Adelaide

CONCERNING ST. ADELAIDE, VIRGIN, ABBESS OF VILICH, IN LOWER GERMANY.

ABOUT THE YEAR 1015.

Preliminary Commentary.

Adelaide, Virgin, of Vilich in the Diocese of Cologne (Saint)

By J. B.

Section I. The convent of Vilich. The feast of St. Adelaide.

[1] Adelaide, a Virgin most illustrious by far for the splendor of her birth and her virtue, died at Cologne on the Nones of February, in the year of Christ (as some conjecture) 1015 — certainly not much later or earlier; since we read that St. Heribert, Archbishop of Cologne, who died in the year 1021, on the sixteenth day of March, took care of her funeral and decreed that her body might be conveyed back to Vilich, and who had previously summoned her from Vilich to Cologne for the governance of the convent on the Capitoline, when her sister who had held that office had died, and had attached himself to her intimate friendship, moved by the reputation of her extraordinary piety and prudence. Yet perhaps someone might wonder that her name does not appear in the Breviary of Cologne. Such, indeed, is the abundance of Saints in that most magnificent of cities, that if it wished to institute a proper celebration for each one, the days occurring throughout the entire year would hardly equal the multitude of feasts.

[2] At Vilich, however (a place commonly called Villich, situated between the confluences of the Rhine and the Sieg, in the Diocese of Cologne, across from the city of Bonn), she obtains great veneration. There are now two colleges there, one of Canons and the other of noble Virgin Canonesses, amply endowed by St. Megengoz and his wife, the parents of Adelaide; as Aubertus Miraeus writes in his Belgian Calendar and in his Chronicle. A certain geographical chart misled Philip Ferrari, who in his Annotations to his Catalogue of Saints writes: Vileca, commonly also Wileck, is a village with a convent, in the territory of Cologne, between Juelich and Duisburg, about three Belgian miles from Neuss. There is indeed a village of Wilich on this side of the Rhine below Neuss, closer to Gladbach; but it is far different from the Vilich of St. Adelaide. Simon Martin of the Order of Minims followed Ferrari in his Flowers of the Holy Solitude, book 4.

[3] In the manuscript Chronicle of the Counts and Dukes of Guelders, it is said that the Abbess Adelaide presided over a convent of Virgins at Rheindorf near Bonn, which her father Mengoz had established a few years before: and in which he himself, having died, was buried next to his wife in the year of the Lord 1008. But Mengoz was not buried at Rheindorf, nor was there a convent there in his time, much less one established by him. Rheindorf, or Rheindorfium, commonly called Schwarzrheindorf — that is, Black Rhine-village — is a college of noble Canonesses, for whom several Priests, or Canons, perform the sacred rites, just as is also done at Vilich. Moreover, the other subjects of the Abbess of Rheindorf, as far as the care of souls is concerned, are under the jurisdiction of Vilich: as the most learned Aegidius Gelenius taught us. That convent was founded by Arnold II, Bishop of Cologne, who is also buried there in the Church of St. Clement, in the time of Frederick I Barbarossa, as the Cologne Chronicles record. Furthermore, Rheindorf appears to have been called "Black" by the common people to distinguish it from another Rheindorf, likewise a convent of noble Virgins: this one is on this side of the Rhine, practically within the Roman camp at Bonn, commonly called Grau-Rheindorf (for Graew-Rheindorf), because those Virgins of the Cistercian order, as well as the rest of the order, wore greyish, or ash-colored vestments, certainly less white than at present. There is also another Rheindorf across the Rhine, one league below Muelheim, where the river Wupper, and the Dhuenn born from the Taunus mountain, flow into the Rhine. The Canonesses of Black Rheindorf live under almost the same rules as the Capitoline and Ursuline Virgins at Cologne, and are thought to have formerly embraced the laws of the Cluniacs: as the same Gelenius related.

[4] Furthermore, Werner Teschenmacher in his Annals of Cleves and Juelich acknowledges that the parents of St. Adelaide built the church of Vilich on the river Sieg: he wishes, however, that their daughters — one was a nun at St. Ursula's in Cologne, the other at Rheindorf. But one and the same Adelaide was first a religious at St. Ursula's in Cologne, and then Abbess at Vilich: the other sister was in Cologne at the monastery of the holy Mother of God Mary, which they say was the Capitoline convent, a Superior and Mother, as is stated in her sister's Life: neither was at Rheindorf, where there were as yet no religious women.

[5] In that Vilich which we have described, situated on the river Sieg, Adelaide is venerated with extraordinary devotion. Her principal feast, in the time of John Molanus, as is clear from his Birthdays of the Saints of Belgium, fell on the day of St. Agatha, which nevertheless was repeated annually, at the pleasure of the Canonesses and Canons, three or four times: on the principal feast also, from the Virgin's foundation, a SPINDA was distributed, as they say, of twelve malders of wheat and two casks of herring. "Spinda," or "spenda," is a word formed from the Latin "dispendere" or "expendere." Whether that repetition of the Office or feast throughout the year which Molanus describes still continues, we have certainly not ascertained: we think it more likely that either the commemoration of some Translation is observed, or a votive Mass and Office in thanksgiving, or that it is perhaps undertaken on occasion for some other reason. The Office of nine Lessons is now celebrated, of which those said to be of the second nocturn were composed not long ago from the Life of the Saint; the rest are from the Common of Virgins: a celebration of the Octave is also added. On the day itself a great quantity of bread is blessed, which after the Divine Office is distributed by the Abbess, not only to the poor but to all who come indiscriminately. The same distribution of bread, made from twelve measures of rye, or malders (as Molanus says) of bakers, takes place on the feasts of holy Pentecost, and they are called Breads of St. Adelaide, commonly "St. Alen Brot." They are employed for driving away diseases of cattle; and they endure the longest time, free from mold and corruption, so that after six years they sometimes retain the form and flavor of bread.

[6] The name of St. Adelaide is inscribed in the Martyrologies. For the same Molanus, in his additions to Usuard under the Nones of February, has this entry: At Vilich, the deposition of Alheid, Virgin and Abbess, of wondrous sanctity. Arnold Wion, Benedict Dorgany, and Hugh Menard have the same in their monastic Martyrologies. Almost the same is found in Canisius, Baldwin Willot, Andrew Boeius, Ferrari, and the manuscript Florarium. Constantinus Ghinius also mentions her in his Birthdays of the Canon Saints. The blessed Adelaide herself is also called Adelheidis, or Adelheydis — a name signifying "eugeneia," that is, Nobility — and in contracted form, Aleidis.

[7] Hermann Greven, Carthusian of Cologne, in his additions to Usuard, joins her mother and sister to her: Alheid, he says, and Bertrada, Virgins, and Geberta their mother. Aubertus Miraeus in his Belgian Calendar, in the Life of St. Adelaide, calls her mother Blessed Gerberga. And under December 19, where he treats of St. Megengoz, he again calls her Blessed Gerberga. We have not yet ascertained, nor is it established at Vilich, that either the mother or the sister ever received those sacred honors, even though the piety of both is more than sufficiently attested. The Cologne Chronicle relates that Mengoz, Count of Guelders, with his wife and two daughters, entered the Benedictine convent at Vilich which he himself had founded: this is refuted by the daughter's Life. Both parents led a holy life, but in the secular state — the father in his former governorship, the mother indeed at Vilich, but without the proper habit or profession of a religious.

