cristenyd she was callyd Ethelburghe / And seynt Erkenwalde foundyd the Monasterye of Chertesey for hymselfe where he was Abbot / and Barkynge for his syster / And after he was made busshope of London by seynt Theodre Archebussope of Caunterbury / And when a beame that was ordeynyd for the [Page xxxvii] monastery of Berkynge was to shorte / he and his syster Ethelburghe drew it in length / & made it longe ynough / And as he was goynge on Prechynge in a chare oon of the whelys went of / and yet the chare went vpryghte / he shewyd the very day of his deth / and vnto his laste ende he comfortyd the people besylye with the worde of god / And he Dyed at barkynge / And there was at his deth a meru [...]ylous swete Sauoure in all the house / And as he shulde be brought to London the water rose at Ilforde / and wolde not suffer theym to passe tyll the people fell to prayer / And anone the Water deuydyd / and so [...] they went thrughe / And all the Candellys that were out lyghtyd agayne by themselfe / And so he was buryed at seynt Poulys in London / And was leyde in leed in a Coffyn of wodde / And it was coueryd with a Palle of small pryse many yerys / And after in the tyme of Wyllyam Conqueroure the Churche of poulys / and great parte of london was Brent / And neuerthelesse the sayde palle and sepulcre was not h [...]rte wherfore the people gaue Laudys to our Lorde / And thoughe that that punysshemēt came to theym bycause they had not doon condygne honoure to the sayd blessyd Relyquys / And after the Churche of Poulys was newe buyldyd by thre Busshoppys of London oon after a noder / And by a hoole Deuocyon of the people his Body was trāslatyd to a more honorable place in the yere of our lorde god a Thousande a hundred & xl. the .xiii. daye of Nouember / And when the place that was newe made was to lyttyll for the Chest of leed whe [...] in his Relykys lay fyrst / y ^e people for that neclygence were sory / And anon the stone waxyd more holow / and gaue place to y ^e blessyd relykys / And after at his shryne were doon many great myracles as in the legēde apperyth [Page] at great length which be here omyttyd.

¶De sancta Ermenilda regina.

SEynt ermenylde was doughter to Ercomberte kynge of kent / & of seynt sexburghe his wyfe she was dysposyd to all pytye & cōpassyon and endeuouryd herselfe with a moderly pytye to helpe the necessytes of euery man / & there was in hyr alway oon stablenesse on Benygnyte / on Charyte / on desyre to Heuynly thingys She was maryed to wlferus / son to penda kynge of Marshyes which after his Faders Deth was crystenyd / & by her exortacyon / & good maners she tamyd y ^e wylde people and brought theym to the feythe / & thruste downe Rebellys myghtyly / And she ceassyd not tyll the Idollys / & worshyppynge of deuyllys with the helpe of the Kynge was clene put a way / & Chyrchys were buyldyd for Dyuyneseruyce thrughe all the Realme / & they had a doghter callyd werbuxga / And after the deth of y ^e Kynge / the quene Er [...]enylde & her Doughter enteryd into Relygyon at Ely vnder her moder sexburghe / & so for our lord she forsoke all the pleasurys / and loue of the worlde / And punysshyd her body with abstynence prayers and lamentyngys / and shewyd her selfe moost lowe of all folkys / and she endyd her lyfe full of good werkys in the Id [...] of February / And a man that was bounden with I [...]s prayed at her tumbe at masse for helpe / and at the gospell the Irons were strykyn fro his arme with such a vyolēce that they flewe to the A [...]ter that all m [...]n myght see.

[Page xxxviii]

De sancto Esterwino Abbate.

SEynt esterwyn was mynyster to kynge Egfryde / And he lefte the / Temporall armoure / & toke Espyrytuall armour / & enteryd into Relygyon vnder his vnkyll Benet busshope in the Monasterye of seynt peter / but for all the kynred / he lokyd not to be anythynge the more honowryd / But he was anon foo meke that he wolde wynnow / and thresshe with the bretherne mylke Kyen & shepe / And be with theym galdlye in the Bakhouse & Kechyn / & in all other busynes of the Monasterye / And after seynt Coolfryde abbot of the monasterye of seynt paule / in the yere of our Lorde .vi.C.lxxxiii. electyd hym beynge in the monastery of seynt Petyr and made hym Abbot there / And whē he was Abbot he was of the same mekenes that he was before so that when he sawe the Bretherne worke / he wolde put to his hande as they dyd / And he was a man of great strengthe of feyre speche mery and lyberall / And he ete of the same mete as the bretherne dyd / and laye as they dyd / And when he shulde dye / he kyssyd all the bretherne in tokyn of peas / And instructyd theym with many Blessyd monycyons / he wente to oure Lorde of the great Syknes in the Nonas of Marche.

¶De sancto Ethelberto rege & confessore.

SEynt ethelbert was y ^e thyrde kynge of Kent / but he was the fyrste that wente to Heuyn / And all that seynt Augustyne dyd to the Encreasynge [Page] of the faythe may be also attrybutyd to this blessyd kynge for as farre as to man apperyth / if he had not holpen seynt Augustyne & other werkes in the werke of [...] lorde lytyll frute had come to the Londe of Englonde / And when he was cōuertyd with great benygnyte he [...]yd other kyngys that were his subgyetty & or his felowys to become crysten / And those that beleuyd he l [...]uyd as hys bretherne and kynysmen and felawys to the kyngdome of heuyn / And in all his realme Chirchys were bu [...]yd & placys of Idollys destroyed or tournyd into Churches By counceyll of seynt Augustyne he made the Churche of seynt sa [...]youre in Caunterbury / And without the wallys of the Cytle he made a monasterye in the honoure of seynt peter and poule whiche was a place of buryall for Kynges and busshoppes / he buyldyd a Church of seynt paule in london and there was thē made a Busshoppyssee / And he made a Churche of seynt Andrewe at Rochester where was also made a noder Busshoppyssee / And he was founder of Ely thughe seynt Etheldrede bycause she repayryd it / is takyn for foundres / his realme stretchyd to humber / And yet he shewyd hymselfe poore and meke as thoughe he had had nothynge / It was a gloryus thynge to see hym that hadde rule and domynyon in great countreys to serue poore men / And to see hym that kynges feryd to drede the preestys of our Lorde as this blessyd kynge dyd / And he was a great exalter of vertue a fulfyller of the commaundementys of god / & of werkys of pyte / And he went to our Lorde the syxte Kalendas of marche / And when his feest was on a tyme not halowed nor the place where he laye adhournyd with lyghtys as it was wonte to be he apperyd to a preest that of deuocy on lay there all nyght / and blamyd them of theyr necly-

[Page xl]

De sancta Ethelburga virgine & abbatissa.

SEynt ethelburgh cōmonly callyd seynt Alburgh was borne in the prouynce of lyndesey / & fro her youthe she abhorryd the bodely pleasurys / & the flaterynge of the worlde / And the auncyent enemy enuyenge her werkys styrryd her owne fader agaynste her so that he was a cruell psecutor of her / wherfore she went ofte to a Chapell where she was crystenyd / And commyttyd herselfe to our Lord with deuoute prayer & a [...]lyccyons / & it is sayd y ^e grasse is alway grene there as she wente to the sayd chapell / And after when she shuld haue ben maryed she lefte her Fader & Moder / & with oon mayde went her waye pryuely / & by the waye the mayde fell in so great a drynes that withoute helpe she was lyke to Dye wherfore seynt Alburghe prayde for helpe to our Lorde And anon a feyre well sprange vppe that is there to this day / And when certeyne werke was assygnyd to her by her hostes in Herueste / she went to prayer and her werke was don without leyinge any hande to it / and her fader by her was conuertyd to y ^e feyth / & after her broder seynt Erken walde of his patrymonye made for her the Abbey of Barkynge where she was abbesse / & there she subdued the Body to the spyryte w ^t contynuell Fastyngys / vygyllys & prayers / & she p̄chyd to the systers perseuerant lye / and after was seen an Image bryght shynynge in y ^e Dormytory of the systers / & bryght shynynge cordys were seen stretchynge into heuyn wherwith the sayd Image was pluckyd vppe / And anone after seynt Alburghe deꝑtyd this worlde y ^e .v. Idus of october about y ^e yere of our Lorde .vii.C. & .vi. & so it apperyth to be for her y ^t the sayd Image was shewyd / her monastery hath ben often tymes p̄seruyd agaynste paganys by especyall myracle somtymes wylde bestys at y ^e yatysferyd y ^t enemyes so y ^t [Page] they durst not come in / sometyme the offenders were sodeynly strykyn / some with woodnes / some with blyndenes / and some with Deth / And dyuerse Myracles / oure Lorde hath shewyd for this gloryous virgyn.

¶De sancta Etheldreda virgine.

SEynt etheldrede cōmenly callyd Seynt Awdry was doughter to anna Kynge of eest Englōde / And agaynste her wyll she was maryed to Tonbert kynge of the south Gyrwyes where is the Ile of ely / And when she came into the Chaūber she comyttyd her virgynyte to our Lorde / And as her husbonde lokyd in to the Chaūber it was lyke as if all the chaūber had ben on fyre / And so he bad her fere no more for he wolde not touche her / for he sayd our Lorde was hyr defender / and shortlye after he dyed / & she was maryed ageyne by her frendys to Egfryde kynge of northamhūbrorū & .xii. yeyerys she was with hym not as a wyfe but as a Lady / & for her holynes he worshyppyd her moch & promysyd to y ^e Busshope wylfryde great gyftys to make her agree to hym in matrymonye / And the Busshope cōtrarye wyse exortyd her to kepe virgynyte / And at laste by assente of the Kynge she enteryd into Relygyon at Coldyngham vnder Ebba aunte to y ^e kynge / And when the kynge repentyd hym / & wolde haue fet her fro the monasterye she cōmyttyd her to our Lorde / And with to systers went in to a Hyll / & there our lorde brought y ^e see about theym / & preseruyd them there beynge in prayers with oute mete or drynke / & when the Kynge sawe that / he went away & repentyd hym of gis presumpcyon / and after she went to Ely y ^t was geuyn to her by her husbonde tonbert / & there she repayryd a Monasterye / & gaderyd many sustersgence [Page xxxix] y ^t they had not don as was wonte to be / And that doon the preest wakynge sawe hym goo into his toumbe agayne.

¶De sancto Ethelberto rege & martire.

SEynt Ethelbert was Kynge of eest Englonde / And when he had in his youthe moche prophytyd in lernynge / he gaue not his mynde to voluptuous pleasurys / but to Prayers / almys dedys & other good werkys / And when his felowys were at Playe / he wolde be at Churche / & after the deth of his Fader Kynge ethelrede / he was made Kynge / & was profounde in counceyll ryghtwyse / and mercyfull in Iudgement / & sober ī wordys / He wolde spare his subgyettys / and resyst prowdemen / And after by hoole assent of his cōmons he was desyryd to marye / and for loue of Chyldren he assē tyd therto / And he refusyd the doughter of a great Consulle / bycause her Fader was a man full of fraunde / and dysceyte / & alienatyd fro Truthe / And at the laste it was concludyd that he shuld goo to off a Kynge of mersshes And when he was goynge the Erthe quoke / & the sonne waryd derke so that oon of them myght scarcely see a nother / And when all a boute hym were a frayde & merueylyd what it shuld betokyn / He sayde let vs doo that is in vs / & humble our hartys to almyghty god / & praye that he put awaye the derkenes both of Body and soule / and that he send vs y ^e lyghte of his clerenes / And so they laye prostrate & prayed / And anon y ^e Derkenes went awaye And then he wente forth in his Iourney / & when he cam into the kyngedome of Marshes he had a meruaylouse dreme y ^t as he stode w ^t his counceyll he thought his house fell downe / & anon he sawe a goodly tree that he neuer sawe any lyke to it / & that certeyn ꝑsones were he wynge [Page] at the tree to cut it downe / & a streme of blood folowyd of theyr hewynge / & he thought he hymselfe was a byrde / & that his wyngys were blody / & he sawe a bryght beame bryghter then y ^e sonne com out of y ^e south which ascēdyd into heuyn / & he thought y ^t he flewe into the toppe of the tree & sawe all that was in the firmamēt / & herde a songe of great melody / & some thought it shulde betokyn y ^e exaltynge of his kyngdome / & he sayd how so euer our Lord wold dyspose of hym he wold take it pacyētly / & when he came to Kynge off a by counceyll of the quene for ambycyon of hys kyngdome / And to enhaunce theyr owne blode his hed was stryken of the .xiii. kalēdas of Iune as apperyth in his legende at great length / And when the virgyne alfryde whome he shulde haue maryed knew therof she bade his seuaūtys goo into theyr coūtrey for theyre mayster was behedyd / & taught of the holy goost / she sayde to hir moder thy sone shall not lyue .iii. yerys / & thy kyngedome shall not be stabled / & thou shalt not lyue in the confeffyon of god ouer thre moneth [...]s / thou shalte be takyn with a Deuyll / & ete thyn owne tonge / and dye an euyll deth and it folowyd as she sayd / and therupon that blessyd virgyne auowyd to entre into relygyon at crowlande / & fro the tumbe there as the yonge kynge was buryed a bryght beame wente to heuyn / And when Kynge off a herde therof [...]e feryd greatlye & toke penaunce / and after his body was broughte to herforde / And by y ^e way a blynde man recoueryd his syghte / & a longe tyme was seen euery nyghte a bryghte beame vppō his sepulcre / y ^e kynge Mylfryde made a goodly chyrche ouer hym / and endewyd it with great possessyons / And was the fyrste kynge that made there a Busshoppyssee. [Page xlii] callyd wakerynge to ramesey where they lye to this day & that trāslacyon was made the .xvi. kalēdas of nouēber.

¶De sancto Ethelwoldo ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt ethelwolde was borne in wynchester / & his moder when she was w ^t chylde w ^t hym sawe two visions which signyfyed y ^t she shulde bere a chylde of great ꝑfeccyon / & when his norse hauynge the chylde in her armys wolde haue goon to y ^e Chyrche & coulde not for great tempest / sodenly she was broughte into the Chyrche & wiste not how she came thyder / And when y ^e chylde came to age he was set to scole / & he had a quycke witte / & what so euer he lernyd he kepte it in memorye / & kynge ethelstane herynge his famesent for hym to haue hym abyde w ^t hym / & causyd hym to take order of preesthod / And seynt Dūstane and he And oon Ethelstane were made Preestys on oon daye by Seynt Aldelme / and he sayde y ^t two of them shulde be Busshoppes / And the Thyrde shuld geue hym to Uoluptuousnes & make an euyll Ende / And soo it prouyd of the sayde Ethelstane And after seynt Ethelwolde went to glastenbury & there was made a mōke vnder seynt Dunstan where euer he coueytyd to y ^e hyghnesse of vertue / & though he was moche cherysshed & belouyd of all men / he ranne not therby in any peryll of Pryde / but kepte hym alwey in humylyte / And after Kynge edrede gaue hym a Place in abyngdon / where he renewyd the Monastery of Abyngedon And put therin monkys / & there he was Abbot / and after by cōmaūdement of Kynge Edgar seynt Dūstan made hym Busshope of Wynchester / & there he put in monkys & also at hyde / & he made a place of Nonnys at Wynchester / & he made Peterburgh & thorney & wente aboute all monasteryes to set them in good order & to cōforte good men / & to correcte theym that were obstynate / & he neuer [Page] punysshed any of cruelnes but for loue / He was a fader & a shepherde to Relygyous men / a defender of virgyns a comforter of wydowys / a receyuoure of pylgrymys a refressher of poure men / a helper of pupyllys & orphanys & when a great derth was in all Englonde / he solde the Ornamentys of his Churche / & the plate to helpe the poure people / & he had cōtynuall sykenes so that many nyghtys he slepte nothynge / And he neuer ete Flesshe but twyse / onys by cōmaūdemēt of seynt Dūstane & a noder tyme in the sykenes y ^t he dyed of / His Candell burnyd vppō his boke tyll it wēt out / And yet it hurtyd not his boke It is red of hym in Cronycles that when he was at grete feestys which began in Englonde at the commynge in of the Danys he wolde ete no other thynge but Breed / & wolde drynke water / And he went to our Lord in the kalendas of August in the yere of our Lord .ix. hundred foure score and foure / and he lyeth at wynchester where our lorde hath shewyd for hym many Myracles / a man and a Chylde that were blynde at his tombe receyuyd theyr s [...]gh

¶Desctō Felice ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt felix was borne in Pyes a cytie of Burgū dye / & there was made Busshope / & in the tyme of the [...] honoryus / & of honoryus Archebusshope of Caunterbury leuynge his owne countrey & the pompe of the worlde / He came into Englonde to preche the feyth of our Lorde to suche people as were not then cōuertyd / he was a man of great lernynge / & y ^t he taught he fulfyllyd ī good werkys / & the Archebusshope honory us at his cōmynge reseyued hym moche charytably / but whē he knewe his entēt was to ꝑseuer ī p̄chynge he was moch more glad / & so he wēt into y ^e ꝓuynce of est Englōd [Page xli] the yere of our Lord .vi.C.lxxiii. And after y ^t she enteryd into Relygyon she neuer ware lynnen / she ete but onys on a day She was dylygent to vigyllys / & prayers / & before her deth she had a great swellynge in her Throte / & in her cheke wherin she moche delytyd / & sayde it was a great goodnes of our Lorde / if that peyne myghte put a way the peyne y ^t she was worthye to haue for her pryde / and offencys in werynge golde & precyous stonys aboute her necke when she was yonge / And when a surgeon had Cutte the sore place / and that Easyd her for a tyme the thyrde day after the peyne came agayne / And she yeldyd her soule to our Lorde the .ix. kalendas of Iuly after she had ben abbesse .vii. yere / & whē she had lyen .xvi. yerys her Body & all her clothys were founde vncorrupte And her necke was hoole & a tokyn apperyd of the Cuttynge / & after the monasterye was destroyed by Inguer & hubba / & was renewyd agayne by seynt Ethelwolde by helpe of y ^e kynge Edgar / A man that had ben a great vserer & full of [...]ynne & was in great syknesse entēdyd to serue god in relygyon at Ely the resydew of his lyfe an [...] the Kyngys mynysters prohybytyd it & sayde he was a thyfe / & also in the Kynges det / Wherfore he was had to London / & there he was put in prysone / & on a ny [...]t apryd to hym seynt Benet / seynt Awdry / & her suffe [...] Sexburghe / And seynt Benet onlosyd hys Irons & y ^e Myracle knowyn he was let goo / & so he enteryd into relygyon as he before purposyd.

¶De san [...]tis Ethelcedo & Ethelbricto martyrybus.

SEynt ethelberte that was conuertyd by Seynt augustyne had Issu Edbalde / edbalde had two sonnes E [...]men [...]ed & Ercōberte / Ermented had [Page] Issu theys blessyd martyrs Ethelrede / & Ethelbricte & a doughter callyd dōpuena which was maryed to y ^e kynge of Mershyes / & after the deth of theyr fader & moder bycause they were then but yonge they were put to the kepynge of Egbert sone of the sayde Ercombert to brynge vp / And therupon a cursyd man callyd thūnir y ^t had grete rule vnder the kynge ferynge y ^t if they lyuyd they shulde be gretter in fauoure w ^t the kynge then he / enuyed thē moch / & tolde the kynge many false talys of them / & sayd if they Lyuyd they wolde put hym oute of his Realme & Coūceylyd y ^t kynge to let hym Kyll them pryuelye / and when y ^e Kynge for drede of god / & loue y ^t he had to them wolde in no wyse assent / at laste when the sayde Cursyd man euer callyd on the kynge / and he on a tyme w ^t dyssymylynge voyce sayd nay / y ^t cursyd man toke boldenes & on a nyght kyllyd them both / & buryed them in the Kynges house / & when the kynge rose in the nyghte he sawe a grete lyghte in the heygth of the hall wherat he merueylyd moch / & dred for the chylderne & callyd thūnir / & whē he had lernyd of hym how it was / he feryd greatly y ^e Iugement of god / & sent for his coūceyll spirituall & tēporall & by coūcell of them all he sent for dompuena theyr suster And for the deth of her bretherne she askyd asmoch groū de in the Ile of tenet as her Hynde wolde goo aboute seyinge she was so commaundyd by oure lorde / And when the hynde hadde goon a certeyn space and all the people folowyd her Thumnyr founde a great deffaute at the kyngys graunte & wolde haue stoppyd it / & forthwith as he had spokyn y ^e worde / he fell of his horse & brake his necke & he was buryed in y ^e same place / and a great rocke of stonys were caste vppon hym / & it is callyd Thūnerslane to this day / & after by Ethelrede y ^t was kynge Edgares sone these gloryouse martyrs were trāslatyd fro a place [Page xliii] where then regnyd the blessyd Kynge sygbert whiche before that tyme for fere of Redwarde hadde fledde into Fraunce / And there he was crystenyd / And then came agayne into his countrey / and after made a monasterye by councell of seynt felyx and toke tonsure and there seruyd our Lorde / And in short tyme seynt Felyx cōuertyd all the people / and was made Busshope of y ^e Cytie of dominoke / And the kynge sygberte by helpe of seynt Felyx made scolys for bryngynge vp of Chyldren in all y ^e countrey / & he went to our Lord full of good werkys the .viii. Idus of marche / and was buryed in thesame Cytie / his Relykys were broughte to Seham which was after destroyed by Danys / And then his Relykys were brought to Ramsey where they lye at this daye.

¶De sctō Flacrio heremyta & confessore.

SEynt fyacre was borne of noble blod in Irlande & bycause he desyred moch to kepe a solytary lyfe he lefte his countrey / and his Frendys and went into Fraunce / and so came to seynt pharao Busshope of Meldees / And when he knewe the entēt of his commynge he cherysshyd hym moche / and gaue hym a certeyne grounde in the wood of Brodyle farre fro the recourse of people where he buyldyd a monastery in honoure of our Ladye / & there dayly he encreasyd in vertues / And that he sparyd fro hymselfe / he gaue it to pore men / And with only touchynge of his hādys with helpe of god he helyd many men of dyuerse sykenes soo that his fame sprong [...] farre / And bycause great people resortyd to hym / the busshope at his desyre gaue hym as moche Grounde adioynynge to his howse as he coulde with his owne laboure [Page] dyke aboute in a day to make a gardeyne apon / & he thā kyd hym moche / And when he came home / he made his prayers & drewe his staffe after hym / & w ^t towchynge of the staffe the groūde voydyd & waxyd holowe lyke a dyke / & all the Trees in the cumpasse fell downe / And a woman seynge the Dyke meruaylyd greatlye / & tolde y ^e busshope therof / & sayde y ^t the Heremyte was a Wytche & a enchauntour / & not the seruaūte of god / And came agayne to hym & presumptuously spake to hym cōtumelyous wordys / & chargyd hym in the Busshopys name to ceasse his werkee And he herynge y ^t was heuy / & sate downe vppon a stone which waxyd softe & holowe to hym lyke a sete which remaynyth there to this day / & by towchynge therof dyuers syke men haue ben helyd / And when y ^e Busshope sawe the Myracles that were doon / he louyd seynt fyacre moch the better / & was euer after y ^e more famylyer w ^t hym / & neuerthelesse seynt Fyacre prayed to our Lord y ^t if any womā euer came into his Monastery y ^t she shuld fall in some sykenes / & so it prouyd after of dyuerse womē / He went out of this worlde y ^e .xv. kalēdas of Septēber aboute y ^e yere of our Lorde .vi.C. & .xxii.

¶De sancto Finano ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt finane was borne of the people of Arades and seynt patryke prophecyed that he shulde be a holy Busshope / wherfore his frendys in truste of seynt patrykys wordys at a souper brought hym thre vessellys of smalle Ale / & by his blessynge it was turnyd into wyne / After he was cōmyttyd to the busshope Colman to enfourme / And as he on a tyme wolde haue betyn hym an Aungell helde his hande styll vppe in y ^e ayre wherfore he sayde he wolde no more bete hym / And after [Page] a holy abbot also refusyd to haue hym to his dyscyple for he sayd he was gretter of merytys then he / & sayd he shulde be a holy busshope / & thē y ^e Chylde sayd a holy busshope was Commynge owt of Brytayne y ^t shuld be his master & so there was / & he went w ^t hym to his busshopryke callyd maguns where he was made monke / He helyd a man y ^t for his synnys had a legyon of Deuyllys / Hedrā ke poyson / & it hurtyd hym not / after he wente to Rome where he was made preest / & was there .vii. yerys / As he p̄chyd at Rome of enuye they range y ^e bellys & blewe the Organes / & his voyce was harde aboue thē all wherof y ^e people thākyd our lord / He cōuertyd moch people aboute Italy / & there the hande of a Kynge y ^t wolde haue crucyfyed hym stake fast to the Crosse tyll he & all the people were penytent / & were conuertyd / then he went to his owne Coūtrey / & was made Busshope / & in Irlande he dyd so many Myracles y ^t no man can tell / He was syke a hole yere lyenge in his bedde / And when his tyme drewe nere he reyseyuyd the blessyd Body of our Lord the fourth Idus of September / And he was buryed in Scotlande at cumgham at a place that after his name in welche is callyd Kylwynny.

¶De sancto Foillane ep̄o & martire.

SEynt foyllane busshope / & martyr was borne of noble blood in Irlond / & he made his blood more noble by his good lyuynge / and lyke to the patryarke Abraham / He lefte his owne countrey and his carnall Frendys / And went into Fraūce / where he was [Page] Instructor to seynt geretrude / and she gaue to hym and to his broder vltan a grounde callyd folse to make therin a Monasterye to receyue pylgrymes / And vltan was made ruler therof / And seynt Foyllan styll remaynyd to Instructe seynt Geretrude / & on a tyme asseynt Foyllane with thre felowys went to see his Broder vltan a mynyster of the Deuyll met theym by the waye and promysyd to brynge them to a good lodgynge vnder coloure y ^t he myght murdre theym / And seynt Foyllane by the holy goost knowynge his purpose gaue hym selfe to prayers / and comfortyd his bretherne to be stronge in our lorde / And so the sayd Cursyd man with his company strake of theyr heddys the day before the kalendas of Nouē ber / & leuynge theyr Bodyes in a vyle place / solde theyr Horsys and apparell / And when seynt Geretrude meruaylyd of his longe taryinge she sent to y ^e monastery for hym and his Broder vltan sent her worde that she shuld by her wysdome expoūde his vysyon / as he was in prayer he thought he sawe a whyte doue with blody wyngys fly vppe to Heuyn / And more he sayde he knewe not of hym / werfore anon she and all the bretherne and fusters [...]ell to prayer / & by an Aungell it was shewyd vnto her / y ^t he was Martyred / And that she shulde fynde hym by a tokyn that our Lorde shulde shewe hyr / And so she went furthe and founde hym and his felowes. lxxviii. dayes after theyr martyrdome by a bryghte shynynge crowne y ^t apperyd ouer theym / And the same day of his fyndynge seynt Fursee / his broder dyed / and he was buryed in the sayd Monastery where our Lord hath shewyd for hym many myracles.

[Page xlv]

De sctō Fremūdo Rege & martire.

A Chylde of .iii. dayes olde prophecyed that off a thenne a Kynge of Englonde in his age shulde haue a sone callyd Fremunde / that shulde conuerte hym and his Moder with all the cuntrey to the Feythe of our Lorde / And that in his youth he shulde hele lepourys / and blynde men / And that at his byrthe shulde appere a bryght beame ouer the house / And as he sayde it prouyd in euery thynge after / When the kynge off a waxyd olde he made seynt Fremunde kynge though he moche refusyd / And a yere & a halfe he occupyed as Kynge norysshynge poore men / encreasynge peace / and puttynge downe of Rebellys / then he lefte all that honour / & with two clerkys went pryuely in a lytell shyppe without sayle into the see trustynge in the helpe of our lorde & not in the wynde / And in the .v. day they came into a Ile callyd Ilefage where no man before his tyme durst dwelle for fere of Deuyllys / And there he lyuyd vnknowen .vii. yerys by Rootye & Erbys / And his Apparell appeyryd not in all that tyme / after his goynge away fro his Cuntrey the Danys came into the Lāde / And when they had martyryd Seynt Edmonde / his Fader was verye sore aferde / And sent messangers for his son / And when they had foūde hym and shewyd hym the entente of theyr message / he gaue hym selfe to prayer to knowe y ^e wyll of our Lord therin & by an Aungell he was admonysshyd y ^t he shulde goo w ^t them / And the Aungell shewyd hym y ^t he shulde haue y ^e victory / & that euery man y ^t he toke w ^t hym to the batayle shuld appere a .M. men / & soo he went into his Contrey where he foūde his Fader ouercome w ^t the Infydelys / And then he with his two felowys / and .xxii. other that came for hym / Wherfore euery oon of theym [Page] apperyd a thousande men as the Aungell sayde kyllyd. xl. thousande paynymes / And incontynent after the vyctorye he went to prayer and thankyd oure Lorde / & then a Cristen man callyd Oswy that had ben in great fauoure with his Father / which had forsakyn the Feythe for y ^t he was promysyd by the Danes to be Kynge / strake of his Hed the .v. Idus of May / And the blood that fell vppon hym / burnyd hym with suche intollerable Hete that anon he fell prostrate / and cryed mercy / And the Hed spake & forgaue hym / And then he toke vppe his owne Hed and bare it to a place betwene Huchyn / and Harburbury and there he wesshyd his Hed in a well that sprange vp there by his prayer / And after he was had to a place callyd of churche where he was buryed and laye there .ix. yerys / And then he was remouyd by monycyon of an Aungell gyuyn to thre Maydens y ^t were all thre made hoole of theyr dyseasys to a place bytwene Charwell & Bradmoure / And there he laye vnknowen many yerys tyll it was shewyd by an aūgell to a pylgryme at Iherusalem where he laye / And then he was takyn vppe by seynt Beryne honorably / and as seynt Beryne was ledynge hym to the nexte Monasterye as the Pope had cōmaundyd the Pylgryme in his commynge whome / At redyke his Relykys stoude styll & wolde no ferther / Wherfore seynt Beryne went to Rome and shewyd it to the [...] / & retournyd agayne with the Popys bullys & there buryed hym in y ^e same place honorably the .v. kalendas of apryll And now i these dayes oon of his armys / and oon of his Rybbys / & a parte of his Iawe lye at Dunstable / And the resydue of his Bodye lyeth at Croprede.

[Page xlvi]

De sancta Frideswida virgine.

SEynt frydeswyde was borne in Oxforde aboute the yere of our Lorde seuyn Hundred and fyftye And after her Chyldehod was paste she lyuyd with wortys / barley Brede / and Water / After by assent of her Fader and Modershe was made a Nunne / And by her exaumple .xii. other noble virgyns enteryd also in to relygyon / And by the helpe of the Kynge she made a Monasterye / where she lyuyd in Fastyngys / and contynuell Prayers / a Hundred tymes on the Daye / & as many tymes of the Nyght she prayed knelynge / the Deuyll enuyed her / And to haue deceyuyd her he apperyd lyke our Lorde with Aungellys / and bad her come and worshyp hym whom she had longe seruyd / And by Spyryte she knewe hym and dyspysyd hym / And so he went awey with a great stenche / and she contynued in prayer quyetlye and without fere / And thenne the Deuyll mouyd the Kynge alger to desyre her to his voluptuous pleasure so that the Kynge sent his seruauntys for her & when they coulde not haue her assente to come to the Kynge / And wolde therfore haue takyn her by Strength / they were anon strykyn Blynde / And by desyre of all y ^e people that came to that spectacle she made them see agayne / And y ^e same nyght an Aūgell apperyd to her and bade her goo to Chamyssyde / And there she shuld fynde a Bote and a yonge man prepayryd by our Lorde to conuey her / for the Kynge wolde come to take her awaye / & so she wente to Chames and in an houre space with two Susters she was conueyed in the sayde bote .x. myles / And sodeynly the bote & y ^e rower were gon / & there they lyuyd in a wyldernesse .iii. yerys in great abstynēce / vigillis and prayers / And when the Kynge in the Mornynge coulde not [Page] fynde her in a great Ire he studyed to destroy the Towne wherfore when he came to the north yate / He was stryken blynde / and for his offence as it is sayde it is prohybytyd to Kyngys of Englonde to come within the Towne of Oxforde to this day / And after .iii. yerys she came agayne and made an Oratory at thornbury by Oxforde there by her Prayers sprange a feyre welle / On a tyme when she came to Oxforde all the people met her / And a fowle lepoure prayed her in y ^e name of god to kysse hym and so she dyd / and anon he was made hoole / as she was praynge an Aūgell tolde her that she shuld dye the .xiiii. kalendas of nouember / And so he went fro her and lefte her seke of the Axes / And when her strength was moche goon fro her / she sawe seynt Katheryne and seynt Cecylye / whom she had euer moche worshyppyd / And as she cryed to theym I come Ladyes I come / she went to oure Lorde the sayd .xiiii. kalendas of Nouember / And anon came a great Lyght into the house that fyllyd all the house / And the towne full of a goodly swete [...]auoure / And she Lyeth in Oxforde.

¶De sancto furseo abbate & confessore

SEynt furse was borne in Irlonde / And was broder to seynt Foillane He was feyre and chaste of Bodye / deuoute in mynde / full of Grace & good Werkys / And fro his youth he was brought vppe in holy Letters / and lernynge of Relygyon / And on a tyme when he was seke and was seyinge his euynsonge a grete derkenes fell aboute hym / And he was brought in maner as he hadde ben deed / Then he sawe thre Aungells [Page xlvii] come to hym / And he herde theym synge (ibunt sancti de virtute invirtutem) and other merueylous swete songes And after Deuyllys before our Lorde leyde many thyngys agaynste hym / and the Aūgellys defendyd hym fro theyr accusacyons / and fro great terryble Fyres that he sawe / and fro all other daungers excepte that he had takyn a gowne of oon that was a synner to Praye for hym And the Deuyll threw that man vppon hym which burnyd his shulder so sore that it was seen vppon hym euer after / Then the Aungellys bade hym loke into the worlde / And he sawe the worlde lyke a great Ualsy / wherin were foure Fyres / And the Aungellys sayd that tho Fyres consume all y ^e worlde / The fyrste is y ^e fyre of lyinge in that that men at theyr Baptysme promyse to forsake the Deuyll and all his werkys and do not / The seconde is y ^e fyre of couetyse when men set the loue of the worlde before the loue of Heuenly thyngys / The thyrde is the Fyre of discencyon when men fere not to offende theyr neyghboures for veyne thynges / And the fourth fyre is of wyckydnes when great men fere not to robbe and spoyle pore men / And as he lokyd vp he sawe a great company of Aūgellys in heuyn & harde them synge (sanctus sanctus sanctus dn̄s deus sabaoth) & therby he was moch cōfortyd & sayd it was great ioy to here y ^t heuēly songe / & then two holy Busshoppys that lately were gon to heuyn apperyd to hym y ^t he shuld goo to the worlde ageyne wherfore he was very heuy / And they shewyd hym y ^t there is no sacryfyce more acceptable to our Lord then pacyence & myldenes of herte wherby all Aduersyteys / & Hurtys in truste of the resurreccyon to come be gladlye takyn / & many goodlye thynges / & notable lernyngys be in y ^e vysyon [Page] of this blessyd man y ^t for shortnes be here omyttyd / A yere after that he was come to hymselfe / as he was syke an Aungell apperyd to hym & sayd he shulde yet lyue. xii. yerys in prechynge the worde of god / And so he came to sygybert Kynge of eest Englonde / of whome he was gladly receyuyd / And at knoberesburgh he made a Monasterye / & when so euer he talkyd of his vysyon though it were colde wynter he swette for fere / And after he lefte the cure of y ^e Monasterye to his Broder seynt Foyllane and he went into Fraunce / & there made a Monasterye at Latynyacum / He lefte this worlde the .xvii. kalendas of February / and lyeth at perona & .iiii. yere after his buryenge his Bodye was remouyd & was foūde vncorrupte / He departyd about y ^e yere of our Lord .vi.C. & .xxxvi.

¶De sancto Gylda abbate & confessore.

SEynt gylda was a Kynges sone of scotlande & in his youth he was lernyd in the Artes lyberall / after he went into Fraunce & there he was .vii. yere / and fro thens he came into Brytayne where many scolers resortyd to hym / He fastyd lyke an Heremyte / And euer was busye in Prayers & were the heer / & he lyuyd w ^e Barly breed made with asshes / & dranke water / & neuer eete Flesshe / And in the nyghtys he sayde certeyne Prayers in the water takynge his slepe vppon a stone / And y ^e Heuenly rewardys were alwayes in his desyre / And he taught his dyscyples to despyse all y ^t was trāsytorye / on a tyme as he prechyd in y ^e Coūtrey of Epydane his voyce was stoppyd sodeynly / & when all the people merueylyd therat / he bad them all goo out of the Church that he myght knowe whether any of them were y ^e cause therof And at laste Nunnyta moder of seynt Dauyd then beynge [Page xlviii] with Chylde was founde in the Churche / and then he sayd that she shuld haue a blesshyd Chylde / that no man in his tyme shulde be lyke to / And y ^t for presence of y ^t blessyd Chylde / his speche was stoppyd / And so seynt Gylda went into Irlande & there he cōuertyd moch people / And after when kynge arthure had kyllyd his broder ho well he came into Brytayne / & there he forgaue kynge Arthure y ^e deth of his Broder And he dwellyd by seuerne / & there he buyldyd a Chyrche where he was moche in prayer He wrote a Boke of the foure Euangelystys y ^t was had in suche honoure y ^t the people durste not open it / And the people thought ther was no accorde fully made bytwixt enemyes but apon y ^t boke / And after he came to glastonbury / And not farre fro thens he buyldyd a Chyrche vppon a Ryuer where he lyuyd an Heremytys lyfe / After he felle syke wherfore he sent for the Abbot of glastonbury & desyred that he myght be buryed in his monasterye And so he went out of this worlde the fourth kalendas of february in the yere of our Lord .CCCCC. & .xii. & a grete lyght was seen about his Body / And he lyeth at Glastonbury.

¶De sancto Gilberto confessore.

SEynt gylbert was borne at sempyngham / and ī his youth he was so abiecte ī his faders House y ^t the seruauntys dysdeynyd to sytte with hym at mete / and at Scole he lytyll prophytyd / And so he wente into Fraunce / and there he toke degre of Mayster / And when he came ageyne into Englonde he began the ordre of Sempyngham of men and women / He labouryd all [Page] that he coulde for the helthe of so wllys / And to all that he coulde he prophytyd in worde / dede / and exaumple / And his father lykyd his conuersacyon so well that he presentyd hym to the chyrches of sempyngham & tyryngton on a tyme ther fell a lyghte temptacyon bytwyxt hym / & his hostys doughter / And the nyght folowynge he thought in his slepe that he had put his hāde so ferre in her bosom that he coulde not plucke it oute agayne / wherfore he feryd greatly & lefte that place / And after that virgyn was oon of the .vii. that he began his relygyon vppō / And all that he had aboue his necessary lyuynge he gaue to pore men after he was made preest / & then went to Rome to y ^e pope engeny to haue the Relygyon of Cisteux assygnyd to haue rule of his Monasteryes / And the Pope wolde not assent therto / ne yet the Cysteux / And then the Pope orderyd y ^t he shulde appoynt men therto hym selfe / And so he dyd / And in that Iourney he was moche famylyer with seynt malachye Busshoppe of Irlande / and with seynt Bernarde / And to his Bretherne he appoyntyd y ^e ruell of seynt Augustyne / And to the Susters the rule of seynt benedycte / and what so euyr he myslykyd in eyther of the Rulys he refourmyd / and sent his Rule to Rome where it was cōfermyd / he made .xiii. monasteryes wherin at his deth were aboute seuyn Hundred Bretherne / & fyue hundreth Susters / he louyd all his placys lyke moche / and put lyke dylygence for the one / as he dyd for the other / His rydynge apparell was symple / And his companye honest / He absteynyd alwey fro flesshe but in grete sykenes / In lent and Aduenthe absteynyd fro Fysshel He hadde at his table a dysshe that was callyd y ^e dysshe of Ihesu wherin he put mete for pore men not of the refuse [Page xlix] but very good / and after dyner hevsyd Redynge / prayer or medytacyon / he were in Wyntre / and Somerlyke many clothys / And he electyd one of his dyscyples to be his mayster & was to hym obedyent / and toke the habyt of a chanon / A man with werynge of his sockys was helyd of the gowte / Also fyre fledde fro the house where he was prayinge and hurte it not / And in the yere of our lorde god a thousande a hundred foure score and .ix. the day before the Nonas of February full of good werkys / and good exaumples he went to our Lorde / and was buryed honorably in the monastery of Sempyngham which he had foundyd.

¶De sancto Godrico seruo dei & heremita.

THe fader and moder of seynt Godryke dwellid in Norfolke in a Towne callyd Walpole they were pore of worldlye substaunce / and Ryche in vertues deuoutly prayinge to our Lord y ^t they myght haue a chylde apte to his seruyce / And so they had a sone whom they callyd Goderyke / And in his youthe he was a marchaūte vsynge / Feyrrys and Markettys / he went to seynt Andrewys in Scotlande / & soo to Rome & came whom with marchauntys by water / And went into Brytayne / Flaunders / and Denmarke / & wan moche good And .xvi. yerys he expendyd in suche busynes / And after he went twyse to Rome oon tyme he went by seynt Gyle / And the other tyme he toke his moder with hym whiche went barefote / And when he came whome at the laste tyme he solde all that he had & gaue it to poore men & lyuyd at caerlyle vnknowyn / Wher many folkys began to worshype [Page] hym wherfore he went into a wood / & lyuyd there with herbys & frutys & had no house / after he founde an olde heremyte / and eyther of them callyd other by his name & yet they neuer had herde of other before / & he taryed with hym tyll the other Heremyte dyed / And then seynt Cuthberte apperyd to hym & bad hym to go to Ierusalem and be crucyfyed with our Lord / & then to come agayne to a wood callyd fynkale a lytyll fro Duresme / And in y ^t Iourney he toke no sustenaunce but drye barley breed & water / And he chaungyd not his clothynge nor wasshed theym / ne chaungyd his shone tyll he came there so y ^t stonys & grauell were growyn into his feet so greuouslye y ^t the flesshe & bonys myght scarcely hange to gedyr / And at fleme Iordane he chauugyd hym & wyshe his Here / & fro that tyme he were no shone / Then he retournyd ageyne to fynkale / & by the ryuer of were he made a lytyll house where he dwelled vnknowen dyuerse yerys / & lyuyd w ^t Leuys & Rotys / & after he began to Laboure to get hym mete by his laboure / he dyggyd the grownde & sewe it / & made a Gardeyne / he neuer lay in Bedde but on y ^e groū de with a here vnder hym / & a stone vnder his Hedde / of all thyngys he eschewed Idelnes and wolde eyther be in Prayer / medytacyon or Laboure / He wolde stonde in y ^e water thoughe it were Froste / & snowe sometyme a moneth together in the nyghtys tyll the mornynge / & when his teth chakyid ī his heed / he wolde sey thys is greuous but y ^e fyre of Hell is moche more greuous / & in the coulde wynter he wolde go barefote so y ^t his feet sumtyme were cut so greuously y ^t a man myght put ī his fynger / he chose y ^e pryor of Duresme to be his mayster / & wolde not speke w ^t any man w ^tout lycēse of hym .iiii. dayes in the weke [Page l] sonday / mōday / tuesday / & fryday & also in festys & in aduēt & fro septuagesyme to Ester he kepte scylence / & after he began to enhabyt y ^t place / He neuer went out of it but thryse / he had dyuerse tymes great fowle deseasys of Byles / & of other fowle mater in all his Body w ^t intollerable payne / & yet he wolde take no medycyne / for he fayde he was worthy to suffer payne for his offencys / & wolde make oon to rubbe his sorys w ^t salte / & when he had ben .xi. yerys in wyldernes such a great swellynge toke hym in y ^e face & in all the Body y ^t he coulde scarcelye he knowen / & he had great inwarde peyne as though wormys had consumyd hym which he alweyes toke in pacyēce / & when his tyme drewe nere he callyd y ^e bretherne / & they leyde hym vppon a here with asshes & put on hym a stamyn & a cowle / for he was a lytell before made monke at Duresme / & so he went to our Lord y ^e .xii. kalendas of Iune in y ^e yere of our Lorde god .M.C.lxx. & many great myracles y ^t our Lord hath shewyd for this blessyd man / & the great temptacyons y ^t he had of y ^e goostlye enemye which ofte he apperyd to hym to haue deceyuyd hym som tyme lyke a pylgryme / sometyme lyke a woman & some tyme moche terrybly in lykenes of dyuerse bestys / & howe w ^t the sygne of the crosse he had euer the vyctory / And how our Lady & dyuerse other seyntys many tymys apperyd to hym and cōfortyd hym for shortnesse be here omyttyd.

¶De sancto Grimbaldo abbate & confessore.

ALfrede kynge of weste saxonyssente into Fraūce for a Monke callyd grymbalde & made hym Abbot in a Monastery y ^t he had newely made ī wynchester & there seynt grymbalde gaderyd a great cōpany of mō kys & taught thē diligētly letters & good maners he gaue [Page] great almys / he was deuoute ī prayers / & oftymys vsyd vygyllys / & full of good ensaumples / in great age he lefte this worlde / & went to the Euerlastynge rewarde in Heuyn the .viii. Ide of Iuly aboute the yere of oure Lorde. viii.C. foure score & .viii. & was buryed in his monasterye at wynchester that now by chaunce is callyd hyde / where he is hadde in great honoure.

¶De sancto Gudwalo ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Gudwalle was borne of noble Blood in y ^e partyes of Brytayne / And in his youthe he was put to lernynge / & when he came to age he was made preest & after Busshope / & he abhorryd all worldly thyngys / And what so euer came to hym prosperously of the worlde he turnyd it to the honoure of god / and at last seynge that his bysshopryke was in maner as a cheyn to bynde hym to the worlde / He lefte it to a dyscrete man & went to a Monasterye in his dyocesse / And nyghe to the Monastery there was a great Rocke lyke an Ile / and y ^t see went nyghe aboute it where seynt Gudwale cōtentyd with oon felawe made hym a lytyll House in the stone / & when he lackyd water he strake his staffe into the Rocke & by his prayer a feyre wellsprange out therof / After he gatheryd there a Hundred & foure score Bretherne y ^e see was so nygh the Monasterye that the grownde was verye lytell for so many ꝑsonys wherfore he went to the see syde / & set his staffe in y ^e groūde & chargyd the see in the name of our Lord Ihesu crist y ^t it shulde not passe that marke / & the see obeyed vnto hym / On a tyme he sent his discyples into a place where great rayne fell in all the cō trey & by his merytes there felle none in y ^e wey where his [Page li] discyples were / he helyd a wolfe y ^t had hurte his fote & cō maūdyd hym he shuld neuer doo hurte to any creature & that he shulde euer after ete Hey lyke an Oxe & so he dyd on a tyme a pore man askyd of hym almes / & bycause he had no other thynge at hande he gaue hym a Horse / and when the seruauntys on the morowe grudgyde at it there came a noder Horse lyke to y ^e same Horse ī euery thynge / & yet was not the same whom they toke & put to werke / seynt Myghell the arcaungell apperyd to hym & tolde hym the veray daye that he shulde leue this worlde / & anon as he was gon / seynt Peter & seynt paule apperyd to hym & cōfortyd hym / And he dyed the .viii. Ide of Iune / And when his bodye was leyde in a weyne to be caryed to a certeyne place to haue ben buryed the Oxen were made vnmouable / & coulde not goo nor styre / Wherfore by a cōmen assent two wylde kyne were put into the weyne / And they went streyght to an Ile callyd Plecyt / where he was honorably buryed / & after many yerys for fere of enemies the people of that Ile fledde a wey into dyuerse countreys / And the Brederne seynge other men flee toke the Body with them & went into Fraūce to Cleremoū te where the blessyd Relykys were leyde / And there our Lorde hath shewyd for hym many Myracles.

