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ST.   THOMAS   OF   CANTERBURY 


•t.  djotnas  of  Canterbury 

HIS    DEATH   AND   MIRACLES 


BY 


EDWIN    A.    ABBOTT,    M.A.,    D.D. 

FORMERLY   FELLOW   OF   ST.    JOHN's   COLLEGE,    CAMBRIDGE 

AND   HULSEAN   LECTURER 

AUTHOR  OF    '  PHILOCHRISTUS,'    'ONESIMUS' 


IN  TWO   VOLUMES 
VOL.   II 


LONDON 

ADAM    AND   CHARLES   BLACK 
1898 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2009  with  funding  from 

Ontario  Council  of  University  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/stthomasofcanter02abbo 


CONTENTS 

SECTION    IV 

WILLIAM'S    ACCOUNT    OF    THE    MIRACLES 

CHAPTER    I 

HIS   FIRST  AND  SECOND   BOOKS 

His  object.  §  2.  Visions.  §  3.  The  folly  of  impatience  and  of  trusting  in 
physicians ;  the  injustice  of  the  Irish  war.  §  4.  Vows  to  St.  Thomas  must 
be  paid  ;  physicians  must  be  despised.  §  5.  Emma  of  Halberton  and  Gode- 
lief  of  Laleham.  §  6.  Revivification.  §  7.  Leprosy.  §  8.  Chapels  are  to  be 
built  to  St  Thomas         ......  Page  3 


CHAPTER    II 

HIS  THIRD,    FOURTH,    AND   FIFTH   BOOKS.    OR  THE   DEGENERATION 
OF  THE   MIRACLES 

I.  Degenerate  miracles.  §2.  Miracles  for  the  King's  sake.  §3.  Chance; 
losing  and  finding.  §  4.  St.  Denis  and  St.  Thomas;  "the  divine  gift  of 
dumbness."  §  5.  A  man  of  many  miracles.  §  6.  The  evils  of  business  ;  St 
Thomas's  object  in  receiving  money.  §  7.  .St.  Thomas  will  not  interfere  with 
the  Archbishop  of  York.  §  8.  Credulity  and  incredulity.  §  9.  The  Water 
of  Canterbury  is  changed  to  milk.  §  10.  Revivification  of  a  sucking-pig  ;  of 
a  gander.  §  11.  A  babe  sings  "  Kyrie  Eleison";  a  dead  pilgrim,  thrown 
overboard,  comes  back  for  his  berth.  §  12.  St.  Thomas  orders  prayers  for 
Fitzurse.  §  13.  St.  Thomas  supports  a  man  on  the  gallows.  §  14.  Bird- 
miracles.  §15.  "Fatuous  antiquity";  a  story  in  Virgilian  prose.  §  16.  A 
man  of  blood,  a  devotee  of  St.  Thomas.  §  17.  Restoration  of  one  struck  by 
lightning  ........  24 


vi        ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


CHAPTER  III 

HIS  LAST  BOOK   ANU  APPENDIX 

I.  St.  Thomas's  eggs.  §  2.  Mad  Gerard  of  Li^ge.  §  3.  Crossing  Mario w 
bridge.  §  4.  Richard  of  Reading  is  cured  of  fits.  §  5.  Restoration  of  muti- 
lated members.  §  6.  A  pilgrim  is  brought  to  life  to  die  in  peace.  §  7.  A 
Templar's  dream  ;  cure  of  the  Earl  of  Warrenne.  §  8.  An  unattested  won- 
der. §  9.  Weighty  evidence  from  John  of  Salisbury.  §  ID.  *'  Festive  " 
miracles.  §  11.  St.  Thomas  forgives  a  reproachful  pilgrim.  §  12.  Responsi- 
bilities of  "a  saint  in  vogue."  §  13.  Distant  cures  unknown  ;  revivifications. 
§  14.  A  historical  digression.  §  15.  William  degenerates  still  more.  §  16. 
Evidence  of  date.  §  17.  The  consequences  of  finding  an  ancient  mortuary 
vessel.  §  18.  Miracles  from  Sefrid  the  ecstatic.  §  19.  William  oscillates 
between  credulity  and  incredulity.  §  20.  William  decides  to  accept  the  state- 
ments of  rich  people.  §  21.  William  becomes  slightly  cynical.  §  22.  A 
married  priest.  §  23.  Wiscard,  the  King's  falcon.  §  24.  A  starling  invokes 
St.  Thomas ;  miracles  worked  for  a  hospital  at  Shooter's  Hill.  §  25.  St. 
Thomas  at  Devizes.  §  26.  St.  Thomas  among  friends.  §  27.  The  Saracen  of 
Palermo.  §  28.  St.  Thomas  kills  a  cow.  §  29.  St.  Thomas  revivifies  a  cow. 
§  3a  Miscellanea.     §  31.  A  story  cut  short.     §  32.  Comic  verses       Page  45 


SECTION    V 

THE  PARALLEL   MIRACLES ^ 

I.  Sir  Thomas  of  Etton  is  miraculously  visited  with  quinsy  and  miraculously 
cured.  §  2.  (i. )  Eilward  of  Westoning  in  Bedfordshire,  mutilated  for  theft,  is 
miraculously  restored  ;  (ii.)  a  similar  miracle  recorded  by  William  alone  ;  (iii.) 
a  similar  miracle  recorded  by  Benedict  alone ;  (iv. )  suggestion  of  partial 
explanation.  §  3.  The  ship  that  came  back  by  herself.  §  4.  How  St. 
Thomas  pushed  a  ship  off  a  shoal.  §  5.  Recovery  of  anchors.  §  6.  How  the 
son  of  Yngelrann  of  Golton  was  visited  with  paralysis  by  the  Martyr  and  then 
healed.  §  7.  Jordan,  son  of  Eisulf.  §  8.  Cecily,  daughter  of  Jordan  of 
Plumstead,  is  restored,  when  supposed  to  have  died  of  cancer.  §  9,  The  son 
of  Hugh  Scot  is  restored  after  drowning.  §  la  Elias,  a  monk  of  Reading, 
after  [pretending  to]  resort  to  Bath  for  the  cure  of  leprosy,  is  cured  by  St. 
Thomas.  §  11,  Queen  Eleanor's  foundling.  §  12.  Geoffrey,  a  monk  of 
Reading,  is  restored,  when  in  extremity.  §  13.  Deliverance  from  the  fall  of 
a  wall.  §  14.  Miracles  wrought  on  James,  son  of  the  Earl  of  Clare.  §  15. 
The  cure  of  Hugh  of  Ebblinghem,  a  leper  ;   William  adds  another.     §  16. 


'  With  Latin  renderings. 


CONTENTS 


William  of  Gloucester  is  saved  from  a  fall  of  earth.  §  17.  Salerna  of  Ifield, 
having  thrown  herself  into  a  well,  is  preserved  from  death.  §  18.  John  of 
Roxburgh  is  saved  from  the  Tweed       ....  Page  76 


SECTION    VI 

LEGENDARY  ACCOUNTS  OF  MIRACLES 

CHAPTER    I 

LEGENDS   RECORDED   BY  AUTHORITATIVE  WRITERS 

§  I.  St.  Thomas's  fish.  §  2.  The  Vision  at  Pontigny,  (i.)  the  statements.  §  3. 
The  Vision  at  Pontigny,  (ii.)  the  silence  of  Anon.  I.,  commonly  called  "  Roger 
of  Pontigny."  §  4.  The  vision  at  Pontigny,  (iii.)  all  evidence  from  Pontigny 
to  be  regarded  with  suspicion.  §  5.  The  Vision  at  Pontigny,  (iv.)  the  prob- 
able facts.     §  6.  The  Vision  at  Pontigny,  (v. )  the  growth  of  legend  .         274 

CHAPTER    II 

LEGENDS   RECORDED   BY   NON-AUTHORITATIVE  WRITERS 

§  I.  Giraldus  Cambrensis  and  Grandison.  §  2.  Pseudo-Grim.  §  3.  Poetic  legends. 
§  4.  Poetry  and  Romance.  §  5.  Oral  Tradition  the  source  of  early  legend. 
§  6.   Prevalence  of  legend  inevitable  unless  contradicted  by  history    .         285 

SECTION   VII 

INFERENCES    FROM    THE   MIRACLES 

CHAPTER    I 

THE   GOOD   AND    EVIL  OF   THE   MIRACLES 

§  I.  The  evil,  §  2.  The  good.  §  3.  Did  the  miracles  result  from  the  man  or  from 
the  circumstances  ?    §  4.  St.  Thomas  a  true  Saint,  though  militant   .         296 

CHAPTER    II 

THE   MARTYR   AND  THE   SAVIOUR 

§  I.  The  parallel  between  them,  g  2.  The  parallel  in  facts.  §  3.  The  parallel 
in  documents.     §  4.   Its  bearing  on  New  Testament  criticism  .         305 

iM)h.\ 


VOL.   II 

ST.    THOMAS'S    MIRACLES 
{continued) 


VOL.    II 


SECTION    IV 

WILLIAM'S   ACCOUNT    OF    THE    MIRACLES 
CHAPTER    I 

THE    FIRST    AND    SECOND    BOOKS 

§  I.  His  object 

[589]  On  the  strength  of  the  many  miracles  mentioned 
in  William's  book  as  reported  from  Ireland,  and  also  because 
of  his  vehement  condemnation  of  Henry's  Irish  war,  Mr. 
Magnusson  has  conjectured  that  William  himself  was  a 
native  of  Ireland.  He  certainly  has  a  Celtic  faculty  of 
fluent  and  versatile  speech,  and  is  master  of  methods  of 
variety.  But  in  part  this  may  arise  from  a  long  study  of 
classical  literature.  It  has  been  noted  above  that,  after 
seventeen  months  of  reporting,  Benedict  was  found  in- 
adequate by  the  Canterbury  Chapter,  and  William  was 
called  in  to  aid  him.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  latter 
would  be  on  his  mettle  to  show  what  he  could  do  in  the 
way  of  style. 

[590]  It  may  be  assumed  as  almost  certain  that  William 
himself  in  his  own  recondite  Latin  is  writing  his  own  apology 
— though  it  appears  in  the  Prologue  nominally  indited  by 
the  monks — when  he  says,  "  We  ask  the  whole  body  of  our 
readers,  sympathizing  with  the  brother's  diligence — for  it  is 
not  his  fault  that  he  does  not  discharge  in  full  the  steward- 
ship entrusted  to  him — not  to  '  arch  their  eyebrows  '  above 


4  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  590 

measure  at  the  want  of  arrangement  of  his  words,  and  the 
poorness  of  his  thoughts.^  He  confesses  indeed  that  he 
has  deserved  a  flout,  but  he  hopes  for  a  milder  censure.  .  .  . 
He  pledges  you  in  a  draught  from  a  vessel  of  potter's  clay, 
but  drawn  from  a  spring  of  living  waters.  Let  the  delicate 
liquor  excuse  the  uncouth  cup-bearer."  There  is  more  to 
the  same  effect,  more  than  enough  to  shew  that  the  writer 
is  not  deeply  in  earnest,  not  in  the  same  mood  in  which 
Benedict  took  up  the  pen,  seventeen  months  before,  to 
dispel  the  cloud  that  obscured  the  light  of  the  Canterbury 
Martyr.  The  difference  is  natural.  Then  the  King,  and 
the  lords,  and  almost  all  the  bishops  were  hostile.  Now 
they  were  friendly,  quite  persuaded,  and  ready  to  be  inter- 
ested, some  indeed  desiring  to  be  amused.  It  seems  to 
have  been,  in  large  measure,  to  meet  this  new  demand,  that 
William  supplied  his  Book  of  Miracles. 

[591]  We  shall  look  in  vain  here  for  those  graphic 
descriptions  of  cures  at  the  tomb,  some  of  them  incomplete, 
some  followed  by.  relapses,  which  Benedict  gives  us  so  fre- 
quently, thereby  establishing  his  character  at  once  for  veracity, 
candour,  and  (so  far  as  observable  facts  go,  distinguished 
from  inferences)  for  careful  observation.  And  as  William's 
book  professedly  ignores  chronological  order,  it  throws  no 
light  at  all  on  any  developments,  changes,  or  deteriorations, 
that  may  have  taken  place  in  the  manifestations  at  the 
tomb  or  elsewhere.  However,  it  does  contain  a  good  many 
important  letters  attesting  distant  miracles.  Some  of  these 
are  found  also  in  Benedict's  book,  and  will  be  considered  in 
the  comparison,  given  further  on,  between  the  two  versions 
of  the  Parallel  Miracles  :  but  others,  even  though  written 
to  Benedict  himself,  are  not  included  in  Benedict's  book, 
perhaps  because  they  were  transferred  by  him,  when  he  was 

'  i.  139  "in  hac  incompositione  verborum,  in  hac  tenuitate  sententiarum, 
modice  narem  corrugare"  (Hor.  Epist.  i.  5.  23).  I  have  expressed  it  by  a 
phrase  from  Pope,  P.  S.  96,     For  the  meaning  of  "  i.  139,"  see  \a. 


§592  HIS  MIRACLES 


busy  as  Prior,  to  the  monk  in  charge  of  the  tomb.  In  any 
case,  we  shall  approach  the  Parallel  Miracles  in  a  better 
condition  for  discriminating  between  what  is  true  and  what 
is  William's  addition  to  the  truth,  or  colouring  of  the  truth, 
if  we  first  review  his  work  so  as  to  elicit  the  characteristics 
of  the  narratives  that  he  alone  records. 

§  2.    Visions 

[592]  Before  miracles,  William  places  visions.  And 
here  we  see  at  once  the  foreign  element,  which  was  almost 
entirely  absent  from  Benedict's  work,  placed  prominently  at 
the  very  outset.  A  clerk  at  Orleans  foresees  the  Archbishop's 
death,  which  is  predicted  in  a  quotation  from  Lucan  "  mors 
est  ignota  Catonis."  Two  more  visions  of  the  Orleans  clerk 
are  followed  by  another — which  surely  must  have  gratified, 
even  though  it  surprised.  King  Henry. 

A  Canterbury  Doctor,  Fermin  by  name,  saw  (as  early 
as  Whitsuntide  in  1 1 70)  a  procession  passing  by  the 
bell-tower  of  the  Cathedral.  The  King  and  the  Archbishop 
were  there,  cheerfully  riding  together.  A  cross  was  borne 
before  them,  and  a  voice  from  heaven  said,  "  Whosoever  can 
touch  this  cross,  and  place  on  it  pure  gold  and  precious 
stones — their  names  shall  be  written  in  the  Book  of  Life." 
Then  th^  Archbishop  "  placed  gold  in  great  quantity  and 
precious  stones  on  the  crown "  that  was  above  the  cross. 
"  Likewise  also  the  King,  although  long  afterwards,  was 
seen  ^  to  have  done  the  same." 

This  Fermin,  who  is  described  as  "  a  man  of  respecta- 
bility,"^ was  doubtless  present  at  the  public  penitence  of 
King  Henry  in  July  1174  when  he  promised  a  large  sum 
of  money  to  the  Abbey  ;  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  that 
event  may  have  recalled  to  his  mind — perhaps  with  some 
material  modifications — a  previous  dream  about  a  reconcilia- 

'  L  143  "  visus  est."  2  ««  \-ir  honestae  conversationis." 


6  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  ^  592 

tion  between  the  King  and  the  Archbishop.  There  is 
irony,  perhaps  unconscious,  in  the  subtle  distinction  between 
the  Archbishop,  who  gave,  and  the  King,  who  "  was  seen,  or 
seemed,  to  have  given."  We  have  seen  above  ^  that  Benedict 
had  great  difficulty  in  persuading  Henry  to  fulfil  his  promises. 
If  Henry  read  as  far  as  this  in  the  book  which  the  monks 
presented  to  him,  he  may  have  been  stimulated  to  keep  his 
word.  In  a  second  vision,  the  same  Fermin  saw  the  crypt, 
"  where  the  Martyr's  body  rested  for  several  years',' *  fre- 
quented by  multitudes  of  queens,  and  a  golden  cross  with 
a  man  crucified  on  it.  Neither  of  these  visions  is  attested. 
But  the  last  is  remarkable  as  indicating  a  late  date.  For 
the  body  "rested"  in  the  crypt  till  1220.  It  would  appear 
that  William's  book  has  been  re-edited  here. 

[593]  More  interesting — and,  from  internal  evidence, 
much  earlier — is  a  vision  that  must  have  occurred  before 
the  canonization  of  St.  Thomas  in  February  1 1 73.  Reginald, 
priest  of  Wretham  near  Norwich,  dreamed  that  he  went  into 
a  chapel  to  hear  divine  service,  and  found  monks  in  white 
standing  before  the  choir  and  engaged  in  a  commemoration 
of  the  Saints.  "  When  this  was  finished,  the  one  on  the 
south  [side  of  the  altar]  signed  with  his  hand  to  the  one 
on  the  north  to  make  a  memorial  to  the  Martyr  Thomas." 
As  the  other  did  not  understand,  the  first  said  aloud  that  an 
antiphon  was  to  be  sung  to  the  holy  Martyr.  The  second 
replied  that  it  was  not  "  authentic  "  :  ^  for  Thomas  had  not 
yet  been  placed  by  papal  authority  in  the  list  of  martyrs. 
To  which  the  former  patriotically  answered,  "  Then  at  least 
let  it  be  sung  in  English."  After  this  had  been  done,  the 
former  thus  addressed  Reginald  :  "  Brother,  you  have  heard 
our  antiphon.  Go  tell  it  to  the  brother  that  is  over  the 
weak  brethren  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Canterbury." 
"  Sir,"  replied  the  priest,  "  I  do  not  yet  know  the  antiphon." 

'  (541).  *  J.  144-  ■''  i-  150  "non  authenticam." 


S595  HIS  MIRACLES 


"  I  am  going  to  say  it  to  you,"  said  he,  and  he  repeated  it 
thrice. 

[594]  William  then  quotes  the  antiphon  thus : — 

"  Hali  Thomas  of  hevenriche  {heaven-kingdom) 
Alia  postles  {apostles)  eve[n]liche  {even,  or  equal), 
Dhe  martyres  dhe  understande 
Deyhuamliche  {daily)  on  here  {their)  hande. 
Selcuth  {seld-couth^  i.e.  seldom-known)  dede  ure  Drichtin  {Lord) 
Dhat  he  dhi  wetter  wente  {changed)  to  wjm. 
Dhu  ert  help  in  Engelande, 
Ure  stefne  {voices)  understande. 

Thu  hert  ^  froure  (Ed.  frofer,  comfort)  imang  mankynne, 
Help  us  nu  of  ure  senne." 

This,  says  William,  may  be  expressed  in  Latin  as 
follows — 

"  Holy  Thomas,  citizen  of  heaven, 
To  all  Apostles  equal. 
The  Martyrs  thee  receive 
Daily  in  their  hands. 
A  rare  thing  did  our  Lord 
That  He  thy  water  changed  to  wine. 
Thou  art  a  help  in  England. 
Our  cries  do  thou  receive. 
Thou  art  comfort  among  mankind, 
Turn  us  from  our  sins. 
Evo  vae."  ^ 

[595]  From  some  such  poetic  tradition  as  this  ("  He 
thy  water  changed  to  wine ")  may  have  sprung  the  prose 
legend  related  by  Arnold  of  Lubeck,  who  flourished  less 
than  forty  years  after  the  Martyrdom,  that  the  Saint,  while 

•  Comp.  "  un-couth,"  which  originally  meant  "  un-known." 

^  The  spelling  '•thu"  for  "dhu,"  when  combined  with  "hert"  for  "ert," 
suggests  that  the  last  two  lines  may  be  a  moral  appendix  of  later  date  than  the 
first  part.  There  are  instances  of  old  May-day  songs  having  new  appendices  of 
a  Puritan  or  moralising  kind. 

*  **  Evo  vae  (properly  Eit&uae)  is  an  abbreviation  of  *Secu\otum  Axxun,' 
using  only  the  vowels,"  Afat.  iii.  Introd.  xxix. 


8  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §695 

at  table  with  the  Pope,  repeatedly  changed  water  into  wine.* 
But  William's  story  is  also  of  interest  as  a  proof  that  St 
Thomas  was  pre-eminently  the  Englishmen's  saint,  canonized 
in  the  hearts  of  the  common  people  before  the  Church  had 
ratified  their  decision.  From  visions  William  passes  to  two 
cases  ^°  in  which  blasphemy  against  the  Martyr  was  miracu- 
lously punished.  In  a  third,  punishment  falls  on  an  op- 
pressor who  refuses  to  make  restitution  to  a  widow  asking 
for  mercy  in  the  name  of  St.  Thomas." 

§  3.    The  folly  of  impatience  and  of  trusting  in  physicians  ; 
the  injustice  of  the  Irish  war 

[596]  Coming  now  to  the  miracles  of  healing,  he  places 
first  of  all  a  letter  from  burgesses  of  Bedford  attesting  the 
far-famed  restoration  of  eyesight  (or  rather  of  eyes)  to 
Ailward  of  Westoning.  After  the  letter  come  the  facts. 
These  will  be  considered  later  in  the  Parallel  Miracles. 
Here  we  may  merely  note  that  the  position  of  this  miracle, 
which  does  not  come  till  the  beginning  of  the  Fourth  Book 
of  Benedict's  work,  shews  that  William  does  not  attempt  to 
cover  the  ground  occupied  by  Benedict,  any  more  than  to 
follow  the  chronological  order  adopted  by  the  latter. 

[597]  In  the  next  miracle,  Levive,  a  dropsical  patient, 
is  a  neighbour  of  the  above-mentioned  Ailward,  and  perhaps 
owes  her  position  here  to  this  fact.  She  is  made  for  the 
readers  an  example  of  the  folly  of  impatience.  Having 
waited  at  the  tomb  for  three  days,  she  returned,  not  with  a 
cure,  but  with  cares  multiplied,^  and  was  bold  enough  to 
blame  the  Saint.  Beginning  with  statements  about  "  the 
foolish  woman,"  and  "  the  fleshly  mind,"  William  passes  into 
something  like  a  sermon,  "  Ye  worms  and  food  of  worms, 

•  ii.  291,  where  the  Editor  adds,  "The  miracle  of  the  change  of  water  into 
wine  is  somewhat  differently  related  by  Roger  of  Hoveden,  ii.  11,  ed.  Stubbs  " 
(813).  *"  i-  i5»-3-  "  i.  154- 

1  i.  158  "quia  non  curata,  curiosa." 


8  599  HIS  MIRACLES 


lift  not  your  voice  against  heaven."  After  half  a  page  of 
this,  he  breaks  off  with  "  But  enough  of  this,"  to  tell  us  that 
the  Saint,  appearing  to  the  woman  in  a  vision,  instructed 
her  how  to  compound  a  medicine.  She  drank  it  and  was 
completely  cured. 

[598]  Another  narrative  begins  with  a  description  of 
three  kinds  of  epilepsy  (or  "  epilensy  ")."  After  mentioning 
Petronilla,  a  nun  of  Polesworth,  as  suffering  from  this 
disease,  it  praises  her  for  not  resorting  to  "  hirelings  and 
those  who  are  not  [true]  physicians,"  but  to  the  true  Shepherd 
and  true  Physician,  Thomas  of  Canterbury,  from  whom  she 
departed  without  knowing  that  her  prayer  was  granted. 
But  from  that  day  she  suffered  no  more.  Thus  the  good 
Physician  made  good  his  name  to  her,  as  also  to  one  of  the 
Canterbury  monks,  whom  he  healed  of  a  chronic  cough, 
sitting  by  his  bedside  in  a  vision,  after  the  monk  had  prayed 
at  the  tomb  for  three  or  four  days.^  Then  follow  three 
cures  of  falling  sickness,  of  no  particular  interest*  Presently 
we  read  that  Robert,  Priest  of  Lincoln,  recovering  from 
illness,  was  bidden  by  St.  Thomas  to  pay  his  vow.  But  he 
had  not  made  one,  and  he  told  the  Saint  so.  The  answer 
came  back,  "  You  did  not  vow  :  but  others  vowed  for  you  ; 
and  on  you  falls  the  payment."^  Miracle  is  piled  on  miracle 
for  Richard  of  Coventry,  who  is  healed  of  fever,  has  a  bone 
caused  to  vanish  in  his  throat,  is  cured  of  toothache,  and 
freed  from  a  tumour.  His  wife  and  son  are  also  made  the 
subject  of  miracles.*^ 

[599]  The  introduction  of  the  story  of  Simon,  Canon  of 
Beverley,  sounds  like  the  beginning  of  a  clerical  discourse. 
"  Hearing  the  name  of  Canon  Symon,  brethren,  let  our  mind 
be  turned  to  obedience.  Let  it  be  turned  also  to  our  Rule, 
that  on  the  one  hand  we  (lit.  "  our  mind  ")  may  be  zealous 

*  i.   162-3.  '  '•  164-5.  ■*  >•  165-7.  *  i.  169-70. 

*  i.  1 7 1-3.     The  preceding  narrative  may  be  noted  as  mentioning  a  relapse, 
followed  by  final  cure  :  "  As  for  the  reason,  I  only  know  that  the  Lord  knows." 


lo  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  599 

to  prefer  the  will  of  the  orthodox  to  our  own,  and  on  the 
other  hand  we  may  learn  habitually  to  restrain  ourselves 
within  the  bounds  of  the  discipline  of  the  Rule.  By  the 
one  practice  we  avoid  the  sin  of  idolatry,"  etc.,  etc.'^  The 
gibes  against  physicians  are  far  more  frequent  in  William 
than  in  Benedict.  Radulf  of  (?)  Chingford,^  a  man  of  letters, 
was  thus  addressed  by  his  doctor :  "  I  return  to  you  the 
money  you  have  given  me.  I  depart.  Provide  for  your 
soul."  But  the  sick  man  replied,  "  You  have  not  seen  yet. 
Wait  till  you  know  and  see  "  :  and  he  began  to  amend  on 
the  day  (for  he  had  counted  the  days)  when  his  votive 
candle  was  lighted  at  St.  Thomas's  tomb.''  William,  a  clerk 
of  Lincoln,  cured  by  the  Martyr,  had  gained  nothing  from 
doctors  except  expense,  and  except  despair.^"  When  the 
King's  own  physicians  examined  Ralph  de  la  Saussaie  they 
said  his  soul  would  be  out  of  his  body  in  a  week  :  but  now 
was  verified  the  truth  of  the  words  "  I  will  destroy  the 
wisdom  of  the  wise  and  the  prudence  of  the  prudent  will  I 
bring  to  naught,"  for,  "  fixing  all  his  hope  on  Him  who  is 
Day  of  Day,  he  saw  that  day  which  his  physicians  despaired 
of  his  seeing,  and  following  days,  too,  by  favour  of  that 
Physician,  slain  [of  men],  to  whom  he  devoted  himself  as  a 
pilgrim."  " 

[600]  Ralph  was  engaged  in  the  Irish  war  when  this 
happened  to  him ;  and  the  narrative,  which  says  that 
"  when  the  high  and  mighty  King  of  England  invaded 
Ireland,  many  of  those  about  his  person  were  attacked  with 
divers  plagues  and  pestilence,"  indirectly  suggests  that  the 
war  was  not  a  just  one.  This  is  more  distinctly  stated  in 
the  case  of  a  "young  man  from  the  place  called  Marcha- 


'f  i.  175.  8  i.  176  "in  pago  barbari  nominis  Chenefare." 

"  i.  176-7.  ">  i.  179. 

"  i.  181.  The  next  story  mentions  the  cure  of  a  young  man  "  de  villa 
Dyena,"  wounded  in  tilting,  and  cured  by  washing  with  the  Water.  A  bone 
3^  inches  long  was  extracted  and  gratefully  deposited  on  the  Martyr's  tomb. 


.^601  HIS  MIRACLES 


neus."^"  Finding  himself  disabled  by  the  reopening  of  an 
old  wound,  the  patient  soliloquizes  at  considerable  length  : 
"  If  I  rightly  understand  the  gift  of  divine  grace,  the  Martyr 
Thomas  leads  me  from  war  to  turn  me  to  goodness.  I  go 
from  camp  to  camp — from  the  camp  of  (?)  sedition  ^^  and 
seduction  ^*  to  the  camp  of  charity  and  peace.  No  more  of 
this  barbarity  for  me  !  I  desert  to  the  tents  of  spiritual 
warfare.  But  I  must  go  to  the  sacred  spot  of  martyrdom 
and  present  the  Martyr  himself  with  a  gift.  .  .  ."  What 
follows  is  brevity  itself:  "He  spoke,  and  with  a  flow  of 
matter  squeezed  from  the  wound  he  recovered." 

§  4.    Votes  to  St.  Thomas  must  be  paid ;  physicians 
must  be  despised 

[601]  Thomas  of  Beverley  was  not  so  wise  as  the  knight 
Adam  of  Ritherfeld  near  Winchester.  The  latter,  after 
promising  a  yearly  pilgrimage,  set  out  at  once,  and  was 
cured  on  the  way  ;  the  former,  putting  it  off  for  four  days, 
was  smitten  with  a  swelling  in  the  neck  and  jaw.  How- 
ever, he  took  warning,  and,  as  soon  as  he  had  crossed  the 
Humber,  found  himself  daily  better.  These  two  brief 
stories,^  each  little  more  than  a  sentence,  seem  inserted  for  no 
other  reason  except  to  impress  on  the  reader  the  value  of 
a  speedy  pilgrimage.  This  point  is  emphasized  far  more  by 
William  than  by  Benedict.  Earlier,"  Robert,  son  of  Guy  of 
Winchester,  after  being  healed  in  consequence  of  a  vow  to 
St.  Thomas  which  he  neglects  to  pay,  is  thus  accosted  by 
St.  Martin  in  a  dream,  "  Ho  (Heus) !  Robert,  you  are  un- 
wise to  be  so  careless  about  paying  your  vow.  Unless  you 
quickly  cut  short  your  perilous  delay,  you  will  find  that  the 

'*  i.  181.     The  Editor  suggests  '•Marcham,  Berks." 
'3  MSS.  read  "  sedititionis. " 
'♦  "  Seductionis,"  (?)  "revolt  from  righteousness." 
•  i.  182.  -  i.  173. 


1 2  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  601 

debt  will  be  strictly  exacted."  "^  And  now,*  the  story  of 
Paul  of  Rouen,  a  vine-dresser,  teaches  the  same  lesson. 
Being  weather-bound  at  Winchelsea,  he  invokes  St.  Thomas 
and  obtains  a  fair  voyage  to  Sandwich.  (Here  William 
quotes  Deut.  xxxii.  2 1  about  provoking  God,  and  refers  to 
the  journey  to  Emmaus.)  Deferring  his  pilgrimage,  he  is 
wonderfully  driven  back,  while  two  companion  ships  proceed 
prosperously.  Then  comes  the  moral  :  "  Hence  it  is  clear 
that  the  Martyr  would  have  his  earthly  remains  visited  and 
reverence  paid  to  him  as  Primate  and  Legate  of  the  Roman 
See,  to  the  intent  that  he  who  was  once  forbidden  to  pass 
through  the  villages  and  towns  of  England,  and  to  visit  his 
diocese  when  alive,^  may  be  visited  by  all  England  now  that 
he  is  dead." 

[602]  At  this  point  William  introduces,  in  a  new  aspect, 
his  old  theme  of  the  uselessness  of  physicians.  A  certain 
Roger  of  Middleton  '^  had  gained  no  relief  from  dropsy  after 
trying  for  almost  a  year  the  remedies  of  many  (doctors). 
After  preparing  for  death  and  receiving  the  sacrament,  he 
travelled  with  great  difficulty  to  Canterbury  and  began  his 
journey  back  in  improved  health.  But  the  fatigues  and 
hardships  of  his  return  brought  him  home  with  his  disease 
increased.  He  was  now  awaiting  death,  when,  in  a  vision,  a 
youth  appeared,  and  guided  him  to  two  physicians.  These 
he  found  to  be  St.  .Thomas  and  St.  Edmund,  whom  he  be- 
sought to  help  him  :  "  St.  Thomas  replied, '  You  have  loaded 
your  system  with  potions  and  medicaments.'  St.  Edmund 
the  Martyr  added,  '  Even  more  than  was  needful.'  Then 
said  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr, '  If  you  had  tasted  one  medicine 

3  i.  174.  ♦'  Exigendum,"  the  gerundive,  often  used  by  William  for  the  future 
infinite  passive.  *  i.  183-4. 

''  This  refers  to  the  royal  prohibition  in  1 1 70,  restricting  the  Archbishop  to 
Canterbury. 

^  i.  184-6,  the  Editor  adds  "of  Suffolk,"  presumably  because  of  the  subsequent 
mention  of  St.  Edmund,  which  might  be  taken  to  indicate  that  Roger  was  familiar 
with  the  shrine  at  Bury  St.  Edmunds. 


^603  HIS  MIRACLES  13 

more,  you  would  not  have  tasted  any  other.' "  The  sick 
man  apologised  on  the  ground  of  his  desperate  condition. 
But  St.  Thomas  closed  the  dialogue  by  saying  that  he  must 
give  up  human  medicines  and  resort  to  prayer  alone :  "  Pray 
unto  the  Lord,  and  we  will  pray  with  you."  The  man 
obeyed.  Three  days  afterwards,  having  nothing  digestible 
to  eat,  he  deliberately  and  against  t/te  advice  of  his  household 
ate  what  he  knew  would  tiot  agree  with  him  "  that  his  disease 
and  his  despair  might  be  simultaneously  ended "  :  William 
then  proceeds  to  minute  and  unpleasing  details  of  the  cure 
that  rapidly  followed. 

[603]  One  might  have  anticipated  that  a  physician 
patronized  by  the  Archdeacon  of  Canterbury  would  be 
treated  somewhat  leniently  by  a  monk  of  Canterbury  :  and 
accordingly  this  physician  is  recognized  as  being,  at  all 
events,  able  to  perceive  that  the  drop.sy  of  Robert,  a  knight 
of  Bromton,^  "  required  exact  care."  But  he  is  also  de- 
scribed as  "  vainly  distinguishing  four  species  of  dropsy," 
and  as  handing  the  knight  over  to  the  care  of  some  other 
doctor,  on  the  ground  that  he  himself  was  too  much  occupied 
with  public  business.  While  Robert  was  on  a  journey,  he 
was  warned  in  a  dream  to  leave  other  physicians  and  keep 
to  the  physic  of  St  Thomas.  He  accordingly  travelled,  but 
not  on  foot,  some  distance  in  the  direction  of  Canterbury. 
A  second  dream  warned  him  that  he  must  not  ride,  but 
walk.  He  begged,  on  the  plea  of  weakness,  to  be  allowed 
to  come  part  of  the  way  on  the  Thames  and  the  rest  on 
foot*  Thus  he  came,  and  was  wrapped  in  the  garment ' 
in  which  the  Saint  fulfilled  his  martyrdom.  On  his  return, 
being  shaken  by  his  carriage,  he  turned  aside  to  Newington.^'' 
There,    after     sleeping     soundly,    he    awoke,    and    "  found 

^  i.  187.  *  •♦  Petens  quod  vel  a  fluvio  sibi  permitteretur  hoc  facere." 

0  "  Pellicia." 

'°  Sec  above  (533)-      It  was  a  place  where  the  Archbishop  had  stood  while 
holding  a  confirmation  ;  and  many  miracles  occurred  there. 


14  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  603 

himself  restored  to  health,  except  that  his  feet  still  shewed 
traces  of  the  disease."  In  William's  opinion,  the  reason  for 
these  was  that  he  had  not  obeyed  the  Saint  in  coming  all 
the  way  on  foot,  so  that  he  had  not  deserved  to  be  altogether 
cured." 

§  5.  Emma  of  Halberton  and  Godelief  of  Laleham 

[604]  These  specimens  will  shew  that  we  have  not  much 
to  learn  from  William  that  Benedict  has  not  already  taught 
us,  so  far  as  concerns  the  manner  and  means  of  cures  effected 
in  the  name  of  St.  Thomas. 

As  to  means,  the  main  difference  between  Benedict  and 
William  seems  to  be  that  the  latter  lays  less  stress  on 
passionate  faith  and  more  on  the  necessity  of  a  journey  to 
Canterbury.  Probably  the  monks  were  right — whatever 
their  reasons  or  motives  may  have  been — in  magnifying  the 
importance  of  a  pilgrimage.  The  hardships  of  a  pilgrim 
were  sometimes  severe,  but  the  compensations  were  many. 
Immediate  change  of  scene  and  air,  abstinence  from  physic 
and  medical  remedies,  regular  exercise,  the  excitement  of  a 
journey — often  diversified  by  novel  experiences  and  almost 
always  by  interchange  of  discourse  with  other  pilgrims  from 
different  parts  of  England — all  these  influences,  combined 
with  a  hopeful  faith  in  the  Martyr  to  whom  they  were 
journeying  and  who  often  seemed  to  be  bestowing  on  them 
already  a  foretaste  of  restoration  increasing  with  every  mile 
of  the  journey,  might  very  well  suffice  to  explain  in  a 
natural   way  the   cure    of  diseases    that    had    puzzled    the 

"  i.  188.  He  is  somewhat  obscure,  and  appears  to  use  "  omnino  non " 
{i.e.  "absolutely  not")  for  "non  omnino"  (i.e.  "not  completely").  He  seems 
to  put  first  a  materialistic  explanation,  which  he  rejects,  and  then  a  moral  one, 
which  he  accepts.  The  first  is,  "  vel  quia  pedes  ierat  (either  because  he  had  come 
\part  of  the  way]  on  foot."  The  second  is,  "vel  secundum  nostram  opinionem, 
quia  monenti  medico  in  somnis  non  paruit,  et,  quia  jussam  viam  pedes  omnino 
non  fecit,  forsan  omnino  curari  ad  tempus  non  meruit."  To  this  he  adds,  "  For 
with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  again  to  you." 


§606  HIS  MIRACLES  15 

physicians  of  the  twelfth  century  and  would  baffle  many 
of  the  nineteenth. 

[605]  But  we  also  learn  from  William  many  new  and 
interesting  facts  illustrating  the  abuses  that  rapidly  attached 
themselves  to  the  cultus  of  St.  Thomas.  Emma  of  Hal- 
berton  ^  ventured  to  stitch  on  a  hook  and  eye  that  had  come 
off  her  little  sister's  cloak — and  this  on  the  Wednesday  in 
Whitsuntide !  Her  fingers  were  immediately  contracted. 
With  tears  and  prayers  she  resorted  to  the  relics  of  St. 
Thomas  in  the  village  church,  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
priest  and  dame  Caecilia,  the  respected  wife  of  a  neighbouring 
knight,  the  casket  containing  the  sacred  treasures  was  applied 
to  the  girl's  hand.  Virtue  came  forth,  her  fingers  were 
restored,  the  church  bells  were  set  ringing,  and  they  blessed 
God. 

[606]  Next  day,  however,  the  girl  fell  into  so  heavy  a 
slumber  that  she  was  thought  dead.  When  her  friends 
succeeded  at  last  in  rousing  her,  she  blamed  them  bitterly. 
She  had  had  a  vision  of  St.  Thomas,  she  said  :  he  had 
assured  her  that  her  chastening  was  not  on  her  own  account 
but  for  the  cure  of  the  sins  of  others.  "  Thy  hand,"  said  the 
Martyr,  "  is  my  hand.  Whomsoever  thou  shalt  bless  with 
this  hand  [of  thine]  shall  be  healed  from  his  infirmity  " ;  and 
he  was  on  the  point  of  uttering  the  mystic  word  that 
would  have  imparted  the  divine  power,  when  she  was 
awakened  and  deprived  of  the  celestial  benefit.  However, 
she  had  other  dreams  and  visions,  one,  for  example,  warning 
her  mother  to  continue  her  customary  eleemosyna  —  three 
masses  a  week  for  her  deceased  husband,  and  a  candle  as 
well — as  long  as  she  had  a  farthing.^ 

A  more  doubtful  revelation  was  that  her  mother  was  to 
dismiss  her  maid-servant.  But  this  did  not  seem  to  have 
been  acted  on.     "  We  know  not,"  says  William,  "  the  cause 

^  >.  '93-5- 

*  i.  195  "donee  ci  vel  una  supererit  nummata  (?)  substantiae. " 


1 6  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §606 

of  this  precept :  but  it  happened  that  some  little  time  after- 
wards the  maid  voluntarily  gave  notice."  ^  Perhaps  Emma 
had  made  her  life  uncomfortable,  though  Osanna  (the  mother) 
had  not  discharged  her.  Lastly,  Emma  revealed  to  William 
at  Canterbury  that  she  "  had  seen  punishments  prepared  for 
a  young  kinsman  of  hers,  a  fellow-pilgrim,  because  he  had 
sinned  with  a  certain  maid,  and  had  not  duly  brought  forth 
fruits  of  repentance."  On  being  cross-examined  by  William, 
the  young  man  replied  that  "  she  {i.e.  Emma)  knew  nothing 
at  all  about  his  offence  till  it  was  [divinely]  revealed  to  her  "  : 
but  how  this  negative  was  proved,  William  does  not  explain. 
In  any  case,  Emma  does  not  seem  quite  a  satisfactory 
character,  or  the  sort  of  person  to  whom  the  real  St.  Thomas 
would  say,  "  Whomsoever  thou  shalt  bless  shall  be  delivered 
from  his  infirmity." 

[607]  To  Godelief,  a  woman  of  Laleham,*  St.  Thomas 
appeared  standing  over  against  the  altar  barefoot.  This 
was  to  suggest  penitence.  "  Many,"  he  said,  "  who  attend 
your  church  are  excommunicated.  Your  priest  himself  has 
committed  a  sin  and  has  not  repented.  Prompt  him,  in  my 
name,  to  offer  works  of  satisfaction."  After  giving  parti- 
culars of  the  sin,  the  Martyr  added,  "  His  diocesan  ^  Heinulph 
is  guilty  of  the  same  sin  " — and  he  made  known  ^  his  offence 
— "  I  warn  him  to  confess  and  return  to  a  right  mind.  Else 
let  him  know  he  will  be  cut  off  this  year.  He  is  a  pilgrim 
of  mine.  I  am  loth  that  he  should  perish.  You  have  also 
among  you  the  woman  Johet,  doing  works  of  mercy  indeed, 
but  failing  to  gain  merit  because  she  seeks  praise  and  vain- 
glory." Then  follows  censure  of  Adelicia,  which  William 
thinks  may  be  obscure  "  because  perhaps  it  would  not  be 
profitable  to  express  it  clearly."  This  vision  was  not  per- 
haps too  hard  on  Henry  the  priest  of  Laleham,  for  William 

3  "  peteret  missionem." 

*  i.  198,  text  "  Lalham."     Ed.  suggests  Laleham.  *  "diocesanus." 

6  «'  Innotuit,"  regularly  used  transitively  both  by  Benedict  and  by  William. 


§eoe  HIS  MIRACLES  17 

adds  that  "  from  the  day  when  he  received  this  heaven-sent 
admonition,  he  has  given  more  heed  both  to  himself  and 
to  his  flock."  Possibly,  too,  Adelicia's  conscience,  inter- 
preting the  obscure  revelation  that  concerned  her,  may 
have  admitted  its  truth.  But  if  not,  she  may  have 
thought  it  severe.  And  in  any  case,  a  person  who 
had  such  visions  might  manifestly  be  tempted  to  shape 
them  according  to  prejudice,  and  do  a  great  deal  of  harm 
in  a  country  village.'^ 


S  6.   Revivification 

[608]  Two  cases  of  revivification  having  been  reported 
above/  it  is  remarkable  that  William  should  introduce  a 
third,  as  though  it  were  an  unheard-of  wonder  :  ^  "  Let  your 
affection,  brethren,  give  me  its  best  attention.  For  we  are 
about  to  relate  something  wonderful  to  tell,  raising  (so  to 
speak)  the  dead  [before  your  eyes.] "  ^  He  proceeds  to 
make  a  little  sermon  about  the  need  of  new  miracles  to 
strengthen  faith  in  old  miracles.  There  is  nothing  specially 
remarkable  in  the  story  itself  except  that  the  parents  had 
tried  rings  and  charms,'*  hung  round  their  child's  neck, 
before  they  resorted  to  the  Martyr's  Water :  and  the  case 
itself  affords  but  one  of  many  proofs  that  apparent  death 
often  sets  in  before  actual  death.  But  the  introduction  is 
important  as  suggesting  that  this  miracle  was  the  first  of  t/ie 
kind  recorded  by  William  himself,  and  that  the  two  others 
(which  both  belong  to  the  Parallel  Miracles)  were  later  in 
time,  though  placed  by  William  earlier.  Another  case  is 
accompanied  by  some  lines  of  rhyming  Latin  which  shew 


'  Godelief  is  said  to  have  received  from  St.  Thomas  "a  silver  ring  with  a 
precious  stone  in  it,"  which  he  placed  on  her  finger  saying,  •'  If  any  one  doubts 
that  I  have  spoken  with  you,  produce  this  as  a  proof  of  our  conversation  together." 

•  i.  160,  190.  *  i.  199. 

'  "suscitantes"  agreeing  with  "nos."  *  "brevia.'' 

V(M..    II  3 


1 8  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §609 

that  the  practice  of  dropping  the  Water  into  the  lips  must 
have  been  long  established.^ 

[609]  The  revival  of  the  child  of  the  Earl  of  Clare, 
described  by  Benedict  as  well  as  William,*  will  be  found 
below  among  the  Parallel  Miracles.  It  has  a  preface  on  the 
participation  of  the  powerful  and  rich,  as  well  as  the  lowly 
and  poor,  in  the  mercies  of  God.  But  another  story,  which 
immediately  follows,  and  which  Benedict  omits,  is  in  some 
respects  more  pathetic.  The  funeral  mass  had  been  said, 
and  the  father,  Adam  of  Aldham  (or  Hadham)  had  left  the 
room  in  despair,  after  sitting  by  the  bedside  of  the  child 
(a  little  boy  of  three  years  old)  up  to  the  last :  "  The  eyelids 
had  been  closed,  the  hands  laid  across  the  breast,^  the  feet 
arranged,  all  the  exequies  duly  performed,  and  about  as 
much  time  had  elapsed  as  would  take  a  good  walker  to  go 
a  mile.^  But  while  some  still  remained  in  the  room,  the 
body  was  sprinkled  with  the  sacred  Water,  and  it  began  at 
once  to  stir.  Some  conjectured  this  to  be  a  sign  of  the 
Divine  compassion  ;  others  that  it  was  the  effect  of  wind 
pent  up  in  the  body.  A  few  moments  afterwards,  the  child 
shifted  one  arm,  gave  a  great  cry,  and  called  for  its  mother." 
The  account  says  that  the  revivification  was  accompanied 
with  an  exudation  of  matter  and  perspiration — a  detail  not, 
I  believe,  mentioned  in  other  cases  ;  and  the  chronicler 
vividly  describes  the  "  bounding  joy  "  ^  of  the  father,  and  the 

'  i.  2IO.     That  the  rhymes  were  not  composed  specially  for  the  case  de- 
scribed, appears  from   the  introduction — "Yet  their  single  hope  was  fixed  on 
Thomas,  because  he  oftentimes  wrought  like  [wonders]  : 
'  Cujus  nomen  dum  vocatur, 
Sf>es  vocantum  non  frustratur, 
Nam  cum  liquor  instillatur, 
Qui  cruore  rubricatur, 
CoUum  marcens  integratur, 
Vita  redit,  vox  laxatur. '  " 

«  (758).  ^  i.  230  "cancellaue." 

8  i.  231.  This  phrase,  resembling  one  assigned  by  Euripides  to  a  messenger, 

but  very  unusual  (if  it  occurs  at  all)  in  these  treatises,  may  have  come  from  Adam 

himself.     See  529.  "  "  tripudium. " 


§610  HIS  MIRACLES  19 

immediate  vow  that  the  Httle  one,  if  spared,  should  go  to 
Canterbury.  The  child  gained  strength,  but  could,  at  first, 
only  eat  "  strawberries  and  mulberries."  However,  as  soon 
as  the  pilgrimage  was  commenced,  he  got  his  appetite 
again,  "  for  it  was  but  fit  that  considering  the  little  one's 
age  and  devotion,  his  victual  should  be  restored  to  him, 
lest,  if  his  viaticum  failed,  he,  too,  should  fail  on  the  way." 

^  7.  Leprosy 

[610]  Perhaps  in  relating  cases  of  leprosy  so  called — 
liable  as  they  seem  to  have  been  to  frequent  relapses,  and 
often  not  cured  till  after  long  waiting — William  felt  that 
there  was  special  need  of  variety  and  rhetorical  style.  The 
following  is,  at  all  events,  a  startling  introduction  : — "  Why, 
woman  Agnes,  did  you  not  return  to  St.  Thomas  your 
healer  ?  ^  You  came  here  once  contaminated  with  leprosy  : 
you  ought  to  have  returned  at  least  once  to  your  healer 
when  cleansed,  in  order  that  what  was  done  for  your  heal- 
ing might  be  repeated  for  [his]  praise.  It  will  be  well  to 
unfold  what  we  saw  and  what  we  heard  in  your  case.  Your 
nose  was  not  a  little  swelled,  and  your  chin  too  ;  your  eyes 
were  running,"  etc.  etc.  This  had  been  going  on  "  from  the 
Paschal  days  until  the  length  of  days  diminished  and 
Phoebus  revolved  in  a  shorter  circumference."  When  the 
time  came  for  her  to  be  banished  from  her  town  (which  is 
called  "castrum  Zignien  "),  her  brother  Solomon  compassion- 
ately brought  her  in  June  to  Canterbury,  where  she  remained 
four  days. 

All  this  William  tells  Agnes  herself,  and  then  continues  : 
"  You  applied  no  external  remedy  at  all,  except  that  you 
bathed  your  rough,  swelled  face  with  the  healthful  Water  of 
the  new  Martyr.  And  the  pimples  began  to  diminish,  your 
hairless  eyebrows  began  to  feel  the  influence  of  the  super- 


'  i.  216  "  curatorem." 


20  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  610 

infused  dew.  .  .  .  And  I  can  conjecture  from  what  we  saw 
in  you,  that,  unless  you  had  remedied  your  fleshly  disease 
with  a  spiritual  fomentation,  you  would  have  incurred  an 
incurable  one."  He  proceeds  to  inform  the  woman  that 
she  left  too  soon,  owing  to  her  brother's  pressing  business, 
before  she  had  been  fully  cured,  and  concludes  by  bidding 
her,  at  all  events,  give  her  thoughts  to  her  benefactor  if  she 
cannot  give  him  her  presence  as  a  pilgrim. 

[611]  Peter,  a  monk  of  Poitiers,  a  leper  also,  is  next 
made  the  subject  of  a  most  pedantical  discourse,^  which 
relates  how  he  came  to  Canterbury  and  "  experienced  the 
salutary  streams  of  Jordan — not  that  old  one  which  waters 
Palestine,  but  the  new  Jordan,  which,  emerging  from  the 
head  of  the  new  Martyr,  flows  toward  the  west,  glides 
toward  the  north,  and  does  not  omit  the  east  and  the 
south."  ^  But  the  next  leper,  brother  Daniel  from  Dublin, 
is  addressed,  like  Agnes  above,  in  the  second  person :  * 
"  Brother  Daniel,  you  shewed  yourself  to  the  priests  of  the 
Canterbury  church  on  the  last  day  of  August,  testifying  that, 
from  four  years  ago,  leprosy  had  been  creeping  over  you. 
In  your  ignorance  of  the  Scriptures,  you  did  not  give  heed 
to  the  ceremonies  of  the  old  Law,  but,  with  the  simplicity 
of  a  layman,  you  asked  to  be  made  clean  at  the  arbitrament 
of  the  priests."  Then,  after  Daniel  has  been  told  over 
again  all  that  he  told  the  monks  about  his  previous  life,  he 
is  addressed  as  follows :  "  These  facts  you  habitually  and 
frequently  asserted  near  the  Martyr's  tomb.  But  if  you 
had  produced  suitable  witnesses  of  this  statement  —  else 
you  could  not  have  been  believed  owing  to  the  [need  of 
guarding  against]  false  and  deceiving  brethren — you  would 
have  been  clearly  pronounced  to  be  clean  among  the  clean 

2  i.  217-19. 

^  [611a]  "derivatur  in  disim,  allabitur  arton,  anathole  niesembriamque  non 
praeterit."     William  is  shewing  off  his  knowledge  of  misspelt  Greek. 
'  i.  219. 


S612  HIS  MIRACLES 


by  the  common  judgment  of  all.  .  .  .  And  the  appearance 
of  your  face  spoke  for  itself,  hardly  needing  the  interpreting 
tongue.  Nevertheless,  we  could  not  glorify  the  Lord  in  you 
as  we  should  have  done  if  we  had  had  perfect  knowledge  of 
the  facts." 

[612]  It  is  characteristic  of  William  that  in  briefly 
mentioning  ^  six  or  seven  more  cases  of  leprosy,  he  omits 
details  and  sometimes  even  the  name  and  place — on  the 
ground  that  the  Gospel  describes  the  cure  of  ten  lepers  at 
once  and  omits  the  names  of  all — yet  finds  room  to  tell  us 
the  precise  Irish  words  heard  by  one  leper  to  whom  St. 
Thomas  said  in  a  dream  (while  striking  him  with  his  pastoral 
staff),  "  Heri  acre  nech  flantu,"  which  "  is,  being  interpreted, 
says  William,  'Arise,  Irishman,  thou  art  healed.""'  This 
might  be  alleged  by  some  as  favouring  Mr.  Magnusson's 
theory  that  William  was  himself  Irish.  Perhaps,  however, 
it  is  merely  an  indication  that  William  had  a  smattering  of 
Irish,  as  he  had  a  smattering  of  Greek.  He  seems  to  be 
fond  of  quoting  technical  words  that  are  out  of  the  way. 
Above,  when  describing  the  voyage  of  Paul  of  Rouen,^  he 
spoke  of  the  "  saphon,"  the  "  anguinae,"  and  of  that  "  quod 
nautae  lovum  vocant."  He  is  afflicted  with  that  perverse 
confusion,  or  love  of  disproportion,  which  makes  so  many 
witnesses  assume  that,  when  accumulating  and  exaggerating 
details,  they  are  setting  forth  the  essential  truth.  However, 
we  may  feel  sure  that  he  is  really  giving  us  the  Irishman's 
words ;  and  indeed  there  is  something  different  from  the 
commonplace  English  visions  in  his  sight  of  the  Martyr, 
"  going  up  to  heaven  again,  following  three  candles,  which 
were  held  out  to  do  him  worship." 

*  i.  221-2. 

•  i.  221,  note  :  "The  Editor  has  been  kindly  infonned  that  this  ought  to  be 
Eirigh,  Eirionach,  slanta."  Above  (594),  William  has  preserved  the  exact  English 
words  of  an  antiphon  imparted  in  a  vision. 

'  i.  183. 


2  2  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §613 

§  8.   Oiapels  are  io  be  built  to  St.  Thomas 

[613]  A  blind  young  woman  of  Pevensey,  Seivia  by 
name,  travelling  to  Canterbury  under  her  aunt's  guidance, 
was  deserted  by  the  latter  when  she  could  go  no  further 
through  fatigue.  But  the  Saint  appeared  to  her,  saying,  "In 
this  village  dwells  a  worthy  man,  Robert  the  son  of  Elgar. 
He  will  be  the  first  person  you  will  see.  He  will  come  to 
you.  Tell  him,  as  a  command  from  St.  Thomas,  to  build  a 
cross  on  this  spot."  Robert  seems  to  have  raised  no  objec- 
tion.^ Not  so,  in  a  similar  instance,  the  Earl  of  Albemarle, 
who  was  much  more  bound  to  be  grateful.  For  he  had  been 
cured  of  more  than  one  disease,  and  delivered  from  excruci- 
ating tortures.  Yet  he  did  not  come  to  the  tomb  till  some 
time  afterwards,  "  when  the  miracles  became  numerous  and 
the  disturbers  of  the  church  became  few."  ^  And  further, 
when  the  Martyr  appeared  to  one  Brother  Robert,  saying 
that  the  Earl  had  not  paid  his  vow  and  that  he  must  build 
him  a  chapel  in  Hedon  (in  Holdernesse),  the  Earl  seems  to 
have  refused  compliance  unless  the  brother  would  swear  on 
the  sacraments  that  he  had  not  given  this  message  out 
of  desire  of  gain.  So  natural  was  it,  when  miracles  and 
visions  came  into  fashion,  for  noblemen  to  suspect  monks  of 
inventing  them.      However,  the  chapel  was  built. 

[614]  The  rest  of  the  miracles  of  this,  the  Second  Book 
of  William's  treatise,  for  the  most  part  merely  repeat  the 
characteristics  mentioned  above.  It  is  fair,  however,  to 
mention  the  exceptional  case  of  a  blind  woman  of  Eynesford,^ 
who,  being  very  poor,  and  being  unable  to  induce  her  relations 
to  take  her  to  Canterbury,  heard  a  voice  by  night  saying,  "  I 
see  thou  art  sad  because  thou  hast  not  wherewith  to  visit 
the  Martyr's  tomb.  Thy  sorrow  shall  be  turned  into  joy. 
To-morrow  go  to  the  shrine  of  St.  Laurence,  rub  thine  eyes 
with  the  altar-cloth,  and  thou  shalt  see."     And  so  it  was. 

'   i.  240.  -  i.  224.  "   i.  241. 


^  616  HIS  MIRACLES  23 

[615]  Towards  the  end  of  this  book,  William  seems 
to  group  together  a  number  of  miracles,  not  because  they 
are  of  the  same  nature,  but  because  they  are  attested  by 
priests,  chaplains,  archdeacons,  or  bishops.  The  last  but  one  * 
describes  the  Archbishop  of  Rouen  consecrating  an  altar 
to  St.  Thomas  at  Barfleur  for  Prince  Henry,  who  found  it 
possible  to  sail  next  day,  after  being  weather-bound  fifteen 
days  :  and  it  adds  that,  in  a  short  time,  many  blind  and  lame 
were  here  healed.  Finally,  as  the  climax  of  the  Second 
Book,  comes  the  cure  of  Foliot,  Bishop  of  London,  effected 
by  the  promise  of  a  pilgrimage  made  in  his  name  by  the 
Bishop  of  Salisbury  at  his  bedside.  Here  William  naturally 
becomes  rhetorical  against  the  Martyr's  former  enemy :  ^ 
"  What  was  he  to  do,  confronted  by  Reflection  as  a  prosecutor, 
and  by  Conscience  as  a  witness  ?  What  was  he  to  allege  at 
the  bar  where  allegations  are  carefully  examined  by  Wisdom 
as  judge  ?  Was  he  to  deny  his  fault  ?  Truth  would  have 
cried  out  against  him.  .  .  .  Was  he  to  colour  his  discourse 
with  tricks  of  rhetoric  .  .  .  ?  Was  he  to  lie  ...  ? "  and 
much  more  of  the  same  sort. 

[616]  He  concludes  by  calling  attention  to  the  wonder- 
ful and  unprecedented  novelty  of  a  Saint  who  feeds  and  heals 
his  enemies  with  his  own  blood.  The  Lord  Himself,  he  says, 
"  condemns  those  who  drink  of  His  blood,  unless  they  be 
worthy.  .  .  .  But  the  Martyr  Thomas  in  accordance  with 
his  Master's  promise,^  *  doing  greater  works,'  and  in  a  gentler 
mood,  offers  his  blood  not  only  to  friends  but  also  to  enemies. 
.  .  .  Wherefore  let  all  without  fear  drink  of  that  blood  who 
desire  to  obtain  salvation  of  body  or  soul."  ^ 

*  i.  250.  *  i.  251. 

•  John  xiv.  12  '*  Greater  works  than  these  shall  he  do" 
^  Comp.  Gamier  11.  5806- lO,  quoted  above  (442)- 


24  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  617 


CHAPTER    n 

WILLIAM'S   THIRD,    FOURTH,    AND    FIFTH    BOOKS,    OR    THE 
DEGENERATION    OF   THE    MIRACLES 

§  I.  Degenerate  miracles 

[617]  In  William's  later  books  there  appears  a  rapid 
increase  of  the  tendency  to  collect  amusing  stories  and  to 
desist  from  the  task  of  collecting  attestations.  Occasionally, 
indeed,  he  gives  us  the  latter,  and,  among  these,  some  very 
remarkable  letters  written  to  the  Prior  of  Canterbury.  But 
these  more  weighty  narratives  are  mixed  with  childish  stories 
about  the  healing  of  hawks,  the  preservation  of  the  flesh 
of  dead  pigs,  and  other  drolleries  interspersed  for  pleasure 
("  jucunditas ").  On  more  than  one  occasion,  the  author 
confesses  that  he  throws  in  these  letters,  written  by  the  hands 
of  others,  to  give  himself  leisure  for  accumulating  stories  of 
a  more  attractive  kind. 

§  2.  Miracles  for  the  King's  sake 

A  good  many  of  these  lighter  tales  refer  to  gentlemen 
and  noblemen,  and  some  few  to  the  King  himself  Nothing 
but  the  interest  attaching  to  royalty  can  explain  the  insertion 
of  one  that  comes  early  in  the  Third  Book.' 

[618]  Alfred  of  Gloucester  was  bound  to  sell  fish  to 
none  but  the  Gloucester  monks.  But  a  pressing  customer 
came,  saying  that  he  was  once  the  late  Archbishop's  porter. 
To  him,  for  the  sake  of  the  Martyr,  the  fisherman  sold  two 
fish  "  for  a  moderate  price."    Next  night  the  Martyr  appeared, 

*  i.  275  (la).     It  is  entitled,  "Concerning  a  vision  pertaining  to  the  King." 


4^619  HIS  MIRACLES  25 

riding  on  a  white  horse  above  the  waters  of  the  Severn, 
surrounded  by  four  suns  :  "  Yesterday,"  he  said,  "  you  sent 
me  two  fish.  Now  you  must  do  something  more."  Alfred 
is  then  bidden  to  go  to  Canterbury,  and  to  tell  his  lord  the 
Abbot  of  Gloucester  to  do  the  same.  "  Your  King,"  the 
Martyr  proceeds  to  say,  "flees  from  my  face.  Never  will  he 
prosper  till  he  visits  my  tomb  and  there  obtains  God's  mercy. 
.  .  .  Go :  I  send  you  to  take  him  word  that  he  is  to  come 
to  my  Memorial."  Fifteen  days  afterwards,  the  King  came 
from  Normandy  to  England  on  his  way  to  the  reduction  of 
Ireland.  The  Martyr  appeared  the  second  time.  "  Ha  ! " 
he  cried,  "you  have  not  done  my  errand.  Execute  your 
orders.  The  King  will  pass  this  way,  close  to  your  house." 
It  happened  just  as  the  Martyr  said,  and  Alfred  went  so  far 
as  to  take  hold  of  the  King's  bridle,^  intending  to  give  him 
his  message.  "  But,  seeing  his  Majesty  distracted  with 
manifold  thoughts  and  fearing  that  he  might  speak  to  his 
own  harm,  he  allowed  his  servile  terror  to  check  the  words 
that  were  on  the  tip  of  his  tongue."  Many  days  afterwards, 
when  Henry  came  back  from  Ireland  by  that  same  way,  the 
Martyr  deigned  to  give  the  fisherman  a  third  warning : 
and  Alfred  once  more  went  out  to  meet  the  King.  But 
again  he  was  abashed.  So  nothing  came  of  it  all.  The 
three  neglected  visions  of  the  Saint  did  not  even  result  in 
a  punishment 

[619]  More  came  from  the  next  vision.^  Guy,  on  a 
charge  of  manslaughter,  was  imprisoned  and  fettered  in 
Stafford.  It  was  Whitsuntide,  and  a  pilgrim  happened  to 
bring  round  the  Canterbury  Water.  Guy  drank  some : 
"  Strange  to  tell !  The  iron  felt  the  force  of  the  draught,  and 
the  bolt  leapt  apart,  and  set  the  prisoner  free  in  the  act  of 
drinking."  His  keepers  "  locked  it  again  with  all  their 
force "  ;  but  soon  afterwards,  while  the  choir  of  the  clergy 

'  •'  fraenum  regis  apprehenderet."  '  i.  276-7. 


26  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  619 

was  passing  by,  the  chains  were  again  unlocked.  They 
were  again  bolted.  But  "  when,  for  the  third  time,  the  bar 
let  into  the  chains  leapt  out  in  front  of  the  altar " — 
apparently  the  prisoner  and  his  captors  must  have  been 
in  church  together — "  the  priest,  full  of  gratitude,"*  hung 
up  the  chains  in  the  church,  and  wished  to  keep  the 
prisoner.  This  the  guards  would  not  suffer.  So  Guy  was 
led  out,  placed  in  charge  of  a  gaoler,  and  chained  to  a 
beam  by  a  fetter  round  his  waist.  For  they  imputed  to 
witchcraft  and  charms  what  was  really  the  work  of  divine 
power." 

Their  efforts  were  all  vain.  Thrice  did  a  voice  in  the 
night  come  to  the  sleeping  prisoner  bidding  him  "  Awake,  call 
on  Thomas."  He  did  so,  and  his  chain  fell  off.^  When  the 
gaoler  entered,  Guy  related  that  he  had  been  visited  from 
heaven,  and  pointed  to  his  chain  as  a  proof  of  it.  Word 
was  now  taken  to  the  King  that  the  gaol  could  not  keep 
Guy  safe,  and  he  was  summoned  to  the  royal  presence.  "It 
is  your  hell-craft,"^  said  the  King,  "that  loosens  our  chains 
and  breaks  our  bars."  "  Hell-craft,  my  lord,"  replied  the 
prisoner,  "  there  is  none  of  mine,  but  the  heaven-craft  ^  of 
St  Thomas  is  great"  To  which  the  King  answered,  "If 
Thomas  has  freed  him,  for  the  rest  let  none  trouble  him. 
Let  him  go  in  peace." 

Now  comes  the  reason  why  the  miraculous  release  was 
not  at  first  completed  by  opening  the  prison  door  as  well  as 
the  fetters  :  "  The  Martyr  was  able,  as  we  believe,  to  bring 
the  prisoner  out  of  the  gaol  unseen  by  all ;  but  it  was  meet 
to  soften  the  King's  mind  at  the  mention  of  his  name  by  a 
more  profitable^  miracle." 

*  "gratiosus." 

^  At  this  point,  we  might  have  expected  the  prison  door  also  to  fly  open,  but 
William  presently  explains  why  it  did  not. 

"  "maleficia."  "  "beneficia."  *  "salubriori." 


^621  HIS  MIRACLES  27 

§  3.   Chance  ;  losing  and  finding 

[620]  Sir  Guy,^  returning  from  tilting,  loses  a  horse 
laden  with  two  breastplates  near  the  forest  of  Ponthieu. 
He  prays  to  St.  Thomas,  and  scarcely  has  he  reached  the 
exit  from  the  forest  when  the  horse  comes  to  him.  "  Some 
one,"  says  William,  "will  say  that  this  is  to  be  imputed  to 
chance,  not  to  the  Martyr.  I  ask  what  he  means  by 
chance."  Going  into  the  question,  he  proves  that  nothing 
happens  by  chance,  for  there  is  a  cause  for  each  thing,  and 
a  First  Cause  for  all  things,  "  the  Cause  of  causes,  whereof 
there  is  no  cause,  by  the  direction  of  which  [First  Cause] 
there  was  brought  about  that  miracle  which  we  relate."  He 
does  not,  however,  enter  into  the  question  how,  after  ad- 
mitting the  First  Cause,  men  are  to  distinguish  between  the 
claims  of  a  number  of  antecedents  claiming  to  be  second- 
ary causes. 

[621]  Miracles  of  finding,  some  suggesting  obvious 
explanations,  some  wildly  and  grotesquely  impossible,  are 
here  grouped  together.  Robert,"  a  retainer  of  the  Earl  of 
Chester,  loses  a  ring  containing  relics  of  St.  Thomas.  After 
long  search,  alarmed  lest  he  should  have  incurred  the  Saint's 
displeasure  by  his  carelessness,  he  resolves  to  go  on  a 
pilgrimage,  and  puts  into  a  casket  six  silver  pieces  to  offer 
at  the  tomb.  When  he  took  them  out  at  the  shrine,  there 
was  the  ring !  "  Yet  he  constantly  asserted  that  he  had 
merely  put  in  the  empty  casket  six  silver  pieces,  and  that 
he  was  not  conscious  ^  that  he  had  put  in  anything  else." 

Ralph,^  a  priest,  returning  from  Canterbury  to  a  place 
on  the  north  of  the  Thames,  recovers,  on  the  northern  side, 
a  spur  that  he  had  lost,  twenty-six  miles  away,  on  the 
southern  side  of  the  river !  One  of  his  companions,  seeing 
the  priest  pick  up  something  on  the  road,  cried  "Halves !  " 

•  i.  282-3.  *  '•  284. 

3  "nee  fuisse  in  conscientia  ejus."  *  i.  285. 


28  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  621 

But  Ralph  replied  that  there  was  no  "  halving "  where  a 
man  found  his  own  lost*  property.  Apparently  William 
seems  quite  confident  that  Ralph  was  right,  and  that  if  the 
companion  thought  it  was  an  ordinary  "  find,"  the  companion 
was  wrong.  It  is  diflficult  to  see  any  grounds  for  William's 
view  except  the  fact  that,  at  the  time  of  the  loss,  the  loser 
had  "deposited  a  slight  and  friendly  remonstrance  in  the 
Martyr's  ears." 

A  pilgrim  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Bury  St.  Edmund's 
lost  an  obol  at  Sudbury,  where  it  slipped  out  of  his  hands 
and  vanished  as  he  was  putting  it  into  his  purse.^  He 
happened  to  say  jestingly,  "  A  pilgrim  of  St.  Thomas  has 
lost  his  obol."  Three  days  afterwards,  he  puts  his  hand  into 
his  purse  at  Rochester,*^  and  finds  that  same  coin. 

[622]  On  the  other  hand,  as  a  mark  of  reprobation,"  St. 
Thomas  returns  to  a  man  and  a  woman,  who  are  living 
together  in  sin,  the  two  obols  that  they  have  severally 
offered.  The  one  the  woman  finds  before  her  threshold,  the 
other  in  a  pitcher. 

§  4.   St.  Denis  and  St.  Thomas  ;  "  t/ie  divine  gift  of  dumbness  " 

[623]  Among  several  cases  of  madness,  or  possession, 
one  is  caused  by  the  Martyr  as  a  punishment  for  dissuading 
a  pilgrimage.  The  man  was  healed  on  making  a  vow  to 
St.  Thomas.-'  The  next  case  is  that  of  a  Frenchman,  and 
it  is  stated  that  the  French  Martyr  St  Denis  deliberately 
transferred  the  healing  of  this  man  to  the  new  Martyr  St. 
Thomas,  in  order  that  the  latter,  "  as  being  new  and  not  yet 
known,"  ^  might  be  glorified. 

[624]  Just  before  the  healing  of  a  case  of  dumbness — an 
infirmity  comparatively  seldom  mentioned — comes  a  miracle 
incidentally  revealing  that  the  monks  drove  a  trade  in  wax 

*  i.  286  "  clausuram  ligaminis  et  visum  possessoris  evasit." 

*  "  Rovecestriam,"  called  just  before  (i.  285)  "urbem  Rofam." 
'  ••  288-9.  '  303-4-  2  i.  304. 


§625  HIS  MIRACLES  29 

near  the  Martyr's  tomb.  Cecilia  had  bought  a  pound  from 
them  :  "  From  this  she  prepared  seven  candles,  two  for  her- 
self and  her  husband,  the  rest  for  her  (?)  sick  animals,^  one 
for  each.  They  were  all  about  the  same  size  and  shape : 
and  she  said  to  her  husband,  'Were  there  but  one  more, 
there  would  be  enough,  and  there  would  be  one  for  each,'  at 
the  same  time  putting  them  down  on  the  bed.  Coming 
back,  she  found  an  eighth." 

[625]  Now  comes  a  discourse  on  dumbness  :  "  What  we 
have  just  related,  happened  within  Canterbury  walls  ;  what 
we  now  relate,  in  Canterbury  Minster.  The  maid  Melota 
was  three  years  past  the  marriageable  age,  but  hopeless  of 
marriage  since  from  her  birth  she  had  not  uttered  a  word. 
And  thereby  she  was  free  from  much  occasion  of  sin,  had 
she  but  understood  the  Divine  gift"  After  a  digression 
about  such  "  gifts,"  explaining  that  God  "  condemns  many  to 
silence  lest  they  should  perish  through  speech,"  William 
adds,  "  But  we,  not  abiding  by  the  Divine  judgment,  but 
prone  to  our  own  ruin,  importune  heaven,  not  for  what  is 
needful  but  for  what  is  fleshly  and  pleasurable.  Hence  it  is 
that,  leaving  Market  Weighton,  the  above-mentioned  maid 
came  with  fellow-townsmen  to  the  Martyr's  tomb.  But 
when  her  companions  departed,  having  fulfilled  the  object  of 
their  journey,  she  sat  there  still  alone,  awaiting  the  Martyr's 
compassion.  So,  because  her  acquaintance  forsook  her,  the 
Lord  took  her  up,^  and  opened  her  mouth  for  utterance. 
So,  abiding  some  months  by  the  Martyr's  shrine,  she  learned 
the  Lord's  prayer,  and  made  progress  in  speaking  day  by 
day."  Thus  ends  William's  Third  Book,  with  something 
really  approaching  to  what  is  commonly  called  a  miracle, 
giving  two  vague  sentences  to  the  actual  cure,  and  more 
than   twice   as   many    to    his    descant   on    the  providential 

^  i.  311  "animalibus  suis  morbosis." 

*  Ps.  xxvii.  10,  quoted  above  more  fully  (i.  240)  in  the  case  of  the  young 
woman  of  Pevensey. 


30  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  626 

advantages  of  being  dumb.  The  supposition  that  the  dumb- 
ness was  an  imposture  is  made  unlikely  by  the  presence  of 
Melota's  fellow-townsmen. 

§  5.  ^  man  of  many  miracles 

[626]  Book  IV.  opens  with  a  disquisition  on  demons 
and  their  designs  on  female  purity.  After  a  number  of 
miscellaneous  miracles,  comes  one  ^  (dated  by  the  Editor 
1 173  A.D.)  describing  the  adventures  of  William,  a  clerk  of 
Monkton  in  Thanet,  sent  by  the  monks  of  Canterbury  to 
Rome.  Marvels  follow  him  everywhere.  A  phial  of  the 
Water  is  miraculously  emptied,  and  then  miraculously  found 
full.  A  sick  person  is  restored  by  it.  William's  money- 
box, deposited  with  his  host  at  Piacenza,  and  broken  open 
by  a  thievish  maidservant,  is  washed  from  the  roof  and 
brought  empty  to  the  mistress.  The  host,  journeying  to 
Pavia  to  catch  the  thief,  is  led  on  by  a  miraculous  guide 
whom  the  attendant  groom  cannot  see,  though  he  can  hear 
his  voice.  Brought  back  to  Piacenza  and  refusing  to  give  up 
her  thievish  habits,  the  woman  is  punished  with  fits,  but  is 
restored  at  the  clerk's  intercession  ;  and  finally — passing 
safely  through  perilous  regions  "  where,  in  accordance  with 
the  Emperor's  edict,  those  who  bore  the  seal  of  the  living 
God  and  of  the  blessed  apostles  St.  Paul  and  St  Peter  were 
liable  to  loss  of  hands  and  eyes " — the  clerk  of  Monkton 
"  gladdened  the  brethren  of  Canterbury  by  his  return  and 
his  success." 

§  6.    The  evils  of  business  ;  St.  Thomases  object  in  receiving 

money 

[627]  George,  sailing  from  his  home  in  Sandwich  ^  for 
purposes  of  commerce,  and  driven  back  by  storms,  affords 

*  i.  321.     The  style  shews  signs  of  different  hands.     "Guillelmus"  occurs 
on  p.  321,  yet  "  Willelmus  "  on  p.  322.     Another  miracle  (i.  324)  has  Gwillelmus. 
>  i.  325- 


i5  628  HIS  MIRACLES  31 


William  an  opportunity  for  enlarging  on  the  evils  of  business : 
"  For  few  engage  in  business  who  are  not  enriched  by  the 
losses  of  others."  Perhaps  it  is  this  sentiment  that  leads 
the  author,  in  the  next  miracle  but  one,  to  set  forth  a  theory 
to  explain '"  "  why  the  ^lartyr  gives  heed  to  vows  and 
promises  as  though  he  were  pleased  with  men's  gifts." 
After  stating  that,  when  men  make  vows,  St.  Thomas  hears 
them,  not  for  his  own  sake  but  for  theirs,  that  they  may 
obtain  fruits  of  well-doing,  he  adds,  and  seemingly  does  not 
reprobate,  another  view  :  "  But  some  say  that  the  Martyr, 
while  in  the  flesh,  during  his  voluntary  exile,  had  borrowed 
large  sums  to  expend  on  his  companions  and  attendants. 
And,  because  his  sudden  decease  prevented  him  from  dis- 
charging these  debts  in  the  course  of  his  life,  he  wished  after 
death  to  provide  for  indemnity  to  his  creditors,^  lest  by 
remaining  under  a  perpetual  obligation  he  should  make 
himself  a  laughing-stock  and  leave  room  for  complaint: 
and  hence  it  is,  they  say,  that  Kings  and  Archbishops  .  .  . 
have  flocked  as  it  were  to  pay  their  debts  to  him,  binding 
themselves  to  pilgrimages  and  various  payments."  * 

§  7.   St.  Thomas  will  not  interfere  with  the  Archbishop  of 

York    ■ 

[628]  A  long  and  pedantical  account  of  the  healing  of 
a  leper — Simon,  a  mason  of  Derby ,^  who  took  the  disease 
while  in  the  employ  of  Roger  Archbishop  of  York — gives 
William  an  opportunity  for  enlarging  on  the  Martyr's 
magnanimity  in  not  curing  Simon  at  once,  but,  as  it  were, 
referring  him  back  to  his  patron,  the  rival  Archbishop,  so 
as  to  give  the  latter  a  chance  of  seeing  what  he  could  do. 

»  i.  327- 

'  "de  indemnitate  creditoribus  suis  providere."  Does  this  mean  that  the 
Archbishop  had  borrowed  from  funds  belonging  to  the  Monks  of  Canterbury  ? 

*  "  peregrinationibus,  pensionibus,  et  capitationibus."  For  the  early  mention 
of  "  kings  "  honouring  St.  Thomas,  see  441.  '  i.  334-6. 


32  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  g  628 

However,  as  Roger  did  nothing,  the  poor  leper  had  to  beg 
for  money  to  enter  a  leper-house.  While  doing  this,  he 
received  an  internal  admonition  that  he  was  to  try  Canter- 
bury again.  Fastening  a  coin  round  his  neck  as  his  intended 
offering,  he  set  out,  and  was  cured. 

[629]  A  letter"  attesting  another  leper-healing  comes 
to  Prior  Odo  from  Prior  Humbald  of  Wenlock.  Incidentally 
mentioning  that  brother  Osbert  (who  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  seeing  the  patient  and  taking  her  an  allowance)  had 
"  written  more  fully  about  it,"  it  gives  us  a  glimpse  into 
one  very  natural  explanation  of  some  of  the  Parallel  Miracles 
presently  to  be  considered.  The  Canterbury  Chapter  may 
sometimes  have  received  two  letters.  Of  these  William 
may  have  followed  one,  Benedict  the  other. 

^  8.   Credulity  and  incredulity 

[630]  At  the  head  of  a  number  of  revivifications  comes 
that  of  a  pet  lamb,^  which  fell  from  a  bench  and  was  merci- 
fully killed  by  the  owner  (who  plunged  a  knife  of  a  palm's 
length  into  its  throat,  and  afterwards  gave  it  a  second  wound). 
"  For  the  sake  of  piety  and  the  Martyr,"  he  gave  the  carcass 
to  his  godson,  and  it  was  taken  into  a  poor  woman's  cottage. 
Next  day,  word  was  brought  that  it  had  come  back  to  life. 
The  man  went  to  see  it,  and  took  the  trouble  to  shear  off 
the  wool,  to  look  at  the  scars,  but  there  were  no  traces  of 
them  to  be  seen  !  "  Behold  !  "  says  William,  "  The  great 
Wonder-worker  called  back  to  life  a  brute  beast!  What 
sacred  mystery,  brethren,  are  we  to  suppose  herein  ?  .  .  . 
We  read  that  St.  Silvester  called  back  a  bull  to  life.  But 
that  was  required  by  the  infidelity  of  the  Jews.  .  .  .  Was 
the  brute  revived  bodily  that  brute  irrational  men  might  be 
revived  spiritually  ?  Or  were  we  thereby  to  be  called  to 
higher  beliefs,  to  the  intent  that,  being  assured  concerning  the 

^  i-  338-9-  *  i-  343- 


§632  HIS  MIRACLES  33 

restoration  of  this  present  life  for  those  [animals]  for 
which  God  careth  not,^  we  may  feel  no  doubt  about  the 
future  resurrection  of  those  who  were  created  in  His 
image  ?  " 

[631]  This  is  in  remarkable  contrast  with  the  sober 
incredulity  displayed  in  the  case  (coming  soon  afterwards) 
of  the  child  of  a  woman  of  Lichfield.^  She  said  it  had 
been  restored  to  life  after  death  under  a  mill-wheel.  But 
she  could  not  satisfy  the  brethren  in  their  demand  for  wit- 
nesses. They  were  obliged  to  "suspect  the  malice  of  the 
times,  because  of  false  brethren  privily  brought  in,  who 
strive  to  darken  truth  by  mixture  of  falsehood,  lying  in 
wait  for  the  Saint  and  provoking  the  Victor  even  after  his 
victory."  * 

§  9.    The  Water  of  Canterbury  is  changed  to  milk 

[632]  Many  cases  have  been  mentioned  where  the 
Martyr's  Water  was  changed  into  blood,  but  now  ^  Turbert, 
a  native  of  Canterbury,  and  priest  of  a  place  about  a  mile 
away,  finds  the  contents  of  his  phial  changed  into  milk, 
which  heals  a  sick  person  miraculously.  Coming  to  Canter- 
bury and  conversing  on  the  metamorphosis  with  some  nobles 
of  the  King's  court,  he  was  asked  by  some  of  them  to  give 
them  a  portion  of  the  milk  :  "  And  when  he  had  poured 
it  into  several  vessels,  there  was  found  in  one — whereof 
we  were  eye-witnesses — pure  water."  There  follows  a  short 
sermon  on  the  mystical  meaning  of  the  Martyr  in  this 
"  transmutation." 

*  An  allusion  to  I  Cor.  x.  9.  '  i.  347. 

*  Among  the  revivifications  that  follow  comes  an  interesting  fact,  that  one 
Durand,  a  Norman  (i.  348),  "brought  his  son  over  to  England  in  order  to  teach 
his  language  to  a  knight's  son."  Apparently,  it  was  already  difficult  for  knights 
in  England  to  ensure  that  their  children  should  speak  good  French.  Comp. 
Gamier  (1.  $820)  "  My  language  is  good,  for  in  France  was  /bom." 

'  >•  354-7- 
VOL.   II  3 


34  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  633 

§  I  o.  Revivification  of  a  sucking-pig  ;  of  a  gander 

[633]  A  sucking-pig  drowned  in  a  stream  was  brought 
into  the  house  of  one  Walter,  once  a  dean,  well  known  in 
the  diocese  of  Norwich.^  The  mother  of  the  family  stirred 
it  with  her  foot  and  bade  them  fling  it  out  of  doors  since  it 
was  dead.  Finding  her  orders  neglected,  she  tested  the  pig 
again,  and,  as  there  was  no  life  in  it,  repeated  them.  "  No," 
said  the  daughter  of  the  house,  "  it  shall  not  be  cast  away, 
but  set  aside  for  St  Thomas."  So  saying,  she  took  up  a  pair 
of  scissors  and  snipped  the  creature's  ears.  Straightway  it 
stood  up,  shook  itself,  disgorged  the  water  it  had  taken  in, 
and  resumed  its  original  size.  When  it  grew  up,  in  condition 
to  become  a  full-grown  boar,  a  further  miracle  followed  ; 
for  when  his  brothers  were  castrated,  he  contrived  to  hide 
himself.  Walter,  perceiving  that  the  pig's  hiding  himself 
was  a  benefit  bestowed  on  him  by  the  Martyr,  conceived  a 
confidence  that,  as  long  as  that  boar  lived,  his  herd  would 
multiply  and  prosper. 

[634]  "  Something  of  the  same  kind,"  continues  William, 
"  happened  near  Canterbury."  A  gander  had  died,  and  the 
children  had  amused  themselves  by  twisting  its  neck  and 
pulling  out  its  feathers.  When  their  mother  bade  them  throw 
it  out  of  doors,  "  We  won't  do  that,"  said  one  of  them,  "  we'll 
dedicate  it  to  St.  Thomas,  for  we  have  heard  that  he  bestows 
his  grace  even  on  brute  creatures."  So  they  finished  their 
sport  with  it  and  then  threw  it  under  a  bench. 

What  follows  is  described  in  a  quaint  mixture  of  Horace, 
the  Vulgate,  and  William's  own  :  " '  Who  will  believe  our 
report  ? ' "  If  not '  the  Jew  Apella,'  ^  if  not  a  Gentile  deceived 
by  sleight  of  error,  yet  at  least  let  one  to  whom  '  the  arm 

'  i.  358  "agit  in  bonis  dies  suos  vir  clericalis  professionis,  quamvis  saecu- 
lariter,  ex  rebus  tamen  ecclesiasticis  vivens."  The  *'  saeculariter  "  seems  intended 
to  prepare  the  reader  for  a  "  materfamilias  "  in  Walter's  house. 

*  i.  359.    Is.  liii.  I,  quoted  in  Rom.  x.  16.  ^  Hor.  Sat.  i.  5.  100. 


§636  HIS  MIRACLES  35 

of  the  Lord  hath  been  revealed '  *  believe  it  in  faith.  For 
herein  hath  been  wrought  a  most  miraculous  miracle,^  to 
the  intent  that  '  out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  should  be  per- 
fected praise.'^  For  when,  as  often  happens,  other  geese 
entered  the  house  and  raised  a  cackle  all  about  it,  he  that 
had  been  (so  to  speak)  carried  out  to  his  funeral  began  to 
raise  a  counter-cackle,  and,  as  though  aroused  by  the  noise 
of  his  brethren — or  perhaps  we  should  preferably  say  by 
the  voice  of  the  Father  [i.e.  St.  Thomas]  to  whom  he  was 
dedicated — he  leapt  up  in  a  flash,  and,  amid  a  great  clapping 
of  wings,  once  more  joined  himself  in  companionship  with 
his  own  flock.  Witness  of  this  is  the  respectable  man  from 
whom  the  gander  was  reared  from  the  egg !  Witness  is  the 
Martyr's  tomb  to  which  that  gander  was  brought !  Wit- 
nesses are  my  respectable  brethren  by  whom  that  gander 
was  welcomed  and  eaten  ! " 

^  11.  A  babe  sings  ''  Kyrie  Eleison" ;  A  dead  pilgrim, 
thrown  overboard,  comes  back  for  his  berth 

[635]  The  next  sentence  is  ^  "  We  must  now  discuss  the 
resurrection  of  certain  rational  beings,"  and  the  writer  shews 
(in  a  page  and  a  half)  that  brutes  are  revivified  merely  to 
prove  the  resurrection  of  men.  As  a  specimen  of  human 
revivification,  he  mentions  an  infant  Thomas,  restored  to  life 
on  the  day  of  its  birth  and  death,  who  laughs  when  it  returns 
to  existence.  Eight  months  afterwards  this  baby  is  taken 
to  the  Martyr  ;  and,  when  its  parents  "  saluted  Canterbury, 
seven  miles  away,"  the  little  Thomas,  "  in  a  quite  wonderful 
fashion,  burst  out  into  praises  and  began  to  sing  Kyrie 
eleison,  though  he  had  never  heard  the  words  nor  come  to 
the  age  of  speaking !  " 

[636]  A  story  that  may  contain  some  elements  of  truth 

*  Is.  liii.  I,  quoted  by  John  xii.  38.  *  •'signum  insigne." 

'  Ps.  viij.  3,  quoted  by  Matth.  xxi.  16.  *  i.  360. 


36  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  636 

relates  how  a  German,  a  former  Canterbury  pilgrim,  voyaging 
in  the  Mediterranean  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  died, 
and  was  stripped,  and  thrown  overboard.  This  was  just 
before  sunset  When  the  night  was  far  gone,  the  steersman 
was  horrified  at  seeing  the  dead  man  approaching  him  alive  : 
"  St.  Thomas,"  he  said,  "  has  restored  me  to  life  and  to  your 
ship :  and  you  must  restore  me  the  berth  I  paid  for,  and 
my  clothes,  too,  for  I  am  chilled  with  cold."  A  clerk  of 
Canterbury  heard  this  from  the  steersman  himself,  and  told 
the  monks  of  it ;  "  and  a  certain  man  of  (?)  Brindisi,^  fellow- 
townsman  of  the  steersman,  told  us  the  same  thing  and  in 
the  same  terms." 

§  1 2.  Si.  Thomas  orders  prayers  for  Fitzurse 

[637]  The  Fourth  Book  concludes  with  two  or  three 
miscellaneous  miracles.  Some  pilgrims  to  Jerusalem  are 
rescued  from  dangers  after  compliance  with  the  Martyr's 
command,  given  in  a  vision,  to  pray  for  Fitzurse^ — an  in- 
teresting story  as  supporting  the  tradition  that  Fitzurse,  and 
not  Tracy,  was  the  chief  murderer.  Recording  the  restora- 
tion of  Theobald,  a  knight  who  died  from  disease  in  the 
Irish  War,  William  once  more  inveighs  against  those  who  ^ 
"  causelessly  harassed  their  helpless  neighbours,  a  nation 
barbarous  indeed  and  uncultivated,  but  obedient  to  the  faith 
and  observant  of  the  Christian  religion."  Then  follow  two 
ordinary  revivifications.  One  is  after  drowning.  In  this 
case,  says  William,^  "  there  are  three  things  that  cause  me 
wonder: — the  restoration,  the  vanishing  of  a  boy  [who 
brought  word  that  the  child  had  fallen  into  the  pool],  and 
the  water  swallowed,  which  returned  to  nothing."  The  other 
revivification  is  after  fever :  but  in  that  case  William  himself 
doubts  whether  life  had  departed.^     The  Fourth  Book  ends 

*  i.  362  '•  Brandaciensis."     But  the  Editor  suggests  "  Brundusiensis." 

*  i.  363-  *  »•  364-  ^  i-  366.  4  i.  367. 


§638  HIS  MIRACLES  37 

with  the  story  of  a  young  knight  set  on  by  four  men  on 
horseback.  He  escapes  with  his  life  by  invoking  St. 
Thomas.  The  robbers,  however,  carried  away  his  horse. 
So  he  again  invoked  St.  Thomas.  Three  days  afterwards, 
through  the  Bishop  of  Perigueux,  his  horse  was  restored  to 
him.** 

§  13.   St  Thomas  stipports  a  man  on  the  gallows 

[638]  The  Fifth  Book  begins  with  a  well-attested  case, 
not  indeed  of  revivification,  but  of  the  prolongation  of  life 
from  noon  till  about  8  p.m.  in  a  man  suspended  on  a  gallows. 
Girald,  a  weaver  of  La  Tour  Blanche,  near  Perigueux,  had 
committed  a  malicious  theft,  and  was  handed  over  to  the 
judges  by  his  lord,  the  Prior.  Before  trial,  he  was  bound 
and  cast  into  a  cellar.  The  hole  at  the  top  was  covered  by 
a  stone  that  three  men  could  scarcely  move.  He  called  on 
St.  Thomas,  and  "  a  dove  with  human  voice  "  bade  him  quit 
the  cellar.  "  By  divine  aid,"  says  the  writer,  "  the  stone  was 
rolled  away,  and  he  rushed  out " : — only,  however,  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  servants,  who  "  knocked  him  on  the  head 
and  thrust  him  back  again,  while  all  the  time  he  kept 
praising  the  Saint  who  had  caused  his  exit."  ^  Presently  he 
was  brought  before  the  judges.  "  Girald,"  said  they,  "  know 
the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free."  ^  This  Scrip- 
tural quotation  seems  to  have  been  taken  literally  by  the 
accused,  as  his  crafty  judges  desired  :  "  The  simple  fellow 
believed  that  his  freedom  depended  on  revealing  the  truth  : 
so  he  confessed  the  reasons  and  motives  for  which  he  had 
committed  the  theft.  They  said,  '  With  your  own  mouth 
you  have  condemned  yourself  He  replied,  *  I  said  I  would 
say  the  fact :   let   the   truth   make    me  free.      I  commend 

«  i.  367-8. 

'  i.  370.     So  far,  it  is  easy  to  understand  that  the  servants  may  have  rolled 
the  stone  away,  and  hidden  themselves,  to  play  a  trick  on  their  prisoner. 
•  A  quotation  from  John  viii.  32. 


38  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  638 

myself  to  the  Martyr  St.  Thomas,  Confessor  and  Archbishop  : 
I  beseech  them '  to  free  me.' "  When  all  was  ready  for  the 
execution,  the  thief  in  vain  asked  for  the  sacrament.  "  The 
eucharist,"  said  the  chaplain,  "  must  not  be  given  to  thieves." 
But  my  advice  to  you  is  to  forgive  your  judges — who  are 
bound  by  oath  to  carry  out  the  law — as  you  would  have  the 
Lord  forgive  you.  And  let  earth  or  grass  be  your  sacrament." 
"  He  said  this,"  adds  William,  "  because  it  is  the  vulgar 
belief  that  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  body  and  blood  can 
be  thus  taken." 

[639]  Girald  was  now  hanged,  and  kept  hanging,  till,  as 
the  day  went  on,  he  was  believed  to  have  breathed  his  last : 
"  There  were  also  some  who  shook  his  legs  to  see  whether  he 
still  had  any  breath  in  him."  When  they  all  departed,  the 
Martyr's  voice  was  heard  by  him :  "  Fear  not.  As  I  brought  thee 
forth  from  the  cellar,  so  will  I  support  thee  on  the  gallows." 
In  perfect  calm  he  awaited  the  result,  borne  up  by  a  heavenly 
hand,  till  his  wife,  at  sunset,  by  a  divine  inspiration,  came 
to  cut  him  down,  having  obtained  permission  to  bury  him. 
Hearing  her  lamentations,  he  called  to  her  for  help,  which 
she  hastened  to  give.  As  soon  as  he  fell  to  the  ground,  he 
cried  out  to  know  where  his  supporter  had  vanished.  Then, 
"jumping  up,  he  rushed  like  lightning  into  the  chapel  of 
Saint  Eparchius,  where  the  condemned  take  sanctuary." 

[640]  There  was  no  need  of  this  precaution.  The  whole 
town  "  turned  out  to  praise  "  * — presumably  God.  "  The 
judges  themselves  kissed  the  limbs  they  had  doomed  to 
death,  and  besought  pardon.     After  the  lapse  of  some  four 


3  "ipsos."  The  Editor  suggests  "ipsum  (him)."  If  "  ipsos  "  is  right,  the 
thief  must  make  two  persons  out  of  "  Martyri  Thomae,  Confessorique  et  Archi- 
episcopo."  Now  he  presently  takes  refuge  in  the  chapel  of  a  St.  Eparchius  :  and 
a  letter  of  the  Bishop  of  Poitiers,  attesting  this  miracle,  describes  St.  Thomas  as 
(i.  373)  «'  calling  into  partnership  with  himself  St.  Eparchius,  the  special  patron 
of  the  neighbourhood."     Perhaps  there  is  some  confusion. 

*  "ad  laudes  cucurrerunt "  :  does  this  mean  "ran  to  Lauds"  in  chapel,  or 
* '  ran  together  to  praise  God  "  ? 


^  641  HIS  MIRACLES  39 

months,  Girald  gratefully  presented  himself  at  Canterbury 
with  a  part  of  his  halter.  The  Abbot  of  Angouleme  kept 
part :  for  '  virtue  went  out  of  it  and  healed  many.'  ^  The 
cords  that  fastened  his  hands  were  carefully  sought,  but  have 
not  been  found  to  this  day." 

[641]  After  stating  that  the  monks  of  Canterbury  had 
heard  this  in  detail  from  Girald  himself,  William  adds,  "  we 
have  decided  to  confirm  it  by  a  brief  letter  of  attestation." 
This  is  from  the  Bishop  of  Poitiers  to  their  Prior,  Odo. 
There  is  not  much  of  interest  in  it,  except  so  far  as  it  dis- 
tinctly claims  a  share  of  the  credit  for  St.  Eparchius  :  "  As 
is  clearly  proved  by  the  assertion  of  the  thief  himself,  our 
glorious  Martyr — who,  as  he  was  once  urbane  in  matters 
of  this  world,  so  now  is  found  pleasantly  humorous  in  his 
miracles — calling  into  partnership  St.  Eparchius,  the  special 
patron  of  the  district,  preserved  life  intact  in  the  above- 
mentioned  [man],  after  he  had  been  on  the  gallows  for  several 
hours."  The  letter  recognizes  that  other  marvels  of  a 
decidedly  miraculous  nature  occurred  to  Girald  in  his  prison, 
which  the  writer  has  ascertained  to  be  true.  Finally,  a 
request  is  made  that  the  monks  of  Canterbury  will  allow  the 
messengers  from  Poitiers  admission  to  "  those  more  inward 
holy  things^  to  which  entrance  is  not  granted  except  to 
those  who  bring  letters  of  commendation  "  ;  and  that  they  will 
be  so  liberal  as  to  impart  a  scrap,  however  small,  of  the 
blessed  Martyr's  vesture,  or  somewhat  else  that  may  increase 
devotion  :  "  for  they  have  it  in  their  desires  to  erect  an  altar 
to  the  holy  Martyr  in  their  land." " 

*  Luke  \i.  19.  '  i.  373  "ulteriora  sanctuaria." 

'  A  similar  but  still  more  remarkable  miracle  is  given  later  on  by  William 
(i.  515),  attested  by  the  Castellan  of  .St.  Omer.  There  one  man  is  hanged  and 
dies,  while  another,  his  companion  at  the  foot  of  the  gallows,  is  hanged  and 
saved.  It  is  said  that  the  latter  had  a  log  attached  to  his  feet.  But  the  im- 
pression given  by  both  stories  is  that  hanging  in  France  was  not  expected  to 
produce  death  very  quickly. 


40  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  642 

§  14.  Bird-miracles 

[642]  The  mention  of  a  hawk  cured  of  a  broken  leg, 
and  of  another  recovered/  leads  William  to  explain  that 
these  concessions  of  small  gifts  are  intended  to  make  men 
ask  for  greater  gifts.  This  prepares  the  way  for  a  number 
of  bird-stories,  culminating  in  one  about  a  clerk's  concubine. 
Wanting  a  woodcock  for  the  sick  man,  she  receives  one  that 
is  chased  by  a  hawk  into  her  bosom.^  Another  bird-miracle 
had  previously  happened  in  favour  of  a  hawk  belonging  to 
this  same  clerk  :  ^  and  now  William  relates  a  second  miracle 
(making  three  altogether)  performed  by  the  man's  concubine. 
This  is  a  beast-miracle.  She  revives  an  ox  that  was  seem- 
ingly dead.  Offerings  are  of  avail  in  some  of  these  cases. 
In  one,  a  hawk  revives  just  when  the  oblation,  sent  to  Canter- 
bury in  its  behalf,  had  reached  the  Martyr's  tomb.^ 

§15.   "  Fatuous  antiquity  "  ;  a  story  in  Virgilian  prose 

[643]  A  miracle  performed  on  a  lady  of  Lisieux  gives 
William  an  occasion  for  exulting  in  it  as  ^  "  proving  the 
emptiness  of  that  error  of  fatuous  antiquity  that  *  Nothing 
can  be  reduced  to  nothing,'  which  proposition,  says  Boetius, 
none  of  his  contemporaries  dared  to  dispute."  Reflections 
such  as  these  are  really  his  object,  not  the  narration  of 
facts.  Moral  maxims,  and  devices  of  style,  are  always  in 
his  mind.  He  ought  before  this,  he  says,^  to  have  related 
the  wonderful  recovery  of  Guy,  Count  de  Nevers  ;  but,  since 
that  task  demanded  "  a  higher  style  and  more  elaborate 
compliance,"  ^  he  had  put  off  the  reader  for  a  time  with 
"  such  fare  as  he  had  at  hand." 

[644]  In  the  same  spirit,  now,*  having  to  relate  the 
cures  of  Margaret  of  Hullavington    (Wilts  ?)   and    Sygerid 

1  i.  388.  2  j.  291.  3  j,  290.  *  i.  389. 

*  i.  394.  2  i_  285.  ^  "paratius  obsequium."  *  i.  395-6. 


§646  HIS  MIRACLES  41 

of  Yorkshire,  he  makes  a  little  drama  of  them.  First  comes 
"  brother  William "  [i.e.  himself],  "  returning  to  the  shrine 
to  hear  what  new  thing  the  people  brought."  Then  follow 
two  long  orations,  in  florid  Latinity,  from  the  father  and 
the  husband  of  the  two  women.  The  stories  themselves 
are  not  of  interest,  except  that  the  first  gives  a  glimpse 
into  the  life  of  school-girls  in  the  twelfth  century.^ 

[645]  In  the  next  story,®  William,  a  clerk  of  York, 
narrates,  in  tags  of  Virgilian  verse,  how  he  kept  back  a 
piece  of  money  destined  by  his  dying  mother  for  the 
Martyr,  who  clearly  manifested  that  he  would  insist  on 
his  rights  in  accordance  with  "  that  saying  of  Justinian, 
'  Legacies  go  straight  to  the  legatee.' "  First  a  fever,  and 
then  a  vision,  brought  the  defaulter  to  a  better  mind : 
"  *  Why,'  said  St.  Thomas,  raising  his  staff  as  though  to 
dash  my  eyes  out, '  why  have  you  all  this  time  kept  back  my 
money  ?  You  shall  not  do  it  for  nothing.'  " "  The  sinner 
awoke  shrieking,  and  hastened  to  Canterbury  with  an 
offering  of  his  own  in  addition  to  his  mother's. 

