ON THE VENERATION OF THE HEAD OF ST. VALENTINE THE MARTYR AT JUMIEGES IN GAUL
Preliminary Commentary.
Valentine the Martyr (St.), Veneration of the Head at Jumieges in Gaul
By G. H.
[1] Jumieges, an ancient monastery of the Benedictine Order situated on a peninsula of the river Seine, is about five leagues distant from Rouen, in whose diocese it is located. In the church of this monastery the head of St. Valentine the Martyr, brought there from Rome, is preserved. [Baldric, Bishop of Dol, wrote the history of this veneration about the year 1020.] Renowned for many miracles and exposed for public veneration, it is honored with an annual feast. The history of this Translation and its miracles was written by Baldric, Bishop (or, as he himself writes, Metropolitan Pontiff) of the city of Dol in Armorican Brittany, who flourished at the beginning of the twelfth century. From his pen we have a History of Jerusalem in four books, published among the Gesta Dei per Francos. He begins it from the year 1095, from which that military expedition to the East takes its beginning, and concludes with the capture of Jerusalem, which occurred five years later. Orderic Vitalis describes it in his Ecclesiastical History, Book 9, where toward the end he reports the following about the author: "He was a citizen of Orleans, a monk and Abbot of Bourgueil, imbued with the liberal arts, and venerable for the merits of a religious life. Thence, on account of his piety and wisdom, he was advanced to the rank of Archbishop of Dol by Ecclesiastical election. In the episcopate he maintained the monastic life, and for the most part dwelt with monks, as fortune allowed. For he presided over the untamed Bretons, whose perversity he could not endure. Whence he frequently abandoned the insolent and lawless folk and fled to Normandy, who often resided in Normandy where the Church of Dol, on the river Risle, from the times of St. Samson in the reign of King Childebert of the Franks, held and peacefully possessed estates. There by his writings and teachings he incited his hearers to the worship of God, and visited the neighboring monasteries -- and visited the monks of Jumieges namely Fecamp, Fontenelle, and Jumieges, and several others -- and strengthened them in the fear of God with sacred discourses. At length he died at a good old age and was buried at Preaux in the basilica of the Apostle St. Peter, before the Crucifix." So writes Orderic, who completed his History in the year of Christ 1141. Concerning other Acts of Saints written by the same Baldric, we shall treat at their proper time.
[2] This history of the Translation of the head of St. Valentine and the miracles was communicated to us from the manuscript codex of the Church of St. Ouen by our colleague Frederick Flouet. Bishop Baldric, in support of the authority of this writing, cites in number 1 the not-to-be-doubted sincerity of the monks of Jumieges, their ancient simplicity, and their pure report, by what authority he judges it and for the miracles, their testimonies. And in number 17, after relating the miracle of the restoration of health to Brother Hugo the Precentor, he adds: "This we drew from his own lips, while other Brothers who attested the same along with him were listening."
[3] To which St. Valentine that sacred head ought to be attributed is not equally clear. He is called in number 2 "Priest of Terni." But it was the Bishop of Terni; and St. Valentine the Priest is reported to have been a Roman, and his head to be preserved among the Romans in the church of St. Sebastian. Moreover, in the year 1605 the body of St. Valentine the Bishop was discovered among the people of Terni in a lead casket, to which Valentine the head belongs which the Spaniards likewise believed to be preserved in the Benedictine monastery of Baga near the city of Rubricata close to Barcelona, and that his head had been brought to the city of Toro in the diocese of Zamora and was kept in a silver casket. These things seem to apply to another Saint of the same name, Valentine.
ACTS OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE HEAD AND MIRACLES,
by Baldric, Bishop of Dol, from a Rouen manuscript.
Valentine the Martyr (St.), Veneration of the Head at Jumieges in Gaul
BHL Number: 8461
From manuscripts.
CHAPTER I
The head of St. Valentine was brought from Rome to Jumieges. When the fields were freed from an incursion of vermin, veneration increased.
[1] How the head of the most blessed Valentine was brought all the way to Jumieges through successive periods of time, let my pen, though quite unpolished, not be reluctant to describe, just as the not-to-be-doubted sincerity of the Brethren reported it to us, and the ancient and wondrous simplicity of the Fathers had made it known to them. Prologue of the author. I, therefore, Baldric, Priest of the holy Church of Dol, though unworthy, by dignity Metropolitan Pontiff, regarding the pure report of the monks of Jumieges as sufficient authority, have taken care to set down in writing what I heard concerning the translation of the head; and also the few miracles out of many which the Lord deigned to work through him, which I credulous learned by their testimony.