De sancto Gundleo rege & confessore.

SEynt gundleus was sone of the kynge of southe Brytons / & after his faders deth he deuydyd his Realme in seuyn ꝑtys / And gaue his syx bretherne theyr porcyons & they all obeyed to hym as to theyr superyor / & he had a sone callyd Cadoke / & as he & his wyfe lay in theyr bedde an Aūgell apperyd to them & sayd our Lorde wolde y ^t they shulde turne them with all theyr hertys [Page] to his seruyce & he shewyd theym y ^t in the mornynge they shuld goo to a lytyll hyll by a ryuer syde / & where as they saw a whyte oxe stāde there they shuld abyde / & in y ^e mornynge y ^e kynge lefte his Realme to seynt Cadoke his sone & went to y ^e sayd hyll / & as y ^e Aungell had sayd there he foūde a whyte oxe & there he made a churche & lyuyd ī great abstynēce / He were the here ete barley brede wherof the thyrde parte was asshes & dranke water / He wolryse in y ^e nyghtys & bathe hym ī y ^e water / & he wolde lyue on ī his owne laboure / & after his sone seynt Cadoke thē beynge Abbot of nancarbanense came to vysyte hym / & seynt Cadoke sayd y ^• the kyngedome of heuyn is not promysyd to them y ^t begyn well / but to theym y ^t ꝑseuer / & for lacke of water seynt Gundleus prayed & strake his staffe into the grounde / & anon a feyre well sprange vp / & when his tyme drewe nere he sent for seynt Dubryce Busshope of Landauēse / & for his sone Cadoke / And when they had comfortyd hym / & howselyd hym / he went to our lorde the .iiii. kalendas of apryll / & Aungellys haue ben ofte seen visytynge y ^e place where he was buryed / & dyuerse men haue ben greuously punysshed for wronge doynge to his Chyrche.

¶De sancto Guthlaco confessore.

SEynt guthlake was borne in the tyme of ethelrede Kynge of marshes & he was of the kynges blode / & at his byrthe a hāde was seen at y ^e dore lyke the hande of a redde man which was of a heuenly coloure makynge a crosse vppon y ^e dore / & when he was .xxiiii. yere of age he gaue hym selfe to Actys of chyualry / & defē dyd hys Father myghtely agaynste his enemyes / & bette downe castellys / & townys & in his moost cruelty he was also mercyfull & wolde geue to his enemyes y ^e thyrde parte [Page lii] of y ^t he geet / And after he consyderyd y ^t the glorye of y ^e worlde was but as smoke / & a vapoure of small abydynge / wherfore he caste away his Armoure / & went to repē don / & toke orders geuynge hym to monastycall lernynge / & he wolde drynke nothynge y ^t myght be occasyon of dystemperaunce / And after he went to crowlande where then no man durste enhabyte for fere of wyckyd spiritis / & there he lyuyd a blessyd lyfe & sufferyd great temptacyons / & persecucyons of wyckyd spiritis as in y ^t Legende apperyth at great length / & he was ofte delyuerd owte of trowbles & temptacyons by seynt Bartylmew whom he had in synguler deuocyon / on a tyme two Deuyllys in lykenes of men came to hym & ꝑswadyd hym to faste not two or thre dayes but by hole wekys / & put hym ī mynde of Moyses & hely howe they fastyd / & of the fastyngys of olde fathers of sythye / & thē he knewe they were wyckyd spiritis / wherfore he made his prayer & anon they vanysshed awey / & then he toke his sustenaunce of Barley brede as he was wonte to do / This blessyd man had suche a hoole entent to god y ^t there was neuer in his harte but pyte & charyte / & in his mouth there was nothynge but our lorde Ihesu Peas / mercy / & forgyuynge / He was neuer seen angry / prowde / or heuy but alwayes īoon sobrenes On a tyme he sawe two deuyllys wepe / & when he askyd them y ^e cause why they wepte / they sayd bycause he p̄uaylyd so ofte agaynste thē / & so he made y ^e sygne of y ^e crosse & anon they vanysshyd away / y ^e busshope hedda as he was goinge to seynt guthlake praysid moch y ^e strayghtnes of his lyfe / & oon of his chapleyns sayd y ^t he had seen many Heremytes some good & some euyll / & if he had ones seen hym he sayd he coulde tell whether he were so good as y ^e fame rāne vppō hym / & whē he cam to seynt guthlake he [Page] by spyryt knowynge his wordys askyd of hym howe he sayd by y ^t man y ^t he spake of y ^e day before / & then he was abasshyd & fell downe askynge hym forgyuenes / & thē y ^e Busshope made hym preest / he had a suster callyd pega / whom he wolde not see ī this lyfe to y ^e entēt they myght y ^e rather mete in the lyfe to come / & when his tyme drew nere he shewyd his discyple Bertelyn therof & bade hym y ^t he shulde praye his suster to se hym buryed / & then Bertelyn prayed seynt Guthlake to shewe hym who he was y ^t he had seen euery day syth his fyrste cūmynge to hym spekynge w ^t hym Mornynge & euenynge / & he sayde y ^t euer syth he came to y ^t wyldernes he had an Aūgell to cōforte hym & to helpe hym in his tēptacions / & that shewyd hym thynges to come w ^t other great secretys y ^t it was not laufull to speke & bade Bertelyn kepe it secrete & not to shew it to any ꝑsone but to his suster Pega & to a holy Anker callyd Egbert / & when he had thus spokyn there came a swete smell out of his mouthe as of Rose flowrys or Balme / & fro mydnyght to the mornynge was a great lyght seen in all y ^e house / & then he sayd to his dyscyple y ^t his tyme was come / & lyftynge vp his Ien & his hādys into Heuyn he slepte ī our Lorde aboute y ^e yere of grace .vii.C. & .vi. & aboute a yere after his deth his body was remouyd & was foūde vncorrupt w ^t all his clothys / a kynge callyd Ethelbalde which was wrongefully put out of his Realme & had be moche famylyer with seynt gutlake in his lyfe came to his tumbe & prayed deuoutly to hym for helpe & he apperyd to hym & tolde hym y ^t within two yerys he shuld be restoryd to his kyngdō & so he was & thē he buylded crowlāde & endewyd it w ^t great lōdes & many lybertyes as he hadde promysed to seynt Guthlake in his lyfe that he wolde doo.

[Page liii]

De sancta Helena regina.

Seynt helyn was doughter of cloell kyng of grete brytayn / & ī tho dayes y ^e senate of romesēte cōstā cyus which had subdued to thē y ^e coūtrey of spayne to subdue also to them brytayne / now callyd Englōde And cloell ferynge y ^e great wysdome of cōstancius anon assentyd to pay y ^• olde trybute & theruppon constancyus toke y ^e sayd helyn his doughter to wyfe & had by her constantyne whiche after the deth of his fader went to rome with great power of brytayne / & toke his moder w ^t hym & put downe maxencyus y ^e tyraūte / & was made Emperoure / after he was cōuertyd to y ^e feyth & also Crystenyd by seynt syluester / wherfore his moder praysyd hym y ^t he had lefte y ^e worshyppynge of Idollys but she thought he shuld rather haue receyuyd the feyth of y ^e god of y ^e Iues which she had thē receyuyd / then to receyue y ^e feythe of a man crucyfyed / & there vppon a tyme was appoyntyd betwyxte them to haue bothe lawes disputyd / at which day by the ꝓfounde argumētys of seynt Syluester & also by myracles y ^t our lorde shewyd in ꝓue of the feyth seynt Helyn & all y ^e docturys of y ^e Iues y ^t she brought w ^t her were cōuertyd to y ^e feyth / & when she was crystenyd she encouragyd her selfe to enlarge y ^e crysten feythe all y ^t she could & went to Iherusalem with a great power where she foū de y ^e holy crosse with y ^e thre naylys & the crybbe y ^t our lorde was leyed on & ꝑte of y ^e hey / & our Ladyes smokke / & she made monasteryes where our lord sufferyd his deth & passyon there as y ^e holy crosse was foūde & at Bethelē & in many other placys / After she went to ynde she made many churchys & brought with her y ^e Bodyes of the thre kynges of coleyne / & she broughte with her ꝑte of y ^e holy crosse to constantynople after she went to rome & grewe [Page] to suche hyghe charyte y ^t she was as a moder to all personys / And after when she laye syke she sawe heuyn open & our lord standynge with a great multytude of Aūgellys with his Crosse meruaylously shynynge which comfortyd her moche / She went to our Lord the .xv. kalendas of septēber / & was honorably buryed by y ^e Pope w ^t great wepynge of all y ^e people / & as it is sayd her body was trāslatyd to constantynople / & now it lyeth at venys.

De sancto Henrico heremita.

SEynt henry the heremyte was borne in denmarke / And on a tyme when all thynge was ordeynyd y ^t he shuld haue ben maryed our lord prohybytyd hym to be maryed / & bad hym kepe hym selfe clene & inmaculate fro this worlde / & that he shuld goo into the Ile of Coket / & so he came to tynmouth / & there he had leue of the pryor to go into the Ile of Coket / And certen yerys he lyuyd with brede & water / & after he ete but thryfe ī a weke & thre dayes in y ^e weke he kept o [...] cylence / On a tyme as he wolde haue goon to duresme but y ^t he hadde no bote to goo ouer the water of were he made his prayer & a bote of the ferther syde brake that y ^t it was tyed with & came ouer to hym / & so he went ouer therin / His frendys herynge where he was sent to hym / & mouyd hym to come agayne into his coūtrey seyinge there were dyuerse solytary placys in y ^t countrey more apte to lyue a solytary lyfe in then that / & somwhat for affeccyon to y ^e coūtrey He was mouyd therto / & in the nyght folowynge he made his prayers before y ^e crucyfyx to knowe y ^e wyll of our Lorde with great deuocyon / & the Crucyfyxe spake vnto hym & bad hym perseuer strongly in y ^t he had begon / & y ^t he shuld not leue y ^t Ile to thende of his lyfe / & he herynge that laye prostrat & besought our lorde y ^t he shuld not haue [Page liiii] power to goo though he wolde / & anon a great swellynge felle into his knee which grewe so greuous y ^t as he sate agaynste y ^e sone / wormys came oute of it / & he wolde take them vppe & byd them goo in agayne to that y ^t was theyr Inherytaūce & lyue of y ^t that had norysshyd them / & the more greuouse y ^t the desease grewe / y ^e more gladde he was yeldynge euer thākyngys to our lord / & thoughe the sykenes waxyd moche greuous / yet he wolde be alone abydynge the werynes of all y ^e longe nyghte without helpe / And whan y ^e houre of deth came he toke the bell rope in his hande to rynge y ^e bell & so deꝑtyd / & a monke he rynge y ^e bell rynge ranne thyder & foūde hym deed syttynge vppon a stone with y ^e bell rope in his hande & a Candell standynge by hym lyghtyd with a heuenly lyghte / & when his body was clēsyd fro y ^e fylthe anon it was whyte as snowe nothynge apperynge of the fyrste desease / & his face shone with such a bryghtnes y ^t he coulde scarsly be knowen / He dyed in y ^e yere of our Lorde a thousande a hundred and .xx. the .xvii. kalendas of February & lyeth at Tynmouth not farre fro the body of seynt Oswyne.

¶De sctīs Hewaldo nigro & Hewaldo albo mtibus.

WHen seynt wylly brorde with his felowes had cōuertyd moch people in fryselōde to y ^e feyth two blessyd men borne in Englonde whiche were both callyd Hewalde / & that had longe tyme ben in Irlonde went into olde saxonye to p̄che there y ^e worde of god & for dyuersyte of theyr here y ^e oon was callyd y ^e blacke Hewalde / & the other y ^e whyte Hewalde / & when they came into Fryselonde they were Harbored with a husbāde man of whom they desyred y ^t they myght be cōueyed to y ^e ruler of that coūtrey to do a message to hym & he ꝓmysyd thē they shuld so be & when [Page] they had taryed w ^t hym a certeyn tyme y ^e harbarouse people herynge y ^t they were of a noder relygyon & that they vsyd moche prayers & dayly dyd sacryfyce for they sayde dayly masse / they suspectyd y ^t if they shuld speke w ^t theyr Ruler they shuld cōuerte hym to y ^e crysten feyth / & so all y ^e ꝓuynce lyke to folow leuynge theyr olde lawe / wherfore they kyllyd them bothe the .v. nonas of October the whyte hewalde by shorte martyrdome / & the blacke hewalde by longe cruell tourmentys / & caste them into y ^e Ryuer of Ryne / & when the ruler herde therof he was very sore angry y ^t they wolde not let them speke with hym & sendynge thyder kyllyd all tho barbarous people y ^t had kyllyd y ^e blessyd martyrs & also burnyd the towne / & y ^e Bodyes of the sayd blessyd men went .xl. myle ageyne the streme to a place there as theyr felowys were / And a bryghte shynynge beame was seen euery nyght there as the Bodyes lay & so they were takyn vppe & buryed honorablye lyke gloryous martyrs / and after pipinus y ^e frenshe kynge remouyd theyr Bodyes to Coleyne & in tho partyes theyr feest is halowyd with great deuocyon.

¶De sancta Hilda virgine & abbatissa.

SEynt hylda was doughter to hereyce which was neuew to kynge Edwyn / & when kynge Edwyn was cōuertyd by prechynge of seynt paulyn / seynt hylda was also cōuertyd / & anon she lefte her scler habyte & decreed to serue our Lord She went to y ^e kynge of eest Englond to whom she was of kyn desyrynge hym to helpe y ^t she myght go to her suster hereswida into fraūce y ^t was a Nōne in y ^e monastery of Cale / & when she had ben a yere aboute y ^e purpose / seynt A [...]dan brought her agayne into her owne countrey / & there she was made Abbesse at the Monastery of herthey whiche was foūdyd by a blessyd [Page lv] Woman callyd bega y ^t was the fyrste Nōne y ^t euer was in the ꝓuynce of Northamhūbre / After seynt Hylda foū dyd the Monastery of streneshalch now callyd whytbye And as she had by coūceyll of holy men orderyd her fyrst Monastery with reguler discyplyne / so she orderyd this monastery and taught them prety abstynence / and other vertues / & especyall to haue peas & charyte / And she was of such great wisdome y ^t not only pore men but also kyngys & pryncys wolde aske coūceyll of her / by her prayers a great multytude of serpentys y ^t feryd her susters soo y ^t they durste scarcely come out of theyr sellys were turnyd into stonys / her seruaūte by her cōmaūdement bad a grete flocke of gees y ^t destroyed the Corne of her Monasterye to go into a certeyn grounde y ^t was enclosyd / & without taryenge they went thyder before hym as they were bydden / And when she came thyder she bade theym goo where they wolde / And oon of the Byrdys y ^t was deed she reysyd to lyfe & bad her goo after her felowys / and so she dyd / And by the wyll of our Lorde she had great contynuell sykenesse .vi. yerys before she dyed / & in the .vii. yere by great inwarde peyne she lefte this worlde y ^e .xv. kalendas of December / And a Nonne in a Monastery callyd Hacanos which seynt Hylda a lytyll before her deth had foundyd / & that was .xiii. myle fro thens as seynt hylda was / sawe her sowle borne into Heuyn with a great company of Aungellys.

¶De sancta Hildelitha virgine & abbatissa.

SEynt hyldelythe was Abbesse of Barkyng next after seynt Alburgh / & lyuyd vnto great age ī kepynge of reguler obseruaūcys / And by her exortacyons & good cōuersacyon she couragyd all men to Heuenly thynges & next to seynt Alburgh her feest is solempnysed [Page] at Barkynge in great honoure seynt Hyldelythe was not oonly had in honour with seynt Dūstane seynt Ethelwolde / & seynt elphege but also of many other olde holy Faders / her holynesse is cōmendyd / & it is wryttyn of her y ^t she was full of Charyte / a techer of vertue / a gyuer of good exaūples in vygyllys / fastyngys / benygnyte / & mercye / & that she w ^t great dylygens ꝓuydyd for all other y ^t they nedyd bothe in Body & sowle so that before god & man / she lyuyd without offēce / more apperyth not of her lyfe nor of her myracles but y ^e thre blynde Women that came all at oon tyme / oon to seynt Alburgh / a noder to seynt Hyldelythe / And the thyrde to seynt Wulfhylde receyuyd all thre theyr syghte.

¶De sancto Honorio archiep̄o & confessore.

SEynt honorye was discyple to seynt Gregory & after seynt Iustus he was electyd to be archebusshope of Caūterbury / & he was cōsecrate by paulyn archebusshope of yorke / & the Pope honoryus sent to hym a pall w ^t his letters wherin he decreyd y ^t whether of the archebusshope of Caūterbury or yorke dyed furste y ^t he y ^• ouerlyuyd shulde haue auctoryte to make a newe & not to goo at euery tyme to Rome by so great iourneys And this blessyd man made seynt Felyx busshope of eest Englonde which conuertyd all the Coūtrey to the feythe & when seynt Edwyn was deed / & all the Coūtrey of northamhūbre was trowblyd with Paganes / seynt paulyn and the quene Ethelburghe which was wyfe to Kynge Edwyn went to seynt Honorye / & he made seynt paulyn Busshope of rochester / & the quene Ethelburghe a Nonne at a place callyd lymmynge where she had foundyd a Monasterye vppon the groūde y ^t she had of the gyfte of [Page lvi] her Broder kynge Edbalde / where she was Mother to many virgyns & wydowys / This blessyd man made parysshys / ordeynyd clerkys / & p̄chourys / & bad them that they shulde instructe the people aswell by feyrenes & pacyence as by hygh doctryne / so y ^t the rude people myght be broughte to the loue of almyghty god aswell by swete techynge / as by sharpenes & drede / & our Lord so adournyd this blessyd man with pure feythe & goodlye conuersacyon in many sygnys & vertues y ^t he shone in this Realme of Englonde as a lanterne & put away errours & cō uertyd many paganes to the feythe / releuynge the wretchydnes of the people with prayer & consolacyon / so that his lyfe shone lyke glasse to all y ^t wolde loke in it / he was strayght & harde to hymselfe / & lyberall to y ^e pore people seruynge our lord ī humylyte & charyte / he went out of y ^e prysone of this worlde y ^e day before the kalendas of october in the yere of our lorde god syx Hundred fyghtye and thre / & lyeth in the monasterye of seynt Peter and paule at Caūterbury & many yerys after when his Body was remouyd there was so goodly as wete sauoure that all y ^t were there p̄sent gaue thākynges & laudys to our lorde.

¶De puero Hugone a iudeis crucifixo.

IN the yere of our Lorde a .M.CC. & .lv. aboute y ^e feestys of seynt Peter & paule / y ^e Iewys of Lyncolne stale a cristen Chylde that was aboute the age of .viii. yerys callyd hugh / & they put hym ī a secrete house & fedde hym .x. dayes with mylke y ^t he myght abyde y ^e gretter turmētys / & thereupō they sent to all y ^e townys in Englō de, wherein were any Iewys to haue some of thē to be at y ^e [Page] sacryfyce of this Chylde which they entendyd to crucyfye in despyte of our lorde Ihesu Cryste / And when they were gaderyd they appoyntyd a Iuge as for Pylat / & so they Iugyd Hym to deth / And then they bet hym soo that the blode folowyd / they crownyd hym with thorne they spyt vppon hym / and mockyd hym / and euery man pryckyd hym with his Knyfe / they gaue hym to drynke Gall / And with great opprobryes & blasphemouse wordys with gnasshynge of theyr teth they callyd hym Ihesus the Cursyd prophet / And after they Crucyfyed hym / And with a spere thruste hym to the Herte / And when he was deed they toke his Body fro the Crosse and vnbowelde hym for theyr enchauntementys / After when they leyde his Bodye into the grounde / the groūde wolde not kepe it but caste it vppe agayne / wherfore they were merueylously aferde / And threwe hym into a Pytte / After y ^e moder of the Chylde which made great sorowe / and dylygentlye enqueryd for hym harde say that he was seen laste at a Iewys house pleyinge with Iewys chyldren / And so she went sodeynly into the House / And there she founde the Chylde / and vppon that suspeccyon the man that owyd the House was takyn / And he confessyd the murder / wherupon .xviii. of the Rychest of the Iewys of Lyncolne y ^t assentyd to y ^e martyrdome of y ^e sayd blessyd chylde were drawyn & hangyd / & the chanōs of Lyncoln̄ askyd the Body of y ^e sayde Chylde & buryed hym lyke a gloryouse martyr.

¶De sancto hugone ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt hugh whē he was but .viii. yere olde was set to Reguler discyplyne & was euer broughte vp in vtue / he neuer knewe pleasurys of y ^e Worlde nor lernyd [Page lvii] any maner of disportꝭ / after he was made a Chanon regler in a monastery in Grāmiople where his fader lyued vnder reguler discipline: & as lōge as his fader lyued he wiped his shone & made his bedde & was dylygent to hym in all other thyngꝭ / & after for zele of a streyghter Religion he entred into relygiō in y ^e ordre of Chartuc & there he was made prest And whan he was at Masse he ordred hymself as if our lorde had ben visibly there present / and he vsed moch vigylles fastyngꝭ and scorgynges ofte fasted brede and water / and weer the heere as the vse of the Relygion is and after when he was made proctour he thought in his slepe that he that made hym prest came to hym & opened his bely with a Raser and cut fro hym a thyng lyke a bylle of fyre and he neuer after felt temptacion of the flesshe / but that he myght lyghtly despyse / After by desyre of kynge Henry the seconde he was sent into Englande to be Pryor of Wythm̄ thoughe he moche refused it and on a tyme whan he came to the kynge for certeyne thynges that they neded / and the kynge gaue hym lytell comforte but fayre wordes / one Gerarde that came with seynt Hugh [...] sayd to the kynge that he wolde go home agayne into his Countre / and tolde the kyng that he sawe well that al that he gaue for his soule helth he thought it loste / and seynt Hughe bad hym leue suche wordes or holde his peace / and then he spake to the kynge in suche sobre & charytable maner y ^t when he had doon the kynge enbraced hym and sayd verayly he shuld neuer go from hym / but y ^t he wolde kepe hym and take counsell of hym for the helth of his soule / & anone he gaue to seynt Hughe all that he asked / one a tyme when the kynge was in great ꝑell of the see / he had great truste in y ^e prayer of seynt Hughe and of his bretherne / and as it is sayd he aduowed that if he came safe to [Page] lande he wolde make hym a bysshop and forthwith the tempest ceasyd when the buyldynge was done at Wytham he wolde euer be occupyed in prayer redynge medytacyon or in some spirituell collacion or exortacion / he wolde neuer lye in his bedde wakynge but eyther ryse & go to prayer or īmediatly slepe agayne / and when y ^e bysshop of Lyncoln̄ was translated to Rome seynt Hughe was elected therto / And he sayd he wolde in no wyse take it vpon hym w ^tout assent of the hedde house / and when that was opteyned he wolde nat yet agre tyll he was aserteyned of the hole assent of all the Chanons of Lyncoln̄ / and then the Dean of Lyncoln̄ & the chyef of the Chapiter came to hym to wytham / & when they had herde hym speke they all desyred hym with great ī staunce & deuocōn to take it vpon hym / & then he assented y ^e firste nyght that he came into his Bysshopryche he harde a voyce say to hym in his slepe Egressus es īsalutē ppli tui in salutem cū xp̄o tuo: And after seynt Hughe accursed y ^e kynges chyef Forster for doynge agaynst the lyberte of y ^e churche / wherfore y ^e kynge toke great displesure and that mater nat yet determyned the kynge desyred of hym for one of his clerkꝭ the noīacion of a Benefyce that was then voyde and in the gyft of seynt Hughe & he denyed it / wherfore the kynge was more angry and sent for hym / and when he came he founde the kynge syttynge amonge his lordes & the kynge wolde nat suffre any of them to ryse to hym / & yet neuertheles when he had harde his answeres & his sayingꝭ y ^e kynge was cōtented / & when he deꝑted cōmytted hym to his prayers & euery yere ones or twyse he wolde be at wytham and kepe his sell / & somtyme when he came furth by reason of y ^e famylyer spekynge w ^t our lorde he had two bryght beames came fro his face / a voyce bad a clerke thre tymes y ^t he shulde [Page lviii] go to the bysshop of Lyncoln̄ & byd hym speke to the Archebysshop of Caūterbury that tharchebysshop togyther with hym shuld more dilygently helpe to reforme y ^e clergye for our lorde was greatly displeasyd w ^t theim Curatꝭ were made y ^t were vnable / & benesycꝭ were set to ferme for temporall ꝓfyte nothynge regardynge the helth of the soules / ne yet the cōforte of pore men / And when y ^e clerke made doute how the bysshop shuld byleue hym bycause of his youth the voyce said when he had shewyd to the bysshop that / that he shulde se before the Bysshop as he was at Masse he shuld byleue hym: And so he went & dyd his message / and as the bysshop was at Masse he sawe the Hoste when it was lyft vp bytwyxt the bysshoppes handes tourned into the veray body of our lorde Ihū criste / & it was lyke a lytell childe more beauteous then man can tell / and when he had shewyd this to the bysshop he bad hym kepe it close and aduertysed hym that he that had seen suche thynges shuld neuer busye hymselfe in the worlde / but that he shuld entre into Relygyo [...] and so he dyd and lyued a blessyd lyfe when kynge Rycharde went into Fraunce to warre vpon the Frenche kynge / seynt Hughe and the bysshop of Salysbury denyed to gyue any thynge to the Kynge for they sayd they were nat bounde to helpe hym / but oonly within the Realme / wherfore the Kynge was meruaylously angry and cōmaunded to sease all that they hadde / But there durste noo man medell with seynt Hughe for fere of the punysshement of god / then afterwarde he went ouer the See to the kynge / and when he came before the kynges presence where he was at Masse / the kynge loked vpon hym with an Angry countenaunce / and wolde nat speke to hym and thenne he went to the kynge and toke hym aboute the necke / and hadde hym [Page] kysse hym for he sayd he had deseruyd it / and the kyng meruaylynge his constaunce smyled and kyssed hym: And at that masse tyme the kynge ꝑceyued right well that he was a holy man & when an Archebysshop kyssed the kynge for the pax the kynge rose and kyssed seynt Hughe / And after masse he admonysshed the kyng that he shuld take hede to the helth of his soule & how he dyd inwardly / And when y ^e kynge tolde hym that he thought his conscyens was clere / but it were for hatred to his enemyes / he said there was a cō men sayinge that he kept nat his wedlocke & also that he toke nat hede to make good curatꝭ / and when he had admonysshed the kynge of dyuerse thyngꝭ he gaue the kynge his blessynge & so departed / and when he was goon the kynge sayd that if there were many such Bysshoppes there durst no prynce do agaynst theym: And when the kynge shortly after had a great victorye of the Frenche kynge he arected it to the prayers of seynt Hugh / he helyd two ꝑsons y ^t were obsessed w ^t deuylles after he fell syke of a greuous Axes / & when he shuld be houseled he went bare fote in a heere with a Coule and met the sacrament / and made longe prayer & amonge other thynges he sayd that for loue drede or hatered / or for any other cause he neuer wyttyngly went fro the truthe / And in the yere of our Lorde god .M.CC. and syx in the octaues of seynt Martyn y ^e Bysshop he went to our lorde / as he was in caryinge to Lyncoln̄ foure tapres burned contynually by the way that neuer went out / At bykleswade by his merytꝭ a man was made hole that had broken his arme / and at staumforde a cordoner whiche had great deuocion to seynt Hughe bysought almyghty god that he myght dye & go to heuyn w ^t hym / & so beynge confessyd & howselyd he dyed fourth with and seynt Hughe was caryed [Page lix] fourth to Lyncoln̄ & was there buryed honourably.

¶De sancto Iohē de Bridlyngton̄.

SEynt Iohn̄ of Brydlyngton̄ was brone in y ^e Coū te of yorke by the seesyde / and in his youth he was set to lernynge by his Fader and moder / & he put nat his mynde oonly to haue cūnynge / but also to heuynly thynges somtyme when he was at Oxforde he wolde leue the sophystycall argumentꝭ & lyft his mynde in prayer to o ^r lorde / and for his cūnynge and vertue a great riche man toke hym to be maister to his children nat oonly to teche them cūnynge but also to eschewe vyces / & when he was about y ^e age of .xx. yeres he consydered the deceytfull flateryng of y ^e worlde wherfore he entred into Relygyon at the Monasterye of Bridlyngton̄ where he was anone meke obediēt shynynge in Charyte dispysynge the worlde rygorouse in abstynence endewed with Iustice vsynge vigylles and prayers & w ^tout cessynge seruyng our lord / & there he was chosen to be precentour and so almonyser and then suppriour & after when the pryor resygned he was chosen to be pryor & he refused it and sayd that knowynge his ignoraūce he had leuer suffer great payne then to take it vpon hym / and so a nother was chosen and after his dethe seynt Iohn̄ was eftsones elected by hoole assent / and then trustynge in the mercy of our lorde consyderynge that the greatter labour shall haue the greatter rewarde he toke the charge vpon hym / In whiche offyce he kept the vygylles with the Couent in the nyght / And also the seruyce in the day and fedde y ^e hungry / clothed the naked comforted theym that were in heuynes appesyd stryffes and norysshed loue so vsyng actiflyfe [Page] that he forget nat contemplatyfe / & somtyme when he was at masse he was in so hyghe deuocyon that he coulde nat absteyne fro wepynge / and that he reputed to his feblenes often tymes he wolde admonysshe his bretherne to be ware of temptacyons and to exclude women fro theyr company / he wolde alway dyne and soupe with the bretherne in the fraytour without great company of straungers caused the contrarye / he lay in the Dortor and wolde weer no furre but of lambe / On a tyme one of his bretherne openly afore moche company spake euyll and vngoodly wordes vnto hym and he answered nothyng agayne / and when one of the company meruayled therat he sayd it was nat best where was to great a fyre to ley to more styckes / but he sayd by good dylyberacion the mater shuld rightwell come to reformacion / and so though he was of Colerike complexcion by grace he subdued nature to reason / and agaynst theym that wolde trouble his Churche he was armed with great constaunce and on a tyme nat ī angre but charitably he sayd to a great mannes seruaunte that entended to do great wronge to his Monasterye that he shuld beware y ^t for his maysters pleasure he went nat hymselfe to helle and tho wordes toke sueffecte in that man that in the mornyng he sayd whyle he lyued he wolde be a frende to the house / & so his mynde chaū ged and the varyaunce ceased / our Lorde shewyd for hym many myracles he appered to men in the see that were in ꝑell and saued theym in lyke maner as it is redde of seynt Nicholas / and they after knewe hym by the Fygoure that appered to theym in the see / By his prayer a woman that by lykelyhode of age dispeyred to haue children cōceyued and had two doughters & one of them had a great deformyte in her face / wherfore he hadde the Father that when he came [Page lviii] home he shuld ley his thumbe vpon the place so deformed & he in the meane tyme wolde praye for her and he dyd so and within the space of an houre the deformyte went away. Also by his blyssynge whete in his barne encreased ten tymes asmoch as it was / after he fell syke of the sykenes / and then he called his bretherne and exorted theym to kepe humylyte vnyte obedience and charite / and theyr statutes Reguler nat to breke the leest obseruaunces of theyr Relygion / and bad them when he was gone they shuld electe a nother tha shuld ordre and norysshe the bretherne and they shuld welse that he had nat habundaunce of Ryches / and that yet he was out of dette / In his sykenes he toke Fysyke for he sayde he wolde do that was in hym for his helthe and thre dayes he was vysyted with Aungellys / And when he had ben Pryor .xvii. yeres he went to heuyn In the yere of our Lorde a Thousande thre hondred .lxxix. And lyeth in his Monasterye for whom our lorde hath shewyd innumrable myracles.

¶De sancto Ioseph Ab arimathia.

WHen our Lorde Ihesu Criste was crucefyed Ioseph Ab Arimathia asked of Pylate the bodye of our Lorde / and leyde it in a clene Sendell / and put it in a Sepulcre that no man had ben buryed in as the Euangelyst testifie & the Iues heryng therof put hym in a derke Pryson that had no wyndowe and Annas and Cayphas locked the dores and after when they had thought to haue put hym to deth they sent [Page] for hym to the pryson and before theyr cōmynge on the saterday at nyght our lord apperyd to hym w ^t a great bryghtnes as he was in prayer & foure aungellys lyfted vp by y ^e house that he was in and our Lorde sayd to hym I am Ihesus whom thou hast buryed / and then Ioseph sayd lord if thou be he shewe me the monumēt that I put the in and our lord toke hym by the hande and ledde hym to the sepulcre & fro thens he brought hym into his house at Arimathe after the Iues sent for hym & asked of hym howe he came out of pryson and he tolde them as byfore apperyth / and then they let hym goo / & he became disciple to seynt Phylyp & of hym he and his sone Iosefes were baptised and he was a messēger fro Ephese bytwyxt seynt John̄ Euangelyst and our Ladye and was at her deꝑtynge with other disciples he was a Constaunte precher of the worde of god as he had herde of our lorde and of our Lady and conuertyd moche people after he with his sone Iosefes went into Fraunce to seynt Phylyp / and he sent Ioseph and his sone with .x. other into Brytayne / & at last they came to a place then called Inswytryū nowe called glastonburye / and thyse verses be made at Glastonburye of theyr cōmynge. Intrat Aualloniā duo dena caterua viro (rum) / flos Arimathie Ioseph est primꝰ co (rum) / Iosefesex Ioseph genitꝰ pr̄em cōmitat̄ / hiis aliis (que) decemius glastonie ꝓpriat. And after by monycion of the Archaū gell gabryell they made a Churche or oratory of o ^r Lady / & there they lyued a blessyd lyf in vigylles fastyngꝭ & prayers And two kynges seynge theyr blessid lyfe though thy were paynymes gaue to eueryche of theym a hyde of lande whiche to this day be called the .xii. hydes / and there they dyed and Ioseph was buryed nygh to the sayd oratory.

[Page lx]

¶De sancto Iltuto abbate & confessore.

SEynt Iltute was sone to a noble knyght of kyn to kynge Arthur and in his youthe when he was put to lernyng what soeuer he ones herde of his mayster he euer bere it away / after he went to kyng arthur where he was honourably receyued / then he went to y ^e kyng of Morgan / and there he was in suche fauour that he was as the seconde to hym / and after heryng that the grounde opened and swalowed vp his seruauntes for doynge wronge to seynt Cadoke he askyd forgyuenes of seynt Cadoke / & then by counsell of seynt Cadoke: And also by monycion of an Aungell that bad hym that he shuld neuer loue transitory thingꝭ he left the world / And of Dubrice bysshop of Landaffe he toke ordres then he made a Churche where he lyued a blessyd lyfe in fastyngꝭ and prayer / he wolde laboure his owne handes / and nat trust to the laboure of any other in the nyghtꝭ he wolde be prayng in the water on his knees halfe the nyght / seynt Sampson paulyne gyldas and Dauid were his disciples with many other in so great nombre that he appoynted fyftye alway to be in prayer / whenne the great wawes of the see troubled y ^e Monasterie by his prayers the see withdrewe his course and lefte the groūde drye a great spase whiche so enduryth to this daye & a fayre welle of Fresshe water sprange in the same grounde so beyngenyghe vnto the salte water / The kynges bayliffe troubled the Monasterye greatly / wherfore he meltyd away lyke waxe and the kynge herynge therof was angry and wolde haue kylled seint Iltute / wherfore he flede and hydde hymselfe a yere in a Caue where euery daye he had brought to hym of the prouysyon of our Lorde a barly lofe and a pece [Page] of flesshe / Theuys that on a nyght stale his hogges in the mornynge came agayne to the gates of the Monasterye / & when they wolde nat yet beware / but stele agayne the nexte nyght they were tourned into stones that be there to this day / In the ende of his lyfe he went into lytell Brytayne / And there he dyed the .viii. Ide of Nouembre and lyeth at Dolence.

¶De sancto Indracto & sociis eius martiribus.

SEynt Indracte martyr was a kynges sone borne in Irlande / and he with .ix. Felawes and his suster Domynyke went into Brytayne / and there they made an Oratorye and lyued a strayght lyfe in the seruyce of god many yeres / he had a water with certayne Fysshes therin and thoughe one were taken dayly the nombre mynysshed nat tyll one of his felawes stale one of theym / and then they mynysshed and heseyng that thought it was nat the wyll of god that he shuld tarye any lenger there / and so with his .ix. felawes he went to Rome and after retourned to Glastonburye to worshyp seynt Patryke for in tho dayes Irysshe men came moche to Glastonburye for loue of seynt Patryke / & as he wolde haue retourned into his countre he with his compan [...] [...]ere martyred at Shapwyke in theyr beddes by mynysters of [...]ue Kynge of Westsaxons that thought that they had hadde moche Riches & the kynge as he rose in the nyght thre nyghtes togyder sawe a clere shynynge beame ouer the place were they were hydde in a depe dyke and so they were Founde and conueyed honorably to Glastonbury / and they that martyred theim were taken w ^t deuylles so wodely that they ete their owne flesshe a woman that byfore that tyme by no maner of prechynge wolde be conuerted when she sawe the beame that the kynge [Page lxi] sawe vpon the blessyd sayntꝭ she was conuertyd & foure score ꝑsons were also conuerted by the reporte that she made of that that she had seen.

¶De sancto Iohē Beuerlaco Ep̄o & confessore.

SSeynt Iohn̄ of Beuerley was borne in Englāde & in his yonge Age he was cōmytted to seynt The oder Archebysshop of Caunterbury to instruct / & he enformed hym in holy scripture / and when he was well instructed he prechyd in the countre in small vyllages to y ^e people / and when Cata the bysshop dyed he was made bysshop & gaue ordre of presthode to venerable Bede / he vsed euery Lent to prouyde some pore impotent persone that he myght do charyte vpon / & one that was so ꝓuyded whiche was mute fro his natiuyte he helyd / also w ^t his blessynge he helyd a Nonne y ^t w ^t lettyng of blode in vncōuenyent tyme was at the poynt of deth / after the deth of Bosa Archebysshop of yorke he was electetd thyther / and when he came to great age he lefte his Bysshopryche and went to his Monasterye at Beuerley there he lyued a blessyd solytarie lyfe & he dyed in the yere of our lord .vii.C. & .xxi. in the Nonas of Maii / for whom our lorde hath she wyd many great myracles / he helyd two blynde children & two women that were contracte / & in the yere of o ^r lord .M.CCC. & .xii. oyle came out of his tumbe tyll thre of the cloke of the next day y ^t helyd many blynde men / kyng Ethelstan̄ prayed vnto seīt Iohn̄ that by his prayer some euydēt tokē myght apꝑe y ^t of right Scotlāde shuld be subiect to Englande / & therupon w ^t his swerde he strake vpon a rocke of stone by Dūbarre in scotland / & it waxed holowe w ^t y ^e stroke an Elne depe which cō tyenuyth to this day / as he was praying this lyf in y ^• porch of seīt Michellꝭ of york y ^e holy gost apperid to hȳ ī lykenes [Page] of a Doue more bryght then the sonne beame / and when y ^e people in the Churche meruayled at the lyght one of the dekons went to the porche & sawe the bysshop there in prayer and with the hete of the holy ghost his face was stryken so that the skyn shranke togyther / and then seynt Iohn̄ handeled his cheke / and made it hole and bad hym kepe that vysyon secret.

¶De sancto Ithamar Ep̄o et confessore.

SEynt Ithamar was of the countre of Kent & was bysshop of Rochester and as Bede wytnessyth he succedyd to seynt Paulyn and was in vertuous lyfe and cūnynge lyke to his predecessour / and after his deꝑtynge out of this world almyghty god shewyd for hym many myracles dyuers that were vexed with the Axes / & that had sore iyen by his prayers were made hole / A childe that w ^t great feblenes was become dombe & deffe at the tumbe of seynt Ithamar receyued ꝑfyte helth and he lyeth at Rochester / he helyd a bysshop of Rochester of a great desease that he had in his iyen / & therfore in y ^e fourth Ide of Iune he remouyd his Relykes and put theym in a newe cheste / & at that day his seruyce is kept / in remembraūce of that myracle and of other that our lorde shewyd for hym.

¶De sancto Iuone Ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt yue was a Kynges sone borne in the Cytie of Fryane in ꝑsyde and there he was made bysshop / after he was made Archebysshop of Asitanda where he was dylygent for the helth of the people to hym cōmytted tyl for [Page lxii] the synnes of the people there fell suche a derth that the Father ete the sone the moder the doughter & the prelatꝭ theyr subgettes / wherfore seynt yue with .xi. felowes relygyous went to Rome / and by councell of the Pope they seuered in to dyuerse coūtres / & seynt Iue with Sythyo his neuewe and Inthyo his kynnesman aboute the yere of our lorde six hondred came into Brytayne now called Englande into a towne called Slepe thre myle fro Hūtyngdon̄ / & there ended his lyfe seruynge almyghty god in fastynge and prayer and other good werkes and lay vnknowen many yeres vnto his tumbe was foūde by a husbondman w ^t his plough And then he by reuelacion shewyd to a smythe who he was and what was his name / wherupon he was translated to Ramsey as he appoynted to be / the yere of our lorde a thousande & one / in the .viii. kalend of Maii / and the .iiii. Ide of Iune his translacion was cōsecrate / & cōmaunded to be halowed / out of his tumbe spryngyth fayre water y ^t hath gyuen helth to man [...] people / A childe toke of the water to seth mete & it wold in no wyse be made hote though it had great plente of fyre & o ^r lord hath shewid for hym many myracles

¶De sancto ywyo confessore.

SEynt ywyo was of noble blode of the Brytons & was brought vp in the Ile of Lyndefernens and was disciple to seynt Cuthbert In his youth he toke orders or his fader or moder were ware / and of seynt Cuthbert he toke Dekon / he prophyted meruaylously in cūnynge so that profoūde clerkes had hym in great reuerence / he was oft in the Churche at prayer / and as to the world he was nat studyous what shuld fall on the morowe [Page] he endeuoured hym self to helpe the necessyte of euery man the beste he coulde / he gaue almes to the pore / he forgaue theym that had offended hym / he clothed the naked and cō forted them that were ī heuynes / as he was helpyng seynt Cuthbert to masse a pore man that was syke of the Axes came lenynge on his staffe to offer & to kysse seynt Cuthbertꝭ hande and seynt ywyo seynge hym toke hym by the hande to helpe hym and anone he was hole / whiche he arected to the holynes of seynt Cuthbert and nat of his owne / he gaue a man syder to drynke and anon he was hole of a desease y ^t he had longe had / after dredyng y ^e vayne glorie of y ^e world he went into lytel Brytayne / & there he helyd one of the palsey / and there he punysshed his body with oft vigylles & fastynges & gaue example of mekenes and of all vertues and the daye byfore / the daye byfore the Nonas of Octobre he passed to our lorde / he lyeth now at Wylton̄ / and in the Legende / in the lyfe of seynt Edyth it apperyth how his body was brought thyder.

¶De sancto Iustinano martire.

SEynt Iustinan was of the noble blode of lytell brytayne / & after he was made preest he herde a voyce that bad hym leue his countre / his kynred and the house of his fader & so he dyd & with certeyne felowes went into the see ia shyp made of ledder and roddes / & besought almyghty god that it myght brynge hym to a place where he myght lyue a solytarye lyfe / and so he came into a lande called Corm̄ / where many by his example forsoke y ^e world and yet he was eftsones warned to leue that place / and so he went into the see and as the wynde droue hym / he came into an Ile called Lemonia / and the fame of this holy man [Page lxiii] came to seynt Dauid / the whiche was very glad of the cō mynge of such a holy man / and sent messengers for hym / & receyued hym honorably chewsynge hym to be his ghostly father / and on a tyme wyckyd spiritꝭ in the lykenes of men shewyd hym that seynt Dauid was syke and had sent for hym / wherfore anone he toke shyp with theym / and on the see he perceyued they were wycked spirites and no men / & thenne he lyfte vp his herte to almyghty god and began the psalme Deus in adiutorium meum intende. And when he came to this verse Confundātur & reuereantur qui querūt animam meam: they vanysshed away lyke blacke crowes / and left hym in the see and on a stone that rose fro the bottom of the see he was brought saufe to lande & founde seynt Dauid in good helth. The deuyll seynge he coulde nat pre [...]ayle agaynst hym by any maner temptacōn styred his seruaūtes agaynst hym with suche malyce / that they despysed his doctryne and stroke of his hedde and he toke his hedde in his armes and bare it vpon the see / into a place where he was buryed / & there as his hedde fell sprange a fayre welle / and the water therof helyd a man that was poysoned / and they that kylled hym were stryken leper and dyd great penaūce all theyr lyues in a hylle that yet is called the lepours hylle / after seīt Dauid brought his body to Menonia now called seynt Dauidꝭ / where he buryed it honorably.

¶De sancto Iusto Archiep̄o et confessore.

AFter kynge Ethelbert & his people were conuerted to y ^e fayth by seynt Augustyne he sent worde therof to Rome to seynt Gregorie / & y ^t there was moche corne & fewe werkemen wherfore seynt Gregorie alway diligent [Page] for Englande sent seynt Iuste / and thre other holy Faders Mellite / Paulyne / and Rufyne / into Englande to assiste seynt Austyn in ghostly werkes and instructyng of the people and seynt Austyne made hym bysshop of Rochester / After he was dryuen out of his see by Edbald that was kyng Ethelbertes sone and by the thre sones of Sabert kynge of est saxons whiche were Apostatase as in y ^e lyf of seynt Mellyte apperyth / wherfore he wente into Fraunce / and when Edbald was cōuertyd by seint Laurence he came agayne / and aftre seynt Melyte was deed seynt Iustus was made Archebysshop of Caunterburye / he endeuoured hymselfe all that he coulde to magnyfie our lorde amonge the poeple by fayre speche by thretenynges by promes of euerlastyng Ioye by fere of payne in all Charite / and he conuertyd moche people to the fayth and was a man of great merytes as apperyth by letters that [...] Bonyface wrote vnto hym wherin he conforted hym to preche by the wordes that oure lorde sayd to the prechours I shall be with you vnto the ende of the worlde and he sent hym a palle / and gaue hym auctorite to make other bysshoppes where nede was / he went out of this wrold the fourth Idus of Nouembre / and was buryed at Caunterbury / and when he shuld be translated / as soone as his tumbe was opened ther was a goodly swete sauour and as for other myracles it is nat moche matery all where the good lyfe suffycyently apperyth.

¶De sancta Iuthwara virgine & martyre.

