John the Good

ON BL. JOHN THE GOOD, HERMIT OF THE ORDER OF ST. AUGUSTINE, AT MANTUA IN ITALY,

IN THE YEAR 1249.

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.

John the Good, hermit of the order of St. Augustine, at Mantua in Italy. (B.)

BY E. C.

§ I. Why the Acts of Bl. John are given on this day. His short eulogy, fatherland, name. Whether he is to be said to have belonged to the family of the Bonomi.

In the first place we advise that Bl. John the Good is honoured at Mantua, where he was born both to this earth [He is honoured on the 25th of October, but it was necessary to give his Acts here.] and to heaven, on the following day, the 23rd of October, on which it is certainly established that he exchanged the present life for the eternal. On that day also most martyrologists celebrate his praises; others, with the Roman martyrology, at the 23rd day of November. Ferrari, however, in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, set down the eulogy of Bl. John at the 22nd day, in which he was imitated by the author of the Italian Hagiology, published at Bassano in the year 1773. We also do this, for this sole reason, that the 23rd day can neither be added entire to this Ninth Volume of the Acts of October, lest it be too thick, nor be entirely lacking, lest the volume also lack its due bulk. And this is the reason why it was necessary to transfer the Acts of Bl. John from the 25th day hither, or, if you prefer, with Ferrari to assign him to this 22nd day. But since the day of the cult, to be chosen in preference to the others, is without doubt the 23rd day of this month, we shall mark him on that day in his own proper place, the Reader being advised that his Acts are to be sought in the present volume. These things premised, we now begin, after our custom, to comment on the life of Bl. John.

[2] The conversion and penance of Bl. John. Although our Blessed one is far inferior to St. Augustine, whose rule he embraced, in celebrity and talent or learning, yet he can deservedly be compared to him as a prodigy of the divine mercy; since his biographers unanimously narrate that up to the fortieth year of his age he was utterly forgetful of his eternal salvation, and thereafter was so converted to God that he himself was eminent for stupendous penance and holiness, and led many others by examples and exhortations to a better harvest. Nay, his mother was another Monica, of whom St. Antoninus writes: But his mother, solicitous for her son's salvation, poured forth prayers to God with many tears for his salvation. Whose desire the Lord heard Below in the Acts, num. 1.. Antonio Verle, in the supplement to the Catalogue of the Saints of Pietro de' Natali, which first came out at Vicenza together with the catalogue itself in the year 1493, has this summary of the Life of Bl. John Catalogus SS. etc. Lyons 1514, in the Appendix, chapter 6, fol. 239 verso.:

[3] His eulogy from the Catalogue of the Saints. Of St. John the Good, confessor. John the Good, confessor, a Mantuan by fatherland, his father John having died, was left rich by inheritance; for whom, while he cleaved to slippery young men, Bona his mother unceasingly sent up prayers to God. And God, not rejecting the vows of the faithful, behold, allows the young man to be made sick in body for the salvation of his soul. But while he binds himself by a vow of religion, he is restored to his former health; and, his mother having died, all things having been given out to the poor, he withdrew into a certain cave not far from Cesena, where he afflicted himself in a wonderful manner. Afterward, having taken the habit of the hermits of St. Augustine, he began to be scorched with carnal fires; which he extinguished by very sharp pieces of reed fixed under the nails of his hands, with so sharp a torment that for three days he lay almost lifeless. But since the loving God does not desert His servants, appearing to him in a vision He healed at once both the incitements of the flesh and the wounds. He, giving thanks to God, afflicting himself with incredible abstinence, restoring very many monasteries in Flaminia and Umbria, built up for himself a wonderful name for holiness. In which region, having stayed fifty years (read: forty), he returned thence to his fatherland: and, full of days and of perfect works, outside Mantua, in a monastery built for him by the citizens, in the year of salvation 1222 (read: 1249) he yielded up his spirit to God. Whose body, translated not long afterward into the city, was most honourably laid in the monastery of St. Agnes; whose tomb very frequently shines with miracles. His memory is kept on the octave of Easter, now on the 23rd of October or of November, of which below must be spoken. We advise, however, that Antonio Verle borrowed this eulogy from a somewhat more explicit one which Filippo of Bergamo inserted in his Chronicles Supplementum Supplementi Chronicarum. Venice 1513, fol. 225., who was writing about the year 1475 Ossinger, Bibl. Augustiniana, page 360..

[4] He was born at Mantua. They say that he was of the family of the Bonomi, Mantua, where Bl. John was born, is a very well-known city of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, crowded with inhabitants up to about thirty thousand, and the most strongly fortified citadel of all Italy Moroni, Dizionario di erudiz. At Venice 1846, vol. XLI, page 172.. Its episcopal see is most ancient, which in the year 1453 Nicholas V withdrew from the patriarchate of Aquileia and subjected immediately to the Roman see Ughelli, Italia sacra, Coleti's edition, vol. I, page 858.; which state endures to this day. Very many Saints and Blessed were born there; to others Mantua was the place of death: of whom the first place is held by St. Anselm, bishop of Lucca, who departed this Life at Mantua in the year 1086 and is honoured as the principal patron of the city. There follows another patron of the same, Bl. John the Good; to whom are to be added St. Rufinus, Bl. Mark Marconi, Bl. Osanna Andreasi and very many others Moroni, vol. XLI, page 177.. And our blessed one was brought into the light there in the year of salvation 1168; and having his origin at Mantua from his father John and his mother Bona, says Ambrogio Calepino in the Life which, rescued from darkness, we print at the end of the Commentary, he also received from them a compound name. In almost the same words St. Antoninus of Florence speaks: Whose father was called John, his mother Bona; from which names joined together he himself was called John the Good. More recent writers have a little more concerning the surname of the Blessed one, yet not agreeing among themselves in every respect. Costanzo Lodi in the Italian Life Vita et miracoli del B. Giovanni Buono, da F. Constanzo Lodi. At Bergamo 1590. writes these things, which we recite entire by way of sample: John the Good was born at Mantua, in a ducal city so noble and adorned that it can be compared to any other in Italy, in the year of salvation 1268, of John and Bona de Bonomi; which family of the Bonomi was ancient, noble and endowed with honest riches. And he received this name in order that both the name and the substance of his parents might be propagated in him. Or perhaps, which I more willingly believe, following

these followed the leading of the Holy Spirit, who from eternity has known the hearts of all of us, and whom it has pleased to signify the future endowments of a man.

[5] whether his father belonged to it or his mother. In the parchment codex from which we are about to publish the life of Bl. John by Calepino, and which it is in every way likely is of that age in which Calepino flourished, that is, of the end of the fifteenth century or the beginning of the sixteenth, these words are written on the first leaf, but in a more recent hand: Saint John the good, of Bonomo of Mantua. But there is a controversy among the writers on this, namely, which of his parents is to be said to have been of the Bonomi. The Reverend D. Giuseppe Savio, canon of Mantua, in the Life of Bl. John, published nearly twenty years ago, writes with Lodi that it was his mother who belonged to the family of the Bonomi: The name of his father, he says, was John, of his mother Bona, of the noble family of the Bonomi Vita di S. Giovanni Buono primo Comprotettore di Mantova. Mantua 1837, page 7.. The opposite had been taught by Ippolito Donesmondi in the ecclesiastical History of Mantua, which was published in print in the year 1612 In Wadding, Annales Minorum, vol. II, page 529, num. 19. Rome 1732.; his words sound thus in Italian: Chiamandosi il padre Giovanni de Bonhomi e la madre Bona, esso percio fu appellato al battesimo Giovanni Bono. That is: Since his father's name was John de Bonhomi, his mother's Bona, he was called in baptism John the Good. Donesmondi was followed by Luke Wadding in the Apologeticum on the pretended monkhood of St. Francis Wadding, ibid. page 446.. Then also Leopoldo Volta, in the Summary of the Life which was published at Mantua by the Augustinian Fathers in the year 1775 on the occasion of a certain translation of the body of Bl. John the Good, together with some odes and poems [Poesie per la Solenne traslazione di S. Giovanni Buono con un ristretto di notizie intorno alla vita del medesimo, page 5. Mantua 1775.]: His parents, he says, were Bona, and John of the ancient and respectable family of the Bonomi, and from both he took the name of John the Good; or as the words sound in Italian: Furono suoi genitori Buona, e Giovanni dell' antica e regguardevole famiglia de Bonomi, d'ambo i quali assunse il nome di Giovanni Buono.

[6] Inquiry is made into the first From these things it is plain that nothing certain on this matter has been brought forward up to this day by the writers of the Life of Bl. John. But it remains to be inquired on what foundation it could have been said that he is to be ascribed to the family of the Bonomi, whether his father belonged to it or his mother. To this matter I do not know whether a certain fragment contributes anything, taken from the archive of the city of Cesena, in whose vicinity Bl. John lived for a very long time, which Luke Wadding published together with some others Annales Minorum, loc. cit. page 521.: I consulted, he says, all the learned men of Cesena, and from the monuments of the city and old manuscript chronicles I received these fragments. From the archive of the city: "In the year 1208. Blessed John Bonomo of Mantua, called John the Good (II beato Giovanni de Buonomi Mantuano, detto Giovanni Buono), for the sake of doing penance betakes himself into a hermitage only two miles distant from Cesena, at the age of forty years, and there for likewise forty years led the eremitical life." Of how great antiquity this fragment is is not clear, but such as it was printed by Wadding, the language and the manner of rendering the Italian words, or the orthography, certainly show that it is not ancient. Two things, however, come to be considered: first, that it could have been taken from older monuments, and the other things which appear in it are altogether accurate; then, that the name of Bonomi, since Cesena is not the fatherland of the blessed one, seems less likely to have been adopted by the people of Cesena to increase his glory. But these things do not settle the controversy. D. Pietro Cernazai of Udine, most devoted to our Work and to the glory of the Saints, of whom mention will be made more than once in this Commentary, collected and sent to us very many books and manuscript monuments concerning Bl. John. Among these monuments not the lowest place is held by the learned notes of the Reverend D. and noble man, the Marquis Alessandro Sordi or de Surdis, canon of Mantua; of which the third of the second Answer to the questions of D. Cernazai pertains to the present subject: The most ancient document, says the Reverend D., whose words I render in Latin, in which mention is made of the surname Bonomi, is the title of the manuscript Life which Father Rossignoli copied from the older one of Father Agostino of Crema, a third part being added, in which are contained the miracles which happened after death (of Bl. John, unless I am mistaken). And the title is this: "The most severe and wonderful Life of Bl. John the Good Bonomo of Mantua, of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine, gathered again from ancient monuments by Fr. Antonio Rossignoli, professed of the same vow."

[7] the asserters of this thing, When Rossignoli wrote is uncertain to me; for he is omitted in Ossinger's Augustinian library Ingolstadt 1768., as is also Agostino of Crema or da Crema, who, however, we know dedicated his Life of Bl. John in the year 1484 to the Marquis of Mantua, Federico Gonzaga. Of these writers there will be further discussion at the end of the Commentary, where we shall treat of the biographers of the Blessed one. Now the Reverend D. Sordi notes that this family of the Bonomi did in fact exist at Mantua in the thirteenth century, for, as the history of the city witnesses, at the year 1260, among the citizens who are enrolled in the council of elders (il consiglio degli anziani), there appears a certain Crescimbene de Bonomi Volta, Compendio storico di Mantova, vol. I, page 243.. It is asked, therefore, whether the said family of the Bonomi, as time went on and the fame of Bl. John grew, did not only then begin to call him one of their own; as they say happened with St. Fulco Scotus, bishop of Pavia, whom the very noble family of the Scotti contends is to be numbered among its forebears: of which Saint we shall treat at the 26th day of this month, when the martyrologies celebrate him.

[8] [of which the Apostolic Process of Mantua is altogether silent; from which other things are opposed.] It is indeed worthy of note that in the whole Process which we publish, and which began to be drawn up only two years after the death of Bl. John, no mention occurs of the house or name of the Bonomi. And no one will deny that this argument, although it is negative, has much weight, the circumstances being considered. For how could it be, if the blessed one was of the family of the Bonomi, that among so great a number of witnesses, I do not say of the Augustinian order, but of seculars, none appears from it, although this family flourished at Mantua at that time, as we have just seen? How also, in a long-lasting Process, among so many questions and answers, did not even the slightest mention of this kinship anywhere occur? To this is added that in the same Process it is said in various places that Bl. John was illiterate, or had learned neither to write nor to read: which in the thirteenth century seems by no means admissible of a young man born of noble parents. Brother Salvetus, a priest of the same order, who for many years had lived with the Blessed one at Cesena, testifies concerning a certain miracle: That this could not be except from the Holy Spirit, since Brother John the Good himself is an idiot, so that he did not know any letter In the Process below, num. 14. Likewise num. 279, 289, 306, 307, etc.. And although Bl. John is said to have been bereaved of his father already from the fifteenth year of his age and soon given to a freer life, it is not likely, if he had been of a noble family, that he would have been so destitute of all literature and skill in reading that he could be called an idiot. Moreover, the name of the Blessed one was not rare in Italy in that age, as is clear from the Process itself. Among the witnesses there appears a certain Fr. Bonus Johannes Ibid. num. 46. Likewise 344., and in another place a certain D. Zanibonus Ibid. num. 107.: and we know that the latter name sounds the same as John the Good; for in the Process itself the Blessed one is very frequently called Zanebonus Ibid. num. 101, 106, 110, 112, 120, etc., and even by Lanfranc Septala himself, prior provincial of Lombardy Ibid. 109., who afterwards was made prior general of the order. Then the Blessed one has this very name in the most ancient Italian life, published at Mantua in the year 1512 with this title: Leggenda del B. Zanebono de Mantua Volta, Ristretto, etc. page 5.. Lastly, and this is to me no light argument, he also became a jester; which kind of life, as will be understood from what is to be said below, I cannot persuade myself was taken up by a noble young man.

[9] Of several opinions that is to be preferred From what has been deduced thus far it is plain that at four different times opinions have been proposed, not altogether different from one another, but one more explicit than another. The most ancient is that which St. Antoninus holds in the Chronicles, which we know were completed in the year 1459, that the surname of Good was derived from the name of his mother Bona. This is followed by Calepino and Agostino of Crema. For the Cremasque, who we said wrote in the year 1484, but whose words on the name of the Blessed one have not yet been brought forward, speaks in about the same way as Ambrogio Calepino (above, num. 4), as is established to me from the excerpts which have come to us: John the Good, he says, was born at Mantua; he had as father John, and as mother Bona, from whom he drew his beginning and his name. The second opinion teaches that Bl. John was of the family of the Bonomi; whose followers have been indicated above. The third adds that his mother was called Bona de Bonomis (Bona de Bonomi Lodi loc. cit. page 1.), and this was first taught, so far as it has been possible to find out, by Costanzo Lodi, or of Lodi, who, as the most illustrious Giovanni Corti, bishop of Mantua, witnesses in a certain letter to D. Cernazai, follows the Cremasque in almost everything, and no less, as will afterward be shown, his continuator Rossignoli. Lodi, wishing to interpret the latter, and judging rather that the mother of Bl. John, Bona, was of the Bonomi, on account of the similarity of the names, than his father John, expressed this opinion in his Italian Life. The fourth, finally, holds that the father of the Blessed one, not his mother, was of the Bonomi.

[10] And from these things we at length conclude that either one must accede to the first opinion, which the old writers hand down, which says that he was surnamed from the name of his mother. or admit that our Blessed one was called good by syncope, from the surname Bonomi. To the latter Canon Sordi inclines, writing these words in a certain manuscript note: It does not seem to me foreign to the truth to say that the surname of good is to be held not only as an appellative on account of the goodness of his life, but also as a syncope of the name of his parents. I judge, however, that goodness, whether of life or of disposition, could not have been the origin of the surname, since these things are common to him with very many saints. Nay

Bl. John was so given to penance that these things do not seem in the opinion of the common people to befit him. Nor, if this were the cause of the name, would he have had it except after his conversion. As regards the second part of the cited note, that our blessed one was called good by a syncope of the name Bonomi, I judge that more certain documents are required than those which have been adduced above; but that meanwhile one must stand by the older Acts, namely those which were written by St. Antoninus, Filippo of Bergamo, Agostino of Crema and Ambrogio Calepino, and that one cannot proceed further without danger of error. And in these monuments the Blessed one holds no other name than that of John the Good, nor is anything else related of its origin than that it was compounded from the names both of his father John and of his mother Bona.

§ II. The chronology of the life of Bl. John. The errors of several.

The error of several biographers concerning the year of his death. Concerning the time in which Bl. John lived, or died, the old writers have handed down things either erroneous or too uncertain. In the middle of the fifteenth century St. Antoninus wrote of him: About the years of the Lord 1200, in the time of Innocent III, there was a man of great holiness, named John the Good, originating from Mantua, etc. Below in the Acts, num. 1.. But we shall show that in the year 1200 Bl. John had not yet been converted from his freer life, and that his holiness began later. Filippo of Bergamo, who wrote about the year 1475, thus set down his death in the Chronicles Supplementum Supplementi chronicarum. Venice 1513, fol. 225 verso.: In the year from the Christian Nativity 1222 he departed to the Lord; which likewise we shall presently demonstrate to be falsely asserted. Antonio Verle, in the supplement to the Catalogue of the Saints of Pietro de' Natali, as we noted above, followed the man of Bergamo in everything Catalogus SS. etc. Lyons 1514, in the Appendix, chapter 6. See above, num. 3.. From these assertions of the old writers, further, it has come about that in defining the age in which Bl. John flourished many have erred in different ways, as may be seen in Wadding Annales Minorum, loc. cit. page 450, num. 9 and following. and Herrera Alphabetum Augustinianum, vol. I, page 367.. A little after the man of Bergamo, Father Agostino of Crema, a Mantuan hermit of the order of St. Augustine, girded himself to write the Life of Bl. John, no longer from uncertain documents or traditions, but from the very authentic Processes of the year 1251; who, dedicating his book to Federico Gonzaga, marquis of Mantua, subscribes in this manner: From the house of St. Agnes at Mantua, on the kalends of February 1484.

[12] The Cremasque, Calepino, And in this Life, which is preserved in manuscript at Mantua in the archive of the Royal Government, the death of Bl. John is marked by the Cremasque in these words: Having completed forty years in the hermitage, and in the eightieth year of his age, having duly received all the sacraments, in the year of salvation forty-nine above twelve hundred, on the tenth of the kalends of October, on a Saturday about the ninth hour, in the Oratory near St. Agnes, in the suburbs of the port of Mantua, he flew up to heaven in the embraces of Christ, the counts of Casaloldo reigning. In which there is certainly an error in one thing; for blessed John departed this life not on the tenth of the kalends of October, or the 22nd of September, but on the tenth of the kalends of November, or the 23rd of October. For the rest, the Cremasque corrected himself, perhaps unknowingly, when he adds that he died on a Saturday. For in the year 1249, under the dominical letter C, the tenth day before the kalends of October, or the 22nd of September, did not fall on a Saturday, but on a Wednesday; but the tenth day before the kalends of November, or the 23rd of October, was a Saturday. Calepino also, who had the Cremasque before his eyes (as will be said more fully at the end of the Commentary when we give our opinion on the various Lives of the Blessed one), is in the same error. In the eightieth year of his age, he says, and in the year from the Nativity of Christ two hundred and forty-nine above the thousand, on the tenth of the kalends of October, the counts of Casaloldo reigning at Mantua, when he had fulfilled forty years in the hermitage and had received all the ecclesiastical sacraments, the house of this habitation being dissolved, he received a house to endure for ever. Calepino does not here add that the last day of Bl. John was a Saturday, but he has it expressly in another place. For narrating that a certain brother Bonaventure, an Augustinian hermit, who had accompanied Bl. John from Cesena to Mantua and had then been called to Ferrara to the general chapter, was freed from fever by his prayers, as he had foretold, he writes these words: Bonaventure therefore, secure, set out on the journey toward Ferrara on the following day, Saturday, as they call it. And when on the Sunday they had been gathered together, there came two of those who were staying at Mantua, announcing that Janbonus had departed this life on that past Saturday at the ninth hour: on which day also Bonaventure was released from the fever.

[13] and Costanzo Lodi unanimously say that he died in the year 1249. Most openly of all Lodi Vita et miracoli etc. fol. 23 verso.: When he was dying the year of the Incarnation of the Son of God was running one thousand two hundred and forty-nine, Innocent the Fourth sitting (and Frederick the second reigning in a few dominions), under whom the council of Lyons was celebrated; Mantua was then ruled by the counts (not Casaldoli, as the error of the first edition has it, but, as the second corrects) of Casaloldo, whose dominion embraced Mantua, Brescia and the March of Treviso: concerning whom the most honourable lord Antonio Beffa Negrini is now composing a particular treatise. And this death happened on the twenty-third day of October, a Saturday, at the ninth hour, in the Blessed one's own oratory. And since Lodi lived at Mantua for some time Lodi, Vita, etc. edition of 1590, fol. 139. and had long ago handled with his own hand the Process drawn up by order of Innocent IV Lodi, ibid.; since also the other author of the Life of Bl. John, Agostino of Crema, who wrote a whole century before Lodi, attesting that he died in the same forty-ninth year of the thirteenth century, also stayed at Mantua, their testimonies would suffice to produce full credence. But Filippo of Bergamo, the continuator of Pietro de' Natali, and St. Antoninus made Bl. John more ancient (above, num. 11), and not a few authors followed them. And this diversity of opinions became as it were an armoury from which arms were procured on both sides, both by the Augustinian hermits and by the Minorite Fathers, in the celebrated controversy which arose between them, in which it was asked whether St. Francis, before he founded his order, really spent two years with Bl. John as an Augustinian hermit. Wherefore, a brief history of the controversy being premised, we shall establish the year of the death of Bl. John from the Apostolic Process itself.

[14] [The controversy between the Augustinian Hermits and the Minors concerning the Augustinian monkhood of St. Francis.] Now the rise of that controversy was of this kind. Already at the close of the fifteenth century, through the newly invented art of printing, some books began to be spread abroad in which it was asserted that St. Francis was at one time in the order of the Hermits of St. Augustine. In the following century Jerónimo Román, historiographer of that order, repeated the same in his books Republicas del mundo. Medina del Campo 1575. Book VI, chapter 20, fol. 368.; to whom Father Antonio Daza, of the order of Minors, replied at length. To him again Father Juan Márquez, an Augustinian, a doctor of Salamanca of no lowest note, opposed a volume of no small size. He contends that St. Francis, before he raised up the order of Minorites in the year 1209, served for two years under the rule of St. Augustine with Bl. John the Good, and he relies on this twofold reason [Márquez, Origen de los Frayles Ermitannos de la Orden de S. Augustin. At Salamanca 1618, chapter 26, §2, page 428.]: the one, that ancient authors have testified to this; of which we shall presently speak briefly; the other, that this agrees with the years in which they relate that Bl. John flourished. For he writes, after Filippo of Bergamo, that our Blessed one died in the year 1222; and with St. Antoninus, that he flourished about the years of the Lord 1200, or, wishing to speak more precisely, that from about the year 1200 he embraced the rule of St. Augustine; thirdly he adds that he was born in the year 1150 or 1152. From which system, these three things being admitted, St. Francis could easily, before the year 1209, have lived for two years with Bl. John, already a hermit of St. Augustine. Wadding answered, in the Apologeticum on the pretended monkhood of St. Francis At the end of vol. II of the Annales Minorum, Rome 1752, page 446 and 452., that Costanzo Lodi should have been consulted, who thirty years before Márquez had published twice within a short time, namely at Bergamo and at Mantua, a Life of Bl. John put together from authentic monuments. In which Life it is asserted in express words that the year of his birth was 1168, and of his death 1249. And Wadding notes that with Lodi agree the old pictures of the convent of St. Agnes at Mantua, under which was written the year of his conversion 1208, and of his death 1249. Wadding was answered by Fr. Tomás de Herrera, an Augustinian Responsio pacifica ad Lucam Waddingum. Bologna 1635., a disciple of Márquez, defending some of his master's views, yielding to his adversary in others. What he defended in a long commentary concerning the age and deeds of Bl. John we have in summary in the same author's Augustinian Alphabet Vol. I page 366 and following.: in which place, correcting Márquez on the year of the death, he writes these words: Orozco refers his death to the year 1220, the man of Bergamo and others to the year 1222, but it is truer that he died on the 23rd of October in the year 1249.

[15] It is established that the Blessed one died in the year 1249. But that no doubt may thereafter arise on this matter, and because the whole chronotaxis of the life of Bl. John depends on it, we now report a passage from the Mantuan Process of the year 1251 in the very words of the witnesses, and we try to elucidate it. Fr. Bonaventure, priest of the order of St. Augustine In the Process at the end of the Acts below, num. 85 and following., who lived long with Bl. John at Cesena and was his confessor, accompanied him in the last year of his life from Cesena to Mantua, in which city within a few days he flew away to the heavenly fatherland. What happened on the journey he testified in the said Process before the bishop of Modena and others on the 4th day of August in the year 1251 Ibid. num. 3, 85 and 99., and among other things these words Ibid. num. 92 and 95.: The same witness says moreover that when he was coming with brother John the Good from the hermitage of Cesena, where the same fr. John the Good had stayed in penance, to the city of Mantua, they came to a certain place which is called Peola, etc… The same witness says moreover that when he had suffered for three months and more from a certain continual fever, and fr. Matthew, who was then Prior general, had sent for the witness himself to go to the chapter (of the hermits of St. Augustine) which was being assembled at Ferrara, then the same witness, having received the mandate, begged brother John the Good to ask

the Lord for him that he might be freed from the fever, so that he might go better; and then he answered him: Go, brother, securely, for you will be freed from that fever when I shall be freed from mine; the same fr. John being likewise troubled with a daily fever before the same witness was.

[16] from the Apostolic Process. And then the aforesaid witness on the following day, which was the day of the sabbath, set out on the journey to go to Ferrara to the said chapter, and the chapter being finished, on the following day, Sunday, two of the brethren who were staying at Mantua with the same fr. John the Good hastened with the greatest speed to Ferrara, announcing to the brethren who were at Ferrara that fr. John the Good on the day before, namely ON THE DAY OF THE SABBATH, about the ninth hour, had entered upon the way of all flesh. And on the same day the said witness had been freed from the fever by which he was held. Asked about the time (and this questioning took place, as was said above, on the 4th day of August in the year 1251), he says that it is 21 months (that is, that the death occurred in the last months of the year 1249). And as to the place he says that the same fr. John the Good died at Mantua, and the same witness was freed at Ferrara. The same witness also says that as soon as he was freed from the fever on the day of the sabbath, he said to certain of the brethren who were with him still: either fr. John the Good is dead, or he is freed from the fever; and he said these things to them before it was announced to them by the aforesaid brethren that fr. John the Good had died. As to the month, he says that it was IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER. From which passage and several others of the said Process, as will appear from the Annotations, the year and day of the death are placed beyond all hazard.

[17] He was born in the year 1168, as is proved That year having been established, the year of his birth also must be inquired into, which Juan Márquez with a notable error writes was the thirtieth or thirty-second above one thousand one hundred Origen etc. page 431. — Loc. cit. page 1.. This year neither the Cremasque nor Calepino marks in express figures (above, num. 12), although it can be deduced closely from their words. For if, as they say, he exchanged this life for the eternal in the year 1249, in the eightieth year of his age, it will follow that he was brought into the world about the year 1269. But Lodi writes the year determinately Loc. cit. page 1., asserting that he was born in the year 1268; whose words we reported at num. 4. Let us see what the Apostolic Process of Mantua furnishes on this matter. Many witnesses, especially from the order of the Hermits, who had had the blessed one as leader and master of the religious life, say that he was eighty years old when he died, of which they affirm that he spent forty in penance from his conversion. Thus fr. Lanfranc of the convent of Mantua, Prior general of the order of hermits, who had known Bl. John very well and whose authority must be great, in the year 1253, before the Cardinal of St. Eustace deputed by the Pontiff, said on oath that the said fr. John the Good was the founder and institutor of the order of hermits and that in it he did penance forty years and in it ended his life … and he said that he was EIGHTY years old at the time of his death Process, num. 261..

[18] Brother Grecus de Disendais of Mantua, of the same order, in the same year 1253, in the month of November, said that the said fr. John the Good stayed in the aforesaid order forty years, from the Process or nearly, as the said witness said that he firmly believed, in which order he ended his life as almost an octogenarian, as the same Fr. John the Good used to say in the hearing of the witness himself Ibid. num. 280.. The same numbers occur in very many other places of the same Process Ibid. num. 268, 275, 290, 294 and following., and it is added in one place Ibid. num. 290.: as the brethren believed … as is commonly believed by the brethren. From which it cannot be in doubt that Bl. John, when he closed his last day in the year 1249, was at least eighty years old, or perhaps a little more. If you deduct these from the year of death just given, you will again arrive at about the year 1269. Lodi therefore had, besides the Process, another source from which he expressed things closer to the truth. What that was is not certain to me, but I scarcely doubt that it is to be sought among the old pictures of the convent of Mantua, with which in the year 1518 (as we shall prove below where the translations are treated) its court or cloister was adorned round about.

[19] and from other monuments. Of these Wadding has some things in the Apologeticum: But even for more than two hundred years, he says, it was so read in the Mantuan cloister of the Augustinians of the church of St. Agnes reported above, round about which the life of the holy man was expressed in old images. (He should have said: for more than a hundred years it was so read, for Wadding published the Apologeticum in the year 1641, and the images were placed in the cloister, as we have said, only in the year 1518.) For under the picture of his conversion, when he began to detest the vain life, which is at the part of the sacristy through which one must enter the church from the tablinum or cloister, there was written the year of his life changed for the better, 1208; and the same number the monks of the same house, in the images of the same cloister restored and renewed in the year just past and the present, and in the first emblem or picture of his birth, which meets one entering from the square on the left, have put back the year 1168; and similarly in the other images they have distributed fittingly the numbers of the conversion and death which we mentioned above. But whence in the year 1518 could they learn that Bl. John was born in the year 1268? Certainly they knew it from somewhere; for many numbers are written under the painted panels which could not be discovered without accurate inquiry. Probably the Apostolic Process was examined, which, however, besides the year of death, does not furnish other numbers definitely; nay, as was shown above, from it Bl. John would have to be said to have seen this light in the year 1269 rather than 1268. Wherefore I should believe that they had at hand either old books of the baptized which were in use in some churches, though perhaps few [Compare Binterim, Denkwuerdigkeiten der Christ-Katholischen Kirche. Erster Band. erster Theil. Mainz 1825, page 182 and following.], or other monuments of this kind. Or it must be said that these numbers were collected and written down somewhere already in the thirteenth century, when Bl. John was becoming illustrious through many miracles and his contemporaries were still living at Mantua. And that year 1268 is certainly to be admitted, if only for this very reason, that the hermits of Mantua judged that they should depart a little from the obvious interpretation of the authentic Process.

§ III. Up to the fortieth year of his age he was a jester, and went round various parts of Italy. He did not play a part in tragedies. Of the proclaimed courts, at which jesters were magnificently rewarded. Of the morals of jesters.

In his youth he gave himself to the exercise of the comic art, Of the youth of Bl. John not many things have become known. Leopoldo Volta, a Mantuan historian, in the Summary of the Life attached to the Monuments published in memory of the translation of the year 1775 [Poesie per la solenne traslazione… di S. Giovanni Buono. At Mantua 1775; page V, Ristretto di notizie intorno alla Vita di S. Giovanni Buono.], writes that the errors of his youth are well enough known; nor is there need, he says, to recall here each of the things which the authors of his Life narrate. These, however, wrote nothing else about his youth than what Volta himself has, continuing thus: It will be enough to have said that, from the impatient and lively spirit with which he was endowed, he did not correspond to the Christian education of his parents. At fifteen years of age (of which presently), he was bereaved of his father, whose premature death loosened the reins for him, so that he gave himself up at pleasure to affections no longer restrained. In that corrupt century, so full of evils, such as the twelfth was, it was very easy to stray from the right path. It is no wonder, then, that he could be induced by certain good-for-nothings to leave his mother secretly and then, for the support of life, to exercise the vile and mercenary art of the jester: exercising which he travelled through Italy for a long time.

[21] up to the fortieth year of his age, and as a jester Calepino has similar things and no more, yet assigning a more honourable end to those journeys: He, he says, after his father had exchanged life for death, departed from his fatherland; and, pretending to be a jester, in order to acquire prudence and to claim for himself the manners of men, he was zealous to visit various and diverse regions of the world. Then, assigning the cause of his mother's greater peril and fear, after what has just been related, he continues thus: But the faithful and devout woman, his mother Bona, fearing lest her son should depart from the Christian faith (for there was then in Italy an almost innumerable multitude of heretics, by whose cunning not a few were seduced into believing things contrary to the Catholic faith), besought God with very frequent prayers and tears that her son, for whose salvation she was greatly distressed, should become subject to no impiety at all. And not so long afterward God looked upon the mother's vows. In which words Calepino here speaks less openly of the abandoned life which Bl. John led for some time.

[22] he went round various parts of Italy. These things, after his custom, Lodi tries to amplify and adorn, sprinkling in some passages of sacred Scripture and of the Fathers, adding nothing except that Bl. John gave himself as a prey to the senses, that he utterly forgot his end, that after his conversion he wept for the years in which he had lived ill, and other things of this kind. Verle, in the supplement to Equilinus, says that he cleaved to slippery young men (above, num. 3), for which to be added the title of jester given to John sufficed, as will presently appear. In Chiaramonti, in the history of Cesena, we read these things Historiæ Cæsenæ, book VIII, in Burman, col. 164.: He lost forty years in the world, enslaved to unworthy cares; and Ippolito Donesmondi, writing of his conversion in the ecclesiastical History of Mantua In Wadding, loc. cit. page 529., he was then forty years old, he says, speaking in Italian, but these had been so ill spent that, his father having died when he had not yet come out of boyhood, he gave himself to the comic art; exercising which, to the great grief of his mother Bona, he had gone round various cities of Italy up to that time. In the very ample Apostolic Process not even a word appears about the youth of Bl. John.

[23] His life up to the fortieth year of his age; he did not play a part Leopoldo Volta wrote just now (num. 20) that Bl. John was bereaved of his father in the fifteenth year of his age, which I do not remember reading elsewhere. Perhaps these things are excerpted from the Summary of the Life prepared by Father Minardi

Minardi, Compendio della Vita di S. Giovanni Buono. or from the old Legend Leggenda del B. Zanebono de Mantua. Mantua 1512. which that writer had in hand, but which could not now be found at Mantua. On what older monument they rely I do not know. It is likewise uncertain whether, his father having died, Bl. John still remained some time at Mantua with his mother; for those who handed down his deeds to posterity do not speak definitely: but all the writers persuade sufficiently that he was a youth when he left his mother. Not undeservedly did Agostino Arpe judge, in the Chronology of the life of Bl. John, that this happened about the year 1188, when he was twenty years old: He loses his youth in the mire in the year 1188 Pantheon Augustinianum. Genoa 1709, page 105.. But which cities of Italy he visited as a jester, and the fortunes of his freer life up to about the fortieth year of his age, the biographers press down in silence. But from the very title of jester, by which Calepino, the Cremasque and all the rest call him, it is easily deduced that it was not undeservedly said by them that the years which he had spent in exercising that art were to be bewailed. For Bl. John was not occupied in representing the Passion and the other mysteries of the life of Christ. For this was done by clerics in that age, and for the most part in churches or other sacred places, and only on the greater feasts of Easter, Pentecost and others.

[24] in sacred or profane tragedies. An exhibition of this kind made in this century in Friuli is described briefly by Julian in Muratori Script. rerum Italicarum, vol. XXIV, col. 1205. in these words: In the year of the Lord 1298, on the eighth day before the end of May, namely on the day of Pentecost and on the two other following days, there was made the representation of the Play of Christ, namely of the Passion, Resurrection, Ascension, coming of the Holy Spirit, and coming of Christ to Judgment, in the court of the lord Patriarch of the city of Austria, honourably and laudably, by the clergy. In which matter abuses crept in, which Innocent III gravely reproved in the year 1210: Theatrical plays, he says, are made in the church, and not only are monsters of masks introduced for spectacles of mockery, but even on some festivals deacons, priests and subdeacons presume to practise the mockeries of their infamy Decretals, book III, title I, chapter 12.. Those plays were not rare at that time in Italy, and yet no written tragedies have been found among so many poetical works of that age: from which our Tiraboschi deduces [Storia della letteratura italiana, vol. IV, book III, chapter 3, num. 28, page 443. Modena 1788.] that they were not yet in use in the thirteenth century, and that those representations were either wholly or in great part mimic [Tiraboschi loc. cit. num. 25; Compare Hist. litt. de France, vol. XVI, page 241 and following.]. Bl. John, therefore, did not play a part in written tragedies, which would have to be held in memory, since otherwise he was illiterate; nor yet in sacred actions, for the reasons just adduced.

[25] Far different in the thirteenth century and the following was the manner of living of the jesters [Compare Duclos, Mémoires sur les jeux scéniques des Romains et sur ceux qui ont précédé en France la naissance du poëme dramatique. Mémoire de l'acad. des inscript. et belleslettres, vol. XVII, page 222 and following.]. For a joculator or jocularis is the same as a mime and buffoon Du Cange, Glossarium infimæ latinitatis, under the words Joculator, Jocularis.: Jesters were players and buffoons, and frequently used a musical instrument. through twelve fools, says Geoffrey of Vigeois in Du Cange Loc. cit., whom we call Jesters; and Agobard of Lyons Migne, Patrologia, vol. CIV, col. 249.: he moreover sates and makes drunk actors, mimes and the most shameful and most vain Jesters, while the poor of the Church perish tormented with hunger. On which passage Baluze notes that Joculares are a kind of actors, singing besides to pipes and lyres or other instruments. These the following age, he says, then called by the French word received at that time, "Jongleurs." And they were called joculares or joculatores from the jokes and games which they made for the people. They certainly seem to have been frequently furnished with musical instruments: let no minstrel or Jogulator (that is, Joculator), says the Council of Marseilles in the year 1381, dare to strike or sound an instrument of any kind Du Cange, loc. cit. under Jogulator.. Song, however, prevailed chiefly among the French, especially in Provence, as no one is unaware: concerning whom a statute of the Commune or city of Bologna of the year 1288: That the singers of the French may by no means stay in the squares of the Commune to sing [Tiraboschi, Storia ecc. loc. cit. num. 23; Compare Hist. litt. de France, vol. XVIII from page 696.]. Those who celebrated the deeds of heroes in song were superior to mimes and mere jesters Compare Duclos, loc. cit. page 223.; the author of a manuscript Milanese chronicle in Muratori Antiquit. Ital. vol. II, col. 844., describing the theatre of Milan, upon which, he says, the actors used to sing, as is now sung of Roland and Oliver. (Which songs are French in origin [See Du Cange, loc. cit. under Cantilena Rolandi; and Muratori, Antiq. Ital. loc. cit.].) The song finished, buffoons and mimes played on citterns and whirled about with seemly motion of the body. Nay, three kinds of these men are to be distinguished in this age, at least in France: one of poets, another of singers, a third of jesters: but the latter two were frequently mixed. To the third Bl. John the Good belonged, and that he sang is not certain Compare Hist. litt. de France, vol. XVI, page 243..

[26] Of the Courts, or Corti bandite, at which many jesters were present; Jesters appeared in great numbers at the Courts, as they called them, that is, at the assemblies which kings, princes and magnates held with great solemnity at certain principal festivals of the year. They were proclaimed by public edict or ban, whence among the Italians they were called Corti bandite. Of these Muratori collected not a few things in the Dissertation On the spectacles and public games of the middle age Antiquit. Ital. dissert. 29, loc. cit.: But concerning the Courts then celebrated, he says, or Corti bandite, this I must by no means conceal, namely that almost always there were present at them mimes, mountebanks, rope-dancers, buffoons, quacks, players, and other men of that kind, who by their games or songs delighted both the Palace and the people by day and by night. By the Tuscans they were called Giullari and giocolari, and you may see them named Joculares and Joculatores among the Latin writers of that age. Thus when in the year 1324, on the day of Rose Easter, that is of Pentecost, many noble men took the military belt at Rimini, there was indeed a very great triumph there; to do them honour there flocked together the Florentines, Perugians, Sienese, Bolognese, and all the nobles and powerful men of Tuscany, the March, Romagna, and almost all Lombardy; and they sent jousters and many honourers, and Lord Aymeric, then count of Romagna, was also present. There was also a multitude of actors about one thousand five hundred and more. These things were done not far from Cesena and are inscribed in the Annals of that city Annales Cæsenates, in Muratori, Rerum Ital. script. vol. XIV, col. 1141.. Here deserves to be recalled what Ammianus Marcellinus writes Book XIV., that at Rome once, in a time of famine, when foreigners were being driven out, three thousand dancing-girls with their choruses and as many masters were retained.

[27] [who were magnificently rewarded, especially with garments: and this for many centuries] To actors, or, as they were frequently called in the middle age, jesters, many gifts were offered from of old; which custom St. Augustine already censures Tractate 100, chapter 2, on John.: To give one's goods to actors, he says, is a monstrous vice, not a virtue. And Muratori writes that this kind of munificence afterwards flourished especially among the Arabs, and perhaps, he says, among other things which the Italians and Franks learned from that nation, the rite of rewarding mountebanks and buffoons is to be reckoned Antiq. Ital. vol. II, col. 844.. And the custom of giving them many and precious things, or much money, never died out up to the end of the middle age, or as long as troops of jesters visited the houses of princes or were present at the more solemn festivals. For these things belonged to the pomp of the rich and the magnates, in whose place other things have succeeded in our age. John of Salisbury, from the year 1172 bishop of Chartres, in the Policraticus, or On the morals of Courtiers, that is of Courtiers, having mentioned the emperor Nero Book I, chapter 8, in Migne, Patrologia, vol. CXCIX, col. 404 and following., who, although he was the most avaricious of all … yet did not grudge to pay out infinite sums of money to actors and mimes, etc., writes thus of Gaul in the twelfth century: But some still imitate him (Nero) in part, although no one deigns to be involved in his foulness, since many prostitute their favour to actors and mimes, and in exhibiting their malice, with a certain blind and contemptible magnificence, make expenditures as wonderful as they are wretched. What Agobard of Lyons wrote in the ninth century we saw above, and to him may be added Alcuin in letter 107. And similar things could be brought forward of other parts of Europe. Richard I, king of England, as Roger of Hoveden writes, had enticed singers and jesters from the kingdom of the Franks with gifts, that they might sing of him in the squares. Of the garments which were given to jesters on the occasion of weddings is to be understood this decree passed at Bruges in Belgium about the year 1190: Whoever shall have given his garments at a wedding to a buffoon or jester, or a harlot, or any vagabond, or if anyone has been sent to him from a wedding and he has given; being convicted he shall pay a fine of three pounds, and at each wedding the lord count of Flanders shall be able to have his inquest upon this Warnkoenig, Hist. de la ville de Gand, page 466. Brussels 1846.. Another decree laid down: Whoever shall have lodged a buffoon more than one night, if on the morrow he will not depart, the lord may throw him into the water without forfeit Ibid.. From which it is permitted to judge how hostile this kind of men was in the twelfth century. And the custom of rewarding jesters did not fall away until a more cultivated age could no longer bear their companies, especially in the courts of princes or in solemnities. To which matter polite letters without doubt availed much, but alone, had they not relied on the Christian religion, they could not have brought about so great a cultivation of morals; for the lust of many would have prevailed, as we have just heard was done at Rome. Far more powerful is the doctrine of Christ, but not all hear the gospel; and if besides uncultivated morals be added, both tragedy and comedy will be exiled from the solemnities and delights of the people, and there will be room only for jesters and mimes. Thus the praised John of Salisbury, these things premised,

writes of the old Romans: And indeed there were actors who by gesture of the body and art of words and modulation of the voice related, in public view, histories true or feigned, whom you find in Plautus and Menander, and by whom the art of our Terence becomes known; presently he adds of his own age: Further, the comic and tragic poets having departed, since levity has occupied everything, their clients, namely the comedians and tragedians, have been exterminated. And this state lasted until in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries letters were reborn in Europe; which we know to have been done by the coming, after the overthrow of Constantinople, of many learned Greeks, the Roman Pontiffs protecting them, and especially by the invention of the art of printing.

[28] prevailed, especially in Italy. Mimes and jesters, then, flourished and were magnificently rewarded up to about the sixteenth century, especially, as it seems, in the parts of Italy. And garments chiefly were given; concerning which Muratori writes these words Antiq. Ital. vol. II, col. 840.: What may astonish you, such was the esteem and fortune of these buffoons and good-for-nothings that they never departed thence unless well rewarded by the princes. Nay, the precious garments which were offered as a gift to the same Princes were almost always accustomed to be poured out upon these triflers. For this was the custom of those times, that the noble men who came together to the weddings or other solemnities of princes by no means came empty-handed, but each brought something for the sake of testifying friendship or homage. Then he writes more of the great Court which was held at Mantua, in the very fatherland of our blessed one, in the year 1340; at which the noble guests offered three hundred and eight garments complete in all parts (Robe), and comprising, as Benvenuto Aliprandi, a vernacular poet, speaks, vestito, guarnaccia, guarnaccione, mantello, cappuccio. But many other things also were given as gifts, so that whoever reads and considers the catalogue of so many gifts, says Muratori, cannot but wonder at the morals of those times, so unlike our own. But what was done with all those garments, bought at great price and most liberally bestowed? The Princes of Mantua gave them away again as a gift to buffoons and musicians. Hear the words of Aliprandi, chapter 36:

Tutte le Robe sopro nominate Furon' in tutto trent' otto e trecento, A Buffoni e Sonatori donate. All the Robes above named, three hundred and thirty-eight in all, were given to Buffoons and Players.

Nor was it done otherwise by the Milanese in the year 1300, on the occasion of the wedding between Galeazzo Visconti and Beatrice d'Este: Admirable nuptials, says Guglielmo Ventura Rerum Italic. vol. XI, page 169., were made for her at Milan, to which all the Lombards were invited; and there were given there to the Jesters more than seven thousand good garments. Concerning the Court held at Verona at the wedding of Marsilio da Carrara in the year 1335, the History of the Cortusi reports these things In Muratori, Antiq. med. ævi, vol. II, col. 843.: Nor was there lacking a very great abundance of actors and Jesters… And Marsilio da Carrara gave many jewels to the ladies of Padua and many garments to the Jesters: and when these failed, he bestowed gold and silver by way of supplement. At the very time when Bl. John was doing penance in the Hermitage of Cesena, the Genoese, after the people of Savona had been conquered in the year 1227, held a wonderful Court, at which innumerable pairs of garments were laudably bestowed by the Podestà (or magistrate of the city) and other noble and honourable men on the Jesters who had come together to that Court from Lombardy, Provence, Tuscany and other parts, and great banquets were made Muratori, loc. cit. col. 843..

[29] Others more rightly bestowed them on the poor. Of the morals Far more laudably certainly did Henry III, son of Conrad the Salian, emperor of Germany, in the year 1044, as is read in the universal Chronicle of Ekkehard Pertz, Monumenta Germaniæ, vol. VI, page 196., permit an infinite multitude of actors and Jesters to depart empty not only of gifts but also of food and drink, and mourning. Or as Otto of Freising explains more fully Chronicon, book VI, chapter 32.: And when, after the royal custom, he was celebrating his wedding at Ingelheim, he permitted the whole college of buffoons and actors, which (as is wont) had flowed together thither, to depart empty, and distributed generously to the poor those things which he had withdrawn from the members of the devil. And this indeed rightly, and Agobard, praised above, had suggested the same. For although John of Salisbury said Polycraticus, book I, chapter 8. In Migne, vol. CXCIX, col. 405.: Nor yet do I assert that an actor behaves basely in his art, although it is undoubtedly base to be an actor, in which sense St. Thomas also speaks 2. 2. question 168, article 3., yet the same John of Salisbury presently adds Loc. cit. col. 405 and following.: But actors prolong it (idleness) for our people… Therefore spectacles have been admitted and infinite apprenticeships of vanity, by which those who cannot be altogether idle may be more perniciously occupied. For it would be better to be idle than to be basely occupied. Hence mimes, salii or saliares, buffoons, Aemiliani, gladiators, wrestlers, gignadii, conjurors, many sorcerers also, and the whole stage of Jesters comes forth. Whose error has so prevailed that even those are not kept away from distinguished houses who do things which even a cynic would blush to see… You do not doubt that the grace of holy communion is shut off, by the authority of the Fathers, from actors and mimes while they persevere in malice Compare Cyprian, epist. 37, and the Apostolic Constitutions, chapter 32.. Whence you gather what threatens their favourers, if you recall that those who do and those who consent are to be punished with equal penalty. Actors in the middle age are the same as Jesters, since, as has been said, custom did not then allow tragedies and comedies to be acted; and the same must be said of mimes, whom we know to have been anciently distinguished at Rome from actors; whose morals, of almost all of them, in every age were abandoned.

[30] of actors and jesters. Therefore among the Romans they were not held as citizens, concerning which St. Augustine writes De civitate Dei, book II, chapter 13.: But since they held the whole theatrical stage a disgrace, they willed that that kind of men should not only lack the honour of the other citizens, but should even be removed from their tribe by the censorial mark. Concerning the obscenity of actors, and especially of mimes, the fathers give many warnings, among whom Lactantius [Institut. Divinarum, book VI, chapter 20. Compare Augustine, loc. cit. chapter 27; Tertullian, Apologet. chapter 15, and Against Marcion, book I; Cyprian, epist. 103; Salvian, De Gubern. Dei, book VI.]: What shall I say, he says, of the mimes who set forth the teaching of corruptions, who teach adulteries while they feign them, and by feigned things instruct in real ones. And Minucius Felix in the Octavius: in the theatrical shows also no less madness, a more prolix baseness; for then the Mime either sets forth adulteries or shows them. Certainly theatrical actions were more chaste among Christians than among the Gentiles, of which Tertullian De spectaculis, chapter 17. and Cyprian De spect. §5. write astounding things, but the life of actors was not much more chaste. Of those who feign themselves physicians and wring the purses of the simple common people, Boncompagno, an Italian, who flourished about the year 1213, describes one In Muratori, Antiquit. vol. II, col. 847.: like a buffoon, he says, he wandered round all Italy with singers, and, like a leximius of the tructani (that is, of mountebanks), he feigns himself a physician of doctrines, that he may be able to find opportunity for fornicating and committing adultery. Finally, John of Salisbury pronounces universally concerning the twelfth century of the Christian era In Migne, vol. CXCIX, col. 405, loc. cit.: But our age, having slipped into fables and any empty things whatever, not only prostitutes ears and heart to vanity, but by the pleasure of eyes and ears soothes its idleness, kindles its luxury, seeking out everywhere the fuel of vices.

§ IV. The conversion of Bl. John. It is demonstrated that it did not happen before the year 1208, and that it is impossible that he was the master of St. Francis of Assisi.

The conversion of Bl. John. Bl. John led this life of a jester up to about the fortieth year of his age. But his mother, says St. Antoninus in the Life, solicitous for her son's salvation, poured forth prayers to God with many tears for his salvation; whose desire the Lord heard. For, visited by God with a grievous sickness, perceiving the dangers of this world, he vowed a vow to the Lord to forsake the world and to dedicate himself to Him alone, if He would deign to restore him to his former health; which he also obtained. Having been made whole, therefore, a diligent confession having been made to the bishop of Mantua, and afterwards, his mother having died, departing from Mantua he withdrew to the parts of Romagna, etc. The Cremasque has the same things, but adds that the blessed one recovered suddenly, which both Calepino and Lodi followed; he adds likewise that in his sickness he vowed to despise riches, which Lodi similarly expressed, subjoining that before he departed from Mantua he sold all his goods and distributed them to the poor: all which things I do not consider to be anything else than an amplification of the narrative of St. Antoninus. And the bishop of Mantua to whom Bl. John confessed his sins, Leopoldo Volta, much versed in Mantuan history, writes was Henry II Ristretto ecc. page V.: which otherwise agrees with Ughelli's catalogue of the bishops of Mantua Ughelli, Italia sacra, Coleti's edition, vol. I, col. 864..

[32] [Whether at the beginning of his new life he lived at St. Agnes outside the walls is uncertain.] Then the same Leopoldo Volta inserts these words: Having taken, then, a rough tunic of ash or grey colour (di color bigio. This would have happened at Mantua, as that writer thinks, but it will presently be shown to have been done at Cesena), he chose for his dwelling that place situated on the shore of the upper lake outside Porto (which is a suburb outside the walls of Mantua), where today an oratory dedicated to him is seen, which in the year 1472 Federico Gonzaga, marquis of Mantua, moved by devotion, ordered to be rebuilt. But the concourse of the Mantuans, who held him as a Saint, was the cause why he left Mantua and went away to Cesena in Emilia. But of this earlier stay, after his conversion, outside the walls of Mantua, which, if it be true, escaped the biographers of Bl. John, the said Volta makes Ippolito Donesmondi alone his surety, in a certain manuscript book Delle spirituali grandezze di Mantua, part IV, chapter 16, page 486.. And he indicates below Ristretto ecc. page VIII. that the oratory mentioned is nothing else than the little church of St. Agnes outside the walls, next to which, in the adjoining convent, forty years later he met his most blessed death. It is certain, therefore, that Bl. John at some time stayed there, but that he did this before he departed to Cesena we know only Donesmondi to assert, a writer otherwise deserving well of Mantuan history.

[33] [The two arguments of Márquez and his followers concerning the time of the conversion;] However these things happened, it is certain that Bl. John not long after his conversion went to the district of Cesena, to spend his life in a certain hermitage and to expiate his sins by penance. But it is to be inquired

by us in this place into the time in which he put on the new man and began the eremitical life. For of the three chronological positions of Márquez which we mentioned above at num. 14, only two have been refuted in that place, namely those which concern the years of the birth and death of Bl. John. But the third, by far the chief, remains, by which he contends Márquez, Origen de los Frayles Eremitannos de S. Augustin, page 428. that our blessed one was already from the year 1200 not only converted but had also embraced the rule of St. Augustine; from which it would easily follow that St. Francis of Assisi, before he began to found his order in the year 1209, could have lived for two years under the government of Bl. John, already an Augustinian. When he thinks he has proved this, and thus established the possibility of an Augustinian monkhood in St. Francis, or that nothing stands in the way from chronology and history, he brings forward the testimonies of several authors who in fact affirmed it. For when these two concur, the historical assertions which are proposed are for the most part to be accepted. These two things, then, must be examined here: the chronological position of Márquez concerning the rule of St. Augustine having been taken up by Bl. John about the year 1200, and the authority of the writers who are adduced.

[34] of which the second is examined, namely And to begin from this second, of the authors whom Márquez praises the chief are Jordan of Saxony, Henry of Friemar and Filippo of Bergamo, or the Bergamasque; who were all hermits of the order of St. Augustine: to whom he subjoins some seculars, for instance Marcantonio Sabellico, Polydore Vergil and others. But since these followed the first three, and especially the Bergamasque, those alone are to be recalled to judgment. Now none of these three themselves was contemporary with Bl. John. Nay, in the Apologeticum Wadding contends At the end of vol. II of the Annales Minorum, page 482 and following. Rome 1732. that Filippo of Bergamo was the very first of all to write that St. Francis had been an Augustinian hermit; and that this was added to the books of Henry of Friemar and Jordan of Saxony after their departure from life: which again in the defence of the Apologeticum Ibid page 565 and following. he strove to establish. But it is by no means in our mind to weigh again the testimonies of these writers, since it does not seem that the matter can be fully settled from them, while we judge that it can be altogether from the Acts of Bl. John the Good and from the authentic process, and also from the Acts of St. Francis of Assisi themselves, as will presently be seen. Yet I shall not be loath to copy here the words of the Bergamasque, through whom the opinion affirming this Augustinian monkhood, if not first proposed, was certainly most propagated.

[35] testimonies of authors. Among the celebrated and outstanding disciples of this holy man and father, he says Suppl. Chronic. loc. cit. fol. 225 verso., John the Good, it is established that the Seraphic Francis of Assisi, founder of the most holy order of Minors, was one. But lest anyone doubt, who perhaps ignorant of the matter, to whom such a writing may seem very greatly to be execrated, to whom (passing over the testimony of Vincent (of Beauvais), the French historian, who, although in the thirtieth (or 26th, as Wadding corrects Loc. cit. page 492, num. 27.) book of his histories, chapter 98, he reports, saying that Francis was a hermit, and that he went about with a staff and with shod feet and girt with a thong, yet did not say that he was a disciple of this John the Good) but in this place we shall prove it by this one most true testimony, that at Mantua, where (as has been said before) the most sacred body of the holy man exists and the remaining relics of his garments, there was once seen also, among the most ancient writings of the monastery, a notary's chirograph testifying that blessed Francis of Assisi had made the eremitical profession under the rule of blessed Augustine in the hands of brother John the Good, the Mantuan hermit. On how weak a foundation this statement rests everyone sees. But even if it were admitted that this chirograph existed, which was once seen at Mantua, it will presently be proved from chronology that truth was not contained in it. The Bergamasque has similar things at other years Book XIII, fol. 227 recto and fol. 229 at the year 1224., again affirming in book 13, at the year 1209, that St. Francis not only lived under the mastership of Bl. John, but made the vow of profession into his hands under the rule of the divine father Augustine. That this is most false, and that Bl. John truly embraced the rule of St. Augustine long after the order of Minors had been begun, will be demonstrated without any trouble. And yet this too, as the Bergamasque says in that place, is proved by that wonderful authentic chirograph of a notary, which was once seen at Mantua. Which chirograph no one mentioned before him, and after him very few, as I judge, believed actually existed. But the passages of Jordan and of Henry of Friemar, which it is a wonder are nowhere cited by Filippo of Bergamo in this question, we forbear to examine here, since otherwise there will not be wanting afterwards occasion to cite them.

[36] From the Acts of St. Francis Our predecessors also, in the Acts of St. Francis at the 4th day of October, did not dwell at all on weighing the affirmations of writers concerning the Augustinian monkhood of that Saint; but they thought it enough to show from the chronology of the life of St. Francis that they could not rest on truth. For it contributes nothing to show from any historical argument whatever, or from the testimonies of some authors, or from some chronology of the life of Bl. John, that it is very likely that St. Francis lived under him, if it be solidly shown that this is impossible on the part of St. Francis himself. Certain chief things, then, from the Commentary of our Suysken we here insert, so that this impossibility may now be demonstrated from the Acts of St. Francis, as it will presently be demonstrated from the Acts of Bl. John himself. It is admitted, namely, by all, even by the writers of the order of St. Augustine, that St. Francis, although he began to be converted from the worldly life to a better either at the end of the year 1205 or at the beginning of the year 1206 Acta SS. vol. II of October, page 365, num. 105., yet did not come to entire conversion except in the course of this year 1206, and indeed toward its end, as Suysken judges with others [Ibid. page 566, num. 110 and page 571, num. 141 and following. Compare Torelli, Secoli Agostiniani, at the year 1208, num. 4.]; and moreover that in the year 1209, in the month of April, he began to admit companions, or began his order [Compare Ibid. page 572, num. 144 and page 574, num. 153 and following. Torelli, loc. cit. num. 4 and following.]. The two years, therefore, which passed between the first and second conversion of St. Francis, or rather between his conversion and his choice of the more perfect life, and during which he is said to have lived at Cesena with Bl. John the Good, are made up of the years 1207 and 1208. In the year 1207, in the month of April or May, as my predecessor establishes Ibid. page 576, num. 164., being at Gubbio, recognised by a certain friend, he received a poor tunic with which to cover himself, almost naked, and since for two years before the time of his chosen religious life he is said to have been clothed in a hermit's garment, this does not seem to have been different from the Gubbio tunic. It is altogether likely to me, says the same predecessor, what Wadding with others thought, that this poor little tunic was the very eremitical habit which our biographers testify was worn by him for two years. There are those who would have it that this eremitical habit was the religious habit of the hermits of the order of St. Augustine; but all the biographers oppose their opinion Ibid. num. 163..

[37] the impossibility of his Augustinian monkhood is shown In the year 1638, when Wadding, in writing the annals of the Minors, had come to the year 1537 [Annal. Minor. at the year 1537, num. 20; De Gubernatis, Orbis Seraphicus, vol. I, page 8.], he received from Gubbio authentic documents in which it was related that the Gubbio friend of St. Francis was Giacomello Spada, of the family of Spada, or Spadalonga. Of these documents one was an imitation of an old picture which was at that time to be seen in the old cloister of the convent of St. Francis; and a new copy, subscribed by a public notary of Gubbio, was sent to Harold, the chronographer of the order after Wadding, who had it reprinted in his Epitome of the Annals Epitome Annal. Ord Minor. page 27. Rome 1662.. And it has pleased me to set these things down here, since they were omitted in the commentary on St. Francis at the 4th day of October. Now his eremitical habit, which he wore for two years, consisted, as Suysken speaks, of the aforesaid little tunic received at Gubbio, which a thong bound (and it is seen also in Harold in the picture), and under which, from what is to be said, he seems to have worn an undershirt, and he had shod feet, and a rod or staff in his hand Loc. cit. page 577, num. 169.. Which habit I have thought should be described here, so that some light may thence come to the controversy which arose between the Minors and the Augustinian hermits about the habit of each order: of which there will be discussion below. In the year 1209, and as it seems on the 24th day of February Ibid. num. 172., St. Francis, having begun the new life, changed the eremitical garment for another, and from this time he no longer uses rod, shoes, and little sack or wallet. He made therefore a tunic very contemptible and rough, and, the thong being rejected, girded it with a little cord. So the second Life of St. Francis in Suysken Ibid. num. 173..

[38] the impossibility. Then this writer proceeds thus: From what has been related of the change of garments, a twin controversy has arisen among the more recent writers (but the second, concerning the form of the garment which the saint chose after the eremitical one, does not pertain here). For from the eremitical or quasi-eremitical habit which Francis wore for almost two years, some have believed that he was enrolled in the order of the Hermits of St. Augustine. Having indicated the lucubrations of Márquez and Wadding, he notes that Chalippe asserts in the French Life of St. Francis that the opposite opinion was abandoned after Wadding's Apology. And not undeservedly, he says. Wherefore, he continues thus, I do not wish to discourse much on these things, and to refute it the four most ancient Lives of St. Francis alone seem to me to suffice… These, I say, suffice me altogether to refute the opinion affirming the monkhood of St. Francis; nor do I doubt that whoever, devoted to none of the parties of the former disputants, will read them will think with me. For he will clearly perceive that the Saint, during the whole of those two years in which he wore the eremitical or quasi-eremitical habit, was enrolled in no religious order, but led the life of a penitent, and after short journeys, by which he had gone as far as Gubbio, where he also received that eremitical garment from his old friend, returned to Assisi, and remained in the vicinity of this city, though not always in the same place, and repaired three churches there See ibid. p. 577, num. 165 and following., and at length, from hearing the gospel reading (Matth.

chapter 10, of the disciples sent to preach Ibid. num. 172.), took up the habit of the Minors; there occurring meanwhile not even the slightest mention of a novitiate begun among others, or of a religious profession, etc. — Whoever will read in that commentary on the life of St. Francis §§ VII and VIII Ibid. page 571 and 575., in which it is established that he renounced all his goods in the year 1206 or 1207, began to admit companions in the year 1209, in the month of April, and within that time stayed almost perpetually at Assisi and repaired three churches there, will see that it is altogether impossible that within the same two years he should have acted as a Hermit under Bl. John and followed his discipline.

[39] The same is shown from the Acts of Bl. John, Most of these things Wadding had already established against Márquez in the Apologeticum; but Tomás Herrera, not believing them because Wadding had been less accurate in one point or another, admitted indeed with Lodi and Wadding the year of the birth of Bl. John as 1168, and of his death as 1249, but judged otherwise of the year of his retirement to the hermitage of Cesena. His Responsio Pacifica, which was the first, to Luke Wadding, was published in the year 1635, and I do not have it in hand, but he sufficiently set forth what he thought in his Augustinian Alphabet, a work of learning not to be despised, which was published at Madrid in the year 1644. In which, having narrated the conversion of Bl. John, he subjoins these words: John, therefore, repenting of his errors and having duly expiated his conscience before the bishop of Mantua, going out of his land and from his kindred, about the year 1204 or 1205, more or less, withdrew into a hermitage, and near Budriolo of the diocese of Cesena, "with the consent of the diocesan," as blessed Jordan of Saxony says in book I, chapter 8, "built a certain little house and there led the eremitical life in the strictest penance" Alphabetum Augustin. Under Joannes Bonus.. In which certainly the year of the retirement to the hermitage must be changed, which was neither the year 1204 nor 1205, but the year 1208 or 1209, as we have already shown. From which it will again follow that St. Francis, in the years 1207 and 1208, or the two years in which he wore the eremitical habit, could not have lived with Bl. John in the hermitage of Cesena.

[40] and first from the Apostolic Process; That Bl. John exchanged this life for the immortal on the 23rd day of October of the year 1249 is already admitted by all, and we have demonstrated it in §2 from the safest monuments. Further, in the Apostolic Process the disciples of Bl. John who had lived with him a very long time in the hermitage of Cesena unanimously say that he did penance there for forty years; from which it follows that he went there about the year 1209. And no one stated a number greater than forty, but some a smaller one, yet from among those who either were not Hermits or had not lived with him in the same convent, and consequently could not have his affairs so well known. Lord Gaiferius of Cesena, a noble man, who in the year 1251, at the time of his testimony, was an octogenarian In the Process below, num. 255., said that he the witness, as he well remembers, saw brother John the Good staying in a certain hermitage above Cesena near the place which is called St. Mary of Budriolo, and performing a hard and harsh penance for 37 years and more, in much abstinence from food, etc. If one were to stand by these words, Bl. John would have entered the hermitage only about the year 1211. And Lord Guido Moroello, knight (or horseman, or noble man devoted to military service) of Cesena, sixty years old, said that he had seen him a good 32 years and more Ibid. num. 242.. But the Hermit brethren themselves, especially those who were living at Cesena at the time of the blessed one's death, unanimously say that he did penance forty years. Brother Moltongradus, who was for some time Prior of the convent of Cesena, having mentioned the harsh life of Bl. John, subjoins that he was leading and led such a life a good 40 years, or nearly Ibid. num. 239.. Brother Grecus de Disendais of Mantua, already praised, who lived some time with the blessed one Ibid. num. 276., said that the said brother John the Good stayed in the aforesaid order forty years, or nearly, as the said witness said that he firmly believed Ibid. num. 280.. The following witness, brother Meliorinus, says: He did penance in the said order, according to the common belief of the brethren, for forty years Ibid. num. 284.. In almost the same way speaks brother Ventura, priest of the same order: He was in the order of hermits a good forty years, as is commonly believed by the brethren Ibid. num. 290.. Finally, in place of all is brother Lanfranc, prior general of the order of hermits, of the convent of Mantua Ibid. num. 258., whom we praised above at num. 17, and who says that in that order he did penance forty years. Other witnesses agree with these Ibid. num. 268, 275, 294, 297, 303, 308, 311 and 315..

