Fina

ON ST. FINA, VIRGIN IN ETRURIA.

YEAR 1253.

Preliminary Commentary.

Fina, Virgin in Etruria (Saint)

[1] Not far from the western bank of the river Elsa there is in Etruria a very respectable town, formerly under the jurisdiction of the Sienese, as Leander attests, but now of the Florentines; distant from the latter by twenty-five thousand paces, The town of San Gimignano in Etruria, from the former by only fifteen. It takes its name, more illustrious than the one it is claimed to have formerly held from Silvius the Roman, from St. Geminianus, Bishop of the city of Modena — whether truly or falsely is in doubt. That its ancient name was Silvia is a local tradition; was it formerly called Silvia? which Theodore Ferroni of Cutigliano, of the Augustinian Order, to be cited shortly, follows, tracing its origins all the way back to the times of Catiline; and maintains that the reason for the change of name was taken from the illustrious benefit by which the said Saint placed the inhabitants of the town in his debt, repelling Totila, who was breathing ruin and slaughter, by visibly appearing above the gate called "of the fountain." The memory of this benefit is preserved by a marble statue of the same Saint placed above the said gate, in the posture in which he was seen putting the barbarians to flight, with his right hand raised to form a cross — which is why the inhabitants now venerate the finger of the same Saint among their sacred relics.

[2] Leander, cited by us on January 31 in connection with the Life of St. Geminianus, At what time was it founded and given this name? says it was founded by Desiderius, King of the Lombards, as an alabaster tablet inscribed in Lombard letters at Viterbo teaches. I would readily believe that Desiderius, delighted by the beauty of the place which he himself had adorned with buildings and walls, transferred some particle from the body of St. Geminianus there, imposed a name on the previously obscure and wooded hill, and that any greater antiquity from any other source is sought in vain. For the miracle attributed to the rout of Totila is similar to that which is found in the Life of St. Geminianus, performed against Attila when he was pressing the people of Modena with a siege — on account of which an annual celebration is held at Modena on February 18, called the Victory of St. Geminianus. For thus we see it almost always happen that the origins of all more famous places are either obscure or mixed with fables; and it was easy from the statue so placed for an occasion to arise among the people of San Gimignano for someone to be found who would persuade his fellow citizens that the dead had done in this place what the living had done at Modena, and who would confuse the names of Attila and Totila, differing by scarcely one letter — whose times are separated by less than a full century, and whose barbarism was nearly the same.

[3] Whoever wishes to see the sacred and profane buildings, ornaments, and extent of this municipality more fully described, let him read the first chapter of Theodore Ferroni, with which he begins the Life of St. Fina, which he published in Italian at Florence in 1644, dedicated to the Most Serene Duchess and composed in the manner of a panegyric: Writers of the Life of St. Fina: drawn word for word from that which James Manduccius of Pisa had published in Italian print for the second time in the year 1598, transcribed from the original Latin text of Friar John of San Gimignano of the Order of Preachers, about whom Sixtus of Siena says in his Library: A man well-deserving of letters, distinguished by his knowledge of very many things, not mediocrely skilled in scholastic theology and the sacred Scriptures, and an outstanding preacher; he flourished in the year 1310. He wrote a notable work on examples and similes of things in two large folio volumes, printed at Venice in the year 1499; books of Sermons on the times, on the Saints, on the work of the six days, funeral orations, etc. Sixtus does not mention this Life, however, because it lay hidden in obscurity within the walls of that Hospital, for whose Rector it had been privately written upon request in his native town.

[4] The same Life, translated into Italian by the aforesaid James Manduccius, was possessed by Silvanus Razzi when writing about the Saints of Etruria. The same is cited by Philip Ferrarius in his Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, published at Florence in 1598; and the eulogy composed by Ferrarius was woven by Abraham Bzovius into his Annals, without naming the author — which Bucelin did likewise in his Benedictine Menology, except that to these words of Ferrarius: "Living in her father's house as if in a monastery," Was she Benedictine? he added on his own: "she seemed to follow the strict rule of our Recluses" — for either an opportunity had to be found or fabricated by which she might be claimed for the Benedictine Order, although that Order, abounding in its own glories, needs no borrowed ornaments. The text of Ferrarius was rendered into French by Francis Lahier in his Menology of Virgins. Arthur in his Gynaeceum, content with a briefer eulogy, was satisfied to commend St. Fina for her remarkable patience and perfection of life.

[5] The people of San Gimignano, besides the day of March 12, which (as is stated in the Acts, number 23) they religiously observe as free from servile works, The cult of the same among the citizens, have also dedicated to her the first Sunday of August, as we shall see from Theodore Ferroni. From the same we learn that in the Collegiate church of the aforesaid town there is a notable and by far the most distinguished among the rest chapel; where an altar erected from white marble chapel, supports a precious urn, the repository of the virginal deposit. Seraphim carved from the same material weave a crown around it — for Fina is a name abbreviated in the Etruscan manner, like that of her brother Ciardi for Guicciardo, and although more probably derived from Rufina, it could also seem to have been taken from Seraphina. The head of the same Saint is enclosed in a precious reliquary, Relics, with a white and delicate cloth for a veil and a rich crown for an ornament; and thus twice a year it is exposed to the veneration of the local people, who also gather in their soil white flowers flowers. which they call "St. Fina's violets" — similar to those which had sprouted from the board to which the putrefying flesh of the living girl had adhered. Nor are there lacking, as the same Theodore attests, burning lamps frequently alight before the altar, and very many votive testimonies of obtained benefits around it, and frequent throngs of peoples coming as pilgrims to venerate the Saint.