^  16.  A  man  of  blood,  a  devotee  of  St.  Thomas 

[646]  Among  a  number  of  miracles  wrought  for  French- 
men  of  noble   birth   comes  the  revivification  of   Hugh   de 

*  Margaret  speaks  in  the  first  person  through  her  father  :  "  My  parents  had 
delivered  me  at  the  age  of  five  to  the  study  of  letters,  that,  according  to  the 
word  of  the  Wise  Man,  I  might  become  wiser,  and,  when  arriving  at  the  age 
of  understanding,  might  possess  self-control  (gubemacula)."  Playing  with  her 
school-fellows,  she  fell  on  a  knife.  The  "patronus"  of  the  church  where  this 
happened  came  in  with  his  "  vicarius,"  and  sewed  up  the  wound,  which  was 
big  enough  to  allow  of  the  insertion  of  three  fingers.  Next  day  it  had  \'anished. 
The  girl  had  invoked  St.  Thomas. 

'  i-  397. 

T  From  Virgil,  "  Non  impune  feres."  The  original — condensed  above — has 
also  "si  forte  tuas  pervenit  ad  aures"  (mentioning  the  clerk's  father).  The 
narrative  begins,  '•  You  ask,  brother  William,  who  I  am,  why  and  whence  I 
am  come.  I  am  called  by  your  name,  bom  of  a  father  of  your  name,  who,  '  if 
by  some  chance  that  name  hath  reach'd  your  ears,'  is  clerk  and  syndic  of  the 
church  of  York." 


42  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  646 

Perac,  of  Meyssac  (?),  of  the  county  of  Turenne.^  Hugh 
was  a  cruel  and  unscrupulous  soldier,  from  the  time  when 
he  became  a  belted  knight.  From  that  same  year  (which 
happened  to  be  the  year  of  the  Martyrdom),  "  in  all  that 
he  did,  good  or  bad,  he  made  mention  of  his  last  end  (at 
least  superficially)  ^  and,  even  in  the  moment  of  perpetrating 
some  sin,  would  beseech  the  Martyr  Thomas  that  the  sin 
he  was  perpetrating  might  not  bring  him  damnation."  A 
severe  wound,  received  in  an  assault  on  some  castle,  sowed 
the  seeds  of  a  disease  that  brought  him  to  the  threshold 
of  death.  Now,  looking  forward,  he  had  no  hope.  To 
take  the  cross  seemed  his  only  chance.  But  his  friends 
would  not  let  him  do  this  ;  he,  on  his  side,  would  not  let 
his  physician  examine  him.  Forced  at  last  to  realize  that 
"  men  of  blood  and  guile  do  not  live  out  half  their  days," 
he  silently  commended  himself  to  St.  Thomas.  After  that, 
he  knew  nothing  of  what  went  on  around  him.  He  was 
laid  out  as  a  corpse  upon  ashes,  and  so  remained  from 
five  o'clock  in  the  evening  till  cock-crow  at  dawn.  With 
the  daylight  came  light  also  to  him.  "  The  angel  of  the 
English  "  stood  near  him  clothed  in  white,  and  touched  him 
thrice,  thrice  saying,  "  the  Lord  hath  risen,"  and  marking 
him  with  the  sign  of  the  cross.  The  sick  man  sprang  up 
to  clasp  the  Saint ;  but  he  had  vanished. 

[647]  The  household  rejoiced,  and  the  church-bells  were 
set  ringing.  After  mass,  the  priest  suggested  in  his  sermon 
that  the  people  should  build  a  chapel  to  St.  Thomas. 
Eagerly  agreeing,  they  at  once,  according  to  their  several 
power,  began  to  specify  what  they  could  give,  to  measure 
out  a  site,  and  to  bring  the  stones  for  the  building.  That 
very  night,  a  paralysed  woman  was  cured  on  the  ground 
destined  for  the  Martyr.^  Three  hundred  women  spent 
the    night    with   her   in    prayer   on    the   spot  to  which    she 

*  So  Editor's  marginal  note,  i.  397-8. 

2  "  novissima  sua  specietenus  memorabat. "  ^  i.  401. 


§649  HIS  MIRACLES  43 

had    been    carried   by   others   and   from  which   she  returned 
on  her  own  feet. 

[648]  This  moved  the  people  to  hold  a  vigil  on  the 
same  spot  next  night.  But  the  candles  were  extinguished 
by  the  wind  :  "  Then  a  youth,  moved  by  the  spirit,  seized 
his  own  candle,  and  bearing  it  lighted  through  the  street, 
cried  out  to  the  rest,  '  If  St.  Thomas  has  chosen  this  spot, 
and  desires  that  we  should  pay  him  honour  herein,  then, 
in  despite  of  air  and  wind,  he  will  not  suffer  the  light  to 
be  put  out'  So  saying,  he  set  down  his  light.  The  towns- 
folk, seeing  this,  lighted  their  candles  too.  And  for  all 
they  were  so  many,  not  one,  during  all  that  night — though 
the  place  was  open  and  unsheltered — was  extinguished  by 
the  wind." 

^  17.  Restoration  of  one  struck  by  lightning 

[649]  A  novel  case  is  that  of  Geoffrey,  a  carter,  in 
Hoole  (?),  ^  two  miles  from  Chester.  Geoffrey  (with  a 
companion)  was  overtaken  by  a  thunderstorm  while  carting 
turf  He  hastened  homeward,  but  it  was  too  late.  A 
black  hairy  dog,  gliding  down  in  a  whirlwind,  with  big 
staring  eyes  and  projecting  tongue,  slipped  between  his 
two  oxen.  Forthwith,  one  of  them  was  struck  by  lightning 
and  burned  to  a  cinder,  the  other  had  its  yoke  split  and 
went  mad.  Geoffrey  himself^  was  burned  from  the  waist 
upwards  and  fell  down  lifeless.  When  his  master^  wished 
to  have  him  buried  with  full  rites,  the  priest  replied  that 
he  could  not  do  it  without  consulting  the  Archdeacon.  The 
latter  decided   that,  as  the   man   had   died    by  the  will   of 

*  i.  404.  "  Hoole  "  is  suggested  by  the  Editor.  The  text  is  "  villa  quae 
dicitur  Cohel." 

*  A  reason  is  apparently  suggested  :  "  Se  signo  crucis  et  fidei  paltna  parum 
munierat."     Yet  he  attended  the  Sacrament  on  the  previous  Sunday. 

'  "  cujusdam  Pagani,  civis  Cestrensis."  In  ii.  175,  "Paganus"  is  applied 
to  a  priest.  Here  it  seems  to  mean  a  village  farmer  who  had  the  rights  of  a 
citizen  in  Chester. 


44  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  649 

God,  whose  judgments  are  hidden,  and  as  he  had  on  the 
previous  Sunday  partaken  of  the  Sacrament,  and  had  been 
sprinkled  with  holy^  water,  it  would  be  inhuman  to  exclude 
him  from  the  sepulture  that  is  the  common  right  of  catholics. 
Meanwhile,  the  man  had  been  sprinkled  with  St  Thomas's 
Water. 

[650]  It  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when 
he  was  struck.  The  night  was  more  than  half  gone^  when 
he  came  to  life — the  interval  being  allowed,  as  the  chronicler 
suggests,  for  the  purpose  of  shewing  that  the  man  had 
really  died  and  was  really  restored  to  life.  But  the  battle 
was  not  yet  won.  Satan,  the  author  of  death,  seeing  him- 
self baffled,  sought  revenge  by  driving  into  madness  the 
victim  he  had  lost,  so  that  the  poor  man,  not  knowing  his 
friends,  tried  to  bite  and  wound  them.  "  But,"  continues 
William,  "  let  my  loving  hearers  but  note  how  weak  is  the 
power  of  the  evil  [?  spirits].  More  powerful  is  a  small 
piece  of  a  fringe  of  the  Martyr's  vesture  than  the  resistance 
of  reprobate  spirits."  And  so  it  proved.  Geoffrey's  master 
caused  him  to  drink  some  water  in  which  he  had  dipped 
this  "  fringe  "  ;  and  "  the  element,  nay  rather,  the  sacrament  "  * 
had  its  effect.  The  evil  one  was  cast  out,  and  Geoffrey 
returned  to  his  senses. 

*  "exorcizata." 

*  "ex  maxima  parte  perfluxerat." 

*  "elementum,  immo  jam  sacramentum."  In  the  next  sentence,  "malignus," 
used  for  "the  evil  one,"  shews  that,  above,  "the  evil  (malignorum) "  means 
"  the  evil  spirits." 


§  652  HIS  MIRACLES  45 


CHAPTER   III 

William's  last  book  and  appendix 

§  I.  St.  T/iomas's  eggs 

[651]  William's  Sixth  Book  begins  with  a  brief  pro- 
logue, of  which  the  first  sentence  is  this  :  "  Certain  miracles, 
meanwhile,  inscribed  by  the  hands  of  others,  it  seems  good 
to  insert  here,  that  our  steed,  wearied  with  his  burden,  may 
take  breath  and  get  his  wind  again,  and  complete  the  more 
speedily  the  spacious  course  he  has  commenced  :  for  '  that 
which  knows  not  to  rest  knows  not  to  last'  "  ^  He  proceeds 
to  quote  a  number  of  letters  attesting  miracles. 

[652]  The  first  of  these  letters "  comes  from  the  clergy 
of  the  Cathedral  of  Exeter  to  Odo  Prior  of  Canterbury.^ 
Their  Bishop  had  been  on  the  point  of  death,  with  fever 
and  pleurisy  :  the  last  rites  for  the  dying  had  been  ad- 
ministered, and  the  monks  were  arranging  for  the  trans- 
ference of  his  earthly  remains  to  their  last  resting-place. 
A  large  part  of  the  household,  too,  was  suffering  terribly 
from  "  the  influenza  (catarrhus),  which  has  devastated  the 
realm  and  carried  off  many."  In  this  crisis  St.  Thomas 
appeared  to  brother  William,  a  young  man  of  spotless  life 
and  character  (nephew  of  that  Archbishop  Theobald  who 
had  once  been  Becket's  patron).  Having  instantly  delivered 
the  youth  from  the  epidemic,  the  Saint  charged  him  with 


*  '  Quod  caret  altema  requie  durabile  non  est '  is  a  hexameter,  and  perhaps 
a  quotation. 

*  i.  407-9  :  for  the  meaning  of  reference  numbers,  see  \a. 

'  This  proves  the  letter  to  have  been  written  before  the  end  of  1 175,  in 
which  year  Odo  ceased  to  be  Prior. 


46  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  652 

a  message  to  the  rest.  All  were  to  recover,  including  the 
Bishop.  The  apparition  was  not  in  a  dream — so  the  young 
man  insisted — but  in  a  waking  vision.  The  monks,  after 
cutting  their  "  roasted  eggs  "  into  quarters  in  the  usual  way, 
were  to  inscribe  them  with  the  Martyr's  name.  Eaten 
thus,  they  would  be  a  remedy.  And  so  they  were.  More- 
over the  Bishop  recovered  on  the  14th  day  after  taking 
the  Water. 

§  2.  Mad  Gerard  of  Liege 

[653]  Gerard,  a  clerk  of  Liege,  had  been  driven  mad 
(by  a  stepmother's  poison,  he  said),  and,  having  visited  the 
little  house  of  charity  at  Mizy  (?)  near  Provins  ^  (presided 
over  by  Reginald  of  Estampes,  formerly  Prior  of  Bermondsey), 
had  made  himself  so  intolerable  there  that  they  were  forced 
to  turn  him  out.  When  he  intruded  again,  Reginald  asked 
him  whether  he  would  drink  the  Water  of  St.  Thomas.  He 
assented  and  was  almost  immediately  cured.  Up  to  that 
time,  Gerard,  though  knowing  both  French  and  German, 
was  not  able  ^  to  talk  anything  but  Latin.  But  now  the 
same  venerable  lady,  who  in  a  nightly  vision  appeared  to 
Gerard  promising  him  health,  also  exhorted  him  to  speak 
what  Gerard  calls  "  Romance  language."^  Consequently, 
says  Reginald,  "  henceforth  he  began  to  talk  French  and 
to  behave  with  such  discretion  that  we  all  wondered,  and 

1  i.  410  "Ad  nos  divertens,  qui  penes  Pruvinum  castrum  Mesi  habitamus." 

2  "  Non  poterat."  Reginald  seems  to  mean  that  Gerard's  madness,  or  the 
devil,  obliged  him  to  talk  Latin — to  the  great  tnconvenietue  of  some  of  the  ttnleartied 
members  of  the  house.  It  will  be  remembered  that,  above  (404  n.),  Benedict  ad- 
dressed the  Martyr  in  French,  but  the  Martyr  replied  in  Latin.  It  would  be  very 
interesting  to  know  what  prompted  Benedict  to  dream  this.  Did  Becket  set  him- 
self against  French  ?  And  was  this  the  result  of  a  purely  ecclesiastical  feeling  that 
Latin  was  the  language  for  Churchmen  ?  Or  did  he  prefer  Latin  as  the  language 
of  the  learned  ?  Or  was  there  a  touch  of  another  feeling  that  in  English  houses 
of  religion,  English  monks  (such  as  Grim)  ought  not  to  find  French  the  prevalent 
language  ? 

^  *'ut  Romanum  jam  loquerer." 


i?654  HIS  MIRACLES  47 

congratulated,  and  could  scarcely  believe  our  eyes."  After 
waiting  till  the  moon  had  waned,  for  fear  of  a  relapse,  the 
patient  was  sent  to  Canterbury ;  and,  as  Reginald  had  no 
seal  of  his  own,  he  forwards  attestations  sealed  by  the  Abbot 
of  Jouy  and  the  Prior  of  Rueil  in  the  diocese  of  Meaux. 

§  3.   Crossing  Marlow  bridge 

[654]  In  a  group  of  miracles  reported  from  Reading,  the 
first  place  is  given  to  a  private  letter  from  brother  Anselm 
of  Reading  to  brother  Jeremy  of  Canterbury.^  Returning 
to  Reading  from  Wycombe  (where  he  had  been  sent  by  his 
Abbot  on  business)  Anselm  was  crossing  the  Thames  on  a 
rickety  bridge  at  Marlow."  Fortunately  he  let  his  horse  go 
first  and  followed  on  foot.  The  horse  fell  partly  through  a 
hole  in  the  bridge,  and  his  hind-quarters  stuck  fast.  The 
neighbours  came  up  and  did  their  best :  but  in  vain.  Their 
final  advice  was  to  widen  the  hole  and  let  the  animal  drop 
into  the  river.  But  Anselm  demurred,  forbidden  by  "  the 
shortness  of  the  day,  the  strict  charge  of  the  father  [Abbot], 
the  quick  approach  of  night,  and  the  length  of  the  journey." 
So  they  bade  him  good  night  and  left  him.  Then,  says 
Anselm,  in  bitterness  of  soul,  being  left  quite  alone  on  the 
bridge,  "  drawing  sighs  from  my  very  marrow,  I  began  to 
invoke  the  blessed  Martyr  Thomas,  whose  sacred  gifts  I  was 
wearing  round  my  neck.  Wonderful  to  relate  !  Forthwith, 
in  some  way  past  telling,  without  human  support,  at  my  in- 
vocation of  the  blessed  Martyr,  the  Lord  set  the  horse  on  his 
feet,  and  directed  my  steps,  and  placed  in  my  mouth  a  new 
song,  even  a  thanksgiving  to  our  God  who  is  over  all  things, 
blessed  for  ever." 

'  i.  415.  *  "apud  villain  Merelave."' 


48  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §666 

§  4.  Richard  of  Reading  is  cured  of  fits 

[655]  There  follows  a  cure  of  leprosy  described  below  in 
the  Parallel  Miracles,  and  then  the  cure  of  a  brother  Richard^ 
of  Reading,  who  had  fallen  down  in  a  fit  in  the  choir.  When 
placed  in  the  infirmary,  Richard  had  been  at  one  time 
motionless,  and  seemingly  lifeless  ;  at  another,  so  violent 
that  five  men  could  not  keep  him  in  bed.  The  brethren, 
flocking  round  him  in  sorrow,  obtained  the  Abbot's  assent 
(this  seems  a  proof  that  the  miracle  is  an  early  one)  to  devote 
the  patient  to  St.  Thomas.  Then,  by  degrees,  he  began  to 
amend.  Presently  the  Martyr  appears  to  him  in  a  vision 
with  messages  to  Joseph,  the  Abbot,  and  Edward,  the  Prior. 
He  adds,"  I  have  a  long  journey  before  me  ;  this  night  must 
I  cure  a  hundred  and  thirteen  sick  folk."  Richard  prays  him 
to  restore  his  health.  But  St.  Thomas,  for  the  present 
merely  concedes  such  use  of  his  senses  as  will  enable  him  to 
confess  and  to  communicate.  So  much  he  accordingly  at 
once  receives.  But  he  spent  many  weary  days  in  the  infirm- 
ary, feeling  that  he  was  a  drone  among  the  bees,  and  a 
burden  to  the  brethren,  and  importuning  the  Martyr  for  a 
further  blessing.  At  last  he  received  a  new  command  :  "  Go 
into  the  chapel.  Take  a  phial  that  you  will  find  with 
a  fracture  just  at  the  top.  Sprinkle  your  side  and  you  will 
be  healed."  It  seems  superfluous,  adds  the  letter-writer  (for 
unquestionably  this  is  a  letter,  and  not  William's  production), 
to  ask  whether  he  obeyed. 

^  5.  Restoration  of  viutilated  members 

[656]  Next  comes  a  very  important  letter  from  Hugh  de 
Puiset,  Bishop  of  Durham,  attesting  the  restoration  of  the 
mutilated  parts  to  a  man  punished  for  theft,^  followed  by 
a  narrative  describing  how  the  judge  who  had  condemned  the 

'  i.  417-9.  '  i.  419-22. 


§657  HIS  MIRACLES  49 

man,  happening  to  be  himself  in  Canterbury  Cathedral  when 
the  latter  came  on  a  pilgrimage  of  gratitude,  confirmed  the 
truth  of  the  man's  story.  But  this  will  be  best  considered 
with  the  similar  miracle  on  Ailward  (above  mentioned),' 
attested  by  the  burgesses  of  Bedford,  and  related  below 
among  the  Parallel  Miracles.^  With  this  is  grouped  another 
case  *  (also  from  the  diocese  of  Durham)  where  a  boy  in  the 
house  of  one  Roger  de  Burnebi  loses  his  middle  finger,  which 
comes  off  as  the  result  of  a  disease  of  the  bone — and  receives 
another  in  its  place,  though  not  so  large  as  the  original. 
Then  comes  the  case  of  a  clerk,  mutilated  by  a  jealous 
husband,  attested  by  a  letter  from  Richard  Becke,  Bishop  of 
Coventry,  addressed  to  Richard,  Becket's  successor  as  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury.  The  physiological  question,  and 
possibilities  of  self-deception  or  fraud,  are  best  considered  by 
experts,  in  connection  with  Ailward's  miracle,  and  the  similar 
one  just  now  mentioned.  It  is  introduced,  in  abominable 
taste,  with  a  pun  borrowed  from  Plautus,^  and  accompanied 
by  some  still  more  distasteful  punning  verses. 

^  6.  A  pilgrim  brought  to  life  to  die  in  peace 

[657]  After  some  narratives  of  visions,  and  one  of 
relighted  candles,  comes  a  story  about  a  pilgrim  who  dies  on 
his  return  from  Canterbury  at  St.  Maurice  unhouselled,  in 
consequence  of  the  scruples  of  the  Abbot  to  give  him  the 
sacrament  after  he  (the  Abbot)  had  taken  "  carnal  food."  ^ 
Soothing  the  man's  anxiety,  the  Abbot  had  actually  ventured 
to  promise  him  that  his  life  would  last  till  next  morning. 

»  543.  596.  3  710.  ♦  i.  423-4. 

*  i.  427-8.  The  Bishop  of  Coventry  is  called  by  William  "The  Bishop  of 
Chester  (Ceslrensis)  of  venerable  memory,"  which  would  imply  that  he  was  dead 
at  the  time  of  William's  writing.  In  the  following  narratives,  one  (i.  431)  bears 
on  the  question,  above  touched  on  (589)>  whether  William  was  an  Irishman  or 
understood  Irish.  A  kinsman  of  Roderick,  king  of  Connaught,  brings  with  him 
"  a  monk  as  interpreter."  No  suggestion  is  made  that  the  Irishman  could  have 
been  understood  by  William  without  an  interpreter.  •  i.  439. 

VOI-    II  A 


50  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  657 

But  he  died  about  midnight,  and  the  Abbot  was  now  in  an 
agony  of  remorse.  While  he  was  tearing  his  hair  and  rending 
his  cheeks  by  the  pilgrim's  bed-side,  the  dead  man  sat  up. 
"  Do  not  flee,"  he  said  to  the  terrified  monks.  "  By  the  merits 
of  St.  Thomas,  and  this  man's  prayers,  I  am  restored  to  life 
that  I  may  not  be  deprived  of  the  viaticum."  The  Abbot, 
with  all  alacrity  of  devotion,  at  once  celebrated  the  sacred 
mysteries  for  the  man  who  had  come  to  life  for  this  purpose, 
and  who,  "  having  been  helped  by  the  viaticum  toward  that 
which  is  life  indeed,  delivered  up  his  spirit,  and  rested  in  the 
Lord." 

^  y.  A  Templar's  dream;  cure  of  tJie  Earl  of  Warrenne 

[658]  A  very  wild  dream  of  a  Templar,  who  lived  at 
(?)  Lillieshalle,^  in  the  diocese  of  Chester,  recounts  how  he  had 
visions  of  the  blessed  Mary,  St.  Edmund,  and  St.  Leonard, 
scraping  his  disease  away  from  his  bowels.  But  St.  Thomas, 
he  continues,  "  seeing  that  they  had  not  quite  removed  the 
mischief,  as  though  in  anger,  plunged  both  his  feet  into  my 
intestines,  and  ejected  the  remnant  of  my  disease."  He  was 
in  a  terrible  condition  afterwards,  but  recovered,  because  of 
his  invocations  to  St.  Thomas,  after  lying  apparently  dead 
for  a  whole  night.  The  story  is  remarkable  for  its  intro- 
duction :  "  Let  my  loving  brethren  hear  what  the  English 
King,  when  a  pilgrim  at  the  Martyr's  tomb,  heard  from 
brother  Robert,  minister  of  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem."  This 
was  in  July  1 1 74. 

[659]  Another  miracle  that  might  have  interested  King 
Henry  was  that  of  Hameline,  Earl  of  Warrenne,  his  bastard 
brother.  In  old  days,"  Hameline  had  called  Becket  a  traitor, 
and  Becket  had  called  him  a  scoundrel  and  a  bastard.  This 
might  appear  to  make  things  even  between  them.  William, 
however,  recounting  the  Earl's  semi-blindness,  and  its  cure  by 

1  i.  440.     Text  "villa  Beleshale."  ^  i.  39. 


.^  661  HIS  MIRACLES  51 

a  relic  of  the  Martyr,  puts  the  case  rather  unevenly,  thus : 
"  For  as  the  justice  of  God  required  that  the  sinner  should  be 
punished,  so  the  compassion  of  heaven  required  that  he 
should  experience  the  power  after  death,  of  him  whom  he  had 
called  traitor  while  he  was  alive."  ^ 

§  8.  A»  unattested  wonder 

[660]  It  is  surprising  that  William  makes  no  attempt  to 
attest,  or  apology  for  inserting  without  attestation,  a  miracle 
of  revivification  after  seven  days  of  apparent  death.  Yet  he 
justly  comments  on  the  wonder  as  unique  in  his  experience  : 
"  Bethany  has  seen  a  four  days'  corpse  revived  ;  England 
(like  other  countries)  has  often  seen  a  two  days'  or  three 
days'  case :  but  the  Lamp  of  England  enlightens  the  land  of 
Touraine  still  more  brightly."  And  then  he  relates  how  the 
father  of  two  sons,  one  of  whom  had  thrown  the  other  down 
from  a  tower,  refused  to  bury  the  child,  though  his  neck  was 
broken.  Trusting  in  SL  Thomas,  he  persisted  for  seven 
days,  after  which  time  the  boy  opened  his  mouth  and  asked 
for  something  to  drink.  No  vow  is  mentioned,  no  pilgrim- 
age, no  letter  of  attestation,  no  attempt  to  attest.^ 

§  9.    Weighty  evidence  from  John  of  Salisbury 

[661]  In  contrast  with  this,  comes  a  weighty  letter  from 
John  of  Salisbury.  At  an  assembly  at  Bourges,  he  says, 
consisting  of  bishops  and  nobles  convened  by  the  King  of 
France,  the  Bishop  of  Clermont  publicly  related  miracles 
wrought  by  St.  Thomas.  Being  asked  whether  he  had  seen 
one  of  these  miracles  with  his  own  eyes,  he  answered  that 
there  was  in  Clermont  a  knight  named  John  the  Scot,  "  who 
had  as  large  rents  in  the  city  as  the  Bishop,"  and  who,  having 
been  seized  with  leprosy,  had  been  cut  off,  in  the  ordinary 
way,   by  the  decision  of  the  clergy  and  laity,  from  public 

'  i.  452-  *  >•  444. 


52  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  661 

intercourse,  being  abandoned  also  by  his  wife.  This  leper, 
having  gone  to  Canterbury,  after  the  long  delay  of  almost  six 
months,^  had  been  cured,  and  had  returned  in  health.  The 
Bishop  had  begged  him  to  come  to  the  council  in  order  to 
manifest  the  glory  of  the  Martyr  :  but  he  had  replied  that  it 
was  bad  enough  that  any  one  knew  he  had  been  a  leper. 
On  hearing  this,  the  King  and  the  rest  gave  thanks  to  God. 
But  Count  Theobald  added  that,  by  reason  of  his  ingratitude, 
the  aforesaid  John  would  be  a  leper  [again].  The  letter 
however,  proceeding  to  relate  other  cures,  does  not  mention 
any  retribution  on  John  the  Scot. 

Appending  a  confirmatory  letter  from  the  Bishop  of 
Clermont,  John  of  Salisbury  urges  that  miracles  such  as 
these  must  be  published  abroad  in  order  to  diffuse  the  "  cultus  " 
of  the  Martyr,  "which,  I  take  it,  consists  especially  in  this, 
that  the  cause  esteemed  by  him  more  precious  than  his  own 
life — I  mean  the  integrity  of  Divine  law  and  the  liberty  of 
the  inviolable  Church — be  justified  and  preserved  intact  for 
ever. 

§  I  o.   "  Festive  "  miracles 

[662]  Such  a  cure  as  that  of  John  the  Scot  would  have 
been  apparently  left  undescribed  and  unattested  by  William 
if  it  had  not  come  round  to  him  from  John  of  Salisbury. 
Yet  it  was  better  worth  describing  than  several  that  William 
now  gives  us  of  his  own  narration.  Possibly  he  deliberately 
introduces  these  as  a  relief  to  the  excessive  seriousness  of 


'  i.  458.  The  delay  probably  means  "waiting  at  Canterbury."  But  the 
ambiguity  of  the  English  represents  that  of  the  Latin. 

^  [SSlrt]  i.  460.  This  letter  is  addressed  (i.  458)  to  '•  Odo  Prior  and  William 
Sub- Prior,"  and  in  i.  482  a  miracle  is  said  to  be  related  and  an  offering  made  to 
"our  Sub-Prior."  Although  William  was  an  extremely  common  name,  these  two 
passages  indicate  that  our  William  was  by  this  time  Sub-Prior  under  Odo.  And 
he  is  called  Sub-Prior  by  the  Qiiadrilogtis  {Mat.  iv.  Introd.  p.  xix.).  If  so, 
Benedict  would  be  under  him  at  this  time,  but  above  him,  as  Prior,  before  the 
end  of  1 175. 


i^  666  HIS  MIRACLES  53 

medical  miracles.  For  example,  at  Arthington  ^  in  York- 
shire, Turgis,  a  working  man,  had  received  a  pig  from 
Godfrey,  a  monk  of  Pontefract,  as  wages  for  work  on  a 
chapel  in  honour  of  St.  Thomas.  Losing  the  pig  in  cross- 
ing the  Wharfe,  he  expostulated  with  the  Martyr,  and  told 
Godfrey  ;  but  he  would  not  take  a  second  pig.  "  I  must 
not,"  he  said,  "  be  paid  twice  over."  Pleased  with  the  man's 
honesty,  St.  Thomas  preserved  the  dead  pig  for  forty  days, 
and  washed  it  on  to  the  bank  in  such  excellent  condition 
that,  when  it  was  recovered,  Turgis  and  his  household  were 
able  to  enjoy  it. 

[663]  The  next  miracles  are  various,  but  similarly 
trifling.  Austen,^  a  London  metal-caster,  fusing  a  number 
of  Canterbury  phials  for  some  work  of  a  sacred  nature,  finds 
one  that  obstinately  remains  unmelted,  and  cannot  explain 
it,  till  he  ascertains  that  it  once  held  relics  of  \he  Saint. 

A  pilgrim,  returning  from  foreign  parts,  brings  in  his 
wallet  a  bezant  which  he  destines  for  St.  Thomas  :  a  pirate 
seizes  it  and  cannot  stir  till  he  has  cast  the  wallet  away.' 

[664]  Norway  at  last  sends  two  pilgrims  to  Canterbury. 
One  of  them  gives  thanks  for  the  recovery  of  a  lost  falcon, 
chased  back  to  him  by  two  eagles.* 

[665]  A  Dorsetshire  woman,  recovering  the  whole  of  a 
stolen  web  (placed  before  her  threshold  one  morning)  sends 
a  part  of  it  to  Canterbury  in  accordance  with  her  vow.* 

[666]  Galiena,  vaguely  described  as  a  woman  of 
England,^  was  guilty  of  sewing  to  her  shoes  ornaments  of 
various  colours,  as  well  as  gold.  "  Tumour  of  body,"  says 
William,  set  in  to  punish  "  tumour  of  mind  " ;  and  her  limbs 
became  as  many-coloured  as  her  shoes.     But  she  repented 


'  i.  464  "  Hardintona."  *  i.  464-5.  '  i.  466.  ♦  i.  466-7. 

'  i.  469.  The  vow  might  really  have  had  something  to  do  with  the  recovery, 
especially  if  accompanied  by  an  appeal  to  St.  Thomas  to  punish  the  thief. 
Knowing  what  the  Martyr  could  do,  the  culprit  might  prudently  repent. 

•  i.  469  "Anglicana." 


54  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §087 

and — presumably  by  the  aid  of  St.  Thomas,  though   he  is 
not  mentioned  in  the  whole  story — was  restored  to  health. 

§  II.   St.  Thomas  forgives  a  reproachful  pilgrim 

[667]  Early  in  the  treatise,  Gerard  of  Flanders  had  been 
mentioned  as  cured  of  fistula^  Now  he  appears  to  have 
gone  on  a  second  pilgrimage.  But,  on  his  journey  back,  he 
had  a  renewal  of  his  disease.  In  his  agony  he  blasphemed 
Thomas,  calling  him  "  a  fellow  of  naught  and  an  old 
madman,  no  martyr,  but  a  gallows-bird.""  He  even 
ventured  to  repeat  such  words  to  pilgrims  on  their  way  to 
the  shrine,  and,  as  though  in  magnanimous  contempt, 
forwarded  through  them  an  offering  to  the  Saint  who  was 
treating  him  so  ill.  His  hearers  were  surprised  that  the 
Martyr  tolerated  such  a  blasphemer.  But  William  says  that 
those  who  knew  the  Saint's  patience  while  he  was  alive 
could  easily  understand  it  now  that  he  had  become  the 
kindly  Physician,  who  takes  no  heed  of  the  patient's  or 
lunatic's  passion.  So  in  this  case — especially  as  the  man 
blasphemed  "  in  word  but  not  in  heart " — St.  Thomas  was 
kind,  and  speedily  delivered  him  from  his  pain. 

§  12.  Responsibilities  of  a  Saint  in  vogue 

[668]  In  a  group  of  nautical  miracles,  it  is  not  only 
asserted  that  St.  Thomas  frequently  aids  mariners  belonging 
to  the  ports  round  Canterbury,  but  also  that  he  sometimes 
sends  those  lights  at  the  mast-head,  which  are  more  commonly 
attributed  to  St.  Elmo,  and  which,  by  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  were  assigned  to  Castor  and  Pollux.  The  fact  is 
worth  noting  as  an  instance  of  the  rule  that  a  Saint  in  fashion 
may  be  made  responsible  for  almost  all  contemporaneous 
inexplicable  phenomena — coincidences,  marvels  and  so-called 

1  i.  280.  2  i-  471  "  strangulatus." 


§671  HIS  MIRACLES  55 

miracles.  He  is  the  power  most  commonly  invoked  :  and, 
if  the  invocation  succeeds,  to  him  is  the  glory.  For  example, 
two  priests  bring  thanks  to  St.  Thomas  for  averting  or 
extinguishing  fire.^  In  the  latter  case  the  instrument  is  a 
phial  of  St.  Thomas,  which  is  not  melted.  At  Waterford,  in 
Ireland,  the  houses  of  those  who  had  built  a  chapel  to  St. 
Thomas  are  alone  preserved  in  a  general  conflagration.^ 

S  13.  Distajit  cures  unknow7i ;  revivifications 

[669]  That  many  cures,  partially  effected  at  the  tomb, 
and  completed  afterwards  at  a  distance,  never  reached  the 
ears  of  the  Canterbury  monks,  may  be  inferred  from  many 
circumstances  mentioned  by  William,  and,  among  others,  from 
a  letter  written  by  the  Bishop  of  Bayeux  to  all  the  clergy  in 
his  diocese  describing  the  cure  of  a  leper,  William  of  Rouen, 
following  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Martyr.  It  is  inserted  by 
William  without  preface  or  comment.^ 

[670]  The  revivifications  of  two  children  are  placed  at 
the  conclusion  of  a  distinct  section  of  the  Sixth  Book.  They 
present  interesting  contrasts.  In  the  former,  the  father  (a 
nobleman  named  Bernard  FitzReginald)  acquiescing  in  the 
death  of  his  little  one,  turns  away  from  the  bed-side  with  a 
pious  utterance  of  resignation  to  the  Martyr's  will,  and  it  is 
left  for  the  nurse  to  appeal :  "In  the  name  of  the  Lord 
and  the  blessed  Mary  and  the  holy  Martyr,  I  bid  thee, 
my  son,  desert  me  not  till  I  hear  one  word  from  thee  " — upon 
which  the  child  awakes  to  life."  In  the  other,  the  father,  a 
townsman  of  Oxford,  determined  that  the  child,  who  had 
apparently  died  in  convulsions,  should  either  be  restored 
alive  to  him,  or  taken  dead  to  Canterbury.^  The  same 
night,  the  child  was  restored. 

[67 1  ]  To   this    the  writer  adds,  "  Several    accounts   of 

>  i.  477-  *  lb.  »  i.  479-80.  «  i.  483. 

'  i.  484  ••aut  hie  mihi  vivus  reddetur,  aut  Cantuariam  mortuus  efferetur." 


56  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  671 

persons  revivified  remain  to  be  written.  But  if  they  desire 
to  live  after  death  and  to  be  remembered  to  posterity,  they 
must  wait  for  another  pen  than  ours,  though  their  cases  are 
roughly  noted  down  *  in  our  tablets.  Nor  can  we  complete 
other  accounts  of  healing  bestowed  by  the  kindness  of  the 
Martyr.  For  by  reason  of  impediment  from  the  evil  times,^ 
we  have  neither  the  necessaries  nor  the  leisure  for  writing." 
Possibly,  he  is  referring  to  the  great  fire  which,  in  Sept.  1 174 
(just  after  King  Henry's  pilgrimage),  destroyed  a  large  part 
of  the  Cathedral  and  may  very  well  have  interfered  with  the 
leisure  and  convenience  of  the  Sub-Prior. 


§  14.  A  historical  digression 

[672]  Taking  up  the  pen,  after  an  apparent  interval, 
William  remarks  that  "  by  these  and  such  like  miracles, 
within  four  years  ^  from  his  passion,"  the  Martyr  was  not 
only  fanning  the  fires  of  faith  in  the  Church  but  also  arousing 
the  affection  of  the  King,  under  whom  Thomas  had  once 
served  as  a  soldier,  when  in  the  flesh.  This  leads  him  to 
describe  the  simultaneous  hostility  of  Prince  Henry,  the 
French,  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  and  the  King  of  Scotland,  to 
meet  which  the  King  threw  himself  on  the  Martyr's  com- 
passion, doing  penance  at  his  tomb. 

[673]  The  King  desired  ^  the  people  of  Canterbury  to 
remove  their  property  beyond  the  Medway  for  fear  of 
depredations  from  the  south.  But  while  the  men  of  Thanet 
were  watching  the  coast,  three  men  ^  and  two  women  had 
visions  from  St.  Thomas  promising  deliverance.* 

*  i.  484.     "  Praenotentur  "  seems  to  mean  a  first  rough  draft. 

*  "malitia  temporis  impediti." 

1  i.  485  "  infra  quartum  annum."  ^  i.  489. 

3  One  of  these  is  called  "  Walvord."     *'  Thanet  "  is  here  called  "  Tenedos." 

*  [673a]  i-  489.  This  is  not  remarkable.  But  it  is  most  extraordinary  that 
a  similar  promise  should  have  been  given  to  a  native  of  Kingstone  (near  Canter- 
bury), not  from  St.   Thomas,  but  from  St.  John.     The  explanation  probably  is, 


i;  674  HIS  MIRACLES  57 

The  very  day  of  the  King's  penitence  saw  the  capture  of 
the  King  of  Scotland  :  and  all  Henry's  other  enemies  were 
almost  simultaneously  brought  to  naught.  Then  follows  an 
account  of  a  vision  of  St.  Thomas  to  Henry  by  which  the 
latter  is  induced  to  take  Benedict,  the  new  Prior,  into  his 
favour,  and  to  expedite  the  fulfilments  of  his  promises  to  the 
monks.^  The  section  ends  with  a  Charter  confirming  the 
liberties  of  the  Cathedral. 

§  I  5.    William  degenerates  still  more 

[674]  Here  we  might  expect  William's  treatise  to  end. 
But  he  introduces  an  Appendix  of  miracles,  of  a  miscellaneous 
character,  some  few  attested  by  letters  sent  to  the  Prior, 
but  others  unattested,  frequently  foreign,  and  almost  always 
frivolous.  The  style  becomes  now  more  detestable  than 
ever.  One  marvel  is  introduced  with  the  Virgilian  question 
"  What  say  you,  reader  ?  Shall  I  speak  out  or  be  silent  ?  "  ^ 
The  writer  repeatedly  recurs  to  the  device  of  accosting  the 
patients  and  telling  them  what  they  have  told  him — on  one 
occasion,  with  a  proviso,  "  If,  Walter,  I  remember  aright 
what  you  related  about  yourself."  ^     Once  he  converses  with 

that  the  Kingstone  man  was,  as  he  is  described,  "old  and  full  of  days,"  too  old 
and  too  conservative  to  take  to  his  heart  the  new  Martyr  and  Saint  of  England. 

*  i-  493-4- 

*  i.  504.  "  Eloquar  an  sileam?"  Virgil,  Aen.  iii.  39.  Following  this, 
amid  a  mass  of  uninteresting  matter,  there  is  a  too  brief  account  (i.  506)  of  the 
cure  of  a  deaf  and  dumb  man,  who  came  from  Provins,  and  was  enabled  to  speak 
on  the  way.  But  *'  with  the  possibility  of  speech,  he  had  not  received  the  act 
(actum),"  so  that  he  had  to  learn  "like  a  child  of  two  or  three  years  old." 
Another  dumb  man,  in  Normandy,  by  recovering  speech,  recovered  his  feudal 
possessions,  of  which  he  had  been  deprived  by  his  lord. 

*  i.  508.  It  concludes,  "  In  relating  this,  you  deserved  that  your  relation 
should  be  believed,  since  you  were  both  a  priest  and  a  dean."  This  will,  in  part, 
explain  the  disproportionate  space  given  to  the  cures  of  the  clergy.  It  is  not 
merely  that  they  were  more  susceptible  to  the  Martyr's  influence  ;  it  is  also 
because  their  single  testimony  sufficed,  in  William's  judgment,  to  attest  their 
stories.  Many  of  the  miracles  wrought  on  the  laity  might  be  discredited  and  not 
recorded  :  and  probably  a  great  number  from  one  and  the  same  neighbourhood 


58  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  875 

his  own  hand  :    "  Hand,  write  as   follows.       '  No,'  says  my 
hand!"« 

§  1 6.  Evidence  of  date 

[675]  The  first  of  these  miracles  ^  must  have  happened 
at  a  time  when  the  day  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury  had 
come  to  be  regularly  observed.  A  Norman  thresher,  thresh- 
ing on  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr's  day  (kept  for  the  first  time 
on  29th  Dec.  11 73),  was  punished  by  finding  his  flail  stick 
to  his  fingers,  but  was  delivered  by  a  vow  made  by  his 
master. 

[676]  The  cure  of  an  epileptic  Canon  of  Oseney^  is  worth 
mentioning  because  it  has  a  definite  date,  the  Whitsuntide  of 
I  1 7 1  ;  and  the  question  arises  why  (if  for  any  reason  beyond 
William's  neglect  of  chronology)  it  comes  so  late  in  order. 
Possibly  the  reason  is  that  the  poor  Canon  was  anxious  not 
to  exult  too  soon  till  he  knew  the  disease  would  not  return. 
It  had  attacked  him  in  1 1 5  i,  at  intervals  gradually  diminish- 
ing from  2\  years,  and  i^  years,  down  to  6  months,  and  at 
last  4  months.  He  now  resorted  to  Canterbury.  But  his 
case  is  unique  in  this  point,  that  he  did  not  go  straight  to 
St.  Thomas  but  to  a  namesake  of  the  Martyr  among  the 
monks  of  Canterbury  known  as  Thomas  of  Maidstone,  a  man 
given  to  visions,  of  whom  St.  Thomas  had  said  in  the  flesh 
"  I  have  found  a  man  after  my  own  heart."  Through  his 
intercession  he  was  restored,  and,  as  the  monks  of  Oseney 
say  in  a  letter  unfortunately  not  dated,  "  from  then  till  now 
he  has  not  felt  a  touch  of  his  infirmity,"      Not  improbably 


were,  when  recorded,  accompanied  by  a  letter  of  attestation  from  the  priest  of  the 
district,  which  has  not  been  inserted. 

The  next  miracle  is  wrought  on  the  son  of  "one  Stephen,  parson  of  Chester- 
field {gerens personatum  ecclesiae  villae  Cestrefeld)."     He  is  not  called  "  priest." 

3  i.  524.  1  i.  496. 

2  i.  509.  "  Willelmus  de  Stokingeberi  "  (Ed.  suggests  "  Stockbery  ").  He 
had  been  a  rich  man,  but  "ex  divite  canonicum  induerat "  ;  and  his  brother 
monks  of  Oseney  honoured  him  for  that,  as  well  as  for  his  goodness. 


§678  HIS  MIRACLES  59 

they  would  wait  till  at  least  the  longest  of  the  intervals  above 
mentioned  (2^  years)  had  passed  away,  i.e.  till  1173,  ^"d 
possibly  till  i  i  74. 

§  1 7.    Tlie  consequences  of  finding  ati  ancient  mortuary  vessel 

[677]  Among  several  letters  of  attestation  that  here 
follow,  is  one  from  the  Abbot  of  La  Sie  en  Brignon  (Bring- 
nonnensis)  ^  describing  how  a  labourer  unwittingly  broke 
with  his  mattock  a  glass  vessel  of  most  wonderful  beauty, 
and  then  irreverently  handled  the  contents  ("  black  earth 
and  small  bones ").  Almost  at  once  he  lost  his  sight — 
perhaps  (though  the  Abbot  does  not  suggest  this)  owing  to 
some  dust  or  vapour  from  the  mortuary  urn.  Resorting  to 
the  church,  and  mass,  and  prayers,  and  a  vow  to  St.  Thomas, 
he  saw  in  a  dream  the  martyred  Archbishop  saying  to  him 
that  he  would  receive  his  sight  on  the  following  Monday  at 
the  same  time  at  which  he  lost  it :  "  And  so  it  came  to  pass. 
.  .  .  This  miracle  is  testified  unto  you  in  the  sight  of  God  and 
His  angels  by  our  monks  and  certain  of  the  laity  who  had 
seen  [the  matter],  and  had  carefully  noted  the  hour  in  which 
he  lost  his  sight  and  also  the  hour  in  which  he  received  it." 

§  I  8.  Miracles  f rain  Sefrid  the  ecstatic 

[678]  The  next  six  miracles,  or  rather  groups  of 
miracles,  appear   to  have  been  reported    to  Benedict    from 

'  i.  516.  This,  and  two  that  precede,  and  several  that  follow,  are  addressed 
to  Benedict  as  Prior. 

One  (i.  512-4),  from  Pontigny — where  St.  Thomas  had  once  been  an  exile  and 
now  had  an  altar — describes  how  the  Abbot,  after  administering  extreme  unction 
to  a  dying  monk  and  seeing  to  the  arrangements  for  his  burial,  was  startled  by  his 
presenting  himself  among  the  brethren  that  were  waiting  for  the  holy  water  : 
"  fateor,  stupefactus  expavi."  Concerning  the  suspicious  character  of  evidence 
from  Pontigny,  see  801.      But  this  seems  credible. 

This  is  followed  (i.  515)  by  a  letter  from  the  Castellan  of  St.  Omer,  mentioned 
above  (641  n. ),  concerning  a  man  on  the  gallows  preserved  alive  for  several  hours 
by  St.  Thomas. 


6o  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  678 

France  together  with  a  letter  of  attestation  from  the  Abbots 
of  Trois  Fontaines  and  Haute-Fontaine  (in  Champagne),  who 
had  received  them  from  the  Abbot  of  a  place  called  Claus- 
trum.  They  seem  all  to  depend  on  the  evidence  of  a  monk 
of  Claustrum  called  Sefrid.  A  chapel  had  been  built  there 
by  a  devout  knight  who  had  returned  from  Canterbury  with 
relics  of  St.  Thomas  ;  and  the  place  at  once  began  to  teem 
with  miracles  and  with  Sefrid's  reports  of  miracles.^ 

[679]  A  man  paralysed  from  the  waist  downwards 
spent  the  night  in  the  chapel.  His  votive  candle,  "  as  it  is 
said,"  lasted  seven  times  as  long  as  it  ought  naturally  to 
have  done.  He  arose  from  prayer,  healed,  and  went  towards 
the  knight's  house.  Meanwhile  the  knight  had  heard  a  voice 
saying  that  there  was  "  that  going  on  in  the  chapel  which 
would  rouse  a  thousand  men."  He  arose  with  his  wife,  and 
met  the  paralytic,  whom  the  lady,  beholding,  "saw  clothed  in 
splendour  and  as  if  adorned  in  vesture  of  angels."  Taking 
him  into  the  house  and  seeing  him  in  rags,  she  asked  what 
had  become  of  his  fine  clothes.  He  said  he  had  never  had 
any:  "she,  on  the  contrary,  affirmed  that  she  had  seen  them 
on  him,  whence  it  may  be  perpended  ^  that  she  had  received 
a  vision  from  God,  to  the  manifestation  of  the  Martyr's 
power  and  the  increase  of  the  lady's  devotion." 

[680]  Sefrid  proceeds  to  pile  on  miracles.  Six  are 
recorded  in  a  page.  One  is  the  case  of  a  woman  possessed 
for  eight  years,  "  by  whose  tongue  the  demon  was  wont  to 
talk  in  Latin,  German,  and  various  ways."  ^  One  woman 
had  been  delivered  from  dumbness  during  mass  ;  another 
had  been  struck  dumb  for  blaspheming  the  miracles. 

[681]  A  knight,  who  had  promised  to  walk  barefoot  in 
a  knights'  procession  in  honour  of  the  Martyr,  came  to  the 
door,  when  his  comrades  set  out  in  the  morning,  and  said 
he  was  too  tired   and  sleepy.       So  he  went  back  to  bed. 

»  i.  518-20.  2  ««perpendi."  3  "modis."' 


^683  HIS  MIRACLES  6i 

Suddenly  he  was  pierced  through  the  foot  with  a  knife. 
Getting  the  knife  out  as  well  as  he  could,  he  limped  after 
his  companions  and  was  healed  when  he  reached  the  chapel. 

[682]  Probably  Sefrid  was  wildly  ecstatic,  or  slightly 
mad.  He  had  mutilated  himself,  as  Origen  did,  and  for  the 
same  reason,  to  preserve  his  chastity.  But  then,  lamenting 
that  he  was  barred,  by  his  own  act,  from  priestly  ordination, 
he  appealed  to  St  Thomas,  who  restored  him.  Concerning 
this  and  other  miracles  the  two  Abbots  write,  "  The  miracles 
we  have  transmitted  to  you  we  possess  [in  writing]  certified 
(certa)  and  confirmed  by  the  seal  of  the  Abbot  of  Claustrum.^ 
Moreover  from  the  mouth  of  brother  Sefrid,  whose  mutilation 
has  been  healed,  as  we  have  said,  by  St  Thomas,  we  have 
ascertained  the  truth  of  the  written  statements.  For  he  has 
testified  that  he  has  seen  some  of  these  miracles  himself, 
and  that  he  knows  for  certain  the  truth  of  others  though  he 
has  not  seen  them." 

[683]  The  words  "  as  we  have  said "  shew  that  what 
precedes  was  written  by  the  Abbots,  not  by  William  ;  but 
the  latter  has  taken  so  little  pains  in  arranging  the  preceding 
matter  that  he  has  not  only  put  the  letter  of  attestation 
before  the  miracles  but  has  entitled  it  "  The  Confirmation 
of  six  afore-mentioned  miracles."  These  facts  are  important 
because  they  shew  that  many  of  the  miracles  in  William's 
book,  and  possibly  in  Benedict's,  may  have  been  written  out 
by  others  and  transcribed  with  little  or  no  alteration  by  the 
Canterbury  chroniclers.  And  this  sometimes  may  have  been 
done  without  acknowledgment^ 

*  "  Certa  habemus"  might  mean  "  we  regard  as  certain."  But  that  does  not 
so  well  suit  with  "et  .  .  .  confirmata,"  which  can  hardly  mean  "we  r^ard  as 
confirmed  by  the  Abbot's  seal."  Perhaps  it  means  "  we  regard  them  as  certain, 
and  [they  have  been]  confirmed." 

*  For  an  instance  in  which  Benedict  does  this,  see  Parallel  Miracles  (752). 


62  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  .!^  684 

§  1 9.    William  oscillates  between  credulity  and  incredulity 

[684]  As  soon  as  we  pass  from  these  letter -attested 
miracles  we  are  in  a  different  atmosphere.  Not  indeed 
that  Sefrid's  was  not  an  atmosphere  of  portent.  But  that 
was  plain,  unadorned  ecstasy,  plainly  and  simply  recorded. 
William — whose  "tired  steed"  above-mentioned  may  be 
supposed  to  have  "  taken  breath  " — now  that  he  resumes  the 
pen,  tells  us  frankly  that,  if  people  seem  to  him  respectable, 
he  does  not  see  his  way  to  doubting  their  miracles.  And  it 
is  by  a  preface  to  this  effect  that  he  introduces  the  leist 
section  of  his  book.^ 

[685]  "  When  pilgrims,"  he  says,  "  ascribe  a  thing  to  a 
miracle,  and  become  pilgrims  on  account  of  it,  I  do  not  like 
to  reckon  it  non-miraculous,  or  to  contradict  them  concern- 
ing those  whom  they  have  actually  seen  die.  For,  if  one  is 
satisfied  about  the  good  fame  and  life  of  the  narrators,  one 
ought  also  to  be  satisfied  about  their  veracity.  Speak, 
therefore,  Elfvvin,  living  about  eight  furlongs  the  other  side 
of  the  Thames,  and  give  glory  to  God."  Then  Elfwin 
speaks,  describing  the  rescue  and  reanimation  of  his 
drowned  daughter,  and  concludes,  "If  you  incredulously 
deny  that  which  you  have  not  seen,  we  can  make  contrary 
affirmation,  proving  what  we  have  seen  from  her  compressed 
lips,  which  could  not  be  opened  owing  to  the  rigor  viortis, 
and  from  the  interval  between  death  and  life."  And  here 
Elfwin  ends,  without  even  telling  us  what  the  "  interval  "  was. 
Instead  of  asking  him  for  it,  William,  under  the  same  title, 
despatches  another  miracle.  "  Deliver  you,  too,  Robert  of 
Flanders,  your  testimony  to  Christ  [and]  ^  the  Martyr.  '  I 
found,'  he  replied,  '  my  son  in  a  cave,  drowned  ;  and  I  rejoice 

*  i.  522. 

^  The  Editor  supplies  "et."  Herbert  of  Bosham  often  calls  Becket 
"the  Lord's  Christ,"  i.e.  anointed,  in  describing  the  Martyrdom.  But  that 
meaning  is  improbable  here. 


§  688  HIS  MIRACLES  63 

that    he    was    restored    to    me    through    invocation   of   the 
Martyr.'  "     That  is  all. 

[686]  In  the  next  case,  William  actually  told  Henry  of 
Minster  in  Devon  that  he  could  not  take  his  unsupported 
word  as  proving  that  his  child  had  died.  But  the  man 
seems  to  have  appealed  to  the  testimony  of  the  whole 
village  (perhaps  to  be  ascertained  by  letters  to  the  priest). 
He  also  appeals  to  Truth,  and  to  the  fact  that  for  three  days 
afterwards  the  little  one's  life  was  manifested  by  nothing  but 
breathing.^ 

[687]  To  this,  William  makes  no  reply,  but  passes  to 
the  next  case  :  "  You  say,  Eadwin,  that  your  son,  for  whose 
sake  you  give  thanks,  dying  humanly  speaking,  received 
breath  again  through  the  Water  of  the  Martyr,  after  his  eyes 
had  been  closed  and  his  exequies  performed.  You  tell  me 
his  name,  age,  and  birth-place.  But  beware  lest,  while  you 
are  [for]  extolling  the  Martyr's  name,  you  utter  a  fable  or  jest, 
and,  in  accordance  with  your  name,  make  yourself  a  jest"  * 
To  this  the  man  replies,  "  I  should  deserve  to  be  thought 
Eadwin,  according  to  the  abuse  of  the  word  by  your  French 
folk  ^  (who  say  that  Edwin  *  and  a  fool  are  the  same),  if  I 
assigned  to  the  Martyr  what  the  Martyr  had  not  done.  For 
a  man  may  not  know  letters,  and  yet  know  by  nature  that 
falsehood  does  not  please  the  Truth." 

§  20.    William  decides  to  accept  the  statements  of  rich  people 

[688]  Next  comes  Lucy,  wife  of  a  knight  of  Mont-paon.* 
Some  of  her  friends  thought  her  dead  because  she  could  not 
move  ;   others  thought  her  not  dead  :   "  The  Martyr  settled 

3  i.  523. 

*  i.   523.      It  seems  to  have   been  a  French  joke  that   '*  Edwin "  meant  a 
"fool."     "Fieri  fabula"  means  "make  oneself  ridiculous." 

*  '*  vestratum." 

'  So  MSS.,  having  "Edwin"  here,  but  "Eadwin"  above. 
'  Ed.  suggests  "in  Rouergue  or  Provence?" 


64  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  688 

the  dispute,  for,  when  she  was  devoted  to  him,  her  spirit  (or 
breath)  was  called  back  and  he  roused  her  limbs  to  motion."  ^ 

William  does  not  tell  us  whether  this  "  settled  "  that  she 
had  been  dead,  or  that  she  had  been  motionless.  He  passes 
rapidly  to  Mabilia's  son  :  "  Write,  O  hand,  that  Mabilia,  a 
noble  English  lady,  placed  her  first-born  son  dead,  on  the 
[funeral]  ashes,^  but  received  him  alive,  upon  ^  [the  use  of] 
the  Martyr's  Water."  "  No,"  quoth  my  hand,  "  I  must  not 
write  anything  that  is  not  known  for  certain."  "  The  lady," 
answered  the  scribe,  "  has  been  heard  by  us,  and  examined 
by  us,  so  far  as  her  noble  birth  made  it  seemly,  and  we  can 
presume  the  truth  of  her  relation  from  her  pilgrimage  and 
devotion.  For,  although  faith  is  rare,  because  many  people 
speak  many  [lies],^  yet,  just  as  it  is  natural  to  conjecture  a 
beggar  to  be  a  liar,  so  it  is  by  no  means  natural  to  make 
such  a  conjecture  about  the  nobility,  who  propitiate  and 
conciliate  heaven  by  pilgrimages." 

[689]  A  lamentable  but  common-sense  confession  !  It 
was  not  worth  the  lady  Mabilia's  while  to  come  all  that 
way  to  Canterbury,  perhaps  part  of  the  way  on  bare  feet, 
and  to  keep  vigils,  and  make  prayers  and  offer  gifts,  and  all 
for  a  lie  :  but  it  might  well  be  worth  Edwin's  or  Eadwin's 
while  to  beg  his  way  to  the  Martyr  and  back,  along  with  a 
conveniently  revivified  son,  returning  with  a  pocket  full  of 
denarii  and  with  the  reputation  of  one  favoured  by  St. 
Thomas. 

§21.    William  becomes  slightly  cynical 

[690]  Hence,  perhaps,  we  may  account  for  the  rapid 
increase  in  William's  neglect  of  facts,  and  sometimes  cynical 

2  i.  523-4. 

3  i.  524  "  in  cinere."  It  was  customary  to  lay  the  dying  on  ashes,  that  they 
might  not  die  on  a  bed  ("in  plumis "  it  is  once  called).  *  '* super." 

*  "multi  mtilta  loquuntur."  Probably  William  is  referring  to  such  passages 
as  Prov.  X.  19  "in  the  multitude  of  words  there  wanteth  not  sin,"  so  that 
"multa"  implies  "lies." 


§  691  HIS  MIRACLES  65 

manner  in  recording  such  facts  as  he  does  record.  The  miracles 
were  by  this  time  both  too  many  and  too  much  for  their 
reporters.  It  is  creditable  to  him  that  he  sometimes  avows 
a  feeling  of  doubt  when  he  inserts  some  stories.  But  he 
might  surely  have  left  some  out — such,  for  example,  as  this  : 
"  Some  man  told  me  that  his  wife  had  hanged  herself,  and 
shewed  me  the  halter.  But  as  he  kept  it  hidden  from  his 
neighbours,  lest  they  should  be  put  to  shame  ^  by  the 
Martyr's  visitation,  I  do  not  wish  to  reveal  her  disgrace. 
What  [kind  of  act]  she  did,  I  leave  undefined.^  What 
things  she  did,^  saving  modesty,  I  leave  hidden.  The  reason 
why  she  did  it,  I  take  to  be  diabolical  suggestion.  Where 
she  did  it — to  avoid  saying  nothing — [it  was]  in  the  world. 
When  she  did  it — I  heard  but  do  not  remember.  She  was 
delivered  from  the  halter  by  her  husband,  from  death  by  the 
Martyr  :  by  the  former  with  a  knife,  by  the  latter  through 
a  vow."  This  outburst  of  frankness  is  continued  in  the 
following  narrative,  in  which  he  expresses  his  opinion  that  a 
scribe,  as  well  as  a  judge,  ought  to  pronounce  his  censure 
when  a  matter  passes  the  bounds  of  truth,  and  then  describes 
the  alleged  revivification  of  Elizabeth  of  Lisieux  "  who,  in 
consequence  of  sickness,  completely  surceased  (I  say  not 
deceased,  though  she  says  she  deceased*)  so  that  she  lost  all 
bodily  feeling  and  seemed  to  have  departed  [this  life]." 

§  22.   A  married  priest 

[691]  Perhaps  "the  little  Nicolas,"  son  of  a  priest  in 
Necton  (of  the  diocese  of  Norwich),  is  introduced  in  the  last 
of  these  stories  of  revivification  ^   in  order  to  point  a  moral. 

*  i.  524.      "Confundantur."     Apparently  "they"  means  "  he  and  his  wife." 

*  "Quod  fecit,  in  genere  propono." 

'  "  Quae  fecit."     Could  this  mean  "  what  [things]  she  did  [to  lead  her  to  the 
act]  "  ? 

*  i.  525  "  penitus  dcfecit  (non  dico  decessit,  quamvis  se  decessisse  perhibuerit)." 
'  i.  526. 

VOL.  II  C 


66  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  .i;  691 

The  father,  being  a  priest,  ought  not  to  have  had  any  children 
after  he  was  a  priest  ;  but  the  epithet  appHed   to    Nicolas 
implies    that    his    father    had    probably    thus    transgressed. 
"  Little  Nicolas  "  died  within  a  year  of  his  birth.      How  long 
he  remained  lifeless,  William  does  not  tell  us.     The  father, 
whom    he   charitably  leaves   unnamed,  "  although   a  priest, 
although   learned    in   the  doctrine  of  the  gospels,  thinking 
prayers  useless  in  the  presence  of  the  proofs  of  death,  had 
no  hope  that  life  could  be  recalled  :  but  the  mother,  full  of 
faith,  by  a  vow  of  pilgrimage  obtained  [such   an   answer  to 
her  prayers]  that  the  child  opened  one  of  his  eyes  and  then 
by  degrees  revived."     But  the  result  was  bitter.      Perhaps 
the    married    priest   was   ashamed    to    face    the    monks    of 
Canterbury.      In  any  case,  the  parents  neglected  to  pay  the 
vow.       As   a   first  punishment,  two  sons  were   taken    from 
them.     After  that,  a  daughter  fell  into  the  fire  and  severely 
burned  herself.      Even   then,  it  needed  a  vision  seen  by  the 
woman,    before    this    married    priest   could    be    induced    to 
discharge  the  debt  incurred  by  the  mother  of  his  child. 

§  23.    Wiscard,  tJie  King's  falcon 

[692]  After  two  ship-stories,  in  the  latter  of  which  a 
man  who  had  fallen  overboard  is  found  by  his  rescuers  "  sitting 
on  the  waves,"  ^  William  passes  to  one "  that  might  have 
amused  King  Henry  if  he  had  glanced  at  the  end  of  the 
book  dedicated  to  him.  The  King's  falconer,  Radulph,  had 
under  his  charge,  beside  the  other  and  inferior  birds,  one 
falcon  of  special  excellence,  hence  called  Wiscard.  Some 
one  whom  he  desired  to  oblige  asked  him  to  bring  down  a 
crane,  and  Wiscard  was  the  bird  to  do  it.  But  Radulph 
had  misgivings,  for  the  weather  was  unfavourable,  and,  says 
William,  the  King  did  not  allow  Radulph  to  trifle  with 
Wiscard  as  with  the  other  hawks.      However,  he  risked  it, 

>  i.  528.  2  i,  328-9. 


§694  HIS  MIRACLES  67 

with  the  unfortunate  result  that  the  noble  bird,  after  bringing 
down  one  crane,  was  run  through  the  eye  by  the  bill  of 
another.  Radulph,  fearing  to  face  the  King,  made  off  to 
Tours,  with  Wiscard  in  a  drooping  and  dying  condition. 
By  the  advice  of  a  priest  there,  he  tried  a  vow  to  St.  Thomas, 
and  it  proved  effectual.  The  Martyr — partly  because  he  felt 
for  the  falconer,  partly  because  he  wished  to  bestow  a  new 
obligation  on  his  ancient  lord,  the  King — told  him  (in  a  dream) 
to  look  for  twelve  pimples  in  the  bird  and  open  them.  Next 
morning,  finding  three  or  four,  he  called  his  friends  and  said 
that,  if  he  could  find  the  whole  twelve,  it  would  be  no  fancy 
but  a  real  vision.  He  found  them  and  carried  out  the  Saint's 
orders  :  "  the  bird  opened  its  eyes  and  called  for  its  food. 
When  the  King  was  told  the  story,  he  thanked  the  Martyr 
for  saving  the  favourite  companion  of  his  sporting  hours." 

^  24.  A  starling  invokes  St.  Thomas;    miracles  worked  for  a 
Jiospital  at  SJiooter's  Hill 

[693]  The  climax  of  the  miraculous  is  reached  in  the 
next  story,  which  William  introduces  with  this  preface,^  "  I 
relate  what  is  commonly  related  in  Brittany  and  is  known 
to  have  happened  there."  A  starling  had  been  taught  by 
its  mistress  to  repeat,  among  other  phrases,  an  incantation 
to  St.  Thomas.  Seized  by  a  kite,  it  invoked  him.  The 
kite,  releasing  its  prey,  dropped  down  dead." 

[694]  After  this,  other  things  are  bathos.  Yet  at  least 
there  is  variety.  One  Fretus,  building  a  hospital,  apparently 
on  Shooter's  Hill,^  in  honour  of  St.  Thomas,  and  finding  no 
water,  was  on  the  point  of  giving  up  the  site  in  despair,  when 
he  was  told  by  the  Martyr  in  a  vision  to  dig  under  a  bramble 
bush  where  he  would  find  eels.      He  sensibly  inferred  that 

'  i.  529- 

'  i.  530.     So  the  Editor  suggests.     The  text  is  "septimo  milliario  ab  urbe 
Lundoniarum  .  .   .  quo  vitae  viantium  latrones  insidiari  consueverant." 


68  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  ^  694 

eels  imply  water.  So  he  dug,  and  found  it  so.  Another 
dream,  again  from  the  Martyr,  tells  him  to  bid  a  certain 
Londoner  named  Jocius  give  up  a  book,  which  Jocius  could 
not  use  himself,  for  the  chapel  of  the  hospital.  Jocius  gives 
it :  and  "  from  the  cheerfulness  of  him  that  gave  may  be 
conjectured  the  power  of  the  will  of  him  that  sent  the  message 
to  give." 

§25.  Si.  Thomas  at  Devizes 

[695]  The  next  story  tells  about  poor  people  who  seem 
to  have  been  in  earnest.  Near  Devizes,^  a  deaf  man  was 
told  by  the  Apostle  Thomas  and  the  Martyr  Thomas  to  go 
to  Priest  Alured  and  bid  him  build  a  chapel  in  the  market- 
place to  the  latter.  The  deaf  man  pleads  inability  ;  but  the 
two  Saints  carry  him  on  his  bed  to  the  site  and  mark  it  out ; 
"  And  when  the  Apostle  had  measured  a  distance  of  twelve 
feet  with  his  right  foot,  and  the  Martyr  thirteen  with  his  right 
and  left,  after  the  manner  of  his  nation,^  they  brought  him 
back  again."  The  deaf  man  is  not  said  to  have  delivered 
the  message.  But  he  began  to  come  regularly  to  this  spot 
to  pray,  and  to  tell  people  his  vision.  However,  for  some 
days,  he  only  got  laughed  at. 

But  time  went  on.  The  two  Saints  appeared  to  a  blind 
man  of  the  same  place,  and  told  him  to  go  with  the  deaf 
man  to  one  Ralph,  the  head  of  the  town,^  and  bid  him  cut 
down  a  tree — which  would  be  found  marked  in  three  places  yet 
not  with  an  axe — and  set  up  a  cross  from  the  wood  thereof 
The  blind  man  obeyed :  "  When  the  commands  of  the 
two  Saints  had  been  fulfilled  in  each  point,  the  Lord  in  that 
spot  began — nay  rather,  is  now  beginning,  for  whatsoever 
we  write  concerning  the  Martyr  happened  shortly  after  his 

'  i.  531  "Castro  quod  Angli  Divisiones  vocant." 

2  "  More  gentis  suae."  The  distinction  is  curious.  Is  the  writer  contrasting 
a  custom  of  the  East  with  one  of  the  West  ?  Would  such  a  distinction  have 
occurred  to  a  poor  man  ?  ^  "  Qui  castello  praeerat." 


§697  HIS  MIRACLES  69 

martyrdom  * — to  work  mighty  works  and  acts  of  healing. 
So  within  a  few  days  people  flocked  thither  and  the  place 
became  famous  :  and  the  blind  man  and  the  deaf  man,  whom 
the  two  Saints  made  their  messengers,  were  the  first  to  obtain 
compassion  and  restoration  to  health." 

§  26.   St.  Tliomas  among  friends 

[696]  A  slightly  familiar  or  even  comic  colouring  is 
given  to  the  next  group  of  miracles.  The  first  tells  how  the 
Saint  healed,  first,  Wicard,  arch-priest  ^  of  Lyons  (ridiculously 
deformed  by  a  tumour  on  the  nose),  and,  after  him,  an 
unnamed  monk  of  Wenlock,  who  was  liable  to  redness  that 
made  him  look  tipsy  even  before  breakfast.  The  next  ^ 
describes  him  as  restoring  speech  to  a  former  servant  of  his, 
by  familiarly  accosting  him  with  the  words  "  Brother  Robert, 
speak  to  me  :   I  am  Thomas." 

[697]  Robert  was  a  lay-brother  of  Pontigny,  Becket's 
hospitable  home  in  exile.  Naturally,  the  Martyr  would  be 
supposed  to  retain  a  peculiar  interest  in  the  Abbot  of  that 
place.  This  was  manifested  in  the  case  of  one,  Guarin  by 
name.  Archbishop  elect  of  Bourges.  It  happened  that,  on 
the  day  fixed  for  his  consecration,  only  two  Bishops  appeared, 
the  canonical  quorum  being  three.^  It  was,  therefore,  im- 
possible to  proceed.  An  Abbot  comforted  the  clergy  by 
saying  he  had  seen  in  a  vision  a  clerk  of  St.  Thomas,  namely, 
Alexander  the  Welshman,  who  had  come  in  haste  to  give 
a  message  to  the  Archbishop  elect  and  had  then  departed. 
The  message  was  that  St.  Thomas  would  make  a  fourth  at 
his  consecration  to-morrow.  Next  day,  after  long  waiting  in 
vain,  they  had  well-nigh  given  up  all  hope  of  proceeding  for 

*  There  is  a  slight  confusion.  Logically,  "we  write"  should  be  substituted 
for  "  happened."  '•  Whatsoever  (quicquid)  "  seems  to  imply  more  than  this  single 
narr.-itivc.  It  may  be  one  of  several  stories  communicated  by  some  one  writer 
to  William.  i  i.  532  •' archipresbyter." 

*  i.  532.  3  1.  533.     Editor  gives  in  margin  the  date  A.D.  Il74. 


70  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  697 

that  day,  and  were  on  the  point  of  going  to  dinner,  when  the 
Bishop  of  Cahors,  riding  in  advance  of  his  attendants,  who 
had  been  detained  by  a  flood,  came  galloping  into  the  city. 
This  made  the  canonical  three.  And  it  was  inferred  that 
the  Martyr  made  an  invisible  fourth.* 

^  2y.    The  Saracen  of  Palermo 

[698]  Next  comes  a  unique  story  of  a  rich  Saracen  of 
Palermo,^  to  whom  St.  Thomas  appeared  in  a  dream 
"  clothed  in  red  garments  ^  and  with  a  red  mitre,"  ^  saying 
that,  though  he  was  a  good  man  and  zealous  for  his  law, 
his  works  were  barren  because  not  sanctified  by  baptism  ; 
wherefore  he  was  to  be  baptized.  The  Saracen  at  once 
went  to  the  Archbishop  demanding  baptism,  and,  on  his  not 
immediately  conceding  it,  replied,  "  If  I  die  meanwhile,  the 
LxDrd  require  my  soul  at  thy  hand."  Next  day,  the  baptism 
took  place,  and  he  dedicated  a  church  of  his  own  to  the 
Martyr.*  "  This,"  says  the  writer,  "  was  related  to  us  by  the 
Bishop  of  Evreux,  and  his  chaplain,  who  celebrated  mass  in 
the  same  church,"  ^  presumably  the  church  dedicated  by 
the  Saracen.^ 

§  28.  St.  TJwmas  kills  a  cow 

[699]  After  describing  a  miraculous  restoration  of 
money  ^ — taken   by  a  cut-purse   from  a  poor  pilgrim,  and 

*  "  Qui  se  tertium  exhibuit,  Sanctum  quartum  non  deesse  probavit." 

*  i.  534.  Text  "  Palernae."  But  Editor,  "more  likely  Palermo  (properly 
Panormus  in  Latin)  than  Palema  near  the  Lake  of  Fucino. " 

2  "  pannis." 

3  [698^]  "Mitre."  The  use  of  "mitra"  to  mean  "mitre"  indicates  that, 
in  the  accounts  of  the  Martyrdom,  "pileus"  means  "cap,"  not  "mitre."  Most 
English  and  French  folk  saw  the  Archbishop  in  white.  Why  did  the  Saracen,  or 
whoever  originated  the  Saracen's  story,  see  him  in  red  ?  Comp.  712^  '  *  in  red 
and  with  a  comely  mitre  (decenter  mitratus)." 

*  "  templum  suum  martyri  consecravit."  *  "  in  eadem  ecclesia. " 

**  It  would  be  interesting  to  ascertain  whether  any  light  is  thrown  on  this 
story  by  the  name  of  any  church  at  Palermo,  or  by  any  traditions  connected  with 
the  city.  1  i.  534-5- 


§700  HIS  MIRACLES  71 

heard  tinkling  some  days  afterwards  in  his  phial — William 
passes  from  this  miracle  of  encouragement  to  one  of  chastise- 
ment, inflicted  on  Helias,  a  rich  man,  and  one  of  William's 
own  relations.'  It  happened  that  Helias,  who  was  a  farmer, 
had  six  fine  bullocks.  Pointing  to  the  finest  of  these, 
a  neighbour  said  to  him,  "  This  should  be  given  to  St. 
Thomas."  "  No,"  said  the  farmer,  "  not  long  ago  I  bestowed 
one  on  his  shrine."  ^  The  writer  does  not  accuse  his 
kinsman  of  lying.  Apparently  Helias  had  really  given  a 
bullock  quite  recently  to  the  Martyr,  and  his  only  fault  was 
that  he  now  declined  to  give  another  at  a  neighbour's  casual 
suggestion.  But  William  is  very  severe  on  him,  and  makes 
him  a  shocking  example :  "  Whoso  lets  his  tongue  play 
freely,  let  him  hear  what  happened.  Let  him  set  a  watch 
on  his  mouth  and  a  door  to  close  his  lips,  lest  his  tongue 
vent  folly  and  words  of  naught"  Helias  never  saw  that  fine 
bullock  again  till  he  found  it  in  a  corn-field,  a  putrefying 
carcase. 

§  29.   Sf.  Thomas  revivifies  a  cow 

[700]  Against  this  dismal  cow-story  is  another  of 
encouragement,  very  pretty  and  French.^  It  happened  in 
Limousin,  where  a  poor  man,  having  lost  his  single  cow, 
skinned  it,  buried  it,^  and  then  poured  tearful  complaints — 
nay,  even  demands  for  his  "  victualia " — into  the  ears  of 
St  Thomas.  Accordingly,  "  [The  Martyr],  wishing  to 
tread  in  the  footsteps  of  the  wonder-working  St  Nicholas 
('  shall  I  speak  out  or  be  silent  ? '  ^),  recalled  the  dead  to 
life.  The  cottagers  were  in  bed  when  the  reanimated  cow 
approached  the  door  of  the  poor  plaintiff."     The  mother, 

*  '•  S3S-6.  '  "oratorium."  *  i.  536-7. 

*  The  cow  had  been  good  to  him,  says  the  writer,  so  he  was  good  to  her, 
and  spared  her  from  '•  the  sepulture  of  asses,"  i.e.  the  birds  of  prey.  This 
perhaps  was  a  French  trait.  In  England,  a  sucking  pig  and  a  gander,  when 
dead,  are  to  be  '•  thrown  out  of  doors  (projicienda  foras)."     See  above  (633-4). 

'  Virg.  Aeneidy  iii.  39,  quoted  above  (674). 


72  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  700 

hearing  the  lowing,  bade  her  son  let  in  the  neighbour's  cow, 
for  fear  the  wolves  should  get  at  it  "  What  concern  have 
we,"  said  the  sleepy  fellow,  "  with  other  people's  cows,  now 
that  we  have  lost  our  own  ? "  "  Get  up,  my  son,"  she 
replied,  "  we  must  obey  the  Lord's  word  and  do  by  others  as 
we  would  have  them  do  by  us."*  So  the  boy  let  the  cow 
in,  and  she  went  at  once  to  her  stall.  Next  morning  she 
was  let  out  to  pasture,  and,  instead  of  going  to  her 
owner,  came  back  to  the  same  stall !  And  this  happened 
the  second  day,  and  the  third  day  !  How  much  longer,  we 
are  not  told.  The  writer  simply  says  "saepius,"  which  may 
mean  "  rather  often,"  or  "  more  often."  In  any  case,  the 
father  of  the  house  seems  to  have  taken  several  days  to 
be  astonished  at  the  cow's  conduct.  But  at  last  he  was 
astonished.  And  now,  examining  the  animal  more  closely 
and  finding  some  traces  of  resemblance  to  his  lost  cow,  he 
was  beginning  to  bless  St.  Thomas  for  her  restoration,  when 
he  reflected  that  it  would  be  as  well  to  look  for  her  old 
carcass  and  her  old  skin.  He  looked  for  the  first ;'  it  was 
not  there.  He  went  to  the  tanner  for  the  second.  The 
tanner,  after  saying  he  had  it,  could  not  produce  it  "  I 
knew,"  replied  the  poor  man,  in  triumph,  "  that  the  skin 
could  not  be  found.  The  cow  that  I  had  lost,  and  the  skin 
that  I  had  taken  off  her,  have  been  gratuitously  restored  to 
me  by  the  Martyr.     See,  I  give  you  back  your  money." 

[701]  Less  satisfactory,  from  the  picturesque  point  of 
view,  is  another  cow-story,  also  from  France,  from  the 
diocese  of  Quimper.^  The  owner  of  two  oxen  recovers  both 
of  them  from  thieves.  They  had  killed  and  partly  skinned 
one  of  them,  but  the  animal  revives.  It  does  not  appear 
that  the  farmer  gained  anything  from  St  Thomas  on  this 
occasion.      He   had   vowed   his  oxen    to   the  Martyr  if  he 

*  The  mother's  meaning  is  clear,  the  Latin  not  so  clear  :   "  tenemur  ex  prae- 
cepto  Domini  velle  idem  alii  quod  nobis  volumus  fieri." 
°  i.  537  "e  r^one  Lata  Via." 


§704  HIS  MIRACLES  73 

recovered  them,  and  to  the  Martyr  he  had  to  pay  them. 
At  first,  he  began  to  drive  them  back  to  his  farm ;  but 
"  seized  by  a  sudden  infirmity  "  he  hastily  repented  and  dis- 
charged his  vow. 

§  30.  Miscellanea 

[702]  One  Roger  (from  Valognes  in  Normandy)  is 
punished  for  neglect  of  pilgrimage  (though  his  father  had 
detained  him).  A  second  Roger,  a  notable  knight  (from 
Merlai,  "de  confinio  Albaniae  et  Loegriae")  recovers  the 
use  of  his  right  little  finger  ;  but  the  candid  scribe  adds, 
"  the  hand,  as  it  seems,  is  sound,  but  there  are  also  traces  of 
infirmity."  ^ 

[703]  A  lame  man  describes  how  he,  alone  out  of 
five  thousand  (in  the  great  flood  of  Holland  in  May 
ii73)>  was  saved  by  St.  Thomas.  He  adds  a  far  more 
picturesque  experience  of  a  neighbour,  who,  when  fleeing 
from  the  deluge,  had  been  forced  to  leave  in  his  cottage 
(entrusting  them  to  the  care  of  the  Martyr)  two  little 
children  and  a  cow.  After  the  waters  had  abated,  he 
returned,  in  dread  of  the  cruelty  of  the  flood,  but  in  hope  of 
the  Martyr's  aid.  Everything  was  safe.  " '  A  man  in  white 
clothes,'  said  the  little  ones,  *  brought  us  bread  for  ourselves 
and  hay  for  the  cow.'  And  besides  (to  the  best  of  their 
power),  describing  the  Martyr,  they  also  shewed,  as  a  proof 
of  their  story,  the  remains  of  the  bread  and  the  hay." " 

\  ^\.  A  story  cut  short 

[704]  William's  book  concludes  with  two  stories  that 
come  from  his  furthest  points  to  East  and  West,  Lund  to 
the  East  and  Ireland  to  the  West.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  Benedict's  concluding  pages  similarly  placed  the  East 

'  i.  538-9.      For  "  Loegria,"  see  783-  "  '•  539-40. 


74  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  704 

and  West  in  juxta-position.^  Before  these,  comes  a  story 
about  retribution  on  the  Wends  ;  and,  before  that,  a 
prophecy  of  a  Canterbury  monk  about  the  election  of  a 
Canterbury  Prior.  This  miscellaneous  collection  is  pre- 
ceded by  two  miracles  related  in  verse,  one  located  in 
Bamberg,  the  other  in  Wales.  The  whole  appears  to  be  of 
the  nature  of  an  Appendix,  the  last  regular  miracle  being 
one  concerning  a  boy  in  Northamptonshire,  revived  when 
seemingly  dead.^ 

[705]  This  miracle  appears  to  have  been  left  incomplete. 
We  might  be  tempted  to  suppose  that  the  last  page  of  the 
MS.  had  been  torn  off.  But  the  extant  portion  exhibits  so 
remarkable  an  indifference  to  facts  as  to  suggest  that  the 
writer  may  have  been  ill,  or  indisposed  to  write,  or  may 
have  been  prevented  by  circumstances  from  finishing  his 
work.  "  Some  one,"  he  says,  "  of  good  position  in  a  village 
of  Northampton — wJiose  name  we  did  not  enquire^  being 
contented  to  know  the  miracle — shewed  us  his  son  of  about 
three  years  old,  whom  he  constantly  asserted  to  have  been 
dead.  He  also  described  the  process  of  revivification.  The 
boy  had  expired  after  a  troublesome  illness  of  some  days  ^ : 
the  exequies  had  been  paid  ;  and  he  lay  a  corpse  for  about 
three  hours.  But  by  reason  of  his  mother,  mourning  and 
crying  that  she  could  not  believe  Thomas  to  be  Saint  or 
Martyr  unless  he  manifested  his  power  in  her  child  .  .  ." 

§  32.   Comic  verses 

[706]  We  may  hope  that  the  two  (apparently  comic) 
copies  of  verses  ^  were  not  from  William's  hand.  His  book, 
in  its  present  form,  was  certainly  not  presented  by  him  to 
the  King,  and  may  very  well  contain  the  labour  of  his  later 
years,  perhaps  left  unfinished,  with  blank  pages  that  invited 
an  insertion.      Such   a  phenomenon  would   not   be   half  so 

*  See  above,  587.  *  i.  540.  ^  i.  540  "  Dies  aliquod"  (sic). 

»  i.  541. 


?«  707  HIS  MIRACLES  75 

remarkable  as  the  abrupt  termination  of  the  Gospel  of  St. 
Mark  with  the  words  (Mark  xvi.  8)  "  For  they  were  afraid," 
followed  by  a  fragment  acknowledged  by  competent  critics 
to  proceed  from  a  different  hand. 

[707]  The  first  of  these  doggerel  poems  tells  how 
Bortrad  from  Bamberg  became  a  mother  and  ceased  to  be 
a  mother  on  one  and  the  same  day,  by  the  birth  and  death 
of  her  child.  St.  Thomas  restored  the  babe  to  life,  but  the 
writer  asserts  that  "  the  city  of  Bamberg  might  have  seen  it, 
but  she  sent  very  few  witnesses  of  it."^  The  second  tells 
how  a  Welsh  leper  was  cured  after  apparent  failure  and 
tears,  and  presented  himself  at  Canterbury  quite  altered,  and 
was  warned  by  the  monks  to  lead  a  continent  life,  lest  his 
disease  should  return.^ 

2  «'  Urbs  Babemberg  videre  potuit,  Sed  perpaucos  testes  adhibuit." 

3  Here  is  the  last  part : — 

"  Agens  ergo  gratias  venit  alteratus 
Et  nobis  apparuit  tanquam  transfonnatus, 
Sic  ad  unguem  faciem  totam  permundatus 
Ut  in  ea  specie  videretur  natus. 
Haec  videntes  diximus,  '  Vive  continenter  ; 
Nam  si  tibi  fuerat  (su)  dissolutus  venter, 
Toilet  a  te  Dominus  quod  dedit  clementer. 
Sic  male  viventibus  contingit  frequenter.'" 


SECTION    V 

THE  PARALLEL  MIRACLES  ^ 

[708]  It  has  not  been  thought  necessary  to  call  the 
reader's  attention  to  occasional  condensations  or  paraphrases 
of  the  original  in  the  following  parallel  stories,  as  the  whole 
of  the  Latin  is  given,  in  every  case,  at  the  foot  of  the  page. 

It  may  be  well  to  add  that,  in  some  cases,  it  has  been 
thought  necessary  to  sacrifice  the  English  to  the  Latin, 
where  there  was  a  special  need  to  bring  out  the  difference 
between  the  two  writers,  or  to  illustrate  some  play  of  words, 
antithesis,  or  other  peculiarity,  in  either  writer. 

§  I .   Sir  Thomas  of  Etton  is  miraculously  visited  with  quinsy 
and  miraculously  cured 

[709]   Benedict  (ii.  92)  William  (i.  153) 

(i)    In    the    days    when  (i)  In  the  county  of  York, 

some     still     disparaged     the     a   knight,  Thomas  of  Etton 
Christ  of  the  Lord,^  Thomas     by  name,  under  the  control 

(i)  Quibusdam  tamen  Christo  Do-  (i)  In  territorio  Eboracensi  miles 

mini  '     adhuc     detrahentibus,     quum       Thomas  de  Ectune  sub  martyris  ditione 

*  For  references,  see  la,  and  note  particularly  that  black  Arabic  figures, 
followed  by  ordinary  Arabics,  refer  to  subsections  and  paragraphs  in  the  Parallel 
Miracles.     Thus,  709  (3)  refers  to  paragraph  3,  in  subsection  709. 

1  ♦'  Christo  Domini,"  i.e.  the 
Anointed  of  the  Lord,  a  term  frequently 
applied  to  St.  Thomas  by  Herbert  of 
Bosh  am. 


§709 


HIS  MIRACLES 


77 


Benedict  (ii.  92) 

of  Etton,  a  knight  of  the 
province  of  York,  though  he 
had  once  served  the  Saint 
when  the  latter  was  discharg- 
ing the  Provostship  of  Bever- 
ley, was  himself  not  ashamed 
to  derogate  from  his  saintli- 
ness  and  honour. 

(2)  No  sooner  had  he 
cast  the  venom  of  blasphemy 
against  his  lord,  the  Christ 
of  the  Lord,  than  he  was 
smitten,  and  almost  suffo- 
cated with  what  was  thought 
to  be  a  dangerous  quinsy. 


William  (i.  153) 
of  the  Martyr,  had  discharged 
the   Provostship   of  Beverley 
while  he   himself  also  filled 
the  office  of  secretary.^ 


(2)  When  the  Martyr's 
miracles  were  noised  abroad, 
he  broke  out  into  blasphemy 
with  the  glibness  of  a  courtier, 
calling  him  a  profligate  spend- 
thrift, thinking  him  to  be 
such  as  he  had  remembered 
him  to  be  in  old  days — if  he 
ever  had  been  so — or  rather 
measuring      another's      con- 


audiret  hoc  de  provincia  Eboracensi 
miles,  Thomas  videlicet  de  Ethonia, 
ipse  quoque,  licet  ei  olim  praeposi- 
turam  de  Beverleia  ministranti  ser- 
vient, ejus  sanctitati  et  gloriae  derogare 
non  enibuit. 

(2)  Non  citius  in  dominum  suum, 
christum  Domini,  blasphemiae  venena 
jactaverat,  quam,  juxta  quod  scriptum 
est,  "  Klagellat  Dominus  omnem  filium 
quem  recipit,"  periculoso,  ut  putabatur, 
squinantiae  morbo  f>ercussus  paene 
praefocatus  est. 


praeposituram  de  Beverle  ministraverat, 
dum  et  ipse  scribatus  impleret  officium.' 


(2)  Qui  enarratis  vulgo  miraculis 
quibus  in  martyre  ad  gloriam  legitime 
certantium  Dominus  coruscabat,  curiali 
facilitate  in  blasphemiam  erupit,  ponens 
in  coelum  os  suum  ;  martyrem  libidinosi 
et  nebulonis  el(^o  notans,  talem  nunc 
reputans  qualem  multis  retro  diebus 
vidisse  meminerat,  si  talis  unquam 
fiierat ;  vel  potius  juxta  propriam  con- 


1  William  seems  to  take  the  view 
that  the  knight  of  Etton  really  "dis- 
charged the  duties  of  the  Provostship," 
although,  in  name  and  office,  merely  a 
"secretar)'." 


78 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§709 


Benedict  (ii.  92) 


(3)  Led  by  this  sudden 
disease  to  see  his  guilt,  he 
turned  to  the  Lord  with  his 
whole  heart,  and  combined 
the  Martyr's  rod  with  that  of 
penitence  and  contrition. 


(4)  The  wonderful  justice 
of  the  Lord  was  followed  by 
the  wonderful  pity  of  the 
Lord.  No  sooner  had  he 
offered  the  Martyr  ^  the  tears 
of  a  penitent  heart,  than  per- 


William  (i.  153) 

science  by  his  own.  He  was 
therefore  struck  with  a  sud- 
den synanchy ;  the  avenues 
of  breath  were  choked  ;  and 
he  thought  every  moment  he 
would  be  suffocated. 

(3)  Feeling  in  himself 
the  divine  rebuke,  he  remem- 
bered his  words,  his  want  of 
reverence,  his  ignorant  and 
shameless  attack  upon  holy 
men.  He  beat  his  breast, 
confessed  his  guilt  with  sighs, 
and  sought  pardon. 

(4)  The  compassionate 
heart  of  the  Martyr  is  un- 
able, yea,  unable  to  persist 
in  punishing  those  who  return 
to  wisdom,  and  cannot  spurn 
the  truly  contrite.     For  with 


(3)  Advertens  autem  ex  repentina 
infirmitatis  immissione  derogationis  se 
reum  esse  atque  correptum,  in  toto 
corde  conversus  ad  Dominum,  flagellum 
martyris  flagello  poenitentiae  at  con- 
tritionis  spiritus  temperare  non  dLstulit. 

(4)  Miram  Domini  justitiam  mira 
Domini  pietas  est  subsecuta.  Non 
enim  citius  reatus  sui  poenitens  internas 
cordis     lacrymas    martyr  ^     obtulerat, 


scientiam  metiens  alienam.  Percussus 
igitur  incontinenti  synanchia,  coarctato 
vitalis  aurae  meatu,  per  singula  mo- 
menta suffocari  putabat. 

(3)  Sentiens  autem  in  se  sujjer- 
venientem  divinae  severitatis  animad- 
versionem,  recordatur  quid  dixerit, 
quam  fuerit  modestiae  nescius,  et 
pudoris  ignarus  in  sanctos.  Pectus 
itaque  contundit,  gemitu  suspirioso 
reatum  confitetur,  et  veniam  petit. 

(4)  Nescit,  nescit  martyris  miseri- 
cordia  resipiscentes  insequi,  vere  con- 
tritos  aspernari.  Nam  sub  ea  celeri- 
tate  qua  obloquentem  percussit,  resipi- 


*  "  Martyr  "  must  be  a  misprint  for 
■  martyri." 


§709 


HIS  MIRACLES 


79 


Benedict  (ii.  92) 

feet    peace   came    back    and 
all  his  pain  vanished, 


(5)  and,  when  fit  time 
occurred,  hastening  to  the 
Saint's  Memorial,^  he  testi- 
fied that  he  had  also  in  after 
times  been  freed  from  violent 
fevers  by  calling  on  the 
Martyr. 


William  (i.  153) 
the   same  speed   with   which 
he  smote  he  cured. 

For  [the  sin  of]  speaking 
anathema,  the  man  was 
straitened  in  spirit  [or, 
"  breath"  there  is  a  play  on 
the  word  "  spiritu "]  ;  for 
[the  merit  ofj  speaking  in 
the  holy  spirit,  he  obtained 
free  breathing  through  the 
throat  that  had  been  but 
now  closed. 
(5)  omitted. 


Little  comment  is  required  on  these  two  narratives,  as  the 
facts  are  simple  and  the  two  agree.  William's  appears  to  be  the 
later.  He  gives  fuller  details  than  Benedict's  about  the  knight's 
office  in  Beverley,  and  about  the  nature  and  motives  of  his  slander, 
(i)  Where  Benedict  praises  the  Lord,  William  praises  the  Martyr ; 
(2)  the  latter  also  prefers  the  manifestly  Greek  term  "  synanchy  "  to 


quam  omnimodo  redeunte  quiete  totus 
ille  dolor  in  nihilum  evanuit, 


(5)  et  occurrente  tempore  oppor- 
tuno  ad  sancti  festinans  memoriam,^ 
etiam  a  febribus  validis  se  postea  per 
martyris  invocationem  liberatum  testa- 
tus  est. 


scentem  sanavit.      Anathema  locutus, 
spiritu  arctatus  est ;  in  spiritu  sancto 
locutus,    gutturis     intercepti     liberum 
spiramen  corisecutus  est. 
(5)  omitted. 


*  "  Memoriam,"    often    used    for 
"tomb." 


8o 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§709 


the  French- Greek  form,  "  squinantia,"  and  (3)  shews  a  greater 
proneness  to  playing  on  words.  All  these  differences  are  charac- 
teristic of  William's  general  style  as  compared  with  Benedict's. 
There  is  nothing  to  prove  that  William  had  seen  the  earlier  narra- 
tive :  but  he  gives  the  impression  that  he  had  read  it  and  is  en- 
deavouring to  improve  on  it. 

§  2.  Eilward  of  Westoning  in  Bedfordsfiire,  mutilated  for 
tfuft,  is  miraculously  restored 
[710]  (i.)  Benedict  (ii. 


173-82) 
(i)  There  vvras  one  of  the 
common  folk/  Eilward  by 
name,  in  the  king's  town  of 
Weston  in  the  county  of 
Bedford.  One  of  his  neigh- 
bours, Fulk,  owed  him  a 
denarius  as  part  of  rent  for 
cornland,  and  put  off  payment 
on  the  excuse  of  not  having 
the    money.^       One    day,    a 


William  (i.  155-8) 

(i)  This^  Ailward  had  a 
neighbour  in  his  debt.  When, 
on  demanding  it,  he  met  with 
a  refusal. 


( I )  Erat  plebeius '  quidam  in  villa 
regia  Westona  in  territorio  Bedefordensi, 
Eilwardus  nomine,  cui  ex  vicinis  suis 
quidam  Fulco  pro  dimidii  jugeris  aratura 
duorum  denariorum  debito  tenebatur. 
Qui,  altero  reddito,  alterius  solutionem 
usque  in  annum  sequentem,  sub  non 
habentis     specie,      protelavit.^        Die 


(i)  Ordinem  rei  non  ab  re  esse 
putamus  ad  confirmationem  posteritatis 
in  fide  dilucidare.  Huic  igitur  Ailwardo  • 
vicinus  tenebatur  in  nummo  ;  quem  cum 
repeteret,  et  ille  solvere  recusaret, 


^  ^* Plebeius"  is  very  seldom  used 
in  introducing  the  common  folk  who 
are  the  most  frequent  subjects  of  miracles 
in  Benedict's  treatise.  But  this  is  one 
of  the  few  instances  where  there  seems 
to  have  been  an  anti-Norman  feeling, 
or,  at  all  events,  a  sense  that  a  man  of 
low  degree  had  been  unfairly  treated 
by  the  authorities. 

-  The  whole  rent  was  two  denarii  for 
half  an  acre  (pro  dimidii  jugeris  aratura). 


*  William  has  placed  at  the  head 
of  his  narrative  a  letter  of  attestation 
from  the  burgesses  of  Bedford.  This 
mentions  Ailward  by  name.  Hence  he 
begins  thus  abruptly  with  «'  this  Ail- 
ward." William  spells  the  name 
"  Ailward  "  (once  "  Ailword  ")  ;  Bene- 
dict "  Eilward." 


§710 


HIS  MIRACLES 


8i 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

holiday,  when  they  were  going 
to  the  alehouse  together,  as 
is  the  English  custom,  Eil ward 
asked  for  his  money,  and  Fulk 
denied  [the  debt]  on  oath. 
Then  Eilward  bade  him  pay 
half,  as  he  was  going  to 
liave  some  beer,  and  keep 
the  other  half  for  himself 
for  beer  likewise.  On  Fulk's 
still  refusing,  the  other  said 
he  would  be  even  with  him. 

(2)  After  they  had  both 
got  drunk,  Eilward,  leaving 
the  ale-house  before  the  other, 
turned  aside  to  Fulk's  cottage, 
tore  away  the  bar,  burst  into 
the  house,  and  carried  away 


William  (i.  155-8) 


(2)  Ailward  in  a  rage, 
rushing  into  his  debtor's 
house — which  the  latter  had 
fastened  with  a  bar  that  hung 
down  from  the  outside  when 
he  turned  aside '  to  the  tavern 


quodam  festo  post  beati  martyris  passio- 
nem,  cum  forte  simul  ad  tabemam 
proficiscerentur  (moris  enim  est  Anglis 
feriantibus  commessationibus  et  ebrieta- 
tibus  indulgere,  ut  videant  hostes  et 
derideant  sabbata  eonim),  exigente  isto 
debitum,  abjurat  ille.  Postulat  iste  ut 
emiti  ad  cervisiam  saltern  dimidium  sibi 
solvat  debiti,  dimidio  ad  simile  negotium 
sibi  ipsi  retento ;  negante  hoc  nihilo- 
minus  debitore,  talionem  se  redditurum 
minatur  exactor. 

(2)  Utroque  ad  tabemam  inebriate, 
surgens  praetaxatus  Eil  wardus  debitorem 
suum   praecessit,   et   ad   domum    ejus 


(2)  mot  us  ira  domum  debitoris, 
quam  sera  exterius  dependente  ad 
tabemam  digressus^   obfirmaverat,    ir- 


VOI-    II 


*  William  perhaps  argued  that 
'  *  turn  aside  "  must  mean  going  to  the 
inn  ("diversorium  ").  Benedict  says 
that  Eilward  •'  tumed  aside"  to  Fulk's 
cottage,  instead  of  going  straight  home. 
6 


82 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§710 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

a  great  grindstone  and  a  pair 
of  gloves,  both  scarcely  of  the 
value  of  a  nunimus.  The 
boys,  who  were  playing  in  the 
courtyard,  cried  out,  and  run- 
ning to  the  tavern  called  their 
father  out  to  reclaim  his  pro- 
perty. Fulk  followed  the 
thief,  broke  the  man's  head 
with  the  grindstone,^  wounded 
him  in  the  arm  with  a  knife, 
brought  him  back  to  the  cot- 
tage, bound  him,  and 


William  (i.  155-8) 

— tore  away  the  bar  as  a 
pledge,  and  seizing  at  the 
same  time  a  grindstone  placed 
on  the  roof  of  the  cottage, 
together  with  an  awl  ^  and  a 
pair  of  gloves,  went  off.  Word 
was  then  carried  to  their 
father  by  the  boys,  who  were 
shut  up  in  ^  the  house  at  play, 
that  a  thief  had  broken  in 
and  gone  off  with  plunder. 
Fulk  followed  him,  wrested 
the  grindstone  from  his  hand 


divertens,  avulsa  ostii  sera,  tam  im- 
petuosus  quam  ebrius  effractor,  domum 
irrupit.  Evolvens  domum,  quaerensque 
quid  auferat,  cotem  magnam  offendit, 
et  chirothecas,  qualibus  ruricolae  contra 
spinarum  aculeos  manus  armare  consue- 
verunt ;  sublatis  utrisque  vix  pretium 
nummi  praedo  pauper  asportavit.  Ex- 
clamant  pueri  in  atriodomuscoliudentes, 
et  concurrentes  ad  tabernam,  patrem 
suum  evocant  ut  praedam  excutiat.  At 
ille  hominem  persecutus  cotem  extorsit, 
et  eadem  in  caput  praedonis  vibrata, 
tam  cotem  in  capite  quam  caput  cote 
confregit.^  Exserto  quoque  cuspidis 
acutae  cultello  quern  ferebat,  brachium 
ejusdem  perforavit.  Praevaluit  ad- 
versus  eum,  miserumque,  ut  furem,  ut 
raptorem,  ut  effractorem  reducens,  in 
dome,  quam  effregerat,  coUigavit. 


rumpens,  seram  in  pignus  avulsit,  arrep- 
taque  simul  cote  apposita  tecto  casae, 
cum  terebro^  chirothecisque,  discessit. 
Nuntiatum  est  autem  a  pueris,  qui  infra 
domum  ludebant  inclusi,*  patrifamilias, 
quia  confracta  domo,  supellectilique 
direpta,  raptor  abscederet.  Qui  in- 
secutus  eum  comprehendit,  et  cotem  a 


3  Benedict,  who  is  very  diffuse  here, 
and  evidently  takes  great  pity  on  "  the 
poor  robber,"  says  that  Fulk  also  broke 
the  grindstone  on  Eilward's  head.  The 
version  given  above  is  condensed  ;  the 
original,  though  verbose,  omits  some 
facts  mentioned  by  William. 


3  The  "awl"  is  mentioned  by 
Benedict  (note  4)  among  articles  not 
taken  by  the  prisoner. 

*  William  seems  to  think  that  Fulk 
would  not  have  locked  his  cottage  from 
the  outside  except  to  shut  the  boys  in 
(?  "  infra  "  misprint  for  * « intra  ").  This 
seems  contrary  to  Benedict's  "in  the 
courtyard." 


§710 


HIS  MIRACLES 


83 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 


(3)  (he)  called  in  Fulk 
the  beadle  of  the  village,  to 
know  what  he  must  do  with 
his  prisoner.  "  The  charge," 
said  the  beadle,  "  is  not  heavy 
enough.  If  you  tie  a  few 
more  things  round  the  prisoner 
and  produce  him  thus,  you 
can  accuse  him  of  breaking 
the  law."  The  debtor  agreed, 
and  fastened  round  his  pris- 
oner's neck  an  awl,*  a  two- 
edged  axe,  a  net,  and  some 


William  (i.  155-8) 
and  wounded  his  head  [with 
it].  Then,  drawing  a  knife, 
he  pierced  his  arm,  and,  bring- 
ing him  back  as  a  thief  taken 
in  the  act,  bound  him  in  the 
house  he  had  broken  into. 

(3)  When  a  crowd  gath- 
ered,^ with  Fulk  the  beadle, 
it  was  suggested  by  the  beadle 
— because  stealing  under  the 
value  of  one  numvius  does 
not  subject  a  man  to  mutila- 
tion— that  he  should  add  to 
the  number  of  the  things 
stolen.  So  there  was  placed 
close  to  the  prisoner  a  bundle 
of  skins,  cloaks,  napkins, 
gowns,  with  a  tool  commonly 
called  a  "  volgonium."      Next 


(3)  Accersit  deinde  praeconem  villae 
Fulconem  ;  quid  facto  opus  sit  inter- 
rogaL  At  ille,  "  Brevis,"  inquit,  "  et 
insufficiens  est  causa  pro  qua  captus 
est ;  si  vero,  aucto  furto,  aliis  rebus 
quasi  furtivis  oneratum  produxeris, 
plectendi  eum  sceleris  poterisaccusare." 
Acquievit  ille,  et  terebro,*  bisacuta, 
reti,  vestibusque  nonnuUis  siniul  cum 


manu  bajulantis  extorquens  caput  vul- 
neravit.  Extractoque  cultello  brachium 
transfigens,  eum  quasi  furem  manifestum 
cum  concepto  furto  reductum  ligavit  in 
domo  quam  fregerat. 