[41] difficulties are met. Nor let it be said that these witnesses, who report that he spent those forty years in the order, treat only of the time in which he had hermit companions with him, or really lived in an order, or congregation, or family; and do not comprehend the time which passed between his entrance into the hermitage of Cesena and the admission of the first companions. For this interpretation the first three witnesses whom we alleged altogether exclude, who say nothing of an order. Nor would the rest admit it either, since all say that Bl. John did penance for forty years; and they add that these were spent in the order, because all were spent at Cesena, where that order of hermits, companions being gradually admitted, began to be founded; and indeed, as is to be explained below, some years having passed from his entrance into the hermitage, companions were already being admitted. Wherefore it could be said roundly by the witnesses that Bl. John did penance forty years in the order of hermits; all the more because from the first days which he spent at Cesena he began the eremitical life. For the rest, all the old biographers exclude the same interpretation. For Calepino, in the Life to be published, num. 24, says that he lived forty years in the hermitage, adding nothing of an order: When he had fulfilled, he says, forty years in the hermitage. And the Cremasque in the manuscript life: Having completed forty years in the hermitage, and in the eightieth year of his age, etc. Lodi settles the question altogether in another way, asserting that Bl. John, when he was dying, was eighty years old, or a little more, of which forty had been enslaved to the world (quaranto cioe spesi al secolo) Loc. cit. chapter 15.. For these forty being deducted, there remain another forty in which he did penance at Cesena, namely from the year 1208 or 1209 to 1249, nor does any room remain for other years through which we might descend with Herrera (above, num. 39) to the year 1204 or 1205, and say that the eremitical life was begun at Cesena by Bl. John in one of them. Donesmondi also writes in the ecclesiastical History of Mantua Vol. I, page 267. that forty years of his were spent vainly in the world.

[42] From the Mantuan monuments But there are also very many other proofs by which we prove that he did not begin to live in the hermitage of Cesena before the end of the year 1208 or the beginning of 1209. For there are at hand those monuments, both of Mantua and of Cesena, by which the very year of the conversion of Bl. John, or of his retirement to the hermitage, is assigned. And to begin from those of Mantua, in the cloister of the convent of St. Agnes at Mantua these words are read under the fifth picture, in the Italian language, painted from the beginning of the sixteenth century and afterwards renewed (above, num. 18 and following): In sign of true conversion, after the example of Matthew and Zacchaeus, he left house, kinsfolk and friends and father, and, reserving nothing to himself, gave all to the poor in the year 1208. Ippolito Donesmondi, who inquired into the Mantuan monuments with great diligence, in the ecclesiastical history of Mantua Book IV, page 207. writes these things about the conversion of our blessed one, using his native Italian speech: The blessed John the Good of Mantua, having fallen into a very grievous infirmity at Mantua, turned to God in the year 1209 (si converti a Dio nel MCCIX), proposing to undergo a very harsh penance for his sins. He was then forty years of age (Havea egli allora quarant' anni di sua vita). In the third place should be put Costanzo Lodi, a Mantuan hermit, who also manifestly indicates that blessed John began the new life in the year 1208 or 1209; but we have just recited this passage of his book.

[43] the same is shown, and likewise We pass, therefore, to the monuments of Cesena, in whose vicinity Bl. John, newly converted, began the eremitical life. Scipione Chiaramonti writes of him, among other things, in book VIII of the histories of Cesena In Burman, Thesaurus antiq. Italiæ, vol. VII, part II, col. 164.: The blessed man was born at Mantua in the year 1268; he lost forty years in the world, enslaved to unworthy cares; then, kindly called by God, he gave himself wholly to Him. And he came to Cesena and its territory, or the retreat of Budriolo, so that in 1208, or at the beginning of the ninth, he withdrew into the hermitage and hid himself there. The whole passage deserves to be cited here from the chronology of Cesena of Bernardino Manzoni, title II Ibid. vol. IX, part VIII, col. 32.: St. John the Good, he says, restorer of the eremitic order in the Cisalpine parts, who did penance in the territory of Cesena for forty years. He came to Cesena in the year of the Lord 1209, as the old memorials of the city testify, from which the Hermitage is distant about two miles, which we then called Budriolo, now Elmo, by a corruption of the word Eremo, where he hid himself in a certain cave, and there under Oddo and Manzinus, bishops of Cesena, did a wonderful penance for about forty years. At length, illustrious with miracles, he flew away to the heavenly fatherland on the 23rd day of October in the year 1249, and was enrolled among the blessed. Braschi also, archbishop of Nisibis, a native of Cesena, who was diligently versed in the history of his fatherland and notes that he put together a volume of dissertations on it, writes in the Memoriæ Cæsenates Rome 1738, page 228 and following. that Bl. John devoted himself to the eremitical life for 40 years in the hermitage of Budriolo (still called now, he says, by antonomasia "l'Eremo" and in the vernacular l'Elmo). And he adds: He came to the hermitage of Cesena in the year 1209.

[44] from those of Cesena. To this point relates the passage of the manuscript chronicle which we cited at num. 6, and which begins thus: In the year 1308. Blessed John Bonomo, called John the Good, for the sake of doing penance betakes himself into a hermitage, etc. In the old manuscript chronicles of the monastery of the Holy Cross at Cesena these words are read in Italian in Wadding

Annales Minor. vol. II, page 521.: John the Good betakes himself to the hermitage of Budriolo in the year 1208. He lived in this hermitage more than forty years, since he passed the eightieth year of his age, and he went away from Cesena and died at Mantua in the year 1249, that is, in the forty-first year of his conversion. Finally, that there may at some time be an end of testimonies, the manuscript Ephemeris of Cesena of Niccolò Marini marks the same year Ibid.: In the year 1208 blessed John the Good came to Cesena, at which time John of Brienne was commissary of the pontiff and restored the city. In which last there lies an error, since John of Brienne did not come into Italy until about the year 1222 [Compare Chiaramonti in Burman, loc. cit. col. 167 and following; Muratori, Annali d'Italia, at the year 1223.]. From all which it is manifest that Bl. John came to Cesena either in the year 1208 or at the beginning of the ninth, as Chiaramonti speaks. It is impossible, therefore, that St. Francis of Assisi, before he constituted the order of Minors, which some say began to be accomplished in the year 1208, but our predecessors from certain monuments in the month of April of the year 1209 (above, num. 36), was a hermit for two years at Cesena under the discipline of Bl. John; and much more, what Márquez, Herrera and others formerly maintained, that he lived with him there under the rule of St. Augustine.

[45] The progress of the controversy: Wadding and Herrera; It will not be out of place, before we proceed further, to declare summarily what became of the controversy between the order of hermits of St. Augustine and the order of St. Francis. After Wadding had opposed his Apologeticum to Márquez, the latter's part, as has often been hinted above, was taken up by Tomás Herrera, of the same order of St. Augustine; concerning whom, as concerning the whole controversy, some things not unworthy to be known are related by Johann Ossinger, an Augustinian hermit, in the library of his order: Our Thomas Herrera, he says, neither thinking it seemly to desert the cause of his master (Márquez), nor bearing that his order should be deprived of so great an honour, undertook to defend most of the assertions of Márquez and to strengthen his position with new reasons and conjectures, and brought almost to completion a fairly large volume while he was still in Spain, which at Rome he increased with great additions; but in many places, those things which he had previously poured out against Wadding in a sharper style, after he had perceived in person the man's humanity, candour and kindness, he corrected and mitigated, and that work was not put to the press until, Thomas having returned to Spain, it was done through a friend at Bologna under the title: Responsio pacifica ad Lucam Waddingum Bologna 1635.. Against this Wadding published a defence of the Apologeticum. To which Herrera opposed the Shield of the pacific response Madrid 1645.. Nor were there lacking to Wadding things which he might again urge on the contrary side (which words, uttered by Ossinger, who was diligently versed in the histories of his Augustinian order, are not without their weight), and by which he hoped he could break through the defences of this Shield as well. Yet while he was preparing these things and putting them in order, news of Herrera's death was brought to Rome, over which he wept bitterly and laid down his pen, fearing to harass any further the pious shade of his friend. So this literary battle at length came to rest in the silence of both parties Ossinger, Bibliotheca Augustiniana, page 433.. For at Rome, whither Herrera had come in the year 1623 with the most eminent Agostino Spinola, archbishop of Seville, he had lived with Wadding so amicably that, although attacking him and inquiring into the history of his own order, he yet went very frequently to the college of St. Isidore, in which Wadding lived, and, avoiding the din of the court, for the sake of study and religion, he stayed with him from time to time for entire months, using the common table, choir, study and the same library Ossinger, Bibliotheca Augustiniana, page 433..

[46] Torelli, whose system Although Chalippe and Ossinger wrote that the controversy grew quiet after Wadding and Herrera, yet the historians of the orders of St. Francis and of the hermits of St. Augustine, if any arose afterwards, could not press it down in silence nor fail to bring forward their opinion on it. Torelli, in the Augustinian Centuries, first defended that opinion, that St. Francis lived under the mastership of the hermits of St. Augustine, not as certain, like Márquez and Herrera, but only as probable (opinione probabile … come cosa che ha del probabile) [Secoli Agostiniani, vol. IV, Bologna 1675, page 182, num. 4 and ibid. in the margin page 173, num. 8.]. Then, having indicated in passing the opinion and affirmation of Jordan of Saxony, the Bergamasque and many more recent writers, that St. Francis was the disciple of Bl. John the Good, he proceeds in this manner: Nevertheless I most willingly subscribe to the opinion of blessed Henry of Friemar, who lived more than three hundred years ago (they will have it that he died Ossinger, Bibl. August. page 952. in the year 1340), and reports the opinion of some that St. Francis, before he began the order of Minors, was a religious of ours in the most ancient convent of the order, of St. James of Acquaviva near Pisa; of which he writes thus: "And some assert that he was a brother of our order in the place of St. James of Acquaviva, near Pisa." But Torelli adds that Márquez and Herrera indeed maintain this opinion of Henry of Friemar to some extent, but only as probable. Further, the reader perceives that if we admit it with Torelli, there is abandoned, first, Jordan of Saxony, whether genuine or, as Wadding will have it Annales Min. vol. II, page 481 and 572., much augmented, and yet him Márquez Origen, etc. page 354 and 379. and Herrera [Alphabetum August. page 366 and following, and in Wadding, loc. cit. page 571, num. 18.] had made of the greatest account; for Jordan writes thus of Bl. John, dwelling near Budriolo of the diocese of Cesena In Márquez, Origen, etc. p. 379.: And when the fame of his way of life spread through the neighbouring places, very many were converted to him, among whom was blessed Francis, who afterwards was the founder of the order of Friars Minor.

[47] is examined; D. de Gubernatis There is abandoned, secondly, Filippo of Bergamo, whom we saw at num. 35 so explicitly asserting the Augustinian monkhood of St. Francis. Of the three most ancient asserters of that monkhood, therefore, whom the rest copied, two are abandoned, and not undeservedly indeed, as has been proved hitherto; but Henry of Friemar alone is retained, whether he be pure, or, as Wadding strives once and again to demonstrate with many strong arguments Annales Min. vol. II, page 478, 565 and following., he received additions in this and other places. For the rest, this question, whether Francis at some time lived with hermits of St. Augustine near Pisa, no longer pertains to us, who are writing of the life of Bl. John the Good. As far as I think, however, it could perhaps have happened, although it is very doubtful, that he spent some days or weeks with hermits, I know not which, and that some historians preserved the memory of this; but that he led his life long with them, namely from his conversion up to the beginning of his order; or that he was a Brother of the order of St. Augustine in any place whatever, I say is altogether impossible, both especially from those things which our predecessors wrote of him at the 4th day of October (above, num. 36 and following) and from this whole §. And this will be confirmed besides in §11, in which we shall inquire a little into the time of the founding of the order of hermits of St. Augustine. After Torelli, another historian of the order of Minors, Domenico de Gubernatis Orbis Seraphicus, vol. I, p. 584., put together a certain summary of the commentaries of Wadding on this controversy; after whom I do not think it has been resumed by any author of any name in either order.

* cui

* ignaro

* is redundant

* is redundant.

§ V. An account of Cesena and of the hermitage of Budriolo in which he lived forty years and founded the first Convent of the Order.

Of the city of Cesena We have established thus far that Bl. John was born in the year 1168; that about the year 1188, having left his fatherland, he began to lead a freer life among the jesters; that he was converted in the year 1208, and at the end of the same, or at the beginning of the following, went to a certain hermitage near Cesena, to expiate by the rigour of penance the crimes of his former life. Now Cesena, in whose vicinity Bl. John spent half his life, that is about forty years, is situated, says Ughelli Italia sacra, vol. II, col. 441. Venice 1717., altogether in the middle of the Aemilian Way, at the roots of the hill Garampo, near the river Sapis (Savio), namely between Faenza and Rimini. Ptolemy assigns it to Gallia Togata, but Pliny numbers it among the cities of the eighth region: most of the more recent writers attribute it to the province of Romagna. Strabo enumerates it among the noble cities of that tract. After the overthrow of the Roman empire, and thereafter in the middle age, it experienced now foreigners and barbarians, now its own citizens turned into savage and fierce tyrants. Concerning which may be read the books of the Histories of Cesena of Scipione Chiaramonti, or the summary which Gaetano Moroni presents in the Dictionary of erudition Dizionario di erudizione, vol. XI, page 126 and following. At Venice 1841., Braschi and others.

[49] an account. Among which tyrants, so Ughelli proceeds, but milder, were the Ordelaffi and the Malatesta, of whom the last, Novello Malatesta, otherwise Malatesta IV, or Domenico Malatesta Novello, most eager for letters and learning, wonderfully adorned Cesena, that celebrated library of manuscripts, plainly worth seeing, having been founded at St. Francis [Ughelli, loc. cit.; Compare Tiraboschi, Storia della lett. Ital. vol. VI, page 154. Modena 1790.]. The Malatestian library still exists, called also that of St. Francis, because it is kept by the Minor Conventuals, and at the end of the preceding century it was increased with many books and with the library of the convent itself. The city is beautiful and teeming with people, numbering up to 14,000 inhabitants Guibert, Dictionn. geograph, under Cesena., and adorned with illustrious citizens Ughelli, Italia sacra loc. cit.. Its ancient citadel is seen to this day, built on a hill, as many write, by the emperor Frederick II; but these did not notice that in the old Annals of Cesena Muratori, Rer. Ital. vol. XIV, col. 1098. it is said in express words that he did not build this citadel, but rebuilt it when it had been destroyed. At Cesena precious relics of the Saints are preserved: one hand of St. Gregory the Great, the bodies of SS. Severus and Maurus, bishops of the city, one foot of St. Alexius, and very many others Manzoni, Cæsenæ Chronologia, title II, loc. cit. col. 33 and following.. But there are not to be omitted two Pontiffs of immortal memory, Pius VI and Pius VII, both of Cesena, the one of the family of the Braschi, the other of that of the Chiaramonti, to the former of whom a colossal, as they say, statue was erected at Cesena.

[50] The hermitage of St. Mary of Budriolo In the vicinity of this city, then, from the year 1208 or the beginning of 1209 up to the month of October of the year 1249, Bl. John the Good spent his life. He dwelt

in a certain hermitage, which in the Process, num. 250, is called great, at the second milestone from Cesena. And the name of the hermitage was Budriolo: He came to Cesena, says Chiaramonti See above, num. 43., and its territory, or the retreat of Budriolo, so that in 1208, or at the beginning of the ninth, he withdrew into the hermitage and hid himself there. This retreat was also called the Hermitage of St. Mary of Botriolo, as is read in the Apostolic Process of the year 1251, num. 5: In the hermitage of St. Mary of Botriolo. So also the Cremasque in the manuscript Life: Leaving Mantua, he set out for the city of Cesena, and in a certain neighbouring hermitage, in the place where it is called St. Mary of Budriolo, which is distant not far from the city itself, a thousand (read two thousand) paces, he lay hid serving God, giving himself to fasts and prayers day and night. The same name I read in the Summary of Leopoldo Volta Ristretto, page VI.: Having travelled in this manner, he says, he came to Cesena in Emilia at the beginning of the year 1209; and there, prostrate at the feet of bishop Otto II, he asked leave to dwell in the deserted place of St. Mary of Budriolo (S. Maria di Budriolo). But what is here added about leave asked of the bishop I do not remember reading elsewhere, nor was it in any way required; and this also seems to me more solemn than could have been performed by a humble penitent who fled the notice of men. That this hermitage had a third name, at least in the mouth of the common people (which I do not know whether it has been retained), Manzoni and Braschi wrote, above, num. 43; it was then called Budriolo, says the former, now we call it Elmo, by a corruption of the word Eremo. That it was also called the Hermitage of St. John the Good Leopoldo Volta writes in the Summary of the Life Ibid.. The same Volta notes Loc. cit. note 5. that this Hermitage is described in the compendium of the Life of St. John the Good Compendio della Vita di S. Giovanni Buono. which was prepared by Father Minardi; but, as I learn from the monuments sent to us by the excellent D. Cernazai, it could not be found today in the libraries of Mantua. In the Topography of the Rubicon, or the second chorographical map, of those which are published at the beginning of the Histories of Chiaramonti, the torrent Butrium is marked, which perhaps flows down through the hermitage of Budriolo. Mention is also made of a certain hospital of Butrium in the Annals of Cesena in Muratori Rerum Italic. vol. XIV, col. 1092.: all which things I judge pertain to the same tract.

[51] in which Bl. John lived in a certain cave, then began the first house Further, Calepino writes that in this deserted place a certain chapel was in place of a dwelling for Bl. John: But when the man of God, he says in the Life, num. 2, knew that he was bereaved of both parents, kindled with a vast ardour toward God, he leaves his fatherland; he goes to Cesena, a city of Emilia, and enters, to dwell in it, a chapel distant from that city a thousand (read two thousand) paces, which had been dedicated to the divine Mother Mary. But everywhere Calepino cleaves to the Cremasque, and did nothing else, as will be declared more fully in its place, than present him in better Latinity. And the Cremasque, in the preceding number, writes indeed that Bl. John lay hid in the place where it is called St. Mary of Budriolo, but not that he dwelt in the chapel itself. Far truer seems to me what Costanzo Lodi writes Vita, chapter 1., that he hid himself there in a certain cave (s'ascose in una speloncha); nor does the Mantuan historian Leopoldo Volta differ Ristretto, page VI.: There, as if buried in a horrid cave, etc. Chiaramonti narrates the same Loc. cit. col. 164.: there he hid himself in a certain cave; and another writer of Cesena agrees, Bernardino Manzoni, whom we adduced at num. 43. There, however, there was probably some very small chapel from the beginning, not far from the cave, according to the custom and rule of the hermits of the West, which Bl. John expressed in himself in almost all things [Compare the Ordo inclusorum, in Rader, Bavaria vol. III, page 117; Brockie, Codex regularum, vol. I, page 303, chapter 16, etc.]. But the little church, as Herrera calls it Alphabet. August. page 366., the blessed one did not build until afterward, when he began the first house of the future order. Of which church and house Innocent IV (or William, cardinal of St. Eustace, to whom the Pontiff had committed the general care of the order) reports these things in the year 1254, in the Bull Admonet nos, addressed to all the priors and brethren of the order of hermits In Márquez, Origen etc. page 245; Empoli, Bullar. Augustin. page 179.: Indeed it has come to the hearing of the Lord Pope that brother John the Good of good memory, the first of your order, began the first house near Budriolo of the diocese of Cesena, by the grant of the diocesan of that place, and when the fame of his way of life spread through the neighbouring places, and very many were converted to him, he built there a church in honour of the blessed Virgin Mary.

[52] began a house of hermits and built a church. What, then, the Chronicles of Stefano Parti report In Wadding, loc. cit. page 521., that the chapel of the blessed Virgin was granted to the blessed one by bishop Oddo, namely the second of this name, who from the year 1207 or 1208 ruled the church of Cesena for many years Ughelli, among the bishops of Cesena., is to be explained by the very words of the Pontiff and referred to the greater chapel, or little church, built in the convent itself. And likewise what a certain Fabrizio Manzeni writes in Wadding Loc. cit. page 521., who erred much in the year of the event: 1202. There is elected, he says, as prelate of the people of Cesena Oddo, a monk, who granted to blessed John the Good a certain little house near Budriolo, in which he spent the eremitical life for many years. Similarly to the words of the Innocentian Bull are to be recalled the things which Jordan of Saxony, whether genuine or augmented, wrote with some amplification of it. For he says that the blessed one, by the grant or consent of the diocesan, did not now begin the first house of the order of hermits near Budriolo, as the Pontiff speaks, but built there, with the consent of the same diocesan, a certain little house. And manifestly Jordan had the Bull before his eyes when he wrote these words: First, near Budriolo of the diocese of Cesena, he built a certain little house with the consent of the diocesan, and there led the eremitical life in the strictest penance. And when the fame of his way of life spread through the neighbouring places, very many were converted to him; among whom was blessed Francis (see §4), who was afterwards the founder of the order of friars Minor, who built a church there in honour of St. Mary In Márquez, Origen etc. page 379; Herrera, Alph. Aug. vol. I, page 366., etc. It seems to me, therefore, from the pontifical bull and the other preceding monuments, that the events can be arranged in this way: that Bl. John lived first in a cave, and when he began to admit companions, in some house, or that he then began the first house of the order; and that, because they were growing in number, he built a little church. This house still endures, so wrote Tomás Herrera in the year 1644 Alphab. Aug. vol. I, page 366., called in Italian l'Elmo, that is, the Hermitage, containing a little church and a cloister, and belonging to the convent of Cesena.

§ VI. In the hermitage of Cesena he lived unknown for some time, and did not begin to take companions long before the year 1217; he put on the eremitical habit in the year 1225.

Lodi and Volta say that he admitted companions almost from the beginning, What life Bl. John led in the cave which he had chosen for himself in the hermitage of Budriolo we do not know for certain; but it can easily be conjectured from what the hermit brethren testified in the Apostolic Process about his life afterwards spent with them in the convent of the said hermitage: of which we shall presently cull very many things. Costanzo Lodi insinuates that immediately after his entrance into the hermitage Bl. John began to have companions; for he writes Vita ecc. book I, chapter 2. that not much time had passed from his entrance before very many men, by his example, wished to leave the world and to lead the eremitical life with him, so that within a shorter space than two years (in meno di due anni) the number of hermits grew so much in that province that it could not contain more. Wherefore it was necessary, he says, for those who came afterwards to spread themselves through other regions, new solitudes being sought. Leopoldo Volta agrees in the Summary of the Life of Bl. John Ristretto, ecc. page VI.: It must not be passed over in silence, he says, that after a retirement of about one year he was inspired by God to reduce to the form of a congregation all those hermits who professed the rule of St. Augustine and lived scattered outside the cities. Now these writers support their assertion by no authority, nor do they say whence they drew it. But since Lodi professes at the end of his book that he relies perpetually on the Apostolic Process Vita ecc. book III, chapter 45. (although in one or two places we have found that he did not make this good), we have searched diligently, and the following passage seemed to us able to have suggested to him that Bl. John began to admit companions after about two years:

[54] perhaps from the Process ill understood. Namely, in number 62 of the Process, Brother John de Barba, a layman, of the order of hermits of Bl. John, speaks in this manner: That when in the first year he instituted the order itself in the place of Budriolo, where he was dwelling, in the first hermitage, he was many times and in manifold ways persecuted by the demon. Then, asked about the time, he says that it is 38 years and more. And again asked for how much time fr. John the Good stayed in the above-said order, he says that he stayed 38 years Likewise Process, num. 68 at the end, etc.. Similarly F. Bonaventure, priest of the same order Ibid. num. 95., asked for how much time the said fr. John the Good had stayed in the above-said order, says that he believes that he stayed for 38 years, or 39. From these you would say that Bl. John began the order of hermits in the second year from his entrance into the hermitage of Budriolo. For elsewhere it is related by many, and we have sufficiently shown above at num. 40 and following, that he lived there forty years; and since here he is reported to have spent thirty-eight years in the order, it would thence be concluded that this was begun in the second year of his retirement. To these things, then, Lodi probably looked when he wrote that within two years Bl. John began to take fellow-soldiers. But it is to be observed that those witnesses who say that he stayed in the order for 38 or 39 years are few in number, and not accurate enough, while the rest, many of whom we cited at num. 40, and among whom is to be numbered fr. Lanfranc, prior general of the order of hermits, of the convent of Mantua, ascribe to him

unanimously forty years spent in the order. Let the testimonies themselves be seen in the said place.

[55] He lived for some time unknown in the hermitage, as But someone will say: If Bl. John spent forty years near Cesena and also lived forty years in the order of hermits founded by himself, then he began to found it from the beginning of his retirement. But truly not a few things can be opposed to this conclusion, and the very assertion of the witnesses about the forty years spent in the order can easily be explained. And these things will appear from the following series of events: Bl. John lived at the beginning in a certain cave; or if this, from what we have argued at num. 51, does not yet seem certain enough, it must yet be admitted that he lived for some time wholly unknown. For in the long process, in which two hundred and thirty witnesses were heard, of whom 36 belong to the order of hermits, no one recorded the arrival of Bl. John at Cesena, nor the beginnings of his stay in the hermitage. Yet there were among them many citizens of Cesena, and many hermits, who had lived with Bl. John at Cesena. Thus lord Gaiferius, knight, a noble man of Cesena Ibid. num. 253., who in the year 1254, while he was giving testimony at Cesena in the convent of the hermits themselves before the examiners Ibid. num. 168., was already an octogenarian Ibid. num. 255., and in the year 1208 or 1209, when Bl. John was arriving at Cesena, was about thirty-five years old, yet did not know him, not even by report, except for 37 or 38 years, that is, from about the year 1211 or 1212. For, asked Ibid. num. 254. on his oath, he said that he the witness, as he well remembers, saw fr. John the Good staying in a certain hermitage above Cesena, near the place which is called St. Mary of Botriolo, and performing a hard and harsh penance for 36 years and more … as of this there is and was public voice and report at Cesena.

[56] is proved from the Process; Similarly lord Guido Moroello, knight of Cesena Ibid. num. 242. Compare num. 203., who in the year 1254 was 60 years old Ibid. num. 244., said that he the witness saw the said fr. John the Good staying in a hermitage, chiefly a little above Cesena, in the place which is called St. Mary of Botriolo, a good 32 years and more, and always in the said times he carried on a hard and harsh penance. But from the very witnesses of the order of hermits it becomes altogether likely that Bl. John at the beginning led an unknown life and had no companions. For, first, of them scarcely any is old, and if perhaps there is one who at the time when the Process was being drawn up was already advanced in age, he testifies at the same time that he entered the order long after the year 1209. Brother John de Barba, already praised, who in the year 1251, when he was giving testimony at Mantua before the apostolic deputies, could not have been far from old age, asked for how much time he had stayed in the order, says a good 34 years: that is, from about the year 1217. And among all the hermit brethren who were witnesses in the Apostolic Process, most of whom, questioned on this matter, indicate how much time they had spent in the order, there is none who says that he spent more than 34 years in it. Yet we see that very many entered the order very young, from the 12th Process num. 298., 15th Ibid. num. 16. and 16th Ibid. num. 285. Likewise num. 295, 301. year of their age.

[57] and not long before the year 1217 Before the year 1217, therefore, if Bl. John admitted any companions, he admitted only a few; and this is the reason why, of the thirty-six hermit witnesses heard at Mantua and Cesena, there are no veterans of the order, so to speak. Perhaps Bl. John had one or another companion a few years after the eremitical life was begun, but such as departed this life before the Process was held. But whether he had or not, since from the very beginning of his retirement he lived as a hermit, it could be said by the brethren in the Process that he did penance in the said order, according to the common belief of the brethren, for forty years; or something else of this kind, as may be seen above at num. 40. For it is manifest and attested that Bl. John led the eremitical life for forty years, and since in admitting companions he proceeded only gradually and step by step, the time of the order's beginning could not be accurately indicated, and it was permissible to say in some way that he lived at Cesena all the time in the order. After the year 1217 he seems gradually to have taken new companions to himself. For Brother Matthew, of the order of hermits Ibid. num. 85., asked for how much time he had stayed in the order, says that it is a good 29 years and more Ibid. num. 90., that is, from the year 1221 or 1222. The same speaks elsewhere Ibid. num. 87. of the brethren who were in that convent in the year 1227. Brother Bonincontro, a layman of the order of hermits Ibid. num. 63., speaks of what he saw in the cell of Bl. John 28 years before the process, that is about the year 1225. The same says Ibid. num. 65. that 25 years before, or about the year of Christ 1226, Bl. John, accused by certain persons, cleared himself before the bishop of Cesena; and asked who were present, he answers that he heard it said that there were there several of the brethren of that order, whose names he does not remember.

[58] he began to admit companions. Similarly fr. Ardizzone, priest, hermit of the said order, of the convent of Mantua Ibid. num. 304., said in the year 1253 that he the witness had been a hermit of the said order for thirty years now elapsed and more, that is, from the year 1222 or 1223, and that he had been a priest for twenty-eight years now elapsed, and that he the witness stayed with the said fr. John the Good, about the beginning of the witness's entrance, at Cesena in the convent of the hermit brethren, for six years continuously and more, etc. Fr. John also, a layman, said in the year 1253 Ibid. num. 291. that, as he believed, he had stayed in the said order 30 years, or from the year 1223, and that he stayed with the said fr. John the Good about the end of his life, namely of fr. John the Good, at the convent of Cesena for 10 years continuously. From which last words it would seem that that John began the religious life not at Cesena but in some other convent: so that in the year 1223 others already existed besides that of Cesena. The matter, however, is doubtful; for that brother does not say expressly in this place that he did not live with Bl. John at the beginning, and nothing besides occurs on this matter in his whole testimony. Let what we deduce below concerning the convents founded by Bl. John be seen. That in the year 1227 there were already several brethren at Cesena was indicated above. About the year 1233 almost twenty brethren beheld a certain miracle of Bl. John, and not long after the year 1240, on the day of the Lord's Supper, he had all his brethren called, who were 30 Ibid. num. 17.. The convent of Budriolo perhaps could not hold more, for, as was said above, it was a convent of small size; but about the year 1240 other convents had without doubt already been founded, as will presently be said.

[59] He put on the eremitical habit in the year 1225. But although Bl. John began to admit companions before the year 1217, he had not yet at that time assumed the eremitical garment; which will become plain from these testimonies given in the Apostolic Process. In the year 1254 lord Barachias of Cesena, appearing before the examiners and questioned on his oath, said that he had had converse beyond 25 years with brother John the Good (that is, from the year 1224 at least to 1249), as a layman has converse with a religious whom he loves and fears. For the said witness said that before the said brother John the Good assumed the habit of the hermits, the said witness went and returned and lived much with the said brother John the Good, because they were great friends; and this was at Cesena. And after the said brother assumed the said habit, the said witness frequently went to the said brother at the hermitage in which he was dwelling Ibid. num. 197.. And it is helpful to add that Barachias in the year 1254, when he was testifying in the Process of Cesena, was over fifty years old Ibid. num. 198., or in the year 1224 about 20 years old. From which the numbers brought above are confirmed; for it is not likely that Bl. John had converse so familiarly with a young man not yet 20 years old, or, what comes to the same, with Barachias before the year 1224, that they could be called great friends. And since the said Barachias was a friend of the blessed one before the latter assumed the eremitical habit, it follows manifestly that this could scarcely have happened before the year 1224. But the year of the assumption of that habit can be accurately deduced from another testimony: Lord Gualterius, a brother of penance, said that fr. John the Good wore a single cowl, or thin woollen tunic, and he wore it as well in winter as in summer, for 24 years up to the end of his life; and he did not say that there had been only one, but there was one after another, of similar cloth Ibid. num. 181.. That habit is to be described in its place. But it is manifest that, if the blessed one wore it 24 years up to the end of his life, or up to the end of the year 1249, it was assumed in the year 1225. These things agree with the preceding testimony of Barachias and with the testimony also of the venerable father D. Manginus, bishop of Cesena, who, during twenty years, from about the year 1239 to 1249, in which he knew Bl. John, says that he often saw him in the religious habit, namely of the hermits, which habit was a certain tunic, or thin woollen cowl, which was girded on top Ibidem. num. 169.. And similar things concerning the form of the eremitical habit innumerable other witnesses testify. From which it is certain that Bl. John, although he began to have companions before the year 1217, yet did not put on his eremitical habit, which afterwards became for a time the habit of the order, until the year 1225.

§ VII. What life the blessed one led in his cell. His vocal prayers. Footprints in the floor from the frequency of praying. A wooden board serves him for a bed. Two beds of penance. A pit of penance. Other torments.

His cell was distant from the dwelling of the other brethren; What the deeds of Bl. John were will be learned to some extent from the life to be published, by Calepino, which, however, is very meagre, almost wholly taken up with narrating miracles, and not accurate enough in many things; it will be learned chiefly from the Apostolic Process which, by order of Innocent IV, was drawn up from the year 1251 to 1254 at Mantua and Cesena. But since the things which contribute to this knowledge are scattered in various places of that very ample monument, and must be compared with one another and bound together, we have resolved to draw out here briefly from that most pure source as it were a new Life. In the first place, as we begin to treat of the life of Bl. John in the hermitage and of his wonderful penance, as St. Antoninus speaks, it is necessary that there should become a little better known not only the hermitage in which he spent forty years, but the very cell in which he dwelt. Even at that time, namely when a convent already existed in the hermitage and Bl. John had many companions, he yet dwelt in a separate cell, distant from the buildings of the convent: He had his cell, says fr. Lanfranc, prior general of the order, apart from the brethren Process, num. 259.. And fr. James, concerning a certain sick brother who had come to the convent of Budriolo, says that a fever at once seized him, and so he lay three days, so that he could not see the said fr. John the Good, since the cell of that brother was somewhat distant from the said convent: which sick brother sent one of his companions to the cell of fr. John the Good, etc. Ibid. num. 30.. Fr. Girardus, priest, also reports of himself that fr. John the Good sent for him the witness to the convent, where he was staying with other brethren, that he should go to him with another brother, who is called Martin; and when he had gone to the cell of the same fr. John the Good, he began to admonish and comfort them, etc. Ibid. num. 36.. Yet his cell was not wholly solitary, for near by was the cell of fr. John de Barba, a layman, who, asked in the Process Ibid. num. 54. about the place in which a certain prophecy was made, says that it was in the cell of the witness himself, which was next to the cell of the same fr. John the Good. And asked who were present, he says that there was no one there except the same witness and fr. John the Good himself, since they were remote from the convent of the brethren. A little before he had said: Immediately fr. John the Good went to his cell, and after a little returned to the same witness, since between the one cell and the other there was a short way. From another place Ibid. num. 18. we learn that the office of the aforesaid fr. John de Barba was, at least for some time, to minister to Bl. John his food and other necessaries.

[61] [it was situated near the church, from which he heard the Divine Office. Vocal prayers used by him. Seldom] Now the cell of Bl. John was near the church of St. Mary of Budriolo, in which a certain window was so near the cell that he could easily hear what was sung in the church. In which, as in many other things, he seems to have wished to follow the custom of the hermits or recluses, whose rule in Rader Bavaria sancta, vol. III, page 117. has thus: Let the house of the recluse … have three windows, one toward the choir, through which he may receive the body of Christ; another opposite, through which he may receive his food; a third from which he may have light, which ought always to be closed with glass or horn. The blessed one was assiduous in his said cell in prayers, says fr. Grecus Ibid. num. 278., which was next to the bounds of the church of the brethren, and there was there a certain window which being opened the cell of the said fr. John the Good could be seen, whence the common opinion of the brethren was and is that for that reason the said brother John the Good seldom came into the church for the other hours of day and night except for Mass, as has been said, because if the brethren had said the offices by reading, he could hear them from his cell. And the said witness said (in which there is perhaps another reason why he was not present at the ecclesiastical hours in the church itself) that the said brother John the Good was illiterate, except that he knew the "I believe in one God" and the "Have mercy on me, O God" and other prayers. And that there may be presented here at the same time what pertains to the vocal prayers used by him, we add from a certain witness Ibid. num. 307. that he said in his prayers the whole "I believe in one God," and the "Our Father," and the "Have mercy on me, O God," and other good prayers, according to what an illiterate man could say. Yet he knew, says fr. Ventura Ibid. num. 289., certain psalms, and prayers, and the "I believe in one God," and "the other virtues, and the "Our Father" and the Hail Mary." Concerning which two things are to be noted. The first is that by the virtues are here designated, not indeed the formulas of the acts of faith, hope and charity, which about the twentieth year of the preceding century were not yet in use [Le prêtre sanctifié, in Gousset, Giustificazione della teol. mor. del B. Liguori, chapter 11. Monza 1833, page 225.], but those things which for many centuries Compare above, page 412, num. 2. are wont to be recited by the faithful after the Lord's Prayer, the Angelic Salutation and the Creed, and which with them make up what we call the Little Catechism: namely, a simple enumeration of the virtues both Theological and Cardinal, of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and His Fruits, of the Beatitudes, of the works of mercy, etc., also of the commandments, of the last things and of the various sins. It is to be noted secondly that the Angelic Salutation was not said by Bl. John entire, such as we now say it, but only its first two parts; but it is not necessary to repeat here what my colleague has discoursed diligently and curiously concerning this prayer and its increases in the lapse of time Acta SS. vol. VII of October, page 1108 and following.: a summary of which dissertation may be read in this very volume Above, page 413..

[62] he went out from his cell. But to return to the proposed argument, concerning the Divine Office heard by Bl. John from his very cell, and concerning his rare going out from his cell, another witness says Num. 289. that the said fr. John the Good did not come into the church of the brethren for the other hours of day and night (besides Mass) for this reason, that his cell was next to the bounds of the church of the brethren, from which he could well hear the Divine Office of the brethren, even if the brethren said it by reading. But he always came to Mass, as has been said, and sometimes to vespers, on Sundays, at Easter and on feast-days. A third reason why he was not present at this Office in the church itself was the very great solitude in which he wished to live. And indeed Bl. John seldom went out from his cell, and seemed in some way to imitate those monks of the East and West who had shut the door of their little hut by building a wall, and received their daily food from the faithful or from fellow monks through some window: as is read in the Acts of St. Stephen the Younger, monk of Mount Auxentius near Constantinople, which will be given at the 28th of November, and in very many others. For food and drink were also carried to the cell of Bl. John, which was somewhat distant from the convent: Within Lent, in time of health, says fr. Grecus Process, num. 276. Compare num. 272., he used very strict food and drink, as appeared in the little vessels in which food and drink were carried to him to his cell. Moreover no one could enter the cell of Bl. John except by the hand of the lay brother who served him: thus a certain brother, servant and doorkeeper Ibid. num. 200. of the servant of God. Nor did Bl. John go out except to be present daily at the sacrifice of the Mass, which certainly no saint, dwelling very near a church in which the unbloody sacrifice was celebrated daily, would omit. Then, since he was the founder and father of the hermits, and their perpetual counsel, he went out of his cell for their sake also. Finally, when some particular necessity of seculars demanded it. But before each of these things is shown from the monuments, we must finish what we began to say about the cell of Bl. John and the life which he led in it.

[63] His cell is described; what life he led in it. Fr. Balis, of the order of hermits, of the convent of Cesena, who dwelt with Bl. John for about sixteen years Ibid. num. 175., said in the part of the Process which was held at Cesena in the year 1254 Ibid. num. 168. that fr. John the Good had his cell, in which he stayed almost assiduously day and night in vigils and prayers; and in which cell he had the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and a panel of the blessed Virgin Mary, which he adored, and holy water; and from which he could hear the divine Offices which were performed by the brethren in the church Ibid. num. 177.. But above the rest, what life Bl. John led in his cell is best taught us by fr. Moltongradus, who was at one time prior of the convent of Cesena Ibid. num. 239., where the blessed one dwelt. The said witness, questioned about the faith of the said fr. John the Good, answered that the said fr. John the Good had his little cell next to the bounds of the church of the brethren, and from which he seldom went out, unless he came to comfort his brethren, or to speak to some of the outsiders (or externs), or he was in his said cell; the common opinion of his brethren is and was that through the whole night, as it were from the first sleep onward, and through the whole day, he stood in contemplation and vigils and prayers before the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and the panel or icon of the blessed Virgin Mary.

[64] Footprints in the floor from the frequency of praying. A wooden board He adds that in the cell of the said fr. John the Good there appeared manifestly, as the witness himself saw, the traces or forms of feet, and of toes, and of knees, and of hands, in the ground where he prayed, on account of the frequency of praying. And the said witness, questioned, said that in the aforesaid cell there was nothing else, neither straw nor sestorium (seat, stool), nor anything else than what has been said above (namely the wooden board on which at night he took a brief sleep), and so he stayed as well in winter as in summer. Of the traces impressed in the floor by the perpetual practice of kneeling and prostrating himself many witnesses speak, among whom

fr. Grecus says Ibid. num. 278. that there were in the aforesaid cell forms in which the said fr. John the Good placed his knees, and feet, and hands, when he prayed, and those forms or traces had been made from the excessive frequency of praying. And these were seen before his cross, or the image of Christ hanging from the cross, before which he was accustomed to kneel or prostrate himself. For elsewhere it is said in the same Process Ibid. num 282.: There appeared there forms and traces of knees, hands and feet before the cross, which he made from such frequency of praying. And below Ibid. num. 288.: Before the said cross and the icon of the blessed Virgin, or the panel on which was painted the image of the Virgin Mary Ibid. num. 263.. As regards the wooden board on which Bl. John slept, fr. Grecus says Ibid. num. 278. Compare num. 17, 36, 197. that, the witness seeing it, the said brother John the Good always lay upon the bare plank (board), keeping nothing over him or under him (except his daily garment, or cowl, very thin, which he did not put off at night), as the witness himself saw when he entered his cell, and because this was manifest among the brethren.

[65] which served him for a bed. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good lay little when well (slept little at night while he enjoyed health), but always kept vigil and prayed, as the witness himself saw when he entered the cell of the said brother John the Good, called by him to hear the confession of the said brother. For some time a certain cloth was spread upon the plank, or board, or wooden bench, as it is called in one place Ibid. num. 281.: His bed, says fr. Meliorinus Ibid. num. 38., was of a certain board of oak, where there was sometimes one thin cloth of wool, and at his head he had a certain board and sometimes a little sack of straw. And fr. James, a layman, who ministered to him for ten years: Upon which board, he says Ibid. num. 17., there was one cloth of wool; yet the said fr. John kept nothing over himself, except in the time of his sickness, in which he kept one sheet of wool. Elsewhere the cloth spread on the board is called moderately thick or coarse Ibid. num. 6.. But Bl. John seems afterwards to have abandoned this cloth, for fr. Vitalis says Ibid. num. 66. that he never saw for him (Bl. John) any bed in which he lay, except only of boards, without any cloth. And in almost the same way speak the other witnesses, of whom two say: Upon the bare board Ibid. num. 172 and 199., another: Where there was nothing on top Ibid. num. 63., and others similar things Ibid. num. 197, 259, 287, etc.. It is to be observed, however, that Bl. John slept only part of the night, and that a quite small one, as fr. Moltongradus said above at num. 63; and fr. Lanfranc scarcely differs, in the year 1235, when he was giving testimony, Prior general: He slept till the completion of the first sleep, and from then onward he rose and kept vigil in prayers; because it was well heard by the brethren that from the aforesaid hour onward he rose and kept vigil Ibid. num. 259..

[66] Beds of penance: one of holly; the other Besides this bed Bl. John had others which we shall call beds of penance; since they served for nothing else than for exercising an incredible penance. Fr. Vitalis narrates that he heard from a certain citizen of Cesena, who was called lord Bartolus, a tabellion (or lay notary), that he saw through a certain hole in the cell of the same fr. John the Good the same fr. John the Good lying and rolling in a certain bed of sharp stakes, and in another bed of brusci (or holly) pricking like thorns, and this he knew by hearing only Ibid. num. 66.. Of the bed of brusci several speak: He had in his cell, says fr. Bonincontro, two beds, one of boards where there was nothing on top, and another of brusci which prick like thorns Ibid. num. 63.. Fr. John de Barba, who often entered the blessed one's cell, says that he had a bed of brusci made for himself, where he lay sometimes Process, num. 50.. From which it does not seem that he had those two beds of penance, the one of brusci, the other of stakes, in his cell at one and the same time.

[67] of sharp stakes, which Of this latter wonderful example of penance fr. Girardus, priest, narrates: Fr. John the Good, he says, sent for the witness himself (Girardus, who was then a novice) to the convent, where he was staying with other brethren, that he should go to him with another brother, who was called Martin. And when he had gone to the cell of the same brother John the Good, he began to admonish and comfort them and exhort them in the Lord Jesus Christ that they should keep humility and patience, and he taught them how they might serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and acquire and faithfully hold His kingdom. And then he led them inside into the cell, where there was a certain bed of very sharp stakes fixed in the ground itself; and fr. John the Good himself threw himself on that bed as if it were of the best feathers, and began to roll himself in it, and without any hurt he rolled himself in the said bed this way and that. And while the brethren themselves were greatly terrified at this, they tried to help him; who says to them: Stay in peace, do not touch me. Which the same brother indicates was done about the year 1240 Ibid. num. 36.. He adds, however, that there was no public report of this, because perhaps the blessed one had enjoined silence Compare Ibid. num. 22 at the end., but the brethren of the convent suspected it, he says, and discussed it many times among themselves.

[68] is described. A pit of penance into which he let himself down That bed of stakes was dug in the ground next to the oak board, and in it, the stakes having been taken away, those brusci or holly, of which mention was made above, seem to have lain. For no one testified that three beds, if they are to be so called (one for taking sleep and two for penance), existed at the same time. That bed of stakes was also called a pit, namely an oblong one: He had a certain pit, says fr. Michael Ibid. num. 38., next to the other bed of board inside his cell, where he sometimes lay. And he says that he heard from fr. John the Good himself and from many other of his brethren that in that pit there were sharp stakes fixed in rows, upon which he threw himself as securely as if it were a sack full of straw for him. It is not yet enough; for there was another pit there, no longer oblong but deep, more terrible than the preceding: There was there a certain other pit, so fr. Michael continues, where, when he wished to afflict himself more, he placed his head and shoulders, his feet being raised above, and there he stayed for so long a time as he said the Our Father two hundred times. This pit is described by fr. James, who ministered to Bl. John a long time. Having mentioned his bed, or board of oak, he proceeds in this manner Ibid. num. 18. Compare num. 50.: And when he wished to afflict the said body more, he lay in a ditch in the ground (that is, in the former oblong pit next to the said board).

[69] head downward. Pieces of reed thrust under the nails. No fire in the cell. And when he wished to afflict his body still more strongly, he had a pit artificially made in which he placed himself with his head lower down. That pit, however, was so artificially made that with his shoulders and shoulder-blades he clung to the ground, his feet being raised upward. The witness himself, however, did not see him lying in the said pit, but saw the pit and its form, and heard from brother John the Good himself that he sometimes lay in it in the aforesaid manner. And the witness himself also perceived that when he lay in this second pit, the said brother John the Good appeared much afflicted and his face likewise appeared very swollen. He adds in the same place that he many times found him lying in the long pit; but of the other, where he placed his head and shoulders, he heard many times from brother John the Good himself. And he said this to the same witness: he asked him why he had made the said pit thus; and he answered him: Brother, do not care to know these things. At length, at the very great instance of the witness himself, he told him that he did it to afflict his body more. These things, however, however great they are, cannot be compared with those which he performed in a certain vehement temptation of the flesh, when by a wonderful act, though not one to be imitated, says St. Antoninus Below in the Life, num. 2., he divided a reed into many parts, and put them under his nails, and, raising his hands, struck them on a stone in such a way that they entered up to the very tips of the fingers. Having suffered this torment three days and nights, he was at length freed by a miracle. Which things will be narrated more fully below by St. Antoninus, Calepino In the Life, num. 3. and in the Process Num. 13.. In the cell of Bl. John fire was never lit, although he lived in it day and night, except from the utmost necessity: Nor did he use fire, say the witnesses, except in the greatest sicknesses Process, num. 292, 305, 287.. And to finish the description of the cell, it was neat and clean Ibid. num. 306., and near it Ibid. num. 21. there was a certain spring, of which mention is often made in the Process Ibid. num. 7. 21, etc..

§ VIII. Of the food of Bl. John and its quantity. An incredible fasting. He prolongs his life by miracle. The keeping of silence.

He took his food in his cell; when sick he sometimes used eggs, very rarely It was hinted above that Bl. John was accustomed to take his food in his very cell: and this he did, unless I am mistaken, both for the sake of the greater solitude and silence to which he had been accustomed from the beginning of his eremitical life, and that he might the more easily practise an incredible fasting and perpetual fasts. Nor will he be accused from this of the vice of singularity, since formerly it was by no means unusual that those who held the highest authority in a religious order or house should dwell and live apart from the rest, and St. Ignatius himself at the beginning established this concerning the table of the general of our Society, from which the generals afterwards willingly and

readily departed. Food, therefore, was carried to the cell of Bl. John by lay brothers deputed to this ministry, of whose number were Brothers James Ibid. num. 16 and 18. and perhaps another James Ibid. num. 301., John de Barba Ibid. num. 18 and 50., Albert Ibid. num. 99 and following. and Benvenuto Ibid. num. 295.. And these will safely teach us how much Bl. John was given to abstinence and fasts: He fasted at all times, says fr. James in the Process of the year 1231 Ibid. num. 16. Compare num. 50., as well in winter as in summer; and at no time did he use meat, even in his sickness, but in that very time of sickness he says that he sometimes used eggs. At another time, in illness, he does not seem to have used eggs, which the other witnesses have not mentioned. He fasted at all times, says fr. Albert Ibid. num. 199., except Sundays and in a time of great sickness, in which, at the great instance of the brethren, he ate a little meat; nor would he use a physician or medicines in his sicknesses, saying that our Lord Jesus Christ was his physician and medicine.

[71] Each of these things is confirmed by many witnesses. In a time of grievous sickness, meat; medicines never, alleging the example of St. Agatha. says fr. Moltongradus, at one time prior of Cesena, at the many prayers of the brethren he ate a little meat Ibid. num. 238. Likewise num. 276, 283, etc., but, as another says, very little and for a few days Ibid. num. 260. Compare num. 262, 304, etc.. Concerning the use of medicine and the help of physicians fr. Ardizzone adds these words: And when his brethren pressed much, he brought forward to them the example of blessed Agatha, never (applying) carnal medicine (which word is here omitted through carelessness), and yet in a lay manner, because he knew little of letters Ibid. num. 306.. The sense seems to be that he wished to cite the words of the ecclesiastical office on the feast of St. Agatha, at the 5th day of February. For another witness says: Bringing forward in a lay manner that authority: Carnal medicine I have never applied to my body Ibid. num. 175.. Which are the very words of the responsory to the eighth Lesson of the Roman breviary on the 5th day of February; and this very thing which is treated in the responsories of that feast, which are historical and continue and complete the narrative set forth in the Lessons, shows sufficiently that they are most ancient. For historical responsories of the same kind are noticed in some most ancient feasts of Martyrs and confessors, for instance of St. Agnes and St. Martin; and what is now preserved only in a few feasts of the Roman breviary is seen everywhere in the breviaries of the middle age Compare the liturgical writers.. From which it would follow that this responsory was the same in the age of Bl. John as it is now. Which is not wonderful, since it holds in some other most ancient feasts also. And the words of the responsory were excerpted, with some very slight transposition, from the Latin Acts of St. Agatha, as published by Bolland Acta SS. vol. I of February, page 617, num. 9.. But not to digress from our purpose, Bl. John ate the common food of the convent, except, however, as has been said, meat and eggs. Of fish the witnesses do not speak, so that we may conjecture that, when they were eaten in the convent Process, num. 84., he did not abstain from them, at least perpetually and at all times, as Lodi seems undeservedly to insinuate Vita, chapter 4, page 8.; except on Fridays and the vigils of the apostles, and as it were on the vigils of all, on which he fasted on bread and water only Process, num. 296..

[72] Of the quantity of food outside and As regards the quantity of food, which, except on Sundays, he took only once in the day Ibid. num. 262., he ate, as fr. Moltongradus (prior of the convent, who had food and drink given him) often saw, considerably less than any other brother, and he would never eat except of one dish only, as he often saw and heard from those who served him; and although sometimes the brethren ate cabbages and chick-peas or beans, the said brother John the Good took only a little of one of these foods Ibid. num. 238 and following. Likewise num. 262, 266, 276, 285, etc.. Of the quantity of that one dish fr. Ardizzone says these things: He used, he says, outside Lent the food and drink of the brethren, though by a third part and more, as it seems to him the witness, less than any other brother Ibid. num. 304.. Others say: By half and more, less Ibid. num. 259. Compare num. 171.; by half less than any other brother, and even much less than half Ibid. num. 262.: And the same is asserted of his drink Ibid. num. 266, 283, 312.. But in all these testimonies the single dish of Bl. John is compared with one entire taking of food of the brethren, namely the chief one of the day, which we now call dinner, not with all the food of the day, both of midday and of the evening. For those who institute this second comparison say that Bl. John used food less by a seventh part than any other brother Ibid. num. 298.; and others, perhaps in the same sense, that they ate at one time as much as he ate through the whole week Ibid. num. 292. Likewise num. 5, and Lodi in the Life, book I, chapter 4.: in which Bl. John on one day, namely Sunday, did not fast, or took two refections Ibid. num. 273, 287.. And these are the things which pertain to his abstinence, fasting and fasts outside the time of Lent. Truly Bl. John was given as an example and preserved through a long life to his rising order of Hermits, as it is called in the Process, that by his extraordinary penance and the other virtues and every kind of holiness, no less than by frequent and notable miracles, he might call many brethren to himself, instruct and confirm them, and so before his death see his congregation of hermits duly constituted and much extended.

[73] within Lent. But in Lent itself Bl. John practised still much more severe fasts, provided, however, that he was not hindered by some ill health. Fr. Ardizzone, having described the abstinence of a certain Lent, was asked whether Fr. John the Good led an equal life in all Lents; and he answered: According as the said fr. John the Good was more or less well in the time of Lent, he led a strict, and a stricter and harsher life Ibid. num. 305.. On the manner in which Bl. John spent the different Lents one need not dwell, had not Calepino, whose Life we publish, wrongly understood several passages of the Process, or rather Agostino of Crema, whose composition Calepino clothed in a more ornate style: after these also Costanzo Lodi, who again made some use of the Process. First, then, the four or more Lenten fasts which are described in the Process, and of which the biographers of Bl. John have spoken carelessly, must be duly distinguished. And because the manner of keeping Lent did not differ much from one year to another, and the blessed one lived so solitary and enclosed in his cell that it happened that the brethren did not know many things by sight, but only from what was said publicly Ibidem., hence it came about that, one or two witnesses excepted, the rest treated only of the Lents of the years 1247, 1248, 1249, the most unusual of all as regards fasting, and the last three of his life; finally not performed so much in secret, at least at their end, as the preceding had been. Of these fr. Bonacursus declares that he was in the convent of Cesena in the year 1237, and saw what Bl. John did in the Lent of that year: On the first day of Lent, he says, he took only a little bread, as it were in the manner of a host. And on the second day he took only four roots of parsley, cooked in the oil in which the food of the brethren was made, and nothing else. And on the third day he ate seven grains of cooked beans only and nothing else; and always, each day, having taken the said food, he drank a little of the wine of the convent. On the fourth day indeed he returned to the aforesaid quantity of bread, and on the fifth to the roots, etc. Ibid. num. 269..

[74] The Lents of the years 1237, 1246 and 1247 And this Lent the blessed one kept in the year 1237, and not in the second before his death, or 1247, as would have to be concluded from Calepino In the Life, num. 13.. For fr. Bonacursus said in the month of October of the year 1253, when he appeared before the examiners to bear testimony, that it is now 16 years, as he firmly believed, since he lived with Bl. John, from the feast of blessed Martin until Passion Sunday Process, num. 269.. That is, he saw him keeping the Lent of the year 1237, or perhaps 1238. Of the year 1246 fr. Ventura seems to have spoken, as will be declared in its place At num. 285 of the Process., when he says that in the first Lent in which he lived with Bl. John, the latter used the single food and drink of the brethren much more sparingly than he used at other times Ibid. num. 286.. Of the same or another year this testimony of a certain fr. John is read Ibid. num. 273.: He ate, that Lent in which the said witness was there, in the convent with the brethren; and daily he ate so little bread that, the whole quantity of bread which he ate in that Lent being considered, it was not one conventual loaf: And he ate with it a little coedulium (that is, edulium Du Cange's Supplements, under Cœdulium.) of one dish only, ten times less than any other brother of the convent; and similarly he drank moderately of the wine of the convent: so that all the brethren wondered. Yet because this was not new among the brethren, they did not wonder so much. There follow now the three principal and last Lents of the life of Bl. John; for of the rest no one has spoken expressly. Nay, even concerning the Lent of the year 1247 itself we do not have very certain things. Yet we judge that fr. James, a layman, who ministered to Bl. John a long time, treated of it in the first Lent of those three which he describes, and which he indicates clearly enough were observed in three successive years, of which the third is most certainly to be referred to the year 1249. On the first day of that Lent, he says Process, num. 16., he received the Body of the Lord, and on that day no other food

he took. And on each of the other following days of the said Lent the said brother John the Good ate one host only, and was content with that. These hosts were little pieces of bread cut out in the form of hosts such as are consecrated in the Mass: He made many round particles in the manner of a host, but somewhat larger and thicker than a host. So fr. Grecus and many others Ibid. num. 276.. Of which more at the Lent of the year 1249. And concerning the drink which he then used, fr. James testified these things: He drank a little wine, he says Compare Ibid. num. 296., mixed with the water of the decoction of the vegetables or pulse of the convent of his brethren, before oil or salt was put in. And on the day of the Lord's Supper he ate with the brethren and then again fasted in the above-said manner until the feast of Easter Ibid. num. 16..

[75] Likewise of the years 1248, And in the second Lent, namely of the year 1248, he went even further. He had given to him, says fr. James Ibid. num. 17., one loaf of the convent, and made from it forty pieces in the manner of a host, in such a way, however, that almost half of that loaf remained. And he used these pieces of bread through the whole of that Lent; and the said witness gave him one of those pieces only each day. Fr. Grecus, already praised, who in this year 1248 dwelt in the convent of Cesena from the beginning of Lent until Pentecost Ibid. num. 276., adds that he sometimes chewed a leaf of sage, namely for the keeping of his breath, but did not swallow its substance: so that he could not find any nourishment in it. And on the day of the Lord's Supper, as fr. James Ibid. num. 17. and very many others teach us, he had called all his brethren, who were 30, and distributed to each one piece of that same loaf which had been given him at the beginning of Lent. On that day also, as we learn from fr. Grecus Ibid. num. 276., being asked by the brethren, who said that the Lord Jesus on such a day ate with His disciples, he himself also ate a little of the coedulium of the convent and of one dish only, yet in his own cell. And on the two following days until Easter, as fr. James teaches us Ibid. num. 17., he ate nothing at all. Finally, of the Lent of the year 1249, which was the last of the life of Bl. John, many witnesses spoke, but only a few things are to be excerpted from the testimonies; for it was similar to the Lent of the preceding year, except the first thirteen days, in which Bl. John was sick. During these, namely, he ate three ounces of bread Ibid. likewise n. 292, etc., not daily, but among all the thirteen days Ibid. num. 312., and with those foods which the brethren themselves used in the convent Ibid. num. 17. Likewise num. 199..

[76] and 1249. That single Lenten loaf was an ordinary one. The daily quantity. The biographers of Bl. John wrote that that single loaf which he used in Lent was only of three ounces Calepino below in the Life, num. 13; Lodi, Life, chapter 4.: which is manifestly taken from these passages of the Process; but everyone sees how far it is from the truth. For when the witnesses speak of the quantity of bread with which Bl. John was accustomed to sustain himself from the beginning to the end of Lent, they always say that he used one conventual loaf; while here those who ministered to him, fr. James and fr. Albert, do not say that he ate one loaf in these thirteen days, but the one three ounces of bread, the other only a little bread Ibid. num. 199.. To whom others also agree Ibid. num. 292, etc.. How, too, would the conventual loaf have been only of three ounces? After these first thirteen days of the Lent of the year 1249 had passed, he used each day one particle of bread made in the manner of a host, and it was a little more than a host, until Holy Thursday, taking a little drink each day from the convent of the brethren and nothing else. The quantity of bread daily in this Lent, and, as appears from what has been said above, used also in the preceding ones, fr. James indicated in another way Ibid. num. 17.: He ate only as much of bread, he says, as is the form of one denarius, which is called mezanus. Calepino omitted to define the kind of denarius: As much as is the size of a denarius, he says Below in the Life, num. 13 at the end.; and Lodi is altogether silent about the denarius. Muratori shows the form of many denarii in the twenty-seventh Dissertation, on money or the right of coining Antiqq. Ital. vol. II., but since the variety of denarii was so great See Du Cange's Glossarium, under Denarius., it is no wonder that he did not bring forward the mezzano denarius of Cesena. And the very name mezzano indicates that it was of the middle or lowest kind.

[77] He did not keep several Lents in a year Calepino, having described, although not well enough according to the truth of the matter, three Lents kept by Bl. John, subjoins these words In the Life, num. 14.: It is established also that Janbonus afflicted himself thrice a year with the forty-day fast, and especially in that in which after the resurrection he took only three beans each day. These things Lodi changed a little, recording that they were done only in the last years of his life: He kept three quarantines or Lents, he says Life, chapter 4, page 10., in the last years of his life, and one after another, that is, unless I am mistaken, in one and the same year, eating nothing else than three beans a day. These things, then, may also have been said by the Cremasque, as is very likely, since both Calepino and Lodi clung to his footsteps. And the Cremasque may have borrowed them from St. Antoninus Compare the Life, num. 3 and 5.. But truly nothing similar is read in the Processes; and yet 36 brethren of the order of hermits, almost all of whom had lived long with Bl. John, spoke in testimony. First, they say nothing of several Lents kept in the same year; and they manifestly indicate that the Lents of which they hand down knowledge were those which the universal church celebrates every year before the feast of Easter. Moreover the three last Lents of the life of Bl. John are described minutely; there is described also the Lent of the year 1237 and several others Process, num. 171, 176, 292, 301, etc., in what years these took place being uncertain; finally several speak of the Lents in general, of which they were eyewitnesses for seven Ibid. num. 16 and 301., ten Ibid. num. 291., fifteen Ibid. num. 176. and sixteen Ibid. num. 171. continuous years, and all these dwelt with Bl. John up to the end of his life. And they declare unanimously, as will presently appear, when they mention his two or three last Lents, that in the preceding years the manner of keeping them was scarcely different, but in the last more severe.

[78] For many years they were like one another, in the last more severe. By no means, therefore, do those three Lents kept yearly seem able to be admitted, which, if we believed Calepino or Lodi, would have held in the last years of the life of Bl. John. It seems to be some tradition from a light foundation, which grew as it went and was committed to writing by the first biographers of Bl. John, as if perhaps for a few days he had at some time sustained his life by taking only three beans as his daily food: which, however, I do not remember reading anywhere in the Process. The above-said witnesses, who had spent many years with Bl. John at Cesena, are unanimous in this, that they testify that the Lents of all the years were more or less like one another, yet that the two or three last exceeded the rest in severity: As it was said publicly among the brethren, says one of them Ibid. num. 176., IN MANY LENTS, and especially in the last and the last but one of his life, he was content through the whole of Lent with one conventual loaf, from which he made many particles made in the manner of a host (namely somewhat larger, or, as is said elsewhere Ibid. num. 238.: yet thicker than hosts), of which particles he took one on each day of Lent until Holy Thursday. Another, speaking generally of the manner in which Bl. John observed Lent, in the time of Lent, he says Ibid. num. 292., used daily the quantity of bread of one host. And of the last year of his life he says these things: He turned to the custom of the other Lents Ibidem.. And others testified similar things Ibid. num. 171, 292, etc.. Yet that in the last years of the life of Bl. John his Lents were more severe is likewise manifest from the testimonies: Especially in the last and the last but one Lent of his life, said fr. Balis above; and another speaks also chiefly of the three or two last Lents of his life Ibid. num. 238. Likewise num. 171..

[79] [His so great abstinence was not from necessity of nature; he prolonged his life by miracle.] One or another brother at times doubted, astonished at so great an abstinence, whether perhaps the stomach of Bl. John was not so narrow that he could not eat more Ibid. num. 176, num. 305.. Fr. Lanfranc, Prior general of the order, asked whether he could by nature eat little, or did this out of abstinence for God's sake, answered that he did it on account of abstinence, and he said that this was notorious among the brethren Ibid. num. 260.. That is to say, there was some brother who believed that Bl. John practised this abstinence not by effort but by nature; and to remove that temptation, the blessed one once ate more than any other brother Ibid. num. 270. Likewise num. 273.. Another witness narrates that this was said by certain whisperers Ibid. num. 176.; a third, that it was the doubt of certain brethren who were tempted Ibid. num. 305.. The rest, interpreting these fasts better, believed them more than human and ascribed them to Divine intervention: The people of Cesena said rightly, says James, a citizen of Cesena Ibid. num. 250., when at times conferring among themselves, that unless God by His grace and power had sustained and nourished the said brother, he could not have endured the affliction and tribulation which for the love of Jesus Christ he inflicted on his body for many days. And as lord Guido Moroello, Knight or Horseman of Cesena, says, without the special help of God he would not have lived three days, as the witness himself said he believed Ibid. num. 242. Likewise 234, 250.. That is to say, God sustained him, that he might be an example and counsel to the brethren for many years.

