ê“fyted nat somwhat with vyolence neuerthelesse reuerently they ledde hir out of hir house vnto the watersyde And loo a meruaylous thyng the olde myracle was reuyued for lyke as in the tyme of Iosue the water of fleme Iordane was stopped ayenst the natural course so at the entryng of the holy virgyn Katherin into the water of Tyber suche vtue yssued out of hir by the power of almyghty god that it restreyned the strength of the water so that it coÌ„pellyd the streme with a great swyftnes to go into the olde course wherof all men ioyed laudyng the great power of o r lord shewyd iÌ„ his blessyd vgyn seynt Katheryn Iugeburgê the iii. dought of seit birget in hir youth was made a noÌ„ne in the 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 that my doughter is deed but I am glad therof for if she hadde lyued lenger she shuld haue had before the a gretter accomptê but I wepe for this cause that I haue nat enformed hir after thy coÌ„maundementê 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 that 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 Iugeburgê he done many great myracles Cecily the 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 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 ê‘tyes 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 iÌ„ icopardy at thy delyueraune I came vnto the and helpyd the. Therfore thou art vnkynde if thou loue me nat wherfore labour that thy children may also be my children AftseiÌ„t 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 the 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 coÌ„maundement of almyghty god folowynge 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 the lyghtê of seynt Peter and Paule the relykes of other seyntê tyl she had of our lorde other coÌ„mauÌ„dement 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 coÌ„maundemeÌ„t of almyghty god taught hir hir doughter Katheryn graÌ„mer to whiche faders spirituall of hir lyfe she obeyed in all vertue as mekely as a very meke monke is wont to obey his pÌ„late in somoche that she came into so ê‘fyte humylyte obedyens mortyfiynge of hir owne wyll that when she went to ê‘dons and holy places amonge the recourse of the people euer accompanyed with the sayd preest hir fader spirituall she durste nat lyft vp hir iyen fro the grouÌ„de tyll she had leue of the the â—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 bouÌ„den 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 appareâ— was nat after the coÌ„dicion of hir ê‘sone but moch meke abiecte she nat oonly kepe the fastyngê or vigylles that holy churche coÌ„mauÌ„deth but she suê‘added therto many other in so moche that beyonde the coÌ„maundement of the churche she fasted .iiii. tymes in the weke aswell in hir husbandes lyfe as after And after hir husbandê deth vnto a lytel byfore hir blessyd passage out of this world after fastyngê prayers other dyuyne labours most comeÌ„ly she reâ—resshed hir self with right short slepe in hir clothes that she was wont to weer lyinge vpon a carpet wtout federbed matres strawe or any otherthing euery fryday in remeÌ„brauÌ„ce of the gloryous passion of our sauyour criste Ihesu she absteyned in brede water oonly bysyde lyke abstyneÌ„ce that she
lerne this blessyd man omytted nothyng 〈◊〉 he lerned by the euangelystys or ê“phyttys to be 〈◊〉 fulfyllyd it in that he coulde howe be it in that he kepte 〈◊〉 Estre at the due tyme Bede prayseth hym not 〈◊〉 prayseth hym for he seyth ê‘case he knewe it not 〈◊〉 kepte it on a sonday but he praysyth hym that 〈…〉 pynge of his Ester he beleuyd nor worsh 〈…〉 other thynge but as we doo that is to say the Redempcion of mankynde by the Passyon Resurreccyon AsseÌ„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 iÌ„ the Towne of verolame that now is callyd seynt Albons And in the tyme of the ê‘secucyoÌ„ of dioclesyan seynt Amphibell came into Brytayne and lodged in the house of seynt Albon and exortyd hym to be coÌ„uerted 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 that betokened the Misteryes of the Incarnaciou Passyon Resurreccion Assencion of our Lorde as in the Legende apperyth And in the mornynge he asked of seynt Amphibell what his visyoÌ„ betokened wheÌ„ 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 that he was a CristeÌ„maÌ„ And so he was put iÌ„ prison there he lay .vi. Monethes in all that tyme there felle no rayne And therfore the people thynkynge that the god that AlboÌ„ worshypped ê“hibited the rayne toke hym out of prysone 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 