(3)  Concurrente  autem  turba,®  cum 
apparitore  Fulcone,  quia  res  furtiva 
pretii  unius  nummi  hominem  non 
mutilat,  suggestum  est  ab  apparitore  ut 
furtum  rebus  aliis,  quasi  furtivis,  augeret ; 
quod  et  factum  est.  Fosita  est  itaque 
juxta  ligatum  sarciniila  pellium,  laenae, 
lintei,  togae,  cum  fcrramento  quod  vol- 
gonium vulgus  appellat.     Postera   die 


*  "  Awl,"    See  note  3  on  William's 
account. 


*  Why  does  William  add  these 
words  ?  Is  it  to  convict  Fulk  the  beadle 
of  giving  this  infamous  advice  ?  With- 
out the  presence  of  witnesses,  he  could 
not  be  convicted. 


84 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§710 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

clothes,  together  with  the 
grindstone  and  the  gloves, 
and  on  the  following  day 
brought  him  thus  before  the 
king's  officers. 

(4)  So  having  been  taken 
to  Bedford  he  was  kept  in 
the  prison  there  for  a  month. 
He  sent  for  a  priest,  in  whose 
hearing  (after  confessing  his 
sins)  he  vowed  a  pilgrimage 
to  Jerusalem  if  he  escaped, 
and  he  begged  that  he  might 
be  branded  with  a  cross  on 


William  (i.  155-8) 

day  he  was  led  to  trial  before 
one  Richard,  a  viscount,  and 
the  knights  with  him,  with 
the  above-mentioned  bundle 
fastened  round  his  neck. 

(4)  The  matter  being 
doubtful,  in  order  to  avoid 
a  hasty  decision,  the  prisoner 
was  remanded  for  a  month 
to  custody  in  Bedford,  Mean- 
time he  secretly^  sent  for  a 
village  priest,  who  heard  him 
confess,  and  advised  him  to 
appeal  to   the  protection    of 


cote  et  chirothecis  in  collo  illius  colli- 
gatis,  officialibus  regis  die  postera  prac- 
sentavit. 

(4)  Tractus  itaque  Bedefordiam  in 
custodia  publica  mense  uno  tentus  est, 
et  accito  presbytero  quodam  venerabili, 
Pagano,  utpote  periculis  extremis  ex- 
positus,  ad  mortem,  immo  et  ad  vitam, 
se  praeparat,  et  omnia  conscientiae  suae 
secreta  evolvens,  quicquid  saluti  coii- 
trarium  invenit  in  tutis  presbyteri 
auribus  effundit.  Sed  et  de  corporis 
sui  liberatione  spem  suam  divinae 
miserationi  committens,  "  Domine," 
inquit,  "carissime,  terram  quam  Dei 
Filius,  Dominus  noster  Jesus,  et  vita 
temporali  sanctificavit  et  morte,  pedes 
adibo,  si  necessitatis  instantis  articulum 
evasero.  Unde  et  humero  meo  dextro 
candenti   ferro    signum    crucis   precor 


ad  cognitionem  Ricardi  cujusdam  vice- 
comitis  militumque  comitatus  cum  prae- 
dicta  sarcinula  ductus  est,  quae  et  collo 
ejus  appensa  est. 

(4)  Ne  autem  de  re  dubia  praecipi- 
taretur  sententia,  in  publica  custodia 
Bedeford  suspenso  judicio  per  mensem 
tentus  est.  Interim  clam  ^  vocato  Pagano 
presbytero  suos  excessus  omnes  ab  in- 
eunte  aetate  confessus  est ;    a  quo  et 


*  Omitted  here  by  Benedict,  who 
however  states  that  the  priest's  access 
was  subsequently  forbidden  ;  and  this 
suggests  that  it  was  secret  from  the  first. 


§710 


HIS  MIRACLES 


85 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

the  shoulder.  The  Priest 
branded  him  accordingly,  but 
also  suggested  that  he  should 
seek  the  protection  of  the 
Saints,  and  especially  of  St. 
Thomas,  measuring  his  body 
for  the  length  and  thickness 
of  a  candle  to  be  offered  to 
the  Martyr,  and  also  giving 
him  a  bundle  of  rods  that 
self-punishment  might  accom- 
pany his  invocations.  Then 
he  left  him,  saying  that  the 
judges  had  forbidden  any 
priest  to  have  further  access 
to    the    accused.       However 


William  (i.  155-8) 

the  blessed  Mary  and  all 
the  Saints,  and  especially  St. 
Thomas  ;  to  put  away  anger ; 
not  to  distrust  God's  com- 
passion ;  and  to  bear  patiently 
what  he  might  have  to  suffer, 
looking  to  remission  of  sins  : 
— and  that,  all  the  more 
earnestly  because,  having 
been  christened  on  Whitsun- 
eve,  he  could  not  sink  in 
water  or  be  burned  in  fire 
(according  to  the  common 
belief)  if  he  had  to  undergo 
either  of  these  ordeals."  He 
also  gave  him  a  rod  for  self- 


inuri,  quod  mihi,  licet  vestes  auferantur, 
auferre  nemo  praevaleat."  Fecit  ille 
ut  fuerat  rogatus,  commonens  ut  ad 
sanctorum  suffragia  devotus  confugeret, 
maxime  vero  gloriosi  martyris  Thomae, 
quem  Dominus  tanta  signorum  gloria 
mirificavit.  Filo  praeterea  longitudi- 
nem  latitudinemque  corporis  ejusmensus 
est,  unde  factam  candelam  sancto 
martyri  liberatus  offerret.  Flagellum 
etiam  de  virgis  ei  praebens,  "  Accipe," 
inquit,  "virgas  istas,  et  cum  invocatione 
martyris  quinquies  quotidie  priusquam 
gustes  tibi  ipsi  tortor  existe,  nee  cesses 
ad  martyrcm  die  noctuve  genua  flectere, 
martyrem  invocare,  nisi  cum,  impor- 
lunitatc  somni  gravatus,  naturae  de- 
ficient! cogeris  succurrere."  Diligentius 
igitur  instructum  dimisit,  inhibitum  esse 
a  judicibus  asseverans,  ne  ullus  presby- 
terorum  ulterius  ad  eum  haberet  acces- 
sum.      Mittebat    tamen    saepenumero 


monitus  est  suffragia  Beatae  Mariae 
sanctorumque  omnium,  et  maxime  beati 
Thomae,  quem  Dominus  virtutum  et 
signorum  indiciis  glorificare  dignatus 
est,  suppliciter  implorare  ;  omnem  iram 
et  incentivum  odiorum  ab  animo  seclu- 
dere  ;  de  Dei  misericordia  non  diffidere, 
et  quicquid  pati  cogeretur,  aequanimiter 
in  remissionem  peccatorum  sustinere, 
et  eo  attentius  quod  vigilia  Pentecostes 
ipse  parvulus  regeneratus  aqua  submergi 
vel  igne  cremari  non  posset,  sicut  vul- 
garis habet  opinio,  si  judicium  alter- 
utrum  subiturus  esset  ^ ;  vii^amque 
dedit   qua   quinquies   in   die   susccpta 


^  "  Ordeals."     See  note  9,  below. 


86 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§710 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

the  Priest  still  sent  messages 
to  his  window  to  comfort  and 
strengthen  him  in  secret. 
Also  the  Prior  of  Bedford 
often  supplied  him  with  food, 
visited  him  and  had  him  out 
for  a  breathing-space  now 
and  then,  in  the  open  air. 


(5)  At  the  beginning  of 
the  fifth  week  he  was  had  up 
for  trial.  On  his  asserting 
that  he  took  what  he  took, 
as  a  pledge,  and  that  he  did 
not  take  the  other  articles  at 


William  (i.  155-8) 

discipline.  The  man  willingly- 
heard  him  ;  he  also  measured 
the  thickness  of  his  own  ^  body, 
devotinghimself  to  the  Martyr, 
and  promising  a  better  life. 
Moreover,  fearing  that  his 
clothes  might  be  taken  from 
him  he  imprinted  the  sign  of 
the  cross  with  a  hot  iron  on 
his  shoulder. 

(5)  It  came  to  pass  that, 
as  the  magistrates  were  meet- 
ing at  Leighton  Buzzard,  the 
accused  was  taken  thither. 
Thereupon  he  demanded  trial 
by  battle,  or  else  ordeal  by 


qui  eum  occulta  per  fenestram  ad  indicia 
sibi  vel  negligentem  excitaret,  vel 
studiosum  magis  accenderet.  Sed  et 
prior  canonicorum  de  Bedfordia  Gau- 
fridus,  quern  ethujus  admirandi  miraculi 
testem  habemus,  victus  ei  necessario 
saepius  administrabat,  saepius  incarcer- 
atum  visitabat,  et  ut  saltern  ad  horam 
respiraret,  eductum  de  carcere  sub  divo 
deambulare  faciebat. 

(5)  Jam  quatuor  septimanis  exactis, 
quintae  principium  advenerat,  quum 
eductus  miser  de  carcere  ad  concilium 
trahitur  judicandus.  Impetit  eum  ac- 
cusator  crimine  furti ;  impositum  crimen 
constantius  ille  repellit,  et  omnibus  quae 
sibi  a  collo  pendebant  longius  excussis, 
de  cote  duntaxat  fatetur  et  chirothecis, 
quod  eas  in  pignus  pro  debito  acceperit ; 


disciplina  Dei  misericordiam  in  se  pro- 
vocaret.  Qui  monita  libenter  audiens, 
circumducto  filo  corpori  suo®  martyri 
se  devovit,  emendatiorem  vitam  pro- 
mittens,  timensque  sibi  panniculos  suos 
diripi,  in  dextro  humero  calido  ferro 
signum  crucis  impressit. 


(5)  Factum  est  autem  ut  conveni- 
entibus  ad  vicum  Legtune  magistratibus 
reus  eo  duceretur.  Ubi  cum  impetitore 
suo  Fulcone  monomachiam  inire  aut 
judicium  ignis   subire  postulavit ;   sed 


*  The  difference  between  Benedict 
and  William  is  represented  by  the 
difference  between  "ejus"  and  "suum," 
which  are  often  confused  in  these  books. 


S710 


HIS  MIRACLES 


87 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 
all,  he  was  again  remanded 
to  prison.  In  the  fifth  week 
Jie  was  again  tried  on  the 
charge  of  stealing  simply  the 
ijrindstone  and  the  gloves. 
For  the  accuser,  fearing  to 
undergo  the  ordeal  of  battle 
demanded  by  the  accused, 
condemned  by  silence  all  his 
previous  charges,  and — hav- 
ing on  his  side  the  viscount 
and  the  judges — managed 
to  free  himself  from  obliga- 
tion to  fight,  and  to  secure 
that  the  accused  should  be 
tried  by  ordeal  of  water. 


William  (i.  155-8) 
fire  ;  but  by  the  assent  of  the 
beadle  Fulk — who  had  re- 
ceived an  ox  to  bring  this 
about — he  was  bound  over 
to  ordeal  by  water,  lest  he 
should  by  any  possibility 
escape.^ 


furtum  et  scelus  omnimodum  inficiatur. 
Dilato  judicio,  carcerali  rursus  manci- 
patur  custodiae.  Itaque  quinta  post 
hebdomada  extractus,  et  tractus  item 
ad  concilium,  super  cotis  tantummodo 
et  chirothecarum  furto  ab  adversario  suo 
impetitiu.  Ille  enim,  quia  postulante 
reo  monomachiam  inire  sibi  metue- 
bat,  omnia  quibus  ilium  ante  insimu- 
laverat  silentio  damnavit,  et  vicecomi- 
tem  judicesque  habens  sibi  propitios, 
ut  a  duelli  necessitate  seipsum  excu- 
teret,  et  alteraquae  judicioexaminaretur, 
obtinuit. 


annuente  Fulcone  apparitore,  qui  ob  id 
ipsum  bovem  acceperat,  judicio  aquae 
adjudicatus  est,  ne  quoquomodo  evadere 
posset.' 


'  Being  bom  on  XVhitsun  eve  (see 
710  (4)  above),  he  could  not  "  sink 
(submergi)."  Being  unable  to  "  sink," 
he  was  sure  to  be  condemned  on  this 
ordeal.  This  seems  to  be  the  meaning 
of  the  obscure  passage  :  and  hence 
William  inserts  mention  of  the  Whitsun 
superstition  in  710  (4)- 


88 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§710 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

(6)  Now  it  was  the  Sab- 
bath, and  the  examination 
was  put  off  till  the  third  day 
of  the  following  week,  he 
himself  being  again  kept  in 
prison,  and  not  allowed  by 
the  cruelty  of  his  keeper  to 
keep  vigil  in  the  church — a 
right  conceded  by  the  com- 
passion of  religion  to  all  that 
are  to  purge  themselves  [by 
ordeal]  from  criminal  charge. 
In  prison,  however,  he  de- 
voutly kept  the  watch  that 
he  was  not  allowed  to  keep 
in  the  church. 

When  brought  out  to  the 
water  [-ordeal],  he  was  met 
by  thp  village  priest,  who  ex- 
horted him  to  bear  all  pati- 
ently, looking  to  remission  of 


William  (i.   155-8) 

(6)  Then   he   was   taken 
back  to  Bedford  for  a  month.^'' 


(6)  Erat  autem  sabbatam,  et  usque 
in  feriam  tertiam  hebdomadae  sequenti'- 
examinatio  dilata  est,  ipso  iterum  con- 
servato  in  carcere,  Vigiliam  in  ecclesia, 
quam  seipsos  a  crimine  purgaturis  con- 
cessit Christianae  religionis  pietxs, 
negavit  ei  custodis  crudelitas.  In  car- 
cere  tamen  excubias  devotus  celebravit, 
quas  ei  in  ecclesia  celebrare  non  licuit. 

Educto  ad  aquam  obvius  venit 
presbyter  praenominatus,  Paganus, 
commonens  omnia  aequanimiter  in 
peccatorum      remissionem      sustinere, 


(6)  Inde  Bedeford  reductus,  in  car- 
cere  mensem  exegit.'" 


•*  Did  William  derive  his  "month  " 
from  some  corruption  of  Benedict's  "in 
feriam  iii  hebdomadae,"  e.g.  "in  fere 
jam  V  hebdomada  "  ? 


710 


HIS  MIRACLES 


89 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

sins,  to  entertain  no  anger  in 
his  heart,  to  forgive  all  his 
enemies  heartily  [all  they  had 
done  to  him],  and  not  to  de- 
spair of  the  compassion  of 
God."^  He  replied,  "  May  the 
will  of  God  and  the  Martyr 
Thomas  be  fulfilled  in  me," 

(7)  When  plunged  into 
the  water  he  was  found 
guilty.  The  beadle,  Fulk, 
now  seized  him,  saying,  "  This 
way,  rascal,  this  way ! " 
"  Thanks  be  to  God,"  said 
the  other,  "and  to  the  holy 
Martyr  Thomas  !  "  Dragged 
to  the  place  of  execution,  he 
was  deprived  of  his  eyes,  and 
also  mutilated  according  to 
law.      As    for    his    left   eye. 


William  (i.  155-8) 


(7)  Thither  the  judges 
assembled,  and  after  he  had 
been  delivered  over  to  be 
tried  by  ordeal  of  water,  he 
received  the  sad  sentence  of 
condemnation.  He  was  then 
led  to  the  place  of  execution. 
His  eyes  were  gouged  out. 
The  privy  members  were  also 
cut  off  in  accordance  with 
the  law  of  mutilation  and 
buried    in    the   earth    in    the 


odium  et  iram  in  animo  non  habere, 
omnibus  adversariis  suis  omnia  ex  corde 
dimittere,  et  de  Dei  misericord  la  non 
desperare.5  At  ille,  "  Fiat,"  inquit, 
"  Dei  et  martyris  Thomae  voluntas  in 
me!" 

(7)  Demissus  in  aquam  reus  depre- 
henditur  ;  quem  praeco  praedictus 
Fulco  arripiens,  ••  Hue,"  inquit, 
"scelerate,  hue  venies  ad  me."  Et 
ille,  '•  Deo  gratias  et  sancto  martyri 
Thomae  !  "  Tractus  itaque  ad  locum 
supplicii,  orbatur  oculis,  genitalibus 
mutilatur.    Et  oculum  quidem  sinistrum 


(7)  Quo  convenientibus  judicibus, 
cum  judicio  aquae  traderetur  exami- 
nandus,  damnationis  suae  tristem  excepit 
sententiam,  eductusque  ad  locum 
supplicii,  oculis  effossis  et  virilibus 
abscisis  mutilatus  est,  quae  multitudine 


'*  William  has  similar  words  above, 

in  (4). 


90 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§710 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

they  at  once  extracted  that, 
whole  ;  as  for  the  right,  after 
being  lacerated  and  chopped 
to  pieces  it  was  at  last  with 
difficulty  gouged  out.  The 
members  of  which  he  had  been 
deprived  by  mutilation  they 
hid  under  the  sod  ;  and  (in 
accordance  with  what  is  read 
about  the  man  that  "  fell 
among  robbers  ")  they 
stripped  him,  and,  after  in- 
flicting wounds  ^  on  him  as 
aforesaid,  they  "  departed, 
leaving  him  half  dead." 

He  was  mutilated  by  his 
accuser  Fulk,  and  the  official 
of  the  same  name  (by  whose 
suggestion  and  advice  the 
man  is  believed  to  have  been 
brought  into  this  misery),  and 


William  (i.  155-8) 
sight  of  a  multitude  of  the 
common  folk. 

All  the  time  he  was 
suffering,  he  ceased  not  to 
implore  the  help  of  God,  and 
to  invoke  St.  Thomas,  for- 
giving the  torturers  all  their 
cruelty  towards  him. 


statim  integrum  eruerunt ;  dexter  autem, 
laceratus  et  in  frusta  concisus,  vix 
tandem  effossus  est.  Membra,  quibus 
eum  mutilaverant,  sub  cespite  abscon- 
derunt,  et,  juxta  quod  de  illo  legitur 
qui  incidit  in  latrones,  despoliaverunt 
eum,  et  plagis,'  ut  praedictum  est, 
impositis,  abierunt,  semivivo  relicto. 
Confluxerat  ad  spectaculum  non  parva 
populi  multitude,  quibusdam  nomine 
publicaepotestatiscompulsis,  quibusdam 
curiositate  attractis.  Mutilaverant  eum 
accusator  ejus  Fulco  et  ejusdem  nomi- 
nis  regis  officialis,  cujus  instinctu  con- 
silioque  in   tantam  creditur   devenisse 


vidente  plebis  terrae  infossa  sunt. 
Inter  plectendum,  divinum  auxilium 
implorare  non  cessabat,  et  beatum 
Thomam  invocare,  remittens  tortoribus 
quicquid  in  se  crudeliter  ^erant. 


'  "Plagis"  must  mean  the  blows 
with  the  knife  above-mentioned. 


5;  710 


HIS  MIRACLES 


91 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 
also  by  two  other  execu- 
tioners with  them  :  whom, 
however,  when  they  asked 
pardon,  for  the  love  of  God 
and  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr 
he  freely  forgave,  crying  aloud 
that  he  would  go  to  the  Mar- 
tyr's memorial,  blind  though 
he  was,  and  persisting  in  the 
cry  with  a  wonderful  faith — 
knowing  that  it  was  more 
glorious  for  the  Martyr  to 
restore  eyes  that  had  been 
taken  away  than  to  preserve 
them  when  not  taken. 

(8)  He  was  attended  by 
none  but  his  daughter,  twelve 
years  old,  who  had  also 
begged  food  for  him  when  in 
prison.  For,  as  all  his  goods 
were  confiscated, all  his  friends 
spurned  him,  and  there  was 
no  one,  of  all  those  dear  to 


William  (i.  155-8) 


(8)  After  the  infliction  of 
his  punishment,  he  was  led 
into  the  town  and  hospitably 
received  by  one  Ailbricht. 


miseriam,  el  cum  iis  lictores  alii  duo  ; 
quibus  tamen  veniam  petentibus  pro 
Dei  et  sancti  Thomae  martyris  amore 
libenter  indulsit,  martyris  memoriam 
aditurum  se,  licet  lumine  orbatum, 
admiranda  fide  inclamitans,  de  martyris 
pietate  virtuteque  non  difiidere;  martyri 
sciens  gloriosius  esse  oculos  restituere 
perdjtos,  quam  non  ablatos  conservasse. 
(8)  Secuta  eum  fuerat  sola  filia  sua 
duodennis,  quae  et  incarcerate  ali- 
moniam  mendicaverat.  Confiscatis 
enim  omnibus  quae  habuerat,  omnes 
amici  ejus  spreverunt  eum,  ncc  erat  qui 


(8)  Peracto  supplicio,  vicum  in- 
ductus  est,  et  exceptus  hospitio  cujus- 
dam  Ailbrichti. 


92 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§710 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 
him,  to  take  compassion  on 
him.  Such  a  stream  of  blood 
gushed  from  his  wounds  that, 
in  fear  of  his  death,  those 
who  were  present  sent  for  a 
priest.  To  him  he  confessed. 
By  degrees,  however,  when 
the  flow  of  blood  was  as- 
suaged, led  by  the  little  girl, 
he  returned  to  Bedford,  where 
he  threw  himself  down  against 
the  wall  of  a  house  ;  and  all 
that  day,  till  evening,  no  man 
shewed  him  kindness.  But 
at  nightfall,  one  Eilbrict  took 
compassion  on  him,  and  will- 
ingly welcomed  him  into  his 
house  from  the  cold  and  rain. 
(9)  There,  after  many 
vigils    and    prayers,    in    the 


William  (i.  155-8) 


(9)  There  ten  days  passed. 
One   night,   before   sleeping- 


consolaretur  eum  ex  omnibus  caris  ejus. 
De  vulneribus  ejus  tanta  sanguiais 
emanavit  copia,  ut  metu  mortis  sus- 
pectae  presbyterum  accersirent  qui 
aderant;  cui  et  confessus  est.  Paulatim 
tamen  cruoris  fluxu  restricto,  ductu 
puellulae  in  villam  Bedfordensem 
rediens,  et  juxta  parietem  domus  se 
projiciens,  diem  ilium  nullo  sibi  coUato 
humanitatis  beneficio  duxit  ad  vesperam. 
Succedente  jam  noctis  crepusculo, 
misertus  ejus  vir  quidam  nomine 
Eilbrictus,  maxime  quia  aeris  incle- 
mentia  et  pluviarum  inundatio  sub  divo 
jacentem  plurimum  molestasset,  excepit 
ilium  gaudens  in  domum  suam. 

(9)  Fecit    igitur    in    tenebris    dies 
decem,     vigiliis    orationibusque     dans 


(9)  Quo    decem    evolutis    diebus, 
una  noctium  ante  conticinium  beatum 


§710 


HIS  MIRACLES 


93 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

first  watch  of  the  tenth  night, 
he  whom  he  had  invoked 
appeared  to  Eilward  in  his 
sleep,  clothed  in  snow-white 
garments,  with  his  pastoral 
staff  painting  the  sign  of  the 
cross  on  his  forehead  and  on 
his  eyeless  sockets.  A  second 
time  he  appeared,  before  dawn, 
bidding  him  persevere  in 
watching  and  praying,  and 
place  his  hope  in  God,  and 
the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and 
St.  Thomas  who  had  come 
to    visit    him  :   "  If,    on    the 


William  (i.  155-8) 

time,  he  saw  St.  Thomas 
(whom  he  had  been  constantly 
all  the  time  invoking)  clothed 
in  white,  imprinting,  between 
his  eyebrows,  the  sign  of  the 
cross  with  his  pastoral  staff, 
and  again  doing  the  same 
thing  before  dawn,  and  saying 
"  Sleepest  thou,  good  man  ? 
Watch  !  To-morrow  must 
thou  keep  vigil  at  the  altar 
of  the  blessed  Mary  with  a 
light,^^  Lo,  Thomas  hath 
come  to  thee  and  thou  shalt 
receive  sight."  ^^     Also,  after 


operam.  Nocte  vero  diei  decimi, 
prima  noctis  vigilia,  post  luctus, 
gemitus,  et  suspiria  in  somnum  resolute 
apparuit  quern  invocaverat,  nivei  can- 
doris  vestibus  indutus,  baculoque  pas- 
torali  signum  crucis  in  fronte  ejus  et 
oculorum  foraminibus  depingens,  sub 
sUentio  discedere  visus  est.  Experge- 
iiactus  ille  et  visionis  negligens  projecit 
se  rursus  et  obdonnivit.  Iterum  ergo 
ante  lucanum  rediit  in  albis  qui  in 
sanguine  Agni  vestes  suas  dealbaverat ; 
dixitque  viro,  "  Homo  bone,  donnis?" 
Vigilare  se  fatenti,  "Noli,"  ait,  "noli 
dormire,  sed  vigila,  insiste  orationibus. 
Noli  diflfidere,  sed  spem  tuam  in  Deo 


Thomam,  quem  assidue  vocabat,  vidit 
in  somnis,  alba  veste  indutum,  sibi 
inter  supercilia  baculo  pastorali  signum 
crucis  imprimentem,  denuoque  ante 
lucanum  idem  facientem,  et  dicentem, 
"Homo  bone,  dormis?  Vigila;  die 
crastina  tibi  est  ad  altare  beatae  Mariae 
cum  lucema  "  excubandum.  Ecce 
venitad  te  Thomas,  et  visum  recipies."  '^ 


1'  "  Lucema,"  see  Benedict,  foot- 
note 7. 

•*  Nole  that,  whereas  Benedict 
makes  the  recovery  of  sight  conditional 
on  the  vigil  in  St.  Mary's  church, 
William  does  not.  The  next  section 
will  shew  that  he  received  his  sight 
before  that  vigil.  So  that  Benedict  is 
inconsistent  with  himself. 


94 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§710 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 
night  of  the  morrow,  thou 
keep  watch  with  a  waxen 
light "  before  the  altar  of  the 
blessed  Mary  in  her  church 
close  by,  and  devote  thyself 
to  prayer,  in  faith,  and  with- 
out doubting,  thou  shalt  be 
gladdened  by  the  restoration 
of  thine  eyes."  The  maid- 
servant also  had  a  similar 
dream.  When  she  told  it  to 
Eilward,  he  replied,  "  So  it 
may  be  when  it  shall  please 
God  and  His  blessed  Martyr, 
Thomas." 

(10)  When   it  was  grow- 
ing toward  evening  and  the 


William  (i.  155-8) 

sunrise,  the  maid -servant  told 
Ailward  a  dream  to  the  same 
effect.  He  replied,  "  Even 
this  is  possible  with  the 
Lord,  as  indeed  all  things 
are  possible." 


(10)  When  the  sun  was 
toward   setting,  the   left  eye 


et  beata  virgine  Maria  pone,  et  sancto 
Thoma,  qui  te  venit  visitare ;  ei  si 
nocte  proxima  in  ecclesia  beatae  Mariae 
vicina,  coram  virginis  ejusdem  altari, 
cum  lucerna  "  cerea  excubaveris,  et  ora- 
tionibus  incumbens  in  fide  non  hae^i- 
taveris,  oculorum  restitutione  gaudebis. " 
Excusso  somnotractat  homosecum  tacite 
quid  visio  talis  portendere  possit ;  utrumve 
potius  integumento  remoto  promissio 
sancti  mancipetur  effectui.  Talia  secreto 
volventi,  quasi  dextri  ominis  nuntia, 
respondit  domus  ancilla,  "Videbam 
hac  nocte  in  somnis,  Eilwarde,  te 
utriusque  oculi  visum  recuperare."  At 
ille,  "  Sic  fieri  poterit,  cum  Deo  et 
beato  martyri  ejus  Thomae  placuerit" 
(10)  Cumque     advesperasceret     et 


Orto  autem  sole  dixit  ancilla,  "Vide- 
bam in  somnis,  Ailworde,  te  visum 
recuperasse. "  Respondit,  *«  Possibile 
est  hoc  Domino,  sicut  et  omnia 
possibilia  sunt. " 


(10)  Inclinata  vero   die,   pruriente 


"  •'  Lucerna,"  rarely  thus  used   in 
either  treatise. 


§710 


HIS  MIRACLES 


95 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

sun  was  toward  setting,^  the 
eyelids  of  his  left  eye  began 
to  itch.  In  order  to  scratch 
them,  he  removed  a  waxen 
poultice  which  had  been 
applied,  either  for  the  purpose 
of  drawing  out  the  purulent 
matter  of  the  empty  orbs,  or 
for  the  purpose  of  closing 
the  eye-lids  themselves  :  and, 
as  by  the  wonderful  power 
of  God  ^  he  opened  his  eye- 
lids, there  was  seen  to  shine 
in  on  the  house-wall  in  front 
of  him  as  it  were  the  bright- 
ness of  a  lantern  :  for  it  was 
the  red  sunlight,  since  the 
sun  was  by  this  time  verg- 


William  (i.  155-8) 

began  to  itch  ;  and  in  the  act 
of  scratching  it,  he  removed 
some  wax  and  a  poultice 
that  had  been  applied  to 
draw  out  the  purulent  matter. 
Seeing  the  sun-light  on  the 
wall,heexclaimed," Praised  be 
God,  I  see."  His  host,  dumb- 
founded, replied,  "  What  is 
the  matter  ?  You  are  mad  "  ; 
and,  drawing  ^^  away  (?)  his 
hands  before  the  man's  eyes, 
"You  see,"  said  he,  "that 
which  I  am  doing  ? "  He 
replied,  "  I  see  your  hand 
moved." 


inclinata  esset  jam  dies,*  prurientibus 
sibi  oculi  sinistri  ciliis,  ut  ea  ungue 
scalperet,  malagma  cereum,  quod  sive 
ad  extrahendas  orbium  vacuorum 
purulentias,  seu  ad  ipsa  cilia  claudenda 
fuerat  appositum,  amovit  ;  ciliaque 
mira  Dei  virtute  aperienli  videbatur® 
in  opposite  domus  pariete  quasi  lucemae 
splendor  irradiare  ;  erat  enim  radius 
Solaris  rubens,   sole  jam   ad   occasum 


sinistro  oculo,  scalpens  ungue  ceram 
summovit  et  malagma  quod  appositum 
fuerat  ad  purulentias  extrahendas. 
Visoque  radio  solis  in  pariete,  exclama- 
vit,  "Adoretur  Deus !  video."  Ad 
quam  vocem  hospes  obstupescens  ait, 
"Quid  est?  deliras."  Et  ante  oculos 
ejus  deducta*^  manu  sua,  "Vides," 
inquit,  "  quod  ago  ?  "  Respondit, 
"Video  motam  manum." 


•  <*  Inclinata  dies"  seems  to  have 
this  meaning,  since  it  (l)  follows 
"advesperascere,"  and  (2)  precedes 
"vei^ente  ad  occasum." 

'  "Ciliaque  mira  Dei  virtute 
aperitnti  videbatur."  The  italicized 
words  seem  misplaced.  The  sense 
demands  "  there  was  seen  by  the 
mighty  power  of  God." 


*'  See  Benedict,  note  10. 


96  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §710 

Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 
ing  toward  his  going  down. 
But  he,  ignorant  of  the  truth, 
and  distrusting  himself  about 
the  matter,  called  the  master 
of  the  house,  and  shewed 
him  his  fancy.  "  You  are 
mad,  Eilward,  you  are  mad," 
replied  his  host :  "  be  silent ! 
You  know  not  what  you 
are  saying."  "  Sir,"  he  said, 
"  I  assure  you  I  am  not  mad  : 
but  I  verily  seem  to  myself 
to  see  as  I  say  with  my  left 
eye."  Shaken  in  his  mind, 
and  anxious  to  ascertain  the 
truth,  his  host  spread  out  ^° 
his  hand  before  his  eyes  and 
said  to  him,  "  Do  you  see 
that  which  I  am  doing  ?  "  He 
answered,    "  Your    hand     is 

vergente.  Ignarus  tamen  veritatis,  et 
sibi  ipsi  super  hoc  incredulus,  dominum 
domus  vocavit,  quid  opinaretur  ostendit. 
Cui  ille,  "  Insanis,  Eilwarde,  insanis : 
tace,  nescis  quid  loqueris."  "  Nequa- 
quam,"  inquit,  "domine,  insanio ;  sed 
ita  revera  oculo  sinistra  mihi  videre 
videor."  Fluctuans  autem  hospes  ejus, 
certitudinisque  sciendae  sollicitus,  manu 
ante  oculos  ejus  diducta,'"  dixit  ei, 
"Videsne    quod    ago?"      Respondit, 

1°  "  Diducit,"  in  classical  Latin, 
implies  the  outspread  hand  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  closed  fist.  But 
here  it  may  mean  "  move  in  different 
directions."  William's  "deducta"  is 
probably  an  error  of  transcription. 


§710 


HIS  MIRACLES 


97 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

moved  before  my  eyes  and 
dra\vn  this  way  and  that." 
Then  he  told  Eilbricht,  in 
order,  all  about  his  visions, 
and  the  precepts  or  promises 
he  had  received. 

(11)  The  thing  was  noised 
abroad.  A  multitude  col- 
lected, and,  among  them, 
Osbern  the  dean — who  had 
control,  or  rather  service,  of 
the  above-mentioned  church.^^ 
He  brought  the  good  man 
before  the  altar,  instructed 
and  strengthened  his  faith, 
and  then  placed  a  light  in 
his  hand.  As  soon  as  this 
was  done,  Eilward  declared 
he  distinctly  saw  the  altar 
cloth  ;    then,    the    image    of 


William  (i.  155-8) 


(11)  So  they  called  the 
dean  of  the  town.  The  crowd 
streamed  together,  and  Ail- 
ward  was  snatched  away  and 
taken  to  the  house  of  prayer. 
Now  there  began  to  grow 
up  little  eyes  of  extreme 
smallness,  the  right  one 
perfectly  black,  the  left  parti- 
coloured, whereas  he  had 
both  parti-coloured  from  his 
birth. 


"  J*uto  manum  tuam  motam  ante  oculos 
meos  hue  illucque  duci."  Tunc  a 
principio  primae  visionis  incipiens,  quid 
v4derit,  quid  sibi  vel  praeceptum  fuerit 
vel  promissum,  seriatim  enarravit. 

(II)  Exiit  ergo  sermo  iste  inter 
vicinos,  et  populi  multitudinem  non 
parvam  novitatum  novitas  attraxit. 
Accurrit  et  Osebernus  decanus,  ecclesiae 
praedictae  dominus,  aut  potius  mini- 
ster "  ;  et  audita  viri  visione,  virum 
in  ecclesiam  introducit,  collocat  coram 
beatae  Virginis  altari,  instruit  et  con- 
fortat  ad  fidem.  Data  in  manu  ejus 
lucema,    pallam    altaris    se    pcrspicue 


(II)  Igitur  vocato  ejusdem  villae 
decano,  et  confluente  turba,  direptus 
est,  et  in  oratorium  ductus.  Suc- 
crescebant  autem  nimiae  parvitatis 
ocelli,  dexter  penitus  niger,  et  sinister 
varius,  cum  varios  ambos  habuerit  a 
nativitate. 


"  1.*.  St.  Mary's.    Benedict  corrects 
the  common  phrase  "dominus  ecclesiae," 
as  not  l)eing  so  seemly  as  "  minister." 
VOL.  11 


98  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  710 

Benedict  (ii,  173-82) 

the  blessed  Virgin  Mary ;  then,  objects  of  smaller 
size. 

The  people  marvelled  more  and  more.  Presently, 
testing  the  source  of  his  sight,  they  detect  two  very  small 
pupils  latent,  deep  in  the  head,  scarcely  as  large  as  the 
pupils  of  the  eye  of  a  little  bird.  These,  also,  incessantly 
increasing,  prolonged  by  their  slow  augmentation  the  wonder 
of  all  that  beheld  them.  The  shouts  of  the  people  went  up 
to  heaven  ;  they  give  God  due  praise ;  the  bells  are  set 
ringing;  crowds  flock  in  from  their  beds;  keeping  vigil 
with  their  brother  who  had  received  the  gift  of  light,  they 
sleeplessly  await  the  light  of  the  sun. 

In  the  morning,  the  whole  of  the  town  gathered  together, 
and  then,  examining  the  man  more  closely,  they  found 
that  whereas,  before,  both  his  eyes  were  parti-coloured, 
now  he  had  one  parti-coloured,  but  the  other  quite  black. 
Now  came,  among  others,  the  priest  of  St.  John's  church, 
the  same  who  had  received  Eilward's  confession  after 
mutilation.  When  he  beheld  the  wonderful  miracle  of  God, 
"  Why,"  said  he,  "  do  we  wait  for  papal  precept  ?  No 
more  delaying  for  me !  This  very  moment  will  I  begin, 
and    conduct   to   the   end,   a    solemn  service,   in   the  name 

videre  fatetur :  deinde  beatae  Mariae  virginis  imaginem,  postremo  quaelibet 
alia  minoris  corpora  quantitatis.  Crescit  stupor  populo  quantum  viro  gratia 
visus.  Probaturi  unde  procedat  vis  ilia  videndi,  ab  oculis  videlicet  novis, 
an  ab  evacuatis  foraminibus  absque  pupilla,  deprehendunt  pupillas  duas 
parvulas  profundius  in  capite  latitantes,  pupillis  avis  parvae  vix  quantitate  coae- 
quas,  quae,  etiam  incessanter  crescentes,  omnibus  intuentibus  ineffabilem  incredi- 
bilemque  stuporem  lenta  sui  augmentatione  continuabant.  Attollitur  igitur 
ad  coelum  clamor  populi,  laudes  Deo  debitae  persolvuntur,  signa  pulsantur 
ecclesiae,  confluunt  plurimi,  qui  jam  obdormierant,  et  cum  ilium  inato  suo 
lumen  solis  insomnes  expectant.  Mane  autem  turba  totius  ^-illae  in  unum  con- 
globata  diligentius  clara  luce  intuentes,  alterum  oculorum  varium,  alterum 
prorsus  nigrum  adverterunt,  quum  natales  ambos  varios  habuerit.  Accurrit 
autem  inter  alios  et  presbyter  de  ecclesia  sancti  Johannis,  qui  mutilati  confes- 
sionem  susceperat,  et  mira  Dei  visa  virtute,  "Quid,"  inquit,  " auctoritatis 
apostolicae  praestolamur  praeceptum  ?     Absit  ut  ulterius  exspectem  ;  jam  nunc 


§710 


HIS  MIRACLES 


99 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

of  Thomas  the  glorious  friend 
of  God,  since  in  truth  he  is 
a  martyr  beyond  price.  Who 
can  hesitate  to  give  the  name 
of  martyr  to  one  who  does 
such  mightyand  such  merciful 
deeds  ? "  So  he  ran  to  his 
church,  set  the  bells  ringing, 
and  was  as  good  as  his  word. 
(12)  Now  no  longer 
bereft  of  light  but  bedecked 
therewith,  even  as  he  had 
been  dragged  with  ignominy 
through  the  midst  of  the  town 
to  endure  his  punishment,  so 
now  through  the  self- same 
street,  amid  the  praise  and 
applause  of  the  people,  he  was 
led  back  to  the  church  of  St. 
Paul,  where  also  he  passed  the 
eve  of  the  Lord's  day  in  vigil. 
Departing  thence  he  hastened 


William  (L  155-8) 


(12)  See  the  Latin  below. 


de  glorioso  Dei  amico  Thoma,  utpote 
de  maityre  pretiosissimo,  solenne  in- 
choabo  servitium,  et  ad  finem  usque 
complebo.  Quis  ambigat  martyrem 
esse,  qui  tanta  facit  et  talia?"  et  ad 
ecclesiam  currens,  pulsatis  signis,  dicta 
factis  implevit. 

(12)  Vir  autetn,  non  jam  orbatus 
lumine,  dico,  sed  ornatus,  sicut  per 
medium  villae  cum  ignominia  fuerat 
tractus  ad  poenam,  ita  et  eadem  via 
cum  gloria  populi  et  favore  reducitur 
ad  sancti  Pauli  ecclesiam,  in  qua  etiam 
noctem  Dominicam  duxit  insomnem. 
Indc  discedens  ad  salutis  suae  auctorem 


(12)  Genitalia  vero,  quae  cuilibet 
palpanda  praebebat,  infra  quantitatem 
testium  galli  poterant  aestimari. 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§710 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

his  journey  to  St.  Thomas, 
the  author  of  his  restoration. 
Whatever  gifts  folk  gave  him, 
he  bestowed  on  the  poor, 
for  love  of  the  Martyr.  .  .  . 

(13)  On  his  coming  to 
London,  he  was  received  with 
congratulations  by  Hugh, 
Bishop  of  Durham,  who  would 
not  let  him  go  from  himself, 
till  he  had  sent  a  messenger 
to  Bedford  and  had  been 
certified  of  the  facts  after 
diligent  inquiry. 


(14)  But  even    after   we 


William  (i.  IS5-8) 


(13)  William  omits  this. 
[But  he  inserts,  later  in  his 
treatise,  a  letter  from  this 
bishop,  speaking  of  a  similar 
miracle  as  (i.  420)  "  of  a  new 
kind  conceded  by  the  Divine 
munificence  to  our  St. 
Thomas  ;  which  we  heard 
to  have  taken  place  long  ago 
at  Bedford,  and  know  to  have 
been  afterwards  repeated  in 
our  city  of  Durham."] 

(14)  The  things  that  we 


Thomam  iter  arripuit.  Quacunque 
transibat,  sequebatur  eum  multitudo 
plebis  copiosa ;  fama  namque  prae- 
volans  in  occursum  ejus  quoslibet  ex- 
citavit.  Quicquid  ei  muneris  confere- 
bant,  pro  martyris  amore  pauperibus 
erogabat.  Quasi  quatuor  passuum 
millia  confecerat,  cum  prurientem  sibi 
testium  folliculum  adjecta  manu  scal- 
pere  coepit ;  et  etiam  membra  ilia  sibi 
restituta  comperit,  parva  quidem  valde 
sed  in  majus  proficientia,  quae  etiam 
volenti  cuilibet  palpare  non  negavit. 

(13)  Londonias  venientem  episcopus 
Dunelmensis  Hugo  gratulabundus  ex- 
cepit,  nee  ante  a  se  dimiltere  voluit, 
quam  misso  Bedefordiam  nuntio  et 
diligenter  inquisita  veritate  certificatus 
fuisset. 

(14)  Sed  ct  apud  nos  eodem  sus- 


(13)  omitted. 


(14)  Quae    vidimus    et   audivimus 


^711 


HIS  MIRACLES 


lOI 


William  (i.  155-8) 

have  heard  and  seen  we  speak 
and  testify.  For  he  of  whom 
we  speak,  having  been  sent  to 
Canterbury,  remained  many 
days  with  us,  receiving  an 
allowance  from  the  Martyr's 
substance. 


Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 

had  received  him  in  our  house 
at  Canterbury,  although  he 
had  been  preceded  by  the 
testimony  of  very  many  wit- 
nesses, yet  we  did  not  feel 
satisfied  till  we  heard  the 
substance  of  the  above-written 
statements  confirmed  by  the 
letter  and  testimony  ^^  of  the 
citizens  of  Bedford.  For  they 
directed  to  us  a  document  of 
which  the  contents  were  as 
follows  : 

[711]   "The   Burgesses   of  Bedford"  to  the  convent  of 
Canterbury  and  to  all  the  faithful  in  Christ,  health !     Be  it 


cepto,  licet  plurimorum  praecurrisset 
testimonium,  tunc  primo  nobis  satis- 
factum  est  cum  praedictorum  summam 
litteris  et  testimonio^^  civium  Bede- 
fordensium  confirmatam  audivimus. 
Direxerunt  enim  nobis  apices  in  hunc 
modum  continentes  : 

"  Burgenses  Bedefordiae"   conventui 
Christo,  salutem. 


loquimur  et  testamur.  Is  enim  de  quo 
loquimur,  Cantuariam  transmissus,  dies 
multos  mansit  apud  nos,  de  martyris 
substantia  stipem  habens. 


Cantuariensi,    et  omnibus  iidelibus  in 


"  "  Litteris  et  testimonio  "  might 
possibly  mean  "by  an[other]  letter  and 
[also]  by  the  testimony. "  But  Benedict 
would  have  probably  inserted  "aliis" 
had  that  been  his  meaning.  In  the  third 
miracle  of  this  kind,  Benedict  has  "  lit- 
teras  testimonii,"  see  lielow,  737  (19). 
But  the  use  of  two  nouns  in  the  same  case, 
instead  of  one  noun  qualified  by  another 
in  the  genitive,  is  common  in  Latin. 

"  William  places  this  before  the  narrative  and  after  a  prologue  enumerating  the 
many  evils  healed  by  the  Martyr.  Consequently,  he  inserts  *'  then "  for  con- 
nection's sake  ("  To  come  to  facts  then  ")  "  Burgenses  igiturdc  Bedeford."  This 
particle  frequently  introduces  miraculous  fact,  after  a  moral  preface. 

In  the  next  sentence,  William  has  corrupted  "  sciat  "  into  "  sicut  "  (unless  it 


102  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §711 

Benedict  (ii.  173-82) 
known  to  the  convent  of  Canterbury,  and  further  ("  necnon," 
om.  by  W.)  to  all  catholics,  that  God  hath  wrought  in 
Bedford  a  wonderful  and  illustrious  miracle  on  account  of 
the  merits  of  the  most  holy  (W.,  "  holy,  sancti ")  Thomas,  the 
Martyr.  For  it  happened  that  a  countryman  of  Westoning, 
Eilward  (W.  "  Ailward  ")  by  name,  for  some  theft,  of  the 
value  of  only  one  numtnus,  having  been  taken  and  brought 
before  the  viscount  of  Bedford,  and  before  the  knights  of  the 
county,  and  having  been  by  them  publicly  condemned,  was 
deprived  of  his  eyes  and  privy  members,  in  the  presence  of 
clergy  and  laity,  [men]  and  women.  This  is  also  testified  by 
the  chaplain  of  St.  John  in  Bedford,  to  whom  the  aforesaid 
countryman  confessed  [after  mutilation^].  And  this  same  is 
testified  by  his  host,  Eilbrict  (W.,  "  Ailbricht ")  by  name,  in 
whose  house  he  was  afterwards  received — namely  that  he  was 
entirely  without  eyes  and  testicles  when  first  he  was  received 
in  his  house.  And  afterwards,  invoking  oftentimes  the  merits 
of  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr,  by  an  apparition  of  the  aforesaid 
Martyr  he  was  gloriously  and  wonderfully  restored  to  health."  "^ 

"  Sciat  conventus  Cantuariensis,  necnon  et  omnes  catholici,  Deum  in  Bede- 
fordia  mirabile  et  insigne  miraculum  propter  merita  sanctissimi  Thomae  martyris 
operatum  fuisse.  Accidit  enim  quod  quidam  rusticus  de  Westonia,  Eilwardus 
nomine,  pro  quodam  furto,  pretii  unius  nummi  tantum,  captus  et  ante  vice- 
comitem  de  Bedefordia  et  ante  milites  comitatus  ductus,  et  ab  eis  in  publico  con- 
demnatus,  extra  villam  Bedefordensem  oculos  et  pendentia,  astantibus  clericis  et 
laicis  et  mulieribus,  araisit.  Quod  etiam  testatur  capellanus  de  sancto  Johanne 
de  Bedefordia,  cui  praedictus  rusticus  [post  mutilationem*]  confessus  est.  Et  hoc 
idem  testatur  hospes  ejus,  Eilbrictus  nomine,  apud  quem  postea  hospitatus  fuit, 
quod  oculis  et  testiculis,  quando  primo  apud  eum  hospitatus  fuit,  omnino  caruit ; 
qui  p)ostea,  saepius  invocans  merita  sancti  Thomae  martyris,  gloriose  et  mirifice 
apparitione  praedicti  martyris  sanitati  restitutus  est."' 

is  the  Editor's  error).  B.  has  "Sciat  conventus  Cantuariensis";  W.,  "Sicut 
universitas  conventus  Cantuariae."    Also  B.  has  "Bedefordia  "  ;  W.,  "  Bedeford." 

*>  William  omits  the  bracketed  words. 

*  Benedict  adds  a  lengthy  comment  on  the  novelty  of  this  miracle,  and  the 
circumstances  precluding  deception  or  collusion,  etc.,  especially  emphasizing  the 
fact  that  Eilward  was  mutilated  by  his  enemies,  who  would  not  have  spared  him. 


§713  HIS  MIRACLES  103 

[712]  (ii.)  A  second  miracle  of  the  same  kind  is  described 
by  William  alone  in  an  attesting  letter  from  Hugh  de  Puiset, 
Bishop  of  Durham,  who  says  that  it  happened  in  Durham,  in 
December,  1 1 74.  On  the  1 7th  of  September  in  that  year, 
"  one  Roger,  a  simpleton,^  having  pleaded  guilty,  underwent 
mutilation  of  the  eyes  and  genitalia  as  the  penalty  of  theft ; 
and  the  parts  extracted  are  known  to  have  been  buried  in 
the  ground,  in  the  presence  of  many  eye-witnesses,  according 
to  custom."  After  being  kept  some  weeks  in  the  Bishop's 
hospital,  he  had  to  leave  and  beg  his  bread  ;  so  that  his 
blindness  was  well  known  in  Durham.  On  the  eve  of  St. 
Thomas  the  Apostle,  in  answer  to  the  poor  man's  repeated 
supplications,  the  Martyr  appeared,  clothed  in  red,  and  in  a 
comely  mitre,"  and  bearing  three  tapers  in  his  hand,  and  say- 
ing that  he  had  come  to  assuage  his  pain.  Departing,  after 
bestowing  his  blessing,  the  Saint  left  the  man  so  endowed 
with  supernatural  light  that,  "  although  others  in  the  house 
said  nothing,  he  bade  his  hostess — who  had  hastily  risen  [from 
bed]  to  seize  him,  thinking  him  to  be  mad — fasten  to  her 
dress  a  needle  (hanging  from  her  bosom)  for  fear  of  losing 
it."  Roger,  called  before  the  Bishop  and  Chapter  of 
Durham,  was  found  to  have  eyes,  new  but  as  yet  of  moderate 
size.  Evidence  on  oath  was  received  from  him,  from  the 
executioners,  and  from  the  witnesses  of  the  mutilation.  The 
bells  were  set  ringing,  and  a  thanksgiving  was  celebrated. 

[713]  After  giving  the  Bishop's  letter  in  full,  William 
says  that,  on  the  day  when  Roger  came  to  the  Cathedral,  it 
happened  that  the  knight  who  had  sentenced  him  came  also 
thither,  not  to  testify,  but  to  pray.  On  finding  Roger  there, 
Sir  Richard  of  the  Prickly  Thistle,  for  that  was  his  name, 
assured  all  the  people  that  it  was  of  the  Martyr's  grace,  and 
not  for  any  fault  of  the  judges,  that  this  miracle  had  been 

'   "  hominem  simplicissimum."     The  judge  says  that  (i.  423)  he  could  not 
induce  the  man  to  plead  not  guilty. 

2  [712a]  ••  In  red,  and  mitred  "  :  see  698<7. 


I04  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  713 

worked.  "  Before  sentence  was  passed  on  him,"  said  the 
knight,  "  I  asked  him  whether  he  had  ever  eaten  of  the 
flesh,^  wishing  him  to  deny  it.  But,  whether  because  he 
was  simple,  or  because  the  Martyr  was  destined  to  be 
glorified  in  him,  the  man  could  not  be  driven  to  a  denial." 
He  concluded  by  offering  to  swear  that  he  had  seen  Roger 
with  eyes  different  from  those  which  he  now  had. 

(iii.)  A  third  miracle  is  recorded  by  Benedict  alone 
(ii.  250-1).  It  deserves  exact  and  full  quotation,  as  the 
monks  of  Canterbury,  in  this  case,  sent  a  special  messenger 
to  ascertain  the  facts. 

[714]  "  We  also  heard  that  a  wonderful  thing  had 
happened  in  the  town  of  Corbie,  viz.  that,  by  the  aid  of  the 
blessed  and  glorious  Martyr,  a  man  had  recovered  his  eyes 
after  they  had  been  gouged  out.  But,  on  sending  a  messenger 
thither,  we  heard  that  they  had  not  been  gouged  out,  but 
severely  wounded  with  a  sharp  knife  :  for  the  executioner, 
when  he  found  it  very  troublesome  to  extract  them,  being 
very  angry,  drew  a  sharp-pointed  knife  and  pierced  the  eyes 
again  and  again  with  such  cruelty  that  all  thought  it  worse 
to  have  them  thus  wounded  than  [actually]  extracted  :  they 
said  he  must  be  a  thorough  villain  to  murder  the  poor 
fellow  in  that  way  instead  of  blinding  him."  After  ascer- 
taining the  facts  from  the  men  of  the  town  who  saw  them 
with  their  eyes,  our  messenger,  being  unable  to  find  at  his 
residence  the  Abbot  of  Corbie  to   whom   we    had    written 

[714]  Mirum  quid  etiam  audivimus  contigisse  in  villa  Qjrbeiae ;  hominem 
effossos  oculos  per  beatum  et  gloriosum  martyrem  recuperasse.  Misso  autem 
illuc  nuntio,  non  effossos  sed  cultello  acuto  graviter  sauciatos  audivimus ;  tortor 
enim,  cum  in  iis  eruendis  laboraret,  iratus  valde  cultellum  acuta  cuspide  extraxit, 
et  oculis  totiens  totiensque  crudeliter  infixit,  ut  gravius  esse  arbitrarentur  omnes 
sic  eos  esse  vulneratos  quam  erutos.  Grandis  eum  arguebant  impietatis,  qui 
hominem  occideret  potius  quam  excaecaret.  Nuntius  itaque  noster,  per  ejusdem 
villae  homines,  qui  haec   oculis   conspexerunt,  cognita  veritate,  cum   abbatem 

'  "Cane"  should  surely  be  "carne."  See  the  same  error  above  (361). 
Possibly  it  was  a  case  of  stealing  flesh. 


§715  HIS  MIRACLES  105 

concerning  an  investigation  into  this  great  miracle,  brought 
back  to  us  a  letter  of  testimony  from  the  Prior  and  convent, 
with  contents  to  this  tenor : 

[715]  "  To  the  venerable  lord  Odo,  by  the  grace  of  God 
Prior  of  the  church  of  Canterbury,  A.,^  called  Prior  of  the 
Church  of  Corbie,  and  the  convent,  [send]  health  and  respect. 

"  On  the  points  about  which  you  thought  worthy 
to  inquire  by  letter  from  us  we  write  in  return  to  you  as 
follows.  A  young  man  named  John,  native  of  Valenciennes, 
was  found  in  our  town  and  proved  [to  have  been  engaged] 
in  theft,  and,  in  accordance  with  the  decree  of  secular  law, 
was  adjudged  to  be  hanged.  And  when  he  had  been 
dragged  to  the  punishment  of  terrible  death,  it  pleased  our 
burgesses  that  he  should  be  only  deprived  of  his  eyes,  and 
thus  let  go :  and  presently  he  was  blinded  and  severely 
wounded  in  the  eyes  ;  and  so  he  was  led  to  the  infirmary, 
and  received  by  Ralph  the  head  of  the  hospital,  who,  for 
compassion's  sake,  washed  his  blinded  eyes  with  hot  water, 
that  night  and  the  next,  and  poulticed  them  to  assuage  the 
pain.  But  on  the  third  day,  when  Ralph  anxiously  in- 
quired of  him  whether  he  had  still  open  any  inlet  of  light, 

Corbeiensis  ecclesiae,  cui  super  tanti  inquisitione  miraculi  scripseramus,  domi 
non  invenisset,  a  priore  conventuque  litteras  nobis  testimonii  reportavit,  in  hunc 
modum  continentes. 

[715]  "  Domino  et  venerabili  Odoni,  Dei  gratia  priori  Gintuariensis  ecclesiae, 
A.,'  dictus  prior  Corbeiensis  ecclesiae,  et  conventus,  salutem  et  obsequium. 

"  Super  his,  quae  per  literas  vestras  dignum  duxistis  a  nobis  inquirere,  talia 
vobis  rescripsimus.  Quidam  juvenis,  Joannes  nomine,  ortus  de  castro  quod 
dicitur  Valentianas,  in  oppido  nostro  repertus  et  probatus  est  in  furto,  ac  juxta 
legis  mundanae  decretum  adjudicatus  suspendio.  Cumque  ad  horrendae  mortis 
supplicium  traheretur,  placuit  burgensibus  nostris  ut  oculis  tantummodo  privaretur, 
et  ita  dimitteretur  ;  moxque  caecatus  est  et  graviter  in  oculis  sauciatus  ;  sicque 
ductus  est  ad  domum  debilium,  et  ab  hospitario  receptus,  qui  vocatur  Radulfus  ; 
qui  caccata  ipsius  lumina  ea  et  sequenti  nocte  aqua  calida  lavit,  intuitu  misera- 
tionis,  et  refovit,  pro  doloribus  scilicet  mitigandis.  Die  vero  tertia,  dum  ab  eo 
soUicitc    percunctaretur,    utrum    ei    jx)st    excaecationem  suam  extremae  saltern 

*  It  is  not  uncommon  for  letters  of  this  kind  to  contain  in  their  superscription 
merely  the  initial  of  the  name  of  the  addresser. 


io6  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  715 

even  the  slightest,  he  replied  that  in  one  of  his  eyes  there 
was  no  light  at  all  left,  but  in  the  other  a  very  little  bright- 
ness found  admission,  but  in  such  slight  measure  that  with- 
out a  guide  he  could  in  no  wise  keep  a  straight  path. 

[716]  "  Meanwhile  there  came  in  a  young  poor  clerk,  who 
declared  that  he  had  in  a  glass  vessel  some  of  the  very 
water  of  our  most  blessed  Patron  and  Martyr,  Thomas, 
glorified  in  these  our  days  by  God,  by  which,  as  almost  all 
men  know,  many  miracles  have  been  wrought.  So  they  took 
a  little  of  this  Water,  and  then,  after  reverently  lighting 
tapers  in  honour  of  the  Martyr,  they  carefully  and  thoroughly 
bathed  the  eyes  therewith.  But  he  received  sight  on  the 
spot,  so  that  even  the  scars  of  the  very  wounds  that  he  had 
received  when  he  was  being  blinded,  were  now  healed. 
Next  day,  healed  and  happy,  he  returned  to  his  home. 

[717]  "And,  lest  on  these  matters  there  should  be  some 
lingering  doubt  in  the  bottom  of  your  hearts,  we  testify  to 
you  that  one  of  our  own  brethren,  drinking  of  that  same 
Water,  was  delivered  from  a  running  at  the  nose." 


[718]  The  third  miracle  throws  light  on  the  first  two. 
It  shews  that  (i)  in  the  process  of  judicially  blinding,  it 
was  possible  to  blind  for  the  time,  yet  in  such  a  way  that 
the  blinded  man  could  recover  ;   (2)  this  was  a  fact  so  well 

visionis  aditus  patuisset,  respondit  in  uno  quidem  oculorum  suorum  nihil  penitus 
luminis  remansisse  ;  in  altero  vero  parum  quid  claritatis  admitti,  sed  tarn  modicae 
quantitatis,  qua  sine  ductore  nuUatenus  posset  calle  recti  itineris  incedere. 

[716]  "  Affuit  ibidem  interea  quidam  puer  clericus  pauper,  qui  de  ipsa  aqua 
beatissimi  patroni  nostri  et  nostro  tempore  a  Deo  glorificati  martyris  Thomae, 
archiepiscopi  Cantuariensis,  in  vitreo  vase  se  ferre  confessus  est,  qua  plerique 
noverant  facta  fuisse  crebra  miracula.  Acceperunt  igitur  illius  aquae  modicum, 
et  ob  honorem  memorati  martyris  luminaribus  reverenter  accensis,  oculos  prae- 
dicti  caeci  ex  ea  diligenter  abluere  curaverunt.  At  ille  visum  illico  recuperavit, 
adeo  ut  ipsorum  etiam  vulnerum  vestigia  sanarentur,  quae  inflicta  fuerant  ei  dum 
excaecaretur.     Postera  autem  die  sanus  et  gaudens  ad  propria  recessit. 

[717]  "  Et,  ne  super  his  aliqua  in  vestro  corde  resideat  cunctatio,  testamur 
vobis  quod  quidam  de  fratribus  nostris  ex  ipsa  aqua  bibens  liberatus  est  a  narium 
profluvio. " 


§720  HIS  MIRACLES  107 

known  to  Ralph,  the  head  of  the  Infirmary  at  Corbie,  that 
he  "  anxiously  asked  "  John  whether  he  had  any  sight  still 
remaining — whereas  no  one  would  ask  of  a  man  whose  leg  or 
arm  had  been  cut  off,  "  Have  you  any  vestige  of  your  arm  or 
leg?";  (3)  this  temporary  but  not  complete  blinding  was  com- 
patible with  atrocious  cruelty  on  the  part  of  the  executioner. 

[719]  This  last  fact  partly  meets  Benedict's  argument 
that  Eilward  must  have  been  effectually  blinded  because  he 
was  blinded  by  his  enemies.  The  answer  is,  that  their  very 
cruelty  may  have  led  them  unwittingly  to  save  their  victim's 
sight  by  lacerating  his  eyes  instead  of  extracting  them. 
And  indeed  Benedict  himself  tells  us  that  one  of  the  eyes 
was  not  regularly  extracted,  but  "  chopped  in  pieces."  It  is 
true,  he  adds  that  the  fragments  were  afterwards  buried  :  but, 
in  the  flow  of  blood,  in  the  excitement  and  haste  of  the  re- 
volting process,  and  (not  improbably)  amid  the  murmurs  from 
an  angry  crowd  of  spectators,  it  is  not  difficult  to  perceive 
that  one  of  Eilward's  eyes  may  not  have  been  extracted. 
There  is  nothing  in  Benedict's  description  of  the  evidence 
as  to  sight  regained  to  shew  that  he  saw  with  both  eyes. 

[720]  Benedict  alone  has  preserved  the  facts  that  give 
an  apparent  clue  to  an  explanation  of  this  alleged  miracle 
from  natural  causes.  William's  narrative  appears  to  be 
either  a  condensation  of  Benedict's,  or  a  shorter  account 
written  on  the  basis  of  the  same  notes  (kept  in  the  Cathedral) 
which  Benedict  had  used.  In  any  case  William  probably 
had  Benedict's  narrative  before  him,  correcting  errors  in  it, 
and  inserting  explanations  or  new  facts  necessary  for  clear- 
ness (see  footnotes  2,  3,  4,  9,  10,  12).  As  regards  the 
shorter  utterances  of  the  characters  in  the  drama,  and 
especially  those  of  St.  Thomas,  the  two  are  in  considerable 
agreement.  But  as  regards  the  facts,  William,  while  toning 
down  the  resentment  against  the  judges,  and  laying  most  of 
the  blame  on  the  two  Fulks,  subordinates  sentiment  and 
pathos  to  proof  of  miracle. 


io8 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§721 


§  3.    The  ship  that 
[721]   Benedict  (ii.  212-3) 

A  man  named  Ailwin 
from  Bristol  brought  a  gold 
piece  as  an  offering  to  the 
Martyr  and  went  away.  The 
monk  that  was  sitting  at  the 
tomb,  noting  that  the  gift 
was  very  large  for  one  so 
poor  (for  he  was  but  meanly 
clad),  called  him  back  and 
questioned  him.  "  I  vowed 
this  to  the  Martyr,"  he  replied, 
"  and  now  I  have  paid  it. 
Sailing  of  late  from  Ireland, 
my  ship  fell  on  a  quicksand. 
The  more  we  toiled  to  get 
her   off,  the   more   the   sand 


came  back  by  herself 

William  (i.  301-2) 

Some  sailors  from  Ireland 
fell  on  a  sand  called  Colre- 
sand/  and  there  stuck  fast. 
What  was  to  be  done  ?  The 
ship  was  heavy  laden  with 
hides  and  bound  for  her 
customary  port  enriched  to 
her  own  loss.  What  was 
to  be  done  ?  \He  proceeds  to 
quote  Lucan  ix.  335-9,i"/z^/i!^6' 
altered?^  The  wretched 
sailors,  seeing  inevitable 
shipwreck  before  them  (for 
as  the  tide  went  down  the 
sand  came  up  and  the  prow 
plunged    deeper   and   deeper 


Ex  oblatione  viri  alterius  inusitatum 
et  magnae  pietatis  apprehendimus 
miraculum.  Venit  enim  vir  unus  de 
Bristo  ad  marlyrem,  nomine  Ailwinus, 
qui  aureum  obtulit  et  recessit.  Quum- 
que  intueretur  monachus,  qui  ad 
tumbam  residebat,  quod  oblatio  ejus 
longe  discordaret  ab  habitu  (erat  enim 
homo  habitus  valde  abjecti),  revocatum 
interrogavit  quare  pauper  aureum  sancto 
praesentasset  ?  "  Votum,"inquit,  "vovi 
martyri  et  reddidi :  dum  enim  nuper  ab 
Hibemia  navigarem,  navis  mea  in 
sabulum  incidit  vivum,  et  in  sabulo  fixa 
consedit.     Quanto  vero  amplius  labora- 


Navigantes  quidam  de  Hybemia  in 
sabulum  quod  nautae  Colresand  '  appel- 
lant inciderunt,  et  stetit  navis  fixa  in 
vado,  velo  suspense.  Quid  faciat  ? 
Deprimit  earn  onus  suum ;  nam  coriis 
et  aliis  rebus  venalibus  onerata,  et  dives 
damno  suo,  ad  navale  solitum  redibat. 
Quid  faciat  ? 

"  Obvia  consurgit  tellus 

.   .   .  atque  interrupta  profundo 
Terra  ferit  proram,  dubioque  obnoxia 

fato, 

Pars    sedet    una    ratis,    pars    altera 

pendet  in  undis." 

Videntes  igitur  miseri  nautae  sibi  nau- 

fragium  irremediabiliter  imminere  (nam 

refluente  mari   succrescebat   arena,   et 


1  Perhaps   an  attempt  to    express 
the  English  "  quicksand." 


§721 


HIS  MIRACLES 


109 


Benedict  (ii.  212-3) 

sucked  her  in.  The  water 
had  well-nigh  covered  the 
deck  when  we  leapt  into  the 
boat  to  save  our  lives ;  for 
we  had  given  up  all  hope  of 
the  vessel.  Then  said  I,  '  O 
Thomas,  Martyr  of  God,  if 
thou  hast  any  power  with 
God,  and  didst  ever  work 
miracle,  give  me  back  my 
ship.  Then  will  I  visit  thy 
tomb  and  offer  a  gold  piece.' 
"  So  we  let  the  ship  shift 
for  herself  and  rowed  for  the 
shore.  We  got  about  eight 
furlongs  from  her  :  but  after 
rowing  some  while  longer, 
the  ship  was  still  as  near 
as    ever.      We    cheered    one 


William  (i.  301-2) 
into  it),  leapt  into  their 
pinnace  to  save  their  lives, 
leaving  their  ship  and  sub- 
stance to  the  care  of  Thomas. 
When  they  had  fled  a 
long  way  from  the  ship,  the 
ship  (an  unprecedented 
novelty !)  began  to  follow 
the  fugitives,  and  on  she 
came  approaching  them  with- 
out crew  of  human  kind. 
But  meanwhile  their  eyes 
were  holden,  that  they  should 
not  recognize  in  the  coming 
vessel  the  one  that  they  had 
left  sinking  in  the  shallows. 
They  beheld  the  sail  set  and 
the  substance  they  had  left 
behind   them,  but  knew  not 


bamus  ut  de  periculo  instanti  ejiceretur, 
tanto  earn  absorbebat  arena.  Jam  fere 
usque  ad  supremum  tabulatum  videbatur 
submergi,  quum  desperantes  omnes  in 
cymbam  parvam  desilivimus,  saltern 
vitae  nostrae  volentes  esse  consultum  ; 
nam  de  navis  vel  rerum  nostrarum 
recuperatione  spes  nulla  supererat. 
Tunc  ego,  '  Martyr  Dei  Thoma,  si 
cujus  meriti  es  apud  Deum,  si  quid 
potes,  si  miraculum  aliquod  unquam 
fecisti,  navcm  meam  mihi  restitue. 
Scpulchrum  tuum  visitabo,  si  feceris, 
aureum  tibi  oblaturus.'  Navi  itaque 
dimissa  navigavimus  in  navicula  ut 
evaderemus  ad  terram,  et  quasi  stadiis 
octo  a  navi  elongati  sumus ;  cumque 
diutius  in  remigando  vexaremur,  a  navi 
semper  aeque  distare  videbamur.     Hor- 


magis  magisque  illidebatur  prora), 
exsilierunt  in  scapham,  salvantes 
animas  suas,  navi  rebusque  derelictis, 
martyri  Thomae  custodiam  delegantes. 
Cumque  procul  a  navi  fugissent,  navis 
inaudita  novitate  fugientes  subseque- 
batur,  et  sine  humano  remige  ferebatur 
appropinqnans.  Oculi  autem  eorum 
interim  tenebantur,  ne  agnoscerent 
venientem  quam  reliquerant  vadis 
insidentem.  Velum  suspensum  et 
sua   quae  dimiserant   aspiciebant,   sed 


no 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


721 


Benedict  (ii.  212-3) 

another  on  to  row  our  hard- 
est, but  the  more  we  rowed 
the  closer  came  we  to  the 
ship.  So  we  gave  it  up  and 
waited  a  little :  and  behold, 
the  vessel  that  we  had  left — 
sails  set,  and  well-nigh  sunk 
— we  now  beheld  bearing 
down  on  us.  When  she 
came  up,  we  welcomed  her 
as  God's  own  gift.  On  board 
we  went,  and  reached  home 
after  a  prosperous  voyage. 
This  was  the  cause  why  I 
came  on  my  pilgrimage  to 
the  Martyr  and  offered  him 
the  gold  piece." 

He  had  no  witnesses. 
But  we  believed  his  story  on 
the  strength  of  his  simplicity 
and  the  rich  offering  from 
one  so  poorly  clad. 


William  (i.  301-2) 
as  yet  that  it  was  theirs :  for 
they  had  no  hope  that 
what  had  been  taken  away 
was  now  taken  to  them. 
So  they  hailed  the  vessel 
and  asked  who  were  on 
board  and  whence  and 
whither  they  were  bound, 
and  there  was  none  to  answer. 
However,  the  Guardian  to 
whose  care  they  had  en- 
trusted the  vessel  opened 
their  eyes.  It  was  by  his 
powerful  hand  that  she  was 
extricated  from  the  Syrtes, 
and  by  his  steering  that  she 
was  borne  after  her  former 
crew.  So  when  they  recog- 
nized their  own  ship  they 
leaped  on  board  and  returned 
with  prosperous  course  to 
the  town  of  Bristol  whence 
they  had  come. 


tabamur  ergo  nos  invicem  ad  laborem, 
sed  quanto  amplius  navigavimus,  tanto 
ad  navem  accessimus.  Cessantes  tandem 
ab  inani  labore,  modicum  exspectavi- 
mus,  et  ecce,  navem,  quam  velo 
expanso  et  fere  absorptam  reliqueramus, 
absque  rectore  venientem  advertimus  ; 
venientem  quasi  a  Deo  oblatam  nobis 
recepimus.  Ascendimus ;  prospere 
absque  damno  applicuimus.  Hac  de 
causa  martyrem  visitavi,  aureum  obtuli." 
Haec  cum  dixisset,  licet  testibus  careret, 
credidimus  ei,  ex  simplicitate  ipsius,  et 
oblatione  vestibus  ejus  male  respon- 
dente,  veritatis  argumentum  trahentes. 


sua  esse  nondum  advertebant ;  non 
enim  ablata  sperabant  oblata.  Unde 
acclamantes  interrogabant  quinam  intus 
essent,  quo  et  unde  vectarentur ;  et 
non  erat  qui  responderet.  Aperuit 
autem  oculos  eorum  custos  navi 
delegatus ;  cujus  impulsu  a  Sirtibus 
eruebatur,  cujus  et  regimine  post 
remigem  suum  ferebatur.  Igitur 
navim  suam  recognitam  insilientes 
prospero  cursu  ad  vicum  Bristov,  unde 
venerant,  revecti  sunt. 


§722 


HIS  MIRACLES 


III 


In  this  story,  Benedict  has  preserved  the  mariner's  simple  tale, 
while  William  has  adorned  it  with  a  quotation  from  Lucan,  and 
with  remarks  of  his  own,  increasing  the  miraculousness  by  repre- 
senting the  mariners  as  losing  sight  of  the  ship,  so  that,  when  she 
returns,  they  mistake  her  for  a  strange  vessel. 


§  4.  Hoiv  St.  Thomas  pushed  a  ship  off  a  shoal 


[722]  Benedict  (ii.  214) 

For  this  cause  we  deemed 
him  \i.e.  the  above-mentioned 
Ailwin]  no  less  worthy  of 
credit  than  three  others  who 
testified  to  a  miracle  no  less 
wonderful.  For  they  affirmed 
that  they,  too,  had  been  on 
board  a  ship  that  had  fallen 
into  the  same  danger  as  his. 
In  fear  of  death,  they  all 
cried  to  the  Saint,  and  knelt 
down  on  the  deck,  and  said 
the  Lord's  prayer.  Then 
the  man  [of  God]  visibly 
appeared  to  them  in  glisten- 
ing white  garments,  and 
walking  on  the  rolling  waves. 


William  (i.  302-3) 

There  had  gone  forth 
into  the  deep  other  sailors, 
drawn  to  their  fate  by  love 
of  gain,  and  by  desire  to 
catch  herrings,  and  by  the 
flattery  of  calm  weather — and 
destined  to  have  been  drawn 
on  to  utter  destruction  had 
not  their  perishing  lives 
been  preserved  by  Him  who 
willeth  not  the  death  of  a 
sinner.  For  while  they  are 
catching  fish  they  are  them- 
selves unwittingly  caught ; 
and  while  they  fix  their  eyes 
on  their  prey,  under  the 
guidance  of  greediness,  they 


Unde  nee  minus  ei  credendum  esse 
censuimus,  quam  aliis  tribus,  qui  signi 
non  minoris  dederunt  testimonium. 
Aiebant  namque  et  se  in  navi  exstitisse, 
quae  per  noctem  in  simile  devenit 
periculum  ;  cumque  omnes  metu  mortis 
ad  sanctum  clamassent,  et  flexis  in 
navi  genibus  Dominicam  dixissent 
orationem,  apparuisse  illis  hominem 
visibiliter  in  vestibus  candidis,  et  super 
mobiles  ambulasse  maris  undas.     Qui, 


Exierant  in  altum  alii  nautae,  quos 
amor  lucri  et  allecis  capicndi  cupido, 
tempusque  serenum,  quod  blandiebatur, 
in  fata  trahebant,  et  usque  in  exitium 
pertraxissent,  nisi  Qui  non  vult  mortem 
j^eccatoris  vitam  pereuntium  servasset. 
Nam  dum  pisces  inescant,  imprudentes 
inescantur,  dumque  praedae  inhiant, 
praevia  ducc  aviditate,  vadis  insident  et 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


5^722 


Benedict  (ii.  214) 
Catching  the  ship  by  the 
prow,  he  drove  her  far  on 
into  the  deep,  so  that  the 
noise  of  her  rush  could  be 
heard  a  great  way  off:  and 
then  he  vanished  away  from 
their  eyes.  The  three  worthy 
men  above  mentioned  stood 
forward  as  witnesses  of  this  ; 
and  they  were  also  prepared 
to  lay  their  hand  on  the 
sacred  elements  and  to  certify 
us  that  they  stood  at  that 
instant  on  the  vessel  and  saw 
with  their  own  eyes  that 
figure  through  the  shades  [of 
night]. 


William  (i.  302-3) 

settle  down  on  a  shoal  and 
sink  till  the  water  almost 
reaches  the  deck.  Earth 
and  sea  were  so  confused 
that  the  nature  of  the  ele- 
ments could  not  be  dis- 
tinguished, and,  as  the  poet 
describes  [here  he  quotes 
Lucariy  Pharsalia,  ix.  30 5 -9]. 
So  the  ship  stood,  pro- 
jecting only  with  her  stern, 
and  with  her  prow  on  the 
point  of  going  down  under 
the  water  to  meet  the  sea  as 
it  came  up.  As  the  wretched 
skippers  ^  made  diverse  vows 
in     accordance     with      their 


apprehensa  navis  prora,  navem  longius 
in  profiindum  impegit,  ita  ut  sonus 
fluctuum  ejus  longe  valde  posset  audiri, 
et  ipse  evanuit  ab  oculis  eorum.  Hujus 
rei  testes  astiterunt  tres  viri  praedicti, 
parati  etiam,  tactis  sacrosanctis,  nos 
certificare  quod  in  navi  eadem  tunc 
exstiterint,  et  oculis  suis  personam 
illam  per  umbras  conspexerint. 


usque  ad  foros  ferme  immerguntur. 
Erat  autem  terra  pelago  commixta,  ut 
elementarum  natura  discemi  non  posset, 
et,  sicut  poeta  describit, 

Turn  "  neque  subsedit  penitus,  quo 

stagna  profundi 
Acciperet,  nee  se  defendit  ab  aequore 

tellus, 
Ambigua   sed   lege    loci  jacet   invia 

sedes ; 
Aequora    fracta    vadis,    abruptaque 

terra  profundo, 
Et  post  multa  sonant  projecti  littora 
fluctus." 
Stetit  igitur  carina,  puppi  duntaxat 
exstans,  et  prora  ad  ascensionem  maris 
descensura  sub  undas.  Miseris  nau- 
cleris '  diversa  voventibus  pro  diversitate 


'  [722fl]  "Naucleris."  William  is 
fond  of  using  Greek  terms,  not  always 
intelligently  (611a). 


1^723  HIS  MIRACLES  113 


William  (i.  302-3) 

diverse  minds,  and  at  last 
called  to  mind  the  last  of 
the  Martyrs,  the  man  of 
God,  compassionating  their 
affliction,  deigned  to  exhibit 
himself  visibly.  And  walk- 
ing on  the  waters,  he  seized 
the  ship  by  the  figurehead 
and  drove  her  back  into  the 
waves  :  and  she  brought  her 
crew  prosperously  into  port. 


William,  while  again  adorning  his  story  with  quotations  and 
plays  on  words,  makes  a  mistake  by  representing  St.  Thomas  as 
pushing  the  vessel  back,  instead  of  driving  her  on.  But  "  reppulit 
in  fluctus  "  is  probably  a  quotation,  and  to  this  William  sacrificed 
truth  of  fact. 

§  5 .  Recovery  of  anchors 

[723]  Benedict  (ii.  215)  William  (i.  300-1) 

Eilwecher  ^  of  Dover  was  One     Girard    of    Dover, 

sailing  to  lesser  Britain.      A  while   sailing   the   ocean,  let 

storm  arose  and  he  cast  out  down  an  anchor  on  the  rising 

animorum,  novique  martyris  novissime 
reminiscentibus,  dignatus  est    vir  Dei 
,  miseratus  afflictos  se  visibiliter  e.\hibere. 

Ambulansque  super  aquas,  arreptam  a 
rostro  navem  repulit  in  fluctus,  quae 
fclici  navigio  nautas  suos  produxit  ad 
portus. 


Na^'igabat  in  Britanniam  minorem  DovrensisquidamGirardusoceanum 

Eilwecher  •  Dovrensis,  et  orta  tempe-       navigans      orta      tempestate    a     navi 

•  Al.  Eiiweker,  or  Ejuneker.  The 
last  reading  suggests  a  corruption  of 
'*  cin  junker."     William  has  "  Girard." 


114 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§723 


Benedict  (ii.  215) 
three  anchors,  but  lost  all 
of  them  through  the  cables 
breaking.  However,  he  came 
safe  to  land,  after  invoking 
the  Martyr.  On  the  return 
of  fair  weather  he  returned 
with  his  companions  to  the 
sea  to  seek  the  anchors  ;  for 
the  place  where  he  had  lost 
them  was  not  far  from  the 
land.  For  three  days  they 
sought  and  found  nothing. 
So  said  one  of  them,  "  Let  us 
promise  also^  to  the  Martyr 
of  Canterbury  a  waxen 
anchor  that  he  may  give  us 
back    our    iron    ones."      All 


William  (i.  300-1) 
of  a  storm.  Wishing  to  draw 
it  up  again,  two  of  the  sailors, 
in  the  usual  way,  stood  in 
the  prow  and  tried  to  haul  in 
the  rope  ;  and  they  could  not 
wrench  up  a  certain  barbed 
hook,^  until  they  all  pulled 
together.  None  the  less,  in 
spite  of  it  all,  their  efforts 
were  vain  and  they  gave  it 
up.  So,  in  the  last  resort, 
they  tried  what  sailors  call  a 
"  windas,"  ^  .  .  .  But  still  the 
tenacious  hook  felt  not  the 
hands  of  the  panting  [men]. 
So  being  deserted  by  human 
aid,  they  seek  divine,  saying, 


state  tres  anchoras  emisit,  quas  et 
funibus  ruptis  omnes  amisit ;  ad  terram 
tamen  evasit,  invocato  martyre.  Red- 
eunte  serenitate  rediit  cum  sociis  suis 
in  mare  anchoras  quaesiturus,  eo  quod 
locus,  ubi  eas  amiserat,  non  longa  (su)  a 
terra  distabat.  Tribus  diebus  quaesitum 
est,  et  nihil  inventum.  Ait  ergo  unus 
ex  ipsis,  "  Promittamus  et  martyri^ 
Cantuariensi  anchoram  ceream,  ut 
ferreas  nostras  nobis  restituat."     Con- 


anchoram  demisit.  Quam  cum  vellet 
reducere,  duo  ex  nautis,  sicut  moris  est, 
stantes  in  prora  attrahebant  funem,  et 
non  poterantuncum  quendam  mordacem 
avellere.i  donee  omnes  conatum  suum 
communicarent.  Nihilominus  tamen 
omnes  casso  conatu  defecerunt.  Unde 
ad  ultimum  refugium  confugientes  ligno 
quod  nautae  windasium  vocant  caput 
rudentis  circumposuere,  ut  suffragante 
ligno    conatus    efficacior    esset.^      Est 


*  •'  Et  martyri."  The  meaning 
may  be  that  they  had  already  made 
vows  to  other  Saints. 


'  "Non  poterant  M«rM/«  quendam 
mordacem  avellere."  William,  who  is 
fond  of  technical  terms,  not  knowing 
the  word  here,  substitutes  the  italicized 
phrase.  Note  below,  his  introduction 
of  the  term  "windasium,"  the  "windas" 
of  Chaucer,  C.  T.  10498  (see  Skeat, 
Etymolog.  Diet.). 

2  Here  William  gives  a  long  descrip- 
tion of  a  "  windas." 


§723 


HIS  MIRACLES 


"5 


Benedict  (ii.  215) 

agreed  :  and  straightway 
letting  down  into  the  water 
the  instrument  with  which 
they  were  searching  the 
bottom,  they  drew  out  all  the 
anchors.  So  they  turned 
back  to  England  and  came 
to  the  Martyr.  They  brought 
to  him  the  gift  they  had 
promised. 


William  (i.  300-1) 

"  Restore,  O  Thomas,  genuine 
martyr,  powerful  over  land 
and  sea,  what  our  frailty 
cannot  [restore].  Loose  the 
cable,^  preserve  our  ship  from 
damage,  .  .  .  We  promise  a 
visit  to  thy  memorial  and  a 
waxen  model  of  our  iron 
implement.  Restore  the 
instrument  by  which  we  are 
detained."  So  approach- 
ing [the  task,  or  the  place], 


senserunt  omnes  ;  statimque  demisso  in 
aquam  instruniento,  quo  maris  fundum 
scnitabantur,  omnes  anchoras  ex- 
traxerunt.  Reversi  itaque  in  Angliam 
venerunt  ad  martyrem  ;  munus  attule- 
runt  quod  promiserant. 


autem  lignum  ex  transverse  puppis 
positum,  et  ex  latere  perforatum,  cujus 
usus  est  in  majoribus  navibus  ad  sus- 
pendendum  velum.  Nam  foraminibus 
immittuntur  radii,  et  quod  non  potest 
per  se  vis  humana,  potest  innitens 
radiis  ;  dum  enim  circumducitur  lignum 
funibus  circumvolutum,  provenit  ex 
ligno  facile  suffragium.  Sed  nondum 
tenax  uncus  sensit  anhelantium  manus. 
Igitur  humano  adminiculo  destituti 
petunt  divinum,  dicentes,  "  Redde,  vere 
martyr  Thoma,  potens  maris  et  terrae, 
quod  non  potest  infirmitas  nostra. 
Retinacula  solve  ;  ^  conserva  navem 
indemnem.  Scimus  quoniam  bonorum 
nostrorum  non  eges,  vis  tamen  tibi 
reverentiam  exhiberi,  vis  mortalium 
devotionem  votis  et  precibus  augeri. 
Unde  memoriam  tuam  visitaturi  pro 
ferreo  armamento  ejusdem  formae  ceram 
promittimus.       Redde    quo    retinemur 


3  •'  Retinacula."  What  the  sailors 
really  wanted  was  the  loosing  of 
the  anchor :  but  "  loose  the  caile " 
is  Virgilian,  and  this  suffices  for 
William. 


ii6  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §723 

William  (i.  300-1) 

after  the  fulfilment  of  their  vow,"  they  easily  got  back  the 
hook. 

But  they,  going  forth  again,^  cast  forth  two  anchors 
in  different  places,^  with  the  one  that  had  been  restored 
to  them  ;  and  thus  they  tossed  about,  kept  where  they 
were  by  their  hold  on  the  bottom.  After  a  short  time, 
they  stood  again  near  the  prow  to  recal  that  anchor 
which  they  had  recovered  by  the  gift  of  heaven.  And 
behold,  pulling  in  the  cable  broken,  they  began  to  cry 
aloud,  "  Martyr  Thomas,  wherefore  have  we  lost  that 
which  through  thee  we  recovered?  Restore  that  which 
thou  restoredst !  We,  too,  will  render  that  which  we 
promised." 

Well,  they  had  given  up  hope  of  regaining  it.  But 
by  the  providence  of  the  Martyr,  beyond  hope,  that 
which  they  had  lost  was  returned.  For  in  the  act  of  haul- 
ing up  the  other  anchors  they  recovered  also  that  which 
was  the  object  of  their  solicitations.  A  fragment  of  the 
cable  of  the  lost  anchor  had  stuck  fast,  having  been 
fastened   in  a  celestial    knot   with   the  cables  of  the  other 


instrumentum."      Voto  igitur  expleto*  accedentes,  levi  conatu    uncum    recepe- 
runt. 

Procedentes  autem  rursus  ^  duas  anchoras  diversis  locis*'  cum  ea  quae 
restituta  fuerat  projecerunt,  et  fluctuabant  ab  imo  retenti.  Post  tempus  iterum 
modicum  stabant  ad  proram  revocaturi  anchoram  quam  divino  munere  receperant. 
Et  ecce  ruptum  legentes  rudentem  clamare  coeperunt,  "  Martyr  Thoma,  quare 
perdidimus  quod  per  te  recepimus  ?  Redde  quod  reddidisti  ;  reddemus  et  nos 
quod  promisimus. "  Igitur  a  spe  recuperationis  exciderant ;  sed  procurante 
martyre  praeter  spem  restituitur  quod  amiserant.  Nam  dum  alias  anchoras 
reducunt,  et  eam  de  qua  solliciti  erant  recipiunt.      Adhaeserat  namque  fragmen- 

*  That  is,  they  first  went  to  Canterbury  and  "fulfilled"  their  vow,  and  then 
"  approached  "  the  place  of  the  lost  anchor  and  recovered  it. 

"  The  ambiguous  English  expresses  the  original,  in  which,  ( i )  "  procedentes  " 
may  mean  "  proceding  from  that  place,  or  out  to  sea,"  and  (2)  "again"  may  refer 
to  "proceeding,"  or  to  "casting." 

*  "In,  or  from,  different  places  (of  the  vessel)."     See  remarks  below. 


§726  HIS  MIRACLES  117 

William  (i.  300-1) 

two,   SO    that    the    ship   was    preserved    from    damage   and 
the  Martyr  was  manifested  to  have  power  in  the  waters. 


[724]  The  two  narratives  agree  enough  to  make  it  pretty 
certain  that  both  refer  to  the  same  event.  It  is  impossible 
to  explain  their  divergence  with  certainty,  but  there  are  good 
grounds  for  conjecturing  that  William,  in  the  attempt  to 
improve,  has  corrupted,  Benedict's  story. 

According  to  Benedict,  the  facts  are  these.  Three 
anchors  were  thrown  out  in  a  storm  ;  the  three  cables  broke  ; 
and  the  men,  after  invoking  St.  Thomas  [to  save  their  lives], 
got  safe  to  land.  Benedict  does  not  add,  but  he  almost 
certainly  assumes,  that  the  invocation  was  accompanied  by  a 
promise  of  a  pilgrimage  and  an  offering.  This  promise  may 
be  supposed  to  be  now  paid.  Afterwards,  fair  weather 
having  set  in,  they  return  to  seek  their  anchors.  They  fail 
till  they  promise  a  waxen  anchor  to  the  Martyr.  Then  they 
succeed. 

[725]  This  being,  probably,  the  true  tale,  William  finds 
it  unsatisfactory  on  the  following  grounds  :  "  If  three  anchors 
were  lost,  three  anchors  of  wax  ought  to  have  been  vowed. 
But  we  know  that  only  o^ie  anchor  was  offered.  It  follows 
that  only  one  anchor  was  lost" 

[726]  "  But,"  says  an  objecting  monk,  with  the  Canter- 
bury notes  in  his  hand,  "  was  there  not  something  said  by  the 
pilgrims  about  three  anchors  ?  "  William  replies,  by  resorting 
to  the  common  subterfuge  of  Harmonizing  Apologists, "  There 
were  two  voyages.  In  the  first  voyage,  one  anchor  was  lost, 
and  one  waxen  anchor  vowed  ;  and,  after  the  vow  had  been 
paid,  that  anchor  was  recovered.  Then  came  a  second 
voyage,  which  has  been  erroneously  regarded  by  my  pre- 
decessor Benedict  as  a  mere  expedition  to  search  for  lost 

turn  funis  amissae  anchorae,  funibus  alianitn  coelesti  nodo  colligatum,  ut  et  puppis 
servaretur  indemnis,  et  martyr  potens  ostenderetur  in  undis. 


ii8  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §726 

anchors.  In  this  voyage,  they  took  with  them  the  recovered 
anchor,  and  two  others.  When  a  storm  came  on,  they  cast 
out  the  first  at  the  prow  (ad  proram).  Now  if  they  had  cast 
out  the  others  '  at  the  prow,'  there  would  have  been  no  great 
miracle  in  the  recovery  of  tJie  three  together.  Therefore  mark 
that  the  two  others  were  cast  out  at  different  places  [of  the 
vessel]  (diversis  locis). 

"In  hauUng  up  the  anchor  at  the  prow,  the  cable  snapped 
again.  Again  they  prayed  to  St.  Thomas.  At  first,  it 
seemed  as  though  their  prayer  was  unheard  :  but  presently, 
in  hauling  up  the  two  others,  they  hauled  up  the  first  also, 
which,  in  spite  of  its  distance  from  the  others ^  had  been  en- 
tangled with  the  others — clearly  the  result  of  '  a  celestial 
knot,'  entwined  by  the  hand  of  the  Martyr !  Thus  you  are 
right  in  saying  that  there  was  '  something  about  three 
anchors ' ;  but  three  anchors  were  not  recovered.  Three 
anchors  were  hauled  in,  and,  of  these,  one  was  recovered  for 
the  second  time." 

William's  story  appears  to  exemplify,  ist,  the  Fallacy  of 
Duplication,  2nd,  the  Fallacy  of  Improvement,  or,  the  Fitness 
of  Things  (365-8,  379). 

§  6.  How  the  son  of  Yngelrann  of  Golton  was  visited 
with  paralysis  by  the  Martyr  and  then  healed 

[727]  Benedict  (ii.  219-20)  William  (i.  195-8) 

(i)  Benedict  omits  this.  (i)  One    Stephen^    had 

made  a  feast  for  a  rich  man 

(i)  om.  (l)  Stephanus    quidam '     de    villa 

Huerveltuna  fecerat  diviti  cuidam  con- 

1  "De  villa  Huerveltuna":  Ed. 
adds,  "  This  place  appears  from  the 
sequel  to  have  been  at  some  distance 
from  Canterbury  so  that  it  cannot  be 
identified  with  Harbledown.      Possibly 


^727  HIS  MIRACLES  119 

William  (i.  195-8) 

named  Robert  While  the  latter  was  seated  at  meat 
with  Stephen,  Hugh  of  Morville,  one  of  the  Martyr's 
murderers,  who  knew  him,  demanded  a  visit  from  his 
old  friend,^  naming  time  and  place.  Robert,  much  dis- 
turbed, and  unwilling  to  consort  with  the  murderer,^ 
was  persuaded  to  accept  the  invitation  by  the  mother  of 
the  family,  who  (seeing  her  guest's  dejection)  scoffed  at 
the  Martyr  and  bade  Robert  go  and  feast  and  make  merry 
with  Hugh  of  Morville. 

As    time    went    on,    this   woman's    husband    [Stephen], 

\-iviuin.  Apud  quern  dum  dives  ille  pranderet,  Robertus  nomine,  misit  ad 
eum*  Hugo  de  Morvilla,  dicens  in  haec  verba:  "  Miror  super  dilectione 
mutua  veterique  societate  nostra,  quae  sic  de  facUi  tepuit  ut  multo  tempore 
non  videris  faciem  meam.  Mando  igitur  ut  te  mihi  locuturum  exhibeas " ; 
locumque  constituit  et  tempus  praefixit.  Hoc  audito  mandate  concidit  vultus 
ejus,  et  non  bibit  neque  manducavit,  revocans  ad  animum  atrox  et  immane 
flagitium  quod  perpetraverat,  declinansque,  sicut  decet  Christianum,  detestabile 
consortium,  quod  vel  solo  colloquio  praecisionis  ecclesiasticae  maculam  aspergit.^ 
Quid,  nostri  infamia  saeculi,  candidatorum  petis  colloquium  ?  Quid,  civis 
Babyloniae  confusionis,  gregem  dominicum  contaminas  ?     Nescis  quia 

"  Grex  totus  in  agris 
Unius  scabie  cadit  et  porrigine  porci  ?  " 

Materfamilias  vero,  videns  hospitis  sui  tristitiam,  ait  ei,  "Quae  cura  si  mortuus 
est  presbyter  ille  Thomas  ?  Quis  inde  moveatur  ?  Supra  modum  clerus 
dominabatur,  in  tantam  prorumpens  arrogantiam  ut  etiam  principum  colla 
suppeditare  tentaret.  Regemne  putavit  inquietare  et  subjugare  ?  Epulare, 
precor,  et  laetare."     His  et  hujusmodi  verbis  illota  delirabat. 

Procedente    tempore,     vir    ejus    de    consuetudine    saeculari    ad    saecularia 


Warbleton  in  Sussex."  But,  if  this  story  refers  to  the  same  facts  as  Benedict's, 
may  not  "  Huervellona  "  be  a  corruption  of  "  Goltona  "  727  {2)  ? 

This  section,  though  full  of  unnecessary  details,  has  some  value  in  placing 
before  the  reader  the  causes  that  may  have  led  the  man  and  his  wife  to  talk  about 
propitiating  the  Martyr. 

*  What  follows  indicates  that  it  is  Robert  (not  Stephen)  who  is  thus  invited. 

3  William  intervenes  with  an  apostrophe  ("Why,  O  infamy  of  our  age,  dost 
thou  seek  colloquy  with  those  who  are  in  white  robes  ?  Why,  O  citizen  of  the 
shameful  Babylon,  .  .  .  ,")  concluded  by  a  quotation  from  Juvenal,  S<U.  ii.  79, 
So,  that  one  pig  may  infect  a  herd. 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


S727 


Benedict  (ii.  219-20) 


(2)  At  the  time  when 
crowds  began  to  rush,  and 
folk  from  the  cities  to  hasten, 
towards  the  tomb  of  our 
Martyr,  the  same  desire  came 
into  the  mind  of  the  wife 
of  Yngelrann  ^  of  Golton,  a 
knight   of   Yorkshire,   which 


William  (i.  195-8) 

in  the  course  of  his  occupa- 
tion,* heard  a  good  deal 
about  the  mighty  works  of 
healing  performed  by  the 
Martyr's  merits.  So  on 
returning  home  he  related 
what  he  had  heard,  and 
added  that  he  wished  to 
visit  the  Martyr's  tomb. 

(2)  The  mother  and  the 
elder  son  conceived  the  same 
desire.  "  I  have  no  need  of 
it,"  said  the  younger,  "  for  I 
am  neither  dumb,  nor  lame, 
nor  suffering  from  any  in- 
firmity." But  it  came  to 
pass  that,  while  he  was  giving 


(2)  Cum  turbae  multae  irruerent  ad 
martyrem  nostrum  et  de  civitatibus 
properarent  ad  eum,  incidit  in  mentem 
uxoris  Yngelranni  *  de  Goltona,  militis 


negotia  profectus*  audivit  multa  dici 
^de  illuminatione  caecorum,  auditu  sur- 
dorum,  mundatione  leprosorum,  caete- 
risque  magnalibus  quae  meritis  beati 
martyris  Dominus  operari  dignatus  est ; 
rediensque  domum  narravit  quae 
audierat  et  vulgo  dicebantur,  et  adjecit 
se  velle  visitare  sepulchrum  martyris. 

(2)  Capitur  eadem  voluntate  mater- 
familias  et  filius  ejus  major  natu. 
"  Non,"  inquit  minor,  "necesse  habeo 
ire,  quia  neque  mutus  neque  claudus 
sum,  neque  corporis  alio  detineor  in- 
commode."    Factum  est  autem,  dum 


'  The  Editor  has  "  Ingelram." 
This  somewhat  resembles  the  son's 
name  as  spelt  by  William  in  (7) 
below,  "  Engelram."  But  see  note 
there.  The  text  has  "  Yngelranni  "  as 
the  genitive.  Golton  (Ed.)  is  in 
Craven. 


■*  "De  consuetudine  saeculari  ad 
saecularia  negotia  profectus. "  Perhaps 
the  object  of  this  addition  is  to  shew 
that  the  Martyr's  miracles  were  now 
so  famous  that  even  a  man  of  the 
world  could  not  fail  to  hear  about 
them. 


5^727 


HIS  MIRACLES 


121 


Benedict  (iL  219-20) 
she  also  intimated  to  her 
lord,  adding,  "  Let  us  also 
take  our  son."  The  boy, 
who  stood  listening  to  his 
parents,  replied,  "  I  am  whole 
and  healthy  ;  what  should  I 
have  to  do  with  the  Martyr  ?  " 
The  father  raised  his  hand 
to  chastise  the  boy  for  his 
foolish  answer ;  but  he  es- 
caped, and  went  away,  and 
gave  his  time  to  scholar's 
tasks,  recking  naught  of  the 
sin  of  his  mouth.  And  on 
that  night  his  arm  was  made 
as  if  dead,  and  quite  in- 
sensible, so  that  it  could  not 
feel  fire  placed  near,  or  knife 
placed  on  it :  for  it  was 
actually    often    pricked    and 


William  (i.  195-8) 
his  time  to  scholar's  discipline, 
he  was  struck  with  paralysis 
and  lost  the  use  of  one  of 
his  arms.  After  being  de- 
tained [at  school]  by  this  for 
some  weeks,  he  was  brought 
home.  Thence  he  was 
taken  round  through  the 
different  convents  ^  of  the 
diocese  and  consulted  the 
physicians,  who  pricked  his 
arm  with  a  needle  and  found 
it  quite  insensible. 


Eboracensis,  voluntas  eadem,  quam  at 
domino  suo  intimavit ;  addiditque 
inulier  dicens,  "  Ducamus  nobiscum  et 
filium  nostrum."  Stabat  autem  puer 
auscultans  parentes,  verbisque  matemis 
ita  respondit :  "  Sanus  sum  et  incolu- 
mls ;  quid  cum  martyre  facerem  ? " 
Increpat  pater  stultum  pueri  responsum, 
manuque  ad  eum  castigandum  extensa, 
effugientem  nee  laesit  nee  tetigit :  et 
abiit  puer  scholisque  vacavit,  nulli- 
jjcndens  quod  ore  deliquit.  Et  morti- 
ficatum  est  nocte  ilia  brachium  ejus  et 
prorsus  insensibile  factum,  ita  ut  nee 
ignem  appositum  nee  fcrrum  impositum 
sentire   valeret  ;    nam   et    acu   saepius 


scholari  disciplinae  vacaret,  ut  paralysi 
percussus  officium  alterius  brachiorum 
amitteret ;  qua  cum  per  hebdomades 
aliquot  detineretur,  domum  reductus 
est,  et  inde  per  coenobia*  comprovinei- 
alia  circumductus  medicos  consulebat ; 
qui  brachium  ejus  acu  transfigentes, 
insensibile  penitus  repererunt. 


'  ••  Coenobia,"  which  had  hospitals 
or  infirmaries  attached  to  them. 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


^727 


Benedict  (ii.  219-20) 

pierced  through  with  a  needle, 
but  no  feeling  was  found  in 
it.  The  boy  was  sent  by  his 
parents  on  a  round  of  visits  ^ 
to  many  physicians,  who  were 
consulted  about  him  but  were 
found  useless. 

(3)  "See,"  said  his 
parents,  "  see,  you  have  some- 
thing [now]  '  to  do  with  the 
Martyr '  of  Canterbury : 
promise  at  once  what  but 
lately  you  presumed  to 
refuse."  And  he  gave  the 
pledge. 

(4)  So  on  the  following 
night  he  saw  the  Saint  in 
his  dreams — with  that  same 
blood -streak  obliquely  de- 
scending   from   his   forehead 


William  (i.  195-8) 


(3)  At  last  the  woman, 
whose  furious  outburst  against 
the  Saint  was  described 
above,  returned  to  her  senses. 
Recognising  that  her  son 
was  being  punished  for  his 
mother's  offence,  she  punished 
her  wild  speech  by  scourging 
and  fasting. 