[6] The Latin Acts in the original style were furnished to us, while we were in Florence, by a parchment codex of no small antiquity, From where the original Acts were obtained, found in the most excellently equipped library of the Most Illustrious Senator Carlo Strozzi, filled with both sacred and profane documents; who, informed of our arrival by letter from the Most Reverend Abbot Ferdinando Ughelli, was the first to come to us as we were recovering from our journey, and, inviting us to peruse his manuscripts, furnished no contemptible material for our work — in which we might usefully occupy ourselves while access to the Laurentian Library of the Grand Duke and the opportunity to copy were being obtained through friends. Cantalycius, an Italian poet printed at Venice in 1493, saw these Acts and rendered them in eighteen strophes of Sapphic verse with no less elegance than brevity and clarity, in book 2 of his epigrams addressed to Polydorus Tibertus; and the same author in book 7 composed a double epitaph for Blessed Fina, one in elegiac, the other in Phaleucian meter — all worthy of being inserted in this work, if after the discovery of the primary source there were anything in them of new authority. We append to the Prologue the old division of chapters, so that we may follow our own arrangement.

LIFE

By Friar John of San Gimignano, Order of Preachers.

Fina, Virgin in Etruria (Saint)

BHL Number: 2978

BY JOHN OF SAN GIMIGNANO.

PREFACE

To the devout man in Christ, Brother Goccio, ^a Rector of the Hospital of St. Fina ^b in San Gimignano, Brother John of the same place, a useless Brother in the Order of Preachers, sends greetings and wishes for him to happily follow in the footsteps of the Saints.

[1] Occasion of the writing, Your Fraternity has long requested of me with insistence that I should labor to compose a brief Legend in a suitable style concerning the most blessed Virgin Fina, whom our fruit-bearing land produced as a most precious fruit for God — collecting together at once both those things about her life which were verbally narrated by certain elders ^c, and also her miracles, which were written on certain notebooks and slips of paper. Although I am inadequate for this, yet trusting in the intercession of the Virgin herself, and moved by love for her, and also yielding to the prayers of your charity, to which I gladly assent, I will satisfy your pious desires. Order, Behold, I gladly offer the work you requested, compiled briefly in a rough but truthful style. Since, moreover, things that are written in order are learned more easily and better retained, I have comprised both the virtues by which she shone while living and the miracles that appeared after her death — with headings for each set forth first ^d — under the order of certain chapters. I have endeavored to maintain a mean in all things as far as possible, so that neither the roughness of the language may diminish the nobility of the history, nor excessive ornamentation may create suspicion regarding the truth. Reliability. This I solemnly declare to my readers: that whatever I have set down in this work about the blessed Virgin Fina was diligently examined, and everything was confirmed by the trustworthy testimony of those who had either seen with their own eyes or at least heard from those who had seen. May your dear Fraternity therefore accept what it demanded, and may all the inhabitants of our homeland venerate with praises and imitate with their deeds the most happy bride of Christ, Blessed Fina, resplendent with miracles and examples alike, to the honor of her Spouse and the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who made his Saint fruitful in merits and crowned her with eternal rewards in heaven.

^a A diminutive, from Hugo: Hugoccius, and by the removal of the first syllable, Goccius.

^b This is, in the testimony of Theodore Ferroni, the foremost of the three hospitals in that town, built for those laboring under any kind of disease, under the invocation of this St. Fina, who was most patient in illness; while the other two serve either for receiving pilgrims or for nurturing foundlings.

^c Since the author flourished at the beginning of the thirteenth century or even considerably earlier, he could have seen not a few survivors who had known St. Fina when living.

^d That is, with a table of contents for the chapters, which we append.

Chapter I. On the origin and name of Blessed Fina. II. On the propriety of her conduct in girlhood. III. On her illness and patience. IV. On her joyful poverty. V. On the death of her mother and the vision of the serpent. VI. On the revelation made to Blessed Fina about the day of her passing. VII. On the passing of Blessed Fina and the fragrance of her body. VIII. On her miracles before burial. IX. On her burial and her miracles in general. X. On crippled, broken, and paralytic persons freed. XI. On demoniacs freed. XII. On those freed from prisons. XIII. On those freed from drowning and perils of the sea. XIV. On fire being extinguished. XV. On the cure of a certain fistula and abscess. XVI. On animals cured. XVII. On the healing of a certain wounded man. XVIII. On the resurrection of a dead boy.

CHAPTER I

The virtues of St. Fina: her long illness: miracles after death.

[1] ^a After the Sun of Justice, Christ, covered with the cloud of the flesh, appeared to the world and made fruitful the dry and barren earth — namely human nature — with the most generous rain of his grace, Saints in the Church, in the substance of our mortality, which, like soil subject to a curse, was sprouting thorns of vice and thistles of passions for us, flowers appeared — that is, men most pleasing to God, blooming with the various colors of virtues and sweetly fragrant with the odors of their examples. as flowers in gardens: Among these, Virgins shone like snow-white lilies with the brightness of a wondrous purity; and holy Martyrs, like purple roses, gleamed red with the blood of their martyrdom; while the humility of the blessed Confessors, like fragrant violets, refreshed us with the lovable fragrance of its scent. Furthermore, in the last times, which Blessed Paul commemorates as having come upon us, in the flourishing castle of San Gimignano, which is in the homeland of Tuscany called Valdelsa, 1 Cor. 10:11 among whom Blessed Fina. a certain Virgin named Fina, pleasing to God and fragrant to men, arose like a new lily of purity. Who was also like a most pleasing rose, lacking neither the honor of sacred virginity, nor the vigor of penance worn away by prolonged labors, nor the fragrance of holy reputation. For with her interior purity she was surrounded by virginal grace, and with the faithful guardianship of humility she was fortified by the strength of marvelous patience.

[2] Her parents, The carnal father of this maiden was called Cambius, who, although despised on account of his poverty, is said to have drawn his origin from the lineage of nobles ^b. Her mother was called ^c Imperiera. The Virgin of Christ also had a brother named Ciardus, who lived so praiseworthy a life for a long time on the island of Sicily that he was venerated as a Saint, not only while alive but also when dead, by all. ^d The aforesaid parents of the Virgin, having received this happy offspring, decided, as if by some presentiment of the future, that she should be called Fina from the very font of sacred baptism.