SEynt Iuthwara virgyne fro her youth serued out lorde in good werkes ꝑseueraūtlye / and was veray dylygent to serue pore pylgrymes that came to her fathers [Page lxiiii] house / her moder ī lawe sought oftymes occasions agaynst her and with watchynges / fastyngꝭ / and longe prayers she waxed pale coloured and after her fathers dethe her moder in lawe vnder coloure of medysyne aduysed her to ley new these to her tetes to helpe the sykenes of the brest / and so she dyd mystrustynge no thynge / And afterwarde / her moder in lawe tolde her broder called Banam y ^t she was w ^t childe & bad hym loke on her brestꝭ & he shuld fynde mylke in them & therupon afore moche people in great hast he demaunded of her who had goten her with childe / & she therwith astonyed denyed & sayd she was nat w ^t childe / & then her broder as he was taught opened her brestꝭ / & when he sawe mylke aboute theym in a furyous wodnes with his swerde he strake of her hedde / & she toke vp her hedde afore all the people / & bare it to the churche & there as her hedde was stryken of sprange a fayre welle & atre by myracle grewe vpon the same welle whiche many yeres after with great wynde was blowe downe vpon y ^e next house so that y ^e bowes stopped y ^e cōmyng in / wherfore the owner of the house wolde haue cut away the bowes and anone the tree Rose vpright agayne and toke a yonge man with it that was aboute to haue lopped it so that he was fayne to crye for helpe / whiche all the people referryd to the merytes of seynt Iuthwara / At her sepulchre a knyght that was lame and went with staues recouered his helthe.

¶De sancto Kebio Ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Kebius was borne of noble blod in Cornewale and after he had studyed .xx. yere in his countree he went to Hillarie bysshop of Pictanens and was with hym [Page] l. yeres where he gaue blynde men theyr syght clensyd Lepours / helyd men that had the palsey that were dombe or y ^t were obsessyd with deuylles / and there Hillarie made hym bysshop / after by monycōn of an aūgell he retourned agayne into his countre / & therwith his company he lodgyd in y ^e kynges medowe & as the kynge was cōmynge to haue dryuen theym away his hors fell sodenly deed vnder hym & he with al his company were stryken blynde and by prayer of seynt Kebius they were all helyd agayne / and then the kynge gaue hym two churches / fro thens he went to seynt Dauidꝭ and so into Irlande where the seruauntes of a Rycheman toke his calfe & bonde it to a tre and wolde nat delyuer it / but after by prayer of seynt Kebius bothe the calfe & the tre pulled vp by the rotes came fro the ryche man to the dame whiche seynt Kebius had ordeyned for an olde man y ^t was his kynnesman y ^t could ete none other mete but mylke / after the ryche man wolde nat suffer hym to abyde w ^tin his lande / but remoued hym diuerse tymes & was very greouse vnto hym / and euer an aungel she wyd hym what he shuld do / and in a vessell that had no lether he went ouer y ^e see into an Ile called Monie where he sent one of his disciples to a smyth for fyre & he wolde none gyue hym without he wolde bere it in his bosome / & so he dyd without hurte / & on a tyme as the kynge was on huntynge a gote for socour fledde to seynt Kebius / and the kynge folowed & bad hym let her goo or ellys he sayd he wolde put hym out of that place / then he answeryd y ^t it was nat in his power to put hym out of that place / but in the power of god but he sayd if the kynge wolde gyue to god and to hym asmoche grounde as the gote wolde go aboute afore his hounde & come to hym agayne / he wolde let her go wherto the kynge assented and [Page lxv] she went aboute the Kynges Castell and came agayne to the man of god / wherupon the kynge though he somwhat resysted at length gaue hym the Castell accordynge to his promesse / and the .vi. Idus of Nouembre full of good werkes he went to our lorde.

¶De sancta Keyna virgine.

SEynt Keyne virgyne was doughter to the kynge of Breghenoke in the West parte of great Brytayne and nygh of kyn to seynt Dauid / and awnte to seynt Cadoke / when her moder was with childe with her she sawe in vision her bosome full of myrre and balme / and her tetes shynynge of a heuenly lyght and she thought that in stede of a childe she was delyuered of a fayre wyght / and when she was first borne her face was somtyme whyte lyke snowe / somtyme bryght shynynge lyke the sonne at her yeres of maryage she forsoke all mariages aduowynge to kepe virginite / & lyued in a desert beyonde seuerne / where by her prayers serpentꝭ that byfore y ^t tyme had made the countre Inhabitable tourned into stones seint Keyne made many oratours & after she went to seynt Myhellis mount and there she met with seynt Cadoke / & by monicion of an Aungell she went into her countre agayne and dwellyd at the fote of a Hylle / where by her prayers sprange a fayre welle wherby many haue ben helyd / she saw in her slepe a beame of fyre descende there wher as she lay on a bare pauimēt w ^t grene bowes vnder her & two aungelles appered vnto her & one of them Reuerently dyd of a heer that she had vsed to weer & appareylled her with goodly apparell / & bad her be redye to go w ^t them into y ^e kyngdome of her fader / & when she gladly wold haue folowed theym she awoke felyng her [Page] selfe seke of the Axes / and then she called seynt Cadoke to her and tolde hym she wolde be buryed in that same place / whiche she sayd she wolde in spiryte ofte vysyte / before her deth she sawe a great company of Aungelles redy to take her soule with great Ioy without feere or parell / and when she had tolde theym that stode aboute her therof she departed the .viii. Idus of Octobre / and anone her face was of a coloure lyke red roses and a swete sauour was aboute her that all that were there thought it lyke a Ioye of Paradyse / and seynt Cadoke buryed her in her oratorye where she had lyued a harde and a blessyd lyfe many yeres.

¶De sancto Kynedo confessore.

THe fader and moder of seynt Kynede were of lytell Brytayne / but seint Kyned was borne in great Brytayne in the tyme when kynge Arthur reygned and his lyfe is so full of the meruaylous grete power and goodnes of almyghty god that I leue to wryte of it in this lytell kalendre / & refer it to them y ^t lyste to rede the hole Legend how he was immediatly after his byrthe caste into the water preserued in a lytell crybbe in the great wawes of the see / and was taken vp out of the see by birdes and in his youth dyd souke on a belle that had a lytell thynge lyke to a tete / which sauoured to hym of dyuers maners as Manna dyd to the children of Israell: and howe he had nat the fylth y ^t other children naturally haue / & how a man & his wyfe founde hym & brought hym to their house / wherfore y ^e byrdes destroyed their house & their bestꝭ so y ^t they were fayne to bere hym agayn / how he was aft fed w ^t a hynde y ^t fylled y ^e sayd bely w ^t her mylke / & how an aūgell apperyd [Page lxvi] ofte to hym and tolde hym what mete he shuld vse and that the harder that it was the better it was for hym / And howe he went fro that place by monycion of an Aungell after he had kept an Heremytes lyfe there .xviii. yeres / and how his seruaūt forsware hym self vpon the bell wherupon he went madde & went vpon the water to seynt Dauides then called Meniuia where he lyued lyke a beest .vii. yere with herbes and rotes his heere couerynge hym lyke a beest whiche after by prayers of seynt Kyned was made hole agayne and many other thynges appere in the Legende / whiche be here omytted he went to our lorde in the kalend of August.

¶De sancto Kenelmo Rege & martire.

IN the yere of our Lorde god Eyght hondred & xix. Kenulphus kynge of Mershes forsoke the worlde & left his sone Kenelmus a yonge childe to be kyng after hym & when his suster Quendreda / whiche was desyrous to Reygne coulde nat by any meanes poyson hym she enduced Aschebercus that had y ^e rule of hym by great rewardes and by promes that he shulde be felowe with her in the rule of the Realme to assent to kyll hym and so he ledde y ^e yonge kynge yet beynge of .vii. yeres of age into a wodde as for disporte of huntynge / and as the childe slept his ruler made a pytte to burye hym in: & when the childe awoke he tolde hym he shuld nat lye there but in a place ferther of / & that he shuld se that it was trewe that he sayd he strake his staffe into the grounde whiche anone grewe / and after sprange therof a fayre Asshe that is called seynt Kenelmys asshe / Then y ^e cursid man had hym into a depe valey in the wodde called Clent / and there as it [Page] is sayd the yonge kyng sayd Tedeū / & when he came to the verse. Temarty (rum) candidatus &c. The cursyd man vnder a thorne strake of his hede / and there buryed hym and oftymes a bryght beame was seen descende vpon y ^e place where he lay at which place a Cowe vsyd oftymes to be / & coulde nat be kept away frothens / and when she came home she gauerwyse asmoche mylke / as any of the other / after his deth Quendreda toke the rule vpon her / and then no man durst speke of the yonge kyng nor seke hym for fere of quendreda tyll a byll was brought by a doue to the pope Leo as he was at masse at rome of this effect ī Englysshe In clent in Cowbach vnder a thorne lyeth kyng Kenelme his hedde of shorne / & so the pope sent Legates & Cardynalles to wylfryde bysshop of Caunterbury & other bysshoppes of Englande y ^t they shuld remoue hym & so he was taken vp and there as he lay sprang vp of fayre welle / & as his suster loked out of a wyndowe vpon a sawter boke to haue by enchauntement letted his buryenge sodeynly her iyen fell vpon the boke whiche boke is yet to shewe / & there she dyed myserably: one that was blynde & a nother dombe fro theyr Natyuyte by merytes of seynt Kenelme were made hole / and he lyeth at Wynchecome.

¶De sancto Kentegerno Ep̄o et confessore.

THe moder of seynt Kentegerne was borne in the north ꝑte of Brytayne / & her fader beyng a paynym she by herynge of Sermons was cōuerted how be it she was nat cristened & heryng y ^t our lady beyng clene vgyne had a child by a folisshe p̄sumpcōn she desyred in lykewyse to haue a childe in virginyte wherupon she ma [...]e [Page lxvii] dyligent prayers / & after she was with child & though of [...]routh it was by company of man yet she toke it on her othe [...]hat she knewe nat how nor when / & her fader heryng y ^t she was with childe accordynge to his lawe had her to a hyghe hyll / & there threwe her downe to haue so torne her to peces & she lyftynge her herte to o ^r lorde / made her prayers & was saued without hurte / & then her fader thynkyng she was saued by wychecrafte put her into the see in a lytell shyp of lether w ^tout ore wherī she was brought to lāde more swyftly then a sayle coulde haue dryuen her and ī a place called Collenrose she was delyuered without helpe / & the same tyme of her delyueraunce seynt Sarnan harde aungelles synge in the Eyre / wherfore in the mornynge he went thyder and founde the moder with the childe whome he brought to his house / and cristened theym both and there the childe profyted moche in lernynge and vertue so that seynt Sarnan loued hym moste of all his disciples wherfore his Felowes enuyed hym in somoch that they kylled a byrde that seynt sarnan louyd & leyd it by assent to Kentegern̄ / & he makyng a Crosse vpon the byrde reysed it agayne to lyfe / he reysed also seynt Sarnans Coke fro deth to lyfe / whiche he was exorted to do by seynt Sarnan by instygacion of his enemyes / & yet alway his good & vertuous lyfe was a norysshynge of more enuye to his enemyes / wherfore he lefte that place and went to a place called Glascu / and in y ^e way he went thurgh the water of Mallena that deuyded to hym lyke as dyd the redde see to y ^e children of Israel. at Glascu he lyued in great abstynence / and was there made bysshop / and he vsed to weer the heere / and laye in a holowe stone for his bedde / with some asshes caste vnder hym / and the temptacyon of his flesshe by grace was clerely taken fro hym / and [Page] he gaue all his goodes to pore men / & absteyned fro flesshe and wyne and fro all that myght distempre hym / alway he had a Manuell in his hande redy to do his offyce when nede requyred / he caused wylde hartes to go to ploughe / and a wolfe y ^t kylled one of y ^e hartꝭ he caused to supplye his place and to bere the same yocke that he dyd / he went on fote to preche and euery Lent he went to some deserte place and lyued there with herbes and rotes / and somtyme by especyall grace he fasted al the Lent / he vsed oftymes to stande in colde water tyll he had sayd the hole Psaulter / In his Iugementes he alwayes consydered the mater and nat the ꝑsone / he made an Abbey wherin were .ix.C. and .lxv. monkꝭ whiche he deuyded in thre ꝑtes so y ^t alway some were in the Quere / when he was at dyuyne seruyce somtyme a whyte doue / somtyme a bryght beame where seen descende vpon hym / on sher thursday he wold wasshe the fete of pore men and lepoures and kysse theym / he conuerted moche people to the fayth in his Dioc / he destroyed Idolles & made churches and ꝑysshes / he was seven tymes at Rome & shewyd to seynt Gregory all his lyfe and he confermed his Eleccion supplyinge therwith that that lackyd in his consecracion / & when he was .C. and .lxxxv. yeres olde he dyed without payne in y ^e Idus of Ianuarii syttyng in hote water as he was taught by an Aungell / and dyuers of his bretherne went in to the same water as he appoynted theym to doo / and they dyed furth with without payne and went with hym into the kyngdome of Heuyn / he lyeth at Glascu where our Lorde hath shewyd for hym many myracles.

¶De sancto Kyliano cūsociis suis martiribꝰ.

[Page lxviii]SEynt kylyan was borne of noble blode in scotlā de / And as he studyed in his youthe for cūnynge he studyed also for vertue / and at laste he enteryd into relygyon / where he lyuyd in great obedyence with watchyngys and instaūte prayers / The bretherne seynge his perseueraunce in vertue electyd hym into the rule of the Mouastery / & though he knewe well it wolde somwhat mynysshe his deuocyon / yet for lowe of Charyte & for the profet of other he toke it vppon hym / and after his fame sprange farre wherfore he ferynge the fauoure of y ^e people myght be a let vnto hym deuysyd howe he myght leue his owne cūtrey & lyue ī some other cūtrey where he myght haue lytyll knowlege & be reputyd of a small blod wherupon he toke certeyne of his bretherne with hym y ^t had lyke feruoure as he had / and came into great brytayne fro thens to Fraunce and so to almayne that is callydest Fraūce to a towne callyd wirtzburghe / And after he went to Rome / and there he had auctoryte to preche and was made Busshope / after he retournyd to wyrtzburgh where he connertyd the duke / and all the countrey to the feythe / And when he had lernyd that the Duke had maryed his broders wyfe yet neuerthelesse for a tyme he forbere / and wolde not speke to the duke therof leste it shuld haue made trouble at his newe conuersyon but when he sawe he was strengthnyd in the feythe he admonysshed hym therof Streyghtlye wherfore the quene when the Kynge was goon to batell martyryd seynt Kylyan & all his cōpanye and buryed them with all theyr Bokys in a pryuy place / & made a stable ouer theym that they shulde neuer be founde / And when the kynge came home she tolde hym that they were goon on pylgrymage / the cursyd [Page] men that put them to deth fell madde and cryed Kylyan kyllyan why doest thou so burne vs / And not longe after the quene was takyn with a Deuyll / & she sayde she was worthy to haue tourmētys for she tourmentyd the ryght wyse men and furthwyth she dyed / a Preest herde Chylderne saye seynt Kylyan doth many signes / he muste be takyn vp for he lyeth not in a cōuenyent place / And when he toke no hede to theyr sayinge the nexte nyghte he was stryken blynde / and he harde a voyce saye to hym without thou beleue thou shalt not see / And then he sought for them / and when he came to the place where they were he sent for the Archebusshope of Magunce and tolde hym where they lay / And then he had his syght ageyne.

¶De sanctis Keneburga Regina & abbatissa & desctis Kineswida & Tibba virginibus.

SEynt kyneburgh & kyneswyda were doughters to kynge penda a cruell pagan that was Kynge of Marshes / And neuerthelesse his Doughters were crystenyd / Kyneburgh was maryed and notwithstondynge by assent of her Husbonde she enteryd into relygyon / & so leuynge carnall Chylderne she had in shorte tyme many spyrytuell Chylderne / she made a Monasterye callyd dormuncastre not far fro y ^e Ryuer callyd venwhere she was made abbesse / And with what dylygens she norysshed the sowlys to her cōmyttyd / And how wakerye she was to kepe the cōmaūdemētis of our lord & to kepe her holy porpose ī Relygion / no tonge can tell seynt Kyneswyda lyuyd in virgynyte / And after the Deth of [Page lxix] seynt Kyneburgh off a Kynge of cest saxons wolde haue had kyneswyda to his wyfe whiche he attemptyd not only with feyre Speche / but also with thretes / And bycause she wolde not assent all her Frendys were agaynste her wherfore she prayed dylygentlye to oure Ladye for helpe / and our Ladye apperyd to her & comfortyd her / and sayd ther was nothynge better for her than to kepe her Immaculate as she was borne / & nothynge more noble thē to take her sone to be her spouse / & more over she bade her not to fere for she sayde she wolde praye for her / and therupon seynt Kyneswyda takynge boldenes sent worde to the Kynge y ^t in no wyse she wolde assent / And there upon the Kynge consyderynge her blessyd lyfe and seynge y ^t he & all his Rychesse were despysyd of a yonge mayde lefte the worlde & went to Rome & there he enteryd into Relygyon / Seynt Tybba that was kynneswoman to seynt Kyneburgh / and kyneswyda lyued many yerys a blessyd solytary lyfe / And after her deth she apperyd to a holy man on seynt Lucyes daye and tolde hym that on that daye she yeldyd her sowle to heuyn / And in the yere of our Lorde a thousande and fyue the relyhys of the fayde blessyd women Kyneburghe / Kyneswyda / and Tybba were translatyd to Peterburgh / and there theyr feest is Halowyd the Daye before the Nonas of Marche.

¶De sancto Lamfranco archiep̄o.

[Page]SEynt lamfranke was borne in the Cytie of papeder / and in his youth he forsoke his faders successyon gyuynge hym to studye / And when he had atteynyd hygh seculer lernynge he came into Normandye / and there he was takyn with theuys and was cobbyd of all that he had / wherupon he went to the abbey of Beccense in Normandye as to the porest house he could here of / and there he founde the Abbot bakynge of Brede / and his handys were myrye to stoppe the Ouen / and there he enteryd into Relygyon / and lyuyd in profounde humylyte / & obedyence / On a tyme as he redde the lecture the presydent founde a defaute at his redynge & bade hym amende it / and he redde as he was commaundyd / and yet he hadde redde better before / but that he dyd to shewe hym selfe obedyent / For the euyll maners of the Bretherne he thought to leue the Abbey and lyue in Desert and vsyd vnder coloure of a medesyn to ere Erbys to proue how he myght endure with them / And on a nyght a kynnesman of y ^e Abbottys lately decessyd apperyd vnto hym / and shewyd hym the purpose of Lanfrāke / and tolde the Abbot it was not good for hym y ^t he shulde goo frō hym / And when the Abbot with great wepyngys shewyd this to Lamfranke he sawe his coūceyll was dyscoueryd / wherfore he thought it was the wyll of god that he shuld tary / & so he dyd & was made pryor there / & after Abbot of Cadonyence / This blessyd man came into Englonde with wyllyam conqueroure / and was made Archebusshoppe of Caunterbury & dyd many notable thyngys in thys Realme / He gaue great Possessyons to the Chyrche of Rochester / and restoryd seynt Albons to the fyrste estate / As he satte by the Kynge at a solempne feest [Page lxix] a Rayler seynge the kynge syt ī gloryouse apparell seyd lo I se god / lo I se god / And seynt Lamfranke remembrynge the hystorye of Herode aduertysyd the kynge y ^t he shuld not suffer such wordys spokyn to hym that belō gyd only to god but that he shuld commaunde hym that speke them to be betyn / so that he shulde neuer after dare speke such wordys / and so it was don / He was a man of great lyberalyte / and as it is sayde gaue yerely in aknes fyue hūdred poūdys / And he was a man of a quycke spyryt and recoueryd many thynges that were wrongfully holden fro his Chyrche / And oftyn tymes seynt dunstan apperyd vnto hym & cōfortyd hym she wynge to hym the crafty purpose of his enemyes / He was dyuerse tymes at Rome where he was had in great fauoure of the Pope / when it happenyd hym at any tyme to be at beccense he wolde not vse hym selfe but as he had ben pryour / he was profounde in humylyte large in almes / a great helper of pore men a defender of pupyllys and a comforter of wydowys / And with sobernes he refourmyd the Monkys of Caunterbury / that had vysd before hys tyme Huntynge / Haukynge / and such other wanton disportys / and in the .xix. yere after he had ben busshope the .v. kalendas of Iune he Dyed and lyeth at Caunterbury in a Chyrche which he in his lyfe buyldyd.

¶De sancto laurencio archiepiscopo.

SEynt Laurence was archebusshope of Caunterbury next after seynt Augustyne / And after seynt Ethelbertys deth / y ^e Kynge Ebbalde his sone fell to Idolatry / And also toke his faders wyfe / & in lykewyse after [Page] sabertus Kynge of eest saxons was deed / his thre sōnes fell to Idolatry which was great trouble to the feyth so that mellyte Busshope of London / and Iustus Busshope of Rochestre were put oute of theyr Busshoprykes / which by assent of seynt Laurence went into Fraunce / & seynt Laurence thought to haue folowyd but that seynt Peter the same nyghte that he wolde haue departyd as he laye in y ^e Chyrche of seynt Petyr and Paule apperyd vnto hym and bette hym with roddys bycause he wolde forsake the flocke of god which he had takyn the charge of & admonescyd hym that for the people of our Lorde he shulde tary vnto the Deth lyke as he dyd / And so he went to the Kynge Edbalde and shewyd hym how he was betyn of whom & for what cause / And so the Kynge receyuyd the feythe / And also lefte his aduoultrye / And after seynt Laurence conuertyd moch people in Scotlāde to the Feythe / and in the way thyther warde he went ouer y ^e see drye fote / And a holy Busshope of Irlande came thyder to hym / & herynge his Oppynyon of the kepynge of Eester confermyd hym therto / and taught his people to folowe the same / And after he retournyd into Englonde and reysyd a Chylde where he was lodged fro deth to lyfe / And in the yere of our Lord god .vi. hundred and .xix. the thyrde nonas of Februarye he lefte this worlde / & is buryed by seynt Augustyne.

¶De sancto Lethardo ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt letharde was assygnyd to come with the Quene Berta / when she shuld be maryed to kynge Ethelberte yet beynge a Paynym to be her leder / doeter / and preseruator in Uertue and to defende [Page lxx] her fro the Idolatrye then vsyd in Englonde / where he suffred great opprobryes and laughyngys to skorne in doynge y ^e seruyce of god which he vsyd to doo in an olde Chyrche of seynt martyn nygh to Caūterbury in which Chyrche the quene and her seruauntys that were crystenyd vsyd to here dyuyne seruyce / At the toumbe of seynt Letharde a blynde mayde receyuyd her syght / as a man that with the palsey was lame fro the myddle downe warde was prayinge for helthe at his tumbe / he apperyd & sayd the people in theyr sykenesse pray with grete deuocyon for helth / but when they be hoole they forgette y ^e benefaytys of god / And anon be vnkynde and turne ageyn to synne / And when the sykeman faythfully promysyd to amende / seynt Letharde sayd of the oon legge thou shalt be hoole that thou mayste knowe the goodnes of god / & y ^e other shalbe as it was y ^t thou waxe not vnkynde / and so it was doon / This blessyd man was the precoursoure of seynt Augustyne / and made the waye redye for hym to y ^e bryngynge in of y ^e feythe wherfore he is right moch to be had in honoure by Englysshemen.

¶De sancto Macuto ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt machute was borne in great Brytayne on Eester euyn in a noble Monastery in the vale of nantcarwan where his moder came to kepe vygyllys / And he was baptyzyd by seynt Brendan y ^t was Abbot of the sayd monasterye & .xxxiii. men Chyldren were borne y ^e same nyght of womē that came to bere his moder cōpany / and fro his youth he was vertuous / & when his felowys were quakynge for colde he swette & leyde a wey his Clothys which was of a brennynge Charyte y ^t [Page] was in hym / On a tyme the see flowyd there as he laye & slepte and the groūde where he laye rose lyke an Ile and so he was sauyd Seynt Brendan seynge y ^t the holy gost was with hym aduysyd hym to be preest / and he sayde he was not worthy to take that offyce neuerthelesse after he assentyd / And when he was made preest a whyte Doue was seen descende vppon his shoulder / He saylyd moche with seynt brendane in his Iourneys / and in his company with the sygne of the Crosse he droue away a serpent that hadde kyllyd .iii. Chylderne / In lytell Brytayne he was made Busshope of alethys / And when he shulde be consecrate at turone a whyte doue was seen descende vppon his necke as he helde downe his hedde to bencdyccyon / he vsyd gret watchynges / fastynges & prayers / And when he rode by y ^e waye eyther he talkyd of god or prayde / there was no tyme but he Prophytyd to other or to hymselfe / He vsyd euer a sharpe Heer vppon hym / and was a grete precher to the people / he went to Rome with seuyn dyscyples / and chylderne that he foūde there to be solde he bought thē & cristenyd thē / In y ^e waye homewarde as he was ī great perell of y ^e see seynt peter apperyd to hym & sauyd hym & all his cōpany when he was .Cxxxiii. yere olde he dyed the .xvii. kalendas of december / & was honorably buryed at perdma / where all his Relykys lye excepte his hed and his ryght hand which lye at alethys / He helyd oon that was deffe / dome / and lame / He reysyd a chylde that was drownyd / And by his prayers blynde woman recoueryd her syght / For the wretchydnes of the people he cursyd them / and went into Andygauya & was there .vii. yerys durynge whych tyme was great drynes and derth in lytell Brytayne / And when he was desyred [Page lxxii] to come agayne to blesse the people as soone as he came the rayne fell and great plenty folowed in all the countre.

¶De sancto Maglorio Ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Maglorye bysshop was borne in great brytayne / he was Felowe to seynt Sampson & was his successoure / by an Aungell he was admonysshed to leue his bysshopryke and to lyue a solytary lyfe and so he dyd / he helyd an Erle that was lepre / wherfore he gaue hym the one halfe of a Certeyne grounde to the whiche grounde incōtynent came many byrdes with great plente of fysshes / & therfore the Erle by counsell of his wyfe toke y ^t groūde from hym and gaue hym the other half / and then the byrdes and fysshes came thyder and left the other. And then the Erle perceyuyng that he had done amysse gaue to seynt Maglorye the hole grounde / and then the byrdꝭ and fysshes came indifferently to bothe ꝑtes / He was a clene virgyne and lyued with barley brede and lekes / Euery wednysday and fryday he fasted and punysshe his body w ^t the heer / he neuer dranke wyne ne syder / somtyme when y ^e bretherne were aslepe he wolde go pryuely to the seesyde / & there wake in prayers / On eester euyn as he watched in y ^e Churche an Anugel appered to hym and shewed hym that his tyme drewe nere to go out of this worlde / and heferynge it had ben an Illusion made instaūte prayer / and when the Aungell had thryse affermed the same he receyued of y ^e Aungell the blessyd Sacramente / and after that tyme if there were nat y ^e greatter lettynge he vsyd euer to saye this verse. Unam pecii a dn̄o hanc requirā vt inhabitē in domo dn̄i &c. And he went to our lorde / the .ix. kalendr of Nouēbre

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De sancto Malichia. ¶De sancto Malichia Episcopo & confessore.

SEynt Malachie was borne in Irlande amonge barbarous people / and as a fysshe is in the salt see and is nat salt / so was seynt Malachie good amō ge euyll people / he went to a man that lyued a solytary lyfe seruynge our lorde in fastyngꝭ and prayers and of hym he toke his example of lyuynge / and in shorte tyme had many disciples / and there he toke the ordre of presthode. The bysshop cōmytted to hȳ his auctoryte to p̄che vnto y ^e rude people whiche he dyd with great fauoure / and what so euer he sawe out of good ordre he spared nat to reproue theym of it He had great loue and zele to the seruyce of god / & honoure to the Sacramentes of the Chuche and went to a holy bysshop called Malcus that was borne in Irlande & brought vp in Englande and that had ben a monke at Wynchester / to lerne at hym that he taught nothynge / but as the Churche cōmaūded / after he was made bysshop of Cōnereth in Irlande / where anone he ꝑceyued that the people were bestely and rude / Cristen men in name and nat in dede / they payed no tythes they lyued out of laufull matrymony they made no confessions / there was no man to enioyne penaū cene to aske it / they made more noyse in the Churche then the precher or they that sange / wherfore to refourme thyse people he put hym selfe in Ieopardye as a good Sheperd and admonysshed theym of theyr defautes openly / and also secretely / he wepte vpon theym tenderly / nowe he spake sharpely and anone more easely / And whenne henothynge preuayled he humbly watched in prayer for them to our lorde when they wolde nat come to the Churche he wolde go in to theym lokynge who he myght wyn to our lord / when [Page lxxiii] euyll wordes were sayde to hym he spake fayre / and when he was wronged he toke pacyence / and so with goodnesse he ouercame euyll. Thus were the people reformed / Churches were buylded the lawes of the Churche receyued the Sacramentes duely mynystred / & the people went to confessyons and toke penaunce after the deth of the Archebysshop Celsus he was made Archebysshop of Archemacan / and yet he wolde neuer haue seruaunt ne house of his owne he went in maner a wayes aboute the parysshes prechynge the worde of god and leued of the Gospell / Other prelates toke Lordshyp in the Clergye / and he made hymselfe seruaunte to all men / After he gaue vp the Archebysshopryche and went to his parysshe agayne / Thenne he wente to Rome & there the Pope toke a Myter fro his owne hedde / and set it vpon his hedde / and also gaue hym a stole and a phanon / Fro thens he went to Clareuall to seynt Bernarde / and leuynge with hym foure of his disciples / he went in to Scotlande where our Lorde shewyd for hym many myracles / and after he went into Irlande and there he helyd a monke of the great fallynge sykenesse. Thenne he went agayne to Scotlande and so thorughe Englande to Clareualle to seynt Bernarde / And there he dyed the .iiii. Nonas of Nouembre In the yere of our Lorde god a Thousande a hondred and .xlviii. and Seynt Bernarde wrote his lyfe wherin be many notable thynges.

¶De sancta Margareta Regina Scocie.

[Page] SEynt Margaret Quene of Scotlande was doughter of Edwarde outlawe sone to Edmonde Irneside / And she by prouysion of god was Maryed to Malcolyn̄ kynge of Scotlande she delyted more in good werkes thenne in possessions or ryches / Ofttymes she called her children afore her and admonysshed theym to loue and drede our lord / and dayly she prayed for theym that they myght pleas hym / she enduced the kynge to do Iustyce with mercye and to gyue alines & in her dayes the kynges seruauntꝭ durst nat take any thynge fro pore men or otherwyse hurte theym / She reproued the people of Scotlande in y ^t they begann at Lent so that they myght faste .xl. dayes besyde the sondayes / and that theyr prestes sange nat masse after the custome of the Churche / and that the people were nat howseled at Ester that they kept nat y ^e sondayes / and that they maryed theyr moders in lawe and susters in lawe & she reformed theym in thyse poyntꝭ / The kynge seynge the holy ghost was with her helped her forewarde in all that she went aboute / She serched where she myght fynde pore people to do almes vpon / on the nyghtꝭ she sayd Matens of the Trinite / of the holy crosse / & of our ladye / the Dirige and the Psalter / And thenne she vsed to wasshe .vi. pore men / and then she toke rest In the mornynges she refressed .ix. orphanes and serued theym knelynge And afore dyner the kynge and she serued .CCC. pore people / her boke fell into the water and lay there a daye and a nyght without hurte she knewe the deth of her husbonde / & sone that were slayne in Batayle whiche she toke pacyently she dyed the .iiii. Idus of Iune / & lyeth in the Churche of the holy trinite / that she had buylded in the same place where she was maryed.

[Page lxxiiii]

¶De sancta Maxencia virgine & martyre.

SEynt Maxence was doughter to Marcolane sō tyme kynge of Scotlande / & fro her youth she entended to kepe virginite after a prynce called maxencius was a pagan desyred her in maryage wherto he had her fathers assent and she perceyuyng that fledde to a churche and cōmended her virginite to oure Lorde / And after with an olde man and a Mayde she fledde secretely / and came into Fraunce into a place called Pontis / and as it is sayd in the way thyder she went ouer the water of ysara w ^t out bote / and the sayd the prynce made suche serche that he founde where she was / and when he coulde by no mean haue her assent / in a fury he toke her by the heer and stroke of her hedde & after kylled both her seruauntꝭ / and she toke vp her hedde and bare it to the place where she now lyeth / and ouer her is buyldyd a godly churche / where our lorde hath shewyd for her many myracles / kyng Charles that reyned in tho dayes loued her churche moche / & gaue many great thynges to it.

¶De sancto Mellito Archiep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Gregorie was moche dylygent for the conuertynge of the people of Englande to the fayth / and also to haue the people well ordered / after they were conuerted wherfore he is moche to be honoured by Englysshmen after kynge Ethelbert & his people were cōuerted by seynt Augustyne he sent worde therof to seynt Gregorie as in the lyfe of seynt Mellytapperyth and then seynt Gregorie sent Mellite / Iuste / and Pallyne with dyuerse other into Englande [Page] to preche to the people / and Mellite in y ^e yere of our lorde .vi. hondred and foure was made bysshop in the prouynce of Eest saxons nyghe to Thamyse where London is metropolys and by hym that prouynce was conuertyd / and the Churche of seynt Paule that was made by kynge Ethelbert is the bysshoppes see / and after the deth of kyng Ethelbert and of kynge Sabert theyr children / whiche were Idolatrours wold haue ben houseled as they saw other were / but they wolde nat be Cristened / and bycause seynt Mellite wold nat housell them they banysshed hym out of the Countre / and so he and seynt Iustus went into Fraunce / but shortly after the sayd Idolatrours were slayne ī batayle / Mellite and Iustus came agayne / and after the deth of seynt Laurence / Mellite was made Archebysshoppe of Caunterbury / He had the gowte and after his deth he helyd a woman of the gowte / By his prayer moche parte of y ^e Cytie of Caunterburye was sauyd fro fyre / He dyed the eyght Kalend of Maii in the yere of our lorde god six hondred and .xxiii. he lyeth on the right hande of seynt Augustyne / and for this blessyd man our Lorde hath shewyd many myracles.

¶De sancto Melone Episcopo.

IN the tyme of Ualerian the Emperour Mello then beynge a Paynyme was sent out of great Brytayne to Rome to paye the trybute / and as he harde Pope Stephan preche he was conuerted / and gaue all that he hadde to pore folkes after he receyued [Page xxv] of the Pope ordre of presthode and vsed moche fastynges and vigylles / and as he was sayinge masse the Pope and he sawe an Aungell on the ryght hande of the Aulter / that when masse was done gaue hym a bysshoppes staffe / and sayd vnto hym with this staffe thou shalt rule the people of rethomagense in the ꝑties of Nestrie / and so hauynge y ^e popes blessynge he toke his Iourney & in the way at Antisioder holdynge the sayd staffe in his hande he helyd a man that had his fote cutte in two partes with an axe / and whenne he came to Rothomagense faythfully fulfyllynge that he was appoyntyd to / and full of vertues and myracles he went to our lord / and lyeth at Rothomagense.

¶De sancto Melore martyre.

MElianus duke of Cornewayle fader to seynt Melorie was kylled by his owne broder called Rynoldus whiche toke vpon hym the Dukedome / then he toke Melorie with hym into Cornewayle beynge of the age of .vii. yeres / and thought to kylle hym there / and there he was desyred by the people that he shuld nat kyll hym / but that he shuld stryke of his ryght hande & his lefte fote and lette hym go / and so it was done / Thenne he had a hāde and fote made for hym of syluer / & was put to a Monasterye in Cornewayle where he encresyng in all vertue & lernyd scriptur to his age of .xiiii. yerꝭ & y ^e hande wold open & shyte as it had ben of flesshe & bone aft Cerialtanus [Page] that had the rule of hym at the desyre of the Duke cutte of his hedde / in the Kalend of Octobre / And as his sone was berynge of the hedde to Rynold by the waye he fell downe of a walle and brake his necke / And thenne his Fader toke the hede to bere it to the Duke / and by the way whenne he was nyghe deed for drynes the hedde badde hym sette his staffe in the grounde / and there he shuld fynde a welle and so he dyd / and the staffe waxed in to a tree and a fayre welle sprange at the rote thereof / And natwithstandynge whenne he hadde refresshed hymselfe he bare the hedde furth / and the Duke receyued it gladly and bad hym go to a hylle there bye / & all that he sawe he wolde gyue hym for his rewarde / and whenne he came thy der he was stryken blynde and forthwith dyed and his flesshe melted awaye lyke waxe at the fyre. The body of seynt Melorye was .iii. tymes buryed & euery tyme it was founde agayne aboue the grounde / wherfore by a hole counsell he was layde in a wayne and .ii. wylde bulles were put in it & they stode styll w ^t it in a place that the people lyked nat: And whenne the people assayed to remoue it and coulde nat they buryed it there honorably The hedde was brought to Rynolde / and whenne he had towched it the thyrde daye after he dyed / and thenne it was buryed by the bysshoppes and the Clergye with the body / and nowe his relykes be at Malmesbury.

¶De sancta Milburga virgine.

Bynge Ethelbert that was Conuerted by seynt Augustyne was great graunt Fader to Dompneua that was moder to seynt Milburgh / and she was doughter to Merwalde Kynge of Mersshes / the whiche [Page lxxvi] with the sayd Dompneua his wyfe in y ^e latter ende of theyr dayes by assent lyued Chaste / and seynt Milburghe entered into Relygyon / and in a Monasterye that she founded in the Ile of Thannet she was moder and maystres to many virgyns / She gaderyd in lykewyse many susters in a Monasterye that she founded called Wenloke. The pleasures of the worlde a mortall spouse and carnall Children were vyle in her syght / a kynges zone thought by vyolence to take her & to marye her / wherfore she knowyng his commynge fledde ouer a ryuer / and whenne she was paste the ryuer rose sodeynly and stopped his passage. By her prayer geese that destroyed her corne wente a waye without retournynge of theym or of any of that kynde as she waked fro slepe vnaduysedly she caste her vayle fro her / and the sonne beame bare it vp so that it came nat to the grounde / She reysed a Childe fro deth to lyfe and as she was in her prayers for the childe / there was a greatlyght seen aboute herlyke as she hadde ben in the myddes of a fyre / She dyed of the Axes and was buryed in her Monasterye: In the Legende is a goodly Pedegre fro kynge Ethelbert to this gloryous virgyne and to dyuerse other / And also a goodly storye howe the sayd kynge Merwalde her Fader was cō uerted by Edfrede a holy preest / and also a goodly vysyon that he had afore his conuersyon.

¶De sancta Mildreda virgine et Abbatissa.

[Page] SEynt Mildrede was suster to seynt Milburghe and her moder sent her ouer the see to a place called Calum in her seculer habyte to lerne / where in shorte tyme she ouer passed all her felowes in mekenes and vertues / a yonge man of noble blode and of kyn to the Abbesse laboured to haue her in maryage / and the abbesse was of counsayle with hym / and whenne the Abbesse sawe that by fayre meanes she coulde nat opteyne her purpose she threte the virgyne and bet her / and when that coulde nat moue her fro virginite / The abbesse in a woodnes put her in a hote brennynge ouyn and shet the mouthe / and whenne they thought that she had ben burned flesshe and bone she was founde all hole vntouched of fyre as her mynde was vntouched of flesshely pleasure / yet this ceased nat the malyce of the Abbesse / but she bette her pulled her by y ^e heer and trede vpon her and alwaye the virgyne cōmytted her virginite to our Lorde / After she sent worde to her moder how she was entreated and she sent for her and the virgyne hauynge none other shyfte went pryuely to the see / & the Abbesse herynge therof sent company to brynge her agayne and the shyp that stode vpon the drye groūde by her prayer was anone taken vp with the see and so she escaped and came into an Ile called Ippleffec / and as she sette her fote vpon a foure square stone her fote sanke into the stone as it hadde bensnowe / after by seynt Theodre she was made abbesse to .lxx. nonnes / On a tyme the deuyll as she was prayeng blewe out her candell and an Aūgell lyght it agayne / She dyed the .iii. Ide of Iulye her successours whiche was called Edburgh toke vp her body to remoue it to a more honorable place and founde it vncorrupt more lyke to slepe then to be deed: After her monastery was destroyed and [Page lxxvii] was made a parysshe churche / & her Relykꝭ were brought to Caunterbury but whether they lye in the church of seynt Augustyne / or of seynt Gregorie the Legende leuyth it in doute and dyuers myracles be here omytted / On a nyght as she was in prayer the holy ghost appered to her lyke aboue & satte vpon her hedde w ^t his wynges compassynge her hedde lyke a crowne with suche a lyght that she myght skarsely be seen the space of an houre.

¶De sancta Modwenna virgine & abbatissa.

SEynt Modwen was borne in Irlande / and by prechynge of seynt Patryke she entered into Relygyon / and fro thens she gaue her self to lernynge & to despyse the vanytes of the worlde to kepe her herte stedfast with all dylygence to punysshe her bodye with fastynges and vygylles no thynge she put byfore the loue of god hauynge great desyre to the Ioyes of heuyn w ^t contynuell feere of the paynes of hell and her broder by her example forsoke the worlde and after was made a bysshop She made a monasterye and there lyued with her brother with rawe rotes gettynge her lyuynge with her owne laboure / many noble matrones came to her quenes and virgyns to here the worde of god / Eyght virgyns Ioyned them selfe to her wherof seynt Bryde and orbila were in the company / and when Orbila for her youth fered to take the rule of the monastery vpon her seynt modwen / put the gyrdell aboute her / and brethyd vpon her and anone her heere waxed hoore and she was lyke an olde woman / and thenne [Page] she toke the rule of the Monasterye with good wyll / She caused a wolfe that had kylled one of her calues to folowe the cowe and kepe her and other wolfes of that kynde vse to do so to this day / A great thefe called Glunelach kylled .viii prestꝭ that seynt Patrike had sent to vysyt seynt Modwen and she herynge therof went thyder with .xlix. nonnes to burye theym / and Glunelache with .xlix. theuys mette theym and thought to haue rauysshed theym / but when they wolde haue layde handes vpon the virgyns they fell sodeynly a slepe and slept .ii. dayes and the spyryte of seynt Modwen and Glunelache were ledde with an Aungell into heuyn & hell / & when Glunelache came to hymselfe agayne he was cōuerted and his neue we also & lyued a good and a blessyd lyfe / A holy bysshop called Cheuyn was brought in beleue by craft of y ^e deuyll y ^t Glunelach y ^e thefe / by prayer of seynt Modwen shuld haue his place in Heuyn / and that all was in vayne that he had done in the seruyce of god / wherfore the bysshop thought to destroye her and her Monasterye / and as he was cōmynge therto she had knowlege therof by our lorde / and so she met hym and shewyd hym that his enemye had deceyued hym greatly and anone he sawe the deuyll that brought hym to y ^e temptacyon lyke a blacke Ethyope / wherfore he toke great repentaūce: Then seynt Modwen to the entent she myght the more surely conferme hym in our lord / put her staffe into a welle y ^t she vsed oftymes in the wynter to stande in tyl she had sayd a hole Psaulter / she drewe her staffe after her agaynst y ^e hylle / & the water folowed the staffe into y ^e toppe of the hylle / wherupon he depꝑted & lyued after a blyssed lyf: On a tyme when she entended to go into Englāde she lacked a shyp & at her prayer y ^e groūde reysed it self vp about her lyke an Ile & so cōueyed her & her [Page lxxviii] company ouer the see into Englande / where she and seynt Edith that was suster to kyng Edgar rered Ositha y ^t was drowned fro deth to lyfe / She went thryse to Rome for remyssion of her synnes and she dyed in Irlande the thyrde Nonas of Iulii / after whose deth great varyaūce was bytwyxt Englysshemen / Irysshemen / and Scottes for her bodye / and the bysshop Counceyled theym that eyght men shuld take vp her bere / & that countre that our Lorde wolde haue theym go towardes shulde haue the body / and by the wyll of our lorde they went streyght towardes Englande & so she was brought into Englande / and lyeth at Andreseia After her deth she apperyd to one of the Nonnes after compleyne and tolde her that she herde some of the susters speke in tyme of scylence and that her body yet beyng amonge them vnburyed she meruayled that they forget her doctryne and reguler obseruaunce / and bad them nat to breke the leste obseruaūce lest by lytell & lytel they fell into greatter defautꝭ sayinge vnto the suster that she appered vnto that she shuld make her redy for after .vii. dayes she shuld come vnto her and so it was done.

¶De sancto Neoto abbate & confessore.

SEynt Neotus comonly called seynt Eed was the kynges sone of west Englande & of Kent / and when he came to age he forsoke the pryde & pompe of the worlde & was made a monke at Glastenbury vnderseynt Dunstan̄ where he ascendyd to hygh perfyte relygion he was so lytel of stature that at masse he had a thynge vnder his fete / but he was full of vertues and good maners Eloquent of speche discrete of wordes and of great lernynge beynge byloued [Page] of all men and to the entent that he wolde eschewe the recourse and fauour of the people he went into Cornewale where he lyued .vii. yeres in a wyldernes / whiche after his name is called Neotstoke / after he went to Rome and was there honorably receyued of [...] Martyne / fro thens he retourned into his owne coūtre / where he made a monasterye / and was ofte vysyted with Aungellys / he had a water that had thre Fysshes in it / and if he toke one euery day yet alway there were thre Fysshes / He tolde the kynge Alfred his broder / that for his pryde and tyrauntrye he shulde be put out of his Realme and be as an outlawe / but he sayd by his prayers he had opteyned of our Lorde that he shuld be restored agayne / and shuld cōuerte his enemy to the fayth & it ꝓued after ī euery thyng as he had sayd. By seynt Ede the kyng was correct / tyrauntrie tourned into sobernes the worshyppyng of deuylles abated and the people of our lorde moche encreasyd in all the countre he lefte this worlde y ^e day before the kalend of August and pa [...]e of his Relykes lye at Ramsey / & the other ꝑte at seynt Edis: after his deth he apperyd dyuers tymes to his broder kyng Alfrede comfortynge hym in his trouble / and by his helpe he had great victorye agaynst the Danes.

¶De sancto Niniano Ep̄o.