[80] The eremitical habit which he wore is described. There must be described in this place the eremitical habit of Bl. John, which was the habit of penance; of which there will afterward be discussion more than once. He used one little tunic, says fr. Salvetus Ibid. num. 6., with a hood joined to that little tunic, of stannetum woven of wool and linen, and with this garment he was content summer and winter, however great the cold might be. Elsewhere the little tunic is called a cappa: under which name it often comes in the middle age: With one cappa of thin staminea he was always content as well in summer as in winter Ibid. num. 38. Likewise num. 50, etc.. But by most it is called a cowl, which was the ordinary name of the monastic garment: He wore a single cowl, or thin woollen tunic Ibid. num. 181.. Stannetum and staminea are the same as stamen: With only one cowl which was of stamen Ibid. num. 183., of stamen only Ibid. num. 237.; or rather they signify the cloth itself woven of stamen. What kind of cowl that of Bl. John was the following definition in Du Cange teaches us Under Cuculla.: A cuculla is a tunic reaching to the heels and hooded (that is, having a capuchon), and sleeved, having the appearance of a cross extended in four parts. And the cowl was of grey colour Process, num. 83. and was girded on top Ibid. num. 169.. Besides the hood, the blessed one seems to have worn some covering of the head called an infula; for in one place he is said to have prayed with the hood laid down and the infula removed from his head Ibid. num. 7; Compare Du Cange's Supplements, under Infula.. He also always wore a beard, great and white Ibid. num. 305., which others call very great Ibid. num. 301., great and long Ibid. num. 299.. Whence, when a certain barber says that he went sometimes to shave the brethren Ibid. num. 234., it seems to be understood of the crown of the head. And under the cowl he wore ferabulae (of linen Ibid. num. 281 and passim., called by Lodi in Italian mutande, that is, drawers, in French caleçon), and one cloth of linen or tow without sleeves, made as it were in the manner of a shirt (which in other places Ibid. num. 66, 175, 199. is called an undershirt); which he wore, as the witness himself and all the brethren believed, for two causes: the first, lest his flesh should be seen, because the cowl was very thin, as has been said; the second is, lest a certain infirmity from which he suffered (moroidæ, that is haemorrhoids, as is said elsewhere Ibid. num. 274, 278.), discharging blood, should soil the cowl Ibid. num. 270.. To these fr. John de Barba adds that at a certain time in summer, to afflict his body the more, he wore a certain very thick cappa of woollen cloth; on account of which both the brethren of the same order and others of the contrata (or region, in Italian today contrada) wondered very much Process, num. 50.. And the blessed one went about at all times (as well in winter as in summer) Ibid. num. 183. unshod, with bare feet and legs, except that he always wore the ferabulae, and sometimes wooden zipelli, and he wore these, as was publicly said among the brethren, for the greater affliction of his body Ibid. num. 237. Likewise num. 199, etc.. Zipelli or zupelli are called by Lodi in Italian zoccoli, that is, sandals; but they are taken up for affliction and are called thick: He wore certain thick zupelli Ibid. num. 38., and they are not worn except outside the church Ibid. num. 175.; nor do the feet seem to have been bare while he wore them: from which the doubt occurs whether they were not rather entire wooden shoes, which we call in French sabots. Yet what is read of zipelli in Du Cange's Glossarium Under the words Zepellus, Zipellus. does not seem to favour this interpretation. These zipelli he is said by fr. Michael to have worn as well in winter as in summer Process, num. 38.; and by another, sometimes for comfort, sometimes for the wearying of his body Ibid. num. 63.: but elsewhere he is said to have worn them only sometimes Ibid. num. 181, 199, 237., namely in summer Ibid. num. 203., and, as is added by most, for the greater affliction of the body. Concerning all which this is the testimony of the Venerable Father Lord Manginus, bishop of Cesena: When the said witness saw the said brother John the Good, … he was always unshod, and went about unshod, except that in summer he saw him wear wooden zipelli. The said witness, asked why … he wore the aforesaid zipelli, answered: That he might bring trouble and harshness to his body, as he says he believes and has heard from the brethren Ibid. num. 169..

[81] How great was his silence. Not yet content with so great harshness of life and abstinence, Bl. John joined to them the perpetual exercise of silence. For since he kept his cell so closely, as was said above at num. 62, the observance of silence was of itself joined with this keeping. He stayed much shut in by day and by night, says fr. Manfred Ibid. num. 262., and kept silence much; or, as brother Lanfranc, prior general, says: Day and night he kept silence frequently Ibid. num. 259.. Yet at two times above the rest he did this, namely on the day on which he communicated and in Lent Ibid. num. 279.. On the day of Communion he kept silence chiefly, and especially from outsiders, or strangers, unless a very great necessity of speaking was impending Ibid. num. 282. Likewise num. 296, 310.. But he kept silence and solitude more severely in the time of Lent than at all other times Ibid. num. 283, 292.. For then it was as it were continuous, and he always stood day and night in vigils and prayers in his cell Ibid. num. 238.. Fr. James, who ministered to him a long time: Fr. John the Good spoke to no one in the aforesaid three Lents, he says Ibid. num. 18., except to the witness himself and to fr. John, his companion, because he was continually ministered to. The same can be concluded from a certain testimony of fr. Girardus, which sounds thus: Although he spoke to no one in Lent, he spoke to the witness himself by favour Ibid. num. 36..

§ IX. Of the Faith of Bl. John. Of the heretics, the Cathars and Patarenes, whom he attacked. They came from the East into Bulgaria and thence into the rest of Europe. Their dogmas. The Blessed one converted many to the faith.

Of the faith of Bl. John. We have treated thus far of those things which Bl. John performed in his cell, or which chiefly pertain to it; we must now pass to those which he did among the brethren or strangers. That is, Bl. John went out of his cell, as was said at num. 62, for three causes: to console his brethren, or to speak to some outsider who sought him, or to hear Mass Ibid. num. 292. Likewise num. 239, etc.. And these three comprise the chief things which remain to be said of the virtues of Bl. John; wherefore it will be better to bring them back to certain heads of virtues. We shall gather here, then, with as great brevity as can be, what pertains to the theological virtues, or to some moral ones, in which the blessed one was eminent. And as regards faith, which is the principle and foundation of the other supernatural virtues, it shines forth, as Benedict XIV witnesses De servorum Dei Beatificatione etc. book III, chapter 23, num. 4., in many acts of the Saints. Wherefore the witnesses, questioned about the faith of Bl. John, indicate many things which can conveniently be referred to other virtues also. Thus the Venerable Father Lord Manginus, bishop of Cesena, answers to a question of this kind In the Process, num. 169. that he was a Catholic man, and that he received the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and heard the divine services, and that he frequently confessed his sins, and that he was very assiduous in vigils and prayers, and he was held by him as a just and holy man and a man full of the Spirit of God. Others add other things of this kind, as that he had in his cell an image of Christ hanging from the cross, and a panel of the blessed Virgin Mary, before which he perpetually prayed, and holy water with which he signed himself Ibid. num. 173, 177, etc.: which everyone sees pertain more properly and per se, as they say, to the virtue of religion. In the Saints, however, all acts of the virtues are for the most part commanded by charity, especially those which pertain most nearly to prayer, the veneration of the Eucharist and the worship of God in general. Wherefore of these it can be spoken presently, when discourse is instituted on charity.

[83] He confirms his hermits and seculars in the faith against heretics, The witnesses then report how he confirmed both strangers and his brethren in keeping the Catholic faith, among many heretics and enemies of the Roman church. He exhorted his brethren, says fr. Lanfranc Ibid. num. 260., that they should have and hold the faith of the Holy Trinity, as it is contained in the creed Ibid. num. 263, 302, etc., which he said in a lay manner, because he was illiterate; and that they should believe what the holy Roman church believes. Almost all the witnesses have similar things in the third and fourth part of the Process, in which they are expressly questioned about the faith of Bl. John. He comforted his brethren, says one of them Ibid. num. 177. Another, num. 300, etc., and told them that they should believe and hold as the holy Roman church believes and holds, and he told them that they should believe all the articles of the faith; and that the Lord Pope was the Vicar of God and the successor of blessed Peter, and had the same authority which blessed Peter had, and that those who do not believe this will not be able to be saved. Then concerning the heretics and excommunicates of that time they add: And he publicly detested, so the praised witness continues, the faith of all the Patarenes and excommunicates and of all who did not believe as the holy Roman church believes. And he warned his brethren to beware of such, because in such a state they could never be saved, but were sons of the devil and of perdition. And he told his brethren that they should hold all clerics in great reverence on account of the orders which they exercised, although they knew them to be sinners. The same many others testify, both hermits and seculars Process, num. 182, 183, 198, 204, etc., because the exhortations to keep or to take up the true faith were directed chiefly to the latter.

[84] Namely the Cathars or Patarenes. The etymology of these names. Now the heretics of whom Bl. John bade both beware, and who are named by many witnesses,

are the Gazari and the Patarenes. He publicly detested the Gazari and Patarenes, says fr. Moroello Ibid. num. 173., and after him many others. Now the Gazari are the same as the Cathars, or the Manichaeans of the middle age; for these heretics gave themselves this name, which was afterwards corrupted by the common people. This indeed is more probable to me than that the name was imposed on them by the common people itself in Germany from the old word quaten, quetten, to chatter, because they prayed as if chattering, as Henschenius thought [Acta SS. April, vol. II, page 395; Compare Schilter's Thesaurus Antiquitatum Germanicarum, vol. III, page 513.]. For long before the year 1160, about which they arose in Belgium and around Cologne Acta SS. ibid., they had appeared in Bulgaria, Dalmatia, Italy and Gaul, and it is likely that they brought their name with them: for the Lateran Council of the year 1179, canon 271, mentions the Cathars and Patarenes as existing in Gascony, the Albigeois and the parts of Toulouse, where St. Bernard had already found them in the year 1147 Compare Acta SS. vol. III of April, page 679, num. 6., who, however, did not express their name. From the same Teutonic word quetten Henschenius thinks the Flemish word ketter, the German ketzer, heretic, was derived; but with certainly no less likelihood these words would be derived from the very name of the Cathar heretics, who were found for many centuries in almost all Europe. This last seems to me more likely than to say with Gretser Opera, vol. XII, part II. Prolegomena in Script. Waldens. page 9. that the Teutonic words ketter, ketzer, kaezer, kazer are very old, and themselves have as their etymon the word Cathari. And the Patarenes, or Patarini, are the same as the Cathars: The common people called them Paterini, says Muratori Dissertazioni sopra le antichità Italiane vol. III, page 254, at Munich 1766.; nay, under this name came all the heretics who at that time held the church of God as hostile. That these things may be explained briefly, we must go up a little higher. That the name of Patarenes was first that of Catholics seems undoubted. It was first given at Milan to the followers of SS. Arialdus and Herlembald, who about the middle of the eleventh century rose up fiercely against the luxury and depravity of incontinent and simoniacal clerics; namely because, partly affecting poverty, they voluntarily wore patched garments (among the Milanese the hucksters were called pate and their street pateria); partly were really poor: so that in the beginning the word patareni signified the same as the French va-nu-pieds, or couvert de friperies. But since the genuine origin of this word was soon obscured, or was unknown outside Milan, other etymologies were devised; as had already long ago been done concerning the very name of Jesus; which, although in the Gospel it had been turned by Saviour, was by very many derived from ιασθαι, to heal; and concerning pascha, signifying passage, confused with πασχειν, to suffer. And indeed it was most natural that the etymology of the word patareni should be made exceedingly various, since it was continually fastened upon all who resisted legitimate or illegitimate ecclesiastical power, some interpreting it to their honour, others to their reproach, or some regarding one thing, others another. Further, as the Manichaeans propagated their shameful sect through Italy, this name too was imposed on them; from which, to avert odium, they accepted it in a most honourable signification. After the example of the martyrs who underwent martyrdom for the Catholic faith (says the emperor Frederick II in a certain constitution of the year 1220), they name themselves Paterenes, as exposed to suffering. They also murmured in praying in the streets, and their perpetual prayer was the Paternoster; to which they attributed every kind of efficacy, and by which alone they said the sacrifice was consecrated; from which some have related that they were called Paterini [Compare Antichità Italiane, vol. III, page 252 and following, at Munich 1766. Compare the Supplements to Du Cange's Glossarium, under Patareni.].

[85] [They were Manichaeans and had come forth from the old heretics of this name. These had not been extinguished in the East] The Gazari, therefore, and the Patarenes, as we have said, are the same heretics, who were named in different ways in different places and by different persons: there was also, according to the difference of places, some difference of doctrine. And what Bossuet, in the very well-known History of the variations of the recent heretics [Histoire des variations des églises protestantes, book XI. Œuvres, Versailles edition, vol. XX, page 85.], says of the Albigensians, that they were perfect Manichaeans, must also be said of the Cathars of Italy: for the Albigensians were their offspring; but not equally the Waldensians, who were very different from the Albigensians [Hist. des variat. Ibid. num. 93, page 153 and passim; P. Jas, Diss. de Valdensium secta ab Albigensibus bene distinguenda. Leiden 1834.]. And that the Italian Cathars themselves came forth from those Manichaeans of the first centuries of the church whom St. Augustine and other fathers attacked can be shown from history. For, attacked by the emperors of Constantinople, as Peter of Sicily [Historia de Manichæis, Biblioth. Patrum Lugdunensis, vol. XVI, page 759 and following.], Photius [De Manichæis repullulantibus, in Montfaucon, Biblioth. Coisliniana, page 372, 375.] and Cedrenus Passim. Compare Fleury, Hist. ecclés. book XXXI, num. 59. narrate, they nevertheless retained disciples in many regions of the East, especially in Armenia Cedrenus, vol. II, page 209 and 212. Bonn 1849.. And in this kingdom they were called Paulicians, from a certain Paul, son of Callinice, a Manichaean woman, who in the middle of the seventh century had preached there most of the dogmas of the Manichaeans, and, with the help of his brother John, had made not a few disciples for himself. At the end of the ninth century, Basil the Macedonian reigning at Constantinople, a certain Chrysocheir ruled over the Paulicians Peter of Sicily, Hist. de Manichæis, loc. cit. page 764., who, as Cedrenus narrates, governed the city of Tephrice. He was successfully attacked by the emperor in the first year of his reign Cedrenus, loc. cit. page 206 and following.; and the emperor, returning from the war, sent Peter of Sicily to Tephrice to ransom the captives. Peter wrote the history of his embassy, in which he spent eight months at Tephrice or Tibrice, and dedicated it to the first archbishop of the Bulgarians of the Greek rite, sent by the emperor Basil, but whose name is hidden from us.

[86] especially in Armenia. How from there At Tibrice, then, he says Hist. de Manichæis, loc. cit. page 754., having stayed long among the Paulicians for the purpose of discharging my embassy, I often engaged with them in disputation, and I curiously investigated all their secrets through the Catholics also living there; they passed over to Bulgaria, and thence to Italy and Gaul. and I learned from those impious and raving men themselves that they would send from their conventicle men who should turn whomever they could in Bulgaria from the Catholic religion to their accursed and nefarious sect. These last words are singular, for in fact the Paulicians, or new Manichaeans, not long after infected the Bulgarians with the stain of their pestiferous doctrine. This was done chiefly, however, when, at the exhortation of a certain monk Theodore, who was afterwards promoted to the patriarchate of Antioch, the emperor John Tzimisces transferred many Manichaeans into Thrace: Theodore had also urged the emperor to deport the Manichaeans, creeping through the whole East and corrupting all things with the contagion of their impure religion, into the West, into some deserted solitude; which the emperor afterwards did, and transferred them from the East to Philippopolis. These are the words of Cedrenus in the Compendium of Histories Cedrenus, loc. cit. page 382.. And this colony of heretics was most deadly to all Europe. Two centuries later Manichaeans were found in great number in Bulgaria, and were called Bogomils, that is (the Slavonic word rendered in Latin) imploring the mercy of God: for they always murmured prayers, especially the Lord's Prayer, which, condemning the rest as much speaking, they used as if alone. And these Manichaeans had come into Bulgaria from neighbouring Thrace, into which Tzimisces had transferred them, or from Armenia, as is to be believed from Peter of Sicily, or finally from Constantinople, where this heresy always had followers until well into the middle age. The emperor Alexius checked them in Bulgaria with no less zeal than industry and almost extinguished them at the beginning of the twelfth century [Euthymius Zigabenus in the Panoplia, title 23; Anna Comnena, Alexiad, book XV; Zonaras, book XVI.], and he afterward did the same with the Paulicians, who from the end of the ninth century had been raging around Philippopolis in Thrace. But at that time, namely in the twelfth century, the Manichaeans, as will presently be said, had already propagated their pernicious doctrine as far as the middle of Europe. In Matthew Paris, at the year 1223, mention is made of a certain heresiarch, whom the Albigensian heretics call their pope, dwelling on the borders of the Bulgarians, Croatia and Dalmatia. And at the year 1236 the same says Hist. des Variations, book XI, page 100, num. 23 and following.: About those days the heretical depravity of those who are commonly called Paterini and Bugares (or Bulgares) grew strong in the Transalpine parts. In Rainer also, in the Summa on the Cathars, the sixteenth of their churches is the church of Bulgaria. Not only, therefore, was this sect brought into Italy and Gaul from Bulgaria, as Bossuet after Vignier Ibid. page 101. and others have thought; but it cannot be doubted that the Manichaeans of Europe, that is the Albigensians (whom they also called Bulgars Matth. Paris. page 414. Zürich 1606.), the Cathars, the Patarenes, and by whatever name they were called, were the offspring of the Manichaeans of the ancient church.

[87] In Italy they flourished chiefly at Milan, at Rimini and in all Romagna. They appeared in Gaul and Italy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in many places, and, as regards this latter region, chiefly at Milan [Acta SS. vol. II of April, page 595, num. 9 and following; vol. III, page 679, num. 4.]. At Mantua and through all Romagna Muratori, Dissertazioni, loc. cit. page 261.. At Mantua about the year 1258 their sect had its own bishop, called of Bagnolo. And they flourished chiefly at Rimini, a very well-known city not far from Cesena. Of which these things are read in the Process against Armanno Pungilupo, head of the heretics, compiled in the year 1270 and following and published by Muratori Antiq. medii ævi, vol. V, col. 131.: Master John, minister of the brothers of penance, in 1270, on the 11th day of December coming in, sworn, says that he once found Punzilupus in the contrata of St. Paul (before the year 1269, therefore, in which Pungilupus Ibid. col. 96. ceased to live), and the said Punzilupus told him that he was coming from Rimini, and that there were at Rimini many houses of Patarenes. And when the witness himself asked him how he knew the said houses, he answered him:

I know them well, because they have certain signs by which I know them. And the following witness says that Punzilupus often visited the heretics who were in Romagna and especially at Rimini. It is no wonder, therefore, if in his exhortations Bl. John so frequently inveighs against the Gazari and Patarenes and their errors.

[88] The dogmas of the Patarenes from a contemporary author. Their dogmas were the same as those of the old Manichaeans, some things being changed here and there, in which they differed from them and among themselves: All the Cathars, says a writer of that age In Martène, Thesaur. Anecdot. vol. V, col. 1762., have common opinions, in which they agree, and proper ones, in which they disagree. A catalogue of the errors of three sects, namely of the Albigensians, of the sect of Bagnolo, so called from a town of Provence in Gaul, and of the sect of Concorezzo, which is a village of the territory of Milan, was woven by Pellegrino Prisciani, and Muratori published it from his manuscript books Muratori, Antiqq. loc. cit. col. 93 and following.. Thence we excerpt a few articles, to illustrate the deeds of Bl. John; and it is to be noted that the capital letters at the end of each are the first of the name of those sects, of the three aforesaid, which taught these articles Ibidem..

That there are two principles: one wholly good, the other wholly evil. A. and B.

That Christ is not God. A. B. C.

Then all the articles of the creed in which Christ is spoken of are denied, and the rest also, so that it is manifest that those heretics wished to deny the whole Catholic creed. In the middle is read this assertion against the beginning of the creed:

That these visible things are not from God. A. B. C.

Those of Concorezzo, however, say that the creatures are from God, that is, that He made the four elements; and that afterwards from these four Lucifer arranged all creatures each in its kind as they are. But others say that God made nothing visible, neither in matter nor in arrangement nor in form. And if sometimes they grant that He made visible things, they say it of those which are visible to the Angels.

From the following articles is explained what Bl. John said above, n. 83, in commending the clerics:

That in the church of God there ought not to be priests and deacons, namely evil ones. A. B. C.

That evil presbyters could not minister. A. B. C.

The Patarenes, that is, abhorred the Catholic priests and would acknowledge no authority in them Muratori, Dissertazioni, vol. III, page 253..

Bl. John inveighs much against the excommunicate, especially against Frederick II; those heretics say that the church cannot excommunicate. A. B. C.

The blessed one works miracles to confirm someone of his order who doubted of the truth of the Body of Christ, and to his brethren he said specially of the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ that they should have the greatest faith and trust in it, because it was truly the salvation of the world Process, num. 282.: the Cathars say that the sacrament of the altar is nothing. A. B. C.

Nor finally is there omitted in this catalogue the article from which for the most part the Cathars or Patarenes were recognised, that marriage is evil. A. B. C.

[89] [They denied the whole creed, which therefore Bl. John commends to all. Ancient authors concerning the same.] Since they denied entirely the several articles of the creed, merely adding the negative particle, it is no wonder that Bl. John was accustomed so frequently to recite and commend the creed See above, num. 83.. It is singular that George Cedrenus, a Greek writer of the eleventh century, commends exactly the same arms where he treats of the Paulicians or Manichaeans of the East Cedrenus, vol. I, page 759, Bonn edition 1838.: For indeed a Christian, he says, disputing with a Manichaean, ought to demand of him that he recite the creed of the faith, "I believe in one God, etc." If a fuller knowledge of these heresies should be necessary to anyone, many monuments will supply it, such as: the Disputation between a Catholic and a Paterine, written by a contemporary In Martène, Thesaurus nov. Anecdotorum, vol. V, col. 1703 and following.; the manifestation of the heresy of the Cathars, which Bonacursus, who was formerly their master at Milan, made before the people In d'Achery, Spicilegium, vol. I, col. 208 and following. Paris 1723., and who had been a heretic but is now a Catholic; the summa of brother Rainer Sacconi, of the order of Preachers (who had been a heresiarch and a bishop of the heretics), on the Cathars and Leonists, or Poor Men of Lyons In Martène, loc. cit. col. 1759.; and many other disputations, or histories and Acts of Councils.

[90] The blessed one converted many Patarenes to the faith. Jacobinus of Cesena, Of the seculars whom he exhorted, Bl. John converted many to the true faith. Lord Guido Moroello, Knight of Cesena, testifies these things to our purpose: On account of the good words which the said brother John the Good said to those who went to see and hear him, and also by seeing and hearing the life which brother John himself led and had led for a long time, and by seeing and hearing the miracles which the Lord was working daily by the merits and prayers of the said brother John the Good, many of those who did not believe in the faith of the holy Roman church were converted to the faith, and hold and observe it as Catholic men In the Process, n. 244.. The same is testified by Janianus, a brother of penance: Many, he says, who believed ill, that is, of the Patarenes, were converted to the Catholic faith and to the obedience of the holy Roman church Ibid. num. 256.. Worthy of report is the testimony of master Jacobinus, a carpenter of Cesena, formerly a Patarene, from which we excerpt some things. His father had been a heretic and an evil person, because he did not believe the faith of the Holy Trinity and of the holy Roman church, and with that evil faith he died, as the said witness believes, in soul and body. Whence at one time the said witness, at the persuasion of his said father, believed ill and was a Paterene; and in that evil and most wicked belief the said witness was for a long time: so that, as the witness himself said, if the witness himself could have destroyed all clerics and religious by the least word of his, he would have done it with a rejoicing mind. And the said witness said that on account of the hatred which the witness himself bore toward those who were in the faith and obedience of the holy Roman church, the witness himself many times went to the hermitage (feigning himself a Catholic) in which the said brother John the Good was dwelling; and he had sound nuts and nut-shells, and placed them secretly at the head of the brethren's beds, to this end, that the brethren might come to discord and quarrel among themselves, saying to one another: You do not fast, because you eat nuts. And this, as the said witness said, he did many times.

[91] he is converted on seeing a miracle. The blessed one called him one day, and he, coming, though astonished, said within himself: What does this man want? When he had come into the cell of Bl. John, the latter began to tell him how the witness himself believed ill, and that he was a heretic in his belief, and that the father of the said witness had believed ill and therefore was damned with the devil in hell. Then he urged him with many words to return to penance and the faith; but Jacobinus began to mock him and to say: Who told you that I believed ill? I believe better than you. At length by the intervention of a miracle he was healed: A certain falcon, or wild moscardellus (the same, unless I am mistaken, which the Italians now call moscardo, moscardino, the French épervier), flying through the air, flew into the cell of the said brother John the Good, and rested a little upon the feet of the said brother John the Good, and from the feet leapt upon the knee of the said brother. And then the said witness wished to catch the said bird; and brother John the Good at once said to the said bird: Go with God. And the said bird departed flying. At which the said witness wondered much; so that he immediately said to the said brother John the Good: I wish henceforth to believe as you believe, because I see that your faith is better than mine. And he had been so obstinate in heresy that he would rather have allowed himself to be burned, as the Patarenes do, of whom he was one, than have withdrawn from it; nor would he have been converted at all, had it not been for the things which he heard and saw of the said brother John the Good Ibid. num. 228 and following.. He then narrates other miracles which Bl. John wrought in his favour.

§ X. His Zeal against the excommunicated followers of Frederick II. Of the Ghibellines and Guelfs. The miracles of Bl. John. The gift of Prophecy. Hope and Charity. Prayer. Devotion in communion; its frequency in the thirteenth century. Charity toward his neighbour. The immense concourse to him.

[The zeal of the blessed one against the excommunicate, the followers of Frederick II.] Not only did Bl. John attack the heretics and strive to bring them back to the faith and obedience of the Roman church, but also the excommunicated followers of Frederick II, an emperor of lamentable memory, who had been struck with anathema by Gregory IX and Innocent IV, and in the year 1247 is reported to have sent assassins to kill the latter. He said, therefore, to those who came to him, that they should believe the Lord Pope to be the Vicar of our Lord Jesus Christ and to have the power and authority of loosing and binding upon earth. And he told them that they should beware of the Gazari, the Patarenes … and the excommunicate; because such men were sons of the devil and of perdition, and in that state could never be saved unless they returned to the mandate (obedience) of the holy Roman church and of the Lord Pope. And he said, and said many times, to the vicars and envoys of Frederick, the late emperor (when the witnesses deposed these things, he had died four years before), who were placed at Cesena and in other places by the said Frederick and came to see the said brother John the Good on account of the public fame of his holiness: You are excommunicated and your Lord is excommunicated and accursed; neither he nor you can be saved unless you return to the mandate of the holy Mother the Roman church Ibid. num. 240bis.. And Fr. Ardizzone testifies that he frequently heard this from the blessed one, that Frederick and all his followers were accursed and excommunicated, because they were rebels against the Lord pope and the Roman church In the Process, num. 307.. It is added in another place that he said to the envoys and vicars and podestàs of Frederick (under which name, especially among the Italians, the magistrates of the cities came) not only: You are excommunicated, but also: You have no power of judging Ibid. num. 293..

[93] The vices of the emperor. Of the Ghibellines and Guelfs. For Cesena was comprised, and is still comprised, under the patrimony of St. Peter and the pontifical dominion, a great part of which Frederick had occupied with the utmost injustice. Which Innocent IV reproaches him with in the bull Sacro præsente concilio, issued in the year 1245 at the council of Lyons In Raynaldus, at the year 1245, num. 38., in which he enumerates four principal heads of crimes: And, to be silent for the present, he says, about his other crimes and iniquities, he has committed four most grievous ones, which can be concealed by no evasion. He then says, and shows at length, that he was very often perjured, that he violated the peace formerly restored between the church and the empire, that he was sacrilegious, and finally that he was held suspect of heresy also, by arguments not doubtful and light, but weighty and evident. These and other things having been established in the bull, he absolves Frederick's subjects from the oath of fealty, decrees that whoever should thereafter give him counsel or help, or favour, as emperor or king, should by the very fact lie under the bond of excommunication; and he declares that another successor in his place should be freely elected by those to whom the election of the emperor in the same empire belongs. Under this Frederick the factions of the Ghibellines or Waiblingen and of the Guelfs were most widely spread, whose origin Muratori well deduces in Dissertation LI on the Antiquities of Italy Compare Acta SS. Propylæum Maji, Paralipom. page 91, num. 4 and 5.. For Frederick was born of the family of the Ghibellines, and from the time when he became a pernicious enemy of the church, his followers were called Ghibellines, but the faithful subjects, patrons and champions of the Roman church, Guelfs. For from the time of Frederick II these two inseparable words (they are the words of Albertino Mussato, a writer of the fourteenth century, in his Louis of Bavaria In Burman, Thes. antiquit. et histor. Italiæ, vol. VI, part II, page 361., or history of the Ghibellines and Guelfs), sprouts, or rather pestiferous schisms, sprang up and entangled, which have always kept Italy unquiet.

[94] [Miracles of the Blessed one. A brother wavering in his vocation, another doubtful of the truth of the Eucharist,] The faith of the Saints is attested above all by the miracles themselves, since God promised them first of all to living faith: If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, etc. The Apostle also attributes them to faith, celebrating the praises of those who in the old testament were eminent in faith Hebr. chapter 11, ℣ 29 and following.. The miracles which Bl. John wrought in his life served either for confirming his brethren or for converting and confirming seculars. That is, he was brought by God to so great holiness chiefly to this end, as has already been said, that he might begin the order of hermits and consolidate it for ever by his examples, exhortations and miracles. When one day he was occupied in prayer, it was reported to him that a certain brother named Joachim wished to withdraw from the order. He at once entered the kitchen in which that brother was, and, an exhortation having been made first, he entered the lighted fire and stood in it a long time, without being hurt in any way, not even in his garments. Then, going out of the kitchen, he planted in the ground a piece of wood already half-burned, and on the same day it began to flower, and little by little grew into a great and fruitful tree. And thereby not only that brother but all the rest were wonderfully strengthened in the institute of life which they had taken up In the Process, num. 9, etc.. At another time, from the declamations of the Patarenes, as is likely, it came about that a certain brother Nascimbene doubted of the truth of the sacrament of the Eucharist. Bl. John healed him by turning water into wine Ibid. num. 20 and following. Likewise num. 42.. On the following day, when two brethren who had come from Lombardy showed themselves incredulous, for the edification and confirmation of those doubting brethren, and that through those who were then about to come into Lombardy others who should hear might be edified … at the prayers and supplications of a certain brother he renewed the same miracle.

[95] [he confirms with miracles. The multitude and frequency of his miracles. Prophecies, knowledge of hearts,] Then he ordered them to go to the Chapter, and coming himself: Brethren, he said, do not think that I have done this miracle which you have seen, but the Lord God, who can do all things, and transform water into wine and species into species, He it is who has done this. Yet I said this prayer for the transmutation of the water into wine: "Lord God almighty, show Thy power and might, that these brethren may be edified and confirmed and have perfect faith in Thee." Then he forbade these things to be divulged Ibid. num. 7 and following, and num. 22.. Other miracles, by which brethren and seculars were confirmed in the faith, we here omit, since they can be read below in both Lives and in the process. His biographers reckon the miracles wrought while he was living at 46, and after his death at 44; in which it appears that he enlightened the blind, gave health to paralytics, the lame, or those in any way defective and infirm in body, and cured those possessed by the demon. And so frequent were his miracles that it was said by witnesses in the process that he worked miracles daily Ibid. num. 236, 244 and 254.. Similarly we also omit the prophecies; for they too, since they always presuppose a miraculous knowledge of things, require a living faith no less than miracles, and could be recounted in this place. But it will be enough to have said that Bl. John was distinguished by the gift of prophecy and prophesied many things to the brethren, many to seculars Ibid. num. 40, 43, 53, 54, etc.. To which kind belongs also his having known the secrets of hearts; which knowledge many things show to have been granted to the blessed one from heaven See above, num. 91, and Process, num. 20, 39, 42, 69, 71, etc.. To this point relates also what is narrated in the process of the knowledge infused from heaven which he showed in a certain matrimonial question, about which he was disputing with a certain canon Letus or Leto, nephew, as it seems, of the bishop of Cesena of the same name. And he not only showed knowledge in solving the question, but, having taken the book of the Decretals, although he did not know how to read, he also found the chapter which set down those words which the same fr. John the Good was asserting. Which things deserve to be read in the process itself Ibid. num. 14..

[96] Of the hope of Bl. John The virtue of hope in the Saints and their trust in God are shown by all their good works, but chiefly by the renunciation and contempt of temporal things and the exercise of penance. That Bl. John was distinguished in these virtues is shown by so many years spent in the hermitage far from all honour, from the delights and pleasures of the world and from every earthly advantage; it is shown also by so great a rigour toward himself, of which many witnesses, defining the time of his eremitical life, speak with emphasis in about this manner: he did penance forty years in the order. Hope is shown also by arduous things undertaken for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Among which is certainly to be reckoned the order of hermits begun, and the daily labour applied for many years to that matter. Finally, to hope is to be referred the entire trust with which the Saints die; which will appear to have been distinguished in Bl. John also, from what is to be said afterwards about his death.

[97] His charity toward God. Continual prayer. That Christ frequently As regards the third theological virtue, charity toward God and toward one's neighbour, his charity toward God will be established from his very frequent converse with God with much piety and ardour, from the gift of tears, from his devotion to the suffering Christ and to the Most Holy Eucharist. Now the prayer of Bl. John was perpetual, as the testimonies brought above teach us, where we described his cell and what he did in it Above, num. 61 and following.. In which place fr. Moltongradus, at one time prior of Cesena, said that through the whole night, as it were from the first sleep onward, and through the whole day, the blessed one was in contemplation and vigils and prayers before the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and the panel or icon of the blessed Virgin Mary. But that frequency and long duration of praying are chiefly proved by the traces or forms of the feet, and of the toes, and of the knees, and of the hands, in the ground where he prayed, namely in his cell: which many other witnesses also assert in the place mentioned above. From which it is also plain that Bl. John frequently prayed there with his body bowed to the ground.

[98] appeared to him, with what certainty this is to be admitted. Concerning his prayer St. Antoninus writes these things besides: This Saint was of most devout prayer, and so pleasing to God was his devotion that, when in prayer he meditated on the humanity of Christ, Christ appeared to him in human form, whom he embraced, and he was refreshed with great sweetness. But when he meditated on the passion of Christ, He appeared to him in the form of the crucified, each of whose wounds he devoutly kissed with weeping Below in the Life, num. 6.. These things the following biographers, Calepino Life, num. 5. and Lodi Life, book I, chapter 6., and probably first of all Agostino of Crema, of whom I have only a few excerpts, diligently transferred into their Lives. But truly I do not remember reading them anywhere in that ample Process of the year 1251 and the following, which the excellent D. Cernazai sent to us entire and accurately copied. I see, however, that some witnesses intimate with Bl. John, for example fr. Bonaventure Ibid. num. 91 and following., testified only a few things about his virtues; and these were chiefly of those who gave testimony only in the last part of the Process, namely in the year 1254: who after his death could have supplied some things by narrating them. And in this manner one or another narrative which is lacking in the Process may have been committed to writing, or may have come down to posterity in some other way; and may have been taken up first by St. Antoninus in composing the Life of the blessed one. It is plain, however, that narratives of this kind by no means attain certainty; nay, they are to be held for the most part rather doubtful. For the rest, as regards this one of which we are treating, it is by no means to be doubted that Bl. John, who shone forth with so great a penance, so perpetual a union with God and so many miracles, frequently enjoyed, like other Saints, apparitions of Christ the Lord; but the Saints do not betray these things except when compelled by necessity, and we know similar things of many for certain.

[99] He is present at Mass daily, and communicates every Sunday. His gift Every day Bl. John was present with great devotion and reverence at the most holy sacrifice of the Mass, and when there was raised the Body of our Lord Jesus

Christ, says Br. Moltongrandus Ibid. num. 240., he wept and lamented much, the witness himself seeing it; or, as another says, he kept his eyes, with hands joined, upon Him (Christ the Lord), pouring forth endless tears Ibid. num. 306.; others again: he wept beyond measure Ibid. num. 278., as much as can scarcely be told Ibid. num. 282.: which things are surely to be ascribed to a living faith and a most ardent charity. And the tears at the daily Mass seem often to have lasted until its end: for a certain witness says that when he carried and gave him the pax he often found him weeping and lamenting Ibid. num. 282. Calepinus below in the Life, num. 7.. But how great the gift of tears was in him was seen most of all at Communion; concerning which again Br. Moltongrandus, prior of the convent of Cesena: He communicated, he says, with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ every Sunday (so the rule of recluses prescribes Bavaria sancta, vol. III, page 118; Compare above, num. 51 and 61. in Rader) with great reverence and devotion; and the said witness gave Communion to the said brother John the Good a hundred times, as he believes, and he saw the said brother John the Good weep so much at that time, before he received the body of Christ, that the said witness had to wait for the said Br. John the Good a long while before the said brother could cease from weeping and the shedding of tears Ibid. num. 240. Likewise num. 274 and 306.. It is helpful, moreover, to recall here that Blessed John withdrew to the hermitage in order to do penance for his former life and many sins, and that for the Saints penance is an abundant fountain of tears. Wherefore not undeservedly was it said by a certain witness that Blessed John was accustomed to communicate with an excessive shedding of tears and no small contrition Ibid. num. 6.. And in general, as regards contrition and inward penance, we learn from Rossi, the historian of Ravenna, that the Blessed was accustomed to call himself a sinner hermit Below, num. 105.. Of his Communion Br. Ventura also says that it was made every Sunday with such shedding of tears and devotion as could not be told; so that when the said witness gave him Communion, he sometimes saw the ground wet with tears Ibid. num. 28.. Throughout that whole day, as was said above, he diligently kept silence.

[100] of tears. What frequent communion was in the thirteenth century. But the gift of tears in him was remarkable not only when the Divine Victim was offered upon the altar, or he was fed with the heavenly banquet, but in the very shedding of tears he abounded as it were at all times Ibid. num. 38.; and, as is said elsewhere, he poured forth tears wonderfully, and most of all when he prayed and received the Lord's Body and His blood Ibid. num. 66.. This was conspicuous on a certain day of the Lord's Resurrection about the year 1233, while he was eating with the Friars Preachers in the guest-house. For through that inward joy which surpasses all sense, he wept while he was at table, so that the tears flowed over his hands as though they were drippings from the eaves; and in no way could he restrain the tears, although he wished to keep himself from those tears Ibid. num. 6.. Concerning Blessed John's approach to holy Communion this also can be said in general, that, having regard to the age in which he lived, it was very frequent. For it must be recalled that in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, nay from about the ninth century to the sixteenth, the faithful were accustomed to approach holy Communion rather seldom: which I judge is chiefly to be attributed to the forgetting of the sacred traditions and of the old ecclesiastical custom amid so many incursions of barbarians in the eighth, ninth and tenth centuries. St. Hildegard, who died in the year 1179, writes that she with her nuns by custom frequented the partaking of the Lord's body almost every month Acta SS. vol. V of September, page 667, num. 165.. St. Francis of Assisi in the Rule of the nuns of St. Clare laid down that they should communicate six times in the year, namely on the principal festivals of the year De la Haye, Works of St. Francis, vol. II, page 34. Paris, 1641.. In the Rule of the tertiaries, moreover, he prescribes that three times in the year … they should not put off confessing their own sins and devoutly receiving the Eucharist Ibid. page 39.. In the same age, therefore, in which Blessed John lived, not much was required in this matter of nuns or of pious seculars. There is no leisure at present to dispute further on this argument, but these things suffice to show that the weekly Communion of Blessed John was deservedly held to be frequent, not only by his brethren in the thirteenth century, but also in the fifteenth century by St. Antoninus Below in the Life, num. 4., and that this is the reason why it is mentioned by most of the witnesses in the Apostolic Process.

[101] The Blessed's zeal. Countless men come to him. An illustrious proof of charity, both toward God and toward one's neighbour, is true zeal for souls: which was certainly conspicuous in Blessed John, yet of such a kind as his eremitical life allowed. As regards seculars, on account of the public fame of the great holiness of the said brother, many and diverse peoples came to see and hear the said brother John the Good; so that sometimes so great a multitude of people flocked to the said hermitage, in which the said Br. John the Good dwelt, that the brothers themselves could scarcely be there Ibid. num. 240.. The same is related by Guido Moroelli, a nobleman of Cesena: He saw many peoples come, both from the parts of Lombardy, and of Romagna, and from Venice, and from many other parts, and also if any passed along the road of Romagna, namely podestàs of the lands, and envoys and vicars of Frederick the late emperor, to whatever place they were bound, the said witness saw many go to see the said brother John the Good, and to hear and touch him, etc. The very same is testified by many others, both citizens of Cesena and hermit brothers, especially in the Process of Cesena of the year 1254 Ibid. num. 168., in which questions were put specifically concerning the fame of holiness.

[102] The fruit of his exhortations both in sinners and in others. Now all these visitors Blessed John exhorted to the faith, to the detestation of heresies, to the observance of the commandments and to all the virtues, each, that is, according to his state. For there came to him both heretics, many of whom were converted, as has already been said above Above, num. 90., and sinners, and finally upright men for the sake of devotion In the Process, num. 256.. And of sinners indeed it is said in the Process that on account of the many miracles, the good words and those salutary for the soul which the said Br. John the Good spoke to those going to him … many who at first were full of all wantonness, and of worldly and carnal love, through the words and exhortations of the said Br. John the Good, took up some habit of religion or of penance Ibidem.. So too Guido Moroelli, already praised, having recalled the conversions of the heretics: And many other sinners, he says, who were first in the world, became religious. And the said witness said that when he once had two sons, both domicelli (that is, candidates for knighthood), who were to be adorned that year with the belt of knighthood See Du Cange's Latin Glossary, under Militia., and when the said witness already had all things necessary prepared for them, and believed that they wished to become milites (or knights), both took the habit of the hermits through the preaching and exhortation of the said brother Proc. num. 244.. Many remembered the preachings of Blessed John. Br. Salvetus, with some secular companions, whom he names, and who all became religious, went often and again to the said place where the said Br. John the Good dwelt, and heard the words of his preaching with eagerness and most willingly, and so at a preceding time the witness himself, through the words of his preaching, took his habit Ibid. num. 5.. And Br. James testifies the same of himself Ibid. num. 16.. Finally, to zeal for souls must certainly be ascribed the design of Blessed John of founding his order of hermits.

[103] His kindness toward the brothers and seculars, sometimes tempered with severity. The charity of Blessed John toward his neighbour also shines forth very greatly from the kindness with which he dealt with his brothers and with all others; which, however, if zeal for the glory of God and for regular discipline required it, he at times tempered with due severity. He was very humble and kind, and a man of much charity, and a man who ruled himself and his brothers well both with gentleness and with sternness, as was fitting Ibid. num. 184.. That is, at certain times (and indeed daily Ibid. num. 63., as it seems) he went out of his cell, in which he was assiduous, and came to his brothers, and strengthened them to poverty, patience, humility and perseverance, bringing before them the examples of the saints (in a lay manner, because he was a layman and unlettered): The Saints through faith conquered kingdoms, etc. And the witness whose words I here recite said that he greatly reproved those of his brothers who did not perform their ministry well Ibid. num. 263. Likewise num. 261., and did not keep the rule and order which they had promised Ibid. num. 173.; and by his admonitions he led them back to the right way Ibid. num. 290.. But Br. James, who served him a long time, never saw him angry, nor moved, nor disturbed, except when any of the brothers behaved less well, for then he seemed to be moved against his fault Ibid. num. 19.. Nor did he reprove the brothers only, but also others who did not behave well and strayed from the way of God and the path of justice Ibid. num. 241.. But before all the rest he was a man of much charity, and of much consolation to his brothers and to others … and in the time of hard winter he came to his brothers, saying: Where are these young men, how are they being strengthened and how are they faring at this season? And he strengthened them much Ibid. num. 173.. And he was a glad consoler of his sorrowful brothers and of others … and he strengthened those who were tempted … and words always of edification and of the virtues, and not idle ones, were in his mouth … and the odour of his goodness was fragrant to all those standing round about, so that clerics, and laymen, and religious, and seculars, men and women without number from many parts came to hear, see, touch him, as a just and holy man, and so that the Erminii (the Armenians in this century were called Erminii Du Cange, under Erminii. and these are the very ones who are here designated. This

same century there existed a church of the Armenians at Perugia, under the title of St. Matthew, to which Leo III, king of Lesser Armenia, is read to have presented a manuscript codex in the year 1279 Mai, Nova bibliotheca Patrum, vol. IV, page 46.. At Rome likewise there was a quarter until the times of Innocent VII, called Delarmini Moroni, Dizionario, vol. LI, page 314, under Patriarcato Armeno.. It is likely that these Erminii were merchants of the Armenian nation, following the most celebrated Via Aemilia, which stretches from Rimini to Cesena, Forlì, Bologna, Milan and thence to Aquileia; alongside which there is now laid the railway that will lead from Ancona to Milan) as they passed touched him with reverence as a saint, all which things the witness here speaking, being questioned, said that he had seen Proc. num. 308..

[104] The efficacy of his speech. They could not have their fill That many sought the opportunity not only of seeing and hearing him, but also of touching him, is recorded not in this place alone but in many others in the Process Num. 243, 246, 254, 256, etc.: which is to be ascribed to the fame of his holiness and miracles. of being with him. Guarding of the tongue. Concerning his charity toward his neighbour these things moreover are contained in the same Process: No one could be so troubled, says James, a citizen of Cesena, from whatever cause, that if the said Br. John the Good saw him, he did not console him, and with his good words and exhortations restore him altogether: so that all of Cesena and of the places round about reckoned the said brother John the Good the father of all Ibid. num. 251. Likewise num. 290.. A certain Br. John, a native of Calisese, being questioned concerning the manner of life of Blessed John, said that he was of wonderful conversation, so that one could not have one's fill of being with him; and he strengthened all … and he was plain, humble, chaste, quiet, peaceable; and nothing less than good could be found in him: and how approachable he was in his conversation could not be told Ibid. num. 275.. Br. Grecus testifies to similar things: He was sweet and fruitful, and full of all virtues, so that one could not have one's fill of being with him; and all who conversed with him revered him as a holy father Ibid. num. 280.. Now while Blessed John spoke with so many men, whether seculars or brothers of his order, idle words never fell from his mouth: which many witnesses affirmed Ibid. num. 6 at the end, 173, 261, etc.. Yet he once wished to withdraw himself from so great a concourse, if credit be given to his biographers, St. Antoninus Below in the Acts, num. 6. and the rest after him; but when he had journeyed the whole night, in the morning, when he thought he was far from the place, he found himself again beside his hermitage. Perceiving from this, says St. Antoninus, that it was God's will that he should reside there, he remained there. A narrative of this kind is lacking in the Processes, and therefore I judge that it deserves little or no credence.

[105] He makes peace between the people of Ravenna and of Cervia. How powerful the humble hermit of Cesena was among seculars, not only by the repute of his holiness but also by authority, we are taught especially from what Rossi writes in the sixth book of his Histories of Ravenna, under the year of Christ 1225 [In Burman, Thesaurus antiquitatum et historiarum Italiæ, vol. VII, part I, col. 377.]. There were, namely, perpetual wars and skirmishes between the people of Ravenna and of Cervia, whose city of small size, Cervia, which is episcopal, lies in Romagna on the sea-coast, between Ravenna and Rimini. To make peace between these, therefore, Blessed John was called by the leading men of both cities: About the same time, says Rossi, Pietro Traversari, by the decision of the commonwealth of Ravenna and of the people of Cervia, chose as arbiter John the Good, a religious man who called himself "the Sinner hermit," that he might remove the disputes so long agitated between them. He, since he was very powerful in authority and in the repute of holiness, at length on the day before the Ides of Quinctilis (the 14th of July of the year 1225) brought them to concord, chiefly on these terms: that the people of Cervia should come to the aid of the people of Ravenna with companies of foot and horse and other help whenever occasion of war should arise; and that the same should be friends or enemies to the people of Cervia who were so to the people of Ravenna. Besides this, that the people of Cervia, since they did not wish to have them from among their own, should receive their podestàs from Ravenna.

§ XI. Of the confession of venial sins from the most ancient times. Of the confessions of monks in the Middle Age and their frequency. Of the frequency of confession in the thirteenth century. The Blessed confessed most frequently. His chastity, poverty, patience and humility.

[The virtue of religion. Frequent confession. In the first centuries of the Church] Among the moral virtues religion holds the first place, since it is concerned with the worship of God, best and greatest. But just as in Christ absolutely all the things that He did can be referred to the virtue of charity, because all were commanded by it, so in the saints many things are. Among these, however, those are chiefly such as are referred most nearly to God, and so, while they set God before the mind, by their own nature inflame charity: of which kind will be first of all the acts of religion. Some of these, accordingly, we described above, where the discourse was of charity toward God, namely the perpetual prayer of Blessed John, and his very great piety while he was present at the sacrifice of the Mass, or was refreshed with the sacrament of the Eucharist. The pious use or reception of all the other sacraments pertains to religion; wherefore here we shall set forth some testimonies concerning his most frequent confession. Now we say that he renewed himself most frequently by the expiation of confession, not only because, since the use of this sacrament was much rarer in the thirteenth century than now, he himself stood out among the rest by somewhat greater frequency, but because even in these most recent centuries, when confession has become far more frequent, there are scarcely any who have surpassed him in that matter. The thing needs some explanation. It is known, namely, that the confession of the sins which we call venial began little by little to be practised chiefly among monks, and was not customarily made in the first centuries of the Church; except perhaps by the Montanists, as Morin contends [De pœnitentia, book II, chap. 3, num. 6 and 7; but compare book V, chap. 31, num. 26.], who denied the efficacy of priestly absolution in graver sins, and perhaps also by some catholics who lived among them.

[107] the confession of venial sins was very rare; Now we understand a confession which would be made of venial sins alone. For it is manifest that by those who confessed their sins the lighter were also added to the graver, those chiefly in which there was suspicion of a graver offence, or the conscience hung in doubt. And then indeed, when in the course of time certain seasons of confession in the year began to be introduced, once in the year, three, four and even six times [Martène, De antiquis ecclesiæ ritibus, book I, part II, chap. 6, num. 6 and following.], according to the diversity of ages and places, many zealous for a purer life will in turn have approached stained with no deadly blemish. But indeed among seculars this was by no means ordinary until about the year 800; of monks, however, there will be discourse afterwards. The opinion of Mabillon, therefore, concerning the confession of venial sins in the first centuries of the Church, explained and mitigated in this manner, we judge must be admitted; and since in those times, while the persecutions lasted, the religion of Christians must have been fervent, the reason is understood why in many Acts of martyrs and Lives of saints nothing is read of the use of the sacrament of penance. The very same answer is given by Noël Alexandre, disputing against Daillé: But that confessors and martyrs, he says, are not read to have made confession of their sins before priests, what wonder? They were not polluted with deadly sins which had to be expiated by confession. And soon, in agreement with Mabillon's opinion, there is added, he says, that the confession of venial sins was not so much in use in the earlier centuries; and below more absolutely: But in ancient times they made confession only where there was need, that is, when they acknowledged themselves polluted with some deadly sin Historia Ecclesiastica, vol. VIII, page 503. Venice 1778..

[108] but among the ancient monks frequent confession was not sacramental. But our discourse must chiefly be set up concerning monks. These confessed their light daily faults in chapter, either before the abbot or the prior, or even to one another. For so writes Jonas, bishop of Orléans, in the ninth century: It is the custom of the Church to make confession of graver sins to the priests, through whom men are reconciled to God; but of daily and all light sins, very rare are they who make confession to one another, except the monks, who do this daily (By which he signifies that among seculars there were some, but very rare, who made confession to one another of daily and light sins, and consequently outside the sacrament; but among monks, that in his age confession of these was made daily to one another, or before the brothers). And that mutual confession ought to be made of light and daily sins the following passages make manifest… James the apostle says: "Confess your sins one to another, and pray for one another, that you may be saved." This place the venerable priest Bede expounds thus: "In this sentence there ought to be this discretion, that we confess our daily and light sins one to another to our equals, and believe that they are saved by their daily prayer. But the uncleanness of the graver leprosy let us, according to the law, lay open to the priest; and at his discretion let us take care to be purified in what manner and for how long a time he shall command D'Achery, Spicilegium, vol. I, page 271, edition of 1723.." Now this confession, which was made to one another and to equals, and is opposed to that which was made to priests, could not have been sacramental. Yet it was held as sufficient or very useful for blotting out venial sins, nay for the pardon of deadly sins themselves at the point of death, or in other necessity, if a priest were lacking: on which matter St. Thomas may be read in the Supplement Question 8, art. 2, to 1., and many others. St. Francis of Assisi in the rule, chap. 20: If they cannot have a priest, he says, let them confess to their brother, as the apostle James says, etc. But there soon follows: Yet let them not on this account omit to have recourse to priests, since the power of binding and loosing has been granted to priests alone. At Brussels (and elsewhere also, unless I am mistaken) there is still today the custom in ancient institutes and hospitals that a sister who has slightly fallen tells her fault to another sister. Here also belongs the custom of telling one's fault to the whole community, whether in chapter or in the refectory. After reciting other testimonies also concerning daily faults and their expiation, Jonas of Orléans concludes in these words: From these documents it can be gathered that, just as daily we offend in many things, so daily we ought to make confession to one another of what we have committed, and to purge them by prayers, and alms, and humility, and contrition of heart and body Loc. cit. page 272.. In which there is no mention of sacramental confession. Nevertheless this confession of venial sins was sometimes made by monks

to priests alone, namely by those whose conscience was doubtful or very fearful: for they knew that by the absolution of the priest a fuller remission of these daily faults was made. St. Segolena, who they say flourished in the seventh or eighth century Acta SS. of July, vol. V, page 628., weeping confessed to a priest-monk the small and least sins without which we cannot be, since grave ones were lacking. Thus the sacramental confession of venial sins could have been introduced gradually from the most ancient time.

[109] The confession of monks was made either at will, This, however, is to be noted, that confession of this kind was anciently free among the monks themselves, that is, that the days were not fixed on which they should make it, but it was lawful to each according to the judgement of his conscience. The monks of St. Bénigne of Dijon about the year 1100 say in their book of customs: On the vigils of the Saints or on all Saturdays (and indeed the discourse here is of the time of Lent, which is known to have been from antiquity more especially appointed for confessions), after the thirty psalms have been sung in the church, we sit at reading in the cloister, and those who wish go to confession until Terce is rung In Martène, De antiquis monachorum ritibus, vol. I, page 344, Lyons 1690.. So also the customs of the monastery of St. Denis near Paris, prescribing silence through Lent on the second, fourth and sixth weekdays of each week, add these words: And on these three days, after chapter until Sext, let those who wish go to confession Ibid. page 346, num. 14.. The customs likewise of St. Germain-des-Prés, a monastery of Paris, permit those who wish to go to confessions on the day of the Supper after chapter Ibid. page 382, num. 30.. So finally other books of customs, or authors, regarding other days, with these words added: Those who wish, those who will wish to go, etc. Ibid. page 411, num. 7.. It is doubtful to me whether Chrodegang of Metz prescribes weekly confession to all, when he says in his rule Chap. 32.: Let the monks make confession every Saturday with good will to the bishop or to their prior; for this could signify that on each Saturday the bishop or the priors received confessions, and so free access lay open to those who wished, or needed. Or it could for the most part have been a simple accusation before the superior, without the sacrament. For elsewhere we do not read that in the ninth century confession was prescribed to monks every eighth day; and the constitutions of Dijon of the eleventh or twelfth century, adduced above, do not enjoin it in Lent itself, but only permit it. Nevertheless Chrodegang seems in this place to be understood of sacramental confession; for he had put first in the same chapter of his rule: In each year three times; that is, in the three Lents (namely before Easter; before the nativity of St. John the Baptist, or before the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, but not before Pentecost as Dr. Binterim believed Denkwürdigkeiten, vol. II, part II, page 242. Compare Martène.; and third, before the Nativity of the Lord) let the faithful people make their confession to their priest, and he who shall have done more, does better. And at once he subjoins: Let the monks every Saturday, etc.

[110] [or was not sacramental. In the thirteenth century confession and communion were rare.] For the rest, in the eleventh century and those following, confession began to be made more frequently among monks, especially among the Carthusians, the Grandmontines and the Cistercians; but it is not certain that it was always sacramental, such as is prescribed in their earliest statutes. And this is the opinion of Mabillon; for having praised the old law of the Carthusians of making confession every Saturday, as he proves from Guigo the Carthusian, he subjoins these words: Which the third compilation of the Statutes explains not of sacramental confession but of the common accusation of faults: … "For it must be provided that always in every week we make the common confessions… Whenever we confess in chapter let us beware of prolixity: but in the cell we can confess more at length. On account of the private confession which is made in the cell or elsewhere, the general one which is made on Saturday is not omitted." Hence it is manifest that the Statute of Guigo mentioned above is not concerned with sacramental confession, which he (if I remember rightly) does not mention in the whole booklet of his Statutes Acta SS. Ordinis S. Benedicti, century III, part I, preface, num. 95.: no doubt because sacramental confession in that age, namely the eleventh century, was for the most part still reserved for graver sins alone, as Bede testified of the eighth century, and Jonas of Orléans of the ninth. St. Alphonsus de Liguori, moreover, writes in general [Sulla materia della comunione frequente. Apologie, vol. II, page 148. Monza 1832.], after others, that the practice of confessing venial sins did not exist before the eighth century. It is surely a wonder that Martène recites the places concerning confession which we have adduced, and very many others, indiscriminately, as though all were to be understood of sacramental confession alone [De antiquis Ecclesiæ ritibus, vol. II, page 6, edition of 1700; Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict, page 601 and following. Paris 1690.]; yet in another place he speaks of Jonas of Orléans with hesitation, when he says: Jonas perhaps hints at daily … confessions of venial sins, etc. Commentary on the Rule, etc. page 601.; and he has similar things concerning Guigo the Carthusian Ibid. page 602.. From the eleventh century onward, however, the weekly confession which was made in many monasteries, namely in chapter, began to be sacramental much more frequently. Nevertheless, when it was sacramental, until at least the thirteenth century it was for the most part made at will. For St. Francis in the rules of the brothers prescribes no time, recommending it only in case of necessity First rule chap. 20, second chap. 7.. In the rule of the Nuns of St. Clare he says that it is to be appointed every month, and holy communion six times in the year Above, num. 100.; finally in the rule of the Tertiaries, or pious seculars, he requires confession and communion only three times in the year Ibidem.. From which it is confirmed that the weekly confessions of monks were for the most part not sacramental until the thirteenth century.

[111] Of the place of confessions and of confessional seats. But from the fact that monks were accustomed to make their confession in chapter, it came about that the ordinary place of confessions in monasteries, for several centuries, was the chapter itself Martène, Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict, page 605.. Among seculars, however, we know that from the beginning of the Church up to almost the end of the middle age the ordinary place of confessions was in the neighbourhood of the altar Synod of Reading in England of the year 1279. Of Paris of the year 829, etc., or in another more elevated part Synod of Mainz of the year 1261., in which both the confessor and the penitent could be seen by all the faithful Synod of Cologne of the year 1281.. They were also made in the chambers or oratories of churches Mabillon, Annales, book LXXI, num. 116, vol. IV. and in chapels Binterim, Denkwürdigkeiten, etc. vol. IV, part I, page 88., or sometimes in another secret place, not, however, the confessions of women. The kind of confessional seats which we see today in all churches is not ancient, and scarcely or not even scarcely goes back beyond the age of the Synod of Trent. It is not to be doubted that from them a greater facility for confession arose, and that this contributed much to their frequency, which is observed especially during the last three centuries. Formerly in monasteries perhaps there was not infrequently what Hariulf writes in the chronicle of Saint-Riquier concerning the abbot Gervinus, who died in the year 1071, namely that he received confessions in some chamber or little cell. For there was appointed to him for this office, he says, a little cell which the brothers called the confession, in which, through the grace of God dwelling in him, this blessed man restored to the divine mercy the souls of many men gone astray by the enormity of their crimes, through the humility of confession and the intervention of his prayer Migne, Patrologia, vol. CLXXIV, col. 1347.. But as regards the confessions of monks, I do not doubt, from the places alleged above, that for many centuries the abbot, the prior and the other confessors for the most part received them in their own cells: and that the same obtained among the mendicants from the thirteenth century; which fits entirely with what is now to be said of the confessions of Blessed John the Good.

[112] The Blessed confessed almost daily, and indeed to the first priest he met. On the testimony, then, of Br. Thaddeus, he frequently confessed his sins to one of the brother priests Process, num. 299.; and sometimes to one, sometimes to another of the priests of the brothers Ibid. num. 302.: nor, as Br. Ardizzione says, especially more to one than to another, but to him whom he could first have; and the witness himself said that he had sometimes been his confessor, and that he had seen him confess frequently Ibid. num. 307.. Very many others also say that they received his confessions Ibid. num. 240, 279, 288, 307. 310, etc. Of the frequency of his confessions Br. Albert says: He confessed his sins very frequently, and indeed according as his conscience pricked him Ibid. num. 200.. When the said Br. John the Good spoke to any outsider (a secular), says Br. Grecus, he at once had himself absolved if he had sinned in anything in that talk, and the said witness said that in such a case the said Br. John the Good also at other times confessed frequently to him, the witness, because he was a priest Ibid. num. 279.. Among the seculars whom the Blessed addressed and reproved with more ardent zeal were the envoys and vicars of Frederick II and other excommunicated persons, so that not rarely he seemed to himself to have sullied his most pure conscience: When he spoke with such men, says a certain lay brother, he immediately had himself absolved Ibid. num. 293.. Another says: Almost every day he confessed his sins to one of the brothers, because he did not have any special confessor Ibid. num. 274.. But fully worthy of credence is Br. Moltongrandus, in the year 1254 prior of the convent of Poggiolo, who had also been prior of the convent of Cesena, in which Blessed John lived, and had been with him a good six years Ibid. num. 237 and following.. In this manner he testified of the frequency of his confessions: He confessed several times to the said witness, and he confessed once in the day, or twice, or several times, according as his conscience pricked him Ibid. num. 240bis,. I remember reading of some holy men, Blessed Peter Claver, the Venerable Luis de la Puente, the Venerable Bernardino Realino and some others, that they were accustomed to use the expiation of confession daily before they performed the sacred rites; and of St. Francis Borgia, that he so loved purity of heart that he was wont to disclose the stains of his conscience in confession twice a day. But indeed in the thirteenth century, when on rare occasions

in the year seculars approached the sacrament of penance, and monks and mendicants not so frequently, the custom of Blessed John was all the more extraordinary.

[113] His chastity; a heroic act of penance It remains that we speak briefly of his other virtues. And as regards chastity indeed, it will be enough to recall to mind what a terrible remedy he used, as we indicated above at num. 69, to free himself from a dangerous thought about a woman, as it seems, once loved by him carnally. Calepinus writes In the Life, num. 4. that, the temptation having been overcome, God addressed Blessed John in sleep with these and other words: Arise, son; for just as it has been well begun by you, so your end will be set in a good and safe place. And since you have contended so bravely and so vigorously in this fight, I will never permit you to be overcome by any temptations, and I will be with you wherever you go. Costanzo Lodi has the same, adducing, contrary to his custom, the Latin words, which run thus: My son, arise; because you have begun well, you will finish a most excellent life, nor will you henceforth be assailed by any vice Life, chap. 5.. Which words I do not doubt were extracted from Agostino of Crema, in whose footsteps I have already several times warned that Costanzo treads; and it is seen how Calepinus, who likewise has the Cremasque for his guide, has adorned them after his custom. After the words adduced, a few things interposed, he proceeds in this manner: And arising (Blessed John) gave thanks to the immortal God, that He had set him free both from pain and from the snares of the enemy.

[114] to guard it; In the Process, however, nothing is read but a simple narrative of the deed, as it was made several times by Blessed John himself for the strengthening of his brothers Process num. 13., but there is no discourse of words heard from heaven. These, namely, the Blessed either kept silent, because they were too honourable to himself, or they were not in fact heard. We know, however, whence the Cremasque took this narrative, and in order that it may be brought back to its original simplicity, it must be drawn here from its source. The loving Lord, says St. Antoninus, did not desert His servant, who, lest He be offended, had given himself to so great a torment; but appearing to him in sleep, He said: Because you have begun well, you will persevere well, and you will finish your life most excellently. And because you have fought manfully against temptations, for the rest you will not be tempted. And he, at once awakened, saw himself healed, giving thanks to the Saviour Below in the Life, num. 2.. In which words, much more simply and manifestly than in the amplifications of Calepinus and of the man of Lodi, a twofold gift is said to have been promised, the one of final perseverance, the other of immunity from temptations of the flesh. Which two things we read were sometimes promised to other saints also. But since St. Antoninus is not always accurate in the things which he affirms beyond the process, what he writes of the present matter cannot produce full certainty; and we observed the same above, where the discourse was of the apparitions of Christ while Blessed John was praying. Of the chastity of the Blessed, however, it can be said in general that he so chastised his body and brought it into subjection, or, as the Greek text has it, made it livid, by his macerations, and was so given to prayer day and night and to purity of mind, that it is evident that the rebellion of the flesh could in no way prevail against him.