(4)  And  God  had  regard 
to  her  penitence  and  con- 
trition. For  St.  Thomas, 
appearing  to  her  sick  son, 
said,  "  Be  thou  whole.     See 


compunctum  et  perforatum  est,  sed 
nihil  in  eo  sensibilitatis  inventum. 
Mittitur  a  parentibus  puer  per  loca 
diversa ;  ^  medici  plures  super  eo  con- 
suluntur  :  nihil  reperitur  auxilii. 

(3)  "Ecce,"  inquiunt  parentes, 
"  ecce  habes  quid  agas  cum  Cantuariensi 
martyre ;  cito  promitte  quod  pridie 
praesumpsisti  negare."     Et  spopondit. 

(4)  Vidit  itaque  nocte  sequenti 
sanctum  in  somnis,  habentem  ilium 
sanguinis    tractum    per   obliquum  nasi 


(3)  Resipuit  tandem  mulier  quam 
diximus  in  sanctum  saevisse,  cogno- 
scensque  quia  filius  suus  in  matemo 
delicto  puniretur,  linguae  suae  delira- 
menta  jejunio  virgaque  castigavit. 

(4)  Et  res{iexit  Deus  contritionem 
poenitentis ;  nam  patienti  filio  ejus 
apparens  beatus  Thomas  dixit,  "  Esto 


2  **  Per  loca  diversa,"  i.e.  through 
one  to  the  other,  on  a  round  of  visits. 
The  "loca"  are  defined  by  William. 


S727 


HIS  MIRACLES 


123 


Benedict  (ii.  219-20) 
across  the  nose  and  left  cheek, 
with  which  we  saw  him  when 
he  lay  in  his  own  church  killed 
by  the  swords  of  the  impious. 
And  he  said  to  the  boy, 
"  See,  boy,  that  thou  betake 
thyself  this  year  to  religion. 
Arise,  be  thou  whole." 

(5)  He  spake,  and  it 
was  done.  When  sleep  was 
banished  from  his  eyes,  he 
shewed  that  the  death  of  his 
arm,  if  I  may  so  say,  was 
banished  from  his  arm.  He 
stretched  out  his  arm, 


William  (i.  195-8) 

that  thou  change  thy  con- 
dition of  life  this  year,  and 
put  on  the  habit  of  a  monk." 


(6)  and  began  in  health 


(5)  Then  the  house — 
what  with  the  splendour  of 
the  figure  and  with  the  flood 
of  light  from  heaven — was 
so  illumined  that  every  nook 
and  corner  was  as  clear  as 
day  :  and  the  young  scholar 
— startled  from  sleep  by  the 
rays — leapt  from  his  bed, 
and  seizing  a  garment  with 
the  hand  that  was  but  now 
torpid,  cried  out  again  and 
again,  "  Father,  I  am  healed." 

(6)  Astonishment  fell  on 


sinistraeque  maxillae  a  fronte  descen- 
dentem,  quem  et  vidimus  ilium  habere 
cum  in  ecclesia  sua  jaceret,  gladiis 
impiorum  occisus.  Dixitque  ad 
puerum,  "Vide,  puer,  ut  hoc  eodem 
anno  ad  religionem  te  conferas  :  surge, 
esto  sanus." 

(5)  Dixit  ct  factum  est.  Excusso 
enim  ab  oculis  ejus  somno,  excussam  a 
brachio  brachii,  ut  ita  dixerim,  mortem 
ostendit  ;  brachium  extendit, 


(6)  et  itineris  laborem,  quem  per- 


sanus.     Vide  ut  vitae  tuae  statum  mutes 
hoc  anno  et  monachum  induas." 


(5)  Domus  itaque  ex  claritate  per- 
sonae  et  raulto  coelesti  lumine  serenata 
est,  ut  omnes  anguli  perspicui  vide- 
rentur  ;  ad  cujus  radios  somno  abrupto, 
lecto  pupillus  cxsiliit,  arripiensque 
vestem  ea  manu  quae  torpuerat,  ingemi- 
nat,  "  Pater,  pater,  sanus  sum  ! '' 

(6)  Excitati  parentes  obstupescunt, 


124 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§727 


Benedict  (ii.  219-20) 
that  very  journey  which   he 
thought     to    accomplish     in 
sickness. 


(7)  We  afterwards  heard 
from  the  Priest  of  that  town 


William  (i.  195-8) 

his  awakened  parents,  and 
also  on  some  of  the  King's 
servants,  who  happened  to 
be  guests  there  at  the 
time — on  account  of  whose 
presence,  perhaps,*^  this  dis- 
pensation of  mercy  came 
from  Him  who  will  have  all 
men  to  be  saved  and  to  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth.  And  [these],  on  learn- 
ing the  history  of  the  matter 
in  order,  in  that  same  hour 
entered  the  chapel  and  gave 
thanks,  which  they  afterwards 
offered  up  more  fully  at  the 
Martyr's  tomb  with  him  who 
had  obtained  this  mercy. 

(7)  When      they     came 
home,    the   youth,   who    had 


ficere     putabat    infirmus, 
choaviL 


sanus     m- 


(7)  Audivimus  postea  ab  ejusdem 
villae    presbytero   puerum    praedictum 


et  quidam  de  ministris  regis,  ea  tem- 
pestate  hospitio  suscepti,  ob  quorum 
forsan  praesentiam "  dispensavit  banc 
misericordiam  qui  vult  omnes  homines 
salvos  fieri  et  ad  cognitionem  veritatis 
venire.  Seriemque  rei  discentes,  eadem 
bora  capellam  ingredientes,  gratias 
egerunt,  quas  post  cum  eo  qui  miseri- 
cordiam consecutus  est  ad  sepulchrum 
martyris  plenius  exsecuti  sunt. 

(7)  Unde    cum    domum    redissent, 
factus  est  adolescens  mansuetissimus  et 


8  i.e.  in  order  that  the  King  might 
be  awakened  to  a  sense  of  the  Martyr's 
holiness  and  power.  William  else- 
where alleges  this  as  a  reason  for  St. 
Thomas's  action  (619). 


8727 


HIS  MIRACLES 


125 


Benedict  (ii.  219-20) 
that  the  boy  assumed  the 
habit  of  a  monk  at  Fountains 
Abbey.  For  on  his  return 
home,  the  Saint,  appearing 
to  him  in  his  sleep,  again 
warned  him  to  betake  him- 
self to  a  monastic  order. 
And  the  boy  kept  answering 
him.  and  putting  questions 
to  him,  with  little  intervals 
between,^  "  When,  my  lord  ?  " 
"  Where,  my  lord  ? "  and 
many  more  of  the  same  kind. 
And  the  parents  happened 
to  hear*  the  boy  talking  at 
intervals  thus — but  the  voice 
of  him  that  spoke  with  their 


William  (i.  195-8) 

before  been  given  to  mirth 
and  sport  as  youths  are,  be- 
came now  most  mild  and 
sober,  and  begged,  through 
the  Priest — not  venturing  to 
ask  it  in  his  own  person — 
that  he  might  be  allowed  to 
cast  off  the  secular  garb. 
But  his  father  put  him  off, 
fearing  that,  with  the  fickle- 
ness of  youth,  he  might 
hastily  take  an  arduous  and 
difficult  path  from  which  he 
would  afterwards  shrink  back, 
impatient  of  the  toil,  and 
repenting  of  his  penitence. 
And  it  came  to  pass  that, 


apud  Fonteines  religionis  habitum  in- 
duisse.  Domum  namque  reverse 
iterum  sanctus  in  somnis  appaniit, 
iterum,  ut  ad  ordinem  monasticum  se 
conferret,  commonuit.  Et  respondebat 
ei  puer,  et  intervallis  parvis  intercur- 
rentibus'  interrogabat,  "  Ubi,  domine? 
quando,  domine  ? "  aliaque  plura  in 
hunc  modum.  Et  audiebant  *  parentes 
puerum      per      intervalla      temporum 


maturae  conversationis,  qui  lascivus 
fuerat,  ut  id  aetatis  habet.  Et  cum  non 
auderet  in  propria  persona,  praemium 
petiit  per  presbyterum,  ut  liceret  sibi 
saecularem  habitum  mutare.  Pater 
autem  diflferebat,  timens  ne  puerili 
levitate  rem  arduam  et  arctam  viam 
arriperet,  a  qua  postmodum  oneris  et 
laboris  impatiens,  et  poenitentiae  poeni- 
tens,  resiliret.     Et  factum  est  uti  puero 


•'  ' '  Intervallis  parvis  intercurrenti- 
bus,'  i.e.  so  as  to  give  time  for  the 
Saint  to  answer.  The  parents  heard 
the  questions ;  but,  when  the  Saint 
was  replying,  they  only  noted  a  "little 
interval." 

*  "Audiebant."  Probably  they 
were  by  the  boy's  bedside,  when  he  was 
in  this  disturbed  condition.  This  suits 
what  follows  better  than  "used  to  hear," 
which  is  grammatically  admissible. 


126 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


S727 


Benedict  (ii.  219-20) 

son  was  quite  inaudible,  nor 
was  his  figure  seen — when, 
however,^  the  darkness  of 
night  was  dispelled,  and  a 
marvellous  splendour  lighted 
up  all  the  house  so  that  they 
saw  both  their  son  and 
everything  else  in  the  house. 
And  they  said  to  one  another, 
"  Let  us  wait.  He  sees  some- 
thing that  we  cannot  see." 

When  the  splendour  de- 
parted and  the  youth  awoke, 
he  related  to  his  parents  what 
he  had  seen  and  heard  ;  and, 
after  a  few  days,  he  betook 
himself  to  monastic  religion 
in  the  convent  assigned  to 
him  by  the  Saint. 


William  (i.  195-8) 

while  the  youth  was  medita- 
ting about  turning  to  a  life 
of  religion,  the  Martyr 
Thomas  appeared  to  him 
one  night,  as  before,  with  his 
insignia,^  and  stained  with 
blood.  And  his  parents 
heard  him  in  his  sleep 
answering  the  Martyr  thus, 
"  Which  monastic  habit  ?  " 
"  Where  ? "  "  When  ?  "  "  O 
my  lord,  have  pity  on  me." 
And  they  said  to  one  another, 
"  Let  us  wait ;  let  us  not 
rouse  him  ;  he  has  a  vision." 
But  when  his  vision  and 
sleep  had  fled,  he  cried  aloud, 
"  Did  you  see  St.  Thomas  ? 
He  was  here  but  now.      He 


loquentem,  vox  autem  loquentis  cum 
CO  penitus  non  audiebatur,  nee  vide- 
batur  persona ;  cum  tarnen,"  caligine 
nocturna  repulsa,  mirabilis  quidam 
splendor  totam  domum  illuminaret,  ita 
ut  puerum  ipsum,  et  caetera  omnia  quae 
in  domo  erant,  perspicue  viderent. 
Dicebantque  ad  invicem,  "  Sustine- 
amus ;  aliquid  videt  quod  N-idere  non 
possumus."  Discedente  vero  splendore, 
cum  puer  evigilasset,  quae  viderat  et 
audierat  parentibus  retulit,  paucisque 
diebus  interpositis,  in  coenobio,  quod  ei 
sanctus  assignaverat,  religioni  se  mon- 
asticae  contulit. 


de  conversione  sua  meditanti  una 
noctium  martyr  Thomas  sicut  et  prius 
apparuerit,  infulatus^  et  cruentatus. 
Et  audierunt  parentes  eum  in  somnis 
martyri  respondentem,  "  Cujus  habitus 
monachus?"  "Ubi?"  "Quando?" 
"  Domine,  miserere  mei" ;  dixeruntque 
ad  invicem,  "  Sustineamus,  non  ex- 
citemus  eum ;  visionem  videt."  Cum 
autem  visio  somnusque  fugissent,  clama- 
vit,  "  Vidistis  beatum  Thomam?     Hie 


*  "Cumtamen."  We  should  have 
expected  "suddenly,"  but  the  writer 
is  illogically  influenced  by  the 
parenthesis. 


'^  Literally,  "with  the  y?//f/,"  per- 
haps here  "  with  the  mtire "  (712a), 
implying  all  the  insignia  of  the  sacri- 
ficial office. 


§729  HIS  MIRACLES  127 

William  (i.  195-8) 

has  but  now  departed.^  He 
said  to  me,  '  Engelram,^  I 
have  twice  spoken  to  thee  in 
secret.  The  third  time  I 
will  appear  unto  thee,  and 
the  whole  region  round  about 
shall  know  it.' " 


[728]  In  William's  narrative,  the  youth  is  punished,  not 
merely  for  a  boyish  flippancy  disrespectful  to  St.  Thomas, 
but  also  for  his  mother's  sin  ;  the  miraculous  healing  is 
ordained  (in  part  at  all  events)  to  recall  King  Henry  to  a 
better  mind  ;  moreover,  lest  the  reader  should  suppose  that 
the  Martyr  takes  from  the  father  his  only  son  and  devotes 
him  to  a  life  of  celibacy,  it  is  pointed  out  that  there  was  an 
elder  brother. 

[729]  The  graphic  description  of  the  poor  boy  in  his 
troubled  sleep  holding  converse  with  the  Martyr — in  which 
William  and  Benedict  closely  agree — was  probably  taken  by 
both  from  the  priest  of  Golton  whom  Benedict  mentions  as 

modo  fuit,  modo  abscedit.*  Dixit 
mihi,  'Duabus  vicibus  tibi,  Engelrame,' 
occulte  locutus  sum.  Tertio  tibi 
apparebo,  scietque  tola  regie'  " 

8  "  Abscedit,"  (?)  an  original  error 
for  "abscessit." 

*  ♦*  Engelrame."  Here  the  son 
is  called  "  Engelramus."  Accord- 
ing to  Benedict  (727  (2)),  "  Yngelran- 
nus" — according  to  William  (727  (i)), 
*•  Stephen  " — was  the  father  s  name. 
The  editor  identifies  the  two  names. 
The  instances  where  father  and  son  have 
the  same  name  (e.g.  "  William  "  in  Mat. 
i.  200)  are  rare,  and  this  is  not  a 
common  name  like  "  William." 


128  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §730 

his  informant :  and  the  information  (in  view  of  the  close 
similarity)  probably  came  by  letter. 

[730]  The  miraculous  brightness  by  night  is  connected 
by  Benedict  with  the  second  vision,  and  witnessed  by  the 
parents ;  by  William  with  the  first  vision,  and  witnessed  only 
by  the  youth,  who  is  awakened  by  it.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  blood-streaked  appearance  of  the  Martyr  is  connected 
by  Benedict  with  the  first  vision  ;  by  William,  with  the 
second.  Possibly,  William  thought  that  the  brightness  was 
most  appropriate  to  the  promise  of  healing,  the  blood-streak 
to  the  threat  of  punishment.  A  sudden  outburst  of  moon- 
light through  dark  clouds  might  very  well  impress  the 
excited  parents — hearing  their  son  hold  converse  in  the  dark 
with  an  invisible  Saint — as  though  it  were  a  flood  of 
miraculously  celestial  light 

[731]  William  has  probably  modified  the  narrative  for 
reasons  of  style.  But  the  impression  left  on  the  reader  is 
that  he  had  come  to  the  knowledge  of  some  antecedent  facts, 
unknown  to  Benedict  and  shewing  that  Benedict's  account, 
perhaps  following  the  story  as  told  by  Yngelrann's  wife  at 
Canterbury,  was  far  too  favourable  to  her.  It  seemed  to 
William  that  the  mother's  tongue  had  encouraged  her  boy 
to  his  ruin,  had  he  not  been  saved  by  the  Saint.  His  severity 
to  "  the  foul  woman  "  ("  illota  ")  is  perhaps  increased  by  his 
sense  that  she  had  imposed  on  the  monks  for  a  time  as  a  pious 
matron^  who  had  actually  suggested  a  pilgrimage  to  her 
husband^  of  her  own  motion  (Benedict  (2)). 

§  7.  fordan,  son  of  Eisulf 

[732]  Benedict  (ii.  229-34)  William  (i.  160-2) 

(i)    The    hand     of    the  (i)  There  came  to  Can- 

Lord  was  heavy  on  a  knight      terbury  a  knight,  Jordan,  son 

(i)   Aggravata   est    manus    Domini  (i)  Venit  Cantuariam  miles  Jordanus, 


§732 


HIS  MIRACLES 


129 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 
of  great  name/  Jordan,  son 
of  Eisulf,  and  smote  his  house 
with  plague  from  August  to 
Easter.-  Very  many  were 
sick  in  his  house,  and  there 
was  none  to  help.  And  the 
nurse  of  his  son  William  (the 
boy  was  also  known  as  Brito) 
died  of  acute  disease  and  was 
buried.  But  on  the  third 
day  after  the  decease  of  the 
nurse  the  Lord  also  smote 
the  boy  himself  (being  about 
ten  years  of  age)  with  that 
same   sickness,  and    he    was 


William  (i.  i6o-2) 

of  Heisulf,  from  a  town  which 
he  called  Pontefract,^  with  his 
wife  and  a  son  of  about  ten 
years  old,  whom  he  asserted 
to  have  died  and  to  have 
been  restored  to  life  by  the 
Martyr  St.  Thomas,  offering 
thanks  for  this  blessing. 

For  on  the  death  of  the 
boy's  nurse  the  boy  likewise^ 
died,  and,  as  being  dead, 
received  all  the  last  rites 
except  sepulture. 


super  militem  nominis  magni '  Jordan- 
um  Eisulfi  filium,  et  percussit  domum 
ejus  plaga  a  tempore  Augusti  usque  ad 
dies  Paschales.2  Et  infirmati  sunt 
multi  valde  in  domo  ejus,  nee  fuit  qui 
adjuvaret.  Et  raortua  est  nutrix  filii 
ejus  Willelmi,  cognomine  Britonis, 
morbo  acuto,  et  sepulta  est.  Tertio 
vero  die  post  decessum  nutricis  per- 
cussit Dominus  et  puerum  ipsum  fere 
decennem  eodem  incommodo,  et  sub- 


filius  Heisulfi,  de  villa  quam  nomine 
Fracti  Pontis  appellabat,^  cum  uxore 
et  filio  decern  clrciter  annorum,  quem 
mortuum  fuisse,  et  per  beatum  martyrem 
Thomam  suscitatum  asserebat,  pro 
gratia  gratias  agens.  Nutrix  (prob. 
"  nutrice")  siquidem  pueri  hujus  rebus 
humanis  exempta,  puer  pariter^  decessit. 
Cui  sicut  mortuo  caetera  justa  praeter 
sepulturam  exhibita  sunt, 


'  Contrary  to  his  usual  custom, 
Benedict  omits  the  domicile  of  this 
knight.  Is  it  possible  that  "nominis 
magni "  may  be  a  remnant  of  some 
expression  like  William's  "quam  no- 
mine Fracti  Pontis,"  which  has  been 
corrupted  here  ? 

*  "Dies  Paschales."  This  is  to  be 
understood  as  including  all  the  deaths 
mentioned  in  the  narrative,  not  the 
first  two  deaths  merely  (which  took 
place  some  time  before  the  middle  of 
Lent,  see  below  (7)). 


*  "  Quam  nomine  Fracti  Pontis 
appellabat,"  a  curious  statement  (if 
the  text  is  correct).  Did  William 
think  the  name  "  Broken  Bridge  "  so 
strange  that  it  could  not  be  the  regular 
name? 

2  "  Pariter,"  here  implying  approxi- 
mate, but  not  complete,  simultaneous- 
ness. 


13© 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§732 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 
taken  on  the  seventh  day, 
about  the  third  hour.'  A 
priest  came,  and  commended 
his  soul  to  the  hands  of  the 
Creator,  and  celebrated  for 
the  deceased  the  appointed 
exequies  in  accordance  with 
the  custom  of  the  church. 
All  that  day  and  the  follow- 
ing night,  vigil  was  kept  over 
him  as  over  one  deceased. 
Concerning  the  unbounded 
sorrow  of  the  parents,  I  say 
nothing  :  any  one,  however 
simple,  can  imagine  it. 

(2)  There  arrived  on  the 
same  day  pilgrims  returning 
from  the  Martyr's  memorial, 
in  number  about  twenty,  all 
of  whom  the  father  hospitably 
entertained  for  love  of  the 
Martyr :  and  on  the  morrow. 


William  (i.  160-2) 


(2)  ,  because  the  father 
would  not  permit  him  to  be 
carried  out  for  burial.  For 
he  said,  as  though  an  angel 
spoke  within  him,  [My]  spirit 
promises  me  that  my  son 
will  be  restored,^ 


latus  est  de  medio  die  septimo,  hora 
quasi  tertia.^  Affuit  presbyter,  qui  et 
animam  in  manus  Creatoris  commen- 
davit,  et  pro  defuncto  constitutas  ecclesi- 
astic© more  celebravit  exsequias.  Toto 
illo  die  et  nocte  sequenti  super  eum  ut- 
pote  super  defunctum  vigilatum  est.  De 
luctu  parentum  immoderato  sileo,  quern 
quilibet  etiam  simplex  imaginari  valebit. 
(2)  Supervenerunt  eodem  die  pere- 
grini  a  martyris  memoria  revertentes, 
numero  circiter  viginti,  quos  omnes 
paterfamilias   pro  martyris  amore  sus- 


(2)  patre  ad  sepulturam  eum  non  per- 
mittente  deduci.  Aiebat  enim,  tanquam 
in  se  loquente  angelo,  "  Mihi  filium 
meum  restituendum  ^  spiritus  promittit ; 


3  i.e.  at  9  A.M. 


^  "  Restituendum,"  a  constr.  com- 
mon in  William  for  fut.  passive. 


§732 


HIS  MIRACLES 


131 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 
when  they  would  have  de- 
parted, he  made  them  rest 
and  refresh  themselves.  Now 
came  the  Priest  to  carry  the 
corpse  to  the  church  that  it 
might  be  buried.  But  the 
father  said,  "In  no  wise  shall 
my  son  be  carried  to  the 
grave,  for  my  heart  prophe- 
sies to  me  that  the  Martyr 
will  not  let  me  lose  him  :  for 
indeed,  while  he  was  in  the 
body,  I  was  his  man,*  and 
his  familiar  friend." 

(3)  And  having  received 
the  Water  of  the  Martyr 
from  the  pilgrims,  he  said  to 
the  Priest,  "  Pour  it  into  his 
mouth,  in  case  perchance  the 
Martyr  may  give  me  back 
my  son." 


William  (i.  160-2) 


(3)  ,  and  if  I  had  even  a 
little  of  the  Water  of  the 
glorious  Martyr  Thomas,  to 
pour  it  into  his  mouth,  it 
seems  to  me  that  I  should 
not  be — in  the  righteousness 
of  my  faith  and  the  firmness 
of   my   hope — a    father   be- 


cepit  hospitio  :  quos  etiam  in  crastino, 
quum  vellent  abire,  recumbere  fecit  et 
refici.  Venit  presbyter  ut  corpus 
exanime  ad  ecclesiam  ferret  et  traderet 
scpulturae.  At  pater,  "  Nequaquam," 
inquit,  ••  efferetur  filius  meus,  quia 
vaticinatur  mihi  cor  meum  nolle  mar- 
tyrem  Thomam  quod  ilium  amittam  ; 
nam  et  homo*  ejus  fui,  dum  esset  in 
corpore,  et  familiaris  ejus  amicus." 

(3)  Et  accepta  a  peregrinis  martyris 
aqua,  ait  presbytero,  "  Infunde  in  os 
ejus,  si  forte  reddat  mihi  martyr  filium 
meum." 


(3)  et  si  vel  modicum  aquae  gloriosi 
martyris  Thomae,  quod  in  os  ejus  in- 
funderetur,  haberem,  videor  mihi  non 
in  fide  recta  et    spc  firma  pater   or- 


*  "  Man,"  i.e.  vassal. 


132 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§732 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 


(4)  Wondering  at  the 
faith,  or  rather  suspecting 
the  insanity,  that  dictated 
this  request,  the  Priest  poured 
it  in  :  and  the  boy  did  not 
arise.  So  the  funeral  was 
delayed  to  the  tenth  or 
eleventh  hour,^  while  the 
father  was  awaiting  what 
the  Lord  would  do.  The 
Priest,  suspecting  that  this 
strange  craving  sprang  from 
something  wrong  in  his 
reason,  said,  "  Why,  my  lord, 
is  the  funeral  thus  deferred  ? 
This  is  now  the  second  day 
since  the  boy  died."*^     And 


William  (i.  160-2) 

reaved  of  his  child.  So 
having  received  the  Water 
from  pilgrims  whom  he  had 
hospitably  entertained, 

(4)  ,  he  poured  some  of 
it  into  the  mouth  of  the 
deceased,  which  there  was 
great  difficulty  in  opening, 
owing  to  the  rigor  [mortis], 
inasmuch  as  from  the  third 
hour  of  the  day  till  the 
eleventh  hour  of  the  follow- 
ing day  he  had  lain  lifeless. 
At  first  nothing  went  down 
into  the  stomach  through  the 
closed  passages. 


percgnnis 


(4)  Admiratus  jubentisfidem,  immo 
potius  suspicatus  insaniam,  infudit,  et 
non  surrexit  puer.  Dilata  est  ergo 
corporis  exanimis  sepultura  usque  ad 
horam  decimam  sive  undecimam,^  ex- 
spectante  patre  quid  Dominus  esset 
facturus.  Suspicatus  sacerdos  banc 
non  sani  capitis  esse  voluntatem,  ait 
illi,  "  Utquid,  domine,  sepultura 
differtur  defuncti  ?  ecce  jam  secunda 
dies  defluxit,  postquam  puer  decessit."® 


bandus."     Aqua    igitur 
hospitio  susceptis  accepta, 

(4)  orique  defuncti,  quod  vix  rigor 
aperiri  permiserat,  infusa  (nam  ab  hora 
diei  tertia  usque  quasi  in  undecimam 
diei  sequentis  exsanguis  jacuerat), 
primo  nihil  per  interceptos  meatus  in 
praecordia  descendit ; 


^  4  P.M.,  or  5  P.M. 
^  A  remarkable  testimony  to  the  pre- 
valence of  speedy  burial  in  those  times. 


§732 


HIS  MIRACLES 


133 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 
he  replied,  "In  no  wise  shall 
my  son  be  buried  :  for  verily 
my  heart  testifies  to  me,  that 
he  is  to  be  given  back  to 
me  by  Thomas  the  Martyr. 
Bring  hither  the  Water  of 
my  lord." 

(5)  It  was  brought.  He 
approached  the  corpse  and 
uncovered  it.  Then,  slightly 
raising  the  head  and  separat- 
ing with  a  small  knife  the 
clenched  teeth,  he  poured  in 
the  Water.  And  there  ap- 
peared, immediately  after  the 
infusion,  a  small  spot  of  red 
in  the  middle  of  his  left 
cheek,  which  gladdened  the 
father  not  a  little.  So  he 
poured  some  in  again,  in  such 
a  way  that,  the  boy  being 
placed  upright,  the  Water 
might  pass  through  the  throat. 


William  (i.  160-2) 


(5)  but  by  degrees  the 
natural  channels  were  loos- 
ened, and,  as  a  proof  of  the 
Divine  power  at  work,  a  red- 
ness tinged  the  cheek. 


Et  contra  ille,  "  Nequaquam  sepelietur 
filius  meus  ;  revera  namque  testificatur 
mihi  cor  meum,  quod  per  martyrem 
Thomam  mihi  reddendus  sit  :  afferte 
aquam  domini  mei." 

(5)  Quae  cum  allata  fuisset,  accessit 
corpusque  detexit  ;  suUevavit  caput, 
dentesque  cohaerentes  cultello  inter- 
posito  separans,  aquam  infudit.  Et 
apparuit  continuo  post  infusionem 
aquae  in  medio  faciei  ejus  sinistrae  nota 
ruboris  modica,  et  patrem  non  modicum 
laetificavit  ;  infudit  ergo  iterum,  ita 
ut  crecti  guttur  pueri  aqua  transiret. 


(5)  sed  laxatis  sensim  naturae  ca- 
nalibus  Divinae  virtutis  indicium  rubor 
maxillam  infecit. 


134 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§732 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 

(6)  And  he  opened  one 
eye,  and  seeing  his  parents 
in  floods  of  tears,  he  said 
these  words,  "Why  lament, 
father  ?  why  weep,  lady  ? 
Be  not  sad.  See,  Thomas 
the  Martyr  has  given  me 
back  to  you." 

After  this  he  was  silent 
and  said  nothing  more  till 
late  in  the  evening. 

(7)  And  his  father  said, 
"  Quick  !  Bring  hither  four 
silver  pieces  "  ;  and  he 
fastened  to  [the  child]  two 
for  himself  and  his  wife,  and 
two  for  the  resuscitated 
[child],  placing  one  in  his 
right  hand,  the  other  in  his 
left,  promising  that  the  boy 
should  be  presented  to  the 
Martyr    in     the     middle    of 


William  (i,  160-2) 

(6)  And  after  a  short 
interval,  the  boy  opened  one 
eye,  and  said,  "  Do  not  weep  ! 
Thomas  the  glorious  Martyr 
has  given  me  back  to  you." 


(7)  So  both  the  parents, 
together  with  the  boy,  vowed 
a  pilgrimage  to  the  Martyr's 
memorial, 


(6)  Et  aperuit  alterum  oculorum, 
vidensque  parentes  suos  in  lacrymas 
effluere,  haec  verba  locutus  est,  "Cur 
ploras,  pater  ?  quare  fles,  domina  ? 
oolite  tristari  ;  en,  reddidit  me  vobis 
beatus  martyr  Thomas."  Haec  quum 
dixisset,  obmutuit,  et  usque  ad  vesperam 
amplius  non  est  locutus. 

(7)  Et  ait  pater  ipsius,  "  Cite 
afferte  argenteos  quatuor "  ;  et  com- 
plicuit  duos  pro  se  et  uxore  sua,  duos 
autem  pro  resuscitato,  ponens  alterum 
in  sinistra  ejus,  alterum  in  dextera, 
promittens  offerendum  martyri  puerum 


(6)  Parvaque  interveniente  mora, 
unum  oculorum  aperiens,  "  Nolite," 
inquit,  "  flere.  Reddidit  me  vobis 
gloriosus  ille  martyr  Thomas. " 


(7)  Vovens  itaque  parens  uterque 
cum  puero  memoriam  martyris  adire, 


J5  732 


HIS  MIRACLES 


135 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 

Lent."  Then,  sitting  down, 
they  watched  him.  So  when 
it  grew  late  in  the  evening, 
the  boy  sat  up,  tasted  [food], 
spoke,  was  restored  to  his 
parents,  and  [ultimately]  re- 
covered (convaluit). 

(8)  The  time  appointed 
for  paying  the  vow  passed 
on,  and  payment  was  delayed, 
owing  to  some  impediment. 
So  the  Martyr  appeared  to  a 
leper  named  Gimpe,^  who 
lived       three      miles       from 


William  (i.  160-2) 


(8)  But  they  prolonged 
their  preparations  for  the 
journey  till  the  day  of  Rejoice 
Jerusalem.^  Then,  when 
everything  was  ready,  they 
were  hindered  by  the  arrival, 
in  that  neighbourhood,  of  the 


in  medio  Quadragesimae  :  ^  et  sedentes 
obsen-abant  eum.  Cum  ergo  ad- 
vesperasceret,  resedit  puer,  gustavit, 
locutus  est,  et  redditus  parentibus  suis 
convaluit. 

(8)  Transiit  terminus  voto  solvendo 
praeiixus,  et  intercurrente  impedimento 
in  aliud  tempus  voti  solutio  dilata  est. 
Apparuit  itaque  martyr  Domini  Thomas 
cuidam  leproso  in  somnis,  tribus  pas- 
suum  minibus  a  militis  domo  distanti, 


(8)  usque  in  Laetare  Jerusalem* 
procinctum  itineris  protelarunt.  Tunc 
vero  paratis  necessariis,  in  via  aliud 
subiit    impedimentum.       Nam    comes 


^  This,  then,  could  not  have  been 
later  than  the  second  or  third  week  in 
Lent,  and  might  have  been  before. 
The  sun  would  set  about  6  P.M.,  and 
probably  earlier.  The  funeral  is  said 
above  to  have  been  delayed  till  4  or  5 
P.M.,  which  may  be  called  the  early 
evening.  The  applications  of  the 
Water,  and  the  subsequent  waiting, 
would  bring  the  time  to  late  in  the 
evening. 

"  Al.  "Gympe."  This  section  is 
condensed  from  the  original,  in  which 
the  dialc^es  are  given  at  great  length. 


*  i.  161,  Ed.  "This  is  the  be- 
ginning of  the  introit  for  the  Fourth 
Sunday  in  Lent." 


136 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


S732 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 

Jordan's  house  and  knew 
nothing  of  what  Jiad  hap- 
pened^ bidding  him  go  and 
warn  the  knight  to  hasten 
to  Canterbury  :  "  Unless  he 
speedily  haste,  I  will  bring 
evil  on  him  and  his  wife,  and 
as  much  joy  as  he  has  re- 
ceived through  me,  through 
the  bringing  to  life  of  his 
son,  so  much  sorrow  shall  he 


William  (i.  1 60-2) 

Earl  Warrenne,  in  whose 
name  the  knight  possessed 
lands.  But  it  came  to  pass 
that  St.  Thomas  appeared  to 
a  leper  on  the  lands  of  the 
knight  bidding  him  go  and 
warn  the  knight  to-morrow 
not  to  delay  his  pilgrimage 
any  longer.  "  Otherwise  let 
him  know  he  shall  lose  some- 
thing  else   which  ^   he   loves 


et  rem  gestam  prorsus  ignoranti^  et  ait, 
"  Gimpe,*  dormis  ?  "  (hoc  enim  leproso 
nomen  esse  audivimus).  "  Dormivi," 
inquit,  ' '  sed  jam  excitasti  me  ;  tu  quis 
es  ?  "  Et  martyr,  "  Ego  sum  Thomas 
Cantuariensisarchiepiscopus :  Jordanum 
Eisulfi  filium  nosti?"  **  Optime," 
inquit,  "domine,  utpote  virum  opti- 
mum, qui  multa  mihi  bona  impendit." 
Tunc  sanctus,  "  Vade  et  die  ei  ex 
parte  mea  transisse  terminum  quern 
posuit,  et  vota  reddita  non  esse  quae 
promisit.  Acceleret  ergo  et  ad  Can- 
tuariam  eat,  et  pro  filio  suo,  quem 
Dominus  interventu  meo  vitae  restituit, 
vota  persolvat.  Nisi  citius  iter  arri- 
puerit,  inducam  super  uxorem  ejus 
malum  ;  quantumque  de  filio  suo 
resuscitato  per  me  suscepit  laetitiae, 
tantundem  de  alio,  quem  amittet, 
obtinebit  moeroris." 


Warennensis,  cujus  nomine  res  soli 
miles  praetaxatus  possidebat,  eo  loci 
veniens  peregre  profecturos  detinebat. 
Factum  est  autem  ut  bcatus  Thomas 
leproso  in  fundo  praedicti  militis 
habitanti  appareret,  dicens,  "  Dormisne, 
frater  ?  "  "  Dormiebam,"  inquit, 
"  priusquam  dormientem  excitasses. 
Quisnam  es  tu?"  Respondit,  "Thomas, 
Cantuariensis  archiepiscopus.  Perge 
crastina  die  nuntiatum  militi  huic  ut 
peregrinationem  et  votum  suum  ulterius 
non  differat.  Alioquin  aliud,  quod^ 
non  minus  diligit  quam  filium  quem  ei 
reddidi,  se  noverit  amissurum." 


*  The  italicized  words  are  omitted 
by  William  :  and  it  certainly  seems 
strange  that  the  leper  should  know 
nothing  of  such  a  marvel.  It  is  ay 
the  stranger  because  the  leper  says  to 
St.  Thomas  that  he  knows  the  knight 
as  being  "  a  very  good  man  who 
bestows  many  benefits  on  me." 


^  Benedict's  "alio  quem,"  if  written 
"alio que  "  in  the  Canterbury  archives, 
may  have  been  corrupted  into  "alio 
quod." 


^732 


HIS  MIRACLES 


137 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 

obtain  for  another  [son]  whom 
he  shall  lose." 

(9)  The  leper  replies 
that,  being  blind  as  well  as 
confined  to  his  bed  by  disease 
of  the  feet,  he  cannot  obey 
the  Saint :  and,  when  he 
awakes,  he  takes  no  notice 
of  the  dream.  The  Saint, 
appearing  a  second  time,  and 
again  receiving  the  same 
excuse,  bids  him  entrust  the 
message  to  his  Priest. 

(10)  He  did  so.  But 
the    Priest   replied,  "  It   is  a 


William  (i.  160-2) 

not  less  than  the  son  that  I 
have  restored  to  him." 

(9)  The  leper  feared "  to 
deliver  such  a  message.  So 
the  Saint  appeared  again  on 
the  following  night  and  re- 
buked him.  "  Thou  knowest, 
my  lord,"  he  replied,  "  that  I 
am  diseased  in  the  feet  and 
cannot  walk."  He  (?)  re- 
plied,^ "  Call  thy  Priest  that 
he  himself  may  at  all  events 
carry  my  message." 

(10)  He  did  so,  and 
when     the     Priest     excused 


(9)  Respondit  ad  haec  leprosus, 
"Jam  anni  ferme  viginti  praeterierunt, 
domine,  ex  quo  lumen  coeli  non  vidi, 
et  pedes  debilis  jaceo  lecto  affixus  ;  et 
quomodo  possem  ad  militis  domum 
pervenire  ?  "  Et  evigilans,  nee  magni 
pendit  quae  audierat,  nee  fecit  quod  ei 
martyr  injunxerat.  Apparuit  ergo  ei 
iterum  martyr,  et  ait;  "  Quare  non 
fecisti  quae  dicta  sunt  tibi?"  "Non 
potui,  domine,"  inquit,  "caecitate  et 
debilitate  praepeditus. "  Et  ait  ad 
eum  sanctus,  '*  Voca  presbyterum  tuum, 
et  pone  verba  mea  in  ore  ejus,  ut 
annunciet  militi  omnia  quae  praecepi." 

(10)  Accersivit  presbyterum  lep- 
rosus,   et    ait   illi  ;    "  Haec   et   haec 


(9)  Eo  autem  timente*  nuntium 
hujusmodi  perferre,  denuo  postera 
nocte  martyr  adest.  "  Heus,"  inquit, 
"  mandato  non  paruisti."  Respondit, 
"  Novisti,  domine,  quia  infirmus  pedes 
incedere  non  possum."  Adjecit,'' 
"  Voca  sacerdotem  tuum,  ut  vel  ipse 
perferat  mandatum." 


(10)    Quod   cum    faceret,   praeten- 
dente  sacerdote  timoris  excusationem, 


'  It  is  not  clear  whether  William 
regards  the  "  fear "  as  the  only  real 
reason.  William  makes  no  mention 
of  the  "blindness"  of  which  Benedict 
speaks. 

^  "  Adjecit "  would  naturally  mean 
"added." 


138 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§732 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 

dream.  Should  I  tell  a 
great  man  like  that  such 
fancies  and  idle  dreams  ? 
He  is  a  man  of  rank  and 
power,  and  if  I  tell  him,  he 
will  ridicule  and  despise 
both  tale  and  teller.  You 
will  not  catch  me  bearing 
such  a  message." 

For  the  third  time  the 
Saint  rebuked  the  leper,  who 
told  him  that  the  Priest 
scorned  even  to  listen  to 
him :  "  What  could  I  do 
more  ?  "  Then  the  Saint 
bade  him  send  his  daughter 


William  (i.  160-2) 

himself  on  the  ground  of 
fear  and  of  the  proneness  to 
anger  in  a  man  of  such  high 
rank,  the  Martyr  manifested 
himself  for  the  third  time — 
not  counting  him  unclean 
whom  the  Lord  had  hallowed 
in  the  water  of  regeneration 
— and,  convicting  his  inter- 
mediary "^  of  contempt,  he 
called  and  bade  him  send 
his  daughter  to  take  the 
message  to  the  knight  and 
his  lady.^ 


mandat  tibi  martyr  Cantuariensis. " 
At  ille  ;  "  Somnium  est ;  ergone  viro 
tanto  fabulas  et  somniorum  naenias 
recitarem  ?  Vir  magnus  et  potens  est, 
et  tam  recitantem  quam  recitata  sub- 
sannando  contemneret ;  non  me  habebis 
talis  nuncii  bajulum."  Tertio  astitit 
sanctus  eidem  leproso,  et  dixit,  "Quare 
factum  non  est  quod  praecepi  ?  " 
"Domine,"  inquit,  "  pertuli  mandata 
tua  presbytero,  et  audire  contempsit ; 
quid  ultra  facerem  ? "  Et  contra 
sanctus,    '*  Mitte    mane    filiam    tuani 


hominisque  privilegiati  facilem  indig- 
nationem,  tertio  martyr  suam  exhibuit 
praesentiam,  non  immundum  reputans 
quem  Dominus  lavacro  regenerationis 
sanctificarat,  arguensque  contemptus 
interpretem,^  vocans  ait,  "  Per  inter- 
nuntiam  filiam  tuam  militem  et  uxorem 
ejus  nuntia '  quae  in  mandatis  ac- 
cepisti "  ; 


*  "  Interpretem "  ought  to  mean 
the  Priest,  who  should  have  been  the 
"intermediary,"  but  had  despised  the 
message.  The  leper  cannot  be  said  to 
have  "despised"  it. 

8  "  Milit^OT  et  uxorem  nuntia"  is, 
no  doubt,  a  mistake  for  the  dative. 
William  does  not  say  (as  Benedict 
does)  that  the  daughter y^/^/^^j  them. 


.5  732 


HIS  MIRACLES 


139 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 

to  fetch  the  knight  and  his 
lady.  When  they  came,  he 
was  to  tell  them  the  whole 
truth,  hiding  nothing. 

(11)  They  came,  and 
heard  the  story,  and  were 
filled  with  wonder.  So  they 
fixed  a  date  that  should 
positively  not  be  overpassed, 
viz.  the  last  week  of  Lent : 
but  owing  to  the  unexpected 
arrival  of  the  Earl  Warrenne, 
the  knight's  lord,  they  put 
off  the  pilgrimage,  and  turned 
themselves  away  ^°  and  did 
not  keep  their  covenant. 

(12)  But  on  the  last  day 
of  the  appointed  limit,  namely 
the  holy  Sabbath  {i.e.  Satur- 
day) that  precedes  the  day  of 


William  (i.  i6o-2) 


(11)  This  was  accordingly 
done.  But  as  they  still  put 
it  off, 


(12)  Easter  being  close 
at  hand,  the  elder  son,  whom 
the  father  loved  the  more 
tenderly  because  he  was  the 


pro  milite  et  pro  uxore  ejus,  et  pro- 
culdubio  venient  ad  te ;  cave  ergo, 
cum  venerint,  ne  celaveris  ab  iis  vel 
unum  verbum  ex  omnibus  quae  locutus 
sum  tibi." 

(11)  Mane  vocati  sunt ;  venerunt ; 
audientes  admirati  sunt.  Terminum 
ergo  posuerunt  quem  non  transgrede- 
rentur,  hebdomadam  videlicet  Quad- 
ragesimae  ultimam  :  sed  superveniente 
comite  Warennensi,  militis  domino, 
peregrinationem  distulerunt,  et  averte- 
runt  se,'"  et  non  servaverunt  pactum. 

(12)  Ultimo  autem  constituti 
termini   die,  sabbato  videlicet  sancto, 


(II)  quod  et  factum  est.     Verun- 
tamen  illis  adhuc  differentibus, 


(12)  imminente  solennitate  Paschali , 
filius  familias  major  natu,  quem  pater 


10  «« Averterunt     se,"     i.e. 
following  the  Martyr's  bidding. 


from 


140 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§732 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 

the  Lord's  resurrection,  the 
Lord  smote  with  a  sore  disease 
another  son  of  the  knight, 
more  loved  than  the  one  that 
had  been  restored  to  life,  and 
a  little  older.  On  the  morrow 
the  parents  themselves  fell 
sick  and  took  to  their  bed, 
and  were  despaired  of:  and 
the  sickness  grew  strong  on 
the  boy,  and  he  fell  asleep 
and  so  passed  into  death  "  on 
the  seventh  day,  the  sixth 
day  of  Easter  week.  The 
death  of  their  son  increased 
the  sickness  of  the  parents, 
especially  that  of  the  father, 
who  loved  the  boy  all  the 
more  for  being  an  exact  image 
of  himself      So  he  urged  his 


William  (i.  160-2) 

image  of  his  father's  ancestors 
in  form  and  figure,  was  seized 
by  disease  and  died.  And 
the  knight  and  his  lady,  with 
the  whole  of  the  household, 
were  kept  to  their  beds  by 
such  a  disturbance  of  health 
that  they  despaired  of  life. 
So  fearing  death,  or  some 
worse  visitation,  they  set  out 
on  their  pilgrimage. 


qui  Dominicae  resurrectionis  diem 
praecessit,  percussit  Dominus  acuto 
morbo  alium  militis  filium,  resuscitato 
magis  dilectum,  et  natu  pauIo  majorem. 
In  crastino  parentes  ipsi  infirmati  sunt 
et  ceciderunt  in  lectum,  et  desperati 
sunt ;  et  invaluit  morbus  in  puero,  et 
obdormivit  in  mortem "  die  septimo, 
feria  sexta  paschalis  hebdomadae. 
Aegritudinem  parentum  filii  obitus 
augmentavit ;  patris  maxime,  qui  eum 
tenerius  dilexerat  eo  quod  vultus 
paternus    elimatius    in     eo    videretur 


tenerius  diligebat,  quia  genus  paternum 
corporeis  lineamentis  elimatius  ex- 
pressit,  correptus  infirmitate  rebus 
humanis  excessit.  Miles  autem  cum 
uxore  tanta  corporis  inaequalitate 
detentus  est,  sicut  et  domus  ejus  tota, 
ut  de  vita  diffiderent.  Timentes  itaque 
vitae  exitum,  vel  gravius  dispendium, 
peregre  profecti  sunt, 


'*  "  Obdormivit  in  mortem  "  :  I  am 
not  sure  whether  "obdormire  "  is  here 
used  literally  or  to  mean  "fell  asleep 
in  death."  If  the  latter,  "in  mortem" 
seems  superfluous. 


§732 


HIS  MIRACLES 


141 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 

wife  to  an  immediate  pilgrim- 
age, "  lest  something  worse 
befall  us." 

(13)  In  that  instant,  the 
disease  in  both  of  them  some- 
what abated.  Some  of  their 
friends,  hearing  of  their  in- 
tention, begged  them  to  delay, 
especially  for  the  sake  of  the 
mother,  who  seemed  likely  to 
die  on  the  way.  But  the 
knight  replied,  "  Living  or 
dead,  we  will  both  go  to  the 


William  (i.  160-2) 


( 1 3)  And  they  were 
escorted  by  their  twenty-one 
servants,  of  whom  some, 
having  been  long  sick,  had 
recovered  on  that  very  day, 
bydrinking  the  healing  Water. 
But  the  mother, having  fainted 
nine  times  within  a  short 
interval  in  the  journey, 
despaired     because     of     the 


expressus.  Qui,  videns  completum  iri 
quae  per  leprosum  sanctus  pronuntia- 
verat,  dixit  uxori  suae :  "  Ecce, 
domina,  quid  nobis  attulit  mora  nostra 
doloris  :  proh  dolor !  certe  nimis 
tardavimus ;  mentiti  sumus  martyri, 
en,  secundo,  et  ecce,  filium  nostrum 
amisimus  :  nos  quoque  comprehende- 
runt  mala  quae  promisit,  et  exitum 
similem  praestolamur.  Oravi  pro 
alio  martyrem,  et  reddidit  eum  nobis ; 
sed  quomodo  orabimus  vel  pro  isto  vel 
pro  nobis  ?  nihil  ulterius  martyrem 
offensum  rogare  praesumam  antequam 
vota  persolverim  :  acceleremus  itaque, 
ne  deterius  nobis  aliquid  contingat." 

(13)  Mirum  dictu,  in  eodem  in- 
stant! minorata  est  utriusque  infirmitas  ; 
audito  vero  quod  ad  iter  se  praepara- 
rent,  convenenint  ex  amicis  eorum, 
suggerentes  ne  infirmi  et  debiles  tanto 
se  darent  labori,  maxime  propter 
matrem  familias,  quae  periculosius 
laborabat,  metuendum  esse  ne  labor 
itinerisaegrotantium  mortem  maturaret. 
At  miles,  "Sive  vivi  sive  mortui, 
iitrifuio    vcnifmii'.  nA   martvrcm.      Aut 


(13)  et  a  viginti  et  uno  domesticis 
suis,  quorum  quidam  diu  languentes 
aquae  salutaris  potatione  ipsa  die 
convaluerant,  deduct!  sunt.  Mater 
vero  familias,  infra  modicum  itineris 
intervallum  novies  in  extasim  lapsa,  de 


142 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§732 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 

Martyr.  .  .  ."  About  twenty 
of  the  household  had  been 
confined  to  their  beds  for 
periods  reaching  from  seven- 
teen to  thirty  weeks.  On 
the  point  of  starting,  the 
knight  gave  each  of  them  a 
draught  of  the  Martyr's  Water. 
Not  one  but  was  so  far 
strengthened  by  it  that  he 
rose  from  his  bed  and  escorted 
his  master  at  least  to  the  gate, 
and  some  a  good  way  beyond 
the  gate.      His  wife,  who  had 


William  (i.  i6o-2) 

length  of  the  way.  But  her 
husband  adhered  to  his  pur- 
pose. "  Living  or  dead,"  said 
he,  "  she  shall  be  carried  into 
Canterbury."  And  their 
journey  prospered  under  the 
protection  of  the  merits  of 
him  whom  they  were  seeking 
[t.e.  St.  Thomas],  according  to 
the  saying,  "  For  them  that 
love  God  all  things  work 
together  for  good,  for  them 
who  are  called  according  to 
His  purpose  "  ^° : — so  that  the 


vivus  ibo,  aut  ferar  mortuus  ;  uxor  mea 
vel  vivens  martyri  adducetur  vel  affere- 
tur  defuncta :  si  noluerit  viventes,  certe 
habebit  nos  vel  exanimes."  Langue- 
bant  autem  de  familia  militis  viri 
numero  quasi  viginli,  quorum  aliqui 
hebdomadis  decern  et  septem,  quidam 
viginti,  alii  viginti  et  sex  vel  septem, 
nonnuUi  viginti  et  novem  vel  triginta 
lecto  affixi  jacuerant.  Profecturus 
igitur  martyris  aqua,  quam  habebat, 
singulos  salutis  gustum  administravit. 
In  singulis  aqua  virtutis  effectum 
ostendit ;  singulos  de  lecto  erexit,  ita 
ut  nee  unum  jacentem  relinqueret,  qui 


viae  longitudine  desperabat.  Sed  vir 
animi  constans,  "Aut  viva,"  ait,  "vel 
mortua  Cantuariam  efferetur."  Et 
prosperatum  est  iter  ipsorum  suffra- 
gantibus  meritis  ejus  quern  petebant, 
juxta  quod  dictum  est,  "  Diligentibus 
Deum  omnia  cooperantur  in  bonum, 
his  qui  secundum  propositum  vocati 
sunt    sancti "  ; '"  adeo    ut    mulier    tria 


'"  The  text  has  "qui  secundum 
propositum  vocati  sunt  sancti,''  which 
might  either  mean  "called  (to  be)  holy," 
or  "called  according  to  the  purpose 
of  the  holy  one,  or  Saint." 

William  seems  to  mean  that  they 
were  called  by  St.  Thomas,  but  he  may 
quote  St.  Paul's  words  (Rom.  viii.  28) 
as  applicable  to  his  purpose  because 
God  may  be  said  to  call  those  whom 
He  calls  through  another. 


§  733 


HIS  MIRACLES 


143 


Benedict  (ii.  229-34) 

fainted  seven  times  and  more 
on  the  first  day  of  the  journey, 
dismounted  from  her  horse 
on  seeing  the  pinnacle  of 
Canterbury  Cathedral,  and 
walked  barefoot  as  far  as  the 
Martyr's  tomb,  a  distance  of 
about  three  miles,  without  any 
fatigue.  So,^"  together  with 
the  boy,  the  parents  came 
barefoot,  rendering  to  the 
Martyr  with  floods  of  tears 
the  vows  which  their  lips  had 
specified. 


William  (i.  160-2) 

woman,  when  entering  Canter- 
bury, came  three  miles  on  her 
feet  at  a  rapid  pace. 


[733]  Here  William  ends,  but  Benedict  has  a  long 
discourse  on  the  glory  of  this  miracle,  in  which  he  says,  "  We 
also  wrote  secretly  to  the  Priest  of  the  knight  on  these  points, 
and  he  testified  to  the  truth,  writing  back  that  the  boy  was 


dominum  suum  exeuntem  longius  extra 
portatn  vel  usque  ad  portam  non  dedu- 
ceret.  Uxor  ejus,  quae  primo  die  prae 
labore  itineris  septies  et  eo  amplius  in 
exstasim  lapsa  est,  videns  pinnaculum 
templi  Cantuariensis  de  equo  descendit, 
nudisque  pedibus  usque  ad  martyris 
sepulchrum,  quasi  milliaria  tria,  nullo 
gravata  labore  perrexit.  Simul  '*  ergo 
cum  puero  parentes  pedibus  nudis 
venerunt,  reddentes  martyri  cum  uber- 
rima lacrymarum  copia  vota,  quae 
distinxerunt  labia  sua. 


milliaria  Cantuariam  ingressura  pedes 
arriperet. 


'2  This  sentence  looks  as  if  it  had 
been  composed  before  the  insertion  of 
the  preceding  one — which  describes 
how  the  mother  entered  Canterbury 
barefoot — and  had  been  left  unaltered 
after  the  insertion. 


144  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  ^733 

certainly  dead,  and  was  raised  from  the  dead  by  the  Water 
of  the  Martyr." 

This  probably  explains  many  of  the  differences  between 
the  two  writers.  Benedict  inserts  the  coming  of  the  Priest 
to  perform  the  burial  ;  his  futile  attempt  (at  the  father's 
request)  to  resuscitate  the  child  ;  his  remonstrance  with  the 
father  ;  his  suspicions  that  the  father  was  not  quite  right  in  his 
mind;  his  dialogue  with  the  leper ^  and  his  contenvptuous  treat- 
ment of  the  leper's  dream — all  of  which  are  omitted  by  William. 
Some  of  these  points  are  of  importance,  and  especially  the 
failure  of  the  Priest,  and  the  action  of  the  father  in  lifting 
the  boy's  head,  and  then  raising  the  body  to  a  sitting  position. 

[734]  As  regards  other  details,  it  is  curious  that  William 
should  differ  from  Benedict  as  to  the  precise  number  of  times 
the  lady  fainted  (B.  "  seven  times  and  more,"  W.  "  nine  times  "), 
and  as  to  the  precise  number  of  servants  ill  (B.  "  about 
twenty,"  W.  "  twenty-one  ")  :  but  perhaps  here,  too,  Benedict 
copied  the  Priest's  letter,  and  William  the  knight's  testimony 
as  set  down  in  Canterbury.  A  more  important  difference, 
concerning  these  servants,  is  this.  Benedict  says  they  were 
all  able  to  leave  their  beds  and  to  escort  their  master,  sojne  a 
good  way  (longius),  and  all  as  far  as  the  gate.  If  this  was 
the  fact,  William's  statement  that  they  "  were  escorted  by  their 
twenty-one  servants — some  of  whom  had  on  that  same  day 
recovered  (convaluerant)" — though  literally  correct,  is  mis- 
leading, as  it  ignores  the  fact  that  some  could  only  get  as  far 
as  the  gate.  On  the  other  hand,  Benedict  represents  the 
whole  twenty  as  being  benefited,  more  or  less,  by  the  Water  : 
William  mentions  only  "  some  of  them." 

[735]  It  is  interesting  to  find  William  approximating  to 
Benedict  in  some  striking  utterances  of  the  father,  e.g.  about 

'  [733^3!]  This  assumes  that  Jordan's  priest  would  also  be  the  priest  of  the 
leper,  who  was  on  Jordan's  land,  three  miles  away.  Even  if  the  two  Priests 
were  different,  the  details  are  such  as  might  naturally  be  emphasized  by  any  one 
who  subsequently  became  a  convert  to  St.  Thomas. 


§736  HIS  MIRACLES  145 

his  "  heart  prophesying  to  him "  (William,  "  his  spirit 
promising").  Also  we  can  well  understand  that  one  or 
both  of  the  parents  may  have  told  the  monks  that  the  elder 
child  whom  they  had  lost  irrevocably  was  "  the  image  of  his 
father,"  or  (as  perhaps  the  knight  had  put  it)  "  the  image  of 
his  ancestors  on  his  father's  side." 

[736]  William  has  the  advantage  of  Benedict  in  brevity. 
Yet  the  former  omits  some  things  of  dramatic  vividness,  too 
natural  to  have  been  invented,  as  for  example  when  the 
knight,  who  appears  to  have  been  of  a  hasty  temper,"  instead 
of  simply  saying  that  they  will  go  to  Canterbury  alive  or 
dead,  adds,  "  I  will  go  living,  or  I  will  be  carried  dead.  My 
wife  shall  be  either  led  to  the  Martyr  living,  or  brought  to 
him  lifeless.  If  he  won't  have  us  alive,  he  shall  certainly 
have  us  dead."  Such  sayings  as  these,  treasured  in  the  ears 
of  the  knight's  friends,  and  especially  perhaps  recalled  by 
the  wife  and  her  relations,  may  have  been  repeated  to 
Benedict  by  Jordan's  priest :  and  they  are  extremely 
characteristic.  It  must  be  added,  however,  that  Benedict 
inserts  them  elsewhere  (741  (5)),  where  William  omits  them. 
Did  the  omission  arise  from  a  sense  that  they  betokened  a 
want  of  faith  ?  Probably  such  words  were  often  uttered. 
Stanley  (p.  223)  mentions  "a  wide  cemetery"  in  which 
"  were  interred  such  pilgrims  as  died  during  their  stay  in 
Canterbury."  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  whether 
those  who  died  on  the  way  thither  were  also  interred  there, 
and  whether  this  often  happened. 

Some  stained  glass  in  Canterbury  Cathedral  still 
commemorates  this  miracle.  One  of  the  scenes  represents 
"  the  mother  caressing  her  son  with  one  hand,  whilst  with 
the  other  outstretched  she  gives  to  the  father "  ^  the  four 
silver  pieces  which  he  vows  to  the  Saint. 

*  Sec  William  (10)  above. 

^  Stanley,  p.  297.     Another  picture  represents  the  parents  as  coining  to  the 
leper  {id. ).     Both  these  points  are  omitted  by  William. 


146 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


5^737 


§  8.   Cecily,  daugliter  of  Jordan  of  Plumstead,  is  restored, 
wlien  supposed  to  have  died  from  cancer 


[737]  Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 

(i)  Well  then,^  in  the 
diocese  of  Norwich,  a  girl, 
Cecilia  [by  name],  daughter 
of  one  Jordan  of  Plumstead,' 
about  fifteen  years  old,  was 
smitten  with  cancer. 


William  (i.  190-3) 

(i)  I  remember  that  I 
spoke  above  of  one  Jordan  ^ 
whose  son  we  saw  recalled 
from  the  dead.  I  have  now 
also  to  speak  of  another  of 
the  same  name,  but  of  inferior 
rank,  whose  daughter  we  saw 
liberated  from  a  double  death 
by  a  prodigy  not  inferior  [to 
the  other]. 

Well  then,^  in  the  diocese 


(i)  Igitur*  in  diocesi  Norwicensi 
puella  Caecilia,  Jordani  cujusdam  filia 
de  Plumstede-  quindecimcirciterhabens 
aetatis  annos,  cancro  percussa  est. 


(i)  Memini  me  dixisse  de  quodam 
Jordane,'  cujusfilium  vidimus  revocatum 
a  mortuis.  Dicendum  est  et  nunc  de 
quodam  alio  ejusdem  nominis,  sed  in- 
ferioris  conditionis,  cujus  filiam  non  in- 
feriori  prodigio  vidimus  a  duplici  morte 
liberatam.      Igitur^  in  diocesi  Norwi- 


1  "  Igitur."  The  last  miracle,  that 
of  Jordan  of  Pontefract,  concluded 
thus  :  "  I  will  subjoin  two  miracles, 
not  less  wonderful  and  not  much  in- 
ferior in  importance  (magnitudine), 
concerning  two  who  are  believed  to 
have  died."  After  such  a  preface, 
"igitur"  is  often  used  as  an  introduc- 
tion. ^Vhen  the  introductory  "  igitur  " 
is  used  without  an  introduction,  we 
may  often  assume  that  it  once  existed, 
but  has  been  omitted. 

2  "De  Plumstede."  Ed.  adds 
"in  Norfolk."  The  similarity  of  the 
name  "Jordan"  to  that  in  the  last 
narrative  makes  it  all  the  more  remark- 
able that  Benedict  omitted  the  domicile 
there  (732  (I)). 


'  "  Jordane  "  (for  "  Jordano  ")  both 
here  and  below,  in  section  (15). 

"^  "  Igitur."  See  note  (i)  in  Bene- 
dict. William  includes  in  his  story  a 
Preface  similar  to  that  which  Benedict 
has  written  to  do  double  duty, — being 
an  Appendix  to  the  preceding  narrative 
and  a  Preface  to  this  one. 


I 
i 


§737 


HIS  MIRACLES 


147 


Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 


(2)  While  maidenly  mo- 
desty induced  her  to  bear  her 
pain  rather  than  publish  what 
caused  her  shame,  the  disease 
gradually  spread  till  it  ate 
away  the  thighs  and  hinder 
parts  so  that  the  joints  of  the 
bones,  and  the  muscles  lay 
open  to  view. 

(3)  At  length  her  pale 
face  shewed  that  she  was  out 
of  health  :  her  parents  asked 
what  ailed  her  and  received 
most  painful  reports.^ 

(4)  The  ulcers  were  a 
foot  in  breadth,  emitting  such 


William  (i.  190-3) 
of  Norwich,  a  girl,  Cecilia  [by 
name],  about  fifteen  years  old, 
was  smitten  with  cancer, 

(2)  In  a  short  time,  while 
maidenly  modesty  induced 
her  to  bear  her  pain  rather 
than  publish  what  caused  her 
shame,  the  thighs  were  eaten 
away  so  that  the  joints  of  the 
bones  were  laid  bare  and  the 
muscles  lay  open  to  view. 

(3)  William  omits  this. 


(4)  The  wounds  were  a 
foot   in    breadth,    and    there 


(2)  Quae  dum  virginal!  verecundia 
maluit  perferre  dolorem  quam  proferre 
pudorem,  serpente  paulatini  morbo 
exesa  sunt  femora  ejus  et  nates,  ut 
ossium  juncturae  nervorumque  coUiga- 
menta  paterent. 

(3)  Tandem  vero  sanam  non  esse 
earn  vultus  indicabat  exsanguis ;  quaerunt 
parentes  quid  patitur,  et  magni  doloris 
rumores  ^  excipiunt. 

(4)  Ulcerum  latitude  pedis  men- 
suram   aequabat ;    tanti    foetores   inde 


censi  puella  Cecilia,  quindecim  drciter 
habens  aetatis  annos,  cancro  percussa 
est. 

(2)  Cujus  in  brevi,  dum  virginali 
verecundia  mavult  perferre  dolorem 
quam  pudorem  proferre,  exesa  sunt 
femora,  ut  denudarentur  ossium  junc- 
turae ner^•orumque  coUigamenta  pate- 
rent. 

(3)  om. 


(4)   Nam   vulnerum  latitudo   men- 
suram  pedis  aequabat,  intolerabilesque 


'  "  Magni  doloris  rumores  "  (?), 
"  reports  of  great  pain  (in  the  patient)," 
or,  "that  caused  the  parents  great 
pain." 


148 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


1^737 


Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 
a  Stench  that  even  her  mother 
desired  her  death  and  her 
familiar  friends  avoided  her 
presence.  The  neighbours 
loathed  to  enter  the  house 
where  she  lay.  The  ulcers 
of  the  devouring  cancer  were 
wrapped  in  cloths  that  had  to 
be  changed  every  hour  owing 
to  the  mass  of  putrid  matter 
that  came  forth  thence  as  it 
were  in  steam. 

(5)  Sit,  or  lie,  she  could 
not ;  but  leaning  on  her  knees 
and  elbows  she  kept  the  atti- 
tude of  one  falling  on  her  face. 


William  (i.  190-3) 

came  forth  thence  as  it  were 
in  steam  mephitic  vapours, 
intolerable,  so  that  even  her 
mother  desired  her  death  and 
familiar  friends  avoided  her 
presence.  For  the  corrupt 
matter  used  to  consume^ 
every  day  the  strips  of  cloth 
in  which  the  devouring  plague 
was  swathed. 


(5)   William  omits  this. 


prodibant,  ut  et  mater  mortem  ejus 
optaret,  et  familiares  ejus  declinarent 
praesentiam  ;  vicini  quoque  domus  in 
qua  jacebat  abhorrebant  ingressum. 
Edacis  ulcera  cancri  pannis  obvolve- 
bantur,  quos  tabis  evaporantis  copia 
singulis  horis  mutari  cogebat ; 

(5)  sedere  seu  jacere  non  poterat, 
sed  genibus  innitens  et  cubitis  procum- 
bebat  in  faciem. 


mephites  evaporabant,  ut  et  mater  ejus 
mortem  optaret,  familiaresque  prae- 
sentiam declinarent.  Corruptio  quippe 
panniculos  quibus  pestis  edax  involve- 
batur  omni  die  consumebat.^ 


(5)  om. 


3  MSS.  "  consume3a«/."  Ed. 
reads  "  consume^a/ "  (which  might 
have  been  changed  to  "consume<5a/"). 
The  original  meaning  probably  was 
that  the  disease  "wasted,"  or  "con- 
sumed," the  cloths  that  were  continu- 
ally applied,  because  they  had  continu- 
ally to  be  taken  off  and  destroyed,  and 
new  ones  applied.  William's  words 
suggest  that  the  "devouring  disease" 
literally  "consumed"  them  (Sophocl. 
Track,  695) ;  but  that  is  perhaps  the 
result  of  his  attempt  at  brevity  and  force. 


i 


§737 


HIS  MIRACLES 


149 


Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 

(6)  Suffering  thus  from 
harvest-time  up  to  the  month 
of  March,  she  was  at  last  quite 
brought  to  extremity.  For 
three  or  four  days,  taking 
neither  food  nor  drink,  but 
remaining  still  *  in  bed,  lean- 
ing against  the  wall,  with  her 
knees  drawn  together,  her 
eyelids  open  and  motionless, 
she  seemed  to  present  the 
aspect  of  one  neither  living 
nor  dead. 

(7)  So  her  friends,  behold- 
ing her  [thus],  thought  she 
had  been  carried  [in  ecstasy] 
out  of  her  body  :  calling  to 
mind  a  woman  in  the  neigh- 


William  (i.  190-3) 

(6)  Tortured*  by  this 
pest,  from  about  harvest-time 
to  the  first  of  March,  she  was 
brought  down  to  extremity. 
So  from  Tuesday  to  Friday 
she  took  neither  food  nor 
drink,  but  all  the  time  remain- 
ing still  in  bed,  leaning  against 
the  wall,  with  her  knees  drawn 
together,  her  eyelids  open  and 
motionless,  she  presented  the 
appearance  of  one  neither 
dead  nor  living. 

(7)  So  the  servants  of 
the  house,^  beholding  her 
[thus],  thought  she  was  being 
led  out  of  her  body  :  calling 
to    mind    a    woman    in    the 


(6)  A  tempore  messis  usque  ad 
mensem  Martium  laborans  tandem  ad 
extrema  perducta  est ;  tribus  aut  quatuor 
diebus  non  edulio,  non  potu,  refecta 
est,  sed  residens*  in  lecto,  accumbens 
parieti,  genibus  contractis,  ciliis  patulis 
et  immotis,  nee  viventis  nee  mortui 
speciem  exhibere  videbatur. 

(7)  Unde  sui  contemplantes  arbitrati 
sunt  eam  extra  corpus  raptam,  remini- 
scentes  cujusdam  mulieris  vicinae,  Ag- 


(6)  Hac  autem  lue  vexata  *  quasi  a 
tempore  messis  in  kalendas  Martias,  ad 
extrema  deducta  est.  Igitur  a  tertia 
feria  usque  sextam  non  edulio,  non  potu 
reficiebatur,  sed  usque  residens  in  lecto, 
accumbens  parieti,  genibus  contractis, 
ciliis  patulis  et  immotis,.  nee  mortui 
speciem  nee  viventis  exhibebat. 

(7)  Unde  domestici  *  contemplantes 
eam  arbitrati  sunt  extra  corpus  duci, 
reminiscentes  cujusdam  mulieris  vicinae, 


*  "Residens"  sometimes  means 
"sitting  «/,"  sometimes  "sitting  to 
rest"  but  here  seems  to  mean  "  remain- 
ing still"  as  in  737  (10). 


*  "  Vexata,"  used  of  torture  in 
Purgatory  by  William  in  section  (8), 
below. 

'  In  732  (13),  William  has  "do- 
mestici," where  Benedict  has  "familia," 
and  where  the  sense  and  context  in- 
dicate that  "servants"  (not  "family") 
are  meant. 


15° 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§737 


Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 

bourhood,  Agnes  by  name, 
who,  a  few  days  before,  on 
falling  into  a  deep  sleep,  had 
been  carried  in  the  spirit  [out 
of  her  body],  and,  with  the 
guidance  and  revelation  of 
St.  Catharine,  had  for  five 
days  beheld  the  rewards  and 
punishments  of  the  departed. 
(8)  Benedict  omits  this. 


William  (i.  190-3) 

neighbourhood,  Agnes  by 
name,  who,  on  falling  asleep, 
had  been  carried  in  the  spirit 
through  divers  regions  with 
the  guidance  of  St.  Catharine; 
and  the  rewards  and  punish- 
ments of  the  departed  had 
been  revealed  to  her. 

(8)  Among  whom  she 
[t.e.  Agnes]  saw  also  one 
Godwin,  a  priest — who  had 
departed  life  a  few  days 
before — with  his  knees  griev- 
ously ulcerated  by  repeated 
blows  from  a  nail.^  It  was 
thought  that  he  was  tortured 
with  this  punishment  because. 


netis  nomine,  quae  paucis  ante  diebus 
cum  obdormivisset  in  spiritu  rapta  est, 
et  beata  Katerina  ducente  et  ostendente, 
diebus  quinque  praemia  poenasque  de- 
functorum  contemplata. 
(8)  om. 


Agnetis  nomine,  quae  cum  dormisset 
ducente  beata  Katerina  per  varia  loca 
in  spiritu  rapta  est,  et  ostensa  sunt  ei 
praemia  et  poenae  defunctorum  ; 

(8)  inter  quos  et  presbyterum  vidit 
Godwinum  quendam,  qui  paucis  antea 
diebus  a  corpore  exierat,  genua  sua 
assidua  repercussione  clavis  unius  gra- 
viter  exulceratum.^  Quo  supplicio 
vexari  putabatur  quia  vivens  in  corpore 


*  "  Genua  sua  assidua  repercussione 
clavis  unius  graviter  exulceratum." 
Does  the  bad  Latin  ("  unius  ")  indicate 
that  William  is  adding  a  local  tradition 
told  in  local  language?  It  appears 
probable  that  "  sua  "  =  "  ejus."  God- 
win did  not  wound  himself  thus  in 
penitence.  He  was  punished  thus, — 
we  may  suppose,  in  Purgatory. 


737 


HIS  MIRACLES 


151 


Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 


(9)  So,  thinking  that  she, 
too,  like  [Agnes],  had  been 
led  out  of  the  body,  they 
watched  her  in  the  hope  of 
her  return. 

(10)  But  it  came  to  pass, 
while  the  girl  remained  [thus] 
unmoved,  there  came  in  to 
[see]  her,  toward  night-fall,  a 
woman  from  the  neighbour- 
hood, who  loved  her  very 
dearly.  And  she,  believing 
her  to  be  really  dead,  ex- 
claimed, "  What  a  sin  it  was 
for  you  to  let  this  girl  die  in 


William  (i.  190-3) 

when  living  in  the  body,  he 
had  taken  away  and  kept  the 
key  of  the  Church  of  St. 
Mary  while  another  priest 
was  celebrating  mass  therein. 
(9)   William  omits  this. 


(10)  But  it  came  to  pass, 
while  the  girl  above-mentioned 
remained  [thus]  unmoved, 
there  came  in  [to  change  all 
this]  a  woman  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood for  the  sake  of  pay- 
ing her  a  visit — one  that  had 
loved  her.  And  seeing "  her 
dead,  she  exclaimed,  "  Why, 
in  your  ^  sight  and  with  your 


(9)  Putantes  itaque  et  hanc  de  cor- 
pore  similiter  eductam,  spe  reversionis 
ejus  servabant  eam. 

(10)  Factum  est  autem,  dum  sic 
pueila  resideret  immota,  ut  introiret  ad 
eam  sub  noctis  initio  mulier  vicina, 
quae  tenerius  eam  diligebat,  credensque 
revera  mortuam,  exclamavit  dicens, 
"  Quam  male  egistis,  qui  puellam  hanc 


clavem   ecclesiae    beatae    Mariae    sibi 
praeripuerat  dum  quidam  alius  sacerdos 
in  ea  solennia  missae  celebraret. 
(9)  ora. 


(10)  Factum  est  autem,  dum  sic 
pueila  praedicta  resideret  immota,  ut 
inteneniret  mulier  vicina  visitandi 
gratia,  quae  dilexerat  illam.  Quam 
videns^  mortuam  exclamavit,  "  Quare 
nobis*  videntibus  et  dimittentibus  in 


^  Stronger  than  Benedict's  "believ- 
ing her  to  be  dead." 

*  Text  "  nobis,"  an  obvious  error 
of  the  scribe  (or  modem  misprint)  for 
♦•vobis."  William's  words  do  not 
appear  (like  Benedict's)  to  say  that  she 


152 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§737 


Benedict  (iL  234-7) 

her  bed!  Why,  like  [all] 
catholics  on  the  pointof  death, 
was  she  not  laid  out  in  a 
hair-cloth  ?  You  have  acted 
foolishly." 

(11)  She  was  carried, then, 
into  an  outer  building,  and 
laid  out  on  the  floor  : — her 
limbs  stiff,  her  body  cold,  and 
eyes  wide  open  ;  the  muscles 
of  the  knees  contracted,  and 
stiff,  and  quite  hardened,  as 
[might  be  expected]  in  one 
dead  :  the  legs  could  in  no 
wise  be  straightened  out  or 
stretched — a  linen  sheet  was 
also  laid  on   the  corpse,  and. 


William  (i,  190-3) 
permission,  dying  in  her  bed, 
was  she  not — like  [all]  catho- 
lics on  the  point  of  death — 
laid  out  in  a  hair-cloth  ?  You 
have  acted  foolishly." 

(11)  She  was  carried  ac- 
cordingly into  an  outer  build- 
ing and  laid  down  on  the 
floor,  with  limbs  stiff,  and 
eyes  wide  open.  There  was 
also  placed  under  ^  the  corpse 
a  linen  sheet,  and,  after  the 
custom  of  funerals,  tapers 
were  kindled. 


in  lecto  suo  mori  permisistis ;  quare, 
de  more  morientium  catholicorum,  ex- 
posita  non  est  in  cilicio?  imprudenter 
egistis. " 

(11)  Elata  est  ergo  in  exteriorem 
domum  et  in  aream  exposita,  membris 
rigidis,  frigido  corpora,  oculisque 
patentibus,  contractis  poplitum  nervis, 
et  utpote  in  mortuo  rigidis  et  prorsus 
obduratis.  Crura  nuUatenus  erigi 
poterant  aut  extendi ;  superpositum  est 


lecto  mortua  de  more  morientium 
catholicorum  exposita  non  est  in  cilicio  ? 
Imprudenter  egistis." 

(II)  Elata  est  itaque  in  exteriorem 
domum,  et  in  area  deposita  rigidis 
membris  et  patulis  oculis.  Suppositum  ^ 
est  et  cadaveri  linteamen,  et  in  morem 
funeris  accensa  sunt  luminaria. 


ought  not  to  have  been  allowed  to  die 
in  her  bed,  but  that,  if  she  died  in  her 
bed,  she  ought  to  have  been  clothed 
with  hair -cloth.  But  probably  he 
meant  the  same  a  Benedict ;  only  he 
has  disarranged  the  words. 

"  "  Suppositum,"  apparently  a  cor- 
ruption of  Benedict's  "superpositum." 
See  79Za. 


§737 


HIS  MIRACLES 


153 


Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 

after  the  custom  of  funerals, 
tapers  were  lighted. 

(12)  But  the  father — who 
had  thrown  himself  down  [to 
sleep]  in  a  separate  chamber 
worn  out  at  once  by  sorrow 
and  by  labour — roused  from 
slumber,  rushed  in,  crying 
aloud, 

(13)  "Is  my  daughter 
really  dead  ?  "  "  Indeed," 
said  his  wife,  "  she  is  dead." 

(14)  Then  said  he,  "O 
St.  Thomas,  Martyr  of  God, 
return  me  now  my  service, 
which  in  bygone  days  I  zeal- 
ously paid  you.  Return  me 
my  service.  Now  am  I  in 
sore  need. 

(15)  "  Once  I  served  you 
with    zeal    before    you    were 


William  (i.  190-3) 


(12)  But  the  father — who 
had  thrown  himself  down  [to 
sleep]  in  a  separate  chamber, 
worn  out  at  once  by  sorrow 
and  by  labour — shaking  off 
slumber,  rushed  in,  crying 
aloud, 

(13)  "If  the  Lord  is  pro- 
pitious unto  me,  my  daughter 
is  not  dead. 

(14)  "O,  St.  Thomas, 
return  me  now  my  service, 
which  in  bygone  days  I  zeal- 
ously paid  you."  And  with 
lamentable  outcry  he  kept  on 
repeating,  "  Return  me  my 
service.  Now  am  I  in  sore 
need.    Return  me  my  service." 

(15)  Now  as  to  his  rea- 
son for  saying  this,  we  deem 


etiam  cadaveri  linteamen,  et  in  morem 
funeris  accensa  sunt  luminaria. 

(12)  Pater  autem,  qui  se  seorsum 
projecerat,  vexatum  dolore  pariter  et 
labore,  excitatus  a  somno  cum  clamore 
irruit, 

(13)  "  Nunquid  mortua  est  filia 
mea?"  **  Revera,"  inquit  mulier, 
"  mortua  est." 

(14)  Tunc  ille,  "O  beate  Thoma, 
Dei  martyr,  redde  mihi  nunc  servitium 
meum  quod  tibi  olim  sedulus  impendi ; 
redde  mihi  servitium  meum  !  Urget 
nunc  necessitas. 

(15)  " Olim  tibi  sedule  servivi  ante- 


(12)  Pater  autem,  qui  se  seorsum 
projecerat,  vexatum  dolore  pariter  et 
labore,  excusso  somno  irruit  cum 
clamore, 

(13)  "Si  Dominus  mihi  propitius 
est,  filia  mea  mortua  non  est. 

(14)  •*  O  beate  Thoma,  redde  nunc 
mihi  servitium  quod  tibi  sedulus  olim 
impendi  !  "  Et  iterat  lugubri  clamore, 
**  Redde  mihi  servitium  !  urget  nunc 
necessitas ;  redde  mihi  servitium 
meum  ! " 

(15)  Quod  quare  dixerit,  non  credi- 


154 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§737 


Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 
exalted  with  this  world's  hon- 
ours. Return  me  my  service  ! 
Remember,  blessed  Martyr, 
how  you  were  sick  long  ago 
in  Kent  in  Clerk  Turstan's 
house,  and  what  good  service 
I  gave  you  there.  You  could 
not  touch  wine,  or  spirits, 
or  beer,  or  any  intoxicating 
liquor,  and  I  used  to  scour  the 
whole  neighbourhood  to  find 
you  whey.  Return  me  my 
service  !  Then  you  had  but 
one  horse,  and  I  had  charge 
of  that,  too.  Return  me  my 
service,   bearing  in  mind  all 


William  (i.  190-3) 

it  not  beside  the  purpose  to 
append  an  explanation  of 
succinct  brevity. 

Well  then,  St.  Thomas, 
before  being  exalted  with 
this  world's  honours — before 
by  fortune's  smile  he  was 
enlarged  both  in  resources 
and  in  reputation  ^°  —  was 
entertained  as  a  guest  by 
a  clerk,  Turstan  by  name, 
a  native  of  Kent,  who,  in 
a  place  called  Croindenne,^^ 
under  Archbishop  Theobald, 
being  appointed  Proctor,  was 
energetic     in     business    and 


quam  saecularibus  eflferreris  honoribus  ; 
redde  mihi  servitium  meum  !  Me- 
mento, beate  martyr,  quam  infirmus 
dudum  in  Cantia  in  domo  Turstani 
clerici  exstiteris,  qualiter  illic  tibi  ser- 
vierim.  Vinum  et  siceram  et  cervisiam, 
et  omne  quod  inebriare  potest,  gustare 
non  poteras ;  et  ego  tibi  per  totam 
viciniam  serum  perquirebam,  quod 
biberes  ;  redde  mihi  servitium  meum  ! 
Unicum  tunc  habebas  equum,  cujus 
et  ego  curam  agebam  ;  redde  mihi, 
martyr,    servitium    meum,   reminiscens 


mus   ab   re    succincta    brevitate    sub- 
nectere. 

Beatus  igitur  Thomas,  priusquam 
saecularibus  efferretur  honoribus, '<* 
priusquam  risu  fortunae  facultate  dila- 
taretur  et  nomine,  hospitio  susceptus 
est  apud  quendam  clericum  Turstanum 
nomine,  Cantianum  nalione,  qui  in 
loco  qui  dicitur  Croindenne"  sub 
archiepiscopo  Theodbaldo  procurator 
constitutus  rem  strenue  gerebat,  et  in- 


10  "  Before  .  .  .  reputation  "  looks 
as  though  it  were  an  ornate  paraphrase 
(of  Benedict's  "  before  .  .  .  honours  ") 
which  William  inserted  along  with  the 
original.  In  any  case  the  insertion 
is  an  amusing  comment  on  W^illiam's 
"succinct  brevity." 

"  "  Croindenne."  Ed.,  in  marg., 
"(Croydon?)." 


I 


§737 


HIS  MIRACLES 


155 


Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 

the  trouble  I  had  in  waiting 
on  you.  Return  me  my  ser- 
vice !  You  [surely]  do  not 
wish  me  to  have  served  you 
for  naueht." 


William  (i.  190-3) 
diligent  in  his  service.  In  his 
house — when  Thomas,  who 
was  sick,  could  drink  neither 
wine,  nor  spirits,  nor  any 
intoxicating  liquor  ^^ — it  was 
by  the  procurement  and  dili- 
gent search  of  this  valet  of 
his  ("  vernaculo "),  Jordan,^^ 
all  through  the  neighbour- 
hood, that  he  used  to  drink 
whey,  as  his  disease  required. 
The  man  also  had  charge  of 
his  single  horse,  for,  as  a 
private  man,  he  [i.e.  the  Saint] 
had  but  one.  It  was  because 
of  this  liberal  ^*  service  thus 
bestowed  that  the  man  pre- 
sumed, repeating  again  and 
again,  "  Return  me  my  ser- 
vice." 


omnium  laborum,  quos  circa  te  per- 
pessus  sxmi ;  redde  mihi  servitium 
meum  !  non  indiges  quod  gratis  tibi 
servierim." 


dustrie  negotia  ministrabat.  Ubi  cum 
Thomas  infirmatus  nee  vinum  nee  si- 
ceram^^nec  aliquid  quod  inebriare  possit 
biberet,  vernaculo  isto  Jordane  '^  pro- 
curante  et  discjuirente  per  viciniam, 
serum  bibebat,  sicut  morbus  exigebat. 
Qui  etiam  curabat  equum  quem  unicum 
privatus  habebat.  Huic  de  impensa 
liberalitate "  praesumens  replicabat 
**  Redde  mihi  servitium." 


«  William  omits  Benedict's  "beer," 
perhaps  as  too  common  for  St.  Thomas, 
even  in  the  flesh. 

"  "Jordane,"  (?)  misprint  for 
•' Jordano." 

"  "  Liberal  service."  Perhaps  a 
play   on   the   word   as    meaning    also 


156 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§737 


Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 
(16)  In  such  outcries  as 
these  the  man  spent  nearly 
half  the  night.  So,  when  he 
had  reiterated  "  Return  me 
my  service "  so  often  as  to 
stop  his  windpipe  with 
hoarseness,  the  pity  of  the 
Martyr  assented  to  the  prayers 
of  the  suppliant,  and,  lest  he 
should  seem  ungrateful  for 
all  his  services,  he  restored 
his  daughter  to  her  original 
health. 

(17)  For  straightway, 
under  the  linen  sheet  with 
which  she  lay  covered,^  she 


William  (i.  190-3) 

(16)  And  when  he  had 
reiterated  this  so  often  as 
to  stop  his  windpipe  with 
hoarseness,  the  Saint,  moved 
by  pity,  resolved  not  to  be 
thought  ungrateful.  For  he 
restored  the  woman  to  life.^^ 


(17)  And  immediately, 
drawing  her  hand  towards 
her,  she  spoke  ;  although  she 


(16)  In  hujusmodi  clamoribus  fere 
dimidium  noctis  expendit.  Quum 
igitur  totiens  inculcasset  '*  Redde  mihi 
servitium  meum  ! "  ut  raucitas  ei  arc- 
taret  arterias,  annuit  martyris  pietas 
precibus  supplicantis,  at,  ne  omnibus 
servitiis  ejus  videretur  ingratus,  puellam 
pristinae  sanitati  restituit ; 

(17)  statim  namque  sub  linteo, 
quo  tecta  *  jacebat,  manum  porrectam 


(16)  Quod  cum  totiens  inculcasset 
ut  raucitas  arctaret  arterias,  noluit 
beatus,  pietate  motus,  ingratus  haberi. 
Nam  mulierem  vitae  ^°  restituit, 


(17)  quae  confestim  manum  ad  se 
trahens   locuta   est,    quamvis   nondum 


^  William,  who  (737  (i  i))  regarded 
the  linen  sheet  as  "suppositum,"  in- 
stead of  "  superpositum,"  here  omits 
all  mention  of  it. 


"the  service  of  a  free  man."  This 
mere  domestic  servant,  this  "  vemacu- 
\n%," presumed  on  his  service  as  though 
it  had  been  a  free  gift  !  And  St. 
Thomas  rewarded  his  presumption, 
instead  of  chastising  him  ! 

*5  William  perhaps  feels  that  she 
was  restored  y?rj^  to  "life,"  and  only 
afterwards  to  her  "original  health." 
By  this  alteration,  he  emphasizes  the 
deliverance  from  what  he  called  above 
(i)  "a  double  death." 


I 


8737 


HIS  MIRACLES 


157 


Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 

put  her  hand  forth  and  then 
drew  it  back  (or,  drew  back 
her  outstretched  hand).  But, 
though  she  attempted  to 
speak,  she  could  utter  nothing 
intelligible,  owing  to  her  ex- 
cessive weakness. 

(18)  On  the  morrow  she 
gained  strength  by  food  and 
drink.  Even  the  cankered 
thighs  were  dried  up  within 
three  days ;  and,  in  three 
weeks,  without  any  medicine 
of  this  world,  they  were  made 
quite  whole. 

(19)  After  this  wonder- 
ful    termination,     the     man 


William  (i.  190-3) 

did  not  as  yet  utter  any  in- 
telligible sound,  reduced  as 
she  was  by  leanness  and 
death.^*^ 


(18)  On  the  morrow  she 
took  food  and  drink.  Even 
the  cankered  thighs — the 
purulent  matter  being  dried 
up  ^"^ — were  made  quite  whole 
within  the  space  of  three 
weeks. 


(19)  After  this  wonder- 
ful ending,  the    man    above- 


ad  se  retraxit,  sed  loqui  conata  prae 
debilitate  nimia  nihil  intelligibile  vale- 
bat  exprimere. 

(18)  Poster©  die  cibo  potuque  re- 
focillata  est ;  ipsa  vero  femora  cancerosa 
infra  diem  tertium  desiccata  sunt,  et  in 
hebdomadis  tribus  absque  omnimedicina 
camali  redintegrata. 

(19)  Quibus  mirifice  completis  adiit 


intelligibilem  vocemexprimeret,  macie*^ 
et  morte  confecta. 

(18)  Postera  die  cibum  sumpsit  et 
potum.  Ipsa  vero  femora  cancerosa 
infra  trium  hebdomadarum  spatium 
purulentiis  desiccatis ''  redintegrata 
sunt. 

(19)  Quibus  mirifice  expletis,  adiit 


18  '«  Macies "  is  nowhere  used  for 
"  hunger  "  as  William  seems  to  use  it 
here.  He  probably  sacrifices  sense  to 
alliteration.  Above,  he  omits  Bene- 
dict's "  porrectam  "  perhaps  as  sujier- 
fiuous.  But  Benedict  seems  to  see  the 
asm  first  stretched  out  from  beneath  the 
face-cloth,  and  then  drawn  back  again. 
Comp.  741  (6). 

'^  William  perhaps  objects  to  the 
expression  ••femur  desiccatum." 


158 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§737 


Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 
above-mentioned,  the  girl's 
father,  sought  the  presence 
of  William,  Bishop  of  Nor- 
wich, informing  him  of  the 
event  and  asking  for  a  letter 
of  testimony. 

But  the  Bishop  did  not 
at  once*^  credit  the  story,  but 
first  called  the  Priest  and  the 
eye-witnesses,  and  ascertained 
all  the  facts  in  order,  so  that, 
when  certified  by  their  testi- 
mony, he  might  come  forward 
as  a  witness.  Moreover, 
after  calling  in  two  respect- 
able matrons  to  examine  any 
traces  of  cancer,  he  proved 
that  the  girl  was  [now]  in 
perfect  health. 


William  (i.  190-3) 

mentioned,  the  girl's  father, 
sought  the  presence  of  his 
lord,  the  Bishop  of  Norwich, 
informing  him  of  the  event 
and  asking  for  a  letter  as 
testimony,^^  lest  —  when  he 
came  to  Canterbury  and  pre- 
pared to  tell  his  story — he 
might  be  thought  to  say 
things  that  passed  supposal 
and  belief,  without  authority. 
But  the  Bishop  did  not 
at  once  credit  ^^  the  story, 
until — after  calling  the  Priest 
and  the  eye-witnesses  and 
two  respectable  matrons  to 
examine  any  traces  of  can- 
cer— he  ascertained  all  the 
facts  in  order. 


vir  praedictus,  pater  puellae,  Norvi- 
censis  episcopi  Willelmi  praesentiam, 
rem  gestam  indicans  et  litteras  testi- 
monii  petens.  Episcopus  vero  non  de 
piano''  fidem  adhibuit,  sed  sacerdote 
vocato,  iisque  qui  rem  praesentes  vide- 
rant,  rem  totam  didicit  ex  ordine ; 
quorum  testimonio  certificatus  rei  gestae 
posset  testis  existere.  Duabus  etiam 
vitae  probatae  matronis  ad  se  vocatis, 
quae  cancri  vestigia  considerarent, 
sanissimam  esse  probavit. 


praedictus  vir,  pater  puellae,  praesentiam 
domini  sui  Norwicensis  episcopi,  rem 
gestam  indicans,  petensque  litteras 
testimonia,  *^  ne  Cantuariam  veniens  et 
rem  narraturus  supra  opinionem  et 
fidem,  citiu  ^uctoritatem,  loqui  putare- 
tur.  Episcopus  vero  non  de  piano  '^ 
fidem  adhibuit,  donee  vocato  sacerdote 
et  eis  qui  rem  praesentes  viderant,  et 
duabus  matronis  probatae  vitae,  quae 
vestigia  cancri  considerarent,  rem 
omnem  didicit  ex  ordine. 


6  ••  De  piano,"  like  the  French 
"sur  le  champ,"  here  means  "right 
off,"  or  "as  a  matter  of  course." 


*^  "Litteras  testimonia,"  perhaps 
a  corruption  of  Benedict's  "1.  testl- 
monii."  But  see  above  (710  (14)).  for 
variations  of  this  phrase. 

'"  Ed.  suggests  "de  pleno."  But 
see  note  on  Benedict. 


§737 


HIS  MIRACLES 


159 


Benedict  (ii.  234-7) 

(20)  So  he  addressed  to 
us  a  letter  sealed  with  his 
seal  testifying  that  she  had 
been  laid  out  on  the  floor  as 
dead,  but  touching  too  briefly 
on  the  points  treated  by  us, 
as  we  believe,  with  sufficient 
fulness.  The  tenor  of  the 
letter  is  as  follows  : — 


William  (i.  190-3) 

(20)  And  it  was  divinely 
provided  that  [this]  careful 
inquiry  should  remove  all 
doubt.  So  he  made  the 
matter  known  to  the  brothers 
worshipping  God  in  the  church 
of  Canterbury  in  a  document 
signed  with  his  seal,  of  which 
the  tenor  is  as  follows  : — 


"  William,  by  grace  of  God  Bishop  of  Norwich,  to  his 
venerable  brothers  in  the  Lord,  the  Prior  and  sacred  convent 
of  Canterbury,  eternal  salvation  in  Christ. 

"  The  wonderful  works  of  God,  which  in  our  diocese 
come  to  pass  concerning  those  afflicted  with  divers  infirmities, 
from  their  earnest  devotion  to  St.  Thomas  (W.,  to  the  Saint 
of  God,  the  most  saintly  Thomas),  and  (VV.  om.  attd)  from  the 
pure  invocations  of  their  hearts,  which  of  their  free  will  they 
proffer — these  we  desire  with  all  our  heart"  to  make  known 
unto  you.  For  what  God,  glorifying  His  Saint,  would  not 
have  to  lie  hid,  how  shall  man  presume  to  keep  secret  ? 


{20)  Divinitusque  procuratum  est 
ut  diligens  inquisitio  omnem  removeret 
ambiguitatem.  Igitur  apicibus  caractere 
suo  signatis  fratribus  in  Cantuariensi 
ecclesia  Deum  venerantibus  factum  in- 
notuit,  quarum  forma  haec  est  : 


(20)  Litteras  ergo  sigillo  suo  sig- 
natas  nobis  destinavit,  quod  tanquam 
mortua  in  aream  exposita  fuit  testi- 
monium perhibens,  sed  breviter  nimis 
tangens  quae  superius  a  nobis  suffi- 
cienter,  ut  credimus,  tractata  sunt. 
Litterarum  autein  forma  haec  est : 

"  Willelmus  Dei  gratia  Norwicensis  episcopus,  venerabilibus  in  Domino 
fratribus  suis,  priori  sacroque  conventui  Cantuariae,  aeternam  in  Christo  salutem  : 

••  Magnalia  Dei,  quae  in  nostra  eveniunt  diocesi  circa  oppressos  variis  aegri- 
tudinibus,  ex  attenta  devotione  quam  habent  erga  sanctum  Thomam,  et  ex  pura 
mentium  invocatione,  quam  ipsi  porrigunt,  vestrae  sanctitati  innotescere  omni 
dcsiderio  desideramus  ; "  quippe  quae  Deus  mirificando  sanctum  suum  latere  non 
vult,  qualiter  apud   homines  occultari   praesumetur  ?      Ut  itaque  ex  testimonio 


•  Lit.  "we  desire  with  all  desire,"  as  in  Luke  xxii.   15  "with  desire  have  I 
desired." 


i6o  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §738 

Benedict  (ii.  234-7),  William  (i.  190-3). 

[738]  "  As,  then,  we  have  received  from  the  testimony 
of  William,  a  priest  in  our  domain,  and  of  very  many  ^  of 
our  men,  the  bearer  of  these  presents,  Cecilia,  daughter  of 
one  that  is  a  man  of  ours,  having  been  long  kept  to  her  bed 
by  the  disease  of  cancer,  while  that  disease  was  painfully 
creeping  round  her  thighs,  at  last,  under  the  increasing 
pressure  of  the  disease,  was  brought  so  low  that  she  was 
thought  to  be  lifeless,  and  laid  out  on  the  floor  as  being 
dead.  Wherefore  her  father's  soul,  turned  to  bitterness,''  yet 
still  trusting  in  the  Divine  compassion  and  in  the  merits  of 
the  most  blessed  Martyr,  [^bursting  out  into  exclamations  of 
sorrow,  invoked  the  Saint  of  the  Lord  with  perfect  devotion  of 
heart  ;  and,  through  the  co-operation  of  Divine  grace,  obtained 
tJie  restoration  of  her  original  health  for  his  daughter. 
WJurefore  this  girl,  restored  to  her  original  health  by  the 
merits  of  the  most  blessed  Martyr,'']  is  sent  by  us  to  you 
together  with  the  testimony  of  our  writing,  because  of  (W., 
for)  the  glory  of  this  great  miracle.      Farewell." 

Willelmi  sacerdotis  cujusdam  terrae  nostrae  et  plurimorum  *  hominum  nostrorum 
accepimus,  latrix  praesentium  Caecilia,  filia  cujusdam  hominis  nostri,  aegritudine 
cancri  diu  detenta,  dum  morbus  iste  circa  femora  sua  anxie  serperet,  tandem  eo 
usque  morbo  aggravante  oppressa  est,  ut  exanimis  reputaretur,  et  tanquam  mortua 
in  area  exponeretur  ;  unde  anima  patris  sui  in  amaritudinem "  conversa,  confidens 
tamen  de  Divina  misericordia  et  de  meritis  beatissimi  martyris,  [in  vocem  doloris 
prorumpens,  viente  devotissima  sanctum  Domini  invocavit,  et  pristinae  sanitatis 
restitutionem  filiae  suae,  gratia  Divina  cooperante,  impetravit.  Unde  earn  pri- 
stinae suae  sanitati  meritis  beatissimi  tnartyris']'^  restitutam  cum  scripti  nostri 
testimonio  ad  vos  ob  gloriam  tanti  miraculi  transmittimus.      Bene  valete." 

^  Benedict,  "plurimorum,"  W.,  "plurium,"  "Men,"  and  "man"  below, 
mean  "vassals." 

«  No  doubt  this  is  right  ("in  amaritudinem").  But  W.  has  "  amaritudine," 
either  an  error  of  transcription,  or  possibly  interpreted  thus  "  turned  [to  God]  in  its 
bitterness."  Note  that  both  above  ("  plurlorum  "),  and  here  ("amaritudine"), 
W.  may  have  been  misled  by  abbreviations.  In  i.  416,  editor  corrects 
"amaritudinem"  to  "amaritudine,"  which  is  manifestly  right. 

•*  Benedict  omits  the  italicized  passage,  all  except  the  word  "restored 
(restitutam)."  The  reason  for  the  omission  is  that,  after  copying  the  Bishop's 
letter  up  to  theyfrj/  "merits  of  the  most  blessed  Martyr,"  the  copyist's  eye,  in 


§740  HIS  MIRACLES  i6i 

[739]  The  similarity  between  Benedict  and  William  is 
very  close  in  the  description  of  the  disease,  which  is  too  well 
written  to  represent  exactly  what  Cecilia  or  her  father  said 
at  Canterbury.  It  may  well  have  proceeded  from  the  priest 
William  whom  the  Bishop  called  in  to  give  evidence. 
Perhaps  his  handwriting  was  crabbed,  for  William  seems 
to  have  misread  it  in  several  places.  Also  William  seems 
to  have  thought  that  Benedict's  account  was  more  than 
"sufficiently"  full.  At  all  events,  he  in  several  passages 
condenses  it,  and  sometimes  omits  important,  or  even 
essential,  details.  He  also  improves  the  style  by  changing 
"  foetores  "  to  "  mephites,"  omitting  "  cerevisia,"  and  softening 
the  "  vernacular  "  expostulation  of  Jordan  (whom  he  expressly 
calls  "  vernaculus  ")  by  giving  it  as  Reported  Speech  in  the 
Third  Person.  On  the  other  hand  he  goes  off  into  digres- 
sions— about  Priest  Godwin,  who  stole  a  church-key,  and 
Proctor  Turstan,  who  was  an  excellent  man  of  business — 
that  do  not  give  point  to  his  narrative. 

[740]  As  regards  the  cure,  it  is  remarkable  that  in  this 
case  there  was  no  resort  to  the  Water  of  Canterbury.  This 
indicates  that  it  was  an  early  miracle.  So  does  the  absence 
of  any  offering  of  coin,  or  vow  of  pilgrimage.  The  emotional 
shock  that  raised  the  poor  girl  from  her  lifeless  condition 
would  be  explained  by  some  in  modern  times  as  the  result 
of  sympathetic  "  brain-wave  " — and  not  as  the  mere  result  of 
outcry.  Experts  must  decide  how  far  a  disease  of  the  kind 
described  above  could  be  permanently  cured  by  a  mere 
shock  of  emotion. 


returning  to  the  original,  fell  on  the  second  ••  merits  of  the  most  blessed  Martyr." 
So  he  passed  on,  as  if  he  had  written  the  second,  and  also  what  preceded  it. 
Occurring  in  a  letter,  which  might  seem  to  need  no  revision,  such  a  mistake 
might  more  easily  remain  uncorrected  than  in  its  own  narrative.  This  scribal 
error  is  commonly  called  the  error  of  HomoioteUution,  i.e.  "similar  endings." 


l62 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§741 


§  9.    The  son  of  Hugh  Scot 

[741]  Benedict  (ii.  238-9) 

(i)  In  a  manor  of  the 
county  of  Warwick,  called 
Benedega/  Hugh,  known  as 
Scot,  is  testified  by  his 
neighbours  in  the  county  to 
be  of  good  name  and  un- 
blemished reputation. 