SEynt Ninian in Englysshe called seynt Tronyon was a Kynges sone of great Brytayne & anone as he had passed his yerꝭ of childhod he had great deuocion to be in the Church / & had great loue spirituell to his Felowes / he was Sober in diet difcrete of wordes besy in Redynge sadde of maners absteynyng fro pleys and [Page xxix] alwayes laboured to subdewe the body to the spyryte / He went to Rome on Pylgrymage where he profyted moch in lernynge / and was in synguler fauour with the [...] and he grewe in all vertue / & charite after the [...] made hym bysshop and sent hym into the weste parte of Englande to preche the worde of god / and in the waye homewarde he came by seynt Martyn and seynt Martyn knewe by reuelacion that he shuld profyte to moche people / And when he came thyder as he was sent the people receyued hym Ioyously and toke hym as a veray Prophet / whereby his prechynges examples and myracles he conuertyd all the people / And he buyldyd the firste Churche of stone that euer was buyldyd in Brytayne he conuertyd also the Southe pictes where he dyd many myracles and if a man thynke of the lyues of seynt Dunstan̄ / seynt Cuthbert / seynt Modwyn̄ / seynt Goderyke / seynt Ninian and suche other he shall thynke it right lytell that is done by the people / for the loue of god in thyse dayes a disciple of seynt Tronyon that hadde offendyd fe [...]ynge punysshement toke seynt Tronyons staffe and went into the see in a lytell shyppe / and anone with a sodeyne tempest he was dryuen so ferre into the see / that he wyst nat what to do / wherfore he was conpunct and in his herte asked forgyuenes and cryed to seynt Tronyon for helpe / & sodenly the wynde tourned and brought hym safe to lande / And when he came to lāde in testefyinge of y ^e myracle he prayed o ^r lord y ^t the staffe myght growe: & when he set it into the groūde forthwith it grewe & had rotꝭ & new barke w ^t goodly armes & braūches / & at y ^e rote therof spraynge a fayre welle / wherof y ^e water is very holsome forsyke men / he dyed in y ^e .xvi. Kalend of Octobre: & lyeth in a Churche y ^t he made of newe in y ^e honour of seynt Martyne [Page] A childe that was borne with great deformytes to the great heuynesse of his father & moder at the tumbe of seynt Trony an resceyued perfyte helth & two lepous wasshyd theym at seynt Tronyons welle and theyr flesshe was made clene lyke the flesshe of a Childe.

¶De sancto Odone Archiepiscopo.

SEynt Odo was sone of a Paynym of the blode of y ^e danes y ^t came in w ^t Hynguar / & bycause he vsed moche to speke to his fader such thyngꝭ as he had lethed at sermones of the Cristen fayth his fader corrected hym cruelly And also disheryted hym / wherfore he lefte his fader & moder & came to a Duke a noble man in kynge Edwyns house & he receyued hym Ioyously / There he was baptyzed & lerned both latentunge and greke tunge / whiche fro the tyme of seynt Theodre was moch vsed in Englande after he toke ordres & was made Dekon / & so he taryed dyuerse yeres & was after made preest / By his prayer the Duke was made hole of a great sykenesse as he was goynge towarde Rome / And after he was made bysshop of Salisbury and fro thense was electyd to be Archebysshop of Caunterbury / whiche he wolde nat take vpon hym tyll he was made monke / and so he entred into Relygion / and when he was Archebyssop he reproued the kynge of his abhominable aduoutrie and the women that the kynge kepthe toke theym / and burned theym in the face with yron & abanysshed them the Realme. To reforme certeyn clarkꝭ that erred in the sacrament of the Aultre affermynge it to be a fygure of y ^e passyon of our lorde by his prayer as he was at masse at y ^e brekynge of the Hoest very blode ran out therof into the Chales [Page lxxx] / and the clerkes seynge it were conuerted / and then the blode went agayne into the nature of wyne / By his prayer there felle noo rayne in his Churche all the whyle it was in buyldynge whiche was thre hole yeres / He was alway aduersarye inflexible agaynst synne / The pleasure or Ioyes of the world ne yet thretes coulde nat fere hym neyther lette hym fro doynge Iustyce / he prophesyed that seynt Dunsta [...] shuld be Archebysshop after hym and so he was / he dyed the fourth Nonas of Iulii and lyeth at Caunterbury.

¶De sancto Odulpho confessore.

SEynt Odulphe was borne of noble blode in Fraū ce and he forsoke his frendes and went to the Bysshop of Traiectense / where he lyued dyuerse yerꝭ in vigylles / fastynge / prayeng / and holy redynge / he cōuerted the Frysonnes by his prechynge: He set nought by any Erthly thynge so that after this lyfe he myght haue euerlastynge rewarde in heuyn: By his prayer the fyre ceased fro his [...]e [...] / and he dyed of the Axes y ^e daye byfore the Idus of Iune / at his deth was a swete sauoure that comforted all y ^t were present / his Relykes were after brought to London the tyme of kynge Kinite / and fro thens they were conueyed to Enesshm honorably / and though he was neuer in Englande whyle he was a lyue / yet bycause his Relykes be in Englande he is put into the Legende.

¶De sancta Ositha virgine & martire.

SEynt Osithe was doughter to kynge Frethewalde and she was bytaken ī her youth to seynt Modwen [Page] to Instructe / seynt Modwen bytoke her to seynt Edith / & she on a tyme beynge at Pollesworth sent a boke to Osyth to seynt Modwen / & on a brygge she was blowen with y ^e wynde into the water and drowned / and when she had lyen deed thre dayes by monycion of an Aūgell seynt Modwen went to the brygge nat knowynge wherto / where she met with seynt Edith and there by theyr prayers she was Reysed fro dethe to lyfe / After she was maryed by her frendes agaynst her wyll to the kyng of Estsaxons / and a longe season by certeyne excuses she kept her husbonde fro the Acte of matrymony / and when he had fully purposed to receyue no ferther excuses sodeyn tydynges came to hym that a harte was founde nygh to the paleys / and in the tyme that the kynge made taryeng dyuerse dayes about his huntynge / the virgyne sent for two bysshoppes & was made a Nonne And when the kynge retourned and knewe therof though he was greatly moued / yet he suffred her and gaue her the towne of Chychensen / and in the yere of our lorde godsyx C. & .liii. Danes came into the coūtre of Estsaxons / & bycause seynt Osith wolde nat do sacrifice to their Idollꝭ she was beheded / & she bare her hedde to y ^e churchedore / & there fell downe & her fader & moder buryed her at Aylesbury / wher she lay many yerꝭ tyll seynt Osith apꝑed to asmythe & bad hym remoue her relykꝭ fro Aylesbury to Chychēsen & so he dyd / & the bysshop of Lōdon layd them ī a goodly Shryne & the bysshop of Rochester there beyng p̄sent was helyd of a sykenes y ^t he had longe tyme had / Shypmen had stollyn a pece of Marble of the porche of seynt Osithes Churche & theyr shyp was made vnmouable tyll they cōfessyd the trespas & brought it agayne / she helyd a woman that was contract and a childe that was dombe and deffe.

[Page lxxxi]

De sancta Osmanna virgine.

SEynt Osman̄ was of noble blode in Irlande / and fro her youth in her herte secretly as a chosyn vessell of almyghty god she byleued in the faythe her Father & moder beynge gentyles / And when they sawe y ^t by no compulcion they coulde remoue her fro the faythe of our lorde Ihesu criste they thought to marye her so that by that way she shuld forget our lord & his beleue & hate cristen men / & she ꝑceyuynge y ^t fled w ^t one mayde ouer the see into a wodde by y ^e Ryuer of Lygerim where she lyued with rotes & leuys of trees and made her clothes of Russhes & longe grasse and she was founden by a wylde bore that fledde to her for socour when she was hunted by a bysshoppes seruauntes / And when they wolde haue kylled the bore theyr knyues wolde nat entre into his flesshe / and then they went to y ^e bysshop & tolde hym they were by wytchyd / wherupon the bysshop went to her & foūde her very stedfast in y ^e fayth And she sayd to hym y ^t she desyred nothynge more then to be cristened wherof the Bysshop was veray glad / & when she was made Cathecumynablyde mā receyued his syght And then the bysshop left with her a seruaunt to be her gardener that she myght haue Erbes to lyue with / and the deuyll moued that man to say oftymes euyll wordes vnto her to angre her therwith / and promysed hym a great rewarde therfore / & when he had assented he was sodeynly stryken blynde & so he came to repentaūce. The sone of the Quene of spayne cursed his moder / whiche was a pagan bycause she prohibyted hym to gyue almes / & therfore he loste bothe his speche & his syght / and the quene seyng that for sorowe fell out of her mynde / and by seynt Osmāne they were both made hole and so full of great myracles she went to our lorde the fyfth Ide of Septembre.

[Page]

De sancto Osmundo Episcopo & confessore.

SEynt Osmunde was bysshop of Salysbury and in his youth he put hym selfe to lernynge and to kepe the cōmaundementes of the Faders / he was of the kynges blode and dayly in presence of his prynce / & yet he wolde here the causes of pore men Pupillis and wydowes / He gaue great almes to pore folke and endowed the Churche with great possessions abiectyng hymself vtterly fro all temporall thynges / and he that wyll accompt his lyfe by ordre / one thynge after a nother shall playnely se y ^t our lorde alwayes ledde hym by the streyght pathe gyuynge vnto hym the cōnynge of ꝑfeccion / wherby he myght deserue the kyngdome of heuyn / and so at the laste as an approued seruaunt and faythfull werker in the vyneyarde of our Lorde wysely expendynge his talentes he was cōmaū ded to entre into y ^e Ioye of his lord yeldyng his soule to heuyn the daye byfore the nonas of Decembre / and was buryed at Salysburye / A childe that was drowned at Salysburye at the tumbe of seynt Osmunde was restored to lyfe agayne. On a nyght a Clerke called Thomas that as he thought went to bedde in good helth when he awoke of his slepe he felt his senewes dryed vp and one of his legges drawen vp to his buttockes / and the thirde nyght after that he had prayed for helth at seynt Osmunde stumbe he thought in his slepe that he sa [...]e seynt Osmunde appere vnto hym and that he toke hym by the fote & drewe his legge streight & in y ^e mornynge he was perfyghtly hole / he was Canonysed by Pope Calixt the thirde in the yere of our Lorde god. CCCClvi. at whiche Canonisacion the [...] beynge of great decrepyt age and in great feblenes sodeynly was made stronge and all men meruaylynge that knewe his feblenes he mynystred solemply the dyuyne seruyce / and other [Page lxxxii] thynges necessarye in his owne person and for this blessyd man our lorde hath shewed many and innumerable myracles.

¶De sancto Oswaldo Archiepiscopo.

SEynt Oswalde in his youth eschewyd all wantonnes and gaue hymselfe to werkes of perfeccion after he cōmytted to his vnkle Odo archebysshop of Caunterbury to lerne cōnynge and good maners / & when he had opteyned great connynge in scripture he was made Chanon at Wynchestre and after dean / And when he coulde nat remoue they there fro theyr olde euyll Customes he went to Floriacum where seynt Benet lyeth & there he was made monke and profyted moche in vertue / The deuyl appered to hym as he was in prayer and made dyuers fereful noyses to haue made hym cease of prayer / somtyme rored lyke a Lyon / somtyme lyke a serpent / and he stronge in the fayth feryd hym nothynge / and the deuyll seyng that went away and came agayne lyke an Aungell of lyght / wherfore anon he made the sygne of the Crosse knowynge verayly that if it were a good Aungell it wold nat discontent hym and if it were a wycked spirite he myght nat abyde it and so it proued / for the deuyll seynge the sygne of the Crosse vanysshed awaye lyke smoke / He was of lytell slepe sobre in dyete discrete in spekynge and busy in prayenge how pacyenthe was meke / sobre / and benyuolent in clene pure charyte is aboue mannes estymacion to shewe / Seynt Odo herynge his fame was veray glad and thankynge our Lorde sent for hym aswel bycause he was in great age as to instructe other in reguler disciplyne / wherfore they of Floriacum [Page] were veray sory / yet bycause they durste nat disobey so holy a Father they sent hym ouer and byfore he came to Caū terbury the Archebysshop was deed / thenne he went to his vnkle Oskyltellus at Dorchester / and when he was made Archebysshop of yorke seynt Oswalde by meanes of seynt Dunstan̄ was put into y ^e rule at Dorchestre / & at westbury he gathered .xii. monkes and instructed them with holsome monycions & set theym a warke to watche / faste / & praye / after he had made a Monastery where the Erle Aylwyn by monycion of an Aungell had made a Chapell & the Erle gaue vnto that Monastery great possessyons / an abbot that was of seynt Oswaldes makynge feruent in his relygion / but euer moche harde & cruell to his subiectes dyed / & as he lay on the bere he toke his spirite agayne & reysed hym selfe vp & sayd he was ledde to Iugement by seynt Benet & that by the prayers of seynt Oswalde his syn̄es were forgyuen hym & shewyd them that were there present that he was reuyued agayne to shewethe holynes of seynt Oswalde / and so he was howsel [...]d and lyued halfe a daye and then dyed / he buylded a Monastery at Wynchester and a stone y ^t was appoynted to that werke wolde nat remoue by any maner connynge / And when seynt Oswalde came thyder he sawe the deuyll sytte vpon the stone mockynge theym that laboured & with the sygne of the Crosse he droue hym away / and then fewe men remoued it y ^t .lxxx. coulde nat remoue byfore He was bysshop of Worcestre / & after by cōpulcion of kyng Edgare & seynt Dunstan̄ & by hole assent of the Clergye he was made Archebysshop of yorke / he chaunged seynt Albones Elye & Beamflet & .vii. other places fro clerkꝭ to monkꝭ he fed euery day .xii. pore mē & gaue them money / he knewe that he shuld dye the daye byfore and that nyg [...]t he went to [Page lxxvii] Churche and kepte the Quere & the resydewe of the nyght he expended in laudynge of almyghty god and in the mornynge was howseled & anelyd and gyrded a lynnen clothe aboute hym and wasshed the fete of pore men dryed theym and kyssed them as he was wont to do & after the .xv. Psalmes he sayd Glia patri &c. And as he payed the pore men / & was seyinge & spūisancto he yelded vp his spirit in the yere of our lorde .ix.C.lxxxxii. the day byfore the Kalend of Marche / & as he was had to y ^e churche a whyte doue & a bryght beame were seen descendynge vpon hym & he was buryed at yorke & .xii. yeres after his deth he was remoued to Worcestre as he wylled to be / where he lyeth now this daye / our lord hath shewyd for hym many great myracles both in his lyfe and after his deth.

¶De sancto Oswaldo Rege & martyre.

THe quene Acta moder to seynt Oswalde / after her husbonde kynge Ethelfryde was slayne in batayle by kynge Edwyn fled with seynt Oswalde / & other of her children into Scot [...]ade and there seynt Oswalde after the Counsell of his moder was Cristened / after with small cō pany he came to recouer his right & enherytaunce agaynst Cedwalla kyng of Dei [...] and Bernysshe that had slayne in batayle his broder Daufride kyng of deir̄ & Osryke kynge of bernysshe / and when they shuld go to batayle he set vp a Crosse & made y ^e people knele downe & pray for helpe ī their rightwyse quarel / & so w ^t small cōpany he had y ^e victory in a place called Deuysborne ayenst y ^e sayd Cedwalla y ^t a right myghty & cruell kyng / & by y ^e sayd Crosse / & also in the sayd place where he made his prayer that is called Heuynfelde / great myracles haue be done / after seint Oswalde sent into scotlande / where he was Baptysed desyryng to haue seynt [Page] Aydane the bysshop to Instruct hym and his people in the fayth / And when seynt Aydane was come the kynge gaue hym a bysshoppes see in the Ile of Lyndesernense / & anone the people were conuerted Churches were buylded & Monasteryes founded. This blessyd man beyng instruct with worde and example of seynt Aydane nat oonly atteyned a full hope of an Euerlastynge kyngdome / but also of Erthely kyngdomes he had more lordshyp then any of his auncestours / for he atteyned nat oonly the kyngdom of Deir and Bernysshe / but also all the Nacions of Brytayne / wherin then were .iiii. dyuers speches bryttysshe / scottysshe / englysshe / & of the pictes he toke in his domynion / He was a great gyuer of almes and wolde suffre no Cristen man go openly on beggynge / As he & seynt Aydane o [...] Eester day satte at dyner a great multitude of pore men came to aske almes and the kynge hauynge no other thynge redy at hande gaue theym a dysshe of syluer with mete therin / & the bysshop seynge his great charyte / toke his hande and prayed to almyghty god that that hande which was so redy to gyue almes shuld neuer Rotte and his prayer was herde / On a tyme he prayer for his people that were moche vexed with pestylence and shortly after he hym selfe / had the same desease wherupon thre Aūgelles appered vnto hym and sayd that he shuld nat dye of that sykenes / and that his people by his prayer shuld be delyuered therof and so they were / Moreouer the sayd aungellys shewyd hym that he shuld be martyred and the daye and place / where it shuld be & sayd they wolde be there with hym at that tyme & so vanysshed away & after that there was neuer in his dayes pestylence in Englande / fro that tyme he abode his ende Ioyously / and with great deuocyon with almes / and teres redemed his neclygences [Page lxxxiiii] / and as it is sayd fro Matens to day he wolde be in prayers / and where so euer he satte he wolde holde his handes vp to praye and to gyue thankynges to our lorde / & after he was slayne in batayle by kynge Penda in a place called maseyfelde seuyn myles fro Shrewysbury the .viii. nonas of August as it was shewyd hȳ byfore & as he was slayne he was in prayers deuoutly prayeng for hym & for y ^e people / his relykes haue ben oft remoued / his hed lyeth now in y ^e Monastery of seynt Cuthbert one of his armes at Bamburgh / and the other at Peterburghe his body and bones at glouerma where Etheldrede duke of Mershes made a churche ī honour of his name: at Faruerhm̄ a nother churche is buylded to his honoure / where great myracles haue ben done a thefe that robbed that church was sodeynly stryken blynde in the Lengende is a goodly Pedegre fro Ida that was the firste Englysshe kynge in Northm̄humbre. The kyngdome of Deir̄ streched fro humbre to tyne / & the kyngdome of B [...]rnyshe strechyd fro tyne to the Scottysshe see that in Scotlande is called forth whiche two kyngdomes were dyriuyed out of the kyngdome of Northamhumbre as it apperyth in dyuerse Cronycles.

¶De sancto Oswino Rege & martyre.

AFter the deth of seynt Oswalde kynge and martyr Oswy his broder succeded vnto hym in y ^e kyngedomes of deyre & Bernyssh / and after this blessyd seynt Oswyne kyng and martyr / y ^t was sone of kynge Osrik kynge of deyre whiche of longe tyme for fere of Cedwalla kynge of brytons that had kylled his fader had ben as an outlawe with the West saxons / herynge that [Page] kynge Oswalde was deed by coūsell of his frendes came agayne to deyre & by assent of al y ^e people of deyt he was made kyng of that coūtre / & the sayd Oswy was put out therof and reygned oonly in Bernysh / seynt Oswyne was a man of great charite he was as a staffe to feble men a fote to haltyng men / an Iye to blinde mē / & as a fader to wydowes & orphanes / also he was beauteous of vysage hygh of statute mery of countenaūce / sobre of maners and very lyberall wherfore he was byloued of all men great & smal. The kynge gaue to seynt Aydane a horse / & when a pore man asked almes of hym and he had none other thyng at hāde to gyue hym he gaue hym the sayd horse / & when the kynge herde therof he was descontented & sayd to the bysshop as the sat at the table togyther that a worse horse then that wolde haue serued to haue gyuen in almes. To whome the bysshop sayd what is it that ye complayne whether is the sone of a maare more byloued with you / or the sone of marie our lorde Ihesu criste to whom this horse is gyuen / & they kynge herynge that felle downe to the bysshops fete & asked hym forgyuenes promysyng feythfully that he wold neuer after be dyscontent what soeuer he gaue of his goodes y ^• to pore people of our lord / After at y ^e same dyner y ^e bysshop & when he was asked why he wept he answered y ^t y ^e kyng shuld nat longe lyue & said he had nat foūde afore so meke a kyng & y ^• the wycked people were nat worthy to haue such a kyng / & when he had Reygned .ix. yeres the sayde Oswy kynge of Bernyssh with a great host came agaynst hym / and when he sawe his people moch lesse in Nombre then y ^e people of his aduersarye Remembrynge the wordes of seynt Aydan he sayd to his people that he wolde nat put theym in parell / for his tytle / but wolde put hym selfe in the handes of god / [Page lxxxv] And so caused theym to retourne home agayne & with one man he fledde to the Erle hunwaldus to whom he had gyuen great possessions and he traytourusly discouered hym to his enemye / and then he sent Ethelwyn stewarde of his house and cruelly martyred hym and a kynght that was w ^t hym also that hadde rather dye thenne to lyue without his mayster in the yere of our Lorde god .vi.C.li. as it was prophecyed by seynt Aydane that he shuld be / And he was buryed at Tynmouthe / where after he was buryed there / the people had that place in suche reuerence that all the countre made it a place of theyr buryall / a Countes that had great deuocion to seynt Oswyne by lycence of the bysshop toke of his heere for a Relyke & nat of mystrustynge / but to shewe the merytes of this gloryous kynge and martyr / She threwe parte of the heere into a fyre / where it lay by the space of an houre and burned nat / he helyd a woman that was bynūme in all her body / and saued a knyght that with his horse fell fro a hyghe hylle / he appered to one in pryson and badde hym go to Tynmouth forth with his handes and fete were lowsed and the dore vnlocked / and so he went as he was bydden / he helyd two blynde women and cured one of the palsey / he gaue herynge to two deffe men / and delyueryd a mayde that was vexed with a spirite / He appered to a woman that a hole yere was vexed with a deuyll and tolde her dyuers synnes that she hadde nat ben confessed of & of an A [...]uowe that she hadde broken and exorted her to be confessed counceyllynge that she shuld neuer vse the crafte to sell ale and that for those causes she was cōmytted to the power of the deuyll / and when she was hole she tolde this tale with great wepynge.

¶De sancto Ondoceo Ep̄o & confessore.

[Page]SEynt Ondorēs fro his youth lyued vertuously and full of good werkes with fastyngꝭ / vigylles / & prayers he went to Rome & fro thens went to seynt Dauidꝭ & cō mynge by the churche of seynt Theliani he toke certeyn Relykes with hym & theuys that wolde haue robbed hym bycause they thought he had had great Ryches were stryken blynde / & by his praye they had theyr sight agayne when he was made bysshop / and as he was goynge by the waye he desyred of certeyn women that were wasshynge of butter / to haue a vessell to drynke in / and when they answered somwhat disdeynously that they had nothynge but butter he toke a pece of y ^e butter and made it lyke a bell and dranke water of it and the bell yet contynueth in the church of Laudanense lyke pure golde / as a kynge was huntynge a harte y ^e harte came to the man of god for socour & the kyng seynge that myracle asked of hym forgyuenes and gaue hym all y ^t groūde / after he left his bysshopryke & made a Monasterye nygh to the water of Wey where he gathered a great company of bretherne & lyued a blessyd lyfe many yeres / he dyed the .vi. nonas of Iulii.

¶De sancto Paterno Ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Paterne was borne in lytell Brytayne / & he left his erthly enherytaunce coueytynge to be hyer of the kyngdome of heuyn / and heryng of his moder that his fader had forsaken his owne countre & lyued a blessyd lyfe in Irlande he purposed to go to hym / and .viii.C.xlvii. monkes in tho dayes purposynge to leue lytell brytayne & to come into great Brytayne folowed hym chewsyng hym to be theyr leder / & so they came into great brytayne where he made a Monastery in a place called Mauritania [Page lxxxxvi] / And leuyng his bretherne he went into Irlande to his Fader / where by oonly syght of hym two kyngꝭ and theyr hostes were accorded that byfore were in great malyce prepared to batayle: then he retourned into brytayne to his bretherne & there he founde a brother that he left behynde hym in lytel brytayne whiche coulde nat lyue without hym wherfore in truste in our lord and in the vertue of seynt Paterne he came out of lytell bratyne vpon a stone that Rose fro the bottom of the see sauffe to the sayd Monastery / Seynt dauid / seynt Paterne / & seynt Telam by monycion of an Aungell went to Iherusalem. And there they preched none lyke theym syth the Apostellys and the holy ghost so werked in theym that euery man vnderstode in them his owne speche as they dyd of the appostellys & there they were made bysshoppes by the Patryarch and there was gyuen in rewarde to seynt Patrone a Cote wrought with golde & a staffe and after they retourned into Wales deuydynge the countre into thre Bysshoprykes / A kynge in wales called Carodancus subdued lytell brytayne / and there y ^e people shewyd to hym that / but he sent for seint Paterne they coulde nat be contented to be subiect to hym / & then the kynge went ouer to hym and desyred hym to come thyder for instructyng of the people and so he went where he suffred great ꝑfeccyon pacyently. When Sampson bysshop of that prouynce a holy man went aboute his diocyse to gather a certeyn trybute and came by Cyte nygh wherunto seint Paterne had buylded a Monastery one of the monkes of the bysshop coūceyled hym that for ꝓuynge of the humylyte of the holy man y ^t came late out of brytayne he shuld sende for hym / & that the messenger shuld brynge hym in the same estate that he foū de hym & the bysshop takyng the coūseyll symple sent forth [Page] a messenger and he founde hym with his one hose on / & the other of / and when he had tolde his message seynt Paterne knowynge what was to come went with hym / & when he came byfore the bysshop the monke that gaue the counseyll laughed at hym & forthwith he was taken with a deuyl and fell to the grounde / then the bysshop Sampson ꝑceyuyng that the monke was the cause of that temptacion asked for gyuenes for hym / wherupon seynt Paterne droue away y ^e deuyll & made hym hole / wherfore the bysshop discharged hym of all suche paymentꝭ / After at a synode seynt Paterne had great trowble of some that enuyed hym / & at laste a full peace was made & yet ferynge that suffraunce myght ꝓuoke Ire or hurte his humylyte he lefte that coūtre / & went in to Fraunce where he slepte in our lorde the .xvii. Kalend of Maii. Thre yeres after his deth fell no rayne or dewe in y ^t countre / wherfore the people remēbrynge y ^t seynt Paterne went out of the countre for iniuryes done vnto hym by a hole assent went into Fraūce to fet his body▪ & when they coulde nothyng gette / but oonly a bone of one of his armes / yet all theyr company coulde nat remoue it / wherfore they were meruaylously troubled. Then a noble man of the cyte of Guenet sayd y ^t seynt Paterne in his lyfe had asked of hym oftentymes a grounde to make a Churche in / & y ^t he wolde nat graunt it: but nowe he was contented / & that sayd they toke the bone lyghtly & bare it with theym to y ^e sayd Cyte y ^t was his bysshoppes see / & there it lyeth in a church made in the groūde of the sayd nobleman In his lyfe one of his seruauntꝭ▪ y ^t went to ouer se y ^e woddes was kylled w ^t theuys & byheded / wherfore seynt Paterne heryng therof went to the wodde & called y ^e seruaūt by his name & asked where he was / & he answered here I am / & then he went to the place [Page lxxxvii] there as he harde hȳ speke & leying y ^e hed & y ^e body togyther lyftyng his [...]yen into heuyn he blessyd y ^e deed body / & forthwith he rose vp hole / And therupon a myghty man in that coūtre came to the bysshop & sayd they were his mynystres that dyd it & ferynge that the vengeaūce of god wolde preuent hym asked mercy and gaue hym a parte of the groun- & he benyngly forgaue hȳ seying to hym y ^t byfore his dethde he shuld please our lorde / and that he shuld be buryed honorably in holy buryall.

¶De sancto Patricio Ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Patrike was borne in Brytayne now called Englande / & in his youth he was taken prisoner / & was put to kepeswyne / & a .C. tymes in the daye / & as many tymes in the nyght he prayed after by an Aungell he was shewyd that he shuld fynde a certayne thyng there as a hogge Roted whiche he shuld take to pay his Rraunson / & so he was delyuered out of bondage as he was goynge home by his prayer his felowes founde mete y ^t had ben longe w ^tout / & be ra [...]ted .xxx. dayes by cause his cōpany offered all their mete to theyr Idolles as he slept the deuyll tempted hym strongly & lay vpon hym thre dayes & thre nyghtꝑ lyke a stone y ^e he coulde nat remoue / & then he cryed hely helpe twyse / & hely came and delyuered hym then y ^e deuyll sayde that after that daye he shulde haue no power ouerhym / And our lorde put fro hym all torpoure and heuynes / & his strength clerely restored agayne vnto hym. In his slepe he thought that one brought hym a letter & in the begynnynge was wryten her est vox hībmensiū. And as he was redyng of it in the same moment he harde a voyce of many I [...]faū tes of dyuerse Countrees in Irlande saynge we praye the Father that thou come and walke amonge vs / and then he [Page] thought it was the wyll of god that he shuld preche in that coūtre. Therupon bycause he wold lerne scripture he went to the bysshop of Antisiodorense & was with hym .xl. yeres redynge & fulfyllynge holy scripture / after he was w ^t seynt Martyne .xl. dayes / and of a holy Heremyte he had a staffe that our lord had in his owne hande which is called y ^e staffe of Ihesu / and this day the staffe remayneth in his Cyte in Irlande & of a bysshop called Amotus he was made Bysshop / & so he went to Rome where he was in great fauoure with the Pope Celestyn: and he sent hym into Irlāde to cō uerte the people there to the fayth / in the yere of our Lorde. CCCC xxv. And when he came to the see a lepour desyred to go ouer with hym & his company wold nat assent / wherfore seynt Patryke threwe his Aulter into the see / & the Lepour syttynge therupon folowed the shyp tyll they came in to the Countre of Lagyne / Then he went into the coūtre of Anathaylt where the people wold nat receyue hym / wherfore the see destroyed al the countre. Then he went into the North ꝑte of Irlande to y ^e man where he was in bondage / and there he sawe moche people abydynge his cōmyng for they had herde by ꝓphetes that suche a man shulde come / & yet the kynge Loegar̄ cōmaunded them to put hym awaye & when a fyers dogge was tourned to hym to haue deuoured hym he was anone made vnmouable lyke a stone. Thē a gyaunt wold haue kylled hym whiche also was made vnmouable & by the p̄chynge of seynt Patryke was cōuerted / Then the gyauntes brother that was a man of great age / whiche was called Russeynge his broder cōuerted faught agaynst seynt Partryke & he asked hym what he ment of y ^t age to dispose hym to fyght & asked hym whether he wolde byleue if he made hym yonge agayne and he sayd ye / then [Page lxxxviii] seynt Patrike put hym to prayer & anone he was made in y ^t state of a fayre yonge man / wherfore he & his sones & many other were cristened / & then Patrike asked of hym whether he wolde lyue any longer in this worlde or streyght way to go to heuyn & he desyred to go to heuyn / & so he receyued y ^e sacrament & went to our lorde / As he was sayinge Masse a wytche caste downe his Chalys & forth with the grounde opened & Swalowed hym vp / A great tyraunt called Magnil & his companye Feyned one to be deed that seynt Patryke attempt to reyse hym / & so to be deceyued / & whē they sawe that he was deed in dede they sayd amonge them selfe verayly this is the man of god / & anone Magnil was conuerted & baptysed & was redy to take penaūce / & then seynt Patrike sayd that he coulde nat Iuge hym / but god shulde Iuge hym / neuerthelesse he had hym go to the see takynge nothynge with hym / but a vyle vestement and there to goo īto a shyp of one skyn without guyde or ore / & that he fetter his legges togyther & throwe y ^e kney into the see / & to what place souer the wynde brought hym there to serue god / and when he had ꝓmysed to do it seynt Patryke areysed y ^e mā that was deed & y ^e same day he went to y ^e see as he was bydden & came into an Ile called Mannā where he foūde two holy Byshoppes / and they meruaylynge had pyte on hym and toke hym vp gladly / & he taryred with theym there and after was made a bysshop & was a great man in that countre / where there is a cyte called the cyte of Magnil the bysshop to this day. Our lorde was with hym in all y ^t he went aboute he was a great confounder of Enchauntours / and by his prayers he put awaye snowes & derkenes that they had made sodeynly by helpe of the deuyll / land one y ^t was moche malycyous to hym was sodeynly lyfted vp into the [Page] Eyre and lette fall agayne / wherof he dyed myserably & an Erthquake sodeynly came & fered a kynge y ^t meynteined y ^e sayd Enchaūtour / wherby the kynge came to repentaunce He reysed a man to lyfe that hadde ben deed .x. yeres. This was his dayly lyfe he sayd euery day the Psaulter w ^t .CC. prayers & dayly sayd masse he taught disciples p̄ched to the people & euery houre he marked hymself with a. C. crosses In the begynnynge of the nyght he sayd .CC. psalmes and CC. tymes he knelyd / and fro the Cokkes crowyng he stode in water tyll he had sayd his prayers. Then he toke slepe lyeng vpon a bare stone & a nother vnder his hedde. Often tymes he sawe heuyn open / & our lorde Ihesu stondyng w ^t his Aungellys in heuyn / wherfore his herte alway brenned in an vncomꝑable fyre of the loue of god / He was a Clene & irgyne in body and spirite / & he chaunged this lyfe the .xvi Kalēdr of Apryl / And after one oppynion he was buryed in the Cyte of Dimense in Irlande / but in the latter ende of y ^e Legende it is sayd y ^t after he had cōuerted Irlāde he came into y ^e Ile of Aualony & was ther .xxxix. yer [...] & y ^t at this day seynt Patrike & seīt benygne disciple lyeth both ī one Shryne on the southe syde of the hygh Aulter at Glastonbury.

¶De sancto Paulino Ep̄e & confessore.

SEynt Paulyn came into Englande with seynt Augustyne and conuerted kynge Edwyn / whiche was kynge of Northm̄humbre & moche ꝑte of all the countre / in the yere of our Lorde .vi.C. and .xxvii. And the people there had such Feruour and desyre to the fayth that .xxxvi. dayes fro mornynge to Euenynge he baptysed the people ī y ^e water of Gleni / whiche is in the kyngdome of Bernyshe for at that tyme there were no fontes. He baptised also many in y ^e water of Swala that is in the kyngdome of Deyre / & also [Page lxxxix] in the prouynce of Lyndesey in Lyncoln̄ and in the water of Trent six yeres whiche was all the dayes of kyng Edwyn he contynued in prechynge & baptisynge the people / & kyng Edwyn made for hym a bysshoppes see in yorke & there began to buylde for hym a Churche of stone ī honour of seynt Peter / & byfore it was Fynysshed he was martyred & seynt Oswalde that succeded hym buylded the resede wetherof / He made dyuerse Churches one in Lyncoln̄ / where longe after that it was decayed yerely were done myracles / and when Iustus y ^t was bysshop there was deed / seīt Paulyn̄ made Honorius bysshop there / He was of a longe stature / somwhat stowpynge of blacke heere & lene faced venerable & also terryble of coūtenaūce / & after y ^e good kyng Edwyn was martyred seynt Paulyn̄ left Iame his Deakon at yorke & came īto kent w ^t the quene Ethelburgh y ^t was wyfe to kyng Edwyn & brought w ^t hym a goodly Crosse & a Chaleys of golde y ^t yet be to shewe in kent / He was made bysshop of Rochester by honorius & y ^e said Iames lyued to the tyme of venerable Bede / & in y ^e yere of o ^r lorde .vi.C. & xliiii. the .vi. Ide of October he chaūged this lyf / & lyeth at Rochester where he left his palle / A woman y ^t had longe cōtynued in synne on a tyme as she was goynge to offer to hym was stopped at y ^e first gresse dyuers tymes / & she sawe nothyng wherby she was moche cōpuncte & prayed y ^e monkꝭ to pray for her & was cōfessyd / yet neuerthelesse she fel agayne & after wher she was syke she was meruaylously sore aferde of the harde Iugemēt of god / & was confessed to y ^e bysshop & sent offrynge to seynt Paulyn̄ seyinge if seynt Paulyne receyue myne offryng I am forgyuen if nat I shal haue euer lastynge payne And when it was sent thyder he receyued it that had firste refused for he regarded nat the offrynge / but there [...]entaunce of the woman.

[Page]

¶De sancto Petroco abbate & confessore.

SEynt Petroke was borne in Cumber and was a kynges sone & fro his youth he was a folower of y ^e Appostellys / He was sober meke feruent in Charite & redy to all merkes of relygyon / And when he shuld haue ben made kynge he forsoke the pompe of the world / & toke with hym .lx. Felowes & entered into Relygyon / after he went into Irlande & was there .xx. yeres / where he profited moche in lernynge & entendynge to go agayne into his coū tre founde a shyp redy there that he had left without keper. And whan he came into Brytayne he founde there men labouryng that spake harde wordes to hym / & whether it were to tempte his holynes or to restreyne theyr drynesse they bad hym make a welle of swete water in a Rocke that was therby & he dyd so / & then he harde of a holy man called Sā pson & y ^t he ledde therby a solytary lyf in great streyghtnes w ^t barley brede ī fastyngꝭ & prayers / & when he sawe Sampson he prayed our lorde y ^t he shuld nat remoue tyll he had spoken w ^t hym & his prayer was herde & sāpson therby was boūden tyll they had saluted eche other & nygh to Sāpson he made a Monastery & lyued theyr .xxx. yerꝭ ī great fastīgꝭ prayers and colde restreynyng glotony and vnlaufully mocyons / all which tyme he lyued in suche innocencye y ^t he dyd nothynge y ^t he wolde nat haue done to hym / After .xxx. yerꝭ he went to Rome & came agayne into Cornewayle wherin a great tempest to cōforte his discyples he sayd the tempest shuld cease y ^e next day. And whan it dyd nat so he was heuy aud repented hym self moche of the p̄sūpcion y ^t he had sayd otherwyse then as it folowed / wherfore the thirde day after he went to Rome agayne & so to Ier [...]m / and there he toke purpose to go into ynde / & after had come w ^t great labours [Page lxxxx] to the Est occean there he foūde a vessell mete oonly for one man / wherby he went into an Ilande where he lyued in cō templacion .vii. yeres / & al that tyme he was fedde with one fysshe / and afterwarde by an Aungell he was conueyed in the same vessell into the West parte of brytayne / where afore that tyme had ben a Cruell kynge that had gathered many venemous serpentes to punysshe felons & men that had offended / and when he was deed his sone wolde none of y ^• crueltye so that one of the serpentes for hunger kylled a nother tyl one terryble serpent preuayled that kylled man and beste / whom seynt Petroke droue into a wyldernes where he shuld hurte no man / & by his prayer byfore all the people he reysed a man fro deth to lyfe / & when he shuld dye he called his disciples and instructed theym how they shuld kepe ꝑfyght Relygyon aduysynge theym that they y ^e had forsaken the wordly busynes shuld also eschewe all desceytfull plusures of the world / & that they shuld thurst downe all angre & hatered fle fr [...] lyes abanysshe enuye / & to p̄pare their hertes to be the temple of the holy ghost / and so full of good werkes and blessyd myracles he chaunged this lyfe the day before the Nonas of Iune.

¶De sancto Pirano Ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Pyran was borne in Irlande & in his youth he went to an Ile called Clera / where he lyued in great abstynense & holy werkes .xxx. yeres After he went to Rome / where he was made bysshop / & seynt Patryke bad hym go byfore hym into Irlande to preche to the people / and that he shuld buylde a monastery by the Ryuer of Waram there as he shuld here his Cymbale soūde without touchynge / & so it was done. By his prechynge y ^e fayth [Page] encreasyd moche in Irlande & by his exaumple many were styred to the loue of god & forsakynge all wordly thynges folowed oure lorde amonge whom was Brendane whiche made hym a place nat ferre fro seynt Pyran / a childe by instygacion of the deuyll put out the fyre that was vnder the Lycour to make drynke for the monkes / wherupon seynt Pyran sayd there shalbe no fyre be in this place tyll our lorde send it fro aboue & the next daye y ^e childe was kylled in a woode with wolfes / And when Geran that was mayster of the childe came to seynt Pyran he made his prayers and forth with fyre fell into his bosom whiche he dyd bere without hurtynge of his clothes / and when they shuld go to souper Geran sayd he wolde nat ete tyll his childe came a lyue to hym / and then by praye of seynt Pyran the childe rose fro deth & ete with theym / A kynge toke fro the moder of seynt Pyran and kynges doughter called brunet whom she had to brynge vp & kept her in his castell as a bond woman / and when seynt Pyrane spake to hym for her he sayd he wolde nat delyuere her / [...]onlesse a byttour in the mornyng waked hym of his slepe whiche he thought had ben vnpossyble & y ^e same nyght fell a great snowe aboute the Castell & there as seynt Pyrane / & his company was fell none and in the mornynge a byttoure came to the Castell & with noyse that she made wakyd the kynge / and then the kynge lay prostrate at the fete of seynt Pyrane and cryeng hym mercye delyue red the damosell vnto hym. Neuerthelesse after he reputed that he had delyuered her / and when he wolde haue taken her agayne he founde her deed / wherfore he was moche angre and sayd he wolde put seynt Pyrane fro that place and he sayd to hym that he was nat god / & that that place was nat his / but almyghty godes. And when the kynge beynge [Page lxxxxi] veray angry was gone fro hym he sawe his castell on fyre / and the Quene hauynge .ii. sones lefte that sone that she loued beste byhynde her for hast whom she cōmytted to seynt Pyrane / & when all the Castell was burned the childe was sauffe / & then the kynge greatly marueylyng came to seynt Pyrane & sayd he wolde gladly do whatsoeuer he bad hym do & offered to hym his two sones to serue god / And when the kynge was gone he Reysed brunet agayne fro de [...]h to lyfe / Our lord shewyd for hym many other myracles: The uys y ^t were lyke to haue ben taken cōmytted them to seynt Pyrane and sodeynly a fyre Rose in the woode bytwixt the theuys and theym that wolde haue taken theym / so y ^t they saued theym selfe and came to seynt Pyrane & taryed with hym all his lyfe: He reysed dyuerse fro deth to lyfe that were drowned and also otherwyse deed / He went vpon y ^e water / he ceased the fyre by his blessynge / He multyplyed meete that fedde moche people / he tourned water into wyne / Two kynges at his monycyon wolde nat cease fro Batayle / wherfore by his prayer a great wodde that was bytwixt theym sodeynly felle downe and stopped them / so that they coulde nat mete togyther / In all his lyfe he neuer ware but bestes skynnes fro flesshe and flesshely desyres / He absteyned strongely and fro all that myght dystemper hym / He toke lytell slepe & was oft visyted with aungellꝭ / he made many prestes / and clerkes and was .CC. yere olde or he dyed hauyng lytell sykenes neyther loste toth ne yet appeyred of his syght / He made of his enemys his frendes & dyd good for euyll / He hadde mercye and pyte vpon his neyghboures / and he moch laboured with his owne handes y ^t he myght gyue that he wanne in almes / He punysshed his body with fastynges / and vigylles in colde / hungre / & thurste [Page] dylygently kepynge charite / chastyte / and hospitalite. He was alway fro his youth prayeng redynge techynge or doynge some good werkes / and was humble gentyl in speche wyse sobre & mercyfull he omytted nothynge of the cōmaū dementes of god he fedde the hungry / gaue drynke to the thursty / receyued them that were harborowles / clothed the naked / he taught the bretherne to loue togyther to direct y ^t Iye of theyr mynde to Almyghty god and alway to desyre the kyngdome of heuyn after he called his disciples and tolde theym it was the wyl of god that he shuld go into Cornewayle and shewyd them of many great troubles that shuld come into that countre and prayed theym to praye for hym that after his deth he myght fynde our lorde meke and plesaunte vnto hym / and when he came into Cornewayle he made a house where our lorde shewyd for hym many myracles / & when he knewe he shuld deꝑte this transitory lyfe called his disciples and prechyd to theym many thynges of the kyngdom of heuyn and caused his graue to be made & goynge into it deꝑted with great bryghtnes the thyrde nonas of Marche & lyeth iu Cornewayle nygh Seuerne fro Petrokstowe .xv. myle and fro Monshole .xx. myle.

¶De sancto Richardo Ep̄e & confessore.

SEynt Richarde was borne ī the diocise of Wigorn̄ at the wyche: and in his youthe he eschewyd daunsynges and vayne playes / He forsoke twyse to be maryed and went to stodye at Oxforde Bonanye and Aurelian / where he profyted moche both in lawe Cannon and in dyuynyte after he was made Chaunceler with seynt Edmunde Archbysshop of Caunterbury & was to hym veray [Page lxxxxii] constaunte in all his troubles that he had for the lyberte of the Church in which offyce he refusyd to take ony maner of rewardys and dyd Iustyce to ryche / and pore not regardynge the personys of grete man / or small / & when he was Chosen busshope of Chichestre the kynge Henry the thyrde wolde ī no wyse assent to his eleccyon but kept hym fro his Landys / and goodes and so he went to Rome and there he was consecrate by the pope Innocent y ^e fourthe after he retournyd towardys Englonde & in the cōmynge home he vysytyd the Relykys of his Mayster seynt Edmōde / And when he came into Englonde he suffred many great rebukys / and Iniuryes in great pacyence a longe tyme Tyll after great sute he was restoryd to his possessyons / This blessyd man after that he was made Busshope went aboute his dyoces prechynge / visytynge and mynystrynge of the sacramentys / He was fro thens more feruent in prayer / more lyberall in almes gyuynge the more dylygent aboute poore men / and his demeanoure was y ^e more meke / he made a place y ^t preestys that felle in Pouerte myghte be releuyd in / A great man whom he had accursyd for wronge doon to his Churche came to hym / & he receyuyd hym famylyerly & bade hym to dyner sayinge for that tyme he wolde assoyle hym / & that after that tyme the sentence shulde reuyue onlesse he made amendys in that he had offendyd agaynste the the Churche sayinge also if partyes do varye for any thynge that they clayme ryght in / yet they ought to shewe charyte to eche other / for if a man clayme y ^t that is his he maye not yet withdrawe fro god that that is his whiche is charyte / He sought for poore men as he went in vysytacyon / and wolde aswell with his owne presence as with his almes [Page] comforte them / He herd confessyons / he assoylyd penytentys / He gaue counceyll to them that axyd for it / He strengthed men that were feruent to serue god / and multyplyed brede y ^t fedde moche people & reysyd a Chylde y ^t was deed borne / this blessyd man as he was prechynge by the Popes auctoryte for helpe of the Holy lande / dyed at douer the thyrde nonas of apryll and was brought frothens to chychestre where our lord hath shewyd for hym many myracles.

¶De seruo dei Roberto abbate venerabili.

SEynt robert was borne in the prouynce of yorke he toke order of preesthod & had a benefice which he forsoke & enteryd into Relygyon at whytby / after by lycence of his Abbot he went to fontes where Rycharde pryor of seynt mary of yorke had buyldyd a Monasterye & there no man lyuyd Idle but gaue hym to laboure / the bretherne went hungry to theyr table / and wery to bedde / they lyuyd without murmure / or Heuynes & in great feruoure they laudyd our Lorde / after seynt Robert made a newe Monasterye / and there he was made abbot / He neuer rose fro his table fullysacyate / he fasted euery lent Breed and water / At an Estre tyme when he had no appetyte to ete he sayde he thought that if he had eten Brede with butter he shulde ete it / and whan it was brought consyderynge that he had somwhat assentyd to his concupyscence / he wolde not ete it but sent it to the gate to poore men / where an Aungell lyke a yonge man w ^t a bryght shynynge face toke y ^e dysshe / & anon vanysshyd awaye / and when the dysshe was askyd for / it fell sodeynly [Page lxxxxiii] vppon the Borde before seynt Robert / He sayde dayly besyde his dutye .C. & .l. psalmes / As he went by newe castell he sawe the Deuyll amonge moche yonge people / & by compulcyon he shewyd seynt Robert that ne had ben his cōmynge he had made the husbonde at a pompyouse Bryde as to haue ben slayne by his enemyes / And there vpon shulde haue folowyd great murdre / And by his cō mynge he sayd all his purpose was stoppyd / On a nyght he thought he sawe the Dedyll amonge his Bretherne & that he toke a Nouyce that was not stable / & pullyd hym into his Basket with his Hoke / & in the mornynge seynt Robert enquyred for hym / and he was ren his weye and accōpanyed hym to the theuys where shortlye after his heed was stryken of / he was ghostlye fader to seynt Godryke And when he dyed seynt Godrykesawe thre Aungellys bere his soule to Heuen / And seynt Godryke sayd that of the purueyaunce of god a blessyd woman of Hastynges wente with hym in oonsorte / & oon rewarde into Heuyn He dyed the yere of our Lorde a Thousande a Hundred and .lix. the .vii. Ide of Iune for whome oure Lorde hath shewyd many great myracles / A dome man that hadde lōge ben at seynt thomas for helpe was bydden by seynt Thomas that he shulde goo to the newe Monesterye to seynt Robert & there he shulde be helyd and soo he was / a Knyght sawe in vysyon many Deuyllys goo towarde y ^e newe Monastery & he thought a Monke in whyght apparell came out of the Monastery and with his crosyer lyfte vppe / prohybytyd them y ^t they shuld goo no ferther and he thought that with theyr stryuynge a Crosse that was nygh to hym was throwne downe / and so it was asapperyd when he sent thyder in the mornynge.