Section II. The Life, Translation, church, and spring of St. Adelaide.

[8] We have found recorded in a certain booklet written in a recent hand, under November 22, the Translation of Alheid the Virgin. Whether this is to be understood of this Adelaide of Guelders, or rather of the one of Schaerbeek, who lived in a Cistercian convent at Cameren near Brussels two hundred and fifty years later, it is not easy for us to pronounce. We shall give the Life of the latter on June 11. But of the elder Adelaide, a twofold translation is mentioned: the first, when the body was conveyed back from Cologne to Vilich, not long after her death; the second, as is stated in chapter 7 of the Life, number 25, when the body — already shining with miracles — was transported from the cloister of the monastery into the inner church.

[9] Conrad, monk of Brauweiler, in the Life of St. Wolphelm, formerly his own Abbot, who died in the year of Christ 1091 — which is found in Surius under April 22 — thus records by whom the Life of St. Adelaide was committed to writing, in chapter 20: This most blessed man had a brother by blood, named Frumold; two sisters who were nuns, of whom one, named Oswenda, was a woman of wondrous simplicity and innocence; the other, called Berta, shone greatly in the knowledge of letters. She wrote the Life of Blessed Adelaide, the first Abbess of Vilich, in a rather elegant style, and left behind at that same place great fruit of her learning and devotion. Molanus and others call her Bertrada.

[10] Surius published this Life, but with the style altered throughout. We give it in its original phrasing from the manuscript codex of the monastery of Corsendonk, of the Canons Regular near Turnhout in Brabant: but in it the double prologue was missing, which is prefixed to the Life elsewhere. The first, in which the Author dedicates her work to the Archbishop of Cologne, we shall give from Surius. The second, addressed to the Virgins consecrated to God, we have not been able to obtain: Surius testifies that he omitted it for the sake of avoiding prolixity; but that in it the Author professes that what she writes she has from the account of those who were trained by the teaching and example of St. Adelaide while she was still living, and also that she submitted the booklet for examination to learned men, and that it was approved by them.

[11] Many things could here be discussed concerning the origin of the Duchy of Guelders, its first Governors, the lineage of Count Megengoz and Gerberga, and their great-grandchildren who are named in the Life; but we think it would be more pleasing to the Saints if, setting aside genealogies — perhaps interminable — we rather illuminate their own Acts. Andrew Chesne frequently cites this Life, especially in the genealogy of the House of Luxembourg.

[12] The Canonesses of Vilich are usually twelve in number, besides the Abbess, all of illustrious birth: the Canons, distinguished for integrity of character and learning, though not necessarily for titles of nobility, are five; of whom one performs the office of Pastor: besides these there are seven Vicars. And by them the ecclesiastical Office is carefully performed daily.

[13] There are two churches at Vilich, one parochial, the other collegiate. The latter was formerly called, as we have learned, the Golden Monastery. It was burned down twice within our own and our parents' memory: first in that war which Gebhard Truchsess waged against Ernest of Bavaria seventy years ago over the Church of Cologne — whose Bishop he had formerly been, yet he had joined to himself in a fatal marriage a certain nun of the illustrious Mansfeld blood, having been driven mad by the magical tricks of one Scotto. In this war, therefore, the church and convent of Vilich were burned down: and recently again in the Swedish War the church, which had been restored, was reduced to ashes, along with the Abbess's house. The other church, however, though close to the college of Canonesses, and the Pastor's house, escaped both conflagrations.

[14] Part of that collegiate church has now been restored through the efforts and expense of the Abbess Amoena Margareta von Burscheid, so that two Masses are celebrated there daily — the first by a Vicar, the principal one by the Canon of the week. Most importantly, however, the same distinguished Lady, out of her devotion to St. Adelaide, restored her chapel, which is commonly called the Choir, or Chapel, of St. Adelaide.

[15] There may be seen the sepulchre of the same blessed one, before the altar recently erected to her, in which she is depicted in a religious habit, clad in a veil. That sepulchre was opened some years ago; but it was found empty. It is believed that the body of the holy Virgin was carried off to France some centuries ago. But when the same Amoena Margareta heard that the Canons Regular of Buedingen preserved some part of the relics of their Patroness St. Adelaide, she sent a Canon to them to request that they restore some particle of these to the Vilich community, which was bereft of all the mortal remains of its Foundress. Both the honor of the holy Virgin, which seemed likely to be thus enhanced, and the reverence due to her who made the request, prevailed, so that they deemed it sacrilege not to share the heavenly treasure. They therefore gave a portion of the arm: which, received with the greatest devotion, she enclosed in a gilded and finely wrought reliquary bust, with a compartment fashioned for this purpose beneath the breast: and great honor is now paid to it. Buedingen, or Bodingen, is a convent of Canons Regular, as we have already said, about three hours above Siegburg.

[16] There is a spring half a league from the collegiate church of Vilich, toward the east, at the edge of a forest; which is said to have been formerly brought forth by St. Adelaide, and is certainly sacred to her, commonly called "St. Adelheidts Putz" and "St. Alen Brunn" — that is, the well or spring of St. Adelaide. They relate that when, walking about near that place, she heard farmers complaining that it was a great hardship for them, especially in dry weather, to drive their pack animals and cattle a long way for the purpose of watering, she was moved with compassion and, having implored the divine aid, struck the earth with her staff, whence a clear and limpid spring suddenly burst forth, which flows to this day; and it is said that by its drinking fevers are very often cured, through the merits of the blessed one.

LIFE

by the author Berta, a religious woman.

Adelaide, Virgin, of Vilich in the Diocese of Cologne (Saint)

BHL Number: 0067

By the author Berta, a religious woman, from manuscripts.

PROLOGUE I

from Surius, with altered style.

To the Lord N., venerable Archbishop, to be loved by all worshippers of Christ in proportion to the merit of his goodness — a poor, lowly, and sinful woman, unworthy to be called his handmaid — after the weariness of this present life, the rewards of eternal blessedness. Emboldened by the example of the Patriarch Abraham, who dared to address God in familiar speech more than once, I shall venture once more to speak to you, my Lord, a faithful imitator of God Almighty himself, most humbly imploring your clemency that, for the sake of His name who preferred the two copper coins of the widow to the innumerable gifts of the rich, this little brazen work may be an acceptable gift to your lordship: and that you may be reminded not to forget to fulfill the prayers of me, your poor servant: so that through the intercession on your behalf of the holy Virgin, whose merits are here described, all the offenses of your human frailty may be blotted out. We indeed, most worthy of Prelates, calling you Father and Lord, and venerating you in the place of Christ to the measure of our strength — as we say to Him whose representative toward us you are: "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory" — so after Him we refer to your honor whatever praiseworthy thing we have done. For since, both for our own faults and for the correction or even the repulsion of the evils of other subjects, you undertake labors, justly also from those things which, with God's help, we rightly accomplish, honor returns to you. Thus that loving Master, whose vicar you are, in private indeed called his disciples foolish and slow of heart to believe, or addressed them in other such terms; but before critics who censured them for plucking ears of grain or doing other similar things, he undertook to defend them with invincible reasoning. Therefore, heartened by this, I offer this small gift to your Lordship, so that if anything in it needs correction, you may amend it through the work of devout men. But if anyone, driven by envy, should wish to calumniate it, do not hesitate to defend it, after the manner of that Master whom we have mentioned: so that in whose place you act, in his footsteps also you may diligently follow. Furthermore, if anyone thinks a work in need of emendation is unworthy to be offered as a gift to a man of such dignity, let him know that, although the style is very rough, there is nevertheless no small usefulness in the subject matter itself: and thus what the unpolished style seems to render contemptible, the distinguished value of the subject matter makes a most welcome gift. In spare language we recount many illustrious deeds — namely, the Life of our blessed Mother Adelaide: whom, since the Lord has admitted her into the fellowship of the Blessed, who never cease to intercede with the Lord for the people, and has declared this by the most evident signs — by what merits she was raised to this summit of honor, it will be profitable for you first of all, and then also for all Christians, to know. Whence it must also be the concern of your prudence that, whether in our style or in any other, these things be brought to the knowledge of all; so that all may know that it has come about, not through our merits but through the goodness of God, that these things should not fall into oblivion. For which you too will be obliged to give thanks to the Lord Savior, who, though He was God, deigned to become man, living and reigning with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, through all ages of ages. Amen.