[115] voluntary poverty; The virtue of poverty shone forth in many things in Blessed John: for a long time he lived alone as a poor hermit in the hermitage of Cesena, expecting all things from the charity of the people of Cesena; then, the order of hermits having been begun, he vowed perpetual poverty to God according to custom, unless he had already done so before, and with his companions proceeded to sustain himself by begging. Which custom seems to have prevailed at that time among most hermits; for some years having passed after the death of the Blessed, namely in the year 1256, when the union of several congregations of hermits was made by Pope Alexander IV, which they called the Great Union, the order at the same time arising from them was declared a mendicant order Brockie, Codex regularum, vol. IV, page 222.. The dwelling or cell of Blessed John we described in §7, and there it can be read with what bareness, poverty and want of the comforts of life it was conspicuous. His clothes also were most poor, and above all his food, as we have sufficiently explained in their places.

[116] patience, especially in bearing The patience of Blessed John is commended first in forming for the religious and common life the brothers whom he travailed with again in Christ; for this was common to all founders of orders: of which we said some things in another place, where the discourse was of the charity of the Blessed toward his subjects. He also endured with remarkable patience not a few persecutions, concerning which Br. Michael heard from the mouth of Br. John the Good himself and from many of his brothers of the same order, that certain brothers of penance (who were also called Sacciti or Saccati, because they clothed themselves in sackcloth or in the appearance of a sack in sign of penance: of whom we must treat in §16) and other seculars together with them, brought many persecutions and defamations upon Br. John the Good himself, so that they gave him such scandal that he had to appear personally before the lord bishop of Cesena Process num. 44.. That is, before the Venerable Prelate the lord Otto, bishop of Cesena, as Br. Salvetus says Ibid. num. 12., who was present together with Blessed John himself at the accusation renewed before the bishop, and relates that it took place about the year 1233. This Otto, or Oddo, was the second of that name, who in the year 1207 or 1208 had succeeded Leto. By this Oddo the second, Leto's successor, says Manzoni in the chronology of Cesena In Burman, loc. cit. vol. IX, vol. VIII. page 13., and also by Manzino, who was substituted for Oddo, the privileges granted by the preceding prelates to the canons of Cesena were confirmed. This Manzino, or Mangino, Otto's successor, gave testimony at Cesena in the year 1254 concerning Blessed John himself in the apostolic process.

[117] the persecutions of the envious. In the same process at Mantua in the year 1251, when it was asked of the said Br. Salvetus whether the Blessed had endured all things out of charity and with charity, he answers that he believes so, to such a degree that the same Br. John the Good never uttered any idle word about them or against them; nay, he asked the Lord for them that He would spare them, and he commanded his brothers to pray the Lord for his persecutors Process num. 12.. Br. Michael, to the same question, answers that it was so, and to such a degree that when the same brothers (of penance) who gave him scandal sometimes had nothing to eat, the said Br. John had his brothers carry them bread and wine; and this he did for them many times, and for others who gave him scandal. Being asked how he knows, he says that he heard it from the mouth of Br. John the Good himself and from those brothers who carried bread and wine to those who gave him scandal Ibid. num. 45.. He had bread bought, says another witness, and sent it to his persecutors Ibid. num. 19.. Likewise he suffered tribulations and persecutions from brothers of another order, concerning which Br. Girardus heard from the mouth of Br. John the Good himself, when he told his brothers that they ought to pray God for those who persecuted him. Then, when it happened that the said persecutors came to the house where his brothers were, he had necessaries ministered to them with the greatest charity, more than he had been accustomed at another time Ibid. num. 37.. What those tribulations were we learn to some extent from a certain witness who saw Br. John the Good suffer from the same, as they took away the brothers of the said Br. John the Good and led them to their own rule. Which persecution and tribulation, says the same, he bore patiently, and rendered them good for evil, the witness himself seeing it; for he always sent them some of his things and commanded his brothers to do likewise Process num. 294.. He also suffered very many things from the demons, which for brevity's sake we here omit See ibid. num. 12, 19, 37, etc..

[118] Humility. It remains to treat of humility, which is the foundation of all the virtues and without which the whole edifice of them falls. Now the penitent life of Blessed John was his perpetual exercise of it, since he held that it must be led on account of his past sins, and was accustomed to call himself a sinner hermit Above num. 105.. He also wished to remain ignorant of letters, so that he was called unlettered and simple by the witnesses in the process Process num. 16. See above, num. 8., although it would have been very easy for him to learn letters, nay to attain to sacred Orders and the priesthood. The general priorship, which he held as institutor of the order, he wished to resign, as William, cardinal of St. Eustace, relates in the Bull of Innocent IV which begins: Admonet nos cura; of which there will be discourse below. When John the Good, he says, who had presided over the brothers for several years, and the brothers themselves had reverently attended to him as the institutor of their order, aspired to give up the care of them, the bishop of Cesena confirmed Brother Matthew, presented as prior of the said house, and thereby as general of the order. From which it is clear that the Blessed did not retain for himself the priorship even of that convent in which he lived and which he had founded first of all. He used mean clothing and the commoner foods; in his cell the utmost poverty shone forth. The dreadful, refined and perpetual penances which he took upon himself he diligently concealed Above num. 66 and following, 73.. He did not allow his miracles to be divulged, especially outside the convent Process num. 8, 22, 200, 211, 215, 218, etc., and he tore up a certain account of them written down by the brothers Ibid. num. 43.. Finally, miracles indeed he worked in the sight of the brothers, and certainly many, but this was done only to confirm those whom he had begotten in Christ in faith, in vocation and in every good See above num. 94. Compare Process num. 11, 16, 170, 180, 202, 241.. And this his mind he manifested to God in prayer, when he begged His help to work some prodigy: That these brothers may be edified, and confirmed, and have perfect faith in Thee Process num. 8.. He also admonished the brothers that all things were to be attributed to God alone: Brother, receive the gift of God, for all things are possible with God; and do not believe that I have done this, but God has done it, who can do all things Ibid. num. 21. Likewise num. 8.. Similarly he studiously shunned honour being paid to him by seculars. When a certain Dalborgus, being sick, had come to his cell and, finding him engaged in vigils and prayers,

Ibid. num. 208., had humbly asked that he obtain health for him from God: Brother, he answered, what you ask of me is a great thing, since I am a sinner. At length he added: Son, go and tell the brothers to give you something to eat, and I will pray God for you; but tell no one Ibid. num. 211.. But since charity rules over all the virtues of the saints, no one will wonder that the Blessed wrought many miracles in the sight both of the brothers and of seculars.

§ XII. The convents of hermits founded by Blessed John. At what time he received the rule of St. Augustine.

Of the beginning of the order of hermits of Blessed John. As we are about to inquire into the beginnings and progress of the order of hermits of Blessed John, at the outset must be related what William, cardinal of St. Eustace, writes (to whom Innocent IV had committed the general care of the order, and who was also for a long time apostolic examiner in the process of Mantua concerning the virtues and miracles of Blessed John) in letters of the year 1253, which have in part already been set down above: Indeed it has come to the hearing of the lord pope, he says, that brother John the Good of good memory, the first in your order, began the first house at Budrio in the diocese of Cesena, by the grant of the diocesan of that place. And while the fame of his manner of life grew throughout the neighbouring places, and very many were converted to him, he built a church there in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And as the number and merit of converts of this kind increased, your religion was propagated through them in various parts in which they built dwellings. Since the same religious did not have any of the approved rules, certain of them, approaching the apostolic see, obtained from it that the rule of blessed Augustine should be given them, and so from that time they began to be instructed in the regular observances and to conduct themselves according to rule. From which two new questions arise: the one, which are the convents founded by Blessed John; the other, at what time he received the rule of St. Augustine. But before we answer them, it must be recalled that he began to admit companions a little before the year 1217 and in the year 1225 put on the eremitical garment; which two things have been shown above Num. 57 and following..

[120] Convents founded by him: the first is that of St. Mary As regards the first question, eleven convents are enumerated in the apostolic processes, of which most or perhaps all were founded while Blessed John was living. For the processes were held in the years 1251, 1253 and 1254, and only a year and a half before their beginning the Blessed had departed from among the living. That some convents were founded before he lived under the rule of St. Augustine, Cardinal William plainly insinuated above; but which they are, apart from the convent of the hermitage of Cesena, it is impossible to determine. Being about to give a brief account of these eleven convents, we begin with the convent of the hermitage itself of Butriolo, from which the others came forth; whose prior also by right was at the beginning prior general of the whole congregation Below num. 146, 159.. This house still endures, so Herrera wrote in the year 1644 Alphabetum Augustinianum, vol. I, page 366., called l'Elmo, that is, the Hermitage, containing a very small church and a cloister and belonging to the convent of Cesena, as Lorenzo of Empoli testifies in the Bullarium Page 393.. Of the church, convent and cloister there is very frequent mention in the processes. And the cloister indeed is distinguished from the house Process num. 15., and there were two; for there is several times discourse of the greater cloister: He was in the greater cloister, where it is lawful to speak, of St. Mary of Botriolo Ibid. num. 81. Likewise num. 82.. To this refers a place of the constitutions of the order of hermits of St. Augustine in Brockie Codex regularum, vol. IV, page 255, part II, chap. 12.: where there are two cloisters, in the first let silence be kept, but in the second it is sometimes lawful to speak.

[121] of Butriolo; of the convent of Cesena. Of the convent of St. Mary of Butriolo, or of the Hermitage, Coriolanus says in Herrera Alphabetum Augustinianum, page 156.: There is a small church or oratory there; and the aforesaid place still stands, for the memory of the Blessed himself, in great devotion, and is under the government and care of the convent of St. Augustine at Cesena. That is, as Chiaramonti narrates in the Histories of Cesena Book VIII, in Burman, vol. VII, part II, col. 165.: The Augustinian family, transferred from the narrow monastery of Butriolo into the city, obtained a church built by the commonwealth of Cesena in the year one thousand two hundred and sixty. At public expense a very commodious monastery of remarkable size was joined to it, in which many priests dwell; and a school of sacred theology and of the auxiliary sciences was set up there: whence the convent is distinguished with the privileges and honour of what they call a general convent. And these things indeed in the seventeenth century, and, as is likely, also in the following one. Of the present state of the monastery of St. Mary of Butriolo, however, the Rev. Canon Savio writes these things in the Life of Blessed John Vita di S. Giovanni Buono, page 28. Mantua 1839.: Devotion toward the saint still brings many people of Cesena hither, but the church is destroyed and of the monastery nothing remains but a few cells. There is shown also a cave which is said to be that in which John did penance Above num. 51.. They also come to drink water from a certain spring, namely the same from which he drew the water which by a miracle he turned into wine Ibid. num. 94; Process num. 21.; which we said was in the neighbourhood of his cell Above num. 69.. As regards the monastery erected within the city, of which Chiaramonti was just speaking, it must have perished; for Moroni, writing of Cesena, says that no other monasteries survive there than those of the nuns of St. Benedict and of the Capuchins Moroni, Dizionario, vol. XI, page 133..

[122] The second is founded at Bertinoro; others at Mantua, Venice, The second convent Blessed John founded at Bertinoro, as is clear from what follows. Brother John de Barba, of the order of hermits, says of Blessed John that after he came to the place of Bertinoro, of the diocese of Cesena, where he established the second hermitage, he several times suffered many things from the demon Process num. 62.. Of this monastery Herrera is silent in the Alphabetum; Lubin also has not marked it in his Orbis Augustinianus [Orbis Augustinianus, a chronographical and topographical description of the convents of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine. Paris 1659.]. From which one may conjecture that it did not subsist long. Now Bertinorium or Brictinorium, in the vernacular Bertinoro, is an episcopal city in the Pontifical dominion, distant ten kilometres from Forlì, and populous with 4,000 inhabitants. The third convent, to follow now roughly the order in which the convents appear in the processes, is that of St. Agnes at Mantua Process num. 4 and often.; but of this we must treat at the end of this Commentary, where there will be discourse of the death and sacred relics of Blessed John. The fourth is that of Venice Ibid. num. 8.; but Lubin and Herrera mark two at Venice [Alphabetum, vol. II, page 520 and following; Compare Flaminio Corner, Ecclesiæ Venetæ vol. XV, page 260, col. 1. Venice 1749.], nor can it be said which of the two already existed in the year 1251 Process num. 8..

[123] Bologna, Parma, Ferrara, The fifth is that of Bologna Ibid, num. 31., but again Herrera counts two at Bologna; yet there is no doubt that the convent which the Blessed founded Ibidem. is that which was called of SS. Philip and James of the Savena: since there exists a record of it about the year 1247 Herrera, Alphabetum Augustinianum, vol. I, page 119., and in the year 1259 Alexander IV gave letters concerning it. It was situated outside the walls of Bologna, but from the time that the order of hermits began to exercise the sacred ministry for the salvation of their neighbour, they desired to pass into the cities. Which was happily effected at Bologna in the year 1264. In the refectory of this convent there was a painted image of Blessed John, while he himself was living. For brother Bonus Joannes, of the convent of Bologna, when he was suffering from a cancer and wished to go to the Blessed, relates this ground of the hope which he had of a future cure: Because, he says, whenever I look upon the face of our father himself, Br. John the Good, which is painted in our refectory, the pain of the wound itself is mitigated, so much that I suffer as it were hardly any pain from it, etc. Process num. 47. More concerning this convent and its fortunes Herrera's Alphabetum will give. The sixth is that of Parma Ibid. num. 81.. In the registers, says Herrera Alphabetum, vol. II, page 310., it is named on the 25th day of May of the year 1388; nor did he find older records; but it is clear from the process that it was founded by Blessed John himself and existed already from at least the year 1242 See the Process num. 81.. In the seventh place appears that of Ferrara, which Blessed John visited when at the end of his life he went from Cesena to Mantua. He came to Ferrara to the place of those brothers of St. Anthony Ibid. num. 93.. And below a certain miracle is said to have been done in the place of St. Anthony outside Ferrara Ibid. num. 94.. Finally a general chapter of the order was held there, in the month of October, in the year 1249 Ibid. num. 95. Of the same Herrera writes thus in the Alphabetum Vol. I, page 253.: The monastery of Ferrara, formerly of St. Stephen de la Rotta, in the Polesine of St. Anthony, on an island a little distant from the city; now of St. Andrew within the city. The place of St. Stephen had been handed over to the hermits of St. Augustine by Ugo, bishop of Ferrara, in the year 1177, as is established from an instrument drawn up by Henry on the 15th day of June of the same year, as M. A. Guarini is witness in the history of Ferrara, book IV, page 297. If these things are true, it must be said that this monastery was handed over to Blessed John, or that his brothers themselves joined the congregation.

[124] Poggiolo, which is transferred to Talamello, In the year 1254 in the process of Cesena there is named the convent of Poggiolo of the diocese of Ferlentro Process num. 237., otherwise of Montefeltro in the province of Romagna Ibid. num. 56 and 83., also called Monteferetrana, and more commonly Feretrana, or of San Leo, on the borders of the duchy of Urbino and of Romagna. The convent of Podiolum or of Poggiolo is mentioned both by Lubin and by Herrera, and this place is (as I see on the geographical map of the Pontifical dominion, made under the care of FF. Maire and Boscovich, of our society) about six leagues distant from Cesena and as many from Rimini. Of it the praised Herrera wrote thus in the year 1644 Alphabetum, vol. II, page 309.: The monastery of Poggiolo, now a member of the province of Romagna, formerly the origin and head of the convent of Talamello, is governed by a prior, under whom are two or three brothers of the household. That this dwelling is older than the year 1374 is sufficiently

manifest, both because in the province of Romagna it is the third in antiquity of foundation, and because in that year M. Matthew of Poggiolo was provincial of Romagna. The registers of the Order treat of it … in the year 1419, where it is said that the chapter of the province of Romagna was to be celebrated in the year 1420 on the 10th day of August in the place of Poggiolo, or of Talamello. Of the convent of Talamello the same writer treats elsewhere Ibid. page 480., and having set out a certain conjecture concerning its foundation, it is truer, he says, that the convent of Talamello was erected by the convent of Poggiolo about the year 1374, at almost the same time as the monastery of Pennabilli, a church and house having been given by a certain priest to the fathers of Poggiolo, so that they might withdraw more securely into the castle of Talamello, of the dominion of the Malatesta, lest they be harassed by the injuries of wars.

[125] Faenza. Poncelia and Rimini. In the process of Mantua of the year 1253 there appears a certain Br. Benvenutus of the convent of Faenza Process num. 295.. In this city Blessed John stayed about the year 1237 Ibid. num. 76., but in this year a convent did not yet exist there. Herrera says it was erected at a time unknown to him Alphabetum, vol. I, page 259.; it belonged, he says, to the congregation of hermits of Tuscany, and its prior in the year 1251 was Br. Paul. Whence he drew these things I do not know. He adds that in the year 1466 the convent was taken over by the brothers of the regular observance, and it still, he says, obeys the congregation of Lombardy. A chorographical plan of this congregation Lubin exhibits in the Orbis Augustinianus. In the tenth place there appears in the processes the convent of Poncelia of the diocese of Forlimpopoli. This I can nowhere find. Perhaps Poncelia was a little distant from Forum Populi or Forum Pompilii, and the convent was afterwards transferred into the city. Thus these few things which I read in Herrera would refer to it: At Forlimpopoli in Emilia, of the province of Romagna, in the year 1514 (supply: the monastery is mentioned). The eleventh and last convent of which mention occurs in the processes is that of Rimini. Of this monastery, says Herrera, … with the favour and consent of the lord James, bishop of Rimini, by the Rev. lord Bernard, rector of that church, which was then where the old sacristy now is, it was given on the 5th day of December in the year 1256 … to Nicholas the prior and to the hermit brothers of the order of St. Augustine, etc. Alphabetum Augustinianum, vol. I, page 69.. But we learn from the apostolic processes that the convent already existed in the year 1254 Process, num. 309.. Perhaps, like several others, it was transferred from the suburb into the city and on this occasion was given the said church.

[126] The Blessed received the rule of St. Augustine about the year 1225. As regards the other question (n. 121 at the end), Marianus Brockie in the Codex regularum affirms that the hermits of Blessed John the Good did not embrace the rule of St. Augustine until after his departure from life: They embraced the Augustinian rule, he says, after his death Part IV, page 421.; yet they had received it to be observed, as the same asserts, from Innocent IV in the year 1244 Ibid. page 420.: which two things are shown without any trouble to be false. And as regards the latter, it is certain that this happened either before the pontificate of Gregory IX or while he himself held the see of Peter, from his bull Dudum apparuit of the year 1241, the 14th of his pontificate; in which the hermits of Cesena are already said to be of the order of St. Augustine. Some time ago, he says, there appeared in the parts of Lombardy a religion, whose professors are called the hermits of brother John the Good, of the order of St. Augustine. And below: The Prior and all and each of the brothers of the aforesaid order of St. Augustine, etc. Annales Minorum, vol. II, page 462, edition of 1732.. Crusenius had said in the Monasticon Augustinianum Chap. 24. that the Blessed spent 25 years from his conversion before the rule of St. Augustine was given to his congregation. From these Wadding, counting 25 years from the year of conversion 1208, laid down that the rule was obtained in the year 1233 Annales Minorum, loc. cit. page 460.. But Crusenius had affirmed that Blessed John was converted long before the year 1209, and of his assertion concerning the rule of St. Augustine received after 25 years of eremitical life he brings forward no foundation. The matter being again called to examination, we say that the year of the reception of the rule cannot be fixed with certainty. Nevertheless, since it is manifest that Blessed John in the year 1225, as was shown above, changed his habit and assumed the eremitical one, such as he kept until the end of his life; since the hermits of Brettino obtained the Augustinian rule for themselves in the year 1228 Herrera, Alphabetum Augustinianum, vol. I, page 119., although their congregation was far less illustrious, it does not seem foreign to the truth that in that very year 1225 the Blessed asked that the said rule be given to him. From which opinion Wadding too is not averse, when, after giving his answer to the difficulties raised by Herrera, as though forgetful of himself, he writes in the chronological table 1226 as the year of the reception of the rule Loc. cit. page 534; Compare page 528, num. 17 and 529, num. 20.. Marianus Brockie therefore erred very greatly, writing that the rule was given by Innocent IV in the year 1244 on the 17th day of January. For this is the year and day on which Innocent handed over the rule of St. Augustine to be kept by the hermits of Tuscany, and from the very bull given to them for this end were extracted the words which that writer would apply to the disciples of Blessed John. They are of this kind: Not wishing that you, without a shepherd, should wander like straying sheep after the tracks of flocks, we command your whole body by apostolic writings that, conforming yourselves in one regular purpose, you assume the rule and order of blessed Augustine. From which it is manifest that the hermits of Tuscany began to live under the Augustinian rule long after the hermits of Cesena, namely only in the year 1244. The hermits of Brettino, however, in this matter scarcely, and perhaps not even scarcely, yield to those of Cesena in antiquity.

§ XIII. Of the religious profession and monastic state of St. Augustine; of the rule written by him and of the orders professing it.

[The opinion of M. Brockie concerning the antiquity of the hermits of St. Augustine, and concerning] Relying on a foundation not firm enough, the praised Brockie, after the things recited in the preceding number, proceeds in this manner: Not, therefore, before the times of Innocent IV were Augustinian hermits heard of in the Church (nay in the times of Honorius III or Gregory IX, as has been said, and even long before, as will soon be shown), since up to then those pious anchorites, dispersed through Italy, with diverse habit, distinct constitutions, and also separate manners, cultivated the eremitical life, following no fixed and approved monastic rule… For in vain do we seek monks or canons as immediate sons and successors of St. Augustine, since that most holy father and doctor of the Church wrote no rule of monastic or canonical life for men, even though he was the first who introduced the monastic life among the Africans. And indeed, although no room for doubting is left concerning the monastic state of St. Augustine, as the learned Benedictines of the congregation of St. Maur declare more fully in his Life, book III, chap. 5; yet no author worthy of credence can show that his monastic state was peculiar to himself and his companions, or was propagated to posterity under his name. For after he was truly converted to God and to the Christian faith, in order to embrace the Evangelical counsels more closely, leaving all things for Christ and following His sacred footsteps, he embraced the monastic life, monasteries having been built both at Thagaste and at Hippo and ordered after the manner of the cenobia erected throughout Italy.

[128] his monastic state, and the rule written by him. St. Augustine therefore did not introduce a new or proper monastic discipline of his own, but followed the same already in use in the monasteries both of Milan and of Rome; imitating especially the customs of the church of Vercelli, which St. Eusebius the bishop had first introduced, joining the clerical life with the monastic. And indeed no one will deny that the monastic life was introduced into the western Church long before the times of St. Augustine; although we have no norm of such a life written by western monks before the age of St. Caesarius of Arles and St. Benedict, who nevertheless first wrote their rules at the beginning of the sixth century. It is known also to all the learned that that Augustinian rule, now adapted to men equally with women, is taken from his letter sent to his sister, concerning which we have already treated in the Holstenian Codex regularum itself, volume I, page 34. Nor indeed in all the works of the most holy doctor is any mention made of hermit brothers instituted by him. For those sermons "to the brothers in the desert" are rejected by all the learned as unworthy of so great a doctor, and have for their author a certain Augustinian hermit writing in the fourteenth century, as the most learned Benedictines observe in their new edition of the works of St. Augustine, and as the Louvain editors long ago wished to note.

[129] [Concerning him and the orders named from him there are several controversies: he was a true religious; of his monastic state;] This passage we have recited, not because we approve each and every thing in it, but that it may be clear how many and how great questions we must touch upon as we begin to speak of the order of St. Augustine. And first indeed, that St. Augustine and the clerics of his episcopal house were bound by vows and were true religious, against Erasmus, Saint-Cyran or the masked Petrus Aurelius, and others, Suárez, Gabriel Pennotto, Nicolas Desnos, Louis Thomassin, the Benedictine editors of the works of St. Augustine have shown by victorious reasons; and after these our Cuper in the Acts of St. Augustine at the 28th day of August Acta SS. of August, vol. VI, page 279, §25.. Nor can this now be seriously called into doubt. A second question was agitated with great heat between the canons regular and the hermits of St. Augustine, especially in the fifteenth century: whether the holy doctor at any time professed the monastic life, or only the clerical. On which must be read the commentary of my predecessor Ibid. page 248, num. 185 to page 256., especially §14, which bears this title: The dispute between the Augustinian hermits and the Canons regular concerning the monastic profession of our saint, which the latter deny, the former assert.

[130] He wrote a rule for women, which A third controversy arose, whether St. Augustine wrote a rule for men; on which we dwell a little. Many, namely, for three centuries have affirmed that the rule which we call St. Augustine's was written for women, not for men. It is true that three rules formerly went under his name, but all the monks or hermits who acknowledged Augustine as patriarch kept this one which we intend [Hélyot, Dictionnaire des ordres religieux, vol. I, col. 774, under Chanoines. Paris 1847.]; of which alone we must treat. Of the three rules, says Bellarmine, only the third is certainly St. Augustine's; but it was given to women, not to men: for it is found in letter 109 (in the new order of the Benedictines 211); the other two

do not seem to be Augustine's De scriptoribus ecclesiasticis, at vol. I of St. Augustine.. In the course of time the rule was also called the rule for the servants of God, and was published under this title by the Maurist monks; who preface it in these words: This same rule, which by its diction, its sentences, and its precepts seasoned with pious humanity shows Augustine as its author, exists in the two hundred and eleventh letter, written by him to nuns. That it was drawn thence and adapted to men is observed, besides others, by Bernard Vinding and Prosper Stellartius, both pupils of the Augustinian family, and most recently by the learned Nicolas Desnos of the order of Canons regular of St. Augustine Canonicus sæcularis et regularis, book III, chap. 22.. However that may be, it is certainly long since it began to be employed in forming the manners of men. For it makes up the chief part of the very ancient rule of Tarnate, it is praised in the Concord of rules by Benedict, abbot of Aniane, and, what is to our purpose to point out here, in a codex of Corbie bearing a thousand years it is contained adapted to men and gathered into one body of rule with that which is inscribed "the second rule" Migne, Patrologia, vol. XXXII, col. 1377..

[131] from the most ancient times was adapted to men. That the rule for the servants of God was originally given to women is maintained also by Mabillon and Tillemont [Historical and canonical examination of the book of the Rev. D. Verhoeven on the rights of regular and secular clerics, page 135 and following. Brussels 1847.]. On the same question Papebroch discoursed much in his response to the Exhibitio errorum [Part II art. 13, §6, in the Acta SS. vindicata, page 422 and following. Antwerp 1755.], and tried to show that the rule of nuns was first adapted to men by St. Benedict of Aniane, who flourished at the beginning of the ninth century. But Lelarge contends that St. Caesarius of Arles in the sixth century took his rule of virgins not from letter 109, or the rule of nuns, but from the rule, as he would have it, prescribed for men, and to this effect he adduces some places which are the same in both rules and differ from the letter De canonicorum ordine, page 201 and following.. The antiquity of the rule observed by men was similarly insinuated just now by the editors of the works of St. Augustine. I too am inclined to admit this, that it existed before St. Benedict, abbot of Aniane, and indeed for a long time. But I embrace the opinion of my predecessors Papebroch and Cuper Acta SS. of August, vol. VI, page 284, num. 372., of one also of my colleagues in a work published not long ago Historical and canonical examination, etc. loc. cit., and finally of so many weighty writers, namely that the rule of St. Augustine was written by the holy doctor not for men but for women, and was adapted to them only. But this by no means prevents this rule, adapted to men from the most ancient times by certain changes of no moment and the conversion of the feminine gender into the masculine, from being called the rule of St. Augustine; nor the order which serves under it and venerates St. Augustine as its patriarch and patron and the exemplar of its life from being called the order of St. Augustine.

[132] Who can be said to be of the order of St. Augustine. For religious orders are named from some saint for diverse reasons. Thus in the East the order of St. Anthony is so called, which professes only a special veneration toward the saint and endeavours to express in its manners his life, as it is known from the ancient writers. For St. Anthony wrote no rule; nay rather, the monks who are named from him observe the rule of St. Basil [Historical examination, etc. page 89; Brockie, Codex regularum, vol. I, page 3; Hélyot, Dictionnaire des ordres religieux, under Antoine, vol. I, page 251.]. In the same way from St. Jerome, who is the author of no rule, some orders or congregations of hermits have been named, which emulate his eremitical life and have chosen him as their chief advocate among the heavenly ones. Most of these congregations, however, have followed or follow the rule of St. Augustine. So the orders of St. Norbert and St. Dominic are lawfully called after them, not because they received a rule from them, but only a norm of living handed down by word of mouth and expressed by the life of the founders. These two also, however, have the rule of St. Augustine. With better right, therefore, are those named from St. Augustine who not only have him as heavenly protector of the order and emulate his life passed at Thagaste and at Hippo Regius, but also serve under his rule. For this rule is most ancient and most glorious, and has been admitted in more religious orders and congregations than any other whatever. The fourth of the controversies which have arisen concerning the orders named from St. Augustine regards the antiquity of the canons regular; whom Gabriel Pennotto [Clericorum Canonicorum historia tripartita, Cologne 1645, book II, chap. 2 and following, from page 242.] and Lelarge De Canonicorum ordine disquisitiones, page 278, article 4. Paris 1697. derive from the apostolic age: but Nicolas Desnos, himself a canon, does not doubt that they were instituted by St. Augustine Canonicus sæcularis et regularis, book III, chap. 3, page 130, edition of 1682.. Many consider that they arose in the eleventh century.

§ XIV. Blessed John was not the founder of the order of hermits of St. Augustine; of the antiquity of the same order.

Many say that Blessed John began the order of hermits of St. Augustine. Just as a controversy arose concerning the antiquity of the canons of St. Augustine, so also concerning the antiquity of the hermits of the same name; whom some say were instituted by the holy Doctor, others only in the thirteenth century. And this question pertains most of all to the present matter. For there are many who affirm that this order was instituted by Blessed John the Good in the thirteenth century; among whom is Gabriel Pennotto in the preface to the Historia tripartita: When, he says, after the times of the holy Lateran council (completed under Innocent III, Pontiff of this name, taken from the order of canons regular) the sacred order of hermits arose, formerly named after brother John the Good, or, as others prefer, after St. William, but afterwards, by the grant of the supreme pontiffs, endowed with the rule and title of blessed Augustine, there gradually began to arise with it among the common people ignorant of the truth a doubt whether that order had truly been instituted by St. Augustine… Which doubt, as the institute of the hermits itself gradually increased through various provinces in the number of places and persons, began to coalesce into an opinion and, with the passing of time, from an opinion into an assent * certain and constant, to break out among not a few; and it furnished the tinder of no slight contention among ecclesiastical persons, etc. M. Brockie and very many others have similar things.

[134] [It certainly pertained to him. What was meant, before the rise of the Mendicants, by the name of a religious order.] But it is noteworthy that Blessed John in the process of the years 1251, 1253 and 1254, when the hermits of Cesena had for many years embraced the rule of St. Augustine, is called by those same men in almost countless places the institutor and founder of his Order. Nor less, that in the whole process the name of St. Augustine does not appear even once. From which it can be concluded that the eremitical state joined with the cenobitic and with the life of the Mendicants was held as a new thing and by far the chief one; since the said hermits did not know that it had already been propagated in some regions by St. William or others in the same form and in the same age. But it must by no means be said for that reason that they were not of the order of St. Augustine, since Pope Gregory IX himself called their congregation by this name from at least the year 1241. Nothing else was then required for this than that they should follow the rule of St. Augustine and venerate him as their patriarch; not that the monasteries of the same rule should be united among themselves by any bond of obedience or of fellowship. For they err much who think that all things are to be found in the religious orders before the thirteenth century, in which the Mendicants arose, which we see to have been kept from that time on. Before that age there were no true Superiors general of orders, who are the primary bond of the monasteries and convents of the same rule. Or if we notice anything similar in St. Benedict, abbot of Aniane, in the ninth century, or in the abbots general of the congregation of Cluny in the tenth century and following, these are rare, temporary or very circumscribed exceptions [Compare Mabillon, Acta SS. Ordinis S. Benedicti, century IV, part I, preface num. 146.]. There were also no general chapters of orders before the twelfth century, or other things of this kind. Therefore Mabillon wrote that the first who deserved the true name of an order (in the sense in which we understand the word today) were the Cistercians Ibid. century V, preface num. 57.. Formerly, therefore, the individual monasteries existed by themselves, having nothing in common among themselves, except perhaps the observance of the same rule. For of the filiation of monasteries, as they call it, as it existed before the Cistercian order and the congregation of Cluny arose, scarcely any mention need be made in this question. From which it follows that if any monasteries of monks or of hermits, whatever they were, followed the rule of St. Augustine before the age of Blessed John, he is not the founder of the order of hermits of St. Augustine. And that there certainly were such will soon appear.

[135] In the first 6 or 7 centuries of the Church there was a single religious order. It must also be inquired whether monasteries of this kind existed in the fifth century, after St. Augustine, and in all the following centuries, as the historians of the order of hermits unanimously assert. In which question there must be set first a consideration of great moment, long ago proposed by learned men, namely that in the first six or seven centuries of the Church there were not several monastic orders, but one only; on which argument my colleague praised above wrote some years ago in the Examination of the book formerly published by D. Verhoeven Historical examination, etc. page 159.: from which I extract these words of Mabillon in the preface to the Annals of the Benedictine order Vol. I, preface num. 19: Since these things are foreign to our manners (he had treated of the observance of several rules in one and the same monastery) Compare Historical examination, etc, page 93., they seem foreign to probability to most, who judge the difference of religious orders from the diversity of rules according to the state of our times. But in that age, since there was one monastic order, not yet divided into various classes, that diversity of rules, which were reckoned uniform, introduced no diversity of orders: just as now the diverse constitutions on the same rule, which various congregations of one and the same order prescribe for themselves, do not harm the unity of the order. This unity of the monastic order, not only in the whole West, but also in the East and the West together, I have inculcated in various prefaces to our Acts of the Saints. And this, before me, expressly

Lucas Holstenius (or Fr. Poussines) had taught in the preface to the Codex regularum: whose opinion it is helpful to relate in this place in his own words; thus he in chapter III [Preface page XI, Brockie's edition; or in Migne, Patrologia, vol. CIII, col. 405.]. What Mabillon then recites we here omit, since it has already been reprinted in this very volume at the Acts of St. Nunctus, abbot of the sixth century, where the same question is briefly examined Above, page 599, num. 9.; to which place the reader will go, since those things are of chief moment in the present question. Then the same writer proceeds in this manner: Lower down the same Holstenius proves that the diversity of the old rules related in the aforesaid Codex is no bar against this unity of the monastic order. "For those, he says, written by individual Fathers as present use demanded, were set forth in common for the zeal of others desiring similar things: so that from them each might temper their life by a discipline uniform as to the chief points, according to the difference of places and nations. The primary and as it were fundamental rule of the monks was surely the Gospel; those counsels of Christ, I say, which urged them to make themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven; which urged them to deny themselves and take up the cross; which urged them to leave father and mother, wife and lands for Christ; which urged them to sell their patrimonies and give to the poor and so, stripped, to follow Christ. The particular rules were held to be nothing else than applications or declarations of that first and universal rule, adapted for the most part to places and persons."

[136] Whether there were monasteries After this there are pointed out in the praised work Historical examination, etc. page 161. very many other authors who likewise judged that for many centuries one religious order existed, which thing has long been beyond doubt. If therefore we admit that before Benedict of Aniane, which is by no means improbable, the rule of St. Augustine was adapted to men, it will yet not seem strange that in these centuries, in which there was only one religious order and several rules were kept in the same monastery, no mention is had of the order of St. Augustine (or of the monasteries in which his rule was used): which, however, on account of this very silence, I would certainly not say were of great number. From another side, the most celebrated Benedictine rule, which Pontiffs, kings and councils commended, cast the others into obscurity. And see how slippery is the fortune of human affairs: in the tenth century, when St. Odo of Cluny turned himself wholly to establishing the discipline of the monastic life, and propagated it widely into various monasteries of Gaul both new and old, religion in the old ones had been so weakened that not only the observance of the rule of St. Benedict but even its very name was unknown in most of them. So in Gaul, so in England and in Spain; so much that Odo was believed by some writers of his time to be the first propagator of that rule. Among these an anonymous monk of Montier-en-Der, who wrote a book on the miracles of St. Bercharius the abbot, says that the rule of St. Benedict had been up to that time "unheard of by the men of the empire of the Franks," and that only the institute of the monastery of Luxeuil (or the rule and Irish usages of St. Columbanus) had obtained among them. These are the words of Mabillon in the Benedictine Annals under the year 927.

[137] of hermits of St. Augustine He would lose his oil and labour who wished to find among these things some rare monasteries in which the rule of St. Augustine had been kept. All these things, however, have been said of the state of monasteries in the middle age, so that the force of the negative argument, as they call it, may be diminished, according to which they say that this rule was not observed before the eleventh century, since history reports nothing of the matter. Of its observance in general, whether by canons or by monks, Mabillon writes thus [Gemina apologia Benedictina, page 10 and following. Constance 1706; in the Historical examination, etc. page 136.]: No certain trace appears by which it may be proved that that rule was kept in the monastery founded by St. Augustine, or by other colleges of men flourishing here and there through Africa. Neither the African councils, nor the Acts of the Saints of his age, such as are the deeds of St. Fulgentius, a noble monument of antiquity, nor Victor of Vita make mention of his rule. No congregations of clerics or canons occur whom that rule bound to fixed vows. And lower down: We are persuaded that there cannot be shown, before the eleventh century, or if we concede the most, before the tenth, any congregation in which this rule was observed as the foundation of the canonical and regular life. Which affirmation is certainly weighty in the mouth of him who was more versed than any other in the history of European monasticism. The matter, as regards Africa, was again briefly examined above at the Acts of St. Nunctus the abbot Page 598, num. 8., nor has anything been opposed to the contrary. Of the monasteries of Europe, however, it can indeed be said, from what has just been discussed, that before the eleventh century the rule of St. Augustine was not observed in congregations, or associations of monasteries, which did not exist before that time; but of solitary monasteries this can by no means be affirmed with certainty.

[138] before the twelfth century is uncertain; that they existed in that century Much more easily is Marianus Brockie refuted, when he says Above num. 81. that Augustinian hermits were not heard of in the Church before the times of Innocent IV. Beyond doubt this is false. That there were in Europe (says Henschen in the disquisition on the order of hermits of St. William) long before (Innocent III) various hermits everywhere, living according to the rule of St. Augustine, is clear, Innocent III also attesting it, when in book II of the register 14, letters 87 and 88, he confirms to the abbot and convent of Marmoutier at Tours the monastery of Fontaine-Géhard, given to them long before by the bishop of Le Mans, because the hermit brothers, living from the institution of the place according to the rule of blessed Augustine, had been of a dissolute and dishonest life and conversation Henschen, Acta SS. vol. II of February, page 473, num. 4. But Innocent in the same place mentions the acts in the same cause by Eugenius III and Alexander III: Holding as ratified the donation of William of blessed memory, bishop of Le Mans (who flourished in the middle of the twelfth century The brothers Sainte-Marthe, Gallia christiana, vol. II. fol. 516 verso.), confirmed by Eugenius and Alexander of happy memory, our predecessors … etc, In Torelli, Secoli Agostiniani, year 1210, num. 5.. So that it is manifest that at the beginning of the twelfth century hermits were already living there under the rule of St. Augustine. Similar things could be found concerning Spain and Portugal, as may be seen in Torelli in the preface to volume II of the Secoli Agostiniani.

[139] in various parts of Europe is beyond doubt. The same can be said of England; for he recites in the same place, and again under the year 1255 Vol. IV, page 507, num. 18 and following., a Brief of Alexander IV, given at Anagni on the 3rd of the nones of July, in the 1st year of his pontificate, directed To our beloved son the Prior general of the Hermit brothers of the order of St. Augustine in France and England. To him the Pontiff commits that he exercise the office of correction and reformation over all the hermits of France and England, both in head and in members. There were therefore in the twelfth century and before the middle of the thirteenth monasteries of hermits of St. Augustine in most parts of Europe. Torelli diligently reviews them in the praised preface, but the very few which that man of ready belief would have older than the twelfth century, and most of those which he reports as founded in this very century, I find, having read the monuments, are not of such antiquity: which Herrera had indeed long ago admitted of most of them in the Alphabetum Vol. I, page 117; vol. II, page 27, etc.. From which it is easy to believe that the rule of St. Augustine began, or began again, to be used by hermits in the same centuries in which it was used by the colleges of priests who were thence called canons regular, that is in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. For poor and unlearned hermits would not easily have obtained admission into the monasteries then existing, if they were many in number; and therefore they adopted for themselves, to be kept, a rule already known on every side, most highly commended by its author's name, plain and short. And this is the reason why privileges of the pontiffs older than Innocent III, or if you prefer, Eugenius III, are not found. These things are evident from the Bullarium Augustinianum of Lorenzo of Empoli, from the Annals of Torelli and from the most ancient historiographer of the order, Jordan of Saxony, a writer of the beginning of the fourteenth century, who writes of Innocent III in this manner In Torelli, Secoli Agostiniani, at the year 1198, num. 11.: This Innocent the third pope, then, was the first supreme pontiff from whom the order had any written privilege, so far as I have been able to trace.

* assertion

§ XV. The Bull "Admonet nos" of Innocent IV, in which is contained a brief history of the congregation of Blessed John up to the year 1253.

[Three congregations of hermits of St. Augustine in Italy in the thirteenth century; of the congregation of Blessed John.] In Italy, while Blessed John the Good was living, there were the eremitical monasteries of the Brettini, which in the year 1228 received the rule of St. Augustine from Gregory IX; the monasteries of Tuscany, to which Innocent IV assigned the same to be kept in the year 1244 Acta SS. of February, vol. II, page 476, num. 15.; and finally the monasteries of Blessed John, of which it has been spoken above. Over these the Blessed presided for several years, as William, cardinal of St. Eustace, says in the bull soon to be cited; but when he aspired to give up the care of the brothers, Br. Matthew was designated by Mangino, bishop of Cesena, as prior of the convent of Cesena and thereby as general of the whole order. He, when he had ruled the congregation for several years, being held by certain brothers to be by no means sufficient for that office, received a successor in the general chapter which was assembled at Ferrara in the year 1249, at the very time when the Blessed was meeting his last day at Mantua. All which things, and many others contributing much to the knowledge of the congregation of Blessed John, are contained in the letters of William Fieschi, nephew of Innocent IV and cardinal of St. Eustace, of the year 1253; which the Pontiff inserted entire in the bull Admonet nos of the same year, directed to the order of hermits. It has seemed good to reprint this here, both because it is a kind of summary of the history of the congregation of hermits of Blessed John, and also because it serves much for a more perfect understanding of the apostolic processes [Crusenius, Monasticon Augustinianum, page 117; Torelli, Secoli Agostiniani, year 1253, num. 3.].

[141] The Bull of Innocent IV, by which he confirms Innocent, bishop, servant of the servants of God. To all the priors and brothers of the order of hermits, greeting and apostolic benediction. — The care of the government we have undertaken admonishes us, and the pontifical authority induces us, that we ought most earnestly both to plant sacred religion and to cherish it when planted; which we then carry out more usefully if we nourish the things that are right, and correct those which the progress of virtue

is known to hinder. But since the diversity of form which the brothers of your order observed in making profession and in electing a prior general for themselves induced also a diversity of minds, and consequently generated scandal, after diverse elections and cessions made of priors in that order, and diverse processes held upon them; We, to whom it belongs to correct what is amiss and to nourish what is right, desiring with paternal solicitude to provide for your peace and tranquillity, have thought fit to commit to our beloved son William, deacon cardinal of St. Eustace, to whom some time ago we committed the general care of the aforesaid order, the examination of the election held to the office of general prior of the same order of our beloved son Br. Lanfranc of Milan, then prior of your house of Bologna, and of the same processes.

[142] what the Cardinal of St. Eustace ordained. Since, therefore, the same cardinal, by our mandate and authority, having confirmed the election of the aforesaid brother Lanfranc, because he found it held canonically, has by the same authority issued a provident and honest statute concerning the profession and the election, and also the nomination, of the prior general of that order to be made henceforth, and concerning other articles, as is more fully contained in the letters of the cardinal himself drawn up thereupon; We, at your supplications, holding ratified and acceptable what has been done by the same cardinal in these matters, confirm it by apostolic authority, and fortify it by the protection of the present writing; causing the tenor of those letters to be inserted in the present ones word for word, which is as follows:

[143] [His letters. The beginnings and progress of the hermits of the Congregation of Blessed John.] William, by divine mercy deacon cardinal of St. Eustace, to the religious men and beloved in Christ, all the priors and brothers of the order of hermits, both present and future, in perpetuity. Following a varying form in your order in making profession and in electing a prior general for themselves, they have fallen into varying matter of dissension among themselves; on account of which it has become necessary that in this respect help should be given to you and to the same order through the providence of the apostolic see. Indeed it has come to the hearing of the lord Pope that John the Good of good memory, first in your order, began a house at Budrio in the diocese of Cesena by the grant of the diocesan of that place Compare above num. 50.; and while the fame of his manner of life grew throughout the neighbouring places and very many were converted to him, he built a church there in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And as the number and merit of converts of this kind who were received increased, your religion was propagated through them into diverse parts in which they had built dwellings.

[144] They obtain the rule of St. Augustine; their habit, And since the same religious did not have any of the approved rules, certain of them, approaching the apostolic see, obtained from it that the rule of blessed Augustine should be given them See above num. 126.; and so from that time they began to be instructed in the regular observances and to conduct themselves according to rule. And because their habit, which seemed conformable to the habit of the Friars Minor, in a manner stirred up scandal among some, by the mandate and authority of two cardinals who were then discharging the office of legation in the parts of Lombardy, they chose the black one Compare below num. 175 and following. which you still wear.

[145] their name, the form of profession. And since they were now called the hermit brothers of John the Good of the order of St. Augustine, the novices who were received by them made profession in this way: "I, N., make profession and promise obedience to God and to blessed Mary, and to you, prior of the hermit brothers of St. Mary of Cesena, and to your successors until death, according to the rule of blessed Augustine and the constitutions of the brothers of this place." In this form of profession, however, where "of this place" was said, afterwards, by the authority of the general chapter of the same brothers, "of this order" was said.

[146] [Blessed John the first prior general: his resignation, and his successor Br. Matthew;] And since the said brother John the Good, who for several years had presided over the aforesaid brothers Compare above num. 118., and to whom the brothers themselves had reverently attended as the institutor of their order, aspired to give up the care of them, which had grown with the growing number of his subjects, taking brother Matthew and certain other of his brothers, he went to the bishop; and the bishop confirmed the said brother Matthew, presented to him by the same brother John the Good and others, as prior of the said house and thereby, as is said, as general of the whole order.

[147] who presides for several years. They obtain a Cardinal protector. While he for several years ministered generally in the aforesaid religion as general prior, very many entered the same religion, and made profession according to the form of profession prescribed (although some of them believed that they were professing themselves principally to the aforesaid brother Matthew simply as general prior, not as prior of St. Mary of Cesena). Meanwhile two brothers of the aforesaid profession, coming to the apostolic see at Lyons (where Innocent IV was then staying) Raynaldus, Annales ecclesiastici, year 1244, num. 33, and 1251, num. 30., obtained from the lord Pope that the general care of your order be committed to us, and brought back from the same see a certain common privilege, in whose title was written: "To the Prior of the hermit brothers of St. Mary of Cesena and to all the priors and brothers subject to him."

[148] [The resignation of Br. Matthew in the year 1249, the brothers of Cesena resisting] Finally the aforesaid Br. Matthew, prudently observing that he could no longer remain without scandal in the administration of the care which he had assumed, because he was held by certain brothers to be insufficient for that care, having called all the priors and brothers of your order whom it concerned, assembled a general chapter at Ferrara Compare Process num. 95.. But a contention having arisen between Br. Matthew himself and the brothers of Cesena and certain other priors and brothers of Romagna concerning the cession of Br. Matthew himself, before he should elect the definitors Compare Du Cange, Glossarium, under Definitor. of the general chapter, as he could according to the tenor of the constitutions Compare Process num. 173. of that order, and concerning the celebration of the same chapter, the said brothers of Cesena and others, against the command of the same brother, at length went out of the chapter, dissenting and protesting that the chapter should not be held. But Br. Matthew himself nevertheless, the aforesaid definitors having been elected, gave up into their hands the general administration which he had exercised, and publicly resigned there, into the hands of the envoy of the same bishop who was present, the right, if any, which he had received in his confirmation from the bishop of Cesena.

[149] Br. Ugo is elected; the form of profession: the confirmation of the one elected. And so, this cession and resignation having been received, certain brothers, of those who were present there, being taken to elect a prior general, elected Br. Ugo of Mantua as general prior of the whole order. And by those who remained it was decreed in the same chapter that all who from then on should make profession in their order should profess in this way: "I, N., make profession and promise obedience to God and to blessed Mary and to you, prior general of the hermits of John the Good." After these things, however, the venerable man the elect of Aquileia, then Legate of the apostolic see in Lombardy, confirmed this election.

[150] But the brothers of Cesena elect Br. Mark. But the brothers of Cesena and certain others of Romagna adhering to them, coming together at Cesena, and adhering principally both to the custom by which the prior of the brothers of the aforesaid St. Mary of Cesena was wont to be elected by the brothers of the order to that place as to the first and principal (from which the same order had proceeded), and for this reason to be and to be called by right general prior, and to the aforesaid title of the privilege first obtained in that order (in which it was written to the aforesaid prior of Cesena), elected Br. Mark of Cesena as prior of the said house and thereby as general prior of the whole order. And they obtained that the election which they had made of him be confirmed by the bishop of Cesena.

[151] Hence a grave schism arose. Diverse general priors therefore having been taken up in your order, the one side pronounced manifold sentences of excommunication against those who obeyed the other; of whom some celebrated the divine offices, and, excommunicated as they were, were promoted to sacred orders. In those times, however, the aforesaid Br. Ugo, sending his own envoys to the apostolic see, obtained from the same see that the change of the aforesaid profession, and what had been done concerning his election by the aforesaid legate, be confirmed as they had been providently done. He then obtained also a certain privilege which differed in nothing from the former except in the title.

[152] Delegates of the Cardinal protector establish certain things. But since your order was divided into two parts and, amid the manifold contentions and discords arisen among them, wavered for almost three years (from the end of the year 1249 to the end of 1252), at length the brothers of that order, desiring that unity and peace be restored in the same order, having appointed four of themselves as procurators, sent them to the Roman curia and to us especially, as patron of their order. But because we could not then conveniently hear them ourselves, we committed to the prudent men the elect of Padua and Br. Simon of Milan, lector of the order of Minors, our chaplains and companions, that they should diligently hear the same procurators on the things which they wished to propose, and as zealously as they could, should endeavour to recall the order itself to a state of unity and peace. And the said elect and Br. Simon, having more fully understood the state and conditions of the order through the aforesaid procurators, pronounced certain things to be kept in that order for its good state on certain articles, with the assent of the procurators themselves, and at length sent the procurators back home in agreement.

[154] The renunciation of both priors general; They having been thus sent back, the aforesaid Ugo and Mark, who bore themselves as general priors, and the other brothers who obeyed them, by the common will of all, celebrated a general chapter at Bologna Compare Torelli, Secoli Agostiniani, year 1252, num. 12.. In which chapter, namely, the ordinance which had been delivered by the aforesaid elect of Padua and Br. Simon having been recited and read, and the definitors of the general chapter having been elected, the aforesaid Br. Mark hastened to Cesena, and in the hands of the bishop of Cesena gave up the priorship of that place, in which he had been confirmed by the bishop himself, and by the same was absolved from the care of that priorship. But Br. Ugo, who had been confirmed by the apostolic see, gave up his administration and office into the hands of Bernardino, canon of Bologna, chaplain of the lord Pope, to whom it had been committed by apostolic authority that he should receive his cession.

[155] the election of Br. Lanfranc in the year 1252 These cessions, therefore, having been thus dispatched, the priors, withdrawing apart from the chapter, as it belonged to them to treat of the election of the future general prior, agreed upon four brothers of the chapter itself who should elect the general prior. And they, the grace of the Holy Spirit having been invoked, elected brother Lanfranc of Milan, then

prior of your house of Bologna Torelli, ibid num. 13., unanimously and harmoniously as prior general of your order. Which election, approved by the common consent of all of the chapter itself, was brought to the apostolic see by the procurators of the same chapter to be confirmed; and the lord Pope committed to us the process of this election and of the things narrated above, to be examined and more fully understood. Thereupon we, having understood all the premises, faithfully reported and diligently recited them in the presence of the lord Pope himself and of his brethren.

[156] [and his confirmation. Statutes on the election of the prior general, his name and power.] We therefore, by the special mandate and authority of the same lord, confirm the election of the aforesaid brother Lanfranc, which we found held canonically, and brother Lanfranc himself as general prior of your order. By the same authority nevertheless decreeing that the same prior and any successor of his in perpetuity (who indeed, when he is to be elected, shall be elected according to the canonical sanctions and the statutes of your order, and shall receive confirmation of his election from the apostolic see, or from its legate, only) ought henceforth to be called general prior of the order of hermits, without the expression of any fixed place or proper name; and that to him, as their general prior, all the priors and brothers of that order, who also shall be named simply brothers of the order of hermits, shall humbly obey and attend in all things.

[157] The power of the bishops over the priors. The Prior also of St. Mary of Cesena and the other priors of your order who have been accustomed to be instituted in their priorships by the diocesans of the places, shall be instituted in them by the same; and both the general prior and the other provincial and conventual priors of the same order shall reverently attend and answer, as they ought, to the bishops in whose dioceses they dwell, in those things which pertain to episcopal jurisdiction: yet so that the same bishops shall attempt nothing against the general prior himself without consulting the Roman pontiff.

[158] The new form of profession. The brothers also who henceforth are to make profession in your order shall profess to the same general prior or to his appointed envoy in this way: "I, N., make profession, and promise obedience to God, and to the blessed Virgin Mary, and to you, general prior of the order of hermits, and to your successors until death, according to the rule of blessed Augustine and the constitutions of the brothers of that order."

[159] Contrary privileges are abolished, by name those of the convent of Cesena. Notwithstanding any professions and customs whatever hitherto observed otherwise anywhere in your order, or privileges and indulgences and apostolic confirmations granted by the apostolic see to any place or person whatever, which by the aforesaid authority we decree to be henceforth void and vain and of no moment; or the condition which the aforesaid bishop of Cesena is reported to have attached to the grant which he made to Br. John the Good of the place of the church of the aforesaid St. Mary of Cesena, that neither Br. John the Good himself nor any successor of his could subject the aforesaid place and church to any place or person; or the fact that the priors of the said place were at times confirmed in it by the same bishop as general priors of your order.

[160] Dispensations; the superscription of the privileges. With those of your order, however, who have hitherto made profession otherwise to other general priors, or in whatever manner in the same order, we dispense by the aforesaid authority; and we decree that they shall be held in all things to obedience and reverence toward the said Br. Lanfranc, as their general prior, and toward his successors. In the privilege also of your order let this title henceforth be set: "Innocent, bishop, etc. To our beloved sons the general prior of the order of hermits, and the other provincial and conventual priors, and also the convents and all the other brothers subject to him, and who, both present and future, have professed the eremitical life, in perpetuity." And for the memory and perpetual firmness of all the premises we have caused the present page to be strengthened with the protection of our seal. Given at Perugia on the sixth of the calends of January. In the year of the Lord 1152, in the 10th year of the pontificate of the lord Pope Innocent IV, the 11th indiction. Let no man at all, therefore, etc. Given at Perugia on the 17th of the calends of May, in the 11th year of our pontificate: or rather in the 10th year, as is read in Torelli: that is, the 15th of April of the year 1253. It is evident from this bull that immediately after the death of Blessed John, that is after the general chapter which was held at Ferrara in the year 1249, in the month of October, disturbances and schism arose in the order, and lasted for almost three years, as Cardinal William says. Namely, matters were settled in the chapter of Bologna of the year 1252, in which Lanfranc Septala, a native of Milan and prior of the convent of Bologna, was elected prior general of the congregation.

§ XVI. Of the order of St. Augustine in the thirteenth century before the great union; of the union itself; of the Saccites, or Brothers of penance.

From the three Italian congregations of hermits of St. Augustine, There were in Italy, at the time when Blessed John departed from life, three congregations of hermits of St. Augustine, as was said above, and each had its own prior general. There were also convents not united among themselves, according to the old custom, yet of the order of St. Augustine, since they lived under his rule. The pontiffs Gregory IX, Innocent IV and Alexander IV likewise had long been striving to bring gradually to unity the various houses of hermits which had not yet chosen any of the rules to keep. Therefore within a short space of time the rule of St. Augustine was given to the hermits of Romagna, to the hermits of the March of Ancona or of Brettino, and to the hermits of Tuscany. These last, since they had no common institutor, were called simply hermits of the order of St. Augustine. Innocent IV superscribes his letters Pia desideria: To the visitor general and to all the priors and hermit brothers of the order of St. Augustine In Wadding, Annales, vol. II, page 466.; which are directed to the hermits of Tuscany alone: and the same is met several times in letters of this kind of Alexander IV Crusenius, Monasticon, page 122.. But the other hermits were called either from the name of their founder, hermits of John the Good, or from the place of their origin, hermits of Brettino. The hermits of Tuscany, however, did not for that reason precede the others in the observance of the same rule; nay rather in this matter they are later than these, since they received it to be kept only in the year 1244 Ibid. page 115 and above num. 140..

[162] it is not to be said that one rather than another constituted the order itself. Nevertheless Nicolas Crusenius, requiring in his order from antiquity the same things which had been established in the recent orders of SS. Dominic and Francis, namely a universal superior of the order and general chapters, judged that those alone were properly of the order who were called by the Pontiffs simply by its name; but that the other congregations and branches of the order were to be made of less account. Wherefore it was necessary for him, among the three Italian congregations of hermits of St. Augustine, to hold the hermits of Tuscany as the order properly so called and genuine. Of the three bulls, therefore, which Alexander IV directed to them in the year 1255, he speaks in this manner [Crusenius, page 122; compare page 114 and following, 124 and 127 in the margin, etc.]: The Pontiff meanwhile imparted various privileges to the prior general of the order, who then still had only the hermits of Tuscany united to himself … Which things do not agree with the true notion of religious orders, such as they were from antiquity. By exactly the same reason, therefore, there belonged to the order of St. Augustine both the three congregations of Italy, and the congregation of France and England Above num. 139., and finally any convents whatever not yet gathered into a congregation.

[163] The great union of many congregations under one head in the year 1256. At length the general union of all these hermits, which they call the great union, was made by Alexander IV in the year 1256. Of the bull of union, which was given at the Lateran on the 5th of the Ides of April, in the 2nd year of his pontificate, this is the beginning: Licet ecclesiæ catholicæ, etc.; in which the houses of hermits united into one body are designated in these words: Some were reckoned of the orders of St. William, some of St. Augustine, some, however, of brother John the Good, some of Fabali, and others of Brettino Crusenius, Monasticon, page 124.. Which words are repeated in two other bulls Ibid. page 127; Wadding, loc. cit. page 468.. Of these congregations and houses and their union, however, my predecessor Henschen wrote most accurately in the Commentary on the order of hermits of St. William, which he subjoined to the Acts of St. William the hermit Acta SS. vol. II of February, page 47.; to which the curious reader will go. From this Commentary, however, I excerpt only this brief summary of the five classes of hermits which the great union embraced: Of these, he says, the hermits of Brettino and the hermits of Blessed John the Good, since they did not have any of the approved rules, received under Gregory IX (or the latter perhaps under Honorius III) the rule of St. Augustine, according to which they lived for some time, each distinct under their own generals. In the same way the brothers of the order of St. William, having assumed the rule of St. Benedict under the same pontiff, were also subject to their own generals: from whom another congregation of St. William, called that of the brothers of Monte Fabali, was distinct, also under its own generals. But the others, who had their name from none of the aforesaid congregations (namely the congregation of hermits of St. Augustine in Tuscany, their congregation in France and England, and finally all the houses which had not yet come together into congregations), were called hermits of St. Augustine, and constituted one of the five classes Ibid. page 475..

[164] [Others also join, but not the Saccites; nor were these instituted by Blessed John.] To this union other congregations also gradually acceded; such as the poor Catholics of Milan, whose provincial Nicholas does this, wishing, he says, to obey the holy Mother the Roman Church and the venerable father the lord Richard, deacon cardinal of St. Angelo, to whom fullness of power has been granted by the lady Pope (Alexander IV) for making the union spoken of below In Brockie, Codex regularum, vol. IV, page 221.. Very many assert, among whom is Jordan of Saxony, that the Saccites, or brothers of the penance of Jesus Christ, of whom there is often mention in the Processes to be reprinted below, were also comprehended in the great union. But that the brothers of the Sack, says Henschen Acta SS. loc. cit., page 478, num. 24., were other than the hermit brothers of the order of St. Augustine, we learn from the testament of St. Louis, king of the Franks, made in the year 1269 Acta SS. of August, vol. V, page 501; num. 1041.. Pierre Hélyot discourses of the same at length Histoire des Ordres religieux, vol. III, page 178, edition of 1792. and after him our Du Sollier at the Acts of St. Louis Acta SS. of August, vol. V, page 472..

One thing remains to be noted here: that Marquez In Hélyot, Histoire des ordres religieux, vol. III, page 179., Crusenius Page 125. and others said that the Saccites were founded by Blessed John. Which is convicted of falsehood by many places of the Processes, from which it is established, to omit the rest, that Blessed John suffered tribulations and straits from the brothers of penance; and was accused and defamed before Otto, bishop of Cesena Process num. 12 and 65.. Nay rather they seem to be older than Blessed John Compare Hélyot, Histoire des ordres religieux, vol. III, page 180.. In a certain manuscript codex of the Burgundian Library they are said to have come to this city of Brussels about the year 1220 and to have had at least four dwellings here Burgundian Library, Brussels, Codex 14512.. Here, then, we finish the brief history of the congregation of Blessed John the Good, which we thought should be carried in one stretch up to the time of the great union, so that henceforth our discourse may be set up concerning the Blessed alone.

§ XVII. The prophecy of the Blessed concerning the place of his death; the journey to Mantua; the grief of the people of Cesena at his departure; his death and burial.

The Blessed foretells that he will die at Mantua. Blessed John had said, when on some occasion he was speaking with Br. Michael of Verona, a priest of the order, that he would not die at Cesena but at Mantua, where he was born. Which prophecy was made about the year 1239, or ten years before his death. This body, he said, will die where it was born (namely in the city of Mantua), and there great honour will be done to it, and my death is for the destruction of the many heretics existing there (namely in the aforesaid city), and for the strengthening of the Christian faith Process num. 43.. The lord Bonvicinus also, a citizen of Cesena, says that when on a certain occasion (about the year 1242) the witness himself had gone to visit the said Br. John the Good and was speaking with him, the said Br. John the Good among other words said to the said witness: "Lord Bonvicinus, if it pleased God, I would gladly die at Cesena, because I have been a long time in this hermitage; but God does not will that I should die here, and although I am very old, yet it pleases God that my body should lie elsewhere. And I tell you that I shall die in another city and outside this province Ibid. num 249.": namely outside Romagna. The nobleman the lord Uberto Tacco of Cesena says that Blessed John, while he was foretelling the same to him, added that … after he departed from Cesena to go to Mantua, he would live but a little Ibid. num. 247.. Another also says that the Blessed several times said, the witness hearing it, that near his end, a few days before, he was to depart from Cesena Ibid. num. 151..

[166] He came from Cesena to Mantua in the year 1249 In the year 1249, therefore, at the beginning of October, the Blessed departed from Cesena; of which St. Antoninus writes these things Below in the Life, num. 7.: As the day of the end of his life drew near, God sent His Angel, who said to him: John the Good, servant of God, arise and return to the land of your birth; for it pleases God that your body should rest there. And he, as one truly obedient, taking up the journey, came to Mantua. This apparition of the Angel is not mentioned in the Processes; it was taken up, however, by the Cremasque, Calepinus, the man of Lodi and other biographers of Blessed John. The Blessed seems to have gone away from Cesena about the 8th day of October See Process num. 92 and following., with Br. Bonaventure alone as companion, to whom beyond the others he was accustomed to confess his sins. On the journey, when they had come to a certain place which is called Peola Process num. 92., he healed by a miracle a woman suffering from dropsy and fever. On the following day he withdrew from Peola and came to Ferrara to the place of those brothers (called) of St. Anthony Ibid. num. 93., situated outside the city; of which it has been spoken in the foregoing. There a certain boy who through a blow had wholly lost the sight of his right eye was healed by the touch of a little piece of his garments. The healing took place, moreover, on Saturday, the ninth of October Ibid. num. 94.. At length he came to Mantua about the 11th day of the said month. For by the Cremasque, Calepinus and the other biographers he is said to have prolonged his life there yet eleven days, but by a certain witness in the Process Ibid. num. 251. to have lived perhaps 11 or 12 days; and it is otherwise certain that he died on the 23rd of October. From which it is clear that Hélyot erred greatly, who writes that the Blessed stayed at Mantua three years at the end of his life Dictionnaire des ordres religieux, vol. I col. 293..

[167] [The grief of the people of Cesena at his departure; his coming to Mantua; before his death] Now there was immense grief at Cesena when they learned that the Blessed had gone away. For the people of Cesena, as Gaiferius Miles, a nobleman, says, had such reverence and devotion toward the said Br. John the Good that the witness himself could scarcely tell it Ibid. num. 254.. And if they had known or believed that he wished to depart from Cesena, those peoples or the commune of Cesena would have had the said brother John the Good guarded so well that he would never have departed from Cesena. And the said witness, being questioned, said that on the day on which the people of Cesena knew that he had gone to Mantua, they grieved wonderfully, nay almost to death, all together Ibid. num. 255.. A certain Ugolino, whose son Dalborgus had been healed by the prayers of Blessed John, says that the witness himself would gladly have guarded the cell of the said brother on his part for three and four months, so that the said brother might not have gone to Mantua. And just as he himself is of this will, so are almost all of Cesena, and in greater degree, because they believed that the city of Cesena was yet to be much exalted by (his) merits and prayers Ibid. num. 209.. Many testified similar things Ibid. num. 212, 251, 257, etc.. The Blessed, however, coming to Mantua, was honourably received by the citizens, says St. Antoninus; from whom nevertheless I should believe that the Blessed hid himself as much as he could. For him, St. Antoninus proceeds thus, they built an oratory in the place of the brothers, and after a few days he rested in the Lord… Having fallen sick, therefore, the ecclesiastical sacraments having been devoutly received, and many instructions having been given to the brothers, with hymns and praises he gave back his spirit to the creator In the Life num. 7.. Of the death of Blessed John nothing is read in the Process, except that he received before death all the ecclesiastical sacraments Process num. 294.; but the Cremasque, having come upon other documents, as I conjecture, amplified the words of St. Antoninus in this manner In the manuscript Life.: When the saint drew near to the city of Mantua and came to the place of the brothers, which was called St. Agnes in the suburbs of Porto, for veneration of the holy man of God an oratory was at once erected there. In which indeed for eleven days (therefore the oratory would have been erected and made ready from the first day, which I judge could not have been made ready even in the eleven days during which he lived at Mantua before his death) persisting in all devotion and in the contemplation of God, on the tenth day, the brothers of that place being gathered together, he foretold that the dissolution of his body was imminent and that on the last day that white soul, by the disposition of divine grace, was to fly forth from the prison-house of this most wicked world into the heavens.