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De sancto Rumwaldo.

THe moder of seynt rūwalde was doughter to kynge pēda which was a paynym and she was Crystened / & was maryed to y ^e kynge of northā humbre that was a paynym / and she prayed hartelye to our Lorde that her body shulde neuer be defoulyd with a man eschaungyd fro his lawe / and when she came into y ^e chaumbre she tolde her Husbonde that she wolde neuer accūpany with hym tyll he was crystenyd / and by y ^e wyll of our Lorde he assentyd / And aftre as he / and the quene which was great with Chylde were goynge to her fader She was delyueryd in Tētys in a medowe besyde buckyngham callyd Suttun / and anon as the Chylde was borne he cryed I am a cristen man thryse / and he sayd he wolde not haue to his godfaders the Ryche prowde men of y ^e worlde but chase to his godfaders two holy Prestis Wyderynus / and Edwoldus / and he shewyd a Holowe stone that he shulde be crystenyd in / and when moch people coulde not remoue the stone he bade wyderinus / and Edwoldus in the name of our Lord to brynge it / & anon they brought it without dyffyculte / And so he was crystenyd and was callyd Rumwalde as he appoyntyd / And anon he prechyd to the people the hyghe mysteryes of the Trynyte howe they were thre personys and one god / & of the Artycles of the feythe / and of the .x. commaundemē tys / and specyally of the Loue to almyghty god & to our neyghbour / & exortyd the people to do penaūce for theyr synnys which is to leue theyr euyll Lyfe & to make amendys for y ^t they haue offendyd with Fastynges / prayers / & Almesdedys / & aduertysyd the people to loue & honour eche other / not to accuse other / not to detracte other / not to stele ne to be forsworne / And when he had made a long [Page lxxxxiiii] sermon & approuyd it by grete auctorytes of Scripture He sayd it was not for hym to lyue in this worlde / and so aftre thre dayes his spiryt went to heuen y ^e thyrde nonas of Nouembre / & as he had appoyntyd his bodye lay oon yere there as he was borne / & two yerys at Brakley and then at Buckyngham where he lyeth at this day / theyse Townys at that tyme were not so namyd but after they were callyd accordynge as he had namyd them & our lorde hath shewyd for hym many myracles.

¶De sancto Sampsone ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt sampsone was borne in great Brytayne / & our Lord shewyd in vysyon to his moder callyd anne whiche was bareyne & that lyuyd with her Husbōde a blessyd Lyfe in fastyngys / & prayers that she shuld haue a sone whom she shuld call Sāpson y ^t shulde be great with our lorde & worthye to haue order of preesthod when he was .vii. yerys olde he was commyttyd to seynt Iltut and he sayde he shuld be a great Busshope. / & profyte moche in the chyrche of god / and when he toke dekon & preesthod / and also when he was made busshope a whyte doue was seen descende vppon hym / & the hyer degre y ^t he toke y ^e streyghter lyfe he ledde ī all his lyfe he neuer ete flesshe / the celerer that was neuew to seynt Iltute which was desyrous to be Abbot aftre his vncle / feryd y ^t seynt sāpsone shuld haue it / wherfore he put a great poyson into his chales / & he blessyd it & dranke it without hurte & as the Celerer abydynge in his malyce shulde be houselyd by seynt Sapsone on a sonday / the Deuyll enteryd into hym / & vexyd hym sore / & by seynt sampsone he was [Page] delyueryd with water and oyle that he blessyd and gaue hym / by the Daye he labouryd / and prayed / And on the nyghte he redde scripture & vsyd medytacyon / and when he toke slepe he lenyd to some wall / and neuer slept ī bedde / His fader was syke and sayd he shulde neuer be hole nor receyue the sacramētys tyll he sawe his son sampson and though he was ryght lothe to goo / yet by counsell of seynt Iltute he went vnto hym which was moche gladde of his cōmynge / and confessyd hym to hym of a great hed synne that he had longe kept close / after both he & his wyfe with all theyr chylderne betoke them to the seruyce of god / With the sygne of the crosse he kyllyd a great serpent after the sayde Celerer compleynyd that he had wasted the Houy and when the busshope Dubryee thought to proue it / Sampson made the sygne of the Crosse ouer the vessellys / and anon all the vessellys whiche he hadde afore geuyn in almes were fyllyd agayne full of Hony / after he was Abbot thre yerys / Then he wente into Scotlande / where he dyd many great Myracles and instructyd the people / and when he came whome dubrycyus by commaundement of an Aungell made hym Busshope / & so he went into lytyll brytayne / where he foūde a man at the seesyde lokynge for oon that as it was shewyd hym by our Lorde shulde come fro be yonde the see that shuld hele his wyfe that was a lepoure and his Doughter that was vexyd with a Deuyll / and soo he helyd theym bothe And there the quene had great malyce vnto hym / and gaue hym Puyson / And after that turnyd a wylde Lyon to hym and he escapyd both and by his worde the Lyon dyed / and the Quene seynge that Myracle askyd hym forgyuenes / euery Lent he wolde be in some secret place fro [Page lxxxxv] recourse of people / He departyd fro this Lyfe the fyth kalendas of Auguste / And lyeth at the Monasterye of dolo which he had foundyd in lytle Brytayne as he had doon dyuerse other Monasteryes / This blessyd man had suche grace that euer as he was at masse he had Aungells to assyste hym / and to mynystre to hym in the sacryfyce.

¶De sancta Sexburga regina & abbatissa.

SEynt Sexburghe was Doughter to Anna kynge of eest Englonde / And she was maryed to ercombertus kynge of Kent / and hadde Issue Egbertus / and Lotharyus / whiche were after Kyngys and two doughters Ermenylde / and Erkēgode she was in that hyghe degre meke / and poore in spyryte / she ruled her Ryches / it rulyd not her / she was good to them in hygh degre / and also in lowe degre / Seldome it was that she was seen amonge the people / & often in the Churche / she enducyd her Husbonde to destroye all Idollys that were in his Realme / And crystendome was brought in thrughe all the Realme / and at her desyre he made dyuerse Monasteryes / She taughte her Chyldrenne dylygentlye to drede God / and to kepe his commaundemē tys / And when the Kynge was dede she enteryd into Relygyon at Ely vnder her suster etheldrede / whiche lyuyd there a Blessyd lyfe ī great Fastynges / watchyngys & laboure / And in great mekenes she folowyd the example of her suster / where after her deth she was made abbesse [Page] and then she was moche dylygent by cause she knewe she had more cure and charge then she had before / and she endyd this present lyfe the daye before the Nonas of Iulii aboute the yere of our Lorde .vi.C. and .xl. and was buryed by her Suster.

¶De sancto Swithuno ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Swythune was borne in the tyme of kynge Egbertus which was the .viii. kynge fro kynge kynegelfe that was cōuertyd by seynt Byrynne / and after he had taken ordre of preesthode / He endeuouryd hymselfe to preche y ^e worde of god catholycallye and truely to vse werkys of pyte & to correcte theym that lyuyd inordynately after the deth of Helynstane whiche was busshope of wynchester he was chosen busshope there / And he made Churches of newe and repayryd tho y ^t were decayed / and when he went to halowe any churche he went not with great pompe / but went on his bare fete To his feestys he callyd not Ryche men but poore men & euer he callyd vppon synners to do penaūce / And encouragyd men that lyuyd vertuously to perseuer in vertue / he neuer toke a full meale but moderatly for sustenaunce and after longe vygyllys / & great labourys that he shuld not all fayle he toke a lytyll slepe / He made the brydge at the eest ende of Wynchester / And as he was lokynge vpō the werke a woman came bye with egges in a basket and by the neclygence of the werkemen her Eggys were brokyn / wherfore she wepte and made sorowe / And the Busshope hauynge pyte with his ryght hande blessyd the basket / & all the Eggys were hole agayne / he was euer busy [Page lxxxxvi] Psalmes and spirituell melodye / and with all dylygence he kept his herte in all clennes and ꝑseuered in kepynge of the cōmaudementes of our lorde to his departynge out of this worlde whiche was the syxth nonas of Iulii / in the yere of our lorde god .D.CCC.lxii. And he was translated / in the yere of our lorde .D.CCCC.lxxi. in the Ide of Iulii. And the same daye of his translacyon our lorde shewyd for hym many myracles / A thilde contracte fro his byrth was helyd There blynde wymmen had their syght: The yrons of one in pryson brake / and the man was delyuered / A man syke of the palsey was helyd / and .xxv. other were also made hole of dyuers sykenes.

¶De sancto Thatheo confessore.

SEynt Thathe was sone to a kynge in Itlande called Thathalius / & fro his yonge age he kepte hym self vndefowled fro al vyces / and when his Fader and moder sawe hym despyse all worldy thynges they set hym to scole where he profyted so moche in vertue & cōnynge that of all the countre yonge folkes came to here his Doctryne / and after when his fader was syke and he was called to haue taken the charge of the Realme an Aungell appered to hym and aduertysed hym to kepe his firste purpose / and nat to coueyt the desceytfull enheritaūce of this worlde / for he sayd all that we se shall shortly vanysshe away w ^t heuynes and ꝑell / and so on y ^e mornynge with .viii. felowes he went into Wales in a shyp without sayle or ore / & when̄e they were come ouer as they were restynge theym in a towne therby he sent one to tye the bote that he came ī / where y ^e messenger founde a harte holdynge the rope and sauynge [Page] the bote fro drownynge & then the harte was ledde to seynt Thathe where by y ^e power of god he lay downe on y ^e groū de & stretched out his hed and made sygnes that he shuld be kylled & so he was to make mete for the bretherne / After at the desyre of the kynge called Cradoke / he gathered many Scolers and made a Churche of the blessyd Trinyte & by counseyll of the Bysshop of Landaffe he sette in it .xii. Chanons / The kynges seruaūtes with theyr horses destroyed his grounde / and sodeynly all the horses dyed / & when the kynge herde of it he came to hym and cryed hym mercy / & anone all the horses rose agayne / & then the kynge seynge y ^e myracle gaue hym all y ^e towne with his owne Palays / the seruauntes of kynge Gundlens stale his cowe & kylled her and seth her in cawdren / & the more it seth the rawer it was and seynt Thathe herynge therof folowed / and by the way founde the prynt of her fote meruaylously prynted in a stone / and so folowed to the kynges Palays: whereof malyce and in mockage the euyll seruauntes couered the cawdren and made it lyke a sete that when he had syt downe theron he shuld haue ben skalded / and it was to hym when he satte downe harde & sure / & the kyng heryng therof kneled downe and asked hym mercy / and then he made y ^e flesshe & bones to be layde in the skynne / and the Cowe anone rose vp afore theym all / and seynt Cadoke sone to the kynge seyng that myracle became his disciple / and after many vertuous werkes / vigylles / and abstynence / he yelded his soule too o ^r Lorde the seuynth Kalend of Ianuarii / & lyeth in his Monasterye.

[Page lxxxxvii]

¶De sancto Theliao Ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Thelianus fro his youth vsed vigylles / and prayers & gaue all that he had to pore men / he made hym self lene that he myghte make other fatte / and he was enformed in scripture of seynt Dubryce / And after went to a wyse mā called Paulyn̄ where he accompanyed with seynt Dauid in suche affeccōn that there was bytwyxt theym but one wyll when wodde lacked at the Monastery seynt Thelians lefte his stody and went to the wodde / where two hartes offered theyr neckes to the yoke / and so they brought home the wodde and seruyd longe after in the Monasterye. This blessyd mā by y ^e monycōn of an aū gell went with seynt Paterne / and seynt Dauid to Iherusalem / and there they were .iii. dayes in contemplacion / and had forgotten all erthly thynges / and after there were thre Cheyres ordeyned for theym and for humylyte seynt Thelians satte downe in the lowest of the thre Cheyres / And it was a cheyre that our Lorde hadde sytten in / and whenne he knewe that he knelyd downe w ^t great reuerence / Then the people desyred hym to preche / and so he dydde / and the people of straunge tonges vnderstode hym / After he was made bysshop and in token of the grace y ^t he had receyued there was gyuen to hym a Cymbale whiche helyd dyuerse men and condempnyd them that were ꝑiuryd vpon it / and euery houre it sowned withoute to wchynge tyll wretchyd synners presumptuously towched it / and so it loste the vertue. This blessyd man as the trumpe of our Lorde perseuerantly by worde / and example admonysshed the people to Heuynly thynges / and he lefte this worlde the fyfth Idus of Februarii / And anone there was gret stryfe for his body [Page] bytwyxt .iii. ꝑties / and as the people by comen assent fell to prayer there appered thre bodyes al I lyke / and there was no varyaunce in fauoure coloure / nor vestymentes / and so Landaffe had one of the bodyes / another was had a lytell bysyde Caremerthyne / & the thirde into West wales / where it is had in great honour.

¶De sancto Theodero Archiep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Theodre was of the countre of Tarse Celicie / and was a man of approued maners & instruct aswell in Latyn as Greke tunge / and when seynt Adryan of mekenes refused to be Archebysshop of Caunterbury he appoynted for his excuse seint Theodre / and the Pope admytted hym with that condycyon that he shuld accompany seynt Theodre into Englande and he assented / and when they came into Englande anone seynt Theodre went aboute the countre / and taughte the people the trewe way of good lyuynge / and the dewe tyme when they shuld kepe theyr Ester / And he was the firste Archebysshop to whom y ^e hole Churche of Englande obeyed: He with seint Adryan taught the maner of syngynge in all the Churches of Englande that byfore his tyme was oonly vsed in Kent he ordeyned scoles aswel for Latyn as greke tūge & taught theym Astronomye Arythmetryke / and also Dyuynyte / & many of his Discyples were as experte intho speches as in theyr owne / he went aboute the Realme and ordeyned bysshoppes where nede was and correctyd y ^t was nat ꝑfyte / when the Errour of Entycetꝭ rose at Constantinople seynt Theodre to kepe the Churche of Englande fro that errour gathered all y ^e people an Clergye togyther with great dilygence [Page lxxxxvii] / and when he founde theym hole & stable in the [...]ayth / for instruction of theym that shuld come after hym he wrote a letter of theyr by le [...]e and sent it to Rome / He knewe by reuelacyon how many yeres she shuldelyue / he went fro this transitory lyfe to y ^• euerlastyng lyfe the .xiii. kalend of Octobre / In the yere of our lord syx hondred foure score and ten / and in his tyme the Churche of Englande profyted more spyrytuelly / then euer it dyd byfore his dayes.

¶De sancto Thoma Ep̄o Herfordie.

SEynt Thamas of Herforde was borne in Englā de sone to Wylliam de Cātslupo / & in his youth he vsed dayly to say Ma [...] & to here masse / After he went to stody first at Oxford / & then to Parees where he was made mayster / and after he came agayne to Oxforde / where he was made Doctour of lawe / and then Chaunceller of the Uniuersite and after agaynst his wyll / he was made Chaūceller to kyng Henry the thirde / in whiche offyce dayly he encreased in vertue and kept him clene fro all rewardes / for pleasure of ryche men or pore he wold nat do agaynst Iustyce / and after the deth of the kynge he retourded agayne to Oxforde and there he stodyed Dyuynyte / This blessyd man was of suche sobrenes that his seruauntes neuer sawe hym excede in mete or drynke / & he punysshed his body with vigylles / & fastyngꝭ / & pryuely vsed to weer the heere / and in the yere of our lorde .M.CC.lxxv. he was made bysshop of Herforde & for defence of the right of his church to his great payne he went to Rome where he was honorably receyued of pope Martyn / & in retournynge home he deꝑted out of this world at Florentyn̄nygh the hylle of Flascon / the .vi. nonas of Octobre in the yere of our [Page] lorde god .M.CC.lxxxvii. and .vi. dayes his body was kept and gaue a swete sauoure / and then his flesshe was shauen fro the bones and buryed in the Churche of seynt Seuery there / and his bones were brought to Herforde / Threscore and ten men haue ben reysed fro deth to lyfe by his meryt▪ and .xii. blyndemen recouered theyr syght w ^t dyuers other cōtracte / mute / & syke of y ^e palsey y ^t haue ben also made hole

¶De sancto [...]

THe lyfe and hole proses of this gloryous [...] seynt [...] of [...] and of his fader & moder / How his moder beynge a pagan came to London fro fer countres and by the goodnes of our lorde was conuerted to the fayth / & how [...] was in fauoure with the kynge and was made his Chaunceller And after Archebysshop of Caunterbury / where he lyued a blessyd lyfe in good e [...]ample & dedes of charite / and how he agreed at Clarendon to certeyn Articles / which he after reuoked bycause they were agaynst the lyberte of the Churche / and how he was therfore called ꝑiured / and of the persecucion that he hadde for the lybertye of the Churche / and how al his olde fauoure with the kynge tourned to malyce / How he fledde at Northampton and went to Rome where he was as an outlawe .vii. yerꝭ / his kynnesfolke banysshed the Realme for his sake all his goodes and possessions seased and his frendes tourned to his enemyes / howe he was logged in a place of the Cisteux by the [...] assygnement and was put out fro thens for fere leste the kynge wolde haue hurted that Relygion in Englande / & how he went into Fraunce & was there greatly cherysshed & how after by the [Page lxxxxviii] meanes of the kynge of Englande / the Frenche kyng tolde hynthe was to wylfull / & so he knew none other but he shulde be banysshed from thens / & then y ^e Frenche kynge seyng his constaunce toke hym in more great fauour / then he dyd byfore / & how the Archebysshop of yorke was accursyd for that he toke vpon hym to crowne the kyngꝭ sone / where it belonged oonly to the see of Caunterbury whiche was cause of more grugge / & how he in the ende was [...] where & by whom & that the kynge sayd he was nat assentynge to his deth & of the great repentaunce that the kynge toke by cause he had so moch attemptyd agaynst hym / is so openly knowen to most people y ^t the spekyng of it in this short treatyse shuld but make the story y ^e more darke & nat to open as it shuld be / wherfore I cōmytte the reder hereof y ^t is disposed to se more of this [...] to rede his hole Legē de / When [...] in his lyfe lyued moche prayed at his tumbe for helth & had it after his desyre / After when he was hole he consyderyd y ^t ꝑcase that helthe was nat expedyent to the helth of his soule / wherfore he went agayne to his tumbe & prayed / y ^t if that bodely helth were nat to the helth of his soule y ^t his sykenes shuld co ^• agayne & so it dyd.

¶De sancto Thoma monacho a gallis occiso.

WHen Lowys sone to the Frenche kynge at the desyre of dyuers of the noble men of England came with a great hoste into Englāde they founde this blessydmā seynt Thomas at douersyttyng alone in y ^e dormytorie a mā of a venerable age meke & sobre / & fro his you the brought vp ī monastical [...]uersaciō & al his felowes were fled for fere of y ^e Frenchmē / & whē he wold nat by fayr wordes [Page] neyther by thretes discouer the Riches of the Monastery / But also boldely rebuked theym for theyr sacrelege and cruelte / with a swerde in great malyce they martyred hym the nonas of August / the yere of our lorde .M.CC.lxxxxv. and at his Tumbe a man of the Frenesy was made hoole / Foure men had theyr fyght & .v. were reysed fro deth to lyf.

¶De sancta Walburga virgine.

SEynt Walburgh was suster to seynt Willibrord & Wynnybolde / and with theym she went out of Englande / & when they came to seynt Bonyface bysshop of Maguntinēse he made Willibrord bysshop of Heystatense & Wynnobolde entered into Religion at Heydanhem / and after theyr deth seynt Walburgh was made Abbes of that Monastery / & had rule of many virgyns: And when the keper of the churche at nyght denyed to gyue her lyght and she toke it in great pacyence there was in the dortor where she went a great heuynly lyghte / that endured to Matens tyme so that al the susters meruayled at it / and she thanked our lorde therof / and attrybuted it to the merytes of her bretherne / and nat of her owne. On a nyght she went vnknowen to a Riche mannes house where a mayde lay syke / and when the man sawe her he badde her beware of the dogges and she sayd he y ^t had brought her thyther shuld saue her fro y ^e dogges / and when he had lerned what was her name he toke her into his house with great reuerence / and when it was tyme to go to reste he asked her where she wolde lye and she sayde there as her suster lay syke / where she gaue her to prayers and helyd the mayde / and in the mornynge retourned to her Monastery / and full of good werkes [Page lxxxxix] she went to our lorde the. Kalend of May / and was honorably buryed in the same Monasterye She appered After her deth to Otgare bysshop of Heystatense and blamyd hym that he kept the Monastery neclygently and tolde hym that she wolde shewe hym such a token that he shulde ꝑceyue that he had nat done well to her / and shortly after at the rofe of a house there was settynge vp / y ^e North wall fell and feryd theym moche / and then Otgare repayred the Churche and remouyd the body of seynt Walburgh and of her brother Wynnybold to Heystatense.

¶De sancto Walleno abbate.

SEynt Wallene otherwyse called Walthesse was sone to Syrnon Erle of Huntyngdon / & his moder was doughter to the Erle of Northumberlā de / & accordynge to his name he was a good thefe for he stale mekely the kyngdome of heuyn kepynge all his Reuelacions and vertues close / when his fader was disheryted and was deed in Fraunce / seynt Wallene was made Chanon in the Monastery of seynt Oswalde in yorke / and there beyng sexten he was chosen to be Pryor of Kyrkehm̄ and how moche he was in the oppynyon of other men hyer so moche he was in his owne syghte the more meke / As he was at masse on Cristenmasse daye / and he had spoken the sacramentall wordes he sawe a goodly childe more whyte then y ^e snowe with a crowne of golde y ^t with mylde countenaunce touched his face and hedde / whiche oft kyssed hym and blessyd hym / and soo he vanysshed awaye leuynge nothynge but the hoste / & he neuer after Remembred that vysyon but he wept for Ioy / After fro more streyght lyfe he entered [Page] into Relygyon of Cisteur at wardon̄ / & after he was made Abbot at Mailrose. By his mocyon his kynnesman Symond made the Monasterye of Seynt Andrews in Northampton the Nōnery without the towne and saltery Abbey / Thre gestes came to hym whiche he receyued mekely wassynge theyr handes and fete / and sodeynly one of theym was gone / and in the nyght folowynge an Aungell appered to one of the Brethene and sayd he was the geste / that y ^e day byfore went sodeynly fro them addyng therto y ^t he was appoynted by our lorde to be keper of that place / & sayd the almes and prayers of theyr Abbot dayly ascended byfore our lorde lyke swete encense / he sawe in vysyon the thre kynges do theyr offrynge / & how our lorde was scourged dispysed crowned with the crowne of thorne crucifyed and suffred deth / and how water and blod came out of his syde / and how he rose fro deth leuynge the kepers as deed / and after went into heuyn. On a tyme when the deuyll appered to hym he toke the Sacrament / and badde hym cursed wretche se his Iugge that shulde sende hym into helle / And thenne he myght abyde noo lenger / but vanysshed awaye / He refused to be Bysshop he multyplyed corne and brede that seruyd moch people / and helyd a man of the dropesye he went to heuyn the thride nonas of August: In the yere of our lorde god a Thousande a hondred & thre score / & after he appered to a broder that by temptacōn of the Deuyll preferred the lawe of the Iewes byfore the cristen lawe And also sayd there was no lyf but this and he shewid hym in vysyon [...] hell and heuyn / and then whenne he came to hymselfe agayne he forsoke all his errours / and lyued a good lyfe and conuerted many people and byfore his [Page C] deth sawe our lorde with his bodely lyen.

¶De sancto Walstano Confessore.

SEynt Walstan̄ was borne in the Southe parte of Englande in a towne called Bauburgh / and was of the kynges blode / And whenne he was aboute the Age of .xii. yeres by Inspyracyon of the holy Ghost he forsoke all his Enherytaunce / and his Countree and went into the Northe partes / and put hym selfe in seruyce to a man in the towne of Tauerham / He was a great gyuer of almes in so moche that he gaue nat oonly his owne mete to poore men / but also on a tyme he gaue his shone to a poore man & went hym selfe barefote / And whenne his dame perceyued it she feyned that she hadde great nede to haue thornes / & caused hym to go to the wodde to fet theym home and by the goodnes of oure Lorde / the thornes were to hym lyke rose flowers hurtynge hym no thynge / And whenne his dame knewe that she cryed hym mercy / and he anone forgaue her / His mayster seynge the sygnes that he dyd loued hym moche / and wolde haue made hym his heyre whiche he refused / and wolde no thynge haue in any wyse / but oonly that whiche one of his M [...]ysters keen hadde in her bely at that tyme / and she had a [...]er two Calues whiche his mayster gaue hym with good wyll / and as he was [Page] after mowynge in a medowe with one of his felowes an aū gell appered to hym and shewyd hym that the thirde daye folowynge he shulde departe this world / wherfore he was howseled and toke all the sacramentꝭ of the Churche and at the sayd daye he toke his mayster and dyuerse other honest ꝑsones with hym / and went to the sayd medowe / and there he wylled that when he was deed his body shuld be put in to a carte and his two oxen to be put in it and to be suffred to go with it where they wold without any leder and there as they taryed he to be buryed / & he had graunted of our lorde that what laborer that called vnto hym for helpe of his desease or for his bestes that he shuld be herde / and so he departed out of this worlde the thirde Kalend of Iune / in the yere of our lorde a thousande and syxtene / And when he was leyde in a Carte the sayd two Oxen brought hym to Bauburgh: and by the way they went ouer a water / & the wheles of the carte dyd nat synke into the water / and in thre places where they rested sprange vp thre fayre welles / he lyeth in Bauburgh where a Churche is halowed in the honoure of his name / and there our lorde hath shewyd for hym many great myracles as well vpon men as vpon brute bestes.

De sancta Wenefreda virgine & martyre.

A Man of great vertues called Bennow came to the fader of seynt Wenefrede & desyred of hym a grounde wherin he myght make a churche to serue almyghty god therin & he gladly assented and assygned a place vnto hym / & also cōmytted his oonly begoten doughter called Wenefrede to hym to enforme and she herynge his prechynge / and Doctryne purposed secretly [Page Ci] her herte to forsake all the plesures of the worlde / and to kepe virgynyte whiche purpose she durste nat shewe to her fader and moder / but to her mayster & he shewyd it to theym wherwith they were ryght well contented / and after it happened that when her fader and moder on a Sonday were at Churche Cradoke sone to kynge Algare founde her alone in her faders house and promysed to her great gyftes to assent vnto hym / and she sodeynly astonyed dissembled w ^t hym and sayd that she was sory that she was so euyll appareylled / and prayed hym that she myght go into her Chamber to apparell her more honestly / and when she came into the Chambre she ranne pryuely towarde the churche / and when he ꝑceyued that ī great angre he folowed / and when he had ouer taken her on a hylle / and she wolde in no wyse assent to hym he strake of her hedde / and there as the hedde fell anone sprange a fayre welle / and the stones therof haue redde spottes lyke blode to this day / & the hedde ran downe into the Churche there as they were at seruyce wherat all y ^e people were meruaylously astonyed / and her fader and moder made great Lamentacyon / wherupon her mayster takyng y ^e hed went to y ^e place where her body lay / where was yet the kynges sone dryinge his swerde / and when he had reproued hym for his wycked dede and he had no repentaū ce therfore sodeynly he dyed / and it was nat knowen where his body became / and then her mayster leyde the hedde to y ^e body and shewyd the people how she had aduowyd to be a Nonne / and therupon he made his prayer & anone she rose vp as she had ben a slepe nothynge apperyng of the cuttynge / but oonly a lytell whyte cercle aboute her necke / and the people nat yet conuerted / seynge thyse myracles fell downe to the fete of Bennowe and desyred to be cristened & so they [Page] were / and then she was made a Nonne & kept virginite accordynge to her auowe and gadered many virgyns / after her mayster went fro her / and euery yere she vsed to sende hym a certeyne p̄sent and lapped it in a lynnen cloth / & layde it in the sayd welle as her mayster had appoynted her to do / and it was conueyed to hym fyftye myles in the water / And yet the cloth was neuer wette / and after her maysters deth by the wyll of our lorde she went to a place called Wyltheriacus and the Abbot there by spirit knewe her cōmyng and met her and brought her into the company of virgyns and made her the ruler of theym / where our lord Ihesu criste appered to her and tolde her that her tyme drewe nere / & in the fourth nonas of Nouembre she yelded her spiryte to our lorde for whom hath ben shewyd many myracles / and now she lyeth at Shrewesburye / whether she was translated in the yere of our lorde a thousande a .C. and .xxxviii.

¶De sancta Wereburga virgine.

THe Quene Ermenylde moder to Seynt Wereburghe came by Lyny all descent fro seynt Ethelbert kynge of Kent / that was conuerted by seynt Augustyne / & a goodly pedegre is therof in y ^e Legende / & Wulferus was her fader. This glorious virgyne despysynge all concupyssence and pleasures of the worlde entered into Relygyon at Ely vnder her Aunte seynt Ethel drede where she shewyd her selfe to be the very meke hand mayde of our lorde / And when her fader was deed her broder Ethelredus made her to haue Rule of all the Monasteryes of Nonnes in Englande / & natwithstandynge she shewyd her selfe rather to be a mynystrice then a maystres enformynge theym that were vnder her rather by good [...]mple / [Page Cii] then by cōmaundement & her body beynge in Erth her mynde was in heuyn / when she was in the mansyon of Wedun that is by Hampton certeyne fowles destroyed the corne wherfore she cōmaunded y ^t they shuld be brought home and put in holde / & so they were on fote as though they coulde nat haue flowen / & in the mornynge when she had lycensyd theym to go away / and one of the mynystres had hyde one of them / Al the flocke came aboute y ^e house where seynt Wereburgh was / & wolde nat away tyll she had caused theyr felowe to be delyuered / & then they went away w ^tout retournynge of theym or any of that kynde / when she knewe that the tyme drewe nere y ^t she shuld dye she wylled y ^e where soeuer she dyed her body shuld be had to the Monastery of Hamburgense / & after in the .iii. nonas of February she went to our lorde / & when her body was brought to Trykenhm̄ / & was dylygently kept with the dores shet / sodeynly all the cōpany fell aslepe & men of Hamburgense came to fet away the body accordyng to her wyll / & the dores flewe open so that they toke the body w ^tout resystence & buryed it honorably / where many myracles were shewyd for her by our lorde / & .ix. yere after her body & clothes were founde vncorrupt & so her body lay vncorrupt vnto the cōmyng of the Danes y ^t her flesshe was incyuerate by the goodnes of god rather then her body shuld be vngoodly touched by the infydels her bones were after trāslated to Chestre wher they lye at this daye.

¶De sancto Wylfryde Ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Wylfryde was borne of noble blode in Englande / and in his youthe he gaue nat hym selfe to lyghtnes and wantonnes / but ordered hym selfe soberly in all thyngꝭ nat vsyng any chydyng bacbytyng or [Page] stryfe / and when he came to age of .xiiii. yeres he shewyd the Quene Elflede that his purpose was to leue the world & to serue our lorde wherupon the quene sent hym to Lyndefernense where he associated hymself to a College of monkes / & there a sertayne tyme he seruyd our lorde / After he went towarde Rome with seynt Benet Bysshop / & by the waye the bysshop of Lyons lyked hym so well that he wolde haue gyuen hym great possessions and haue maryed hym to his broders doughter / but that he tolde hym that he hadde purposed a nother way of conuersacion / And when the bysshop herde that he sent hym to Rome with great gyftꝭ and there in y ^e Churche of seynt Andrewe he prayed hertely for remyssion of his synnes / & that he myght haue wysedome and eloquence to vnderstande and shewe the worde of god And streyghtway he ꝑceyued in hymself that a more quyknes of wytte was gyuen to hym / then he had before / and after he retourned into Englande where kynge Oswy gaue hym the churche of Rypon abiectynge the Scottes y ^t wold nat kepe the right Ester / and in tho dayes was great busynes in Englande for the kepynge of Ester / and dyuerse cō nynge men and also good men were of contrarie opynyons And somtyme when the kynge kept Estre / the Quene kept Palme sonday / whiche contrauersy at a great counseyll at Whytby was appesed by seynt Wylfryde w ^t great reasons and Auctorytes in y ^e yere of our lorde god .vi. hondred .lxiiii After he was made bysshop of yorke though he with al his power refused it: and therupon by Instygacōn of the Quene the kynge Egfryde enformyd seynt Theodre archebysshop of Caunterbury so sore agaynst [...]eynt Wylfryde that he by that wrongfull informacyon put hym out of his see / & then the kynge deuyded in it thre sees Lynde [...]ernense Lagustaldens [Page Ciii] / and Candyda casa whiche that tyme belongyd vnto Englonde / wherfore he appelyd to Rome / and when he was goynge thyder on the see the wynde droue hym into Frysya / where he conuertyd many thousande people to the Feyth and there the groūde that before his commynge was drye / and bareyne was aftre plenteuouse / and fruteful / And when he came to Rome / he shewyd his cause so charytably y ^t he neyther accusyd seynt Theodre / ne yet omyttyd his owne Innocencye and when the [...] agathone had herde all his aduersaryes / he restoryd hym agayne to his see / And when he shewyd to the Kynge the [...] bullys / He set them at nought / and by the entysynge of the Quene he was with great derysyon put into pryson which he toke in great pacyence / and there he helyd the kepers wyfe / and when that keper was lothe to kepe hym ony lenger / he was cōmyttyd to anoder [...]ryson / And there the fetto [...]rys wolde not abyde vppon hym / And also [...] deuyll enteryd into y ^e quene whiche was thought was for the wronge that was doon to seynt wylfryde wherfore he was let goo / And then by his prayer y ^e Quene was made hoole / After he cōuertyd many of the Lordys and of the people in the countrey of westsaxons to the feythe / where the Kynge of that Countrey was before conuertyd and very fewe of his people / Also he conuerted the Ile of wyght / The kynge Egfryde was after slayne in Batayle which seynt Wylfrede sawe in vysyon as he was at Masse / & then seynt Theodre sente for hym and cryed hym mercye for that he had so moche assentyd agaynste hym as he had / And shortlye after he was restoryd to his see agayne / and was in peace .v. yerys then he was wrongfully put out agayne / and was at Rome eftesones [Page] restoryd / and as he was in the commynge home & by the way was nyghe deed in Fraunce / seynt Myghell apperyd vnto hym & tolde hym he shulde escape that sykenes / and that he shulde be restoryd to his see and Dye in peace for he sayd our Ladye had acceptyd his seruyce / & for the profet of other she wolde he shulde yet lyue / and so he was sodeynly made hoole that all meruaylyd that were aboute hym / and after two kyngys were punysshed because they wolde not suffre hym to be in peace / and when kynge Osrede was made Kynge / he had hym in great fauoure / And when he knewe that his tyme drewe nere he callyd his Bretherne / and bade theym that nothynge shulde seuer theym fro the charyte of god / And that they shulde put awaye the snares of the Deuyll with all dylygens / And as he sayde the verse (Emitte spiritum tuum et creabūtur) he yeldyd his spyryte to our Lord the .viii. kalendas of Maye / in the yere of our Lorde .vii. hūdred and .ix. And was buryed in Rypon in a monasterye that he had newe buyldyd / And after Odo archebusshope of Caunterbury remouyd moost parte of his Relykys to Caunterbury / and parte he lefte at Rypon.

¶De sancto Wiro ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt wyre was borne in Scotlande / And as he encreasyd in age / he encreasyd in vertue / And he wolde not be ouermoche abiecte with aduersyte nor elate in prosperyte / He was not wery ī holy vygyllys He was fedde with prayers / & was mery in fastynges / he was electyd to be Busshope whiche he moche refusyd / & sayd it became hym rather to be a Dyscyple then a mayster [Page Ciiii] / & notwithstādynge by desyre of the people he toke i [...] vpon hym / & then dylygentlye he prechyd to the people & confermyd hys lyfe to his prechynge / After he wente into Fraunce & there lyuyd a blessyd lyfe in good exaumples / and Doctrynes many yerys / and he dyed of the Axes / & was buryed in the Chyrche of our Ladye (intraiecte inferiori) And at his buryenge was felte a meruaylous swete sauoure of all that were there present / His feest is Halowed the .viii. Idus of May.

¶De sancto willibrordo ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Wyllybrorde was borne in the Prouynce of Northamhumbre / his Fader & Moder were blessyd folkys / his Moder when she was with Chylde with hym sawe a Mone falle into hyr mouthe that euer encreasyd more & more / and made her bowellys bryght shynynge whiche betokenyd the Holynes of the Chylde that she went with / And his Fader enteryd into Relygyon / And when the Chylde was norysshed he was put to Scole at rypon / & there he made hym selfe monke / after for the more streyghter lyfe he went into Irlonde / where he lyuyd in great hyghe Relygyon and study .xii. yerys / and after with a .xi. felowes / he went ouer the see to preche to Infydelys in the Countrey of Fryson and came to a place callyd Traiecte / & so he went to Pyppyn then ruler of Fraū ce / where he put awaye errourys and conuertyd moche people / & then Pyppyn sent hym to rome / & the pope had knowlege of his cōmynge by reuelacion / wherby he was warnyd to take hym reuentlye / & so he dyd graūtynge to hym all y ^t he askyd / & also made hym an archebussop / thē he departyd fro Rome & cōuertyd moch people to y ^e feyth [Page] in Fraunce in Fryson / and in Denmarke he cam into an Ile that amonge the Gentyls was in such honoure that they durste not touche any thynge that was in it / ne touche a well that was therin / In the whiche well seynt wylly brorde Crystenyd thre men / and kyllyd of the be [...]ys & ete theym / & when the paganys thought they shulde therfore haue goon mad / or sodeynly dye / they had no hurte / wherfore the paganys shewyd it to theyr Kynge callyd rathbode a cruell man which sent for hym in great anger and askyd why he had defoullyd the holy thynges of his goddys and when he with constant mynde tolde the kynge that they were no goddys that he worshyppyd but a Deuyll / and that if he wolde not forsake theym he shulde haue eternall peyne / The kynge was admeruaylyd and sayde he sawe well that he set noughte by his manacy [...] & cōcyderynge y ^t his lyfe was lyke to his wordys thoughe he wolde not be crystenyd / yet he sent seynt wyllybrorde to Pypyn honorably / after pypynnys d [...]the Kynge charles that was Pypyns sone made hym Busshope of Tra [...]ecte / he wolde not doo euyll for euyll / And therfore some tyme oure Lorde toke vengeaunce for hym / He gaue .xii. poore men drynke of his best bottell of wyne / And when they had all dronke the Botell was as full as it was before / By his prayer a vessell of a To [...]ne that had but lytell wyne in it was made full / He was of goodly stature / of stable countenaunce / mery / wyse / redye in coūceyle / and stronge in all the werkys of god / and in the .vii. Ide of nouēbre he went to our Lord / & was buryed in a Monasterye y ^t he had made of y ^e blessyd Trynyte / where the tūbe y ^t he shuld be leyed in y ^t was to short meruelously waxyd longe Inoughe as thoughe it had ben so made for hym.

[Page Cv]

De sancto Wilhelmo puero & martire.

SEynt wy [...]lyam the chylde / and martyr was borne in Engl [...]nde / and when his m [...]der was wyth Chylde of hym she sawe in a vysyon [...] [...]ysshe callyd a [...]uce y ^e .xii. red synnys lyke as it had ben sparkelyd with blode / & when she had put the fysshe into her bosom she thought it grewe so moch that her bosome coulde not holde it / and sodeynly it flewe aboue the Cloudys into heuen / and apreest that had great grace in expoūdynge of vysyons / sayde she shulde haue a blessyd Chylde that in the age of .xii. yerys shuld goo into Heuyn / And when he was a yonge Chylde it happenyd hym to touche y ^e Irōs of a man that was fetteryd / And anon the Irons felle of And when he was but .vii. yere olde he wolde faste thre dayes in y ^e weke / and wolde be at the Chyrche in prayer / And after at norwych he was put to askynner to enfourme / where on an Estre daye he was taken pryuely by the Iues / and they in despyte of oure Lorde mok [...]yd hym / & cruelly martyryd hym / they thruste all y ^e blode oute of his Hedde with cordys / and then they dyd shaue his Hedde and pryckyd it with thornys / and put hym vpon a Crosse and thruste hym into the lefte syde greuously / and so by great Martyrdome he went to our Lorde the .vii. kalendas of Maye / and that doon they caryed hym towardes a wood to hyde hym / And a Crysten man came by them & perseyuyd that they caryed a deed man / wherfore they feryd moche and pryuely hunge hym vp in a Tree in the Wode with a corde / and wente to the Sheryfe & for a .C. marke / the Sheryfe causyd the man to be sworne that he shulde neuer dyscouer it whyle he lyuyd / & .v. yerys after when he shulde dye Seynt wyllyam apperyd to hym / & bade hym that he shulde dyscouer hit ferynge nothynge / [Page] And so he dyd / and then a lyghte fro heuyn shewyd vppō the place where he laye / And after on an Eester euyn his Bodye was founde by a Nonne in the wode lyenge at y ^e Roote of an Oke in his Cote hosed / and shodde / and his Hedde shauen / and there were by hym two Crowes that attemptyd to haue Torne hym / and etyn hym / But they hadde no power therto / and then he was takyn vp with all the people / and buryed with great Ioye / A man that had ben longe syke was ledde in a vysyon by an Aungell into a goodlye place full of plesaunte Flourys / and there he sawe our Lorde syttynge in a Trone / and innumerable of Aungellys / and Seyntys aboute hym / and on his ryght hande in great magestye was the sete of oure blessyd Ladye / and at the Feet of our Lorde he sawe a Chylde aboute the age of .xii. yerys syttynge in a sete of golde and a Crowne of Golde vppon his hedde his Face shynynge bryghte as the sonne / and Aungellys dyd honour to hym / Then he askyd of the Aungell who he was / and the Aungell sayde this is he that in derysyon and opprobrye of the passyon of our Lorde the Iues of Norwyche dyd put to deth / and by hym he sayde he shulde be made hoole / And so he vanysshed a waye / and when his spyryte was come agayne to the Bodye he went to Norwyche & was made hoole as the Aungell sayde / & many other myracles / our lord hath shewyd for this blessyd Chylde foure that were blynde / fyue that were mute / two of the drop sye / thre bexyd with Deuylls / & men of the fallynge sykenes / dome perysshynge in the see feterd & deformyd / & of dyuerse other sykenesse were helyd & delyuered by thys gloryouse martyr.

[Page Cvi]

De sancto Wilhelmo ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt wyllyam was sonne to emme suster to kynge Stephan / as he was of noble blode / he was also noble of maners / and for his vertue / and good Lyfe he was made tresorer of yorke / he thought nothynge gretter Tresure then to helpe them that were in penu [...]ye / And after the Deth of the Archebusshope of yorke he was electyd to be Archebusshope / But his eleccyon was lette by the Archedeacon that moch desyryd to be Archebusshope / & when the matter was appelyd to Rome y ^t pope Eugenye which was of the ordre of Cysteux for fauoure to his relygyon made one Henry murdache archebusshope wherupon agaynste all [...]uyll wordys / & bacbytyngys that this blessyd man had in that behalfe / he toke pa [...]pence for his comforte / and went to his vncle Busshope of Wynchester which receyuyd hym gladlye / & assygnyd all his seruauntys to attende vpon hym / & that he refusyd and went into a place of the Busshoppys where he dyd great penaunce in hyghescylence & quyet maners encreasynge his deuocyon with remēbraunce of the great peynys ordeynyd for synne / And of the Ioyes ordeynyd for vertue / and what great peyne shall be ī the latterende to see almyghtye god and to departe fro hym wente neuer oute of his mynde / when Geestys / or straungers came to hym thoughe he were lothe he wolde shewe hym selfe to theym so honorable / merye / and full of grace that he was lyke an Aūgell ī maners / not hauyng ony voyde wordes that myght let his mynde from contemplacyon / And after the [...] Engenye / and the Archebusshope murdache Dyed bothe in oon daye / And thenne seynt wyllyam was ellectyd agayne by the Chanōs to be archebusshop [Page] And the newe [...] confyrmyd the same / and as he was commynge to yorke with the great recourse of people y ^e Brydge sanke / and he makynge the sygne of the Crosse all came vp safe / and in fewe yerys after full of good werkys / Almesdedys / Fastynges / and vygyllys / He went to oure Lorde the .vi. Ide of Iune by his merytys a mayde blynde fro her Natyuyte receyuyd syght / thre that were contracte restoryd to theyr goynge / a deffe man had his herynge / a man of the dropsyehelyd / one of the passey / & a Lepoure restoryd to he [...]the / one reysyd fro deth / and vnto this daye in the place where he lyeth myracles contynue.

¶De sancto wilhelmo martire.

SEynt Wyllyam the Martyr was borne in seynt Iohn̄s towne in Scotlande / and in his youthe he lyuyd a wanton secoler lyfe / and after he was sodeynly turnyd into a newe man / chastysynge his Bodye subduyd his flesshe to the spyryte / He vsyd the crafte of Bakynge / and euery tenth Lo [...]e he wolde geue for the loue of god to poore men / dayly he vsyd to be at the Churche / and in a mornynge erlye he foūde at the Churche dore a enfaunte in poore apparell whom he brought whom norysshyd hym / taughte hym his crafte / and louyd hym syngulerly aboue eny other of his seruaūtys / after he porposyd to goo on pylgrymage to the placys where our lorde suffred his Deth and passyon / and toke with hym onlye the sayde yonge man whom he had brought vp as before apperyth / and so he came to Rochestre / & as he was goynge fro thens to Caunterbury the sayde yonge man full of the Deuyll in purpose to kylle hym ledde hym oute [Page Cvii] of the hyghe wayes & tolde hym that he had lernyd that it was the waye / & when he had broughte hym after his porpose out of all wayes he kyllyd hym with a Hachet / & there lefte hym in the wood wheropon a madde woman that ranne nakyd into y ^e woddys came by the place where the gloryous martyr laye / and when she sawe hym she made hym a garlande of Erbys and put it vpon his hedde / and lyke a Woman in that case spake to hym as if he had ben a lyue / and on the nexte daye she came agayne & sayde she wolde haue her Garlonde agayne / and so toke it fro his Hedde and put it ou her Hedde / and fourthwith as it touchyd her Hedde she was hoole / and had her wyttys restoryd and anon was a shemyd of her nakydnes / & knewe that she was made hoole by the merytys of y ^e sayd gloryous martyr / And he lyeth at Rochester.