PROLOGUE II

To the Virgins consecrated to God, omitted by Surius, and not found elsewhere.

LIFE

from the Corsendonk manuscript of the Canons Regular.

CHAPTER I

The illustrious lineage and holy youth of St. Adelaide.

[1] May the grace of the Holy Spirit attend the beginning of this work undertaken — He who has wrought whatever good has been begun or completed by anyone since the beginning of the world: so that this work too may be brought to completion through the administration of His gifts, in which consists the beginning and end of all good things. Considering, however, the inexperience of our littleness, we tremble to attempt the beginnings of so great a work: but having perceived the generosity of the divine gift, our mind does not fear; because, as the Gospel testifies, the Spirit breathes where He wills: and that we may hope He will breathe upon this pen, we have confidence in the merits of our holy Mother Adelaide, the series of whose praiseworthy life we endeavor to commit to writing — we, her humble handmaids, praying that by the kindling of the Holy Spirit the sparks of our natural talent may be set ablaze.

[2] Since it seems especially fitting that the genealogy of her supreme nobility should be touched upon — which the etymology of her very name reveals — and then that we should renew for those present and those to come, for their edification, the written memory of her holy manner of life; and, admiring the power of God in her, should ascribe glory to Him who, as the Apostle testifies, works all things in all: Her father was an illustrious Count, surnamed Megengoz, who in wisdom, nobility, and wealth — except for the governance and title of a kingdom — was regarded and named as great as a King among the Princes of his time. Her mother, however, called Gerberga, sprung from an equally most noble stock, was the daughter of a certain Duke named Godfrey, at that time a great and incomparable man. For this noble matron had four brothers, most eminent among all the leading men of that age: of whom one, elevated by his paternal name and honor, died — alas! — never having enjoyed the happiness of a lawful wife and children. The second, however, blessed with the posterity of most noble offspring, was the great-great-grandfather of the recently deceased Emperor Henry. And it is proved by reliable testimony that all the distinguished leading men, by whom Teutonic Francia is still ennobled, drew the line of their nobility from the two remaining brothers.

[3] The aforementioned married couple Megengoz and Gerberga, therefore, begot four daughters; of whom they gave two in marriage in the hope of posterity: and both were distinguished for their marital authority and for the abundance of all goods and riches. Of these, one, named Regintrude, was the grandmother of Henry, the magnificent Duke, and of Adalbero, Bishop of Metz, and of Duke Frederick, and of their brothers — that is, great men of this age. The other, named Alverade, was likewise blessed with the illustrious increase of her posterity. The remaining two were dedicated in Cologne to the service and law of God: one in the monastery of the holy Mother of God Mary; who was advanced by such diligence of character and observance of the regular rule that she was worthily appointed Superior and Mother of that monastery.

[4] She, however, of whom we speak, took up the sweet yoke of the Lord in the monastery of the holy Virgins, according to the regular institution of St. Jerome. In her, a sweet childhood foreshadowed with what great integrity her future years would be adorned with excellence. For even before passing beyond her girlish years, she began to occupy herself devoutly in the dwellings of prophecy: and after she recognized herself, through its instruction, as a rational being, she labored with ever-watchful zeal to be refreshed by the salt of wisdom — which the Lord, who gives to all abundantly without reproaching, permitted to come about, because He foresaw that this would benefit many in the future. For, nourished on such food, she began to grow with such increase of integrity and virtue that she surpassed the years of youth by the gravity of her character, and anticipated in act and bearing that old age which, as it is found in Scripture, is commended by the Prophet in these words: "Venerable old age is not that of long duration, nor is it measured by the number of years."

a The Utrecht manuscript calls him Mengengoz and Mengengos; Henricus Aquilius in the Chronicle of Guelders calls him Mengoz; Irenicus in his Exegesis of Germany, book 3, chapter 80, calls him Mendoz, but erroneously, as with many things. Peter Scriverius, in his Notes on Aquilius, writes that he is called Megengoz here in the Life of St. Adelaide; though in Surius he is Megengor, in Haraeus Mengegor; in Miraeus Mengo and Megengorus; in Gelenius, On the Greatness of Cologne, book 1, chapter 7, page 94, from Vilich documents, Megingoz; and from a certain inscription, Manguos. After death he was called Megengaudus, or (as Surius has it) Megengaudius. He is venerated on December 19. In the same period flourished Megingaudus, Bishop of Trier, whom Lambert of Hersfeld at the year 1017 calls Megingoz; Claudius Robert in Gallia Christiana calls him Minguard, Megnigaud, Megingor, Megingand.

b Below, number 8, Gerburg; in the Utrecht manuscript, Gerburch. In Aquilius she is Geborga, in Scriverius Geberga, in Hermann Greven Geberta; in the manuscript Chronicle of the Counts of Guelders etc., Gerbergis. In Werner Teschenmacher, Gerberga.

c This was not, as the same Teschenmacher and the author of the manuscript Chronicle supposed, a Duke of Brabant, in which three Godfreys ruled, but much later. Simon Martin also writes incorrectly in his Flowers of Holy Solitude that Gerberga was the daughter of Godfrey of Bouillon, whom she preceded by a full hundred years. Whether the grandfather of St. Adelaide was Godfrey of Ardennes, let others inquire. His son Godfrey the Younger, Duke of Lower Lorraine, certainly died without children, and that duchy was given to Gozelo the Great, his brother, formerly Margrave of Antwerp. Consult the Belgian Chronicle of Miraeus and Wasseburg. Of that elder Godfrey of Ardennes, or of Verdun: in dignity of character no one was more illustrious, in counsel no one was more eminent; as Bishop Baldric writes in book 1 of the Chronicle of Cambrai, chapter 100. Berta says almost the same things of the father of Gerberga, Godfrey, that he was a great and incomparable man.

d This was Henry III, son of the Emperor Conrad the Salic, who died on October 5, 1056.

e Surius: men of the highest nobility of Eastern Francia, which they call Franconia. What Berta writes seems to extend more broadly, so that all the provinces which had formerly belonged to the Franks — then to the Germans — and most of which used the Teutonic language, are understood. The remaining provinces of the Franks the Continuator of Regino at the year 939 calls Roman Gaul: Louis, he says, King of Roman Gaul, son of Charles. This was Louis Transmarinus, son of Charles the Simple.