the great Myracles that our lorde shewyd for hym was coÌ„uertyd seynt AlboÌ„ was behedyd the .x. kaleÌ„das of Iuli the yere of our lorde god CClxxx vi And anon the eyen of hym that strake it offelle owte he was buryed at seynt Albons sumwhat the LegeÌ„d leuyth it for a dowte whether he lye now at seynt Albons or at ely but it semyth to be the more lyke that he shuld lye at seynt Albons And in the legend apperith how kynge Offa repayred the monastery ofseynt Albons And how the heresy of PelagianÌ„ began at Bangor and how it was extyncte ¶ De sancto Aldelmo episcopo confessore SEynt aldelme was of kynne to Iue kynge of we stesaxoÌ„s iÌ„ his youthe he ê“phyted moch iÌ„ coÌ„nynge after he was made monke at malmesbury so preest then Abbot And his fame went so ferre that it came to the pope Sergyus he sent for hym to Rome wheÌ„ he had sayd masse in the Church of lateraneÌ„se helde the vestemeÌ„t behynde hym to haue takyn it to one of his seruauÌ„tis none was there it hoÌ„ge vppoÌ„ a sonne beame a longe tyme a womaÌ„ that was with Chylde defamed the Popâ— therw t And saynt Aldelme herynge that was moch heuy coÌ„mauÌ„dyd the chylde which was but .ix. dayes olde iÌ„ the name of our lorde Ihesu criste to shewe if the Pope were his fader he sayd nay And so the Pope was delyuerd of the cryme And seynt Aldelme brought with 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 iÌ„ 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 the 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 EpÌ„o confessore When seynt Alrede was in his Cradell his face shone lyke the sonne And in his chyldehod he had the spirit of ê“phecy And tolde the very day of the deth of the Busshop of yorke he was in so great fauoure with Dauyd kynge of Scottys that he was seconde to hym whiche a Knyght enuyed much with great hatred insomoche that somtyme in presence of the kynge he wolde speke opprobrious wordys to hym he toke all paciently so that the Knyght meruaylyd toke penauÌ„ce askyd hym forgeuenes he tolde hym that he ought to loue hym the more for by his hatred he encresyd the more in the loue of our lord And by hym his pacieÌ„ce 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 forâ—oke it entred into Relygyon at ryeuall which is of the ordre of cisteaux and was mayster of the nouyces a Nouyce that was vnstable was by his prayers twyse brought agayne to the 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 o the And he refourmyd the hole couÌ„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 pacieÌ„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 detraccyoÌ„ with any ê‘son that for any cause taryed with hym tyll nyghte and that he had louyd alway peace Broderly loue his owne espirituell quietnes he wente to our lord the day before the firste Idus of Ianuarye in the yere of our lorde god a. M. a huÌ„dred .lxvi. and dyuers thynges be here omytted c. ¶ De sancto Amphybalo martire WHen seynt Amphibell had coÌ„uertyd seynt Albon seynt Albon aduertysed hym to go
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 the stroke of god that 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 the 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 AuÌ„gell of lyght and perswadyd hym to go out of pryson by many exauÌ„ples 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 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 punysshemeÌ„t of god felle vppoÌ„ the offenders so that 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 that toke his ê‘te 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 cauÌ„terbury And .xvii. yere after he fouÌ„de his Body vncorrupte And brought it to CauÌ„terbury honorably as he had ê“mysed ¶ De sâ—toÌ„ Erkenwaldo epÌ„o 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 exauÌ„ple 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 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 meruâ—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 soâ— 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 hâ—rte wherfore the people gaue Laudys to our Lorde And thoughe that that punysshemeÌ„t 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 traÌ„slatyd 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 wheâ—in his Relykys lay fyrst the people for that neclygence were sory And anon the stone waxyd more holow and gaue place to the blessyd relykys And after at his shryne were doon many great myracles as in the legeÌ„de apperyth 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 coÌ„passyon 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 the 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 the Kynge the quene Erâ—â—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 Idâ—â— of February And a man that was bounden with Iâ—â—â—s prayed at her tumbe at masse for helpe and at the gospell the Irons were strykyn fro his arme with such a vyoleÌ„ce that they flewe to the Aâ—ter that all mâ—n myght see 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