¶De sancto winwaloco abbate & confessore.

SEynt wynwaloco was borne in Brytayne / And his Fader herynge that ther was a place ī Armoryca now callyd lytell Brytayne y ^t the great sykenes was not in went thyder nygh by the porte callyd breste / And when a great Tempest toke theym on the See so that his Fader feryd moche / he bade his fader put his truste in oure Lorde that ruleth bothe See / and Londe addynge therto that he shulde loue hym / and feer nothynge / And that sayde anon came feyre weder / when he was at Scole where he prophyted moche in lernynge / He helyd one of hys felowys that had brokyn his thyghe / And when he harde any poore man anon he wolde go to hym to do hym some good / & if he had nothynge to gyue hym [Page] he wolde wepe for compassyon / and comforte hym with hope of eternall rewarde / Oon of his felowes that enuyed hym tolde hym that he dyssymylyd hymselfe to haue mercy that he had not in dede / wherfore he thankyd out Lorde & sayde broder veryly thou haste the true Iudgement in me & forthwith he helyd a blynde man that was secretly brought to hym / and when his suster hadde her eye pluckyd out of her heed with a Byrde that had eten it he toke the eye out of the Byrdys bely & put it ī her Heed ageyne and it was hoole / with the sygne of the Crosse he kyllyd a serpent that had venomyd a man / and also made the man hoole / and it is sayde that by his prayer none of the kynde of that Serpent shall come in that coūtrey He reysyd a chylde fro deth / & with his felowys he wente vppon the see into the place where he nowe lyeth / fro the age of .xxi. yerys / he neuer sate in the Chyrche / he was neuer Heuy / nor Angry / neyther greatly mery / But in oon sobernes / euery daye he sayd thryse fyftye psalmes / he neuer weerlynnen / nor wullen / but clothynge of getysskynnes / He lyued with Barley breed myxte with asshes and dranke water / euery seconde / or thyrde daye / he laye vpō rotys & grauell / with two stonys vnder his heed he was neuer Idell fro some spyrytuell Occupacyon / the Deuyll apperyd to hym as he was in prayer ī a meruaylouse terryble sykenesse / and when he had suffred hym longe / He rebukyd hym that he soo durste trowble the seruauntys of our Lorde / and tolde hym that he shuld haue the more peyne therfore at the daye of Iudgement / and then anon he vanysshed away when he had on a tyme made a blynwoman see an Aūgell apperyd to hym / and shewyd hym that all the company of Heuyn desyryd that he shulde be [Page Cvii] delyueryd fro this bodely lyfe & come to the euerlastyng lyfe / and then he bade his brederne be redye / for he sayde the .vi. houre after he had sayd masse / oure Lorde wolde take hym fro this worlde / and so when masse was doon before the hyghe Aulter / as he was holden vp bytwyxte two monkys & was syngynge with theym he yeldyd his soule to our Lorde the .v. nonas of marche about the yere of our Lorde .ix.C. and .lix. clene fro any bodely sykenes as he was clene fro bodely syn / and he lyeth in his Monastery of Canraco where our Lorde shewyth for hym many myracles / This blessyd man with seynt Egbyne touchyd our Lorde in lykenesse of a Lepoure as in the Lyfe of Seynt Egbyne apperyth.

¶De sancto Wistano rege & martire.

SEynt wistan was son to wymōde Kynge of marshes & of Elflede his wyfe & when his fader was dedde he succedyd & a great Lorde callyd brythfarde whiche was the Kynges godfader & also of kyn to the kynge was desyrous to be Kynge / wherfore he desyred to marye the Quene thynkynge that by that meanys he shuld the sōner atteyne his porpose & when he had sent messengers to the quene therof she askyd coūceyle of the Kynge her son & he aduertysed her to take our Lord Ihesu Criste to be her spouse which wolde gyue her a ꝑpetuell do werye in the kyngdome of Heuyn to which coūcell the quene ryght well assentyd / where vppon the Kynge shewyd to the messengers the impedymētis of the matrymonye / And when y ^t came to the knowlege of brythfarde he began to cōpasse y ^e kynges deth / & desyryd to speke w ^t [Page] the Kynge at a certeyne day / & when they mette at a place nowe callyd wistanstowe brythfarde desyred to speke w ^t hym secretlye aparte & there as he offeryd to kysse hym w ^t his swerde traytorously vnder colour of frendshyp he paryd his hedde with a dedely wounde / & a nother ran hym thrugh with aswerde in the kalēdas of Iune / & forthwith without taryenge brythfarde went madde so that he neyther had the quene ne yet the kyngedome / & there as the yonge Kynge laye a bryght beame apperyd .xxx. dayes stretchynge into heuyn / & euery yere the same day that he was martyred there as the pyller apperyd is seen amōge the grasse mannes here whiche no man can take awey / & othertymes of y ^e yere nothynge apperyth but grene grasse / a certen tyme he laye at rependon and fro thens he was trāslated to y ^e monastery of Euesham which was greatly endowyd by the Kynge kenrede kynnesman to the sayde gloriouse martyr.

¶De sancta Withburga virgine

SEynt Withburghe was suster to seynt Audrye / & in her yonge yerys she made a monastery at derham where she was made a Nonne / On a tyme whan she had nothynge for her werkemen but only drye bredde / she made her prayers to our Lady / & she apperyd to her in her slepe and bad her put her truste in our Lorde & not moch to care for bodely sustenaūce addynge therto that in the mornynge she shulde sende two of her maydes to a certen Ryuer & there shulde come to theym two wylde hyndes to gyue them mylke / & so it prouyd as our Lady had sayde / and the ruler of the Towne herynge therof [Page Cix] vpon this condycyon that she myght haue .xi.M. of virgyns Chosen and delyueryd vnto her whiche they were ryght well contente to do & theruppon in all goodly haste her [...]ader sent into dyuerse ꝓuyncys Coūtreys / & callyd to gether & assedlyd all y ^e chieffe & chose vyrgyns as well kyngys doughters / dukys doughters as of other nobles & amōges them all Chose .xi.M. of y ^e fayrest / & wysestes & sent them with moch noble appareyll & all y ^t was necessary to them vnto y ^e foresayde blessyd vyrgyn Ursula whō she receyuyd full gladlye / & benygnely as an heuēly gyfte or sendynge / & by the foresayd Aungell she was also warnyd to goo with her sayde felaushyp of vyrgyns vnto Coleyn / & that there they shulde haue & receyue the Crowne & Palme of martyrdome shewynge her all the circūstaū cys therof / & howe / & in what maner it shuld be / whereupō they toke theyr shyppes which were ordeynyd all redy w ^t all that nedyd to them / & so came to coleyne thorughe helpe of almyghty god / holy Aūgellys beynge theyr gydes in moche lesse space then it was possyble to haue doon by any meanys helpe or power / where they were ryghte honorably & gladly receyuyd aswell of the Busshope of that Cytie as of the Cytezyns with many other nobles for in veray ce [...]tayne the Aungellys which were with theym in all this Iourney takynge vppon theym fourme and lykenes of men went before theym aswell to this Citye as to all other Cityes wherto they shulde goo / and gaue warnynge of theyr commynge to the heddes and chefe rulers of the Cytye whiche euermore mette theym on the waye and receyued theym with great gladnes / and reuerence and ordeynyd for them in the best maner that they coulde and at the aforesayde Cytie of Coleyne they taryed & [...]styd [Page] a certeyne space / And for asmoche as theyr tyme of tryumphe was not yet commen / for theyr enemyes were not yet cōmen thyder they were warnyd agayne by y ^e aū gell for to goo to Rome there to cōmēde them to almyghtye god / our Lady seynt Mary & to the holy appostellys with all other sayntys wheroppon they toke theyr shyppes agayne / & so goynge towardes rome came to the Cytye of Basyle w ^t a prosperous cource ī y ^e space of .ii. or .iii. dayes which was .viii. dayes Iourney and agaynste the streme / and there they were gladly receyuyd as is before sayd and lefte theyr shyppes there and so wente on theyr Iourney / and pylgrymage to romewarde on fote without Charet / Horse / or Mule to carye theym but went all lyghtly and meryly for they were comfortyd & strēgthed thrugh the famylyer company / & felaushyp of aungellys and other seyntys / & holy virgyns / so that nothynge was to theym heuy or peynfull / in so moche that dyuerse matrones in theyr Felaushyp hauyuge youre Chylderne in theyr Armes went as lyghtlye / and as easely as dyd the other which bare none / & the sayde yonge babes & Chylderne were aswell comfortyd by vysyon of Aungellys & other sayntys as other were / and made therof many euydent sygnes of Ioye & gladnes in theyr maner as they coulde & ferdermore thyse Innocentys / and [...] Chylderne neyther greuyd nor noyed theyr kepers / nor yet lettyd theym by soukynge vppon them as they were wont to doo / but thrughe the grace / & largesse of [...]yghtye god / they put theyr fyngers in theyr owne Mowthes and sowkyd out there full swete & delycate nourysshyngs wherwyth they were full well fedde & susteyned / [...] ouer they neuer wet theyr selfe with theyr vryne nor other [Page Cx] wyse after the maner as chylderne by course of nature be defould but euer p [...]re and clene as they that were fedde with Aūgellys food / in this holy & mery pylgrymage all thynge succedyd ꝓsperously better than they coulde thin [...]ke or desyre / for if they disposyd them at mornynge [...]o lodge at suche a cytie / or place / at nyght they came thyder w ^t case at theyr pleasure neuer lesynge theyr wey & wheresoeuer they came in coūtrey / or Cytye they encreasyd in nō ber / for many ꝑsones both Kynges / Busshoppes / Prynces / Dukys & many other nobles / matrones / & vyrgyns whiche c [...]sortyd to theym to beholde so wonderfull a spectacle seynge & cōsyderynge how almyghty god wrought in them / & that it coulde not be otherwyse but by his grace / & goodnes lefte theyr Countreys / Londys / & goodys / dygnytes & all other frendys and I [...]ynyd them in felawshyp with thyse holy virgyns in hope / & truste to be parteners with them of theyr gloryous Thryumphe & vyctorye / And so it was doon / for they all suffryd martyrdome with them / Also in this blessyd Pylgrymage Rayne / ne dewe noyed theym / nor any euyll Felawshyp nyghed to them / they were so well / & tenderlye kepte / & defendyd by garde or kepynge sent from aboue hyghe Hyllys / & moū taynys wherof some semyd impossyble to passe ascape were to them lyke easy as playne & feyre wayes or pathis the streyght wayes noyed them nor taryed them nothynge but they passyd all lyghtlye & easly / Also theyr apparayle & Clothys were not enpeyryd nor in any thynge y ^t worse for this Iorney lytyll corporall mete seruyd theym they were so well fedde & so delycatlye fulfyllyd w ^tinforth ī y ^e soules but it was rather tedious & greuous to thē to take it / at Rome certen of thyse vgins which were yet vncristenyd [Page] were baptyzed of the holy pope Cyryacus which Cyryacus warnyd by an Aungell lefte his [...] and all his dygnyte and went to Coleyne with thyse by vyrgyns to be partener of theyr rewarde / and so dyd a holy man callyd Cesaryus the Busshope of Basyle beforesayde / And at the Cytye of Magunce / goynge from Basyle to Coleyne mette with theym the foresayde noble prynce Olyfernes the spouse of the blessyd Uirgyn vrsula with his moder / and dyuerse other persones which were Crystenyd / and so went fourth with theym to Coleyne desyrynge to be parteners with theym aswell of theyr laboure & Peyne / as of theyr Rewarde and mede / And when they came to Coleyne they foūde it besette with the cruell bardaryes / And the Prynce and Capytayne of theym seynge thys grete multytude of virgyns merueylynge moch therat commaundyd hastely that they shulde be brought and presentyd before hym / and soo they were / And after many questyons / He beholdynge the foresayde Blessyd vyrgyn Ursula admerueylynge her grete bautye / her sober and stable countenaunce / and stedfaste mynde / anon was takyn and Rauysshyd in the loue of her / but all that was in vayne for neyther for his feyre wordes / and great behestys / ne yet for his cruell thretenynges she [...]lynyd nothynge / nor in any wyse assentyd to hym / but stedfastlye / and with bolde countenaunce despysyd hym / not desyrynge his fauoure / nor dredynge his malyce / wherfore the cruell tyraunt moche greuyd and anoyed seynge that he coulde in nothynge preuayle by fayre meanys / ne yet by foule caused to be Slayne & martyred before her face many vyrgyns & other of her companye amonge whom [Page Cxi] was the noble prynce Olyfernes her owne spouse before sayde thynkynge therby to peruerte her / But for all this she was nothynge mouyd / nor chaūgyd any countenaū ce but as she whiche desyryd to be with her veray spouse cryste Iesu not onely feryd not deth / but also affectuouslye desyryd it / and longyd sore in her harte for it knowynge for certeyne therby to come to her purpose and her hartes desyre / wherfore the sayde Tyraunte seynge that she wolde not in any thynge enclyne vnto hym after all her cōpany causyd her to be slayne & martyryd ryght cruelly There myghte a man haue seen moche tyrannye exercysyd by thyse bochers which as wood dogges / or wolfes thrustynge Innocent blode without pytye / or mercye deuoury / and slewe all thyse Holy vyrgyns with all theyr companye in a rage / and furye and cutte theyr Bodyes into smalle pecys / and caste and sparkelyd them ouer all aboute the felde / and amonges theym were Clayne yonge Chylderne in theyr moders wombes / and as it was shewyd by reuelacyon they were also receyuyd to the euerlastynge lyfe / and parteners with theyr moders of the Rewarde of martyrdome as Baptyzyd in y ^e Blode of theyr Moders wich were slayne for crystys sake / for otherwyse they coulde not haue ben sauyd / In the whych we may see the great and Infynyte goodnes / and mercyfull py [...] of our Lorde that soweth / and so largely spredyth his mercye / Also thyse In [...]aūtys with many other persones Men / Women / and Chylderne were not accomptyd in y ^e nombre of the .xi.M. vyrgyns but were besydes them to the nombre of .CCCCC. and aboue as it apperyth in y ^• hystorye of them in the legende / Also in y ^• nombre of the [Page] xi. thousande by vyrgyns was noon [...]l [...]te / but if she [...] ry pure and chaste for other which [...] virgyns & were noon thrugh the [...] of almyghtye god to whom nothynge is [...] were putte out & not chosen / after the deth of thyse holy vyrgyne Inmedyatlye al [...]yghty god not suffrynge thyse cruell Tyrauntys to goo all quyte without takynge vengeaūce of the Blode of his holy virgyns which was shed for his loue sent & put into them such a [...]eer y ^t with all theyr myght they fl [...]dde & ran awaye glad to escape with theyr lyues [...] for as them thought they sawe cōmynge vppon theym to persecute them / such a companye & so great a multytude of armyd men so terrybly that they thought neuer to haue escaped / & so they fled ī all haste y ^t they myghte where thrughe the wofull prysoners & all desolute the Cytezyns of Coleyne which had lōge tym [...] be holden & kepte thrall & in dyspayre of lyfe seynge theyr enemyes chasyd & fled awaye openyd theyr Gates & went fourth all Ioyfull & glad of theyr sodeyne delyueraūce / & cōsyderynge this to be the hande of god thrughe the merytes of thise holy virgyns which they sawe lye in the felde slayne by theyr enemyes full dylygently gatheryd the bodyes of them togeder / which were full [...]yde ca [...] & sparkelyd in pecys and with great honoure & reuerence buryed them / & vnto this day there dare noon burye any other Bodye within the cōpass [...] wh [...]t [...] they ben buryed / which myracle suffyseth to declare & make open howe dere & acceptable thyse holye & blessyd vgyns were to almyghty god & many other myracles appere in the hystory which I omytte for shortness / Also seynt Elyzabeth that holy vyrgyn in her reuel [...] ciōs [Page Cxii] spekyth moch of thyse holy vgyns which for y ^e cause before sayde I leue to speake of / after in ꝓces of tyme men beynge forgetfull by dulnes of wytte / colde anf drye [...] to beleue thyngys which they see not / nor canot cōprehē de by theyr blynde Reason / by theyr neclygens put thyse holy virgyns vtterly in oblyuyon / wherfore our lord not sufferyng his deer belouyd vgyns so to be forgotten to his honoure & praysynge pryncipally & to the honoure of the sayd gloryous virgyns & also for our socoure / & helpe many yerys after the passyon of them shewyd by reuelacyon the foresayd hyst [...]ye to hym that was the wryter & maker thereof / & furthermore the sayde blessyd seynt Ursula dyuerse other of the sayde virgyns apperyd vnto hym as he was wrytynge therof affermynge it to be true as apperyth more at large in y ^e sayde legende / there was of the same company of Blessyd virgyns one virgyn callyd Cordula the whiche when the other virgyns were in theyr martyrdoms hyd hyrselfe all nyghte in the bottom of a shyppe / & neuerthelesse in the mornynge she offeryd her selfe frely to deth & as the other vgyns dyd receyuyd the Crowne of martyrdome / and it is not for any man to thynke that this Blessyd virgyn by y ^t lytyll fear ony thinge hyndred her rewarde / or Crowne of martyrdom whē neyther Peter denyinge our Lorde / nor Thomas doubtynge of the resurreccion were a [...] fro the honoure to be Apostyll / And parcase thys Blessyd Uyrgyne somewhat hadde presumed by the purpce of her Lyfe and constaunce of her feyth to putte a truste in her selfe to suffre Martyrdome soo that it was expedyent for her to be m [...] ked or to lerne to truste in our Lorde and not in her selfe / After many yerys this blessyd virgin Cordula apperyd [Page] vnto a holy woman callyd Hellent [...]ude beynge & recluse seyinge vnto her I am oon of those blessyd virgyns that suffred martyrdome at Coleyne & lyuyd one nyght after them / & in y ^e mornynge offred my selfe gladly vnto y ^e deth & so dyinge in our lorde I neyther lefte y ^e company of my susters ne yet lackyd lyke rewarde as they had of y ^e crowne of martyrdome / wherfore I woll y ^t thou shalte in my name commaunde the susters that the nexte daye after y ^t they shall haue seruyd all the hoole companye of the sayde blessyd virgyns that they doo some thynge to my honoure for it is not expedyent for them that I only be lefte vnhonouryd amonge that company / And then the [...]eclu [...]e askyd of her what was her name / she bade hee loke in her forhed what she sawe wrytten there and she lokynge vp sawe wrytten dystructlye Cordula whereupon she made relacyon to the Nounes therof / wherfore in the daye folowynge they halowed her feest accordynge to the sayde cōmaūdement / a certeyne Abbot desyryd of the abbey of Coleyne y ^e body of one of those virgyns promysynge that he wolde sette her in his Chyrche in a Coffer of syluer / And when he had kepte her a hoole yere vppon the Aulter in a Coffer of wood / in a nyghte as the abbot and couent were [...] matens they sawe the sayde vyrgyn descende vppō the Aulter and goynge downe she [...]wyd her [...] to the [...] / and went thr [...]ghe the quere y ^t all the brethe [...] we / & so she departyd wherop [...]n y ^t [...] went to the Coffer and fyndynge nothynge therin wente to the Abbesse of Coleyne and shewyd he [...] then of [...] And thenne they wente to the place fro whens the B [...] dye was taken and there they foūde it agayne / wherfor [...] [Page cviii] lawght at it And as he was goynge to dryue a way y ^e hyndes he fell fro his Horse & streyghtwaye dyed / After full of good werkys & good exaumples she went to our Lord and was buryed at dereham / After that monastery was destroyed by Danes / & nowe ther is a parysshe Churche And in the yere of oure Lorde .ix.C.lxxiiii. in the tyme of Kynge Edgar her Body was translatyd to Ely whiche was then newely repayryd by seynt Ethelwolde / & all the wey in the Nyghtys a bryght sterre folowyd the Bodye nyghe all the nyght longe / & in y ^e yere of our Lorde a.M. and .xxvi. her Bodye was remouyd by Richarde the laste Abbot to the Place where it lyeth nowe / And the Bodye & also the clothes were foūde vncorrupte / A munke towchyd her Bodye & foūde it flexyble & hir chekys rodye as roses lyke as she had ben a lyue.

¶De sancta Ursula et vndecim milibus virginu [...] martiribus.

THere was in moche Brytayne nowe callyd Englonde a Crysten Kynge whiche hadde a noble and a vertuose Quene to his wyfe and they lyued lō ge togeder without ony chylde / wherfore they were ryght heuy & at y ^e laste thorough contynuell prayers / & good werkys they opteynyd of almyghty god to haue a doughter whom they crystenyd & namyd vrsula & norysshed / & brought her vp in y ^e feythe of our lorde full vertuosly & gracyously with all theyr myght and [Page] cunnynge which encreasyd soo meruaylously in all vertue & grace and therto was soo feyre that the fame of her was in short tyme spronge ouer all into many Coūtreys and Landes so farre that it came to knowlege of a certen Kynge heynge a Paynym / but he was veray myghtye & of great power and therto veray Harde & cruell / but y ^e Quene his Wyfe was ryght noble in all her behauyoure Courteys and Gentyll / and of euery persone bylouyd / This Kynge had a yonge sone callyd Olyfernes Ryght lowly / and Courteys / and they herynge of this Fayre & vertuous yonge Lady vrsula desyryd moch in theyr hattys to haue her to theyr sone in maryage / And anon sente messengers with letters full pleasaunte to the Kynge her Fader / and to the Quene her moder promysynge great gyftys & rewardys if they wolde assente and furthermore ryght harde / and sharpe thretenyngys if they wolde not agree therto / By reason wherof the sayd Kynge her Fader was in great Sorowe / and Heuynes cōsyderynge the myght / & power of this other kynge / & therto howe harde / & cruell he was & also y ^t he was an Infydell / wherfore he was ryght lothe to mary his Doughter to y ^e sayd Kyngys sone / and also of the other syde he knewe for certeyne that though he wolde agre / yet she wolde not but rather suffre dethe she was so stedfaste in the feythe relygyous and chaste / and thus he beynge in great perplexyte and doutfull peryll / the foresayde Blessyd vyrgyne his Donghter was warnyd by an Aungell that she shulde goo to her Fader and bydde hym agree to the other Kyngys requeste and desyre / and that she shulde assent therto / and so shulde she comforte and assure her Fader and peacyfye and make glad the other parte / Neuerthelesse [Page cxiii] the abbot askyd forgynes / and desyryd that he myght haue agayne that Bodye / or a noder promysynge certeynlye that he wolde put it in a goodlye coffer which he coulde in no wyse opteyne.

¶De sancta Wlfhilda virgine.

THe great graundefader of seynt Wlfhyde was founde in an Egles neest by Alfryde kynge of weste saxons whiche Crystenyd hym / & callyd hym nestynge because he was takyn out of a nest whō he brought vp nobly / & made hym erle / He had Issu witburdynge which had Issu wlfhelme fader to seynt wlfhylde which with his wyfe after they had dyuerse Chylderne lyuyd chaste .xviii. yerys / & then by monycyon of an Aūgell they knewe y ^e wyll of god / & had a doughter whō they callyd wlfhylde / & cōmyttyd her to the nonnes at Wylton to brynge vp / kynge edgare in processe of tyme wolde haue maryed her / & when he coulde by no meanys haue her assent / ne yet haue her to come speke with hym and that he durste not take her out of the Churche / he toke counceyll of her Aunte callyd wenflede / which beynge desyrous to haue her nese exaltyd / dyssymylyd her selfe to be syke / & so the Blessyd vyrgyne came to wharwelle to vyset her Aunte where she founde her not syke but syttynge at dyner with the Kynge in great Royalte / And anon the vyrgyn was apparayled in goodlye apparell / and the Kynge made her to sytte betwen ehym and her Aunte promysynge her great Ryches / and to be Ladye of Brytayne / which in her Harte she abhorryd thoughe she sayd it not with her mouthe / And dyssymylynge her selfe to be syke [Page] wolde ete no mete alweyes thynkynge howe she myghte escape / which the Kynge perceyuyd and appoyntyd certeyne knyghtys to kepe her both within the house & with out / and after with her to maydens she went into a secrete house / and dyd of her pompyous ornamentys and by a lytell hole an Aungell beinge her guyde / she escapyd / and lyke a poore woman came into a pore womans house in wharwell / and all that nyghte she was sought by the kynges seruaūtys & coulde not be founde / & in the mornynge she went to wylton whyther the Kynge folowyd and attemptyd all that he coulde to haue her speke with hym / & coulde not tyll it hapned hym to mete her in the cloyster wherof he was veray gladde / and toke her by the sleue & she anon pullyd away her arme / and y ^e clothe remaynyd styll in the Kynges hande more easely seueryd then if it had ben cut of / and so she went streyght to the hyghe Aulter and commytted her virgynyte to our Lorde / and the Kynge astonyed at the seuerynge of the sleue / and a shamyd of his presumpcyon thought that it shulde betokyn / that she the spouse of our Lorde shulde be cleerly seueryd fro hym wherfore he went to her and bade her not feer for he wolde no more lette her porpose but rather be a helper of it / wherupon he gaue her the monasterye of Barkynge / and newly repayryd it / after of her owne patrymony she made a noder at Horton whiche is lyke farre / that is to save nyghe aboute .xii. myles fro Wylton / Shaftesburye / Warram / and Hampton / And in euerye oon of them the Kynge gaue her a Churche / Whanne she was professyd a whyghte Doue was seen destende vppon her Hedde / with the sygne of the Crosse she helyd a blynde Chylde / And whan Seynt Ethelwolde came to her / the Mynystres [Page Cxiiii] tolde her that she lackyd Drynke / Wherfore for gladnes of suche a geeste she putte her truste in our Lorde and the Uessellys mynysshed not / By meanys of the clerkys of Barkynge / the Quene alstrude moder to kynge Ethelrede put her out of Barkynge / and the Clerkys hadde the rule / and when she wente fourthe of the gatys she sayde to the Susters wepynge for her departynge that the same daye / and ī the same gate after .xx. yerys she shulde come agayne / and so she went to the Monasterye of Horton where she encouragyd the susters as well present as absent by Wordes / Exaumples / and by Messyngers to the desyre of Heuenlye thynges / aftre the Quene was Punysshed as well by Deth of brute Beestys / as of men / and at the laste she her selfe felle syke to whom seynt Alburghe apperyd in poore appareyll with a syklye coū tenaunce / whiche she sayde was longe of her seyinge / she shulde neuer be hoole tyll she broughte Seynt Wlfhylde agayne / And so [...] she broughte her agayne the same Day as she hadde prophecyed / after that she lyuyd .vii. yerys And was Abbesse of bothe Monasteryes of Barkynge / and Horton / And she sayde she shulde dye on seynt Ethel woldes euyn / And soo she dyed at London the .v. Ide of Septembre / As she was in bryngynge to Barkynge one that Seynt Wlfhylde hadde reprouyd for his Synne layde hande to the Beere / And fourth with it was soo heuy that it wolde in no wyse be remouyd / And whanne he was Confessyd / and dyd Penaunce he came agayne and helpyd to bere the H [...]rse as other dydde / In her oratorye at Horton a woman receyuyd her Syghte / And as she was admonysshyd she wente to Barkynge with [Page] great dyffyculte in maner crepynge where she receyuyd perfyght helthe.

¶De sancto Wlrico confessore.

SEynt wlryke was borne in contane / that is .viii. myle fro Brystolle / and beynge a preest he vsyd bothe Huntynge / and Haukynge after he wente to halesberge / that is .xxx. myle fro Oxforde / And there of his owne deuocyon / he buryed hymselfe to our Lorde / & so mortyfyed his Flesshe with fastyngys / and vygyllys / that scarcely the skyn myght hange to the Bonys / he ete Breed made of otys / and dranke no maner of Wyne / nor any thynge that myght dystempre / But onlye on hyghe Festys for reuerence of the Feest / On vygyllys he watchyd all nyghte / oonles that sykenes lettyd hym / He slepte in no Bedde but lenynge his Heed to a walle / and whē he wakyd furth wyth he went to prayer He weer y ^e Here nexte his skynne / and therupon an Haberioyne / On a tyme when the haberioyne was to longe he clyppyd it with sherys as if it hadde ben clothe / In the nyghtys he wolde goo into a Uessel of Water / and saye the hoole Psalter wherby he mortyfyed the Temptacyons of his Flesshe whiche he suffered ryghte moche / He sawe Deuylls sytte in Iudgement where they condempnyd hym as one that was in euery thynge agaynste them / And as they drewe hym aboute the Chyrche our Lady delyueryd hym / On a tyme he bette the Deuyll / & wolde not let hym goo tyll he promysyd y ^t he wolde neuer come agayne / a wretchyd man not berynge his pouerte pacyentlye had doon to the Deuyll homage / And aftre when he repentyd & was cō mynge [Page Cxv] towarde seynt Wlryke by the way the Deuyl helde hym faste at a water syde & wolde nat suffer hym go / wherfore seynt wlryke knowynge it by an Aungell bad a preest go thyder and shewyd hym the place where it was / & that he shuld caste holy water and brynge the man to hym / and so it was done when he was brought to hym he toke hym by the ryght hande / & the deuyll helde hym by the lefte hande and plucked at hym with all his myght / then seynt Wlryke caste holy water / and droue hym away with confucyon / After when y ^e man was confessyd and was penytent seynt Wlryke brought to hym the Sacrament / and asked hym whether he byleued and he sayd ye for he sawe the veray body and blode of our Lorde bytwyxt his handes / then seynt Wlryke thanked our lorde and prayer that it mought appere as it dyd byfore and so he was cōmuned. The deuyl had power of the body of seynt Wlryke in so moche y ^t he strake hym w ^t byles & wormes so y ^t al his flesshe putrefyed / & somtyme he stroke hym with intollerable hete / sōtyme w ^t intollerable colde / which he alway ouercame w ^t pacyence two tymes his Lanterne went out & was sodeynly lyghted agayne / when he had helyd a man y ^t had the deuylin hym he bad hym shewe it to no man / & in his slepe he was blamed that he wolde nat lette the werkes of god be knowen / & so after he wolde shewe theym oonly to Relygyousmen / Aprees [...] called Osborne on a nyght sawe in y ^e churche a great lyght that made all the churchyarde bryght / and in the mornyng seynt Wlryke asked hym what he sawe / and when he had tolde hym he sayd it is well that thou seest it. It was our lorde Ihesu that came to comfort me his seruaunt and I prayed that thou myght se it whiche scarcely I coulde opteyne / Moreouer he shewyd hym what Psalmes he was then sayinge [Page] / and where he stode at that tyme / Water with his blessynge turned into wyne / wherof a woman that was nyghe deed drauke and furth wich was hole / A lady with all her companye that came to vysyte seynt Wlryke with one lofe were fully sacyat / and of the fragmentes a great company of people that came to haue his blessynge were also refresshed as it is sayd aboue .xl. persones / A yonge mayde that was syke thought that in her slepe she went to seynt Wlryke & that he gaue her holy water in a cuppe to drynke wherwith she was hole / and whenne she wakyd she was hole in dede and she shewyd what maner a man he was and the very markes of the place where it was done / As he was at masse he was in doubte whether he put water into the Chaleys wherfore he made his prayer with great deuocyon / & whenne his prayer was done / he sawe in the chaleys blode rodye as a Rose as of the lambe immaculate our lorde Ihesu criste / whiche whenne he hadde receyued the hoste he receyued y ^• as of a moste delycate grape / He dyd many myracles & sygnes w ^t holy brede and holy water / and dyuerse that brought hym presentꝭ and stall parte were punysshed He tolde kynge Henry the firste when he went ouer the see that he shulde dye there and so he dyd / another tyme he tolde the Erle stephan that he shulde be kynge and so he was / He shewyd to a preest called Osborne that on the saterdaye at nyght he shulde go to our lorde as he had longe desyred / and so he dyed in the yere of our lorde god a Thousande a hondred and .liiii. in the .x. Kalend of Marche.

¶De sancto Wlsino Ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Wlsyne was borne in London / and by assent of his Fader & moder he was made monke at Westmynster [Page Cxvi] / and when he was made preest he shyned in al vertue fyghtynge agaynst the enemye of mankynde with vygylles and prayers / He ouercame the coueytousnes of the worlde with desyre of heuynly thynges & with all dylygence wolde note the mocyons of his body and spyrit / He was meke redy to helpe his bretherne and fulfylled with charyte encouragynge his bretherne to al vertue in the beste maner that he coulde to wyn̄ theym to our lorde / After by helpe of seynt Dunstane kynge Edgare made hym Abbot of Westmynster / & then how dylygent he was for the helth of other and how he faught agaynst the enemye of the flocke of our lorde what example he lefte byhynde hym of doctryne / and of good lyfe no man can tell / After kynge Ethelred sone to kyng Edgare by a hole assent of the clergye and people made hym bysshop of Shyrborne / and all the Lent he wolde be in the Cloyster in fastyngꝭ / wepynges / and contemplacyon eschewyng the clamore of the worlde / And after Ester he wolde go aboute his Diocise prechynge and techynge y ^e people / and dyd great reperacyon vpon the olde temple at Shirborne / In the fyfth yere after he was made bysshop he fell syke and a specyall frende of his sent to hym to know how he dyd / and he sent hym worde agayne that he shulde make hym redye for on the morowe he shulde go with hym to the hyghe Courte to receyue his rewarde in heuyn / And whenne the messanger was gone he prayed the bretherne that they wolde carye both hym & his sayd frende to Shirborne / and then lyftynge vp his iy en to heuyn lyke seynt stephan he sayd Ise heuyn open / and our lorde standynge on the ryght hande of almyghty god / and as he sayd tho wordes he yelded his spirite to the handes of our lorde.

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De sancto Wlstano Ep̄o & confessore.

SEynt Wlstano was borne in y ^e Prouynce of Warwyke And in the Monasterye of Burghe he had his lernynge / He sayd a longe Masse & was oonly content with the offrynges of the people / he was a clene virgyn & a man of great symplycyte & mekenes / He neuer toke excesse of drynke & left etynge of flesshe by this occasyon. On a tyme as he was goynge to a certeyne busynes & had appoynted to ete of a goose after masse / as he was at masse / he coulde in no wyse kepe his mynde fro y ^e goose y ^t was rostynge at y ^e fyre / & the sauoure therof was alwayes in his nose / Wherfore he made an othe y ^t he wolde neuer after ete mete of that kynde / after he was made monke at Wygorn̄ where he had dyuerse offyces and at laste was made pryor / He vsed moche fastynges / vigylles / and prayers / & moste cōmonly he toke slepe in the Churche with his boke vnder his hed / euery sonday he vsed to preche to y ^e people / Wherfore one reproued hym sayinge a monke shulde kepe his Cloyster / And in the nyght folowyng y ^t man in his slepe was brought byfore a Iugge / and was cōmaunded to be beten & so he was so sore that the markes apperyd vpon hym whenne he was awake / And seynt Uulstan̄ herynge therof w ^t his blessyng made hȳ hole agayne. Thre dayes in the weke he absteyned fro all mete kepynge also scylens / the other thre dayes he ete lekes and wortes soden and barley brede. Whenne he was chosen to be bysshop he wolde in no wyse assent to take it tyl a holy man blame [...] hym for his obstynacye / and then he toke it vpon hym / The kyng Wyllyam Conqueroure bycause seynt Wlstan̄ coulde speke no Frenche and that he thought he was but of small conynge wolde haue deposed hym / and whenne seynt Lamfranke then Archebysshoppe of Caunterburye at a counseyll bad [Page Cxvii] hym to sygne his staffe and his synge he sayd he knewe wel he was neuer worthye to haue the ro [...]e / but he sayd saynt Edwarde by Auctoryte of the [...] / and by hole assent as well of the clergye as of the people leyde that burden in his necke agaynst his wyl / Wherfore he sayd he wolde resygne to hym wherupon he went to seynt Edwardes Shryne / & there put his staffe vpon the stone that lay vpon seynt Edwarde & sayd he resygne v̄to hym / and the stone receyued y ^e staffe and hede it fast. And when the kynge and saynt Lanfranke makynge his prayers attempted to haue pulled out the staffe but it wolde nat remoue / And whenne seynt Wulstane toke it / it came lyghtly out wherfore seynt Lamfranke he toke the bysshopryke agayne / He wold haue all his seruaū tes here masse / And when he sent any of his seruauntes in any Iourney he wolde enioyne theym to saye prayers .vii. tymes euery daye as clerkes be bounden to do / and he that swere any othe shuld haue a certeyne punysshemēt / He harde daly . [...]. masses and sayd hym selfe the thirde. He helyd a woman and also a man that had deuylles in theym and the woman was after a Nonne and lyued a blessyd lyfe / A lepur with the water y [...] seynt Wlfstans wasshed in was helyd with his blessynge helyd a Nonne y ^t was kynge Heroldes [...] of a sort [...] When he rode he wold begyn y ^e Psaulter & nat cease tyll he had done / & one was alway redy to gyue almes / In euery of his townes he had a hous wherin he wold be [...] tyl one warned hym y ^t it was tyme to go to [...]uyce or to go to dyner / When he was at Wygorn he wold [Page] synge hygh masse / & he sayd he wold as gladly resygne his bysshopryke as leue y ^t offyce / He wolde be at collecion of y ^e bretherne / and when Confessyon was done and benediccyon gyuen he wolde departe. There was a man that by no Instaunce wolde forgyue the deth of his brother / wherfore seynt Wlstane cōmytted y ^t sayd man to hym whose he was and his body to sathan wherupon he was taken with a spyryte and was not hole tyll he had clerely forgyuen the offence. He was desyred by Elsyn that somtyme was seynt Edwardes seruaūte to halowe a Churche ī a place where was a tree that letted the lyght of the Churche whiche the sayde Elsyn bycause he vsed somtyme to ete & playe vnder it wolde nat haue cutte downe wherfore seynt Wlstane accursed it wherupon it waxed drye / wherfore the lorde cutte it downe sayinge there was nothynge more bytter thenne Wlstanes curse / and nothynge more swete then his blessynge / In the pene of our lorde a Thousande .lxvii. the .xiiii. kalend of [...] [...] he went to our lord / amd a hondred yere after his body was remoued whiche with his pontyfycall vestymentes was founde vncorrupt / Amonge other myracles y ^t our lorde shewyd for this blessyd man / A woman that .v. yeres bowed downe to the grounde was made hole / A child that had his tunge cutte of restored / fyue blynde men had theyr syght / fyue obcessed of deuylles delyuered / [...] deed men reysed to lyfe / [...] lepurs clensed / [...] a tyme within the space of thre dayes by merytes of seynt Wlstane .xxxv. were helyd of dyuerse deceases grupynge thankyngꝭ vnto [...] tye god and to seynt Wstane.

[Page Cxviii]

¶De sancto Edga [...]e [...]ege [...]t [...]fessore.

THe lyfe of this blessyd Kynge was founde in the boke that is called Cathologus sanctorū / when the great Legend was nygh fynysshed and bycause it coulde not be put in after the ordre of the letters it is [...]ette laste of all the seyntes / and in the Kalendre it shall kepe the ordre as other seyntes do after the letter / Seynt Edg [...] rekynge of Englande when he was aboute the age of .xvi. yeres beganne his Raygne in the [...]yme of Otho the Emperoure at his byrth seynt Dunstane Archebysshop of Caunterbury ha [...]e the voyce of an Aungell fro Heuyn sayinge peas be to Englande as l [...]nge as this childe shall Raygne and as longe as our Dunstane shall lyue / He raygned .xvi. yeres & euery yere he foundyd a new Monastery & gouernyd the Realme i [...] hygh peas & Iustyce / he subdued y ^• kynge of scotlande / & the kyngꝭ in Wales to the nombre of [...]yue and dyuers other he compellyd to come to his court & toke a perpetuall [...]the that they shuld be [...] vnto hym / What by by polycye / and what with fere he refreyned his people fro great outragyous drynkynge and he was so terryble and streyght of punysshement that there was noo pry [...]t the [...] in all the Countrey n [...] any great Rob [...]er of the people / He kylled al y ^• wylde b [...]stes in Englande that we [...]e [...]uenours and lyued by blode / and cōmaunded Guydale kyng [...]f [...]les that he shuld for his [...]ribute yerely brynge vnto hym thre Hundred W [...]lnes whiche he dyd many yeres tyll he sayde there were no m [...] / Euery yere afterꝭ Ester he [...] [Page] serche the see to take Pyratys and r [...]bbers of the see / And in wynter he wolde go [...] by euery prouynce to put away theuys and to serche the Demeaner of great m [...]n that they breke nat Iustyce / On a sondaye he was dysposyd to go [...] on huntynge / and desyred seynt Dunstane to [...] of masse tyll he came / And whenne the houre drewe nere seynt Dunstane put on his v [...]tymentes and lenyd vpon the Aulter and sodeynly fallynge a slepe he was ledde into Heuyn where he harde Aungelles synge Kyrie eleyson .ix. tymes / After he awakyd and taryed a whyle and was rapte agayne and harde theym synge with an hyghe voyce Ite miss a est / wherto was answeryd Deo gratias. Thenne after his clerke came to hym and tolde hym that the kyng was come to whom he answeryd that he had harde Masse / & that he nedyd nat any more to say Masse for that daye / and when the kynge askyd hym why he wolde n [...]t say Masse he shewyd hym his vysyon / & by that occasion he ꝓhybyted the kynge y ^t he shuld neuer after go a huntynge on the sonday which monycion y ^e kynge toke benygnely & fro thens kept it all his lyfe / This blessyd kynge in many thyngꝭ maye be resembled to the great kynge Dauid / for as kynge Dauid was fyrste kynge of Iuda / and after was kynge of all the Lande aswell of Iuda as of Iherusalem / and helde it at his deth peasyblye / So this noble kynge was kynge of all this Realme of Englande / and hadde the hole monarchye therof peasybly / whiche hadde ben byfore tyme deuydyd in to many kyngdomes / and was called Re [...]pacificus / Also as kynge Dauid was a myghty defender of his subgettes / a subduer of [...]bellys / and so was this blessyd kynge as in his lyfe / And also in Cr [...]nycles wyll appere / and as kynge [...]au [...]d moche encreasyd the seruyce of almyghty god / [Page Cxix] And appoyntyd dyuers men therto p̄payrynge many thynges to haue buyldyd the Temple to the honoure of god / so this blessyd man made & repayred dyuerse Monasteryes in this Realme / wherby the seruyce of god was moche encreacyd. Also when kynge Dauid had offendyd / and was wherfore reprouyd by the Prophete Natham anone he cō fessyd his offence cryed mercy and dyd penaūce in lyke wyse when this blessyd kynge had offendyd / and seynt Dunstane reprouyd hym therof anone ferynge the Iugement of god he knowlegyd his offence / and dyd seuen yeres penaunce as in the lyfe of seynt Dunstane apperyth in the latter ende of seynt Patrykes lyfe in the Legende it apperyth that many yeres after the departynge of this blessyd kynge his body was founde vncorrupt / and that when the place that was newly ordeyned for hym was to lytell / Oon presumptuously attemptyd to make the body mete for the place / wherupon incontynent the blode folowed so that all that were there present fearyd greatly and therupon he was honorably leyde in a Shryne by the hyghe Aulter / whiche he had gyuen to the sayd Churche and anone he that so presū ptuously had offendyd sodeynly fell downe and expyred A man that was madde / and also a blynde man at the tumbe of this blessyd kyng receyued helth / and he lyeth at Glaston bury / Praye we then to thyse glorious seyntꝭ that be in this present Kalendre that by merytes of theyr prayers we may haue grace so to passe by thyse transytorye thynges that after this short lyfe we may come to the Euerlastynge lyfe in the kyngdome of heuen. Amen.

¶Explicit.

[Page]¶Thus endyth the Kalendre of the new Legende of Englande / Emprynted to the honour of the gloriouse Seyntꝭ therin conteyned by Richarde Pynson / prynter to our Soueraygne lorde Kynge Henry the .viii.

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[Page Cxx]

¶Here [...] the lyfe of seynt Birgette.