f In Surius she is Irmentrudis. In the Utrecht manuscript, Yrmintrudis. Andrew Chesne in chapter 2 of the history of the House of Luxembourg calls her Ermentrude, and says her daughter (whose name does not survive) married Frederick, Count of Luxembourg, brother of St. Cunegund the Empress.

g Chesne shows from various documents in his Luxembourg history that this man was Duke of Bavaria after his uncle Henry, surnamed Hezelo, brother of St. Cunegund. Brunner writes ambiguously in book 9, page 805, volume 2.

h In the Utrecht manuscript, Athelberonis. This was Adalbero III, made Bishop of Metz in the year 1047, as Hermannus Contractus and Sigebert record; and the latter indeed calls him a man of great prudence and holiness. The Hersfeld chronicler reports that he died in the year 1072.

i He was made Duke of Lower Lorraine in the year 1046, as Hermannus Contractus reports, in place of Gozelo the Idle, son of Gozelo the Great, grandson of Godfrey of Ardennes.

k Chesne names two, Gislebert and Theodoric; and he says that the former, after his brother Frederick II, was Count of Luxembourg, father of Hermann, Count of Salm, elected King of Germany. To those five noblemen Chesne adds three sisters: Ogiva, or Cunegund, married to Baldwin the Bearded, Count of Flanders; Judith, wife of Count Guelf; and Gisla, buried at Ghent in the monastery of Blandinium together with her sister Ogina.

l In Surius: Alverada. In the Utrecht manuscript: Alveraet. Teschenmacher writes that of the two secular daughters of Mengoz, one married John, Count of Juelich: but neither he nor the manuscript Chronicle mentions any John as Count of Juelich in those times.

m This is the monastery which, as Gelenius testifies in his Colonia Agrippina, is called that of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Capitol. Erhard Winsheim in his Sacrarium of Cologne writes that Plectrudis, wife of Pippin of Herstal, founded a college of noble Canonesses there in honor of the Blessed Mary: and that now in that church, besides the Canonesses, there are also Canons in another choir. But in the time of St. Adelaide they were nuns, perhaps introduced in place of the Canonesses, and afterward restored to the former rule; which appears from this Life to have happened at Vilich as well.

n Gelenius writes that she professed the canonical life in the college of St. Ursula. There are still, as Winsheim reports, in the collegiate Church of St. Ursula, Canonesses, all of illustrious family.

CHAPTER II

The governance of the convent of Vilich, founded by her parents.

[5] Meanwhile, when Godfrey her brother had grown to manly strength, and was of remarkable elegance and valor, he accompanied the Emperor, who was marching with an army against the Bohemians, with an honorable retinue of his own soldiers, and splendidly equipped with every warlike provision: where, having become a distinguished and brave warrior, he merited to receive the victory of a glorious death. His body was brought back by his men to their homeland — though with much sweat of labor — yet with honor, thanks be to God. Struck by this adverse fortune, the aforementioned married couple remembered that, as the Apostle testifies, the fashion of this world passes away: and they began to use the world as though not using it, striving with all their desire toward the heavenly homeland, which they knew, being without end, could never perish. Of all the goods, therefore, which had fallen to this deceased son by the lot of just distribution, they made God the heir; so that by a better compensation he might merit an inheritance in the paradise of delights — that is, in the portion of which, having been overtaken by an early death, he lacked in this vale of tears. Then in the place which is called Vilich, he erected from the foundations an honorable church to the Lord, enriching it becomingly with the addition of estates and servants. And both of them, sound and healthy, resolved to be separated from the law of marriage for the sake of Christ: being bound together by a better union of the spirit and by an equal care for the work they had begun, they were of one heart and one soul. He also, on account of the crowds of his own people and outsiders who were always pressing upon him as upon a king, served the world as it were only in appearance — inspecting and presiding over his estates, and, with the grace of Christ as mediator, wisely and justly arranging all things. But whenever, the crowd having been somewhat removed, he found any leisure for rest, he was eager to turn it to honorable occupations, making use of the conversation of his Chaplains; so that through them the readings of the divine books might be expounded in the Teutonic tongue: which he so ardently desired to hear because he wished to fulfill in deeds the precept of the Apostle James: "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only." But that illustrious matron, entirely removed from the multitude of people, remained steadfast in the place where the monastery was being built, hastening the work of construction with the urgency of prudent mastery, and always intent upon the divine service, she kept vigil in fasting and prayer night and day. For in doing these things there is no doubt that she surpassed those widows whom the Apostle, on account of the merit of continence, calls "true" — those who after the death of a husband make a virtue of necessity: which this woman also did, not compelled by the necessity of a dead husband, but touched inwardly by the fire of divine love.

[6] Then, a gathering of Virgins having been assembled at the aforesaid place, by whom the divine services might be cultivated, they redeemed their daughter from the monastery of the holy Virgins by means of estates, and entrusted to her the care of governance. Then the prudent stewardess, appointed in the house of the great head of the household, began to increase in every effort and good work; and applying a maternal care to those under her, she faithfully distributed in due season the measure of wheat. Then the pious parents rejoiced in the Lord, seeing such great progress in their offspring and in the Virgins subject to her: and desiring them to seize upon a still more excellent way, they asked that, having changed their habit, they should take up the life of the monastic rule. She, because she was still young and — as she herself asserted — greatly desired the dress of clothing suitable to her own religious profession, countered their request with a humble response, affirming that God does not seek forced services, but that which the simplicity of a willing heart offers in purity. Attending to her humble reply, they recalled their mind from their intended purpose, with their piety unimpaired.

[7] Then, with things sufficiently well arranged, they entrusted that place, by the hand of the Emperor — namely Otto III — to the perpetual protection of royal defense. Who, out of his love for them, freed that place from every yoke of secular jurisdiction, granting it liberty, according to the law and constitution of the monasteries of Gandersheim, Quedlinburg, and Essen; namely, that no Judge or Advocate should ever exact service from it, or hold a court in its boundaries, except insofar as it might please the Abbess or the congregation committed to her: and that it should forever enjoy the free power to elect an Abbess for itself from among the holy fellowship of the Sisters. And so that this grant of liberty might be firm and valid in perpetuity, the written testimonies of the Lord Apostolic and of two Emperors — namely Otto and Henry — were given, confirmed by their signatures and the impression of their seals: which are still preserved among us with faithful custody, so that the truth of this matter may not escape those who come after.

a In the Utrecht manuscript, Godfridus. Molanus believes that this was the only son of Count Megengoz: with which opinion anyone who reads this Life carefully will readily agree. Nor do Aquilius or Scriverius say that his successor Wiking, or Wibing, was his son; which is stated in the manuscript Chronicle and accepted by Teschenmacher.

b Several expeditions against the Bohemians were undertaken in that age. We suspect that Godfrey fell in the year 986 or 987: for in the former year, as the Hersfeld chronicler writes, Otto III ravaged Bohemia; and in the following year he again entered Bohemia and forced it to surrender.

c Surius translates "in German." We do not accept that interpretation: for in our native Teutonic dialect, which is softer than German and akin to Saxon, the Guelders people used it then as now, as did other peoples above Cologne and across the Rhine; which learned men prove from ancient writings.

d The Vulgate edition has "true widows," as does the Greek: "ontos cheras."