For the common usage of the vulgar multitude, which the wise men of the world say should be followed in naming things, seems to have universally established that whatever obtains an excellent or optimal degree of goodness is commonly called "fine" or "finest" in the vernacular. Wherefore the holy maiden was rightly called Fina, and the reason for the name: since she merited to preserve the optimal degree of continence — virginity. For although marital propriety is good, widowed continence is said to be better; but virginal purity is judged the best. Abstinence from marriage is an imitation of the Angels; and as much as an Angel is superior to a human being, so much is virginity more honorable. She was also rightly called Fina, as one who attained the end, because, advancing through the various degrees of merit even to the end of life, she finally and happily attained the ultimate end of blessedness. ^e

[3] This most beloved bride of Christ, therefore, rising like the dawn, The maiden's modesty, to leave behind the darkness of the night of guilt and to advance into the perfect brightness of the day of grace, when she was of a girlish age, did not mingle herself in childish games but utterly avoided the wantonness of young women. For in order to preserve the purity of heart, which is the foundation of all virtues, and the treasure of holy virginity, in the earthen vessel of her body, she willingly remained at home, avoiding outings as much as she could, and abhorring the immodest gazes of men. If ever she was compelled to go out, lest the exterior gaze infect the interior chastity of the mind, chastity, she had made a pact with her eyes that they would look not to the sides but at her feet, and her eyelids would always precede her steps. And although she was lovely of face and beautiful in her whole body, yet she abhorred outward adornment and devoted herself to the interior composure of the mind — desiring to please not the outward glances of men but the eyes of the heavenly Bridegroom. But lest a servant nurtured delicately rebel against the master — namely, the flesh against the spirit — she afflicted her body with fasts, and like Blessed Cecilia she subdued her members with a hair shirt. penance, And lest through the sluggishness of idleness she lie open to the enemy's snares, she applied herself frequently to the manual works of women — not so much to alleviate her poverty as to avoid the malice of idleness. diligence. In which, indeed, she was following the example of the Queen of Virgins, the Mother of God, about whom Blessed Jerome attests that, working with distaff and needle, she daily earned her suitable sustenance.

[4] But since virtue is perfected in infirmity, in order that the Lord might bring her to perfection, A grave illness while she seemed most robust and healthy, he struck her with a most grievous affliction of the body. For suddenly, with her whole body incapacitated except her head, she was so completely contracted that she could not only not rise from bed but could not even turn or move in any way. This the Lord is known to have done so that the handmaiden of God might be rich not only in the merits of her works but even richer in the merits of her sufferings. Although, however, she was so infirm, she nevertheless lay not upon the softness of a bed but only upon a bare board. ^f But with one side of her body filled with vehement pains, and prolonged for a period of five years she always lay on the other side, never allowing herself to be turned or moved otherwise by anyone. Wherefore, the board beneath her having rotted from the moisture of her flesh, the flesh also adhering to it putrefied, so that that part of her side swarmed with worms. Mice also, running to her — if no one was present to drive them away — gnawed at her putrid flesh. Incredible endurance. Whence many trustworthy persons, who had frequently come to visit the handmaiden of God, testified that they had seen those mice coming forth from the cavities of her body which they had made by gnawing.

[5] O truly wondrous patience and to be preferred before all miracles, which found a manly spirit in the fragile female sex: whereby the Virgin of God, Serenity of mind and countenance, while tormented on one side of her body by such dire pains, and gnawed on the other by worms and mice, yet remained with so cheerful a face and tranquil a mind that she never showed a sign of sadness on her countenance or uttered a complaining word with her tongue. Therefore the murmur of impatience did not resound in her mouth, but always thanksgiving and the voice of praise. On account of which she seems to have been a Martyr without sword and flame, amid the greatest pains; whom, even though the sword of a persecutor did not take away, yet the prolonged torment of manifold pains afflicted — which she endured not with sadness of mind but with joyful patience. Moreover, that she might increase, like Joseph, in the land of her poverty, she bore the extreme want she suffered with so joyful a mind that she seemed no longer to be in the straits of poverty and in extreme poverty but to abound in immense riches. For knowing that the kingdom of heaven is promised to the poor in spirit, bearing her poverty with a cheerful soul, she made voluntary what necessity had imposed. The prudent Virgin, lucidly perceiving that for glorying in the want of poverty the glory of heavenly abundance was to be rendered, generosity toward the poor. received with fear and tears the gifts of piety and alms which merciful men and women sent — and as if saddened by large alms, she rejoiced more abundantly in small gifts. Reserving nothing from her daily food, so as not to be anxious about the morrow, whatever was left over from what was given her she bestowed on the poor.

[6] However, when the ancient serpent was tormented with envy at her virtues, her mother is suddenly killed. the pestiferous venom of his wickedness, which he could not breathe upon the handmaiden of God, he poured out upon her mother. For it happened one day that the Virgin's mother, mentioned above, having returned from outside and crossed the threshold of the house, suddenly fell by a slip, as if she had been thrown to the ground by someone's violent push. And while she lay thus immobile, the Virgin of the Lord, Fina, who was staying in the upper room, began to call out with crying and urgency to a certain respectable woman named Bonaventura, who had long served her by seeking alms out of a sentiment of piety, and who at that time was standing there: Rise, sister, go down and find out what has happened to my mother. At her word, when she went down to her, she found her not only prostrate on the ground but utterly deprived of life. Then the woman, raising her voice, cried out loudly, saying: Alas, alas! What will you do, Fina, since your mother is dead on the ground? She sees a serpent upon the roof: Hearing this mournful voice, the Virgin of God, when she raised her eyes to the ceiling, beheld a monstrous serpent stretched upon a certain beam, gazing at her with terrible eyes. She at first, from the dove-like simplicity that was in her heart, thinking it was not a diabolical portent but a real serpent, from whose bite her mother had died, cried out again to the aforesaid woman whom she had sent: Come, Bonaventura, come here, and see this venomous beast that has killed my mother. And after these words she added further, saying: Go, sister, quickly, go, call here Master Guineldus, to set up a ladder and climb to the roof and strike and kill this poisonous animal that bit my mother. When therefore Guineldus, who was a certain neighbor, came at the summons of the aforesaid woman, the handmaiden of God pointed out to both of them — both to the woman and to him — with her finger, that terrible serpent which she herself saw with her eyes, saying: See it, see it, which killed my mother. But when they said they could see no such apparition, and puts the demon to flight with the sign of the Cross. the Virgin of Christ understood more clearly that what she saw was not a living serpent but a portent of the most wicked enemy, who had deceived the first parents through the appearance of a serpent. Whereupon, immediately making the sign of the Cross against it, it vanished from her eyes. The handmaid of Christ therefore perceived from these things that this kind of death of her mother had come not so much from the wickedness of the demon as from the judgment of the hidden divine dispensation. Wherefore, giving thanks to God, she bore the hard event not with sadness but with an equable mind.