His  son  Philip,  about 
eight   years  old,  while  by  a 


is  restored  after  drowning 

William  (i.  200-2)  ^ 

(i)  In  the  county  of 
Cheshire,  the  man  Hugh, 
known  as  Scot,  was  of  good 
name  and  repute  among  his 
fellow  tribesmen.^ 

His  son  Philip,  about 
eight  years  old,  sitting  by  an 
ironstone  quarry  while  he 
had  been  overwhelming^  with 


(I)  InpraedioterritoriiWarwicensis, 
quod  Benedega'  dicitur,  Hugo  cogno- 
mento  Scotus  boni  nominis  et  opinionis 
integrae  a  comprovincialibus  suis  esse 
perhibetur.  Filius  hujus  Philippus, 
annorum  circiter  octo,  dum  ad  ferrifo- 


(l)  In*  territorio  Cestrensi  vir 
Hugo,  cognomento  Scotus,  boni 
nominis  et  opinionis  fuit  inter  con- 
tribules^  suos.  Cujus  filius  Philippus, 
octo  circiter  annorum,  dum  ad  ferrifo- 
dinam  residens  bufonem  a  lutosis 
emergentem  puerili  studio  lapidibus 
obruerat,'     conatus     suos      incircum- 


*  Or,  "Beneclega."  William  has 
"Cheshire."  In  ii.  245  Benedict  has 
"Cheshire"  for  "Gloucestershire." 
Perhaps,  where  the  first  letters  of  the 
name  of  a  county  were  obscured,  the 
termination  "-censis"  was  likely  to 
cause  the  name  to  be  corrupted  into 
"Cestrensis." 


'  William  prefixes  to  his  story  a 
reference  to  his  preceding  one  (which 
is  also  about  revivification):  "Why 
wonder,  reader?  Wonder  at  what 
follows  .  .  .  the  facts  themselves  and 
the  Martyr's  power  should  persuade 
you." 

This  way  of  connecting  two  stories 
by  remarks  that  may  either  be  called 
an  epilogue  to  the  preceding  or  a  pro- 
logue to  the  following,  has  been  noted 
above  (737  (I)). 

2  William  prefers  "  contribules," 
as  being  better  Latin  than  "compro- 
vinciales."  Both  are  rare  words  ;  but 
the  latter  is  the  rarer,  the  former  is  an 
old  word  revived  by  the  Fathers. 

^  "Obruerat,"  probably  an  error 
for  "  obrueret,"  the  imperf.  subjunct. 
being  frequent,  in  these  treatises,  with 
"dum  (while),"  whereas  the  pluperf. 
indie,  is  very  rare. 


§741 


HIS  MIRACLES 


163 


Benedict  (ii.  238-9) 

deep  pool  in  an  ironstone 
quarry,  overwhelming  with 
stones  (as  boys  will)  the 
frogs  that  rose  to  the  sur- 
face, happened  to  fall  in,  and 
was  himself  in  turn  over- 
whelmed by  the  waters.^ 

(2)  When  his  father,  on 
coming  home,  could  not  find 
the  boy,  he  looked  for  him 
in  every  direction.  At  last 
he  finds  him  under  the  water, 
and  draws  him  out  while 
the  sun  was  setting,  distended 
by  the  abundance  of  the 
water  [he  had  swallowed], 
and,  as  he  [still]  believes, 
lifeless. 

(3)  The  corpse  was 
carried  into  the  house :    the 


William  (i.  200-2) 

stones  (as  boys  will)  a  frog 
that  rose  from  the  mud  to 
the  surface,  continuing  his 
attempts  without  circum- 
spection, was  himself  in  turn 
overwhelmed  by  the  waters. 

(2)  When  his  father,  on 
coming  home,  could  not  find 
the  boy,  he  looked  for  him 
everywhere  [at  home]  and 
[also]  in  different  farms. 
He  found  him  under  the 
water,  and  drew  him  out, 
dead,  and  distended  by  the 
abundance  of  the  water  [he 
had  swallowed].  It  was  now 
inclining  towards  twilight. 

(3)  So  the  father  gave 
vent  to  sighs  and  groans,  the 


dinam  profundam  et  aqua  repletam 
bufones  emergentes  studio  puerili 
lapidibus  obnieret,  casu  incidens  et 
ipse  aquis  obrutus  est.^ 

(2)  Quern  quum  pater  domum 
veniens  non  invenisset,  quaquaversum 
quaesitum,  reperit  tandem  aqua  sub- 
mersum,  et  extrahit,  occidente  jam  sole, 
aqua  multa  distentum,  et  ut  adhuc 
credit  exanimem. 

(3)  Infertur   in   domum  cadaver ; 


specte  prosecutus  et  ipse  aquis  obrutus 
est. 


(2)  Quem  cum  pater  domum  veniens 
non  invenisset,  ubique  et  villitim 
quaesitum,  reperit  aqua  submersum  ;  et 
extraxit  mortuum,  et  aqua  multa 
distentum.  Vergebat  jam  dies  in 
crepusculum. 

( 3 )  Igitur  pater  suspiriis  et  gemitu[i]. 


*  "  Et  ipse  "seems  to  mean  "in 
retribution  for  his  treatment  of  the 
frogs."  He  had  "  overwhelmed  "  them 
with  showers  of  stones :  now,  "  he 
himself,  too,"  was  ♦'  overwhelmed  "  in 
the  flood. 


164 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§741 


Benedict  (ii.  238-9) 
people  flock  in,  expressing 
their  sympathy  with  the 
agonising  grief  of  the  parents. 
They  try  —  but  all  in  vain 
— whether  human  exertions 
might  possibly  in  some 
respect  avail  the  child. 

The  boy's  coat,  which 
happened  to  be  very  wide, 
big  enough  for  two  boys — 
since  it  could  not  be  taken 
off,  being  so  tightly  filled 
by  the  distension  of  the 
stomach — they  rip  from  top 
to  bottom.  They  hang  him 
up  head  downwards,  and  beat 
the  soles  of  his  feet.  But  no 
water  flowed  out,  so  they 
quite  gave  up  hope.  Finally, 
the  boy  was  stretched  out  on 
a  table,  a  fire  lit  at  each  end 
of  the  room,  and  watch  kept 
till  morning. 


William  (i.  200-2) 

mother  to  tears  and  wailing. 
They  take  the  first  steps  that 
are  supposed  expedient  in 
such  cases. 

The  coat  was  ripped  up, 
since,  owing  to  the  distension 
of  the  body,  it  could  not  be 
drawn  off;  they  beat  the 
soles  of  the  feet  and  hang 
up  the  corpse  head  down- 
wards ;  but  they  give  up 
hope,  for  no  water  flowed 
out.  And  when  they  found 
all  this  labour  of  no  avail, 
placing  some  planks  under 
him,  they  light  a  fire  at  each 
end  of  the  room,  and  pass 
the  night  without  sleep. 


vulgus  glomeratur  in  unum  et  anxio 
parentum  dolori  compatitur ;  tentatur 
conatu  inutili  si  ei  posset  in  aliquo 
sedulitas  humana  succurrere.  Tunica 
pueri  lata  valde,  duorumque  puerorum 
capax,  quia  ventre  distento  impleta 
exui  non  poterat,  a  summo  usque 
deorsum        scinditur.  Suspendunt 

puerum  a  pedibus ;  plantas  tundunt, 
sed  aqua  non  effluente,  a  spe  sua 
decidunt.  Extentus  deinde  puer 
super  tabulam,  accenso  hinc  inde  foco, 
usque  mane  custoditur. 


mater  lacrymis  indulget  et  planctui. 
Prima  quae  ad  hujusmodi  expedire 
putantur  exsequuntur.  Tunica  scissa, 
quae  propter  distensionem  corporis 
detrahi  non  poterat,  contundentes 
plantas  cadaver  a  pedibus  suspendunt ; 
sed  cadunt  a  spe  sua,  non  effluente 
aqua.  Et  cum  nihil  hac  praevalerent 
industria,  substementes  ei  tabulatum, 
hinc  inde  focum  accendunt,  et  sine 
somno  spatia  noctis  transmittunt. 


§741 


HIS  MIRACLES 


165 


Benedict  (ii.  238-9) 

(4)  But  at  sunrise,  by 
the  mother's  advice,  they 
sent  to  the  next  village  (or, 
farm),  and  fetched  the  Water 
of  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr. 
Opening  the  closed  mouth 
and  fast-clenched  teeth  with 
a  spindle  or  some  such  thing, 
she  happened  to  put  in  her 
finger ;  and,  as  the  spindle 
slipped  out,  the  finger  was 
caught  fast  and  almost 
pierced  to  the  bone  by  the 
meeting  teeth.  Hearing  her 
cry  out,  the  father  placed 
a  small  knife  between  [the 
teeth]  :  but,  before  he  could 
extricate  her  finger  from  their 
grip,  he  had  to  break  two 
front  teeth,  those  called 
"  incisive."  * 


William  (i.  200-2) 

(4)  At  sunrise,  by  advice 
of  the  mother — whose  anxiety 
made  her  more  earnest^  for 
action — the  Water  of  St. 
Thomas  was  fetched  from 
the  next  village  (or,  farm). 
Desiring,  herself  with  her 
own  hands,  to  pour  it  in 
between  the  child's  cold  lips, 
and  unfastening  (with  the 
aid  of  a  spindle)  the  closed 
mouth  and  fast  -  clenched 
teeth,  she  happened,  along 
with  the  spindle,  to  insert 
her  finger  too :  but,  as  the 
spindle  slipped  out,  the 
finger  was  caught  fast  and 
almost  pierced  to  the  bone 
by  the  meeting  teeth.  Hear- 
ing her  cry  out,  the  father 
applied  a  small  knife  to  [the 


(4)  Orto  vero  sole,  matris  consilio 
ad  villain  proximam  missum  est,  et 
aqua  beati  martyris  Thomae  allata  est. 
Quumque  mater  clausum  os  pueri 
dentesque  cohaerentes,  fiiso  quodam 
intruso,  disjunxisset,  casu  immisit  et 
digitum  :  resiliente  autem  fuso  digitus 
interceptus  est,  et  dentibus  concurrenti- 
bus  fere  transHxus.  Clamante  ilia 
interponit  pater  cultellum  ;  sed,  ante- 
quam  interceptum  mulieris  digitum 
possit  eripere,  duos  dentes  anteriores, 
qui  incisivi  dicuntur,  confringit.^ 


(4)  Orto  sole,  consilio  matris,  cujus 
diligentior  *  erat  sollicitudo,  a  proxima 
villa  allata  est  aqua  sancti  Thomae ; 
quam  cum  propriis  manibus  ipsa  gelidis 
labiisinstillaresatageret,  fusiquesuffragio 
clausum  os  dentesque  cohaerentes  dis- 
jungeret,  cum  fuso  immisit  et  digitum. 
Sed  resiliente  fuso  interceptus  est  digitus, 
dentibusque  concurrentibus  fere  trans- 
iixus.       Et    cum    clamaret,    apposuit 


'  The  teeth  in  front  of  the  "canines  " 
are  now  called  "incisors."  William 
has    "  praecisores,"    which    does    not 


*  We  may  supply  "than  the 
&ther."  But  it  may  mean  "specially, 
or  unusually  (earnest)." 


i66 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§741 


Benedict  (ii.  238-9) 


(5)  Others,  who  were 
standing  by,  desired  to  have 
a  priest  called  to  say  a  funeral 
mass  for  the  boy,  that  the 
boy  might  be  buried  ;  but 
the  father  loudly  refused, 
saying,  "  So  may  God  help 
me,  as  St  Thomas,  if  he  will 
not  restore  him  to  me  here 
alive,  shall  have  him  at 
Canterbury  dead.  For  I  will 
either  lead  him  thither  alive 
or  carry  him  dead.*  In  no 
wise  shall  he  be  buried  here." 

(6)  So  the  first  time,  and 
the  second  time,  the  Water, 


William  (i.  200-2) 

teeth],  and  struck  out  two 
front  teeth,  those  called 
"  praecisors." 

(5)  William  omits   this: 
but  see  (9). 


(6)    When   therefore   the 
health -bestowing    drop    was 


(5)  Volentibus  aliis  qui  astabant  ut 
presbyter  vocaretur,  ut  fierent  pro 
puero  exsequiae,  ut  puer  sepeliretur, 
reclamavit  pater  dicens,  "Adjuvet  me 
ita  Deus,  nisi  eum  beatus  Thomas 
hie  mihi  restituerit  vivum,  habebit 
ilium  Cantuariae  mortuum.  IIIuc  enim 
eum  vel  vivum  ducam  vel  mortuum 
portabo  ;  *  nequaquam  hie  sepelietur. " 

(6)  Et  semel  igitur  et  secundo  aqua 


pater  cultellum,  et  duos  dentes  anteri- 
ores,  qui  praecisores  dicuntur,  excussit. 
(S)  om. 


(6)  Cum  ergo  primo  stilla  salutaris 


correspond  to  anything  now,  or  perhaps 
ever,  in  use:  it  would  mean  "teeth 
cutting  off  abruptly."  "  Confringit," 
"breaks  (perforce),"  i.e.  "has  to 
break." 

*  These  words  are  very  similar  to 
those  of  the  knight  Jordan  (736). 


§741 


HIS  MIRACLES 


167 


Benedict  (ii.  238-9) 

poured  into  [the  mouth], 
finding  no  penetrable  chan- 
nels, flowed  back  again.  On 
the  third  injection,  by  the 
Divine  will,  it  went  down 
into  the  inner  parts,  and 
suddenly  the  muscles  seemed 
to  move.  The  boy  unfolds 
his  hand,  which  was  before 
clenched  :  after  unfolding  it, 
he  by  degrees  draws  it  to- 
wards him ;  he  opens  one 
eye. 

(7)  In  inexpressible  joy 
the  father  cried,  "  My  son, 
do  you  wish  to  live  ? " 
"Father,"  he  replied,  "I  do 
wish  [it]." ' 


William  (i.  2CX3-2) 

first  poured  into  [the  mouth], 
finding  no  pervious  passages, 
it  began  to  flow  back  again. 
But  on  the  third  occasion, 
the  faith  and  devotion  of  the 
parents  caused  it  to  flow  in  ; 
and  the  muscles  seemed  to 
move ;  and  the  boy  began 
to  draw  his  hand  towards 
him,  and  to  open  one  eye. 


(7)  Leaping  from  his 
seat,  the  father  asked  him 
whether  he  could  live,  and  he 
replied,  "  I  wish  to  live." 


infusa  meatus  pervios  non  inveniens 
refluxit ;  tertio  injecta,  nutu  divino  in 
interiora  descendit,  visaeque  sunt  subito 
fibrae  moveri ;  puer  manum  prius 
clausam  explicat,  explicatam  paulatim 
attrahit,  alteram  oculorum  ap)erit. 

(7)  Pater  inexplicabiliter  laetus, 
"Visne,"*  ait,  "  fili,  vivere  ? " 
"  Volo,"*  inquit,  "pater  mi." 


infiinderetur,  non  pervios  commeatus 
inveniens  refluebat.  Sed  tertia  vice 
fides  et  devotio  parentum  obtinuit  ut 
influeret,  visaeque  sunt  fibrae  moveri,  et 
coepit  puer  manum  attrahere,  et  alterum 
oculorum  aperire. 

(7)  Exsiliente  patre  et  interrogante 
utrumnam  vivere  posset,  respondit 
"  Volo  vivere." 


*  "Vis "and  "volo "are  difficult. 
We  should  have  expected  "  Art  thou 
indeed  alive,  or,  going  to  live  ?  " 

Can  some  confiision  have  arisen 
from  the  Old  French  "  Vis  tu  de  voire  ? 
Dost  thou  live  in  truth  ? "  or  from 
a  misrendering  of  "  vas  (going  to)"?  A 
translator  may  have  mistranslated  Bene- 
dict's (404a)  French,  and  William  may 
have  nartlvhind  wrongly)  corrected  him. 


i68 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


55  741 


Benedict  (ii.  238-9) 
(8)  Those  who  were 
present  crowded  round,  still 
lamenting,  however,  the 
frightful  inflation  of  the 
stomach :  but  by  degrees 
the  stomach  subsided  and 
recovered  its  natural  sym- 
metry and  condition  before 
the  eyes  of  all,  and  this  though 
not  a  drop  of  water  flowed 
forth  from  the  body  above 
or  below. 


(9)  That  this  [boy]  there- 
fore, as  well  [as  Cecilia],*'  was 


William  (i.  200-2) 

(8)  Wonderful  is  the 
Lord,  and  there  is  no 
numbering  his  mercies :  for 
first  he  restored  what  was 
absent  [i.e.  life],  and  subse- 
quently consumed  what  was 
superabundantly  present  [i.e. 
water]. 

For  while  those  who 
were  present  were  lamenting 
the  inflation  of  the  stomach, 
the  stomach  began  by  de- 
grees to  reduce  its  swelling 
before  their  eyes,  and  to  re- 
cover its  natural  size  and  con- 
dition, and  this  in  such  a  way 
that  not  a  drop  of  the  imbibed 
waters  flowed  forth  from  the 
body,  either  from  the  parts 
above  or  from  those  below. 

(9)  In  this  narrative  we 
are  telling  the  actual  fact — 


(8)  Circumstantibus  qui  aderant,  at 
de  horrido  ventris  tumore  adhuc  in- 
gemiscentibus,  paulatim  venter  subsidit, 
omnibusque  intuentibus  naturalem 
gracilitatem  statumque  recepit,  ita 
tamen  quod  a  corpore  nee  gutta  aquae 
superius  inferiusve  profluxit. 


(9)    Et    hunc    ergo^    proculdubio 


(8)  Mirabilis  Dominus,  et  miseri- 
cordiarum  ejus  non  est  numerus,  qui 
quod  non  erat  primo  restituit,  et  con- 
sequenter  quod  erat  ex  abundanti 
consumpsit.  Nam  ipsis  qui  aderant  de 
tumore  ventris  ingemiscentibus,  coepit 
venter  in  oculis  eorum  paulatim 
detumere,  naturalemque  grossitudinem 
et  statum  recipere,  ut  nee  gutta  bibi- 
torum  fluctuum  superior!  vel  regione 
inferiori  proflueret  a  corpore. 

(9)  Haec  dicimus  rem  gestam  nar- 


^  **  As  well,"  i.e.  as  well  as  Cecilia, 
mentioned  in  the  last  narrative. 
Benedict  said,  at  the  end  of  the  story 


§742 


HIS  MIRACLES 


169 


Benedict  (ii.  238-9) 

undoubtedly  dead,  we  have 
ascertained  not  only  from  the 
testimony  of  the  father  but 
also  from  that  of  very  many 
others — and  indeed  finally 
by  a  testifying  letter  from 
his  Priest. 


William  (i.  200-2) 

not  magnifying  by  figments  v 
of  our  own  the  mighty  works 
of  God,  which  need  no  such 
aid — as  we  learned  it  from 
the  boy's  father  in  person 
when  he  offered  up  thanks 
in  company  with  the  boy : 
for,  as  he  repeatedly  said,  if 
St.  Thomas  had  not  restored 
him  alive,  he  would  have 
conveyed  him  dead  from  his 
neighbourhood  to  his  [the 
Saint's]  resting-place.^ 


[742]  The  last  sentence  explains  the  close  similarity 
between  the  two  narratives  in  many  passages.  Where  they 
agree,  the  two  probably  used  the  Priest's  "  testifying  letter," 
Benedict  makes  more  use  of  the  letter,  and  hence  inserts 


fiiisse  mortuum,  non  solum  patris  sui 
sed  et  aliorum  plurimorum  assertione, 
tandem  vero  et  presbyteri  sui  litteris 
testimonioque,  cognovimus. 


rantes,  non  figmento  nostro  magnalia 
Dei,  quae  non  ^ent  hujusmodi, 
magnificantes,  sicut  ab  ipso  parente 
pueri  cum  puero  gratias  agente  didici- 
mus ;  qui,  sicut  aiebat,  nisi  beatus 
Thomas  vivum  eum  restituisset,  de 
partibus  suis  ad  locum  requietionis 
ejus  mortuum  transvexisset.' 


of  the  knight  Jordan  (737  (i))  that  he 
would  append  two  other  instances  of 
revivification.  He  now  claims  that 
death,  in  this  instance,  is  proved  no  less 
conclusively  than  in  the  last. 

'•  Therefore  (ergo)  "  seems  to  mean 
"because  of  the  miraculous  evanescence 
of  the  water,"  which  made  it  natural 
to  believe  that  the  whole  event  was 
miraculous.  The  sentence  is  confused : 
but  that  this  is  the  meaning  is  made 
likelv  by  William's  remarks  (741  (8)). 


*  "  Ad  locum  requietionis  ejus  "  has 
this  meaning  also  in  758  (3)  (William). 

William  places  here,  as  uttered  at 
Canterbury,  what  Benedict  records  (741 
(5))  as  uttered  at  home. 


I70  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §743 

(741  (5))  the  advice  to  send  for  the  Priest,  beside  calling 
attention  to  it  at  the  end. 

[743]  William — laying  more  stress  on  a  few  striking 
words  and  very  small  details  in  the  evidence  of  the  father 
(and  perhaps  of  the  child,  whom  he  alone  mentions  as 
coming  to  Canterbury) — tells  us  that  the  boy  was  "  sitting  " 
at  the  edge  of  an  ironstone  pit  (presumably  with  his  legs 
dangling  over)  and  that  he  was  pelting  a  frog,  not  (as 
Benedict)  "  frogs "  ;  and  that  the  father  sought  the  boy 
"  from  farm  to  farm."  Perhaps  it  is  from  the  same  source, 
and  not  from  the  nature  of  things,  that  William  tells  us  how 
the  father  "  groaned,"  while  the  mother  "  wept,"  and  that 
the  latter  was  "  more  anxiously  restless "  than  the  former. 
Again,  the  Priest  would  say  that  the  instrument  used  by 
the  mother  to  open  the  mouth  was  "quidam  fusus,"  "some 
sort  of  spindle,"  or  "  something  of  the  nature  of  a  spindle  "  ; 
but  the  father  would  say  definitely  "  spindle " ;  the  Priest 
would  report  what  the  father  actually  said  when  the  proposal 
was  made  to  bury  the  boy  in  the  churchyard,  viz.  "  I  will 
bury  him  at  Canterbury  if  at  all "  ;  but  the  father,  giving 
thanks  afterwards  at  Canterbury,  might  tell  William  that  he 
would  have  buried  him  at  Canterbury  :  and  this  may  explain 
why  William  ends  his  narrative  with  these  words. 

S  I  o.  Elias,  a  monk  of  Reading,  after  \J>retending  to]  resort 
to  Bath  for  the  cure  of  leprosy,  is  cured  by  St.  Thomas 

[744]  Benedict  (?  see  note  i )  A  monk  of  Reading  (see 

(ii.  242-3)  note  i)  (i.  416-7) 

(i)    Let  any  one  go  to  (i)     Elias,    a    monk     of 

the  holy  convent^  of  Reading,  Reading,        suffered        from 

(i)  Sanctum  Radingensis  ecclesiae  (i)    Radingensis    ecclesiae    mona- 

conveniat  conventum  ^  qui  monachi  sui      chus  Helyas  lepra  vel  morphea  labora- 


1  Note   the  play  on   "conveniat" 
"conventum."     Al.  "conventui." 


§744 


HIS  MIRACLES 


171 


Benedict  (ii.  242-3)  ? 
who  would  fain  know  the 
disease  of  the  monk  Elias 
and  the  manner  of  its  healing. 
A  frightful  leprosy  had 
attacked  him  —  so  it  was 
asserted  by  many  of  the 
highest  skill  in  medicine  ;  it 
was  proved  by  his  eyes, 
dropping  and  flowing  with 
rheum,  by  the  ulcers  on  his 
limbs,  and  the  scales  on  his 
whole  body.  (You  might 
have  seen  his  bed  covered 
with  them  when  he  rose  in 
the   morning.)     The   [exact] 


A  Monk  of  Reading  (i.  416-7) 

leprosy  or  morphew  ^  —  so 
full  of  ulcers  that  he  might 
have  been  called  a  second 
Lazarus  ;  for,  from  the  sole 
of  his  foot  to  the  crown  of 
his  head,  there  was  not  a 
spot  spared  by  the  host  of 
tubers  or  ulcers. 


Helyae  et  morbum  modumque  cura- 
tionis  ejus  nosse  desiderat.  Horrida 
lepra  percussum  ilium  dicebant  multi, 
maxime  medicinalis  artis  periti :  indicio 
erant  oculi  lacrymosi  atque  fluentes, 
ulcerosa  membra,  corpus  totum  squa- 
mosum ;  mane  quando  surgebat,  lectum 
ejus  squamis  videres  contectum.     Ipsis 


bat,*  sic  ulcerosus  ut  Lazarus  alter 
diceretur;  nam  a  planta  pedis  ejus 
usque  ad  verticem  capitis  non  erat  vel 
minimus  in  eo  locus  cui  tuberum  turba 
vel  ulcerum  pepercisset. 


The   whole   narrative   is    more   in 
William's  style  than  in  Benedict's. 


'  This  was  probably  not  written  by 
William  but  by  a  monk  of  Reading, 
whose  letter  William  has  adopted  with- 
out alteration  or  preface,  except  that 
he  inserted  the  words  *'  A  monk  of 
Reading."     See  note  5,  below. 

The  monk  indicates  a  doubt  whether 
this  was  a  case  of  leprosy  :  the  account 
in  Benedict's  treatise  says  there  was 
no  doubt  of  it  among  experts.  The 
difference  indicates  that  the  case  had 
excited  attention  and  discussion  at 
Canterbury. 

"  Morphew  "  is  used  by  Elizabethan 
writers  to  represent  Fr.  morfhU,  a 
scurfy  eruption. 


172 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§744 


Benedict  (ii.  242-3)  ? 

description  of  it  I  leave  to 
the  monks  themselves,^  for 
what  is  manifest  needs  no 
proof 

(2)  This  brother,  there- 
fore, being  in  extreme  pain,' 
and  not  knowing  how  to 
come  to  St.  Thomas — for 
he  feared  that  if  he  asked 
leave  the  Abbot  would  refuse 
it  —  at  last  obtained  leave 
under  pretence  of  a  journey 
to  the  hot  baths  of  the  City 
of  Bath. 


A  Monk  of  Reading  (i.  416-7) 


(2)  Thinking  that  hot 
baths  might  do  him  good 
and  that  his  pains  might  be 
mitigated  by  the  heat  of 
sulphur,  he  spent  forty  days 
at  the  baths  of  [the  City  of] 
Bath. 

But  inasmuch  as  he  set 
his  hope  on  hot  sulphur,  and 
not  on  the  wonder-working 
Martyr     whom      the     Lord 


Dei  servis  ^  descriptioneni  ejus  relinquo ; 
res  manifesta  enim  probatione  non 
indiget. 

(2)  Anxius'  itaque  frater  ille,  et 
quomodo  ad  beatum  Thomam  veniret 
nescius  (metuebat  enim  ne  postulant! 
sibi  ab  abbate  suo  negaretur  licentia), 
itinere  tandem  ad  balnea  calida 
Bathoniensis  urbis  simulate  licentiam 
impetravit. 


(2)  Existimans  autem  calidis  balneis 
sibi  posse  subveniri,  suumque  per 
sulphureum  calorem  mitigandum 
dolorem,  abiens  balneis  Batensibus 
xl.  diebus  incubuit.  Sed  quia  spem 
posuit  in  calido  sulphure,  non  in  mirifico 
martyre     quern     Dominus    vulneravit 


2  Lit.  "to  the  servants  of  God 
themselves,"  i.e.  his  fellow  monks. 

These  remarks  indicate  that  some 
doubted  whether  the  disease  was  true 
leprosy.  The  writer,  while  clearly 
believing  that  it  was  leprosy,  sends  the 
doubter  to  the  monks  for  a  "descriptio," 
or  scientific  description.  The  enume- 
ration of  the  symptoms  is  natural  for 
William,  who  elsewhere  has  a  learned 
discussion  on  different  kinds  of  leprosy 
(767  (8)). 

'  "  Anxius  "  has  this  meaning  else- 
where in  these  treatises. 


§744 


HIS  MIRACLES 


173 


Benedict  (ii.  242-3)? 


(3)  He  was  to  go  west- 
ward :  but  he  turned  back  and 
went  eastward,  to  the  city 
of  the  newly-risen  Martyr. 

This  was  the  time  when 
the  glory  of  the  Martyr  was 
beginning  to  display  itself 
in  his  earliest  miracles ; 
while  the  storm -blast  still 
lasted  * — before  Iniquity  had 


A  Monk  of  Reading  (i.  416-7) 
wounded  for  our  iniquities 
that  we  might  be  healed  by 
his  stripes,"  he  was  not  as 
yet  counted  worthy  of  better 
health.  So  when  he  had 
spent  on  physicians  all  that 
he  could  collect,  [then] — like 
the  woman  in  the  Gospel 
who  was  counted  worthy  to 
touch  the  border  of  the  Lord's 
vesture — he  began  to  sigh 
[for  a  journey]  to  the  Martyr. 
(3)  William  omits  this. 


(3)  Ad  occidentem  perrecturus, 
reflexo  gressu  ad  orientem  tetendit,  ad 
nuper  orti  martyris  urbem.  Erat 
autem  hoc  cum  primis  martyr  coru- 
scaret  miraculis  ;    dum   adhuc  staret  * 


propter  iniquitates  nostras,  ut  ejus 
livore^  sanaremur,  nondum  meliorari 
promeruit.  Postquam  itaque  erogavit 
in  medicos  quicquid  corrogare  poterat, 
tanquam  mulier  evangelica  quae 
fimbriam  Dominici  vestimenti  tangere 
meruit,  ad  martyrem  suspirabat. 
(3)  om. 


♦  "  Staret,"  of  a  fixed  wind, 
less  it  is  an  error  for  "  flaret." 


Un-  *  "Livore,"  lit.   "black  and  blue 

marks."     Comp.  Is.  liii.  5. 


174 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§744 


Benedict  (ii.  242-3)? 
shut  her  mouth,  before  any 
one  dared  publicly  to  speak 
of  the  mighty  works  of  the 
Lord,  before  many  came  and 
"  went  up  "  to  the  Martyr  of 
the  Lord  and  "  to  the  house 
of  the  God  of  Jacob  "  (Micah 
iv.  2).  And  hence  this 
narrative  might  have  been 
written  among  the  earliest  of 
the  Martyr's  illustrious  signs, 
had  it  not  been  put  off  till 
now,  either  through  forgetful- 
ness,  or  for  the  sake  of  inquiry 
and  ascertainment. 

(4)  The  writer  omits  this. 


A  Monk  of  Reading  (i.  416-7) 


(4)  So,  under  pretence 
of  seeking  medicinal  aid,  he  set 
out   for  London  ' — because  ^ 


spiritus  procellae,  antequam  os  suum 
oppilasset  iniquitas,  antequam  publice 
loqueretur  quis  potentias  Domini,  ante- 
quam multi  venirent  et  ascenderent  ad 
martyrem  Domini  et  ad  domum  Dei 
Jacob ;  unde  et  istud  inter  prima 
martyris  insignia  conscribi  potuit,  nisi 
vel  oblivione  vel  inquisitionis  et  certitu- 
dinis  causa  usque  in  praesens  dilatum 
fuisset, 
(4)  om. 


(4)  Igitur  sub  obtentu  quaerendae 
medicinae  Londonias^  profectus,  qua* 


3  "Londonias":  the  sense  rather 
demands  "Londoniis": — on  pretence 
of  seeking  medicine  in  London  he  set 
out  [for  Canterbury].  But  the  writer 
probably  means  "  he  set  out  for 
London  [duf  really  to  go  through 
London  to  Canterbury\" 

*  The  translation  adopts  the 
Editor's  "quia"  for  "qua." 


§744 


HIS  MIRACLES 


175 


Benedict  (ii.  242-3)  ? 


(5)  Well,  the  monk  was 
met  by  a  knight  between 
whom  and  himself  there  was 
a  strong  mutual  affection. 
When  the  knight  asked  and 
heard  whither  his  friend  was 
journeying,  he  dissuaded  him, 
saying,  "  Go  not,  dear  sir,  go 
not  to  Canterbury,  lest,  if 
the  great  lords  hear  of  it, 
you  bring  evil  on  your  con- 
vent. See,  I  carry  with  me 
Water  of  St.  Thomas  the 
Martyr.     Taste  on  this  spot, 


A  Monk  of  Reading  (i.  416-7) 

our  ^  Abbot  did  not  [at  that 
time]  pay  adequate  respect 
to  the  Martyr,  and  would 
not  give  his  monks  leave  to 
go  on  pilgrimage  [to  him] — 
expecting  to  steal  time 
enough  for  going  as  a  pilgrim 
to  Canterbury. 

(5)  Meanwhile,  as  some 
pilgrims  were  returning  from 
the  Martyr's  memorial,  he 
begged  for  his  Water,  drank  it. 


(5)  Obviavit  itaque  monacho  miles 
quern  diligebat,  plurimum  dilectus  ab 
ipso.  Quaesivit  quo  tenderet,  audivit, 
disuasit :  "  Noli,"  inquit,  "  domine  mi, 
noli  Cantuariam  proficisci,  ne,  si  inter 
magnates  auditum  fuerit,  inducas  super 
ecclesiam  tuam  malum.  Ecce,  aquam 
sancli    martyris    Thomae    porto ;    hie 


citra  quam  decebat  abbas  noster* 
martyri  deferebat,  suis  peregrinari  non 
permittens,  peregrinandi  Cantuariam 
furtivum  tempus  exspectabat. 

(5)  Interim  redeuntibus  peregrinis 
a  memoria  martyris,  aquam  ejus  petiit, 
bibit, 


6  "Our"  indicates  that  the  writer 
ii  a  monk  of  Reading 


176 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§744 


Benedict  (ii.  242-3)  ? 
if   you    will.      On    this    spot 
will  the  merciful   Martyr  be 
able    to    give    car    to    your 
prayer." 

The  monk  alights  from 
his  horse,  prostrates  himself 
on  the  earth  in  adoration  of 
the  Water,  tastes  [it],  washes 
his  face  [in  it] — to  the  best 
of  my  remembrance^ — after 
having  first  washed  [his 
heart]  in  streams  of  tears. 

(6)  Afterwards,  turning 
aside  to  St.  Edmund  the 
Martyr,^  he  obtained  from  a 


A  Monk  of  Reading  (i.  416-7) 


(6)  The  monk  omits  this. 


gusta,  si  volueris ;  hie  te  poterit 
martjnris  exaudire  benignitas."  De- 
scendit  de  equo  monachus,  aquam 
in  terra  pronus  adorat,  gustat,  faciem 
(ut  memini)^  la  vat,  lacrymis  prius 
lotus  uberrimis. 

(6)  Deinde   ad    beatum    martyrem 
divertens     Eadmundum,^    a     quodam 


(6)  om. 


*  These  details  are  such  as  Elias 
alone  would  be  likely  to  give,  and  they 
may  have  been  given  by  him  later  on 
to  the  monk  in  charge  of  the  Martyr's 
tomb.  They  are  described  more  in 
the  style  of  William  than  of  Benedict : 
comp.  674,  "  ^  /  remember  right, 
Walter,  etc." 

^  Presumably,  Elias  had  more  faith 
in  a  pilgrimage  than  in  the  Water,  and 
thought  that,  if  he"  could  not  go  to  the 
new  Martyr,  it  would  be  well  to  try  the 
old  one :  but  the  writer  appears  to 
regard  the  fact  as  an  instance  of  man's 
ends  being  "  shaped  "  by  Providence. 
Elias  went  to  St.  Edmund:  but  cure 
came  through  St.  Thomas. 


.^744 


HIS  MIRACLES 


177 


Benedict  (iL  242-3)  ? 
friend  of  his  a  strip  [from 
the  clothes]  of  the  Martyr 
Thomas,  tinged  with  his 
blood.  This  he  squeezed  out 
in  water,  [with  which]  he 
washed  his  infected  body, 

(7)  and  cleansed  away 
the  leprosy.  After  some 
days,^  therefore,  he  came 
home,  and  his  friends  received 
him,  absolutely  free  from 
ailment. 

(8)  The  wonderful  change 
led  the  Abbot  to  suspect 
that  he  had  not  been  to  Bath 
but  to  Canterbury,  and  he 
asked  him  how  he  had 
been  cured.  At  first,  Elias 
feared  to  confess.  But  by 
kindness  of  voice  and  manner 


A  Monk  of  Reading  (i.  416-7) 


(7)  and  recovered  his 
health,  so  that  he  retains  not 
a  trace  of  the  disease,  but 
has  a  most  agreeable  counten- 
ance, as  all  may  ^  see. 


amico  suo  pannum  martyris  Thomae 
cniore  tinctum  obtinuit,  quo  in  aqua 
expressOj  corpus  tabidum  lavit, 

(7)  lepram  abluit.  Post  aliquot 
igitur  dies  '  domum  venit,  et  sui  eum  re- 
ceperunt,  nihil  prorsus  mali  habentem. 

(8)  Suspicatur  abbas  ex  mira  leprosi 
corporis  mutatione  Cantuariam  ilium 
perrexisse,  non  Bathoniam ;  quae- 
rensque  qualiter  curatus  fuerit,  confiteri 
metuentem  vultu  sereniore  alloquitur,  et 


(7)  et  convaluit,  adeo  ut  morbi 
vestigia  non  retineat,  sed  vultu  gratio- 
sus,  sicut  videntibus  liquet,*  apporeat. 


^  "After  some  days."  Why  did 
he  delay  ?  Perhaps  to  disarm  the 
suspicion  of  a  miraculous  cure.  He 
had  received  leave  to  go  to  Bath  for  a 
medical  cure,  which  would  take  time: 
he  had  not  received  leave  to  be 
miraculously  cured  in  a  moment. 
VOL.   II 


*  This  confirms  the  view  (see  note 
5)  that  the  writer  was  one  of  the  monks 
of  Reading,  among  whom  Elias  was 
residing  at  the  time  when  this  letter 
was  written. 


178  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §745 

Benedict  (ii.  242-3)? 
the  Abbot  at  last  elicited  the 
method  of  the  cure,  which  he 
accepted    in    all    faith     and 
wonderment. 


[745]  The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  the  interesting 
differences  between  the  two  preceding  narratives  is  that 
Monk  Elias  was  not  a  veracious  person.  He  probably  told 
his  Abbot  that  he  had  been  to  Bath  and  that  he  had  spent 
forty  days  there  and  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  subsequently 
told  him  that  he  intended  to  go  to  London  whereas  he  really 
intended  to  go  to  Canterbury.  On  the  other  hand  he  told 
the  monk  in  charge  of  the  Martyr's  tomb  that  he  had  never 
gone  really  to  Bath,  but  had  merely  pretended  to  go  ;  he 
had  intended  to  come  to  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr,  but,  having 
received,  on  the  way,  the  Water  of  the  new  Martyr,  he 
thought  he  could  use  his  leave  of  absence  by  going  to  the 
shrine  of  the  old  Martyr  St.  Edmund.  No  doubt,  he  said 
to  the  monks  at  Canterbury  that  he  had  confessed  his  fraud 
to  the  Abbot  of  Reading.  So  he  had,  in  part ;  but  he  had 
not  made  a  clean  breast  of  it.  If  he  did  not  really  go  to 
Bath,  what  account  was  he  to  give  of  the  money  spent 
during  these  forty  expensive  days  ?  Perhaps  the  Abbot  had 
paid  it.  If  so,  would  he  not  want  it  back  again  ?  These 
considerations  (and  others)  may  have  induced  Elias,  when 
confessing  much,  not  to  confess  all.  And  hence  the  two 
stories. 

[746]  Such  unveracities  would  not  greatly  affect  our 
belief  in  the  cure.  That  Elias  was  grievously  ill  and  rapidly 
recovered,  may  be  accepted  as  satisfactorily  proved.  But 
whether  the  disease  was  leprosy  or  not  ;  whether  the  cure 
resulted  simply  from  the  emotional  shock  produced  by  the 

tandem  modum  curationis  ejus  audit  et 
admiratione  plenus  credit. 


§747  HIS  MIRACLES  i79 

Water  of  St.  Thomas  ;  or  whether  the  strip  of  St.  Thomas's 
vesture  also  contributed  to  it ;  whether  the  shrine  of  St 
Edmund  might  allege  a  reasonable  claim  ;  and  whether  the 
effect  of  forty  days  at  Bath  or  elsewhere,  with  fresh  air,  and 
travelling,  had  something  to  do  with  the  result : — these 
questions  must  be  left  unsettled.  Only  our  suspicions  of 
Elias's  character  must  not  lead  us  to  deny  the  possibility  of 
an  intense  and  (for  the  purpose)  efficacious  faith.  He  may 
not  have  believed  in  veracity  :  but  he  may  have  believed  in 
the  Water  of  St.  Thomas. 

[746a]  The  narrative  in  Benedict's  treatise  was  probably 
not  written  by  Benedict.  Notes  i,  2,  and  5  give  reasons  for 
thinking  that  it  may  have  been  written  by  William,  during  the 
period  when  the  latter  was  (415)  assisti?tg  the  former.  If 
this  was  the  case,  it  is  easy  to  understand  why  William,  when 
compiling  a  book  of  his  own,  resorted  to  a  letter  from  a 
Reading  monk.  He  did  not  care  to  repeat  the  account 
already  given  to  the  world  in  Benedict's  treatise,  although  it 
was  of  his  own  composition.  Close  and  continuous  verba- 
tim agreement  is  never  found  in  the  two  Books  on  Miracles 
except  where  two  narratives  are  derived  from  one  letter. 
In  this  case,  William  may  have  thought  that,  next  to  repeat- 
ing his  own  story,  the  best  course  was  to  transcribe  the  letter 
on  which  it  was  based.     See  also  754«7. 


§11.   Queen  Eleanor^ s  Foundling 

[747]  Benedict  (ii.  245)  William  (i.  213-4) 

(i)  Eleanor,     Queen     of  (i)  Eleanor,  the  venera- 

the   English,   found   an    out-     ble  Queen  of  England,  finding 
cast    infant    and    committed     a  little  child  cast    forth    on 


(i)  In£u)tein      abjectum      invenit  (i)      Invenit     venerabilis     regina 

Alienor  Anglorum  regina   et  episcopo       Angliae  Alienor  parvulum  unum  in  via 


i8o 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§747 


Benedict  (ii.  245) 
its  breeding  and  training  to 
Godfrey  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph. 
The  boy  was  taught  letters.^ 


(2)  After  a  few  years  he 
was  covered  from  head  to 
foot  by  a  foul  leprosy.  They 
separated  him  from  inter- 
course with  the  scholars ;  and, 
at  last,  by  the  decision  of  the 
Bishop  himself,  he  was  pre- 
vented from  entering  the 
court  of  Abingdon. 

(3)  In  the  course  of  four 
years  the  tubers  on  his  face 
grew  more  and  more  nume- 
rous and  prominent,  and  his 
whole  body  more  and  more 
infected. 


William  (i.  213-4) 
the  road,  abandoned  by  his 
mother,  gave  charge  that  he 
should  be  reared  in  the  mon- 
astery of  Abingdon.  When 
he  had  spent  several  years 
there  learning  letters, 

(2)  he  was  seized  with 
a  disease  of  the  nature  of 
elephantiasis  and  removed 
from  the  school  and  the 
monastery  by  the  command 
of  Godfrey,  Bishop  of  St. 
Asaph,  who  managed  the 
monastery's  affairs. 

(3)  For  the  tuberous 
face,  the  running  eyes,  the 
broad  ulcers  on  the  arms  and 
thighs,  so  deep  as  to  go  down 
to  the  bones,  provoked  nausea 
[in  those  who  saw  him] ;  his 
hoarse  voice  scarcely  reached 


de  Sancto  Asaph  Godefrido  educandum 
commisit.     Ad  literas  ^  puer  applicatur. 


(2)  Post  annos  paucos  sordida  lepra 
totus  obvolvitur ;  segregatur  a  com- 
munione  scholarium,  tandemque  ipsius 
episcopi  sententia  ab  introitu  curiae 
Abindoniensis  arcetur. 

(3)  Tractu  annorum  quatuor  tubera 
in  facie  magis  magisque  excrescunt, 
totumque  corpus  magis  magisque  tabe- 
scit. 


projectum,  materno  gremio  destitutum, 
et  praecepit  quod  in  coenobio  Aben- 
doniae  nutriretur.  Ubi  cum  plures 
annos  litteras  discens  explesset, 

(2)  elephantico  morbo  correptus, 
amotus  est  a  scholis  et  a  coenobio, 
jubente  episcopo  Godefrido  de  Sancto 
Asaph,  qui  res  coenobii  ministrabat. 

(3)  Facies  enim  tuberosa,  oculi  flu- 
entes,  rara  supercilia,  ulcera  brachiorum 
et  femorum  lata,  et  ad  ossa  pertingentia, 
nauseam  provocabant.     Vox  rauca  vix 


1  "  Letters,"  i.e.  a  lettered,  or  libe- 
ral, education. 


§747 


HIS  MIRACLES 


i8i 


Benedict  (ii.  245) 


(4)  In  secret,  the  boy 
departs,  flees  to  the  Martyr, 
is  purified  by  flux  of  the 
stomach,  comes  back  in  sound 
condition. 


William  (i.  213-4) 
those  who  were  standing 
close  at  hand  ;  his  bandages 
had  to  be  changed  daily,  or  at 
least  every  other  day,  owing 
to  the  flow  of  matter.  All 
these  things  deterred  people 
from  living  and  holding  inter- 
course with  him. 

(4)  Trusting,  however,  in 
the  compassion  and  merits  of 
St  Thomas,  whom  the  grace 
of  heaven  deigned  to  glorify 
in  the  healing  of  similar 
diseases,  he  set  out  for  Canter- 
bury. On  the  way,  in  ex- 
cessive purgation  of  the 
stomach,  he  felt  a  beginning 
of  his  cure.  Furthermore, 
after  two  days,  returning  from 
the  tomb  of  St.  Thomas,  he 
brought  back  the  [mere] 
vestiges  of  the  now  healed 
disease. 


(4)  Clam  puer  abscedit,  ad  marty- 
rem  convolat,  ventris  fluxu  mundatur, 
sospes  r^reditur. 


ad  aures  prope  stantis  perveniens,  panni 
quoque  singulis  diebus  vel  alternis 
propter  saniem  efBuentem  mutandi, 
convictum  et  cohabitationem  dissuade- 
bant. 

(4)  Confidens  autem  adolescens 
de  misericordia  meritisque  beati 
Thomae,  quem  supema  dignatio  glori- 
ficabat  in  consimilibus,  Cantuariam 
proficiscens  obiter  in  nimio  ventris 
obsequio  curationis  suae  praesensit 
initia.  Porro  post  biduum  rediens  a 
tumba  Sancti  Thomae  sanati  vestigia 
morbi  domum  reiwrtavit. 


lS3 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§747 


Benedict  (ii.  245) 

(5)  On  his  return,  his 
acquaintances  were  amazed 
at  his  face  so  altered,  the 
leprosy  so  annihilated,  the 
tubers  so  banished,  the  flesh 
so  like  a  child's. 

Up  to  that  time,  the 
Bishop  had  remained  incredu- 
lous of  the  reports  about 
the  Martyr's  power.  But 
when  he  saw  thus  cleansed 
the  boy  whom  he  had  seen 
before  a  leper,  whom  he  had 
ejected  from  the  court  [at 
Abingdon],  whom  he  had 
[actually]  loathed — he  was 
compelled  to  believe  that  St. 
Thomas  was  [indeed]  of  high 
merit,  venerable  excellence, 
and  marvellous  power.    What 


William  (i.  213-4) 

(5)  One  day,  while  the 
Bishop  was  walking  up  and 
down,  the  boy  caught  hold 
of  his  gown,  and  said  that  he 
had  been  cleansed  by  the 
merits  of  St.  Thomas  of 
Canterbury.  Not  recognizing 
him  after  his  sudden  trans- 
formation, the  Bishop  asked 
who  he  was  and  what  was 
his  name.  By  uttering  his 
name,  he  at  the  same  time 
defined  who  he  was,  to  the 
utter  astonishment  of  him 
whom  he  was  addressing. 
Well,  after  considering  the 
issue  of  the  affair,  and  the 
length  of  the  disease  (for  it 
had  been  gathering  strength 
for  two  years),  the  Bishop 
consulted  the  physicians ;  and 
then,  when  he  could  by  no 
possibility  refute  those  who 
asserted    his    recovery — and 


(5)  In  reditu  ipsius  obstupescunt, 
qui  eum  noverunt,  sic  alteratam  ejus 
faciem,  sic  lepram  annullatam,  sic 
evanuisse  tubera,  sic  camem  ejus  re- 
floruisse.  Usque  ad  tempus  illud  in- 
credulus  exstiterat  episcopus  his  quae 
dicebantur  de  martyre.  Videns  autera 
mundatum  puerum,  quem  viderat  ante 
leprosum,  quem  de  curia  ejecerat,  quem 
abhorruerat,  credere  compulsus  est 
beatum  Thomam  magni  esse  meriti, 
excellentiae  venerandae,  mirandae  po- 


(5)  Qui  cum  una  dierum  episcopum 
deambulantem  per  vestem  apprehen- 
disset,  ait  se  per  merita  beati  Thomae 
Cantuariae  mundatum.  Episcopus 
vero  subito  transformatum  non  agno- 
scens,  personam  et  nomen  interrogat. 
Ille  nomen  edicit,  eademque  responsione 
personam  determinat,  stupidum  reddens 
quem  compellabat.  Igitur  episcopus, 
eventum  rei  considerans,  et  diuturnitatem 
morbi,  qui  per  biennium  invaluerat, 
consultis   medicis,    postquam    sanitatis 


§748 


HIS  MIRACLES 


183 


Benedict  (ii.  245) 

is  more,  the  Bishop  of  Salis- 
bury, on  seeing  the  boy,  was 
converted  to  the  love  of  the 
Martyr. 


William  (i.  213-4) 

indeed  the  evidence  of  his 
own  eyes,^ — he  recalled  him 
from  his  outcast  condition  to 
the  court  of  the  monastery 
and  to  general  intercourse. 

Moreover  he  brought  the 
boy  along  with  him,  when 
coming  to  the  Martyr's  tomb 
to  pray,  and  exhibited  him 
to  public  view. 


[748]  The  two  accounts  do  not  appear  to  borrow  from 
any  common  document  William's,  which  is  the  later  and 
was  written  after  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph  had  come  to 
Canterbury,  is  not,  in  appearance,  so  severe  upon  the  Bishop 
as  Benedict's  is.  Indeed,  William  perhaps  borrows  from  the 
Bishop  the  details  about  the  boy's  disease,  which  made  it 


tentiae.  Sed  et  episcopus  Saresberiensis, 
eodem  viso,  ad  martyrem  diligendum 
animum  convertit. 


illius  assertoribus  ^  et  fidelibus  oculis 
refragari  non  potuit,  abjectum  in  curtim 
coenobii  et  convictum  popularem  re- 
vocavit ;  quem  et  secum  pariter,  ad 
tumbam  martyris  veniens  oratum,  vi- 
dendum  exbibuit. 


'  In  "  sanitatis  illius  assertoribus," 
"illius"  is  hardly  needed,  but  we  almost 
need  "  illis,"  if  the  "  assertores  "  are 
the  physicians.  Perhaps  they  are  not. 
The  text  leaves  it  doubtful.  The 
"  faithful  eyes  "  may  mean  •'  the  fidelity 
of  his  own  eyes,"  but  it  may  be  ironic- 
ally used  about  the  eyes  of  the  physicians, 
which  the  Bishop  regarded  as  pre- 
eminently "faithful."  William,  who 
loses  no  opportunity  of  attacking 
physicians,  is  here  manifestly  scoffing 
at  the  Bishop — so  ready  to  believe  in 
them,  so  unready  to  believe  in  St. 
Thomas. 


z84  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  748 

necessary  to  remove  him  from  the  convent  But  while  also 
fully  giving  an  account  of  the  Bishop's  cautious  deliberation 
before  giving  his  adhesion  to  St.  Thomas,  he  apparently 
indulges  in  a  little  irony  at  his  expense.  Benedict's  tone  is 
one  of  severe  reproach.  The  Bishop  was  "  compelled  to 
believe"  that  St  Thomas  had  certain  powers  and  qualities. 
The  Bishop  of  Salisbury  began  to  "  love "  the  Martyr  :  not 
so  the  Bishop  of  St  Asaph. 

[749]  The  mention  of  (Benedict  (3))  "  four  years  "  may 
be  reconciled  with  that  of  (William  (5))  "two  years"  by 
supposing  that  the  former  period  includes  the  whole  time  from 
the  commencement  of  the  disease  ;  the  latter,  only  the  stage 
during  which  (long  after  it  had  become  apparent)  it  had 
been  "  gathering  strength." 

[750]  Why  did  not  Benedict  record  in  its  place  this  very 
early  cure  of  leprosy,  which  almost  certainly  took  place 
before  the  end  of  1 1 7 1  ?  Probably  the  boy  had  returned,  as 
he  came,  "  in  secret  "  ;  and  so  the  miracle  was  not  recorded  at 
the  time  in  the  Cathedral  archives.  Benedict  may  have  been 
informed  of  it  by  letter  some  time  afterwards.  The  style  is 
rather  more  terse  than  that  of  most  of  Benedict's  narratives. 

§  12.   Geoffrey,  a  monk  of  Reading,  is  restored,  when  hi 
extrc7nity 

[751]  Benedict  (ii.  251-2)  William  (i.  210-1) 

(i)  Benedict  omits  this.  (i)    Let    the    church    of 

Shrewsbury  ^  and  Reading 
declare,  without  labour  of 
mine,  what  propitiation  it 
found  in  the  Martyr. 

( I )  om.  { I )  Dicat  absque  labore  meo  Salopes- 

beriensis  *  et  Radingensis  ecclesia  quid 
propitiationis  invenerit  in  martyre. 

*  This     Preface     introduces     two 
miracles,  one  of  which  is  attested  by  a 


HIS  MIRACLES 


185 


Benedict  (ii.  251-2) 


(2)  Geoffrey,  a  monk  of 
Reading,  being  suddenly  at- 
tacked by  a  very  violent  dis- 
ease, and  brought,  as  was 
supposed,  to  extremity,  was 
deprived  of  the  use  of  all  his 
senses  and  limbs. 


William  (i.  210-1) 

"  To  the  venerable  Lord 
Odo,  Prior  of  Canterbury, 
brother  Aug[ustine],  a  monk 
of  Reading,  health  and  much 
love  in  Christ. 

"  We  have  thought  it  fit- 
ting to  make  known  to  your 
holiness  a  great  and  renowned 
miracle  [wrought]  in  [our] 
house  at  Reading. 

(2)  "  For  a  brother  of 
our  congregation,  Geoffrey  of 
Warengford  by  name,  an  able 
man  and  a  good  singer,  and 
one  among  the  chief  of  our 
house — being  suddenly  at- 
tacked by  a  very  violent  dis- 
ease, and  brought,  as  was 
supposed,  to  extremity — was 
deprived  of  the  use  of  all  his 
senses  and  limbs. 


(2)  Ecclesiae  Radingensis  monackus 
Gaufridus,  gravissima  infirmitate  prai- 
ventus,  et  ut  putabatur  ad  extrema  de- 
ductus,  omnium  sensuum  omniumque 
membrorum  corporis  officio  privatus  est. 


"Venerabili  domino  Odoni,  priori 
Cantuariensi,  frater  Aug[ustinus],  Rad- 
ingensis monachus,  salutem  et  multam 
in  Christo  dilectionem. 

"  Dignum  duximus  vestrae  sancti- 
tati  magnum  quoddam  et  celebre  in 
dorao  Radingensi  pandere  miraculum. 

(2)  •' Nam quidam frater nostraecon- 
gregationis,  Gaufridus  de  Warengeford 
nomine,  vir  fortis  et  bonus  cantor,  et 
de  prioribus  domus  nostrae,  gravissima 
infirmitate  praeventus,  et,  ut  putabatur, 
ad  extrema  deductus,  omnium  sensuum 
omniumque  membrorum  corporis  officio 
privatus  est. 


letter  from  Shrewsbury,  which  follows 
the  letter  from  Reading. 


i86 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§751 


Benedict  (ii.  251-2) 

(3)  What  need  of  many 
words  ?  The  brethren  all 
assembled  to  anoint  him,  ac- 
cording to  custom,  with  the 
extreme  unction.  He  com- 
municated, became  speechless, 
was  entirely  given  up. 


William  (i.  2 10- 1) 

(3)  "  What  need  of  many 
words  ?  The  brethren  all 
assembled  to  anoint  him,  ac- 
cording to  custom,  with  the 
extreme  unction.  But  when 
it  came  to  receiving  the  sacred 
communion,  and  our  Prior 
exclaimed,  "  Sir  Geoffrey,^ 
open  thy  mouth  to  receive 
thy  salvation,"  he  desired,  and 
was  not  able  ;  and  yet  with 
difficulty  he  succeeded  so  far 
that  a  very  small  particle  was 
received  within  his  teeth. 

"  Presently,  when  he  had 
been  replaced  in  his  bed  and 
still  remained  in  the  same 
grievous  condition  so  that  we 
thought  he  would  that  same 
day   depart,  the    Prior,   after 


(3)  Quidplura?  convenerunt  fratres 
omnes  ut  eum  ex  more  oleo  sanctae 
unctionis  perungerent.  Communicavit, 
obmutuit,  penitus  desperatus  est  : 


(3)  "Quid  plura?  Convenerunt 
fratres  omnes  ut  eum  ex  more  oleo 
sanctae  unctionis  perungerent.  Cum 
autem  ad  receptionem  sacrae  com- 
munionis  perveniretur,  clamante  priore, 
'  Domine  ^  Gaufride,  aperi  os  tuum  ad 
tuae  salutis  susceptionem,'  voluit  et 
non  potuit,  et  tamen  vix  obtinuit  ut 
parvissima  quaedam  particula  intra 
dentes  ipsius  reciperetur.  Mox  illo  in 
proprio  strato  recepto,  et  in  eadem  in- 
valetudine  permanente,  ita  ut  putare- 
mus  ilium  eodem  dieexiturum  a  corpore, 
non  longo  postmodum  intervallo  advenit 
prior  cum  paucis  fratribus,  tentans  si 


'  "  Domine  Gaufride."   One  would 
have  expected  "brother  Geoffrey." 


§751 


HIS  MIRACLES 


187 


Benedict  (il  251-2) 


(4)  Knowing  absolutely 
nothing  to  do  [for  him],  the 
Prior  said,  "  If  there  is  some 
one  of  you  who  knows  that 
there  is  in  some  place  at 
hand  the  Water  of  St. 
Thomas  the  Martyr,^  in  the 
faith  of  Christ  let  him  bring 
it       here       this       moment." 


William  (i.  210-1) 

no  long  interval,  came  to 
[him]  with  a  few  of  the 
brethren,  in  the  attempt  to 
elicit  perchance  some  word 
of  confession  from  the  mouth 
of  the  patient  Absolutely 
nothing  could  be  anticipated 
now  for  him  except  death.^ 

(4)  "  Knowing  absolutely 
nothing  to  do  [for  him],  the 
Prior  asked  the  brethren  if 
they  kept  among  them  the 
Water  of  St.  Thomas  the 
Martyr,  The  Water  of  heal- 
ing was  presently  brought — 
some  that  I  had  brought 
from  the  Martyr's  memorial. 


(4)  quid  ageret  prorsus  prior 
ignorans,  "  O  fratres,"  inquit,  *'  si  est 
aliquis  vestrum  qui  sciat  alicubi  aquam 
sancti  martyris  Thomae,'  in  fide 
Christi    modo    alferat    earn."       Mox 


forte  aliquid  verbum  confessionis  de  ore 
ipsius  infirmi  exigere  valeret.  Nil 
prorsus  de  illo  nisi  mortem  exspectare 
potuerunt.' 

(4)  "Quid  ageret  prorsus  prior 
ignorans,  fratres  interrogat  si  apud  se 
servaretur  aqua  sancti  martyris  Thomae. 
Mox  allata  est  aqua  salutaris,  quam  de 
memoria  ejusdem  martyris  attuleram  ; 


'  The  Abbot  of  Reading  did  not  at 
this  time  favour  St.  Thomas,  and  any 
monk  who  had  the  Water,  had  it 
secretly,  and  was  liable  to  be  rebuked, 
comp.  (744  (2)).  But  the  Prior,  being 
in  despair,  resorts  to  this  question  as  a 
last  hope,  "If  iome  one  of  you  should 
by  chance  have  it  in  iome  plcue,  or  even 
know  that  it  is  hidden  in  some  place." 
A  few  months  later,  every  monastery, 
even  the  most  obscure,  would  have 
plenty  of  the  Water. 


^  The  meaning  seems  to  be  that 
they  could  not  now  anticipate  any 
words  of  confession.  It  was  the  ab- 
sence of  confession  that  drove  the  Prior 
to  his  next  step. 


1 88 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY   . 


§751 


Benedict  (ii.  251-2) 

Presently  a  phial  with  the 
water  was  brought  by  one  of 
the  brothers. 

(5)  After  it  had  been 
poured  into  the  patient's 
mouth,  the  string  of  his 
tongue  was  straightway 
loosed,  all  his  senses  returned 
in  full  strength,  and  all  his 
limbs  received  their  original 
health,  so  that  he  said,  "  I 
feel  well," " 

(6)  and,  just  afterwards, 
exclaimed  in  a  powerful  voice, 
"  Thanks  be  to  God  who, 
through  the  merits  of  His 
Martyr  St.  Thomas,  has 
perfectly  delivered  me  from 
the  evil  one,  who  was  forcibly 
constricting  my  throat  and 
nose." 


William  (L  210-1) 


(5)  "In  the  moment 
when  it  was  poured  into  the 
sick  man's  mouth,  the  string 
of  his  tongue  was  straightway 
loosed,  all  his  senses  returned 
in  full  strength,  and  all  his 
limbs  received  their  original 
health,  so  that  he  said,  '  I 
feel  well.' 

(6)  "Just  afterwards,  he 
exclaimed  in  a  powerful  voice, 
'Thanks  be  to  God,  who, 
through  the  merits  of  His 
Martyr  St.  Thomas,  has 
perfectly  delivered  me  from 
the  evil  one,  who  was  forcibly 
constricting  my  throat  and 
nose.' 


allata  est  a  quodam   fratrum  ampulla 
cum  aqua, 

(5)  quae  postquam  labiis  infirm i 
infusa  est,  statim  solutum  est  vinculum 
linguae  ejus,  omnesque  sensus  illius  con- 
valuerunt,  omniaque  membra  corporis 
ejus  pristinam  sanitatem  ceperunt,  ita 
ut  diceret,  "  Bene^  est," 

(6)  postmodum  valide  exclamaret, 
"  Deo  gratias  qui  me  per  merita  sancti 
Thomae  martyris  sui  a  maligno  perfecte 
liberavit,  qui  guttur  meum  et  nasum 
vehementer     constringebat. "       Itaque 


(5)  "quae  dum  labiis  aegrotantis 
infusa  est,  statim  solutum  est  vinculum 
linguae  ejus,  omnesque  sensus  ejus 
convaluerunt,  et  omnia  membra 
corporis  pristinam  receperunt  sani- 
tatem, ita  ut  diceret  '  Bene  est.' 

(6)  "  Postmodum  valide  exclamavit, 
'  Deo  gratias,  qui  me  per  merita  sancti 
Thomae,  martyris  sui,  a  maligno 
perfecte  liberavit,  qui  guttur  meum 
et   nasum    vehementer    constringebat.' 


*  "  Bene  est  mihi "  means  '*  I  am 
well  off,"  "I  am  doing  well";  and 
this  meaning  is  suitable  here. 


HIS  MIRACLES  189 


Benedict  (ii.  251-2)  William  (i.  210-1) 

And  so  the  monk  escaped  "  This  miracle  is  attested 

both  the  hands  of  the  demon      by  the  whole  of  the  convent 
and  the  loss  of  life.^  of  Reading   and    almost   all 

the      inhabitants       of       our 
town." 


[752]  The  comparison  of  these  two  narratives  shews 
that  Benedict's  account,  which  a  reader  might  have  naturally 
anticipated  to  be  from  his  own  pen,  is  really  a  condensation 
of  an  unacknowledged  letter  from  a  monk  of  Reading,  with 
two  brief  insertions.  Benedict's  version  omits  what  is 
personal  to  the  sick  man  Geoffrey,  but  somewhat  emphasizes 
what  concerns  the  Water  of  Canterbury. 

[753]  Above,  when  inserting  the  story  of  Elias  of 
Reading,  Benedict's  book  tells  us  that  it  might  have  been 
inserted  long  before,  but  was  neglected  either  through 
forgetfulness  or  through  the  desire  of  further  investigation. 
Possibly,  the  same  causes  operated  here :  but  there  may 
have  been  another,  namely,  the  hostility  of  the  Abbot  of 
Reading  in  the  early  days  before  St.  Thomas's  fame  was 
recognized.  This  may  have  induced  Prior  Odo  of  Canter- 
bury not  to  publish,  in  the  form  of  a  letter  from  a  mere 
private  monk  of  Reading,  a  miracle  that  ought  to  have  been 
attested  by  the  Abbot  of  Reading  himself.  So  Odo  may 
have  caused  the  letter  to  be  entered  in  the  records  of 
Canterbury  not  as  a  letter  but  as  a  narrative.  In  William's 
later  book,  there  was  no  need  of  this  reticence. 

[764]  The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  is  an  instructive  one. 

evasit  monachus  et  manus  daemonis  et       Hujus     miraculi     testes     sunt     totus 
dispendium  mortis.^  Radingiae    conventus    et    fere    omnes 

villae  nostrae  habitatores. " 

'  Lit.    "loss  of,  i.e.   consisting  in, 
death." 


190 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§755 


Wherever  there  is  close  agreement  between  William  and 
Benedict,  we  are  not  justified  in  inferring  that  the  former 
borrowed  from  the  latter  ;  but  we  are  justified  in  thinking  it 
probable  that  they  borrowed  from  a  common  document.* 


§13,  Deliverance  from  the  fall  of  a  wall 


[755]  Benedict  (ii.  252-3) 

(i)  I  know  a  man  of 
good  position  ^  in  the  city  of 
Winchester,  whose  son  Geof- 
frey, about  a  year  and  a  half 
old,  was  delivered  by  the 
Water  of  Canterbury  from 
acute  disease. 


William  (i.  206-7)  ^ 

(i)  The  boy  named 
Geoffrey,  a  native  of  Win- 
chester, son  of  Robert  and 
Laeticia,  about  sixteen 
months  of  age,  was  in  the 
heat  of  a  raging  fever.  After 
drinking  the  Water  of  St. 
Thomas,  he  gladdened  his 
parents  by  an  immediately 
reduced  temperature. 


(i)  Novi  virum  honoratum  i  de 
urbe  Wintoniensi,  cujus  filium  Gaufri- 
dum,  quasi  annum  et  dimidium  aetatis 
habentem,  aqua  Cantuariensis  a  morbo 
acuto  eripuit. 


(l)  *  Audisti  puerum  vulneratum  ; 
audi  puerum  aetate  minorem,  a  majori 
periculo  liberatum.  Puer  Gaufridus 
nomine,  Winthoniensis  natione,  patre 
Roberto  natus  et  matre  Laeticia,  habens 
a  nativitate  quasi  xvi.  menses,  fervore 
febris  exaestuabat.  Qui  bibita  aqua 
sancti  Thomae,  statim  sumpto  refrigerio 
parentes  laetificavit. 


*  [754a]  It  is  quite  possible  that  this  narrative,  like  the  last,  though  found  in 
Benedict's  book,  proceeded  (in  that  condensed  form)  from  William's  pen.  It  is 
not  like  Benedict,  but  it  is  like  William,  to  omit  the  clause  of  attestation 
(William  (6))  and  to  substitute  the  antithetical  jingle  about  "the  hands  of  the 
demon  and  the  loss  of  life."     See  746<z. 


1  «' Honoratus,"  below  (758  (8)), 
applied  to  a  chaplain,  seems  to  mean 
"respected."  Here,  it  may  refer  to 
official  "honour." 


•  William  begins  with  one  of  his 
usual  appendix-prefaces:  "You  have 
heard  [,  reader,]  of  a  boy  wounded  : 
hear  [now]  of  a  boy  lesser  in  age  but 
delivered  from  a  greater  peril." 


i 


HIS  MIRACLES 


191 


Benedict  (ii.  252-3) 
(2)  But  after  some  days, 
when  the  boy's  mother  was 
sitting  alone  in  the  house, 
and  he,  opposite  her,  quiet  in 
the  cradle,  a  great  stone  party- 
wall  fell  with  a  crash,  burying 
the  child  in  a  heap  of  rubble. 


William  (i.  206-7) 

(2)  But  the  sudden  joy^ 
was  clouded  with  sorrow. 
For  when  his  mother  was 
sitting  by  herself,^  a  party- 
wall  of  the  house  was  shaken 
down  and  fell  from  top  to 
bottom,  under  which  the  boy 
lay  quiet  in  the  cradle.* 
Now  it  was  of  stone,  thirteen 
feet  high. 

So  the  cradle  (which  was 
made  of  solid  boards,  squared 


(2)  Post  dies  autem  aliquot,  cum 
sederet  sola  pueri  mater  in  domo,  et 
puer  e  regione  in  cunabulo  quiesceret, 
corruit  ejusdem  domus  paries  magnus 
lapideus,  et  caementi  tumulo  sepelivit. 


(2)  Sed  repentina  laetitia  ^  tristitia 
obnubilata  est.  Nam  cum  mater  ejus 
sederet  seorsum  ^  in  domo  sua,  ruit  con- 
cussus  paries  domus  a  summo  usque 
deorsum,  sub  quo  infans  quiescebat  in 
cunis.*  Erat  autem  lapideus,  tredecim 
pedes  habens  in  altitudine.  Contritum 
est  itaque  cunabulum  in  decem  et  octo 
partes,  quod  erat  ex  solidis  lignis  quad- 


2  "Joy  (laetitia)."  William  has 
also  taken  the  trouble  to  tell  us  that 
the  mother's  name  was  "Laeticia." 
These  two  insertions  make  it  hardly 
uncharitable  to  suppose  that  William 
is  here  punning  on  the  name.  The 
words  may  mean  :  "  But  Laetitia  was 
clouded  with  a  sudden  sorrow." 

'  "  Seorsum,"  in  the  story  of  Cecilia 
(737  (12)),  meant  "in  a  separate 
room." 

*  "  Sub  quo  quiescebat"  seems  to 
be  taken  by  William  to  mean  "  under 
which"  (that  is,  "by  the  side  of 
which  ")  the  boy  "  had  been  sleeping." 
Taken  literally,  his  words  mean  that  the 
boy  still  remained  quiet  or  sleeping 
under  the  fallen  wall. 


193 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§755 


Benedict  (ii.  252-3) 


(3)  The  mother  cried 
out  :  "  My  lord,  St.  Thomas, 
save  me  my  son  whom  thou 
didst  [but]  yesterday  ^  restore 
to  me."  Then  she  fainted 
for  excess  of  sorrow.  But 
some   of  the    house-servants 


William  (i.  206-7) 

like  embossed  work  *)  was 
shattered  into  eighteen  pieces  : 
some  fragments,  too,  were 
driven  deep  into  the  ground. 
Now  it  was  thought  that  the 
wall  fell  in  owing  to  a  storm 
the  day  before :  but  we  be- 
lieve that  the  Holy  of  Holies 
ordained  this  to  the  glory  of 
His  Holy  one  \i£.  St.  Thomas]. 
(3)  The  mother,  seeing 
her  little  one  overwhelmed  in 
the  chasm,  cried,  "St.  Thomas, 
save  me  my  boy  whom  thou 
didst  give  back  to  me,"  and 
fainted  for  sorrow  in  the 
moment  of  her  cry. 


(3)  Exclamavit  autem  mater  : 
"  Domine,"  inquit,  "sancte  Thoma, 
conserva  mihi  filium  meum,  quem 
mihi  pridie^  restituisti."  Haec  cum 
dixisset,  prae  nimietate  doloris  in  ex- 
stasim  lapsa  est  ;  introierunt  autem 
aliqui  ex  servientibus  domus,  et  videntes 


ratum,  instar  toreumatis.*  Nonnulla 
quoque  fragmenta  humi  pessum  infossa 
sunt.  Putabatur  autem  paries  propter 
praecedentis  diei  tempestatem  procu- 
buisse.  Nos  vero  credimus  ad  glori- 
ficandum  Sanctum  sanctorum  haec 
dispensasse. 

(3)  Videns  autem  mater  quia  chas- 
mate  parvulus  obrueretur,  clamavit, 
"Sancte  Thoma,  conserva  puerum 
quem  mihi  reddidisti "  ;*  et  prae  dolore 
cum    clamore    in    extasim    lapsa    est. 


'  "Yesterday  (pridie)."  See  the 
same  phrase  uttered  by  a  mother  below, 
758  (5).  Here  William  omits  "pridie." 
There  he  substitutes  "pridem."  In 
727  (3)1  William  omits  a  passage  that 
contains  "pridie"  used  in  this  loose 
sense  to  mean  "lately." 


^  "  Instar  toreumatis. "  The  bear- 
ing of  the  phrase  on  the  context  is 
obscure,  but  see  757. 


§755 


HIS  MIRACLES 


193 


Benedict  (ii.  252-3) 

came  in,  and,  seeing  her  lying 
on  the  floor  as  one  dead, 
they  applied  the  usual  remedy 
of  cold  water. 


(4)  When    she    came   to 
herself  and  sat  up,  they  said, 


William  (i.  206-7) 

Wonderful  the  kindliness 
of  the  Saint !  Wonderful 
the  power  of  the  unconquered 
Martyr !  Quickly  did  he 
give  ear  to  the  affectionate  * 
mother,  and  preserve  the  boy 
too  young  to  have  merit  [of 
his  own],  in  the  very  jaws  of 
death,  with  four  cart-loads,  or 
three  [at  all  events],  pressing 
upon  him. 

For  when  on  the  one  hand 
the  son  was  being  snatched 
[from  life]  by  the  falling  mass, 
and  on  the  other  hand  the 
mother  [was  being  snatched] 
out  of  herself  by  grief,  two 
men  entered  just  in  time, 
and  set  the  woman  on  her 
feet, 

(4)  and  asked  and  heard 
the  cause  of  her  sorrow. 


earn  in  area  jacere  quasi  mortuam, 
aquae  frigidae,  ut  fieri  solet,  apponunt 
remedium. 


(4)  Quae  cum  ad  se  rediens  rese- 
disset,  "Quid,"  inquiunt,  ••  habes,  do- 


Mira  benignitas  sancti  !  Mira  potentia 
martyris  invicti,  qui  et  piam^  matrem 
celerius  exaudivit,  et  puerum  citra 
meritum  in  ipsa  morte  conservavit 
illaesum,  quern  quatuor  aut  tria  pres- 
serunt  onera  quadrigarum  !  Nam  cum 
filius  hinc  ruina,  inde  mater  sibi 
moestitia  praeriperetur,  intervenientes 
viri  duo  mulierem  jacentem  in  pedes 
statuunt, 

(4)  causam  doloris   interrogant   et 
accipiunt. 


vou  II 


"  •'  Piam  "  would  mean  "  affection- 
ate" in  classical  Latin.  Hut  perhaps 
it  is  here  "pious." 

'3 


194 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§755 


Benedict  (ii.  252-3) 
"  What  ails  you,  mistress  ?  " 
"  Woe  is  me,"  she  replied, 
"  my  son  is  dead.  See ! 
Beneath  yonder  heap  of  rubble 
and  stones,  he  lies  crushed 
to  pieces." 

(5)  Invoking  the  name 
of  God  and  the  Martyr,  and 
calling  in  plenty  of  men  to 
help,  they  tear  asunder  the 
mound,  and  at  last,  though 
not  without  much  toil,  reach- 
ing the  boy,  they  find  him 
not  only  unhurt  but  actually 
laughing — and  this,  though 
the  boy's  cradle,  which  was 
of  stout  and  solid  boards, 
had  been  shattered  and  splin- 
tered into  eighteen  parts. 
But  the  infant's  tender  body 
was  absolutely  intact,  with 
the  exception  of  a  very  slight 
blueness  under  the  eye  :  [and 


William  (i.  206-7) 


(5)  Calling  in  helping 
hands,  casting  down  the  vast 
mass  of  rubbish  from  the 
wall,  finding  the  cradle  splin- 
tered into  the  smallest  frag- 
ments, they  raise  the  boy  not 
only  unhurt  but  actually 
bright  and  laughing — won- 
derful to  say — not  having 
any  sign  of  hurt  on  his  whole 
body  beyond  a  slight  blue- 
ness near  one  of  the  eyes — 
and  this  could  hardly  be 
noticed. 


mina?"  "  Prohdolor!"  inquit,  "mor- 
tuus  filius  meus  est ;  ecce  sub  acervo  illo 
caementi  et  lapidum  jacet  confractus. " 

(5)  At  illi,  nomen  Dei  et  martyris 
invocantes,  et  plurimum  hominum  con- 
vocantes  auxilium,  aggerem  ilium 
diruunt,  et  ad  puerum  tandem,  licet 
labore  plurimo,  pervenientes,  non 
solum  illaesum  sedet  ridentemreperiunt, 
cunabulo  pueri,  quod  de  lignis  erat 
grossis  et  solidis,  confracto  et  in  partes 
decern  et  octo  dissipato.  Infantis  vero 
caro  tenera  prorsus  intacta  fuit,  livore 
permodico  excepto,  quem  habebat  sub 


(5)  Qui  vocatis  auxiliis,  ruinosam 
congeriem  dejicientes,  cunabulum  com- 
minutum  frustatim  invenientes,  puerum 
non  modo  illaesum,  sed  et  laetum  et 
ridentem,  attollunt,  mirabile  dictu,  non 
habentem  laesionis  signum  in  toto  cor- 
pore,  praeter  modicum  livoris  in  altero 
oculorum,  qui  vix  poterat  adverti. 


§755 


HIS  MIRACLES 


195 


Benedict  (ii.  252-3) 

this]  while  there  lay  [just] 
over  the  infant  one  stone 
bigger  than  the  infant  him- 
self. 

But  they^  wondered  at 
the  sight  and  astonishment 
seized  them. 

(6)  Benedict  omits  this. 


William  (i.  206-7) 


(6)  As  time  went  on, 
and  they  deferred  paying  the 
thanks  to  which  they  were 
bound  by  the  Martyr's  kind- 
ness, the  boy  began  to  sicken 
and  to  be  required  to  pay  the 
debt  publicly  announced  [by 
the  parents]." 

And  it  happened  that  one 
day  a  woman  came  to  the 
boy's  grandmother  and  said, 
"  It  is  revealed  to  me  con- 
cerning this  boy  that  he  ought 


oculo  ;  cum  super   infantem  lapis  ali- 
quis  jacuerit,  ipso  infante  major.      Ipsi  ^ 
vero  videntes  admirati  sunt,  et  stupor 
apprehendit  eos. 
(6)  cm. 


(6)  Procedente  tempore,  et  gratias 
differentibus  eis  qui  ex  beneficio  martyris 
tenebantur,  coepit  puer  aegrotare,  et  ad 
debita  praeconiorum  reposci.''  Et  acci- 
dit  in  una  dierum  ut  mulier  quaedam 
veniens  ad  aviam  pueri  ingrederetur 
dicens,  "  Revelatum  est  mihi  de  puero 


3  "Ipsi "in  classical  Latin  would 
mean  "they  themselves";  but  in  this 
Latin  it  so  often  means  "  the  above 
mentioned,"  that  this  is  probably  the 
meaning  here. 


^  "Ad  debita  praeconiorum  re- 
posci "  may  possibly  mean  that  the 
boy's  life  would  be  required  to  pay  the 
debt. 


196  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §755 

William  (i.  206-7) 

to  be  conveyed  to  the  Me- 
morial of  St.  Thomas.  Know 
that  this  revelation  has  pro- 
ceeded from  the  Lord.  For 
I  say  not  this  for  the  sake 
of  gain,  or  some  ^  other  dis- 
honourable reason :  but  I 
come  to  bring  you  word  of 
a  Divine  warning." 

So  after  a  short  time  they 
conveyed  the  boy  to  Canter- 
bury and  told  us  what  we 
tell  [you]. 


[756]  Benedict  appears  to  have  received  his  account  from 
the  father,  who  was  an  acquaintance  of  his,  and  who  may 
have  written  to  him  at  once  about  it.  Perhaps  the  father 
took  the  facts  as  they  were  given  him  by  the  servants,  who 
rescued  the  boy,  and  who  would  be  able  to  give  him  a  more 
connected  account  than  the  mother,  on  the  day  on  which  she 
received  so  terrible  a  shock.  The  servants,  suddenly  entering 
the  room,  would  notice  the  mother's  chair  in  one  place  and 
the  heap  of  rubbish  (now  covering  the  poor  child's  cradle) 
"  over  against  "  it,   shewing  how  the  mother  had   escaped  : 

hoc  quod  ad  memoriam  beati  Thomae 
transmitti  debeat.  Noveris  banc  revela- 
tionem  a  Domino  processisse.  Non 
enim  hoc  dico  vel  lucri  gratia  vel  alia 
quadam  ^  minus  honesta  causa,  sed 
nuncia  divinae  admonitionis  existo." 
Igitur  post  modicum  tempus  puero 
Cantuariam  transmisso,  didicimus  quae 
dicimus. 

^  We  should  have  expected  "qua- 
quam  "  instead  of  ' '  quadam. " 


§757  HIS  MIRACLES  197 

they  would  know  (but  the  mother  would  not)  that  they  had 
applied  cold  water  to  her,  whereas  she  would  remember 
nothing  till  she  found  them  "  setting  her  on  her  feet."  The 
servants'  narrative,  following  the  order  of  the  events,  would 
not  describe  the  cradle  or  the  number  of  pieces  into  which  it 
was  smashed,  till  they  actually  found  it :  and  the  fact  that 
some  of  the  pieces  were  driven  into  the  floor  would  not 
impress  them  at  the  time  so  much  as  the  fact  that  "just 
over  the  baby  there  was  one  big  stone  lying,  as  big  as  the 
baby  himself"  The  wonder  of  the  rescuers,  with  which 
Benedict's  narrative  concludes,  is  very  naturally  emphasized 
if  it  was  from  them  that  he  derived  his  account. 

[757]  On  the  other  hand,  Laetitia,  the  mother,  appears  to 
have  inspired  William's  narrative.  It  was  very  natural  for 
her  to  pass  over  what  she  said  when  she  came  to  her  senses, 
of  which  she  probably  had  a  very  vague  recollection  ;  she 
is  also  very  woman-like  in  describing  the  child's  cradle  as 
something  rather  above  the  average,  "  like  embossed  work," 
and  in  mentioning  the  number  of  the  fragments  so  early,  out 
of  the  historical  order  ;  and  very  mother-like  in  telling  us 
that  the  child  was  "  bright "  as  well  as  "  laughing,"  and  that, 
as  for  the  "  blueness "  near  "  one  of  the  eyes,"  "  one  could 
hardly  notice  it."  Of  course,  also,  the  warning  of  the 
prophetess  to  the  grandmother,  coming  from  the  grandmother 
to  the  mother,  would  lose  nothing  in  the  telling,  and  we 
cannot  be  surprised  that  William  gives  it  at  considerable 
length. 

The  one  statistical  point  peculiar  to  William  is  that  the 
wall  was  thirteen  feet  high.  This  William  might  ask  her ; 
and  she  might  naturally  know  the  height  of  her  own  room. 
If  she  exaggerated  at  first  the  number  of  cart-loads  of  rub- 
bish, she  might  perhaps,  when  pressed  by  the  monk  to  be 
careful,  correct  herself  as  in  William's  narrative,  "  four,  or, 
say  three."  But  it  might  fairly  be  argued  that  this,  and  the 
height  of  the  wall,  may  have  come,  not  from  her,  but  from 


198 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§757 


one  of  her  servants.  In  the  main,  however,  the  style  of 
the  two  narratives  favours  the  view  above  suggested,  that 
Benedict's  account  came  from  the  father,  William's  from  the 
mother.  Contrast  the  story  of  the  son  of  Yngelrann  (731), 
where  the  mother  appears  to  have  influenced  Benedict,  but 
not  William. 


1 4.  Miracles  wrought  on  James,  son  of  the  Earl  of  Clare 


[768]  Benedict  (ii.  255-7) 

(i)  The  powerful  also 
are  not  cast  away  by  God, 
since  He  too  is  powerful. 
For  the  powerful  and  the 
noble  have  received  their 
dead  by  resurrection.  Con- 
cerning one  in  particular  of 
these,^  mention  was  made 
above,  and  now  a  second 
time  mention  must  be  made 
of  one  in  particular. 


William  (i.  228-30) 

"  There  is  no  acceptance 
of  persons  before  God,  but  in 
every  nation  whoso  feareth 
God,  he  is  accepted  by 
Him."^  He  casts  not  away 
the  powerful,  since  He  too  is 
powerful :  He  does  not  always 
give  access  to  a  poor  man 
[merely]  because  he  is  poor. 
Hearts,  not  rank,  He  notes  ; 
possessors,  not  possessions. 
For    if   rich    and    poor    are 


(i)  Potentes  etiam  Deus  non  abjicit, 
cum  et  ipse  sit  potens ;  potentes  enim 
et  nobiles  acceperunt  de  resurrectione 
mortuos  suos.  De  quorum  aliquo' 
superius  specificatum  est,  et  nunc  iterum 
de  aliquo  spedBcandum. 


(l)  "  Non  est  acceptio  personarum 
apud  Deum,  sed  in  omni  gente  qui 
timet  Deum,  hie  acceptus  est  illi."' 
Non  abjicit  potentem,  cum  et  ipse  sit 
potens  ;  non  admittit  quandoque  pau- 
perem  quia  pauper  est.  Corda,  non 
conditionem,  attendit ;  possessorem, 
non  possessionem.     Si  enim  dives   et 


*  "  De  aliquo,"  probably  referring 
to  the  knight  Jordan,  above  (732). 
This  miracle  on  one  of  noble  birth 
seems  to  have  been  made  the  subject  of 
a  discourse  in  Canterbury,  on  the  basis 
of  the  words  •'  Potens  potentes  non 
abjicit."     Both  writers  have  them. 


*  Acts  X.  35. 


§758 


HIS  MIRACLES 


199 


Benedict  (ii.  255-7) 


(2)  He  that  makes  all 
breath,  first  sent  away  the 
breath  of  life,  and  then  sent 


William  (i.  228-30) 

Strong  in  merit  of  good  deeds,^ 
they  deserve  to  be  heard 
impartially,  when  making  re- 
quests of  the  Lord.  Against 
the  latter  there  is  no  pre- 
judice from  his  poverty,  nor 
against  the  former  from  his 
wealth.^  Therefore,  let  each 
one  study  to  please  God  in 
mind  ;  let  him  make  it  his 
business  to  work  for  God  in 
word,'*  that  God  also  may 
work  for  him. 

(2)  Matilda,  countess  of 
Clare,  bore  her  husband  a  son 
named  James. 


(2)  Quiflatum  omnem  facit,  Jacobo, 
Rogerii   comitis   Clarensis  filio,  adhuc 


pauper  merito  virtutum^  polleant,  pe- 
tentes  a  Domino  indifferenter  exaudiri 
merentur.  Non  praejudicat  huic  pau- 
pertas,  non  illi  facultas.^  Igitur  unus- 
quisque  studeat  placere  Deo  mente, 
verbo  *  satagat  operari  Deo,  ut  et  Deus 
operetur  pro  eo. 

(2)    Matildis    comitissa    de   Clara 
suscepit    filium   Jacobum   e   v-iro   sue. 


'  *•  Virtutum "  so  frequently,  in 
these  treatises,  means  •'mighty  works," 
that  it  probably  means  ♦'  works"  here. 

3  William  elsewhere  (688)  frankly 
avows  a  prejudice  in  favour  of  the  rich, 
so  far  as  concerns  veracity  as  to 
miracles. 

*  So  the  text  "  mente,  verbo." 
But  (?)  "  mente  et  verbo  ;  satagat,"  i.e. 
"  let  him  study  to  please  God  in  mind 
and  word ;  let  him  make  it  his  business 
to  work  for  God  that  God  may  work 
for  him." 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


S758 


Benedict  (ii.  255-7) 

it  back,  to  James,  son  of 
Roger  Earl  of  Clare,  while 
still  a  babe  at  the  breast. 
The  same  innocent  one  was 
succoured  by  the  merits  of 
the  innocent  Martyr,  not  once 
alone  but  a  second  time. 

Born  about  the  feast-day 
of  St.  Michael,  the  little  in- 
fant numbered  but  forty  days 
when,  owing  to  over-violent 
crying,  the  intestines  were 
ruptured  and  filled  the  follicle 
of  the  testicles.  Everything 
being  thus  disordered,  that 
which  ought  to  have  been 
the  contents  of  the  stomach 
became  the  contents  of 
the  follicle,  which  was  so  dis- 
tended as  to  reach  almost  to 
the  knees.^ 


William  (i.  228-30) 

A  short  time  after  his 
birth,  he  was  afflicted  with 
hernia,  and  the  intestines 
flowed  into  the  vessels  of  the 
testicles. 

His  father,  seeing  that 
his  child  was  destined  from 
tender  years  to  a  life  of  pro- 
tracted pain,  and  [to  pass] 
from  the  cradle  to  care,^  called 
a  consultation  of  physicians, 
promising  them  a  large  sum 
in  ready  money  if  they  would 
cure  him.  Ascertaining  that 
the  cause  of  the  rupture  was 
a  violent  outburst  of  scream- 
ing and  struggling,  they  said 
they  must  use  incision.  But 
the  mother,  feeling  (as  for 
herself)  the  danger  for  a  child 
of  such   tender  years,  would 


lactenti  vitalem  flatum  remisit  amissum. 
Eidem  innocenti  innocentis  martyris 
merita  non  solum  semel,  sed  etsecundo 
succurrerunt.  Circa  solennitatem  beati 
Michaelis  natus,  quadraginta  dies  habe- 
bat  infantulus,  cum  rupta  prae  clamore 
nimio  intestina  genitalium  foUiculum 
impleverant ;  ordine  confuso,  quae 
ventris  esse  debuerant  habebat  folliculus 
distentus,  et  ad  poplites  pene  porrec- 
tus.2      Quadraginta,    aut   eo   amplius, 


Qui  parvo  tempore  post  nativitatem 
hernia  percussus  est,  et  fluxerunt  in- 
testina in  saccules  testiculorum.  Cujus 
pater  videns  quia  a  tenero  protraheretur 
ad  poenam,  et  a  cunis  ad  curam,^ 
medicos  convenit,  multam  spondens 
numeratam  pecuniam  si  ipsum  curarent. 
Qui  rupturae  causam  in  nimio  motu 
et  vagitu  deprehendentes,  opus  esse  in- 
cisione  dicebant.     Mater  vero,  puerili 


^  The  contents  of  this  and  the  pre- 
ceding section,  with  the  antithetical  use 
of  "aliquis,"  "  remitto  "and  "amitto," 
"flatus,"  and  "innocens,"  are  not  in 
Benedict's  ordinary  style. 


^  "A  cunis  ad  curam"  seems  an 
intended  jingle  ;  ' '  care  "  is  used  in  the 
sense  of  "  cares,"  gnawing  the  heart. 


§758 


HIS  MIRACLES 


Benedict  (ii.  255-7) 

Forty  silver  marks,  or 
more,  did  the  father  offer  for 
a  cure  :  but  no  one  was  found 
venturous  enough  to  accept 
the  offer  unless  he  might 
make  an  incision  into  the 
little  infant.  But  the  parents, 
fearing  for  his  tender  age, 
would  by  no  means  consent 
to  the  application  of  the 
knife  :  so  the  infant  remained 
for  a  year  and  some  months 
suffering  from  hernia. 

(3)  At  length,  in  the 
second  year  from  his  birth, 
on  the  day  of  the  Purification 
of  the  blessed  Virgin  and 
Mother,  Mary,  he  was  brought 
by  his  mother  to  the  Martyr, 
washed  with  the  Martyr's 
Water,  and  within  three  days 


not 
but 


William  (i.  228-30) 

permit     any     incision. 


(3)  placed  all  her  hope 
in  the  Lord  and  St.  Thomas. 
And  going  to  the  place  of 
his  rest  ^  on  the  day  on  which 
theblessed  Virgin  and  Mother, 
Mary  (as  we  read  in  Scrip- 
ture)^ presented  her  Son  in 
the  Temple,  she,  too,  herself, 


marcas  argenti,  quas  ob  ejus  curationem 
pater  offerebat,  non  erat  qui  accipere 
praesumeret,  nisi  infanlulum  incidere 
liceret.  At  parentes,  aetati  tenerae  me- 
tuentes,  ut  ferrum  admilteretur  minima 
consenserunt ;  permansit  itaque  infans 
herniosus  anno  uno  et  mensibus  aliquot. 
(3)  Tandem  anno  nativitatis  suae 
secundo,  in  die  Purificationis  beatae 
virginis  et  matris  Mariae,  a  matre  sua 
martyri  allatus,  et  martyris  aqua  lotus, 
infra    diem    tertium    dimissus   est   ab 


teneritudini  compatiens,  non  permitte- 
bat  incidi,  sed 


(3)  spem  totam  in  Domino  beatoque 
Thoma  constituit.  Et  abiens  ad  locum 
requietionis  ejus,"  die  qua  beata  Maria 
mater  et  virgo  Filium  suum  legitur '  in 
templo   praesentasse,    curavit   et   ipsa 


'  i.e.  the  Martyr's  tomb  (741  (9)) 
(William). 

'  "  Legitur,"  lit.  "  is  read  to  have 
presented." 


202 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§758 


Benedict  (ii.  255-7) 

released  from  his  disease,  so 
that  no  trace  of  the  disease 
remained. 


(4)  After  some  weeks,  in 
the  middle  of  the  following 
Lent,  being  seized  by  another 
disease,  he  at  length  breathed 
forth  his  spirit. 

The  mother  had  gone  to 
church    and    was     attending 


William  (i.  228-30) 

took  care  to  present  her  own 
son  to  the  Martyr  to  be  cared 
for.8 

There,  too,  she  received 
advice  (for  she  had  not  pre- 
sumed [before])  to  wash  the 
boy's  diseased  parts  with  the 
healing  Water.  By  merely 
washing  she  gained  complete 
health  for  him  whom  she 
washed.  No  other  kind  of 
cure  was  employed.  Faith 
alone  reduced  the  intestines 
into  their  place. 

(4)  After  this,  some  con- 
siderable time  passed  on,  and 
the  boy  was  withdrawn  from 
life  by  disease.  Great  was 
the  sorrow  of  those  in  charge 
of  him.  When  the  limbs 
became  so   stiff  as  to  make 


infirmitate   sua,    nullo    infirmitatis   re- 
manente  indicio. 


(4)  Post  hebdomadas  aliquot,  in 
medio  videlicet  Quadragesimae  se- 
quentis,  alia  aegritudine  correptus, 
tandem  spiritum  exhalavit.  Mater  ad 
ecclesiam   profecta    divinis   intendebat 


suum  martyri  curandum  ^  praesentare. 
Ubi  et  in  consilio  accepit  1  (non  enim 
praesumpsit),  infirma  pueri  aqua  salu- 
bri  lavare.  Lavit  [tantum],  et  ei  quem 
lavit  omnimodam  sanitatem  promeruit. 
Non  aliud  genus  curationis  adhibitum 
est ;  sola  fides  in  locum  suum  intestina 
reduxit. 

(4)  Inde  aliquanto  tempore  pro- 
fluente  correptus  idem  puer  infirmitate 
vitae  subtractus  est  ;  et  facta  est  tris- 
titia  magna  tutorum.  Qui  cum  rigor 
membrorum    certissimam    vitae    prae- 


*  i.e.    "to   be   cured,"  a  play  on 
the  words  "curavit — curandum." 


§758 


HIS  MIRACLES 


203 


Benedict  (ii,  255-7) 

divine  service :  the  house- 
hold had  remained  at  home. 

No  one  was  found  willing 
to  bear  to  the  mother's  ears 
the  news  of  her  son's  death, 
lest  he  should  be  called  the 
cause  of  the  calamity.  At 
last,  a  little  boy  (brother  of 
the  deceased)  ran  to  the 
church,  unable  (like  a  boy) 
to  keep  a  secret,  and  cried 
out  repeatedly  to  his  mother, 
"  Lady,  my  brother  is  dead. 
Lady,  my  brother  is  dead." 

(5)  She  immediately 
turned  pale,  started  up,  threw 
off  her  mantle,  and,  running 
back  to  the  house,  found  the 
infant  carried  out  from  his 
chamber    to    an   outer   hall. 


William  (i.  228-30) 

death  certain,  they  carried 
the  body  into  an  outer  build- 
ing, reserving  for  the  mother's 
anxious  care  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  burial  and 
the  funeral  rites.  But  as  no 
one  dared  to  afflict  her  with 
the  sad  news,  a  little  brother 
of  the  deceased,  running  out 
[of  the  house],  brought  word 
to  the  mother  of  what  he  had 
seen. 


(5)  Casting  off  her  gar- 
ment, and  hurrying  back  from 
prayer,  she  raises  ^  the  corpse 
in  her  hands,  presses  it  to  her 
breasts,  cherishes  it  in  her 
arms,   not   fearing    to    apply 


obsequiis ;  domi  familia  remanserat. 
Non  est  inventiis  qui  pueri  mortem 
matemis  auribus  nuntiaret,  ne  cala- 
mitatis  ejus  causa  diceretur  fuisse. 
Currit  tandem  puerulus,  pueri  frater 
defuncti,  ad  ecclesiam  (nescit  quippe 
puer  aliquis  celare  secretum),  et  matri 
clamat  ingeminans,  **  Domina,  frater 
meus  est  mortuus  ;  domina,  frater  meus 
est  mortuus." 

(5)  At  ilia  statim  expallens  exsiliit, 
domumque  indumento  rejecto  recurrens, 
infantem  reperit  a  thalamo  in  aulam 
exteriorem  elatum,  extensum  in   area, 


dicasset  absentiam,  in  exteriorem 
domum  corpus  transferentes  elationem 
et  ritum  funeris  maternae  sollicitudini 
reser\'arunt.  Nemine  tamen  audente 
matrem  tristi  nuntio  soUicitare,  pro- 
currens  fraterculus  defuncti  quod  viderat 
matri  nuntiavit. 


(5)  Quae  veste  rejecta  cursim  rediens 
ab  oratione  cadaver  manibus  attoUit," 
premit  ad  ubera,  fovet  inter  brachia, 
vultus    vultibus     suis    admovere    non 


"  "Attollit"  might  mean,  with 
emphasis,  "  raises  towards  herself"  but 
is  used  by  William  elsewhere  without 
any  such  emphasis. 


204 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§758 


Benedict  (ii.  255-7) 

stretched  out  on  the  floor — the 
mouth  open,  but  no  breathing 
whatever,  the  tongue  and  lips 
drawn  inwards,  the  eyes  deep 
sunk,  and  turned  up  so  that 
only  the  white  could  be  seen 
— absolutely  cold  and  stiff, 
and,  to  speak  briefly,  in  very 
truth  dead. 

And  snatching  him  up 
into  her  arms,  "  St.  Thomas," 
she  cried,  "  restore  me  my 
son  ;  but  yesterday,^  when  he 
was  afflicted  with  hernia,  you 
brought  him  back  to  health. 
Now  he  is  dead ;  holy  Martyr, 
restore  him  to  life." 


William  (i.  228-30) 

the  child's  face  to  her  own,^° 
and  crying  aloud, "  St.  Thomas, 
long  ago  "  you  gave  me  back 
my  son  :  why  did  you  resolve 
to  give  [him]  back, — merely 
to  cause  sorrow  to  a  mother  ? 
You  healed  the  disease  that 
caused  him  such  frightful 
tortures :  woe  is  me,  how 
have  I  sinned,  what  command 
have  I  transgressed,  that  I 
am  now  condemned  to  be- 
reavement ?  Give  back,  even 
now,  holy  Martyr,  him  whom 
you  [then]  gave  back," 


ore  aperto,  sed  penitus  absque  spiraculo, 
lingua  labiisque  in  se  retractis,  defossis 
oculis,  et  ita  ut  albugo  sola  videretur 
eversis,  frigidum  penitus  rigidumque, 
et,  ut  breviter  sit  dicere,  revera  mor- 
tuum.  Et  arripiens  eum  in  ulnas, 
"  Sancte  Thoma,"  inquit,  "restitue 
mihi  filium  meum  ;  pridie  ^  herniosum 
redonasti  sanitati ;  nunc  mortuum, 
sancte  martyr,  vitae  restitue." 


trepidat,^"  damans,  "Sancte  Thoma, 
pridem  "  puerum  mihi  reddidisti  ;  cur 
ad  maternum  luctum  reddere  voluisti  ? 
Morbum,  quo  misere  cruciabatur, 
curasti  ;  vae  mihi,  quo  nunc  peccato, 
qua  transgressione  mandatorum,  dam- 
nor  orbitate  ?  Redde,  martyr  sancte, 
etiam  nunc  quem  reddidisti." 


'  "  Pridie,"  a  hyperbole  natural  to 
a  mother,  but  not  understood  by 
William,  who  alters  it  to  "pridem." 
Suspicions  may  occur  that  Benedict, 
who  assigns  this  phrase  to  another 
mother  above  (755  (3))  may  be  writing 
what  he  thought  the  mother  might 
have  said  rather  than  what  she  did  say. 
But  both  here  and  there  the  circum- 
stances make  the  phrase  highly  natural, 
and  the  fact  that  William  alters  it  here, 
and   omits   it   above,    shews  that   the 


10  ««  Not  fearing."  This  seems  a 
strange  thing  to  need  to  say.  Does 
the  writer  imply  that  the  disease  was 
infectious,  or  of  some  specially  revolt- 
ing character?  The  carrying  of  the 
corpse  "  into  an  outer  building,"  here 
mentioned  by  William,  is  not,  I  think, 
often  mentioned  by  him  except  in 
the  supposed  death  of  Cecilia,  from 
cancer  (see  above,  737  (n)),  whose 
condition  was  exceptionally  repellent. 

'1  See  note  3  on  Benedict. 


§758 


HIS  MIRACLES 


205 


Benedict  (ii.  255-7) 

(6)  She  also  ran  and 
fetched  from  a  writing  case 
relics  of  the  Saint  which  she 
had  brought  from  Canterbury. 
Some  of  the  blood  of  the 
Saint  she  poured  into  the 
mouth  of  the  dead  child,  and 
pushed  a  small  portion  of 
his  hair-clothing  right  into 
the  throat, 

(7)  incessantly  exclaim- 
ing, "  Holy  Martyr,  Thomas, 
give  me  back  my  son.  He 
shall  be  brought  to  your 
tomb  if  he  lives  again :  I 
myself  will  visit  you  on  my 
bare  feet.      Hear  my  prayer." 


William  (i.  228-30) 

(6)   Placed    by     William 
in  section  10. 


(7)  "  Do  but  place  me 
under  a  [second]  debt,  and 
then,  clothed  in  woollen  attire, 
barefoot,  as  an  outcast,  will 
I  again  seek  your  tomb  in 
devotion.  Give  back,  holy 
Martyr,  him  whom  you  long 
ago  gave  back."  Thus  did 
she  alternate  [vows  and  sup- 
plications ^-]  fixing  her  knees 
on  the  ground. 