[2] A certain man who held the priestly office, hastening to the thresholds of the Apostles for the purpose of prayer, traveled to Rome It is obtained by a Priest who traveled to Rome and completed the journey he had undertaken, with God prospering his way. He had, however, arranged certain ascensions in his heart, so that, if by any means he should find relics of the Saints, he would carefully bring them back and more carefully preserve them. The Priest, having lodged in someone's house, revealed his desire to someone, in case he might perchance find some consolation for his longing. While they were conversing about these matters, a certain person came forward who made mention of Valentine the Priest of Terni: "That one's head, my dear friend, the head of St. Valentine the Martyr I could bestow upon you, not allured by desire for gain, but very solicitous that the province beyond the mountains might thereby rejoice and be illuminated. If you do not believe me when I speak, I want you at least to believe me when I swear: for I profess that what I say is true." And so he swore this voluntarily to the Priest, and after the oath he brought out the head of Valentine, which he knew to be hidden, and gave satisfaction by handing it over to the Priest. For the Priest also pledged under oath to treat the head honorably; and so, having exchanged farewells, one departed from the other. The Priest understood, therefore, that the Lord had been the prosperer of his journey, because He had made him the possessor of his vow.
[3] The Priest returned, bearing the long-desired treasure, and placed all his hope in Valentine's prayers. He crossed unharmed the rough and pathless mountains and crags it is brought to Jumieges and at length arrived in Neustria. The Priest entrusted the patronage of that most holy head it is deposited without veneration wherever it pleased him; and some time later, when it had been brought to the monastery of Jumieges, he delivered it to the members of that Church, and there he assumed the monastic habit. They placed it for the time being behind the altar of the Blessed Mother of God and ever-Virgin Mary, since they did not yet dare to proclaim it publicly. Many years passed, and aging time almost obliterated these reports; yet frequent conversation and discussion about Valentine continued among those Brethren. Some of them knew the place where the head was hidden, but they did not wish to reveal it to any outsiders. They deferred, therefore, to a future time, until the Governor of times should grant them an opportune moment. They feared that what was kept concealed might be demanded from them. By now they had placed that noble pledge in an ivory case in an ivory case and had put it among other old caskets. Some indeed doubted, lest perhaps they had another head in place of Valentine's. some doubting They had only heard about the oath; but they most anxiously feared perjury in their hearts. Blessed Valentine, not yet evidently known to everyone, had not clearly manifested himself to them.
[4] It happened at some point that the gracious God visited the colonists of Jumieges and mercifully corrected them; for He no longer wished His servant, whom He had decreed would benefit Neustria, to remain hidden. The King of Kings, that wondrous craftsman, therefore sent when vermin were devastating the fields a certain army of His vengeance that would be very harmful to the people of Jumieges, and that would destroy all their crops unless they quickly cried out to Him. He sent, I say, little beasts to attack and overcome the human race, similar to mice, which they call "mulots" (voles); these were depopulating all the agriculture and were hostile to human beings in a marvelous fashion, in fierce wedge formations: they were cutting the sown crops, consuming the grain, and reducing the cultivated land to desolation. Thus, thus does the most serene One sometimes prepare evil visitations against us, so that we may be corrected, so that we may cry out, when the inhabitants invoked the help of God so that we may not fail, and so that we may be heard. The people of Jumieges cried out to the Lord, to whom indeed they ought to cry out, because scarcely anything was left from those animals. For neither by day nor by night did they cease from devouring the crops; but the hostile swarm, with hostile teeth, was cutting down every summit of the harvest. You could see those savage legions rioting through the fields; nor was there anyone who could resist the Divine vengeance. They cried out, therefore, to the Lord from the depths of their hearts, who at length heard them and in this manner freed the afflicted; for they were compelled to confess that that suffering and that scourge had proceeded from no other source than the vengeance of God.