e Surius explains: They wished Adelaide, summoned from the monastery of the holy Virgins to which they had contributed estates, to preside.

f Gandersheim is a town in the territory of Brunswick, not far from Goslar, named from the river Ganda, as Fabricius records in his Origins of Saxony, book 2; in which Ludolph the Duke, grandfather of the Emperor Henry the Fowler, built a large and magnificent convent of Virgins; his son Otto increased and adorned it with many resources. There Roswitha, the celebrated poetess, lived the religious life.

g The Emperor Henry the Fowler built this convent, as we shall say more fully on March 14 in the Life of St. Matilda, his wife. The body of Henry himself, after his death, as Liudprand writes in his History, book 4, chapter 7, was transported to Saxony and deposited with immense veneration within the church of the monastery of most noble and most devout maidens, which is situated on the King's own estate, at the place known as Quedlinburg. The author of the history of the Landgraves of Thuringia, chapter 9, calls it Querlinburg. Krantzius in his Saxony, book 3, chapter 12, speaking of Henry, says: He regarded the city of Quedlinburg with singular care, erecting a monastery of Ladies there, in which he made his daughter Matilda the first Abbess; and he ordered the church to be consecrated in honor of St. Servatius. But when Henry was dying, whatever was lacking to both the city and the monastery, his widow — namely the holy Matilda — supplied. A new church was afterward built, at whose dedication in the year 1021 the holy Emperor Henry was present with his wife Cunegund, as George Fabricius reports from an old chronicle of Quedlinburg in book 1 of the Annals of the city of Meissen. Furthermore, the Hersfeld chronicler writes that that most august church was burned and reduced to ashes — whether by divine vengeance or by an accidental calamity is uncertain — in the year 1070. Quedlinburg is situated in Saxony on the river Bode, which afterward flows into the Saale.

h Surius calls it the monastery of Essen. What is now Essen, commonly called Essen, is in ancient documents called Asnidia — a city of Westphalia within the Duchy of Berg, with a college of illustrious Canonesses, whose Abbess governs the city itself and its territory.

i Otto III ruled from the year 984 and died in 1002. St. Henry succeeded him and died in 1024.

CHAPTER III

The adoption of the Rule of St. Benedict. The death of the parents.

[8] And not much later, the Lady Gerburg, persevering in the Catholic faith and in all good works, was found watching when the Lord came, and at His call was taken from human affairs — to be rewarded, no doubt, with that prize of blessedness which the Lord promises to the vigilant servant in the Gospel. Then the most blessed daughter, bereaved of her mother, turned her ways more ardently toward God, whom she had loved from her earliest age: and what she had previously opposed to both parents regarding a change of habit, she now placed before the eyes of her mind, and was touched by a salutary compunction, by the grace of Almighty God, and pondered at every moment how she might attain to the monastic religious life. But the wisdom which had fixed its dwelling in her mind forbade her to begin this so suddenly; admonishing her to reckon in the secrecy of her mind the necessary resources of her strength; whether she might be sufficient to undertake the Rule of Blessed Benedict, lest, if these failed, she should fall under the reproach of the Gospel saying: "This man began to build and was unable to finish." For at the hour of the daily meal, scorning meats and the other varied and exquisite foods, she was content with the nourishment of monastic fare alone; yet without the knowledge of all those sitting around her, except one of the Sisters, whom she had proved by the merit of her good conduct and made privy to her secrets. In her outward attire she also shone with linen garments before the eyes of men, but underneath she afflicted herself with the roughness of a woolen garment for the sake of God, subduing a body of noble and delicate nature to endure the discipline of a harsh rule.

[9] When, therefore, by laboring in this way for a full year, she had reckoned the necessary resources of her strength and hoped that they were sufficient for completing the labor of the work she had begun — nevertheless trusting not in her own merits but in the grace of God — she confirmed by the effects of the deed her long-deliberated resolution of soul. Then, having summoned the venerable Abbess and the senior members from the monastery of the holy Mother of God, she submitted herself with humble devotion to their instruction, so that through their teaching she might find the way of the monastic life; persuading her subjects with maternal love not to hesitate to enter upon the same path with her. When some of them were unwilling to do this and went back to the world, she grieved vehemently, because, after the manner of the Apostle, she wished them all to be as she herself was.

[10] But those whom the love of God and of herself had ensnared so that they did not depart, she preceded with so wonderful an example of salvation that, although she was set above the rest in name and in the dignity of governance, she had nevertheless bound herself with every stricture of the regular discipline beyond all the others: and she took care to sustain the others — lest they should perhaps collapse from fasting and praying — so as not to stifle the beginnings of growing holy religious life. For preserving maternal charity in her heart, and outwardly exercising the severity of judgment, with maternal affection she administered the lash to the outward person, so that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord; yet she always took care to temper the zeal for righteousness with the spirit of gentleness; because her motherly heart recalled that justice, if it exceeds its measure, becomes severity. For often, after correction had been administered, like a most merciful mother, touched in spirit by a pious compassion, she addressed the older Sisters thus — those whom holy discipline and well-ordered conduct had made worthy of her intimate conversation: "Oh, with what great compassion I am moved on behalf of my daughters, because I have afflicted them with a harsh scourging! For which reason I ask and admonish you, that your pious counsels and consolations be shown to them, lest perhaps they be swallowed up by excessive sorrow; but rather, corrected from their fault, may they become the chosen daughters of God and of myself." O what sweet and kindly words, not undeservedly worthy of eternal remembrance! Thus, thus, mingling seasons with seasons, blandishments with terrors, upon the hard and obstinate she pressed, according to the Apostle's precept, reproving, beseeching, rebuking — so long until she healed their souls from the plague of vices.

[11] The Lord Megengoz, therefore, survived for the space of three years after the death of his wife, and striving toward heavenly things, with wisdom and justice as his guide, at the Lord's call, in the place which is called Gelre, he departed from this light to the Lord — to be crowned by Him without doubt. On the very night of his death, as his blessed daughter herself asserted, while she rested upon her bed, neither fully awake nor entirely asleep, someone seemed to have stood beside her, and to have poured sweetly into her ears in song these prophetic words: "Behold how the just man dies, and no one takes it to heart. Righteous men are taken away, and ..." And when at dawn she had come to announce this vision to the Sisters, before her account was finished, a messenger arriving announced that he had departed from this world. His funeral having been performed by his daughter, with the care of a devout preparation, he was committed to an honorable burial in his own monastery together with his wife: he afterward appeared in a dream to a certain Sister of that monastery, as if glorified by the power and splendor of royal sovereignty. When she had gazed at him for a long while in wonder, and asked whether he was the Lord Megengoz, he cheerfully began to address her with this reply: "That name was mine while I was still weighed down by the bodily mass; but now I am called Megengaudus, my name having been changed for the better, because, freed from the bonds of sins, I enjoy perpetual joy in the fellowship of the Patriarchs and of all the Blessed."

a More correctly in the Utrecht manuscript, Gelre. In Surius, Gellere. It is now a fortified town on the river Niers, which gave its name to the very extensive province. Henricus Aquilius derives the origin of the name from a huge monster which, lurking beneath an oak tree, wrought enormous slaughter among cattle and men, frequently crying out with a terrible bellow "Gelre, Gelre." When it was slain by Wichard and Lupold, brave young men, the castle founded by them at that place was called Gelre for that reason. But the learned indicate this is a fable. The manuscript Chronicle derives the name from the Gugerni, a people known to have inhabited approximately those regions, between the Rhine and the Meuse, whose capital some scholars conjecture to have been the town of Goch. Consult Cluverius, Ancient Germany, book 2, chapter 18.

b In Surius, Megengaudius. Aquilius writes that he died in the year 1001; others say 1011, according to Scriverius. Teschenmacher says 1004; the manuscript Chronicle, 1008.