(6)  Currens  etiam,  reliquias  sancti, 
quas  a  Cantuaria  detulerat,  a  scrinio 
extraxit  ;  sancti  cruorem  in  os  mortui 
infantis  infudit,  et  portiunculam  cilicii 
ei  usque  in  guttur  intrusit, 

(7)  incessanter  damans  et  dicens, 
"  Sancte  martyr  Thoma,  redde  mihi 
filium  meum ;  ad  sepulchrum  tuum 
adducetur  si  revixerit ;  ipsa  te  nudis 
pedibus  visitabo  ;  exaudi  me." 


(6)  vide  (10). 


(7)  "Voto  obnoxia,  laneis  induta, 
nudis  pedibus  abjecta,  tuum  repetam 
devota  sepulcrum.  Kedde,  martyr 
sancte,  quem  pridem  reddidisti." 
Hujusmodi  loquens  invicem  '^  in  terra 
genua  sua  defigebat. 


phrase  is  unlikely  to  have  been  invented. 
It  seemed  to  William  difficult. 


'*  "  Hujusmodi  loquens  invicem — 
defigebat "  could  hardly  mean ' '  she  spoke 
and  knelt  by  turns"  :  forsurelyshc  would 
speak  while  she  knelt.  Henedict  con- 
nects (758(8))  "iterum  iterumquc"  with 


2o6 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§758 


Benedict  (ii.  255-7) 
(8)  But  all  the  knights 
that  were  standing  near,  the 
countess  of  Warwick,  too,  and 
the  other  ladies,  "  kept  chid- 
ing her  that  she  should  hold 
her  peace."*  But  she,  bend- 
ing her  bare  knees  again  and 
again  on  the  ground,  cried  so 
much  the  more,  "  Holy  Mar- 
tyr, have  pity  on  me." 

Then  Lambert,  her  chap- 
lain, expostulated  with  her,  a 
man  of  a  good  old  age  and 
honoured  [by  all],^  "  Madam, 
what  possesses  you  ?  You 
are  behaving  like  a  simpleton. 
You  are  become  a  fool.  What 
you    are    doing    and    saying 


William  (i.  228-30) 

(8)  But  the  men  and 
ladies  that  were  standing 
near  "  kept  chiding  her  that 
she  should  hold  her  peace,"^^ 
especially  the  chaplain  Lam- 
bert, saying,  "  What  is  the 
matter  with  you.  Madam  ? 
What  is  this  you  are  doing  ? 
what  is  this  you  are  saying? 
Such  conduct  does  not  savour 
of  sanity  or  wisdom.  A 
funeral  demands  funeral  sup- 
plications, not  such  as  these. 
Render  the  body  to  the 
ashes,^*  commit  the  spirit  to 
its  Creator  who  according  to 
His  pleasure  infuses  and  with- 
draws   the     soul.       Do     not 


(8)  Milites  vero  omnes  qui  astabant, 
comitissa  etiam  Warwiccnsis  et  reliquae 
mulieres,  increpabant  earn  ut  taceret ;  * 
at  ilia  genibus  nudis  iterum  iterumque 
in  terram  flexis  multo  magis  clamabai, 
"  Sancte  martyr,  miserere  mei."  Tunc 
capellanus  ejus  Lambertus,  vir  honora- 
tus  ^  et  senectutis  bonae,  ' '  Quomodo 
te  habes,  domina  ?  insipienter  agis ; 
stulta    facta     es ;     amentiam     sapiunt 


(8)  Viri  autem  et  mulieres  qui  asta- 
bant, increpabant  earn  ut  taceret,^^  gt 
praecipue  capellanus  Lambertus,  dicens, 
"Quid  est,  domina?  quid  agis?  quid 
Ipqueris?  Non  haec  sapiunt  mentem 
sanam  et  sapientem.  Funus  funebria, 
non  hujuscemodi,  precamina  poscit. 
Redde  corpus  cineri,"  spiritum  Creatori 
suo  commenda,  qui  creaturae  suae  prout 
vult  animam  infundit  et  aufert.     Noli 


*  Mark  x.  48. 

s  "Honoured    (honoratus)." 
755(1). 


"  genibus  flexis."  Perhaps  there  was  a 
See  French  original  capable  of  both  trans- 
lations.    Comp.  741  (7). 

13  Mark  X.  48. 

1*  "  Redde  cineri  "  seems  to  mean 
" to  the  ground"  as  in  our  Burial 
Service  ("ashes  to  ashes  ").  Elsewhere 
"  imponere  cineri"  means,  literally, 
"  lay  (a  dying  person)  on  ashes." 


§758 


HIS  MIRACLES 


207 


Benedict  (ii.  255-7) 
savours  of  insanity.  Is  the 
Creator  not  to  be  allowed 
to  do  what  He  wills  with 
His  creature  ?  Cease  !  Cast 
away''  the  infant,  and  let  the 
infant  be  treated  as  one  dead. 
It  betokens  great  folly  that 
you  should  wish  to  struggle 
for  that  which  is  impossible 
to  obtain."  Likewise  also 
said  they  all : 

(9)  But  she  answered, 
"  Certainly  I  will  in  no  wise 
cease.  In  no  wise  will  I  cast 
away  my  babe  :  for  I  am  con- 
fident that  he  is  to  be  given 
back  to    me.      Martyr    most 


William  (i.  228-30) 

anger   the   Divine  mercy  by 
fatuous  speech." 


(9)  None  the  less  the 
mother  continued  her  lamenta- 
tion :  "  I  will  not  stop,"  she 
said,  "  till  the  Martyr  is  pro- 
pitiated to  me  and  my  son  is 
restored  to  me  from  death." 


quaecunque  agis  et  loqueris.  Nun- 
quid  non  licet  Creatori  de  creatura 
sua  quod  vult  facere  ?  desine  ;  projice  " 
infantem,  fiatque  de  infante  utpote  de 
mortuo ;  stultitiae  grandis  est  ad  hoc 
te  niti  velle  quod  impossibile  sit  im- 
petrare."  Similiter  et  omnes  dice- 
bant  : 

(9)  at  ilia,  *'Certe  nequaquam," 
inquit,  "  cessabo  ;  nequaquam  infantem 
projiciam ;  confido  enim  quod  mihi 
reddendus  sit.      Martyr,"  inquit,  "glo- 


fatuo  sermone  divinam  clementiam  ex- 
asperare. " 


(9)  Nihilominus  ilia  plangens, 
"Non,"  ait,  "omittam  priusquam 
martyr  mihi  propitietur,  et  de  funere 
filius  restituatur." 


*  "Projice,"  a  very  strong  word. 
But  the  whole  of  Lambert's  language  is 
coloured  with  an  exaggerated  bluntness, 
almost  brutal,  apparently  intended  (per- 
haps by  the  Countess  herselQ  to  shew 
the  strength  of  the  obstacles  that  she- 
had  to  contend  with  in  persisting  in  her 
prayer  to  the  Martyr. 


208 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§758 


Benedict  (ii.  255-7) 
glorious,"  she  cried,  "  Martyr 
most  pious,  Martyr  beloved  ! 


William  (i.  228-30) 


Shew  pity  to  me  ! 
back  my  son  !  " 

( I  o)     Placed 
diet  in  (6). 


Give  me 


by    Bene- 


( I  o)  And  furthermore  she 
opened  the  lips  of  the  deceased 
and  dropped  in  some  of  the 
Martyr's  Water ;  she  also 
pushed  in  a  piece  ^^  of  the 
hair-cloth  garments  of  the 
Martyr. 


riose,  martyr,"  inquit,  "piissime,  martyr 
dilecte,    miserere    mihi ;    redde    mihi 
iilium  meum." 
(10)  vide  (6). 


(10)  Et  adjecit  labiis  defuncti  re- 
clusis  aquam  martyris  instillare,  tomum- 
que '°  cilicinum  de  vestibus  ejusdem 
martyris  intrudere. 


1*  "Tomum,"  mostly  used  of  paper. 
Benedict  has  "portiunculam."  William 
likes  Greek  words  (722). 

It  is  out  of  the  question  that  the  use 
of  the  hair-cloth  and  the  water  should 
have  been  so  long  delayed.  Benedict 
inserts  it  in  its  right  place. 

William  is  also  wrong  in  speaking 
of  the  mother  as  "  opening  the  lips," 
whereas  Benedict  descrilied  (5)  "  the 
mouth  open." 

The  fact  is,  that  William,  or  perhaps 
his  informant,  not  having,  or  not  follow- 
ing, the  mother's  account,  assumes  that 
here,  as  is  expressly  stated  in  many 
other  cases,  the  mouth  was  shut  fast 
and  had  to  be  opened  before  St. 
Thomas's  Water  could  be  poured  in. 

Also  it  appeared  more  seemly  that 
the  application  of  the  relics  and  the  use 
of  the  water  should  come  as  a  climax 
and  be  closely  followed  by  restoration. 
Benedict   places  the  application  early, 


§758 


HIS  MIRACLES 


209 


Benedict  (ii.  255-7) 

(11)  When  she  had  spent 
about  two  hours  in  thus  calling 
[on  him],  the  Martyr  took  com- 
passion on  her  and  restored 
her  babe  to  life.  First  there 
appeared  a  spot  of  red  on  his 
face  :  soon  afterwards  he  be- 
gan to  roll  his  eyes  and  burst 
out  crying, 

(12)  And  they  blessed 
the  Lord,  who  maketh  dead 
and  maketh  alive,  bringeth 
down  to  the  grave  and 
bringeth  back.  And  there 
was  great  gladness  in 
the  house,  and  joy  sup- 
planted the  agony  of  sor- 
row ;     for     "  they     obtained 


William  (i.  228-30) 

(11)  While  she  [thus] 
groans  and  calls  [on  the 
Martyr],  she  noticed  a  spot 
of  red  break  out  on  his  face, 


(12)  perceived  it  to  be 
the  sign  of  the  Divine  com- 
passion, and,  [?  moved  by] 
the  tidings  of  returning  life, 
rose  from  her  knees  with 
thanksgiving.^^ 


(11)  Cumque  ita  quasi  per  duas 
horas  clamasset,  misertus  martyr  ejus 
infantem  vitae  restituit  ;  et  apparente 
primitus  in  facie  illius  nota  ruboris,  post 
modicum  oculos  circumducens  in  ejula- 
tum  prorupit. 

(12)  Et  benedixerunt  Dominum 
qui  mortificat  et  vivificat,  deducit  ad 
inferos  et  reducit ;  et  facta  est  laetitia 
magna  in  domo,  et  extrema  luctus 
occupavit  gaudium  ;  "  gaudium  enim 
et  laetitiam  obtinuerunt  ;  fugit  dolor  et 


(II)  Dum  gemit  et  clamat,  advertit 
in  facie  notam  ruboris  erumpere. 


(12)  Signum  divinae  miserationis 
intelligit,  nuncioque  "^  vitae  redeuntis 
cum  gratiarum  actionibus  assurgit. 


VOL.  11 


and  says  that  after  this,  the  mother's 
prayers  were  unavailing  for  "  two 
hours."  William  places  the  application 
late  and  omits  the  "  two  hours." 

•*  "[(?)  Moved  by]  the  tidings 
(nuncio)."  Possibly  we  ought  to  read 
"  nuncia  (as  messenger)." 

>4 


2IO  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §758 

Benedict  (ii.  255-7) 
joy      and     gladness,      and      sorrow      and      sighing      fled 
away."  ^ 

And  the  Countess,  the  mother  of  the  boy  [thus] 
restored,  readily  undertook^  an  unwonted  task,  and,  setting 
out  with  the  boy  for  Canterbury,  performed  the  promised 
journey  bare-foot.  She  was  followed  by  the  Countess 
of  Warwick  and  many  other  ladies ;  also  by  Lambert, 
the  Chaplain  above  -  mentioned,  and  by  many  knights, 
all  of  whom  testified  that  they  had  seen  the  boy  and  that  he 
had  been  in  very  truth  dead,  and  in  very  truth  restored 
from  the  dead. 


[759]  As  in  the  case  of  Geoffrey  of  Winchester  above- 
mentioned,  so  here,  one  account  seems  to  be  derived  from 
the  mother,  one  from  some  other  source,  probably  the 
Chaplain,  Benedict  represents  the  former ;  William  (who 
has  a  predilection  for  the  testimony  of  the  clergy),  the  latter. 

[760]  The  Countess  describes  the  child  as  the  Earl's 
son,  the  Chaplain  (so  we  will  call  William's  unknown 
informant)  as  the  son  of  "  Matilda,  Countess  of  Clare." 
The  mother  gives  maternal  details,  e.g.  "at  the  breast," 
"  born  about  Michaelmas,"  "  only  forty  days  old  "  ;  and  we 
can  fancy  her  saying  that  Jier  husband  offered  "  forty  marks  " 
for  a  cure,  but  that  "  we  would  not  allow  the  physicians  to 
use  the  knife  "  :  on  the  other  hand,  the  Chaplain — who  had 
(doubtless)  talked  over  matters  with  the  Earl — lays  stress 

gemitus."^  Et  apprehendit*  comitissa,  pueri  mater  suscitati,  laborem  inusita- 
tum,  et  Cantuariam  cum  puero  properans  nudis  pedibus  iter  promissum 
perfecit.  Secuta  est  autem  earn  comitissa  Warwicensis  et  aliae  mulieres 
multae ;  capellanus  etiam  praenominatus  Lambertus,  et  milites  multi,  qui  omnes 
vidisse  se  puerum  et  vere  mortuum  et  vere  a  morte  resuscitatum  testificati  sunt. 

7  Isaiah  xxxv.  10. 

8  "  Apprehendit,"  lit.  "  seized."    Not  "  suscepit,"  which  would  be  the  regular 
word  for  '^'■undertaking  {a  task)." 


§763  HIS  MIRACLES  211 

on  the  father's  anticipations  of  a  life  of  misery  for  the  poor 
child  and  says  that  it  was  the  Countess  who  would  not  allow 
the  operation. 

[761]  Both  record  the  day  of  the  Purification  as  the 
day  when  the  Countess  took  the  little  one  to  Canterbury. 
But  the  mother  alone  mentions  the  date  relating  to  her  child 
("  he  was  in  his  second  year  ") :  the  Chaplain  (or  perhaps  here 
William)  dilates  on  her  faith,  and  on  her  reverence  for  the 
Water  of  Canterbury,  and  her  employment  of  no  other  means. 

"  After  some  time"  says  the  Chaplain — " in  the  middle  of 
Lent"  adds  the  mother — the  child  died.  Thenceforth  the 
Chaplain  follows  the  course  of  events  among  the  servants 
in  t/ie  house  ;  the  mother  tells  her  tale  as  things  came  to  her. 

[762]  At  home,  they  lay  the  body  out  in  an  outer 
building.  A  few  words  describe  it.  The  mother  is  upper- 
most in  their  thoughts.  Things  must  be  left  to  her.  No 
one  dares  tell  her.  The  narrator  does  not  stop  even  to  say 
where  she  is.  Their  minds  are  not  with  her :  the  fear  of 
her  passion  is  with  them.  They  did  not  suppose  that  the 
babe's  little  brother  realized  the  meaning  of  death  :  but  he 
runs  out  and  tells  the  mother  "  what  he  had  seen."  ^ 

[763]  The  mother  begins  her  account  by  saying  she 
had  gone  to  church  ;  and  what  more  natural,  in  the  middle 
of  Lent,  and  her  son  ailing,  too  ?  But  "  the  household  had 
remained  at  home."  While  on  her  knees,  she  hears  her  son 
say  twice,  "  My  brother  is  dead."  There  is  a  mother's  sense 
of  wrong  in  the  phrase  about  a  boy's  "  not  keeping  a  secret," 
as  though  the  servants  had  tried  to  prevent  even  her  son  from 
coming  to  tell  her  the  news,  and  as  though  forsooth,  she 
would  have  treated  a  mere  messenger  as  "  the  cause  of  the 
death  "  !  So  absurd — it  seems  to  her  ;  so  certain — though 
absurd — to  the  servants. 

'  [762fl]  For  another  instance  where  the  mother  apparently  tells  the  story  in 
one  order  and  the  servants  tell  it  in  another,  as  things  occurred  to  them, 
see  756,  757. 


212  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §763 

She  felt  "  pale,"  as  she  "  started  up,"  and  this  little 
detail  (which  must  have  come  from  her,  for  it  was  not  in 
Benedict's  nature  to  invent  it)  is  not  unnaturally  inserted 
in  the  narrative,  as  well  as  the  statement  that  she  threw 
off  her  "  mantle " — vaguely  called  by  the  male  witness 
her  "  garment."  She  came  back  "  at  a  run  from  praying  " 
says  the  Chaplain,  as  though  the  point  were  that  she  did  not 
stay  to  the  end  of  the  prayers  ;  and  then  he  describes  what 
she  did,  adding  that  she  did  not  even  '■^fear  to  place  Jier  face 
close  to  the  child' sT  But  the  mother  describes  not  what  she 
came  from  {i.e.  praying),  but  what  she  came  to  {i.e.  home), 
and  not  what  she  did,  but  (first  of  all)  what  she  saw — the 
little  pitiful  corpse,  not  in  its  bed,  but  in  an  "  outer  hall," 
and  "  lying  on  the  floor  "  !  And  then  the  ghastly  features 
of  death  !  The  mother  thinks  it  needless  to  describe  that  she 
'"cherished"  the  child:  the  point  was,  to  save  it.  If  she 
catches  it  in  her  arms,  it  is  to  offer  up  a  prayer  over  it  to 
St.  Thomas.  Then  to  the  relics  at  once,  the  "  blood  " — 
she  will  not  call  it  Water  ;  for  her,  it  is  "  blood  " — and  the 
little  scrap  of  cloth  which  she  "  pushes  right  into  "  the  little 
one's  throat. 

[764]  Is  it  not  also  very  womanly  that  in  mentioning 
the  painful  expostulations  of  those  who  would  fain  have 
prevented  her  from  saving  her  child's  life,  she  should  single 
out  the  Countess  of  Warwick  ?  From  the  "  knights,"  it  was 
natural  enough.  They  were  men,  and  did  not  understand 
things.  And  the  worthy  and  venerable  old  Chaplain,  she 
did  not  mind  his  plain  frankness.  It  was  even  a  pleasure 
to  recollect  that,  with  the  best  possible  motives,  he  had 
told  her  she  was  "  a  fool,"  and  was  acting  like  a  simpleton. 
But  from  a  woman  it  was  so  different.  She  has  no  good 
epithet  for  her. 

[765]  As  for  the  Chaplain,  here,  it  is  amusing  to  note 
how  cleverly,  without  denying,  he  softens  his  expostulations. 
He  merely  alters  "  insanity  "  into  "  not  .  .  .  sanity,"  and  "  fool " 


§767  HIS  MIRACLES  213 

into  "not  wisdom" — a  very  pardonable  extenuation:   but 
the  Countess's  version  represents  the  unextenuated  truth. 

[766]  Benedict's  account  of  the  conclusion  is  in  his  own 
sensible,  earnest,  and  accurate  manner.  He  recognizes  that 
there  was  a  delay  of  "  two  hours "  before  the  child  revived 
(whereas  William  leads  readers  naturally  to  infer  that  the 
revival  followed  almost  immediately  on  the  application  of 
the  Martyr's  relics) :  he  adds  some  interesting  details  about 
the  accompanying  signs  of  the  revivification  ;  and  he  makes 
us  realize,  in  the  words  of  Isaiah,  how,  in  that  household, 
"  sorrow  and  sighing  fled  away."  Also,  his  concluding 
sentence  adds  attestation  to  the  miracle,  and  incidentally 
affords  a  slight  probability  to  the  conjecture,  above  thrown 
out,  that  Lambert  the  Chaplain  may  have  originated  William's 
account.  The  Countess  of  Clare,  he  says,  came  first  to  the 
Memorial.  Benedict  might  naturally  write  his  narrative  from 
her  story.  Afterwards  came  the  Chaplain,  and  his  account 
suggested  another  version  of  the  miracle  to  William." 


§  I  5.    Tlie  cure  of  Hugh  of  Ebblmghetn,  a  leper  ;    William 
adds  another 

[767]  Benedict  (ii.  259-60).  William  (i.  332-4). 

(i)  The  Almighty  Father  (i)  "Never  in   my  life," 

who  smites  His  children  with  says  Galen,  "have   I   seen  a 

His   rod    and    delivers   their  man  perfectly  cured  of  leprosy 

souls  from  death,  who  visits  — unless  indeed  he  has  drunk 

(I)  Pater  omnipotens,  qui  percutit  (i)  "Nunquam,"  inquit  Galienus, 

filios  suos  virga  et  liberat  animas  eorum       "  vidi  in  vita  mea  hominem  a  lepra 
a  morte,  qui  visitat  in  virga  iniquiutes      plenarie     sanatum,     nisi     qui     vinum 

biberit   ubi   tyria   inciderit   et    ibidem 

'  [766a]  The  Prolc^e,  in  both  narratives,  suggests  that  this  miracle  had 
l)een  made  the  subject  of  "Canterbury  Discourses"  such  as  the  monks  might 
naturally  make  to  the  pilgrims.  Comp.  758  (2)  and  767  (i) :  it  is  natural  that, 
in  compiling  his  Book,  Benedict  should  take  any  striking  utterances  from  such  a 
Discourse,  and  use  them  as  an  Introduction. 


214 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§767 


Benedict  (ii.  259-60) 
their  iniquities  with  a  rod  and 
their  sins  with  stripes, 


(2)   Benedict  omits  this. 


William  (i.  332-4) 
wine  into  which  a  viper  has 
been  dropped  and  allowed  to 
rot,  for  under  those  circum- 
stances I  have  seen  him 
peeled  and  stripped  of  the 
diseased  skin,  upon  drinking 
that  wine."  But  we  have 
seen  two  men  perfectly 
cleansed  and  not  retaining  a 
sign  of  leprosy,  though  they 
had  not  received  any  medi- 
cine other  than  the  Water 
and  blood  of  the  Martyr. 

(2)  One  of  these  stayed 
for  a  long  time  near  the 
Martyr's  tomb,  "  eating  and 
drinking  such  things  as  were 
with  us."  ^  His  name  was 
Richard,  and  he  was  beheld 
by  kings,  counts,  natives  and 
foreigners,  who  came  to  pray.^ 


eorum  et  in  verberibus  peccata  eorum, 
misericordiam  autem  suam  non  dis- 
pergit  ab  eis, 


(2)  om. 


computruerit.  Hunc  enim  vidi  excor- 
ticari  et  cute  exspoliari  cum  vinum 
illud  biberet."  Nos  vero  vidimus  duos 
ad  unguem  mundatos  nee  signum  leprae 
reservantes,  qui  non  aliud  medicamen 
acceperant  quam  aquam  et  sanguinem 
martyris ; 

(2)  quorum  alter  diutius  circa  tum- 
bam  ejusdem  martyris  conversabatur, 
edens  et  bibens  quae  apud  nos  erant,' 
Ricardus  nomine,  et  erat  spectaculum 
regibus,  comitibus,  indigenis  et  alieni- 
genis  oratum  venientibus.^ 


•  Luke  X.  7. 

*  This    may     have     been    Queen 
Eleanor's    foundling   (747),    who   was 


?$767 


HIS  MIRACLES 


215 


Benedict  (ii.  259-60) 

(3)  smote  Hugh  of  Hem- 
besjim  ^ 


(4)  with  a  sudden  leprosy 
in  harvest  time ;  and  his 
whole  body  was  deformed  by 
prominent  tubers.  And  the 
man  thought  over  his  sin, 
and  confessed  his  unright- 
eousnesses that  were  against 
him  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord, 
and,  after  invoking  the 
Martyr,  feeling  within  ten 
days  that  he  was  better,  he 
bent  his  way  to  Canterbury. 
And   he  saw  in  a  vision   of 


William  (i.  332-4) 

(3)  Another,  named 
Hugh,  of  the  village  of 
Hemblenguiem,  about  fifteen 
furlongs  from  a  great  town 
commonly  called  by  the  name 
of  the  Confessor  St.  Omer, 

(4)  we  saw  as  a  leper, 


(3)  percussit    Hugonem   de    Hem- 
begim ' 


(4)  lepra  repentina  messionis  tem- 
pore ;  totumque  corpus  ejus  tubera 
prominentia  reddidere  deforme.  Et 
cogitavit  homo  pro  peccato  suo,  et 
confessus  est  adversus  se  injustitias 
suas  Domino,  et  martyre  invocato  infra 
diem  octavum  meliorari  se  sentiens, 
Cantuariam  tetendit.     Et  vidit  in  visu 


(3)  Alterum  vero  quendam  Hugo- 
nem, de  vico  Hemblenguiem,  quasi 
quindecim  stadiis  a  vico  grandi  distante 
quem  nomine  confessoris  Audomari 
vulgus  appellat, 

(4)  leprosum  vidimus 


'  Or,  *' Amblengim." 


brought  by  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph  to 
Canterbury  "to  be  exhibited."  As 
being  under  the  Queen's  protection  he 
might  naturally  have  been  shewn  to 
"kings."  On  the  date  implied  by 
"kings,"  see  441,  note  2. 


2l6 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§767 


Benedict  (ii.  259-60) 

the  night  the  face  as  of  one 
crucified,  touching  with  his 
hand  the  place  of  the  leprosy 
and  saying,  "  Behold,  thou 
art  made  whole."  ^  And  he 
came  on,^  even  unto  us. 
And  when  we  saw  him,  "  he 
had  no  form  nor  comeliness.* 
For  though  in  several  places 
there  remained  only  the  traces 
of  the  leprosy,  yet  in  some 
the  prominent  tubers  had  not 
been  driven  away. 

(5j)  Benedict  omits  this. 


William  (i.  332-4) 


(5)  and    we    sent    (him) 
away  from  our  house  cured, 


noctis  quasi  crucifixi  bominis  vultum, 
manu  sua  locum  leprae  tangentis,  ac 
dicentis,  '*  Ecce  sanus  factus  es."  "^  Et 
venit  usque  ad  ^  nos ;  et  vidimus  eum 
non  habentem  speciem  neque  decorem.* 
Nam,  licet  in  locis  pluribus  sola  leprae 
remansissent  vestigia,  in  aliquibus 
tamen  tubera  prominentia  fugata  non 
fuerant. 
(5)  om- 


(5)  et  sanatum  a  nobis  dimisimus, 


*  The  words  seem  taken  from  John 
V.  14,  with  a  special  allusion  to  what 
follows,  viz.  "sin  no  more."  It  is 
implied  by  both  writers  that  Hugh  had 
special  reasons  for  penitence.  William 
appears  to  connect  them  with  the  fact 
that  he  was  "a  merchant."  Elsewhere 
(627)  he  says  that  a  trader's  gain  is 
mostly  another  man's  loss. 

^  "  Usque  ad  "  perhaps  means  that, 
though  he  had  received  a  sort  of  promise 
of  cure,  yet  he  went  on,  till  he  had 
reached  his  original  destination. 

*  Isaiah  liii.  2. 


§767 


HIS  MIRACLES 


217 


Benedict  (ii.  259-60) 


(6)  So  he  washed  him- 
self in  the  wonder-working 
Water  of  the  Martyr,  who 
was  washed  in  his  own  blood 
and  [he]  is  wholly  clean. 
The  man  was  unclean  when 
he  came  to  the  Martyr  and 
was  made  clean  through  him  ; 
for  we  sent  him  away  part- 
cleansed,^  and,  after  the  lapse 


William  (i.  332-4) 

warning  him  to  carry  on  his 
business  without  fraud  (for 
he  was  a  merchant)  or  to 
give  up  business  altogether. 
For  in  other  points  he  was 
respectable  above  the  average, 
with  a  good  presence,  and 
strong,  and  not  past  the 
prime  of  life. 

(6)  He  was  cured  easily, 
though  his  disease  was 
difficult — and  all  the  more 
difficult  because  a  year  had 
elapsed  since  it  had  spread 
over  his  skin.  He  spent  two 
nights  in  prayer  with  us,  and 
departed  after  his  face  had 
been  sprinkled  with  a  little 
of  the  Water.     On  departing, 


(6)  Lavit  itaque  se  mirifica  martyris 
aqua,  qui  in  sanguine  proprio  lotus  est, 
et  est  mundus  totus.  Immundus  erat 
homo  cum  veniret  ad  martyrem,  et 
mundus  per  ipsum  factus  est ;  emen- 
datum  *  enim  dimisimus,  et  post  aliquot 


monentes  ut  negotiationem  suam  sine 
fraude  prosequeretur  (erat  enim  mer- 
cator),  vel  ex  toto  negotiationi  renun- 
tiaret.  Nam  ad  aliam  conditionem 
honestiorem  satis  habebat  idoneam 
personam,  et  vires  corporis  quae  nondum 
metas  virilis  aetatis  excesserant. 

(6)  Sanabatur  autem  facili  modo  in 
difficili  morbo,  quem  et  difficiliorem 
reddiderat  annus  exactus  ex  quo  cre- 
verat  in  cute.  Duas  noctes  in  oratione 
pemoctavit  apud  nos,  et  discessit  aquae 
modico    faciem    perfusus.      Discedens 


'  '•  Emendatum,"  lit.  "amended," 
but  rendered  as  above  in  order  to 
suggest  the  play  on  "mundus  (clean)" 
and  "  mundus  (the  world),"  "  im- 
mundus," "emendatus,"  "emundatus." 


2l8 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§767 


Benedict  (ii.  259-60) 
of  some  months,  received  him 
again  whole-cleansed. 


(7)  Blessed  be  in  all 
things  the  kind  Providence  of 
God,  which  stole  away  our 
clean  Martyr  from  the  [un- 
clean] world,  that  by  his 
cleanness  [freeing  us]  from 
worldly  uncleanness  he  might 
cleanse  the  unclean. 

(8)  For  great  indeed  is 
the  multitude  of  those  whose 
skin,  roughened  with  the 
tubers  of  leprosy,  has  been 
smoothed  by  the  Martyr ; 
but  to  set  forth  the  accounts 
of  single  cases  singly,  and 
[of  all]  collectively,  presents 


William  (i.  332-4) 

he  shortly  perceived  its 
mighty  and  wonder-working 
virtue.  When  he  returned 
to  give  thanks,  he  informed 
us  of  its  efficacy ;  and  we 
believed  him  because  his  face, 
[now]  cleansed,  deserved  to 
be  credited. 

(7)  William  omits  this. 


(8)  [William  devotes  a 
page  to  the  two  points  briefly 
touched  on  by  Benedict : 
(i)  the  special  mission  of 
the  Martyr,  the  great  High 
Priest,  to  cure  leprosy,  (2) 
leprosy  collectively  as  typi- 
fying   sin,    whether    in    the 


mensium   decursum    recepimus   emun- 
datum. 


(7)  Benedicta  in  omnibus  benigna 
Dei  providentia,  quae  martyrem  mundo 
mundum  surripuit,  ut  mundus  a  mundi 
sordibus  mundaret  immundos. 

(8)  Multi  enim  sunt  valde,  quorum 
hispidam  leprae  tuberibus  cutem  martyr 
complanavit ;  sed  de  singulis  singulatim 
conjunctimque  explanari  non  congruit. 


ejus  magnificam  mirificamque  virtutem 
sensit  in  brevi ;  de  cujus  efficacia,  cum 
rediret  ad  gratias,  nobis  indicavit,  et 
credidimus,  quia  mundata  facies  fidem 
promeruit. 
(7)  om. 


(8)  Quid,  putas,  agit  impraesenti- 
arum  Dominus  curando  tot  leprosos  ? 
nemini  videatur  onerosum  si  super  hoc 
dixero    quid    sentiam Curat 


><768 


HIS  MIRACLES 


219 


Benedict  (ii,  259-60) 
an  incompatibility.  For 
even  a  sweet  song  oft  re- 
peated causes,  sooner  or  later, 
weariness.  Lest  therefore  we 
wear  a  well-worn  subject  to 
the  point  of  disgusting  our 
readers,  let  us  await  some- 
thing new.^ 


William  (i.  332-4) 
"  viper  -  form  (tyriam),"  the 
"  lion-form  (leoninam),"  "  the 
elephant-form  (elephantiam)," 
and  the  "fox-form  (alo- 
peciam),"  or  in  "  any  other 
genus  of  leprosy  excogitated 
by  the  physical  student." 

"  By  benefits  such  as 
these," he  concludes,  "the  good 
are  invited  onward  to  [new] 
goodness,  the  bad  are  called 
back  from  evil :  and  modern 
ages  (God  be  thanked ! ) 
see  such  a  [spiritual]  progress 
as  has  not  been  from  the  time 
when  the  apostles  ceased  to 
be  seen  on  earth."] 


[768]  There  is  a  remarkable  contrast  between  these  two 
narratives.  Both  agree,  indeed,  in  making  the  cure  of  this 
Hugh  an  occasion  for  some  remarks  on  leprosy  in  general  ; 
but,  whereas  Benedict  says  he  cannot  treat  of  leprosies 
singly  and  collectively  at  the  same  time,  William  attempts 
this  very  task,  giving  two  accounts  of  completely  cured 
lepers,  one  from  abroad,  one  at  home,  and  at  the  same  time 
entering  into  a  disquisition  on  the  kinds  and  cures  of  leprosy 
and  on  their  spiritual  meanings.  It  would  seem  that  William 
was  attempting  to  improve  upon  Benedict.^ 

Nam    et    dulcis    cantus    frequentatus  igitur  omnem  lepram,  non  modo  tyriam, 

adducit  quandoque  feistidium.     Ne  ergo  leoninam,  sed  elephantiam  et  alopeciam, 

usque  ad  taedium  trita  teramus,  novi  et  siquid  aliud  leprae  genus  physicus  ex- 

aliquid  exspectemus.*  cogitat.  Curat  et  spiritualem  lepram,  etc. 

"  Here  ends  Benedict's  Fifth  Book  (see  584). 

'  If  we  knew  the  history  of  this  miracle  we  should  probably  find  that,  like 
the  case  of  William  of  Horsepool  (565),  it  had  been  exaggerated  by  some  who 
(ii.  224)  "de  parvis  magna  loquebantur. " 


2  20  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §769 

[769]  William's  narrative  must  have  been  written  after 
I  174,-  Almost  certainly,  therefore,  he  had  Benedict's  facts 
before  him.  If  so,  he  suppressed  one  important  fact,  (i) 
that  the  leper  was  in  great  measure  cured  before  he  reached 
Canterbury.  He  does  not  suppress,  but  he  does  not 
emphasize  as  Benedict  does,  the  fact  (2)  that  he  was  not 
completely  cured  when  he  was  sent  back  from  Canterbury. 

[770]  As  in  other  instances,  Benedict's  narrative  shews 
two  distinct  styles,  (i)  the  Hebraic,  in  which  the  sentences, 
introduced  by  the  monotonous  "  and,"  are  thrown  into 
simple  and  Scriptural  forms,  and  (2)  the  monkish,  or  jingling 
antithetical,  mostly  reserved  for  the  prologue  and  epilogue, 
but  occasionally  emerging  in  the  body  of  the  story.  These 
two  styles  may  imply  two  different  hands  (Benedict  being 
the  chronicler  and  some  one  else  the  retoucher  and  dramatic 
adapter),  or  merely  the  two  different  moods  of  the  historical 
narrator  and  the  monkish  moralizer.  The  "jingling"  style 
will  be  found  exemplified  in  the  opening  of  Benedict's  next 
story. 

§  16.    William  of  Gloucester  is  saved  from  a  fall  of  earth 
[771]  Benedict  (ii.  261-3)  William  (i.  253-6) 

(i)  We  sighed  for  some-  (i)    Roger,    Bishop    {sic) 

thing  new.  By  something  of  York,  a  man  of  the  first 
new  we  are  kindled  anew  to  rank  in  learning,  human  and 
a  new  love  of  the  Martyr  divine,  if  only  his  knowledge 
(see  770).  had      been     "  according     to 

knowledge,"  ^  once  a  rival  of 

(I)  Novasuspiravimus.     Novis  jam  ( i )  Aemulum  suum  martyr  Thomas 

de  novo  in  novi  Anglorum  martyris  Rogerium,  Heboracensem  episcopum, 
amorem  accendimur.  virum  in  humanis  rebus  et  divinis  ap- 

prime  eruditum,  si  secundum  scientiam  * 

*  The  date  of  King  Henry's  visit  to  St.  Thomas's  tomb. 

'  Rom.  X.  2  "a  zeal  for  God,  but 
not  according  to  knowledge," 


>5  771 


HIS  MIRACLES 


Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 


(2)  A  new  thing  hath 
the  Lord  wrought  on  the 
earth,  yea,  under  the  earth. 
For  the  earth  fell  in  and 
compassed  a  man  round,  and 
pressed  him  sore  on  all  sides 
yet  pressed  him  not  to  death. 
A  man,  unharmed,  supported 
what  might  have  overwhelmed 
a  multitude  of  oxen. 

This  came  to  pass  in  a 
village  near  Gloucester,  called 
in  English  Churchdown,  in  the 
case  of  a  man  whose  name 
was  William.     The  man  was 


William  (i.  253-6) 
the  Martyr  Thomas,  received 
a  warning  as  to  the  need  of 
charity  among  brethren  and 
peace  between  members  of 
the  Church,  from  a  miracle 
of  a  very  novel  kind. 

(2)  For  the  Archbishop 
Roger  was  bringing  water 
into  his  town  of  Churchdown 
from  the  brow  of  a  hill  about 
five  hundred  paces  off.  Now 
the  ground  midway  swells 
into  a  small  hill  looking 
down  on  the  surrounding 
level  from  a  steep  top,  about 
twenty-four  feet  high.  The 
work  being  at  its  height,?  this 
hill  was  dug  through  so  that 
it  might  receive  the  aqueduct 
direct  through  the  opening 
in  its  depths.     The  work  was 


(2)  Novum  fecit  Dominus  super 
terrain,  immo  sub  terra.  Terra  enim 
corruens  circumdedit  virum,  et  undique 
comprimens  non  oppressit.  Portavit 
homo  illaesus  quod  lx)ves  multos  posset 
obruere.  Apud  villam  hoc  factum  est 
Gloecestriae  vicinam,  quae  Anglice 
Cherchesdun  appellatur,  in  homine  cui 
nomen  erat  Willelmus.  Faciebat  homo 
ille  aquaeductum,   et  stans  in  defosso 


sciens  esset,  novitate  mirandae  rei  fra- 
temae  charitatis  admonuit  et  ecclesias- 
ticae  pacis. 

(2)  Duxit  siquidem  aquam  antistes 
Rogerius  in  villam  suam  Cherchesdune 
a  supercilio  montis  quasi  quingentis 
passibus  remoto.  Tumet  autem  collis 
in  medio,  circumjacentium  aequora 
camporum  erecto  vertice  despiciens, 
altitudinis  viginti  quatuor  circiter 
pedum.  Qui,  cum  ferveret  opus,- 
transfossus  est,  ut  aquae  ductum  patulo 
sinu  receptum  traduceret  per  directum. 


-  This    seems    the    most   probable 
meaning. 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


8771 


Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 

making  an  aqueduct.  It 
was  about  the  tenth  hour.^ 
The  depth  of  the  pit  is  said 
to  have  amounted  to  twenty- 
four  feet :  and  the  impending 
earth  fell  with  a  crash  upon 
him  as  he  worked  [below], 
filling  the  pit  to  the  level  of 
the  surrounding  soil. 

(3)   Benedict  omits  this. 


William  (i,  253-6) 

being  pressed  on  by  one 
William,  who  had  hired  out 
his  services  ^  from  the  neigh- 
bouring town  of  Gloucester. 
Just  when  he  was  laying  the 
leaden  pipe  at  the  bottom  of 
the  cutting  in  the  hill,  the 
vast  mass  of  earth  thrown 
out  from  the  work  fell  forward 
on  the  top  of  him.* 

(3)  His  companions  leapt 
away  to  right  and  left,  and 
would  have  made  an  effort 
to  dig  him  out,  buried  as  he 
was  all  round,^  when  lo,  once 
more,  the  earth  on  the  brink 
of  the  cutting  broke  clean 
away,  and  the  impending 
heap  rolled  down  and  cut  off 


terrae  calamum  plumbeum  protendebat. 
Hora  erat  quasi  decima  ;  *  foveae  pro- 
funditas  pedum  viginti  quatuor  dicitur 
exstitisse.  Et  corruit  terra  pendula 
super  operantem,  foveamque  repletam 
reliquae  terrae  coaequavit. 
(3)  om. 


Instabat  operi  quidam  Willelmus,  qui 
locaverat  operas'  suas  ex  oppido 
Gloecestria  vicino.  Super  quum,* 
cum  plum  beam  fistulam  in  imo  trans- 
fossi  collis  collocaret,  proruit  moles 
ruinosa  telluris  egestae. 

(3)  Dissilientibus  hinc  inde  sociis, 
et  volentibus  eum  jam  circum  ^  obrutum 
effodere,  ecce  rursus  abrupta  crepidine 
fragilis  et  pendula  congeries  devoluta 


I.e.  4  P.M. 


'  "  Locare  suam  operam"  (sing.) 
is  used  by  Plautus  in  this  sense.  Per- 
haps the  plural  here  means  "his 
services  and  those  of  his  workmen." 

*  "Super  quum,"  an  error  for 
"super  quern." 

*  i.e.  not  yet  covered  up,  but  "all 
round  "  up  to  the  armpits,  or  neck. 


^771 


HIS  MIRACLES 


223 


Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 


(4)  But  before  [this] 
burial,  as  though  he  were 
[already]  dead,"  he  cried, 
"  St.  Thomas, glorious  Martyr, 
if  the  tales  told  of  thee  are 
true,  succour  me  that  I  may 
be  snatched  hence  living. 
If  thou  wilt  save  me  alive, 
I  will  visit  the  place 
where  thou  didst  live  and 
die." 

He  was  standing,  bowed 


William  (i.  253-6) 

the  young  man  from  all  aid. 
The  earth  -  fall  might  be 
reckoned  at  about  a  hundred 
small  cart-loads.^' 

(4)  He  remained  stand- 
ing, leaning  forward,  his 
hands  spread  before  his  face, 
with  nothing  but  a  shirt  on, 
for  he  had  been  hard  at  work. 
So  seeing  that  all  means 
of  getting  out '  were  closed 
against  him,  he  sought  the 
first  and  last  refuge  of  all 
who  are  in  sore  need,  by 
sighing  unto  the  Lord.  He 
invoked     also     the     blessed 


(4)  lUe  vero  ante  sepultunun,  quasi 
mortuus,*  '*  Sancte  Thoma,"  inquit, 
"gloriose  mart)T,  si  vera  sunt  quae  de 
te  dicuntur,  succurre,  ut  hinc  \ivus 
eripiar.  Si  vivum  me  consen-averis, 
locum  ubi  et  viviis  et  mortuus  fuisti 
visitabo. "  Cumque  incurvatus  staret  et  in 


juvenem  interdpit.  Poterant  in  casu 
quasi  centum  onera  bigarum  ^  aestimari. 
(4)  Stabat  autem  ille  pronus,  faciei 
manibus  oppansis,  solaque  vestitus 
intenila,  sicut  operi  se  studiosus  appli- 
caverat.  Qui  \'idens  quod  sibi  prae- 
cluderetur  effugium,"  primum  et 
postremum  cujuslibet  necessitatis 
reiugium,     suspiravit     ad     Dominuni. 


*  "  Ante  sepulturam,  quasi  mortuus" 
might  also  mean  "  As  though  all  but 
dead,  he  repeated  a  prayer,  as  a  pre- 
liminary to  interment."  But  the 
prayer  to  St.  Thomas  would  surely  be 
uttered  in  the  faith  that  he  would  not 
die  and  that  he  was  not  already  dead. 
Hence  the  Editor  ingeniously  suggests 
"ante  sepultus  quam  mortuus,"  "in- 
terred before  he  was  dead."  Sense 
would  also  be  made  by  "ante  .  .  . 
mortui,"  "  before  this  interment,  so  to 
sjicak,  of  the  dead." 


^  "  Bigae."  Benedict,  in  (4),  says 
"quadrigae." 

'  The  translation  does  not  keep 
the  play  on  the  words  "  effugium," 
"  refugium." 


2C4 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§771 


Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 
forward,  and,  as  he  prayed 
thus,  his  breath  was  being  at 
every  instant  cut  shorter  and 
shorter,  when  there  came  an 
unexpected  eructation,  and 
the  eructation  was  followed 
by  vomiting,  and  the  vomiting 
by  a  free  power  of  breathing. 
So  he  cried  without 
ceasing  to  the  Martyr,  being 
interred  all  that  night,  and 
during  the  following  day  up 
till  the  third  hour.^  About 
his  death  there  was  but  one 
opinion  in  all  those  who  had 
been  on  the  spot.  No  one 
at  all  could  doubt  the  death 
of  one  crushed  under  such  a 
mass.  Yet  by  the  virtue 
[that  went  forth]  from  the 
Martyr  this  one  frail  creature 
was   enabled  to  support  the 


William  (i.  253-6) 
Virgin  Mary,  who,  according 
to  her  name,  is  a  star  unto 
those  who  are  tossed  in 
the  troubled  sea  of  human 
calamity,  guiding  them  to 
the  haven  of  eternal  bliss. 
But  the  Lord  did  not  send 
succour  at  the  invocation  of 
His  own  name,  because  He 
purposed  to  glorify  His  own 
Martyr. 

What  should  the  poor 
man  do,  cut  off  from  help  by 
the  fall  of  so  vast  a  mass  ? 
Breath  was  denied  by  the 
interception  of  air ;  all  aid  of 
man  was  shut  out  by  the 
mass  heaped  on  him.  So  he 
began  to  feel  distended  by 
the  breath  pent  up  within 
him  :  and  when  he  was  in 
such     agony    as     almost     to 


hune  modum  oranti  jam  jamque  praeclu- 
deretur  anhelitus,  ex  insperato  eructavit, 
eructationem  vomitus  secutus  est,  vomi- 
tum  anhelandi  facultas  libera.  Clamavit 
igitur  incessanter  ad  martyrem  sepultus 
nocte  ilia  tota,  die  etiam  sequenti  usque 
ad  horam  tertiam.^  De  morte  ejus 
omnibus,  qui  affuerant,  una  eademque 
sententia.  Nemo  penitus  ambigeret 
mortuum,  quem  tanta  moles  oneraret ; 
sed    martyris    virtute    centum    et    eo 


Invocavit  et  beatam  virginem  Mariam, 
quae,  secundum  nomen  suum,  fluctu- 
antibus  in  turbulento  salo  calamitatis 
humanae,  stella  est  ad  portum  felicitatis 
aeternae.  Sed  non  succurrit  Dominus 
ad  invocatum  nomen  suum,  quia 
mirificaturus  erat  martyrem  suum. 
Quid  faciat  miser,  ruina  tantae  molis 
interceptus?  Spiramen  negat  aer 
interclusus,  excludit  congesta  moles 
omne  juvamen  humanum.  Coepit 
igitur  incluso  spiritu  distendi ;  cumque 


I.e.  9  A.M. 


.^771 


HIS  MIRACLES 


225 


Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 
weight    of   a    hundred    large 
cart-loads  and  more. 


William  (i.  253-6) 
breathe  his  last,  the  name  of 
Thomas  the  Martyr  came 
into  his  mind,  and  he  said, 
"  St  Thomas,  men  say  that 
thou  hast  power  with  thy 
Lord  and  that  thou  canst 
easily  obtain  [from  Him] 
that  which  thou  art  asked 
[to  obtain].  If  thou  art  so 
holy  and  great  as  men's 
mouths  declare,  aid  me  in 
my  extreme  need  ;  loose  me 
from  this  miserable  trap  ; 
lead  me  out  of  this  dungeon, 
restoring  me  to  my  former 
place.  [Then]  shalt  thou  be 
for  a  refuge  to  me,  and  I  will 
seek  the  place  consecrated 
by  thy  precious  blood,  where 
for  the  liberty  of  the  Church 
thou  didst  contend  while 
living,  and  conquer  when 
dead." 


amplius    quadriganim    onus   unus  ho- 
rn undo  supportabat. 


ad  exspirandum  vexaretur,  incidit  in  os 
ejus  nomen  martyris  Thomae.  Et  ait, 
"  Beate  Thoma,  homines  aiunt  quia 
potens  es  apud  Dominum  tuum,  et 
facile  quod  rogaris  potes  impetrare. 
Si  ita  sanctus  es  et  tantus  ut  ore  populi 
praedicaris,  adjuva  me  in  extremis 
constitutum  ;  absolve  miserrime  depre- 
hensum ;  educ  me  de  carcere  isto, 
restituens  in  gradum  pristinum.  Eris 
mihi  in  refugium,  et  petam  locum 
pretioso  sanguine  tuo  consecratum,  ubi 
pro  libertate  ecclesiasticavivus  decertasti 
et    mortuus   evicisti."       Haec    dicens 


VOL.    II 


«5 


226 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§771 


Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 


(5)  The  Priest  of  the 
town  became  anxious  *  about 
the  soul  of  the  dead  man,  not 


William  (i.  253-6) 

Saying  these  words — for 
we  do  not  invent  such  words 
as  he  might  have  said,  but 
we  say  the  very  same  words 
that  he  did  say,  preferring  to 
set  down  less  [than  the  truth] 
rather  than  to  speak  beyond 
the  truth — he  breathed  forth 
(in  copious  eructation)  the 
wind  with  which  his  stomach 
had  been  distended,  and  was 
further  relieved  by  vomiting. 
From  that  time  he  regained 
the  power  of  breathing. 

(5)  This  was  what  was 
going  on  in  the  heart  of  the 
earth.     And  there  was  raised 


(5)    Fit   sollicitus*   ejusdem   villae 
sacerdos   de    anima    mortui,    ignorans 


(neque  enim  confingimus  quae  potuit 
dixisse,  sed  dicimus  haec  eadem  quae 
dixit,  malentes  minus  apponere  quam 
praeter  veritatem  loqui) — ventum  quo 
distentus  intumuerat  multis  eructationi- 
bus  efflavit,  et  vomens  alleviatus  est.  Ex 
tunc  praestita  est  spirandi  facultas. 

(5)  Haec  in  corde  terrae  gerebantui. 
Factus  est  autem   clamor   "  Sacerdos, 


*  "Became  anxious."  This  frivo- 
lous sentence  is  contrary  to  the  fact  (as 
stated  by  William)  that  the  Priest  was 
"sent  for."  The  fact  that  it  uses 
•'sacerdos"  while  the  next  uses  "pres- 
byter "  suggests  that  it  may  have  been 
an  insertion,  for  the  sake  of  a  joke,  by 
a  humorous  Editor.  It  must  be  ad- 
mitted, however,  that  the  next  sentence 
partakes  of  jocosity,  and  "  presbyter  " 
may  have  been  used  for  "sacerdos" 
for  the  sake  of  variety.  But  is  this 
Benedict's  style  (770)  ? 


S  771 


HIS  MIRACLES 


227 


Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 

knowing  that  the  man's  soul 
was  more  anxious  about  his 
body,  which  was  still  living. 
So  the  Priest  celebrated  the 
exequies  for  him,  not  the  last, 
as  he  supposed,  but  the  first.^ 


(6)   Benedict  omits  this. 


William  (i.  253-6) 

a  cry  "  Priest !  Priest !  For 
he  is  dead."  So  the  Priest 
was  called,  and  paid  the 
funeral  rites,  after  the  dis- 
charge of  which  he  returned 
to  his  home.  But  the  man 
underground,  for  the  space  of 
that  night,  left  to  himself  and 
the  earth,^ awaited  the  Martyr's 
compassion. 

(6)  Fifty -one  days  had 
now  run  their  course  since 
the  summer  solstice,  and  as 
the  sun  was  on  the  point  of 
passing  from  the  Lion  to  the 
Virgin,  the  nights  were  grow- 
ing longer.  Yet  in  the  length 
of  the  nights  ^  the  Lord  sent 


quod  anima  hominis  sollicitior  esset  de 
corpora  suo,  adhuc  vivente.  Celebrat 
igitur  pro  ea  presbyter  exsequias,  non 
ultimas,  ut  putabat,  sed  primas.^ 


(6)  om. 


[sacerdos],  quia  mortuus  est ! "  Unde 
accitus  exsequialia  impendit,  quibus 
expletis  in  propria  recessit.  Obrutus 
autem,  per  spatium  noctis  sibi  soloque  * 
dimissus,  misericordiam  martyris  ex- 
spectabat. 

(6)  Jam  ab  aestivali  solstitio  quin- 
quaginta  dies  et  unus  excurrerant, 
solemque  Leo  transmissurus  inVirginem 
noctumis  spatiis  indulgebat.  In  tanta 
tamen  noctium  longitudine  **  factus  est 


^  Perhaps  he  means  that  this  man 
was  destined  to  have  the  funeral  service 
twice  read  over  him.  This  was  his 
/irsl  funeral. 


^  "Sibi  soloque"  not  improbably 
intended  as  a  pun.  "Sibi  solique" 
might  mean, in  bad  Latin,  "to  himself, 
and  (that)  alone." 

"  The  meaning  seems  to  be  that 
the  longer  night,  affording  scope  for 
dreams,  was  made  instrumental  for  the 
man's  deliverance  through  a  dream. 


228 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


^771 


Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 


(7)  Now  when  morning 
came,  it  happened  that  a 
young  man  of  that  town,  led 
by  the  Divine  will,  passed 
across  the  spot  and  heard  a 
subterraneous  sound.  And 
by  chance  meeting  the  town- 
crier  (?  bailiff)  he  said  to 
him,  "  Assuredly  that  man 
buried  in  the  earth-fall  yester- 
day is  alive."  "  What  you 
say,"  replied  the  other,  "  is 
impossible.  He  died  on  the 
instant."       The    young    man 


William  (i.  253-6) 

help  to  him  in  his  tribulation. 
For  a  woman,  a  native  of  the 
village,  saw  a  vision  and  said 
to  her  son  in  the  morning, 
"  I  think,  my  son,  that  the 
man  underground  lives  still  ; 
for  I  saw  in  my  sleep  that  he 
drank  milk  and  slept  in  milk." 
(7)  Forthwith,  contrary 
to  his  wont,  the  youth  rose 
from  his  bed  and  went  out 
into  the  fields,  not  of  any  set 
purpose  but  as  chance  led 
him  ;  and,  as  though  guided 
by  the  Spirit,  he  reached — 
I  will  not  call  it  the  water- 
place  but  the  sighing-place  ; 
and,  putting  his  ear  to  the 
ground,  he  heard  as  it  were  a 
groaning.  And  shouting  to 
the  man  in  charge  of  the 
fields — who  had  gone  out  early 


(7)  Mane  autem  facto,  contigit 
juvenem  de  villa  eadem,  nutu  divino 
ductum,  per  locum  ilium  transire  et 
sonum  audire  subterraneum.  Casuque 
occurrens  villae  praeconi,  '*  Vere," 
inquit,  "  homo  ille  hestema  die  obrutus 
vivit."  At  ille,  "  Impossibile  est  quod 
ais  ;  in  momento  exspiravit."     E  contra 


ei  Dominus  adjutor  in  tribulatione. 
Nam  vidit  mulier  indigena  visionem,  et 
ait  mane  filio  sue,  "  Puto,  fili,  quod 
obrutus  ille  vivit  adhuc  ;  nam  vidi  per 
somnum  quod  et  lac  potaret  et  in  lacte 
requiesceret." 

(7)  Ille  protinus  praeter  consuetu- 
dinem  surgens  a  lecto  in  agros  egredie- 
batur,  non  de  industria,  sed  quo  casus 
ferebat ;  et  tanquam  deductus  Spiritu 
pervenit  ad  locum,  non  jam  aquae- 
ductus,  sed  luctus  ;  et  aurem  solo 
defigens  tanquam  audivit  gemitum. 
Exclamansque  ad  agrorum  custodem, 
qui  ad  considerandum  jumentum  matu- 


,^771 


HIS  MIRACLES 


229 


Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 
retorted,    "If   you    doubt    it, 
come  and  listen." 

He  agreed,  and  applied 
his  ear  to  the  earth's  surface  ; 
and  his  hesitating  doubt  ^'  was 
banished  from  his  heart. 


(8)   Benedict  omits  this. 


(9)  The  report  of  it  was 
noised    abroad    in    the  town. 


William  (i.  253-6) 
in  the  morning  to  look  after 
the  cattle  which  he  had  turned 
out  at  nightfall — "Hulloa," 
he  said,  "  he  still  lives  :  for  I 
hear  something  like  a  man 
groaning  and  lamenting."  "  It 
is  naught,"  said  the  other : 
"  and  if  all  Gloucester  said  the 
contrary,  I  would  not  believe 
them."  The  boy  rejoined, 
"Come  and  listen":  and  when 
they  heard  it, 

(8)  the  other  carries  word 
to  the  Priest  that  the  man 
was  alive.  Forthwith  the 
Priest  broke  off  divine  service 
and  came  to  the  spot  with 
all  the  people. 

(9)  And  word  was  carried 
likewise   to    Gloucester    that 


juvenis,  "Si  haesitas,  veni  et  audi." 
Adquievit,  et  auribus  ad  superficiem 
terrae  admotis,  amota  est  a  corde  ejus 
cunctatio,  qua  dubitavit." 


(8)  om. 

(9)  Rumor  in  villa  insonuit.     Con- 


tinus  exierat  quod  sub  divo  nocte  di- 
miserat,  '•  Heus  !  "  inquit ;  "  vivit  ad- 
huc ;  nam  tanquam  lacrymabilem 
gemitum  hominis  ego  audio."  Re- 
spondit,  '*  Nihil  est,  et  si  omnes  Gloe- 
cestrenses  assererent,  non  crederem." 
Subjunxit,  *'  Veni  et  audi  "  ;  et  cum 
audissent, 

(8)  nuntiavit  alter  sacerdoti  quia 
viveret ;  qui  protinus  cum  populo  venit 
ad  locum,  intermisso  divine  officio. 

(9)  Et  nuntiatum  est  similiter  Gloe- 


'■  "Cunctatio  qua  dubitavit "  is  a 
strangely  superfluous  phrase.  More- 
over, it  is  asserted  above  that  he  did 
not   merely    "doubt,"    but    absolutely 

disbelieved. 


230 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§771 


Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 

The  people  flock  together 
with  prongs,  (?)  mattocks,  and 
digging  tools  of  divers  kinds  ; 
the  soil  is  removed  ;  the  man 
is  released  from  his  grave. 
When  drawn  out,  living,  and 
unhurt, 


William  (i.  253-6) 

the  man  still  breathed.  And 
they  came — all  that  had  a 
liking  and  affection  for  their 
neighbour — grey-beards,  boys 
and  women,  with  besoms, 
pans,  tubs,  and  other  rustic 
utensils,  setting  to  work  to 
clear  away  the  soil. 

The  man  underground, 
hearing  them  at  their  noisy 
work,  each  striving  to  get  to 
him  before  the  others,  began 
to  accost  those  who  were 
standing  above,^°  both  those 
close  at  hand  and  those  far 
off — lest  they  [t.e.  the  former] 
should  either  hurt  him  with 
their  tools  or  [the  latter 
should]  keep  at  too  cautious 
a  distance.  And  the  day 
wore  on  to  the  third  hour.^^ 


currit  populus  cum  vangis  et  ligonibus 

et  generis  diversi   fossoriis.  ToUitur 

humus  ;  extumulatur  homo  ;  vivus   et 
illaesus  extractus, 


cestriae  quia  spiraret  adhuc.  Vene- 
runtque  quotquot  erant  pronae  devo- 
taeque  mentis  in  proximum,  senex,  puer, 
mulier,  solumque  scopis,  paropsidibus, 
alveolis,  et  aliis  rusticanis  utensilibus 
incumbentes  rejiciebant.  Obrutus 
autem,  tumultuantes  audiens  et  invicem 
se  labore  praevenientes,  ad  prope 
longeque  stantes  desuper  i^obloquebatur, 
ne  vel  ipsum  ferramentis  laederent  vel 
se  nimis  absentarent ;  et  processit  dies 
in   tertiam."     Tum    tandem    sepultus 


10  «« Desuper."  Editor  suggests 
"  desubter."  But  perhaps  "  desuper  " 
may  modify  ' '  stantes. " 

"  i.e.  9  A.M. 


§771  HIS  MIRACLES  231 

Benedict  (ii.  261-3)  William  (i.  253-6) 

Then  at  last  the  buried  man 
appeared,  with  his  cheeks 
badly  bruised  and  his  arms 
crushed  almost  to  breaking, 
his  body  stiff  and  frozen 
with  the  cruel  subterranean 
cold. 
(10)  Benedict  omits  this.  (10)  So  he  was  restored 

to  the  living  that  sinners 
might  emerge  from  the  dead. 
For,  as  we  believe,  it  was  for 
the  purposes  of  reformation 
that  the  Martyr  saved  the 
[bodily]  life  of  [this]  innocent 
man  that  the  guilty  also  might 
save  their  [spiritual]  life.^^ 
And  this  you  may  conjecture 
from  the  fact  that  when  he 
had  (?)  previously  ^^  delayed 


apparuit,  genas  collisus  citraque  frac- 

turam    brachia    contritus,    subterranei 

frigoris  asperitate  rigidus  et  congelatus. 

(10)  om.  (10)    Restitutus  est  itaque  superis, 

ut  peccatores  emergerent  ab  inferis. 
Ad  correctionem  enim  credimus  mar- 
tyrem  salvasse  animam  innocentis,  ut 
et  nocentes  salvarent  animas'^  suas. 
Quod  inde  conjicias,  quia  cum  prae- 
cedente'3  tempore  distulisset  se  Can- 

^^  "Animam  ,  .  .  animas" — "life 
.  .  .  souls." 

IS  <•  Praecedente."  But  this  is 
extremely  abrupt.  It  assumes  some 
previous  vow,  of  which  we  are  told 
nothing,  and  moreover  a  vow  in 
return  for  some  deliverance  granted  by 


232 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


55  771 


Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 


(11)  he  proclaimed  to 
all  the  mighty  work  of  the 
Martyr  Thomas  ;  and,  visit- 
ing the  Martyr,  he  certified 
us  with  a  letter  of  the  follow- 
ing nature,  anticipated, 
ever,  long  before,  by  the 
arrival  of  rumours  and  re- 
ports about  the  matter  : 


William  (i.  253-6) 

to  present  himself  publicly 
at  Canterbury,  some  woman 
was  told  in  a  dream  that  he 
was  rash  in  delaying  to 
manifest  at  the  Martyr's  tomb 
this  manifestation  of  the 
Divine  pity,  and  that  he 
would  not  escape  punish- 
ment if  he  presumed  to  delay 
further. 

(11)  All  this  was  related 
to  us  by  the  very  man  that 
had  endured  it,  and  he 
brought  us  a  letter  worded 
as  follows  : 


(11)  martyris  Thomae  virtutem 
praedicavit  omnibus,  et  martyrem 
visitans  litteris  nos  certificavit  hujus- 
modi ;  quas  tamen  rei  hujus  fama 
longe  ante  praevenerat. 


tuariae  palam  facere,  dictum  est  alicui 
mulieri  in  somnis  quia  temerarius  esset 
qui  divinae  pietatis  ostentum  apud 
sepulchrum  martyris  diflferret  ostendere, 
et  quia  supplicium  non  esset  evasurus 
si  ulterius  differre  praesumeret. 

(II)  Haec  idem  vir  qui  pertulerat 
retulit  nobis,  et  obtulit  litteras  in  haec 
verba  : — 


St.  Thomas  which  required  a  '*  public  " 
acknowledgment. 

Almost  certainly  we  should  read 
"  procedente,"  i.e.  "when  time  passed 
on  and  he  [still]  delayed. " 


§772  HIS  MIRACLES  233 

Benedict  (ii.  261-3),  William  (i.  253-6) 

(12)  "To  his  venerable  lord  and  father,  Prior  of  Holy 
Trinity  of  Canterbury  [William  omits  "  of  Canterbury "], 
and  to  the  whole  convent,  Godfrey,  Dean  of  Gloucester, 
[sends]  health. 

[772]  "  Know  that  the  bearer  of  this,  William  [by  name], 
was  buried  in  the  bottom  of  a  pit  twenty-four  [William,  "twenty- 
three"]  feet  deep,  while  all  his  companions  escaped  ;  and  that  he 
remained  interred  for  the  space  of  one  night  and  the  following 
day  up  to  the  third  hour  [t.e.  9  A.M.],  and  the  whole  of  the 
obsequies  were  performed,  as  for  one  dead.  But  when  the 
man  perceived  that  death  was  imminent,  he  invoked  God, 
and  prayed  that,  for  love  [William,  "  by  the  merits  "]  of  His 
most  glorious  Martyr  Thomas  He  would  deliver  him  from 
such  peril ;  and  he  made  a  vow  aloud  that  he  would  go  to 
the  place  where  St.  Thomas  fell.  These  sounds  being  heard 
by  some  that  happened  to  cross  the  place,  they  brought 
word  to  the  whole  of  the  town  that  they  had  heard  a  man's 
voice  in  the  pit.  Then  the  Priest,  and  more  than  a  hundred 
men,  went  thither  and  drew  him  out. 

"  But  many  other  miracles,  besides,  are  wrought  daily 
among  us  through  Christ's  most  glorious  Martyr,  Thomas, 
which,  intending  to  come  to  you  shortly,  if  God  will,  I  will 
relate  to  you." 


(12)  "  Venerabili  domino  et  patri  sue  priori  Sanctae  Trinitatis  Cantuariae 
totique  conventui  Gaufridus  decanus  Gloecestriae  salutem. 

"  Sciatis  latorem  praesentium  Willelmum  in  profundo  cujusdam  foveae,  quae 
erat  viginti  quatuor  pedum,  sociis  suis ,  fugientibus  obrutum  fuisse,  et  jier  unius 
noctis  spatium  et  in  crastino  usque  ad  tertiam  ibi  fuisse  sepultum,  et  pro  eo 
sicut  pro  mortuo  obsequium  totum  factum  fuisse.  Hie  autem,  sentiens  sibi 
mortem  imminere,  Deum  invocavit,  et  oravit  ut  pro  amore  gloriosissimi  martyris 
sui  Thomae  a  tali  eum  periculo  liberaret,  et  votum  clamando  fecit  iturum  se  ad 
locum  ubi  sanctus  Thomas  occubuit.  Quem  cum  audissent  quidam  ibidem 
transeuntes,  nunciaverunt  toti  villae  se  vocem  humanam  in  fovea  ilia  audisse. 
Sacerdos  vero  et  plusquam  centum  homines  illuc  pergentes  extraxerunt  eum.  Sed 
et  alia  multa  miracula  fiunt  quotidie  apud  nos  per  gloriosissimum  Christi  martyrem 
Thomam,  quae  vobis  in  brevi  iturus  ad  vos,  Deo  annuente,  narralx). " 


234 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§772 


Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 

(13)  This  was  the  tenor 
of  the  document,  agreeing  in 
all  points  with  the  testimony 
of  the  people  who  had  been 
on  the  spot.  And  accord- 
ingly he/  with  many  others, 
came  for  a  testimony,  that  he 
might  bear  testimony  con- 
cerning the  light.^  If  we 
receive  the  testimony  of 
men,  the  testimony  of  God 
is  greater.^  And  this  is 
"  the  testimony  of  God " 
which  is  "greater" — [namely,] 


William  (i.  253-6) 

(13)  William  omits  this. 


(13)  Hie  erat  tenor  apicum,  testi- 
monio  populi  qui  affuerat  per  omnia 
concordantium.  Et  is  itaque  cum  aliis 
multis^  venit  in  testimonium,  ut  testi- 
monium perhiberet  de  lumine.®  Si 
testimonium  hominum  accipimus,  testi- 
monium Dei  majus  est ; "  hoc  est  autem 


^  "  Et  is  itaque  cum  aliis  multis" 
seems  needless,  if  it  refers  to  the  man 
buried  :  for  his  visit  has  been  mentioned 
above  in  (11).  It  ought  naturally  to 
refer  to  the  Dean  of  Gloucester,  and 
"accordingly"  would  then  mean  "  j« 
accordance"  with  the  promise  in  his 
letter. 

8  John  i.  7,  8. 

*  I  John  V.  9,  The  writer's 
meaning  seems  to  be  that  the  oral  and 
documentary  evidence  of  this  particular 
miracle  is,  as  it  were,  merged  in  the 
collective  evidence  as  to  the  Martyr's 
power,  and  as  to  its  harmony  with  the 
Divine  dispensation  for  the  later  ages 
of  the  Church. 


§774  HIS  MIRACLES  235 

Benedict  (ii.  261-3) 

that  with  which  he  had 
lately  ^°  testified  concerning 
His  Martyr. 


[773]  By  his  graphic  account  of  the  place,  and  nature, 
of  the  accident ;  the  man's  attitude  when  caught  ("  with  his 
hands  spread  before  his  face  ")  ;  his  exact  words  (which  he 
professes  to  record  as  being  what  the  man  did  say,  not  what 
he  might  have  said) ;  the  poor  fellow's  fears  lest  some  of  his 
deliverers  should  come  too  close  and  wound  him  with  their 
tools,  and  lest  others  should  keep  too  far  off,  and  not 
get  him  out  soon  enough  ;  and,  above  all,  the  man's  pitiable 
condition,  when  rescued,  with  his  cheeks  and  arms  bruised 
and  crushed  almost  to  breaking,  and  frozen  with  the  sub- 
terranean cold — William  justifies  his  claim  that  he  received 
his  account  from  the  buried  man  himself 

[774]  Benedict  (or  his  scribe) — who  alone  (incidentally) 
tells  us  that  the  letter  from  the  Dean  of  Gloucester  brought 
by  the  buried  man  was  anticipated  by  "  reports  and  rumours  " 
— seems  to  have  composed  an  earlier  rough  draft  from 
these  reports,  which,  he  says,  had  reached  him  "  long  before." 
This  may  have  been  afterwards  revised  in  the  light  of  a 
letter  from  the  Dean  of  Gloucester,  and  perhaps  of  oral  com- 
munications from  him.  But  Benedict  does  not  appear  to 
have  taken  notes,  in  such  full  detail  as  William,  from  the 
sufferer's  own  account.  He  received  from  him,  or  from  some 
of  the  "  reports  and  rumours,"  the  account  of  the  prayer  and 

testimonium  Dei,  quod  majus  est,  quo 
nuper  ^^  testificatus  est  de  martyre  suo. 

'"  "  Nuper "  may  refer  not  to  this 
miracle  alone,  but  to  all  the  Martyr's 
miracles,  which,  when  compared  with 
the  miracles  of  the  apostolic  age,  are 
sometimes  described  as  "moderna," 
and  here  as  occurring  "mirxr."'  /.,-.  in 
these  last  times. 


236  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  774 

vow  to  St.  Thomas,  the  *'  eructation,"  followed  by  the  "  vomit- 
ing," and  then  by  power  to  breathe :  and  he  also  gives  us 
the  details  of  depth  ("  twenty-four  feet ")  and  of  time  ("  all 
night  till  the  third  hour  next  day  "),  from  the  Dean's  letter. 
But  he  does  not  make  us  clearly  see,  as  William  does,  why 
the  unfortunate  plumber  was  so  many  feet  beneath  the 
earth,  owing  to  the  need  of  cutting  through  a  hillock  with  a 
steep  top  ;  he  exaggerates  slightly  by  speaking  of  the  falling 
earth  as  levelling  the  pit  with  the  surrounding  earth,  and  (if 
William  is  right)  more  than  slightly  when  he  speaks  of  a 
"  hundred  four-horse  carts  "  instead  of  "  two-horse."  Also, 
he  does  not  know  that,  the  man  being  from  Gloucester,  the 
Gloucester  people  turned  out  to  his  rescue,  and  that,  besides 
men,  there  were  women,  and  children  too.  As  clerics  might 
do,  the  Dean  and  Benedict  spoke  together  about  spades, 
mattocks,  and  "  digging  implements  "  :  but  they  forget  that  the 
earth  was  loose  and  that  even  women  and  children  could  do 
much  with  "  besoms,"  "  pails,"  and  "  tubs,"  as  William  says 
they  did.  Again  as  clerics,  they  indulge  in  a  little  clerical 
amusement  at  the  expense  of  the  Churchdown  parson  who 
was  anxious  about  the  buried  man's  soul,  while  the  buried 
man's  soul,  all  the  time,  was  more  anxious  about  his  body  : 
but  they  omit  the  fact  that  it  was  the  man's  companions 
themselves,  and  the  poor  villagers,  who  raised  the  cry  of 
"  Priest !      Priest !      He's  dead  ! " 

[775]  On  the  whole,  we  ought  to  be  grateful  to  William 
for  having  taken  careful  notes  from  the  sufferer,  for  making 
us  realize  the  poor  plumber's  position  when  he  was  trapped, 
along  with  his  pipes,  under  the  earth-fall — and,  we  must  add, 
for  helping  us  to  see  that  the  man's  deliverance  may  be 
explained  without  resort  to  the  miraculous.  In  the  first 
place,  whereas  the  Dean  of  Gloucester  says  "the  pit  was 
twenty-rtiree  (or,  twenty-four)  feet  deep"  the  plumber  simply 
says  that  the  hillock  through  which  he  was  cutting  was 
"  twenty-four  feet  high  " — which  is  not  quite  the  same  thing. 


§777  HIS  MIRACLES  237 

Also  William  tells  us  that  he  was  laying  his  pipes  at  the 
moment  of  his  fall :  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  piping 
may  have  given  some  access  to  the  air.  The  fact  that  his 
voice  was  heard  at  the  surface  indicates  that,  either  through 
the  loose  soil,  or  through  the  piping,  some  air  penetrated  to 
the  man  underground. 

[776]  Nevertheless,  if  the  man  had  not  had  faith  to  con- 
tinue crying  to  St.  Thomas,  he  would  not  have  been  heard  ; 
and  if  he  had  not  been  heard,  he  would  not  have  been  saved. 
And  again,  if  the  woman  of  Churchdown  had  not  dreamed 
about  the  plumber,  her  son  would  not  have  got  up  early  that 
morning,  "  contrary  to  his  wont,"  and  gone  out  into  the 
fields  ;  and  if  he  had  not  done  both  these  things,  he  would 
not  have  heard  the  plumber  in  time.  So  we  may  say  that 
the  buried  man  was  saved  by  St.  Thomas,  and  also  saved  by 
the  woman,  or  by  her  dream,  or  by  the  causes  of  her  dream. 
It  is  of  course  true  that,  all  through  that  night,  thou- 
sands of  ailing  and  troubled  people  in  England  and  France 
were  calling  on  St.  Thomas  to  save  them,  and  calling  in  vain. 
Still  the  fact  remains,  that  this  one  did  call,  and  was  saved. 

v^  17.   Salerna  of  I  field,  after  throwing  herself  into  a  well, 
is  preserved  from  death 

[777]  Benedict  (ii.  263-6)  William  (i.  258-61) 
(1)  Led  astray  by  the  (i)  In  an  estate  of  Can- 
instigation  of  the  servants  terbury  Cathedral  is  a  village 
in  her  father's  house,  one  called  in  the  English  lan- 
Salerna,  daughter  of  Thomas  guage  Yfeld,  where  happened 
of  Yffeld,  stole  a  cheese  from  a  wonderful  matter  worthy 
her  mother  and  passed  it  on  of  relation, 
to    them.      The    mother,    by  For  in  the  house  of  one 

( I )  Famularum  paternae  domus  se-  ( I )  I"  fundo  quodam  Cantuariensis 

ducta  instinctu  Thomae  filia  de  YfTeld,  ecclesiae  vicus  est  dictus  Anglica  lingua 

Salerna    nomine,    caseum    matri    suae  Yfeld,  quo  res  admiranda  contigit,  dign.i 

surripuit,    eisque   contradidit.      Mater  relatu.      In    domo    namque   cujusdam 


238 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


i?  777 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 

chance  noting  that  the  cheese 
had  been  taken  away  .^accused 
the  girl  of  doing  it,  and 
threatened  her  severely  when 
she  denied  it.  As  threats 
did  no  good,  she  tried  blows, 
declaring  that  the  girl  should 
be  whipped  to  death  next 
day,  unless  she  confessed  her 
guilt. 


William  (i.  258-61) 

Thomas,  a  man  of  no  mean 
rank  according  to  [this]  world, 
during  the  mother's  absence, 
the  servants  (greedy  for  a 
good  breakfast,  as  servants 
are)  asked  two  of  the  daugh- 
ters for  some  cheese  to  flavour 
their  bread.  Thus  they  took 
advantage  of  the  thoughtless- 
ness of  the  younger  of  the  two 
— she  was  called  Salerna — 
who,  having  got  the  keys,  went 
at  will  in  and  out  of  the  larder. 
On  her  return  home,  the 
mother,  not  finding  the  full 
number  of  the  cheeses,  called 
the  daughters  to  account,  and, 
on  their  denial,  suspecting  the 
younger,  she  whipped  her 
soundly  and  threatened  her 
with  something  worse. 


caseum  casu  *  advertit  sublatum  ;  im- 
petit  commisso  puellam,  neganti  com- 
minatur.  Minis  non  proficiens,  apponit 
et  verbera,  asserens  earn  usque  ad  ex- 
halationem  spiritus  flagellandam  in 
crastino,  nisi  reatum  confiteatur. 


Thomae,  viri  non  ignobilis  secundum 
saeculum,  absente  matrefamilias,  fami- 
lia,  sicut  fit,  jentaculum  liguriensrogabat 
duas  filias-familias  caseum  sibi  dare  ad 
condiendum  panem.  Eo  circumvene- 
runt  imprudentiam  minoris  natu, 
Salerna  vocabulo,  quae  clavibus  acceptis 
licenter  ingrediebatur  et  egrediebatur 
promptuarium.  Rediens  autem  domum 
materfamilias  numerum  caseorum  non 
inveniens,  convenit  filias ;  quibus  rem 
furtivam  inficientibus,  minorem  natu 
suspectam  habens,  flagris  cecidit,  et 
saeviora  minabatur. 


1  Probably  a   pun   is  intended   in 
caseum  casu." 


§777 


HIS  MIRACLES 


239 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 

(2)  It  was  the  Sabbath 
on  that  day,  [but  not  for  her],- 
Then  the  girl,  more  anxious 
about  the  future  than  sorry 
for  the  past,  spent  almost  the 
whole  of  the  following  night, 
without  sleep,  in  tears  and 
lamentations,  saying,  "  St. 
Thomas,  guard  me !  St. 
Thomas,  aid  me !  Aid  me, 
St.  Thomas !  Guard  me, 
St.  Thomas ! " 

Next  morning,  when  she 


William  (i.  258-61) 

(2)  When  next  morning 
came,  the  mother  went  to 
prayers  at  a  chapel  about 
three  furlongs  from  her  house. 
Now  it  chanced  that  a  servant 
from  the  mill  had  come  sooner 
than  was  expected — so  Pro- 
vidence had  ordained — and 
had  gone  to  sleep  on  a  heap 
of  fodder. 

But  the  girl,  bent  on  self- 
destruction,  which  she  had 
planned  during  the  fears  and 


(2)  Erat  autem  sabbatum  in  die 
ilia,  sed  non  illi.-  Turn  ilia,  futuri 
mali  magis  sollicita  quam  dolens  prae- 
teriti,  noctem  subsequentem  fere  totam 
duxit  insomnem,  flens  et  ejulans,  ac 
dicens,  "  Sancte  Thoma,  consule  mihi  ; 
sancte  Thoma,  adjuva  me  ;  adjuva  me, 
sancte  Thoma ;  consule  mihi,  sancte 
Thoma."      Mane   vero,    cum   matrem 


(2)  Mane  facto  petiit  oratorium 
quod  tribus  circiter  stadiis  distat  a  domo 
sua.  Advenerat  autem  citius  soiito 
famulus  a  molendino,  disponente  Do- 
mino qui  providet  quae  ventura  sunt,  et 
incumbens  farragini  somnum  petebat. 
Puella  vero,  circa  pemiciem  suam  sol- 
licita nocte  praemeditatam,  quam  prae 


"^  As  her  mother  goes  to  church  next 
day,  it  seems  that  Benedict,  by  "  Sab- 
bath," means  Saturday,  as  he  certainly 
does  elsewhere,  e.g.  732  (12),  when 
speaking  of  the  Saturday  in  Holy  Week. 
If  so,  it  seems  a  meaningless  play  on 
the  double  meaning  of  "Sabbata,"  (i) 
"  Saturday,"  (2)  '«  Sabbath,"  or  ««rest." 

The  words  •*  but  not  for  her "  are 
not  in  one  of  the  MSS.  ;  and  they  may 
be  an  addition  by  some  early  scribe 
who  hastily  took  the  Sabbath  to  mean 
the  day  of  rest. 

The  only  alternative  is  to  suppose 
that  the  "Saturday  half  holiday"  had 
in  those  days  some  sort  of  recognition. 
See  710  (I)  (Latin)  "derideant  sabbata 


240 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§777 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 
knew  her  mother  had  started 
for  church,  she  stepped  out  of 
doors,  and  went  straight  to  a 
well  with  water  in  it,^  intend- 
ing to  throw  herself  headlong 
into  the  well,  in  the  hope 
that,  if  she  could  not  avoid 
death,  she  might  at  least 
change  the  nature  of  the 
death. 

(.3)  Now  as  she  drew 
near  to  the  well,  she  saw 
close  beside  her  a  form  as  of 
a  woman  going  with  her ; 
and  it  sought  to  constrain 
the  girl  (for  indeed  it  was 
seeking  the  girl's  soul),  push- 
ing her  on  to  the  brink  and 


William  (i.  258-61) 

anxieties  of  a  sleepless  night, 
went  by  herself  into  an  inner 
chamber,  as  though  to  seek 
her  little  brother,  who  was 
entrusted  to  her  charge.  And, 
shutting  the  door  behind  her, 
she  stepped  out  into  an 
orchard,  where,  crossing  the 
hedge,  she  kept  walking  up 
and  down,  shrinking  from  the 
deed  that  she  was  planning. 

(3)  On  one  side  was  the 
fear  of  death  saying  No  :  on 
the  other  was  the  instigation 
and  impulsion  of  the  enemy 
of  the  human  race  trans- 
formed into  the  appearance 
of  one  of  the  maid-servants. 
At  length,  leaping  across  the 


suam  ad  ecclesiam  profectam  fuisse  cog- 
novisset,  egressa  perrexit  ad  puteum 
aquae,^  in  puteum  seipsam  praecipita- 
tura,  quatenus,  si  mortem  declinare  non 
posset,  saltern  mortis  genus  mutaret. 


(3)  Ad  puteum  autem  appropin- 
quans  videbat  juxta  se  quasi  mulier- 
culam  aliquam  commeantem  ;  et  vim 
faciebat  quae  quaerebat  animam  suam, 
impingens    eam     ad    praecipitium    ac 


timore  duxerat  insomnem,  secessit  in 
penitiorem  domum,  tanquam  ad  fratrem 
suum  parvulum,  cui  custos  deputabatur. 
Et  accludens  ostium  post  se  egressa  est 
in  pomoerium,  transiensque  sepem  ibat 
et  redibat,  facinus  abhorrens  quod 
meditabatur. 

(3)  Prohibebat  hinc  timor  mortis  ; 
hinc  instigabat  et  propellebat  eam 
hostis  humani  generis,  in  speciem  unius 
famularum  transfiguratus.  Tandem 
sepem  transsiliens  recludit  os  putei,  et 


^  "Puteum  aquae"  perhaps  in- 
tended to  indicate  that  the  well  was 
not  empty,  or  to  distinguish  it  from 
(440,  note)  a  cesspool.  It  cannot 
mean  "/«//  of  water,"  as  this  will  be 
seen  below  not  to  have  been  the  case. 


55  777 


HIS  MIRACLES 


241 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 

saying,  "  Go,  go ;   you    shall 
go  in,  you  shall  go  in." 

At  last  she  sat  down 
above  the  well,  and  then, 
hanging  by  her  hands  from 
the  well's  edge, 

(4)  at  the  instigation  of 
him  who  is  from  below,  she 
cast  herself  headlong  *  below, 
crying  out  with  a  loud  voice, 
"Almighty  God  and  St. 
Thomas  be  my  guard  !  " 

(5)  Benedict  omits  this. 


William  (i.  258-61) 

hedge,  she  opened  the  well's 
mouth,  and,  putting  her  legs 
in,  she  hung  suspended  by 
her  arms. 


(4)  Seeing  this  from  a 
field  in  the  distance,  a  swine- 
herd shouted  [to  her]  ;  and 
the  girl,  suspecting  hindrance, 
let  herself  down  into  the  well, 
exclaiming  "The  Lord  and 
St.  Thomas  be  my  guard  ! " 

(5)  Ah,  how  watchful 
and  diligent  the  Shepherd, 
snatching  the  lost  sheep  from 
the  jaws  of  a  present  and 
eternal  death,  lest  his  flock 
should  be  robbed  of  a  portion 


dicens,  "  Vade,  vade ;  introibis,  in- 
troibis."  Super  puteum  tandem  con- 
sedit,  et  manibus  ab  ora  putei  pendens, 

(4)  ejus  instinctu  qui  de  deorsum 
est,  misit  se  deorsum  praecipitem,* 
voce  magna  proclamans,  "  Deus  om- 
nipotens  consulat  mihi  et  sanctus 
Thomas  ! " 

(5)  om. 


cruribus  suis  immissis   a   brachiis   pe- 
pendit. 

(4)  Quod  ab  agio  prospiciente 
subulco,  et  clamante,  suspicans  se 
impeditam,  se  demisit  in  puteum, 
dicens,  "Consulat  mihi  Dominus  et 
beatus  Thomas." 

(5)  O  pastorem  vigilem  et  dili- 
gentem,  perditam  ovem  de  praesentis 
et  aeternae  mortis  faucibus  eripientem, 


*  "  Praecipitem "  ought  to  mean 
this.  But  obviously  the  writer  means 
nothing  by  it,  inserting  it  contrary  to 
the  fact,  as  a  mere  expletive.  The 
girl  drops  feet  foremost.  "  Below  "  is 
repeated  to  indicate  that  the  girl,  as  it 
were,  gave  herself  to  Satan  in  act, 
though  not  in  word. 

VOL.   II 


16 


242 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§  777 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 


(6)  And    into  the  abyss 


William  (i.  258-61) 

of  its  body !  ^  Ah,  how 
pitiful  and  propitious  the 
Father,  saving  a  soul — though 
unwilling,  and  hostile  to 
Himself — lest  the  enemy 
should  exult  over  the  damna- 
tion of  His  household  !  The 
forethought  of  the  Good 
Shepherd  took  heed  for  his 
successors,  and  for  the  shep- 
herds that  should  come  after 
(lest  the  envy  of  detractors 
should  triumph  over  them  as 
sluggards  not  doing  their 
pastoral  duty),  and  for  the 
diocese  of  Canterbury,  lest  it 
should  bebranded  with  infamy. 
(6)  Well,   with   many    a 


(6)  Et  cecidit   in  abyssum  et  non 


ne  grex  sui  corporis  portione  *  vastare- 
tur !  O  patrem  pium  et  propitium, 
salvantem  animam  invitam  et  hostem 
sui,  ne  de  damno  familiae  suae  inimicus 
exsultaret !  Cavit  prudentia  boni  pastoris 
successoribus  suis  et  posteris  pastoribus, 
ne  livor  eis  obtrectatorum  tanquam  desi- 
dibus  et  pastoralem  curam  non  agentibus 
insultaret.  Ca\-it  diocesi  Cantuariensis 
ecclesiae,  ne  notaretur  infamiae. 

(6)  Igitur  virgo   multis  circumacta 


^  The  metaphor  of  the  flock  is 
combined  with  that  of  a  body,  so  that 
a  sheep  corresponds  to  a  limb. 

It  is  not  clear,  in  what  follows, 
whether  "Father"  and  "Shepherd" 
(which  often  mean  St.  Thomas)  mean 
the  Sa\nour  or  the  Martyr.  Probably 
they  mean  the  latter.  Benedict  (7) 
("God  aitd  the  Martyr")  perhaps 
intends  to  meet  doubts  of  this  kind. 


§777 


HIS  MIRACLES 


243 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 

she  fell  and  was  not  utterly 
destroyed,'^  because  the  Lord 
placed  His  hand  beneath  her. 
For  He  heard  her  and  her 
cry,  and  went  down  with  her 
into  the  pit,  and  took  her  up 
out  of  many  waters,  that  the 
depth  of  the  abyss  might  not 
swallow  her  up,  nor  the  deep 
waters  of  Satan  close  fast 
their  mouth  over  her. 

Three  or  four  times  was 
she  immersed,  and  as  often 
did  she  emerge.  But  when, 
fetching  her  breath,  she 
called  out,  "St.  Thomas, 
aid  me!" 


est  collisa,*  quia  Dominus  supposuit 
manuiti  suam.  Audivit  enim  earn  et 
vocem  ipsius,  descenditque  cum  ilia  in 
foveam,  et  assumpsit  cam  de  aquis 
multis,  ne  absorberet  cam  abyssi  pro- 
fundum,  neque  urgeret  super  eam  in- 
ferni  puteus  os  suum. 

Immersa  itaque  tertio  vel  quarto, 
totidemque  vicibus  emersa,  cum  re- 
spirans  clamasset,  "Sancle  Thoma, 
adjuva  me  ! " 


William  (i.  258-61) 

whirling  revolution,  the  girl 
was  plunged  in  and  went 
down  thrice  to  the  bottom  of 
the  water.  Emerging  for 
the  fourth  time,-  she  seemed 
to  have  heard  St.  Thomas 
saying  ^  "  Thou  shalt  not  die. 
Thou  shalt  ascend  from  the 
well." 


rotationibus  ad  fundum  aquae  ter  sub- 
mersa  est.  Quarto  ^  emergens,  \'isus  est 
beatus  Thomas  dixisse,-'  "  Non  morieris ; 
ascendes  a  puteo. " 


'  "Collisa":  probably  an  allusion 
to  2  Cor.  iv.  9  "  Cast  down,  yet  not 
destroyed. " 


-  A  confusion  of  thought.  The 
writer  forgets  that  (as  Benedict  says) 
every  "emerging"  must  have  been 
preceded  by  an  "immersing."  The 
third  "  immersing  "  would  be  followed 
by  the  third  (not  "the  fourth") 
"emerging." 

3  "  Dixisse,"  lit.  "to  have  said." 
Benedict  places  these  words  of  Si. 
Thomas  later,  in  (10). 


244 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§777 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 
(7),  [straightway],  by  some 
pressure  of  the  Divine  hand, 
the  whole  of  the  girl's  body, 
even  to  the  feet,  was  pressed 
upwards  out  of  the  water, 
and,  through  God,  or  the 
Martyr — nay,  through  God 
and  the  Martyr — her  feet 
were  set  upon  some  sort  of 
staff,  and  another  staff  was 
placed  in  her  trembling  hands 
to  be  a  support  for  her.  So 
she  took  her  stand  on  the 
former,  at  the  surface  of  the 
water,  and  stretched  the  latter 
against  the  side  of  the  well, 
and  leant  upon  it — not 
knowing  at  all  either  how 
she  had  come  upon  the  first, 
or  who  had  put  the  second 
into  her  hands. 


William  (i.  258-61) 

(7)  Wonderful,  and  scarce 
credible,  is  the  tale  I  must 
now  tell,  yet  without  a  touch 
of  falsehood. 

The  well  was  twenty-five 
great  cubits  high  from  the 
water  up  to  the  top,  and 
eight  from  the  water  down  to 
the  bottom  ;  *  and  yet,  though 
the  depth  was  so  great,  the 
girl  who  cast  herself  headlong 
down,  was  preserved  un- 
harmed. For  the  Divine 
Hand  placed  a  beam  across 
the  well  and  set  the  poor 
shipwrecked  creature  on  it, 
and  gave  into  her  hands  a 
staff  whereby  to  sustain  her- 
self against  the  well's  side. 


(7)  impulsu  quodam  divino  totum 
puellae  corpus  usque  ad  pedes  de  aquis 
expulsum  est,  et  statuit  Deus  vel 
martjT,  immo  et  Deus  et  martyr,  super 
baculum  quendam  pedes  ejus,  et  alium 
baculum  in  manus  ejus  tremulas  ad- 
ministravit.  Super  alterum  igitur  in 
superficie  aquae  consistens,  alteri  contra 
putei  parietem  porrecto  innitebatur, 
ignorans  prorsus  et  qualiter  super 
baculum  venisset,  et  quis  baculum 
secundum  manibus  ejus  imposuisset. 


(7)  Mira  loquar  et  vix  credenda, 
impermixta  tamen  falsitati.  Puteus 
altus  erat  viginti  quinque  cubitis  raagnis 
ab  aqua  sursum,  octo  vero  penetrabat 
ab  aqua  deorsum  ;  *  et  cum  tanta  esset 
altitude  putei,  quae  se  praecipitem 
dedit  illaesa  conservata  est.  Nam 
lignum  per  transversum  putei  divina 
manus  imposuit,  naufragaeque  super- 
impositae  manibus  baculum  dedit,  quo 
se  sustentaret  a  latere  putei. 


*  See    Benedict's   different   dimen- 
sions below  (19). 


S777  HIS  MIRACLES  245 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6)  William  (i.  258-61) 

(8)  Benedict  omits  this.  (8)  This    is     the    Hand 

that  is  placed  under  the 
righteous  man,  so  that,  when 
he  falls,  he  may  not  be  utterly 
destroyed :  for,  as  [the 
Scripture]  says,  "  He  will 
send  help  to  him,  and  His 
arm  shall  strengthen  him, 
that  the  enemy  may  not 
prevail  against  him,^  and  the 
son  of  iniquity  may  not  pro- 
ceed to  do  him  more  hurt." 
This  is  the  Hand  that  brought 
the  children  of  Israel  forth 
from  the  bondage  of  Egypt, 
Jonah  from  the  whale's  belly, 
Daniel  from  the  lion's  den,^ 
Peter  from  prison,  Paul  from 
the  depth  of  the  sea — which 
also  created  the  climbing 
gourd  to  give  shade  to  the 
prophet  from  the  noonday 
heat :  this  same  created  also 

(8)  om.  (8)  Manus  haec  est  quae  viro  justo 

supponitur  cadenti  ne  coUidatur  ;  sicut 
enim  ait,  "  Auxiliabitur  ei,  et  brachium 
ejus  confirmabit  eum,  ut  non  proficiat 
inimicus  in  eo,*  et  filius  iniquitatis  non 
apponat  nocere  ei."  Manus  haec  est 
quae  filios  Israel  eduxit  ab  A^yptia 
servitute,  Jonam  de  ventre  ceti, 
Danielem  de  lacu «  leonum,  Petrum  de 
carcere,  Paulum  de  profundo  maris  ;  et 
quae  creavit  hederara  ad  umbraculum 


'  Lit  '•  in  him,"  Ps.  Ixxxix.  21,  22. 
«  «« Lacu,"  Vulgate,  Dan.  vi.  7. 


246 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


^TH 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 


(9)  But  this  we  have 
ascertained,  and  know  to  be 
absolutely  true,  that  this  very 
well  had  been  cleaned  out  a 
few  days  before  by  a  man 
who  had  left  in  it  neither 
staff,  nor  stick,  no,  not  even 
of  the  smallest.^ 


(10)  Moreover,  while  the 
girl  was  standing  thus,  she 
heard  the  voice  of  one  con- 
soling her  and  repeating  over 
and  over  again  the  words  of 
consolation  :  "  Fear  not,  my 
daughter,  thou  wilt  come  safe 


WiUiani  (i.  258-61) 

the  beam  for  the  help  of  the 
shipwrecked  girl. 

(9)  Be  not  beguiled  into 
supposing "  that  the  beam  had 
been  purposely  placed  as  a 
support  for  people  going 
down  into  the  well  [to  clean 
it].  For  their  custom  was, 
whenever  anything  fell  into 
the  well,  to  draw  it  out  in  the 
usual  fashion,  searching  the 
bottom  with  a  hook. 

(10)  [William  places 
above,  in  (6),  some  words  of 
St.  Thomas,  but  mentions 
no  visible  figure.] 


(9)  Hoc  autem  constans  habemus 
atque  certissimum,  quod  ante  dies  pau- 
cos  puteum  eundem  juvenis  purgaverat, 
qui  nee  baculum  nee  virgulam,  sed 
neque  festucam,"  in  ipso  reliquerat. 


(10)  Audivit  etiam  puella,  dum  ita 
staret,  vocem  consolantis  se,  eademque 
consolationis  verba  saepius  replicantis  : 
"  Noli  timere,   filia,  bene  venies  sur- 


aestuantis  prophetae,  creavit  et  lignum 
in  subsidium  naufragantis  puellae. 

(9)  Non  tibi  subripiat^  ut  putes 
lignum  de  industria  tanquam  suppe- 
daneum  descendentibus  in  puteum  fuisse 
impositum.  Habebant  enim  hi  con- 
suetudinem,  siquid  in  ilium  incidisset 
aliquando,  sicut  solet,  extrahere,  un- 
coque  fundum  scrutari. 

(10)  vide  (6). 


*  "Festucam," lit.  "a small  wand." 


^  "Non  tibi  subripiat."  Perhaps 
some  words  are  missing :  "  Let  not 
(any  one]  filch  from  you  {the  truth],"  or 
' '  Let  not  [the  truth]  be  filched  (sub- 
ripiatur)  from  you." 


>5  777 


HIS  MIRACLES 


247 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 

to  the  top.  Safe  to  the  top 
wilt  thou  come,  my  daughter. 
Fear  not."  She  testifies  that 
she  also  saw  the  figure  of  the 
speaker  standing  near,  clothed 
in  the  whitest  linen. 

And  so  much  for  what 
was  going  on  in  the  well.^ 

(11)  Benedict  omits  this. 


William  (i.  258-61) 


(11)  And  as  far  back  as 
the  time  when  the  well  was 
first  dug,  no  such  beam  could 
ever  be  perceived  by  the 
master  or  by  a  single  one  of 
his  servants.  Well  then,^  let 
any  one  say  what  he  pleases, 
and  maintain  that  it  had 
been  placed  there,  and  that, 
after  being  long  forgotten, 
there  it  was,  at  one  time 
under  the  water,  at  another 


sum ;  bene  sursum  venies,  filia,  noli 
timere."  Testatur  se  etiam  personam 
loquentis  prope  se  stantem  \'idisse,  lino 
candidissimo  vestitam.  Et  haecquidem 
in  puteo  ita  gesta  sunt.^ 
(II)  cm. 


(II)  Per  tantum  autem  tempus  quo 
fossus  est  pnteus,  lignum  tale  non  a 
domino,  non  ab  aliquo  famulonim 
adverti  poterat.  Dicat  igitur*  quivis 
quidlibet,  et  controversetur  illud  fuisse 
pridem  impositum,  et  longa  oblivione 
dimissum   nunc    aquae   subesse,    nunc 


^  For  a  similar  transition,  common 
in  Greek  writers,  comp.  above  in 
William's  (771  (5))  story  of  the  plumber 
"  So  much  for  what  was  going  on  in 
the  heart  of  the  earth." 


'  '•  Igitur "  seems  to  be  an  error 
for  some  other  word  such  as  "however." 


248 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


5^  777 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 


(12)  Now  the  cry  of  the 
girl,  at  the  moment  when  she 
fell    in,  had    been    heard    by 


William  (i.  258-61) 

time  just  touched  by  the 
water's  surface,  according  as 
the  well  happened  to  be  full 
or  empty — yet  still,  let  this 
[caviller]  tell  me  how  a  girl 
of  thirteen  (for  that  was  her 
age),  who  had  thrown  herself 
headlong  from  such  a  height, 
could  mount  the  beam  and 
plant  her  feet  on  it !  What 
agent,  except  the  Divine  pity 
—  which  wills  that  none 
should  perish — placed  in  her 
hands  such  a  support  ?  ° 

(12)  So  the  swine-herd, 
seeing  that  the  maid  had 
thrown  herself  down,  rushed 


(12)  Audierat  autem  puellae  corru- 
entis   vocem   quispiam    de    familia    in 


ejusdem  lambere  superficiem  juxta 
defectum  vel  incrementum  ejus.  Re- 
spondeat et  ipse  quomodo  virgo  tredecim 
annorum  (id  enim  aetatis  agebat)  quae 
se  ex  tarn  sublimi  praecipitem  dedit, 
lignum  ascenderit  et  pedibus  presserit. 
Quis  nisi  divina  miseratio,  quae  neminem 
vult  perire,  podium  manibus  "  immisit  ? 
(12)  Videns  igilur  subulcus  quia 
virgo  se  dejecisset,  irruit  cum  clamore, 


"  "  Podium  "  is  properly  a  support 
for  the  feet,  hence  "balcony"  etc. 
Perhaps  this  is  an  instance  where 
William  (146  note  9,  611^)  misuses 
Greek  terms.  He  seems  to  apply  the 
word  to  the  "stick"  and  not  to  the 
"  beam." 

We  should  also  have  expected  some 
conjunction:  '■'^{^And,  even  though  he 
may  explain  away  the  beam,  yef^  who 
.   .   .   supplied  the  stick  f " 


^  777 


HIS  MIRACLES 


249 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 

one  of  the  servants  at  his 
work  in  a  neighbouring  field. 
He  had  seen  her  before 
sitting  over  the  well,  and 
had  blamed  her  for  it, 
wondering  [at  her  strange 
conduct].  So  he  now  ran 
and  called  (?)  by  name^  a 
young  man  sleeping  in  the 
house,  dinning  it  in  his  ears 
that  Salerna  had  fallen  into 
the  well.  But  the  sleeper, 
as  though  in  a  waking  dream, 
while  hearing  all  that  the 
other  shouted,  could  not 
shake  off  slumber.  For  he 
saw  before  him  a  figure  as 
of   a    hideous   man,   vast    of 


William  (i.  258-61) 

in  with  loud  cries,  calling 
the  sleeping  servant.  Now 
the  servant  saw  in  his  sleep 
a  man  with  clenched  fist 
threatening  him  and  saying, 
"  Lie  still !  If  you  get  up, 
you  will  have  this  fist  in 
your  face.  Sleep  on,  lest  you 
wake  to  your  destruction." 


campo  vicino  constitutus,  qui  et  puellam 
super  puteum  sedentem  vidit  et  ad- 
miratus  increpa\'it ;  currensque  juvenem 
indomo  dormientem  vocavit  ex  nomine,* 
Salemam  in  puteum  corruisse  in- 
geminans.  At  ille,  quasi  per  somnum 
vigilans,  et  audiebat  vociferantem 
et  somnum  excutere  non  \-alebat. 
Videbat  enim  coram  se  quasi  hominem 
quendam  deformem,  statura  procerum, 


vocans  famulum  dormientem ;  qui 
videbat  per  somnum  hominem  sibi 
constricto  pugno  minitantem,  et 
dicentem  *'  Accumbe ;  si  sui^s, 
pugnus  iste  tibi  protinus  haerebit  in 
mala.  Dormi,  ne  in  exterminium 
tuum  exciteris." 