SEynt Birget was of the [...] and lynage of the noble kyngꝭ of Gothis of the kyngdome of Swecia / hir Faders name was Byrgerus and his moders name was Sighryd / One tyme as hir graun [...]moder was walkynge with hir seruauntꝭ by the Monastery of Shoo one of y ^e Nōnes of the sayd monastery byhold [...] [Page] hir beaute & apparell in maner despysed hir for the great pryde that she adiuged to be in hir. And in y ^e nyght folowynge there appered vnto the sayd Nonne a certeyne ꝑsone of a meruaylous beaute / whiche as it had ben with an angrye coūtenaūce sayd vnto hir why hast thou bakbyten my handemayde adiugynge hir to be proude whiche is nat trewe / I shall make a doughter to come of hir ꝓgeny with whom I shall do great dedys in the worlde and I shall gyue hir so great grace that all people shall meruayle / After whā seynt Birget was in hir moders wombe / i [...] happenyd hir moder for dyuerse causes to take the see / where hir shyp with moche people were drowned with a sodeyn tempest / and she was brought saue to the lande. And in the nyght folowyng a persone appered vnto hir with shynynge apparell / And sayd thou art sauyd for the childe that thou haste in thy body norysshe it / therfore with the charyte of god / for it is gyuen to the of the especyall goodnes of almyghty god. And after whenne that blessyd childe was newly borne a preest / which was curate of a Churche therby and was after Bysshop of Aboens a man of good / and blessyd lyuynge as he was in his prayers sawe a bryght shynynge clowde and in the clowde a virgyne hauynge a boke in hir hande / and a voyce sayde vnto hym Byrgerus hathe a doughter borne / whose meruaylous voyce shalbe harde thorugh all y ^e worlde / whiche shalbe a voyce of gladnes and helth in the tabernacles of ryghtwyse men / Fro the tyme of the byrth of this blessyd childe vnto the ende of thre yeres she was in maner as thoughe she had hadde no tonge and as she shuld neuer haue spoken / but sodeynly agaynst the comon course of children nat stuttynge lyke the maner of other children that begynne to speke / she speke complete and full wordes of suche [Page Cxxi] thynges as she harde / and sawe in hir tendre youth she was neuer ydell fro doynge some good werkes / And when she was of the age of seuen yeres she sawe nygh vnto hir bed an Aulter and vpon the aulter she sawe our Lady syttynge in bryght clothynge hauynge in hir hande a precyous crowne whiche sayd vnto hir Birget / wylt thou nat haue this crowne and she with mylde co [...]tenaunce assentyng to our Lady put it vpon hir hedde / wherby she felte in maner as though a cerkyll of a crowne had gyrde hir faste aboute the hedde and furth with the vysyon vanysshed awaye / whiche she neuer after coulde forgette. In the .x. yere of hir age / Whenne she on a tyme had harde in a Sermon of the passyon of our lorde the same nyght our lorde appered vnto hir lyke as he hadde ben the same houre newly Crucyfyed / and sayd vnto hyr loo Birget howe I am woundyd / and she [...]hynkynge that it hadde ben newly done sayde / O lorde who hath [...] done thus to the / & our lorde answeryd & sayd they that do contempne m [...] / and forgette my charyte they do this to me. And fro that daye euer after she hadde suche affeccyon to the Passyon of oure Lorde that she syldome refreyned hir from wepynge whenne she remembred it seruynge our lorde as the Appostell techyth with mekenes and terys. And [...]boute the .xii. yere of hir age hir A [...]te wente on a nyght vnto the bedde of the holy virgyne Seynt Byrgette / where she founde Seynt Birget out of hir hedde knelynge all nakyd and she somwhat suspectynge the lyghtnesse of the virgyn commaundyd a rod to be brought vnto hir / and as soone as she layde it vpon the backe of the virgyn to haue [...]etyn hirtherwith y ^e rod breke all in small pecys / wherupon hyr Aunte merueylyng greatly sayd vnto hir Bi [...]get / what hast thou done▪ hath nat some women taught the some fal [...] [Page] prayers / and she wepyng answeryd and sayd no Lady but I rose out of my bed to laude and prayse hym that is euer wonte to helpe me to whom the lady sayd. who is that / The virgyne sayd our lorde Crucyfyed that I sawe of late. And from that daye furth hir moder in lawe honoured hir and louyd hir more feruently then she was wont to do. As seynt Byrget was playinge with Maydens of lyke age to hyr / The deuyll appered vnto hir hauynge a hondreth handes and fete moste fowle & lothsome to beholde / of which syght she beynge merueylously a ferde went streyght and cōmytted hir to the Crucyfyx wher the deuyll eftsones apperyd & sayd I haue no power to do any thynge to the / but the crucyfix suffer me to do it / and therupon he vanysshed awaye. And so our lorde delyuered hir from that daunger / & when she was .xiii. yeres of age though she entendyd by great feruent desyre to haue lyued all hir lyfe in virginite / neuerthelesse aswell by the puruyaunce of almyghty god / as by the counceyll of hyr Fader she was maryed t [...] a noble yonge knyght called Ulpho de Ulphasume prynce of Neryce of the age of .xviii. yeres otherwyse called Ulpho Gudhmarson / whiche also was a virgyn / And by the space of .ii. yeres after they were maryed they lyued togyder clene vgynes. And after with deuoute prayers made to almyghty god / y ^t in the acte of matrymony he wolde kepe theym without offence / and that it wolde please hym to sende theym yssue to his pleasur they had .viii. Childrene / that is to say .iiii. sones & .iiii. doughters. The names of y ^e sones were these Charles / Birgerus / Benedictus / and Gudmarus. And the names of the .iiii. doughters be thyse Merita / Katerina / Iuge burgys / and Cecilia / Charles the eldest sone of seynt Byrget was a noble knyght and went with his moder in pylgremage [Page Cxxvii] towarde Iherusalem redy to haue ieoparde his lyfe for the recouerynge of the holy lande / and as he was goynge at [...]apuls he dyed the .xii. day of Marche and in the day of the Ascencion of our lorde next folowyng his soule went to heuyn as it was shewyd to seynt Birgette by reuelacion as in the .vii. boke of hir reuelacions the .xiii. and .xiiii. chapter apperyth / And this noble knyght hadde a sone also that was called Charles / whiche after he had atteyned great cō nynge in Dyuynyte he left studye & the purpose that he had begon in and toke a wyfe / And on a tyme as he after y ^e deth of seynt Birget was prayinge at hir tumbe she appered vnto hym holdynge as it had ben an Horologe of glasse in hir hande and sayd Charles seest thou howe nyghe this glasse hath renne his course / and he sayd ye lady I se it well & she sayd ayene so nyghe is the tyme of thy lyfe / and there is no more abydynge for the but as thou seest / But if thou haddyst ben obedyent to god thou shuldest haue lyued lenger then any other in my progenye / and thou shuldest haue ben Bysshop of Lyntopens and a notable pyler in the churche of god / Then he prayed hir that she wolde praye for hym & sayd he wolde gladly amende in all that he myght / And she sayd nay sone nay veryly iugement is gyuen and the tyme is paste / and anone after he fell seke and therupon takynge all the sacramentꝭ of the churche he dyed and is buryed in y ^e Monasterye of Watzstenes whiche seynt Birget in hir lyf founded and endowed it suffycyently for .lx. nonnes & .xxv. bretherne Byrgerus the secunde sone of seint Birget went with his moder to Ihrt'in / and there he was made knyght and came with hir agaynet [...] Rome / And when seynt Birget was deed he and his suster Katheryne cūueyed the relikes & the bones of seynt Birget their moder to y ^e sayd Monastery [Page] of Watzstenes in Swethyn. And after many great labours and expensys done by the sayd Byrgerus by the cō maundement of our lorde aboute the sayd Monasterye of Watzstenes & for his moder the sayd Byrgerus chaunged this lyfe & as it is mekely to bylue toke the blessynge of god with his seyntꝭ in heuyn for the generacion of ryghtwysmē shalbe blessyd. Benedict the thirde sone of seynt Birgette was longe seke in the monastery of Albastra / wherfore seynt Birget wept tenderly & prayed deuoutly for hym thynkynge it had ben for the syn̄es of his Fader & moder / Then the deuyll appered vnto hir and sayd woman what menest thou with thy great wepynge so to feble thy syght all thy labour is in vayne trowest thou that thy terys can ascende into heuyn. And anone our lorde cryste Ihesu was there present and sayd the sykenes of this childe is nat of the sterres nor for his synnes / ne yet for the syn̄es of his fader & moder / but it is of y ^t cōdicion of his nature / & for his morere wardeī heuyn / & where beforetyme he hathe be called Benedict he shalbe from hensforth called y ^t sone of we [...]yng & of prayers & I shall shortly make an ende of his necessyte / & the .v. day after there was herde betwyx the bed where the childe laye & the walle as it had ben y ^e most swete songe of byrdes / and then the soule of the childe went from the body. Katheryne the seconde doughter of seynt Birget was maryed / & neuerthelesse she w ^t hir husbande lyued in pure virginite / & after the deth of hir husbande she was alwayes w ^t hir moderseit Birget / & lyued in the estate of wydo whod al hir lyfe. This blessyd virgyne Katheryne bycause she was feruent in deuocion & excellent in grauite of maners & fayre of body & lyued a blessyd lyfe to gyue other example of good lyuyng y ^e moste honest woman of Rome loued to be in hir company. And when she was on a tyme desyred by y ^e moste noble matrones [Page Cxxiii] of the Cytie of Rome to walke with them for recreacyon without the walles of the Cytie as they walked here & there amōge many clusters of grapes. They desyred y ^e the sayd blessyd virgyne Katheryn bycause she was of an Eligant stature wold gather them of the sayd grapes / & as she streched vp hir armes to y ^e grapes it semyd as thoughe hir armes had ben apperelled w ^t shynyng cloth of golde where in dede for very volūtary pouerte y ^t she had chosyn she had broken patchyd sleuys. & all y ^t matrons meruayled y ^t so meke a creature & deuoute ꝑson wold weer so p̄cious apperell as it appered to them y ^t she dyd nat / knowyng y ^t it was the mystery & myracle of god y ^t they sawe. The ryuer of tyber rose w ^t so great power of wa [...] y ^t it went ouer y ^e bridge of Lateranēce & y ^e monastery of seynt Iames with many byldynges theraboute. Wherfore the Cytezens of Rome dredynge y ^e destruction of the cyte went vnto y ^e house of y ^e sayd blessyd virgyn Katheryn praying hir y ^t she wold go with them to the Ryuer to pray to our lord for y ^e cyte / & she of mekenes reputyng hir se [...] therto vnworthy desyred respyte. & whē y ^e cytezens lawe y ^t by prayers they ꝓfyted nat somwhat with vyolence / neuerthelesse reuerently they ledde hir out of hir house vnto the watersyde. And loo a meruaylous thyng y ^e olde myracle was reuyued for lyke as in the tyme of Iosue the water of fleme Iordane was stopped ayenst y ^e natural course so at the entryng of the holy virgyn Katherin into y ^e water of Tyber suche vtue yssued out of hir by y ^e power of almyghty god y ^t it restreyned y ^e strength of y ^e water so y ^t it cōpellyd y ^e streme w ^t a great swyftnes to go into y ^e olde course wherof all men ioyed laudyng the great power of o ^r lord shewyd ī his blessyd vgyn seynt Katheryn. Iugeburgꝭ the iii. dought of seit birget / in hir youth was made a nōne in the [Page] Monastery of Rysaburga / where in shorte tyme after she yelded hit soule to almyghty god / And whenne hir moder knewe that she was deed with great Ioye she sayd O lorde Ihesu criste blessyd be thou that thou haste called hir to the or the worlde had be wrappyd hir with synne / and anone after seynt Birget was in hir oratory she fell vpon such great wepynge and sobbynge that all that were nygh to hir harde and sayd loo howe she wepyth for the deth of hir doughter. Then our lorde apperyd to hir & sayd woman why wepyst thou though I knowe all thynges / yet by thy wordes I wyll knowe / to whom she sayd O lorde I wepe nat for y ^t my doughter is deed / but I am glad therof for if she hadde lyued lenger she shuld haue had before y ^e a gretter accomptꝭ but I wepe for this cause that I haue nat enformed hir after thy cōmaundementꝭ & bycause I haue gyuen hir examples of pryde. And I haue neclygently corrected hir when she hath offendyd / To whom our lorde answered and sayd euery moder that wepyth bycause hir doughter hath offen dyd god and enformyth hir after hir beste conscyence she is a very moder of charite and moder of terys and hir doughter is the doughter of god / for the moder. But that moder y ^t Ioyeth of that / that hir doughter can behaue hir after the worlde nat carynge of hir lyuynge so that she may be eraltyd and honoured in the worlde she is no very moder / but a stepmoder / therfore for thy charyte and good wyll thy doughter by the nyghest waye shall goo vnto the Kyngdome of heuyn / and at the Sepulture of the sayd gloryous virgyne Iugeburgꝭ he done many great myracles. Cecily y ^e fourth doughter of seynt Birget was the laste childe that euer she had and she is to be had in great honour moste specially for the synguler grace gyuen vnto hir by our blessyd lady before [Page Cxxiiii] she was borne / For when hir moder at hir byrthe was in great parrell & in despayre of hir lyfe our blessyd lady was seen in whyte clothynge of sylke goynge to hir / and as she stode byfore the bed she towched seynt Birget in dyuers ꝑtyes of hir body so that all the women there beynge present greatly meruayled therof nat knowynge any thynge who it was / And as soone as our lady was gone out of the house seynt Birget was delyuered without defyculte / and shortly after our lady sayd to seynt Birget when thou was ī icopardy at thy delyueraune I came vnto the and helpyd the. Therfore thou art vnkynde if thou loue me nat / wherfore labour y ^t thy children may also be my children / Aftseīt Birget induced hir husbande to lyfe in contyneus many yeres. And also they both went on pylgremage to seynt Iames in Gales with great deuocyon & after came agayne into their Countre at Swecia / and by comen assententendyd bothe to haue entred into Relygyon and in that purpose the sayd Ulpho hir husbande dyed the .xii. daye of Februarii / the yere of our lord god a Thousande .CCC. and .xliiii. and is buryed in the monastery of Albastra / After his deth seynt Birget put all hir wyll to the wyll of god / and thought she wolde for the loue of god forsake all y ^e worldly pleasure / and determyned hir selfe with the assystaunce and grace of our lorde to lyue in chaste wydowhed all hir lyfe / and contynuelly made hir prayer to almyghty god to knowe by what way she myght beste please hym / And after she gaue all hir landes and goodes to hir children and to pore men so that she myght in pouerte folowe our lorde and reseruyd to hirselfe oonly that that wolde symply and mekely serue hir for mete drynke and clothynge / and that to lyue in symple array / After by the cōmaundement of almyghty god folowynge [Page] the example of Abraham she left his owne countrey and hir carnall frendes & went in pylgremage to Rome / the yere of our lorde god. M.CCC.xlvi. & the .xlii. yere of hir age therto abyde in the lyfe of penaunce & to vysyt y ^e lyghtꝭ of seynt Peter and Paule & the relykes of other seyntꝭ tyl she had of our lorde other cōmaūdement hauyng euer with hir .ii. olde faders spirituell wherof one was a monke called Peter whiche was pryor of Albastra of the ordre of Cisteux a pure virgyn & was a man of great connynge & of vertuous lyf / and the other was a preest of Swecia / whiche also was a vgyn & a man of holy lyfe / & he by the cōmaundemēt of almyghty god taught hir & hir doughter Katheryn grāmer to whiche faders spirituall of hir lyfe she obeyed in all vertue as mekely as a very meke monke is wont to obey his p̄late in somoche y ^t she came into so ꝑfyte humylyte obedyens & mortyfiynge of hir owne wyll y ^t when she went to ꝑdons and holy places amonge the recourse of the people euer accompanyed with y ^e sayd preest hir fader spirituall she durste nat lyft vp hir iyen fro the groūde tyll she had leue of the the [...]ayd fader sperituell. And after the deth of hir husbande in the honour of the Trinite she weer nere next hir bare skyn a corde of hempe with many knottes harde boūden to hir & in lykewyse about euery of hir legges vnder hir knees. And she neuer vsed any lynen cloth though it weer in tyme of sykenes but oonly vpon hir hed & next hir skyn she weer euer rough & sharpe wolen cloth / & hir outwarde appare [...] was nat after the cōdicion of hir ꝑsone / but moch meke & abiecte / & she nat oonly kepe y ^e fastyngꝭ or vigylles y ^t holy churche cōmaū deth but she suꝑadded therto many other in so moche y ^t beyonde the cōmaundement of the churche she fasted .iiii. tymes in the weke aswell in hir husbandes lyfe as after. And [Page Cxxv] after hir husbandꝭ deth vnto a lytel byfore hir blessyd passage out of this world after fastyngꝭ / prayers / & other dyuyne labours most comēly she re [...]resshed hir self w ^t right short slepe in hir clothes y ^t she was wont to weer lyinge vpon a carpet w ^tout federbed / matres / strawe or any otherthing / & euery fryday in remēbraūce of y ^e gloryous passion of our sauyour criste Ihesu she absteyned in brede & water oonly bysyde lyke abstynēce y ^t she toke many other dayes in y ^e honour of dyuerse other seyntꝭ / & wheder she fasted or otherwyse toke hir sustynaunce she rose euer w ^t most great sobernes natfully saciate / & in y ^e same frydayes she toke war candellys & made brēnyng droppes fall vpon hir bare flesshe so y ^t y ^e brē nynge markꝭ of them cōtynuelly remayned / & gencian whiche is a moch bytter erbe she helde cōtynually in hir mouth. And when she was at Rome nat dredyng the vigour of the colde nor the impedymēt of the great hete rayne or foulnes of the waye / ne yet the sharpnes nf the snowe or hayle and thoughe she myght haue ryden / neuerthelesse vpon y ^e strengthe of hir lene bodye she wente euery daye the Stacyons ordeyned by the churche. And also visyted many other seyntes / She vsed so many longe knelyngꝭ that her knees were waxen harde as it had be of a Camel / She was of so grete & meruaylous mekenes y ^t ofttymes she sat vnknowen w ^t pore pylgrymes at y ^e monastery of seynt Laurence in pamsperna in y ^e cyte of Rome which is of y ^e ordre of seynt Clare & there she toke almes w ^t them / Ofttymes with hir owne hā des for goddes sake she repayred y ^e clothes of pore men / & euery day in hir husbandes lyf she fedde .xii. pore men in hir house seruyd & mynystred to them hirselfe suche as they neded / Of hir owne substaūce she repayred in hir countre many desolate hospytalles & as a busy administratrice mercyful & pytuous she visited y ^e nedy syke mē y ^t were ther & hādeled [Page] and wasshyd theyr sores without horror or lothsomnes. And she was of so meruaylouse great pacyence y ^t y ^e sykenes that she had hir self & wronges that were done vnto hir and the deth of hir husbande & of hir sone Charles with all other aduersyties she suffred moost pacyently without murmur or gruttynge and in all thyngꝭ with hygh mekenes she blessyd our lorde beynge for suche troubles the more constaūte in the fayth the more redy in hope and the more brennynge in Charyte & hyghly she loued Iustyce & equyte / The mocions of the flesshe & vayneglory w ^t a busy cure & great truste in our lorde she despysed and ouercame. She was of suche hygh wysedome & discrecion that fro hir youth vnto his laste houre asmoche as fraylnes myght suffre she neuer sayd good to be euyll / nor euyll to be good / And euery fryday in hir husbandes lyf she was confessyd / and after his deth she was euery day confessyd. Euery sonday she & hir doughter Katheryne / whiche lyued with hir all hir lyfe in penaunce & chaste wydowhed with great deuociō and humylyte resceyued the holy body of our lord euer lyuyng [...] in secrete penaū ce / whiche they dyd nat to the apparaunte syght of the worlde / but secretly to almyghty god in symplenes of herte and clēnes of spyrit. On a tyme when the kyng of Swecia wolde haue charged his comons w ^t agreat exacion y ^t he myght therw ^t haue payed a great sūme of money / wherin he was in detted / seynt Birget for great compassyon that she had to the people sayd to the kynge. Osyr do nat so but take my two sones & lay them in plegge to yo credytours tyl ye may pay your money & do nat offende god & yo subiettꝭ. There was a knyght y ^t alway studyed to fynde newe inuencyons amonge the people / whiche by his wordꝭ & euyll examples brought many to dampnacion / this knyght had great enuy [Page Cxxvi] to seynt Birget / and bycause he durste nat hym selfe speke [...]uyll to hir he styred another that shuld fayne hym self dronken / & then he to speke vnto hir shamefull and cōtumelious wordes to brynge hir out of pacyence / whiche cursed man as seynt Birget was syttynge at the table with many honorable ꝑsones sayd in the herynge of theym all. O lady thou slepest to lytell / [...]and thou wakest to moch it were expedyent for the to drynke well and to slepe more hathe god thynkest thou forsaken Relygyous ꝑsons / and speketh with proude people of the world / It is a vayne thyng to gyue any fayth to thy wordes / and as he was so spekyng they that stode by wolde haue put hym away with violence to his rebuke and shame / And seynt Birget prohybyted theym and sayd suffre hym to speke almyghty god hath sent hym hyther for I that in all my lyfe haue sought myn owne prayse why shuld I nat here my rightwysnes. This mā sayth to me ȳe trouth And when the knyght herde of the great pacyence of seynt Birget he toke great repentaunce and came to Rome and asked forgyuenes of seynt Birget / & there he made a good and a laudable ende. The sayd blessyd woman seynt Birget was so adourned & fulfylled with all vertues that oure lorde receyued hir to be his spouse and vysyted hir many tymes with merueylous consolacyons and dyuyne graces / & shewyd hir many heuynly reuelacyons saynge vnto hir / I haue chosen the to my spouse that I maye shewe to the my secretꝭ for it pleasyth me so to do. And another tyme he sayd to hir I take the to my spouse and to my proper delyte suche as it is my pleasure to haue with a chaste soule / In whiche reuelacyons be conteyned the hyghe secrete my steryes of y ^e moste gloriouse Trinite of the Incarnacyon natyuyte lyfe and passyon of our Sauyour criste Ihesu with the playne [Page] and trewe Doctryne to knowe vertue and to folowe it / and to eschewe vycesshewynge the rewarde of vertue / and the great intollerable payne and dampnacyon that shall fall to synners that dye in deedly synne / exortynge also all men to do condigne penaūce for the synnes that they haue ben shryuen of / to eschewe the great and dredefull paynes of purgatorye ordeyned for theyr purgacyon by the strenght equyte of Iustyce whiche terryble paynes our Sauyour shewyd dyuerse tymes to his sayde spouse seynt Birget to thenten [...] she shuld shewe them ouer y ^e people / whiche reuelaciō seynt Birget wrote in hir owne naturall tonge / and the sayd Pryour of Albastra hir Fader espūell by the cōmaundement of almyghty god translated theym into Latyn / and deuyded theym into .viii. bokes bysyde a especiall reuelacion that she had of the praysynges and excellencye of our blessyd Lady whiche he appoynted for the Legend of the susters / and bysyde many other Reuelacyons that she hadde for the Rule and foundacyon of hir sayd Monasterye of Watzstenes / & foure goodly chappytours for prayers / with certeyn reuelacyons called the extrauagantꝭ. And natwithstandynge the great and synguler graces that she hadde as well in the sayde Revelaciōs as otherwyse she was nat / therfore any thynge exalted but dayly with many terys humbled hirselfe the more therfore / and wolde gladly haue hydde and kept clo [...] the especyall gyfte / y ^t she had of our lord in y ^e sayd Reuelacions / but that our lorde cōmaunded hir oft tymes to wryte & to speke them boldely to the Pope to the Emperour kyngꝭ prynces and other people / that by the reason of theym they myght the soner be conuertyd fro theyr synnes. And when she was in prayer & contemplacōn she was ofte tymes seen by many deuoute ꝑsones eleuate & lyfte vp fro the grounde [Page Cxxvii] the hyght of a man or there aboute an Aungell appered vnto seynt Birget / and amonge many other thynges that he shewyd hir of the excellencye of our blessyd Lady he sayd y ^• she was the maystres of [...] martyrs the techer of Cōfessou [...] y ^e clereshynyng glasse of virgyns the helper of wydowes / & gyuer of h [...]some monycions to them y ^t lyuyd in matrymonye & a great strength to all them y ^e lyued in y ^e fayth of holy churche / Firste he sayd y ^t o [...] blessyd lady shewyd & declared to thappostellꝭ many thinges of hir sone y ^t they knew nat byfore / & y ^t she encouraged martyrs gladly to suffer trybulaciō for y ^e name of criste wh [...] [...]he for theyr sake many yerꝭ suffred great tribulaciō addynge therto y ^• she hirself .xxxiii. yerꝭ byfore y ^e deth of hir sone cō tynuelly suffred trouble in hir herte w ^t great paciens▪ She taught to cōfessourꝭ y ^• very true lessōs of helth & they by his doctrine & example ꝑfytly lernyd to ordre y ^e tymes of y ^e da [...] & of y ^e nyght wysely to y ^e la [...]de & glory of almyght god / & to vse good discresōn in takyng of their slepe of their mete & in labour of their bodyes / & of hir most vtuous lyf vgyns lerned to Rule them self honestly / & strongly to kepe theyr virgynall clennes vnto y ^e deth to fle moch speche & al vanyties to discusse w ^t a dylygent p̄medytacion al their werkꝭ y ^t they had to do & to examyne them streyghtly in a espūell balaūce To wydowes she sayd to their comfort / y ^t though by moderly charyte it had moch pleased hir y ^• hir sone had had no more wyll to haue dyed in his manhed then in his godhed / neuertheles she holy cōfermed hir wyl to y ^e wyl of god [...]hewsyng rather to y ^e fulfylling of y ^e wyl of god mekely to susteyne al tribulacōn then for hir plesur anythyng to do ayenst y ^e wyl of god / & w ^t suche maner of speche she made wydowes pacient ī their tribulacōs & cōstaūteī al tēptaciōs of y ^e body. [Page] Moreouer she [...] theim that lyued in matrymony that to the body & soule in perfyght charyte nat sayued they shuld lyue [...]og [...] [...] and that to y ^e honour of almyg [...]y god / they shuld kepe one hole wyll sayinge to theym of hir selfe how she had gyuen all hir fayth and hole intent clerely to almyghty god / and that for his loue she neuer withstode his wyll in any thynge / Ulpho that was husbande to seynt Birget on a tyme after his deth apperyd vnto hir / and sayd for a tyme I felte the great Iustyce of our lorde in purgatory / nowe but mercy somwhat draweth nere vnto me & y ^u shal [...] knowe that in my lyfelyne wayes I excedyd: of the whiche when I was feke I toke nat suffycyent repentaunce. The firste was that I toke to great delyte & pleasure in the wantones of the child that thou knowest of. The se [...]nde i [...] that [...]f my neclygēce I dyd nat restore a wydowe afore my deth for certeyn goodes that I bought of hir / therfore that thou shall proue that I say trewe. to morowe she shall [...] to the and then gyue to hir what so euer she asketh for she wyll aske nothynge but that y ^• is right. The thirde is y ^t of y ^e lyghtnes of my mynde I promysed a man to take his parte in all his difficultyes by reason wherof he was so [...]olde that he attempted many thynges ayenst the kyng and the lawe. The fourth is that in [...]urneys and in vanytes of the worlde I occupyed myselfe more for the syght of the world then for any prophet. The fyft is that in the exilynge of a certyn man I was ouer moche rygorouse ayenst hym / for though he were worthy to haue that iugement yet I was lesse mercyfull to hym then I shuld haue ben / then seynt Birget sayde vnto hym. O blessyd soule what thynge hath profytyd the to thy helth / or what thynge may prefyre the nowe to thy delyueraunce / and he answeryd. Sex thyngꝭ haue profited me. [Page Cxxviii] The fyrste is my confessyon that I made euery frydaye when I myght haue tyme hauynge full purpose to amē de / The secōde is that when I sate in Iugemēt I iuged not for the loue of money / or for fauoure / But all my Iugementys I examynyd dylygently redy to correcte where I had erryd & to withdrawe where I had done that I shulde not haue doon / The thyrde is that I obeyed vnto my ghostly Fader which coūceylyd me that I shulde not perfourme the acte of matrimony after I knewe that the chylde was quycke / The fourthe is that when I was lodgyd in any place I toke hede as nyghe as I coulde / that by my selfe / or my Seruauntys I were not vnkynde to poore men nor that I was not chargefull to theym puttynge all my stody to se that I cam not into any det / but that I prouydyd howe it shulde be payde / The fyfte is y ^t abstynence that I toke in the waye to seynt Iames for I ordeynyd soo that I dranke not betwyxte melys and for that abstynēce is pardonyd to me the longe syttynge that I had at my table / my loquacyte / and excesse / & nowe I am sure of my helthe thoughe I be vncerteyne of the owre / The syxte is that I commyttyd my Iugementys to them that I thoughte were ryghtwyse & that wolde pay my dettys / and bycause I doubtyd to be in det whyle I was on lyfe I resygnyd to the kynge his prouyncys that my sowle shulde not suffre the Iugement of god Therfore nowe in asmoche as it is graūtyd to me by almyghty god that I shall aske helpe and praye the that by a hoole yere thowe make contynuelly to be songe for me / and for all that our Lord wolde haue to be prayed for / massys of our Lady / of Aungellys / and of all seyntys / and also of y ^e passyon of our sauyour criste Ihesu for I truste I shalbe [Page] shortly delyueryd & specyally be dylygent aboute poore men to dystrybute to them suche Uessellys / Horsys / and other thynges wherin in my lyfe I had ouer moche delyte / And also if thowe maye / doo not forgete to gyue some chalyces for the sacryfyce of god / for veryly they profyte moche to y ^e helthe of the soule / & thyn vnmouable goodes leue to oure Chylderne for I dyd neuer euyll purchase any thynge / or euyll holde any thynge / ne wolde not haue doon if I myght / And this blessyd woman seynt Byrget lyuyd after she went out of hyr owne coūtrey .xxviii. yere by all which tyme she neuer wēt to any place but by the especyall commaundement of our Lorde by whos cō maundement she went to Iherusalem and there dylygētlye with great deuocyon vysyted all y ^e placys where our blessyd Lady was salutyd by the Aungell Gabryell / and where our Lorde was borne / baptyzed / conuersaunte / or dyd any myracle / & where he was Illudyd / Crucyfyed and buryed / and where he assendyd into heuyn / & also at dyuerse other tymes she vysytyd many Seyntys in hyr owne countrey / and in other countreys therto adioynynge in Fraunce / Italye / Spayne / Napuls / & many other placys / & after hyr sayd holy pylgrymagys she lyuyd the resydue of hir lyfe in y ^e cyty of Rome fyue dayes before y ^t seynt Byrgette shulde passe out of this transytory Lyfe our Lorde apperyd vnto hyr before an Aulter that was in hyr Chaumber / and with a mery countenaunce sayde vnto hyr I haue not vysytyd the in this tyme with consolacyons for it was the tyme of thy probacyon / Therfore nowe thowe arte prouyd procede and make the redy for the tyme is come y ^t that I promysyd y ^t shalbe fulfyllyd y ^t is to saye y ^t before myn Aulter thou shalte be clothyd & cō secrate [Page Cxxix] a Nunne / & from hensforthe thou shalte not onely be reputyd to be my espouse / but also thou shalte be reputyd to be moder in watzstenys neuertelesse knowe it for a trouth thou shalte leue thy Body here in Rome vnto the tyme it shall come into the place ordeynyd for it / & knowe thou for certeyne that men shall come when it shall please me that with all swetnes and Ioye shall receyue the wordys of the Heuenly reuelacyons that I haue shemyd to the and all thynges that I haue sayde to the shalbe fulfyllyd / And though my grace be withdrawen fro many for theyr vnkyndenes / Neuerthelesse other shall come that shall ryse in theyr place whiche shall opteyne my Grace / And in the mornynge of the fyfte Daye nowe nexte folowynge after thou haste receyuyd the Sacramētys of the Chyrche calle to the seuerallye the persones that I haue namyd to the nowe and telle theym what they shall doo and then in theyr Handys thou shalte come into my ioye euerlastynge / and thy Bodye shall be caryed to watzstenes / And on the sayde fyfte Daye she callyd to hyr all hyr housholde and shewyd theym what they shulde doo and at the laste she gaue a great monycyon to hyr son Byrgerus / and to hyr doughter Katheryne chargynge theym that aboue all thynges they shulde perseuer in the drede of god / and in the Loue of theyr neyghbourys / & in good Warkys / and theropon she made hyr Confessyon with great dylygens and Deuocyon / and receyuynge the blessyd Bodye of oure Lorde was a noylyd / And as a Masse was sayde afore hyr and she had honouryd the blessyd Bodye of oure Lorde she lyfte vppe hyr eyen to Heuyn / and sayde. In manus tuas domine commendo spiritum [Page] meum / whiche is to seye Lorde into thy handys I cōmyt my spirite / And with tho wordys she yeldyd her soule to our Lorde the .xxiii. daye of Iulii / the yere of oure Lorde god a thousande thre hundreth .lxxiii. and the yere of hyr age .lxx. And anon a great fame went thrughe all the Cytye of rome of the deth of this gloryous woman / and the people came with great deuocyon to se the holy body / gloryfyinge / and lawdynge almyghty god / and in suche gre [...]e recourse of the people the Body was caryed to the monastery of seynt Laurence as it was shewyd by hyr selfe that it shuld be & for the great prese of the people it coulde not conuenyently be buryed vnto the seconde daye / and before she was buryed a woman callyd Agnes de cōtess a dwellynge in the Cytye of Rome / whiche fro hyr byrthe had a great grosse throte moche foule & dyfformyd came with other to the Bodye of seynt Byrgette / and with hyr owne Gyrdell she towchyd y ^e hande of this gloryous woman seynt Byrgette with great deuocyon and bounde y ^e same gyrdell abowte her necke and anon aftyr her throte swagyd by y ^e myracle of almyghty god was brought in to the due shappe & conformyte / Also there was a Nonne of the sayde monastery of seynt Laurēce / which for feblenes / and great sykenes that she had in her stomake by the space of .ii. yerys kepte hyr bedde well nere all that tyme / and she was moch famylyer / with seynt Byrgette in hyr lyfe / thys Nonne with great peyn rose fro hyr bedde and with helpe came to the Beer & lay by it all the nyght and cessyd not to praye / almyghty god that by the merytys and Prayers of his gloryouse spouse seynt Byrgette whose Body was there present that she myghte haue soo moche ease of hyr sayde longe sykenes y ^t she myght with [Page Cxxx] hyr Susters be at deuyne seruyce / and that she myghte when nede shulde requyre goo aboute y ^e monastery with oute helpe / And in the mornynge she hadde more helth of hyr Bodye thenne she prayed fore / And the .xxvi. daye of the sayde moneth of Iulii the Bodye of Seynt Birgette was buryed in the sayde Monasterye of seynt Laurence in a cheste of wode enclosyd in a tombe of marbull / and in the space of fyue wekys and a halfe the Flesshe by Myracle was clerely consumyd and goon / and nothynge lefte but the clere whyte shynynge Bonys / and after the sayde Bonys and Relykes of seynt Birgette were translatyd from Rome to the sayde Monasterye of watzstenes in swecia the fourth nonas of Iulii by the sayde Byrgerus and Katheryne / and after this blessyd woman seynt Birgette was canonyzed by pope bonyface of that name the nynth / y ^e yere of our Lord god a thousande .CCC.lxxxxi. as in the Bull of hyr canonyzacion apperyth / A woman of the dyocesse of Lyncopēce callyd Elseby Snara with great peyne / and sorowe was delyuered of a deed Chylde / and when she was after her great peyne come to hyr perfyte remembraūce with humble prayer she besoughte almyghtye god that by y ^e merytes of his gloryouse espouse seynt Birgette the Chylde myghte be restoryd to Lyfe and made a vowe that if the Chylde came to lyfe that she wolde vysyte the sepulcre of Seynt Birgette / And anon the Infaun [...] beganne to waxe hote / and to take Brethe and afterwarde it was restoryd to full Lyfe wherfore the Moder with great deuocyon / and gladnes fulfyllynge hyr auowe / vysytyd the Relykes of Seynt Birgette in the Monasterye of watzstenes aboute the Natyuyte of oure Lorde certeyne persons of gothlande toke the See [Page] and with a great Tempeste they were dryuen into a place whiche was moche shalowe of Water and there theyr Shyppe was all to Broysyd / and they taryed there a se nyght in great Hunger / and Colde / and Coulde not remoue theyr Shyppe / At the wekys ende for asmoche as they were lyke to haue perysshyd for lacke of Sustenaū ce they drewe Cuttes amonge theym / whiche of theym shulde be kyllyd and made mete for the other / And he vppon whome the Lotte felle with great wepynge commyttyd hym to Seynt Birgette and prayde for helpe promysynge that if he escapyd that Daunger / he wolde vysyte hyr at hyr Monasterye of watzstenes / And anon by Myracle they foūde a great peace of Flesshe in the See / and when they hadde refresshyd theym selfe therwyth there arose anon suche a great calmenes that in a lytell smalle Bote they came by great longe weyes in the See to londe / And as he vpon whome the Lotte felle was goynge towarde watzstenes to fulfyll his a vowe / by the waye he was takyn Prysoner / and was greuously betyn & leyde in Prysone with many Irons vpon hym wherfore estesones he prayde to seynt Birgette for helpe / and anon as he hadde so doon / all his Irons / and Bondys felle fro hym and he toke his Iourney towarde seynt Birgette withoute lette with great deuocion / In the Cytie of lyptzyge there was a Peynter callyd Hēry / which for the great loue that he hadde to seynt Birgette was wonte to sey many thynges amonge doctours of hyr Holynes and of the Bookys of hyr Heuenly reuelacyons / wherfore on a tyme oon of the Doctours with great Indygnacyon sayd vnto hym but thou leuesayde he to speke of thys newe he [...]esye / & of the Bokys of that olde matrone / I shall cause [Page Cxxxi] the to be burnyd for thy erroure / and so he porposyd to haue don and causyd the Paynter to be cytyd / that the daye folowynge he shuld appere before the Iuges / wherupon the sayde Peynter wente to a Clerke that had also great denocyon to Seynt Birgette to aske hym coūceyle / and he comfortyd hym ryghte charytably / and aduysyd hym to be dylygent in prayer to almyghtye god / and to seynt Birgette and bade hym drede nothynge but they wolde helpe hym / And more ouer he sayde that he and another preest callyd master Iohn̄ Torto whiche also had great deuocion to seynt Birgette wolde praye for hym to seynt Birgette / and so they dydde / In the mornynge the sayde Peynter beynge moch ferefull apperyd before y ^e Iuges where he was strayghtly examynyd / and many thynges were leyde to his charge to haue conuyctyd hym of heresye / But by the prayers of Seynt Birgette for whom he sufferde that trowble / the sayde symple laye man not letterde / was so fulfyllyd with the holy goste and speke soo effectuouslye great hyghe mysteryes of almyghtye God that his aduersaryes coulde not resyste y ^e spyryt that speke in hym / wherfore he was dyschargyd / and his aduersaryes confysyd / Not longe after oure Lorde toke vengeaunce of hym that was the Pryncypall causer of that dysturbaunce / for as he went on a nyght hoole to his bedde the same nyght he was smytten with the Fallynge sykenes wherof he dyed / And anon his Bodye rottyd / and corruptyd with suche an horryble stenche that fewe men durste come nyghe it / And with handelynge of the Body the Flesche came from the Bonys by great peaces / And at the laste when men for his horryble sauoure refusyd to bere hym to his graue / certeyne ꝑsonys that were vsyd [Page] to clensevyle stynkynge pryuyes where hyryd to bere the wretchyd Bodye to his Graue / and whenne they hadde don they sayde that if they hadde knowen before / that he had had so horryble a sauoure / that they wolde not haue borne hym though they myght haue had the dowble pryce that they hadde.

Finis.

[Page Cxxxii]

A prayer to seynt Byrgette.

¶Nowe lette vs pray vnto this gloryous spouse of our sauyoure Cryste Ihesu seynt Byrgette that she praye for vs vnto our Lorde that by the merytys of hyr prayers after this transytory & short lyfe we maye come to the euerlastynge Lyfe in the blysse of Heuyn. Amen.

¶A prayer to seynt Byrgette.

O Birgitta mater bona
Dulcis ductrix et patron
 [...]
Nobis fer suffragia
Naufragantes in hoc mari
Tuo ductusalutari
Duc ad vite breuia
O preclara tu dignare
Delictorum impetrare
Nobis christi veniam
Ut possimus respirare
Et excessus emendare
Consecuti gratiam
Confer vite sanctitatem
Corpori da sanitatem
Et quieta tempora
Auge veram charitatem
Cordium da puritatem
Nos languentes robora
Uite nostre rege cursum
Post hanc vitam transfersursum
Animas ad gaudia


[Page]Ubi deum contemplari
Tibi quo
 
(que) sociari
Possimus in gloria. Amen.
Uersus.
¶Ora pro nobis beata Birgitta sponsa christi preelecta
Ut ad Celestem patriā sit ipse nobis via recta.

Oremꝰ.

DEus qui ecclesiam tuā per beatam Birgittam sacris illuminare dignatus es et cōsiliis & exemplis cōcede propicius eius intercessionevt que pro nostris purgandis excessibus clementer ei reuelasti deuotis mentibus exequamur. Per christum [...]n̄m nostrum. Amen.

¶Another prayer to seynt Byrgette.
O Beata Birgi
 [...]ta late collandata
Principissa suecie in terris vocata
Uita verbo stabilis solide fundata
Omnibus affabilis humilis monstrata
Post sponsi exequias casta approbata
Remotas prouincias es peregrinata
Cristo sponsa nobilis pie adoptata
Nunc manes laudabilis christo copulata
Sanctorum reliquias pietate grata
Deuotis obsequiis multum venerata
In multis misteriis aliis prelata
Coruscas miraculis celo sublimata
Iustis desideriis assiste perata
Regnis et ecclesie pace confirmata


[Page Cxxxiii]Pro nostris miseriis matrona beata
Sponsa sponsum dominum flecte aduocata
Uersus multe filie regum Congregauerunt diuicias
Tu superegressa es vniuersas.

Oratio.

DOmine Ihesu criste qui beatam Birgittā propter multorum secretorum Inspiracionem et singularem virtutum adornacionem sponsam tuam vocari decreuisti: Presta quesumus vt eadem in vite moribus conformemur & cum ea de mundi illecebris ad visionem celestium transferamur. Qui viuis & regnas. &c.

¶Thus endyth the Lyfe of Seynt Byrgette Enprynted at Lōdon in Flere strete at the sygne of the George by Rycharde Pynson prynter vnto the kynges noble grace the .xx. daye of February / In yere of oure Lorde god a. M. CCCCC. and .xvi.

[Page]

[figure]

[Page]Hereaftre foloweth a deuoute Boke compylyd by mayster Walter Hylton to a deuoute man in temperall estate howe he shulde rule hym / whiche is ryghte expedyent for euery man / moste in especyall for theym that lyue in the medylde lyfe & it shewyth what medelyd lyfe is / he that wyll dylygently loke vpon it may therby the soner come to some of y ^e hyghe vertues and blessyd lyfe that he shall rede of in the begynnynge of this present Boke of the gloryous Seyntys conteynyd in the same.

¶Howe a man y ^t woll be ghostly must fyrste vse moche Bodely exercyse in penaunce and destroyenge of synne. Capitulum. primum.

DEre broder ī cryst two maner of states there are in holy Chyrche by the which crystē soulys please god and get theym the blysse of Heuyn / the one is bodely / and the other is ghostly / bodely werkynge longeth pryncypally to worldly men & wymen y ^e which lefully vse worldlye goodes / and wylfully vse worldlye busynes. Also it longeth to all yonge begynnynge men the which comen newe out of worldly synnys to y ^e seruyce of god / for to make theym able to ghostly werkynge & for to breke downe y ^t vnbuxumnes of the body by dyscrecyon / and by suche Bodelye werkynge that it myghte be souple and redy / & not moche cōtraryous to the spyryte in ghostly werkynge / for seynt poule sayth as woman was made for man / and not man for woman / ryght so bodely werkynge was made for ghostly / & not ghostly for bodely / bodely werkynge goth before / & ghostly cōmyth after as seynt Poule sayeth. ¶Non ꝙ prius spirituale: sed ꝙ prius animale deinde spirituale / And this is a cause why [Page] it behouyth to be so / for we ar borne in synne & corrupcyon of the flesshe by the which we ar so blyndyd & so ouerlayed y ^t we haue neyther the ghostlye knowynge of god by lyght of vnderstandynge / ne ghostlye felynge of hym by clene desyre of louynge / & therfore we may not sodeynly sterte out of this derke nyght of this flesshly corrupcyon into y ^t ghoostly lyghte / for we may not suffre it / ne bere it for syknes of our selfe no more than we may with our bodely eyen whan they at sore beholde y ^e lyght of the son & therfore we must abyde and werke by processe of tyme. Fyrst by bodyly werkys bysyly tyll we be dyschargyd of this heuy burden of synne whiche lettyth vs fro ghostlye werkynge / & tyll our soules be somwat clensyd fro great outwarde synnes & abled to ghostly werke / By this bodyly werkynge y ^t I speke of mayste thou vnderstōde all manner of good werkys y ^t thy soule dothe by y ^e wyttes & the mēbrys of thy body vnto thy selfe / as in fastynge wakyng & in restraynynge of flesshely lustes by penaūce doynge / or to thyn euen crysten by fullfyllynge of y ^e dedys of mercy bodely or ghostly / or vnto god by sufferynge of all bodely myscheuys for y ^e loue of ryghwysenes / All thy se werkys done in trouth by charyte please god / without which they are nought / Than who so desyrythe for to be occupyed ghostly / it is syker & profytable to hym y ^t he be fyrste well assayde a longe tyme in this bodely werkyng for these bodely dedys are a tokē & a shewynge of morall vertues withoute whiche a soule is not able for to werke ghostlye / Breke downe fyrste pryde in bodely berynge & also within thy harte thynkynge / bostynge / & praysynge of thy selfe / vayn lykynge ī thy selfe of ony thynge y ^t god hath sent to y ^e bodely or ghostly / Breke downe also enuy & yre agaynste thyn euēcrysten whether they be ryche or poore good or bad that thou hate hym not / ne haue dysdeyne [Page] of hym wylfully neyther in worde ne in dede. Also breke downe couetyse of worldly good that thou for that holdynge / gettynge / or sauynge of it offende not thy concyence / ne breke not charyte to god & to thyn euyncrysten for loue of ony worly good / but that thou gettyst to kepe it / & spēde it without loue and vayne lykynke of it as reason askyth in worshyp of god / & helpe of thyn euencrysten Breke downe also as moch as thou mayst flesshly lykynges eyther of accydye / or bodely ease / glotony or lechery and than whan thou hast ben we [...]l traueylyd & well asayde in all suche bodely werkys / than mayste thou by grace ordeyne the to ghostlye werkynge.

¶Howe a man that is set only to ghostly lyuynge / shall rule all his dedys by dyscrecyon without which they turne often into vyce. Ca. ii.

THe grace & the goodnes of our Lord Ihesu cryst that he hathe shewyd to the in withdrawynge of thyn Herte fro luste / and lykynge of worldlye vanyte / & vse of Flesshely synnys / And in turnynge of thy wyll entyerly to his Seruyce / and his plesaunce bryngeth into myn Herte moche mater to loue hym in his mercy / and also it steryth me greatlye to strēgthe the in thy good purpose / and in thy werkynge that thou haste begonne for to brynge it to a good ende if that I coulde / And pryncypally for god / & sythen for tēder affeccyon of loue y ^t thou haste to me if I be a wretche & vnworthy / I knowe well the desyre of thyn herte y ^t thou desyrest greatlye to serue our Lord by ghostly occupacyon all holly withouten lettynge or troublynge of worldlye busynes y ^t thou myghtest come by grace to more knowyng & ghostlye felynge [Page] of god and of ghostly thynges / this desyre is good as I hope & of god for it is set vpon hym in charyte spyrytually / neuerthelesse it is to refrayne and rule by dyscrescyon as agaynste outwarde werkynge after y ^e state that thou arte in / for charyte vnrulyd tourneth somtyme into vyce and therfore it is sayde in holy Wrytte. ¶Ordinauit in me charitatem / that is to saye / our Lorde geuynge to me charyte / set it in ordre & in rule that it shulde not be loste thrugh myn vndyscressyon / ryght so this charyte / & this desyre that our Lorde hath geuyn of his mercy to the is for to rule and ordeyne how thou shalt pursue it after thy degre askyth / and after the lyuynge that thou hast vsyd before tyme / and after y ^e grace of vertues that thou now haste / Thou shalt not vtterly folowe thy desyre for to leue occupacyon and busynes of the worldle y ^e which ar nedefull to vse in rewlynge of thy selfe and of all other that are vnder thy kepynge / and geue the holly to ghostly occupacyon of Prayers and holy medytacyons / as it were a Frere or a Monke / or an other man y ^t were not bounde to the worlde be Chyldren and seruaūtys as thou arte for it fallyth not to the / and if thou do soo thou kepyst not the order of Charyte. ¶Also if thou woldyst leue vtterly ghostly occupacyon namemely now after the grace that god hath geuyn to the and set the holly to the busynes of the worlde in fulfyllynge of the werkes of actyfe Lyfe as fully as an other man that neuer felyd deuocyon / thou leuyst the ordre of charyte / For thy state askyth for to do bothe / eche of them in dyuerse tymes thou shalte medle the werkys of actyfe lyfe with ghostely werkys of lyfe cōtemplatyfe / And than doest thou well / For thou shalte one tyme be busye with Martha for to rule / and gouerne thyn husholde. Thy chyldren / thy seruauntys / thy neyghbourys / thy tenauntys / if they doo well cōforte theym therin [Page] and helpe them / if they doo euyll for to teche them a mende thē / & chastyse theym / & thou shalt also loke and know wysely thy thynges / & thy worldly goodes be ryghtfully kepte by thy seruauntys / gouernyd / & truely spendyd y ^t thou myght y ^e more plēteuously fulfyll y ^e dedys of mersy with them vnto thy euen crysten / Also thou shalt with marye leue busynes of the worlde & sytte downe at the feet of our Lorde by mekenes in prayers & in holy thoughtys / & in contemplacyon of hym as he geuyth the grace / and so shalt thou goo fro that one to that other medefully & fulfyll theym bothe / And than kepeste thou well the order of Charyte.