[7] From St. Gregory she learns, At length the time came when the Lord determined to reward her for her labors and to crown her after the trial of a long contest. That which the holy Prophet once humbly requested, saying: Make known to me, O Lord, my end — Ps. 38:5 this the holy handmaid of the Lord merited to obtain as a special gift of God. For about eight days before the hour of her death, the holy Pontiff and Doctor Gregory, toward whom she, beloved of God, had held a singular devotion, and to whom in her prolonged illnesses she had been in some way conformed, appeared to her from above, resplendent, saying with a most sweet voice: Be ready, daughter, for on the day of my solemnity you are to come to our company, to remain eternally with your Bridegroom in glory. Comforted by his sight and refreshed by the hearing of this most sweet promise, that she will die on his feast day: she raised her hands to the Lord and, with eyes directed upward, rendered devout and humble thanks to the Redeemer, who had deigned in his clemency to invite his handmaid, so abject and humble, to so sublime and ineffable a glory. Then, as best she could, reverently inclining her head to the holy Pontiff, she commended herself more devoutly to his grace. When this was done, the vision disappeared, which the handmaid of God herself afterward revealed with great humility to certain women familiar to her and joined to her in spiritual intimacy. All of which the said women related to many after her sacred death, just as they had heard from the handmaid of the Lord; and about this they were afterward solemnly examined and confirmed under the pledge of an oath the very thing they had previously said.

[8] and at last failing, From that day, therefore, on which, as has been said, the handmaid of the Lord received the heavenly revelation, her body, now nearly consumed, began to fail more and more from weakness and to be tormented by a painful restlessness of the head. Wherefore a certain praiseworthy woman named Beldia, who with praiseworthy affection of charity and holy devotion had borne the care of her for a long time, took pity on her, and held the Virgin's head raised with her hand and arm for so long that her hand swelled violently, so that she could neither close it nor move it without great pain. At last, when the day of the aforesaid solemnity of the most blessed Doctor Gregory was at hand, on which the most holy soul of the Virgin, according to the promise made to her from heaven, was to be released from her body — sensing her end near, she recollected her entire most devout spirit toward the Lord, awaiting the coming of the Bridegroom and his call, at which, going out to meet him, she would enter into the heavenly nuptials with him. But the most prudent Virgin, having received the Sacraments, she dies, so that she might be found prepared at the hour of her departure, having first made a general confession, she asked for and received with the sweetness of wondrous devotion the Sacrament of the Lord's Body and finally the Extreme Unction. After these arms, made secure about the battle of death, she joyfully awaited the struggle. And while she commended herself to the Lord with continual prayer, amid the very words of prayer she rendered her immaculate spirit to the Creator, in the year of the Lord 1253, in

the month of March, on the day of the feast of Blessed Pope Gregory.

[9] In the very hour of her passing, the aerial powers, seeing that they had been unable to detain her spirit — inasmuch as they had no right or power over it — withdrew in confusion and fury and stirred up in the air so violent a tempest of wind and rain that people in those parts were not a little terrified. The board to which the putrid flesh had adhered, The sacred little body, which had already been worn away by prolonged torments, remained so attached to and incorporated into the wooden board upon which she had long lain, on the side of the putrefied flesh, that it could by no means be separated from it intact. In this, indeed, the most beloved bride of Christ imitated the passing of her Bridegroom Christ, who commended his Spirit to the Father, with the body, tormented by suffering and fixed to the wood, remaining. Moreover, the parts of putrid flesh which had remained adhering to the aforesaid board, separated from the rest of the body (as many who saw them afterward testified in truthful report), produces flowers. were by no means horrible to look at or foul to anyone's smell, but remained full of the whitest flowers breathing an odor of sweetness. The whole board was also covered in flowers on that side to which the flesh had adhered, and was fragrant with a wondrous scent. Whence one of those flowers, which someone had plucked from the board, when he had carried it farther away to show to those who were absent and had proved by placing it under the noses of many that it obviously breathed a fragrance, returning to the aforesaid board, reverently replaced the flower he had taken in the place from which he had taken it. The remaining virginal body also, the body of the deceased gives off a sweet odor, which had been left lacerated on the side where it had adhered to the board, where also not a few gnawings and burrowings of the mice appeared, was fragrant with a similar sweetness of odor. For it was fitting that the virginal members, which, worn away by the most grievous ailments, had spiritually given off a sweet scent to God, should also corporally give off a fragrance to the world — and from that part especially where they had been most struck, like spices which, when crushed in a mortar, more fully spread their scent around.

[10] Nor should there be passed over in silence the miracle which, at that time widely publicized, the spontaneous ringing of bells, was found for certain to have occurred at the death of this Virgin. For before her body was brought to the Church, the bells of the main church and of all the others began to ring of their own accord, pulled not by the hands of men but by the power of Angels. There was therefore a divinely caused concourse of many peoples to the body of the most blessed Virgin, so that even after it was carried with reverence and fitting honor to the said main church, the crowd clamoring prevented the Clergy from committing the sacred body to burial, and at first for some days it remained placed upon a bier in the choir of the said Church. During which time this remarkable miracle is reported to have occurred before the eyes of many: the miracle of the healed hand: two days after the Virgin's death, when her guardian and nurse Beldia, about whom brief mention was made a little above, like the inseparable companion of the Virgin — not only when alive but also when dead — had sat beside her bier and had confidently prayed to Blessed Fina for the healing of her hand, the Virgin, though lying dead, raised her arm from the bier and with her own hand, before the eyes of all, grasped the swollen hand of the nurse and squeezed it three times, carefully exploring each of her fingers. And it happened that after the triple touch, having returned her hand to the bier, to the astonishment of all who were present, she released from all previous pain and swelling the hand she had squeezed, leaving it completely free.