[168] [He foretells that his body will long be given over to oblivion. He dies on the 23rd of October in the year 1249.] And as the hour of his going forth approached, he did not cease to speak and to offer most salutary counsels and instructions to all the confreres who stood about him praying. But after he had made an end of speaking and, with hands joined, had raised his eyes to heaven, a certain brother asked him what would in future become of his corpse after his falling asleep. To whom blessed John the Good answered, saying: The soul, going forth from this prison, will by the mercy of God be taken up with the angels. With reverence you will bury the body, through which for many years the Lord will show many miracles to mortals; but days will come in which men will remember little of so great signs. And at length it will please the most High that it be greatly honoured, when it has been in great part given over to oblivion: and at that time indeed it will be in such reverence and fame among men that his holy name will be proclaimed throughout the whole world. These things having been said, forty years having been completed in the hermitage, and in the eightieth year of his age, all the sacraments having been duly received, in the year of salvation one thousand two hundred and forty-nine, on the tenth of the calends of October (read: of November), on Saturday about the ninth hour, in the oratory at St. Agnes in the suburbs of Porto of Mantua, he flew away into heaven in the embraces of Christ, the counts of Casaloldi (read: Casalodi) reigning. And the brothers, washing that body, worthy of all veneration, with great devotion and reverence according to custom, and laying it on a bier, carried it to the church, at which it is not easy to narrate how many miracles were wrought. At length, after many signs and prodigies of miracles, that body was taken up with the highest veneration and given to burial and laid away in the earth. Calepinus and the man of Lodi copy the Cremasque, and the latter adorns his narrative after his custom. Of the year and day of the death of Blessed John we have said enough and more than enough in §5.

[169] Of the convent of St. Agnes at Mantua outside the walls. Of the convent in which he died there often occurs mention in the Process, where it is called the house of St. Agnes of Mantua Process num. 34, 48., and its prior in the year 1231 was Br. Guizzardus Ibid. num. 4.. The Mantuan monastery of St. Agnes outside Porto, says Herrera Alphabetum Augustinianum, vol. II, page 107., which is now designated by the title of St. John the Good, formerly of the province of the March of Treviso, now (in the year 1644) for many years of the congregation of Lombardy. It was formerly built by the citizens in the year 1249, so that they might receive with friendly hospitality Blessed John the Good, their fellow-citizen, returning to his country at the end of his life. See how much the things which St. Antoninus said, that an oratory was built for the Blessed in the place of the brothers, are already being enlarged. The Cremasque signified clearly enough that the monastery existed before the coming of the Blessed: When … he drew near to Mantua and came to the place of the brothers, etc. (above num. 167). The same seems able to be deduced from the testimony of Br. Bonaventure, who says that in the year 1249 on the 24th day of October, or the day after the death of the Blessed, two of the brothers who were staying at Mantua with Br. John the Good himself came to Ferrara Process num. 95. to bring the news of his death. Now there adjoined the monastery a church, in which the bier of the Blessed had been placed, as will soon appear; which certainly was not left without ministers. From which it is concluded that many brothers were already there at that time, and either that an old monastery was ceded to Blessed John on his arrival, or, what alone seems to me likely, that it had then already existed for some time.

And this is confirmed from the affection of the Mantuans toward the Blessed while he was still among the living Compare the Process, part V.; that they remained without a convent of his order, while the neighbouring cities did not lack theirs, cannot easily be admitted. Herrera continues: In it John departed to those above, and his sacred pledges were deposited there for some time. In the year 1434 it was subject to the convent of St. Agnes and was called by the title of Blessed John the Good. For so, on the 31st day of May of that year, Gerard of Rimini, the General, has it: "We have made Br. Simon of Ferrara, bachelor, our vicar over the convent of Mantua, and over that of Blessed John the Good subject to it." To which the same Herrera remarks this: The custom of honouring John with the title of blessed and of consecrating houses and churches to him is not a more recent one.

[170] The body of the Blessed was buried in the church The remains of Blessed John were deposited in the church of St. Agnes, where they were held in veneration by the faithful. Concerning which a certain Pamphilia, who by the intervention of the Blessed had been freed from epilepsy and fevers, testified in this manner. She heard, namely, from her husband in the month of October in the year 1249, that in the church of St. Agnes of the hermit brothers of Mantua there was a certain blessed brother lately dead, who was called Br. Zanebonus, of the order, namely, written above; to whom the husband of the witness herself had gone and had seen him lying on a bier in the church named, etc. The feet of which said man of God the husband of the aforesaid woman witness reverently kissed, as others who were present there were likewise doing, believing him a saint, as the same husband related to her, Pamphilia. Pamphilia herself went to the church on Sunday, the 24th of October Process num. 104., or rather had herself conducted thither to the church named before, where the said body had already been given to burial. And on that Sunday, in the afternoon, she lay upon the tomb itself from Vespers until first sleep, praying with a shedding of tears, etc. Ibid. num. 101.. On the following night she was freed from the disease and at earliest morning returned to her husband Ibid. num. 104..

[171] From which it follows that the body of Blessed John was committed to burial on the second day from his death, on the second day from his death. Miracles at the tomb and the concourse. namely, as one may conjecture, on account of the excessive concourse of the faithful; and then that it was buried, for honour's sake, in the church itself Compare ibid. num. 443 and 444., and not in the cemetery of the monastery, as Leopoldo Volta wrote in the Summary of the Life Ristretto ecc. page VIII.. He was buried, however, not in a magnificent tomb or mausoleum, but in a simple pit Process num. 112, 123, 159., nor does the church of St. Agnes seem to have been paved at that time Ibid. num. 158.. Very many miracles were done at the tomb in the very year of his death 1249, some of which are narrated in the Processes Ibid. num. 100, 150, 158, 327, 341.; but since these did not begin to be drawn up until the year 1251, when miracles were most frequent, those which happened at the time of his death have been partly given over to oblivion. A certain Rosa says that her daughter, sick at the time of the death of the Blessed, or in the year 1249, said to her: I believe that he will free me, and he has freed many others from their infirmities Ibid. num. 157.. There was at this time an immense concourse to the church of St. Agnes: At the death of the said Br. John the Good, says Bonjuga Ibid. num. 324. Compare num. 317 to 330., all men, namely clerics and laymen, men and women, great and small, went with great devotion and reverence to the church of St. Agnes, where his body is and was, and with many wax tapers and many other lights; and there was so great a multitude of people going and so great a concourse on account of the public fame of the said brother that she herself could in no way tell it. There are related also in the Processes some miracles of the year 1250, but very few Ibid. num. 120, 156, 166, 194, 443., again perhaps because they have been partly given over to oblivion; and then others which happened in the following year 1251, before the elevation of the body, or before the month of May Ibid. num. 131, 153, 345, 434, etc..

§ XVIII. The elevation of the body in the year 1251; the miracle of the kindled taper and candles, and others; of the tunic of the Blessed, which is preserved incorrupt, and of the habit of the order.

The body elevated in the year 1251, on a certain Sunday, in the month of May. The elevation was made in the year 1251, in the month of May, on a certain Sunday, which day was from antiquity customarily chosen for conducting the elevations of bodies, as they call them, and translations. They elevated the body on that day at earliest morning, so that it might be for the veneration of the faithful who on Sundays came to the ecclesiastical offices. For a certain Martha, who was healed of gout and other diseases at this elevation, says that when she was so tormented at the time when the said body was, as has been said, to be translated (from the underground tomb to another standing above the ground; that is, to be elevated), she was carried by her daughter and son … that she might be set in person by the said body; and when, placed on a little bed in the cloister of the hermit brothers, she was awaiting the grace of God and of the aforesaid brother, that night (between Saturday and Sunday), the solemnity of Matins having been completed, while the bell was being rung as usual, she said that she raised herself on her feet and (began) to stand, when the body of the man of God was being raised from the tomb, etc. She adds below that this happened in the month of May just past (that is, of the year 1251), on a certain Sunday Ibid. num. 115.. Other witnesses confirm these things Ibid. num. 117 and 119..

[173] In the same month countless miracles happened. The chest long left open. On what day of the month the Sunday fell on which the elevation was made we do not know; but we know that the chest (by which name the new tomb is constantly called in the Processes) in which the body was then laid remained open for some time, so that the faithful might attend the most precious relics with their homage. In the Process of the year 1231 Br. Lanfranc, provincial prior of the hermits in Lombardy, and afterwards general prior of the whole order, relates that he was healed by a miracle of incipient leprosy; and he says: That when on a certain day after the translation (or elevation) of the body of the man of God he was alone at the chest, which was still standing open, he looked in, and devoutly poured out his prayer, saying: I beseech you, my father, etc … and the witness said that after nine days, before that chest was closed up, he perceived and saw health restored to him, etc Ibid. num. 109. Compare num. 162.. The chest in which the sacred remains of Blessed John were laid in this year 1251 was cut from marble Ibid. num. 135., and placed in a conspicuous spot. For very many witnesses, from whom in that year disease was driven off by a miracle, say that they stood beneath the chest Ibid. num. 412. 416, 430 and 421.. That the elevation of the body was made in the month of May is often repeated in the Processes Ibid. num. 116, 125, 156, 162, 351, 352, etc., and indeed before the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, which in the year 1251 fell on the 25th day of May Ibid. num. 412.. In the same month happened almost all the miracles which were obtained by the intercession of the Blessed on the occasion of the elevation; of which a long catalogue is woven in parts II and VI of the Processes. So firmly did that month of May sit in the memory of the witnesses that they ascribed to the same month even the feast of Pentecost of that year, on which among others a more illustrious miracle happened, although it was celebrated on the 4th day of June:

[174] At the time of the translation of the body of the said Br. John the Good, says Joanninus, a witness, the boys of the city of Mantua (and indeed chiefly of the quarter of St. Nicholas) Process num. 451 and 455. had a very great and very beautiful taper made, The miracle of the kindled taper and candles is described. on which there were many and diverse candles lit, and the taper itself was lit. And in the month of May, on the Sunday of the Pasch of Pentecost, after Terce (or, by our manner of numbering the hours of the day, after nine in the morning), the said boys came to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of the said brother is and was, and many other people with them with the greatest joy and gladness. And when they were near the church of St. Agnes, the said taper went out together with all the candles standing upon it… And when they were already near the church, and the brothers had come out with holy water to receive the said boys, and the people grieved much that the said taper was being offered thus extinguished and could not easily be lit on account of its height, all thus standing by and seeing, at the entrance of the church the said taper with all the candles was lit of itself in one moment. Which being seen, the brothers began to sing and the other people to praise the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And there was such gladness and exultation there, etc Ibid. num. 450.. Then almost in the same hour before the sepulchre of the said brother a certain blind man had been given light Ibid. num. 456.; from which with new fervour the gladness and triumph of the multitude standing by broke forth. This miracle is much celebrated by the biographers of Blessed John; Ambrose of Crema writes in the year 1484 in an unpublished life: And there is today that most celebrated festival among the Mantuan people, so that in testimony of the miracle of the kindled taper, and in perennial memory of the translation itself (namely the first, which took place in the fifteenth century; of which it will soon be spoken), in all future times on the calends of May (on account of the finding of the body made on that day, after the long oblivion of the Blessed, in the middle of the fifteenth century) the Commune of Mantua, coming together with many tapers to the church of St. Agnes (or the church of the hermits of St. Augustine in the city), and rendering an offering in honour and glory of that most holy man, leaves those tapers to the aforesaid church. Which the grandsons have kept, and the children's children, and those who shall be born of them.

[175] [Of the preservation of the body after 18 months, and likewise of the tunic; what this was] It will seem strange that nothing is read in the process of the preservation of the body from the month of October of the year 1249 to May of the year 1251: for that the body was entire after that time is certain from the translations, in which this was observed; and let it be enough in this place to have said that it is preserved entire at Mantua even today, more than six hundred years having elapsed from his death. The witnesses said nothing of this preservation for this reason, namely that the matter was very well known to the examiners, and could be established for them at any hour in the very city in which the processes were being conducted. For the same reason neither of the cowl,

or tunic, in which the Blessed lived clothed See above, num. 80., with which he was buried, and which eighteen months afterwards was found entire and incorrupt, did the witnesses say anything. Of this relic, which is kept at Mantua to this day, we must treat here in a few words; and at the same time of the reason why the sacred body was afterwards clothed in a garment of another colour, namely black, and of the change of the colour of the garments which was made in the congregation of Blessed John after his death. St. Antoninus wrote accurately of his tunic about the year 1455 Below in the summary of the Life, num. 5.: All his life he used a tunic of woollen stuff, which by reason of his holiness was unharmed under the earth for eighteen months after his death (from October of the year 1249 to May of the year 1251); which every year on the day of his passing is devoutly shown to the people, and a man in fever was healed by its touch. Now it was, or is (since it is kept today), of grey colour Process num. 83., or as the Italians say: di color bigio Above num. 32 and 59.; but after the elevation of the body, in the year 1251, this being reserved as a pledge of great price, the body was clothed in a new tunic of black colour, which is proper to the order of hermits of St. Augustine: or, if that colour had not yet been admitted in the year 1251, it was at least at the first translation. These things must be explained in this manner:

[176] and what the Pontiffs prescribed concerning the habit of the order. Gregory IX, in the 14th year of his pontificate, of Christ 1241, had prescribed that the hermits of St. Augustine in Lombardy should be clothed with a white or black cowl, for distinction from the Minorites [In Wadding, Apologeticus, etc. §4, vol. II of the Annales, page 462. Rome 1732.]. Brother Andrew, prior general of the hermits of Brettino in the March of Ancona, obtained from the same pontiff in the same year 1241 that it should be lawful for the said hermits to retain their former colour, on this condition, that they should not gird their cowls Ibid. num. 464.. Hence some confusion seems to have arisen; for we read that Blessed John not only wore a grey cowl, but was also girded, and, as it seems, until the end of his life Above num. 59.; whom we know nevertheless to have perpetually commended to both his subjects and seculars the obedience to be rendered to the Vicar of Christ See above from num. 90.. Finally the hermits of Blessed John, by the mandate and authority of two cardinals, who were then discharging the office of legation in the parts of Lombardy, chose the black habit which you still wear (so said William, cardinal of St. Eustace, in the year 1253, in the month of December) Above num. 144.. This seems to have been done after the death of Blessed John; and indeed the letters of Richard, cardinal of St. Angelo and visitor general of the order of St. Augustine, by which he decreed that all the brothers of that order should wear black cowls, had been given in this same year 1253, on the 28th day of July. From which it appears, especially from the words of the cardinal of St. Eustace, that the hermits of Blessed John obeyed the pontifical mandates when they had become sufficiently known; and that Herrera rightly maintained this against Wadding [In the Annales Minorum, vol. II, Apologetici defensio, section VII, num. 11, page 559.]: although the hermits of Brettino, who lived in the March of Ancona, are accused by Gregory IX and Alexander IV of slowness in obeying Ibid. page 462 and 467..

[177] The tunic of the Blessed is preserved even today. But that we may here complete the history of the precious relic which was set aside at the elevation of the body of Blessed John, Br. Ardizzione testifies of it in the year 1253 that Br. John the Good used, through all that time in which the said witness was with him, the witness himself seeing it, only one cowl of fine woollen stuff, both in winter and in summer; which today can be seen reserved by his brothers in a certain shrine Process num. 305.. That it was preserved in the year 1455 we learned above from St. Antoninus; and of the same Agostino of Crema wrote these things in the year 1484 in the manuscript life: That little tunic in which he had been clothed, with the biretta and girdle, remained so entire and sound and incorrupt that they are preserved up to the present day in the monastery of St. Agnes with the greatest veneration. That it is the one in which he was clothed in life, and which we described at num. 80 of this Commentary, is clear also from the colour which Herrera assigns to it in the Alphabetum Vol. I, page 367.: His cappa (or cowl) was preserved at Mantua in the year 1499, and was of grey colour, like the Franciscan. For so says our Niccolò Bariani in the Vitalian cause: "I saw and touched the cappa of Blessed John the Good at Mantua, which is of grey colour, namely of such colour as the habit of the Minors themselves now is." Similar things are testified by Marquez Origen de los Frailes ermitaños, page 249. and Volta Ristretto, page VI; see above, num. 32.; of whom the latter subjoins these things: This tunic with its long and pointed hood is preserved even today (in the year 1775) at Mantua by the Augustinian Fathers, to whom it was given as a gift by our last duke, Ferdinando Carlo. Finally, of its present-day preservation the Rev. Canon Sordi writes these things in manuscript notes: The tunic which he used while he lived the cathedral church keeps in an elegant ivory case adorned with little crystal columns, on which is set a small statue or image of the saint. And it is customarily set forth for the veneration of the faithful on the high altar on the feasts and at the novena devotions which are celebrated in his honour.

[178] [The devotion of the people of Cesena toward the Blessed; the Mantuans demand his canonization.] From so many miracles which the Blessed worked at the elevation of his body in the year 1251, it came about that the people of Cesena again grieved exceedingly, no less than at his very departure from Cesena and at his death, seeing themselves bereft of a pledge of such price. The lord Gaiferius, miles (or knight), a nobleman of Cesena, said in the year 1254: If it were possible that the people of Cesena could today in any way have back the body of the said brother John the Good, they would spend today a thousand marks of silver Proc. num. 255. Likewise num. 215 and 233.. The same adds, concerning the cult with which the people of Cesena attended the Blessed at the very time of his testimony, or in the year 1254: On account of the things which the people of Cesena saw and heard of the said brother John the Good, at the time when he was at Cesena, many people from Cesena and the surrounding parts went and go to Mantua, to the place where the body of the said brother John the Good is, as the witness himself saw and sees, and also of this there is public voice and fame at Cesena Ibid. num. 255. Likewise num. 222, etc.. At Mantua meanwhile, from the time of the elevation of the body, namely in the years 1251, 1252 and 1253, miracles had not ceased Ibid. num. 147, 346, 369, 372, 395, 398, 403, 420 and 428.. But the Mantuans had not waited so long before thinking of the canonization of their holy fellow-citizen and wonder-worker. In the year 1251, in which the body had been raised from the earth, Innocent IV, supreme pontiff, was staying at Genoa, whither he had fled on account of the snares laid for him by the emperor Frederick II Raynaldus, Annales ecclesiastici at the year 1244, num. 33 and 1251, num. 50.. Two noblemen, Bartholomew and Nicholas, ambassadors of Mantua, went to him there in the month of June Process num. 3., and brought back letters given at Genoa on the 15th of the Calends of July, by which it was commanded that processes be instituted, with the form of the interrogations to be made added. The processes were held (as will be said more fully in the Commentary preliminary to them), and they ravished the world with admiration, as the most illustrious Gonzaga, bishop of Mantua, says [Synodal constitutions of F. Francesco Gonzaga, page 205; in Volta, Ristretto, page IX.]; but in the very year in which the process of Cesena was completed, namely of Christ 1254, Pope Innocent departed from among the living.

§ XIX. The finding of the body of the Blessed and the translation in the middle of the fifteenth century. Of the two convents called from St. Agnes, outside and inside Mantua. The body of the Blessed is found incorrupt after two centuries.

The remains of Blessed John What followed after the apostolic Processes and the death of Innocent IV is briefly related by Leopoldo Volta, one especially skilled in Mantuan history. John the Good, he says, before he expired, had foretold that his name would for a long time be given over to oblivion. are given over to oblivion for two centuries. The finding Which in fact came to pass; since those unhappy times followed in which intestine wars, public and private hatreds, and above all the tyrannical rule of those who in turn usurped the power of ruling by guile, brought it about that the people for a long time became forgetful of their duties, both sacred and civil. For two hundred years and more the name of our saint was covered with deep silence, so that the place in which he had been buried was unknown Ristretto, page IX.. Then he adds in the notes: Toward the middle of the fifteenth century his sepulchre was discovered, some miracles intervening; from which time the finding of St. John the Good began to be celebrated yearly at Mantua. And lower down: In an old catalogue, of which this is the title: "Feasts to be observed in the city and state of Mantua," and which was published from about the times of Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, that is about the middle of the fifteenth century, the finding of St. John the Good is marked, which was then celebrated on the calends of May: "On the first day of May the finding of blessed Zanebonus." And the same is read in the statutes or decrees of that age.

[180] [in the middle of the fifteenth century, and the translation to the new St. Agnes, within the walls.] On the same first day of May on which the body was found, its translation also seems to have been made, if credit be given to Bartolomeo da Palazzuolo in his manuscript martyrology. That writer, moreover, was born in the region of Bergamo, not far from Mantua, and lived in the order of hermits of St. Augustine, and indeed belonging to the congregation of Lombardy, from the year 1455 to the year 1502, in which he died at Brescia; so that he could well have known the things which were done in the middle of the fifteenth century at Mantua in the convent of his order. He records the translation, and the miracles which were done on its occasion, in these words: On the first day of May, at Mantua, the translation of the body of St. John the Good, confessor of the order of hermits of St. Augustine, which, adorned with countless miracles, continues most celebrated also among all the inhabitants of the same city In Torelli, Secoli Agostiniani, vol. VII, page 361.. The same translation Agostino of Crema also commemorates in the unpublished Life which he composed in the year 1484: And because, he says, that venerable body rested in the suburbs of Porto, in the church of St. Agnes, and the place itself outside the walls of the city was neither safe nor worthy of so great a pledge, in order that greater praise, beauty and adornment might be added, it seemed good to all that the body

should be transferred into the city. And so, the chest having been completed, going out of the city with all the clergy and people and with the greatest pomp, and coming to the place where the sacred body lay, they raised it from the earth piously and with all reverence; and with great honour and much light, rejoicing, and entering the city, all chanting psalms and singing, they carried it to the church of the order of the aforesaid brothers of St. Augustine, which was afterwards called the new St. Agnes. There, a new chest having been prepared, before the altar of the greater chapel of that church, in the holy of holies, they reverently placed that most sacred body in the chest. While it was being placed in the chest countless miracles were done. This translation was made from the old St. Agnes outside the walls to the new St. Agnes within the city.

[181] Of the convent of St. Agnes outside Porto, called also of St. John the Good; Herrera says that the former convent is the same which was afterwards called of St. John the Good Alphabetum, vol. II, page 107.: The monastery of St. Agnes outside Porto, he says, which is now designated by the title of St. John the Good, etc., Likewise above, num. 169.. Which the Mantuan historian Leopoldo Volta likewise asserts Above, num. 32.. The author of the Mantuan Diary of the year 1836, however, insinuates that the convent of Blessed John was different from the convent of St. Agnes and was built in a different place Diario di Mantova per l'anno 1836, page 174 and 175.. It must rather be said that the one succeeded in the place of the other and that the new one was called by both names, from what Herrera subjoins, which must be set down in this place, since they pertain to the history of the cult of our Blessed: Luigi Gonzaga, as Ippolito Donesmondi has it in book V of the Mantuan history, page 321, and book VI, page 54, in order to appease God angered against Mantua, about the year 1350 built a convent and cloister for the Augustinians of St. Agnes of Mantua outside Porto. And Federico Gonzaga, firstborn of the marquis of Mantua, about the year 1472 had the church of St. John the Good built anew from the foundations, as appears from the altar-piece. The Augustinian fathers used this little church and convent until the year 1650, at which time it had to be abandoned; the praised author of the Mantuan Diary writes that the little church fell to the ground in the year 1744 Diario loc. cit.; but Leopoldo Volta testifies that it still existed in the year 1775: There even now, he says, is seen an oratory dedicated to him, which in the year 1472 Federico Gonzaga, moved by devotion, ordered to be rebuilt Ristretto, page VI..

[182] Of the convent of St. Agnes within the city; It is likely that the convent of St. Agnes within the city was erected in the thirteenth century, a little after the death of Blessed John [Compare Herrera, Alphabetum, vol. II, page 107; Torelli, Secoli Agostiniani, vol. IV, page 435.]; when, the Great Union having been made by Alexander IV, the hermits of St. Augustine began to transfer themselves to the cities in order to apply themselves, like the other Mendicants, to the salvation of their neighbour: which end Jordan of Saxony in the Lives of the brothers asserts was intended by the pontiffs when they united the various congregations following the rule of St. Augustine into one body In Henschen, vol. II of February, page 475, num. 14.. There exists a record of this monastery, says Herrera Alphabetum loc. cit., in the registers (of the order) in the year 1392. In the following century a magnificent church was erected beside the convent, under the title of St. Agnes, whose construction seems to have been completed about the year 1450, and which in the year 1460, on the 13th day of January, was solemnly consecrated by Pius II while he was holding the council at Mantua Diario Mantuano, 1836, page 133.. This church was built at the expense of a certain noble woman of the family of Frizza. The pious desires of the Mantuans, says Herrera, (namely of receiving the sacred relics of Blessed John within the city) were fostered by a certain noble woman of the family of Frizza, who had the most beautiful church of St. Agnes erected within the city, which afterwards the Gonzaga family, to whom the posterity of Augustine always owed very much, adorned and enlarged. Into it the pledges of Blessed John the Good were translated on the 1st day of May; but in what year is unknown.

[183] [There were painted pictures and an inscription concerning Blessed John in the year 1518.] Round the circuit of the first cloister of this convent of the new St. Agnes there were painted in the year 1518 the deeds and some miracles of Blessed John See above, num. 19; Wadding, Annales Minorum, vol. II, page 447. Rome 1732.; among which the miracle of the kindled tapers, which took place at the elevation of the body in the year 1251. There had also been painted on the wall, in testimony of the truth of all these, a certain inscription, which in the year 1693, lest it perish, was cut in stone. Turned into Latin from the Italian tongue in which the Rev. D. Savio exhibits it Life, page 82., it runs thus: These are the miracles and life of St. John the Good, as they were narrated and committed to writing by the public notaries of Mantua Bonaventure Compare Process num. 98. and Lanfranc Ibid. num. 167., by mandate of Pope Innocent the fourth, the oath of the witnesses having first been taken. This charge of hearing the witnesses had been committed to the reverend lord Albert, bishop of Modena, to the reverend lord John de Gonzaga, provost of the cathedral church of Mantua, and to the prior of St. Mark Ibid. num. 1 and 3., in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 1251. The authentic writings and processes on this matter, drawn up by the very hand of the notaries and furnished with their customary seals, were deposited in the convent of St. Agnes at Mantua. For the said Innocent wished to canonize this saint, had he not been snatched away by an untimely death. Very many other miracles are known from the aforesaid processes, but it was enough to paint only these which you see. In the year 1518, in the month of April. Then there was added on the said stone, in the Latin tongue: Formerly these things were written, painted on the wall; carved in stone in the year 1693.

[184] [The first translation seems to have been made in the year 1451 on the 2nd day of May.] For a long time the 1st day of May was celebrated at Mantua in memory of the finding and first translation Above, num. 179 and 180., but in the fifteenth century itself, at least in some places, the octave of the Lord's resurrection was substituted for it: His memory, said Antonio Verle about the year 1493 Ibid. num. 2 and 3., is observed on the octave of Easter: which, Herrera will soon testify, obtained also in the seventeenth century. That the translation of the year 1585 was made within the octave of the resurrection, in memory of the first translation, which was made within the same, the Rev. D. Sordi reports in manuscript notes. Moreover Bartolomeo da Palazzuolo, a writer of the fifteenth century, does not distinguish from the translation the finding, which the most ancient monuments report took place on the 1st day of May Ibid. num. 179., as was said in the foregoing. From which we judge that some conjecture can be proposed. Namely, in the whole fifteenth century the octave of the resurrection, or Low Sunday, does not fall in the month of May except once, namely in the year 1451, or in the middle of the century, at which time the authors assert that it was in fact made Ibid. and num. 180; Savio, Life, page 84.. Now Easter was celebrated in the said year on the 25th of April and the octave of Easter on the 2nd of May. The statements of all the writers will therefore be reconciled if it be admitted that the finding happened on the 1st day of May of the year 1451, and that on the following day, which was Low Sunday, the translation was made: since besides we know that translations were customarily made on Sundays or feast days; and the relics of Blessed John had been neglected and given over to oblivion up to that time and therefore were to be granted a better place as soon as possible.

[185] In it the body of the Blessed was found incorrupt. When the body was uncovered, the wooden coffin in which it had been enclosed was found half corrupted, from the waters of the neighbouring lake, says Volta Ristretto, page VIII and following., which had entered there through subterranean channels. The same subjoins: To this day this coffin is kept by the praised Augustinian Fathers in a seemly case with the following epigraph to the perpetual memory of the thing: Here is enclosed the wooden chest within which for many decades of years the corpse of St. John the Good was preserved, nature wondering. Today, however, the chest is placed in the parish church of St. Anthony outside the city Savio, Life, page 84., and it bears the same epigraph; but the words which the Rev. D. Sordi uses indicate that it has fallen into fragments. How entire the body was found after the translation mentioned is written in the year 1484 by Agostino of Crema, who beyond doubt inspected it with his own eyes: When for many years, he says, that holy body had remained buried in the earth, raised from the earth it was found so entire and fragrant with odour on every side that not even a hair had fallen from his head, save the tip of the nose. In the church of the new St. Agnes the body of the Blessed received that chapel which was next to the choir and the sacristy, and there it was laid, or rather suspended, from what will soon be said, in a marble chest.

[186] In the convent of St. Agnes the emperor Charles V stayed some days in the year 1530, coming from Bologna, where he had been crowned by Clement VII, Charles V in the convent of St. Agnes in the year 1530. supreme Pontiff. He entered Mantua on the feast of the Annunciation, the 25th day of March, and on the very day of his entry created Federico Gonzaga, marquis of Mantua, duke [Stefano Giunta, Il fioretto delle croniche di Mantova. Padua, 1574, page 44; Art de vérifier les dates, page 845, edition of 1770.]. He lodged, however, at the castle and lived there some weeks; but when holy week came, for devotion's sake, he chose for his dwelling the convent of St. Agnes, as the following inscription testifies, which was formerly read there carved in marble Volta, Compendio storico di Mantova, vol. II, page 254.:

In the year of the Lord 1530 In holy week Charles V, crowned emperor, For the sake of devotion Chose this dwelling for himself.

In recompense for the hospitality, says Herrera Loc. cit., the same emperor created the prior of St. Agnes in perpetuity a count Palatine, with the faculty of creating notaries, legitimating, conferring doctorates, etc.

§ XX. The translations of the years 1543, 1585, 1775 and 1798. The prodigious preservation of the body after six whole centuries.

The second translation in the year 1543; In the year 1543 the body of Blessed John was translated from the aforesaid chapel to the greater chapel, called the holy of holies, and placed at the side of the altar in another marble monument, or rather a most ancient and splendid mausoleum, which the cathedral church keeps today in the neighbourhood of the chapel of St. Agatha. This most noble monument, says the Rev. D. Sordi in vernacular notes, unique and singular in our city, is adorned with many reliefs and gildings: and on the front indeed it has the projecting figures of the apostles and of the redeemer standing in the midst of them on a kind of stylobate or footstool. On the sides

there are seen in six smaller panels Moses receiving the tables of the law, the holy family, Moses showing the Israelites a vessel full of manna, the apostles Peter and Paul, and in the midst of them the Blessed Virgin. On the upper part is shown the Lord's manger, beneath which this epigraph is read:

Here in the urn sleeps the body of St. John the Good, from the chapel translated hither on the 20th day of February 1543. He died, moreover, in 1249.

Leopoldo Volta adds Ristretto, page X, note 23. that the manner in which the monument is carved shows sufficiently its antiquity, yet that it is not older than the seventh century, or at most the sixth: if which things are to be admitted, it must perhaps be said that, as was frequently done, it was carved after the model of an older monument. The same notes that the monument is adorned on the side with the monogram by which, as is commonly known, the Greek name Χριστος is represented, especially on the sepulchres of the ancient Christians. This translation took place, moreover, when the fathers of the congregation of Lombardy were celebrating a chapter at Mantua Herrera, Alphabetum loc. cit..

[188] The third translation was made within the walls of the church of St. Agnes in the year 1585, when the Augustinian Fathers, says the Rev. D. Sordi, for the sake of increasing devotion, having taken the sacred body out of the marble monument, the third, of the year 1585; placed it under the high altar. There it was set forth for the veneration of the faithful on the last two days of the octave of Easter, in memory of the first translation which had taken place on those days (in the middle of the fifteenth century, of which above); and from then on it was shown to the faithful in the same way every year Compare Lodi, Life, book III chap. 45.. Herrera also records this translation, not distinguishing it from the first and passing over the second in silence: The body of Blessed John the Good, he says, which for hundreds of years had lain in a marble chest suspended in the air Above, num. 185., they solemnly placed under the high altar, where every year on the second and third day of the Easter of the resurrection it is venerated with a great concourse of people; just as the church of St. John the Good outside Porto is frequented in the octave of the resurrection. All his biographers, none excepted, have likewise set forth the translations of the body of Blessed John confusedly; which in this commentary we try to narrate distinctly.

[189] the fourth, of the year 1775. The effigy of the Blessed lying in his tomb. The Society of Jesus having been suppressed in the year 1773, its Mantuan college and the adjacent church of the Most Holy Trinity were ceded in the year 1775 to the Augustinian Fathers; these, however, had to abandon their convent and church of St. Agnes, which passed to profane uses, and the church indeed in the year 1806 was levelled to the ground. In the said year 1775, on the 25th day of November, the body of Blessed John was taken out of the marble chest, says the Rev. Canon Savio in the Life of the Blessed Vita di S. Giovanni Buono, page 85, Mantua 1839., and placed in another of walnut wood. The vicar general Carlo Nonio, delegated by the most illustrious lord bishop de Pergen, recognized the sacred body and sealed the new chest, and the notary and priest Andrea Tognini wrote and subscribed the instrument of recognition. And thus the precious pledge, so composed, was translated with much ecclesiastical pomp and a solemn procession to the church of the Most Holy Trinity; at which were present the greatest part of the religious families, the cathedral chapter, the magistrates, the nobility and the other dignitaries of the city. The chest was again placed under the high altar. On the following day a sacred triduum was begun, and for three continuous days the praises of the Blessed were celebrated in a panegyrical oration. The solemnity of the translation is attested by a booklet published on this occasion, in which citizens of all ranks wished to praise our Blessed with odes and little poems [Poesie per la solenne translazione della chiesa di S. Agnese a quella della SS. Trinita del sacro corpo incorrotto di S. Giovanni Buono Mantovano, propagatore dell' ordine di S. Agostino e primo comprotettore di Mantova. Con un preliminare ristretto di notizie intorno alla vita del medesino Santo. Mantua 1775.]; at the beginning of which was inserted the summary of the Life of Blessed John composed by Leopoldo Volta, which we have cited several times in this commentary. At the front of the book is seen an image engraved on copper, showing the body of the Blessed laid in the chest, a copy of which, faithfully expressed in a woodcut, is subjoined here. So solemn indeed did this translation of the year 1775 seem that in the same year an ample relation of it was made in the capitular acts of the diocese of Mantua.

[190] The fifth and last translation, of the year 1798. In the year 1798 the Augustinian Fathers had to pass to the convent of the fathers of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, who had been suppressed in the preceding year; whither also the remains of Blessed John were translated. But the Augustinian Fathers, fearing their own suppression also, on the 2nd day of August of the same year went to the lord de Pergen, bishop of Mantua, and asked that he would deign henceforth to keep the most noble pledge of their order in his cathedral church. The most illustrious lord received the request with immense consolation, and, a decree of acceptance having been drawn up, delegated the archdeacon Ign. Tamburini to recognize the sacred body and arrange the translation. But since he was hindered by a certain illness, the most pious priest Alessandro Savazzoni was subdelegated, who, an authentic recognition of the said body having been made, had it carried to the episcopal seminary. Meanwhile a place was being prepared under a certain altar of the chapel of the Crowned Virgin in the cathedral church; whither three priests translated it, without the customary solemnity on account of the iniquity of the times, on the 24th day of November of the year 1798. On the following day, however, that is the 25th, this translation was celebrated in the cathedral church itself, and at the same time the anniversary day of the translation of the year 1775; the most illustrious lord bishop de Pergen was present at the solemn Mass, and the panegyrical oration was given by the canon theologian Fiorati.

[191] Of the present-day cult at Mantua and of the preservation of the body. There even now rests the incorrupt body of St. John; and a certain pious sodality, said the Rev. D. Savio in the year 1839, celebrates every year the pious exercises of nine days in preparation for his feast, and on the feast day the most illustrious lord bishop J. B. Bellè is present at the solemn Mass, and a panegyrical oration is given Savio, Life, page 86 and following. The pious sodality just mentioned, which was established in honour of the Blessed about the middle of the century, and is governed by a canon of the cathedral church, omits nothing, not only that both the feast of the Blessed and the anniversary day of the last translations may be celebrated solemnly, but that not even daily should special honour be lacking to the Blessed at his altar. Of the prodigious preservation of the body after six whole centuries and so many translations, the Rev. D. Sordi moreover adds these things worthy of record: The body is preserved intact and incorrupt (and, as he says elsewhere, as though recently deprived of life; "come fosse appena morto"), except for the tip of the nose, and it is seen that he was of more than ordinary stature. The scars which are seen on the right foot See the Process at num. 294. and on the hands testify to the truth of what the processes and biographers relate of his unheard-of penances. He is clothed in the black tunic Above num. 176. of the hermits of St. Augustine, and girded with a strap. The same relates that on the 23rd day of October and the 25th of November the tomb is opened and the body is set forth for veneration, a priest being continually present, who applies to it and blesses rosaries and other things which the faithful hand him for this purpose. Above the altar, he continues, there hangs, painted in living colours, the Blessed, as, with little pieces of reed driven under his nails, he suffers a swoon and is comforted by an angel [Compare Nuovo prospetto delle pitture, sculture ed architetture di Mantova … di Gaëtano Susani, page 9 and following, Mantua 1818.].

[192] Of the cult of the Blessed today at Cesena. There must be set down here what the Rev. D. Luigi Paggi, professor of the seminary of that diocese, writes to me about the cult of the Blessed in the diocese of Cesena: Both in the city, he says, and in the diocese cult is paid to the Blessed; whose feast is celebrated on the 25th day of October. The lessons in the breviary are proper, but the same as those which are recited in the diocese of Mantua (of which there will be discourse below). It will not be foreign to the matter to point out that the people of Cesena, when in the year 1816 they decreed to build a public cemetery in that place where there rose the monastery of the canons regular of the Holy Cross, chose John the Good together with St. Nicholas of Tolentino as patron and titular of the chapel. The chief reason why the Good was called patron and titular of the chapel of the cemetery was that the cemetery itself belongs to the valley over which hangs the hill where the Blessed spent his life for forty years. Besides these things I would have you know that in the church of St. Augustine, of which I made mention above (see at num. 5 of the Process), is kept the cucullus of the Blessed (that is, the hood, unless I am mistaken, or perhaps some cowl or tunic out of the several which he had, one after another. Above num. 59 and 80), and that with the most reverend lord Gioacchino Sassi, canon of the collegiate church of Lonzano (perhaps St. Theonestus of Lonzano Lubin, Abbatiarum Italiæ notitia, page 192. Rome 1693., which I do not know whether it is situated in the place now called Longiano near Savignano, not far from Cesena) under this diocese, there remains a bronze culigna (perhaps a ladle) with which the Augustinian brethren were accustomed to offer the water of the spring of the hermitage to the faithful, and which the Blessed himself is said to have used.

§ XXI. Of the rest of the cult of the Blessed. His biographers. The Lives to be published.

The Marquis of Mantua asks for canonization. Not only in the translations, however, did the citizens of Mantua give solemn testimonies of their veneration toward the Blessed, but frequently on other occasions also, when either the city and its literary societies chose him as patron, or they asked the holy See on repeated occasions that the ecclesiastical cult of the Blessed might receive new increases. That the body was found after a long oblivion about the middle of the fifteenth century and translated into the city has been said in the foregoing at num. 179 and following. At length, says Volta, Federico Gonzaga, second marquis of Mantua, urged by Father Agostino of Crema, of the order of St. Augustine, resolved to revive devotion toward the saint, sending the father himself to Pope Sixtus IV to ask again for canonization (or beatification). This was done in the year 1485, in which year the Pontiff was engaged in affairs of the gravest moment, so that, however much the good religious exerted himself, no room was left for hearing the request of the marquis of Mantua. Nevertheless we find that the Pontiff, lest the devotion of the Mantuans grow cold, approved the cult until a solemn canonization should be decreed either by himself or by his successors. Volta, Ristretto, page IX..

[194] The Bull of beatification, which permits the cult in the universal church. The Bull of Sixtus IV, by which he enrols Br. John the Good in the number of the blessed, begins with these words: Licet sedes apostolica, etc.; and some copy of it was formerly kept, and perhaps is even now, at Rome in the Vallicelliana library Raynaldus at the year 1250, num. 51 in the margin.. But its chief part

is exhibited by Raynaldus Ibid. and Benedict XIV De servorum Dei beatificatione etc. book I, chap. 39, num. 9., and it must not be omitted here: By the counsel and assent of our brethren, by apostolic authority we grant that the same Blessed John the Good, as one piously placed among the saints in the heavenly fatherland, to the praise both of the divine name and of the glory of the Most High, who dwells in the heavens and regards the lowly, may without hesitation and scruple of conscience, or incurring of divine canon, be venerated as blessed in each and all cities, lands and places, and monasteries and churches: and that prayers may be offered to him as blessed and his suffrages implored, until something else shall be solemnly ordained by us or by the aforesaid see, etc. It is singular in this bull that the cult of the Blessed is permitted not in one province or religious order, but in any churches whatever of the whole world. We have found, says Benedict XIV, that the cult of the blessed is indeed restricted within some province, diocese, city or religious family; but that sometimes nevertheless it can be extended to the universal church, yet without the law of precept, but by way of simple faculty, and by an act by no means final, nor ultimately definitive. Wherefore in the above-cited diploma of Sixtus IV concerning the cult of Blessed John the Good there are not only words permitting and granting a faculty, but also other words are added, which await a final determination not yet pronounced: "Until something else shall be solemnly ordained by us or by the apostolic see Ibid. num. 13.." Clement X granted the same privilege in the cause of the blessed, now saint, Rose of Lima Ibid. and num. 9.; but no other example of a grant of this kind is adduced by Benedict XIV.

[195] Duke Vincenzo asks for canonization. Indulgences granted in the year 1587. After the third translation of the remains of the Blessed, which was made in the year 1585, his canonization was again demanded: In the following year, says Volta, Vincenzo Gonzaga, duke of Mantua, sent to Rome the prelate Tullio Carretti, who was afterwards made bishop of Casale, to promote the canonization so often proposed. The prince spared neither expense nor labour, so that he might at last obtain what his predecessors had hoped for in vain; but the known disturbances of the Pontificate of Sixtus V prevented his wishes from being fulfilled Volta, Ristretto, page X.. The same Pontiff, however, issued a Bull in the year 1587, on the 10th day of March, by which he grants a plenary indulgence to those visiting his sepulchre on the day which is his feast, the 23rd of October: which bull Amadei, the Mantuan historian, says was kept in the archive of the convent of St. Agnes Amadei, Storia di Mantova, manuscript, page 71.. About this time, as will appear from the monuments to be cited, the devotion of the Mantuans toward the Blessed seems to have increased not a little.

[196] [The Blessed is chosen patron of the city; his feast is celebrated by public edict.] His memory is celebrated by the bishop of Mantua, F. Francesco Gonzaga, in the synodal constitutions which were published in the year 1610: In the convent of St. Agnes, of the order of St. Augustine, he says, is buried the body of Blessed John the Good, who led a prodigious life; concerning whom, after his death, on account of the remarkable miracles which he worked, by mandate of Pope Innocent IV, a process was drawn up in the year 1251: and this ravishes the world with admiration, so greatly does the holiness of the Blessed shine forth from it [Constitutiones synodales of Fr. Francesco Gonzaga, bishop of Mantua, page 205. Mantua 1610.]. Not long after, in the year 1616, he was elected by the votes of all and acclaimed second patron of the city (comprotettore primario); for the first from antiquity, as was said at num. 4, was St. Anselm of Lucca, who departed from life at Mantua in the year 1086. Then, from at least the year 1626, the magistracy of Mantua ordained by edict that on the 23rd day of October, on which the feast of the Blessed is celebrated, there must be abstention from servile works, as on other feast days. Here are the words, rendered from the Italian into Latin, in which it was publicly posted in the year: 1636: By mandate, etc. It is publicly announced and forbidden that on the feast day of Blessed John the Good, which is to be celebrated on the 23rd day of the present month, any merchant or shopkeeper of this city have his shop open; and each who shall not keep it closed shall be fined two scudi. The Magistracy. On the 22nd day of October of the year 1636 In Volta, Ristretto, page XI..

[197] [The announcement in the martyrology; the office and Mass granted to the order of St. Augustine] In the course of the same century the order of hermits of St. Augustine began to labour very greatly that the cult of the Blessed might be increased. In the year 1672, on the 6th day of February, it obtained a decree of the sacred congregation of Rites In Torelli, Secoli Agostiniani, at the year 1249, num. 56 and following. by which there were admitted into the martyrology to be printed, or into the new edition of the Roman martyrology which was then being prepared, the elogia of several saints and blessed of the order; among which the elogium of Blessed John, to be inscribed at the 23rd day of November in these words: On the tenth of the calends of December. At Mantua, of blessed John the Good, of the order of hermits of St. Augustine, whose illustrious life St. Antoninus wrote. On the same day and in the same words the feast of the Blessed is even now announced in the said martyrology. The same Pope Clement X, in the course of the same year 1672, grants to the whole order of hermits of St. Augustine that they may lawfully and freely recite, and be able to, on the 23rd day of October the office and Mass of blessed John the Good of Mantua, of the said order … under the semidouble rite, from the common of confessors not pontiffs, with proper lessons to be taken from St. Antoninus, bishop of Florence, and other weighty authors, and to be approved by the same sacred congregation of Rites, and to be set by precept in the calendar of the breviary and missal of the aforesaid order; and he granted that it might be printed Ibid. num. 53.. This indult was given on the 5th day of October of the year 1672.

[198] and to the diocese of Mantua. Four years after, another was issued, by which the same office and Mass is granted to the whole clergy of the diocese of Mantua; and it is of this kind: Mantua. The sacred congregation of Rites, at the prayers of the most serene lady of Mantua (the duchess Anna Isabella Gonzaga, wife of Charles IV, duke of Mantua, or perhaps the mother of Charles, Isabella Clara of Austria), has judged that henceforth in the city and diocese of Mantua the office may be recited and the Mass respectively celebrated in honour of blessed John the Good of Mantua, of the order of St. Augustine, every year, on his feast day, by all of the secular and regular clergy of both sexes who are bound to the canonical hours, in the manner and as the feast of the aforesaid blessed is celebrated by the religion of the aforesaid order of St. Augustine, if it shall seem good to our most holy Lord. This 13th day of June 1676. And word having been had of the aforesaid with the most holy Lord through me the secretary, His Holiness (Pope Clement X) kindly assented. On the 17th day of the same month of June and year 1676. Seen by Cardinal Carpegna, etc. The Office, moreover, which was drawn up by virtue of the preceding indults and is used even today in the diocese of Mantua, is expressed in the following: On the 22nd day of October. On the feast of St. John the Good, confessor of the order of St. Augustine, citizen and co-patron of Mantua. Greater double. — Prayer. Be present, O Lord, to our supplications, which we bring on the solemnity of blessed John the Good, Thy confessor: that we who have no confidence in our own justice may be helped by the prayers of him who pleased Thee. Through our Lord.

[199] The lessons Lesson IV. John the Good, born at Mantua of noble family, as a young man, having lost his father, practised the art of a player, but, seized by a grave illness, he took a vow to change his manner of life and to bid farewell to human affairs. His health having been strengthened, he spent his patrimony on the poor. Soon, setting out into Emilia, to the Apennine hills at the first * milestone from Cesena, for the sake of a more austere life he hid himself within a cave. And when once, at the instigation of the demon, he burned with the impure heat of lust, he repressed the sense of pleasure by an unwonted torment; for, driving very sharp reeds under his nails, he struck his hands against a stone so that, the points penetrating deeply, falling to the ground through the vehemence of the pain, he lay lifeless for three days. But refreshed by a heavenly voice, and healed by God, he was free thereafter from every foul incitement of pleasures. And as the fame of his holiness spread further, and many flocked to him from zeal for piety, he built a monastery in that solitude under the institute of the holy father Augustine. Whence, monasteries being built here and there, the Augustinian discipline was in a short time wonderfully propagated throughout Italy.

[200] from the breviary Lesson V. Such was his abstinence that he never tasted meat, and three times in the year Compare above num. 77 and following. he kept a fast of forty days. The first, at the time appointed by the Church, at the beginning of which, dividing bread of three ounces into tiny particles, he took only one of them each day, until the fifth weekday of the Lord's Supper, on which day whatever remained he so multiplied by pouring out prayers that it amply sufficed for all his companions. The second fast he extended from the octave of Easter to the feast of Pentecost, content with the communion of the Eucharist alone. The third, in which through the winter he lived on only a few grains of beans; for the rest of the year, on the second, fourth and sixth weekday, sustaining life on bread and water alone. Besides a hair shirt, he used a most harsh couch: for he had two pits in his hut, the one packed with sharp stakes, with which, meditating on the torments of Christ the Lord, he vexed his naked body; the other more sloping, where he laid his head; and lying there, having recited the Lord's Prayer and the Angelic Salutation two hundred times, leaning on a stake, to which he had fitted a stump for a pillow, he took brief sleeps.

[202] of Mantua. Lesson VI. He foretold many future things by the divine spirit, and penetrated the inmost secrets of hearts: among which this remarkable thing occurred, that when one of his own thought less rightly of the Eucharist, he handed him a cup full of water from the neighbouring spring: and when he had drunk it, and affirmed that he had never tasted so sweet a wine, by that miracle he persuaded the unbeliever of the ineffable conversion of bread and wine in the sacrament. Intent on prayers, by assiduous meditation on the Lord's passion he merited that the most clement Lord should offer him His most sacred wounds to handle and to kiss. Once while praying he knew that a youth had formed the design of deserting the institute. And so, solicitous for his salvation, he ordered a bright fire to be kindled before the brothers; then walking barefoot over the coals and amid the rolling flames unharmed, he proclaimed that God performs similar things for those who persevere in His worship and service. At length, illustrious for many miracles, having returned to Mantua at the command of an Angel, where he also recalled a dead man to life, being more than eighty years old, at the hour which he had foretold he fell asleep in the Lord on the tenth of the Calends of November, in the year of salvation one thousand two hundred and forty-nine.

[201] Academies choose the Blessed as patron. Canonization asked in the year 1733. At Mantua in the seventeenth century there were two academies, the one called of the Imperfect, the other of the Timid Compare Volta, Ristretto, page XI.. Both chose the Blessed as patron; the former in the year 1683, on which occasion various poems in his honour

it published in print: the other (which is said to have been born in the year 1645) in the same seventeenth century; but in what year is not known. Stirred by the confidence of the Mantuans in the Blessed, the most illustrious lord Antonio of the counts Guidi di Bagno, bishop of Mantua, in the year 1733, with his chapter and the Augustinian Fathers acting in concert, employed a new attempt at procuring canonization; nor did the efforts seem at the beginning likely to be vain. Soon he obtained a response from the sacred congregation of Rites, of which this is the beginning: Most reverend Lord, as a brother. Since, as has been set forth, the Process formerly drawn up by apostolic authority in that curia concerning the virtues and miracles of the venerable servant of God John the Good, called blessed, of the order of hermits of St. Augustine, after the most exact diligences carried out here in the city, has by no means been found; and since the said Process is preserved in the original in the ducal archive of the most serene duke of Mantua: therefore the postulators of the said cause, to the effect of making a copy of the transumpt of the aforesaid Process, have most humbly supplicated for the grant of particular letters of the sacred congregation of Rites. Then by these same letters the faculty asked is granted and the manner is prescribed in which, through two apostolic or ecclesiastical notaries and other trustworthy men, an oath having first been taken, a copy of the Process is to be made, collated, as they say, and finally sent to Rome. The letters are subscribed: Rome, 10th of December 1733. A. F. Cardinal Zondadari, Prefect. N. M. Tedeschi, archbishop of Apamea, secretary. What followed after these letters, or how it came about that the canonization of the Blessed again fell through, we do not know.

[202] Cult from the martyrologies The Blessed is commemorated in very many martyrologies. Of these the oldest is the martyrology of Bartolomeo da Palazzuolo, who at the 1st day of May announces the first translation of Blessed John, as was said at num. 180. Him follows Greven, an author of the beginning of the sixteenth century, in his Usuard, at the same 1st day of May: At Mantua, the translation of St. John the Good, confessor of the order of hermits of St. Augustine In Du Sollier, Martyrologium Usuardi, p. 247. Antwerp 1704.. At that day the German martyrology of Canisius, or rather of Walasser, also announces the Blessed, and adds more concerning his life, which seem to have been taken from Filippo of Bergamo Der Kirchenkalender, etc. third edition. Dillingen 1583.: but it wrongly calls the said day the birthday of the Blessed. Then at the 23rd day of October this announcement appears again, but much contracted. About the same time Johannes Molanus inscribed the Blessed in his Usuardine martyrology in these words Usuardi Martyrologium … cum additionibus. Louvain 1568.: On the 23rd day of October, at Mantua, the deposition of St. John the Good, confessor, of the order of hermit brothers of St. Augustine, whose life was illustrious with the glory of holiness and miracles. Molanus, whose authority was great, and not undeservedly, was followed by other martyrologists: Maurolico, who copies Molanus's announcement word for word Martyrologium secundum morem S. Romanæ et universalis ecclesiæ. Venice 1576., Galesini Martyrologium S. Romanæ ecclesiæ. Venice 1578., Ferrari in the Catalogus generalis, and Castellanus, or Claude Chastelain, who wrongly calls Blessed John the founder of the order of hermits of St. Augustine Martyrologe universel, page 538. Paris 1709.. At the 23rd day of October he appears also in the Martyrology of the saints of the order of hermits of St. Augustine at the end of the Roman martyrology, where he is adorned with the following elogium: At Mantua, of blessed John the Good, of our order, remarkable for the virtue of penance and the excellence of miracles, whose illustrious life St. Antoninus wrote. But that in the Catalogue of the saints of Italy, by the author Ferrari praised above, and likewise in the Hagiologium Italicum, the Blessed is announced at the 22nd day of October, was said at the beginning of this Commentary, num. 1. Finally the announcement of the Roman martyrology, at the 23rd day of November, we recited above at num. 197

[204] The biographers of Blessed John: St. Antoninus, Agostino of Crema, Not a few authors have commended the life of Blessed John to posterity, and indeed 1st St. Antoninus, archbishop of Florence, who flourished in the middle of the fifteenth century, and exchanged his life for a blessed death in the year 1459. He, at the end of his Chronicles, which he brought down to the year 1458, exhibits several Lives of the Saints who illustrated the Church in the twelfth century and those following; among which appears also the Life of Blessed John, but, after the author's custom, brief and contracted. I judge that St. Antoninus received from Mantua the documents from which he composed his summary of the Life; but at that time the Processes had not yet been well examined, and hence it came about that in some places he strayed somewhat from the truth: as will appear below from the Annotations. 2nd Agostino of Crema, of the order of St. Augustine, of the Mantuan convent of St. Agnes. He had been deputed by Federico Gonzaga, second marquis of Mantua, to Pope Sixtus IV to promote the cause of the canonization of Blessed John (see above num. 193). Having returned to Mantua, he examined the old Processes which were drawn up in the thirteenth century concerning the life and virtues of the Blessed; and from them he composed a Life, which is even now preserved, written in the author's hand, at Mantua in the formerly ducal archive. This Life was the common source of all which were written thereafter. It is dedicated to the marquis Federico, and the dedicatory letter is subscribed in this manner: From the house of St. Agnes at Mantua, on the calends of February 1484. In it the Cremasque recalls among other things that he laboured much in the preceding year that the cause of the Blessed might be taken up as soon as possible: How much labour I spent in this business, he says, God is my witness, for whom I serve as a soldier In Volta, Ristretto, page IX.. As regards, however, the accuracy with which this Life was written, I do not doubt, first, that it is very meagre in narrating the deeds of the Blessed, since Calepinus too, who followed it, suffers from this fault. And to some extent one may judge of this matter from the excerpts which were sent to us. Then, besides the Process, he also used the summary of the Life prepared by St. Antoninus; and wishing to reconcile the two monuments with each other, he fell into a few blemishes: of which it has been treated here and there in this Commentary. The title of the Life which he wrote is the following: The history of St. John the Good, the glory of Mantua, first institutor and founder of the order of hermits, Brothers of St. Augustine, in the provinces of Romagna, Lombardy and Venice. There exists another manuscript copy of this Life in the archive of the cathedral church of Mantua, with a few additions of Fr. Antonio Rossignoli and a new title: which we gave at the beginning of the Commentary, num. 6. It numbers 212 pages in the format, as they say, of quarto, besides the index. We said at the place cited, num. 7, that it is not established at what time Rossignoli lived.

[205] Ambrogio Calepino, 3rd Not long after the Cremasque, and perhaps while he was still living, his book was reworked by Ambrogio Calepino, of the same order, a pupil of the monastery of Bergamo, the author of the very well-known Dictionary. Ambrogio Calepino, of Bergamo, says Elssius in the Encomiasticon Encomiasticon Augustinianum, page 44. Brussels 1654., of the illustrious family of the counts of Calepio, son of count Trussardo, called in the world count Giacomo Calepio, in the order Ambrogio Calepino, in the year 1451 (according to Donato Calvi, a writer of Bergamo, in the year 1458) became ours. A most zealous investigator of divine and human letters. He did not think he should give himself to declamations, his nature being against it. And so he embraced those studies which displayed a certain humanity, and a very great work, collected by his industry and with great labour from almost countless authors, On the knowledge of words and the interpretation of prepositions, Greek and Latin, with the testimonies of the authors, he sent forth at the request of many, and made common to us in the year 1504 or 1505, nay from the year 1502, which the edition of Reggio bears Biographie universelle, vol. VI, under Calepino.. In writing that Dictionary, of which countless editions have been made, he is said to have spent the greatest part of his life; in which he showed much erudition, in the judgement of the learned, in the Latin, Greek and Hebrew tongues. The edition of the year 1515, two years after his death, bears this elogium: Amb. Calepino, of Bergamo, a most devout professed member of the order of St. Augustine, a most perspicacious interpreter of Latin and Greek words, a most sagacious inserter of all words into a cornucopia, so that he gathered into one volume Nonius, Marcellus, Festus Pompeius, Marcus Varro, Servius, Donatus, and Valla and Suidas, having very greatly performed the Argive office and that of the literary palaestra In Calvi, Scena letteraria degli scrittori Bergamaschi, page 33.. Calepino died, now decrepit with age and deprived of the light of his eyes, on the 30th day of November of the year 1511.

[206] a very well-known writer, His Life of Blessed John the Good escaped the diligence of the writers of the order of hermits, except Ossinger in the Bibliotheca Augustiniana Page 180., who indicates it with these words alone: Life of Blessed John the Good. In our manuscript codex, after the title: Here begins the Life of the most holy Janibonus of Mantua, of the order of St. Augustine, there is added by a more recent pen: By brother Ambrogio Calepino, her… (hermit), and two or three words follow, of which scarcely anything has remained. It belonged, moreover, to our forebears, in whose library it was marked with the shelfmark O. 61. The occasion on which this Life was written seems to have been this. At the end of the fifteenth century the Augustinian hermits and the marquis of Mantua had pressed the Roman Pontiff much that John the Good might be enrolled among the saints. For this end, and that the piety of many might be satisfied, the Cremasque wrote out a Life; but since Ambrogio Calepino, renowned for the praise of erudition and for skill in the Latin tongue, was then flourishing not far from Mantua, in the monastery of Bergamo, it was committed to him, for commending the deeds of Blessed John, to give the Cremasque's little work a genuine Latinity. Calepino, however, added nothing to the Cremasque, but followed his footsteps so faithfully that he took up even certain historical slips of his. Thus he writes with the Cremasque that Blessed John departed from among the living on the tenth of the calends of October, above num. 12; and in exactly the same way he confuses the elevation of the body and the translations. Several things of this kind, in which he copies the Cremasque, have been indicated here and there in the preliminary Commentary, or will be indicated below in the Annotations on the Life, especially at num. 23 and following. It was said above, at num. 5, that the parchment codex from which we publish it seems to be contemporary with Calepino.

[207] an anonymous writer, Costanzo Lodi, Fr. Minardi, At the beginning of the sixteenth century the first Italian Life was published Leggenda del B. Zanebono de Mantua. Mantua 1512., whose author is unknown. Another was composed at the end of the same century by Costanzo Lodi, or of Lodi, a native of Brescia, of the order of hermits of St. Augustine. He was theologian of the congregation of Lombardy, says Ossinger; who, as he was exerting himself to enlarge the name and fame of St. John the Good, and to stir the mind of the duke of Mantua Vincenzo Gonzaga to attempt and seek his canonization Compare above, num. 195., extracted and composed from the original process of beatification itself …: "The Life of Blessed John the Good, divided into three books. Mantua 1591," and dedicated it to the aforesaid duke of Mantua Ossinger, Bibliotheca Augustiniana, page 499.. The edition of the preceding year, which was made at Bergamo [Vita et miracoli del beato Giovannibuono Mantoano, eremita Agostiniano, morto già

trecento et quarantodue anni sono. Raccolti et descritti da F. Costanzo Lodi da S. Gervaso, Bresciano, teologo dell'istesso ordine dell'osservanza di Lombardia. In Bergamo 1590.], and has the same dedication, subscribed at Bergamo, Ossinger omits. The author's autograph was sent to our predecessors, as I learn from their catalogues, where it is marked thus: Life of Blessed John the Good of Mantua, of the order of Augustinians, manuscript on parchment. By Costanzo Lodi. Bergamo 1590. In Italian. In this Life the man of Lodi followed the Cremasque faithfully, and perhaps also Calepino; but, if he knew the latter, he nevertheless adhered more to the former, as I deduce from the fact that the Latin words which the man of Lodi has here and there Life book II, chap. 4; and above num. 113. are lacking in Calepino's book. In some things he emended the Cremasque, added a few things, and writes that he examined the apostolic process again Life book III, chap. 45.: yet he did not remove all the errors, and added some himself Compare ibid. book I, chap. 2.. By what method and with what little flowers he was accustomed to adorn his narrative was said in the foregoing at num. 4 and 22. From this Life I think there flowed another old Italian one Minardi, Compendio della Vita di S. Giovanni Buono., which is several times praised by Leopoldo Volta in his Summary Ristretto, page VI and following., and was composed by Fr. Minardi of the same order of St. Augustine; and it seems to surpass the preceding ones in accuracy. But when it was written is hidden from me, since the Augustinian writers have handed down no notice of that author; nor could it be found even at Mantua today.

[208] [Leopoldo Volta and D. Giuseppe Savio. Of the panegyrics delivered in honour of the Blessed.] In the year 1775, on the occasion of the fourth translation, Leopoldo Volta published a summary of the Life Ristretto di notizie intorno alla vita di S. Giovanni Buono., more accurate than all the preceding Lives, as was said at num. 189. He was an advocate of Mantua, prefect of the ducal library and museum, and the author of several books pertaining to history and letters, among which a brief history of Mantua stands out Compendio storico di Mantova.. Finally, about twenty years ago, the Rev. D. Giuseppe Savio, canon theologian of the cathedral church of Mantua, published in print the most recent Life. He brought to light not a few books [Vita di S. Giovanni Buono primo comprotettore di Mantova, con orazioni. Mantova 1839. Vite delle ven. sorelle Cinzia, Olimpia, Gridonia Gonzaga, fondatrici del Collegio delle vergini di Gesù in Castiglione delle Stiviere. Mantova 1839. I fatii de' santi martiri H fascetto di mirra Le Dame Romane La vita di S. Anselmo di Luca Orazioni sacre in onore di vari santi.]; of which, besides the Life of Blessed John, another also is very well known to me, namely the Life of the three nieces of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, since it was translated into French and published in this city of Brussels [Histoire des trois nièces de S. Louis de Gonzague ou vies des venérables Cinthie, Olimpie et Gridonia de Gonzague, etc. traduit de l'italien de Joseph Savio. Bruxelles 1858.] and sold with great success. His Life of Blessed John is numbered among the books of a certain ascetical Library, for the publishing of which the lord Canon labours strenuously; and it is, as we have found, commendable both for its piety and for the accuracy and diligence of the writer. Finally, it may be permitted to reckon here the panegyrical orations delivered from the pulpit in honour of the Blessed, of which there was mention at num. 189, 190 and 191: of which one is in my hands [In lode di S. Giovanni Buono, comprotettore di Mantova Orazione detta … il XXV Novembre 1845 dal canonico Luigi Babò. Guastalla 1846.], sent to me by D. Pietro Cernazai, of Udine, together with the apostolic Process and other monuments. I have lately learned that one was also delivered twenty and more years ago by Fr. Finetti of our society, a preacher of no mean note; which I find in a certain volume of his works Panegirici, page 21. Florence, 1839.. There now follow the Lives of the Blessed by the authors St. Antoninus and Ambrogio Calepino, the preliminary Commentary on the apostolic Process, and finally the Process itself.