¶Unto what maner of mā belōgyth actyf lyfe. Ca. iii.

NEuerthelesse that thou ne haue wonder of this y ^t I say / therfore I shall tell the and declare to the a lytyll of this more openlye / Thou shalte vnderstande y ^t there is thre maners of Lyuynge / one is Actyfe lyfe / another is contemplatyfe / the thyrde is made of bothe / and that is medelyd / Actyfe lyfe aboue longeth to Worldlye men & wymen the whych are lewde in knowyng of ghostlye occupacyon for they ne fele sauour ne deuocion by feruoure of loue as other men doo / ne they canne no skylle of it / and yet neuerthelesse they haue drede of god and of the payne of hell / and therfore they flee synne and they haue desyre for to please god / and for to come to heuyn and a good wyll haue to ther euēcrysten / vnto thyse men it is nedefull & spedefull to vse the werkys of actyflyfe as busylye as they maye in the helpe of themselfe & of theyr euencrysten / for they canne not elles doo.

¶Unto whom belongyth contemplatyfe lyfe. Ca. iiii.

[Page]COntemplatyfe lyfe longeth alone to such men and wymen that for y ^e loue of god forsake all open synnes of the worlde and theyr flesshe / and all busynes / charges & gouernaunce of worldly goodes & make them selfe poore & nakyd to the bare nede of the bodyly kynde & flee fro souereynte of all other men to the seruyce of god / vnto thyse men it longeth for to traueyle / & occupye them inwardly for to gete thrughe the grace of our lorde clennes in herte & peas in concyens by destroyinge of synne & receyuynge of vertues / & soo for to come to contemplacyon which clennes may not be had without great exarcyse of body and contynuell trauayle of the spirit in deuout prayers feruent desyres & ghostly medyracyons.

¶Unto whom belongeth medlyd lyfe. Ca. v.

THe thyrde lyfe y ^e is the medlyd lyfe lōgeth to men of bodyly chyrche as to prelatys and to other curatys the whiche haue cure & soueraynte ouer other men for to teche & rule thē bothe theyr bodyes & theyr soulys pryncipally in fulfyllynge of the dedys of mercy bodelye & ghostly vnto thyse men it longyth somtyme to vse werkys of mercy in actyfe lyfe in helpe & sustenaunce of them selfe & of theyr subgiettys & of other also / & sōtyme for to leue all maner of busynes outwarde & to gyue theym vnto prayers / & medytacyons as redynge of holy wryt & to other ghostly occupacyōs after y ^t they fele them disposyd / Also it lōgeth to some tēporall men which haue souereynte with moch fauer of worldlye goodes / & haue also as it were lordshyp ouer other men for to gouerne & susteyne them as a fader hath ouer his chyldren / & a mayster ouer his seruaūtis & a Lorde ouer his tenaūtys / y ^e whiche men haue also receyuyd of our Lordes gyfte grace of deuocyon [Page] / & ī party sauoure of ghostly occupacyon / Unto these men also lōgeth medlyd lyfe y ^t is both actyfe & contemplatyfe / For is thyse men stōdynge y ^e charge / & y ^e bōde y ^t they haue takyn wyll leue vtterly y ^t busynes of the worde / the which ought skylfully to be vsyd ī fulfyllynge of her charge & holly gyue them to cōtēplatyf lyfe / they do not well / for they kepe not y ^e ordre of charyte / for charyte as thou knowyst well lyeth bothe in Loue of god & of thyn euencristen / & therfore it is y ^t he y ^t hath charyte to vse bothe in werkynke now to y ^t one / & nowe to y ^t other / for he y ^t for y ^e loue of god in cōtemplacyon leuyth the loue of his euencristen & doth not to them as he ought whan he is boūde therto / he fulfyllyth not charyte / also on y ^e contraye wyse who so hath so great regarde to werke of actyfe lyfe & to busynes of y ^e worlde y ^t for the loue of his euēcristen he leuyth gostly occupacyō vtterly after y ^t god hath dysposyd hym therto / he fulfyllyth not charyte / this is the sayinge of seynt gregory / for though our lorde for to styre some to vse this medlyd lyfe / toke vpon hym selfe the persone of such maner men both of prelatis of holy chyrch & of suche other as are disposed therto as I haue sayd & gaue them ensaumple by his owne werkynge y ^t they shuld vse this medlyd lyfe as he dyd / One tyme he cōmonyd w ^t men / & medlyd w ^t them she wynge his dedys of mercy for theym taught the vncōnynge & vnknowen by his prechynge / he vysityd the syke & helyd theym of theyr dyseasys / he fed y ^e hūgry & he cōfortyd y ^t sory neuerthelesse other tymes he lefte y ^e cōuersacyō of all worldly men / & of this dyscyples & went into desert vpon y ^e hyllys & cōtynued all nyght in prayers alone as the gospell sayth / therfore this medlyd lyfe she wyth our lord in hym selfe to ensaūple of all other men y ^t haue takyn the charge of this medlyd lyfe / y ^t they shuld one tyme gyue thē to busynes of worldly thyngys [Page] at resonable nede / and to the werkys of actyfe lyfe in profyt of theyr euencrysten whiche they haue cure of / and an other tyme gyue them holly to deuocyon and contemplacyon / in prayers / and medytacyons.

¶How holy Busshops vsyd medlyd lyfe. Ca. vi.

THis lyfe ledde holy busshopys which had cure of mennys soules and mynystracyon of temporall goodes / for thyse holy men lefte not vtterly the mynystracyon / and the lokynge / and the dyspendynge of worldly goodes & gaue them holly to cōtemplacyon as moch grace of contemplacyon as they hadde / but they lefte full ofte theyr owne rest in contemplacyon whan y ^t they had well leuer haue byn stylle / for loue of theyr euyncrystē / & entermetyd them with worldly busynes ī helpynge of ther subgyettys & southly that was charyte / For wysely / and dyscretly they departyd theyr lyuynge in two / O tyme they fulfyllyd the lower parte of charyte by werkys of actyfe lyfe / for they were bounde therto by takynge of her prelacye / And an other tyme they fullfyllyd the hygher partye of charyte in contemplacyon of god & of ghostly thynges by prayers & medytacyons / & so they had charyte to god & to ther euencrysten / both in affeccyon of soule within / & also in shewynge of bodyly dedys without / other men y ^t were oonly contemplatyfe / & were fre fro all curys / & prelacye / they had full charyte to god & to theyr euencrysten but it was oonly in affeccyon of theyr soule / & not in outwarde shewynge / & in hap soo moche it was the more full inwarde / y ^t they myght not / ne it nedyd not / ne it fyll not for them to shewe it outwarde / but theyse men that were in prelacye / & other also y ^t were onely temporall men had full charyte in affeccyon within / & also in werkynge and [Page] that is properly this medlyd lyfe / bothe of actyfe / & of cō templatyfe lyfe / & southly for suche a man that is inspyrytuell souereynte as prelatis / & curatys be / or in temporall souereynte as worldly Lordes / & maysters are / I holde this medlyd lyfe best / & moost behouefull to them as longe as they are bounden therto / But to other that are free not bounde to temporall mynystracyon / ne to spyrytuall I hope that lyfe contemplatyfe alone if they myght come therto southfastly were best / moost spedefull / moost medefull / moost fayre / & moost worthy to them for to vse & to holde / & not for to leue it wylfully for any outwarde warkynge of actyfe lyfe / but if it were in great nede / at great releuynge & comfortynge of other men eyther of theyr bodyes or of theyr soules / & than if nede aske at y ^e prayer & instaūce of other / or ellys at the byddynge of his souerayne I hope it be good to shewe it to thē in outwarde werkys of actyf lyfe for a tyme in helpynge of theyr euecrysten.

¶What lyfe moost accordyd to hym that this was wrytten to / And that a man that hath souerentye shall not gyue hym vtterly to deuociō & leue wordly busynes. Ca. vii.

By this that I haue sayde a partye mayste thou vnderstonde whiche is oon / and whiche is other / and which accordyth moost to thy state of lyuynge / & southly as methynkyth this medlyd lyfe accordyth moost to the sythen our lorde hath ordeynyd & set the in the state of soueraynte ouer other men as moche as it is / & hath lent the abūdaūce of worldly goodes / for to rule & susteyne specyally all thyse y ^t are vnder thy gouernaūce / & thy lordshyp after thy myghte & connynge / & also therwith thou haste [Page] receyuyd grace of y ^e mercy of our lorde for to knowe thy selfe / & gostly desyre & sauoure of his loue I hope y ^t thys lyfe y ^t is medlyd is beste & accordyth most to y ^e for to trauayle in and therfore deꝑte wysely thy lyuynge / for wyt thou well if thou leue nedefull busynes of actyfe lyfe & be rekles & take no kepe of thy worldly goodes how they arspēdyd & kepte ne makyst no force of thy subiectys and of thy euencrysten by cause of desyre & wyll y ^t thou hast only to geue y ^e to ghostly occupacyō / wenynge y ^t thou arte by y ^t excused / if thou do so thou doest not wysly / for what ar all thy werkys worth whether they be bodyly or ghostly / but if they be done rightfully & resonably to y ^e worshyp of god & after his byddynge / southly ryght noughte / than if thou leue y ^t thynge y ^t thou arte boūde to by y ^e way of charyte of ryght & reson / & wylt holly gyue y ^e to an other thinge wylfully as it were to a more plesaunce of god whiche thou art not fully boūde to / thou doest not worshype dyscretly to hym / thou arte busy to worshyp his hed & his face & to araye it fayre & curyously / but thou leuest his body with y ^t feet raggyd & rent / & takest no kepe therof & there thou worshypest hym not for it is vylany & no worshyp a mā for to be curyouslye arayed vpō his hed with perlys & precyous stonys / & all his body nakyd & bare as it were a begger / ryght so ghostly it is no worshyp to god to crowne his hed & leue his body bare / thou shalt vndertonde y ^t our Lord ihesu cryste as man is hed of his ghostly bodye which is holy chyrche / y ^e mēbres of his body are all crystenyd men some are armes / some are feet / & some are other mēbres after sūdry werkynges y ^t they vse in theyr lyuynge / thā if y ^t thou be busy w ^t all thy myghte for to aray his hed y ^t is for to worshype hym selfe by mynde of his passyon & of his other werkys in his manhed by deuocyō & medytacyō of hym & forgettyst his feet y ^t ar thy chyldren thy [Page] seruaūtys / thy tenaūtys & all thyn euēcrysten / & letyst thē spyll for defaute of kepynge vnarayed / vnkept & not tent to as they ought for to be / thou pleasyst hym not / thou do est no worshyp to hym / thou makest y ^t to kysse his mothe by deuocyon & ghostly prayer / but thou tredest vpon his feet & defoulyst them in as moche as thou wylt not tende to them for neclygēce of thy selfe / y ^e which thou haste take cure of / thus thynkyth me / neuertheles if thou thynke y ^t this is not south / for it were a feyre offyce to worshyp the hed of hym / as for to be all daye occupyed in medytacion of y ^e manhed / than for to go lower to other werkys & make clene his feet as for to be busy bothe in worde & ī dede aboute y ^e helpe of thyn euēcrysten / thynke not so for southly he wyll thanke the more for the meke wasshynge of his feet whan they are right foule & stynke vpō y ^e / than for all the precyous peyntynge / & arayenge y ^t thou canst make aboute his hedde by mynde of his manhed / for it is fayre Inoughe / & nedythe not to be arayed of y ^e moch / but his fet & his other mēbrys y ^t are somtyme euyll arayed & had nede to be lokyd & holpen by the namely sythen thou arte boūde therto / & therfore wyll he cūne the more thanke yf thou wylt mekely & tēderly loke to thē / for y ^e more lower seruyce y ^t thou doest to thy Lorde for y ^e loue of hym or to any of his mēbres whan nede & ryght askyth it w ^t a glad meke herte / y ^e more pleasyst thou hym / thynkynge y ^t it were ynough for the to be at y ^e leest degre & at the lowyst state sythen it is his wyll y ^t it be so / for it semyth to me sythen he hath put y ^e in y ^t state for to traueyle & serue other men / that it is well done that thou shuldest fulfyll it after thy myght / this ensaumple I saye to y ^e not for thou doest not thus as I saye / for I hope y ^t thou doest thus & better but I wolde that thou shuldest doo thus gladly & not thynke loth for to leue somtyme ghostly occupacyon & entermete [Page] with worldly busynes in wyse kepyng & spendynge of thy worldly goodes in good rulynge of thy seruaū [...]ys & of thy tenaūtys & in other good werkys werkynge to all thyn euyncrysten after thy myght / but that thou shuldest doo bothe werkys in dyuers tymes & with as good wyll the one as the other if thou myghtyst / As if thou haddest prayed & ben occupyed ghostly thou shalt after certeyne tyme / breke of that & then shalte thou busyly and gladlye occupye the in some bodyly occupacyon to thyn euen crysten / And also whanne thou haste ben busye outwarde a whyle with thy seruauntys or with other men profytably thou shalte breke of & turne agayne to thy prayers & thy deuocyons after god geuyth the grace & so shalt thou put awaye by grace of oure Lorde / slouth / ydylnes / & vayne rest that cometh of thy flesshe vnder coloure of contēplacyon & lettyth the somtyme fro medefull / and spedefull occupacyon in outwarde busynes & thou shalte be aye well occupyed Bodyly / or ghostly / and therfore if thou wylte doo well thou shalt do ghostlye as Iacob dyd bodyly.

¶How a man that is well traueylyd & prouyd in dedys of actyf lyfe may passe forthe & atteyne to contemplacyō which is fyguryd by iacobes wyfes rachell & lya. ca. viii.

HOly wryt sayeth y ^t Iacob when he began to serue his mayster Laban / he coueytyd rachell his mayster doughter to his wyfe for her fayre hed / & for her he seruyd seuen yere but whan he wende to haue had her to his wyfe / he had fyrst lya y ^e other doughter ī stede of Rachell & afterward he toke rachell / & so he had both at y ^e last / by Iacob ī holy wryt is vnderstonden an ouercomer of synnys / By thyse two Wyues are vnderstande as Saynt [Page] Gregory sayth / two lyues in holy Chyrche / actyfe lyfe / & contemplatyfe lyfe / lya is as moch for to saye as traueylous / & betokeneth actyfe lyfe / rachell is as moche to saye as syght of begynnynge that is god / and betokenyth lyfe contēplatyfe / lya bare chyldren / But she was foreyzed rachell was fayre and louely / but she was barayn / than rygh as Iacob couetyd rachell for her fayrhed & yet had her nought whan he wolde / but fyrste he toke lya and afterwarde Rachell / ryght so eche man traueylynge south fastlye in cōpunccyon by grace for synnys of the worldle & of y ^e flesshe to serue god in clēnes of good lyuynge / hath great desyre to haue rachell y ^t is for to haue rest ī ghostly swetnes in deuocyon & contemplacyon / for it is so fayre / & so louely / and in hope for to haue that lyfe oonly he dysposyth hym to serue our Lorde with all his myghte / but often whan he wende to haue had Rachell / y ^t is rest in deuocyon / our Lorde suffred hym to be a sayde well in traueyle w ^t lya / y ^t is eyther w ^t tēptacyons of the worlde or ellys of y ^e deuyll / or of his flesshe / or ellys with other worldlye busynesse bodyly or ghostlye in helpynge of his euen crysten & whan he is well trauaylyd with lya & nerehōde ouercome / than our lorde geuyth hym rachell y ^t is grace & deuocyon & rest in cōcyēce / & than hath he both Rachell & Lya / So shalt thou do after ensaumple of Iacob take these two lyues Actyfe / and Contemplatyfe sythen god hath sent y ^t bothe / & vse y ^t oon with y ^e other By y ^t on lyfe shalt thou brynge forth frute of many good dedys in helpe of thyn euyncrystē / & that is by actyfe lyfe / & by y ^t other thou shalt be made fayre / bryght / and clene in y ^e souereyn bryghtnes y ^t is god begynner & ender of all y ^t is made / & than shalt thou be southfastly Iacob ouergoer / & ouercomer of all synnes / & after this by grace of god thy name shall be chaungyd as Iacobes name was / & tornyd into [Page] israell / Israell is as moche for to saye as a Man seynge god / thenne if thou be fyrste Iacob / and discretlye wylte vse thyse two lyues in tyme thou shalte after be Israell that is verye contemplatyfe / eyther in this Lyfe he wyll delyuer the & make the fre fro chargys / & busynessys the which thou arte bounde to / or ellys after this lyfe full in y ^e blysse of Heuyn / whan thou comest thyder / A man shall desyre contemplatyfe for it is fayre and nedefull / therfore thou shalte aye haue it in thy mynde and in thy desyre / but thou shalte haue in vsynge actyfe lyfe for it is so nedefull & so spedefull / therfore if thou be put fro reste in deuocyon / whan thou haddest leuer be stell therat / eyther by thy chyldren or by thy seruaūtys / or by any of thyn euen crysten for her profyte or ese of her hertys skylfully askyd be not angry with them / ne heuy ne dredefull as thoughe god wolde be wroth with the y ^t thou leuyst hym for any other thynge / for it is not so / leue of lyghtly thy deuocyon whether it be in prayer or medytacyon & goo do thy dede & thy seruyce to thyn euencrysten as lyghtly as our lorde hym selfe bade y ^e do so / & suffre mekely for his Loue without grutchynge if thou may do both w ^t out dysease & trowblynge of thyn hert by cause of medlyng of such busynes.

¶That a man shall somtyme haue the more deuocyon whan he hath be lettyd by outwarde werkys. Ca. ix.

FOr it may fall sometyme that the more trowblynge that thou haste outwarde with actyfe werkys the more brennynge desyre thou shalte haue to god / and the more clere syghte of ghostly thynges by grace of our Lorde in deuocyon whanne thou cōmest therto / for it fa [...]yth therby as if thou haddest a lytyll cole and thou woldest make a fyre therwith & make it to brenne / thou woldest fyrst ley to styckys & ouer hyle the cole with the styckys [Page] neuerthelesse when thou haste abyden a whyle & afterwarde blowest a lytyll / anon shall sprynge out a great flame of fyre / for the styckys are all turnyd to fyre / Right so is ghostly thy wyll & thy desyre y ^t thou hast to god / it is as it were a lytyll cole of fyre in thy soule / for it geuyth to the som what of lyght / & of ghostly hete / but it is but lytyl For often it waryth colde / & turnyth to flesshly reste / and somtyme into Idelnes therfore it is good y ^t thou put to styckys that are good werkys of actyfe lyfe / & thoughe it be so y ^t these werkys as it semyth for a tyme let thy desyre y ^t it may not be so clene / ne so feruent as thou woldest be not to dredefull therfore / but abyde & suffre a whyle / & so blowe at y ^e fyre y ^t is fyrste goo & do thy werkys / & after goo than alone to thy prayers & medytacions / & lyfte vp thy herte to god / & pray hym of his goodnes y ^t he wyll accepte thy werkys y ^t thou doest to his plesaūce & holde the then as nought in thy owne syght but only at his mercy / be a knowē mekely thy wretchydnes / & thy fraylte & arecte southfastly thy good dodys to hym ī as moche as they are good / & ī as moch as they are bade & not done dyscretly w ^t all cyrcūstaucys y ^t are nedeful to a good dede forde faute of discrecion put them to thy selfe / & thā for this mekenes shall all thy good dedys turne into a flaine of fyre / as styckys is layed vp on a cole / and so shall thy good dedys outwarde not hyndre thy deuocyō but rather make it more / & more ouer our lorde sayth ī holy wryt thus. Ignis in altari meo semꝑ ardebit & sacerdos surgēs mane subiciet līgna vt ignis nō extīguarur / Fyre shall euer brē in myn auter & the preest rysynge at morowe shall put vnder stickis y ^t it be not quēchyd / this fyre is loue & desyre to god ī a soule / y ^t which louyth for to be norisshyd & kept by layēge to y ^e styckis y ^t it go not out / thyse stickis are of dyuers maters som are of a tre & som are of an other / a man [Page] y ^t is letteryd & hath vnderstandynge of holy wryt if he haue this fyre of deuocyon in his hert / it is good to hym to gete hym styckys of holy ensaumples & deuoute prayers and norysshe the fyre with them / An other man vnletteryd may not so redely haue at his hande holy wrytte ne doctours sayingys / and therfore it nedyth to hym for to do many good dedys outwarde to his euyncrysten and kyndel the fyre of loue with theym / And so it is good that eche man in his degre after y ^t he is dysposyd that he gete hym styckys of o thynge or of other / eyther Prayers / or medytacyons / or redynge in holy wryt or good bodely werkys for to norysshe the fyre of loue in his sowle that it be not quenchyd for y ^t affeccyon of loue is tender & lyghtly wyll vanysshe awaye but if it be well kepte / & by good dedys bodyly / and ghostly cōtynuelly norysshed / Nowe than sythen our lord hath sent into thyn herte a lytyl sparke of this blessyd fyre y ^t is hym selfe as holy wrytte sayth. ¶Dominus noster ignis consumens est. ¶Oure lorde god is fyer wastynge / for as bodely fyer wastyth all Bodyly thynge that may be wastyd / ryght soo ghostly fyre that is god wastyth all maner of synne / and therfore oure Lorde is lykenyd to fyre wastynge / I pray the norysshe this fyer this fyre is nought ellys but loue & charyte / this hath he sent into the erthe as he saythe in the gospell (Ignem veni mittere in terrā & ad quid nisi vt ardeat) I am comen to sende fyre into the erthe / and wherto but that it shulde Brenne that is god hath sente fyre of / Loue and a good desyre / and a gret wyll for to please hym into mannys soule / and vnto this ende that after that a man shall knowe it he may the better kepe it & norysshe it & strength it / and therby be sauyd / the more desyre that thou hast to hym and for hym / the more is the fyre of Loue in the / and the lesse that this desyre is in the / the lesse is the Fyre / the [Page] mesure of this desyre howe moch it is neyther in thy selfe or ony other knoweste thou not / ne any man of him selfe but god oonly that gyuyth it / & therfore dyspute not with thy selfe as though thou woldest knowe how moche thy desyre is / be busy for to desyre as moche as thou mayste / but not for to wytte the mesure of thy desyre.

¶What is desyre to god for hym selfe. Ca. x.

SAynt augustyne saythe that the lyfe of euery good crysten man is a cōtynuell desyre to god / and that is of great vertue / for it is a great cryenge in the erys of god the feruentlyer thou desyrest / the hygher thou cryest the better thou prayest y ^e wyslyer thou thynkyst / & what is this desyre / southly nothynge but lothynge of all this worldys blysse of all flesshly lykynge in thy herte / a wonderfull louynge with a restfull yernynge of endlesblysse and heuenly Ioye / this thynge may be callyd a desyre to god for hym selfe / if thou haue this desyre as I hope sykerly y ^t thou hast / I pray the kepe it well / and nourysshe it wysely / and whan thou shalt pray or thynke make this desyre begynnynge and endynge of all thy werke for to encreace it / loke after none other felynge in thy Bodylye wittys / ne seke after none other bodyly swetnes neyther sownynge ne sauourynge / ne wonderfull lyght / ne aungells syght / ne though our Lorde hym selfe as vnto thy syght wolde apere to the Bodylye / charge it but a lytyll but that all thy busynes be that thou myghtest fele south fastly in thy thought a lothynge & a full forsakynge of all maner of synne / and all maner of vnclennes with a ghost lyesyght of it / howe foule / howe vglye / and howe paynfull it is / and that thou myghtest haue a myghty desyrynge to vertues & to mekenes / and to charyte / & to the blysse [Page] of heuyn / this thynketh me were ghostlye comforte / & ghostlye swetnes in mannys Soule / as for to haue clennes in concyence fro wyckydnes of all wordly vanyte w ^t stable trouthe / meke hope / & full desyre to god / howe soo euer that it be of other comfortys / and swetnessys.

¶That in clennes of Concyence is the very comfort and swetnesse. Ca. xi.

ME thynkyth that that swetnes is syker and southfast that is felyd in clennes of cōscyence by myghty forsakynge / and lothyng of all synne / and with inwarde syghte / and feruēt desyre of ghostly thyngys / All other comfortys / and swetnessys of ony maner of felynge but if they helpe and lede to this ende / that is to clennes of cō cyence and ghostly desyre of god / are not syker to rest on But now askyste thou whether this desyre be loue to god as vnto this I saye that this desyre is not properly loue / but it is a begynnynge / and a tastynge of loue / For loue properlye is a full cowpelynge of the louer & they louyd togyder / as god and a sowle into one / This cowpelynge maye not be fully had in this lyfe but oonly in desyre and longynge therto as by this Ensaumple / if a man loue another man whiche is absent / he desyryth greatlye his presence / Right so ghostly as longe as we ar in this lyfe our Lorde is absent fro vs that we may neyther se hym / ne here hym / ne fele hym as he is / and therfore we may not haue y ^e vse of this full loue here in full lykynge / but we may haue a desyre / and a great yernynge for to be present to hym for to se hym in his Blysse / & fully for to be onyd to hym ī Loue / this desyre may we haue of his gyfte ī this lyfe / by the whiche we shall be safe / for it is Loue vnto hym as it maye be hadde here / thus Saynt Poule saythe.

[Page]¶Scientes qm̄ dum sumus in hoc corpore peregrinamura dn̄o perfidem enim ambulamus & non persp̄em: audemus autem & bonam voluntatem habemus magis peregrinari a corpore & presentes esse ad deum: & iam cō cedimus siue absentes siue presentes placere illi. Saynt Poule fayeth that as longe as we are in this body / we ar Pylgrymes fro our Lorde that is we are absent fro Heuen in this excyle we goo by trougth not by syght / that is we lyue in trouth not in bodyly felynge / we dare and we haue a good wyll to be absent fro the body and be present to god / that is we for clennesse in Concyence and syker truste of saluacyon dare desyre partyng fro our body by Bodelye deth / and be presente to our Lorde / Neuerthelesse for we maye not yet therfore we stryue whether we be absente / or present for to please hym / that is we stryue ayenste Synues of the worlde / and lykynge of the flessh by desyre to hym / for to bren in the fyre of desyre all thynge that lettyth vs fro hym / But yet askyste thou me / may a man haue this desyre in his Herte contynuslly / the thynkyth naye as vnto this I maye saye as me thynkyth that this desyre maye be hadde as for vertue / and profyte of it in Herte contynuelly / but not in werkynge / ne vsynge as by this ensaūple if thou were seke thou sholdeste haue as eche man hath a kyndely desyre of bodelye hele contynuelly in thy hert what that thou dyddest whether thou slepe / or wake but not aye I lyke / for it thou slepe / or wake and thynkest on some worldlye thynges / than thou haste thy desyre in hert oonly and not in werkynge / but whan thou thynkyst on thy Bodylye syknes & on thy hele / than thou hast it īvsynge / right so it is ghostly of desyre to god he y ^t hathe this desyre of y ^e gyfte of god if he slepe or ellys thynke not on god / but on worldlye thynges / yet he hath this desyre ī hert / in his soule tyll y ^t he syn dedely / but anone [Page] as he thynkyth on god / or on clennes of lyuynge or of Ioyes of Heuen / thanne werkyth his desyre to god as lō ge as he kepyth his thought / and his entent to please god eyther in Prayers / or in medytacion / or ī ony other good dede of actyfe lyfe / then it is good that all our busynes befor to stere this desyre & vse it by dyscrecyon nowe in oon dede / nowe in an other after he is dysposyd / & hath grace therto / this desyre is roote of all thy werkynge if it be me defull / for wytte thou well what good dede that thou do est for god bodyly / or ghostlye / it is an vsynge of this desyre / & whan thou Prayest / or thynkest doute not than if thou desyre god / & therfore whan thou doest a good dede or thynkyst on god / dout not thynkynge in thy herte whether thou desyrest or not / For thy dede shewyth thy desyry / Some are vncunnynge / & wene that they desyre not god but if they euer be cryenge on god with wordys of of theyr mouthe / or ellys ī theyr herte as if they sayd thus Lorde make me safe / or ellys such other / thyse wordys ar good whether they be sayd with the mothe / or fourmyd in the herte / for they styre a mannes herte to desyrynge of god / But neuerthelesse withoute ony suche wordys a clene thoughte of god / or of any ghostlye thynge of vertues or of the manhed of Cryst / or of the Ioyes of heuyn or of vnderstondynge of holy wrytte with loue / may be bette [...] than such wordys for a clene thought of god is southfast desyre to hym and the more ghostly that the thoughte is / the more is thy desyre / therfore be thou not ī doubte whā thou Prayest / or Thynkyste on god / or ellys whan thou doest other outwarde good dedys to thy Euencrysten / whether thou desyryst hym or not / For thy dedys shewe it / Neuerthelesse thoughe it be soo that all thy good dedys Bodylye / and ghostlye are a shewynge of thy desyre to god / yet is there dyuersyte betwyt ghostly dedys & bodyly [Page] / for dedys of contemplaty flyfe are not so outwarde & therfore whā thou prayest / or thynkyst on god thy desyre to god is more hole / more feruente / more ghostlye than whan thou doest other dedys to thy euencrysten / nowe if thou aske howe thou shalt kepe this desyre / and norysshe it a lytell shall I tell the / not that thou shalte vse the same forme as I saye / but that thou shuldest haue therby if nede be some Warnynge / & techynge for to rule the in that Occupacyon / For I maye not / ne I can not tell the fully what is best to the for to vse / but I shall say the somwhat as me thynkyth.

¶How thou shalt dyspose the to deuocyon. Ca. xii.

IN nyghtys after thy slepe / if thou wylte ryse for to pray / & serue thy Lord / thou shalt fele thy selfe fyrste flesshely / heuy / & somtyme lusty / than shalte thou dyspose the for to pray or to thynke som good thought for to quyckyn thy herte to god & set all thy busynes for to drawe vp thy thought fro worldly vanytes & fro vayne Imagynacyon y ^t fallyth into thy mynde y ^t thou may fele some deuocyon in thy sayenge / or ellys if thou wylt thynke on ghostlye thynges y ^t thou be not lettyd with such vayne though tys of the worlde / or of thy flesshe / in thynkynge there ar many maner of medytacyons which are beste to the can I not saye / But I hope that that thought by the whyche thou felyst moost sauoure / and moost rest in / for the tyme is beste to the / thou mayste if thou wylte sometyme thynke on thy synnes before doon / & of thy frayltees that thou fallyst in eche daye / and aske mercye and forgyuenes for them. Also after thys thou mayste thynke on the frayltes the synnys and the wretchydnes of thy euencrysten bodyly / & ghostly with pyte & compassyon of them / & aske merrye [Page] / and forgyuenes for them as tenderly as for thy selfe / & as thou haddyst doon them / & that is a good thoughte For I tell the forsoth thou mayste make of other mennis Synnys a precyous oyntement for to hele thy owne soule whan thou hast mynde on them with compassyon and sorowe for them / this oyntement is precyous thoughe the spycery of it be not clene / For it is tryacle made of venym for to destroye venym / that is for to saye thy owne Synnes / and othermennys Synnys / if thou bete theym with sorowe of herte / Pyte / and Compassyon / they turne into tryacle whiche makyth thy soule hole fro pryde / and enuye / and bryngyth in Loue / and Charyte to thy euencrysten / this thought is good somtyme for to haue.

¶Howe a man shall haue mynde on crystes manhed / & of his passyon. Ca. xiii.

ALso thou mayste haue mynde on the manhed of out Lorde in his byrthe & in his passyon or in ony of his werkys and fede thy thoughte with ghostly Imagynacyons of it for to stere thy affeccyon more to the Loue of hym. This thoutht is good / and spedefull / namelye whan it cometh freelye of goddys gyfte with deuocyon and feruoure of the spyryte / ellys a man maye not lyght lye haue sauoure / ne deuocyon in it / I holde it not spedefull to a man for to prese than to moche therupon as if he wolde gete it by maystry / for he shall mow breke his hed and his bodye to / and he shall neuer be the nere / therfore me thynkyth vnto the it is good for to haue in mynde his manhed somtyme / and if deuocyon come withall and sauoure / kepe it and folowe it for a tyme / but leue of soon / & hange not longe therupon / Also if deuocyon comme not with mynde of the passyon stryue not / ne prese not to moche [Page] therafter / take easely what wyll come and goo forth to some other thought.

¶Howe a man shall thynke on Uertues / and on sayntys. Ca. xiiii.

ALso other thoughtys there are y ^t ben more ghost lye as for to thynke on vertues & for to se by lyght of vnderstondynge the Uertue of mekenes / what it is & howe a man sholde be meke / And also what is pacyence clennes / ryghtwysnes / charyte / chastyte / & sobyrte & suche other and howe a man shulde gete all these vertues / and by suche thoughtys for to haue great desyre / and longynge to these vertues for to haue theym / and also for to haue a ghostly syght of the pryncypall vertues as of trouthe / hope and charyte. By the syght & desyre of these vertues a soule shulde mowe se / and fele moche grace of our Lorde / withouten whiche grace a mannes soule is halfe blynde and withouten sauoure or ghostly swetnes / Also for to thynke on sayntys / as the apostles martyrs / confessourys and holy vyrgyns / beholde inwardlye the holy lyuynge / the grace / and the vertues that oure Lorde gaue theym theyr lyuynge / and by the mynde of this styre thy owne herte for to take ensaumple of them vnto better lyuynge.

¶Of our Lady & of our Lorde Ihesu howe a man shall beholde theyr holynes. Ca. xv.

ALso the mynde of our Lady saynt mary aboue all other sayntys / for to se with thy ghostlye eye / the [Page] abundaunce of grace in her holy soule whan she was here lyuynge y ^t our lord gaue her alone passynge all other sayntys / for she was fulfyllyd with all vertues withoute wem of synne shewynge full mekenes & perfyte charyte / and fully with these the fayrnesse of all other vertues soo holly that there myghte no styrynge of Pryde / ne Enuy / ne wrothe / ne flesshlye lykynge / ne no manner of Synne entre into her herte ne defoule y ^e soule ī ony ꝑte of it / by y ^e beholdynge of the fayrehed of this blessyd soule myght a mannys herte be styryd into ghostly comforte greatly / And moche more thanne aboue this is the beholdynge of the soule of our lorde Ihesu which was fully onyd to the godhed / passynge with oute comparyson / our Lady and all other creatures / For in the persone of Ihesu are two Kynges that is god / and man fully onyd togyder / By y ^e vtue of this blesfull onynge which may not be tolde ne cō ceyuyd by mannys wytte the soule of Ihesu hathe receyuyd the full hed of wysdome / and loue / & all goodnes as the Apostle saythe. ¶Plenitudo diuinitatis inhabitat in Cristo corporaliter. That is the godhed was onyd fully to the manhed in the soule of Ihesu / & so by the soule dwellynge in the body / the mynde of the manhed of our Lord was Illumynyd aboue all other that ben / or shalbe / and vpon this wyse for to beholde the vertues & the ouer passynge grace of the soule of Ihesu / shall be ryght comfortable to a mannys soule.

¶Of beholdynge of the myghte / the wysdom / the goodnes and the mercy of god in his creatures▪ Ca. xvi.

ALso the mynde of y ^e myght / the wysdome / & goodnes of our lorde in all his creaturys / for as moche [Page] as we maye not see god fully in hymselfe here lyuynge / therfore we shulde beholde loue / drede / and wonder / his myght / his wysdome / and his goodnes in his werkys / & in his creatures / Also for to thynke on the mercye of oure Lord that he hath shewyd to me / and to the / & to all Synfull captyues that haue ben combryd in Synne and sparyd so longe in the deuyllys prysone / howe our Lorde pacyently suffryd vs lyue in our Synne & toke no vēgeaū ce on vs as he myghte haue doon ryghtwyslye / and put vs into Helle if his Loue had not lettyd hym / but for Loue he sparyd vs / He had pytte on vs & sent his grace into oure hertys and callyd vs out of our Synne / and by his grace hath tournyd our wyll holly to hym / And for to haue hym and for his loue to forsake all manner of Synne / The mynde of his mercy / and of his goodnes with other cyrcumstauncys / moo than I can or maye reherse nowe brynge into a sowle grete truste of our Lord / and full hope of saluacyon / and kyndelyth the desyre of Loue myghtyly to the Ioyes of Heuen.

¶Howe the mynde of the wretchydnes and of peryllys of this worlde make a soule to desyre to Heuen. Ca. xvii.

ALso for to thynke on the Wretchydnes / Myscheues / and peryllys Bodyly / and ghostly that falle in this Lyfe / and after for to thynke on the Ioyes of Heuen howe moch blysse there is and Ioye / for there is neyther Synne / ne sorowe / ne passyon / ne peyne / hunger / ne thyrste / sore / ne sykenes / dowte / ne drede / shame / ne shenshyp / ne defaute of myghte / lackynge of lyghte / ne wantynge of loue / but there is souerayne fayrehed / lyghtenes strēghte / hele / lykynge / aye lastynge wysdom / loue / peas [Page] worshyp / sykernes / rest / ioye / & blysse Inough euer with outen ende / the more that thou thynkyste / and felyste the wretchydnes of this lyfe / the more feruētly shalt thou desyre the ioye / and the reste of the blysse of Heuyn / Many men are couetous of worldly worshyppes and erthly ryches and thynke nowe dremynge / now wakynge / how & by what meanys they myght come therto & therfore they forgete the mynde of themselfe / & the peynys of hell / & the Ioyes of heuyn / southlye they are not wyse / they are lyke to Chyldren that renne after butterflyes / and for they loke not to theyr feet / they fall sometyme sone downe and breke theyr leggys / what is all the pompe / & the worshyp of this worlde ī ryches / or in iolyte but a butterfly / southly no thynge ellys / and yet moche lesse / therfore I praye the be thou coueytous of the Ioyes of Heuyn / and thou shalt haue worshyp / and rychesse that euer shall laste / for at y ^e laste ende whan worldly coueytous men brynge no good in theyr hondys for all theyr worshyppes / and all theyr Rychessys are tornyd into noughte / saue sorowe & peyne / than shall worldly men y ^t forsake trewely all vayne worshyppys / and rychessys of this worlde / or ellys if they haue rychesse / and worshyppys they set noughte by them / ne they set not theyr Loue / ne lykynge in them but lyue euer in drede / and in mekenes / and in hope / and somtyme in sorowe & abyde the mercy of god pacyently they shall thanne haue fully that they here coueytyd / for they shall be crownyd as kynges and s [...]ye vp with our Lorde Ihesu into the blysse of Heuen / Also there be many other medytacyons mo than I can say which that god putteth into a mannys mynde for to styre the affeccyon / and the reason of mannys soule to lothe vanytees of this worlde / and for to desyre the Ioyes of Heuyn. Thyse wordes I say not to the as I had fully shewyd y ^e maner of medytacyons [Page] as they are wrought in a mannys soule / but I touche them to the a lytell that thou myghteste by this haue more vnderstondynge.

¶How a man shall doo whan he felyth no sauoure ne cō forte in his medytacyons. Ca. xviii.

NEuerthelesse me thynkyth it is good to the y ^• whā thou dysposyst the to thynke on god as I haue before sayde or on otherwyse and perauēture thou felyst no sauoure ne deuocyon in thy thynkynge but only a nakyd mynde and a weke wyll / y ^t thou woldest fayne thynke on god / but thou canste not / than I hope it is good to the y ^t thou stryue not to moche with thy selfe for thou myghtest so lyghtly falle into more derknes but if thou were more s [...]ye in thy werkynge / and therfore I holde it then moost syker vnto the for to saye thy paternoster and thy Aue / or ellys thy matens / or ellys for to rede vpon thy saulter / for that is euermore a syker standarde y ^t wyll not fayle / who so maye cleue therto he shall not erre / and if thou mayste by thy prayer gete deuocyon / loke than if this deuocyon be only in affeccyon that is to saye in great desyre to god with ghostly delyte / holde forth than thy saynge and breke not lyghtly of / for often it fallyth that prayenge with y ^e mouth / getyth and kepyth deuocyon / and if a man cease of sayinge / deuocyon vanyssheth awaye / Neuerthelesse if deuocyon of prayers brynge into thy Herte a deuoute thought of the manhed of our Lord or of ony of the other beforesayde / & this thought shulde be lettyd by thy sayinge than mayste thou cease of thy saynge / and occupy the with medytacyon tyll it passe away.

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¶Where of a man nedyth to be ware ī meditaciō. ca. xix.

BUt of certeyn thynges the behouyth to be ware in thy medytacyons somme shall I tell the / One is whan thou haste hadde a ghostly thought or Imagynacyon of the manhed of our Lorde or of suche bodyly thynges / and thy soule hath ben cōfortyd and fed therwyth / & it passyth away by the selfe / be not to busy to holde it styll with maystry / for it is than turned to peyne and to bytternes / Also if it passe not away but dwell styll in thy mynde without ony traueyle of thy selfe / and thou for comfort of it wyll not leue it / and therfore it reuyth the of thy slepe in nyghtys / or ellys in dayes fro other good dedys / or ellys for grete feruoure of thy body / thy body or thy hedde fallyth into great febylnes / Than shalt thou wylfully breke of whanne tyme commyth / somtyme whanne thou haste moost deuocyon and were lotheste for to leue it as whan it passyth resonable tyme or ellys it turneth to dysease of thyn euencrysten / But if thou do soo thou doest not well as me thynketh ne wysely neyther / a worldly man or woman that felyth not perauenture deuocyon twyse in a yere if he fele by the grace of our lorde Ihesu great cōpunccyon for his Synnys / or ellys haue mynde on the passyon of oure Lorde / if he were put fro his slepe / and his rest a nyght / or two / or thre vntyll his Hed werke / it is no force / for it commyth to theym but seldome / But to the or to an other man that hath the man [...]r of werkynge in custome as it were eche other daye / it is spedefull for to haue dyscrecyon in youre werkynge and not fully falle therto for to folowe it as moche as wyll come / & I holde y ^t it is good to the to vse this manner in what deuocyon y ^t thou [Page] he that thou hange not to longe therupon eyther to put y ^• fro thy mete / or fro thy slepe in tyme / or for to dysease ony other man vnskylfully / the wyse man sayth thus (Omnia tempus habent) all thynges haue tyme / Another thynge that the behouyth to be ware of is this / whā thy thought hath ben occupyed in Imagynacyon of the Manhed of our Lorde / or in any suche other / and after this thou arte busy with all the desyre of thy Herte for to seke knowynge / or felynge more ghostlye of the godhed / prese not to moche theron / ne suffre not thy desyre / ne thy Herte tary to longe there in / as yf thou were abydynge after some quaynte styrynge / or wōderfull felynge other than thou haste had before tyme / thou shalte not do so / it is ynough to the and to me for to haue a desyre / and a longynge to our lorde / and if he wyll of his grace frelye ouer this desyre sende vs of his ghostlye lyghte / and open our ghostlye eye for to knowe more of hym than we haue hadde before by comon traueyle / thanke we hym therof / and if he wyll not for we are not yet meke Inoughe / or ellys we ar not dysposyd by clennes of lyuynge in othersydes to receyue that grace / thanne shall we mekely knowe our owne wretchydnes and holde vs payde with desyre that we haue to hym and with other cōmyn thoughtys that now lyghtly fall vnder our Imagynacyon / as of oure Synnes / or Crystes passyon / or such other / or ellys with prayers / or of the Sauter / or some other / and loue hym wyth all our herte that he woll geue vs ony parte of his grace / And if thou doo otherwyse thou mayste lyghtlye be begylyd by the spyryt of erroure for thy presumpcyon / for it is great foly a man by his owne wytte for to prese so moche into ghostlye thynges / but if he felyd plente of grace / for the wyse man saythe (Scrutator maiestatis opprimetur a glorya) That is to saye a ransaker of the myghte of [Page] god and of his mageste / without great clennes and mekenes shall be ouerleyde and oppressyd in hym selfe / & therfore the wyse man sayeth in a nother place on this wyse. Alciora te ne quesieris et forciorate ne scrutatus fueris. That is for to saye / Hyghe thynges that are aboue thy wytte and thy reason seke not / and great thynges that are aboue thy myght ransake not / By thyse wordys the wyse man forbedyth not vtterlye for to seke / and ransake ghostlye and heuenly thyngys / but he forbyd dethe vs y ^t as longe as we ar flesshlye and not clensyd fro vayne loue of the worlde that we take not vpon vs by oure owne traueyle ne by oure owne wytte for to ransake or to feele ghostlye thynges / ne thoughe we fele ghostlye thyngys and great feruoure of the loue of god soo moche that we set at nought all erthlye thynges / & vs thynkyth that we wolde for goddys loue forsake all the Ioyes and all the welthe of this worlde / yet are we not anone able and redy for to seke and beholde ghostlye thynges that are aboue vs vntyll our soule be made sotyll and tyll it be made sad and stable in vertues by proces of tyme and encreasynge of grace / for asseynt gregory sayth / no man sodaynelye is made souerayn in grace / but fro lytyll he begynnyth and by proces waxyth vntyll he be perfyte. Amen.

¶Here folowyth the table.

¶Howe a man that wyll be ghostlye must fyrste vse moche bodely exercyse ī penaūce & destroying of syn.: Ca. i.
¶Howe a man that is set oonly to ghostly lyuynge shall rule all his dedys by dyscrecyon without whiche they turne often into vyce.: Ca. ii.
¶Unto what maner man belongyth actyfe lyfe.: Ca. iii.
¶Unto whom belongyth contemplatyf lyfe.: Ca. iiii.
¶Unto whom belongeth medlyd lyfe.: Ca. v.
[Page]¶How holy Busshopes vsed medlyd lyfe & that a man that hath souereynte shall not gyue hym only to deuocyō and vtterly leue worldly busynes.: Ca. vi.
¶What lyfe moost accordyd to hym that this was wrytten to.: Ca. vii.
¶Howe a man that is well traueylyd and pr [...]uyd in dedys of actyfe lyfe may passe fourthe and attaynt to Contemplacyon whiche is fyguryd by Iacobes [...] Rachell / and Lya.: Ca. viii.
¶That a man shall sometyme hau [...] the more deuocyon whan he hath ben lettyd by outwarde [...].: Ca. ix.
¶What is desyre to god for hymselfe.: Ca. x.
¶That in clennes of conscyence is the very comforte & swetnes.: Ca. xi.
¶How thou shalt dyspose [...] to deuocyon.: Ca. xii.
¶Howe a man shall haue my [...] [...]n crystes manhed & of his passyon.: Ca. xiii.
¶How a mā shall thynke on [...] & on seyntys.: ca. xiiii.
¶Of our Ladye and of oure la [...] Ihesu / Howe a man shall beholde theyr holynes.: Ca. xv.
¶Of beholdynge of the myght / the wysdome / the goodnes and the mercy of god to his creatures.: Ca. xvi.
¶Howe the mynde of the wretchydnes & of peryllys of this worlde makyth a sowle to desyre heuyn.: Ca. xvii.
¶How a man shall doo when he felyth no sauoure ne cō forte in his medytacyons.: Ca. xviii.
¶Wherfore a mā nedyth to beware ī meditaciō.: Ca. xix.

¶Thus endyth a deuoute bo [...]e cōpylyd by mayster water Hylton / Empryntyd at lōdon in flete strete at the signe of the George by (Rycharde Pynson) prynter vnto y ^e Kynges noble grace. in the yere of our Lorde god a .M.CCCCC. & .vi. & endyd in the laste daye of February.

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