[5] There was in the church of Jumieges, among the religious Brethren, a certain devout man, to whom St. Valentine appeared once in the church and a second time. St. Valentine appearing to a monk He was a person of honorable appearance, clad in a white cloak, adorned with priestly vestments; in a commanding voice he said to him: "Go and tell the Brethren to carry our head -- concerning which some have doubts (for I am Valentine) -- through the fields and this region, and to go around the crossroads and streets; for truly God will be propitious to them if from now on they remember me more promptly." The man ignored it, since he thought it was a dream. On the following day Valentine was seen to repeat the same words. repeatedly Nor then did the monk acquiesce, but still remained silent and waited. On the following night, while the Brethren were almost finishing the Matins prayers, he urges that his head be carried about in procession Valentine appeared in a reproving manner, and with a voice that could be heard by many, he thus rebuked the indolent monk: "How long will you dissemble? How long will you be idle? Do you not see what great calamities threaten this land? Go, speak; delay no longer. Otherwise..." Some people heard someone speaking and a commotion, but they did not understand the words. The one to whom the command had been given, summoned forth, terribly roused by Valentine's threats, related the first and second visions and reproached his own negligence.
[6] After he had spoken about the third visitation, they believed him, since they had heard the voice of the one rebuking. Immediately they all hasten to remove delays, adorn the casket of Blessed Valentine so that it may be carried, fit it together, reverently place their necks beneath the bier -- for this they presumed to do in the Lord's name. The neighboring inhabitants flock together in crowds; they pour forth prayers and tears, somewhat chastened; they conduct a procession, and through the intercessions of Blessed Valentine they seek and await liberation by his piety. The head is carried around They perform the Litanies and lead Christian processional dances in a circuit. That most holy bier contained that noble propitiatory, which was being carried, in which after God they singularly trusted. A wondrous thing: that hostile swarm, so very hostile to human beings -- those voles, as if they had sensed Valentine's rebuke -- thenceforth, gathered into a mass unharmed, they hastened to the river Seine, either of their own accord or compelled by Valentine's command; the vermin leap into the Seine and are drowned they entered the impassable channel of the river and were submerged, and trapped in the vast whirlpools, they were suffocated. For the Almighty, to demonstrate the power of His beloved one, was exterminating that exterminating horde, and was thereby spreading the name of His Valentine.
[7] The fishermen marveled and were astonished at the unaccustomed providence, catching them in their nets. Thus within a few days those voles were swallowed up in the deep gulfs, and all the inhabitants rejoiced at their departure. For that evil army had not yet ground everything down to the point of total annihilation, the inhabitants rejoice since Valentine's prayer had forestalled that plague. They therefore harvested what they found remaining, more gladdened by so immediate a miracle than saddened by the preceding damage; for they had with them a faithful Patron, a ready hearer, a most efficacious helper, to whom they had commended themselves -- their lord Valentine. They also trusted they choose St. Valentine as their Patron that the Lord would free them through Blessed Valentine from all other distresses, since they promised that they would henceforth honor him more magnificently. That miracle was spread abroad in every direction, and it became common to hear Blessed Valentine frequently on the lips of all. they cover the case with silver They therefore at once prepared a more elegant setting in which he might rest or be carried about, and they covered the casket with silver from their munificent donations.
CHAPTER II
Fires extinguished by the aid of St. Valentine. Plague and drought removed.
[8] For the quenching of harmful fires, the power of the oft-named Martyr was proved in such matters. The workshops of the servants were spacious and extended, and were adjacent and contiguous to the workshops of the monks, so that scarcely a narrow space separated the two from each other. A fire breaks out A fire carelessly banked up grew hot and immediately seized the entire building of those workshops. The conflagration raged with crackling flames and gravely threatened the buildings of the monks, since it would also be to the detriment of the church itself. The wind was blowing against the monastic roofs, and leaping sparks and flames were being driven into the dwellings of the servants of God. when the head of St. Valentine was interposed The monks were chanting Matins, but, compelled by the necessity of the fire, they interrupted their psalmody, for they dreaded the danger that loomed. They had already lost all hope of escaping, when certain of them brought the bier of Valentine and thrust it nearly into the flames and set it against the raging fire. They left the case between the nearest buildings and withdrew, because, driven out, they could not bear the force and heat of the fire. the fire is stopped, the wind turning to the contrary direction At that very moment the wind died down, and a contrary wind began to blow; and so the fire, turned back upon itself, wasted away and was extinguished. You could see the beam of a certain house burned on one side, yet remaining unharmed on the other. All rejoiced to bear witness to so immediate a miracle. For who would not rejoice at that, loudly praising God and Blessed Valentine? For the more abundant that Martyr was in miracles, the more glorious he was to them and to the neighboring peoples.