CHAPTER IV

Liberality, especially toward the poor.

[12] Then the most noble Virgin, her father having died, having come into the free possession of her resources, took the utmost care that no occasion of need should become an obstacle to those walking in the paths of righteousness; and mindful of the precepts of St. Benedict, the loving Father, she fulfilled in deeds the name and office of Mother, willingly providing whatever was necessary in food and clothing for her charges, lest the flock should perhaps suffer loss in any respect. In wintertime, after the office of Matins was completed, returning to the dormitory with the company of Sisters, she carefully examined the beds of the young women by sight, and with her own loving hands rubbed the feet of each one until they were restored to warmth. For she also committed the infirm Sisters, according to the precepts of the Rule, not only to prudent and attentive Sisters; but she herself, no cause intervening, visited them daily, and humbly bending her knees before their beds, gently raised their heads with her hands, and sweetly brought food and drink to their lips: and she bathed her noble cheeks so abundantly with tears, as if she had borne them from her own womb. By such vigilance of the shepherdess, the sheep, freed from worldly cares, grew with such great progress in the regular life that they became an example of virtue to those who had earlier laid the foundation of this religious life in them.

[13] When, therefore, with the Lord's help, she had so becomingly ordered the interior affairs, and of necessity had extended her mind to exterior matters, mindful of the Lord's exhortation — namely, "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you" — she sought the kingdom of God even in the exterior affairs themselves, having faith and hope in the reception of greater things. For from the possessions of the monastery she assigned one estate especially to the Lord, from whose annual fruits and revenues she commanded that fifteen poor persons be clothed and fed in perpetuity: for whom she had also decreed that fifteen shillings be given annually, as the Lord's Nativity approached. She also established that another fifteen should be fed from the internal expenses of the monastery, to whom during the annual season of Lent a prescribed exchange of money should be given, and throughout the year on the feasts of the Apostles twelve shillings, and on the individual days of the fast of the Ember Days only three coins, with a full distribution of other necessities. Concerning this arrangement, she often urged the unanimity of the Sisters that they should never allow it to be dissolved in the times of her successors; truly predicting to them that if at any time such an arrangement should be weakened, a diminution of their prosperity would without doubt attend them. Which is now committed to writing so that it may never throughout the ages be consigned to oblivion.

[14] At a certain time, therefore, when almost the entire world was afflicted by the distress of a bitter famine, the hungry, having learned of her great generosity, flocked to her from everywhere, as to a mother's bosom; and many lay half-alive along the streets and at the exits of the roads, awaiting the customary distribution of her alms. Moved with mercy over their necessities, she devoted herself to consulting for each one: for to those who were sound and strong she distributed solid food — that is, bread and bacon; to the less strong she administered vegetables or legumes carefully cooked with meat: but those who were swollen and almost past hope of life she revived with broths mixed with water, a small amount of flour, and fat — procuring this with the greatest diligence, lest bodies long deprived of nourishment should be endangered by food consumed with excessive greed. For she made this lamp of piety shine before men to the glory of the heavenly Father. But in secret, without the left hand knowing, her right hand was extended so greatly to the giving of alms: that often when at the cry of the poor she had no coins at hand, she would secretly draw out her stockings and cast them into the bosom of the poor.

[15] These and other things which she did in secret, while her heavenly Father looked on, she took the utmost care to conceal from all: and if our narrative should attempt to touch upon them individually, the account would surely proceed to infinity. Wherefore the Lord truly confirmed in her the saying: "To everyone who has, more shall be given, and he shall have abundance." For having the love of God and neighbor, she merited such happiness of both the inner and the outer person, that outwardly she flourished in the goods of earthly riches, and inwardly in the gifts of spiritual virtues: she who established, increased, and strengthened holy religion and the school of divine service, which were always the highest care of her office. When she frequently entered these schools and posed small questions on the art of grammar, if any girl met her question with a fitting response, she at once rewarded her with a maternal kiss and some prize, and was filled with spiritual joy at the hope of her progress. O great Charity, wonderful to all who hear of it, which was never cooled but always burned with a good zeal; because in her (thanks be to God) iniquity did not abound.

a Surius explains: the same number of shillings should be given — that is, fifteen, as before.

b Hermannus Contractus at the year 1005: A great famine occurred. The Hersfeld chronicler at the year 1006: A severe famine. It is described in the Life of St. Heribert on March 16.

CHAPTER V

The governance of the Capitoline convent. Miracles.

[16] Meanwhile, when her aforementioned sister Bertrada had died happily in Christ, the holy Archbishop Heribert, knowing that our Mother was fortified by the protection of all the virtues, wished her to succeed her deceased sister in governance. But she resisted with all her might, confessing herself unworthy of so great an honor. When, therefore, it was reported to the Emperor, then residing at Aachen, that she had consented neither to the Bishop's command nor to his request, he summoned her by imperial authority, and elevated her to the honor of her deceased sister. Soon, with the Lord's assent, it was made manifest in the metropolitan city of Cologne what she had previously accomplished in the obscure cottage of Vilich: and by the testimony of the same Archbishop, she was judged incomparable to all of her Order in wisdom, religious devotion, and every kind of holiness. Wherefore the venerable Bishop was bound to her by so great a love that he deferred to her counsels in every arrangement of divine affairs, and honored her with the highest veneration. For between them there was so wonderful a charity and so God-pleasing a familiarity, that in all good works they seemed to be of one manner of life: and now no one can doubt that they dwell also now in one and the same dwelling of eternity. O happy in those days, Cologne the Agrippine, well ordered in all things by divine law, while this most zealous imitator of Peter stood forth as Teacher and Ruler of the people and clergy, and this great and noble Virgin presided over the choirs of Virgins with holy devotion!

[17] This venerable Lady and Mother of Virgins, therefore — whom the heavenly Father, finding faithful in few things, set over many — after the example of the true shepherd watched attentively over a twofold fold, at every moment often repeating in the secrecy of her mind that saying of the Evangelist: "To whom much has been given, much will be required of him." Nevertheless, those whom she had borne for the Lord at Vilich and nourished with the milk of saving doctrine, she endowed with a certain special quality of inward affection. This will seem strange to no one, because what is acquired more dearly is also possessed more dearly. For all the splendor of Cologne's glory was never able to remove them from her memory, since she always grieved to be absent from them in body for any time — she who was nevertheless accustomed to be present in spirit at every hour. But whenever the daughters merited the Mother's return, they rejoiced as if they had seen God Himself present. For as the hen gathers her chicks under her wings, so she drew all to herself with wondrous charity and kindness. She carefully observed the countenance, bearing, and every particular quality of each one: and she diligently inquired whether they had suffered any lack of necessities in her absence. For she was truly a shepherdess and not a hireling, because she never allowed the flock to lack the necessities of either life. For she very often secretly entered the cellars and the storerooms of the other Sisters, and stole for herself wine, meats, fish, and many other things, which she distributed to the younger girls and to the Sisters burdened with infirmity: so that if anything was lacking in the prescribed ration, it might be supplied by her memorable theft. She resolved that this should be done stealthily, because she chose the reward of her Father who sees in secret. And because she was frequently reproached by her own community for the prodigal dispensation of goods, she committed such theft. O theft not undeservedly to be praised by those present, and rightly to be commemorated by posterity in perpetuity; which, though by human judgment it is reckoned the greatest vice, was made an admirable virtue through the office of maternal charity! Through which many go to punishment, through this she merited increases of virtue and merit.