[11] A swollen knee is cured. Also at the same time, before the body of the Virgin was enclosed in the tomb, a certain girl named Melina, daughter of Guidialdus, whose knee was horribly swollen with an injury to the bone from a certain fall, on account of which she could not walk even with a limp without great pain — when she had been brought to the holy body, having grasped the hand of St. Fina and applied it over the swollen place, she departed and returned to her home completely free. A certain man also named Saladuccius, and a fleshy growth. in whom flesh was growing again in a certain part of his body, which had to be cut away annually — from which incision, whenever it was performed, he suffered such vehement pains that he almost always became sick unto death — when he first heard the death of the Virgin announced, having made a suppliant vow to her that if the Lord would free him by her merits, he would always fast on bread and water on the vigil of her feast, and also that he would annually encircle her tomb with a wax thread, he immediately obtained the fullest health.

^a This river, rising in Sienese territory, empties into the Arno between the towns of San Miniato and Empoli, at the place from which the distance is nearly equal — to Pisa on one side and to Florence on the other.

^b From the most noble Ciardi family, says Ferroni, perhaps because he found that Fina's brother was named Ciardo.

^c Which means "Empress" to the Italians. The printed Italian edition prefixes to it the letter M, doubtless following the original text; which the describer and compiler of the Florentine codex omitted because it was not understood by him. I believe, because I similarly find it prefixed to all other women's names in the same edition, that it stands for "Madonna," that is, the honorific appellation "Lady."

^d He is nevertheless unknown to Octavius Caietanus, who most diligently investigated the Saints of Sicily.

^e See our other conjecture about the origin of the name in the Commentary, number 6.

^f Ferroni pretends it was of oak wood, to have an occasion for playing on the family name "de Rouere" of Giulia Vittoria, wife of Ferdinand II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and daughter and heiress of Frederick, last of the Dukes of Urbino, to whom he inscribes his little work.

CHAPTER II

Miracles after burial.

[12] The tomb of St. Fina devoutly frequented, After this, the most blessed Fina was buried in the land of her origin, in the parish church of the above-named castle of San Gimignano, within the said parish church, with joy and praises and great veneration of both Clergy and people. After which, all peoples began to flock with admirable devotion to her most sacred relics, and in throngs not only from the aforesaid castle but from all the cities of Tuscany — from which many came with banners and musical instruments, visiting the glorious tomb of the Virgin and offering copious gifts and presents there. Where also, by divine power, innumerable miracles began to shine at the invocation of the Virgin and at the touch of her holy relics. For by her merits the omnipotent power of God restored complete health to the crippled and ruptured, shining with miracles. restored sense and motion to the paralyzed and those who had lost the use of their bodies, drove demons from possessed bodies, powerfully rescued those imprisoned in dungeons, brought those who were submerged unharmed from the waters, granted a harbor of safety to the shipwrecked, extinguished blazing fires, cured abscesses and fistulas with wondrous speed, freed animals from many infirmities, and finally restored those lethally wounded to perfect health, and — what is greater than all — recalled the dead to life. But all those miracles which we have touched upon in a general enumeration are to be specified in turn and in the same order through the examples of individual signs.

[13] A certain woman from Monte Voltrano ^a named Benefacta, Three crippled persons cured, who was crippled in hands and feet, when she had been brought to the tomb of the Virgin with fitting devotion and had commended herself to her merits, carried away from there the remedy of fullest health. Another man also, who because of his complete contracture in hands and feet had been carried on a donkey to the tomb of the Virgin, was set free by the merits of the same Virgin to whom he had reverently commended himself, and departed on his own feet, totally freed — going and giving thanks to God and blessing all the people of that land. Another man, who from his mother's womb had a twisted and contracted arm, so that he could neither bend it nor do anything with it, obtained the health he devoutly sought before the aforesaid tomb, fully restored by the merits of Blessed Fina. Another man, called Bertinus, whose arm an venomous animal had bitten and which from that bite was lost and contracted, having sought the protection of Blessed Fina, obtained through her merits complete health.

[14] Likewise a mute man, A certain man from the County of Pisa and the place called Alica ^b, named Benaffare, who was crippled in hands and feet and was moreover mute, was carried to the tomb of the Virgin bound on his donkey; where, having poured out his prayers to her, he obtained at will the benefit of health for his cure ^c. Another man also, named Galganucius, so crippled that he could not walk without the support of crutches, a debilitated man, which are commonly called "croccie," having poured out a devout prayer to the Virgin, fully obtained the grace of health. A certain infant still nursing, while being washed one day by his mother, suddenly suffered a rupture of the belly, through which the internal organs were visible; a ruptured child, and when they began to flow from the belly, after a vow was made by the mother to the Virgin, he was healed with a wondrous consolidation. And a paralytic, A certain paralytic and trembling man, who could not support himself on his feet but whenever he was released immediately fell trembling to the ground, when he had been brought with the help of others to the tomb of Blessed Fina and had reverently sought her intercession, having received health through her merits, returned to his home on his own feet, unharmed. Many other people also, held by the same infirmity, coming with reverence to her venerable tomb, the most merciful bride of Christ mercifully set free.

[15] A certain Bertellus ^d from the village of Campiglia, which is in the district of the Castle of ^e Colle, cruelly tormented by a demon, when he had been led, as it were by force, to the tomb of the handmaid of God, and a certain ring ^f, which Blessed Fina had held on her finger, was placed on his finger by someone, the demon that tormented him, a demoniac freed: for the space of fifteen days during which he held that ring, ceased from vexing him. But when the ring was returned to the one who had lent it, the demon immediately returned to him, vexing him more strongly; on account of which he was again brought back to the Virgin by his people, and through the Virgin the evil spirit began to cry out, saying: Why do you torment me, Finucia? Behold, I will depart from this man, since you do not allow me to be here. And when the bystanders asked what sign of his departure he should show, the wicked spirit answered, saying: I will snatch a ^g cap from the head of one of those standing here, and I will break one of the lamps of this church by striking it. The truth of his words was immediately confirmed, as he had said, by the outcome of the event. For immediately the evil spirit, going out from the man, fulfilled both signs as he had predicted — both with the cap and with the lamp. Likewise two demoniacs, Another demoniac woman also, who was led from the imperial castle of San Miniato to the relics of Blessed Fina, having given a sign that in his departure he would break a lamp, was, after the demon was expelled and the sign concerning the lamp fulfilled,

immediately freed by the merits of the same Virgin.