[9] Again it happened that in the nighttime hours a stealthy fire found and seized fuel prepared for it in a building; again a fire, when the relics were brought nor did the clandestine fire merely leap over the rooftops of the building; rather, with foul vapors, it invaded and consumed whatever was made of wood. The force of the blazing conflagration struck back against the stars, and the mass of dense cinders threatened danger to the church itself; for the contrary wind was driving sparks back into the very church. The relics of St. Valentine were brought, it is extinguished and the wind at once, as if ashamed, subsided, and with equal force desisted from its fury, and all the most savage heat immediately fell silent.
[10] We have found the power of the holy Martyr Valentine proved in other miracles as well. For he often tamed an immoderate mortality among men and made known by manifest signs how great his merit is before God. To recall a few instances out of many, I will add something more, so that in these things too God may be glorified and Blessed Valentine magnified. In modern times a horrible plague settled upon the people of a certain village, which appears to be Duclair, a plague in a certain village and that dire pestilence crept upon those mortals so grievously that every day ten, or at the very least seven or six, corpses were carried out, scarcely to be buried by the survivors. For those who had at one time been thought healthy, stricken by the swift disease, perished and followed those whom they had carried out for burial yesterday or the day before. Such was the state of affairs in that calamity that whoever felt the slightest pain expected nothing but untimely death. They had to some extent ceased to celebrate the customary funeral rites, because either all or each individual feared for himself in common. The tears, too, which survivors are wont to offer to the buried, which the feeling of humanity wrings from their loved ones, these -- in reverse order -- they were spending upon the living on their own behalf, since they were already assured regarding the dead; and as if their laments had been dried up, after someone of their own was struck by the disease, tears were shed only for the one who would soon depart. The trembling people, the anxious people, turned their grief and lamentations to the Lord, and begged that Blessed Valentine be brought to them; when the head of St. Valentine was brought there, the plague ceased for that place was, and is, a property of the Brothers of Jumieges. Why should I delay longer? That embrace-worthy propitiatory was carried there, and the people of God experienced his aid. For those who were ill, thanks be to God, immediately recovered; nor did anyone afterward depart except by natural death and more prolonged infirmity. That people rejoiced and exulted, because the wicked plague had fled; they gave thanks to God and commended themselves from the depths of their hearts to the most blessed Valentine.
[11] Since we have once made mention of the escape from plague through the divine Valentine, and since we were present at this event, let us relate another consolation bestowed upon people through Valentine. In the place called Bliquetuit, a plague began to rage fiercely and to devastate that territory. the same befell another village A message was sent to Jumieges; the people and the chief men of that settlement asked that the most holy Valentine be directed there, as the one who was sufficiently near to that hamlet. Valentine was directed there, and how much he availed before God was immediately demonstrated. The settled plague cooled, and the divine Valentine returned to his own with great cheerfulness and a splendid procession, at which we also had the privilege of being present. Because Valentine is found ineffective in nothing, on the third day the inhabitants of that land followed after him, giving thanks and announcing that the plague had ceased. They added further: "Those who were lying in their beds and had wasted away as if in a trance while you were with us -- behold, through our divine Valentine they have recovered."