water after he ete but thryfe iÌ„ a weke thre dayes in the weke he kept oâ— cylence On a tyme as he wolde haue goon to duresme but that he hadde no bote to goo ouer the water of were he made his prayer a bote of the ferther syde brake that that 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 couÌ„trey seyinge there were dyuerse solytary placys in that countrey more apte to lyue a solytary lyfe in then that somwhat for affeccyon to the couÌ„trey He was mouyd therto in the nyght folowynge he made his prayers before the crucyfyx to knowe the wyll of our Lorde with great deuocyon the Crucyfyxe spake vnto hym bad hym perseuer strongly in that he had begon that he shuld not leue that I le to th ende of his lyfe he herynge that laye prostrat besought our lorde that he shuld not haue power to goo though he wolde anon a great swellynge felle into his knee which grewe so greuous that as he sate agaynste the sone wormys came oute of it he wolde take them vppe byd them goo in agayne to that that was theyr InherytauÌ„ce lyue of that that had norysshyd them the more greuouse that the desease grewe the more gladde he was yeldynge euer thaÌ„kyngys to our lord thoughe the sykenes waxyd moche greuous yet he wolde be alone abydynge the werynes of all the longe nyghte without helpe And whan the houre of deth came he toke the bell rope in his hande to rynge the bell so deê‘tyd a monke he rynge the bell rynge ranne thyder fouÌ„de hym deed syttynge vppon a stone with the bell rope in his hande a Candell standynge by hym lyghtyd with a heuenly lyghte when his body was cleÌ„syd fro the fylthe anon it was whyte as snowe nothynge apperynge of the fyrste desease his face shone with such a bryghtnes that he coulde scarsly be knowen He dyed in the 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 sctiÌ„s Hewaldo nigro Hewaldo albo mtibus WHen seynt wylly brorde with his felowes had coÌ„uertyd moch people in fryseloÌ„de to the feyth two blessyd men borne in Englonde whiche were both callyd Hewalde that had longe tyme ben in Irlonde went into olde saxonye to pÌ„che there the worde of god for dyuersyte of theyr here the oon was callyd the blacke Hewalde the other the whyte Hewalde when they came into Fryselonde they were Harbored with a husbaÌ„de man of whom they desyred that they myght be coÌ„ueyed to the ruler of that couÌ„trey to do a message to hym he ê“mysyd theÌ„ they shuld so be when they had taryed with hym a certeyn tyme the harbarouse people herynge that they were of a noder relygyon that they vsyd moche prayers dayly dyd sacryfyce for they sayde dayly masse they suspectyd that if they shuld speke with theyr Ruler they shuld coÌ„uerte hym to the crysten feyth so all the ê“uynce 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 the Ryuer of Ryne when the ruler herde therof he was very sore angry that they wolde not let them speke with hym sendynge thyder kyllyd all tho barbarous people that had kyllyd the blessyd martyrs also burnyd the towne the 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 the 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 coÌ„uertyd by prechynge of seynt paulyn seynt hylda was also coÌ„uertyd anon she lefte her scler habyte decreed to serue our Lord She went to the kynge of eest Englond to whom she was of kyn desyrynge hym to helpe that she myght go to her suster hereswida into frauÌ„ce that was a NoÌ„ne in the monastery of Cale when she had ben a yere aboute the purpose seynt Aâ—dan brought her agayne into her owne countrey there she was made Abbesse at the Monastery of herthey whiche was fouÌ„dyd by a blessyd Woman callyd bega that was the fyrste NoÌ„ne that euer was in the ê“uynce of NorthamhuÌ„bre After seynt Hylda fouÌ„dyd the Monastery of streneshalch now callyd whytbye And as she had by couÌ„ceyll 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 that not only pore men but also kyngys pryncys wolde aske couÌ„ceyll of her by her prayers a great multytude of serpentys that feryd her susters soo that they durste scarcely come out of theyr sellys were turnyd into stonys her seruauÌ„te by her coÌ„mauÌ„dement bad a grete flocke of gees that destroyed the Corne of her Monasterye to go into a certeyn grounde that 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 that 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 the .