[16] A similar miracle concerning another young woman who had recently taken a husband was wrought by a similar miracle in Apulia, the Lord deigned to perform through his handmaid in the Port of St. Vitus of Polignano, which is in Apulia in the region of Bari ^h. For when a certain merchant named Cinus, a native of the land of the same Virgin, had put in at the said port in a ship and, descending from the ship, had gone ashore, he found in the Abbey of the aforesaid St. Vitus, which is in that place, the said young woman possessed by a demon, troubling not a little all who were present there with her cries. The said Cinus, approaching her, began to adjure the demon that was vexing her with words of this kind: I adjure you, O demon, by God and out of reverence for St. Fina the Virgin of San Gimignano, to immediately depart from this young woman whom you have possessed. At his voice the evil spirit, responding with a great cry, said: Do you think you can drive me out of here? Certainly, if I can resist, I will by no means go out. And when he had adjured him again under the same words, the demon cried out, saying: Give me at least a brief time in which I must depart; and then you will see a clear sign of my exit and of this woman's liberation. And after these words, after a brief silence, the wicked spirit went out from her, and as a sign of what he had promised, he broke a certain lamp that hung on high with a great crash. But the oil spilled from the lamp, when it fell upon the solid pavement of the church, appeared condensed like earth — black indeed, but not at all greasy; on account of which it neither stained those who touched it nor adhered to them. There too they begin to invoke the Blessed one: The aforesaid young woman, giving thanks to Blessed Fina, departed, with the spirit expelled, completely freed. The Abbot of the aforesaid place, having seen so great a miracle, had the image of the aforesaid St. Fina painted in the church, to which great reverence is shown to this day by the natives of that place, and many miracles have been displayed there through the merits of the same handmaid of God. Many other persons also, both men and women, possessed by unclean spirits, coming to the venerable tomb of the Virgin, departed thence with those spirits expelled, and having left garments or hair there as a sign, returned to their homes completely freed.

[17] Four men placed in prisons and bound with the strongest fetters, Four men freed from prison: when they had more devoutly commended themselves to Blessed Fina, by not human effort but divine power, with the shackles removed from their feet, were miraculously led out of that prison. Wherefore, coming more devoutly to the tomb of the Virgin and paying due thanks, they left their chains there as testimony. Many others also at various times came to the relics of the holy Virgin, bearing fetters and chains, from which they asserted they had been freed by her merits when their prisons were broken.

[18] A certain merchant, crossing a great and turbulent river, A merchant swept away by a river, when he entered not the proper ford of the river but a deep place, was dragged by the water into the deep and completely submerged. There, already beginning to be suffocated by the waters, with a vow of the heart, as fervently as he could, he invoked the aid of the Blessed Virgin Fina. When this was done, he felt a certain hand drawing him by the hair upward, and thus by the protection of Blessed Fina he was brought safely out of the raging waters. Whence, afterward coming to her tomb with gifts and offerings, he faithfully related the miracle that had occurred and there paid due acts of thanksgiving for the benefit received. Another merchant also, from San Gimignano, named ^i Lotharingus, related in a trustworthy account and another fearing shipwreck is aided: that when a certain ship was at sea, in which he was sailing together with many others, and the very dense darkness of the night covered them, the vessel was so violently tossed by winds and waves that all considered themselves close to shipwreck. Wherefore the aforesaid merchant, fearing the danger of imminent death, sought with a devout mind the help of Blessed Fina; nor was he disappointed in his confidence. For immediately, while he looked outside upon the sea, near the ship an immense light appeared, like fire, by whose shining the air was made serene, the winds and waves fell silent, and every tempest immediately departed.

[19] A similar miracle also happened to another ship battered by a most severe tempest of winds and waves: Others saved from a similar peril: for when those who were in it feared the intolerable fury of the sea, at the urging of a certain man who was present, who knew the name of the holy Virgin, invoking her with a common vow as supplicants, they immediately, by her help, obtained a wondrous tranquility of the sea when the tempest was calmed. Whence some of them, not ungrateful for so great a benefit, afterward came to her tomb, recounting the grace they had received from the handmaid of God and leaving there, with thanksgiving, an image as a sign of the miracle performed. Four similar images of ships at various times were also brought to the tomb of the handmaid of God by certain persons asserting that the blessed Virgin Fina had stood by them with salutary help in perils at sea — so that from these things what is read of the Bridegroom might similarly be admired in his bride, saying: Matt. 8:27 What manner of woman is this, that the winds and sea obey her?

[20] A fire extinguished, When in the parts of a certain village a fire had been cruelly kindled, and the flame, driven by the winds, was spreading far and wide on all sides, so that an irreparable conflagration of the whole village was feared, the Priest who was Rector of the church of that village — having a piece of cloth from a chemise that had been St. Fina's (which he preserved with great devotion as a dear relic) — seeing the inextinguishable flames of the fire, hung the cloth of the aforesaid chemise from the top of a pole, and as if with a banner erected, trusting in the power of the said holy Virgin, boldly advanced against the fire. A wondrous thing, but wrought by him who alone does great wonders. For immediately the fire drew back into itself and advanced no further, as it had begun, as if it had been an animate thing that, seeing the banner of an enemy, had retreated in terror; indeed, moreover, after a short space the fire was extinguished of its own accord. In which sign indeed the miracle of the Blessed Virgin Agatha ^k seems to have been renewed, whose veil, carried against fire, forced the conflagration to retreat and also finally extinguished it.