[12] One further matter, although many remain, I think should be added in writing, which can by no means be attributed to anything other than a miracle. The grasses had withered, the crops had turned white, since an untimely drought had dried up the land; every field, dusty, was threatening barrenness, on account of a great drought and every God-fearing man was lamenting. The monks of Jumieges proclaimed a procession, at which you could observe the devotion of the populace; nor could Valentine remain behind, the timely companion of necessary processions, and therefore inseparable from them -- for through him all had hope in the Lord. when the head of St. Valentine was carried around There is a church in honor of St. Philibert, at some distance from Jumieges yet suitable for those who pray; thither they directed their steps and arrived at the oratory. The sun blazed in its excessive heat, and the sky showed no cloud at all; indeed, it was serene. Meanwhile the monks went forth with Blessed Valentine, their colleague, to make complaint to God and to obtain rains; nor did they distrust on this account. For who would distrust when he had set Valentine as his intercessor? They entered the church and hastened to offer the sacrifice (I am shaken with such a thrill of joy as I write or reread this that I can scarcely express what I feel): the sky began to darken with clouds of its own accord, and a little, and then again a little, it thundered, and immediately copious rain began to fall. When the Mass was celebrated, that choir of monks sat down, rain was obtained waiting to see whether the rain would perhaps stop; for they were unable to return to the monastery, disturbed by the excessive downpour. In due course the bare sky cleared somewhat, and the density of the clouds withheld their waters and allowed the Brothers an opportune time to return. They were returning, and they feared the threatening rains; yet they were not troubled by any falling of rain -- indeed, what you may marvel at more, the supplicants remaining untouched rains were falling on the right and on the left before their very eyes, yet they did not touch the procession. They returned to the monastery, both gladdened by the rain for which they had prayed, and in no way harmed by that rain.
CHAPTER III
Various sick persons healed through the invoked patronage of St. Valentine.
[13] It is impious to be silent about Valentine; it is pious, however, to speak of Valentine, as one is compelled to do. Those who see these things and others and remain silent, who conceal the glory of Valentine which ought to be amplified, who obscure the one who ought to be publicly commended, deserve to be rebuked for impious silence and ingratitude -- and especially his own. Let them therefore correct their fault and speak, let them add writings to writings, because the supreme Artificer does not cease to add miracles to miracles. Just now the Brethren had gone out with their Valentine to ask once again for rain, and were returning. The Abbot's groom -- by whom we understand the master of the horses -- a blind man is healed had long ago lost the use of sight and had already fallen into despair on this account. His relatives saw that the casket of Valentine was present, and they ran to bring the groaning man; taking him by the hands, they murmured something generous in his ears and stationed him before the approaching Valentine. The procession paused a moment, since they felt compassion for their servant; the servants placed around his neck a piece of wood for making a candle and brought him to that holy shrine. He touches the casket and kisses it most tenderly, and with sobs he prays for his infirmity. Those who were present (and many were present) joined their prayers to his, and they did not at all cease from supplications. Ranulphus (for Ranulphus was his name) vowed and offered on his own behalf, inasmuch as he was groaning on his own behalf. Within a short interval of days, after he had made his offering to Valentine on his own behalf, he completely recovered both his senses, because he had set Valentine apart for himself.
[14] These things are indeed few, because more and greater ones remain. The nephew of the same groom, a young man in age, was not long afterward seized by a grave illness, took to his bed, and fell gravely sick; sick, I say, likewise a blind, deaf, and demented man because he lost both sight and hearing, and moreover incurred the affliction of madness. The parents of the young man grieved, and with heart and voice they invoked Valentine on behalf of one who did not know. Through the invocation of the parents, sight was restored to him, but his hearing remained somewhat stupefied. The madness too had somewhat abated, but he was still sick in every respect. He was led by the hands to Valentine, and groans were uttered on his behalf. They placed him beneath the bier of the Saint; and what he ought to do was indicated to him more by gesture than by word, since his ears were blocked and closed. He fell asleep for a short while and immediately rose up entirely healed.
[15] A certain woman went out at midday to inspect her crops, but saw something -- I know not what -- and fell into madness. She was seized by her own people without cause and bound with chains, since she could by no means otherwise be restrained. She was brought bound to Jumieges, where they well knew that Valentine abides with God forever. She was brought, another demented woman I say, and wounded by a frenzied spirit, the unclean woman was led into that church. On account of her impurity, however, they sent her out of the monastery and placed her outside in the atrium. That holy dwelling was washed, and they gave the wash-water to the insane woman to drink. She drank and immediately recovered; and after giving thanks she returned home in good health.