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 iÌ„ kepynge of reguler obseruauÌ„cys And by her exortacyons good coÌ„uersacyon she couragyd all men to Heuenly thynges next to seynt Alburgh her feest is solempnysed at Barkynge in great honoure seynt Hyldelythe was not oonly had in honour with seynt DuÌ„stane seynt Ethelwolde seynt elphege but also of many other olde holy Faders her holynesse is coÌ„mendyd it is wryttyn of her that she was full of Charyte a techer of vertue a gyuer of good exauÌ„ples in vygyllys fastyngys benygnyte mercye that she with great dylygens ê“uydyd for all other that they
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 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 the 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 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 that in no wyse she wolde assent And there upon the Kynge consyderynge her blessyd lyfe and seynge that 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 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 the Abbottys lately decessyd apperyd vnto hym and shewyd hym the purpose of Lanfrāke and tolde the Abbot it was not good for hym that 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 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 that he shuld not suffer such wordys spokyn to hym that belōgyd 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 the Kynge Ebbalde his
vpon the drye grouÌ„de by her prayer was anone taken vp with the see and so she escaped and came into an I le 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 AuÌ„gell lyght it agayne She dyed the .iii. I de 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 was made a parysshe churche her Relykê 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 with 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 with 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 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 prestê 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 coÌ„uerted and his neue we also lyued a good and a blessyd lyfe A holy bysshop called Cheuyn was brought in beleue by craft of the deuyll that Glunelach the 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 coÌ„mynge 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 the temptacyon lyke a blacke Ethyope wherfore he toke great repentauÌ„ce Then seynt Modwen to the entent she myght the more surely conferme hym in our lord put her staffe into a welle that she vsed oftymes in the wynter to stande in tyl she had sayd a hole Psaulter she drewe her staffe after her agaynst the hylle the water folowed the staffe into the toppe of the hylle wherupon he depê‘ted lyued after a blyssed lyf On a tyme when she entended to go into EnglaÌ„de she lacked a shyp at her prayer the grouÌ„de reysed it self vp about her lyke an I le so coÌ„ueyed her her company ouer the see into Englande where she and seynt Edith that was suster to kyng Edgar rered Ositha that 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 varyauÌ„ce 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 obseruauÌ„ce lest by lytell lytel they fell into greatter defautê 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 DunstanÌ„ 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 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 couÌ„tre 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 coÌ„uerte his enemy to the fayth it ê“ued after iÌ„ 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 the day before the kalend of August and paâ—â—e of his Relykes lye at Ramsey the
other ê‘te 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 EpÌ„o SEynt Ninian in Englysshe called seynt Tronyon was a Kynges sone of great Brytayne anone as he had passed his yerê 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 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 DunstanÌ„ seynt Cuthbert seynt ModwynÌ„ 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 feâ—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 laÌ„de in testefyinge of the myracle he prayed o r lord that the staffe myght growe when he set it into the grouÌ„de forthwith it grewe had rotê new barke with goodly armes brauÌ„ches at the rote therof spraynge a fayre welle wherof the water is very holsome forsyke men he dyed in the .xvi. Kalend of Octobre lyeth in