[21] Abscesses healed, A certain man for whom the disease of fistula had caused an incurable ulcer, when he had earnestly sought the mercy of Blessed Fina with pious prayers for his liberation, soon obtained from her the grace of health. In this place there should be inserted the benefit of another similar healing which the Virgin of God, Fina, bestowed upon a certain woman named Bonaventura, the daughter of her nurse Beldia, whom we have mentioned several times above. For when the said woman was suffering a certain horrible abscess in her breast, which in the physicians' judgment could by no means be cured without the pain of a more severe incision, she, dreading such an incision, sought the aids of a gentler remedy; for fleeing to Blessed Fina, the beloved and companion of her mother, she sought with all her heart the help of her assistance. The Virgin of God, hearing her mercifully, immediately made her well without any medicine.

[22] Animals cured: Moreover, by the power of him who saves not only men but also beasts, the handmaid of God, Fina, showed the force of her power even in the very beasts and animals. For when the oxen and donkeys and horses of many men were seized by the most grievous infirmities, and their owners had implored the grace of the same handmaid of Christ for their healing, she cured them with wondrous speed. In which deed the holy Virgin of God bore the likeness of Blessed Blaise ^l, Martyr of Christ, who is known to have shone with a spiritual gift of grace in curing animals of this kind. For she who followed his patience, it was indeed fitting that she should also obtain his grace.

[23] In the healing of wounds also, the Virgin of God exercised admirable surgery. As punishment for neglecting the feast, For since the day of her blessed death is observed annually in San Gimignano as especially festive and celebrated, so that all generally abstain from servile works, it happened once that on such a day a certain man named Cambius, urged by the prompting of his wife, set out with an axe to the forest to cut wood — because of the cold that was threatening at that time and especially that year. When he had begun to chop vigorously at a piece of wood, at the second stroke he inflicted a cruel wound not on the wood but on his own shin. Moved by the sharp pain and vehemently reproaching himself for not having observed the solemnity of the venerable Virgin, the wound received is healed for the penitent. he nevertheless sought her mercy with a suppliant vow to kindly grant him the aid of timely help in such sharp pain. The Virgin of the Lord, immediately hearing him, healed him with so wondrous a consolidation that not even a trace of the wound appeared thereafter. He also testified about himself and is aided in wars. that when he had been in eleven wars, in which always one side — and his more often — had been defeated, placed often in the greatest and almost inescapable dangers, because he had always devoutly commended himself to this handmaid of God, he escaped from those dangers unharmed — where his companions, who seemed more able to escape, remained dead. Whence, considering the circumstances of the events, he had no doubt that this grace had come to him through the merits of the handmaid of Christ.

[24] Finally, against that which the Philosopher asserts to be the most terrible of all things, A boy raised from the dead, and calls the end of everything — namely bodily death — the Virgin of God also powerfully extended the hand of her strength. For the son of a certain Lombard who at that time was living in San Gimignano, in the quarter ^m of the hospital which is now called St. Fina's, being of a childish age, was brought to extremity and closed his last day. When his anxious mother, bathed in tears, saw this, with great confidence of mind, having made a vow to the Virgin and sought her aid, she soon received her son restored to life and health alike. This great miracle was attested by many who with their own eyes saw the boy first dead and then restored to life. Other signs. Many other signs indeed the Lord deigned to work through his handmaid, even though they are not comprised in the compendium of this little work. These things, however, have been written briefly, not only to extol the praises of the holy Virgin, but also for the admonition of readers — so that, following the example of her life, and obtaining the aid of her grace, they may finally happily deserve to arrive at her company, with the favor of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God forever and ever. Amen.

^a It is a village to the south of San Gimignano, about eight Roman miles from the town and three from Volterra.

^b About halfway on the road between Pisa and San Gimignano, a place about twenty Roman miles distant from each.

^c You have the lawful proof of this miracle specifically below in number 26.

^d All the Italian versions have Benellus.

^e About an hour's journey away between east and south, distinguished by an episcopal title, to which the town of San Gimignano is subject, taking its name from its situation.

^f Ferroni thinks this was worn by the Virgin as a betrothal ring.

^g That is, a small cap. It seems to be a diminutive from birrhus, whose memory is found among sacred vestments already from the time of St. Cyprian; the origin of the name is from a dark red color, Cap, πύῤῥον the Greeks say, but the Latins use b.

^h The city of Bari is situated on the Adriatic coast, famous for the relics of St. Nicholas of Myra; fifteen miles to the east is the town of Polignano, and west of it, near it, is the monastery of St. Vitus.

^i Lattaringus in the Italian texts, and below among the witnesses, Ser-Luiteringus.

^k See this in our first volume of February, at the fifth day.

^l And for this too see the same volume, at the third day.

^m That is, a district or quarter of the town; in the broader and more genuine signification, however, to the Italians it means a district or territory, Contrata. as if called "conterrata" from many villages and towns (which the same Italians call "terrae") together; just as Commarca is a similar collection of villages and towns within the same boundaries or limits.

SUBSCRIPTIONS OF WITNESSES.

[25] In the name of the Lord. Amen. The following are the names of the witnesses deposing attestation of the aforesaid miracles. Which names are written in this book for the perpetual memory of the matter, individually and distinctly. First:

Lord Napoleon, Priest, formerly of the noble Lord ^a Ranuccio, of the sons of Rodulph of Monte-Grossoli, and an ancient native and citizen of the Castle of San Gimignano. Names of the witnesses.

Lady Benvegnuta, wife of the late Master Martin of San Gimignano.

Cinus Montancolli of San Gimignano.

Cambius Rustichelli of San Gimignano.

Lady Dirindescha, wife of the late Becchalesso, and now wife of Bandellus, Count of ^b Corlegarli, and daughter of the late Dirindone of San Gimignano.

Bonnome Nicolai of San Gimignano.

Priest Benintende, formerly of Fortis ^c, of San Gimignano, Rector of the Church of St. Lucy of Catignano.

Lady Benvegnuta, wife of the late Simon of la Santia of San Gimignano, and daughter of the late Lady Beldia, nurse of the aforesaid St. Fina.

Priest Thomas, formerly of James Giangalli.

Joannellus Ranerii of San Gimignano. ^d

Saladuccius Beni of San Gimignano.

Lady Melina, daughter of the late Guidialdus of San Gimignano.