[18] O precious gem of Virgins, who was so great and glorious in the splendor of her soul's virtues that, while she was still living in the pilgrimage of this mortal life, the Lord glorified her by the working of wonders! For if any of the Sisters (because, as it is written, "We cannot all do all things") was not suited to the harmony of the sonorous voice of the singing choir, when corrected or struck with blows by the loving Mother, she was endowed with a delightful clarity of voice for all the remaining time of her life. In the same manner she also often rebuked certain Sisters who were suffering from a prolonged illness, because they had spent the time of their life uselessly, not working with their hands: and they, immediately after the words of rebuke, merited from the Lord the grace of healing.

[19] For once she hastily summoned through a messenger the cellarer, who was drawing wine from the cask. The cellarer, not knowing delay in obedience, quickly came to her presence, not having sealed the mouth of the cask, but carrying the spigot with her in her hands. When, coming to herself, she noticed this and feared beyond belief for the spillage of the wine, the holy stewardess, comforting her with maternal affection, gently burst forth in words of this kind: "I do not wish, Sister, that you be distressed at the outcome of this affair, because this loss will be recoverable through the power and grace of God: nevertheless, let us go and see what has happened, and whether things favorable or adverse have occurred, let us give thanks to the Lord." When they had come with equal concern, and had found not even a single drop lost or diminished, the cellarer humbly prostrated herself at the feet of the Mother, attributing this memorable deed to the merit of her holiness. But she, on the contrary, judging that this was to be ascribed rather to the divine power and to the cellarer's own obedience, forbade her to divulge this as long as her present life should animate the limbs of her body. She, however, judging it wrong that this evidence of divine power should be covered by silence, indicated it more secretly to certain Sisters, for the praise of God. For in these things, and in all that the Lord did through her, she always shrank from being exalted by the favors of the world; turning over in her mind that it is exceedingly dangerous to praise the good fortune of one sailing through this great and spacious sea, since her mind had always been in doubt whether she would arrive at the anchorage of the desired port. But our heavenly Father, who is proved to be the witness and knower of every deed committed in secret, did not wish this lamp to lie hidden under a bushel, but, placed upon a candlestick, He willed that it should shine for many by the splendor of its goodness. And it shone more brightly upon the world after the Lord had brought her from the uncertainty of this voyage to the certainty of the port.

a She is joined to Alheid as a Saint on this day by Hermann Greven in his additions to Usuard.

b St. Heribert governed the Church of Cologne from the year 999 to 1021. We shall give his Life on March 16.

c So also in the Utrecht manuscript. But Surius, and from him Molanus, have "of Juelich." Gelenius, at the place previously cited, cites a diploma of Otto II, in which it is testified that a noble man named Megingoz, together with his devout wife Gerberga, contributed the district of the river Sieg in the territory of Cologne for the building of the monastery of Vilich.

d Surius has "from the barrel." The former is equally Latin and more precise.

e The same Surius translates as "the turning-piece of the tap." Whether it is truly a turning-piece, or rather a peg inserted into the mouth of the tap, amounts to the same thing. Perhaps the same thing is "duciculus" in the Life of Bishop Urban of Langres, January 23, chapter 1, number 4: "they immediately unyoked the oxen, cut the bindings of the vessels with swords, and pulled out the duciculi." Gerardus Joannes Vossius, citing this passage in book 3 of his work on faults of speech, etc., chapter 10, interprets it as the wooden ring or circle which is placed around the barrel. Because of this miracle, Molanus writes, St. Adelaide is depicted with a small wine vessel.

CHAPTER VI

The death and Translation of St. Adelaide.

[20] But when the Lord, who as Scripture testifies renders to each one according to his works, wished to reward her for her merits, she began gradually to fail in bodily strength, but to advance in her accustomed pursuits of virtue: because in the voice of the Lord spoken to the Apostle it is said: "For power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, as the day of her death drew near, with the care of due provision she visited the monastery of the holy Mother of God Mary, and on the feast of St. Blaise the Martyr, after the evening meal, she was seized with a dangerous pain in the throat: and after Compline, having reclined upon her bed, she made known by signs her condition to a certain Sister named Ida, whom she had educated according to the Rule in her own monastery and was accustomed to have always with her. Ida, thinking there was no danger, went back unconcerned to the comforts of her bed. But she herself, knowing that she would be dissolved by this illness, spent the night in wakefulness, in fear of death — which is known to be equally dreadful to the just and the wicked, because it is bitter and strong. Let this seem strange to no one, for the Lord Himself was troubled as death drew near. Wherefore, unable to endure the delays of the night upon her bed, seeking the church, and wishing to anticipate the morning hours by prayer, and persisting in the service of God with what strength she could, she had a Mass celebrated for her at the very dawn of the rising day: in which she fortified herself with the Sacrament of the Lord's Body and Blood: and she went to the holy Heribert to consult with him concerning herself and her charges. He, certified by her own account of her death, was shaken in mind beyond what can be believed, grieving that he would be separated from her in death, to whom in life he had been accustomed to be bound by an inseparable love.

[21] Yet still firmly retaining the fidelity of her maternal purpose, she loved those who were at Vilich to the very end; to whom she made known through a messenger that she was only slightly ill, lest they should happen to be disturbed by immoderate grief; asking that they come to visit her as soon as possible. But they — alas! — unaware of the impending calamity, decided that this should be deferred until the next day. During which interval of delay, that holy soul, released from the prison of the flesh, joyfully entered the joys of paradise — for which she had tirelessly sighed while living — destined to live forever with Christ. When a messenger arrived at Vilich to announce this to her community, how great were the groans, how great the mourning of all, both inwardly and outwardly — it is painful to recall this subject: because it is more fitting to weep than to say anything more about the misery of so great a calamity.

[22] But they believed that the greatest remedy for this bereavement would be if they might be deemed worthy to receive her body, even though deceased, into the hereditary monastery: and therefore, approaching the Bishop's presence, more than once prostrating themselves at his feet, they tearfully sought his clemency, that he would grant the body to be buried among those from whom she had always wished never to be separated. He, foreseeing in the Holy Spirit what the Lord was about to work through her in the near future, remained for the time inexorable and unyielding against these pleas: but afterward, overcome by their tears, admonished by the Lord, and moved with compassion, he was moved on behalf of the afflicted; and at last, restoring the body to the many

tears so entreated, he addressed them thus, shedding his own tears abundantly: "If I had been deemed worthy to possess the body of St. Agatha the Virgin, whose feast is celebrated today, I declare before God that there would be no difference in my eyes between it and this one; because there is no doubt that her soul is precious in the sight of God." Then, having granted the Vilich community permission to carry the body away with them, that Bishop, worthy of God, followed with the orders of both sexes and in the company of the entire urban populace. And when the holy body had been placed in a boat with the honor of a devout ceremony, before the oars were even applied, it swiftly ascended upstream against the current of the water without the labor of rowing: by which wonderful display of divine power the Lord wished the people of Cologne to understand that He did not will His own at Vilich to be deprived of her holy body. Then, the funeral rites having been duly celebrated, and her soul, without doubt, rejoicing in the meadows of Paradise, the daughter of her sister — whom she herself had educated — succeeded to her place of honor, God willing: a woman who in every integrity and every elegance of countenance and stature displayed in herself the distinction of a noble nature.

a St. Blaise is venerated on February 3, where we have given his Acts.