a Churche that he made of newe in the honour of seynt Martyne 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 the danes that came in with Hynguar bycause he vsed moche to speke to his fader such thyngê 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 clarkê that erred in the sacrament of the Aultre affermynge it to be a fygure of the passyon of our lorde by his prayer as he was at masse at the brekynge of the Hoest very blode ran out therof into the Chales 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 Dunstaâ— 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 FrauÌ„ce and he forsoke his frendes and went to the Bysshop of Traiectense where he lyued dyuerse yerê in vigylles fastynge prayeng and holy redynge he coÌ„uerted 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 â—eâ—â— and he dyed of the Axes the daye byfore the Idus of Iune at his deth was a swete sauoure that comforted all that 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 iÌ„ her youth to seynt Modwen 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 the wynde into the water and drowned and when she had lyen deed thre dayes by monycion of an AuÌ„gell 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 couÌ„tre of Estsaxons bycause seynt Osith wolde nat do sacrifice to their Idollê she was beheded she bare her hedde to the churchedore there fell downe her fader moder buryed her at Aylesbury wher she lay
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 wheÌ„ 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 the thyrde kynge of Kent but he was the fyrste that wente to Heuyn And all that seynt Augustyne dyd to the Encreasynge 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 coÌ„uertyd with great benygnyte he â—â—â—yd other kyngys that were his subgyetty or his felowys to become crysten And those that beleuyd he lâ—uyd as hys bretherne and kynysmen and felawys to the kyngdome of heuyn And in all his realme Chirchys were buâ—â—yd placys of Idollys destroyed or tournyd into Churches By counceyll of seynt Augustyne he made the Churche of seynt saâ—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 theÌ„ 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 De sancta Ethelburga virgine abbatissa SEynt ethelburgh coÌ„monly 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 aâ—â—lyccyons it is sayd the 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 the 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 with contynuell Fastyngys vygyllys prayers she pÌ„chyd to the systers perseuerant lye and after was seen an Image bryght shynynge in the Dormytory of the systers bryght shynynge cordys were seen stretchynge into heuyn wherwith the sayd Image was pluckyd vppe And anone after seynt Alburghe deê‘tyd this worlde the .v. Idus of october about the yere of our Lorde .vii. C. .vi. so it apperyth to be for her that the sayd Image was shewyd her monastery hath ben often tymes pÌ„seruyd agaynste paganys by especyall myracle somtymes wylde bestys at the yatysferyd that enemyes so that 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 coÌ„menly callyd Seynt Awdry was doughter to anna Kynge of eest EngloÌ„de And agaynste her wyll she was maryed to Tonbert kynge of the south Gyrwyes where is the I le of ely And when she came into the ChauÌ„ber she comyttyd her virgynyte to our Lorde And as her husbonde lokyd in to the ChauÌ„ber it was lyke as if all the chauÌ„ber 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 northamhuÌ„broruÌ„ .xii. yeyerys she was with hym not as a wyfe but as a Lady for her holynes he worshyppyd her moch promysyd to the Busshope wylfryde great gyftys to make her agree to hym in matrymonye And the Busshope coÌ„trarye wyse exortyd her to kepe virgynyte And at laste by assente of the Kynge she enteryd into Relygyon at Coldyngham vnder Ebba aunte to the kynge And when the kynge repentyd hym wolde haue fet her fro the monasterye she coÌ„myttyd her to our Lorde And with to systers went in to a Hyll there our lorde brought the 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 that was geuyn to her by her husbonde tonbert there she repayryd a Monasterye gaderyd many sustersgence that 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 iÌ„ wordys He wolde spare his subgyettys and resyst prowdemen And after by hoole