*  "Juvenem  .  .  .  ex  nomine,"  we 
should  have  expected  "juvenem 
quendam  (a  young  man)."  But  per- 
haps the  participle  may  have  an  in- 
definite force.  William  calls  the  man 
a  "servant"  from  "the  mill,''  and 
previously  describes  his  unexpectedly 
early  arrival  as  providential. 

I  do  not  understand  the  force  of 
• '  ex  nomine. "  It  is  not  classical  Latin. 
Rut  it  seems  here  to  mean  "by  name." 


250 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§777 


Benedict  (iL  263-6) 
stature,  and  of  a  terrible 
countenance,  holding  a  great 
club  in  his  hands,  and  repeat- 
ing without  ceasing,  "If  you 
get  up,  you  are  a  dead  man. 
Move,  and  I  kill  you." 

(13)  Benedict  omits  this. 


William  (i.  258-61) 


(13)  Say,  impious  devil,^° 
what  now  avails  thy  deceit  ? 
Thy  manifold  devices  prevail 
not  against  the  simple  and 
innocent.  Author  of  [all] 
guile,  thou  didst  deceive  an 
innocent  young  maid  ;  thou 
didst  count  her  thy  prey ; 
but  thou  didst  not  obtain 
her  for  a  possession,  for  thy 
deceit  was  swallowed  up  in 
the  Martyr's  victory.  Thou 
didst  lull  the  servant  to  sleep 
and  didst  forbid  his  waking : 
but  these  and   all  thy  other 


vultu      terribilem,     clavam     grandera 
tenentem   in   nianibus,    et    incessanter 
dicentem,     "Si     surrexeris,     mortuus 
es  ;  si  te  moveris,  occidam  te. " 
(13)  om. 


(13)  Die,  impie  Zabule, liquid  valet 
nunc  fraus  tua  ?  Non  praevalet  ad- 
versus  simplices  et  innocentes  machina- 
tionis  tuae  multiplicitas.  Virginem 
juvenculam,  auctor  doli,  decepisti, 
praedam  putasti,  sed  in  possessorio 
non  obtinuisti ;  nam  absorpta  est  in 
victoria  martyris  fraus  tua.  Mancipium 
sopisti  et  subvenire  prohibuisti,  sed  et 


'0  "  Zabule,"  a  form  of  "  Diabole," 
used  by  Lactantius. 


;^  777 


HIS  MIRACLES 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 


(14)  At  length,  roused 
by  the  outcry  that  would 
take  no  denial,  he  ran  with 
the  lad  to  the  well,  and  began 
to  descend  the  well ;  but  he 
was  dismayed  at  the  great 
depth,  and  came  out  again. 
So  there  they  both  stood, 
sore  distressed  at  the  mishap 
and  not  knowing  what  to  do. 
Then  said  one  to  the  other, 
"  Make  haste,  and  mount,  and 
ride  to  the  church  :  and  tell 
ourmistressof  this  lamentable 


William  (i.  258-61) 

plots  turn  out  to  thy  disgrace. 
Thou  dost  press  sore  on  the 
Shepherd's  lambs,  but  the 
forethought  of  the  Shepherd 
defeateth  thy  deceits. 

(14)  For,  aroused  by  the 
shouting  servant,  the  [other] 
servant  hears  the  mischance 
of  the  hapless  woman."  And 
forthwith,  stripping  off  his 
clothes,  he  prepared  to  go 
down  the  well,  and  was  let 
down  (?)  some  way.  But, 
seeing  that  nothing  effective 
could  be  done,  he  took  horse 
in  haste  and  carried  the 
tidings  to  the  mother  and 
those  who  were  at  church. 


(14)  Tandem  vero  importunitate 
clamantis  excitatus,  ad  puteum  cum 
puero  cucurrit,  in  puteum  descendit ; 
sed  metu  praecipitii  tanti  correptus 
exivit.  Stabant  itaque  ambo  super 
infortunio  anxii,  et  quid  facto  opus 
esset  ignari.  Tunc  alter  ad  alterum, 
"  Festina,  equumque  ascendens  ad 
ecclesiam  propera ;  et  dominae  nostrae 


haec  et  cuncta  quae  moliris  tibi  foeda 
eveniunt.  Instans  et  impugnans 
pastoris  oviculas,  at  Pastor  providus 
expugnat  fraudes  tuas. 

(14)  Excitatus  enim  clamore  famuli 
famulus  accipit  casum  miserandae 
mulieris  ; "  qui  continue  pannos  suos 
abjiciens,et  nudans  se,  puteum  penetrare 
parabat,  et  demissus  est.  Sed  rem 
videns  carere  effectu,  caballum  arripiens 
matrifamilias  et  eis  qui  in  ecclesia  erant 
quod  acciderat  innotuit. 


'1  «« Mulieris,"  though  he  has  just 
told  us  that  she  is  but  thirteen  years  old. 
But  having  so  often  used  "  puella," 
*' virgo,"  "virgo  juvencula,"  etc.,  he 
craves  something  new. 


252 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§777 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 

mischance."  So  he  mounted, 
and  galloped  off,  and,  after 
very  long  delay,  brought  back 
with  him 

(15)  not  only  the  mis- 
tress, ^but  also  the  whole 
parish,  which  had  on  that 
day  flocked  to  church  accord- 
ing to  custom. 


William  (i.  258-61) 


(15)  The  mother,  groan- 
ing over  her  own  fault,  and 
over  the  terror  she  had  caused 
the  timorous  maiden,  arrived 
at  the  well  with  a  stream  of 
the  hastening  villagers,  bring- 
ing with  them  one  Ralph, 
an  active  and  vigorous  young 
man,  who  (by  Divine  will) 
had  come  that  day  to  that 
chapel,  contrary  to  his  custom. 
No  one  except  him,  among 
those  then  present,  would 
have  dared  to  descend  to 
these  subterranean  recesses. 
So,  on  arriving,  they  let  down 
a  bladder,  which  settled  on 
the  transverse  beam  close  to 
the  place  where  the  girl  stood. 


miserabile  infortunium  quod  accidit 
manifesta."  Qui  ascenso  equo  accele- 
ravit,  et  post  moram  plurimam, 

(15)  non  solum  dominam,  sed  et 
parochiam  totam,  quae  ad  ecclesiam  eo 
die,  ut  moris  est,  confluxerat,  secum 
reduxit. 


(15)  Quae  reatum  suum,  et  timorem 
quem  formidolosae  virgini  incusserat, 
ingemiscens,  cum  convicaneis  irruenti- 
bus  pervenit  ad  puteum,  assumpto 
quodam  Radulfo,  juvene  strenuo  et 
expedito,  qui  divino  nutu  ea  die  praeter 
solitum  venerat  ad  aediculam  illam ; 
praeter  quem  nemo  tunc  praesentium 
subterraneis  recessibus  auderet  illabi. 
Venientes  itaque  demiserunt  utrem,  qui 
subsedit  in  ligno  transverso  juxta 
stantem  puellam. 


55  777 


HIS  MIRACLES 


253 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 

(16)  The  (or,  a)  young 
man  ^  was  let  down  by  a 
rope  into  the  abyss  of  the 
well,  and  while  he  himself 
remained  on  the  staff,^°  the 
girl  was  drawn  out,  calling 
aloud  and  saying,  "Measure 
me  for  St.  Thomas  !  Measure 
me  for  St.  Thomas  !  " — mean- 
ing that  she  wished  a  candle 
to  be  made,  of  the  length  of 
her  body,  as  an  offering  to 
the  Martyr  for  her  rescue. 

(17)  When  drawn  out, 
she  was  found  unhurt,  but 
chilled  almost  to  death  with 
the  cold,  and 


William  (i.  258-61) 

(16)  When  Ralph  was 
let  down  by  a  rope,  he  found 
the  girl  standing,  as  we  have 
described  [above],  and  he  him- 
self stood  on  the  beam  by  her 
side,  while  fastening  her  to 
[the  rope].  On  being  drawn 
out,  she  exclaimed,  "  Take 
the  measure  of  my  body,  to 
make  a  vow  [of  a  candle]  to 
the  blessed  St  Thomas." 


(17)  Thus  was  preserved 
the  souP^  of  this  innocent 
and  simple  girl  ;  and,  after 
being    drawn    away    by    the 


(16)  Demissus  est  juvenis*  in 
abyssum  putei  per  fiinem,  et  ipso 
interim  super  baculum  ^^  remanente, 
puella  extrahitur,  vociferans,  ac  dicens, 
"  Metimini  me  ad  sanctum  Thomam  ; 
metimini  me  ad  sanctum  Thomam "  ; 
volens  \-idelicet,  ut  ad  mensuram 
longitudinis  corporis  ejus  candela 
fieret,  quam  martyri  pro  ereptione 
sua  offerret. 

(17)  Extracta  autem  illaesa  inventa 
est,  sed  frigore  pene  usque  ad  mortem 
afflicta; 


(16)  Ipse  autem  juvenis  Radulfus, 
per  fimem  demissus,  puellam  stantem, 
sicut  diximus,  invenit,  et  ligno  pariter 
institit  ipse  alligans  earn.  Quae  cum 
extraheretur  proclamavit,  "  Praeparate 
mensuram  corporis  mei,  voventes  beato 
Thomae." 


(17)    Igitur    salvata    est    animal' 
innocentis  et  simplicis  puellae,  malig- 


»  "Juvenis"  here  would  most 
naturally  mean  the  "juvenis"  above- 
mentioned  (12). 

10  «<  Baculum,"  called  by  William 
"beam  (lignum)."  Benedict  uses  the 
same  word  both  for  the  "  beam  "  and 
the  "staflf." 


'*  "  Anima,"  as  above,  means  also 

life." 


254 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§777 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 


(18)  she  began  to  say, 
"  Lo,  he  was  with  me  but 
now  in  the  well.  Lo,  he  has 
but  now  departed."  Then 
said  they,  "  Who  was  with 
thee  ? "  And  she  replied, 
"The  blessed  Martyr  Thomas, 
clothed  in  white,  and  he 
spoke  to  me  in  the  well, 
after  this  and  this  manner." 
And  all  that  stood  by  blessed 
the  Martyr  of  the  Lord  who 
doeth  whatsoever  he  will,  in 
heaven  and  in  earth,  in  the 
sea,  and  in  all  abysses." 

(19)  And     indeed     the 


William  (i.  258-61) 

evil  spirit,  she  was  drawn  out 
[again],  free  from  all  harm 
to  limb. 

(18)  William  omits  this. 


(19)   [William    omits   all 


(18)  dicebatque,  "  Ecce  niodo 
mecum  fuit  in  puteo,  modo  abiit." 
"Quis,"  inquiunt,  "tecum  fiiit?" 
Et  ilia,  '*  Beatus  Thomas  martyr  in 
vestitu  candido,  et  sic  et  sic  mihi  in 
puteo  locutus  est."  Et  benedixerunt 
omnes  qui  astabant  martyrem  Domini, 
qui  facit  omnia  quaecunque  vult,  in 
coelo  et  in  terra,  in  mari  et  in  omnibus 
abyssis." 

(19)  Et  quidem  abyssi  praetaxatae 


noque    spiritu    seducta    educta   est, 
laesione  membrorum  immunis ; 
(18)  om. 


(19)  vide  (7). 


'^  This  perhaps  may  explain  why 
this  miracle  is  placed  so  late,  as  ex- 
emplifying the  last  of  the  four  classes 
described,  i.e.  the  miracles  in  "  the 
waters  under  the  earth." 


S  777 


HIS  MIRACLES 


255 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 
wonderful  depth  of  the  abyss 
above-mentioned  makes  this 
a  wonderful  miracle.  For  I 
have  myself  measured  [it] 
and  have  found  the  distance 
from  the  surface  of  the  earth 
to  the  surface  of  the  water 
about  fifty  feet,  while  the 
water  itself  is  more  than  sixty 
feet  in  depth.^"  This  [then] 
I  have  confidently  set  forth 
among  the  other  wonderful 
signs  of  the  Martyr,  being 
certified  by  the  testimony  of 
no  others  [i.e.  none  less 
competent]  than  the  girl  her- 
self, and  her  parents,  and  the 
neighbours,    men    of    worth 


William  (i.  258-61) 

this  except  the  statement  of 
dimensions,  which  he  places 
above,  in  (7).] 


mira  profunditas  mirum  reddit  mira- 
culum.  Ipse  enim  profunditatem 
mensus  sum,  et  a  terrae  sujjerficie 
usque  ad  superficiem  aquae  circiter 
quinquaginta  pedum  inveni  distantiam, 
ipsam  vero  aquam  plusquam  sexaginta 
pedum  habere  profunditatem.'-  Istud 
inter  caetera  martyris  insignia  fidenter 
proposui,  non  aliorum  quam  ipsius 
puellae  et  parentum  suorum  vicino- 
rumque    virorum    fidelium    testimonio 


1*  One  MS.  has  150  feet  (instead 
of  100),  and  probably  rightly.  William 
has  (see  (7)  above)  25  "great  cubits," 
and  8  "  great  cubits  "  ;  Benedict  (if  we 
adopt  1 50)  has  "  1 50  feet  "  and  "  more 
than  60  feet,"  respectively.  The  pro- 
pjrtions  are  different,  and  the  state- 
ments irreconcilable. 


256 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§  777 


Benedict  (ii.  263-6) 
and   credit.     For  with   their 
own  eyes  they  saw  the  works 
of  the  Lord  and  His  wonders 
in  the  deep.^' 

(20)  Benedict  omits  this. 


William  (i.  258-61) 


(20)  Blessed  be  God  and 
the  Martyr  for  ever  and  ever! 
Let  us  therefore  say,  "  O  God, 
who  dost  manifest  thy  mercy 
most  chiefly  in  bestowing 
thy  grace  on  the  unworthy, 
grant,  we  beseech  thee,  that 
we,  who  cannot  be  saved  by 
our  own  merits,  may  ever  be 
aided  by  the  favour  of  thy 
Martyr  St.  Thomas,  through 
the  Lord,  etc."  ^^ 


[778]  Benedict's  account  professes  to  be  drawn  from  the 
testimony  of  the  girl,  the  parents,  and  the  neighbours  :  and, 
though  shorter  than  William's,  it  indicates  a  special  attention 
to  the  girl's  evidence.      For  example,  it  describes  the  girl's 


certificatus.      Ipsi  enim  viderunt  opera 
Domini  at  mirabilia  ejus  in  profundo.'^ 
(20)  om. 


(20)  benedictus  Deus  et  martyr  in 
saecula  !  Dicamus  igitur,  "Deus,  qui 
maxime  clementiam  tuam  ostendis  dum 
indignis  gratiam  tuam  largiris,  praesta, 
quaesumus,  ut  qui  nostris  non  possumus 
salvari  meritis,  sancti  martyris  tui 
Thomae  semper  adjuvemur  suffragiis  ; 
p.  Dominum  [&c.]."i3 


^3  Psalm  cvii.  24. 


'3  The  writer  concludes  his  sermon 
— for  apparently  it  was  a  sermon — with 
a  Collect,  ending  with  the  words 
"through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord," 
which  are  not  fully  given  in  the  text. 


?;  779  HIS  MIRACLES  257 

feelings  on  the  Saturday  night  and  her  first  prayer  to  St. 
Thomas,  and,  in  particular,  her  being  (as  she  might  confess 
to  the  Priest)  "  more  anxious  for  the  future  than  sorry  for 
the  past " :  and  how  she  was  pushed,  as  it  were,  up  out  of 
the  water  (on  coming  up  for  the  third  time),  and  saw  the 
Martyr  in  white  garments,  besides  hearing  his  consoling 
voice.  Characteristically,  perhaps,  the  girl  may  have  spoken 
of  standing  on  one  "  stick  "  and  holding  another  "  stick  "  in 
her  hand  :  but  the  former  name  was  very  inappropriate  for 
a  transverse  beam  fixed  to  the  two  sides  of  the  well  ;  and 
William,  who  gives  us  more  of  the  evidence  of  the  farm- 
labourers,  more  fitly  calls  it  a  "  beam."  The  girl's  words 
when  she  was  drawn  up  to  the  top  are  given  by  Benedict 
as,  "  Measure  me  for  St.  Thomas,"  simply  ;  by  William,  as 
"  Take  the  measure  of  my  body  to  make  a  vow  to  St. 
Thomas "  :  there  can  be  no  question  that  Benedict  is  the 
more  exact,  and  that  William  has,  rather  clumsily,  inserted 
in  the  girl's  words  an  explanation  that  Benedict  appends  to 
the  words.  "  Measure  me  for  St.  Thomas  "  was  a  common 
phrase  everywhere  among  the  English  poor,  and  this  girl 
was  on  a  farm  belonging  to  the  Cathedral  :  she  could  not 
possibly  have  used  the  longer  phrase  assigned  to  her  by 
William. 

[779]  On  the  other  hand,  William  is  much  clearer  and 
fuller  as  to  some  details  supplied  by  the  servants  on  the 
farm.  He  knows  that  the  poor  things  only  had  dry  bread 
for  their  breakfast,  and  how  Salerna  got  into  the  larder,  and 
how  she  escaped  the  notice  of  the  servants  and  got  out  of 
doors  under  pretence  of  looking  after  her  little  brother ;  and 
then  how  the  swine-herd  in  a  neighbouring  field  saw  her 
strange  behaviour  in  the  orchard,  and  marked  her  getting 
over  one  fence  and  leaping  over  another,  and  finally  sitting 
with  her  legs  over  the  uncovered  well,  and  how  he  shouted 
to  her,  and  all  to  no  purpose.  He,  too,  has  told  us  how  a 
providential  miller's  man  came  unexpectedly  early,  so  that, 

VOL.    tl  17 


2S8  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  779 

having  to  wait  till  the  family  returned  from  church,  he  had 
nothing  to  do  but  to  go  to  sleep  on  a  heap  of  fodder.  Then, 
too,  he  is  diffuse  on  the  beam  and  the  stick  in  the  well.  The 
former  was  clearly  felt  by  the  farm-servants  to  be  a  weak 
point  in  the  miracle.  At  any  rate,  they  protested  a  great 
deal  about  it.  It  had  not  been  there,  they  said,  since  the 
well  was  made.  At  least  neither  they  nor  the  master  could 
ever  see  it.  But  perhaps  they  felt  that  this  was  a  very 
miraculous  beam  indeed,  not  only  having  held  Salerna  up, 
but  also  remaining  there  after  Salerna's  rescue  to  support 
the  brave  young  Ralph,  and,  even  after  Ralph  had  been 
hauled  up,  remaining  there  still  permanently  to  serve  the 
purpose  of  keeping  the  sides  of  the  well  from  falling  in,  just 
like  an  ordinary  joist !  So  William,  while  grappling  as  best 
he  can  with  the  sceptical  view  by  alleging  negative  evidence 
("  no  one  had  ever  seen  it "),  nevertheless  prudently  concedes 
the  sceptical  view  as  to  the  beam  or  joist  in  order  to  con- 
centrate attention  on  the  question,  Who  set  the  girl  on  the 
joist  ?  Who  set  the  staff  in  her  hands  ?  Who  prevented 
her  from  being  destroyed  by  the  fall  ? 

[780]  When  we  speak  of  "  William  "  as  doing  this,  it  is 
not  to  be  supposed  that  the  narrative  originated  from  him. 
It  reads  like  a  sermon — and  it  must  have  been  a  wonderfully 
interesting  and  stimulating  one — addressed  to  some  village 
congregation  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ifield,  and  in  the 
diocese  of  Canterbury.  This  William  may  have  adapted 
for  his  purpose. 

[781]  Whether  William  had  Benedict's  account  before 
him,  it  is  difficult  to  say  with  confidence.  His  statement  of 
the  dimensions  of  the  well  is  irreconcilable  with  Benedict's 
(whatever  MS.  reading  of  the  latter  be  adopted) ;  but,  if  he 
had  been  correcting  the  latter,  would  he  not  have  said  that 
he,  too,  had  measured  it,  or  that  he  had  ascertained  the  true 
measurement,  or  something  at  all  events  to  maintain  his 
position  against  Benedict's  authoritative  assertion  ?     On  the 


^  783  HIS  MIRACLES  259 

other  hand,  the  interesting  statement  about  the  "juvenis," 
Ralph,  who  went  down  so  bravely  into  the  well,  looks  like  a 
correction  of  the  false  impression  left  by  Benedict  that  the 
" juvenis "  who  went  down  was  the  same  as  the  "juvenis" 
who  was  sleeping  in  the  house,  i.e.,  according  to  William, 
the  miller's  man. 

[782]  It  is  probable  that  William,  in  the  latter  point  at 
all  events,  is  correcting  some  previous  error  or  misunder- 
standing, and  possibly  one  in  some  edition  of  Benedict's 
book.  But  we  are  now  dealing  with  a  part  of  Benedict's 
work  that  was  probably  added  in  later  editions  of  it.  If 
William  had  Benedict  before  him,  would  he  not  have  borrowed 
from  the  latter  the  account  of  Salerna's  seeing,  as  well  as 
hearing,  the  Martyr  ?  On  the  whole,  it  is  probable  that 
Benedict's  account,  or  at  all  events  the  last  paragraph,  was 
written,  or  published,  so  late  that  William  had  not  the 
benefit  of  it.  To  ascertain  dimensions  by  actual  measurement 
on  the  part  of  the  writer  was  such  an  unusual  proceeding  in 
dealing  with  miraculous  narratives  that  we  seem  justified  in 
inferring  that  Benedict  did  not  resort  to  it  till  there  had  been 
a  great  deal  of  discussion  about  Salerna's  well. 

§  18.  John  of  Roxburgh  is  saved  from  the  Tweed 

[783]   Benedict  (ii.  266-7)  William  (i.  296-8) 

(i)  Another'      unusual  (i)     There     is     a    great 

miracle,  ascertained     by    us  town  that  they  call  Roxburgh, 

to  have  happened    near   the  in  the  boundaries  of  Loegria.' 

city    of  Roxburgh     in     the 

(l)    Inusitatum  '    quoque    signum,  (I)  Vicus  grandis  est  quern  Roches 

quod     apud     urbem     Rokesburch     in       burgum  nuncupant,  in  finibus  Loegriae,' 

'   ••Quoque"  rather  abruptly  con-  *   ••Loegria."    The  editor  gives  no 

nects  this  miracle  with  that  of  Salerna.  note.      Another    ••Loegria"    is   nien- 

That  had  to  do  with  a  deep  well  ;  this  tioned  in  702- 
with  the  depths  of  a  river. 


!6o 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§783 


Benedict  (ii,  266-7) 

river    Tweed,    must    by    no 
means  be  passed  over. 

(2)  It  was  wrought  by 
the  Lord  on  a  house-servant 
of  Sweyn,  Provost  of  the  city. 
His  name  is  John."-  This 
man  happened  to  be  washing 
or  watering  a  horse  of  his 
master's  in  the  above-named 
river  toward  evening.  Now 
the  horse  was  timid  ;  and, 
taking  a  great  fright  at  a 
hurdle  it  happened  to  see 
in  its  way,  it  shied  and  leapt 
down  into  deep  water. 
Throwing  off  the  young  man, 
it  left  him  in  the  stream,  and 
made  its  own  way,  by  swim- 
ming, to  the  dry  land. 


William  (i.  296-8) 

It  is  washed  by  the  Tweed, 
a  deep  river,  abounding  in  fish. 
(2)  It  happened  that  a 
young  man,  named  John,  was 
in  the  act  of  turning  back 
from  the  river  bed  a  horse 
that  he  had  been  watering, 
when  the  nervous  animal  was 
frightened  beyond  measure  by 
a  hurdle  standing  straight  up, 
through  which  the  sand  was 
passing  ;  and,  leaping  forward 
into  deep  water,  it  threw  off 
its  rider  and  rushed  back  "  to 
the  familiar  stall." 


flumine   Tuede   accidisse    cognovimus, 
nuUatenus  reticere  debemus, 

(2)  quod  fecit  Dominus  in  ejusdem 
urbis  praepositi  Swani  vernaculo ; 
Johannes  est  nomen  eJHS.''^  Hie  domini 
sui  equum  in  flumine  praenominato 
lavabat  sive  adaquabat  ad  vesperam. 
Erat  autem  equus  timidus,  et  de  crate, 
quam  forte  prae  se  videbat,  perterritus, 
aversus  in  profundum  desiliit.  Juvenem 
abjectum  in  amne  reliquit,  ipse  nando 
evasit  ad  aridam. 


quem  fluvius  Thuidus  alluit,  profundu-; 
et  piscosus. 

(2)  A  cujus  alveo  cum  caballum 
juvenis  Johannes  adaquatumretorqueret, 
exterrebatur  animal  formidolosum  ex 
crate  erecta  per  quam  transfundebatur 
arena ;  et  profundum  insiliens,  a  se 
sessore  dejecto,  ad  notum  praesepe 
recurrit. 


-  Luke  i.  63.  It  would  seem 
fanciful  to  regard  this  as  a  quotation, 
but  for  (l)  the  rarity  of  this  way  of 
giving  the  name  ;  (2)  the  fondness  of  the 
writer  for  short  Scriptural  quotations  of 
this  kind,  where  his  own  words  would 
have  done  as  well.     See  the  next  note. 


^783 


HIS  MIRACLES 


261 


Benedict  (ii.  266-7) 

(3)  Benedict  omits  this. 


(4)  And  the  young  man 
exclaimed  as  he  fell  into  the 
river,  "  O,  St.  Thomas,  as 
truly  as  I  have  already  been 
thy  pilgrim,  and  have  visited, 
and  will  again,  if  it  please 
thee,  visit  thy  tomb,  so  do 
thou  now  succour  me  lest 
I  die." 


William  (i.  296-8) 

(3)  "  Woe  unto  him  that 
is  alone,  because,  if  he  fall,  he 
has  none  to  lift  him  up."  For 
when  the  man  was  thrown 
off,  the  hurrying  torrent 
was  too  strong  for  him  and 
pulled  him  inward  into  the 
deepest  parts  of  the  swollen 
flood,  and  he  began  to  sink 
down. 

(4)  So  having  no  hope, 
because  the  darkness  of  night 
had  now  come  on  and  cut  off 
all  human  aid,  he  resorted 
to  prayer  in  these  words, 
"Succour  me,  Thomas,  Martyr 
most  excellent,  let  not  thy 
servant  perish :  for  I  have 
but  lately  visited  the  sacred 
threshold  of  thy  martyrdom. 
Come  to  my  aid,  thou 
Champion  of  God,  let  not 
thy  pilgrim  die." 


(3)  om. 


(4)  El  exclamavit  juvenis,  cum  in 
flumen  comieret,  "Sancte  Thoma, 
sicut  vere  peregrinus  tuus  exstiti,  teque 
adii,  ilerumque,  le  volente,  adibo, 
succurre  ne  moriar." 


(3)  "  Vae  soli,  quia  cum  cecidit  non 
habet  sublevantem  "  (Eccl.  iv.  10).  De- 
jectus  enim  praevalente  raptu  gurgitis, 
introrsum  tractus  ad  ima  voraginis 
undosac,  demergi  coepit. 

(4)  Exspes  igitur,  quia  jam  tenebrae 
noctis  incumbebant  et  omne  humanum 
sibi  praecludeliant  auxilium,  conversus 
ad  preces  ait,  "  Succurre,  martyr 
egregie  Thoma,  ne  pereat  servus  tuus, 
qui  sacrosancta  martyrii  tui  limina  nu{)er 
adivi.  Subveni,  athleta  Dei,  ne  pere- 
grinus tuus  intereat." 


262 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§783 


Benedict  (ii.  266-7) 

(5)  Benedict  omits  this. 


(6)  The  horse,  returning 
[to  its  stable],  was  found 
without  its  rider,  and  a  sad 
report  arose  that  he  had  been 


William  (i.  296-8) 
(5)  "  In  life's  each  stage,  good- 
ness must  be  the  goal, 
Through  boyhood's  sports  or 
manhood's  graver  quests, 
Service  is    due :  this   debt 
owe  young  and  old."  - 

For  unless  the  hapless 
subject  of  our  story — "  pre- 
vented "  by  that  Grace  which 
"  freely  justifieth  the  un- 
righteous "  ^  —  had,  by  the 
grace  of  pilgrimage,  "  pre- 
vented "  ■*  his  peril,  what  good 
work  could  he  have  put  for- 
ward for  the  sake  of  which 
he  could  have  asked  succour  ? 

(6)  William  omits  this 
(all  but  the  first  sentence,  of 
which  he  gives  the  substance 
at  the  end  of  (2)). 


(5)  om. 


(6)    Reversus  autem  equus  absque 
sessore    suscipitur.       De    submersione 


(5)  Quamlibet  aetatem  niti  decet  ad  pro- 
bitatem. 
Vel    pila    ludatur    vel    serior   annus 

agatur, 
Latria  debetur,   major,    minor,    inde 

tenetur.2 
Nisi  enim  miser  iste  de  quo  dicimus, 
gratia  praeventus  quae  gratis  justificat 
impium,^  periculum  suum  gratia  pere- 
grinationis  praevenisset,*  quod  bonum 
proponeret  cujus  intuitu  sibi  succurri 
postularet  ? 

(6)  vide  (2). 


2  I  do  not  know  whence  these  verses 
are  quoted. 

3  Rom.  iv.  5. 

*  "  Praevenisset" :  as  in  our  Collect, 
^^ Prevent  us,  O  Lord,  in  all  our  doings." 


?$  783 


HIS  MIRACLES 


263 


Benedict  (ii.  266-7) 
drowned.  So  the  neighbours, 
hearing  the  reports,  came  out 
forthwith.  But  it  was  night. 
And  they  passed  this  way 
and  that  way,  and,  lo,  "he 
was  not "  ;  ^  they  sought  him, 
and  "  his  place  was  not 
found." 

(7)  For  by  this  time  the 
water  had  drawn  him  further 
in,  and  was  now  keeping  him 
at  the  bottom  of  the  river 
under  the  hollow  of  a  great 
rock.  So  they  returned,  each 
to  his  home,  each  having  lost 
all  hope  of  finding  the  drowned 
man. 


William  (i.  296-8) 


(7)  So  after  this  brief 
prayer — uttered  as  well  as 
the  boisterous  waters  and  his 
failing  breath  would  allow — 
he  was  sucked  down  and 
forced  into  a  kind  of  rock- 
built  hollow,  either  fashioned 
by  Nature,  or  hollowed  out 
by  the  Martyr  for  his  ship- 
wrecked one.^ 


ejus  rumor  flebilis  subsecutus  est.  Cum 
ergo  accepissent  vicini  rumores  istos, 
exierunt  continuo,  erat  autem  nox.  Et 
transierunt  hue  atque  illuc,  et  ecce  non 
erat  ^  ;  quaesierunt  et  non  est  inventus 
locus  ejus. 

(7)  Jam  enim  eum  longius  unda 
protraxerat,  et  in  fundo  fluminis  sub 
petrae  grandis  concavo  retinebat.  Re- 
versi  sunt  igitur  in  sua  singuli,  spe 
singulis  ablata  submcrsum  inveniendi. 


(7)  Cum  itaque  paucis  orasset,  qua- 
tenus  gurges  fluctivagus  et  halitus  sus- 
pensus  permittebat,  absorptus  est,  et  in 
quoddam  concavum  lapideum,  quod  vel 
natura  construxerat  vel  suo  naufrago' 
martyr  excavaverat,  intrusus  est. 


'  ' '  Non  erat, "  hardly  classical  Latin , 
but  probably  a  quotation  from  Matth.  ii. 
18  (quoting  Jeremiah)  '•mourning  for 
her  children  because  they  were  fiot." 
His  ^^ plate  was  not  found"  is  also 
Biblical,  Rev.  xii.  8,  etc.  Probably 
(under  these  circumstances)  "But  it 
was  night"  is  also  an  allusion  to  the 
similar  short  sentence  in  John  xiii.  30. 


*  Salema,  above  (777  (7)),  is  also 
called  the  Martyr's  "shipwrecked  one." 
This  miracle  is  placed  by  William  with 
others  which  are  instances  of  regular 
"shipwreck,"  and  perhaps  he  uses  the 
term  as  a  convenient  one  to  use  for  any 
one  in  danger  of  perishing  in  "the 
deep." 


264 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


i^783 


Benedict  (ii.  266-7) 

(8)  And  when  he  had 
lain  there  till  midnight  in  the 
bottom  of  the  river,  there 
appeared  unto  him  eight  men 
as  if  in  the  act  of  crossing 
close  to  him. 

(9)  He  imagines  that  he 
arose  and  followed  them  as 
they  preceded  ;  but  in  truth 
he  was  borne  up  to  the  surface 
of  the  waters  and  was  follow- 
ing by  swimming.  At  last, 
nearing  the  bank. 


(10)  he  catches  hold  of 
a  willow  bough.  [But]  in 
the  act  of  drawing  the  willow 
towards  him  he  tore  away  the 
bough ;    [moreover]    a    great 


William  (i.  296-8) 

(8)  While  he  was  thus 
out  of  sight,  deep  down,  fixed 
in  the  mud,  it  being  now  mid- 
night, behold,  eight  figures  of 
reverend  presence  were  borne 
upon  the  waters,  walking  side 
by  side. 

(9)  On  their  approach, 
forthwith  the  drowned  ^  man 
was  brought  out  from  under 
the  stone  and  came  to  the 
top,  and,  by  favour  of  the 
seconding  current,  was  drifted 
towards  a  willow  that  leant 
forward  and  just  touched  the 
water  near  the  bank. 

(10)  He  grasped  with  his 
hands  a  little  bough  that 
hung  down  :  but  —  either 
because  the  Martyr  so  fore- 
ordained, or  because  the  man's 


(8)  Cumque  usque  ad  noctis  medium 
in  fluminis  fundo  jacuisset,  apparuerunt 
ei  viri  octo,  quasi  transitum  juxta  ipsum 
habentes. 

(9)  Surgere  se  aestimabat  et  subsequi 
praecedentes,  sed  revera  ad  superficiem 
aquarum  elatus  sequebatur  natando. 
Ripae  tandem  appropinquans 

(10)  salicis  ramum  apprehendit, 
salicem  attrahens  ramum  avulsit,  ruente 


(8)  Ubi  cum  lateret  infixus  in  limo 
profundi,  nocte  jam  media,  ecce  octo 
personae  venerabiles  sub  taciturnitate 
collateraliter  incedentes  super  aquas 
ferebantur. 

(9)  Ad  quorum  adventum  continue 
de  sub  lapide  eductus  submersus  "  emer- 
sit,  fluctusque  subvehentis  obsequio  ad 
salicem,  quae  prona  lambebat  aquas 
marginales,  appulsus  est. 

(10)  Cujus  cum  ramusculum  depen- 
dentem  manibus  apprehenderet,  fracto 
ramusculo,  vel  dispensatione  martyris, 


'^  Note    "  submersus "   as   a   noun 
with  the  article,  and  also  "  de  sub." 


S  783 


HIS  MIRACLES 


265 


Benedict  (ii.  266-7) 
Stone  from  the  bank  fell  on 
him  ;  and  he  again  fell  right 
into  the  stream. 


(11)  And  behold,  after  a 
little,  [there  appeared]  the 
men  described  above  (,)  as 
though  crossing  close  to  him,* 


William  (i.  296-8) 

weight  was  too  heavy,  or 
rather  because  of  the  contriv- 
ance of  an  evil  spirit  —  the 
little  bough  broke,  and  he 
was  driven  back  anew  into 
the  stream.  For  a  stone, 
too,  rolling  forward  on  him 
from  the  bank,  as  he  was 
floating  in  the  waves,  drove 
him  back  still  farther  from 
the  land,  until  he  was  carried 
down  to  a  bridge,  which  with 
its  arm-like  arches  embraces 
the  river-bed,  more  than  a 
bow -shot  from  the  place 
where  the  horse  had  thrown 
him. 

(11)  [O,  how]  wonderful 
the  love  and  diligence  of  the 
Saints  in  the  protection  of 
mortals !     Once    more   there 


super  ipsum  de  ripa  lapide  grandi  rursus 
in  amnem  corniit. 


(II)    Et   ecce    post    pusillum    viri 
memorati,  quasi  juxta  ipsum  transeuntes,  * 


vel  gravi  pondere  appendentis,  vel  fra- 
gilitate  ligni,  vel  potius  molimine  spiritus 
maligni,  in  fluctus  denuo  repulsus  est. 
Nam  et  lapis  a  littore  super  fluctuantem 
provolutus  eum  longius  a  terra  repulit, 
donee  ad  pontem  deduceretur,  qui 
brachiis  arcuatis  alveum  fluminis  am- 
plexatur,  distans  a  loco  quo  ab  equo 
deciderat  majori  spatio  quam  jaclus 
sagittae  percurrat. 

(II)    Mira    dilectio    et     diligentia 
sanctorum  circa   tuitionem   mortalium  ! 


*  It  is  not  clear  whether  "  as  though 
crossing"  goes  with  (i)  "described," 
or  with  (2)  ["appeared"].  But  the 
writer    seems    to    be    describing    two 


266 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§783 


Benedict  (ii.  266-7) 
and  he  followed  them.  Ima- 
gining himself  to  be  walking, 
he  was  [in  truth]  swimming 
in  the  waters,  until,  [just] 
when  he  was  under  the  bridge, 
he  felt  himself  to  be  in  the 
waters.  And  suddenly,  by 
the  wonderful  power  of  God, 
he  found  himself  lying  on  the 
bridge,  not  knowing  at  all  in 
what  way  he  had  been  raised 
from  the  waters  or  in  what 
way  he  had  come  upon  the 
bridge,  since  the  bridge  was 
at  no  small  distance  from  the 
surface  of  the  water,  and  no 
one  could  easily  climb  up 
from  the  water  to  the 
bridge. 

(12)    He  was  [still]   dis- 
tended with   the   water   that 


William  (i.  296-8) 

appeared  to  the  drowning 
man,"  from  under  the  bridge, 
those  who  had  before  appeared 
to  him  ;  and  at  the  moment 
of  his  extremity  they  rescued 
and  placed  him  on  the  bridge, 
which  stands  three  or  four 
cubits  above  the  water. 


(12)  One  of  them,  of  fair 
aspect,  and  clothed  in  priest's 


et  secutus  est  eos ;  ambulare  se  aesti- 
mans,  super  aquas  natabat,  donee  sub 
ponte  positus  in  aquis  se  esse  sentiret ; 
et  subito  mira  Dei  virtute  super  pontem 
invenit  se  jacentem,  omnino  nescius 
qualiter  de  aquis  fuisset  elevatus,  vel 
qualiter  super  pontem  venisset,  cum 
pons  ab  aquae  superficie  spatio  distaret 
non  parvo,  nee  posset  cuiquam  facilis 
esse  ab  aquis  super  pontem  ascensus. 

(12)    Turgebat  aquis  quas   biberat 
invitus ;   sed   eodem    resiluerunt    aditu 


Apparuerunt  naufraganti  ^  denuo  qui 
prius  apparuerant  de  sub  ponte,  jam  in 
extremis  constitutum  eripientes,  et 
ponti,  qui  tribus  aut  quatuor  cubitis 
undae  supereminet,  imponentes. 


(12)  Quorum  unus,  decorus  aspectu, 
sacerdotaliter  indutus,  familiari  colloquio 


repeated  actions: — "They  appeared 
crossing  (as  before)  ;  he  followed  (as 
before)."     If  so,  the  constr.  is  (2). 


^  Lit.  "  the  shipwrecked  one. 


^783 


HIS  MIRACLES 


267 


Benedict  (ii.  266-7) 

he  had  unwillingly  imbibed  ; 
but  it  leaped  back  by  the 
same  passage  by  which  it  had 
flowed  in  ;  and  while  he  was 
painfully  vomiting,  he  heard 
one  of  the  men  above-men- 
tioned, one  clothed  in  ponti- 
fical attire,  saying  to  him, 
"  To  thine  own  good  wast 
thou  mindful  of  me  yesterday 
when  thou  didst  fall  in.  Be- 
hold thou  hast  been  snatched 
from  death.  Be  thou  a  good 
man  :  and  do  good  while 
thou  art  able." 

On  raising  his  eyes  to 
see  who  spoke  with  him, 
he,  too,^  vanished  from  his 
eyes. 


William  (i.  296-8) 

vestments,  comforted  him 
with  familiar  speech,  saying, 
"  Arise,  go  home.  Thou 
hadst  regard  to  thine  own 
good  yesterday,®  when  thou 
wast  mindful  of  me ;  for  the 
rest,  give  thy  mind  to  good 
deeds." 

When  the  vision  of  the 
Saints  faded  from  his  eyes, 
he  vomited  forth  the  water 
he  had  imbibed. 


quo  influxerant ;  cumque  anxie  vomeret,       eum   consolatus   est,    dicens,    ' '  Surge, 


audivit  unum  ex  viris  praetaxatis,  orna- 
mentis  indutum  pontificalibus,  sibi 
dicentem,  "  Bono  tuo  mei  memor  heri 
fuisti  cum  caderes  ;  ecce  a  morte  ereptus 
es,  esto  bonus  homo  ;  et  fac  bene  dum 
pHDtes."  Cumque  elevasset  oculos  ut 
videret  quis  secum  lociueretur,  et  ipse* 
evanuit  ab  oculis  ejus. 


vade  domum.  Bono  tuo  cavens  heri  * 
mei  memor  fuisti ;  intende  de  caetero 
bonis  operibus. " 

Ille,  elabente  ab  oculis  visione  sanc- 
torum, fluctus  bibitos  evomuit, 


■'  "  Et  ipse "  may  perhaps  mean 
that  the  speaker  vanished  as  well  as  the 
seven  silent  Saints. 


*  The  Editor  punctuates  thus, 
"Go  home,  having  regard  to  thine 
own  good."  But  Benedict's  version 
shews  that  it  must  be  punctuated  as 
above. 

It  is  however  possible  that  "  cavens  " 
is  for  (Benedict)  "  cadens  (when  fall- 
ing)." 


268 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


§783 


Benedict  (ii.  266-7) 

(13)  Numbed  by  the 
cold,  he  was  unable  to  rise 
[and  walk] :  but  creeping  on 
his  hands  and  feet  he  reached 
a  house  abutting  on  the 
bridge. 

(14)  When  he  sought 
entrance,  it  was  hardlygranted 
him  ;  for  those  in  the  house 
at  first  supposed  that  it  was 
the  ghost  of  the  drowned  man 
that  was  groaning  outside. 


William  (i.  296-8) 

(13)  and  recovering  some 
strength,  he  crept  for  the 
nonce  **  on  hands  and  feet, 
and  knocked  at  the  door  of 
the  toll-keeper,  who  had  his 
cottage  adjoining  the  bridge. 

( 1 4)  Marvelling  who  could 
be  knocking  at  that  early 
hour,  the  toll -keeper  asked 
who  it  was.  He  replied  he 
was  John.  "John's  not  enough 
for  me,"  said  the  other,  "  there 
are  many  of  that  name." 
The  man  that  sought  entrance 
rejoined,  "  I  am  John,  grand- 
son of  Sweyn  the  merchant." 
"  In  no  wise  shall  he  enter," 
said  the  toll -keeper's  wife, 
"  for  he  is  dead."  For  by 
this  time  word  had  spread 
everywhere  that  he  had  died 


(13)  Ffigore  pressus  surgere  nequie- 
bat ;  sed  manibus  reptans  et  pedibus 
dotnum  attigit  ponti  contiguam. 

(14)  Aditus  petenti  vix  patuit, 
putantibus  primo,  qui  in  domo  erant, 
spiritum  submersi  esse,  qui  foris  gemeret. 


(13)  datoque  vigore  tantisper" 
manibus  et  genibus  reptans  ad  ostium 
cujusdam  pulsavit  qui  teloneo  praefuit 
et  ponti  casam  affixerat. 

(14)  Qui  matutinum  pulsatorem 
admirans  quaerit  quis  est.  Respondit 
se  Johannem  esse.  *'  Nonduni,"  ait, 
"scio;  multi  censentur  hoc  nomine.'' 
Subjunxit  his  qui  pulsaverat,  "Johannes 
sum,  nepos  Swani  mercatoris."  •'  Ne- 
quaquam,"  inquit  uxor  telonarii,  "in- 
trabit,  quia  mortuus  est."  Jam  enim 
sermo  percrebuerat  quia  submersus  in- 


*  "  For  the  nonce. "     "Tantisper" 
generally  means  "  meanwhile." 


783 


HIS  MIRACLES 


269 


Benedict  (ii.  266-7) 


(i  5)  The  limbs  that  were 
quite  chilled  with  the  cold  of 
the  water  were  [soon]  quite 
warmed  and  strengthened 
with  the  aid  of  fire. 


(16)   Benedict  omits  this. 


William  (i.  296-8) 

by  drowning.^"  "Dead  or 
alive,"  retorted  her  husband, 
"  from  what  the  man  says,  he 
shall  come  in." 

(15)  On  his  opening  the 
door,  the  man  suddenly  fell 
in  a  heap,  as  though  dead — 
bereft  of  sight,  strength,  and 
hearing,  so  that  no  word  could 
be  drawn  from  him.  But 
he  was  carried  thence  to  his 
home,  and,  as  the  day  wore  on, 
he  opened  his  eyes  and  spoke. 

(16)  William,  King  of 
Scotland,  was  in  the  town 
that  day  ;  and,  being  struck 
by  the  strangeness  of  this  re- 
markable miracle,  he  would 
fain  have  seen  in  his  own 
person  and  on  the  testimony 
of  his  own  eyes  a  matter  like 


(15)  Membra  frigoribus  aquarum 
congelata  ignis  beneficio  confota  robo- 
rantur. 


(16)  om. 


teriisset.i*'  Adjecit  vir  ejus,  "Sive 
mortuus  sive  vivus  sit,  ex  quo  loquitur, 
ingredietur." 

{15)  Et  cum  aperuisset,  corruit  iile 
subito  quasi  mortuus,  visa,  viribus,  et 
auditu  destitutus,  ut  non  posset  ab  eo 
verbum  extorqueri.  Reportatus  autem 
inde  ad  propria,  procedente  die  aperiens 
oculos  locutus  est. 

(16)  Erat  illo  die  illo  in  vico  rex 
Scotorum  Willelmus,  qui  tanti  miraculi 
novitate  percussus  in  propria  persona  et 
oculata  veritate  quod  super  opinionem 


•0  Or,  "  that  the  drowned  man  was 
dead,"  "  submersus  "  being  perhaps  used 
for  "  the  man  in  the  water,"  as  in  (9). 


270 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


5^783 


Benedict  (ii.  266-7) 


(17)  When  he  regained 
his  original  strength,  he  and 
his  master,  Sweyn,  visited 
Thomas,  the  Lord's  Anointed,*^ 
and  paid  back  to  him  the 
gratitude  due  for  his  grace." 


William  (i.  296-8) 
this,  beyond  ordinary  behef. 
But  as  the  [royal]  purple  does 
not  pass  into  lowly  cottages, 
he  sent  the  Bishop  of  Glasgow 
with  his  Archdeacon  to  inquire 
into  the  facts.  So  they  called 
on  the  man,^^  and,  on  peril  of 
anathema  and  interdict,  for- 
bade him  to  say  anything 
that  should  vary  from  the 
truth  and  mislead  the  people. 
Then  he  related  about  himself 
what  we  have  related  about 
him  : 

(17)  which  he  related  also 
to  us  a  very  little  time  after- 
wards. 


(17)  Vigo  rem  pristinmn  adeptus 
una  cum  domino  suo  Swano  christum  <• 
Domini  Thomam,  juxta  quod  voverat, 
adiit,  et  gratias  ei  pro  gratia  rependit.'' 


erat  cupiebat  intueri.  Sed  quia  purpura 
non  in  humiles  migrat  tabernas,  misit 
episcopum  Glesgucensem  et  archidia- 
conum  ad  inquirendam  veritatem.  Qui, 
cum  naufragum  ^^  convenirent,  et  sub 
anathematis  interminatione  prohiberenl 
ne  quid  diceret  quod  a  vero  deviaret, 
populumque  seduceret,  narravit  de  se 
sicut  narravimus  de  eo. 

(17)  Quod   et  nobis   narravit   post 
aliquantulum  temporis. 


6  Lit.  "the  Lord's-  Christ.'"  See 
above,  709  (i). 

^  A  play  on  the  words  "  Gratias 
pro  gratia. " 


"  Lit.    "the  shipwrecked  one,"  as 
above  (7). 


§785  —       HIS  MIRACLES  271 

[784]  Similarity  of  sequence,  as  well  as  of  fact,  in  these 
two  accounts,  co-exists  with  great  difference  of  expression. 
For  example,  where  Benedict  says,  "  when  he  had  lain  there 
till  midnight  in  the  bottom  of  the  river,"  William  has,  "  he 
was  out  of  sight,  deep  down,  fixed  in  the  mud,  it  being  now 
midnight."  The  latter  is  more  like  what  the  man  would  say. 
No  clerk,  or  monk,  would  be  so  likely  to  insert  mention  of 
mud,  if  there  was  no  original  mention  of  mud,  as  the  man 
who  had  stood  in  the  mud  half  the  night  would  be  likely  to 
remember  and  record  it.  The  same  applies  to  the  two 
narratives  throughout :  Benedict's  is  like  a  clerical  statement 
taken  down  from  the  man's  lips,  omitting  what  the  clerk 
thought  unimportant  and  correcting  occasionally  what  the 
clerk  thought  unseemly  ;  William's,  like  a  second  version  of 
that  statement,  amplified  after  hearing  oral  evidence  from 
John  of  Roxburgh  himself. 

[785]  This  view  agrees  with  an  antecedent  probability 
suggested  by  the  fact  that  the  Bishop  of  Glasgow  and  his 
Archdeacon  came  first  to  hear  the  man's  account,  and  that 
afterwards  the  man  himself  brought  it  to  Canterbur}-.  It 
would  be  only  natural,  indeed  it  is  almost  certain,  that  the 
Bishop,  having  taken  down  notes  from  John's  deposition, 
would  send  to  the  monks  at  Canterbury  a  letter  based  on 
them.  In  such  an  interview,  he,  or  the  Archdeacon,  might 
naturally  make  slight  errors  or  omissions  that  John  himself 
might  afterwards  amend.  For  example,  they  took  the  youth 
to  be  the  "  house-slave  "  of  Sweyn  "  the  Provost  "  :  but  he  was 
really  the  grandson  ;  and  Sweyn  himself  was  better  known, 
to  the  toll-keeper  at  all  events,  as  "  Sweyn  the  merchant." 

Again,  the  Archdeacon  is  vague  as  to  whether  the  horse 
was  to  be  "  washed  "  or  "  watered  "  ;  John  is  definite  that  it 
is  to  be  "  watered,"  probably  assuming  that  the  term  implies 
walking  the  horse  into  the  water  so  as  to  wash  his  legs. 
John  also  more  clearly  explains  the  position  of  "  the  hurdle  " 
and    the   noise   made  by  the    pebbles  passing    through    it, 


272  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  ^785 

which  startled  his  horse.  The  Bishop  and  the  Archdeacon, 
lodging  as  they  were  in  Roxburgh  on  that  memorable  night, 
would  hear  the  talk  in  the  town  and  perhaps  actually  see 
the  Roxburgh  men  coming  back  after  sunset  from  their  fruit- 
less quest  for  the  drowned  man,  having  given  up  all  hope. 
On  this,  therefore,  they,  and  Benedict,  are  diffuse,  while 
John,  and  William  his  representative,  know  nothing  of  it. 

[786]  No  dimensions  are  given  by  Benedict,  usually  so 
exact  in  these  matters  ;  and  the  reason  probably  is  that 
none  were  given  by  the  Bishop.  But  William — vague  in  these 
points  where  he  writes  on  his  own  account — tells  us  that  the 
bridge  was  more  than  a  bowshot  farther  down  than  the  place 
where  John  fell  in,  and  three  or  four  cubits  (not  vague  this, 
but  exact,  according  to  the  state  of  the  river)  above  the  level 
of  the  water. 

[787]  The  Bishop  rationalizes  a  little,  in  his  description 
of  John  following  the  guidance  of  the  eight  Saints.  Probably 
John  actually  said  to  the  two  ecclesiastics  that  he  "  arose  and 
walked  on  the  waters,"  as  the  eight  Saints  were  walking,  and 
as  St.  Peter  was  said  in  the  Gospel  to  have  "  walked."  But 
they  do  not  accept  this.  "  He  imagined"  they  write,  "  that 
he  rose  up  [erect],^  and  followed  them,  but  in  reality  he 
was  borne  up  and  followed  by  swimming,"  and  again,  '■'Imagin- 
ing that  he  was  walking,  he  was  swimming."  Perhaps,  how- 
ever, the  ecclesiastics  were  not  really  rationalizing,  but  only 
toning  down  for  edification.  It  was  scarcely  seemly  that  a 
house -servant  of  Sweyn  the  Provost  should  have  actually 
done  what  the  Apostle  St.  Peter  tried  to  do  and  failed  ! 

[788]  The  final  words  of  St.  Thomas  are  placed  far  more 
naturally  by  William — immediately  after  John's  being  set 
on  the  bridge,  and  before  he  awoke  to  the  sense  of  pain  and 
the  need  of  action — than  by  Benedict,  who  describes  them  as 
uttered  while  the  poor  man  was  painfully  vomiting.     William's 

'  "  Surgere  "  seems  used  here,  as  in  Benedict  (13),  for  "arise  and  stand." 


?i789  HIS  MIRACLES  273 

graphic  account  of  the  dialogue  on  the  bridge,  between  the 
shivering  man  outside  and  the  toll-keeper  and  his  wife  inside, 
is  naturally  condensed  by  the  Bishop ;  who  also  omits  men- 
tion of  the  interdictory  "  anathema "  with  which  he  bound 
John  to  tell  the  whole  and  exact  truth.  The  ecclesiastics 
might  naturally  pass  over  this,  as  being  a  matter  of  every- 
day occurrence  :  but,  no  less  naturally,  it  would  make  a  deep 
impression  on  John  and,  through  him,  would  find  a  place  in 
William's  record. 

[789]  The  conclusion  from  this  miracle,  as  from  that  of 
Salerna,  is  that  it  would  be  highly  misleading  to  lay  down  a 
general  rule  as  to  the  superior  trustworthiness  of  a  narrative 
in  Benedict's  treatise  to  a  parallel  narrative  in  William's. 
Where  the  two  writers  write  about  what  they  observed  at  the 
Martyr's  tomb,  Benedict  is  the  better  authority  ;  but,  where 
they  write  about  things  at  a  distance,  the  superiority  lies 
with  that  one  of  the  two  who  happens  to  have  access  to  the 
best  evidence.  Benedict,  when  not  an  eye-witness — like  Grim, 
when  not  an  eye-witness — is  liable  to  all  the  errors  of  his 
informants  as  well  as  those  that  may  accrue  from  his  own 
interpretation  (392). 


18 


SECTION    VI 

LEGENDARY   ACCOUNTS    OF    MIRACLES 
CHAPTER    I 

LEGENDS    RECORDED    BY    AUTHORITATIVE    WRITERS 

§  I.   5/.  Thomas' s fish 

[790]  Alan  writes  that  when  the  Archbishop,  at  the 
beginning  of  his  exile,  was  making  his  way  to  the  Monastery 
of  St.  Bertin's,  hungry  as  well  as  weary,  his  companions 
began  to  speculate  on  the  possibility  of  a  good  meat  dinner 
at  the  end  of  their  journey,  if  only  he  would  dispense  with 
the  obligation  of  fasting  on  that  Wednesday.^  The  Arch- 
bishop refused.  They  urged  him,  adding,  "  Perhaps  they 
may  have  no  fish,  and  we  ought  to  stoop  to  accommodate 
them."  "The  Lord  will  provide,"  was  Thomas's  reply. 
Straightway  "  from  the  water "  (for  they  were  in  a  boat) 
"  there  leapt  a  great  fish  violently  into  the  lap  of  the  man 
of  God,  the  fish,  I  say,  called  bream  ;  and  that  journey  was 
made  agreeable  to  them  in  the  praise  of  the  Lord." 

[791]  Garnier,  Grim,  and  Fitzstephen  all  mention  this 
journey,  yet  are  silent  about  the  fish.  Their  narrative, 
however,  is  somewhat  brief,  so  that  their  silence  may  be 
explicable  from  their  ignorance  about  the  details  of  the 
journey.  But  their  ignorance  about  this  particular  detail — 
so  interesting,  picturesque,  and  providential  or  miraculous — 

*  Mat.  ii.  336. 


§792  HIS  MIRACLES  275 

tells  heavily  against  its  historical  accuracy.  What,  however, 
is  needed  for  the  practical  demonstration  of  the  falsehood  of 
the  story  is  the  silence  of  some  companion  of  the  Archbishop's 
about  it :  and  this  negative  evidence  is  afforded  by  Herbert 
of  Bosham.  He  had  been  waiting  at  St,  Bertin's  for  four  or 
five  days  to  welcome  the  Archbishop,  and  in  all  probability 
dined  with  him  on  the  evening  of  his  arrival.  Moreover, 
Herbert  tells  us  that  on  that  very  night  the  Archbishop  gave 
him  a  minute  account  of  all  his  wanderings  and  sufferings  ; 
and  some  of  these  Herbert  records  at  great  length.  It  is 
quite  impossible  that  this  striking  little  miracle,  or  quasi- 
miracle,  should  have  been  omitted  from  Herbert's  pages  had 
it  been  historical. 

[792]  The  origin  of  the  legend  is  probably  a  linguistic 
error.  This  is  rendered  probable  by  the  fact  that  Alan  has 
misunderstood  some  words  in  the  context.  He  tells  us  that 
Thomas  journeyed  on  foot  "with  a  monks  hood  placed  on  his 
shoulders  (super  scapulas  posita)."  But  the  fact  was  that, 
for  a  few  miles,  being  utterly  tired  out,  he  rode  a  horse  hired 
from  a  village,  without  a  saddle,  on  which  a  "  hood  {cappci)  " 
was  placed.  The  mention  of  the  monk's  hood  is  meaningless 
on  t/ie  traveller's  head  (or,  shoulders),  but  intelligible  on  the 
bare-backed  horse.  Gamier  says  that  the  Archbishop's  friends 
"  made  him  ride  for  two  leagues  :  there  was  no  more  than  a 
hood  which  they  caused  to  be  folded  under  him  (suz  lui)." 
Possibly,  some  confusion  arose,  when  Garnier's  narrative  was 
expanded,  as  it  is  in  some  of  the  prose  writers,  into  "  they 
made  him  ride  on  a  horse,  which  .  .  .  under  him"  For 
then  transcribers  might  say,  "  Did  Garnier's  second  '  him  ' 
mean  'the  horse'?  If  so,  'suz  (under)'  must  be  a  mistake 
for  '  sur  (over).' "  And,  as  a  fact.  Anon.  I.  seems  to  shew 
traces  of  such  confusion.  For  he  has,  in  his  text,  "  they  put 
a  hood  under  (subjecta)  the  aforesaid  horse',' ^  where  one  MS. 

-  [792a]  Mat.  iv.  56  "  subjecta  eidem  jumento  cappa  beatum  virum  desuper 
scdere  focerunt."     The  Editor  adds  '' superjecta,  G.  (which  seems  right)."     One 


276  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §793 

reads  "  put  over  (superjecta)."  There  seems  to  be  confusion 
between  "  over  the  horse  "  and  "  under  the  Archbishop." 

[793]  The  same  author,  Anon.  I. — who  tells  us  that  he 
ministered  to  the  Archbishop  in  foreign  parts,  and  who  is 
very  full  of  detail  at  this  point — has  a  remarkable  story 
about  a  woman  who  did  the  exile  a  good  turn.  Seeing  the 
tired  traveller  pass  through  her  village,  she  bustled  into  her 
house  to  give  him  a  staff  to  support  him.  So  she  "  caught 
up  and  gave  him  a  '  spit-stick,'  begrimed,  besmoked,  moist, 
and  greased  through  and  through  with  the  fat  of  fisJies  which 
had  been  hung  from  it."  The  Archbishop,  he  adds,  thank- 
fully received  this  offering.  It  is  just  possible  that  some 
monkish  verses  about  this  "  fishing-staff"  suddenly  bestowed 
for  the  "  support "  of  St.  Thomas,  may  have  been  interpreted 
— in  view  of  the  familiar  "  staff  of  life,"  as  a  metaphorical 
name  of  bread — to  mean  that  Providence  sent  the  Saint  a 
"fat  fish."^ 

[794]  If  this,  or  some  similar  explanation,  is  correct,  the 
origin  of  this  fish-legend  will  be  of  the  same  kind  as  that  of 
the  rescue  of  Thomas  from  drowning  related  above  (397-401) 
— that  is  to  say,  (i)  linguistic  error  seconded  by  (2)  a 
prejudice  for  the  marvellous.  There,  a  falcon  flying  astray 
across  a  stream  and  in  danger  of  being  lost,  was  apparently 
confused  with  a  falcon  stooping  on  its  prey  upon  a  stream, 
and  in  danger  of  being  drowned.  Then  Thomas  "  tumbling  " 
was  confused  with  Thomas  "  leaping."  Lastly,  a  "  miller 
turning  off  the  water"  was  dispensed  with,  so  that  the  mill- 
wheel  was  simply  said  to  "  stand  still,"  apparently  by 
miraculous  agency. 


or   two  cases   occur  above    of  "sub"  for    "super,"  e.g.   737   (ll).       Do   they 
arise  from  French  or  Latin  origin? 

'  That  this  journey  was  made  the  subject  of  early  poems  appears  from  the 
fact  that,  at  this  point,  William  (Afat.  i.  42)  quotes  nine  lines  of  poetrj',  descriptive 
of  the  Archbishop's  wanderings. 


§795  HIS  MIRACLES  277 

§  2.    The  Vision  at  Pontigny,  (i.)  the  statements 

[795]  William  tells  us  that  the  Archbishop,  when 
departing  from  Pontigny,  related  to  the  Abbot  of  that 
monastery  a  vision  of  his  martyrdom.^  After  describing  a 
trial-scene,  in  which  he  himself  was  the  accused,  and  relating 
how  he  was  "  left  alone  in  the  court,"  the  Archbishop  con- 
tinues, "  And  behold,  four  of  the  King's  servants,  rushing  in 
against  me,  sheared  off  with  their  swords  the  crown  of 
my  head." 

Grim  gives  a  similar  account,'^  mentioning  "  the  breadth 
of  the  crown  "  as  being  "  sheared  off,"  but  not  stating  the 
number  of  the  murderers,  nor  saying  anything  about  the 
relation  of  the  story  to  the  Abbot.  Grim  also  mentions 
another  vision  ^  at  the  conclusion  of  his  description  of  the 
Archbishop's  life  at  Sens,  where  he  remained  four  years 
after  leaving  Pontigny.  This  vision  is  similar  to  that  recorded 
in  the  next  paragraph. 

Some  of  the  MSS.  of  Fitzstephen  "*  describe  a  vision  as 
occurring  "  at  Pontigny,"  but  quite  different  from  William's, 
to  this  effect :  while  St.  Thomas  was  celebrating  Mass,  "  he 
heard  a  voice  :  '  Thomas  !  Thomas  ! '  '  Who  art  thou.  Lord  ? ' 
he  replied.  And  the  Lord  said  to  him,  '  I  am  Jesus  Christ, 
thy  Lord  and  brother,  my  Church  shall  be  glorified  in  thy 
blood,  and  thou  shalt  glory  (gloriaberis)  ^  in  me.'  Rising 
from  the  spot,  he  saw  the  Abbot  behind  a  pillar,  and  exacted 
from  him  a  promise  not  to  reveal  the  vision  during  his 
(the  Archbishop's)  life." 

'  Mat.  i.  52.  2  lb.  ii.  413.  ^  lb.  ii.  419. 

♦  lb.  iii.  83.  It  is  omitted  in  the  MS.  J.  (15a)  which  contains  the  earliest 
version  of  Fitzstephen's  narrative,  and  it  is  found  with  marks  of  cancelling  in 
another  MS.  The  fact  that  "  the  Archbishop,"  as  Fitzstephen  usually  calls  him, 
is  here  called  ••  St.  Thomas  "  indicates  that  it  is  a  later  addition. 

^  "  Thou  shalt  glory. "  The  Saga  (i.  3 1 7)  has  "  thou  shall  be  honoured  by  me,'' 
perhaps  taking  the  deponent  as  a  passive  verb.  Or  is  there  an  error  in  Fitz- 
stephen's text  ? 


278  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §795 

Benedict  ^  simply  says  that,  while  the  Archbishop  was 
in  France,  he  had  predicted  to  the  Abbots  of  Pontigny  and 
Val-luisant  that  he  would  suffer  martyrdom  and  that  he  must 
be  killed  in  a  church. 

Herbert  of  Bosham,  who  was  with  the  Archbishop  at 
Pontigny,  describes  him  as  being  dejected  when  he  rode 
thence  with  his  host,  the  Abbot,  and  when  he  bade  farewell  to 
the  latter ;  and  then  he  adds  a  dialogue  between  the  two 
in  which  the  former  describes  the  vision,  exacting  a  pledge 
of  secrecy.  The  description  resembles  William's  in  mention- 
ing ^'■four  soldiers,"  and  "  in  a  church  (but  I  know  not  where)." 
A  few  days  afterwards,  continues  Herbert,  he  revealed  the 
vision  to  the  Abbot  of  Val-luisant  "  that  in  the  mouth  of 
two  [witnesses]  this  word  of  revelation  might  be  confirmed."  ^ 

[796]  Gamier  mentions  a  vision  of  a  trial -scene, 
followed  by  the  entry  of  the  murderers  who  shear  off  the 
crown  of  the  Archbishop's  head  ;  but  he  does  not  give  the 
number  as  "  four,"  nor  does  he  place  the  murder  in  a  church. 
It  is  "  in  the  court  (el  consistoire) "  ;  so,  too,  William  ("  in 
consistorio ").  Gamier  adds,  as  a  comment  of  his  own, 
"  Right  well  did  God  promise  unto  him  that  he  should  be 
slain  in  His  cause,  for  holy  Church."  He  proceeds  to  add 
a  story  of  a  monk  in  Pontigny,  suffering  from  dropsy,  who 
was  commanded  by  the  Virgin  Mary  to  apply  to  Thomas 
for  a  remedy  and  was  cured  by  him.  This  was  followed  by 
other  cures,  and  the  poet  concludes  by  saying,  "  There  was 
not  in  that  country  any  man  so  full  of  fever  as  not  to 
receive  entire  and  certain  health  from  his  relief"  ® 

Giraldus  Cambrensis  (born  1 1 46,  and  therefore  twenty- 
four  years  old  at  the  time  of  the  Martyrdom)  gives  a  vision 

8  Mat.  ii.  12. 

'  lb.  iii.  406  "ut  .  .  .  in  ore  duorum  staret  verbum  revelationis  hoc." 
^  "  N'out  el  pais  nul  home  si  plein  de  fievre  vaine, 

Par  sun  relief  n'oiist  sante  tote  certaine." 

11-  3599-3600. 


HIS  MIRACLES  279 


somewhat  resembling  the  second  of  the  visions  recorded  by 
Grim,  adding  that  he  has  not  yet  found  the  story  set  forth 
in  any  writing  that  he  has  read.' 

^  3.    The  Vision  at  Pontigny,  (ii.)  the  silence  of  Anon  I., 
commonly  called  "  Roger  of  Potttigny  " 

[797]  Among  "  statements,"  there  ought  perhaps  to  be 
included  a  non-statement,  namely,  the  silence  of  the  author 
commonly  called  Roger  of  Pontigny,  who  passes  over  the 
two  years  at  Pontigny  thus :  "  But  the  inmates  of  [the 
convent  of]  Pontigny  ^  rejoiced  beyond  measure  at  the  arrival 
of  their  distinguished  guest,  thanking  him  for  turning  aside 
to  lodge  with  them,  ....  And  as  for  the  most  reverend 
man  himself,  how  saintly  and  how  religious  was  his  life,  we 
forbear  to  relate,  for  fear  of  wearying  our  brethren  with 
repetitions  of  what  they  know  already,^  and  of  exceeding 
the  limits  prescribed  by  brevity." 

[798]  Some  have  argued  from  this  that  the  writer  must 
have  been  a  monk  of  Pontigny,  and  that  he  passed  over  what 
his  Pontigny  "  brethren  "  knew.  But  does  this  satisfactorily 
explain  his  passing  over  in  silence  the  remarkable  miracles 
alleged  by  so  early  a  writer  as  Garnier — and  by  none  of  our 

"  Mat.  ii.  282.  His  preface  is:  "Whence  also  I  have  thought  it  worth 
while  to  append  here  a  few  notable  facts  that  I  have  ascertained  on  good 
evidence  about  the  end  of  the  illustrious  Martyr,  which  I  have  not  yet  found  set 
forth  in  such  writings  as  I  have  read  of  other  authors  (unde  et  pauca,  quae  cir- 
citer  finem  martyris  insignis  valde  cognovi,  et  aliorum  scriptis,  quae  legi,  nondum 
expressa  repperi,  hie  apponere  dignum  duxi)."  The  prediction  there  is  simply, 
"Thomas,  my  Church  shall  be  glorified  in  thy  blood"  ;  there  is  nothing  about 
"  thou  shalt  glory  in  me,  or,  be  glorified  in  me." 

This  indicates  that  the  writer  had  not  read  (or  did  not  remember)  Grim,  nor 
the  passage  above  quoted  from  some  of  Fitzstephen's  MSS. 

^  Mat.  iv.  64,  "  Pontiniacenses,"  probably  does  not  refer  to  any  but  the  hosts 
of  the  Archbishop,  i.e.  the  people  in  the  convent. 

-  "  Know  already."  The  text  has  "  ne  et  fratribus  nostris  notam  ingeramus, 
et  veritatis  metas  excedamus."  But  Mr.  Magnusson's  emendation,  "nota,"  is 
absolutely  necessary  (26^). 


28o  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  1^798 

later  writers — to  have  been  wrought  by  the  Archbishop  at 
Pontigny  ?  In  his  preface  this  author  (Anon.  I.)  says  that 
he  writes  ^  "  because  there  is  nowhere  found  a  full  history 
of  his  [St.  Thomas's]  life  and  acts,"  and  because  "  some  have 
held  opinions  about  the  Saint,  not  only  divergent  from,  but  even 
contrary  to,  the  real  truth."  There  is  nothing  at  all  to  indicate 
that  he  is  not  writing  for  the  world  at  large.  That  he  would 
omit  the  details  of  the  Archbishop's  extreme  asceticism  at 
Pontigny,  and  of  the  illness  that  followed  from  it,  and  of  the 
remonstrances  of  his  friends — this  is  natural  enough,  first 
because  St.  Thomas's  asceticism  no  longer  needed  any  vindi- 
cation, from  the  time  when  the  "  brethren  "  of  the  Canterbury 
Minster,  unclothing  his  body  for  burial,  had  discovered  his 
secret  self-mortification,  and  secondly,  perhaps,  because  the 
saintly  self- mortification  at  Pontigny  seems  to  have  been 
reported  so  fully  by  Gamier,  Grim,  and  later  on  by  Herbert 
of  Bosham,  that  our  author  may  well  have  thought  this  point 
had  received  more  than  sufficient  mention. 

[799]  But  what  is  to  be  said  as  to  the  silence  of  this 
anonymous  writer  about  the  miracles  recorded  by  Gamier  ? 
Though  the  former  was  probably  not  a  monk  of  Pontigny — 
and  indeed  he  speaks  of  "  the  inmates  of  the  convent  of 
Pontigny  above  "  in  a  manner  that  indicates  an  absence  of 
connection  with  them — yet  he  tells  us  that  he*  ministered 
to  the  Archbishop  during  his  exile,  so  that  he  must  (one 
would  suppose)  have  known  of  such  miracles,  if  they  had 
been  wrought.  The  silence  of  this  writer,  who  was  almost 
certainly  present  at  Pontigny — when  combined  with  the 
silence  of  Herbert,  who  was  certainly  present  there — practic- 
ally demonstrates  the  falsehood  of  Gamier's  accounts  of 
miraculous  cures.  What  his  silence  about  the  visions  may 
mean,  will  be  considered  in  the  next  section. 

3  Mat.  iv.  1.  *  lb.  iv.  2. 


§801  HIS  MIRACLES  281 

§  4.    TJu  Vision  at  Pontigny,  (iii.)  all  evidence  from 
Pontigny  to  be  regarded  with  suspicion 

[800]  From  whom  did  Garnier  procure  his  evidence 
as  to  the  miracles  wrought  by  the  Archbishop  during  his 
stay  at  Pontigny?  The  most  probable  answer  is,  from  the 
Abbot  and  monks  there.  As  Garnier  went  to  Canterbury, 
so  he  would  naturally  go  to  Pontigny,  to  obtain  facts  about 
the  Saint.  He  as  good  as  tells  us  this  when  he  relates  the 
story  above-mentioned  about  the  man  suffering  from  the 
dropsy.  Apparently  he  would  have  liked  to  ask  him  some 
questions,  but  "  they  did  not  tell  me  his  name,"  he  says.^ 

[801]  This  at  once  indicates,  and  reduces  to  a  very  low 
level,  the  source  of  Garnier's  information  as  to  the  miracles. 
A  monk,  moved  by  a  command  from  the  Virgin  Mary  given 
in  a  dream,  seems  to  have  asked  St.  Thomas  to  place  his 
hand  upon  his  stomach  that  he  might  be  healed.  The 
Saint  complied,  and  he  also  gave  him  some  potion,  followed 
by  vomiting ;  but  again  Garnier  could  not  ascertain  the 
facts.  "  He  gave  him  somewhat  to  drink,  but  I  know  not 
what."  *  On  the  strength  of  such  testimony,  Garnier  records 
not  only  this  particular  cure,  but  that  of  many  others 
afflicted  with  fever. 

That  St.  Thomas — especially  when  asked  in  the  name 
of  St.  Mary — may  have  acted  as  Garnier  describes,  and  that 
others  of  the  brethren,  encouraged  by  the  monk's  cure  or 
improvement,  may  have  also  asked  the  Saint  to  give  them 
medicine  or  to  pray  for  them,  is  quite  possible  :  but  the 
combined  hypothesis  that  there  was  "  no  man  in  the  country," 
suffering  from  fever,  who  did  not  obtain  complete  cure  from 
the  Archbishop,  and  that   Herbert  of  Bosham — the  Arch- 

»  Gamier,  1.  3576. 

2  lb.  1.  3591-5  "E  beivre  li  dona,  mis  ne  sai  quei,  de  fi.  Guerres  ne 
demora  que  li  freres  chai,  V'enim  et  purreture  grant  merveille  vomi,  Et  jut  mult 
lungement  tut  greilles  sussailli.  Par  les  mains  al  saint  home  de  s'enfert^  guari." 


282  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  801 

bishop's  tutor  in  Scripture,  at  that  place  and  time,  and 
Anon.  I.  his  chaplain — should  both  be  silent  about  such  a 
testimony  to  his  saintliness,  amounts  to  an  impossible 
absurdity.  The  conclusion  is,  not  only  that  Garnier's 
narrative  about  miracles  is  false,  but  also  that  evidence 
proceeding  from  Pontigny  is  to  be  regarded  with  suspicion.^ 

§  5.    The  Vision  at  Pontigny,  {y\i^  the  probable  facts 

[802]  The  basis  of  fact  appears  to  be  that  the  Arch- 
bishop, when  at  Pontigny,  had  a  dream,  about  a  struggle  in 
a  "  consistory "  in  which  he  had  been  pleading  before  the 
Pope.  This  may  have  ended  with  a  scene  in  which  he  saw 
himself  assassinated.      Probably  it  did  not. 

The  dream,  in  its  original  form  as  given  by  Gamier, 
represented  "  all  the  Cardinals "  as  attacking  St.  Thomas, 
"  seeking  to  gouge  his  eyes  out  of  his  head  and  tear  them  in 
pieces."  The  Pope,  who  was  sitting  in  judgment  with  the 
Cardinals  by  his  side,  favoured  the  Archbishop,  but  could 
not  hear  him,  and  could  not  make  himself  heard  for  hoarse- 
ness, by  reason  of  the  uproar  of  his  assessors.^ 

Some  such  dream  as  this  was  confided  by  the  Arch- 
bishop to  the  Abbot  of  Pontigny  when  the  two  parted  ;  and 
the  former  not  improbably  added  that  it  was  his  destiny  to 
"  die  for  the  Church."  He  is  reported  to  have  said  on  the 
night  before  his  death,  "that  he  knew  he  should  not  be 
killed  out  of  church."  ^  It  is  not  improbable  that  on  many 
occasions  toward  the  end  of  his  life  he  used  some  such  words 
as  these,  meaning  that  he  would  come  to  a  violent  end, 
doing  battle  for  his  Lord,  like  a  knight  in  harness,  that  is  to 
say,  in  the  discharge  of  his  archiepiscopal  work  ;  and  this  he 
may  have  expressed  in  the  words  "  in  the  church  and  for  the 

*  For  another  very  picturesque  miracle  connected  with  St.  Thomas's  residence 
at  Pontigny,  see  below,  815.  ^  Gamier,  11.  3565-70. 

-  Stanley  (p.  74)  quotes  no  authority  for  this  but  Grandison,  c.  5. 


i5  803  HIS  MIRACLES  283 

Church."  But  that  he  did  not  use  the  words  "  in  the  church  " 
to  the  Abbot  of  Pontigny  is  shewn  by  the  early  version  of 
the  dream  in  Gamier,  who  says  nothing  about  a  church. 
The  assassination  is  "  in  the  Consistory." 

Such,  then  (in  all  probability),  is  the  true  account  of  the 
words  of  the  Archbishop  to  the  Abbot,  a  relatiofi  of  an  ill- 
omened  dream  concerning  Cardinals  and  a  tradition  that  he 
was  destined  to  die  in  the  cause  of  the  Church.  Perhaps, 
before  the  Martyrdom,  when  the  Abbot  reflected  on  his 
reminiscences  of  St.  Thomas,  he  would  simply  remember 
how,  at  their  last  parting,  the  Saint  revealed  to  him  that  he 
had  a  dream  of  evil  omen  about  the  result  of  his  contention 
with  the  King,  and  had  predicted  his  own  death  in  the  con- 
flict. But,  when  the  death  had  actually  taken  place  '^for 
the  Church"  it  was  natural  for  the  Abbot  to  make  the  death 
part  of  the  dream,  and  to  adapt  the  details  of  the  dream  to 
the  facts  of  the  Martyrdom.  It  was  in  this  stage  that 
Gamier  received  the  story.  The  murderers  were  not  yet 
"  four,"  nor  were  they  "  knights,"  nor  was  the  murder  "  in  "  a 
church  ;  but  the  vision  already  included  that  vivid  fact, 
known  all  through  Europe,  the  wound  in  "  Becket's  Crown." 

§  6.    The  Vision  at  Pontigny ^  (v.)  the  growth  of  legend 

[803]  The  somewhat  scandalous  dream,  as  described  (see 
the  last  section)  by  Gamier  —  a  little  disrespectful  to  the 
Pope,  and  absolutely  hostile  to  the  Cardinals — is  retained  by 
the  blunt  Grim,  alone  of  the  Saint's  biographers,  in  all  its 
force.^  Grim  also  appears  to  have  used,  but  erroneously, 
some  words  of  the  poet,  following  the  description  of  the 
assassination.  Speaking  in  his  own  person,  Gamier  says,  "  Well 
did  God  promise  that  he  should  be  slain  in  His  cause  for 
Holy  Church."     But  Grim  and  others  appear  to  have  taken 

•  Grim,  ii.  413.     "Tollir  et  desfuTr"  he  renders  «'oculos  illi  effodere  digitis 
.ic  discerpere"  ;  "enrouir,"  "become  hoarse,"  is  " obmutescere. " 


284  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  803 

this  as  referring  to  an  audible  profnise  from  God.  Grim  con- 
verts this  into  a  separate  revelation,  not  made  at  this  time, 
but  after  St.  Thomas  had  left  Pontigny :  but  Giraldus  Cam- 
brensis  and  the  above-mentioned  version  of  Fitzstephen  place 
it  at  Pontigny. 

William  conceals  the  word  "  cardinals  "  under  the  phrase 
"  the  very  assessors  of  the  judge,"  '^  in  other  respects 
agreeing  with  Gamier  ;  but  he  goes  a  step  further  in  assimi- 
lating the  prediction  to  fact  by  making  the  murderers  "  king's 
attendants,"  and  "  four  "  in  number.  But  neither  he  nor  Grim 
mentions  any  inculcation  of  secrecy  on  the  Abbot  from  the 
Archbishop.  Herbert,  retaining  "  the  Cardinals,"  omits  the 
attempt  to  "  gouge  out  the  eyes  "  of  the  Archbishop,  and  the 
description  of  the  Pope's  "  hoarseness  "  :  he  also  represents 
the  trial  as  taking  place  "  in  a  church." 

[804]  But  now  the  question  would  naturally  arise  among 
readers  of  the  Saint's  life,  How  was  it  that  so  remarkable 
a  prophecy,  tending  to  the  glory  of  the  Saint  as  a  prophet, 
had  not  been  made  known  during  his  life  ?  None  of  the 
three  early  writers  meet  this  difficulty.  But  Herbert  of 
Bosham  does,  by  saying  that  tAe  Abbot  was  pledged  to  secrecy. 
This  is  curious,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  adds  that  another 
Abbot  was  a  few  days  afterwards  taken  into  the  secret  and 
similarly  pledged.  Why  did  not  Gamier  mention  this  in- 
culcation of  secrecy  ?  Why  was  it  reserved  for  the  latest  of 
all  the  authoritative  biographers  to  mention  it  ? 

The  probability  is,  that  the  predictive  aspect  is  a  later 
importation.  The  Archbishop  may  very  well  have  asked  the 
Abbot  of  Pontigny  to  say  nothing  about  his  ill-omened 
dream  concerning  the  Cardinals,  as  it  would  only  discourage 
his  friends.  Very  likely,  he  may  have  said  much  the  same 
thing  to  the  Abbot  of  Val-luisant.  Then,  after  the  Martyr's 
death,  when  the  inhabitants  of  every  place  that  had  been 

^  Mat.  i.  51. 


5  806  HIS  MIRACLES  285 

sanctified  by  his  presence  began  to  put  in  claims  based  on 
their  connection  with  him,  and  when  the  Pontigny  monks 
began  to  circulate  the  story  of  the  vision  and  prophecy  con- 
fided to  their  Abbot,  those  of  Val-luisant  would  wish  not  to 
be  left  behind. 

[805]  The  substantial  element  of  fact,  then,  reduces 
itself  to  this,  that  the  Archbishop,  while  at  Pontigny,  had  a 
dream,  in  which  he  saw  the  Cardinals  trying  to  tear  out  his 
eyes  as  he  stood  pleading  his  cause  before  the  Pope.  With 
this,  the  Saint's  friends  and  biographers  dealt  in  three  ways. 
(i)  Some,  regarding  it  as  predictive  of  his  Martyrdom,  assimi- 
lated its  features  to  those  of  the  murder,  and  minimized,  or 
removed,  the  reference  to  the  Cardinals  :  (2)  others — but  these 
fewer,  and  represented  perhaps  ^  only  by  Fitzstephen's  later 
text — substituted,  for  this  first  vision,  a  second  (derived  from 
Garnier's  comment  on  the  first)  in  which  the  Saint  received 
an  oral  communication  from  heaven  that  he  was  destined  to 
glorify  the  Church  by  his  blood  :  (3)  others,  such  as  Grim 
and  the  Saga,  made  two  visiotis,  instead  of  one. 


CHAPTER    II 

LEGENDS    RECORDED    BY    NON-AUTHORITATIVE    WRITERS 

§  I.    Giraldus  Cambrensis  and  Grandison 

[806]  Giraldus,  after  describing  the  vision  above- 
mentioned,  says  that  on  the  second  or  third  day  after  the 
murder,  the  knights  went  to  a  manor  of  the  Archbishop's 

3  *'  Perhaps."  If  Giraldus  Cambrensis  was  ignorant  of  the  first  vision,  he 
belongs  to  this  class.  More  probably,  he  knew  and  accepted  it,  but  docs  not 
mention  it  here,  because  he  is  confining  himself  to  stories  that  he  "  has  not  seen 
written."     In  that  case,  he  belongs  to  class  (3). 


286  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  806 

called  Mailing  (Maulinges)  for  the  sake  of  entertainment 
after  their  successful  exploit.  There,  the  great  table,  at 
which  the  Archbishops  were  wont  to  dine  in  public,  suddenly 
shook  itself  in  such  a  way  as  to  cast  to  the  ground  with  a 
great  crash  their  "  harness  "  ^  and  other  things  placed  thereon. 
The  servants  approached  with  a  light  and  examined  the 
table,  but  could  find  no  reason  for  the  marvel.  A  short  time 
afterwards,  it  was  repeated  :  and  now  the  knights  came  as 
well  to  look.  But  no  cause  could  be  found.  Then  said  one 
of  the  knights,  "  Take  hence  these  things,  which  even  the  very 
table  seems  to  think  a  shameful  burden.  Hereby  we  may 
infer  the  nature  of  the  deed  we  have  perpetrated." 

This  story  is  briefly  repeated  by  Grandison  in  the  four- 
teenth century,  thus  :  ^  "  And  journeying  all  that  night  about 
forty  miles,  they  arrived  in  the  morning  at  a  manor  of  the 
Archbishop's,  called  Southmallyng.  There,  entering  the  hall, 
whereas  (while  dining)  they  had  thrown  their  arms  on  a 
great  dining-table,  the  table,  leaping  back,  threw  them  to  a 
great  distance  from  itself,  refusing  to  serve  these  sacrilegious 
men." 

[807]  The  earlier  version  is  here  in  some  respects  the 
more  marvellous  and  less  trustworthy.  It  may  very  well 
have  happened  that  the  crash  of  the  armour  of  the  murderers, 
falling  from  the  table  of  the  murdered  Archbishop,  may  have 
given  rise  to  this  legend :  but  that  it  should  have  happened 
twice,  is  more  in  accordance  with  notions  about  the  Fitness 
of  Things  and  "  the  mouth  of  two  witnesses  "  than  with  prob- 
ability ;  and  that  one  of  the  knights  should  have  pro- 
nounced his  own  condemnation  in  consequence,  is  in  the 
highest  degree  improbable. 


1  "  Hernesium,"  Mat.  ii.  285.  Giraldus  adds,  by  way  of  explanation,  "  that 
is  to  say  their  saddles  and  pack-saddles  (sellas  scilicet  atque  clitellas)."  He  appears 
to  misunderstand  the  word  (O.  F.  "  harnas"),  which  Grandison  (ib.  note)  rightly 
renders  "armour  (arma)." 

2  Mat.  ii.  285  note. 


§810  HIS  MIRACLES  287 

The  probable  origin  of  this  legend  is  exaggerated  fact. 
There  is  no  trace  here,  nor  need,  of  linguistic  misunderstand- 
ing. The  "  harness "  was  probably  shaken  from  the  table. 
But  -(against  Giraldus)  it  was  shaken  only  once  ;  and  (against 
Grandison)  the  table  did  not  "  leap  back  and  throw  it  to  a 
great  distance  from  itself  (resiliens  ea  longius  a  se  projecit)." 

§  2.  Pseudo-Grim 

[808]  Just  as  the  Apostle  St  Peter,  being  the  foremost 
of  the  Twelve,  was  naturally  selected  by  many  forgers  as 
the  patron  of  spurious  Epistles,  Apocalypses,  and  Gospels, 
so  Grim — occupying  in  early  popular  estimation  a  more 
prominent  place  than  any  of  St.  Thomas's  friends  in  con- 
nection with  the  Martyrdom — was  chosen  to  be  the  fictitious 
author  of  several  "  Passions." 

[809]  (i.)  One  of  these  ^  relates — but  with  much  more 
detail — the  Pontigny  healing  of  the  dropsied  monk  described 
above  (800-1).  The  writer  professes  to  have  derived  it 
"  from  the  faithful  relation  of  a  certain  one  of  his  companions 
and  partners,"  who  attested,  on  oath,  that  he  had  seen  what 
he  described.  Since  this  "  partner  "  is  described  as  "  sitting 
near"  St.  Thomas  during  the  study  of  Scripture,  and  since 
Herbert  of  Bosham  was  St.  Thomas's  Scripture  teacher  at 
Pontigny,  he  is,  doubtless,  the  "  certain  one "  meant  :  so 
that  the  forger  strengthens  his  position  by  claiming  Herbert 
as  the  eye-witness  and  Grim  as  the  recorder.  Compared 
with  Garnier's,  this  version  shows  a  negative  and  a  positive 
development.  Gamier  says  that  the  Saint  gave  the  patient 
something  to  drink,  Pseudo-Grim  omits  this  ;  Gamier  says 
that  the  man  vomited  poisonous  matter  ("  venim  et  purre- 
ture  "),  Pseudo-Grim  mentions  "  eleven  little  frogs." 

[810]    (ii.)    "How  could  St.  Thomas  work  miraculous 

>  Mat.  ii.  2S7-8. 


288  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  j^  810 

cures  for  sick  and  suffering  folk  all  over  the  world  and  yet 
do  nothing  for  the  faithful  Edward  Grim,  whose  arm  was 
almost  severed  in  his  defence  ? "  This  question  was  one 
that  must  have  been  asked  at  an  early  period  ;  and  the 
natural  answer  was,  "  Of  course,  as  was  fitting,  the  Saint 
healed  him."  But  the  prolongation  of  Grim's  life  prevented 
the  early  origination  of  such  an  affirmative  legend.  Doubt- 
less, Grim's  arm  was  not  restored.  If  it  had  been,  Christen- 
dom would  soon  have  heard  of  it,  and  no  biographer  of  St. 
Thomas  would  have  failed  to  record  it. 

Pseudo-Grim,  however,  has  the  following  :  "  So  also  to 
me — when  a  year  had'passed  away  and  I  had  at  last  despaired 
of  the  uniting  of  [the  bones  of]  my  arm  ^ — the  venerable 
Martyr  himself  appeared  one  night,  and,  holding  my  arm, 
swathed  it  in  a  moistened  strip  of  linen  cloth,  saying, 
'  Go,  thou  art  healed.'  But  afterwards  I  swathed  the  arm  in 
a  cloth,  dipped  in  holy  water  and  in  his  blood,  until,  by  the 
grace  of  God  and  the  Martyr,  the  parts  of  the  bone  adhered 
to  one  another  ^  by  mutual  consolidation.  The  right  hand 
of  that  same  arm  affords  this  testimony  to  its  consolidation, 
inasmuch  as  it  has  written  this  very  story." 

[811]  If  this  legend  had  originated  very  late,  it  seems 
probable  that  it  would  have  made  the  healing  more  rapid 
and  complete.  But  it  came  too  late,  and  was  too  manifestly 
contradicted  by  the  silence  of  the  best  authorities,  to  survive 
as  an  authoritative  miracle.  It  seems  to  have  no  basis  at  all 
except  (i)  an  inference  from  the  fact  that  Grim  could  after- 
wards write,  and  (2)  the  Fitness  of  Things. 

(iii.)  Of  a  different  kind  is  the  legend  concerning  the 
Saracenic  origin  of  St.  Thomas's  mother,  which  was  inter- 
polated into  Grim's  narrative,  and  hence  found  its  way  into 
the  Late  Quadrilogus} 

[812]  The    writer   says    that    he  inserts  this  story  "in 

'■*  Mat.  ii.  288  "de  brachii  mei  resolidatione. " 

3  lb.  literally,  "  ossa  ossibus."  *  See  la. 


.^813  HIS  MIRACLES  289 

order  that  the  wonderful  predestination  of  the  Saviour  may 
hence  be  perceived,  so  carefully  and  so  mercifully  bringing 
together  the  parents  from  the  East  and  from  tJte  West,  and 
from  such  diverse  conditions  of  birth  and  circumstance."  ^ 
It  has  been  pointed  out  (587)  that  similar  motives  induce 
Benedict  to  terminate  his  Book  on  Miracles  with  one  from 
the  extreme  East  and  another  from  the  extreme  West :  and 
it  is  natural  to  conclude  that  this  audacious  myth  must  have 
sprung  from  no  other  source  than  the  Fitness  of  Things, 
without  any  basis  of  linguistic  error.  But  it  is  possible  that 
the  error  may  have  been  suggested,  or  favoured,  by  a  mis- 
taken rendering  of  some  French  tradition  about  St.  Thomas 
the  Apostle,  the  namesake  of  the  Martyr.  Gamier  calls  the 
former  "  li  pareins  "  ^  of  the  latter,  and  says  that  the  Apostle 
is  the  patron  of  the  East  and  the  Martyr  is  the  patron  of 
the  West  If  "  pareins  "  were  interpreted  as  "  parent,"  this 
might  give  rise  to  a  story  that  a  "  parent "  of  St.  Thomas 
was  connected  with  the  East  This  would  fall  in  with  the 
view  of  Pseudo-Grim,  that  the  East  and  the  West  had  equal 
shares  in  bringing  the  Martyr  into  the  world. 

§  3.  Poetic  legends 

[813]  The  Saga  relates  (192)  that  the  foot-prints  of 
the  Martyr,  in  the  place  where  he  fought  the  good  fight  to 
the  end,  were  miraculously  impressed  on  the  pavement, 
which  melted  like  snow  to  receive  the  marks  hereafter  to  be 
kissed  by  pilgrims.  The  same  poem  speaks  of  (445)  a 
stream  of  water  miraculously  springing  up  in  the  crypt, 
where  St  Thomas  was  buried,  for  the  healing  of  the  diseases 
of  mankind.     William  of  Canterbury  ^  illustrates  the  manner 

'  Afat.  ii.  453  "  ut  exinde  videlicet  facile  advertatur  quanta  cura  ac  pietate,  a 
solis  ortu  et  occasu,  genere  et  conditione  tarn  diversos,  congregavit  in  unum 
praedestinatio  mirifica  Salvatoris." 

*  ••  Li  pareins  fu  ocis  et  gist  en  Orient,"  Gamier,  I.  5766. 

'  Mat.  i.  151. 

VOL.  11  19 


2  90  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  813 

in  which  such  legends  as  these  might  spring  up,  when  he 
describes  a  vision  (even  before  the  Saint's  canonization)  in 
which  is  heard  an  antiphon  containing  the  words,  "  A 
wonderful  deed  did  our  Saviour  in  that  He  turned  thy  water 
into  wine."  Somewhat  similar,  perhaps,  is  the  legend 
above-mentioned  (31),  undoubtedly  very  early,  which  relates 
how  the  dead  body  of  the  Archbishop,  on  the  night  of  the 
Martyrdom,  arose,  and  signed  itself,  and  those  who  stood 
by,  with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  then  fell  again  to  earth. 
The  miracle  of  turning  water  into  wine  is  reported  by  a 
writer  of  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth  century  ^  as  having 
occurred  during  the  Saint's  lifetime  at  the  table  of  Pope 
Alexander  :  "  One  day  when  the  Pope  was  sitting  at  table 
with  the  Bishop  («V),  happening  to  be  thirsty,  he  said  to  the 
boy  waiting  on  him,  *  Bring  me  some  spring  water  to  drink.' 
When  it  was  brought,  the  Pope  said  to  the  Bishop,  '  Bless 
and  drink.'  On  his  blessing  the  water,  it  was  changed  into 
wine,  and  he  drank  and  gave  thereof  to  the  Pope.  When 
the  Pope  perceived  it  was  wine,  he  secretly  called  the  servant 
and  said  to  him,  '  What  did  you  bring  to  me  ? '  He  replied, 
*  Water.'  '  Bring  me  some  more,'  said  the  Pope,  '  from  the 
same  supply.'  This  was  done  a  second  time,  and  once  more 
the  Pope  said  to  the  Bishop,  *  Brother,  bless  and  drink.' 
The  latter  knew  not  that  virtue  had  gone  out  from  himself, 
but  supposed  that  wine  had  been  purposely  brought.  So 
he  blessed,  in  the  simplicity  [of  his  heart],  and  again  it  was 
changed  into  wine  ;  and  he  drank  and  gave  thereof  to  the 
Pope.  But  the  Pope,  still  not  believing,  and  supposing  that 
it  had  happened  through  mistake,  gave  secret  orders  that 
water  should  be  brought  a  third  time  ;  and  a  third  time  it 
was  changed  into  wine.  Then  the  Pope  trembled  with  fear, 
understanding  that  the  man  was  a  Saint,  and  that  the  mighty 
power  (virtutem)  of  God  had  been  celebrated  in  him." 

2  Mat.  ii.  290,  Arnold  of  Lubeck,  who  flourished  about  1209  a.d. 


815  HIS  MIRACLES  291 


§  4.  Poetry  and  Romance 

[814]  Some  of  the  stories  mentioned  in  the  last  section 
may  have  had  some  linguistic  basis.  The  signing  with  the 
cross  has  been  commented  on  above.^  As  regards  the 
stream  in  the  crypt,  very  soon  after  Easter  1 1 7 1  it  became 
the  custom  for  pilgrims  to  take  the  Water  of  Canterbury 
from  the  tomb  to  all  parts  of  Europe,  for  the  removal  of 
disease  —  sometimes  by  lotion,  sometirses  by  drinking. 
Hence  it  would  be  quite  natural,  in  Biblical  metaphor,  to 
speak  of  the  "  fountain  for  sin  and  uncleanness  " — and  for 
physical  disease  as  well — opened  by  the  Lord  in  the  crypt 
of  the  Minster  where  the  Martyr  was  buried.  And  when- 
ever the  Water  was  used  successfully  as  a  restorative, 
"  making  glad  the  heart "  of  some  sick  sufferer,  by  instill- 
ing new  life  into  his  veins,  it  might  naturally  be  called 
a  veritable  "  wine  of  life."  The  legend  of  the  foot-prints 
is  perhaps  to  be  regarded  as  an  instance  of  pure  poetic 
hyperbole. 

[815]  Of  a  somewhat  different  kind  are  stories  that 
have  no  linguistic  basis  but  arise  from  the  endeavour  of  a 
pious  devotee  to  throw  himself  into  the  position  of  the 
Saint,  so  as  to  realise  what  was  fit  for  St.  Thomas  to  do — 
which  soon  is  identified  with  what  he  actually  did — in  this 
or  that  contingency.  For  example,  all  devotees  of  St. 
Thomas  were  familiar  with  the  proofs  of  his  secret  asceticism 
manifested  on  the  night  of  his  martyrdom  by  the  discovery 
of  his  hair-drawers.  The  pious  imagination,  meditating  on 
the  minutiae  of  the  routine  of  the  Saint's  life,  seems  to  have 
asked  itself  what  St.  Thomas  was  to  do  when  his  drawers 
required  mending.  Was  he  to  employ  assistance  ?  Then 
his  secret  would  be  divulged.     That  must  not  be.     Hence, 

'  See  373. 


292  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  815 

early  writers — as  early,  at  least,  as  1225" — described  how 
the  Saint,  "  ignorant  and  inexperienced  in  this  work," 
attempted  to  mend  his  own  drawers,  and  was  "  distressed 
about  what  to  do  and  did  not  even  know  how  to  begin  " — 
when  "  behold,  the  Queen  of  the  world,  not  ignorant  of  such 
tasks  .  .  .  saluted  the  Archbishop,  bade  him  banish  his 
fears,  comforted  him  that  he  might  not  fear,  took  the  garment 
from  his  hands,  sat  by  his  side,  and  repaired  the  rent  with 
perfect  neatness." 

Such  stories  as  these  correspond  to  the  Hagada  of  Jewish 
literature  in  which  romances  are  clustered  round  Biblical 
characters. 

§  5.   Oral  tradition  the  source  of  early  legend 

[816]  One  of  the  most  instructive  of  the  conclusions 
above  arrived  at,  is,  that,  in  any  outburst  of  religious  enthusi- 
asm based  on  historical  fact,  the  earliest  written  accounts  are 
likely  to  include  what  Garnier  calls  "  lying." 

But  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt  that  most  of  Garnier's 
written  "  lies  "  were  preceded  by  oral  "  lies."  It  is  not  likely 
that  in  i  17  1-2  he  would  be  able  to  draw  largely  on  written 
documents.  Some  of  his  evidence  might  be  derived  from 
letters  written  in  the  heat  of  the  occurrence,  and,  as  we 
have  seen  above,  often  teeming  with  inaccuracies  ;  but  much 
of  it  would  come  from  word  of  mouth. 

[817]  When  an  inaccurate  statement  is  committed  to 
writing  in  an  early  document,  it  can  often  be  shewn  to  be 
false  by  pointing  out  either  the  silence  of  contemporary 
documents  or  some  manifest  misunderstanding.  Thus,  we 
have  seen  that  an  early  Passion  (30)  concluded  with  the 
words,  "  Some  one  came  in,  when   I  had  written  the  above, 

2  Mat.  ii.  293-6  quotes  the  story  from  Thomas  Cantimpratensis  {clar.  1255), 
but  adds  that  it  is  also  "  told  in  various  forms  by  Caesarius  of  Heisterbach,"  and 
others.     Caesarius  is  said  (ib.  291)  to  have  flourished  about  1225. 


§819  HIS  MIRACLES  293 

asserting  that  one  of  the  murderers  of  the  Archbishop  had 
turned  mad  and  killed  his  own  son."  Here  we  see  a  legend 
coming  into  existence  in  its  gossip-germ.  Possibly  it  may 
have  been  a  form  of  the  common  tradition  that  Tracy 
"  turned  against  his  own  flesh."  ^  In  any  case,  it  came  into 
existence  too  early  to  survive.  If  it  had  originated  fifty 
years  afterwards,  it  could  not  have  been  so  easily  contradicted. 
Not  having  been  contradicted,  and  being  in  accordance  with 
the  Fitness  of  Things,  it  would  probably  have  grown,  become 
prevalent,  and  we  should  believe  it  to  this  day.  The  same 
Passion  that  contains  this  story  based  on  "  some  one's  asser- 
tion," contains  also  the  legend  about  the  Archbishop's  dead 
body  blessing  those  by  the  bier  ;  and  the  latter,  like  the 
former,  is  based  on  oral  testimony,  "  the  truth-telling  relation 
of  men."  - 

[818]  This  Passion,  and  the  narrative  of  the  Pontigny 
miracles  by  Gamier,  shew  that  within  two  or  three  years  from 
a  Martyr's  death  it  is  natural  that  legends  should  spring  up 
about  hint,  and  that  unless  eye-witnesses  commit  to  writing 
tlieir  reminiscences  about  him  at  a  very  early  date,  the  legends 
are  likely  to  prevail 

§  6.  Prevalence  of  legend  inevitable  unless  contradicted  by 

history 

[819]  Suppose  the  cultus  of  St.  Thomas  had  risen  to  the 
height  of  a  religion,  tinging  with  sanctity  the  biographies 
and  Passions  of  the  Martyr,  and  discrediting  and  suppressing 
any  documents  or  statements  in  contemporary  history  that 
threw  doubt  upon  the  veracity  of  the  sacred  writings.  The 
consequence  would  have  been  the  absolute  prevalence  of 
legend,  so  far  as  concerns  the  fate  of  the  four  knights. 