Lady Bonaventura, who dwells in the castle of the old court of San Gimignano.

Ser-Luiteringus Beninati of San Gimignano.

Cinis Bonachursi of San Gimignano.

[26] Of the miraculous healing, In the name of the Lord. Amen. This is a copy of a certain public Instrument, whose tenor is as follows. In the name of God. Amen. By these public letters let it be manifest to all that Priest Scholaris, Rector of the Church of St. Mary of Alica, of the parish ^e of St. Gervasius, Diocese of Lucca, of his own proper and free will, testifies and says under oath that he saw and knew Bonaffare, son of the late Bonacursus, of the same place, healthy in all his limbs and speaking correctly, and afterward, for about ten years, saw him paralytic and saw him continually without speech, as it pleased God. Wherefore the said Bonaffare, going to San Gimignano, to the place where the body of Blessed Fina is said to rest, was there freed by divine grace bestowing, through the merits of the same. And he says that concerning all these things there is public report in the aforesaid parish.

Dardus, son of the late Sinibaldus, having sworn, testifies and says the same thing as the above-written Priest. Sworn witnesses.

Bertus, son of the late Bernard of Alica, having sworn, testifies and says the same thing as the above-written Priest.

Vitalis, son of the late Uguccione of Alica, having sworn, testifies, etc.

Martinus, son of Upecinus ^f of Alica, having sworn, testifies, etc.

Corsus, son of the late Chartho of Alica, having sworn, testifies, etc.

Gaitothus, son of the late Marchannus of Alica, having sworn, testifies, etc.

The aforesaid witnesses were received and examined by me, Lupardus, Notary, by the word ^g of the abovesaid Priest, at Forculum in the marketplace, in the presence of Bartholomew, Notary, son of the late Bonalbergus, and Matthew, son of the late Ildobergus, in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 1254, ^h Indiction 11, on the day before the Ides of May.

I, Lupardus of St. Gervasius at ^i Forculum.

^a Understand "son," and so this passage is interpreted by James Manduccius.

^b Manduccius reads Corlegalli.

^c That is, "son."

^d In our MS the father's name is badly transcribed; here we restore it from Manduccius, in whom all the things that follow are lacking. He concludes, however, with the erection of Bernardinus Mainardi, which occurred in his own times.

^e It is common among Italians to call both parishes and the churches of individual parishes "Plebes" (Pievi); Plebatus, which is here rendered plebatum, and below plebeium.

^f It might seem to be taken from Lupicinus; I believe the name Cinus, recurring several times above, is used from one or the other by the removal of the first syllable.

^g That is, "by the word, speech, or assurance": Italian parola, Spanish palabra, for parabola — both from this origin, by the omission of one syllable; and parlare as it were parabolare.

^h Rather Indiction 12; or if we wish to retain 11, in the year 1253. Whichever you take, it appears these things happened within two or fourteen months from the death of St. Fina; from which we might not unreasonably suspect that this Life was written not many years after her death, or we must say that because of the frequency of miracles no further account was taken of them after the solemn cult of the Saints was legitimately decreed for the Virgin. Certainly Manduccius seems to have found nothing further written up to his own times; he adds what follows from his own testimony and memory.

^i I find Monte Foscoli in the geographical tables, about one league's journey closer to Pisa than Alica is.

GLEANINGS FROM THE ITALIAN TRANSLATORS.

[27] Legs that had been withered for many years, By no means inferior to the aforesaid were the miracles which we know to have been performed at successive times, from the votive images and tablets and other offerings brought to the aforementioned church and hung around the chapel of the Saint. Specifically, however, in our own times a certain boy named Bernardinus, son of Bernardinus Mainardi, deprived of the use of his legs, which had withered, carried them hanging from bands tied around his neck above his shoulders — he who should have been carried by them. Having invoked St. Fina The chief care of him was borne by a certain sister of his, by whom he was sometimes carried to a chair designated for natural necessities. When he was already seventeen or eighteen years old and noticed his sister murmuring within herself from the weariness of her prolonged labor, as soon as she withdrew, he began devoutly to pray to God, through the merits of Jesus Christ and the martyrdom of St. Fina, so patiently endured by her, to grant him either death or release from that infirmity. And continuing his prayer, he said: If I am unworthy to obtain the grace, you, O Virgin and Martyr Fina, intercede with your prayers and bring it about that I may no longer live as a burden to anyone and utterly useless for divine service. He had scarcely said these things when, with the bonds suddenly loosened, the legs fell downward; blood ran into the veins, vigor ran to the sinews, and everything began to perform its function. She restores his limbs to their function, Meanwhile Bernardinus saw no one laying a hand to these things; he only felt his eyes dazzled by the flash of a sudden great brilliance, and immediately rising to his feet, he took certain candles affixed to a domestic image of the Virgin Mary and, going out of the house, invited his contemporaries, who used to visit him, to accompany him now to the church, to give thanks likewise to St. Fina for so manifest a miracle which she had wrought in him. And the aforesaid Ser-Bernardinus lives ^a today, healthy and free from all infirmity, especially of the legs, and having been made a Priest, celebrates Masses; and he gives full assurance to anyone who asks of those wondrous things which he professes to have experienced.

[28] In the year 1631, a pestilential plague, following the Mantuan War, had invaded many cities of Italy; She liberates her homeland from the plague. and among these had so infected the town of San Gimignano that it threatened death to all and solitude to the houses — since there was scarcely a house that did not count its dead or dying. The citizens, destitute meanwhile of human remedies, took refuge in the often-tested patronage of their most merciful patroness; they brought out the head of the Blessed one, and carried it about in a processional ceremony as supplicants. That the confidence had not been vain was declared by the evil being soon dispelled; for it was observed that on that very day — which marks the first Sunday of August, dedicated by the citizens of San Gimignano to the honor of this Virgin — all contagion ceased so completely that even the very garments of those struck down by the dire plague were believed and found to be harmless; and after forty days commerce was restored to the town by the surrounding cities and towns, which had been suspended out of fear of the disease.

^a That is, in the year 1575, when this Life was first printed; Ferroni, however, who saw only the second edition, expressed the year 1598; and what follows he added from his own time.