assent of his coÌ„mons he was desyryd to marye and for loue of Chyldren he asseÌ„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 the lyghte of his clerenes And so they laye prostrate prayed And anon the Derkenes went awaye And then he wente forth in his Iourney when he cam into the kyngedome of Marshes he had a meruaylouse dreme that as he stode with his counceyll he thought his house fell downe anon he sawe a goodly tree that he neuer sawe any lyke to it that certeyn ê‘sones were he wynge 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 the sonne com out of the south which asceÌ„dyd into heuyn he thought that he flewe into the toppe of the tree sawe all that was in the firmameÌ„t herde a songe of great melody some thought it shulde betokyn the exaltynge of his kyngdome he sayd how so euer our Lord wold dyspose of hym he wold take it pacyeÌ„tly 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. kaleÌ„das 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 seuauÌ„tys goo into theyr couÌ„trey for they re 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 monethâ—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 â—e feryd greatlye toke penaunce and after his body was broughte to herforde And by the way a blynde man recoueryd his syghte a longe tyme was seen euery nyghte a bryghte beame vppoÌ„ his sepulcre the kynge Mylfryde made a goodly chyrche ouer hym and endewyd it with great possessyons And was the fyrste kynge that made there a Busshoppyssee callyd wakerynge to ramesey where they lye to this day that traÌ„slacyon was made the .xvi. kaleÌ„das of noueÌ„ber ¶ De sancto Ethelwoldo epÌ„o confessore SEynt ethelwolde was borne in wynchester his moder when she was with chylde with hym sawe two visions which signyfyed that she shulde bere a chylde of great ê‘feccyon when his norse hauynge the chylde in her armys wolde haue goon to the Chyrche coulde not for great tempest sodenly she was broughte into the Chyrche wiste not how she came thyder And when the 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 with hym causyd hym to take order of preesthod And seynt DuÌ„stane and he And oon Ethelstane were made Preestys on oon daye by Seynt Aldelme and he sayde that 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 moÌ„ke vnder seynt Dunstan where euer he coueytyd to the 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 coÌ„mauÌ„dement of Kynge Edgar seynt DuÌ„stan 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 coÌ„forte good men to correcte theym that were obstynate he neuer 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 coÌ„tynuall sykenes so that many nyghtys he slepte nothynge And he neuer ete Flesshe but twyse onys by coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„t of seynt DuÌ„stane a noder tyme in the sykenes that he dyed of His Candell burnyd vppoÌ„ his boke tyll it weÌ„t 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 sâ—gh ¶ DesctoÌ„ Felice epÌ„o confessore SEynt felix was borne in Pyes a cytie of BurguÌ„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 coÌ„uertyd he was a man of great lernynge that he taught he fulfyllyd iÌ„ good werkys the Archebusshope honory us at his coÌ„mynge reseyued hym moche charytably but wheÌ„ he knewe his enteÌ„t was to ê‘seuer iÌ„ pÌ„chynge he was moch more glad so he weÌ„t into the ê“uynce of est EngloÌ„d the yere of our Lord .vi. C.lxxiii And after that 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
certeyne space And for asmoche as theyr tyme of tryumphe was not yet commen for theyr enemyes were not yet coÌ„men thyder they were warnyd agayne by the auÌ„gell for to goo to Rome there to coÌ„meÌ„de 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 with a prosperous cource iÌ„ the 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 streÌ„gthed 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 â—â—â—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 wyse after the maner as chylderne by course of nature be defould but euer pâ—â—re and clene as they that were fedde with AuÌ„gellys food in this holy mery pylgrymage all thynge succedyd ê“sperously better than they coulde thinâ—ke or desyre for if they disposyd them at mornynge â—o lodge at suche a cytie or place at nyght they came thyder with case at theyr pleasure neuer lesynge theyr wey wheresoeuer they came in couÌ„trey or Cytye they encreasyd in noÌ„ber for many ê‘sones both Kynges Busshoppes Prynces Dukys many other nobles matrones vyrgyns whiche câ—sortyd to theym to beholde so wonderfull a spectacle seynge coÌ„syderynge 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 Iâ—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 mouÌ„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 that worse for this Iorney lytyll corporall