* second

SUMMARY OF THE LIFE

From the chronicles of St. Antoninus, bishop of Florence, title XXIX, chap. 13.

Of St. John the Good, citizen of Mantua.

John the Good, hermit of the order of St. Augustine, at Mantua in Italy. (B.)

BHL Number: 4352

BY ST. ANTONINUS.

The birth of the Blessed, his youth, conversion, eremitical life. About the years of the Lord 1200 ^b, in the time of Innocent III ^c, there was a man of great holiness, by name John the Good, a native of Mantua, whose father was called John and his mother Bona. From which names joined together ^d he himself was called John the Good, leading a solitary life; who was illustrious for a wonderful and unwonted abstinence, and for many miracles ^e. He, after his father died, departing from his city, went running about through diverse regions of the world ^f after the manner of a jongleur ^g. But his mother, solicitous for the salvation of her son, poured out prayers to God with many tears for his salvation, whose desire the Lord heard. For being visited by God with a grave infirmity, perceiving the dangers of this world, he vowed a vow to the Lord to forsake the world and dedicate himself to Him alone, if He would deign to restore him to his former health: which also he obtained. Having become well, therefore, and having made a diligent confession to the bishop of Mantua ^h, and his mother having afterwards died, departing from Mantua he withdrew to the parts of Romagna near Cesena ⁱ, at one mile's distance ^k; where in a certain hermitage he did wonderful penance, other hermits flocking together to remain with him ^l.

[2] Astounding rigour in a temptation of the flesh. One day the adversary, who assails with sharper snares those whom he knows most to abstain from sins, attacked him to assail him with the vice of lust ^m, bringing back to his memory that he had once seen a woman, perhaps loved by him. And when he was vehemently inflamed by that temptation, he quenched the fire of the flesh with the fire of pain by a deed to be wondered at though not to be imitated. For taking a reed, and dividing it into many very sharp pieces, which he placed under his nails, and raising his hands, he struck them upon a stone in such a way that they entered up to the tips of the fingers; and he from excessive pain fell to the ground half-dead, and so remained three nights and days. The loving Lord did not desert His servant, who, lest He be offended, had given himself to so great a torment; but appearing to him in sleep He said: Because you have begun well, you will persevere well, and you will finish your life most excellently. And because you have fought manfully against temptations ⁿ, for the rest you will not be tempted. And he, at once awakened, saw himself healed, giving thanks to the saviour.

[3] Fasts. Thenceforth the man of God began to practise a wonderful abstinence. For every year he made three quarantines or Lents ^o, namely the fast of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the beginning of which, taking one loaf of three ounces [p], he divided it into many morsels, and every day took one morsel [q]. This he did until holy Thursday, on which day what had remained is so multiplied [r] by his prayers that it sufficed for all the brothers on that day to satiety. Another quarantine he kept after the octave of Easter until Pentecost [s], in which every day the servant of God was content with the most sacred host for his food [t].

[4] He is present at Mass daily. Frequent communion; he turns water into wine. At another time [u] he devoutly heard Mass every day; on Sundays and solemn days he communicated. One day, as he was receiving communion [x], a certain brother mocked him [y] for such frequent reception [z], who had no devotion toward the Eucharist, nay rather thought impiously of the venerable Sacrament itself. The servant of God, perceiving his error, put it to him; and he confessed and did not deny his unbelief. Then the aforesaid John the Good led him with him to a certain spring [aa] of water, and taking from that water one full cup, gave it to him to drink. And when he had drunk it, he confessed that he had never in his life tasted so sweet a wine. And the saint said to him: Do you not see, dearest brother, a wonderful deed? If therefore through me, a wretched man, water has been turned by Divine power into so sweet a wine, how much more ought you to believe that through the words of the priest, which are the words of Christ, bread and wine are converted into the substance of the Body and Blood of Christ? And from that time doubt and error ceased from the mind of that brother.

[5] Fasts and other penances; his tunic preserved by a miracle after death. Another quarantine he made in winter [bb], in which he was content with a few grains of beans [cc]. For the rest of the time he fasted on bread and water on the second, fourth and sixth weekday [dd]; never, from the time he had stood in that hermitage, did he eat meat, and all his eating was harsh and tasteless. The servant of God moreover macerated his body not only by abstinence from food and drink, but by cold and nakedness, and by harshness of bed. For he had in his cell three beds: one, in which there were sharp pieces of wood, in which he tormented and macerated his body. Another, in which there was a hollow pit on the front side, from which he did not withdraw until he had said two hundred Our Fathers [ee]. The third was on a plank, on which he rested his body a little, and for a pillow he had a wooden stump. He never went shod. All his life he used a tunic of woollen stuff; which by reason of his holiness was unharmed under the earth for eighteen months after his death: which every year on the day of his passing is devoutly shown to the people, and a man in fever was healed by its touch [ff].

[6] [His prayer; he flees the crowding of men; he heals by miracles one wavering in his vocation.] This saint was of most devout prayer, and so pleasing to God was his devotion that when in prayer he meditated on the humanity of Christ, Christ appeared to him in human form [gg]: whom he embraced, and was refreshed with great sweetness. But when he meditated on the passion of Christ, He appeared to him in the form of the crucified; each of whose wounds he devoutly kissed with weeping. And because a lighted lamp could not lie hidden, very many, having heard the fame of his holiness, came to him not only from near at hand but also from remote parts. Seeing which, and that his contemplation was hindered, fearing also lest elation should rise up in him from such crowding, he decided to withdraw. Whence on a certain evening he withdrew from that hermitage, and the whole night of his journey,

in the morning, when he thought he was far from the place, he found himself beside that hermitage [hh]. Perceiving from this that it was God's will that he should reside there, he remained there, where also he showed great powers. One day, as he was praying, the brothers came to him saying that one was being tempted to the going out or withdrawal from his congregation. He, rising, called that tempted one, led him to the kitchen, and a fire having been kindled before him, he himself went into it barefoot unharmed, and said to him: Such grace does God give to those who serve Him and persevere, that neither fire nor anything can harm them. What more? He took a burning log from the hearth, and going out of the house planted it thus aflame in the earth. Which log indeed on the same day sprouted, flowered and bore fruit. And since that log was of pine, whoever wished took some of its pine cones. The young man, considering all these things, remained free from temptation in his holy purpose [ii].

[7] Other miracles; he returns to Mantua; his death. At another time, when a great rain was coming down from heaven, and the wall which his brothers were building seemed to lean toward ruin, being called by them, having made a prayer, the rain ceased and there was a great calm [kk]. One day two [ll] men learned in the law came to him, and when they were disputing with each other over a certain litigious question, the man of God, ignorant of human letters, told the solution of the question, and pointed out the place in the Decrees where the said question was solved. As the day of the end of his life drew near, God sent His Angel [mm], who said to him: John the Good, servant of God, arise, and return to the land of your birth; for it pleases God that your body should rest there. And he, as one truly obedient, taking up the journey, came to Mantua, honourably received by the citizens. For him they built an oratory in the place of the brothers [nn], and after a few [oo] days he rested in the Lord. But before the end of his life [pp], a certain woman having an only son, bereft of her husband [qq], was deprived of him when he fell sick and died; who, mourning inconsolably, asked to be buried with him. But recalling the fame of the holiness of the servant of God John, taking great confidence, she carried her dead son to him, that he might restore him to life by his prayers. And he, moved with mercy toward her, persevered for three days in prayer for him; and on the third day the boy rose from the dead: whom he restored safe and sound to his mother; she giving immense thanks to God and to brother John for the benefit. Having fallen sick, therefore, the ecclesiastical sacraments having been devoutly received, and many instructions having been given to the brothers, with hymns and praises he gave back his spirit to the Creator [rr].

ANNOTATIONS.

p. That too must be corrected from the Commentary num. 76.

q. Compare the Commentary num. 74, 75 and 76.

r. It is nowhere said in the Process that the bread was multiplied; nay, the contrary is asserted, when it is said that the Blessed took one loaf at the beginning of Lent and so gave himself to fasting that there remained of that loaf almost half Process num. 17., and that on the day of the Lord's Supper he sent to his brothers some of his remaining bread, of which he had eaten through the whole of Lent Ibid. num. 301.. See at num. 17 of the Process.

s. See Annotation o.

t. This is nowhere read in the Process. Of the fasts of the Blessed see the Commentary from num. 73.

u. This is said of all time. Commentary num. 99.

x. This circumstance is added over and above the Process. Compare the Commentary num. 94.

y. Trufari is to deride. That too is lacking in the Process.

z. Of the frequency of communion in the thirteenth century we discoursed briefly in the Commentary num. 100.

aa. This spring was near the cell of Blessed John, and pious faithful still go to it. Compare the Commentary num. 69 and 121.

bb. See Annotation o.

cc. Compare the Commentary num. 73, where it is about the Lent of the year 1237.

dd. These things are said beyond the truth contained in the Process. See the Commentary num. 71 at the end.

ee. Of the beds of the Blessed, which we have called beds of penance, see the Commentary from num. 66.

ff. See ibid. num. 80 and 175.

gg. Compare ibid. num. 98.

hh. On this matter nothing is read in the Process.

ii. Compare the Commentary num. 94.

kk. Compare the Process num. 11.

ll. In this narrative certain things are not accurate. Compare the Commentary num. 95 at the end.

mm. See ibid. num. 165 and following.

nn. Ibid. num. 167 and 169.

oo. Ibid. num. 66.

pp. This miracle is omitted in the Process; from which it is not only suspect to me, but seems certain not to have happened: for it would have been among the primary ones, and perhaps the primary one of the whole Process, nor surely would the witnesses, very many of whom had been present at the death of Blessed John, have omitted to bring it forward.

qq. Bereft of her husband, that is, a widow.

rr. Of the death of Blessed John see the Commentary num. 167 and following.

LIFE

By Ambrogio Calepino, of the order of hermits of St. Augustine.

John the Good, hermit of the order of St. Augustine, at Mantua in Italy. (B.)

BHL Number: 4353

FIRST BOOK.

Of the life and death of the Blessed.

CHAPTER I.

His birth, youth, conversion, the eremitical life taken up, a grave temptation of the flesh overcome.

The birth of the Blessed, his youth, Here begins the life of the most holy Janibonus ^b of Mantua, of the order of St. Augustine. Janbonus, having his origin at Mantua from his father John and his mother Bona, obtained from them also his compound name ^c. He, after his father had exchanged life for death, departed from his native land ^d; and pretending to be a jongleur ^e, in order to gain prudence and to claim for himself ^f the manners of men, he was eager to visit various and diverse regions of the world ^g. But that faithful and devout woman, his mother Bona, fearing lest her son should depart from the Christian faith (for there was then in Italy an almost countless multitude of heretics ^h, by whose cunning not a few were seduced into believing things which were contrary to the Catholic faith), besought God with very frequent prayers and tears that her son, for whose salvation she was greatly distressed, might become liable to no impiety at all. Nor long after ⁱ did God regard the mother's vows. For when Janbonus returned to his native land, a very grave and troublesome sickness attacked him. For the removing of which, when he had vowed to God ^k that, spurning the allurements of this life, he would deny himself and carry his cross after Christ the author of salvation, he was at once restored to his former health. Well-worn indeed is that saying of the Lord, in which it is said: I will kill and I will make to live; I will strike and I will heal. For God strikes a man that He may heal him; He kills him lest he die by Him.

[2] and conversion. He leads the eremitical life near Cesena. Then Janbonus, wishing to perform in fact what he had promised in words, went at once to the prelate of Mantua; and, having held a diligent examination of his mind, he confessed to him whatever of sin he had contracted against God, whatever against his neighbour. While these things were being done his mother departed from among the living. But when the man of God knew himself bereft of both parents, kindled with an immense ardour toward God, he forsook his native land ^l, went to Cesena, a city of Emilia: and entered, to dwell there, a chapel ^m distant a thousand paces ⁿ from that city, which had been dedicated to the divine Mother Mary. Where how much he watched in supplications, how much in vigils and fasts, could not easily be committed to writing. For he was borne toward God so vehemently not as a man, but as a kind of airy spirit he passed his whole singular and wonderful life, meditating day and night on the law of the Lord. But the devil, the contriver of fraud, who from the beginning of the world has always pursued the human race with wiles, since he envied the deeds of Janbonus, took care to circumvent him. For he affected him ^o with an incredible desire for a certain dish which, before he had dedicated himself to the divine services, he had most willingly eaten. But the man of God, knowing that this was a diabolical fraud, not only resisted it, but also reduced the enemy himself, overcome, to nothing. For when he had taken as food two or three times certain very harsh leaves of bramble, they seemed so horrid to him that all desire of eating was utterly removed from him.

[3] His chastity; an astounding rigour So great and so wonderful was his continence [p] that he is not to be believed to have come even in mind to consent to lust. For the preserving of which he is said to have afflicted himself with countless torments: among which they report that most widely known one, to be followed with renowned memory, that when once, from a woman whom the most wicked accuser had brought back to his memory, he felt such heat of the flesh that he could scarcely bear it, he entered his chamber; and there he began to pray the Lord Christ that that temptation might either be wholly taken away, or that he might in no way be permitted to be overcome by it. Whence it came about that at once, strengthened by God, he said within himself: Do not let yourself be conquered, wretch; but if the flesh desires to kill you, rather destroy it. Then, having cut a reed into many parts, he made them all sharp. And when he had thrust them under each of the nails of his fingers, he dashed both hands with the greatest force he could against a certain flint; so that those canes reached up to the tops of the nails. For the holy man understood that it would turn out much more profitable for him to be afflicted in this world even with an atrocious kind of punishments than to commit anything for which he would be judged worthy of perpetual fires.

[4] in a temptation of the flesh. When by the torment of this, namely, for three days and nights

he had lain prostrate on the ground, and had also been almost always intent on prayer, he fell asleep at last; and God, who permits no one to be tempted beyond what his strength can bear, spoke to him, saying: Arise, son; for just as it has been well begun by you, so your end will be set in a good and safe place [q]. And since you have contended so bravely and so vigorously in this fight, I will never permit you to be overcome by any temptations, and I will be with you wherever you go. If moreover there shall be anything which you desire to be done by me, I will never suffer you to ask anything of me in vain. When, these things having been said, he had been awakened from sleep, he saw those little pieces of reed scattered on the ground and his fingers brought back to health; and arising he gave thanks to the immortal God, that He had set him free both from pain and from the snares of the enemy. On account of which thing it plainly came about afterwards that, inflamed more and more toward God, he passed what remained of his life under a kind of stricter manner of living than it had been. For he who shall have been more moderate in life will be released from all evils; then he will pass it in the highest leisure and liberty.

ANNOTATIONS.

d. See ibid. num. 23.

m. Ibid. num. 51.

p. Of the chastity of the Blessed see ibid. num. 114.

q. Here num. 114 of the Commentary is to be compared.

CHAPTER II.

His assiduous prayer; frequent confession and communion; he is present at Mass daily; he frees the tempted by a miracle.

Prayer. Very great was his care of praying, by the assiduity of which he seemed wholly absorbed into heaven ^a. Whence that memorable thing is customarily proclaimed of him, that as often as he contemplated the humanity of Christ, so often Christ appeared to him in human form ^b; and when he pondered in his mind the most atrocious passion of Christ, He showed Himself to him again in the form of the crucified: moved by whose presence with a wonderful and incredible piety, he kissed each of the wounds of Christ and was refreshed very greatly. Yet the church itself, into which the brothers gathered for the chanting of psalms, he visited very rarely ^c; except when it was either a feast day or Mass was to be heard. For the place in which he dwelt was so near the church that he could distinctly perceive the voices of those chanting. He had with him in his chamber holy water, a cross, the image of our salvation, and a panel on which an image of the Virgin had been painted; to which his approach for the sake of praying was so frequent that the place was worn away, and the marks of his knees and feet and hands were seen impressed.

[6] He frees one of the brothers by a miracle from a grave temptation. They say that when once he was giving himself to prayer in that place, some of the brothers ran to the holy man, to tell him that brother Joachim, a certain youth, at the instigation of the evil spirit was about to withdraw from the order ^d. And the man of God Janbonus, solicitous for the salvation of the brother, at once entered the kitchen, ordered a great fire to be kindled, and sat there with the brothers. Then, setting forth many things about religion, many about the virtues, and many moreover about the heavenly kingdom, he exhorted them to persist in the service of God, and to love God with their whole heart. This done, he declared that neither fire nor water nor any kind of tribulation could cause any distress, God consoling all in their tribulations. These things said, he went into the kindled fire; then he rolled it about just as if it were mud, both with bare soles and for a long while. And when the brothers inquired how much harm Janbonus had received from this deed, they had found him unharmed * not even in his garment, although the flame had risen up to his knees. At the same moment of time also he snatched a burnt log from the fire, and fixed it in the ground outside the circuit of the house. A wonderful thing, and one to strike human minds with stupor: on the day on which that log was committed to the earth by the holy man, on the same it also put forth flowers. And not long after, when it had grown into a great tree, it also produced most abundant fruits. Admonished therefore by so many and so great signs, that youth gave thanks to God and to blessed Janbonus, and, as long as he lived, persevered in his holy purpose.

[7] [How intent he was on prayer; he is present at Mass daily; his frequent confession and communion.] Janbonus therefore was most intent on prayer, so much that not only did he not allow time to flow away through sloth, but not even a moment did he relax himself at all from prayer ^e; since from the first watch of the night up to the light of day, and from the light to evening, he was always free for meditation. The Lord's Prayer together with the angelic salutation ^f, and also the apostolic creed, and some psalms which he had committed to memory, he chanted alone to the Lord every day ^g. I should like now to question a little those who think that the kingdom of God is acquired only either in giving sermons to the people or in hearing the faults of others. What was ever lacking to this man for the fullness of praise? who could contend with almost all in abstinence, fortitude, justice, faith, hope, charity, and every kind of virtue. Although it seems to contribute enough toward seeking the virtues, toward pursuing justice, toward knowing God, yet I should believe it better to adhere to God and to place all hope in Him. I judge indeed that nothing is to be esteemed more illustrious, nothing more salutary and almost more divine, than that we, who have been brought forth into the light to live rightly, should live that life by which we may enjoy God and be clothed with a happy immortality. But to return to that from which we digressed, he let no day pass on which he did not hear the sacred mysteries of the Mass with all devotion ^h. And from the very consecration of the Body of Christ until the sacrifice was completed, tears always flowed from his eyes ⁱ. Two or three times in the week ^k he confessed his sins most diligently to any priest who offered himself. For he made no choice of anyone to whom he should make known his faults. On every Sunday also ^l he received holy Communion with such tears that sometimes the priest who was to refresh him with the sacrament delayed for a long time before he could raise himself and restrain himself from weeping.

[8] Br. Nascenbenus, doubtful about the truth of the Eucharist, But when once he was receiving the same sacrament of the altar ^m, a certain Nascenbenus, a brother in the same order, not believing that that is the true body of Christ which was immolated on the altar of the cross for the redemption of the human race, said to one of the brothers: I pray you, brother, let me speak with the holy man. He went in haste to Janbonus; and at once Nascenbenus, being summoned, when he had related many things, and had passed over in silence that for the sake of which he had come there: Do not, brother, said Janbonus, do not, I beseech you, hide the truth, but explain to me what you have turned over in your mind; I will tell you for what cause you have come to me. I will not conceal from you, brother, he said, anything which I judge to be true. To this Janbonus said: You indeed waver concerning the Lord's sacrament. For you do not believe that the substance of bread and wine can be converted into the true Body and Blood of Christ. To whom Nascenbenus said: You speak the truth, best father. Then Janbonus ordered him to withdraw thence for a little while to James, his confrere, until he should call them to himself.

[9] he heals by a miracle; And not after a long delay, having summoned them together with Daniel and John, when he saw them coming from afar, he commanded them to stay beside the spring (for there was a spring there not far from the holy man's little house ⁿ). Then Janbonus, taking a cup, went near the spring; where, after he had poured out prayers to God, he filled the cup. And again, kneeling, he prayed silently; he blessed it; and handed it to Nascenbenus, saying: Receive, brother, the gift of God; for all things are possible with God. He took it; and having put his lips to the cup, when he had drunk from it, he testified that he had drunk the best of wine. The others also who were then present drank twice from it; and confessed the same. And the holy man said to Nascenbenus: Do you see, son, that this water, through no merits of mine, but by the working of the power from above, has been changed into wine through me, an unprofitable servant of God? How much better will you do if, believing, you judge that at the voice of the priest uttering the Christian words, the bread and wine are converted into the true substance of the Body and Blood of Christ. By this miracle and these discourses Nascenbenus was confirmed in the faith, and promised that he would never doubt concerning the sacrament. Then Janbonus ordered all who were present together to gather in that place which religious are wont to call the chapter ^o; and he addressed them in these words: Do not think that I, but the Lord Jesus Christ, who can do all things, have wrought this miracle. For it is He who transforms water into wine, and one species into another. For the rest, to effect this I poured out this prayer alone: O Lord God almighty, show Thy truth and power, that these brothers may be able to be instructed, confirmed, and adorned with perfect faith in Thee. When he had said these things he commanded that they should set forth this deed to no one.

[10] and he repeats the same miracle for the sake of two others. On the following day also [p], when two brothers from Cisalpine Gaul were at Cesena, and doubted whether the miracles which were being worked through Janbonus were true, especially that he had changed water into wine, and would in no way believe unless they also saw this themselves; when he learned it through the report of certain brothers, in order to make them firmer in faith and in the divine service (for they were then about to take up the journey into Cisalpine Gaul), taking a certain wooden vessel, when he had come to the spring, he filled it with water. Then, as before, having made a prayer, he handed it to the brothers to drink. And they, when they had tasted of it, believed the man of God; and said: Most certain, father, are the things which are reported of you. What can there now be to deter us from believing, when we have seen water made wine by your prayers? After this indeed we shall be not unbelieving, but full of faith.

ANNOTATIONS.

d. See ibid. num. 94.

p. Calepino here throws two miracles of water changed into wine into one, and from him we too were deceived in the Commentary num. 94; see the process num. 7 and 22.

* harmed

* minute or least

* or ever

CHAPTER III.

He suffers persecutions from the demon and from men. Of his abstinence, fasts, gift of tears and silence.

He suffers persecutions from the demon, While, then, the holiness of Janbonus increased day by day and many signs were done through him, the devil envied his happy deeds; and he pursued him with such hatred that as often as he gave himself to prayer, he took the form ^a now of a cat, now of a serpent, now of an ape and of other beasts of that kind, namely so that the holy man should not complete the prayer he had begun. But not even this seemed to the devil enough for storming the mind of the holy man. For once when he had made an end of praying, he was at once thrown to the ground by the demon. And although in falling he had struck his head heavily against the earth, yet, protected by divine help, he rose without blood ^b. And on another day, taking a man's form, he opened his chamber with a great rush ^c. Seeing which, Janbonus, and thinking it a man, asked who he was. I am Satan, he answered. To whom the man of God said: Then you are he who persecutes me so much. Satan said: I am indeed; and I promise that greater things than these will come from me. Then the man of God said: I do not fear you, for my lord Jesus Christ is with me as a strong warrior. Satan departed; and on the following night, a stone having been thrown into the chamber, he struck the forehead of Janbonus: from which wound, plainly, only water flowed out. But so great a pain arose that for three days and nights, praying, he not only did not eat or drink, but did not even take sleep.

[12] and from men. His abstinence. And not from the demon alone, but also from mortals; and both from his own and from the Friars Minor ^d he suffered many snares: which, however, he always bore with an even mind. For he knew that the apostle had written that those who wish to live piously must suffer various persecutions. There were therefore some malevolent and pestilent men, full of wicked thought, who disparaged his life; and, countless injuries having been inflicted, they strove with the utmost zeal that he should be brought forward as a defendant before Otto, bishop of Cesena ^e. Bearing all which with equanimity, concerning the things which were objected against himself and his own, he cleared himself humbly and prudently before all. And that he might show himself a true emulator of our Saviour, he prayed assiduously for his persecutors: and did them good as far as he could. The abstinence of this most holy man ^f and the frugality of life by which he took care to bring his body into subjection, I would rather wonder at than say anything about; which is said to have been so great in him that no one of those whose memory is celebrated among the historians can be worthily compared with him. We always except John the Baptist, who was sanctified before he was born. Nor does it escape me that very many in a former time were illustrious in Egypt, of whom it is established that some led their life on the roots of herbs, some on fruits, others on bread and water. But one who lived so long and so sparingly as this one Janbonus has not yet, so far as I have read, been handed down to memory. For he never used meat ^g, not even when sick; but, Sundays only ^h excepted, always fasting, he fed sometimes on fruits, sometimes on herbs or roots, at times on bread and water. And not even on these to satiety, since any single person took as much food in one day as he did in eight days ⁱ.

[13] The Lenten fast, What of this? Ought not that which was handed down by those who were acquainted with his life to seem wonderful and almost incredible to all? For he kept three Lents in three successive years, yet in a certain different manner of living ^k: one of which he fasted in such a way that on the first day he took nothing besides the Eucharist; but on the following day, a loaf of three ounces ^l having been divided into as many particles as there were days to the Lord's Supper, he ate a particle ^m on each day. He then used also a little wine ⁿ, and that plainly mixed with the broth of vegetables before it was seasoned with salt or oil. And when the day had come on which the Lord supped together with His disciples, that portion of bread which was left over increased so much by his prayers ^o that it sufficed all the brothers to satiety [p]. But from that day to the resurrection he remained without food. The second Lent he completed by fasting thus [q]. For on the first day he ate as much bread as is a host. On the second, four roots of parsley. On the third he took seven beans for food. On the fourth again he took bread in that measure which he had used on the first day; and thus with alternating foods he persevered up to the day of the Lord's supper. On which, namely, on account of reverence for the sacrament, which they report was then instituted, he wished to be present at table with the brothers. The third *, however, on account of the sickness from which he suffered for many days before that Lent [r], he used for thirteen days bread of three ounces [s] together with the brothers' victuals; but on each day afterwards they say he took only as much bread as is the size of a denarius [t]. These things I should hold wholly incredible, since they seem to be beyond human strength, did not sworn witnesses give me assurance.

[14] how he passed it. His gift of tears and silence. But of the fast of the Lents it has been read otherwise elsewhere [u]. For there were those who testified that Janbonus in the first Lent ate only a host with the broth of legumes each day [x]; but in the second divided one loaf into forty parts, and took one part each day, and from the Lord's Supper abstained altogether from all nourishment [y]. But let us leave these things to be discussed by others. It is established also that Janbonus afflicted himself with the forty-day fast three times a year [z]; and chiefly in that in which after the resurrection he took only three [aa] beans each day. But while he was present at the common table he mostly mixed his food with weeping; so that tears almost always flowed from his eyes [bb], nor could he in any way, even wishing it, restrain them. Meanwhile, while he was fasting, he kept the utmost silence [cc], so that he spoke with no one except under the greatest pressing cause.

ANNOTATIONS.

i. Ibid, num. 72.

p. In very many Lents the Blessed used a single loaf, and in the Lents of the years 1248 Process num. 17, 277., 1249 Ibid. num. 176, 286, 301, 312. and perhaps in others, he distributed the remains of that loaf to the brothers of the convent: which Br. James, who served him, narrates of the year 1248 in this manner: But on the very day of the Lord's Supper he had all his brothers called, who were XXX, and gave the witness himself two pieces of the aforesaid pieces, and to each brother one, and commanded them to eat at once Ibid. num. 17. Elsewhere nothing is said of such a command, but it is said that the Blessed sent the remains to the brothers, which the brothers received with great devotion; and some ate their particles, and some kept their portions until

the present day. So Br. Grecus in the year 1254 Ibid. num. 277. From which it is manifest that their portion by no means sufficed the brothers to satiety, as Calepino says.

q. In what follows the Lent of the year 1237 is treated; see annotation k.

r. These things took place in the year 1249; see ibid.

s. See Annotation l.

t. Compare the Commentary num. 76.

u. The right order of the successive Lents we indicated in the Commentary num. 73 and following, and it was said at num. 78 that most of the Lents were similar to one another.

x. These things are to be referred to the Lent of the year 1248. Compare the Commentary num. 74.

y. These things were kept in very many Lents. Compare the Commentary n. 78.

z. These things are taken from St. Antoninus above p. 747, num. 3; but that they are not consonant with the truth has been shown in the Commentary num. 77.

aa. Of a Lent kept after the feast of Easter, or of three beans daily, which are taken from the Summary of St. Antoninus, the process is utterly silent. See the Commentary num. 77.

bb. Of the gift of tears in Blessed John see the Commentary num. 99 and 100.

cc. With how great perseverance he kept silence see ibid. num. 81.

* In the third

CHAPTER IV.

Of the other virtues of the Blessed. Some miracles; the gift of prophecy. How great was the concourse to him.

The beds of penance of Blessed John, and his ordinary bed. He had built for himself three couches in his chamber ^a; one indeed in this manner: he made a pit to the measure of his body, in which, sharp pieces of wood having been fixed, when at times he had brought back to memory the most bitter passion of the Saviour, he stretched himself out upon them; by which his body was so wounded on every side that no part of it remained unhurt: and for a long time, weeping from the memory of the passion of Christ, he endured in that pain. The second was a pit in which he lay when he was going to afflict himself more mildly. This was more hollow on one side than on the other. And laying his head in the more sloping place, he stretched his feet toward the higher part for as long as it took him to finish saying the Lord's prayer two hundred times. Some who had frequent familiarity with him said that as often as he had stayed in that pit, so often he suffered vehemently from swelling of the head. But when he had to refresh himself a little, he had a third couch, namely an oaken plank, over which sometimes a cloak, which he had been accustomed to use when sick, was spread. On it, just as a feather pillow, sometimes a little sack full of straw, sometimes the stump of a tree was placed.

[16] The rain ceases at his prayer. But one night, when, wearied, he had given himself to sleep on that couch, and the brothers were striving to raise a certain building from the foundations (all things necessary for constructing that work had also been prepared), in the silence of the dead of night so vehement and so sudden a rain came that on account of the flood of waters the completion of that structure was despaired of. Wherefore they go at once to the holy man, and beseech him with many prayers that he would be willing to entreat for them and for so necessary a work Him who commands the winds and the sea, that, the foundation of the wall having been laid, He would permit it to be raised into a structure. The holy man rises immediately, and pours out prayers for them most devoutly. A thing wonderful to tell! while he was praying, not even a small cloud remaining, the rain ceased. And thus by the merits of Janbonus on the following day the brothers girded themselves for the work. Then Janbonus, questioning the workmen, said to them: Do you believe that God hears His servants? They answered: We believe. Be you also, then, he said, servants and friends of God ^b.

[17] His garments. He never uses the help of physicians. Garments, except those by which he was covered, were held by him in contempt ^c, content with only a woollen tunic and hood: which he wore both in winter and in summer. Under this he was clothed with a tow shirt without sleeves, on account of the haemorrhoids from which he continually suffered. He walked very often barefoot; sometimes also, for greater affliction of his body, he used heavy wooden shoes made with no art ^d. No counsel of physicians, although sick, did he ever admit, asserting that He was present with him as physician who healed bodies and minds ^e.

[18] Hatred of heretics and schismatics. Zeal for souls; other virtues. He was always held faithful; for he avoided and execrated heretics, schismatics and all who shrank from Christian truth, no otherwise than as most foul monsters ^f. But since he judged that he was born not for himself alone but also begotten for the advantage of the rest; and knew also that some day an account must be rendered to God of the talents entrusted to him: he gathered some ^g whom, by reason of his office, he might instruct in religion and holiness. For as he was born for comeliness, for uprightness and for the right ordering of life, so above all he had a special care of cultivating virtue. So also he lived with every kind of mortals that he deservedly seemed a good man and a cultivator of justice. The highest integrity, continence, gravity and moderation of life. So well did he keep that comeliness in his whole life that not even a light word ^h or deed was found in him unworthy of a good and grave man. With such constancy and prudence, moreover, were all the parts of his life conducted that he never showed either change of will or variety of opinion.

[19] [Clemency. Zeal for the perfection of the brothers; the gift of prophecy. The concourse to him;] He was clement by nature, as one who forgot nothing more than injuries done to him; nay, for those who wished him ill and his detractors he not only prayed, but also did them good more abundantly than to others ⁱ. His manners were easy and inclined to gentleness. He was of such kindness and humanity that he seemed as it were the common parent of all ^k. Such benevolence did he show toward his brothers that when he was in company he addressed them with all humanity ^l, and listened patiently. And, what is to be much esteemed, he was simple and open, a cultivator of truth, peaceable, humble ^m, one who was neither broken by adversity nor lifted up by prosperity. In what pertains to the salvation of the soul, he was most diligent toward the brothers ⁿ, no otherwise than good and worthy parents are wont to be. He loved poverty ^o, kept concord, and cherished innocence. Why do I delay with many words? He so embraced all the virtues that they seemed to have made their dwelling in him. And he exhorted the brothers daily to pursue humility, to maintain kindness, to undertake willingly the endurance of evils; and finally he endeavoured to lead them, by word and example alike, to embrace the other kinds of virtues, with which he himself was the most adorned of all. By which merits plainly he is said to have been so pleasing to God that he could even foretell future things by narrating them. For he prophesied many things to the brothers, many to those who came to him [p]. He also made manifest the secrets of the heart when there was need [q]. After, moreover, he had completed this mortal life [r], he shone with so many and so great signs that to his name, spread far and wide, peoples flocked together both from almost the whole world and from Emilia, Liguria and Venetia [s]; of whom some came thither for the sake of recovering health, being troubled with various ailments: some, moved by a certain special devotion, went to the holy man in order to contemplate the institute of his life. Whence it came about that very many, when they had perceived his holiness, putting behind them secular desires, took up the religious habit [t].

[20] [from which he strives to withdraw himself. He frees a youth of Forlì from a demon.] But when, on account of the frequent and long-continued visits both of men and of women, the most holy man perceived that he was hindered from being free for meditations according to his custom and purpose, he resolved to go back to his own country. When therefore he had secretly departed from the place in the evening, and through the whole following night had travelled through the woods not without great labour, thinking that he had set out toward Mantua, he found himself at daybreak in that place from which he had departed in the evening [u]. Which indeed must be thought to have happened to him not without a great design of God. For at that very same hour [x] the brothers announced that a certain youth of Forlì, troubled by a demon, was being brought for cure, on which account he should come down to free him. Now this youth had for a long time been possessed by a demon; whom his father and all his friends, hoping that he would be cured by the merits of Janbonus, decided to bring to Cesena. And as they drew near the city, the Eruginus [y] began to cry out: Let me go, I know well whither you are leading me; I will never go to Janbonus. And saying these things, with foaming lips, he rolled on the ground. Then those who were accompanying him carried him into the church. And when he had been brought in, he was soon released from the unclean spirit by the intercession of the man of God; and returned home safe and sound with joy.

ANNOTATIONS.

e. See ibid. num. 71.

i. Commentary num. 117.

k. Ibid. num. 104.

l. Ibid. num. 103.

m. Ibid. num. 118.

n. Ibid. and num. 103.

o. Ibid. num. 115.

p. Ibid. num. 95.

q. Ibidem.

r. After … he had completed. This part of the phrase is to be cut out, as is clear from what follows.

s. Commentary num. 101 and following.

t. Ibid. num. 102.

u. That this narrative deserves little credence was said in the Commentary num. 104.

x. A circumstance of this kind is not expressed in the process. Compare the process num. 32.

y. Eruginus. I do not think it was his name, but that it was wrongly written for: Ergumenus. Compare p. 755 annotation p.

CHAPTER V.

Toward the end of his life the Blessed returns to Mantua; he foretells several things; his death.

[The Blessed is warned from heaven that he must go away to Mantua; there he is honourably received: he foretells his imminent death.] And now the time had come in which God, the maker of heaven, was to present with the robe of immortality His faithful servant, who had deserved well of religion, of the regular institutes, and of the Christian faith; since his virtue seemed sufficiently seen and sufficiently proved. He sent to him an angel ^a to say: Janbonus, servant beloved of God, arise quickly, and go back to your native land. For thus it has pleased God, that after your falling asleep your body should in your native soil

be committed to the earth ^b, and the greatest honour be shown it by mortals. Come, soldier of Christ, make haste to receive the reward desired for your labours. When he heard these things, Janbonus at once arose, and with an early step took up the journey toward Mantua ^c. And although while on his way he desired to remain unknown to all, he was recognised by all (such a fragrance of holiness did he bear before him), all showing him the highest honour everywhere. For a lamp placed upon a lampstand could not but shine, since it had been lit in that place for this purpose, that its light might be spread everywhere. But after the man of God Janbonus had come near the city of Mantua, a copious multitude of men ^d went out to meet him with great applause, saying with one voice: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And when he had come to the place of the brothers which was called St. Agnes ^e in the suburb of Porto, there, on account of the singular and incredible devotion with which all the Mantuans attended him, an oratory was built for him as soon as possible ^f; where also he stayed eleven days with all care, zeal and diligence in divine contemplation. But before the eleventh day, the brothers being gathered together, he foretold that the dissolution of his body would be on the following day.

[22] He is said to have raised a dead man to life there. At the same hour a certain youth, who was the only son of a widowed mother, died. And when the mother was greatly tormented by the death of her offspring, she heard from people telling her that she should take the road to Janbonus before he ended his life. And she, when she received this, taking up her son, went at once to the holy man. And after she had gone in to him, and had found him praying more intently (for he was waiting for what had been promised by the Lord to be performed for him), she cast herself at his feet, and beseeching with many tears entreated that her dead son might be allowed to enjoy the breath of life. And the man of God, moved with mercy, stretched out his hand over the youth, and poured out prayers for him; and at once he who had been dead came forth alive ^g. And the mother and all who stood by, having seen the greatness of the miracle, gave immense thanks to God, who had conferred such power upon a man.

[23] On the following day, therefore, on which Janbonus was to be dissolved that he might be with Christ, he exhorted ^h the brothers who were standing about him that ⁱ they should always cherish charity, keep chastity, obedience, and embrace the other virtues, [He exhorts the brothers; he foretells that his body will long be given over to oblivion.] as far as it could be done: for he was very solicitous that as he himself, so they also should be saved. But after he had made an end of speaking, and with hands joined had raised his eyes to heaven, one of the brothers, questioning him, said: What do you think will become of your corpse, best father, when you have met your death? To whom blessed Janbonus answered in these words: Rejoice together, you who remain in the service of God. I will set forth to you what God has determined concerning this vile little body. The soul, when it has put off this fleshly garment, through the exceeding clemency and goodness of God, will be taken up with the angels; but my body will be committed to the earth by you, through which for many years God will show very many signs. But days will come in which no memory of me, nor of the past signs, will remain among men. But at length, at the will of God, it will then be greatly honoured, when it has been in great part given over to oblivion; at which time indeed it will be of such esteem that the fame of his name will be spread throughout the whole world. And so, since I am now about to depart hence, I have judged that you should once more be admonished to follow Christ, God the Saviour, sincerely. For He it is who for good deeds grants grace in the present world, and in the future bestows glory to endure without end.

[24] His death; miracles. Scarcely had he spoken these things when a countless multitude of angels ^k stood about him, and a voice sounded from heaven: Come, my beloved, come, it is time that you should feast with your brothers in the kingdom of my father. And he at this voice, suffused with no small gladness of countenance, in the eightieth year of his age, and in the year from the birth of Christ one thousand two hundred and forty-nine, on the tenth of the calends of October ^l, the counts of Casalodi ^m reigning at Mantua, when he had completed forty years in the hermitage, and had received all the ecclesiastical Sacraments, the house of this habitation being dissolved, received a house to endure for ever ⁿ. Who now could enumerate the signs, who could duly commit to letters the prodigies which on that very day ^o were shown by the merits of Janbonus? For from the city of Mantua, and also from the neighbouring towns, men and women, old and young, boys and girls, the blind, the possessed [p], the lame, the deaf, the dumb, lepers, the feeble, and those troubled with various other sicknesses, flocked together to see the body of the holy man: to most of whom also remedies were granted.

ANNOTATIONS.

b. See ibid. num. 165.

p. Calepino here and in other places writes ergumini for energumeni, which he did also in his very well-known dictionary. The Greeks, however, used only the word ἐνεργουμενοι.

CHAPTER VI.

The body is committed to the earth. After the course of many years it is translated into the city. The miracle of the kindled tapers, and others.

Burial. The body is translated into the city. The funeral supplications having been performed according to custom, while each one cried out and said: Holy Janbonus of God, intercede for us, that most holy body was given to burial at the church of St. Agnes ^a in the suburb of Porto of Mantua. And when it had been buried there for many courses ^b of years, and did not afterwards seem placed in a safe spot, since it rested outside the walls of the city, the Mantuan people built within the city a mausoleum ^c of marble, adorned with gilded images of the Apostles, in which the remains of so holy a man might be laid. For the accomplishing of which thing the clergy and people, gathered together with much pomp, came to the place in which the body of the holy man had been entombed. Which plainly, when it had been dug up with the highest veneration, they report was found so entire ^d that not even a hair seemed to have fallen from his head. A proof of this indeed is the cowl ^e in which he had been clothed; the girdle also and the biretta ^f are seen even now as unharmed as if they had never been buried. On that account, all chanting psalms, with the highest honour among the hermit brothers they carried it into the more illustrious place of the church which is called the new St. Agnes. Where, divine power cooperating, diverse kinds of healings are related to have been granted. For a woman ^g who for many years had suffered in her eyes, when, full of faith, she touched the holy man, was at once made well. Some were cured of contraction of the limbs, some of fistulas, others of swelling of the belly. Those also who suffered paralysis, or withering, or gout, or a stroke of the body, which in Greek we call apoplexy, or the comitial disease, and who suffered various other ailments, were restored to their former health. Three blind men moreover received their sight; a deaf man heard, and one who was almost dead obtained health.

[26] The miracle of the kindled taper and candles. But who could worthily extol in words that which was done while the translation of the holy man was being made? For a huge taper ^h is related to have been made, around which many candles had been set. When men were carrying this, lit, before the sacred body, and the brothers, clothed according to custom in sacred vestments, had gone out to meet it, and all, rejoicing, had already drawn near to the church in which it was to be laid, that taper went out together with the candles. From which thing all, struck with grief, began to be saddened in a wonderful manner. For it was so tall that it could not easily be lit. But when they were going forward thus sorrowful, and were already standing on the very threshold of the church, and many, beseeching, said: Saint of God, to the praise of thy name pour in grace, by which this taper may be lit up with thy light; suddenly, all seeing it, it was lit. Then the shout went up to the stars; and there was such jubilation among the Mantuans as never before. For each one, singing, glorified Him who deigned to do wonders in His saints. And there is for the Mantuan people a chief solemnity which is celebrated on the calends of May in perennial memory of this translation. In which the people itself is wont every single year, from the public treasury, through the praetor and the other magistrates of the city, to offer very many tapers to St. Janbonus.

[27] Of other miracles of the Blessed. The other countless signs also and kinds of powers which, by the favour of divine grace, this most blessed Janbonus worked, both while he was still living, and at the translation, and finally in the times that followed, as they have been approved by most illustrious and most evident witnesses, so we have thought they should be written out, that they may appear more manifestly to all. So that by the instruction of so holy a confessor Janbonus men may learn, having cast away the perishable and dying things of this life, to cleave to God, best and greatest: who, since He is most gracious, whatever faithful servants He finds, not only adorns them here with great gifts, but also makes them immortal. And that a certain order may be kept in setting forth the miracles, first indeed

we are going to speak of those things which he did while living; then of those after his death ⁱ.

ANNOTATIONS.

SECOND BOOK.

Miracles which the Blessed worked while he lived.

FIRST CHAPTER.

[Although unlettered, he defends the truth against a man learned in the law in a matrimonial cause.] When St. Janbonus was once walking about the hermitage, he came upon two ^a jurists disagreeing with each other over a certain cause of matrimony. And when it had been long disputed between them, and inquiry had been made with great diligence in the codex which is commonly called the Decretals, and they had found nothing which pertained to the matter, Janbonus asked them for what reason they were wrangling so much. They answered: We are seeking such a question, and we cannot find it. Bring me the book, he said, and I will point out what you seek. The book therefore was brought, and, very few leaves having been turned over, he showed the chapter on that matter. And they extolled Janbonus with the highest praises, and, admiring his holiness, gave glory to God, saying: Truly this man has spoken from the Holy Spirit; since he never learned letters, and has never seen this codex.

[29] A she-wolf renders him obedience. A certain she-wolf ^b, carrying a cub in her jaws, and fleeing a copious multitude of men who were pursuing her with dogs for the sake of capturing her, came beside the little house of Janbonus. When he had seen her, he ordered her to stay there. She stood, and having put down her cub, gazed at the holy man. He said to her: Do you wish to go away from here? do not fear. The she-wolf, fawning on the holy man with her movements, showed a certain gladness. Make your way by this road, said Janbonus (having shown the path by which she should go), in safety. Then the she-wolf, snatching up her cub, rejoicing, departed without harm. Which deed Janbonus very often related for the sake of instructing the brothers; bringing it forward to them as an example, that they should both always comply with their superiors and apply themselves most attentively to the divine services.

[30] Disease of the joints driven off by a miracle James ^c, a lay brother, had already been ten years in the service of the holy man, when Rainerius, his uncle, suffered so much from a disease of the joints that he seemed to have lost not only his right hand together with the arm, but also his whole side. And when for four months he had contracted the greatest pains from that disease, James visited him. And after he had consoled him with soothing words, he returned to blessed Janbonus, beseeching him to intercede with God for his uncle. And when, at the prayers of James, the most holy man had persevered in prayer, he ordered James to inquire diligently in what state the health of Rainerius stood. He went therefore, and behold, before he had come near the house, he saw Rainerius going into the vineyards to work. And when he asked how he was, he answered that he had been entirely freed from his sickness. James therefore knew that his uncle had been cured at the hour at which the man of God had poured out prayers for him. And Rainerius was afterwards free from that infirmity. On account of which thing he loved and glorified God with his whole heart, so great a power having been shown in a mortal man.

[31] Likewise one with epilepsy. This James also had a certain kinswoman, Maria by name ^d, who was so afflicted with the comitial disease that very often, foaming and gnashing with her teeth, she lay half-dead on the ground. On account of which it came about that her husband held her so hateful, and so shuddered at the disease itself, that separation was being thought of. Mary's mother also was greatly distressed on this account; who went to James, and earnestly asked him to entreat the man of God Janbonus to intercede for her daughter. For she hoped, nay was confident, that she would be altogether healed by the prayers of Janbonus. Which he did not unwillingly. Blessed Janbonus, therefore, being asked by James, and appealed to by the woman's tears, said to the woman: Go back home; I will gladly perform what is mine to do: for I will ask my Lord that He show mercy to your daughter. And from that hour the woman was cured of the infirmity. And she afterwards bore children to her husband, although before she had in no way been able to conceive.

[32] A demoniac woman cured. Guerula ^e, a girl eighteen years old, while setting out to draw water from a well, is suddenly seized by a demon. And he began afterwards so to vex her that, throwing her to the ground, he in no way allowed her to return home. This being known, her parents carried her home in their arms, although she resisted: where with great difficulty they held her a day and a night. But since the girl seemed to be tormented excessively, they led her to a neighbouring church and watched her there. And the priest of that church asked her who it was by whom the demon was to be expelled. And the girl answered: Zanboninus. Then Ugo, to whose service she had been bound, sent messengers to blessed Janbonus, that he should beseech the Lord Jesus Christ for the girl's cure. And blessed Janbonus then ordered certain of the brothers to go to inquire into the girl's state. And so, as they were hastening to fulfil the paternal command, and when they had already entered upon the road to the church, the girl at once began to cry out and to say: Behold, they come; behold, they come. Who are they that come? said the priest. The Janbonine ^f brothers, she said. But when the brothers had arrived and signed her with the sign of the cross, she was vexed exceedingly, spitting in their faces. Seeing what was being done, they departed thence, and related to Janbonus how the matter had stood; and they asked him to pour out prayers for the girl: which he promised that he would do most willingly. After, therefore, he had prayed, he said to the brothers: Tomorrow, at the first light of day, the girl will be restored to health. And when morning was come, he again ordered those brothers to inquire about the girl's health. Whom they found so cured that she was never afterwards possessed by the unclean spirit. This sign Janbonus did while on the Lord's Nativity the introit was being sung for the second Mass.

[33] Other diseases driven off: an ulcer in the hip; Maria, born in the city of Cesena ^g, suffered from such a kind of ulcer in the hip that she could be cured by no physician. When therefore there seemed to remain no further hope of her health, she asked her husband to take the road to Janbonus, that by his entreaty she might deserve to obtain a remedy. The husband did what she had bidden; and not long after she herself also, though with the greatest difficulty, went to the holy man; and asked that he would pray the Lord for her health. To whom the holy man answered: Bear up, sister, and ask God that He deign to heal you. And when she pressed on more earnestly with prayers, Janbonus said: Placing all your hope in the Lord God, believe firmly that you can be freed from your sickness. I believe, she said, that if you ask God for me, I shall be cured at once of my infirmity. Then Janbonus ordered three leaves of plantain to be brought to him; and when he had held them out to the woman, he said: These

lay upon the place of the disease; and the Lord will cure you today. And so the woman departed, rejoicing, to her house, and when she had done what she had been bidden, on the following day, made almost whole, she returned to the holy man; and afterwards, entirely cured of that wound, went back to her home.

[34] The same James, of whom mention was made a little before, reported fistula; that Bonzanus ^h, a brother in the same order, was gravely ill in his right side from a fistula, and, having been cut four times by the physicians, when all hope of recovering health had been lost, said: Do you think, my brother James, that if I go to our father, brother Janbonus, I shall come out well? There is need of faith, said James; and if you judge that you have so much of it that you think you can be healed by his merits, beyond doubt you will be cured. Bonzanus therefore went, with two brothers, to the place in which the brothers were staying; where such force of fever attacked him that, continually worn out by it for three days, he could not go to blessed Janbonus. For Janbonus did not dwell with the others; but was separated by a small interval. The sick brother, therefore, seeing that he was hindered by the fevers from going to the holy man, sent one of his companions to beseech Janbonus that, having made prayer to the Lord, he would be willing to bestow the health which he desired. When Janbonus had heard him, he said: Say this to the invalid: Janbonus bids you be of good courage; for the Lord will restore you to health at once. When therefore he who had been sent returned to the sick man, he found him freed not only from the fever but also from the ulcers. And when Bonzanus, made whole, had met the holy man, and had given him undying thanks for such great services conferred upon him, and wished to show the scar: Go with the Lord, said Janbonus; in the space of three days you have obtained health; but I am by no means going to look at the marks of your ulcers. Then he, rejoicing, returned at once to Bologna, whence he had departed.

[35] demoniacal possession. A certain youth of Forlì, seized by a demon ⁱ, was tormented very much by him. And his father and all his kinsfolk, knowing the holiness of Janbonus, said within themselves: If we bring him to the man of God, without doubt he will be restored to health. And when they had brought him to that place which the holy man was accustomed to frequent: I know, said the youth, whither you wish to lead me; but I will by no means come there. But when he had been carried by force into the church, one of the three went in haste to Janbonus, and said: You must, father, come down to heal the possessed man lying in the church. Janbonus answered: Do you also ask God for him; for I am going to do the same. And not long after Janbonus came into the church, and rebuking the demon who lurked in the man, said: Why do you vex a Christian youth so much? Go out of him in the name of Christ. I will not go out, the demon answered. Then Janbonus, having imprinted the sign of the cross on the youth, commanded the demon to depart as soon as possible. I will go out, he said; but another stronger than I is going to invade him. The demon therefore having gone out, Janbonus handed him over to his father, saying: Lead him gently, and exhort him to fear nothing on the way. But after they had departed thence to return home, and the youth remembered the vexation which he had suffered, he became afraid, so that that terror exceeded the former. And so a demon worse than the former invaded the youth again, and began there to vex him more and more. Those who were accompanying him, seeing this, went back as quickly as possible to the man of God. And he again prayed the Lord for the youth; and at once the spirit departed, and not with a loud cry, nor did any of the demons afterwards dare to invade him.

[36] Knowledge of hearts: the foretelling of future things. Michael, of Verona, and Zonta ^k, of Mantua, brothers in the same order, were together with St. Janbonus. And as the man of God gazed at Zonta, Zonta's face was at once suffused with redness. Again, when he had cast his eyes upon him, that redness was turned into pallor. Then Janbonus said to Michael: Do you think there is anyone who could express the secrets of the heart of this Zonta? What will you say when I have set them forth before you? Michael answered: Speak, father. Then Janbonus, turning to Zonta, said: The day before yesterday, in the silence of the dead of night, when you had risen from your couch, having made a little bundle of your things, you had decided to go out of the enclosure of the brothers. And having tied up your clothes, on the following night you came to the gate, to go out thence secretly, but fearing to be caught by the brothers, you returned to your place. You thought, moreover, that as soon as Matthew, the prior general, had arrived here, you would ask of him leave to stay elsewhere, so that a greater occasion for going out might be made. To whom Zonta said: True, father, are all the things you have said. Then Janbonus admonished him not to desert the regular institutes; but, trusting in the Lord, always to obey the divine precepts. Then, when he had spoken these things, he added: There is one thing, Zonta, of which I have judged that you should now be warned, and which you will by no means observe. He said: Say, father, what you will. As soon, said Janbonus, as you go out of the gate, you will lose body and soul together. These things said, Janbonus departed. And Zonta indeed, after three days, putting behind him the admonitions of the holy man, set out for Ravenna. Where, when he had been taken for theft, he was for a long time beaten with stripes through the middle of the city. And had not the prayers of the brothers availed very greatly with the praetor, he would have ended his life by the noose. But being released, while he wandered through various cities, at length, to the perdition of his soul, he was furtively made a priest. How much this profited him the outcome of things shows. For when he had exercised the priesthood for five years, and had placed no hope in God, at the instigation of the devil he threw himself into a well, and there ended his life as a laughing-stock.

[37] Another foretelling of future things. The same Michael reported that when Bonacolta, Mark, and certain other brothers of the same order had written down the deeds of Janbonus ^l, and there were some who not only gave no credence to the miracles but even derided the very books in which they had been written, Janbonus, seizing a knife, cut up all those little books. And when the brothers who had committed those miracles to writing had reported this to Michael, he, moved by a certain pain of heart, is said to have reproved the holy man with somewhat harsh words. To whom Janbonus said: Do you not believe that God, who was my guide while I lived, will also be so when I am dead? I believe it fully, Michael said. Then the man of God said: I would have you know that, when I have finished with this worldly light, God so willing, such signs will be given in the world that from them such honour will be paid by men to this little body of mine as was never paid to any by the apostles. To whom Michael said: Can these things in no way be done by the dwellers of Cesena? This body, said Janbonus, will be given to burial at Mantua, whence it took its origin, and there it will be held in the highest esteem. For my dissolution will be for destruction to the heretics who gather there, but for great firmness to the faithful.

ANNOTATIONS.

SECOND CHAPTER.

A cancer healed. Bonjanus ^a, of Bologna, a priest of his order, suffered for many days from that disease which they call cancer; and it was a kind of ulcer incurable in the judgement of the physicians. And when no hope of recovering health was left, he said to the brothers who were staying with him at Bologna: I trust indeed that I shall be entirely cured by the merits of Janbonus, if only I could make my way to him. For as often as I look upon his image painted on the wall, so often my pain is relieved, so that I seem to suffer nothing. All therefore counselled him to go to Janbonus, since all his hope seemed to be placed in him. And the opportunity of going to the holy man having been given (for the general prior was then staying at Bologna), with certain brothers, as he could, he entered upon the road toward Cesena. But after he had stopped, wearied from the journey, in the church of St. Mary, and could not go to the house which Janbonus inhabited, he sent men to beseech him to commend him most devoutly to the Lord. Which being heard, the man of God Janbonus said to the messenger: Let Bonjanus trust in God. For he will not depart from among the living by reason of this sickness. And so the messenger came to the sick man, and set forth what he had learned from the holy man. A thing worthy of memory: on that day, before the sun set, he who seemed incurable was made well; so that after five days, whole and glad in all his limbs, he returned to Bologna.

[39] A planted almond at once puts forth leaves; John, surnamed de Barba ^b, a lay religious in the same order, asserted, even with an oath added, that when once Janbonus, accompanied by

some brothers, was walking about the garden, and had in his hand an almond with its dry shell, he planted it in the presence of all: and it at that very same hour put forth leaves. And not long after, some time having intervened, being transplanted elsewhere, it grew into so great a tree that every year it produced most pleasing fruits.

[40] likewise another half-burnt log. The same John moreover narrated that, while all were looking on, Janbonus, having snatched from a fire a certain half-burnt little branch of cherry, planted it in the garden ^c; and that after a few days it put forth leaves and branches. When this became widely known through that region, very many flocked together thither from various places to see it. But since the most holy man sought no glory of the world, and did not wish to be celebrated among the peoples with any honour of holiness, he soon pulled it up and carried it home. Where, having called certain brothers, he showed them that brand having little branches without roots (for it seemed a burnt stump, not a plant), and said to those standing round: Behold, the stump which you see half-burnt will yet bear pleasing fruits. After this, when it had been planted by Janbonus not far from the house, it both grew very much and bore fruit.

[41] He announces to one that death is near; Perinus ^d, prior at the hospital which is called of the Holy Spirit, outside Rimini, perceiving that from a grave sickness which he had contracted no hope of living was left him, sent Albert, a priest in the same hospital, to John de Barba, beseeching him to go to Janbonus and ask that, prayer having been made, he might be made more certain whether he was to live or to die. John, therefore, desiring to comply with Perinus, as soon as possible took the road toward Cesena; met the holy man, and diligently carried out what had been committed to him. And Janbonus, when he received these things, said: Rest, brother, until morning; afterwards you will go away from here. And when twilight followed, Janbonus ordered the messenger to come to him, and said to him: You will report these things to Perinus: From the bed on which you have gone up you will not rise, but you will die shortly. On the sixth day, therefore, after John had reported these things, Perinus departed from life.

[42] to another, that he will recover health. The same John de Barba said that when he himself was so violently wasted by a cough ^e that from its greatness he thought death was imminent, Janbonus visited him. For, kind as he was, he very often consoled the sorrowful and afflicted. And when words had been exchanged back and forth, John said: Pray for me, father; for it may be that I shall perish on account of this cough. To whom the man of God answered nothing, but at once went away to his place. And not long after, Janbonus returned to him, and said: Do not fear; for you will not die, but, having obtained health, you will remain after me. And so he who had suffered from the cough came out well within three days.

[43] The cracks in a dish vanish. When Janbonus had set a wooden dish ^f out in the sun to dry, and had returned not long after to remove it, he found it full of cracks. He therefore inquired of John, of whom mention was made a little before, and said to him: What do you think must be done, since I have found the dish split? The brother said to him: It can be mended with iron or bronze wire. Janbonus said to him: Leave it thus. And a little after: Look, John, he said, what the Lord has done concerning the dish. He looked, and found it solid, just as if it had never suffered damage. Then, two days having passed after these things were done, he said again to the brother: The Lord has revealed to me that whoever shall have a part of this dish cannot end his life badly. And he divided it among all the brothers; which they indeed kept with them with diligent guard as a treasure.

[44] In the diocese of Montefeltro a certain woman was so tormented by a demon ^g that she even tried to kill her children. When she had been brought to Janbonus, A demoniac woman is cured and he, kneeling before all, had entreated the Lord for her, the demon went out of her with such violence that the house seemed to be overturned from its foundations. And thus by the merits of this most holy man the woman was cured, and returned to her native place.

[45] An ulcer in the shin is healed, In the city of Cesena a widow had a son ^h who, suffering for a year from an ulcer that had arisen on the shin, could be healed by no art of the physicians. When she heard how many kinds of cures were done daily by the prayers of Janbonus, full of faith she went to the divine man; and, having cast herself at his feet, she asked that, for the sake of the supreme love with which he was borne toward God, he would restore her son to his former health. But Janbonus, knowing that the woman held her kinswoman in hatred, said to her: My sister, I would have you obey me. It does not escape me with what hatred you pursue your kinswoman. But if you comply with me, you will love her, and serve her more diligently than before. For to you and also to your son all things will turn out prosperously. She acquiesced in the admonitions of Janbonus, and served her kinswoman with all zeal. And returning home, she found her son cured of all sickness. Made glad by which thing, she returned to Janbonus, and said to the brothers: Praise the Lord, for through the merits of your holy father my son has just now been made well. That the woman, therefore, might not be unmindful of so great a benefit, as long as she lived she both held the holy man in the highest esteem and always loved her kinswoman singularly.

[46] the comitial disease, At the same Cesena also, Preciosa ⁱ, born of noble rank, suffered the comitial disease so gravely that she could be cured by no one. But when she saw that no help was brought her by the physicians, she placed all her hope in blessed Janbonus. Whence, full of faith, with matrons accompanying her, she went to the man of God, and besought him that, prayer having been offered to God, he would impart health to her. To her Janbonus said: If you reject vanities, and do not adorn yourself with superfluous finery, as you are accustomed, the Lord will deal mercifully with you. To whom she promised that she would willingly obey his admonitions. Then Janbonus said: Go, for God will be with you. And from that hour the woman was cured, so that a disease of this kind never attacked her.

[47] the same disease in another, A certain young man also, with the same kind of disease, fell two or three times every day ^k. On which account his father and neighbours, thinking him possessed, brought him to Janbonus. For so it had been said to the father in dreams, that his son would without doubt be healed if he had recourse to the prayers of the holy man. For the sake of curing him, therefore, Janbonus returned to his accustomed prayers; and that young man was at once made well. Who, after he had given thanks to God and to Janbonus, went home with joy.

[48] a swelling in the throat, In the diocese of Cesena, in the borough which is called Petriolum ^l, the daughter of Guido Rossi suffered from a very great goitre. And since she could be cured by no remedy, and her mother grieved greatly on this account, at length, counsel having been taken from one of the brothers of Janbonus (for he had instilled the hope that her daughter could be brought back to health if she implored help from Janbonus as a suppliant), as soon as she could, she went to him together with her daughter: and asked with many prayers that in the name of Christ he would make her daughter well. Supplication having therefore been made by Janbonus, she who had been sick suddenly recovered.

[49] The Blessed knows the secrets of hearts; a bird obeys him. Bonacursius ^m, of Mantua, though he had a wife, having heard the celebrated name of Janbonus (for his fame was spread through all Italy), set out for Cesena from eagerness to see the man. And when he had contemplated his holiness, he asked to be enrolled in the number of the brothers, saying not a word of the wife he had married. The man of God, unaware of this thing, clothed him with the religious habit. But not long after, Janbonus, whom the Spirit of God had inspired, having summoned Bonacursius to him, rebuked him, saying: Why did you not tell me that you had a wife? I know indeed that your wife has been left at Mantua. Which he confessed with much blushing. Then Janbonus said: Return to your house; or bring your wife to Cesena: otherwise you will not be able to be saved. To this Bonacursius said: I have contracted so great a debt that not only is it not possible for me to pay it, but not even to live at Mantua. Unless you accomplish what I say, said Janbonus, you will not be able to be with me. Compelled therefore, he brought his wife to Cesena, and afterwards lived with her. And both of them also, having taken the habit of penance ⁿ, began to minister the necessaries of life to the brothers. And when they had lived in this way many days, it was suggested to the woman that, leaving her husband, she should return to Mantua. Janbonus therefore questioned the woman as she was turning this over in her mind, saying: What are you thinking in your heart, or what is your will? I never had, said the woman, a greater will to live rightly than now. To whom Janbonus said: I know that you desire to visit your mother. You say rightly, she said, but who disclosed this? And while they were speaking with each other, behold, a certain bird was carrying a butterfly through the air; gazing at which, Janbonus said to sister Titia, who was present with the woman: Do you wish me to make this bird fly to me with the butterfly? She answered: It ought not to seem a wonder to me; since you bear before you such holiness of life that you could do greater things than these. He nevertheless commanded the little bird to bring to him what it was carrying in its mouth. It therefore came flying to him with the butterfly. And again Janbonus said: Take the butterfly and go away. Then too the bird carried out what was bidden. The woman therefore, having seen the miracle, both changed her design and remained in the fear of God.

[50] He heals an ulcer in the leg. This woman also had a brother, Vivaldinus ^o, who, nine years old, suffered intense pains from an ulcer of the leg, nor could anything be brought by anyone which seemed to help in soothing the pain. The woman therefore sent a messenger to her father, to say that it was not to be wholly despaired of; but that for the sake of seeking health Vivaldinus should be brought to Janbonus. When the father, who was staying at Mantua, had heard this, he came to Cesena together with his son. And she, taking her brother with her, went to the holy man, and asked him to intercede with the Lord for the health of the sick boy. To whom Janbonus answered: Am I God, that I can heal the sick? Then she said: I know that you are a friend of God, and therefore that it may come about that at your prayers my brother be freed from his sickness. The holy man commanded her to withdraw, and, that he might not be seen, closed the window. But the woman cried out: Have mercy on me; and weeping she stayed there until the evening star, Olympus being closed, laid the day to rest. At length, when Janbonus was setting out to a certain house not far distant, Vivaldinus ran to meet him, beseeching him to make him well. To whom the man of God said: I am not God, to impart health to you. I know, said

he, that you are not God, but if you decide to free me, you will at once give me back health. And when Janbonus recognised the faith of Vivaldinus, he returned to his house, and after a little time came to the boy, and said to him: How are you, my son? He answered: Well indeed, since I know for certain that I have been restored to health. Both therefore gave glory to God and to blessed Janbonus, and, rejoicing, returned to Cesena.

ANNOTATIONS.

f. Process num. 55.

THIRD CHAPTER.

He obtains sight for a blind girl. When once Janbonus was returning home from the city of Faenza ^a, he entered the hostel in which poor people travelling abroad are wont to be received, in order to greet Gualterius the hermit. There was then in that place a girl ten years old and bereft of light, who, when she heard that Janbonus had come there, asked him to bestow light upon her. And prayer having been made by the holy man before Gualterius and the others, sight was at once restored to the girl.