*  Stanley,  p.  105  "According  to  another,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  more  correct 
version,  he  reached  the  coast  of  Calabria,  and  was  then  seized  at  Cosenza  with  a 
dreadful  disorder,  which  caused  him  to  tear  his  JUsh  from  his  bones  with  his  own 
hands."  8  Afat.  ii.  289  ••veridica  hominum  relatione." 


294  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  5^  820 

[820]  Herbert  of  Bosham  asserts  that  they  all  died  within 
three  years  (30)  of  the  Martyrdom,  and  this  is  confirmed  by 
"Matthew  of  Westminster"  (30a).  But  Morville^  did  not 
die  till  after  the  first  year  of  King  John  ;  and  Tracy,  who 
was  Justiciary  of  Normandy  in  1 174,  was  not  succeeded  in 
that  oflfice  till  1176."  Baronius  is  quoted  as  authority  for 
the  statement  that  all  but  Tracy  died,  after  three  years  of 
fighting,  in  Palestine,  and  were  buried  in  front  of  the  church 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  or  of  the  Templars  at  Jerusalem,  or 
in  front  of  the  church  of  the  Black  Mountain.^  Stanley  ^ 
alleges  Brompton  and  Hoveden  for  the  fact  that  "  dogs 
refused  to  eat  the  crumbs  that  fell  from  t/iez'r  table  "  : — which 
is  probably  an  exaggerative  induction  derived  from  a  saying 
of  William  of  Canterbury  that  this  once  happened  to  Robert 
de  Broc.^ 

Tracy,  more  particularly,  has  been  made  the  subject  of 
legends  of  disaster  and  a  miserable  end,  in  consequence  of 
"  the  crime  of  having  struck  the  first  blow."  ^  Departing  to 
the  Holy  Land,  he  was  prevented  by  adverse  winds  from 
reaching  his  destination.  Having  arrived  at  the  coast  of 
Calabria,  he  "  was  then  seized  at  Cosenza  with  a  dreadful  dis- 
order, which  caused  him  to  tear  his  flesh  from  his  bones  with 
his  own  hands,  calling,  '  Mercy,  St.  Thomas,'  and  there  he 
died  miserably,  after  having  made  his  confession  to  the 
bishop  of  the  place.  His  fate  was  long  remembered  among 
his  descendants  in  Gloucestershire,  and  gave  rise  to  the 
distich  that — 

'The  Tracy's 
Have  always  the  wind  in  their  faces.' "  ^ 

*  Stanley,  p.  107,  referring  to  Lysons'  Cumberland,  p.  127,  Nichols'  Pilgrim- 
age of  Erasmus,  p.  220. 

2  Stanley,  p.  108. 

3  lb.  p.  104,  says  that  "  the  legend  hardly  aims  at  probabilities." 

*  lb.  ^  Mat.  i.  120. 

''  Stanley,  p.  105,  quoting  Baronius,  xix.  p.  399  "primus  percussor."' 
^  lb.  p.  105. 


55  820  HIS  MIRACLES  295 

This  is  all  the  more  interesting  because  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  Tracy  was  not  the  "  striker  of  the  first 
blow  (primus  percussor)."  The  eye-witness,  Grim,  says  that 
it  was  Fitzurse.  But  conjectures,  and  hear-say  reports  about 
confessions,  and  oral  traditions  generally,  asserted  that  it 
was  Tracy.  The  latter  assertion  has  been  adopted  by 
Stanley  and  Tennyson  in  this  century  and  is  likely  to  be 
believed  far  into  the  next — an  excellent  illustration  of  the 
protracted  triumphs  of  falsehood  over  fact. 


SECTION    VII 

INFERENCES    FROM    THE    MIRACLES 
CHAPTER    I 

THE    GOOD    AND    EVIL    OF    THE    MIRACLES 

§  I.    The  evil 

That  evil  sometimes  resulted  from  the  belief  in  St. 
Thomas's  miracles,  and  hence,  indirectly,  from  the  miracles 
themselves,  is  patent  even  in  the  pages  of  his  eulogists. 

[821]  They  soon  encouraged  both  beggary  and  im- 
posture. Well-to-do  pilgrims,  on  their  way  to  the  Martyr's 
shrine,  seem  sometimes  to  have  made  it  a  part  of  their  vow 
to  give  something  to  every  one  that  asked  alms  in  the  name 
of  St.  Thomas.  Often,  no  doubt,  like  the  Chaplain  to 
the  Sheriff  of  Devon  (560),  they  provided  themselves  with 
small  change.  But  we  have  seen  above  that  a  girl  who 
had  been  healed  by  the  Martyr  asked  for  silver  (559) :  and 
she  was  probably  not  acting  contrary  to  the  precedents  of 
the  road.  This  recognition  of  the  rights  of  glorified  mendi- 
cancy led  naturally  to  deceit  of  the  worst  kind.  It  was 
often  profitable  to  beg  one's  way  to  Canterbury  and  back, 
even  as  an  ordinary  pilgrim  :  but  if,  besides,  one  could  be 
cured  of  a  disease,  receipts  might  be  greatly  increased  and  a 
reputation  might  also  be  acquired  at  home  for  special 
sanctity.  In  order  to  obtain  an  immediate  cure  at  the 
Martyr's  tomb,  no  way  was  so  certain  as  to  pretend  a 
disease  that  one  could  immediately  lay  aside  there.      That 


HIS  MIRACLES  297 


these  things  were  so,  and  were  known  to  the  monks,  and 
that  the  monks  did  their  best  to  detect  impostures,  Benedict 
proves,  for  the  earh'est  years,  and  William  for  those  later  on. 
But  William  seems,  by  degrees,  to  have  given  up  the  hope 
of  testing  the  truth  of  miracles  alleged  by  the  poor.  For 
them,  the  temptations  to  deceit  were  too  great. 

[822]  Nor  were  the  clergy  and  monks  themselves  free 
from  similar  temptations.  Not  that  they  begged  often  for 
themselves.  But  they  might  advise  the  erection  of  a  chapel 
to  St.  Thomas  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  to  that  chapel 
would  come  offerings,  and  of  these  offerings  the  Priest  would 
partake.  Hence  we  find  the  Earl  of  Albemarle  declining  to 
build  such  a  chapel  unless  the  "  Man  of  God  "  who  conveyed 
to  him  the  Martyr's  precept  would  swear  that  he  was  not 
influenced  by  any  hope  of  private  profit.^  Again,  the  cultus 
of  St.  Thomas  implied  a  most  jealous  observance,  if  not 
exaggeration,  of  the  secular  rights  of  the  clergy.  As  John  of 
Salisbury  observed,"  this  was  one  great  reason  for  circulating 
everywhere  the  Martyr's  miracles.  The  object  was,  not  to 
honour  him  merely,  but  to  honour  him  by  honouring  his 
cause,  that  cause  for  which  he  had  given  his  life,  "  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  the  Church."  In  the  flesh,  the  Saint  had 
been  very  strict  and  hard  indeed  in  demanding  every 
farthing  of  money  and  inch  of  land  to  which  the  Church  was 
entitled.  So  he  was  still  in  the  spirit — as  at  least  the  two 
chroniclers  of  miracles  (especially  William)  frequently  state 
or  imply.  Over  and  over  again,  the  slightest  infraction  of  a 
vow,  or  even  delay  to  pay  a  vow,  is  represented  as  being 
punished  with  great  severity. 

All  this  might  enhance  the  worldly  wealth  of  the  Church, 
but  it  did  not  tend  to  morality.  It  was  very  well,  for 
example,  that  an  oppressor,  rejecting  the  widow's  prayer  for 
her  property  wrested  from  her,  should  succumb  to  her  curse 


See  613.  *  Sec  661. 


298  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  822 

in  the  name  of  St.  Thomas,  crying  out  that  he  was  "  a  dead 
man  "  and  falling  at  that  instant  dead  from  his  horse :  ^  but 
it  was  not  good  that  the  farmer  Helias  should  be  deprived 
by  St.  Thomas  of  a  particularly  fat  bullock,  because  he  had 
declined  to  defer  to  a  neighbour's  casual  suggestion  that  he 
should  give  it  to  the  Martyr.  The  punishment  might  well 
seem  all  the  more  severe  because  Helias  had  recently  made 
the  Martyr  a  similar  gift.^ 

[823]  To  these  evils  we  must  in  fairness  add  the 
intellectual  degradation  resulting  from  the  neglect  or  con- 
tempt of  physical  remedies,  a  neglect  inculcated  by  William 
with  evangelical  fervour.  Nor  must  there  be  omitted  the 
mingled  moral  and  intellectual  deterioration  arising  from 
the  indiscriminate  way  in  which  the  Saint  seemed  to  bestow 
his  favours,  refusing  a  cure  to  one,  and  (in  precisely  the  same 
circumstances,  as  it  seemed)  denying  it  to  another — nay, 
even  punishing,  in  one  child,  conduct  that  he  regarded  as 
disrespectful  to  his  tomb,  while  not  punishing  it,  perhaps 
even  rewarding  it,  in  others  who  had  not  the  excuse  of 
childhood.  On  a  combined  view  of  all  these  evils,  we  might 
be  tempted  to  conclude  that  St.  Thomas's  miracles  did  more 
harm  than  good. 

.§  2.    The  good 

[824]  Perhaps  that  conclusion  would  be  true,  if  the 
evils  above-mentioned  had  not  already  existed.  If  St. 
Thomas  for  the  first  time  had  taught  pilgrims  to  beg,  and 
sometimes  to  cheat ;  if  this  Saint  had  been  the  first  to 
encourage  the  belief  that  Saints  were  better  healers  than 
the  regular  physicians  ;  and  if  no  other  ecclesiastic,  before 
Becket,  had  unfairly  and  unwisely  exaggerated  the  privileges 
of  the  clergy,  perhaps  it  might  be  maintained  that  the 
Canterbury  cures  were  not   worth   their  price.     But  it   was 

3  See  595.  ^  See  699. 


i 


< 


!^  825  HIS  MIRACLES  299 

not  so.  Beggary  and  imposture,  and  superstition,  and 
narrow  ecclesiasticism  already  existed.  Grant  that  these 
evils  were  indirectly  increased  by  the  emotional  thrill  that 
ran  through  Europe,  filling  the  minds  of  men  with  illusions, 
and  bringing  thousands  from  all  corners  of  the  world  to  offer 
prayers  at  the  shrine  of  the  new  Martyr  :  yet  was  it  nothing 
that  in  those  ages  of  brute  force  and  cunning,  a  thrill  of 
sympathetic  admiration  for  a  brave  monk,  who  had  stood 
up  unarmed  to  contend  against  force  for  what  he  deemed 
the  cause  of  right  and  justice,  should  manifest  itself  by 
wonderful  dreams,  and  visions,  and  cures,  and  restorations, 
and  reanimations  that  sometimes  seemed  to  amount  to  an 
actual  raising  from  the  dead  ? 

[825]  I  should  be  disposed  to  think  that  almost  all  the 
early  miracles  were  facts,  corresponding  largely  to  the 
descriptions  of  them — those,  I  mean,  narrated  in  Benedict's 
treatise  as  occurring  in  the  days  when  the  Martyr's  fame 
was  not  yet  strong  enough  to  suppress  his  enemies  in  the 
flesh,  when  it  was  dangerous  to  be  cured  at  his  tomb,  and 
dangerous  even  to  talk  of  being  thus  cured.  But  if  these 
early  miraculous  narratives  were  generally  authentic  or 
historical,  the  "  emotional  shock "  must  have  been  strong 
indeed.  No  other  Saint  canonized  in  the  Christian  Church 
— so  say  St.  Thomas's  biographers,  and  probably  with 
correctness — could  boast  of  so  many  acts  of  healing.  More- 
over, in  the  Lives  of  the  Saints,  the  miracles  related  are 
often  very  vaguely  described  and  poorly  attested  :  but,  in 
the  books  of  St.  Thomas's  Miracles,  several  are  so  circum- 
stantially detailed  by  chroniclers  near  the  time,  and  so  well 
certified,  that  a  scientific  man,  while  denying  their  super- 
natural character,  is  forced  to  admit  their  extraordinary 
nature,  and  to  regard  them  as  cures  wrought  through  the 
imagination,  far  exceeding  in  rapidity  (and  sometimes  even 
in  completeness  and  permanence)  anything  that  could  be 
effected  by  recognized  medical  means. 


300  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  826 

[826]  Fully  admitting  that  for  every  pilgrim  cured  at 
the  tomb,  and  for  every  distant  vow  uttered  and  fulfilled, 
there  were  multitudes  of  pilgrims  uncured  and  vows  un- 
fulfilled, we  are,  on  the  other  hand,  informed  by  the 
chroniclers  that  many  others  were  cured,  and  many  vows 
fulfilled,  unknown  to  the  monks  of  Canterbury.  And  even 
had  that  not  been  so,  surely  the  list  as  it  stands,  after 
eliminating  from  it  all  doubtful  cases,  contains  instances 
enough,  not  to  be  denied  by  any  man  of  sense,  suflficient  to 
make  it  worth  while  for  a  hero  to  have  died  as  the  Martyr 
did,  if  only  to  produce  them.  Supposing  that  in  the  brief 
period  under  observation  there  were  but  forty  or  fifty  cases 
of  disease,  agonizing,  or  loathsome,  or  both,  given  up  by  the 
physicians  of  those  days  as  hopeless,  but  healed  by  the 
Physician  of  Canterbury :  would  they  not,  by  themselves, 
constitute,  for  most  men,  a  considerable  life-work — much 
more,  a  considerable  death-work  ? 


§  3.  Did  the  miracles  result  from  the  man  or  frovi 
the  circumstances  ? 

[827]  But  it  may  be  urged  that  these  so-called  miracles 
cannot  fairly  be  attributed  to  Becket  personally,  but  rather 
to  the  accidental  place  and  manner  of  his  death ;  that, 
historically,  he  was  not  a  saint,  but  a  man  of  hot  and  un- 
controlled temper,  finding  vent  in  violence  of  act  and  word  ; 
and  that,  if  he  had  died  in  the  ordinary  way,  no  virtue  could 
have  gone  out  from  him  to  the  sick  and  suffering.  "  Had 
Becket  died  in  his  bed,"  it  may  be  urged,  "  people  in 
England  and  France  would  still  have  been  healed  by 
miracles  in  the  year  1 1 7 1 .  The  Saint,  and  the  place,  would 
have  been  different :  that  is  all.  Bury  St.  Edmund's  would 
have  been  so  much  the  more  frequented,  or  so  many  more 
would  have  gone  to  St.  James  of  Compostella.  Canterbury 
would  have  been  left  alone,  and  Thomas — not  Saint  Thomas 


I 


HIS  MIRACLES  301 


but  plain  Thomas — would  have  rested,  an  unhelpful  corpse, 
with  other  commonplace  corpses  of  ordinary  Archbishops  in 
an  unvisited  grave." 

[828]  This  is  so  far  true  that  we  must  admit  at  once 
that  Becket,  dying  an  ordinary  death,  would  probably  not 
have  cured  a  single  spasm  of  rheumatism.  But  it  by  no 
means  follows,  either  that  other  Saints  would  have  made  up 
for  his  deficiency,  or  that  he  is  so  far  to  be  separated  from  his 
death  that  it  is  to  be  called  an  accident  instead  of  an  act. 
If  Becket  had  died  in  his  bed,  pilgrims  might  still  have  gone 
to  St.  Edmund,  St.  James,  the  two  Apostles  in  Rome,  or  the 
Tomb  in  Jerusalem  ;  but  it  would  have  been  in  the  old  slack 
and  (comparatively)  lifeless  and  formal  way.  There  is  no 
more  reason  to  doubt  that  Becket  caused  a  religious  revival, 
than  that  Wesley  and  Whitfield  did.  The  two  chroniclers 
of  miracles  agree  in  asserting  that  the  miracles  brought  with 
them  an  uprising  of  moral  and  religious  fervour,  and  indirectly 
prove  it  by  multitudinous  details  recorded  without  con- 
troversial purpose.  It  was  brief  indeed,  but  it  was  powerful 
while  it  lasted.  The  churches  built  by  the  Archbishop's 
former  enemies  as  well  as  by  his  countless  worshippers,  are 
outward  monuments  of  a  strong  inward  protest  against  the 
violent  and  oppressive  character  often  assumed  by  the  secular 
forces  of  the  time — or  at  all  events  of  concessions  from  the 
strong  to  the  strength  of  such  a  protest  from  the  weak.  It 
was  not  the  Saxon  against  the  Norman,  it  was  the  poor  and 
weak  oppressed  against  the  rich  and  strong  oppressor,  that 
everywhere  —  alike  in  England  and  France  and  through 
the  Latin-speaking  world — rose  up  in  the  might  of  St. 
Thomas  the  Martyr,  and  decreed  that  he  must  be  a  Saint, 
even  before  the  Papal  edict  had  made  him  one.  Most  of 
those  healed  in  the  days  of  the  earliest  miracles  have  English 
names.  But  their  passionate  reverence  and  their  wonder- 
working faith  did  not  arise  in  their  hearts  from  patriotic 
motives,  because  they  were  "  English  born."     It  was  because 


302  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §  828 

they  were  wronged,  or  liable  to  be  wronged,  that  they  took 
up  the  cause  for  which  the  New  Martyr  of  the  English  had 
shed  his  blood.  The  Church,  though  sometimes  defective 
and  corrupt,  was  nevertheless  felt  by  the  poor  to  be  often 
their  only  protection  against  outrage,  and  the  Martyr 
typified  her  championing  spirit. 

§  4.   St.  Thomas  a  true  Saint,  though  militant 

[829]  And  who  shall  say  that  Becket  did  not  in  large 
measure  combine  with  the  cause  of  ecclesiasticism  this 
wider  view  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  Christian 
Ecclesia,  and  that  he  did  not  deliberately  prepare  to  lay 
down  his  life  for  what  seemed  to  him  the  cause  of  righteous- 
ness ?  In  spite  of  an  apparent  mixture  of  motives,  and 
a  possible  alloy  of  personal  antipathies  and  violent  animosities, 
he  leaves  the  impression  of  a  great  and  fearless  soul  regarding 
itself  as  an  instrument  of  a  great  and  noble  cause.  Had  he 
remained  Henry's  Chancellor,  he  might  have  been  content  to 
abide  in  the  feudal  world,  "  the  King's  man."  But  being  led 
— perhaps  not  forced,  but  led — into  the  Primate's  chair,  and 
feeling  himself  thenceforth  "  Christ's  man,"  he  was  moved 
to  look  about  him  and  to  reduce  things  to  order. 

All  great  men  of  the  permanently  conquering  type — 
not  nomad  savage  destroyers,  but  permanent  conquerors — 
have  a  craving  for  order ;  and  the  "  order "  of  Christ's 
Church  implied  social  development ;  and  social  development 
was  incompatible  with  feudal  brutality  ;  and  against  feudal 
brutality  the  new  Archbishop  deemed,  probably  without 
reason,  that  the  only  security  in  his  days  lay  in  a  strict 
and  full  maintenance,  perhaps  even  in  some  enlargement,  of 
what  may  be  called  the  secular  rights  of  the  clergy.  Being 
what  he  was,  and  where  he  was,  he  was  almost  bound  to 
collide,  as  the  champion  of  invisible  powers,  with  the  repre- 
sentatives  of   visible   and    physical    force :    and    his   violent 


i 


( 


^  831  HIS  MIRACLES  ^^^^^  303 

death,  far  from  being  an  accident,  ought  rather  to  surprise 
us  because  it  did  not  happen  earlier  as  the  inevitable  result 
of  his  life  and  character. 

[830]  Had  St.  Thomas  been  a  St.  Simeon  Stylites,  a 
cold-blooded  ascetic,  or  a  mere  ecclesiastical  machine,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  he  would  have  appealed,  as  he  did,  to 
the  imagination  of  the  people  of  England,  and,  through  them, 
to  Europe.  His  biographies  abound  in  testimony  to  his 
sympathetic  and  winning  ways,  and  to  his  broad  and  almost 
worldly  acceptance  of  the  fashions  of  this  world,  combined 
with  an  inward  purity  of  heart  and  a  resolute  determination 
not  to  conform  to  the  world  in  his  real  self  A  generous, 
passionate,  and  high-spirited  "  knight  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  he 
moved  among  the  knights  of  the  world  the  flesh  and  the 
devil,  with  a  non -ecclesiastical  outward  tolerance,  learned 
perhaps  when  he  was  in  business  with  his  kinsman  Osborn, 
and — on  a  larger  scale  and  in  higher  life — in  business  as 
the  King's  Chancellor.  Hence  arose,  perhaps,  his  habit  of 
conciliating  and  outwardly  conceding — sometimes  even  of 
appearing  to  compromise  as  to  matters  of  principle — when 
it  was  ultimately  certain  that  he  would  not  recede  a  foot 
from  the  position  defined  for  him  by  his  inflexible  will.  It 
was  this  combination  of  the  man  of  the  world  with  the  man 
of  the  Spirit  that  first  induced  him  to  assent  verbally  to  the 
Constitutions  of  Clarendon  and  then  to  refuse  to  ratify 
his  assent. 

[831]  His  double  nature  shone  forth  clearly  enough  to 
strike  the  imagination  of  all  England,  when  he  "  fought  with 
wild  beasts  "  in  the  hall  of  Northampton  Castle.  There  sat 
the  Saint,  embracing  the  cross,  deserted  by  his  bishops,  alone 
in  championing  the  Church  against  the  World  :  yet,  when 
he  passed  through  the  hall  to  the  castle  gate,  there  walked 
the  knight  amidst  the  throng  of  his  enemies,  calling  one  a 
bastard,  and  another  a  scoundrel,  and  telling  a  third  that 
he  would  have  liked  nothing  better,  had  he  been  a  layman, 


304  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  ^831 

than  to  compel  him,  at  the  sword's  point,  to  withdraw  the 
charge  of  "  traitor."  Meanwhile  the  English  nation,  repre- 
sented by  the  mixed  multitude  outside  the  castle  gate, 
awaited  their  Archbishop  with  loving  and  enthusiastic 
reverence,  almost  prepared  to  make  a  Saint  of  him  already, 
and  loving  him  perhaps  the  better  when  they  heard  that  he 
had  used  as  hard  words  about  some  of  the  King's  knights  as 
St.  Paul  and  St.  Peter  about  the  enemies  of  Christ. 

[832]  Being  what  he  was,  St.  Thomas  provoked  the 
knights  to  kill  him,  against  their  will,  even  in  a  church. 
Being  also  what  he  was,  he  took  hold  of  the  hearts  of  the 
English  people,  became  to  them  a  household  word  as  well 
as  a  church  word,  and  occasionally  so  far  influenced  their 
imaginations  as  to  influence  their  bodies  also.  The  miracles, 
then,  like  the  Martyrdom,  are  a  part  of  the  man,  and  no 
student  of  facts  should  ignore  them.  If  it  is  asserted  that 
he  so  strengthened  the  Church  as  to  prepare  it  to  unite 
with  the  barons  against  King  John,  and  that  his  real  and 
permanent  influence  on  posterity  is  to  be  looked  for  in  such 
indirect  contribution  as  he  may  have  made  towards  the 
securing  of  the  Great  Charter  of  the  liberties  of  the  Nation 
and  the  Church — that  is  no  answer  to  the  question,  "  How 
did  Becket  strengthen  the  Church  ? "  It  is  like  Gibbon's 
attempt  to  explain  the  growth  of  Christianity  by  saying, 
among  other  things,  that  it  deepened  the  belief  in  a  future 
life,  united  its  disciples  in  a  close  fellowship,  and  so  on — the 
real  question  being,  "  How  did  Christianity — which  was  but 
one  of  many  religions  that  inculcate  the  dogma  of  a  future 
life — succeed  better  than  other  religions  in  '  deepening  this 
belief,'  and  in  stamping  it  on  the  lives,  as  well  as  on  the 
creeds,  of  its  early  adherents  ?  and  Jiow  did  it  enable  its 
members  to  '  love  one  another '  ?  " 

[833]  These  miraculous  narratives,  in  spite  of  their  large 
admixture  of  exaggeration,  misunderstanding,  and  erroneous 
statement,  distinctly  help  us  to  answer  the  question  suggested 


!5  834  HIS  MIRACLES 


305 


by  Gibbon's  imperfect  explanation.  They  make  us  realize 
how  human  nature — always  weakly  acted  on  by  mere  ideas, 
and  always  craving  for  incarnations  of  those  ideas — can 
receive  a  great  and  simultaneous  upheaval  extending  through 
many  churches  and  nations,  from  the  noble  death  of  a  noble 
man  representing  what  seems  to  the  masses  a  noble  and 
unselfish  cause.  This  is  one  of  the  many  triumphs  of  mind 
over  matter.  Through  ballads,  sermons,  pictures,  and,  above 
all,  through  stories  of  pilgrims  passing  to  and  from  the 
Martyr's  Memorial,  there  was  gradually  conveyed  to  the 
minds  of  almost  all  the  sick  and  suffering  folk  in  England, 
and  to  their  sympathising  households  and  friends,  the  image 
of  St.  Thomas  before  the  altar,  clothed  in  white,  with  the 
streak  of  blood  across  his  face.  This  vision,  or  this 
thought,  resulted  in  a  multitude  of  mighty  works  of  healing, 
rescue  from  agony,  restoration  to  peace  and  health.  What 
wonder  if  these  sank  deep  into  the  minds  of  the  masses  ? 
Wherever  the  church  bells  were  set  ringing  for  a  restored 
cripple,  surely  it  cannot  be  surprising  that  in  that  village 
St.  Thomas  should  be  a  patron  Saint — perhaps  the  Patron, 
perhaps  almost  overshadowing  Jesus  Himself — for  at  least  a 
generation.  The  wonder  is,  not  that  these  marvels  influenced 
men  so  much,  but  that  they  did  not  influence  them  much  more. 


CHAPTER    II 


THE    MARTYR    AND   THE    SAVIOUR 


§  I.    The  parallel  between  them 

[834]  Some  of  the  causes  of  decay  in  the  cultus  of  St. 
Thomas  have  been  indicated  above  in  the  impostures,  and 
consequent  suspicions    of  imposture,  which  soon  connected 

VOL.  11  20 


3o6  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  ;^  834 

themselves  with  the  miracles  wrought  in  his  name.  But 
another  reason  lay  in  the  Saint's  own  imperfections.  Com- 
pared with  that  of  St,  Francis,  St.  Thomas's  scope  was 
indeed  narrow.  A  strenuous  champion  of  the  poor  and  out- 
raged, he  had  washed  his  robes  in  blood  for  the  cause  of 
righteous  order,  and  was  enabled  to  diffuse  through  the 
bodies  as  well  as  the  souls  of  great  multitudes  that  healthful 
shock  and  revivifying  glow  which  it  is  sometimes  a  Martyr's 
privilege  to  bestow.  But,  as  there  is  a  distinction  between 
"  receiving  a  prophet "  and  "  receiving  a  righteous  man,"  so 
is  there  between  "  receiving  a  martyr "  and  "  receiving  a 
saint "  :  "  he  that  receiveth  a  martyr  receiveth  a  martyr's 
reward,  and  he  that  receiveth  a  saint  receiveth  a  saint's 
reward."  To  "  receive  "  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury  was  one 
thing  ;  to  "  receive "  St.  Francis  was  quite  another.  The 
former  could  help  the  body  wonderfully  and  the  soul  in- 
directly ;  the  latter  could  help  the  spirit  of  man  with  a  con- 
tinuous flow  of  help  from  which  the  thirsty  can  drink  to  this 
day,  when  the  stream  from  Canterbury  is  almost  dried  up. 

[835]  Nevertheless  the  Martyr's  work  is  not  yet  done. 
By  this,  I  do  not  mean  simply  to  assert  the  truism  that  we 
must  continue  to  be  the  unconscious  recipients  of  historical 
influence  distantly  derived  from  him  through  circuitous 
channels.  As  much  as  this  might  be  said  of  any  great 
Englishman.  The  peculiarity  of  St.  Thomas's  helpfulness 
for  Christians  at  the  present  time  is  to  be  discerned  in  the 
old  parallel,  drawn  by  his  contemporaries,  between  the 
Martyr  and  the  Saviour.  Protestants  may  be  tempted  to 
deny  it,  repelled  by  the  fanciful  exaggerations  of  Herbert  of 
Bosham  and  the  rest.  Yet  undoubtedly  such  a  parallel  exists, 
not  indeed  in  respect  of  personality,  but  in  the  circumstances, 
and  still  more  in  the  sequel,  of  their  deaths. 


S  837  HIS  MIRACLES  307 


§  2.    TJie  parallel  in  facts 

[836]  Two  men,  put  to  death  by  the  powers  of  this 
world  as  disturbers  of  its  peace  ;  two  men  who,  after  death, 
immediately  began  to  appear  in  visions,  with  the  marks  of 
martyrdom  upon  them,  and  to  utter  words  of  help  or  warning, 
and  to  work  mighty  works  of  healing,  sometimes  imparting 
to  those  who  believed  in  them  the  power  of  instantaneously 
shaking  off  apparently  incurable  disease,  sometimes  imparting 
the  power  of  curing  disease  in  others,  through  appeal  to  the 
Saviour  or  the  Martyr,  sometimes  reanimating  the  apparently 
lifeless  in  such  circumstances  as  to  suggest  a  veritable  raising 
from  the  dead — here  in  itself  is  a  parallel  worth  considering. 
Again,  what  follows  ?  By  degrees,  in  both  cases,  the  miracles, 
after  the  first  great  outburst,  diminish,  fade  away,  come  finally 
to  nothing.  In  the  Christian  Church  there  remained  for 
many  generations  the  class  of  professional  exorcists :  but 
very  soon  they  became  little  more  than  an  empty  name — 
much  like  English  shrines  and  relics  of  St.  Thomas  of 
Canterbury  in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  sacred 
by  traditions,  and  with  many  memorials  of  former  wonder- 
working efficacy,  but  themselves  efficacious  now  no  longer. 

[837]  Side  by  side  with  these  acts  of  healing — marvellous, 
indeed,  but  explicable  from  known  natural  causes — we  find 
attributed  to  both  men,  or  to  the  Providence  that  worked  for 
them,  acts  inexplicable  from  any  such  causes,  such  as  the 
change  of  water  to  wine,  the  instantaneous  withering  of  a 
tree,  the  leaping  or  extraction  of  a  fish  out  of  the  water  in 
order  to  provide  for  some  special  need,  the  stopping  of  a 
mill-wheel  by  itself,  the  multiplication  of  money,  or  of  food  ; 
and,  in  the  case  of  both  men,  we  find  it  possible  to  explain 
these  stories,  when  they  occur  in  the  earliest  narratives,  from 
a  confusion  of  the  spiritual  with  the  material,  and  from  a 
misunderstanding  of  metaphor  as  literal. 


3o8  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §838 

[838]  It  is  often  said  concerning  the  Gospels,  that,  if 
some  of  them  were  written  as  early  as  thirty  or  forty  years 
after  Christ's  death,  there  is  not  time  enough  to  allow  the 
growth  of  the  legendary  element  from  the  misunderstanding 
of  metaphor.  How,  it  is  asked,  could  the  leaven  so  rapidly 
pervade  the  biographies  of  the  Saviour  that  the  legendary 
now  appears  almost  inseparable  from  the  historical  ?  But 
here  again  we  find  a  parallel  and  something  more.  Many  of 
the  accounts  of  the  life  and  death  of  Becket  were  written 
ivithin  five  years  of  his  martyrdom.  Many  of  the  miracles — 
certainly  those  recorded  by  their  earliest  chronicler — were 
written  down  at  the  very  time  of  their  occurrence.  Yet  even  in 
these  early  documents  we  find  that  writers,  speaking  from 
"veracious  relation,"  record  portentous  falsehoods,  or  let  us 
rather  say  non-facts,  and  that  even  writers  depending  upon 
the  evidence  of  eye-witnesses,  and  sometimes  (though  much 
more  rarely)  on  the  witness  of  their  own  eyes,  fall  into 
astonishing  errors,  many  of  which  take  the  direction  of  such 
amplification  as  to  convert  the  wonderful  but  explicable  into 
the  miraculous  and  inexplicable. 

§  3.    The  parallel  in  documents 

[839]  Again,  from  the  point  of  view  of  documentary 
criticism,  there  is  much  to  be  gained  from  a  comparison  of 
the  Martyr  literature  with  our  Gospels.  As  there  are  four 
Gospels,  so  were  there  four  Biographies  of  St.  Thomas, 
recognized  in  very  early  times  as  especially  authoritative. 
Tatian  in  the  second  century  made  a  harmony  of  the  four 
Gospels  called  Diatessaron :  Elias  of  Evesham  made  a 
harmony  of  the  four  Biographies,  and  called  it  Quadrilogus. 
In  blending  the  four,  the  Diatessaron  sometimes  alters, 
sometimes  inserts,  sometimes  confuses  one  with  the  other  : 
so  does  the  Quadrilogus.  Again,  Tatian's  Diatessaron  was 
so  freely  remoulded  in    later  times   that   the  texts   of  the 


^840  HIS  MIRACLES  309 

Latin,  the  Arabic,  and  the  Armenian  versions  hardly  ever 
agree  together  against  the  revised  text  of  the  orthodox 
Gospels.  So,  too,  the  Quadrilogus  was  recast ;  and  the 
latest  version,  including  extracts  from  Grim  and  Fitzstephen, 
and  adding  legendary  matter,  was  the  first  to  be  given 
to  the  world  in  print,  and  still  holds  the  usurped  title  of 
The  First  Quadrilogus.  The  fourth  of  our  Gospels  was 
written  long  after  the  three :  so  was  the  fourth  of  the 
authoritative  lives.  The  fourth  Gospel  professes  to  be 
written  by  one  who  knew  Jesus  as  a  friend  :  the  fourth 
Biography  was  actually  written  by  St.  Thomas's  intimate 
friend  and  instructor  in  Scripture.  That  Gospel  makes 
no  mention  of  demoniacs  and  recounts  few  miracles  :  that 
Biography  expressly  claims  that  it  is  written  in  order  to 
bring  out  the  Man,  and  implies  that  its  object  is  that  the 
Man  should  emerge  from  the  miracles  under  which  he  was 
in  danger  of  being  smothered. 

[840]  Besides  our  four  Gospels,  we  know  that  there 
were  many  others,  and  have  reason  to  believe  that  in  the 
variations  of  our  Gospel  MSS.  we  find  occasional  traces  of 
earlier  Gospels  suppressed,  or  neglected,  by  the  Church,  and 
now  altogether  lost.  As  regards  the  Biographies  we  are 
more  fortunate  in  actually  having  many  of  those  accounts  of 
the  Saint's  life  and  death  that  were  discarded  by  the  authors 
of  both  the  Early  and  the  Late  Quadrilogus ;  and  one  of 
these  we  find  to  be  in  many  respects  far  more  trustworthy, 
and  far  richer  in  facts  of  interest,  than  some  of  the  four 
authoritative  Biographies.  In  the  Gospels,  there  are  traces 
of  different  points  of  view  in  the  writers  :  one  regarding 
matters  as  a  Jew  might,  another  as  a  Gentile  ;  one  paying 
attention  to  style,  another  thinking  of  nothing  but  fact ;  one 
omitting  what  another  inserts,  and  vice  versa.  There  are 
also  here  and  there  passages  in  which  writers  agree  almost 
verbatim,  interspersed  with  others  where  they  do  not  agree 
at   all,  or  only  in   the  words   uttered  by  Jesus  and  by  those 


3IO  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  §841 

with  whom  He  is  conversing.  All  these  phenomena  recur 
in  the  Biographies,  and  still  more  frequently  in  the  two 
Books  of  Miracles. 

[841]  As  our  Greek  Gospels  shew  signs  of  being  derived 
from  a  Hebrew  or  Aramaic  original,  which  in  some  cases 
may  explain  their  divergences  from  each  other,  so  our 
Biographies  shew  traces  of  French  influence  in  general,  and 
possibly  of  being  derived  in  particular  from  a  French  poem 
composed  by  an  admirer  of  the  Martyr,  within  five  years  of  the 
Martyrdom.  Lastly,  as  we  sometimes  find  aid  in  criticizing 
our  Greek  text  by  reference  to  early  Latin  versions,  so  may 
we  be  often  helped  in  criticizing  differences  between  our 
Latin  biographies  by  comparing  them  with  an  Icelandic 
Saga  on  St.  Thomas,  which  closely  follows  the  best  authorities 
but  sometimes  adds  traditions  peculiar  to  itself,  and  which 
was  probably  composed  before,  or  soon  after,  the  end  of  the 
twelfth  century,  that  is  to  say,  little  more  than  thirty  years 
after  the  Martyrdom. 

§  4.  Its  bearing  on  New  Testament  criticism 

[842]  From  all  these  facts  the  inference  is  that  students 
of  the  four  Gospels  and  collateral  literature  will  do  well  to 
study  the  four  Biographies,  the  two  Books  of  Miracles,  and 
the  other  early  traditions,  relating  to  St.  Thomas  of  Canter- 
bury. What  may  be  the  ultimate  conclusions  to  which  such 
a  study  will  lead,  is  not  a  question  that  ought  greatly  to 
affect  a  real  student  and  seeker  after  truth.  Some,  led  by  the 
evidence  to  accept  the  miracles  of  the  Martyr  as  supernatural, 
may  be  confirmed  in  the  belief  that  those  of  the  Saviour  are 
also  supernatural  and  that  the  evangelical  accounts  of  them 
may  be  accepted  as  exactly  historical.  Others,  led  by  the 
same  evidence  to  deny  the  supernatural  character  of  St. 
Thomas's  miracles,  may  be  confirmed  in  their  belief  that  the 
Gospel  miracles,  being  also  natural,  prove  nothing  as  to  the 


■ 


§846a  ^^_^^HIS  MIRACLES  311 

divine  claim  of  the  Founder  of  the  Christian  reh'gion.  A 
third  class — possibly,  for  some  time,  a  small  one — may 
agree  with  the  present  writer  in  some  at  least  of  the  follow- 
ing conclusions  : 

[843]  (i)  In  the  two  Books  of  St.  Thomas's  Miracles 
few  or  none  of  the  early  miracles,  and  in  the  Gospels  none 
at  all,  can  be  explained  by  imposture. 

[844]  (2)  In  both  cases,  a  clear  distinction  must  be 
drawn  between  {a)  miracles  wrought  on  human  nature,  which 
are  substantially  to  be  accepted,  and  {b)  miracles  wrought 
on  non-human  nature,  e.g.  bread,  wine,  water,  trees,  swine, 
birds,  etc.  The  latter  are  not  to  be  accepted  as  historical,  but 
as  legends  explicable  from  poetry  taken  as  prose  (i.e.  from 
metaphor  regarded  as  literal)  or  from  linguistic  error,  or  from 
these  two  causes  combined. 

[845]  (3)  The  power  of  healing  disease  through  the 
emotions  extends  not  only  to  the  paralysed,  the  deaf,  dumb, 
and  lame,  but  to  the  blind  also,  and  to  those  afflicted  with 
skin  disease. 

[846]  (4)  Death  is  sometimes  preceded  by  several 
hours  of  apparent  lifelessness,  so  that  ordinary  observation, 
and  perhaps  even  average  medical  skill,  may  be  unable  to 
detect  any  trace  of  life.  During  this  period,  reanima- 
tion  may  follow  from  the  passionate  appeal  of  a  nurse, 
father,  or  mother,  if  uttered  under  a  strong  faith  in  a  Power 
that  will  raise  up  the  [person  alleged  to  be]  dead.  Some- 
times, even  without  any  such  appeal  as  can  be  heard  by  the 
dead,  the  strength  of  the  appellant's  faith  itself  may  produce 
the  same  effect. 

[846rt]  Hence  it  is  quite  easy  to  accept  the  story  of  the 
raising  of  Jairus's  daughter.  The  raising  of  the  Widow's 
son  at  Nain  might  also  be  easily  accepted,  so  far  as  physio- 
logical considerations  go.  But  the  objections  against  it  are, 
1st,  that  Luke  alone  inserts  it,  2nd,  that  it  is  omitted  by  the 
parallel   narrative  of  Matthew  in  the  place  where  we  might 


312  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  5^846^ 

expect  its  insertion  ;  3rd,  that  it  shews  traces  of  originating 
from  allegory  misunderstood  ;  4th,  that  its  place  in  Luke's 
Gospel — where  it  comes  just  before  the  Lord's  words  "the 
dead  are  raised" — suggests  that  the  writer  may  have  been 
predisposed  to  receive,  as  literal,  some  poetical  tradition, 
because  the  literal  version  agreed  with  the  Fitness  of  Things : 
"  How  could  Jesus  say,  '  the  dead  are  raised,'  if  he  had  not 
raised  at  least  two  dead  persons  ?  " 

[847]  The  Raising  of  Lazarus  is  far  more  credible  than 
the  Raising  at  Nain.  If  critics  can  hereafter  explain  the 
omission  of  so  striking  an  act  by  the  Synoptists,  there  would 
be  no  difficulty  (regard  being  had  to  the  personality  of  Jesus) 
in  accepting  John's  story  as  substantially  historical,  unless  a 
strong  case  could  be  made  out  for  an  allegorical  origin. 

[848]  (5)  Two  or  three  accounts  of  the  restoration  by 
St.  Thomas  of  members  that  had  been  extracted  or  cut  off, 
are  so  extraordinary  and  well-attested  that  they  deserve  the 
attention  of  experts.  But  probably  there  was  no  real  restora- 
tion. So  far  as  concerns  the  cases  of  blinding,  the  eye  may 
have  been  gashed,  but  not  extracted,  and  there  is  evidence 
to  shew  that,  in  days  when  such  mutilation  was  a  common 
punishment  for  theft,  it  was  recognized  that  some  power  of 
sight  might  remain. 

[849]  In  any  case,  even  if  St.  Thomas's  miracles  of  this 
class  could  be  accepted,  the  similar  miracle  assigned  by 
Luke's  Gospel  alone  to  Jesus  (the  restoration  of  the  severed 
ear  to  the  high  priest's  servant)  could  not  be  accepted,  and 
for  three  reasons  :  ist,  it  is  omitted  by  the  three  evangelists 
who  describe  the  cutting  off  of  the  ear  ;  2nd,  one  of  these, 
the  author  of  the  fourth  Gospel,  wrote  long  after  Luke, 
and  must  have  known  Luke's  account.  His  omission  of 
it  can  best  be  explained  on  the  ground  that,  he  knew  it  to 
be    based    on   error ;  ^    3rd,  its    origin    is    easily  explicable 

*  The  theory  that  he  omitted  it  as  being  superfluous,  or  well  known  already, 
is  too  ridiculous  to  need  refutation. 


^851  HIS  MIRACLES  313 

as  a  misunderstanding  of  an  original  tradition  to  the  effect 
that  Jesus  said  "  Let  it  be  restored  to  its  place."  These 
words  were  meant  by  Jesus  to  apply  to  Peter's  sword, 
which  was  to  be  put  back  into  its  sheath  :  but  Luke,  or  the 
tradition  followed  by  Luke,  took  them  to  mean  "  Let  the  ear 
be  restored  to  its  place." 

[850]  (6)  The  power  of  working  extraordinary  acts  of 
faith-healing  does  not  necessarily  imply  the  far  higher  power 
of  inspiring  concord  and  mutual  affection  binding  a  com- 
munity into  one.  The  absence  of  any  such  power  is  con- 
spicuous in  the  Martyr's  case.  The  monks  of  Canterbury 
were  constant  spectators  of  St.  Thomas's  miracles  :  yet  there 
are  many  signs  that  he  had  not  bequeathed  to  them  unity 
among  themselves.  Repentance,  confession  of  sins,  personal 
piety,  and  individual  aspiration  to  holiness,  were  probably 
stimulated  for  a  time  by  his  influence  :  but  there  are  more 
signs  of  it  without,  than  within,  the  walls  of  the  Canterbury 
Minster.  And  even  in  the  Church  and  people  at  large  there 
seems  to  have  resulted  from  St.  Thomas  nothing  of  the 
spiritual  influence  that  came  from  St.  Francis.- 

[851]  (7)  The  real  use  of  these  extraordinary  acts  is 
that  they  break  the  monotony  of  palpable  cause  and  palpable 
effect  in  a  fleshly,  materialistic,  and  unimaginative  generation. 
Startled  by  the  intrusion  of  a  novel  and  impalpable  cause, 
the  carnal  mind  is  forced,  first,  to  recognize  the  power  of  the 
Spirit  over  the  flesh  in  healing  bodily  disease,  and  then  to 
say  to  the  Spirit,  "  Thou  hast  healed  us  :  what  wouldst  thou 
now  have  us  to  do  ?  " 

Here  it  is  that  the  spirit  of  the  active,  aggressive,  militant, 
and  quasi-worldly  Saint  differs  from  that  of  the  Saint  pure 
and  simple  —  the  Saint  of  peace  and  perfect  insight,  the 
Saint  of  harmonious  sympathy  with  the  Powers  of  goodness. 

■•*  It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  early  and  violent  dissension  arose  among 
the  followers  of  St.  Francis  on  the  subject  of  the  Franciscan  Rule  (see  Sabatier's 
Speculum  Perfectionis,  Introd.  p.  xix.). 


314  ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY  j^  851 

And  here  it  is  also  that  even  the  highest  in  this  chosen  band 
of  purest  Saints  seem  to  Christians  to  fall  behind  the  Saint 
of  Saints,  the  Man  so  wholly  rapt  into  the  divine  Order  that 
He  is  at  one  with  the  Father  of  all. 

The  spirit  of  St.  Thomas  had  no  power  to  pass  into 
the  hearts  of  men  with  a  distinct  and  permanently  vivifying 
message  of  its  own,  conveying  to  them  peace,  love,  unity,  and 
ultimate  conformity  of  the  human  to  the  divine.  But  the 
Spirit  of  Him  whom  we  worship  has  both  that  message,  and 
that  power.  The  time  will  come  when  His  miracles  will  be 
rated  at  their  true  worth.  Some  will  be  read  as  mere 
emblematic  stories  exhibiting  Him  as  the  Bread  of  Life,  the 
Controller  of  the  Storm,  the  Promised  First-born,  the  Son  of 
the  Blessed — the  Song  of  the  angels  of  heaven,  and  the  Hope 
of  men  on  earth.  Others  will  be  read  as  narratives  of  fact, 
shewing  how,  besides  bearing  the  burdens  of  their  sin.  He 
sympathized  with  men's  foulest  diseases  and  sorest  agonies  of 
the  flesh,  and  how  virtue  passed  out  from  Him  to  banish 
physical  as  well  as  spiritual  disorder.  But  not  on  account 
of  either  the  one  or  the  other  will  He  be  worshipped.  He 
will  be  men's  God  for  ever  so  far  as  He  reigns  in  their  hearts 
as  the  active  representative  of  that  Spirit  of  Life,  Light,  and 
Order,  to  which  we  are  all  aspiring,  and  in  which  we  desire 
to  live.  The  influence  of  the  Martyr  largely  died  with  the 
decay  of  his  miracles.  The  Spirit  of  the  Saviour  will  then 
be  most  vitally  present  with  mankind  when  they  refuse,  with 
the  Fourth  Gospel,  to  call  His  miracles  by  any  other  name 
than  "  signs,"  and  when  they  recognize,  as  His  "  signs  "  of 
greatest  might  and  wonder,  not  those  which  He  worked 
once,  but  those  which  He  is  working  now. 


INDEX 

[The  references  are  to  subsections,  indicated  by  black  numbers  in  the 
preceding  pages,  see  la.] 


"  Agonotheta,"  for  "athleta,"  146, 
170  (n.  i6) 

Alan,  Prior  of  Canterbury,  22 ;  his 
high  character,  540  ;  he  supplements 
the  biography  written  by  John  of 
Salisbury,  22 

Alms,  miraculously  provided  or  re- 
stored, 559,  560 

Altar,  the,  St.  Thomas  did  not  die 
before,  162  (comp.  133,  232,  276 
(n.  26) ) 

Anchors,  recovered  after  vows  to  St. 
Thomas,  723 

Animals,  miracles  on :  see  Bird,  Cow, 
Lamb,  etc. 

"Anon  I."  (indicates  an  anonymous 
writer  commonly  called,  on  no  evi- 
dence, "  Roger  of  Pontigny  "),  the 
character  and  date  of  his  work,  25  ; 
his  relation  to  Gamier,  25<7,  184a, 
253,  401  ;  baselessness  of  evidence 
for  calling  him  "  Roger  of  Pontigny," 
26^  ;  his  accurate  account  of  the 
first  blow  inflicted  on  the  Archbishop, 
254 ;  value  of  his  evidence,  354 ; 
his  account  of  St.  Thomas's  rescue 
from  drowning,  398  ;  question  as  to 
his  name,  25,  422  (n.  i) ;  is  silent 
about  St.  Thomas's  alleged  miracles 
at  Pontigny,  797-9 

Antiphon,  in  English,  in  honour  of  St. 
Thomas,  sung  in  a  vision,  594 

'*  Antiquity,"  declared  "  fatuous  "  by 
William,  643 


Arnold  of  Lubeck  tells  how  St.  Thomas 

changed  water  into  wine,  595 
Ashes,  dying  on,  688  (n.  3) 

Babe,  a,  sings  Kyrie  Eleison,  635 

Baldwin,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
21 ;  Herbert  dedicates  hb  book  to, 
429 

Bath,  waters  of,  744 

Battle,  trial  by,  573 

Becket,  Thomas  :  see  Thomas,  St. 

Bedford,  letter  from  the  burgesses  of, 
711 

Beer  is  made  miraculously  to  ferment, 
579 

Benedict,  date  of  his  writings,  18  ;  sup- 
posed by  some  to  have  written  a 
biography  of  St.  Thomas,  50<j, 
107a ;  his  text  probably  given  inaccur- 
ately in  the  Qiiadrilogns,  275a  ;  his 
trustworthiness,  404,  425(i  ;  the 
singular  value  of  his  testimony,  449  ; 
his  candour  in  describing  imperfect 
cures,  499-501 ;  is  rebuked  by  a 
woman  for  scepticism,  514  ;  Benedict 
(or  William)  quotes  Ovid,  536-7; 
Benedict's  style  too  simple  for  the 
monks  of  Canterbury,  538;  the  style 
of  his  book  alters  when  William 
"comes  to  his  aid,"  543;  silences 
dogs  in  the  name  of  St.  Thomas, 
566;  chronological  order  is  discarde<l 
toward  the  end  of  his  book,  680; 
the  last  part  not  in  Benedict's  style, 


3i6 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


584;  a  miracle  dated  1202  a.d., 
probably  an  error  for  1192  A.D., 
586  ;  probably  continued  to  collect 
miracles  when  Abbot  of  Peterborough, 
588  ;  contrast  between  Benedict  and 
William  in  their  narratives  of  leprosy, 
768  ;  two  distinct  styles  in  some  of 
Benedict's  narratives,  770 

Bezant,  a,  preserved  by  St.  Thomas, 
663 

Bird-miracles,  526,  642,  664,  602 

"Bishop,"  for  "Archbishop,"  54 

Bishops,  rule  as  to  number  of,  necessary 
for  consecration,  607 

Blasphemy  against  St.  Thomas,  for- 
given, 667 ;  punished,  505 

Blinding,  as  a  jiunishment  for  theft, 
576  {see  Mutilation) ;  apparently 
sometimes  imperfect,  577 

Blindness,  first  alleged  cure  of,  must  be 
rejected,  433^  ;  other  cures,  457, 
400,  530,  534,  554,  677  ;  a  boy 
blind  from  birth,  500 ;  a  man  blind 
from  birth,  his  utterances  on  receiv- 
ing sight,  522  ;  a  blind  Cornishman 
cured,  523 ;  a  partial  cure,  565 ;  cured 
at  the  shrine  of  St.  Laurence,  614 

Blindness  inflicted  as  a  punishment,  for 
imposture,  554  ;  for  contempt  of  the 
blind,  556 ;  for  filial  disobedience, 
557 

Blood  of  St.  Thomas,  mixed  with  water, 
424  :  see  Water  of  St.  Thomas 

Boetius,  643 

Bolt,  a,  that  "came  off  by  itself,"  87 

Bone,  extracted  from  a  wound,  de- 
posited at  the  Martyr's  tomb,  500 
(n.  II) 

Book,  a,  to  be  given  for  the  chapel  of  a 
hospital,  604 

Bosham,  Herbert  of :  see  Herbert 

Bowels,  diseases  of  the,  481-2,  453 

Brito,  or  le  Bret,  Richard,  268,  280 

Broc,  Ranulf  de,  440;  called  by  St. 
Thomas  "the  son  of  perdition,"  460 

Broc,  Robert  de,  46-0,  422 

Broc,  William  de,  cured  by  St.  Thomas, 
510 

Burial,  speediness  of,  732  (4)  ;  of  per- 
sons killed  by  lightning,  640 

Business,  the  evils  of,  627 


Cancer.  737 

Candles,   "measuring  for,"  474,  491, 

495,  527,  710  (4)  ;  miracles  relating 

to,  502-6,  536,  648 
Canonization  of  St.  Thomas,  the,  anti- 
cipated in  a  vision,  503 
Canterbury  :  see  Cathedral,  Prior 
Cap,  the   Archbishop's,  struck  off  by 

Fitzurse,    different  accounts   of  this, 

205 ;    not    mentioned    by    Gamier, 

231,252-4;  Herbert's  account,  276 

(n.  24) 
Captivity,  deliverance  from,  586 
Cathedral,  the,  confused  with  the  Palace, 

108/',  203rt 
Cato,  paralleled  with  St.  Thomas,  502 
Cecilia,    St.,    sewing    on    festival    of, 

punished,  535 
Chains,  loosed  by  St.  Thomas,  610 
"  Chance,"  misuse  of  the  word,  620 
"  Chapel,"  a  word  used  by  Gamier  to 

mean  the  crown  of  the  head,  202a, 

362 
Chapels  are  to  be  built  to  St.  Thomas, 

613  ;  are  built,  647,  605 
Charms,    employment    of,    470,    400, 

608  ;  tried  by  a  priest,  527 
Cheese,    miraculously    revealed    when 

lost,  528 
Cherrystone  in  the  nose,  406 
Child   (see  Drowning,   Miracles,  etc.), 

sings  Kyrie  Eleison,  635 
Childish  terrors,  402 
"Christ,"  i.e.  anointed,  a  name  given 

to  St.  Thomas,  7O0  ( i ) 
Cilice,  miraculously  mended,  815 
Clare,  Earl  and  Countess  of,  758 
Clergy,  the  marriage  of,  601 
Clothing    of   St.    Thomas,    a   patient 

wrapped  in,  603;    "a  scrap'/'  of  it 

desired  by  the  Bishop  of  Poitiers,  641 
Coin,  miraculously  found,  531 
Cologne,  dialect  of,  558 
Colresand,  721 
"  Complodere,"  not  "  clasp  "  as  Stanley 

translates  it,  136  (n.  18),  272  (n.  18) 
Compostella,  pilgrimage  to,  558 
Confession,  "  to  thirteen  priests,"  470  ; 

' '  eleven  times  a  week,"  405  ;  offered 

by  a  father  hoping  for  his  daughter's 

recovery,  500 


317 


Confirmation,  administration  of,  St. 
Thomas  did  not  confirm  on  horse- 
back, 533 

Consumption,  507 

Contortions,  485,  487 

Contractions  of  limbs,  605,  etc. 

Convulsions  at  the  Martyr's  tomb  pre- 
ceding a  cure,  468,  471,  483,  485 

Comishman,  a,  cured  of  blindness,  523 

"Corona,"  meanings  of,  224  (n.  12), 
332  (n.  27) 

Cow,  a,  restored  to  life,  700  ;  killed  by 
St.  Thomas,  699 

Cross,  the,  taken  by  a  patient  cured,  471 

Cross,  the  Archbishop's,  by  whom 
carried,  70a 

Crosses  erected,  533 

Crucifixion,  visions  of,  146,  ie2a, 
426a 

Crutches,  thrown  aside  at  the  Martyr's 
tomb,  468,  470,  480 

Crypt  of  Canterbury  Cathedral  opened 
after  the  murder,  469 

Curbaran  of  Dover,  "simple  enough 
to  pray  for  the  Martyr,"  531 

Cures  {see  Imperfect  Cures  and  Re- 
lapses), preceded  by  vomiting,  473  ; 
by  sounds  in  the  head,  474-5  ;  by 
convulsions,  468,  471,  483,  485  ;  by 
a  feeling  that  the  Cathedral  was  "  too 
narrow,"  483  ;  gradual,  508 

Cut  thumb,  healed,  552 

Damascus,  captivity  at,  586 

Date,  of  the  Martyrdom,  generally  given 
wrongly,  318,  346  ;  other  confusions 
of,  347 

Deafness  healed,  475,  575 

Death,  often  preceded  by  apparent  life- 
lessness,  846  ;  pious,  after  remedies 
had  been  vainly  tried,  497-8 

Death,  Restoration  homisc-e  Drowning), 
609  ;  of  a  lamb,  630 ;  of  a  bull  by 
St.  Silvester,  630 ;  a  doubtful  case, 
631  ;  of  a  sucking-pig  and  a  gander, 
633-4  ;  of  an  ox  by  the  concubine  of 
a  clerk,  642;  of  a  man  struck  by 
lightning,  649  ;  a  pilgrim  restored  to 
life  in  order  to  take  the  sacrament  and 
die,  657 ;  after  seven  days,  related 
without    attestation,    660 ;    of   two 


children,  670 ;  William  declines  to 

accept  a  case,  without  witnesses,  686 ; 

doubts  another  case,  690 
"  Decalvare,"  meaning  of,  276a 
Decline,  507 
Deformity,  485,  535,  etc. 
Demon,  apparition  of  a,  483 
Demoniacs    cured,    623 ;     one    talks 

various  languages,  680 
Denarius,    St.    Thomas    bids    a    man 

offer  a  denarius,  526  ;    miraculously 

restored,  559 
Denial  of  cures,  476-7 
Denis,  St.,  276,  623 
Devizes,  chapel  at,  695 
Diarrhoea,  482 
Diocletian,  coin  of,  531 
Disappointments    for    those    expecting 

miracles,  476-7 
Dishonesty  detected,  491 
Dislocation  of  arm,  529 
"  Dog,  eating  of,"  an  error  for  "eating 

of  flesh,"  713  (n.  3) 
Dogs  silenced  by  Benedict  in  the  name 

of  St.  Thomas,  566 
Doors  "  open  spontaneously,"  88  ;  the 

cloister    door    and     the     Cathedral 

door,  87-8,  93,  102  (n.  6) 
Dreams,  frightful,  459 
Dress,  vanity  of,  666 
Dropsy,  495,  565,  597 
Drowning,  deliverance  from,  777,783  ; 

restoration  after,  567-8,  741 
Duel,  judicial,  573 
Dumbness,    cured,    466,    519,    578  ; 

William  on  the  advantages  of,  625 
"Duplication,"     instances     of,     347, 

365-8,  726 
Durham,  bishop  of :  see  Puiset,  Hugh  de 
Dwarf,  a  demon  in  the  form  of  a,  450 
Dysentery,  481 

Earth,  fall  of,  771 

Edification,  facts  suppressed  for,  370 

Edith,  St.,  534 

Edmund,  .St.,  seen  in  a  vision  with  St. 

Thomas,  602  ;  resorted  to  for  a  cure, 

744(6) 
Edward  I.,  his  "  wink,"  363 
Edwin,  said   by  the  French   to   mean 

"foolish,"  687 


3i8 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


Eels,  a  sign  of  water,  694 

Eggs,    inscribed    with    the    Martyr's 

name,  652 
Eilward    (or   Ailward)  of  Westoning, 

710 :  see  Mutilation 
Eleanor,  queen,  747 
Elias,  of  Evesham,  22-3 
Elmo,   St.,  his   fire,  attributed  to  St. 

Thomas,  668 
Elphege,  St.,  58,  255-7 
English,  an  antiphon  in,  594 
Eparchius,  St.,  689 
Epilensy,  or  Epilepsy,  three  kinds  of, 

defined,  598 ;  cured,  598,  676 
Eucharist,  administration  of,  deferred, 

but  received  after  death,  657 
Evidence,     internal,    importance     of, 

385-92 
"  Evovae,"  meaning  of,  594  (n.  5) 
Exaggerations,  425,  433 
Extremity,  delivery  in,  509,  608  (n.  5), 

etc. 
Eyes,  restoration  of,  710  { 1 1 ),  possibly 

explicable,  718-20 
Eye-witnesses,  evidence  of,  358 

Face,  tumour  in,  470 

Falcon  belonging  to  Henry  II.,  692 

Fall,  recovery  after  a,  551 

Fall  of  earth,  771 ;  of  a  wall,  755 

Fallacies  :    see  Fitness  of  Things,  and 

Duplication 
Family  differences  healed,  574 
Fermin,  physician  of  Canterbury,  426a  ; 

his  vision,  592 
Festivals,  working  on,  punished,  569, 

605,  675 
Fevers,  453,  467,  etc. 
Finding,  miracles  of,  620-2 
Fingers  contracted  and  restored,  605 
Fire,  preservation  from,  548,  668  ;  part 

of  Canterbury  Cathedral  destroyed  by, 

671 
Fish,  St.  Thomas's,  790-4 
Fistula,  490  ;  recurrence  of,  667 
"Fitness  of  Things,"  instances  of  its 

influence,    296  (n.    66),    351,   375, 

377-9,  447,  726,  811 
Fitznigel,  68a 
Fitzranulph,  116a 
Fitzstephen,    William,     date     of    his 


biography,  15  ;  the  earliest  edition  of 
his  work,  15a,  144  (n.  6),  317  (n.  3), 
423  (n.   1),  795;  contrast  between 
him  and   Herbert  of  Bosham,  211  ; 
fond  of  allusions  to  Latin  poetry,  267 
(n.  7)  ;  differs  from  others  in  omitting 
the  threats  of  outrage  after  themurder, 
423  ;  his  account  of  the  Water  of  St. 
Thomas,  424 
Fitzurse,  Reginald,  struck  the  first  VjIow 
at  the  Martyr,  244-6  ;  St.  Thomas 
orders  prayers  for,  637 
Flood,  deliverance  from  a,  703 
Flores  Historiarum,  347,  367 
Foliot,    Gilbert,    Bishop    of    London, 
restored  to  health,  615-6  ;  his  steward 
(also  called   Foliot)  convinced  by  a 
miracle,  522 
Foot,  miraculously  pierced,  681 
Footsteps,   the    last    footsteps    of    St. 

Thomas,  162-5 
Foreign  cures,  452,  552 
Forest  laws,  offences  against,  573 
Francis,  St.,  Legend  about  the  baptism 

of,  \Q2b 
French,  a  knight's  son  in  England  needs 
to  be  taught  French,  632  ;  Gamier 
praises  his  own  French,  632  (n.  4)  : 
Benedict,  in  a  vision,  speaks  P'rench 
to  the  Martyr,  who  replies  in  Latin, 
404a 
Fringe,   a,    of    the   Martyr's   vesture, 

restores  sanity,  650 
Froisart,  textual  variations  in,  364 

Galen,  quoted,  767  (i) 

Gander,  a,  resuscitated,  634 

Gamier,  date  of  his  poem,  35-9 ;  re- 
ceived information  from  St.  Thomas's 
sister,  39a  ;  praises  the  poor,  4  ;  his 
relation  to  Anon.  I.,  25a,  184a,  253, 
401 ;  text  seems  corrupt,  112  (n.  22)  ; 
his  account  of  St.  Thomas's  rescue 
from  drowning,  358  ;  describes  St. 
Thomas  as  working  cures  at  Pontigny, 
796 

Gervase,  his  account  of  the  Martyrdom, 
393-6 

Gibbon,  his  attempt  to  explain  the 
success  of  Christianity,  832 

Giraldus  Cambrensis,  796  (n.  9),  806-7 


INDEX 


319 


Glasgow,  Bishop  of,  783  (16) 

Glass,  ancient  vessel  of,  discovered,  677 

Glove,  St.  Thomas's,  works  a  cure,  529 

Gospels,  the,  parallel  between  them  and 
the  biographies  of  St.  Thomas,  830- 
40 

"  Gradus,"  sing.,  a  flight  of  steps,  143  ; 
William  substitutes  "vestigia,"  146  ; 
various  traditions  about,  162-5 

Grandison,  340,  806-7 

Greek  words,  used  and  misused  by 
William  of  Canterbury,  146  (n.  9), 
611a 

Grim,  Edward,  date  of  his  biography, 
13 ;  did  not  bear  the  Archbishop's 
cross,  70a  ;  said  by  some  to  have 
been  rebuked  by  the  Archbishop, 
226  ;  appears  to  have  borrowed  from 
John  of  Salisbury  and  an  anonymous 
writer,  315a  ;  value  of  his  evidence, 
350 ;  inaccurate  when  he  ceases  to 
be  an  eye-witness,  357-8  ;  his  account 
of  St.  Thomas's  rescue  from  drowning, 
397  ;  his  account  of  the  first  miracle 
and  the  burial,  418-21 ;  declares  that 
the  Martyr  was  not  at  first  appreciated 
by  the  majority  of  the  monks,  418 ; 
wounded  while  clasping  the  Arch- 
bishop, 218 ;  said  by  the  Saga  to 
have  been  miraculously  cured  the 
same  night,  444,  810 ;  says  that 
Benedict  was  disliked  and  insulted 
by  King  Henry,  541 ;  his  name 
chosen  to  give  authority  to  fictitious 
"  Passions,"  808  ;  details  of  his 
miraculous  cure  as  given  by  Pseudo- 
Grim,  810 

Hair  shirt,  St.  Thomas',  a  portion  of, 

works  a  cure,  529,  758  (10) 
Halter,  a,  preserved  as  a  relic,  640 
Hameline,  earl  of  Warrenne,  659 
Handkerchief,  a,  blessed  by  St.  Thomas, 

effects  a  cure,  462 
Hanging,  deliverances  from,  638,  641 
Hawk,   cured  of  a  broken  leg,  642  ; 
restored  to  life,  642  ;  recovered  when 
lost,  626,   642,  664 ;   story  of  one 
belonging  to  Henry  II.,  692 
Hawking,  St.  Thomas  in  his  youth  fond 
of,  397-401 


Head,  pains  in,  496,  575 

Hemorrhoids,  453 

Henry  II.,  King,  visited  the  tomb  of 
St.  Thomas,  17 ;  description  of  this 
in  the  Florcs  Hisioriarurn^  347,  367  ; 
his  self-purgation  at  Avranches,  28, 
416 ;  dreams  that  he  is  rescued  by 
St.  Thomas  from  falling  into  an  abyss, 
421  (n.  I ) ;  at  first  discouraged  visitors 
to  the  Martyr's  tomb,  431  ;  dislikes 
and  insults  Benedict,  541  ;  his  public 
penitence,  592 ;  miracles  for  his  sake, 
618-9  ;  releases  a  prisoner  whom  St. 
Thomas  has  freed,  619 ;  hears  a 
Templar's  dream,  658 

Henry,  the  younger  king,  son  of  Henry 
II.,  makes  war  against  his  father, 
416,  672 ;  his  sorrow  for  the  Martyr's 
death,  423 ;  the  Archbishop  of  Rouen 
consecrates  an  altar  to  St.  Thomas 
for,  615 

Henry  of  Houghton,  the  testimony  of, 
530 

Herbert  of  Bosham,  instructed  the 
Archbishop  in  Scripture,  19 ;  date 
and  character  of  his  biography,  20 ; 
cannot  lie  trusted  as  regards  analogies 
between  the  Martyr  and  the  Saviour, 
108a,  327.  432  (n.  2) ;  his  prolixity, 
223  (n.  8),  227  (n.  30),  326;  re- 
presents St.  Thomas  as  falling  before 
the  Altar,  276  (n.  26) ;  author  of  a 
letter  ostensibly  written  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Sens,  276a,  350  (n.  l); 
substitutes  Robert  de  Broc  for  Hugh 
Mauclerc,  279  ;  his  silence  about  the 
miracles,  429 

Herlwin,  Prior  of  Canterbury,  540 

Hernia,  575,  758  (3) 

Herring-fishers,  delivered,  722 

Hingan,  cured  of  fits,  581 

Holidays  (on  Saturday),  custom  of 
drinking  on,  710  (i),  see  777  (2) 

Holland,  preservation  from  flood  in, 
703 

Horse,  falling  through  a  bridge,  664  ; 
recovered  when  lost  or  stolen,  620, 
637  ;  eye  of,  curetl,  517 

Hospital  on  Shooter's  Hill,  694 

Hugh  de  Perac,  a  man  of  blood,  646 

Hugh  de  Puiset :  see  Puiset 


320 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


Hugh  of  Horsea,  also  called  Mauclerc, 

280 
Hugh  of  Morville :  see  Morville 

Imagination,  force  of,  486 
Imperfect  cures,  486,  487,  490,  565 
Imposture,  the   monks   of  Canterbury 

attempt  to  guard  against,  455,  466  ; 

as  to  St.  Thomas's  Water,  effects  a 

cure,  563 ;  fails  to  effect  a  cure,  563 

(n.  5) 
"  Improvisum"  (?)  means  "unprovided," 

281 
Influenza,  652 

Ireland,  Henry  II. 's  wars  in,  17 
Irish,  spoken  by  St.  Thomas  in  a  vision 

to  an  Irishman,  612 
Ithamar,  St.,  of  Rochester,  a  miracle 

claimed  for,  521 

James,  St.  :  see  Compostella 

Jerusalem,  pilgrimage  to,  637 

Jews,    intercourse    with,    discouraged, 

479 
John  of  Salisbury,  Bishop  of  Chartres, 
date  of  his  biography,  16 ;  specially 
mentioned  by  Fitzstephen  as  deserting 
the  Archbishop,  126 ;  writes  for  the 
Pope  rather  than  for  truth,  173  ;  at- 
tributes to  the  knights  the  outrage 
on  the  Archbishop's  body,  271 ;  his 
inaccuracy  unpardonable,  352  ;  his 
literary  reputation  caused  later  writers 
to  borrow  from  him,  383 ;  his  testi- 
mony to  the  number  of  the  Martyr's 
miracles,  411 ;  his  letter  to  the  bishop 
of  Clermont  attesting  a  cure  of  leprosy 
661 
John,  St.,  a  vision  of,  673a 
Justinian,  on  legacies,  645 

Kings,  visiting  the  Martyr's  tomb,  441 
Knife,  wound  from,  644,  681 

Lamb,  a,  restored  to  life,  630 
Lameness,  cures  of,   470,   485,  508, 

535,  etc. 
Latin,   miraculously  written  by  a  nun 
ignorant  of  Latin,  426 ;  Satan  com- 
pels a  clerk  to  talk  nothing  but  Latin, 


653  ;   a   demon   in   a   woman   talks 
Latin,  680  ;  St.  Thomas,  in  a  vision, 
replies  in  Latin  to  a  question  from 
Benedict  in  French,  404a 
Laurence,  St.,  cure  in  the  shrine   of, 

614 
Legend  i^see  Saga),  the  legend  of  St. 
Thomas's  fish,  790-4  ;  the  legend  of 
.St.  Thomas  miraculously  rescued  from 
drowning,  397-401 ;  poetic  legends, 
813 ;  legends  may  spring  up  within 
two  or  three  years  after  a  Martyr's 
death,  818  ;  may  have  several  contri- 
butory causes,  378a 
Legs  {see  Lameness),  waxen,  offered  to 

St.  Thomas,  492 
Leighton  Buzzard,  710  (4) 
Leper,  emjiloyed   to  carry  a   message 

from  St.  Thomas,  732  (8) 
Leprosy,  the  first  cure  of,  544  ;  followed 
by  a  relapse,  544-5  ;  a  case  attested 
by  the   Dean   of  Chesterton,    546  ; 
Gerard  of  Lille,   570 ;  other  cases, 
610-2,   628,   661,   707,   744,  747, 
767  ;  various  kinds  of,  767  (8) ;  no 
Saint   has  equalled   St.   Thomas   in 
curing,  647 
Letters  of  attestation  {see  also  Puiset), 
attesting  the  cure  of  disease,  629 ; 
attesting  deliverance  from  hanging, 
641 ;  from  the  burgesses  of  Bedford, 
attesting  the  restoration  of  eyesight, 
711 ;  from  the  Bishop  of  Norwich, 
attesting  a  cure  of  cancer,  738 ;  from 
the    Dean    of    Gloucester,    attesting 
deliverance  from  a  fall  of  earth,  772. 
"  Lictors,"  a  name  given  to  the  Arch- 
bishop's murderers,  129  (n.  7),  277 
Lightning,  death  by,  649 
Liver,  disease  of,  461,  483,  etc. 
Losing  and  finding,  miracles  of,  620-2 
Lucan,  quoted  by  William,  721,  722, 

etc. 
Luci,  Richard  de,  converses  with  Henry 
of  Houghton  about  St.  Thomas,  532 
"  Lundrensis,"     for     "  Londoniensis," 

25a 
"Lying,"   Gamier   on,  36;   tendency 
to,  350-1 

Madness,  cured,  475,  486,  558,  653 


INDEX 


321 


Magic,  the  Canterbury  cures  imputed 
to,  488 

Magnusson,  Eirikr,  Mr.,  Preface,  p.  ix., 
on  the  date  of  Garnier's  \xiem,  39a  ; 
on  the  relation  of  Anon.  I.  to  Gamier, 
25a 

Mariners,  miracles  wrought  for,  562, 
721-3 

Marlow  bridge,  654 

Mar)',  the  Blessed  Virgin,  mention  of, 
inserted  by  Anon.  X.  in  a  narrative  of 
Benedict's,  439 ;  assists  St.  Thomas 
in  mending  his  hair  drawers,  815 

Matilda  of  Cologne,  the  madness  of, 
558 

"  Matthew  of  Westminster,"  30a,  347 

Matthew  Paris,  347 

Mauclerc  :  see  Hugh  of  Horsea 

•'  Measuring  for  a  candle  "  {see  Candle), 
778 

Medway  river,  drowning  in  the,  567 

Members,  restoration  of:  see  Mutilation 

Memorial,  the  Martyr's  tomb  or  Me- 
morial, miracles  worked  near,  466, 
468,  475,  483,  507,  etc.  ;  at  first, 
the  multitude  were  not  admitted  to 
it,  460 ;  a  boy  punished  by  St. 
Thomas  for  lying  on  it,  476;  the 
tomb  surrounded  with  a  wall,  486 ; 
a  madman  is  cured  after  lying  on  it, 
486 

Metaphor,  treated  as  prose,  373-5 ; 
originates  legends,  447 

"  Milk,"  in  a  vision,  meaning  the 
Martyr's  blood,  474,  771  (6) 

Millwheel,  deliverance  of  St.  Thomas 
from,  397 ;  deliverance  of  a  child 
from,  631 

Miracles  of  St.  Thomas,  the  {see  also 
Memorial,  Cures),  at  first  confined 
mainly  to  the  jxxir,  403,  428  ;  Bene- 
dict's account  of  the  first  miracle, 
410 ;  FitKtephcn's  account,  424 ; 
Benedict's  fifth  miracle  exaggerated 
by  Anon.  V.,  425a;  attempts  made 
by  the  Martyr's  enemies  to  suppress 
the  miracles,  427;  Ilerliert's  silence 
about,  429 ;  throw  light  on  the 
miracles  wrought  in  the  first  century 
of  the  Church,  450  ;  the  first  thirty, 
as  given  by  Benedict  and  William  re- 

voi..   M 


spectively,  453 ;  "  mirthful  miracles," 
479 ;  miracles  of  punishment  {see 
Punishment) ;  the  moral  effect  of, 
507-10 ;  degeneration  of,  617 ;  a 
man  of  many  miracles,  626  ;  the  use 
of,  to  preserve  ' '  the  integrity  of 
Divine  law  and  the  liberty  of  the  in- 
violable Church,"  661 ;  "  festive 
miracles,"  662  ;  miracles  commem- 
orated in  the  stained  glass  of  Canter- 
bury Cathedral,  736 ;  the  good  and 
evil  resulting  from  the  miracles  as  a 
whole,  821-6 ;  the  fading  away  of 
miracles  of  St.  Thomas  and  in  the 
Christian  Church  in  the  first  century, 
836 ;  false  miracles  and  true,  837, 
843-9  ;  the  real  use  of,  851 

Money,  miracles  as  to,  559-61 ;  why 
St. -Thomas  likes  money,  627  ;  offer- 
ings of  money,  524,  544,  628  ;  ex- 
acted by  St.  Thomas,  645 

Monks  of  Canterbury,  the,  their  at- 
tempts to  prevent  imposture,  455, 
487,  509  (n.  5) ;  dissensions  among, 
540 

Morville,  Hugh  of,  212-4,  727;  the 
date  of  his  death,  820 

Murderers  of  St.  Thomas,  the,  rumours 
about,  30  ;  legends  about,  820 

Musard  (?)  (Malae-Artes),  pretends  to 
be  blind,  and  is  visited  Mrith  blind- 
ness, but  cured,  564 

Mutilation,  healed,  676,  710-20  ;  theft 
under  the  value  of  a  nummns  not 
punishable  by,  710  (3) ;  the  cases  of 
Eilward  of  Westoning  and  others, 
710-20;  performed  with  cruelty, 
714 ;  these  cases  possibly,  in  part, 
explicable,  718-9 

Neck,  broken,  660 

Newington,  near  Sittinglxjurne,  miracles 

at,  533-5 
Nightmare,  459 
Northampton,  the  Archbishop  at,  16, 

88 
Norway,  pilgrims  from,  664 
"  Nummus,"  theft  under  the  value  of  a, 

710  (3) 

Oblation  of  sinners  refused,  622 
21 


322 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


"  Obols,"  miraculously  provided,  560  ; 

restored,  621 ;  refused  by  St.  Thomas, 

622 
Obstruction,  internal,  453,  472 
Odo  of  Falaise,  comes  to  the  Martyr's 

tomb  in  disguise,  547 
Odo,  Prior  of  Canterbury,  afterwards 

Abbot  of  Battle,  540,  652 
"Offendere,"  means  "come  suddenly 

on,"  155 
Offerings  to  St.  Thomas  (see  Candles),  of 

waxen  legs,  492  ;  of  waxen  anchors, 

723 ;  of  money,  the  first  instances, 

524 ;   their   efficacy,    642  ;   of   four 

silver  pieces,  732  (7) 
Ophthalmia,  signs  of  prevalence  of,  433<z 
Ordeals,   573 ;    ordeal   by  water,   710 

(4) 
Oxen,  recovered  from  thieves,  701 

Palermo  (?),  698 

Pall  of  St.   Thomas,  miracle  wrought 

by,  465 
Paper,  a  paper  of  St.  Thomas's  miracles 

cures  dropsy,  578 
Paralysis,  cured,  480,  508,  679 ;  in- 
flicted and  cured,  727 
Pardoner,  a,  464 
Participle,   pres.    act.,    used   as    past, 

270a,     264,     268,     285     (n.     54) 

(comp.  323a) 
Pater  Nosters,  to  be  said  for  the  soul  of 

St.  Thomas's  father,  562 
"  Patronus,"   the,   of  a    church,   644 

(n.  5) 
Pebble,  in  the  ear,  a,  552 
Perjury,  punished  miraculously,  487 
Peter,  St.,  a  man  punished  for  working 

on   the   day  of  the   Festival   of  his 

Chair,  569 
Phials  for  .St.  Thomas's  Water,  miracles 

respecting,  520 
Physician,  of  Canterbury,  the,  495,  598 
Physicians,  disparaged  by  William  of 

Canterbury,  598,  599,  602,  603 
Pictures  of  the  Martyrdom,  249,  284 

(n.  52) 
Pig,   restored   to  life,  633 ;   preserved 

fresh  after  drowning,  662 
Pilgrimage,  a,  on  foot  from  Shropshire, 

564  ;  a  vow  of,  changes  a  step-son's 


hatred  to  affection,  574  ;  cures  take 
place  during,  601 ;  to  be  made  on 
foot,  not  in  a  carriage,  603  ;  a  man 
punished  for  dissuading,  623  ;  be- 
came profitable,  680 ;  punishment 
for  delaying,  732  (12);  the  pro- 
spective benefits  of,  783  (5) 

Pilgrims,  kiss  the  footsteps  of  the  Mar- 
tyr, 163  (13)  ;  sang  a  hymn  as  they 
ascended  the  steps  to  his  grave,  165 
(n.  4)  ;  sometimes  depart  from  Can- 
terbury cured,  unknown  to  the 
monks,  513  ;  a  pilgrim  vows  to  give 
alms  to  everyone  that  asks  in  the 
name  of  St.  Thomas,  560  ;  a  pilgrim, 
thrown  overboard  as  dead,  restored 
to  his  vessel,  636  ;  a  pilgrim  restored 
to  life  that  he  may  receive  the  sacra- 
ment and  die,  657 

Plagues,  visit  King  Henry's  army  in 
Ireland,  600 

Poetry  and  Romance,  the  origin  of 
legends,  814-5 

Poison,  653 

Poitiers,  Bishop  of,  503,  641 

Polypus,  cured,  496 

"  Pomerium,"  for  "  pomarium,"  52 

Pontefract,  732  (i) 

Pontigny,  evidence  from,  to  be  regarded 
with  suspicion,  800-1 

"Pontigny,  Roger  of"  :  see  Anon.  I. 

Poor,  the,  praised  by  Gamier,  4 ;  the 
poor  alone  at  first  visited  the  Mar- 
tyr's tomb,  428,  431 

Pope,  the,  St.  Thomas,  in  a  vision, 
pleads  before,  802  ;  St.  Thomas 
turns  water  into  wine  for,  813 

Possession,  demoniacal,  623,  680 

Priests,  large  proportion  of,  in  William's 
Book  of  Miracles,  452  ;  a  married 
priest,  691 

Priors  of  Canterbury,  540 

Prison,  deliverance  from,  619,  638 

Procession,  a,  punishment  for  neglect 
to  join,  681 

"  Proferri "  for  "  praeferri,"  70 

Pseudo-Grim,  808-12 

Puiset,  Hugh  de,  Bishop  of  Durham, 
656,  710(13),  712 

Punishment,  miracles  of,  488,  489, 
505,  727  {see  also  Vows) 


INDEX 


323 


Pyx,  a,  holding  the  Water  of  St. 
Thomas,  split,  479 

QuadriloguSy  the  two  editions  of,  la  ; 
the  Early  Quadrilogits,  by  whom 
compiled,  21a ;  errors  of,  105  (n.  1 1 ) : 
alters  texts  to  harmonize  them,  20a  ; 
duplicates  the  outrage  on  the  Arch- 
bishop's body,  368  ;  the  Late  Quad- 
rilo^ts,  23 ;  describes  the  miraculous 
withering  of  a  tree,  378,  436  (n.  8) 

Quinsy,  489 

Rain,  averted  from  a  nun,  550 
Redness  in  the  sky,  33,  438 
Reginald  Fitzurse,  called  "Reinaldus" 

by  Grim,  170  [see  224a) ;  struck  the 

first  blow^at  the  Archbishop,  244-6  : 

see  Fitzurse 
"  Rejoice  Jerusalem,"  the  day  of,  732  (8) 
Relapses,  487 ;  of  a  leper,  544 ;  several 

instances  related  by  Benedict,  none 

by  William,  545  (n.  2) 
Relics,  diseases  cured  by,  492  ;  lost  and 

miraculously  restored,  585,  621 
Resurrection  proved  by  miracles,  635 
Revelations,    to    Emma  of  Halberton, 

606  ;  to  Godelief  of  Laleham,  607 
Revivification  :   see  Death,   restoration 

from 
Richard  I.,  false   report  of  his  return 

from  captivity,  585 
Richard,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  540 
Richard  of  Coventry,  miracles  accumu- 
lated for,  598 
Ring  recovered,   621  ;    rings   used   as 

charms,  608 
Robbers,  delivery  from,  637 
Robbery  of  money  proved,  663 
Robert  of  Merton,  26,  126 
Rochester  (see  Ithamar,  St.),   pilgrims 

resort  to,  for  cure,  521,  530 ;  great 

fire  at,  648 
Roesa,    a   name  wrongly  given  to  St. 

Thomas's  mother,  27 
Roger,   a   "custodian    of   the    sacred 

body,"  cures  lameness  in  the  name  of 

the  Martyr,  566 
Roger,  Archbishop  of  York,  an  enemy 

of  .St.  Thom.is,  628;  supplies  Church- 
down  with  water,  771 


Rohesia,   the    name  of  St.   Thomas's 

sister,  27  (n.  8) 
"  Romance,"   the  Romance  language, 

"  Romanum "     distinguished     from 

Latin,  653 
Rome,  pilgrimage  to,  558 
Rose,  a  name  given  by  John  Fox  to 

St.  Thomas's  mother,  27  (n.  8) 
Roxburgh,    John    of,    delivered    from 

drowning  in  the  Tweed,  783 

-Sacrament,  "let  earth  or  grass  be  your 
sacrament,"  688  ;  an  Abbot  scruples 
to  give  the  sacrament,  because  he  has 
partaken  of  "  carnal  food,"  657 

Saga,  the,  date  of,  40  :  its  regard  for 
"  the  Fitness  of  Things,"  98  ;  relates 
a  miracle  about  the  Archbishop's 
footsteps,  163  ;  substitutes  "mitre" 
for  "  cap,"  190  ;  says  that  Grim  bore 
the  cross,  192  ;  makes  St.  Thomas 
turn  to  the  East  towards  the  Altar, 
232  ;substitutesthedeBrocs  for  Hugh 
Mauclerc,  296;describesSt.  Thomas's 
rescue  from  drowning,  400;  says  that 
the  Holy  Ghost  descended  on  the 
blood  of  St.  Thomas,  443  ;  origin  of 
its  legends,  447 ;  contrast  between  the 
Saga  and  a  contemporary  letter,  448 

Saints'-days,  working  on,  is  punished  by 
disease,  535,  569,  675 

Saladin,  586 

Salerna,  of  Ifield,  delivered  from  a  well, 
777 

Salisbury  Plain,  511 

Salt  wood,  287 

Samson  of  Oxfordshire,  a  dumb  man, 
made  drunk  in  order  to  detect  im- 
posture, 466 

Saracen,  conversion  of  a,  698 

Saracens,  captivity  among,  586 

Satan,  in  the  form  of  a  maid-servant, 
777  (3) 

Saturday,  holiday  on,  710  (l),  777  (n.  2) 

Saviour,  the,  accounts  of  the  Martyr 
conformed  to  those  of  the  Saviour, 
108a,  201,  209,  226,  266  (n.  6), 
878,  432 ;  parallel  between  the 
Martyr  and  the  Saviour,  834-8 

Scholar  ("  scholasticus  "),  a,  cured  of 
liver  complaint,  483 


324 


ST.    THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


School-girl,  a,  in  the  twelfth  century, 
644 

Scotland,  King  of,  the,  defeated  by  King 
Henry's  forces,  347,  672-3 

Sea  (see  Mariners),  calmed  for  Prince 
Henry,  615 

Sefrid,  a  German  monk,  miracles  re- 
ported by,  678-83 

Self-deception,  or  lying  ?  511 

Self-mutilation,  682 

Sens,  the  Archbishop  of,  letter  from, 
160a 

Sepulchral  vessel,  punishment  for  ill- 
using,  677 

Sermons,  narratives  resembling,  599, 
780 

Service-book  provided  for  a  chapel  of 
St.  Thomas,  694 

Severin,  St.,  miracle  imputed  to,  503 

Ship  {see  also  Mariners),  a,  comes  back 
by  herself,  721 

"Shipwrecked,"  how  used,  777  (7), 
783(5) 

Shoes,  finery"  in,  punished,  666 

Shooter's  Hill,  694 

Silvester,  St.,  restored  a  bull  to  life, 
630 

Sin  before  birth  punished,  477 

Solomon  of  London,  nearly  a  hundred 
years  old,  493 

"  Spiculatores,"  a  form  of  "  speru- 
latores,"  128  (n.  6) 

Spur,  lost  and  found,  621 

Stanley,  Dean,  author  oi  Memorials  of 
Canterbury,  unfair  to  "  the  monks," 
65-6  ;  his  representation  of  Hugh  of 
Morville,  212-4,  303  ;  misplaces  the 
Archbishop's  "coarse"  words,  217  ; 
misled  by  Anon.  H.,  226,  237 ; 
probably  in  error  as  to  Tracy,  239  ; 
misled  by  William  of  Canterbury, 
258-63;  misled  by  Fitzstephen,  298- 
300  ;  misinterprets  Fitzstephen's  ac- 
count about  the  desertion  of  the 
Archbishop's  body,  337-40 

Starling  delivered  by  invocation  of  St. 
Thomas,  693 

Stone,  cure  of,  581 

Stones,  used  as  remedies,  490 

Storm,  said  to  have  followed  the  Mar- 
tyrdom,    316 ;     probably      without 


truth,  341-6  ;   a  providential  storm, 

484 
Suicide,  attempted,  690,  777 
"Super"  and    "sup-"  confused,    737 

(II),  793a 
Swellings  cured,  496,  529,  575,  etc. 
Sylvester  :  see  Silvester,  St. 
".Synanchy,"  709  (2) 

"Taratantara," danced  by  a  boy  restored 
to  health,  583 

Templar,  a,  his  dream,  658 

Tennyson,  unfair  to  "monks,"  65-6; 
says  that  Grim  bore  the  cross,  84  ; 
his  representation  of  Hugh  of  Mor- 
ville, 212-4  ;  softens  the  Archbishop's 
last  words,  216  ;  misled  by  Anon.  H., 
226 ;  misled  by  William  of  Canter- 
bury, 258-63 

Theft  detected,  626 

Thomas,  St.  (Water  of:  see  Water); 
his  parentage,  27  ;  his  Martyrdom, 
41-304 ;  represented  as  praying  for 
his  murderers,  ISO ;  his  wounds, 
traditions  about,  264,  270  (n.  13), 
284  (n.  50),  285,  331,  334  ;  his  last 
words  not  those  attributed  to  him  by 
Fitzstephen  and  Stanley,  298,  312 ; 
his  Martyrdom  misdated  by  most 
writers,  318,  346 ;  accounts  of  his 
Martyrdom  conformed  to  those  of  the 
Saviour,  108a,  201,  209,  226,  266 
(n.  6),  378,  432  ;  how  saved  from 
drowning,  397-401 ;  his  asceticism, 
408,  420,  422;  the  appearance  of 
his  face,  as  seen  in  visions,  406  ;  his 
blood  collected,  421-2 ;  his  body 
hidden  behind  the  altar  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  484  ;  his  sanctity  slandered, 
489;  doubted,  492;  his  "merry 
jests,"  559  ;  his  body  remained  in 
the  crypt  till  1220  a.d.,  592;  he  is 
blamed  by  patients  whom  he  does 
not  at  once  cure,  597  ;  because  of 
relapse,  667 ;  speaks  Irish  to  an 
Irishman  in  a  vision,  612;  "offers 
his  blood  to  enemies  as  well  as  to 
friends,"  616 ;  why  he  is  glad  to 
accept  money,  627  ;  orders  prayers 
for  Fitzurse,  637  ;  pushes  a  ship  off 
a    shoal,    722 ;     requites    a    former 


INDEX 


325 


sen'ant,  737  (16);  his  pilgrims  are 
discouraged  at  first  by  the  Abbot  of 
Reading,  744  (2)  ;  appears  to  Salerna 
in  a  well,  saying  "Thou  shalt  not 
die,"  775  (5)  ;  his  alleged  vision  at 
Pontigny,  795-805  ;  said  by  Gamier 
to  have  wrought  cures  at  Pontigny, 
796  ;  explanation  of  the  story  of  his 
mother's  Saracenic  origin,  812  ;  turns 
water  to  wine  for  the  Pope,  813 ;  a 
true  saint,  though  militant,  829-33  ; 
at  Northampton,  831  ;  the  causes  of 
his  {X)wer  over  the  English  people, 
829-33 

Thomas,  St.,  Apostle,  associated  with 
St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury,  695 

Throat,  Satan  constricting  the,  751  (6) 

Thumb,  cut,  cured,  552 

"Thunder-clap,  a,"  in  a  man's  head, 
precedes  a  miraculous  cure,  474 

Tilting,  599  (n.  il) 

Tracy,  William  de,  probably  not  the 
striker  of  the  first  blow,  244-50  ; 
Gamier's  account  of,  288  ;  legends 
about,  817 

Tradition,  oral,  misleading,  433-4  ;  the 
source  of  legend,  816-8 

Traditions,  about  the  Martyr's  wounds, 
common  to  many  writers,  382-4 

Trance,  a,  737  (7) 

Translation,  errors  in,  362 

Tree,  a,  miraculously  withered,  378, 
436  (n.  8) 

Tumour  (see  Swelling),  478  ;  "  tumour 
of  mind  punished  by  tumour  of  body," 
666 

Tweed,  the  river,  783 

Ulcers,  453,  737  (4),  etc. 

Variety,  of  diseases,  453  ;  in  the  manner 
of  cure,  513 

Verbal  corruptions,  32,  70  (n.  i),  71 
(n.  4),  95  (n.  8),  324^,324  (n.  16), 
361,  459ti,  532  (n.  4),  710  (10), 
711  (12),  713  (n.  3),  793,  797 
(n.  2) 

Verses,  English  {see  Aniiphon) ;  Latin, 
alx>ut  the  date  of  the  Martyrdom, 
818 ;  about  St.  Thomas's  Water,  608 
(n.    5) ;     al)OUt     the     Archbishop's 


wanderings,  703  (n.  3)  ;  comic,  656, 
706 

Viaticum,  the,  a  pilgrim  restored  to  life 
to  receive,  647 

"  Vicarius,"  the,  of  a  "  Patronus,"  644 
(n.  5) 

Visionary  terrors,  459 

Visions,  of  Jesus,  or  the  Martyr,  crucified 
in  the  crypt  of  Canterbury  Cathedral, 
146,  162a,  426a  ;  of  St.  John,  673a; 
of  priests  singing  an  antiphon  to  St. 
Thomas,  593-4  ;  of  the  Martyr  with 
the  blood-streak,  727  (4),  406,  558, 
etc.  ;  of  "  the  angel  of  the  English 
clothed  in  white,"  646;  of  St. 
Thomas  saying  that  he  must  cure  one 
hundred  and  thirteen  sick  folk  that 
night,  655 ;  of  St.  Thomas  clothed 
in  red,  698,  712a ;  of  St.  Thomas 
clothed  in  white,  with  his  pastoral 
staff,  710  (9) ;  of  St.  Thomas  bare- 
foot, 607 ;  of  St.  Thomas  threatening 
with  a  staff,  645  ;  of  St.  Thomas 
with  St.  Edmund,  602  ;  St.  Thomas's 
alleged  vision  at  Pontigny,  795-805 

Vomiting,  caused  by  the  Water  of  St. 
Thomas,  472-3,  510 

Vows  (see  Pilgrimage),  of  a  journey  to 
Jerusalem,  fasts,  and  denarii,  544 ; 
must  be  paid  by  a  man  for  whom 
others  have  vowed  without  his  know- 
ledge, 598  ;  punishment  for  delay  in 
paying,  601  ;  why  St.  Thomas  heeds 
vows,  627  ;  neglect  to  pay,  terribly 
punished,  691 ;  neglect  to  vow  a 
bullock  at  a  neighbour's  suggestion, 
punished,  690 

Wall,  fall  of  a,  755 

War,  the  Irish,  censured  by  William, 
600,  637  ;  the  civil,  485 

Water,  swallowed  in  drowning, 
described  by  William  as  miraculously 
returning  to  nothing,  637,  741  (8) 

Water  of  St.  Thomas,  the,  Fitzstephen's 
account  of  the  comix)sition  of,  424  : 
Gamier  on,  442  ;  used  at  first  with 
diffidence,  458  ;  mir.iculously  multi- 
plied and  diminished,  463-4,  512  ; 
fin  pliials  for,  464;  slips  miraculously 
away,  479 ;  detects  dishonesty,  491 ; 


326 


ST.  THOMAS  OF  CANTERBURY 


changed  to  milk,  632 ;  to  blood,  551; 
boils  in  a  vessel,  512,  552 ;  at  first, 
not  generally  used,  751  (4)  ;  the  non- 
mention  of,  sometimes  proof  of  the 
early  date  of  a  miracle,  740 ;  cures 
and  revivifications  wrought  by,  483, 
492,  741,  744,  758,  etc. 

Water,  ordeal  of,  573,  710  (5),  710  (7) 

Water,  ordinary,  substituted  for  that  of 
St.  Thomas,  effects  a  cure,  563  ;  fails 
to  effect  a  cure,  563  (n.  5) 

Wax,  legs  imitated  in,  492  ;  a  horse's 
eye,  665  ;  anchors,  723  ;  sold  by  the 
monks  of  Canterl^ury,  624 

Web,  a,  stolen  and  recovered,  665 

Well,  a,  deliverance  from,  777 

Well,  St.  Thomas's,  the  Saga's  account 
of,  445 

Welsh,  the,  their  reverence  for  relics, 
516  ;  miracles  on,  508-9,  565 

Wharfe,  the  river,  662 

Whitsun-eve,  any  one  christened  on, 
cannot  be  drowned  or  burned,  710  (4) 

Whitsuntide,  1171,  miracles  during, 
502-6  ;  working  on  the  Wednesday 
of,  punished  miraculously,  605 

William  of  Canterbury,  date  of  his 
writings,  17  ;  confesses  that  he  fled 
from  the  Archbishop's  murderers, 
142,  272;  his  fondness  for  Greek 
terms,  146  (n.  9),  611a ;  his  appendix 
to  his  account  of  the  Martyrdom, 
320-4 ;  his  apparent  allusions  to 
Benedict,  414-5  ;  his  indifference  to 
chronological  order,  415-6 ;  his 
principles  in  arranging  miraculous 
narratives,  452 ;  his  attitude  to 
Benedict,  538-42 ;  conjectured  by 
Mr.  Magnusson  to  be  a  native  of 
Ireland,  589  ;  quotes  Latin  poetry, 
592  ;  traces  of  re-editing,  592  ;  his 
fondness  for  technical  terms,  612 ; 
quotes  English,  594 ;  quotes  Irish, 
612 ;    sajrs   that   the   Martyr   *'  does 


greater  works "  than  the  Saviour, 
616 ;  his  neglect  of  evidence,  625  : 
blends  Isaiah  with  Horace,  634 : 
dramatizes,  644-5  ;  quotes  Boetius. 
643 ;  Virgil  and  Justinian,  645 ; 
Plautus,  656  ;  reports  an  unattested 
wonder,  660  ;  apparently  Sub- Prior 
under  Odo,  661a  ;  his  style  degener- 
ates still  further,  674 ;  oscillates 
between  credulity  and  incredulity, 
684-7  ;  decides  to  accept  the  state- 
ments of  rich  people,  688-9  ;  apostro- 
phizes his  own  hand,  688 ;  appears 
to  have  left  a  story  incomplete,  705  ; 
seems  to  be  correcting  a  narrative  of 
Benedict's,  720  ;  quotes  Lucan,  721, 
722 ;  magnifies  a  miracle  reported 
more  accurately  by  Benedict,  721  ; 
Virgil's  influence  on,  723  (n.  3)  ; 
quotes  Galen  on  the  cure  of  leprosy, 
767  (I) 

William  of  Monkton,  followed  by  mira- 
cles during  his  travels  in  Italy,  626 

"Windas,"a,  described  by  William,  723 

Wine,  St.  Thomas's  Water  changed  to, 
594-5 

Wink,  a,  attributed  by  Lingard  to 
Edward  I.,  origin  of  the  error,  363 

Wiscard,  the  King's  falcon,  miraculously 
healed  by  St.  Thomas,  692 

Witnesses,  required  to  attest  disease, 
487,  509  (n.  5),  631 

"Womb  of  the  Mother,"  the  Martyr  is 
said  to  have  been  killed  in,  i.e.  in  the 
Cathedral,  228a,  294a 

Woodcock,  a,  miraculously  caught,  642 

Worms,  hung  up  in  a  church,  494 ; 
issue  from  patients,  478 

Wound,  a,  received  in  tilting,  healed. 
599  (n.  11) ;  other  wounds  healed, 
453,  599,  646 

Yngelrann,  727  (i) :  see  also  727  (7) 
York,  Archbishop  of:  see  Roger 


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THE   OLD  TESTAMENT   IN   THE 
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THE   PROPHETS   OF   ISRAEL 

AND   THEIR   PLACE   IN   HISTORY 
To  the  Close  of  the  Eighth  Century  B.C. 

Second  Edition. 
WITH    INTRODUCTION  AND  ADDITIONAL   NOTES 

BY 

The  Rev.  T.  K.  CHEYNE,  M.A.,  D.D., 

ORIEL  PROFESSOR  OP  THE  INTERPRETATION  OP  HOLY  SCRIPTURE  AT  OXFORD  ; 
CANON   OP   ROCHESTER 


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THE    APOCALYPSE    OF    BARUCH 

Translated  from  the  Syriac 
By  Rev.  R.  H.  CHARLES,  M.A. 

TRINITY  COLLEGE,  DUBLIN,  AND  EXETER  COLLHGE,  OXFORD 

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THE   ASSUMPTION    OF   MOSES 

Translated  from  the  Latin  Sixth  Century  MS.,  the  unemended  Text 
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STUDIES  IN  HEBREW  PROPER  NAMES 

By  G.  BUCHANAN  GRAY,  M.A. 

LECTURER   IN    HEBREW   AND   OLD   TESTAMENT   THEOLOGY   IN    MANSFIELD   COLLEGE  ; 
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They  bring  out  into  clear  relief  progress  of  religious  ideas  in  Israel,  and  make  an 
important  contribution  to  the  criticisms  of  Old  Testament  documents." — C.  H. 
Toy,  Harvard  University. 

"There  is  not  a  student  of  the  Old  Testament  in  Hebrew  but  will  find  it 
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