mete seruyd theym they were so well fedde so delycatlye fulfyllyd wtinforth iÌ„ the soules but it was rather tedious greuous to theÌ„ to take it at Rome certen of thyse vgins which were yet vncristenyd 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 fouÌ„de 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 â—â—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 was the noble prynce Olyfernes her owne spouse before sayde thynkynge therby to peruerte her But for all this she was nothynge mouyd nor chauÌ„gyd any countenauÌ„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 coÌ„pany 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 the 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 pyâ—â— of our Lorde that soweth and so largely spredyth his mercye Also thyse Inâ—auÌ„tys with many other persones Men Women and Chylderne were not accomptyd in the nombre of the .xi. M. vyrgyns but were besydes them to the nombre of CCCCC and aboue as it apperyth in yâ— hystorye of them in the legende Also in yâ— nombre of the xi thousande by vyrgyns was noon â—lâ—â—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 alâ—yghty god not suffrynge thyse cruell Tyrauntys to goo all quyte without takynge vengeauÌ„ce of the Blode of his holy virgyns which was shed for his loue sent put into them such a â—eer that with all theyr myght they flâ—dde ran awaye glad to escape with theyr lyuesâ— for as them thought they sawe coÌ„mynge 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 iÌ„ all haste that they myghte where thrughe the wofull prysoners all desolute the Cytezyns of Coleyne which had loÌ„ge tymâ— 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 delyuerauÌ„ce coÌ„syderynge 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 â—yde caâ—â— sparkelyd in pecys and with great honoure reuerence buryed them vnto this day there dare noon burye any other Bodye within the coÌ„passâ— whâ—tâ— 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 reuelâ—cioÌ„s spekyth moch of thyse holy vgyns which for the cause before sayde I leue to speake of after in ê“ces of tyme men beynge forgetfull by dulnes of wytte colde anf drye 〈◊〉 to beleue thyngys which they see not nor canot coÌ„preheÌ„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 hystâ—â—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 the 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 that lytyll fear ony thinge hyndred her rewarde or Crowne of martyrdom wheÌ„ neyther Peter denyinge our Lorde nor Thomas doubtynge of the resurreccion were aâ—â—â—â—â— 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 mâ—ked or to lerne to truste in our Lorde and not in her selfe After many yerys this blessyd virgin Cordula apperyd vnto a holy woman callyd Hellentâ—ude beynge recluse seyinge vnto her I am oon of those blessyd virgyns that suffred martyrdome at Coleyne lyuyd one nyght after them in the mornynge offred my selfe gladly vnto the deth so dyinge in our lorde I neyther lefte the company of my susters ne yet lackyd lyke rewarde as they had of the crowne of martyrdome wherfore I woll that thou shalte in my name commaunde the susters that the nexte daye after that 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 â—ecluâ—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 coÌ„mauÌ„dement a certeyne Abbot desyryd of the abbey of Coleyne the 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 vppoÌ„ the Aulter and goynge downe she â—â—wyd her 〈◊〉 to the 〈◊〉 and went thrâ—ghe the quere that all the brethe 〈…〉 we so she departyd wheropâ—n that 〈◊〉 went to the Coffer and fyndynge nothynge therin wente to the Abbesse of Coleyne and shewyd heâ— then ofâ— And thenne they wente to the place fro whens the Bâ—dye was taken and there they fouÌ„de it agayne wherforâ— lawght at it And as he was goynge to dryue a way the 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 the 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 fouÌ„de vncorrupte A munke towchyd her Bodye fouÌ„de it flexyble hir chekys rodye as roses lyke as she had ben a lyue ¶ De sancta Ursula et vndecim milibus virginuâ— 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 loÌ„ge togeder without ony chylde wherfore they were ryght heuy at the 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 the feythe of our lorde full vertuosly gracyously with all theyr myght and 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 CouÌ„treys 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 the 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