[52] By a miracle he makes a dry branch flower. One day the holy man Janbonus was together with many brothers ^b, having in his hand a little branch of an apple tree, four fingers in length. And he said to them: Do you believe that God can make this little branch put forth flowers? They answered: We believe, father. Then he went alone into the house, and on the following day, the sacrifices having been completed, before the brothers he fixed the little branch in the ground; and prayer having been made, flowers at once appeared. Then, when the little branch had been pulled up by the holy man and was held in his hands, both leaves and flowers grew out alike. And he planted it again, and it afterwards bore fruit. Which was done by Janbonus for this reason, that there were some who, troubled by various allurements, had decided to depart from the regular institutes. By which miracle indeed each was so strengthened toward God that no suggestion of the devil drew them away from the truth.

[53] He foretells the departure of a certain brother from the order. Martin ^c, a priest in the same order, narrated that when Janbonus had seen from afar Gratiadeus coming toward him, and had asked who the brother was who was coming, he, the same Martin, says that he answered: That it was a brother of Mantua who, having departed from the order, has now returned, and by the prior's order is to remain there. And Janbonus, gazing at Gratiadeus, said: You have spoken truly, Martin, that he went out of the order, and has come back again; but he will not remain long in the order: and when he has gone out, he will not return. Which also came to pass. For after three years he went away, and ended his life at his father's house.

[54] He heals his own finger cut with a knife. Janbonus was once helping brother Richard to make wooden spoons ^d; and by chance he cut his finger. Made sad by which thing, Richard said to Janbonus: You ought, father, to give this up, that your hands may be kept unharmed. Why? answered the man of God; do not trouble yourself. And taking a little cloth, Richard wrapped Janbonus's finger in it. Then Janbonus went to his chamber; then, returning to Richard, he unbound the finger, and said: My finger, as you know, was cut; but now it is healed just as though no cut had been made in it. When Richard saw this, he wondered exceedingly.

[55] Br. Martin is freed from a bone sticking in his throat. While the brothers were eating, it happened that a fish-bone stuck in the throat of Martin, whom we mentioned a little before ^e; so that it could in no way be dislodged. And he, thinking on that account that death was imminent for him, began to consider that as soon as he had risen from table he would take the road to Janbonus. And while he silently turned these things over in his mind, and had placed all his hope in the man of God, before they departed thence he was freed from that danger.

[56] The Blessed himself is cured when suffering from a swelling of the belly. The man of God Janbonus himself was once sick with so great a sickness that from the swelling of his belly he thought he had fallen into dropsy ^f. Wherefore, the brothers having been gathered together, he said to them: Since I have fallen into such a disease, brothers, that death rather than life is to be expected by me, I wish to ask of you this one thing: Do you judge that I am still necessary to you? All answered: You know, father, how much need we have of your help. Then he began to exhort them to live holily, and to admonish them to be faithful to God. He then ordered them to enter the church, saying the psalm "Have mercy on me, O God" alternately. He wished also that when they had entered the church they should ring the bell, and also sing the "Te Deum laudamus"; afterwards that they should earnestly beseech God that his prayer might be judged worthy of being heard; and finally that they should return to him. And they, when they had fulfilled the paternal commands, found him so free from all swelling and sickness as if he had suffered no ill.

[57] A fig tree comes into leaf in the month of November. Brother Jobellus ^g lived beside the little house of Janbonus, and there was a fig tree there, which, since that season had come in which the trees are wont to appear bare, seemed empty of leaves; and Janbonus said to the brother: Do you wish, Jobellus, that this fig tree, which you see lacking leaves, should produce leaves? He answered: I should wish it gladly. Janbonus made the sign of the cross on the fig tree; and departed thence. And when morning came, he came to the tree, which he found green with leaves on every side; and he ordered then that all the brothers be summoned. And as they stood by he said: Observe, brothers, what my Lord Jesus Christ has done. Then, when he had set forth to them how the thing had been done, he admonished them to persist devout and diligent in the divine praises. And they, having beheld the greatness of the miracle, wondered, and, glorifying God in the holy man, returned to their own dwellings.

[58] A burnt little branch of apple is planted and soon bears leaves. When brother Joachim, who had very often been tempted to leave the regular life ^h, was together with the other brothers, he said to Janbonus (it was then the day nearest to the Lord's resurrection): Do, father, I beseech you, some sign on this solemn day of Easter. Janbonus, hearing this, took it ill; and said to the brothers: What do you wish to see again, men of little faith? Were the things that have been shown you few? And taking after some days a certain little branch of apple, burnt indeed on one side and cut on the other, he planted it near the house. And when on the holy day of Easter the brothers had refreshed themselves with food, kneeling before the brothers, he pulled up the little branch which he had planted, saying: Is not this the wood which I fixed in the ground while you looked on? All answered: Certainly it is, father. And he showed them the little branch adorned with leaves, and ready to produce fruit. These things thus done, after he had admonished the brothers to apply themselves to the divine services, he gave them leave to return to their usual dwellings. And Joachim, that he might be saved, persevered in the holy order.

[59] He frees a certain woman, Blanca by name, from dropsy; Brother Bonaventure reported that when he was companion to blessed Janbonus setting out from Cesena to Mantua ⁱ, and both had turned aside at the house of a woman named Blanca, who had suffered dropsy for a long time and quartan fevers now for four years, she besought the man of God that by pouring out prayer she might obtain health. He answered her: Could you eat of this bread? For loaves had been set on the table. Then she said: I could, lord. He therefore held out bread to her, saying: When you have eaten this, you will observe what the Lord is going to do toward you. And the woman, who was eager for health, ate that bread with much reverence and faith. And eight days having passed after these things were done, when Janbonus and his companion had gone away completing the journey begun, and on the way back Bonaventure was again a guest at Blanca's, he found her brought back to health.

[60] a boy from blindness; When Janbonus had betaken himself to Ferrara, Adelasia ^k, taking with her her nephew by her sister, who, being four years of age, had lost the light of his right eye from a blow, went in haste to Bonaventure, the companion of Janbonus. And as she was narrating in what way blindness had been brought upon her nephew, Bonaventure handed her a little piece of the tunic which Janbonus was accustomed to wear, saying: With this you will anoint your nephew's eye. But when she was about to comply with Bonaventure, the boy, having taken the little piece of tunic out of his aunt's hands, anointed his eye himself; and at once received his sight. And his father, since there was a mark on the eyelid, brought the boy to Janbonus, and asked him to sign him with the sign of the cross. Which done, it was removed. On which account they attended both God and Janbonus with the highest praises.

[61] Br. Bonaventure from fevers; The same Bonaventure also, whom we have just mentioned, asserted that when the time came at which they had to go to Ferrara to treat the affairs of the religion ^l (this the religious call a chapter), since he himself had already suffered for three months from continuous fevers, he was ordered by Matthew, the general prior, to set out thither. On which account he went to Janbonus, and besought him that, intercession having been made for him, he might make his way to Ferrara unharmed. To whom Janbonus said: Go securely, brother; for when I have been cured of the fevers, you too will be well. For he himself was then also sick with a continuous ailment. Securely therefore Bonaventure, on the following day, the one they call Saturday, entered upon the road toward Ferrara. And when on Sunday all had been gathered together, there came two of those who were staying at Mantua, announcing that Janbonus on that past Saturday at the ninth hour

had departed from life: on which day also Bonaventure was released from the fever. For before the death of Janbonus had been announced at Ferrara, Bonaventure had said: Since the fever has left me, I judge that the cause of it is that Janbonus has either been freed from his sickness or released from the bonds of the flesh. For so he had foretold to me that it would be, when I was about to depart from him.

[62] Cancelleria ^m, of the family of the Arloeti, about ten years old, suffered from so many abscesses and fistulas that from her feet up to the crown of her head no part of her body seemed unhurt. Who, although she had long obeyed the counsel of physicians, Cancellaria from various infirmities; could never be healed. After she heard that miracles were being done through Janbonus, since daily the sick were being cured, by whatever infirmity they were held, she came to the holy man; and having shown her ulcers she prayed him to confer a remedy by the sign of the cross. He said that he would not do it unless she abstained from sins. But Cancellaria, who desired above all to be brought back to health, promised that she would most willingly fulfil whatever Janbonus bade. The woman therefore departed and came to Mantua; and there, by the merits of the holy man whom she had visited with all the devotion of her soul, at once obtained a remedy.

[63] Bona from blindness; About the same time there was at Mantua a very poor woman, Bona by name ⁿ, who had suffered blindness for ten years. When Jacoba, wife of Galiaferrus, and Benvenuta, moved by piety, had brought her at their own expense to Cesena to the holy man, and Bona had spoken with Janbonus apart from the others for a little while, on the same evening she saw as clearly as the women who had brought her, and afterwards survived four years.

[64] the wife of Gualterius from an abscess; Gualterius ^o also, a brother of penance, who had served Janbonus for a long time, had a wife suffering so gravely from an abscess in the throat that she could not only not eat, but not even speak. And when she had been abandoned by every counsel of the physicians, Gualterius went to Janbonus, and asked him as a suppliant to entreat the Lord for his wife's health. Moved by whose prayers Janbonus, when he had made prayer, sent the sick woman some cooked pears. And after she had eaten them, she was suddenly freed. For, all seeing it who had flocked thither to look upon her as one dying, she rose and gave praise to God and to blessed Janbonus.

[65] Dalborgus from a swelling in the throat; Agolinus [p], deriving his origin from Rondo, had a son named Dalborgus, who, on account of the size of a goitre [q], as often as he did any work, seemed to be dying from difficulty of breath. And sleeping, he mostly snored so that he allowed none of the household to be free for sleep. The father therefore, broken by long vexation of mind (for, suffering from this kind of disease now for eight years, he could be cured by no remedy), desired him rather dead than living thus; and said to his son: I have heard, my child, that through the merits of Janbonus miracles are done daily; if you will obey me, you will go to the man, that he may ask the Lord for you; since no one can bring you a remedy: or you will take up some habit of religion. He complied with his father's wishes, and went to Janbonus, though with great difficulty. Seeing him, Janbonus said: Go, son, and tell the brothers to give you something to eat; I will meanwhile pray God for you. Which done, Dalborgus, made entirely free, returned the same day with joy to his father.

[66] Amadorinus from a cancerous disease in the leg; Amadorinus [r] had endured for three years a most bitter disease in his left leg, much matter going out through nine openings. On account of which the physicians consulted said that unless the whole leg were cut off he could in no way be cured. But counsel having been taken about restoring his health, his mother carried him to Janbonus; and of him, prayers being employed, she asked that, making a blessing over the boy, he would restore him to health. To whom Janbonus said: I am not a physician, to be able to heal your son; nor a priest, to bless him: but although I know myself to be liable to sins, yet I will ask Him who is by far the most knowing physician of all to make your son whole. Go, and set this forth to no one. Having heard these things the woman returned home; and within three days the boy was healed of every wound.

[67] Agnes from contraction of the sinews. Guilia [s] had a daughter three years old, Agnes by name, who almost from birth, on account of a great sickness which she suffered in her sinews, could in no way raise herself. As often as the mother looked at her, so often she groaned, and called down death upon her, saying: Would that I saw you dead, lest you should inflict on me so many stings of pain. But one day, while Guilia was very sad on this account, it happened that one of the hermits, seeking his food from door to door, came to her. And when he had learned from her the causes of her sadness: Do not, I beseech you, he said, waste yourself with grief; but bring your daughter to our father Janbonus: who, when he has made supplication with God, I think will suddenly bring her back to health. The woman therefore brought her daughter to the man of God. He said to her: I do not know how to heal men; but what concerns me, that I will do: for I will pray God to have mercy on you. She believed his word, and, having had access to him, returned to her house. And at once the girl, who had never eaten, began to eat bread; and on the following Sunday, raised up, she sat at table. And shortly after she surpassed all of her age in size.

ANNOTATIONS.

d. Process num. 82.

p. Read: Ugolinus. Process num. 207 and following; the man of Lodi book II, chap. 40.

q. Bocium, says Blancard in the Lexicon medicum, is the same as Bronchocele; that is, a swelling in the throat, which the Italians call gozzo, the French goitre.

r. Process num. 213 and following; the man of Lodi book II, chap. 41.

s. Process num. 223 and following; the man of Lodi book II, chap. 42.

FOURTH CHAPTER.

[He reveals to Jacobinus the heretic the secrets of his heart and by miracles and prophecies brings him to faith and perfection.] Jacobinus, formerly by birth of Mantua but a dweller at Cesena, once narrated that his father had been a heretic ^a; since he neither admitted the Trinity nor thought that the Roman Church should be obeyed: and that he had succeeded his father in heresy. So much so that he strove to pervert even those who were grounded in the faith; and held religious in hatred, especially those staying in the hermitage: whom, just like some demon sent forth from the infernal places, he very often tempted. For he frequented the hermitage, and, secretly going round the little houses of the brothers, he scattered some fruits or husks on the ground, so that, seeing these, they might quarrel with one another, and one might say to the other: You are a slave to gluttony; for when it pleases you, you fill your belly. Janbonus, wishing to convert him to the faith, rebuked him in these words: Since you think wrongly of the faith, I judge you to be a heretic. Your father also, a man of perverse faith, having died in unbelief, has been buried with the other heretics among the reprobate. Then he, full of fury, said: Why do you think I should be reckoned an unbeliever, when I surpass you very much in excellence of faith? And while they were exchanging such words between them, a bird, which is commonly called moscardello, came from on high and settled at the feet of Janbonus, then upon the heretic's knee. And when he wished to seize it, Janbonus ordered it to depart; and at once it went away. Seeing which, Jacobinus wondered exceedingly, and said to Janbonus: Behold, now I have been made a believer; for I gather by conjecture that the faith which you have embraced is more powerful than mine. Having been catechized and made a catholic, when he returned home, it happened that while he was sleeping the whole house was consumed by fire. The holy man Janbonus, appearing to him, said: Wake up, Jacobinus; do you not see the house being consumed by fire? And he, soon opening his eyes, saw everything burning. And help having been implored from the neighbours, the fire was put out. On another day, although Janbonus had tried to dissuade him, he hastened toward Venice for the sake of carrying on trade. But before he had reached Ferrara, he was captured and lost all the wares which he was carrying with him for sale. On account of which, having seen so many miracles, most firmly grounded in the faith, he afterwards led a celibate life in the hermitage.

[69] Albericus from fever, When at Cesena Albericus ^b, one of the leading men, had been sick a long time with great fevers, and many matrons from Cesena had gone to see the holy man, Janbonus questioned them, saying: What is happening at Cesena? To whom it was answered: We have heard that Albericus is suffering from a grave disease; and unless the Lord brings him help, he will soon depart from life: whose death will certainly bring no small loss to the whole city. When Janbonus heard this, he sent the sick man a certain apple. And Albericus, having taken the apple with devotion, was released that day from the fever, which afterwards never attacked him: but, well, he lived most devoted to God and to blessed Janbonus.

[70] He frees Multograndus from a rheum. Multograndus ^c, a brother, who for almost seven years had frequent familiarity with Janbonus, was sick with that rheum by which he was even becoming bereft of his eyes. And being asked by Janbonus in what state he was, he answered that he was deprived of light, and could not be healed except by his prayers. To whom Janbonus said: If, serving God, you resolve to keep the regular institutes, the Lord will do you good. After this, having laid his hands on the sick man's eyes, he gave him light. And these are the things which Janbonus worked while still living. Now we shall take care to set forth those which he did after his death.

ANNOTATIONS.

THIRD BOOK.

Miracles which took place after his death up to the year 1254.

FIRST CHAPTER.

By a miracle there are healed: Benvenuta from blindness; Benvenuta ^a, born in the town of Modulis, had fallen into blindness. Dondedeus, a man learned in the law, who had taken her to serve him, induced her to vow that, if her sight were restored, she would visit the tomb of Janbonus barefoot, and two wax eyes

and two candles for lighting it she would offer. When she had vowed these things, after the eighth day from the making of the vow she began to see with one eye. But as she persisted in prayer beside the sepulchre of Janbonus (for she stayed there fourteen continuous nights), she obtained full sight.

[72] Marasola, or Massarola, from contraction of the sinews; At Mantua Marasola, from Desenzano, a town of the diocese of Brescia ^b, suffered from such contraction of the sinews that she could not go anywhere without staffs. And when she understood that many miracles were being done through blessed Janbonus, she was carried by cart to the tomb of the holy man. And when she had persevered there three days and nights, and on account of the multitude of the sick flocking thither could not apply herself to prayer, she went from the cart to the sepulchre, and as a suppliant besought the holy man with these words: I beseech you, holy brother, be willing to be of help. For on whatever day you shall give me back health, on that day, as the years come round, I will remain perpetually without food. Scarcely had she spoken these things when she was made possessed of her wish. And she, after she had given thanks to God and to blessed Janbonus, leaving her staffs in the church, hastened home glad; and every Sunday also (for on that day she had come out healed), as long as she lived, she took no food at all.

[73] Armelina from a swelling of the belly; Armelina ^c, who suffered from a swelling of the belly, so that she could neither bend herself nor be cured by anyone, since in about these days the body of blessed Janbonus had been translated, and many miracles performed by him were being recounted, supporting her belly with her hands, betook herself to the tomb of the holy man. Where, having made prayer, since she had placed all her hope in the Lord and also in blessed Janbonus, she returned home. On the following day she came back again, and vowed a vow, saying: If by your prayers, holy brother, you make me well, I promise that I will offer you a candle of the length of my body. And she stayed there a whole night, praying, and afterwards rose well.

[74] Nigrina from contraction of the sinews; Zanbellus ^d, of Formigosa, had a daughter, Nigrina by name, who from the second year of her birth had suffered such contraction of the sinews that she could not go except bent. He therefore, for the very great devotion with which he attended blessed Janbonus, went to his sepulchre, and there bound himself by a vow that, if his daughter, subject to sickness, came out whole, he would every year offer a candle of the girl's size. A thing worthy of wonder! eight days after the making of the vow, the girl was restored to health. For she walked upright; and all afterwards saw her even running about.

[75] Johannina from swellings of the body; At Mantua Johannina ^e, wife of a certain Jacobinus, fell into that sickness of body from which every third day her hands and feet swelled, so that she could not even rise from her couch, or eat. While therefore she had been in the greatest pain for a whole month, and the fame of blessed Janbonus was most celebrated among all, she vowed that she would bring him three candles if through his prayers she should deserve to obtain health. And she at once recovered, and was afterwards most devoted to the holy man.

[76] Zeno from blindness; Zeno ^f, cupbearer of the prelate of Mantua, while washing his head, and on account of the entry of water having contracted a sickness of the ear for four years (for he suffered continual tremor and stopping-up), and no work of the physicians having availed him anything, promised to blessed Janbonus that he would offer a wax ear and fitting means, if he were made free of that sickness. But by the disposition of the divine counsel not only did the vow not profit him, but, the ailment growing stronger, all sleep was taken from him. Zeno therefore wondered greatly that he was pricked by a greater goad of pain than before, especially since he had committed himself most devoutly to blessed Janbonus. But not departing from his purpose, he said within himself: Even if God were going to stop up both my ears, I will never depart from Him. And so, as he persevered in faith, it happened one night that from the continual pain he fell asleep a little; and that, awakened afterwards, he found much matter had flowed from his ear. From which thing indeed it came about that within four days he came out sound both from the pain and from the deafness.

[77] Anzelerius from contraction of the leg; Anzelerius ^g, surnamed Muza, having a contracted shin, could not go out of the house except with a stick and with the shin raised from the ground. He, when he had learned that almost countless miracles were being done at the tomb of the holy man, resolved to visit it and mounted a she-ass; and arrived there with the greatest devotion. Where, having also made a vow about presenting means, when he had stayed the whole night over the tomb for the sake of making supplication, his leg began little by little to be stretched out, and, Anzelerius persevering in peace, he merited to be made altogether well.

[78] Papia from the breaking of a hand. Papia ^h, a dweller at Mantua, while drawing water from a well, had her hand broken by the chain. But trusting in the merits of blessed Janbonus, she went to the church into which his body had then been carried, and asked the brothers who were guarding the sacred body with the chest open that, taking the veil with which it was veiled, they should touch the bones of blessed Janbonus. Which, after she had received it with all reverence from the hands of the brothers, she pressed it with her hands, and wiped her face with it; and her hands were brought back to their former soundness.

[79] The Blessed leads Florius Batalius out of prison. Florius Batalius ⁱ, a citizen of Mantua, captured by enemies at Medole together with certain men engaged in trade, was taken first to Peschiera, afterwards by the order of Ezzelino to Verona. And when, with hands and feet bound, he had been handed over to custody, there came into his mind St. Leonard and Janbonus, in whom all his hope was placed. And while all were sleeping he prayed in these words: Do not, I beseech you, Leonard, and you, Janbonus, take note of my faults: but, having pity on me, snatch me from these bonds, so that I may at least help myself with my hands. When he had uttered these words, the chains fell from his hands, and his feet were loosed. And having made the sign of the cross on his forehead, he withdrew thence; and passing through, he was let go by all the guards. Then, when he had crossed the river Adige by swimming, on the same night he returned unharmed to Mantua through the midst of the enemies.

[80] There are cured Belanoma, a demoniac, Belanoma ^k, a native of Asola, seized for eight years by an unclean spirit, is at length brought, though unwilling, to the sepulchre of blessed Janbonus; and there, all seeing it, she is at once freed from the demon.

[81] Lanfranc ^l, who discharged the office of provincial in the order, fell into the morphea that precedes leprosy. Br. Lanfranc suffering from morphea. This disease plainly spread over his whole body, flaying the upper skin, and, dissolving itself into sweat, it became exceedingly red. He, once sitting alone in the church of St. Agnes, looked into the uncovered chest of blessed Janbonus, and praying with entire faith said: If it will be for the greater honour of God, or more salutary for my soul, I beseech you, father, intercede for me with the Lord, that I may be cured of this sickness. Lanfranc departed thence, these things said, and nine days after obtained good health.

[82] Thomasina having ulcers; Thomasina ^m, from a village distant about four miles from Mantua, which is called San Silvestro, was sick of those ulcers which by no help of physicians could be brought to the point that health might some day be hoped for. At that time, therefore, at which the body of blessed Janbonus was carried into the city ⁿ, Thomasina went to the tomb in which the holy man had lain; and passing the night there in prayer, obtained health of body. Out of reverence for whom she spent twelve nights also without sleep, blessing God, with whom the prayers of blessed Janbonus availed so much.

[83] Martha swollen in body; Martha, formerly wife of Falchetus ^o, had been turned into a great swelling; through whose limbs also gout ran, so that she could not move herself. And as she was afflicted more and more day by day, it happened that the sacred body of Janbonus was being brought to the church of St. Agnes. She, in hope of recovering health, was carried thither by her son. And when the morning office of the following night had been completed, she began to raise herself on her feet. And afterwards, having seen the body of the blessed man, when she had persevered there in prayer until the ninth hour, she suddenly recovered, and on the same day returned rejoicing to her home.

[84] Beatrix, blind; At Mantua Beatrix [p], while her mother was still lying-in, having lost the light of the right eye, saw little with the left also. She, after she had spent some nights in the pit from which the body of the holy man had been translated, bound herself by a vow to offer to blessed Janbonus two eyes of wax, and to light up his mausoleum, and, as long as she lived, to keep vigil on each of his vigils: if she obtained the light which she desired. Having made a vow of this kind, she was at once cured of her blindness.

[85] Agnesina, likewise blind. Aderlandinus [q], of Verona, a barber, had a daughter, Agnesina by name, who by a fall had so bruised the back of her head that for eight months she was deprived of her eyes. When he had made a vow to offer two wax eyes to St. Janbonus if through his intercession his daughter should recover her sight, on the following day she received light.

[86] Anna suffering suffocation. Lanfranc, a notary of Bergamo by birth but a citizen of Mantua, who had committed the deeds of Janbonus to writing, had a daughter, Anna by name [r], who one night, from difficulty of breathing, scarcely had breath to speak. A light therefore having been lit, after her father saw her labouring in her last extremity, he began with much pain of mind to pray St. Janbonus for his daughter. Then he asks the girl whether she wishes anything of the relics of the blessed man to be laid on her neck. She answers that she desires it above all. Then, certain relics having been laid on the girl's neck, Lanfranc promised under the obligation of a vow that he would send the girl to light up the body of the holy man, if through him Anna might be allowed to enjoy life. Which done, the girl, who seemed near to death, is soon made well.

ANNOTATIONS.

namely 1251. We have already warned that Calepino and almost all the other biographers of the Blessed confuse the elevation of the body with the first translation, which seems to have been made in the middle of the fourteenth century.

p. Process num. 123 and following; the man of Lodi book III chap. 31.

q. Process num. 127 and following; the man of Lodi book III chap. 37.

r. Process num. 166; the man of Lodi book III chap. 23.

SECOND CHAPTER.

By a miracle there are healed: Benvenuta, having contracted hands; Himelda ^a, of Brescia, had a daughter Benvenuta, thirteen months old, and having contracted hands, which could in no way be opened. Greatly afflicted on this account, the mother, when she had been brought by the women of her quarter to this persuasion of mind, that, since the holiness of Janbonus and the numberless multitude of his miracles were spread far and wide, she should commit her daughter to him, at once poured out prayers in these words: If you give health to my daughter, O St. Janbonus, I will set out barefoot to visit your body, and offer you a candle according to the girl's length. After this, taking her daughter, on the day of the Lord's Ascension, when the venerable body of Janbonus was to be laid in the sepulchre, she came into the church of St. Agnes; where, as she prayed without intermission, the girl began little by little to stretch herself out and with trembling to open her hands: whose sinews gave forth a sound just like nuts when dry ones are cracked. And thus by the prayers of the most holy Janbonus the girl was healed,

[88] Otobelus, blind; Alberta ^b, wife of Bonacursius of Mantua, had a son Otobelus, who had now for seven weeks lost his sight. There were therefore some who admonished Alberta to vow herself to blessed Janbonus, and said that it was by no means to be doubted that Otobelus would soon be freed by the entreaty of the holy man. She vowed therefore that she would offer two eyes of wax if her son should deserve to obtain light. After this, two days having passed, when, sad on account of her son, she was shedding tears, Otobelus said to her: Do not weep, mother, for light has been restored to me. And when she had learned by trial that this was so, she both gladly fulfilled her vow and paid countless thanks to blessed Janbonus.

[89] The son of Janellus, suffering in the spleen and from fevers; Janellus ^c, a man born at Mantua of no obscure rank, had a son suffering not only in the spleen, which had made him swollen, but also from a most atrocious fever; so that his health was despaired of. And Janellus, since he was enrolled in military service and was compelled to set out for the camp, commended his son to the mother. And she, grieving greatly over the death of her offspring, which she thought continually at hand, since she was of no small devotion toward Janbonus, ordered her son to be brought to the body of the blessed man. And the boy, brought thither, was carried with a lit taper in his hand into the sepulchre, and his hands having been joined with the hands of Janbonus, after a little time being brought out of the sepulchre, when he had fallen asleep near the church, rose up whole. And on the same day he returned to his mother, who was praying and awaiting him. And the father, when he had returned from the camp after some days, thinking that the boy was already dead, found him as free from infirmity as if he had been affected by no sickness. All therefore gave the highest praise to God, that He had conferred upon them this kind of benefit through His servant Janbonus.

[90] Altavilla, arthritic; Altavilla ^d, of Mantua, seized by a disease of the joints, could by no means move her right arm. And when she was tormented very much, the miracles of Janbonus came into her mind; to whom also she vowed that she would go to his sepulchre and there offer a wax arm when she had been restored to health through him. She came therefore to the sepulchre of the holy man, and there gave herself to prayer for three days; and after three days, made well, she set out with divine praise to her house.

[91] Anna, dropsical; Anna, wife of Bonaventure Corvinus ^e, having suffered for four years dropsy and various other kinds of diseases, was expecting death day by day. And when no further hope of living seemed left her, she came by boat to the tomb of St. Janbonus. And there, praying continually with her daughter Alda, on the following day she returned home well, glorifying God, by whose grace this benefit was conferred on her through the holy man.

[92] Florius, having suffered a rupture of the bowels: A woman whose name was Benghivena bore Florius ^f; whose inward parts, poured down into the testicles, caused no moderate pain: and had not a remedy been given from above, he would shortly have exchanged life for death. For things having been despaired of, while she, very sad, did not at all understand what had to be done (for he could be freed by no diligence of a physician), by the counsel of friends she vowed that she would bring her son with a candle to the tomb of Janbonus if by his prayers he should be restored to his former health. And three days having intervened, he was made as whole as if he had suffered no sickness of the kind.

[93] the daughter of Viva, consumed by wasting; Viva ^g had a little infant daughter, who from a certain unknown sickness had been brought to such thinness that her little bones could be counted. And when she had suffered from that disease for two months, and her death was expected day by day, at length, the Deity inspiring from above, the mother vowed, for obtaining her daughter's health, that she would bring as much wheat as the daughter herself weighed. Thereupon the girl began to suck the breasts, so that within fifteen days she took on both plumpness and health. Which thing plainly was wonderful to those who saw it.

[94] Gerardinus, blind; Multobona had Gerardinus, two years old, a grandson by her daughter ^h, whom, when she had laid him down to sleep at midday, she found, when he woke after Vespers, blind. On which account she, together with the boy's mother, being made sad, since no remedy could be applied by which the blindness might be driven away, commended herself by vows to blessed Janbonus. For she promised that she would visit his tomb, and offer two wax eyes there, if the faculty of seeing the light were granted to the boy. Which done, all seeing it who had come thither to see the boy, Gerardinus opened his eyes, and saw as clearly as ever before. All therefore gave glory to God, who had so magnified Janbonus in working prodigies.

[95] Ricadona hurt in the eyes; whose sow also is granted health; Ricadona ⁱ, wife of Junta, narrated that a little stone of a millstone, while it was being dressed, had become fixed in her eye and could be extracted by no one; and that she had remained eight days in that torment; but that, turning over in her mind what wonderful works God was daily performing through blessed Janbonus, she stretched both palms to heaven, and said: If I shall be brought back to my former health, I will offer St. Janbonus a wax head. And on the following day, when she was about to take food, the little stone fell out of her eye. It is related also that blessed Janbonus freed the sow of this Ricadona, which on account of sickness had abstained from food for eight days. For when Junta grieved very much at this (for he was indeed needy), the woman said to him: I trust that he who healed my eye will heal the sow also. For I will go to his sepulchre, and, having offered a wax sow, will light it up with candles bought with the price of my labour. Ricadona therefore, when she had satisfied her vow, and had persisted the whole night in supplication, the sow came out freed.

[96] Bonfemina, broken by a heavy fall; At that season at which the body of St. Janbonus was carried into the city, a woman whose name was Bonfemina ^k, while she was going down certain stone steps to the water for the sake of washing clothes, threw herself on her back to the ground by that fall so that her bones seemed broken. Then she betook herself to her house, which was a little distant; where, by the crying out which she was compelled by the torment to utter, she spent the whole night sleepless. And after the day had poured itself over the earth, taking a staff on which to lean, not without difficulty she set out to the tomb of the holy man; and there, having offered a candle to the length of her body, she poured out prayers, and, at once cured of all pain, returned to her house.

[97] Mantuana, affected with arthritis and other diseases; A certain woman, Mantuana by name ^l, suffering for seven years from gout, fistula and abscess so that she could not go anywhere without two crutches, when many were reported to be healed by blessed Janbonus, went to the sepulchre of that holy man, prayed there two days, and began to recover; so much that she returned home with only one stick. And after seven days, no help of physicians having been employed, she was altogether freed from every disease.

[98] The son of Januarius, struck by the hooves of a horse; The son of Januarius ^m also was saved, being two years of age, who, when he had been struck by the hooves of a horse and left for dead, and his father had begun to cry out: Blessed Janbonus, pray for my son, that God may make him well, at once rose up whole. Who also, no long time having intervened, by the prayers of the holy man, when he had lost his sight for two days, his grandmother praying, received light before the sepulchre of Janbonus.

[99] Bonacursius suffering in the foot; There was a certain Mantuan woman ⁿ whose son Bonacursius suffered for a year in a toe of his foot: for him, since the physicians could not meet the case, the mother bound herself by promises of what she would render to blessed Janbonus if her son should be brought back to health. Which done, the boy received health within eight days. But after she had neglected to fulfil her vow, thinking that her son had obtained health even without the vow, soon a graver disease attacked him; so that the physicians said that unless the toe were cut off he could in no way be healed. The mother therefore, repenting of her unbelief, went to the church into which the body of the holy man had been carried, and, having made a diligent confession of her sins, offered a foot with a leg fashioned of wax. And having asked the Lord not to regard her sins but to help her unbelief, when eight days had passed, the boy was healed again.

ANNOTATIONS.

THIRD CHAPTER.

There are cured of infirmity: Bonpaxius, blind: Bonpaxius ^a, for two years bereft of sight,

sought his living by begging. He, having heard the celebrated name of Janbonus, came with his wife to his sepulchre; where, having offered two wax eyes, and a candle of the length of his body, he poured out prayers in these words: I beseech Thee, Lord Jesus Christ, that by the merits of blessed Janbonus, who is laid in this sepulchre, Thou wouldst deign to give me light, so that in the sweat of my face it may be lawful for me to eat bread, lest I be compelled to beg my living from door to door. These things said, he at once received light.

[101] the wife of Meliorinus, a demoniac; At that time also there was vexed by an unclean spirit the wife of Meliorinus Tosus ^b, who for six years could do nothing good. But being brought to the sepulchre of blessed Janbonus, and being long oppressed there by the demon, at length, having received the sacrament of the Lord's Body, and having heard the day and night offices alike, she returned free to her house.

[102] the daughter of Bertha, blind; At about the same time at which the sacred body of Janbonus was translated into the city, Bertha, wife of John of Piacenza ^c, since she had a daughter deprived of her eyes almost from birth, on the counsel of certain neighbours carried her to the sepulchre of the holy man; where, having offered two wax eyes, she spent the whole night in praying. And about the first watch of the following night, the girl said to her mother: Behold, mother, now I see. And she for joy began to cry out and to praise the name of God. Then those who stood by, having seen the greatness of the miracle, opened their mouths in divine praises.

[103] Bonvicinus, deaf: Bonvicinus ^d, made deaf by a certain great sickness of body, kept himself at home for shame. Although various kinds of remedies were given him, he could yet in no way be brought by the physicians to the point that he did not grow deafer day by day. But when he saw that no human help was brought to him, he thought it worth while to have recourse to Him who gives sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. When therefore, under the obligation of a vow, he had adorned the tomb of blessed Janbonus with candles and two ears made of wax, he at once heard his wife, who was his companion, calling him. For it seemed to him that someone had removed something from his ears; and he said to his wife: I give thanks to my God and to blessed Janbonus, by whose merits I have come out free from deafness.

[104] Virgilius, paralytic; Virgilius ^e, a boy of two years, had fallen into that paralysis from which, vexed almost every day, he gave forth foam. His father, when he had applied all remedies in vain to heal him, employing a vow, by which he promised that he would offer a wax image to blessed Janbonus, he was made so free from the paralysis that no one afterwards saw him sick.

[105] Honesta, blear-eyed; The mother also of this Virgilius, Honesta by name ^f, had once contracted a very great sickness in the eyes. For these, displaying now a fiery, now a bloody colour, rendered the woman's whole face swollen, so much that from the pain she was always compelled to cry out. But when she had made herself bound by a vow to visit the tomb of Janbonus, and to offer two wax eyes, on the day which followed she came out so well that not only no pain, but not even any redness was seen in her eyes.

[106] Ghisla, suffering in her right hand; When Ghisla ^g, wife of Flamingus, had been made wholly useless in her right hand, she went to the church of St. Agnes, where she had learned that many miracles were done daily. And when, for the sake of making supplication, she had spent the whole night sleepless, in the morning she returned home whole.

[107] and a blind girl entrusted to her; To this Ghisla ^h also it happened that, while she was sitting at the fire, a girl of one year, whom she had taken for a price to nurse, fell into the fire. Nor could she be drawn out of it before she lost her sight. Ghisla therefore, full of pain, when she had kept her at home with her for two months, remedies having been applied, and she did not recover sight (for she had not disclosed this to the girl's parents), vowed that she would visit the sepulchre of Janbonus and offer a wax head, if by the patronage of that holy man sight were restored to the girl. Which done, no burn appearing on her, within three days she received sight.

[108] a certain demoniac woman: A certain woman, when she had drawn water from a well and drunk it, Satan entered into her ⁱ. And when she set out to the church which is called St. Mary of Bethlehem, she could not enter it except by force. On the following day, held by three men at the sepulchre of blessed Janbonus, she felt something, I know not what, ascend from her lower parts up to her throat. And when she had spat it out, she remained freed.

[109] Valdegrana, having suffered many sicknesses; Valdegrana ^k, having long suffered various sicknesses, was eager to visit the sepulchre of St. Janbonus. And on the way she began little by little to recover. But when she had spent the night in praying, and afterwards had been present at the sacred mysteries, she went home well.

[110] Pamphilia, afflicted with epilepsy and very many other most grave diseases; In the days next to those in which the blessed man Janbonus was committed to the sepulchre, Pamphilia ^l was suffering at Mantua from diverse ailments. For from the comitial disease, which she had contracted from birth, she sometimes lay on the ground as if dead for the space of five days, not seeing or hearing or eating. Moreover for about nine years she suffered a flux of blood, afterwards dropsy for four months; from which indeed not only her feet with her legs, but also her head and her other limbs had been brought into a swelling: so that she could not rise from sitting, or walk. She was sick also in an eye, which from the swelling seemed as it were torn out. Finally, when for three years she had endured a daily fever, she heard from her husband Lazarinus that very many who were held by various sicknesses were flocking, for the sake of recovering health, to blessed Janbonus the hermit, very lately dead; and that many signs were being done. At whose exhortation the woman, carried thither, gave herself to prayer continually from evening until the first watch of the night. And when she had slept a little, it seemed to her that she had in her mouth a lump of earth like a hazelnut. Whence, astonished: What is this, she said, saint of God, which I am handling in my mouth? But even if it should bring me death (so much hope have I conceived of you), I will let it down into my belly. And when she had done so, she obtained good health.

[111] Jacobinus, suffering from deafness and other infirmities; Jacobinus ^m, who practised the baker's craft, having long suffered fever, pain of the head and deafness, when he had vowed himself to offer to blessed Janbonus a candle with which his head could be girded twice, at once recovered. And as long as he lived he remained whole.

[112] The daughter of Barbazanus ⁿ, who was sick with a fistula and could be cured by no one skilled in the medical art, having had from her mother the faculty of vowing, vowed that she would offer a flowered taper. Then, when she had stayed through the night upon the tomb of blessed Janbonus, The daughter of Barbazanus, sick with a fistula; at once her ulcers began to dry up. She nevertheless kept vigil also the four following nights; and was entirely cured.

[113] Bonaventura, insane from pains of the head. Bonaventura ^o, wife of Gualfredus of Cesena, suffered insanity, and, just like a madwoman, tossing her head this way and that, was kept at home for shame. For she sometimes suffered this disease five times in the day; sometimes, on account of continual trembling, she remained eight days without food. And while she was greatly afflicted by this, there came into her mind the miracles which blessed Janbonus, then dead, was working, and under a vow she promised to set out from Cesena to Mantua. And not long after she was made possessed of her wish.

[114] [These miracles excerpted from the processes; and he does not cease to perform others.] These, then, are the things which, from the year one thousand two hundred and forty-nine up to the fifty-third *, by the order of the supreme Roman Pontiff, who was then about to enrol Janbonus among the saints, witnesses having been sworn before the bishop of Modena, before the provost also of the church of Mantua, and the prior of St. Mark, were committed to faithful writing. For to these the care of inquiring into the man's holiness had been assigned [p]. Nor is anyone to think that St. Janbonus did not work more miracles than these; since in our times also he has performed [q] things which both declare the man's holiness and strike human minds with stupor. But since these are almost countless, who is so keen of wit, who so cultivated in eloquence, that he could commit them to letters? For both their multitude and their greatness bring it about that they can not only not be written, but not even be comprehended in mind by anyone.

ANNOTATIONS.

p. In the first process, but not in the second. See page 769, num. 4.

q. Of the miracles of Blessed John Nicolas Crusenius wrote in the year 1625: For he worked infinite miracles in his life and after it, now for 400 years, "and still works them not rarely" Monasticon Augustinianum, page 104. Munich 1623.. Which Torelli likewise wrote in the year 1675 Secoli Agostiniani, vol. IV, page 432, num. 52..

* read: fourth

PREFACE

To the Processes drawn up in the cause of the canonization of Blessed John the Good.

Of the usefulness of these documents, of the apostolic commissaries, the notaries, the witnesses and the form observed.

John the Good, hermit of the order of St. Augustine, at Mantua in Italy. (B.)

How much usefulness the processes of canonization of Blessed John the Good have. Three kinds of monuments our predecessors desired above all, namely the Acts which are called proconsular, the Processes of canonization, and the relations of the auditors of the Rota; since, although history rests on all human testimony, yet the juridical form which is observed in those three classes of documents has a singular force for persuading. Wherefore, to speak in this place only of processes of canonization, they never omitted to bring them to light, if they had never been expressed in print, however long they might be and troublesome with circumlocutions and repetitions. Of these I had undertaken to weave a catalogue; but I soon understood that that work would be more arduous than useful, and I withdrew my hand. This one thing I would say, that in most of our works

volumes one or another process, or at least a summary of a process of canonization, has been inserted. Some ancient monuments of this kind were also published by Benedict XIV in his work on the canonization of saints. But indeed I am greatly mistaken if any process of canonization has hitherto seen the light which is at once so copious and so ancient as the process drawn up for conferring the honours of the heavenly ones on Blessed John the Good. Certainly a very few exist which surpass it in age; but they are meagre, and do not contain the statements of so many witnesses, and yield to it very much in accuracy. Wherefore so far was there from being any cause why we should suppress that excellent document, that on the contrary we should plainly have departed from the institute of our forebears had we excluded it from the present volume. The Life indeed, which Agostino of Crema wrote, and Ambrogio Calepino and Costanzo of Lodi amplified, was collected from this very process: but in it many circumstances of no small moment have been omitted; nor (which is no less to be censured) has that diligence always been applied which the zeal for truth urges. How many men besides, I mean those who handle our books, prefer to drink from the springs rather than from the streams? And indeed to whom is it not more pleasing to hear the words of sworn witnesses, and in a manner to be present at the tribunal itself, than to receive from another's report what they testified? Nor are documents of this kind only full of delights, but they have very much of usefulness. For from them it shines out how great care and how great zeal the Church applied, even in more remote times, that in canonizing saints nothing should be done rashly or over-hastily. Moreover, just as from the proconsular Acts almost alone it has become known what form the ancient Romans observed in taking, guarding, judging and punishing the accused, so too archaeologists who inquire into the methods and manners of the courts used in the middle age can be helped by the more ancient processes of canonization. To which add that we cherish in mind the hope that it will come about, through the publication of this process, that the sentence of canonization of Blessed John the Good, which has never been pronounced, may some day be pronounced, or at least be sought. But let us now go to the Acts themselves.

[2] [In the thirteenth century there did not yet exist a general form for drawing up a process of canonization. The method employed in the Process of Blessed John the Good: the preparatory examination having been omitted, commissaries were designated in the year 1251;] Pope Benedict XIV De canonizatione SS. book I, chap. 20., in his work on the canonization of saints, treats at length of the diligences employed by the Roman pontiffs in the discussion of causes of beatification and canonization, and of the series of acts by which these were handled in an older age; and where he does this, he indicates the general form and relates very many examples from the thirteenth century. But although everywhere the principal things agree altogether among themselves, yet others which are of less moment are here and there unlike; so that none of the examples adduced is wholly conformable to some general norm, nor even are two carried out in exactly the same way: whence it is manifest that in the thirteenth century fixed laws did not yet exist on these matters, but that the whole business, or at least many parts of it, depended on the decision of the pontiffs. Nor is the process of Blessed John the Good in all things consonant with the aforesaid general form or with the examples praised. The matter, however, was carried out in this manner. Before the month of July of the year 1251, after Blessed John the Good had been dead almost three years and his sepulchre had already become illustrious with countless miracles (especially on the occasion of the translation of his bones), James della Porta, formerly a Cistercian monk and from the year 1238 bishop of Mantua Ughelli, Italia sacra, vol. I, col. 866., and also the noblemen Bartholomew and Nicholas, sent by the city of Mantua, took care to set forth to Pope Innocent IV See above page 739, num. 178. how piously the holy hermit had lived in this world and by how many prodigies God made testimony of his heavenly blessedness, and humbly supplicated him that he would deign to write him in the catalogue of the saints. Having received these things, Pope Innocent by no means ordered inquiry to be made in general into the fame of the holiness and miracles of the blessed man: but, whether these things were sufficiently established for him by the report of the bishop, in whom he had great esteem (since in the year 1252 he created him cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and bishop of Porto), and of his two companions, or for whatever other cause, he omitted that preparatory examination; but he gave in mandate to Albert, bishop of Modena, to A., prior of the church of St. Mark of Mantua, and to John de Gonzaga, provost of the church of Mantua, that they should inquire into the Life and miracles, hear trustworthy witnesses, consign their statements to writing, and transmit them, closed with seals, to him. He granted, moreover, that if one of the assessors were hindered from being present, he could nevertheless proceed with the other; and to this commission, imposed by bull, the pontiff added a brief form according to which the witnesses, an oath having been taken, should be examined. These remissorial letters the reader will find below.

[3] observations pertaining hereto, And concerning these some things seem worth noting. First of all, it is in no way hinted that a process made by the authority of the Ordinary preceded; nay, Pope Innocent even says openly that the aforesaid things had not been established for him, namely the holiness and miracles of Blessed John the Good, which the bishop and the envoys of Mantua had asserted; so that the supplication which these offered seems to have rested on public notoriety alone. As regards the commissaries, however, now, to use the words of Benedict XIV De canonizatione SS. book II, chap. 45, num. 12. Compare num. 10 ibid., there is a firm rule of addressing the remissorial letters to three bishops with the clause that at least two proceed; nevertheless, as the praised pontiff subjoins, since sometimes three or even two bishops cannot so easily come together, if this be proved by the postulators, and they humbly supplicate the sacred congregation that the letters be addressed to others than three bishops, the sacred congregation is accustomed to assent to the requests; yet so that one bishop is always present and two canons or two dignitaries occupy the place of each of the absent bishops. But in the thirteenth century so great a solemnity was not required; the remissorial letters were addressed, namely, to two bishops and one or more regulars; or to one bishop and two regular or secular priests; or even to three or more regular or secular priests; nor was that number of three always kept: sometimes the commission was given to two, sometimes even to one. See the examples collected in Benedict XIV Ibid. num. 11.. But that now, where the commission is given to three bishops, the clause is added: That at least two proceed, is manifestly consonant with the former custom from the process concerning the holiness and miracles of Blessed John the Good, since by the remissorial letters the bishop of Modena too is permitted to proceed, provided one of the assessors assists him. These quite often used this faculty of absenting themselves: thus at num. 46 the prior of Mantua is said to be absent, hindered by an impediment of law; similarly at numm. 49 and 99 he is read to have been away; the prior of St. Mark also was sometimes not present, since at num. 69 he is said to have been away on some business of his own; likewise at num. 96 and elsewhere.

[4] [in the year 1253 a new process was begun; and a new commissary designated; fuller articles sent; the solemnity observed in hearing the witnesses.] When the bishop of Modena had completed the first process, which is contained in the first and second parts, he beyond doubt dispatched it to the pontiff; to whom it seems not to have been held copious enough. At least in the year 1253 a new one was begun before master Michael, examiner deputed by the supreme pontiff, as is said in part III, num. 168, and also in parts IV, V and VI. This master Michael, moreover, as is established from num. 258, was chaplain of the cardinal of St. Eustace; with which title we know that there was then adorned [Compare Ciacconius, Vitæ pontificum Romanorum et cardinalium, vol. II, col. 128, Rome 1677.] William Fieschi or Fliscus, of the counts of Lavagna, of a Genoese house, son of Opizzo, brother of Innocent IV, and long accustomed to be patron of the order of Hermits of St. Augustine See above, page 726, num. 119 and page 732, num. 140.: from which endowments it is easily understood how it came about that that master Michael was designated by Innocent IV receiver and examiner of the witnesses to be produced. The letters patent by which he was appointed to this office we do not have; but only the articles on which the witnesses were to be questioned, and these are recited at num. 258. Now they are not altogether the same as those which had been proposed for the first process. For there it was ordered, at num. 2, only that inquiry be made into the life, conversation and miracles of brother John the Good of revered memory, but here, at num. 258, that the said brother John the Good was a man of holy life, of catholic faith, of upright and useful conversation, and of praiseworthy and celebrated fame: wherefore in the second process inquiry is made singularly into the faith of the blessed man; which had been altogether omitted in the first process; and inquiry is made much more also into the miracles performed after death. Moreover master Michael alone, without the assistance of any assessor, heard the depositions of the witnesses. Nevertheless, as often as witnesses were introduced to take the preliminary oath (which, as in the first process, several almost always took together), so often some men and sometimes also women were called, who should increase the solemnity of the oath. At num. 168 there are read to have been present brother Lanfranc, prior general of the order of hermits of St. Augustine, D. Albizius, canon of the pieve of Peccioli of the diocese of Volterra, and Remigius, son of the late Durandus; and at num. 186, in the palace of the bishop of Cesena, his household, namely masters Leonard and Placidus and besides the aforesaid canon Albizius; and in the house (as it seems) of Gualfredus of Cesena, John son of the late Drudus, Maria wife of Arthusius, and Abbenata wife of Tebaldus of Petrella; and so on thereafter: but these do not at all seem to have been present at the questioning of the witnesses. Nor is it a thing proper to the second process (from n. 168 to the end) that, while the witnesses were binding themselves by the religion of the oath, some hearers were present; for in the first process also the same may be seen: so that it can truly be said that in the second process the informations were received by one apostolic commissary only (and that the rest who are named were hearers): which we have already pointed out was sometimes done elsewhere also.

[5] [What notaries were present and how they performed their office; that it is not singular that the service of imperial notaries, or notaries of the sacred palace, was used in this process.] When the bishop of Modena was instructing the process, and similarly when master Michael was discharging that office, a notary was always present. He who fulfilled this office in the first part of the process in the year 1251 gives his name at num. 98, namely Bonaventure, son of the late master Maurus, notary of the sacred palace,

adding that by the mandate of the lord bishop of Modena and of the lord Provost of Mantua, [and] of the prior of St. Mark of Mantua, he had made the witnesses swear and had diligently gathered their statements and written them, as was committed to them by the lord Pope Innocent. At the second part in the same year there was present Lanfranc, a notary of Pergamum (Bergamo), a citizen of Mantua, who so names himself at n. 99; and where he himself, on the sixth day of August of that year 1251, is heard as a witness concerning a certain miracle: I, he says at num. 166, Lanfranc of Pergamum and citizen of Mantua, notary and writer of all the aforesaid: where it is worthy of note that the same man was witness and notary, and that no other notary was called to consign his deposition to writing. At the end, moreover, he indicates most accurately what parts he filled, at num. 167: I, he says, Lanfranc of Pergamum, notary of the sacred empire, before the aforesaid lords and by their order made the aforesaid witnesses swear, and wrote their statements in the presence of the same lords and heard them with them, and by their mandate reduced their statements, for greater caution, into public form according to what is contained in the present quire. But who sat as notary in the second process I find noted nowhere. In very truth, at num. 258 the name of a certain notary Ubaldinus is read; but he does not seem to be present there as recorder, but only (no otherwise than many others) that by his presence he might increase and honour the authority and religion of the oath to be taken by the witnesses. Now concerning the origin and laws of notaries Muratori explained many things learnedly Antiquitates medii ævi, dissertation XII, vol. I, col. 659 and following., pointing out that in Italy that institution was generally royal or imperial; but that kings and emperors quite often gave counts and bishops the faculty of instituting notaries themselves; that Pope Innocent III Book XIV, letter 129., the laws of Justinian Law 23, C. de testamentis. and of Charlemagne Law 95 among the Lombard laws. having been renewed Compare Fumagalli, Delle istituzioni diplomatiche, vol. II, page 217., forbade priests, deacons and subdeacons to act as notaries, for this reason, that, the honour of the ecclesiastical order being trampled on, they were serving the secular court and mixing themselves too much in profane business; yet that that precept was approved neither by use nor by custom; that clerics initiated into sacred orders went on, namely, discharging these offices; and other things of the kind. But these things regard chiefly the notaries who are set over the writing of public acts concerning temporal things; but another kind also must be admitted, namely those whose care it is to give credit and authority to ecclesiastical acts: to these is commonly given the name of secretaries or chancellors of bishops, monasteries, etc. These are now generally instituted; nor were they lacking formerly, nay they were prescribed by law Compare Fumagalli, Delle istituzioni diplomatiche, vol. II, page 213.. Now, what more nearly regards our matter, it was formerly disputed whether processes of canonization were to be written by ecclesiastical notaries, or whether it was enough that any notaries whatever should give credit to the acts. On this controversy Benedict XIV is to be seen De Canonizatione SS. book II, chap. 47, num. 8.; from whom we take this one thing, that the more common opinion formerly was that a notary constituted by lay authority sufficed, and that that opinion was quite often put into practice. And indeed the notaries who received the statements of the witnesses in the cause of Blessed John the Good seem to have been imperial ones; Lanfranc of Bergamo, namely, is openly called notary of the sacred empire, and Bonaventure, who, no otherwise than his father Maurus, is to be reckoned to have been a notary of the sacred palace, seems also to have been designated by imperial authority. For the notaries of the sacred palace, who appear in great numbers in Puricelli's monuments of the Ambrosian basilica, especially in the sale of the fief of Cologna made in the year 1185 In Graevius, Antiquitates Italiæ, vol. IV, col. 442., and in the instrument concerning the building of the castle of Penna San Giovanni in the diocese of Fermo, written in the year 1252 Muratori, Antiquitates Italiæ, vol. I, col. 708., are to be held as constituted by imperial designation.

[6] [How many witnesses were heard, and why sworn; the earlier articles excerpted from a formulary.] To come now to the witnesses, there were heard in the first process seventeen regulars, most of them hermits and former companions of St. John; and sixty-six seculars: but in the second process there were received the depositions of nineteen brothers and one hundred and thirty seculars; in all, two hundred and thirty-two testimonies were consigned to writing. But although formerly in these causes proceedings were sometimes extrajudicial, and for that reason it was not necessary to keep the figure of trials accurately, yet it was the practice that even then the chief methods and manners of the courts should be employed: wherefore, in general, no other witnesses were received than sworn ones, as is gathered, says Benedict XIV Benedict XIV, De Canonizatione SS. book II, chap. 47, num. 6., from the bull of canonization of Blessed Wulfstan under Innocent III; where it is set forth that the merits and miracles of so great a man had come to the apostolic hearing, and that the pontiff himself had commanded that certain delegates should diligently inquire into the truth, not through testimonies only, as perhaps had been done by those who had supplicated for the canonization, BUT THROUGH SWORN WITNESSES AND AUTHENTIC WRITING. So too Honorius III, reviewing in the bull of canonization of St. William, abbot of Roskilde, what he had commanded to be observed for discovering the holiness of this man, points out that trustworthy sworn witnesses had been heard In Raynaldus, Continuatio annalium Baronii, at the year 1224, num. 30.. Not otherwise Gregory IX, who in the year 1240, in the remissorial letters for the cause of Blessed Ambrose, a Minorite of Orvieto, ordered lawful witnesses to be diligently examined, an oath having first been taken by them Ibid. at the year 1240, num. 22.. Whence it is manifest that Pope Innocent IV trod in the footsteps of his predecessors when in the cause of Blessed John the Good he required sworn witnesses and the judicial form: which he did likewise in the cause of St. Stanislaus, bishop of Cracow, and others Ibid. 1252, num. 7.; nay, even the articles according to which he wished the witnesses to be examined by the bishop of Modena, the provost of Mantua and the prior of St. Mark are altogether the same, not even a tittle changed, as those which Pope Gregory IX dispatched to Orvieto in the cause of Blessed Ambrose: so that a formulary already existed at that time.

[7] Of the postulator and procurator. Although, however, in the remissorial letters no mention is made of a particular postulator, but the bishop of Mantua and the noblemen Bartholomew and Nicholas, ambassadors of Mantua, are only said to have humbly supplicated Innocent IV that he would enrol Blessed John the Good in the number of the saints; yet you would say that brother Guizardus, prior of the convent of St. Agnes of Mantua, of the order of hermits, acted the parts of postulator and also of procurator. For he himself, with other brothers of the same order, on the 27th day of July of the year 1251 presented to the bishop of Modena and the two other commissaries the bull of Pope Innocent, num. 1; and he himself also on the following day gave and introduced, or presented, witnesses, num. 4. A few days after, brother Guizardus was succeeded by brother Ugolinus, prior general of the order of hermit brothers; by whom, on the 1st day of August of the same year 1251, other witnesses were introduced and presented, num. 99. But in the second process who introduced the witnesses is noted nowhere. In very truth, where these bind themselves by oath to speak the truth and to keep silent from falsehood, there are mostly present some hermits, and sometimes also Lanfranc, the prior general, num. 168; but they do not seem to sustain any other character there than that by their presence they make the oath of the witnesses more solemn and add strength to it. But there is nothing to wonder at in this: for formerly the common opinion was that a procurator was not necessary, and that anyone of the people, as in a popular action, could act without a mandate of procuration Benedict XIV, De Canonizatione SS. book II, chap. 47, num. 6.; so that no one was properly postulator or procurator, but he conducted the cause in the name of the community who had it most at heart. Wherefore neither Guizardus nor Ugolinus, designated above, seem to be held in that place in which postulators and procurators now come in causes of canonization.

[8] In what places the witnesses were heard. Now as to the places in which the processes were constructed, some things deserve to be noted. First of all, before a most honourable gathering, the bull of Pope Innocent IV was opened on the 27th day of July of the year 1251 in the garth of the church of St. Mark at Mantua, num. 1; which was not the cathedral, but a collegiate church. This garth, moreover, was the cemetery or court of the canons, which the porticoes of the cloister surrounded, commonly called preau. On the following day, however, and the subsequent days the witnesses were received in the canonry of Mantua, or chapter hall of St. Mark. And on the next day, the 1st of August, witnesses were examined in the house of St. Mark and in the greater church of the aforesaid city, num. 99; so (unless I am mistaken) that they took the oath in the church, and testified in the house. But when master Michael, chaplain of the cardinal of St. Eustace, was deputed in the year 1253 to examine witnesses, he changed his seat continually. First, on the 29th day of October, he received the oath and deposition of two hermits in the chapter of their convent of St. Agnes at Mantua, num. 258; then, on the 31st day of October, of two other hermits in the court of the lord bishop of Mantua, num. 265, and then others on the following days; on the 4th day of November he returned to the chapter of the convent of St. Agnes; but on the 5th, 6th and 7th days he again heard witnesses in the episcopal palace; in which also from the 7th to the 11th day the whole fifth part was carried out. On the 10th day (for the parts are distinguished in this place not by time but by matter) witnesses were again received, belonging to the sixth part, in the aforesaid episcopal palace of Mantua, num. 334; but on the 26th day of the same month of November beside the palace of the commune, num. 343; but before, namely on the 12th day of November, he had received the depositions of some witnesses dwelling in the borough of St. James at Mantua in the church of St. James; finally, to omit many other things, he quite often betook himself to private palaces, if the testimonies of matrons were to be heard: let what is read at num. 385 be an example. Nor have we thought these things worth noting because this manner of examining is greatly wonderful, but so that it may be established that the examination of the witnesses was rather summary than ordinary, or made by a judge sitting as a tribunal; which form, for the rest, is even now for the most part customarily observed.

[9] What each of the six parts of this double process has as its own. Finally it will help to have seen at one view the six parts of this process. We have already pointed out that the first and second parts were drawn up at Mantua by the bishop of Modena and one or two assessors from the 27th day of July to the 6th of August of the year 1251. In the first, however, the examination

of the witnesses is made concerning the life, conversation and miracles done before the death of Blessed John the Good; in the second, concerning the miracles after his death. That the four remaining parts were received by master Michael at Mantua from the end of the month of November up to almost the end of the month of December of the year 1253, and then at Cesena at the beginning of the month of January of the following year, has also been said above. Now the third part, which was indeed collected in the last place, but is set here because it coheres more with the preceding ones, contains the testimonies received at Cesena concerning the life, faith and conversation and fame of brother John the Good of revered memory, and concerning the miracles which God deigned to work through his merits, especially before his death. The fourth and fifth parts were received at Mantua, and in both the life, faith, conversation and fame of Br. John the Good are treated; but this difference is set between these two parts, that the fourth consists of the testimonies of the hermit brothers, the fifth of those of laymen, clerics and one Humiliatus. Moreover in this fifth part much more is treated than in the preceding one of the miracles which God was said to have done through his merits in the life, and at the death, and after the death of Blessed John the Good. Finally the sixth and last part, also received at Mantua, is wholly about the miracles which had been performed at the elevation of the body in the year 1251 or a little after (except one which had happened a little before the elevation), and which had given occasion for constructing the processes. From this series of parts, therefore, it is easy to gather that a certain order was studiously observed by the notaries in arranging the testimonies. For we do not have here the very notes which they wrote while the witnesses were speaking. For they admitted a twofold change in rewriting them: the one, that, neglecting the order of time, they arranged the testimonies either according to the classes of witnesses or according to the variety of matter; the other, that they abridged the statements of the witnesses, especially if other witnesses had already spoken before about the same things: and where this occurs, the reader is quite often referred to what had already been written above. There is no need in this place to speak of the fortunes of these processes; for enough will be established on this argument from the preliminary commentary, and especially from the ancient and recent subscriptions of the individual processes.

APOSTOLIC PROCESSES,

Constructed by the authority of Pope Innocent IV in the Years 1251, 1253 and 1254, concerning the life, virtues and miracles

OF BLESSED JOHN THE GOOD,

of Mantua, hermit of the order of St. Augustine.

John the Good, hermit of the order of St. Augustine, at Mantua in Italy. (B.)

BHL Number: 0000

FROM MANUSCRIPTS

FIRST PART.

The Process held at Mantua, in the year 1251, concerning the life, conversation and miracles of the Blessed.

PREFACE.

"In the name of Christ. On the fifth day before the end of July ^b, there being present the lord James, by the grace of God bishop of Mantua; the lord Peter, archpriest of Mantua, the lord archpriest of Modena, master John, scribe of the lord Legate, and many others, witnesses being called, gathered in the garth ^c of the church of St. Mark ^d at Mantua. And there the venerable father the lord Albert, bishop of Modena, opened a certain letter sealed with the bull of the lord Pope, closed, the lord John de Gonzaga, provost of Mantua, [and] the prior of the aforesaid St. Mark giving word and leave ^e, presented by brother Guizardus, prior of the convent of St. Agnes of Mantua, of the order of hermits, and by certain other brothers of the same order, to the said lord bishop and to the others to whom it had been committed by the lord Pope that inquiry should be made concerning the life, conversation and miracles of brother John the Good, hermit; and the tenor is as follows:

REMISSORIAL LETTERS OF POPE INNOCENT IV.

[2] The form of the interrogations. The interrogation ^f to be made concerning the life, conversation and miracles of brother John the Good, hermit. The lawful witnesses whom you are to receive concerning the life, conversation and miracles of brother John the Good, hermit, of revered memory, an oath having first been taken by them, you shall take care to examine diligently, and concerning all that they say you shall ask them how they know ^g, at what time, in what month, on what day, in whose presence, in what place, at whose invocation, and with what words interposed, and concerning the names of those on whom the miracles are said to have been done, and whether they knew them before, and how many days before they saw them sick, and for how long a time they were sick, and for how long a time they have been seen well, and from what place they are natives; and let them be questioned diligently on all the circumstances, and on each head let the aforesaid questions be put, as is expedient, and so let the series of the testimony and the words of the witnesses be faithfully reduced to writing."

[3] The remissorial letters. Likewise another letter, which was presented by the said brothers to the said Lords: "Innocent, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to our venerable brother Albert, bishop of Modena, and to our beloved sons the prior of St. Mark and the provost of the church of Mantua ^h, greeting and apostolic benediction. We render worthy thanks to the Lord that, as our venerable brother … the bishop and our beloved sons, the noblemen Bartholomew and Nicholas, ambassadors ⁱ of Mantua, have taken care to set forth, the Almighty, after brother John the Good, hermit, of revered memory, had lived piously in this world, teaching the way of salvation by words and examples alike, at length, the course of the present life having been happily completed, adorned him with many miracles. Whence, since it is not fitting to leave without veneration among men those whose merits and miracles show them to be saints *, they have humbly supplicated Us that We should take care to write him in the catalogue of the saints. But since the premises have not been established for Us, We command your discretion, in which We have full confidence in the Lord, by Apostolic writings, that, inquiring diligently and faithfully how much concerning his life and miracles, you be zealous lawfully to receive trustworthy witnesses on these matters; and that you take care prudently to examine them on the individual circumstances, according to the form of interrogation ^k which We transmit to you enclosed under Our bull, and to send back to Our presence their statements, faithfully reduced to writing and enclosed under your own seals, that We may proceed according to God in that business. But if not all of you can be present for executing these things, do you, brother bishop, nevertheless execute them with one of them. Given at Genoa on the 15th of the Calends of July, in the eighth year of Our Pontificate. 1251 ^l."

CHAPTER I.

The Testimony of Br. Salvetus, hermit of the order of St. Augustine.

The examiners and witnesses "These are the witnesses given and introduced in the city of Mantua by brother Guizzardus ^m, prior of St. Agnes, of the order of hermits, of the diocese of Mantua, concerning the life, conversation and miracles of brother John the Good of revered memory, institutor and founder of the rule ⁿ of the hermits originally in the province of Romagna. On the fourth day before the end of July ^o, there being present the lord … archpriest of Modena, the lord Archpriest of Mantua, the lord … vicar of the lord bishop of Modena, and many witnesses being called, in the canonry of Mantua [p], and there brother Salvetus, priest, brother James, brother Michael, brother Ghirardus, all priests except the aforesaid brother James, of the order of hermits, swore on the holy gospels of God [q] to speak the truth concerning the life, conversation and miracles of brother John the Good, of the order of hermits, being presented by the aforesaid brother Guizzardus, prior."