[16] Since a brief mention has been made of those who had gone mad and were cured through that Blessed one, another matter not unlike it comes to mind, which we dare not pass over or conceal, lest perchance we be deprived of the patronage of our same Protector. likewise another demented woman A certain woman, younger in years than the one mentioned above, had been rendered mad by a chance occurrence and had become excessively wild; whether on account of the destitution of her friends, or on account of too grievous an injury, or on account of the neglect of her neighbors, she wandered about indiscriminately and was restrained by no one. For this reason her frenzy was always growing worse, since she was driven as a vagabond through crossroads and fields; some people followed her mocking, and more often laughing at her foolishness. For such is the ignorance of the world and the frivolity of youth, that they very often laugh at that over which they ought to have grieved. She was already an object of horror and fear to all, who feared that the singular enemy of mankind might through her contrive some evil against them, and night was night and day, because such insensate persons are denied sleep. The festal day of Blessed Valentine had arrived, and a considerable crowd of people had gathered; they brought her, while Masses were being celebrated, before the Saint, and while the celebrations were still in progress, the demented woman recovered her former senses. They gave thanks to God and offered voluntary praises to Blessed Valentine.
[17] Let us also give praises to Valentine, who is always at hand and a ready hearer for all Christians and especially for the people of Jumieges. Let no one complain that we set forth new miracles before old ones, the Precentor of Jumieges, gravely ill since they are not unknown. We anticipate periods with periods, since we ourselves are anticipated by the narrators, who modestly put them forward. A certain Precentor in the church of Jumieges, named Hugo, was weighed down by a grave infirmity of the body in the infirmary. The solemnity of Valentine was at hand, and regarding the evening office the Brethren suggested to Hugo: "You will not be able to go to the church, and therefore you must celebrate Vespers here in private; we will remain here with you and will celebrate as best we can, for you have been afflicted with many ailments since the day before yesterday." "Far be it," he said, "that I should hear them here; for I will force myself to go there, where the head of Valentine my Lord is." He went to hear the office, he went to kiss the casket, he went to pray and return; he did not even reach the monastery, because health met him on the way on account of his devotion; and when the praises were completed he returned in good health, and obtained the strength to eat, being famished -- for he had lost his appetite during the preceding days, which upon being cured he recovered. He was present also at Matins in the choir of the Brethren, and as if he had suffered nothing, he fulfilled the office of Precentor the whole night and the following day as well. This we drew from his own lips, while other Brothers who attested the same along with him were listening.
[18] Another Brother, named Turald, of somewhat advanced age, himself also of priestly dignity, suffered gravely in his left breast likewise another sick Priest and was afflicted and tormented for many days. He could scarcely stand, scarcely could he draw breath, because his body and his bed were consumed by infirmity. The time came when the solemnity of Valentine had to be celebrated. Turald, who was not master of himself, since the illness was dominating him, resolved to hasten to the church; but he could not do so by himself, until, having summoned the infirmarian, the latter leaned over him, and so with trembling step he hurried to the church. For he had hope in St. Valentine and did not wish to be cheated of his feast. He lay beneath the bier, and after the completion of the seven Psalms and the conclusion of the Litanies, he was raised up to kiss the casket; but because he was short of stature, he could not quite reach it to kiss it. The casket, however, gave a very great rattle, so that the servant who had withdrawn some distance heard the clanging and the monk was startled, fearing that some mishap had befallen the casket. But after he had carefully examined everything and perceived that it was otherwise, becoming more confident, he returned to himself and was made well. For Valentine had given him a sign of exultation by making a noise, not by speaking.
[19] Time will fail me, or I will fail time, if I presume to recapitulate each thing which the Lord has disposed to work through Blessed Valentine. With many things passed over, let us at least confine ourselves to a few. Ursio the Prior, a learned man A certain Brother, Ursio, a man of great reputation, was Prior of the church of Jumieges, who shone abundantly both in the integrity of his life and in his knowledge of letters. But just as empire does not defend an Emperor from death, nor a kingdom a King, nor a principality a Prince, so neither honor nor learning protects anyone from infirmity; we can, however, delay it and thereby gain some advantage, but in the end we cannot entirely escape it. The Prior therefore suffered, whom neither learning nor honor had sufficiently protected. He lay for nearly twelve days without food, since his appetite had departed and left him bereft. gravely weakened He wasted away with all his limbs feeble and was failing from moment to moment. The pious remembrance of Valentine came to his mind, because not even someone without taste should neglect the patronage of so great a Patron. He asked a servant to support him by leading or carrying him to the shrine of the blessed man, since he could not walk there on his feet by himself. He was without his monastic stockings, since the disease violently lorded over him; supported by his whole body, he was brought, and he crept beneath the casket raised on high. He prayed, he vowed, he wept; and being made well, without anyone supporting him, he returned where he wished. For Valentine is unhearing to no one who has touched him with the ointment of piety; he is present to the desolate, present to the afflicted, present to the wretched of every kind.