CHAPTER VII

Miracles at the sepulchre of St. Adelaide.

[23] Having thus set forth these matters, let us approach the remarkable miracles by which the Lord made her known to the world through manifest wonders, rendering the services of praise to Him by whose gift she merited whatever she worthily accomplished. Before the thirtieth day after her death, when the poor were flocking within the enclosure of the monastery for alms, a certain blind man had come there with them, for the manifestation of the glory of divine power: who, through the carelessness of his guide, heedlessly stumbling against the stone which sealed the tomb, fell, prostrate with his whole body; but soon, by her merits, he rose, having been given his sight. By which event the sorrow of the present desolation was soothed, and in all our dwellings joy resounded.

[24] For upon this joy a greater joy soon followed, which completely cut away every doubt that in the earlier sign had oppressed the hearts of some. A certain woman, grievously afflicted with the ulcer of a gnawing worm in her legs, was unable to walk except barely supported by a staff. Having been admonished in a vision, she resolved to come to the sepulchre; where through her intercession she merited to find the joys of health. When this same woman had proclaimed the outcome of the matter in praise of God, another woman disparaged her, as if she were lying; and not much afterward she was seized by the devil: who, constrained by many exorcisms of divine words to depart, at last confessed, vanquished, the wonders of Christ which the Lord had worked or was about to work through His Virgin; and when the woman was dragged to the place of the sepulchre, the demon departed with violent vomiting, leaving the house he had possessed.

[25] When these and many other divine signs and wonders had been spread abroad, so great a concourse of people occurred from distant parts of the world as from nearby: for whom the cloisters of the monastery had become almost too small, so that the quiet of the Sisters, fittingly suited to holy religious life, seemed to be greatly disturbed. For the same Abbess, while she was still living in the body, mindful of the Lord's precept by which He commanded the man invited to the wedding to recline in the lowest place, had asked that if ever she should pass from the world at the Lord's call, she should be entombed not in the sacred places but within the cloister of the monastery. But the Lord, looking upon the humility of His handmaid — for He is mighty over the condemnation of every creature — as if He had said: "Friend, go up higher, and there shall be glory for you," had her honorably received within the walls of the monastery and caused her to be celebrated with eternal remembrance together with His other Saints.

[26] Thenceforth, the fame of signs increasing more and more everywhere, everyone who suffered from the affliction of any ailment, hastening thither as to the surest refuge of their liberation, did not cease to frequent her tomb. Among them there came a certain nobleman, bound in iron fetters by Apostolic authority as penance for a certain capital crime: from which, after visiting the shrines of many Saints, he was at last so manifestly released there by her merits, that the clinking of the loosened fetters, springing far apart, struck the hearing of all who were then present in the monastery. The venerable Abbess therefore, having heard of her maternal aunt's holy power, treated this man, once freed, with great kindness for some time, together with his own brother, who, loving his neighbor as himself, with unfeigned charity, though innocent himself, had atoned for his brother's offenses by sharing in his labor in all things except the fetters. And when, with so great a kindling of piety applied to them, the dead hands and arms revived with an increase of their former vigor, she permitted them to return home with great gladness of heart, aided with horses and clothing.

[27] At the feast of her patron's chains — namely of St. Peter, in whose honor this convent is dedicated — a certain paralytic, deprived of the use of his ears and eyes, was restored to health at the holy tomb. If any of the poor made an offering to her, not from the abundance of their means but from the intention of a willing heart, through her most faithful intercession they thenceforth merited an increase of every necessary thing. Lest any of the faithful remain in doubt about this, we set before them the advancement of a poor little woman, to whom this most faithful rewarder appeared in a nocturnal vision: admonishing her with a powerful command to bring her an alb made from her own labor. When she replied that she was unable to fulfill this because of the obstacle of extreme poverty, the Saint firmly compelled her to rise at dawn and seek the means from her neighbors in her name. When without delay, but at morning, having petitioned her fellow citizens, she had taken care to fulfill the command of the holy Virgin, so great an abundance of linen was given to her that she made not only an alb but also a necessary garment for herself. After she had brought this to the sepulchre, she merited such great increases of every necessary thing, that for the entire duration of her life, at the annual revolution of the seasons, she brought thither an ox, or a pig, or other gifts of whatever kind.

[28] For these and other innumerable miracles, by which the Lord had caused her to shine at that time, the pen of our insignificance is unable to record individually: of which we endeavor not to pass over in silence at least some that we have proved to have been done and heard in our own times, lest we be judged guilty of the fault of silence. The only son of a certain woman, bearing eight years of age and as many of infirmity, was destitute of the use of all his members except his tongue and sight. To him the most holy Virgin appeared in a dream on a certain night, and seemed to have stood beside him and released all the contractions of his sinews. And when, from this loosening of his members, he began to cry out with a great shout, all who were resting in the house, struck with extreme amazement, came to his bed, and found him with all his members naturally composed and erect, but as if unconscious. After the space of one hour he came to himself, and made known to those standing around what he had seen; and he urgently admonished his father and mother to carry him as quickly as possible with an offering to the tomb of the holy Virgin. They, rejoicing at the health of their son, knew no delay in preparing the offering: but having placed the boy on an animal, they themselves set out hastily on foot. Then God, who is truly wonderful in His Saints, permitted them, as they made their journey, to encounter the misfortune of a lamentable mishap: so that while they were lifted up from this, His wondrous works might be the more manifested. For as they were crossing the bridge of a certain river, the beast carrying the boy leaped from the bridge: and plunged together with the boy into the water, it was nowhere to be seen for nearly an hour. When they were sending forth wailing from their soul and contrition of heart irremediably over the loss of their son, and were crying out that St. Adelaide was pitiless and cruel, and of no merit before God — suddenly they saw the animal with its rider arrive at the bank unharmed. Then, the wailing of those weeping being at once turned into the joyful voice of those rejoicing, completing the journey they had begun, on the feast of St. Gereon, at the time when the first bell of the morning office was sounding, they came to Vilich: and immediately upon their arrival they proclaimed the wondrous works of God. When these were publicly declared, on that same day the company of the holy fellowship sang a hymn of spiritual melody to the glory of God.

[29] A certain man held captive by the devil was freed at her tomb: and for however many years he survived, he brought an annual tribute there as an indication of his restored health. What more? By all the signs and wonders by which, with the exception of the raising of the dead, the Lord has ever glorified any of His chosen ones, He also manifested this woman to the world. To Him be praise and glory through the infinite ages of ages. Amen.

a In the Utrecht manuscript: by a worm called Edetis, etc. Surius has only: A certain woman, cruelly afflicted with an ulcer in her legs.

b So the Utrecht manuscript; but the Corsendonk manuscript has "left behind."

c St. Gereon the Martyr is venerated on October 10.