[20] Evil humors sometimes dominate people, through whose excess they suffer fiery vapors. This affliction proceeds either from a disordered defect of phlegm or of blood; two persons suffering from some frenzy often, indeed, it comes by the hidden judgment of God. It is of such a nature that that fiery heat can scarcely be extinguished except either by death or for the most part through the mercy of the invoked God. That painful infirmity takes away sleep from the sufferers, since, always gnashing their teeth, they simply howl. The disease is akin to frenzy, because the wasted flesh putrefies, smokes, and wastes away. Two such sufferers -- one a man, the other a woman -- stood before Blessed Valentine, crying out horribly, and yet imploring his aid. From their poverty, one offered a wax foot, the other a wax hand, because they were being afflicted in those limbs; and both, made well, returned home safe and sound. For Valentine is powerless in nothing, unless someone is ungrateful and unsuitable toward him.
[21] Truly God is wonderful in His Saints, who Himself alone does great wonders; in whom Valentine truly lives, a worker not idle through Him. For no one who is known to cling to God can be idle. Behold, again through Blessed Valentine -- indeed, Valentine through God -- He came to the aid of a certain wretched woman a blind woman whom the Lord God had first struck with blindness. The holy chastisements of Almighty God are indeed many, and His healings are innumerable. Yet in both there is a grace of God so multiform as to be also unspeakable. He strikes in order to heal, He heals in order to save, He saves in order to crown and glorify. He Himself deprived the aforementioned woman of light, whom through the Lord Valentine He had decreed to help. And I believe she herself had sinned; but the hidden judgment of God foresaw that this would redound to His own praise and to a memorial of His faithful one. For it is written: "Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God might be made manifest in him" John 9:3. In that case, however, it was thus: The wife of a certain servant of Jumieges -- the servant, that is, of the monk who was almoner -- fell into a most grievous illness, so that, with almost all her limbs loosened, she lay feeble in her bed for a long time, gravely ill or rather labored; for the sickness was most powerful, so that scarcely a breath of life remained in her. Under the same pressing affliction she was deprived of the light of her eyes and was irremediably consigned to great wretchedness. Time passed and passed again, and the woman lamented without hope of aid. In sleep she could scarcely obtain any rest at all, or rather, she wasted away in her half-dead state, bereft of light; whatever health she had was unhappy, since she wholly subsisted in lamentations. A long time thus passed, and she nearly despaired of her eyes. Her husband, however, spoke to his wife and thus consoled the weeping woman with soothing words. Already the pupils of her eyes had begun to discharge, so that recovery was even more despaired of. "If, my wife," he said, "you would vow yourself to Blessed Valentine, whose festal day this is, professing yourself his servant, and render your head-tax to him annually, I believe you would recover; for he is a most efficacious helper before the Almighty." The grieving woman, whose mind was especially gnawed by heartfelt injuries, willingly consented, and following her guide at a quickened pace, she ran to the church on the feast day. She vowed, she prayed, she slept, and in a wondrous manner, to the applause of the people, she returned home with her sight restored, without a guide, and she rendered the promised head-tax annually to Blessed Valentine -- nor undeservedly, since she had found in Valentine a powerful refuge for herself. Her long-lasting grief was turned into long-lasting joy, because, with the darkness put to flight, she thenceforth had the aid of the light of her eyes. The Brothers, weeping for joy, rang the bells in praise of God and sang a certain jubilant hymn, because they deemed it sacrilege to have been silent about these mighty deeds.
[22] Another Brother fell sick and failed almost to the point of death; he was earnestly loved by the other Brethren, because he was adorned with good conduct. The Lenten season was at hand, a monk sick unto death yet it was necessary to sustain him with meat. At length they were in doubt about the Brother's survival, and according to Christian custom he was anointed with the oil of the sick. He himself, however, having somewhat recovered his senses, urged his servants more by gesture than by word to bring him before Blessed Valentine, in the hope that he might perhaps be aided by his intercession. It was done, and immediately, cured of that illness, he went forth in good health.