[5] The fame and conversation of the Blessed, his preaching, his fasts. Brother Salvetus, priest, of the order of hermits, being sworn, said that when he was still established in the lay habit, a good five years before he entered the order, while staying in the city of Cesena, he had heard from many of the good fame, conversation and life of brother John the Good himself, institutor of the aforesaid order, who was then dwelling in the hermitage of St. Mary of Botriolo [r] in the diocese of Cesena. And then the said witness, with many others, namely with brother Gualterius, who was a brother of penance, brother Leonard Malregotus, a notary of the same holy order of penance, brother Maurinus of the same order of penance, Artusius, then a layman, and now he is a brother of penance [s], on account of the good fame which the said witness heard of the said brother John the Good, often and more often went to the said place where the said brother John the Good dwelt, and heard the words of his preaching with eagerness and most willingly; and so at a preceding time the witness himself, through the words of his preaching [t], took his habit through brother John the Good himself; being questioned about the time, he says that it is now XVIIII years [u] since he entered that order, and more. Likewise he says that the things which he had heard with his ears through public fame of brother John the Good himself, after that order *, he found by hidden faith and experienced personally, and very much more. Likewise he says that he fasted continually [x] at all times, except on Sundays, and that at the time of his meal he ate so little that the witness himself ate more at one eating than brother John the Good himself through the whole week; and this he says he saw several times when the same brother John the Good ate in his cell, and also in the refectory with his brothers. Being questioned in whose presence he saw brother John the Good himself eating in his cell, he says that the witness himself alone.

[6] The gift of tears, his garments, his bed, his conversation, frequent communion. Likewise he says that when on a certain day of the Lord's Resurrection brother John the Good himself had eaten with the Friars Preachers [y] in the guest-house, namely with brother Ugolinus and with a certain lay brother of the same order, he wept while he was at table, so that the tears flowed over his hands as though they were drippings from the eaves, and in no way could he restrain the tears, although he wished to keep himself from those tears. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that a certain brother Bonus, of the order of the hermits themselves, was present, and the aforesaid Friars Preachers who were eating with him. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XVIII years. Being questioned about the month, he says that it was in the month of March. Being questioned about the day, he says that it was on the day of the Lord's Resurrection. Being questioned what garments he used, he says one little tunic with a hood joined to that tunic, of stamine [z] woven of wool and linen; and with this garment he was content summer and winter, however great the cold might be. Being questioned, he says that in all the time in which he saw him, he saw him go unshod, without hose and slippers [aa]; he wore, however, wooden zupelli [bb] in summer and in winter. Being questioned, he says that he lay at night on a certain plank of oak *, where there was nothing but one cloth of wool moderately coarse, and at his head a little sack full of straw. Being questioned whether he had anything over himself when he lay on the said plank, he says that he does not know; he believes, however, that he had a cloak, which he used in the time of his infirmity. Being questioned, he says that the said brother John the Good, whenever he joined the brothers, whether in common or singly, spoke to them words of edification,

and he spoke and admonished them by word and example concerning charity, humility and patience; which virtues were found most fully in brother John the Good himself; and the witness himself says that he never heard an idle word from his mouth. Being questioned, he says that the said brother John the Good every Sunday received the body of Christ with an excessive shedding of tears and no small contrition.

[7] The conversion of water into wine, Concerning the miracles of the said brother John the Good done in his life, the same witness says that when on a certain occasion there were two brothers from Lombardy [cc] in the convent of the said brother, and they had understood through certain brothers of that convent that the same brother John the Good had done miracles, and those brothers seemed to doubt about them, and the same brother John the Good had understood this, for the edification and confirmation of those doubting brothers, and so that through them, who were then about to go into Lombardy, others who should hear might be edified, the same witness says that at the prayers and supplications of a certain brother named Nicholas, the same brother John the Good one day, early after Prime, came out of his cell, and was coming toward the dwelling of the brothers, and the brothers were coming toward the cell of the said brother John the Good, at the command of that brother, and so they met beside the spring. And then that brother ordered them to stand there, and since he had a wooden cup in his hand, he bent down, and filled it, the brothers seeing it, with water of that same spring, and set that cup full of water on the brim of the spring; and having put down his hood, and having removed the infula [dd] from his head, and with knees bent, he made a prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ, which prayer the brothers did not then understand; but the prayer having been made, he held out the cup to the brothers, saying: Take of the wine of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the same witness says that he and all the brothers who were there drank twice of that wine, which had been converted from water into an excellent, fragrant, mature and sweet wine; which wine had as it were a golden colour.

[8] and after it an address to the brothers. Which done, he enjoined them to go to the chapter and wait for him there; and afterwards he came to them in the chapter, and said to the brothers: Brothers, do not think that I have done this miracle which you have seen, but the Lord God, who can do all things, and transform water into wine, and one species into another species; it is He who has done this. Yet I said this prayer for the transmutation of the water into wine: "O Lord God almighty, show Thy power and might, that these brothers may be edified, and confirmed, and have perfect faith in Thee." And he said nothing else in the prayer; and he commanded those brothers to tell this to no one until the end of August, since this had been done in the month of July. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XVIIII years; about the month, he said that it was in the month of July; about the day, he says that it was on a Monday; about the place, he says that it was beside his cell. Being questioned in whose presence: that there were present the same witness, brother Martin, now prior of Venice, brother Gregory of Piacenza, brother James of Brescia, and brother Ugutio, and many other brothers of the same order whose names he does not remember. Being questioned whether there was public voice and fame concerning the aforesaid, he says that there was, there was public voice and fame.

[9] He enters the fire and is not harmed: Likewise the same witness moreover tells another miracle: that when on a certain occasion a certain brother named Jachim, of the same order, had been tempted so much that he wished to go out of that order, the same brother John the Good, as he stood at the fire with his brothers, where the same brother Jachim was present, began to preach to them, to admonish and exhort them that they should be firm and stable in the service of Jesus Christ, and should fear neither cold, nor heat, nor fire, nor any other tribulation, for it is the Lord Himself who consoles you. And these things said, he at once rose, and went into the fire, and began to roll the fire itself, namely the coals, with his feet this way and that, as if it were water; and he stood there for so long an hour as half a Psalm could be said, namely "Have mercy on me, O God"; and as soon as he went out of the fire, he went to his cell, and sent for brother Matthew, and for the witness himself, and for two other brothers of the same order whose names he does not remember, telling them that they ought to be friends of God, and to love God Himself; and since the same witness believed that brother John the Good himself had been harmed by the aforesaid coals, he went eagerly up beside brother John the Good himself, to look better and see whether he had suffered any harm in his feet, shins or tunic; which having been diligently inspected by the witness himself, he saw no burn or harm there.

[10] from which Br. Joachim is confirmed in his vocation. This having been seen, the said Br. Jachim was at once confirmed in the above-said order, and there ended his life in the order. Being questioned how he knows that the said Br. Jachim was so tempted that he wished to leave the order, he says that he believes he heard it from the mouth of Br. John the Good himself, and for certain he sets down that he heard from the brothers of that order that Br. Jachim himself was so tempted, troubled and distressed; and that for the strengthening of Br. Jachim himself he had entered the aforesaid coals. Likewise being questioned how he knows that the same Br. Jachim was confirmed, he says that afterwards he never heard from the mouth of Br. Jachim himself that he wished to go out of that order; nay, he ended his life there most excellently. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is about XVIII years; about the month, he says that it was in January, on the day of the Epiphany; in whose presence, he says that a certain Br. Mark, and the aforesaid Br. Jachim, Br. Matthew, Br. Blasius, and many others; so that they were almost twenty, of whose names he does not remember. Being questioned about the place, he says that in the same place. Being questioned whether there was public voice and fame about all the aforesaid, he says that there was.

[11] At his prayers the rain ceases, Likewise the same witness moreover tells another miracle: that at the time when the brothers of the aforesaid order were to build a certain wall, and all things had been made ready, so that the brothers had hired men for that work, a certain rain was so flooding over the earth that no one could carry out the said work; and the same witness sent a certain brother named Conrad to announce it to the aforesaid Br. John the Good, and the same witness himself went after him, and announced to the aforesaid brother how the said work was hindered on account of the rain, so that they could not labour there. And Br. John the Good himself answered them, saying: Go securely, and prepare the lime, and labour faithfully. And they went, and prepared all things for carrying out the work, and the same Br. John the Good followed them as far as the church, and entered the church, and made a prayer; and the same witness says that when he had completed the prayer, the rain ceased so much that scarcely any cloud appeared in the air. And afterwards he went out of the church and came to the workmen, and said to them: What does it seem to you, brothers, do you not believe that the Lord hears His servants? They answered: Lord, yes. And he said to them: Be then servants and friends of God. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is about XVIII years; about the month, that it was in the month of September; about the day, he says that he does not remember; he says, however, that he believes it was on a certain Monday. Being questioned in whose presence, he answered: himself the witness, and the aforesaid brother Conrad. Being questioned about the places, he says that when they went to announce to the said brother John the Good about the hindrance of the rain, it was under the portico of his cell; and as for the things which the same Br. John the Good said, it was in the place of the aforesaid work.

[12] Persecutions from the demon and from men. Likewise the said witness, being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good suffered tribulations and persecutions from any, says that he heard from the said Br. John the Good that he was several times beaten in his cell by the evil spirit; and one night, when he was thus persecuting him, he was struck on the forehead with a certain stone through a certain window, and wounded, from which wound no blood came out, but water only. Being questioned how he knows, he says that the witness himself, with many other brothers, heard it several times from the mouth of brother John the Good himself. Being questioned about the time, he says that it was about the beginning of the conversion of the said brother John the Good; about the month and day, he says that he does not remember. Likewise the same witness said that he several times suffered tribulations and straits from certain brothers of penance, who several times, through envy, as he believed, attacked and molested him before the venerable prelate the lord Otto, bishop of Cesena; all which things Br. John the Good bore patiently and humbly; and this the said brothers said in order to defame the said brother John the Good before the said lord bishop and all the people, as the same witness believes. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he was present, and went with the said brother John the Good, before the said witness entered the rule, before the bishop when he was attacked by the said brothers, as is narrated above. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XVIIII years and more; about the month, he says that it was in the month of July; in whose presence, he says that in the presence of brother Leonard the notary, who was a brother of penance, and brother Marinus, of penance. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good bore all the aforesaid out of charity and with charity, he says that he believes so, to such a degree that the same Br. John the Good never uttered any idle word about them or against them; nay, he asked the Lord for them that He would spare them, and he commanded his brothers to entreat the Lord for those persecutors. Being questioned whether there was public voice and fame about all the aforesaid, he says that there was public voice and fame.

[13] [He thrusts little pieces of wood under his nails in a temptation of the flesh; he is healed by a miracle.] Likewise the same witness says that when the aforesaid John the Good on a certain occasion was incessantly molested by the vice of lust, so that he could scarcely bear it, he went to his cell and began to ask the Lord that He would remove the said vice from him,

if it pleased Him, and that He would not permit him to fall; and, the prayer having been made, he was at once strengthened, saying within himself: Go, wretch, do not let yourself be overcome, but if the flesh wishes to kill you, kill and afflict it: and going out of his cell under the portico, he took canes, and split them, and sharpened them at the tip, and fixed them between the nail and the flesh of his hands up to the very root of the nails on each finger; and he broke those sticks, the parts which he had fixed up to the root of the nail on each finger remaining in the tips of the fingers; and he applied wax to the tips of each of the fingers. And so he remained three days and three nights, and did not eat, nor drink, nor sleep in those days and nights, being intent, however, in prayer; and when on the third day he was praying, and held his hands joined between his knees, intent in prayer he fell asleep a little, and while he slept the aforesaid canes fell from his fingers; and waking he saw that they had fallen on the ground before his feet; and looking at the tips of his fingers he saw the scars and wounds cured and healed, so that no hurt appeared there. Being questioned how he knows, he says that the witness himself and many other brothers had many times heard the aforesaid from the mouth of brother John the Good himself; and he believes that the same Br. John the Good said these things for the strengthening of his brothers, because he said these things to them when he was exhorting them to be good fighters against the vices of the flesh; and he brought before them the authority of blessed Paul, which says: He will not be crowned unless he has striven lawfully. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XVII years; about the month and day, he does not remember, because Br. John the Good himself told it several times to the witness himself and to other brothers. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good had any orders, or was a cleric, he answered that he had not, but was only a layman. Being questioned whether there was public voice and fame about all the aforesaid, he says that there was public voice and fame.

[14] Although unlettered he overcomes a man learned in the law by knowledge. Likewise the same witness also tells another miracle: that when at a certain time a matrimonial question was being discussed between the said brother John the Good and the lord Letus, canon of Cesena, learned in the law, the one affirming and the other denying that it ought to be so; and when it had long been disputed between them back and forth, at length the said Br. John the Good, seeing this, told the aforesaid canon Letus to have his book of the Decretals brought, whether it was so as Br. John the Good himself said; and so, the book having been brought into the midst, the said canon began to turn over the book, to find the chapter by which that question would be settled, and when he had turned it over a long time he could not find the said chapter; at length the said Br. John the Good told the canon himself to hand him the book of the Decretals; and having received the book from the canon mentioned, he began to turn over the book himself; and at the third turning over he found the chapter which set down those words which the same Br. John the Good asserted, and putting his finger on it, he showed it to the said canon, saying: Behold the very chapter, which says what I was saying; and when the said canon had seen it, he began to wonder in many ways, saying that this could not be except from the Holy Spirit, since Br. John the Good himself is unlettered, so that he did not know a single letter, and had never seen nor touched that book except then. Being questioned about the time, he says that it had been XVIII years in the preceding Lent; about the month, he says that it was in the month of March; about the day, he says that he does not remember; about the hour he says that it was after None, when those brothers have leave to speak [ee]; about the place, he says that it was in the greater cloister, where anyone may speak, in the diocese of Cesena. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of the witness himself and of the canon mentioned. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he was present there when these things were done. Being questioned whether the said canon is living, he says that he believes him to be living. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good knew letters, he says that he believes him to be wholly unlettered, since he had never seen him reading in any book. Being questioned whether there was public voice and fame about all the aforesaid, he says that there was public voice and fame.

[15] A she-wolf renders him obedience. Likewise the said witness moreover tells another miracle: that when a certain she-wolf, carrying her young one in her mouth, was being pursued by men and many dogs, she turned aside beside the cell of the said brother John the Good, who, as soon as he saw her with her young one in her mouth, said to her: Stand and do not move. And she at once stood, and put her young one on the ground, and looked at that brother; and that brother said to her: Do you wish to go away, do not fear. And that she-wolf seemed to rejoice greatly. At length the said Br. John the Good said to her: Take your young one, and go securely by this path, and do not fear. And she at once took her young one in her mouth, and began to go gladly by the path which the said Br. John the Good had shown her, and so escaped without any harm to herself and to her young one. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he heard it several times from the mouth of brother John the Good himself, confirming and strengthening his brothers, saying that you ought to be intent on the service of Jesus Christ, and to obey your superiors; since a she-wolf, an animal without discretion, obeyed the words of the servant of God, how much more ought you to obey and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that the witness himself being present, and brother Dentesalvus of Cesena, who is still living, and brother Detessalvus of Tuscany, who is dead. Being questioned about the time, he says that he believes it is almost XX years, before the same witness was a brother, but he heard this from the mouth of brother John the Good himself. He believes that it is XVI years after the same witness was made a brother. About the place he says that sometimes he heard these things from the said brother John the Good in the cloister, sometimes in the house [ff]; about the month and day, he says that he does not know. Being questioned whether there was public voice and fame about all the aforesaid, he says that there was, there was public voice and fame. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, he says that he was never taught or asked, but he came to testify by the mandate of his prior, namely brother Guizzardus.

ANNOTATIONS.

p. See Annotations c and d.

q. Compare above page 770 num. 6.

r. When at num. 120 and 121 of the preliminary Commentary we described the convent of St. Mary of Butriolo, the letters of the Rev. D. Paggi, professor in the seminary of Cesena, had not yet arrived; part of which we gave near the end of the Commentary, num. 192. The rest, in which an account of both convents of the hermits of St. Augustine, outside and within Cesena, is given, we recite here in one tenor: The monastery, he says, of St. Mary of Butriolo no longer exists today. For after, in the course of the eighteenth century, under French domination, the goods of the religious sodalities were brought into the treasury, it was bought at auction by count Scipione Fantaguzzi, on the 15th day of September 1797, together with the estate

adjoining, and little by little was torn down to its foundations. Its sacred building, moreover, at the beginning of this century collapsed of itself and fell in ruins. Now on the same ground, though within narrower bounds, a farmhouse has been raised, serving the cultivators of the estate which lately passed from the Fantaguzzi family into the possession of the Bavoni family. Only the spring still stands, whose water John the Good once turned into wine, as is asserted in the third lesson of the second nocturn of the office; and on whose upper face an image of the holy man is set: for the Augustinian brethren had it so adorned in the year 1704. And there is still seen the cave within which the Blessed hid himself for the sake of penance. This cave, to protect it from the injury of time and the profanation of the impious, the present lord of the estate, the priest Giuseppe Bavonio, curate of the parish of St. Zeno in this city, has surrounded with a very suitable wall, and has secured the entrance with a wooden enclosure. Some faithful are accustomed even in these days to betake themselves to the hermitage, for the sake of drinking the water of that spring, a most wholesome draught indeed, and of devoutly visiting the cave. — The monastery of the hermits of St. Augustine in the city still exists, as regards the material building, but the Augustinian family no longer holds it, ever since the religious sodalities were dissolved in these regions under the above-said French domination. Now part of the monastery has been turned into a station of the city's military garrison, part into a church or parochial house. That part has been turned into a parochial house came about from this, that the parish of SS. John the Evangelist and Severus the bishop, whose church today is wholly destroyed, was transferred on the 24th day of July 1797 into the church of St. Augustine. This is to be seen as remarkable even in these days, and for the cause just mentioned it is today the parish church of SS. John and Severus. Compare Braschi's Memoriæ Cæsenates chap. 20 num. 15 and following.

s. Of the brothers of penance, or Saccites, see the preliminary Commentary num. 164.

t. Of the preachings of Blessed John see ibid. from num. 90, especially num. 102.

u. That is, he entered about the year 1232; for in the year 1251, in which the process was held, 19 years had elapsed from his entry, which being deducted from the former number, the year 1232 remains. Without any trouble the years in which other things commemorated in the processes were done are thus discovered. Namely, in the first and second part of the processes the years which the witnesses say have elapsed since the event are deducted from the year 1251, in which the two earlier processes were held; in the third, from the year 1254; finally in the fourth, fifth and sixth, from the year 1253. It must be noted, however, that the witnesses do not always agree in fixing the years of events, nor are they very accurate. Thus the present witness, Br. Salvetus, says that almost all the deeds and miracles took place eighteen years ago: to some of which other witnesses assign another epoch.

x. Of the fasts and abstinence of the Blessed it was spoken in the Commentary §8. From here on we shall set down fewer notes of this kind, by which the reader is referred to the Commentary, since it is so easy to find everything from its titles of the §§.

y. Of the coming of the Friars Preachers to Cesena and of their convent, see Braschi's Memoriæ Cæsenates chap. 20 num. 6.

z. Of this little tunic of stamine see in the Commentary num. 80.

aa. Subtelares are a kind of shoes. Compare Du Cange's Glossary.

bb. Of the zupelli it was spoken in the same Commentary num. 80.

cc. From Lombardy, or from that region which was formerly called Cisalpine Gaul; by which name Calepino calls Lombardy in the Life of the Blessed num. 10. This miracle differs from the two changes of water into wine which are narrated below under num. 21 and 22. For the year and month are different, and the witnesses also are different. See below loc. cit.

dd. Of the infula see Annotation f page 766.

ee. In the constitutions of the order of hermits of St. Augustine, from most ancient custom, after supper or collation some time is granted for conversing Brockie, Codex regularum, vol. IV, page 256, chap. 12, num. 9.. In the rule of St. Benedict and in certain others of this kind such relaxation after taking food was not permitted; and on that account this has been censured by some in our society, where twice a day, after dinner and after supper, conversation or recreation is granted. But Ribadeneira [In the work: Tratado en qual se da razon del Instituto de la compañía de Jesus, Madrid 1605.] and Suárez [Francisco Suárez, Tractatus de religione societatis Jesu, book VIII, chap. 8 from num. 11, page 432 and following. Brussels 1857.] excellently showed that this custom is wholly conformable to reason and to the recommendations of the holy Fathers. See also what was the custom of St. Hilarion, above page 52 num. 17; and of our Blessed himself, preliminary Commentary page 715 num. 82, and page 721 num. 103.

ff. The cloister is distinguished from the house; and indeed there were two cloisters, the greater, in which at fixed times it was lawful to speak, and the lesser, which lay around the cemetery or garth of the convent.

* them to be

* he entered,

* oak.

CHAPTER II.

The Testimony of Br. James.

The fasts of the Blessed in the last three Lents of his life. The first Lent. Brother James, a layman, of the above-said order of hermits, being sworn, said that he himself heard and understood, even before he was a brother, while he was still a small boy, much good fame of the aforesaid brother John the Good, institutor of the above-said order, so much that the men of the aforesaid city of Cesena confessed and said that on account of God and of brother John the Good himself they had whatever good they had ^a. And he says that the same Br. John the Good practised much abstinence, so that this witness, seeing his abstinence and good works, and hearing his preaching, was compunct and entered the above-said order, when he was still of the age of XV years or thereabouts. And after he entered that order, the same witness served brother John the Good himself for X years and more, and saw and knew much of his abstinence; and especially he says that the same Br. John the Good fasted at all times, as well in winter as in summer; and at no time did he use meat, even in his infirmity; but in that time of infirmity, he says that he sometimes used eggs. And he says that in the first ^b Lent after this brother witness began to serve him, the said Br. John the Good at the beginning, and on the first day of Lent, received the Body of the Lord, and on that day took no other food, and on each of the other following days of the said Lent the said Br. John the Good ate one host only, and was content with that; and he drank a little wine mixed with the water of the boiling of the vegetables or legumes of the convent of his brothers before oil or salt was put in; and with this food and drink he was content until the day of the Lord's Supper, on which day he ate with his brothers, and after that day he returned to his first custom until the day of the Resurrection.

[17] The second and third Lent. His garments and But in the second Lent he says that the same Br. John the Good had one loaf given him from the convent, and made of it forty pieces in the manner of a host; yet so that there remained of that loaf almost half; and he used these pieces of bread through the whole of that Lent; and the said witness gave him one of those pieces only each day, that he might eat it, and this he gave him until the day of the Lord's Supper. But on that very day of the Lord's Supper he had all his brothers called, who were XXX, and gave the witness himself two pieces of the aforesaid pieces, and to each brother one, ^c and commanded them to eat at once. From that day until the day of the Resurrection, the said brother, his minister, gave him nothing. And he was content with the aforesaid food and the above-said drink until the aforesaid day of the Lord's Supper. But in the third Lent the same witness says that the same Br. John the Good, on account of an infirmity which he suffered about the flesh …, ate in the first XIII days of Lent three ounces of bread, with those victuals which the brothers themselves used in the convent. And this he did for the strengthening of his body, on account of the aforesaid infirmity. From then on afterwards, on each day of that Lent, he ate only as much bread as is the shape of one denarius, which is called mezanus ^d. Of the garment of brother John the Good himself the same witness says that the same Br. John the Good at all times, as well in winter as in summer, used and was content with one simple garment; namely one thin cappa of stamine ^e. And at all times he walked barefoot; he used only wooden zupelli as well in winter as in summer. Of his bed the same witness says that he lay upon a plank of oak, upon which plank there was one cloth of wool; over himself, however, the said Br. John the Good had nothing, except in the time of his infirmity, when he had one sheet of wool.

[18] beds of penance; silence. And when he wished to afflict the said body more, he lay in a pit in the ground: and when he wished to afflict his body more strongly still, he had a pit artfully made, in which he placed himself with his head being lower. That pit, however, was so artfully made that he clung to the earth with his shoulders and shoulder-blades, his feet being raised upward. The witness himself, however, did not see him lie in the said pit, but he saw the pit and its form, and heard from brother John the Good himself that he sometimes lay in it in the aforesaid manner. And the witness himself also perceived that when he lay in this second pit, the said Br. John the Good appeared much afflicted, and his face likewise appeared very swollen. Being questioned, the same witness says that the said Br. John the Good spoke to no one in the aforesaid three Lents except to the witness himself and to brother John, his companion, who continually ministered to him. Being questioned how he knows that the aforesaid Br. John the Good practised so great and such abstinence, he says that he saw it, and was present, as he who ministered to him the said victuals and drink. Being questioned in whose presence, he says

the witness himself and brother John de Barba, the companion of the witness himself. Being questioned about the time he says that it is ten years and more; about the place, he says that it was in his cell in the diocese of Cesena. Being questioned how he knows that the said Br. John the Good lay thus in the above-said pits in the aforesaid manner, he says that several times he found him lying in the long pit; but of the other, where he placed his head and shoulders, he heard it several times from brother John the Good himself. And this he said to the same witness: he asked him why he had made the said pit so; and he answered him: Brother, do not care to know these things. At length, at the very great insistence of the witness himself, he told him that he did it so as to afflict his body more; about the place and time, he says as above.

[19] Frequent communion. Persecutions from the demon and from men. Likewise the same witness says that every Sunday the said brother John the Good received the Body of the Lord. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good suffered any persecution from an invisible spirit, he says that he heard several times from the mouth of the said brother John the Good that an invisible spirit persecuted and molested him; so much that on one occasion he made him fall thus to the ground, and, his head having struck against the wall, he was somewhat hurt in the head. And on another occasion the said spirit came to the door of his cell, and, when the door was closed on the inside with a certain wooden bar, the demon himself pulled the door so much that he opened it by force. And when the aforesaid Br. John the Good believed it was a man, he began to go after him; and when he said: Who are you? the demon himself answered: I am such-and-such a demon (but the witness does not remember the name), who did one thing to you, and I will yet do other things to you. And Br. John the Good said to him: I do not fear you, while my Lord Jesus Christ is with me. Concerning the persecution of men, he says the same in all things as the aforesaid Br. Salvetus, with this added, that he says that the same Br. John the Good had bread bought, and sent it to his persecutors. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good did and bore all the above-said out of charity, humility and simplicity, he says that he did. Being questioned how he knew, he says that he never saw him angry, nor moved, nor disturbed, except when any of his brothers behaved less well, for then he seemed to be moved against his fault.

[20] To demonstrate the truth of the Eucharist A certain miracle done in his life. The same witness says moreover that when at a certain time a certain brother named Nasinbenus, a novice in the above-said order, doubted concerning the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, not believing that that bread and that wine which was consecrated on the altar was truly the Body of Christ, he told the witness himself on one occasion to let him speak with brother John the Good. And the witness himself at once went to the said brother John the Good, and told him that the said brother Nasinbenus wished to speak to him; and he said that he should come to him. And while the said brother stood before the said brother John the Good, he began to relate many other words; but of his doubt he said nothing to him; at length the said Br. John the Good said to him: Brother, do not hide the truth from me, and I will tell you that for which you have come; and that brother answered that he would not hide the truth. And then Br. John the Good said to him: Brother, you doubt concerning the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is consecrated on the altar, because you do not believe that that bread and that wine which is consecrated is made the true Body and the true Blood. And that brother answered: Lord, it is true. And then Br. John the Good said to the witness himself and to that brother: Withdraw thence, and when I send for you, come here quickly. And a little after, the said witness returned to the said Br. John the Good, and likewise after a short hour the same Br. John the Good said to the said witness: Go and call Br. Nasinbenus, and Br. Daniel, and Br. John; and tell them to come to me. And the witness went at once to them, and brought them.

[21] he twice changes water And when they had come to him, and he saw them coming to him, he said to them: Stand there beside the spring. For there was a spring there near his cell. Then Br. John the Good took a certain new cup; and went to them, and prostrating himself in prayer beside the spring, he took some of the water of the spring with that cup which he had carried, and set the cup with the water on the brim of the spring; and again he prayed, and made the sign of the cross over that water which was in the cup. And taking the cup, he held it out to Br. Nasinbenus; and said to him: Brother, receive the gift of God, for all things are possible with God; and do not believe that I have done this, but God has done it, for He can do all things. And then that brother drank, and all the brothers who were present there drank, and tasted good wine, both fragrant and savoury; and it had as it were a golden colour. And he said to Br. Nascinbenus in the presence of the other brothers who were present there: See, brother, and believe, that just as the Lord has made wine of this water, so of bread and wine He can make His Body and Blood whenever it pleases Him. And so the said brother was confirmed and strengthened in faith, and said that for the rest he would in no way doubt.

[22] into wine. Likewise the same witness says that on the following day a certain other brother who was called Nicholas, of the same order, having heard that Br. John the Good by the invocation of the Lord Jesus Christ had on the day just past converted water into wine, began to wonder and to doubt somewhat, saying that he would not believe this unless he himself saw that same thing. And when this had been reported to Br. John the Good himself, he at once sent for that brother Nicholas, and when the same brother was approaching the place where the said Br. John the Good was standing, he said: So, brother, there. And then Br. John the Good took a certain new wooden cup, and went to the spring with that Br. Nicholas, and with the witness himself, and a certain other brother who was called Ubertus; and he did likewise as before. And when the said brother had drunk of the excellent wine which had been made from water, he said: Truly the things which were told me about this business are true. And so he was confirmed and strengthened, so that for the rest he in no way doubted. Being questioned how he knows, he says because he was present at all these things, and saw, and drank. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that on the first day there were present Br. Daniel, Br. John de Barba, and Br. Nascinbenus, and the same witness. On the second day there were present Br. Ubertus and Br. Nicholas. And the same witness, being questioned about the time, says that it is VI years; about the month, he says that it was in the month of April; about the day, he says that it was the first and second day of the same month. Being questioned whether there was public fame of this, he says that there was not, because he himself forbade these things to be divulged outside his convent, but among the brothers of his convent this was public ^f.

[23] A disease of the joints Likewise the same witness tells another miracle: that a certain maternal uncle of his, Rainerius by name, had been sick from a certain gout, which caused him great pain and distress; so much that he could not help himself with his right hand and right arm, and had as it were lost his whole right side; and he had suffered that infirmity a good four months. And when this witness had gone one day to visit his aforesaid uncle, and had found him in such wretchedness, after conversation held with him the said witness returned to the said Br. John the Good, and asked him that he would intercede with the Lord for the deliverance of the said Rainerius. And Br. John the Good himself, moved by the prayers of the same witness, his minister, and by compassion for the said sick man, gave himself to prayer, rose, called this witness, and said to him: Go and learn how your uncle Rainerius is. And when this witness had taken Br. Nicholas as his companion, he went with him to the house of the said Rainerius; and before the said brothers had come to the house of the said Rainerius, they saw him freed from his infirmity, going to the vineyards to work. And this witness called the same Rainerius, and said to him: Where are you going? And he answered: I am going to the vineyards; you go home, for I will return to you at once; and when this witness had gone to the house of the said Rainerius, and had waited a little, the said Rainerius came. And when this witness asked him how he was, the same Rainerius answered that he was very well, and was well freed.

[24] driven off by a miracle. Being questioned how he knows the aforesaid, he says, because the lord Rainerius was his paternal uncle; and he saw that the aforesaid were so done. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is five years since this was; about the month and day, he says that he does not remember: he says, however, that it was a little before Lent. Being questioned in whose presence, he says, himself the witness and the aforesaid Br. Nicholas. Being questioned how much afterwards this witness saw the said Rainerius remain healthy and freed from the said infirmity, he answered that ever afterwards he remained healthy and freed from the said infirmity. Being questioned how he knows that the said Rainerius remained thus healthy and freed from the said infirmity, he answered, because afterwards he often and many times saw him healthy and freed. Being questioned whether there was public fame of this through that district, he says that there was. Being questioned about the place, he says that in the diocese of Cesena, in the village where it is called Dossina, because the said Rainerius lived there.

[25] Likewise one with epilepsy. Likewise the same witness tells another miracle: that since he had a certain kinswoman named Maria, she was gravely afflicted with the epileptic or falling sickness; so much that several times every week she fell to the ground and lay for a great hour trembling with foam in her mouth; so that her husband so abhorred her that he would not stay with her. At length the mother of that woman went to the witness himself, her kinsman, asking him that he would

ask Br. John the Good on God's behalf to intercede with the Lord Jesus Christ for her daughter, believing firmly that through his prayers her daughter would be altogether freed from the aforesaid infirmity. The said woman doing this quite often with the greatest insistence, at length the said Br. John the Good, moved by the prayers of the witness himself and by the tears of the woman, said to the aforesaid woman: Go to your house, and I will ask the Lord my God that He show His mercy to her. And from that hour the daughter of the said woman was made well of the aforesaid infirmity. Being questioned how he knows, he said that he was present, and saw her many times fall to the ground. And eight days after the same Br. John the Good had prayed for her, he went to the house of the aforesaid woman; and heard from her mother, and from the husband of that woman who had been sick, that after the said Br. John the Good had prayed the Lord Jesus Christ for her, she had felt nothing of the aforesaid infirmity. And when on many occasions afterwards the said witness had gone to the house of the aforesaid woman, he always saw her healthy and freed from that infirmity. And she conceived several children by her husband, she who before could have none by him. Being questioned in whose presence the prayers were offered to the aforesaid Br. John the Good, he says: the witness himself, the aforesaid woman, namely the mother of that woman. Being questioned whether that woman who had suffered the aforesaid infirmity is still living, he says that she is. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is VII years; about the month, day and hour, he says that he does not remember. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the city of Cesena. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this in the aforesaid city of Cesena, he says that there was. And the same witness says that the same woman had had the aforesaid infirmity for almost five years.

[26] A demoniac woman Likewise another miracle. The same witness says moreover that when a certain girl, who was about XVIII years old and whose name was Guerula, on one occasion was going to a spring to carry water, before she had come to the said spring she was seized by a demon; and he afflicted her so gravely that he threw her to the ground; nor could she return to her own house by herself until her parents came. Who carried her in their arms to her own house, and so for a day and a night held her in the house with the greatest difficulty, because she was greatly distressed this way and that. And at length they carried her to a certain church which was near that house, and there they began to guard her; and while they were so standing, the priest of that church asked of that demoniac: Who must cast you out? and she said: John the Good. And then the said Ugo, whose servant the aforesaid girl was, sent certain messengers to Br. John the Good, that he should ask the Lord Jesus Christ for the deliverance of the aforesaid girl, who was being vexed by a demon. And then Br. John the Good himself sent the witness himself and a certain other, brother John, his brothers, saying to them: Go and see how that girl is. And while they were going along the road, the said girl began to cry out and say: Behold, they come, behold, they come. And when she was asked by the priest of that church: Who are those who are coming? she said to him: They are the Zanbonnini brothers ^g. And when those brothers had come to her, and had touched her, and had made the sign of the cross over her, she began to be much disturbed and troubled, and to spit in their faces; and when Br. John, the other brother who had gone with the witness himself, took a certain wooden cross and was approaching that girl, twisting herself greatly this way and that, she spat as she could on that cross. And then the witness himself and the other brother withdrew thence, and told those who were standing with that girl to guard her well; and so those brothers went to brother John the Good, telling him how the said girl was, and what she had done to them; and they asked Br. John the Good himself to intercede with the Lord Jesus Christ for the deliverance of that girl. He said that he would do it gladly, according as the Lord should give him grace. And when he had prayed, he said to the witness himself and to the aforesaid brother John: Tomorrow morning she will be freed at dawn. And when morning was come, he told the witness himself and the brother John mentioned to go to see how the aforesaid girl was; and when they had gone, they found her freed from the demon, so that thereafter the demon did not vex her.

[27] cured. Being questioned for how long a time the said girl had been vexed by the demon, he said for four days. Being questioned how he knows that she had been vexed by that demon for only four days, he said that he heard it from that Ugo, who was the master of that girl, and from all of his household, and from all of her neighbourhood. Being questioned how he knows that she was a demoniac, he says that he saw and was present when she was tormented and afflicted by that demon, and that she spat in his face, and on the cross, when it was shown to her by the other brother, his companion, namely of the said witness. Being questioned how he knows that she said: Behold, they come, behold, they come, the Zanbonini brothers, he says that the priest of that church and others standing about that girl related it to the witness himself and to Br. John his companion. Being questioned about the month, he says that it was in the month of December. Being questioned about the very day of the deliverance, he says that it was on the day of the Lord's Nativity. Being questioned about the hour, he says that it was at dawn when the Mass "Lux fulgebat hodie ^h" is sung. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of the priest of that church, Ugo, and Lady Saxa, wife of that Ugo, who were the masters of that girl, and many others of whose names he does not remember. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the village which is called Aquarola. Being questioned whether there was public voice and fame of this through that district, he says that there was.

[28] Maria de Artus from an ulcer in the hip Likewise another miracle. The same witness says moreover that when a certain Maria de Artus, of the city of Cesena, was suffering a certain very great infirmity in the hip, so that she could be cured by no physician, and while she thus despaired of health, she asked her husband to go to brother John the Good, that he might ask the Lord Jesus Christ to cure her of the aforesaid infirmity. At length the said woman with the greatest difficulty, with a certain other woman, went personally to Br. John the Good himself, and humbly and devoutly supplicated him that for the love of God he should ask Jesus Christ for her health. He answered her: Sister, bear up and ask the Lord that He deign to free you. And while she pressed him in many ways to pray for her, he said to her: Hope in God, and believe firmly that the Lord Himself can free you. And she said to him: I believe that, if you pray the Lord Jesus Christ for me, I shall for certain be freed from my infirmity. And then the same Br. John the Good called the witness himself to him, and said to him: Go, brother, and bring me three leaves of plantain; and then the witness himself brought them to him, and gave them to Br. John the Good himself, and that brother gave them to the woman and said: Take these three leaves, and put them on that infirmity, and the Lord will heal you today. And at once the woman departed from Br. John the Good himself, and put those leaves on the wound of her infirmity, and went back to her house; and on the following day she returned with joy to the said Br. John the Good, telling him that through his prayers the Lord had healed her.

[29] is freed; Being questioned how he knows that she suffered an incurable infirmity, he says that he heard it from her husband, and from the said woman, and from a certain other woman named Maria de Bonacorsio of Mantua. Being questioned whether the said woman who had been healed is living, he said that she is. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is four years. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was at the place of Butriolo where the said Br. John the Good was staying; but the woman is of the city of Cesena. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that the said Maria of Mantua, and the witness himself. Being questioned how he knows that the said woman had been healed of the said infirmity so quickly, he says that he was present and saw her when that woman came to Br. John the Good himself, telling him that the Lord had healed her through his prayers as soon as she put the herb on the wound of her infirmity. Being questioned whether there was public fame of this at that time, he says that there was public fame through that district where she lived.

[30] Bonzoannes Likewise the same witness tells another miracle. He says moreover that when a certain one of the same order, named Bonzoannes ⁱ, was sick with a certain infirmity in the right side which was called a fistula, so much that he was cut four times by the physicians, and when he could not be freed, and had been entirely abandoned by the physicians, he said to him, the witness: Do you counsel me to go to our father, Br. John the Good? He answered him: If you have faith, good, I counsel you to go, for without doubt you will be freed. And he at once went to Br. John the Good himself, with two brothers of the same Order, one of whom was called Br. Cimaboscus, and the other was called Br. Peter of Padua; and as soon as he arrived at the convent of the brothers where the brothers of the convent of the same Br. John the Good stay, at once a continuous fever seized him, and so he lay three days, so that he could not see the said Br. John the Good, since the cell of that brother was somewhat distant ^k from the said convent: and the sick brother sent one of his companions to the cell of Br. John the Good, that he might ask the Lord for his health. And Br. John the Good answered: Go, tell the said sick man that he will not die of that infirmity. And that brother at once withdrew, and found the said sick brother healthy and freed both from the fever and from the wound. And that brother, with another companion of his, went personally to brother John the Good, supplicating him with all devotion to pray the Lord Jesus Christ for him; and when he wished

to show him the scar of the wound, he said to him: Go, brother, with the Lord, for in three days you have been freed, nor do I wish to see that wound. And that brother at once withdrew from him.

[31] from a fistula; Being questioned how he knows, he says that the witness himself counselled him, while they were staying together in the convent of their brothers at Bologna; and the witness himself, with other brothers who were in that convent, several times saw that wound, and also, when he was being cut by the physicians, held him. Being questioned how he knows that the same brother was healed by the prayers of Br. John the Good, he says that he heard it from that brother who had been healed, and that he also showed him the scar of the wound. The same witness says also that he heard from the mouth of the said Br. John the Good, when the same witness asked the said Br. John the Good whether the said Br. Bonus Joannes had gone to him, and that brother answered him that he had, and was very sick, but at length the Lord freed him on account of the good faith which he had in Him. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is almost four years; about the month and day, he says that he does not remember; about the place, he says that it was in the place of Botriolo of the diocese of Cesena, where Br. John the Good dwelt in his cell. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of the convent itself. Being questioned whether the said brother is still living, he says that he is. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this, he says that there was, in the city of Bologna, whence that brother was a native, and where he was staying at that time, and where he is staying now also.

[32] a youth Likewise another miracle. The same witness also says that at a certain time in the city of Forlì a certain youth was seized by a demon, who molested him gravely for a long time. At length his father and kinsfolk said within themselves: Let us bring him to Br. John the Good, and the Lord will free him. And while they were bringing him, and had come to a certain place near where Br. John the Good himself dwelt, the same demoniac said to those who were bringing him: I know whither you wish to bring me, but I will not come for any reason. And then they took him in their arms, and carried him unwilling to the church of St. Mary of Botriolo, where the convent of Br. John the Good himself is, and put him inside the church. And then one of the brothers of that convent hurried in haste to the cell of Br. John the Good, and says to him that he should come down, because the demoniac of Forlì was in the church and was waiting there. And Br. John the Good answered that messenger, saying: Go, and you yourselves pray God for him, and I likewise will pray the Lord Jesus Christ for him; for I knew well that he was going to come before he was carried.

[33] of Forlì And then the same Br. John the Good came personally into the church, and began to touch him, and to say to the demon himself: Why do you molest the body of this Christian? In the name of God go out of him. And the demon himself answered that he would not go out. And then the same Br. John the Good, the grace of the Holy Spirit having been invoked, signed him with the sign of the cross, and commanded him to go out; and at once he went out, the demon himself saying to brother John the Good himself: I will go out, but another will enter after me, who will vex him more. And so that youth was freed. And then Br. John the Good said to the kinsfolk of that youth who had been freed: Lead him gently and smoothly, and tell him to have no fear, nor to be terrified on the way. And while they were returning home with the youth mentioned, before they came to the city of Forlì, the said youth, remembering the former molestations, began to be frightened and to fear so much that there came upon that youth an error as it were worse than the former. And then his kinsfolk said: Let us return again to the said brother John the Good; and at once they returned to brother John the Good himself with the youth mentioned, who was being gravely molested by the demon. And the same Br. John the Good again entreated the Lord, and immediately the demon himself left the body of the youth with a very great cry.

[34] from a demon. And then his kinsfolk, together with the youth mentioned, confession having been made, rendered immense praises to the Lord together with brother John the Good himself, and, leave having been received from the said brother John the Good, went back to their own country. And then that youth was fully freed from the infestation of the above-said demon. Being questioned how he knows, he says that, when he himself was staying at Faenza and heard these things told, he went personally to the convent ^l of that order, and began diligently to inquire about the business mentioned; and they set out to him all things in order, according as it has been quite often narrated. The same witness says also that he heard from the mouth of brother John the Good himself that these things had been done thus. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is almost two years and a half, in the autumn. The same witness says also that he heard these things from that youth who had been freed, and from his kinsfolk. Being questioned in whose presence these things were done, he says that in the presence of the whole convent, which was in that church of St. Mary of Botriolo beside the cell of Br. John the Good himself. Being questioned whether there was public fame of this through those districts, he says that there was, through the city of Cesena and the city of Forlì, where the same youth lived. The same witness, being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, says that he was not taught, but according as he saw and heard, so he testified. He says also that he came to testify by the mandate of Br. Ugo, the greater prior ^m, who commanded Br. Guizzardus, prior of the house of St. Agnes of Mantua, of the same order.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER III.

The Testimony of Br. Girardus.

The conversation of the Blessed, his garments, Brother Girardus, priest, of Mantua, of the order of hermits, being sworn, said that Br. John the Good, institutor of the above-said order, was of good and most excellent life and conversation before God and his brothers and other men, in all things in which he could be, namely in praying, in fasting all the time of his life after he took up that order, and in many vigils, and in chaste manners, and in all charity of which he was capable. The same witness says that he always saw him clothed in a cowl of fine stamine, as well in winter as in summer, however great the cold had been, and he always went barefoot: he wore only certain coarse wooden zupelli, so as to afflict his body more in summer. At length, when the said witness had several times heard from brothers of the same order that Br. John the Good himself afflicted himself gravely in lying down, on one occasion the said witness besought him to bring him into his cell, so that he could be made certain of the things which he had heard from the brothers mentioned; and Br. John the Good himself answered him: Leave it, brother; if the Lord wills to show you some grace, you will see; and then the said brother said nothing further to him about that matter.

[36] His bed of stakes, and his plank of oak. And the same witness says that this was in Lent, on a certain Sunday; and although the said Br. John the Good spoke to no one in Lent, he spoke by favour to the witness himself, and because the aforesaid witness was a novice. At length, Lent having passed, and the Easter feast arriving, on the first day of March, after that Easter, the said Br. John the Good sent for the witness himself to the convent where he was staying with the other brothers, that he should go to him with

another brother, who was called Martin; and when he had gone to the cell of brother John the Good himself, he began to admonish them, and strengthen them, and exhort them in the Lord Jesus Christ to keep humility and patience; and he taught them how they could serve the Lord Jesus Christ and acquire His kingdom, and faithfully obtain it. And then he brought them inside into the cell, where there was a certain bed of very sharp stakes fixed in the ground itself; and Br. John the Good himself threw himself on that bed as if it were of the best feathers, and began to roll himself on it, and without any harm he rolled himself this way and that on the said bed. And while those brothers were greatly terrified at this, they tried to help him; and he said to them: Stay in peace, do not touch me. The same witness says also that he saw a certain very hard plank, which he believed to be of oak or of walnut, where the said Br. John the Good lay when he wished to give some relief to his body. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he was present, and saw it with his own eyes. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is a good XI years and more. Being questioned in whose presence, he says Br. Martin and the witness himself. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the cell itself of Br. John the Good in the diocese of Cesena. Being questioned whether there was public fame of this, he says that there was not; he says, however, that the brothers of the convent themselves suspected it, and several times talked of this among themselves.

[37] Persecutions. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, he says that he was not, but according as he saw and heard the aforesaid, so he bore testimony, nor was he asked about it, but he came to testify by the precept of his prior Br. Guizzardus. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good suffered any persecution from an invisible spirit or from a bodily man, he says that he heard from his brothers that he had several times suffered tribulations and persecutions from an invisible spirit. He says also that he heard from the same brothers that he had suffered no small tribulations and persecutions from certain brothers of the order of Minors; and he heard also from the mouth of Br. John the Good himself, when he told his brothers that they ought to pray God for those who persecuted Br. John the Good himself; and when it happened that the said persecutors came to the house where his brothers were, he had necessaries ministered to them with the greatest charity, more than he had been accustomed at another time. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XIII years and more. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, he says that he was not, but he came to testify by the mandate of his prior Br. Guizzardus. Being questioned for how long a time Br. John the Good was in the order mentioned, he says that he believes he was there for forty years ^a. Being questioned for how long a time the said witness has been in that order, he says that he has been there for XIII years and more.

ANNOTATION.

CHAPTER IV.

The Testimony of Br. Michael.

The prayer of the Blessed, his penances and other virtues. Brother Michael, priest, of Verona, of the order of hermits, being sworn, said that Br. John the Good, institutor of the above-said order, was of the greatest abstinence in fasting, praying and keeping vigil, as one who continually at all times fasted, and prayed unceasingly, and kept much vigil by night and day, intent on many and assiduous prayers. And he was always content with one cappa of fine stamine, as well in summer as in winter, however great the cold might be. And at all times he went unshod, but, so as to afflict his body more, he wore certain coarse zupelli, as well in winter as in summer. He says also that his bed was of a certain plank of oak, where sometimes there was one fine cloth of wool, and at his head he had a certain board, and sometimes, however, a little sack of straw. He says also that he had a certain pit beside the other bed of planking inside in his cell, where he sometimes lay; and he says that he heard from Br. John the Good himself, and from many other brothers of his, that in that pit there were sharp stakes fixed in rows, on which he threw himself as securely as if there were a sack full of straw there. He says also that there was a certain other pit there, where, when he wished to afflict himself more, he placed his head and shoulders, his feet being raised above, and there he remained for so long an hour as until he had said the Our Father two hundred times. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he saw and was present several times, but he did not see him lying in the said pits, but he heard it from Br. John the Good himself, and from many other brothers who saw John the Good himself standing and lying. Being questioned about the time, he says that it was about XII years. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that many of the brothers were there, but he does not remember the names of all of them, but only of some, namely in the presence of Br. Matthew, who was then ^b prior general, Br. Ugolinus ^c, now prior general of the whole order, Br. Guizzardus, who was then prior provincial. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the place where it is called Botriolus, in his cell, of the diocese of Cesena. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good did all these things out of charity and with charity, and humility, and simplicity, he says that he did. Being questioned whether there was public fame of this through that district, he says that there was, and also through the whole of Romagna ^d. Being questioned, he says that every Sunday he received the Body of Christ with the greatest shedding of tears, and in that shedding of tears he abounded as it were at all times.

[39] Knowledge of hearts and Likewise another prophecy, or miracle. The same witness says moreover that when on one occasion Br. John the Good was standing with the aforesaid witness under the portico of his cell, where there was also present a certain Br. Zonta, of Mantua, Br. John the Good himself began to look at the said Br. Zonta, and his face became exceedingly red; and likewise, as he looked at the same Br. Zonta, his face was changed into pallor. And then the said Br. John the Good said to the witness himself: Brother, if anyone told you the things which this Zonta bears in his heart, what would you say, brother? And the witness himself said: Speak securely, for I am a priest. And then Br. John the Good himself said to Br. Zonta himself: Brother, on the second night past, about midnight, you rose from your bed, and having made a little bundle of your clothes, you wished to go your way. He answered: Lord, it is true. Likewise on the first night past you likewise rose from your bed, and, having tied up your clothes, you likewise came to the gate, and likewise wished to do as before, namely at the hour of Matins; but fearing lest the brothers should perceive you and you should be caught by them, you returned to your place. And he said: All that you say is true. Moreover you thought in your mind that as soon as Br. Matthew, who was prior general, should come to this place, you wished to ask mercy of him, that he would send you to some other place, whence you would have greater convenience to go out of the order and to go wherever you wished. And he said: Lord, the things you say are true. And then Br. John the Good himself began to admonish him, to preach and exhort him in the Lord as he could, that he should not leave the order, nor bring into effect what he had thought in his mind.

[40] a prophecy Afterwards he said to him: Brother, I wish to tell you a certain prophecy which you will never observe; and he said: Lord, say all that pleases you. And then Br. John the Good said to him: As soon as you go out of our gate, at the first step of your going after the exit from that gate, you will lose body and soul. And after these things, three days having passed, he went out of the order, and went on to Ravenna; and there, taken for a certain theft, he was thoroughly cudgelled through that city. And had it not been for his brothers of the order, who besought the Podestà ^e and the Commune ^f of that place for him, lest this should happen to the reproach of that order, he would have been hanged there by the throat. And he at once fled from the aforesaid city, and began to wander enormously through other cities of Lombardy, receiving sacred orders furtively, to the peril of his soul, from the bishops of those cities: until he came to the priestly order. And so for almost five years he deceived the souls of many, hearing their confessions and celebrating the divine offices. At length, despairing of God's mercy, overcome by diabolical suggestion, he threw himself into a certain well, and so ended his life in such a manner.

[41] fulfilled in the event. Being questioned how he knows that Br. John the Good said the aforesaid words to the said Br. Zonta, he said that he was present, and saw and heard. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of the said Br. Zonta and of the witness himself. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the portico of the cell of the said Br. John the Good, of the diocese of Cesena. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is about VII years. Being questioned about the month, he says that it was in the month of September, the fourth day before the feast of St. Michael; about the hour he says that it was after None. Being questioned how he knows that the said Br. Zonta was cudgelled in the city of Ravenna, and that he escaped hanging through the brothers of the said order, he says that he heard it from those brothers who freed him, and from Br. Zonta himself also, while he was wandering through Lombardy. Being questioned how he knows that the said Br. Zonta had himself promoted to sacred orders and to the priesthood in a furtive manner, he says that he heard it from his brothers, whom the minister ^g was then sending through the bishopric of Modena, who saw him celebrate frequently through the villages of that diocese, and especially in the village where he was staying as priest; and men and women called him the said lord priest, and confessed to him. Being questioned how he knows that the said Br. Zonta threw himself into a well, he says that he heard it from his brothers, who after a short time went to the aforesaid village, and when they inquired about that brother Zonta, the men and women of that village said to the above-said brothers:

Lord brothers, he has gone to the devil; for of his own spontaneous will he threw himself into our well, so that we drew him out of it, and cleansed the above-said well, so that we might drink of that water. Being questioned how long a time it is, he says that it is almost two years; about the month, he says that he believes it was in the month of September; about the day and hour, he says that he does not know. Being questioned whether at that time, namely when the said brother killed himself in such a way, there was public fame of this through that district, he says that there was.

[42] He converts water into wine. Likewise the same witness tells another miracle. He says moreover that when a certain Br. Nascimbenus, of Bologna, of the same order, doubted concerning the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and on one occasion was standing with brother John the Good himself at his cell, the same Br. John the Good said to him: I know, brother, that you doubt concerning the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. And he said to him: It is true, lord. And then Br. John the Good said to him: If the Lord shows you some certain signs, would you believe well for the future? And he said that he would believe, and would gladly see. And then Br. John the Good led the same Br. Nascinbenus, Br. James, and certain others with him to a certain spring, which was near there, carrying with him a certain new cup of wood, and filled it with the water of that spring; and, a prayer having been said, whose words are these, namely in equivalent sense: Lord Jesus Christ, in order that this brother may believe the true Body and the true Blood of Christ, which is consecrated on the altar, show Thy mercy, that this water may be converted into wine. And these things said, he at once held out the cup full of excellent wine ^h to the said brother Nascimbenus, saying to him: Drink, brother, of the wine of the Lord. And then he held it out to all who stood by; and then the said brother answered the said Br. John the Good: For the future I will in no way doubt concerning the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he heard it several times from the mouth of the said Br. John the Good, and from Br. Jacomellus, and from Br. Bulgarellus, and from many others who had been present there when the aforesaid were done. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is about VI years. Being questioned about the month, he says that it was in the month of April, on the first or second day. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the place of St. Mary of Botriolo of the diocese of Cesena, where the said spring was. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this through that district, he says that he does not know, but yet through their order there was public voice and fame of this.

[43] He destroys a certain book of his miracles. A prophecy Likewise another prophecy or miracle. The same witness also says that when certain of the brothers of the same order, namely Br. Bonacolta, and Br. Mark, and many other brothers had written many things concerning the miracles of Br. John the Good himself, and certain other brothers of the same order had no devotion toward those miracles which had been written, and held in contempt those quires in which the same miracles were written, it came to the ears of Br. John the Good himself, who, going to the place where the said quires lay, cut them to pieces with a certain little knife; and when those brothers, and others who had written the said miracles, had told the witness himself what brother John the Good had done, the same witness, some time having passed, began to reprove Br. John the Good himself with a certain pain of heart. And Br. John the Good said to the witness himself: Do you not believe that that God who is with me in life is also with me in my death? And the witness himself answered: I believe, lord. And then the same Br. John the Good said to the witness himself: Know that God will do those things for this frail body at the time of my death ⁱ, through which so great honour will be done to it by the Lord Jesus Christ as had been done to any body from the time of the Apostles hitherto. And the witness himself answered him: These things could not be done by the men of Cesena. And Br. John the Good himself answered him: This body will die where it was born, namely in the city of Mantua, and there great honour will be done to it, and my death will be for the destruction of the many heretics ^k existing there, namely in the above-said city, and for the strengthening of the Christian faith.

[44] Being questioned how he knows that the said brothers wrote many miracles in the aforesaid quires, and that the said Br. John the Good cut up those quires, Of the future glory of his body. Persecutions. he says that he heard it from those brothers who wrote the said miracles, and from many others, and also from Br. John the Good himself, who destroyed those quires. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XII years and more. Being questioned about the place where he heard these things: that it was in the place of St. Mary of Botriolo of the diocese of Cesena, and in many other places of the same order. Being questioned whether there was public fame of this, he says that there was, through that whole order. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good suffered persecutions from an invisible spirit, he says that he heard several times and frequently from Br. John the Good himself that he had several times been tempted, sometimes in the figure of a serpent, sometimes in the figure of an ape, sometimes in the figure of a cat ^l; otherwise, truly, he says that he does not know. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good suffered tribulations and persecutions from a bodily man, he says that he heard from the mouth of Br. John the Good himself, and from many of his brothers of the same order, that certain brothers of penance, and other seculars together with them, brought many persecutions and defamations upon Br. John the Good himself, so that they gave him such scandal that he had to appear personally before the lord bishop of Cesena.

[45] He returns good for evil. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good bore the aforesaid patiently, humbly and kindly, he says that he did, and to such a degree that when the same brothers who gave him scandal sometimes had nothing to eat, the said Br. John the Good had bread and wine carried to them by his brothers, and this he did for them many times, and for others who gave him scandal. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he heard it from the mouth of brother John the Good himself, and from those brothers who carried bread and wine to those who gave him scandal. Being questioned how long a time it is since these things were told him, he says that for about twelve years he heard it every year from many, and many times. Being questioned whether there was public fame of this through that district, he says that there was, and especially through the city of Cesena, and through all the brothers of the same order. Being questioned about the place where the said scandal was given to the said Br. John the Good, he says that in the city of Cesena, according as he heard this from his brothers and from Br. John the Good. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, he says that he was not, but he came to testify by the mandate of his prior Br. Guizzardus, who is now prior of St. Agnes of Mantua.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER V.

The Testimony of Br. Bonus Joannes.

Of the fame of the Blessed. "Brother Bonus Joannes, of Bologna, priest, of the order of hermits, swore before the lord bishop of Modena and the prior of St. Mark of Mantua (since the third co-delegate, namely the provost of Mantua, could not be present, hindered by an impediment of law) to speak the truth concerning what he knows of the life, conversation and miracles of Br. John the Good." The witness, being questioned about the life and conversation of Br. John the Good himself, says that he knows nothing except by hearsay only, and by the public fame which is held through all the brothers of the same order, and through the city of Cesena, and through the whole of Romagna. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good had suffered any persecutions from an invisible spirit or from a bodily man, he says that he knows nothing.

[47] There is cured The same witness moreover tells a certain miracle: that when he had for a long time suffered under the right armpit a certain long infirmity which at first was called a fistula ^a, and afterwards was turned into a cancer, according as the physicians asserted; and had had many physicians, who

were to cure him, he could have health through none of those physicians. And when the same witness was now as it were despairing of his life, since he had been abandoned by all the physicians, he began to say and to discuss with his brothers who were staying with him at Bologna ^b: I believe that if I went to our father brother John the Good, I should remain firmly freed from this infirmity which I suffer, because whenever I look upon the face of our father himself, Br. John the Good, which is painted in our refectory, the pain of the wound itself is mitigated, so much that I suffer as it were hardly any pain from it. And then all his brothers began to say to the witness himself: We counsel you, brother, to go to our father brother John the Good, for since you have so much faith in him, beyond doubt you will be freed from the infirmity which you suffer.

[48] a cancerous ulcer. And then the witness himself, having received leave from Br. Matthew, who was then prior general ^c and was staying at Bologna, as soon as he could, with five of the brothers of the same order, namely brother Zimaboscus of Verona, Br. Nicholas of Bologna, Br. Bonvicinus of Bologna, Br. Anthony of Bologna (but of the fifth brother he does not remember), was carried to the church of St. Mary of Botriolo of the same order, and at once sent one of the brothers with whom he had gone, namely Br. Zimaboscus, to brother John the Good, because the same witness was so sick that he could not go by himself; and he sent him to entreat him first humbly and devoutly that he would pray the Lord Jesus Christ for him. And then Br. John the Good said to the aforesaid brother: Go, tell him to trust in the Lord, for for certain he will not die of this infirmity. And when the said brother had come to the said witness and told him himself the aforesaid words, on that day after Vespers, before the setting of the sun, he rose healthy from the bed where he was lying; so that thereafter he felt no pain from that infirmity. And after five days, since he had been made healthy, he took the road of returning to Bologna, where the said witness had been staying before. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is three years this August; about the day he does not remember; about the hour he says that it was after None. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that he does not remember. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this, he says that there was, through the district of Bologna, where the father and mother of the witness himself and his kinsfolk were staying; and above all through that whole order there was the greatest fame of this. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, he says that he was not; nay, he says that it was enjoined on him by his prior general, Br. Ugolinus, who was then staying at Mantua in the church of St. Agnes of the same order.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VI.

The Testimony of Br. John de Barba.

Other witnesses are introduced. "Brother Vitalis, deacon, of the order of hermits, swore before the lord bishop of Modena and the prior of St. Mark, since the third, namely the provost of Mantua, could not be present on account of certain impediments of law. Likewise Br. John de Barba, Br. Dotellus, prior provincial of Romagna, Br. Martin, prior of the brothers of Milan, priest, Br. Bonincontrus, layman, of Tuscany, who stays in the convent of Bologna, Br. Bertolinus, layman, of the" convent of Mantua, all of the order of hermits, likewise swore to speak the truth concerning what they knew of the life, conversation and miracles of Br. John the Good, institutor of the above-said order, being introduced by the prior general, namely brother Ugolinus."

[50] His garments and bed of penance. Brother John de Barba, layman, of the order of hermits, being sworn, and questioned about the life and conversation of brother John the Good, institutor of the above-said order, both about the abstinence of the Lents and of other times, and about the bed and pits where the same Br. John the Good lay, and prayed, and afflicted himself, and about the fine cappa of stamine ^a, and how he always went unshod, wearing only zupelli: the same witness says in all things as Br. James of the above-said order; with this added, that at a certain time in summer, so as to afflict his body more, he wore a certain very coarse cappa of woollen cloth; on account of which both the brothers of that order and others of the district wondered very much. He adds also that he had a certain bed made for himself of brushwood, where he sometimes lay. Concerning the miracle of the wine converted from water, done twice ^b, he says in all things the same as the said Br. James, since Br. John de Barba himself was for some time afterwards the companion of that Br. James in ministering and serving ^c Br. John the Good himself.

[51] A planted almond at once comes into leaf. The same witness also says that when on one occasion the said Br. John the Good was with certain of his brothers and the witness himself in their garden, Br. John the Good himself had a certain almond in his hand, which was so dry that the kernel which was inside rattled in its shell; which brother John the Good himself, in the presence of the witness himself and of the other brothers who were present there, planted in that garden with his own hand. And while they went to walk about ^d that garden for a little while, immediately ^e, as it were in the same hour, Br. John the Good himself, with the said brothers and the witness himself, came to the place where the said almond had been planted; and they found it risen above the earth, and to have produced many leaves; and afterwards, pulled up thence and transplanted elsewhere, it rose into a very great tree, and flourishes to this day, producing many almonds every year. Being questioned how he knows, he said that he saw and was present. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of brother Philip of Ravenna and many other brothers whose names he does not remember. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XVI years and more. Being questioned about the month, he says that he believes it was in the month of March; but about the hour, he says that it was after None; about the day, he says that he does not remember; about the place, he says that it was in the place of Butriolo of the diocese of Cesena, in the garden beside the house of those brothers.

[52] A brand planted likewise comes into leaf and bears cherries. Likewise another miracle. The same witness ^f also says that when on one occasion the said Br. John the Good was standing at the fire with his brothers, he took a certain brand which was burning in that fire, which was of a cherry tree; and he rose from the fire, the brothers seeing it, going to the garden which was beside that place, to plant it in the ground; and as time went on, the said brand put forth branches and leaves; at which, when those brothers saw this, they wondered very much, and began to tell this publicly through that district and through the city of Cesena. And when they had heard it, they began to run thither without end and without ceasing. And when the said Br. John the Good had seen this multitude of people hastening thither, not wishing to have worldly glory from it, he pulled up that brand with its little branches from that place, and carried it to his cell; and having called the witness himself, and Br. Bonus, priest, and brother Detesalvus, and Br. Conrad, he showed them the said brand, with the aforesaid little branches, not having any roots; but the extinguished charcoal appeared in it, according as he had drawn it from the aforesaid fire. And he told the witness himself and the brothers mentioned that that stump would yet produce cherries, of which many of his brothers would eat; and so he planted the stump or brand far from his cell, as far as a stone's throw, the witness himself and the above-said brothers seeing it. Which brand or stump, the divine grace and the merit of Br. John the Good himself helping, grew into a very great tree producing excellent cherries: of which very many brothers of that order ate, and it is there to this present day. Being questioned how he knows that the said Br. John the Good took the brand from the fire and planted it, he says that he heard it from the brothers present there, from brother Paul, indeed, and from many others whose names he does not remember. The said witness says, however, that he saw at the first planting that the said brand had branches and leaves. Being questioned how Br. John the Good pulled it up from the aforesaid place, he says that he saw it with its little branches and leaves in the hands of Br. John the Good himself, when he carried it to the place where he planted it the second time. Being questioned in whose presence: the above-said brothers. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XVIII years. Being questioned about the month, he says that he believes in the month of May or June; about the day, he says that he does not remember; about the hour, he says that it was between Terce and None. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this through the city of Cesena and through other districts, he says that there was, and also through the city of Mantua.

[53] The prediction of the death of Perinus. Likewise another prophecy. The said witness says that when at a certain time a certain brother named lord Perinus, brother and prior of the hospital of the Holy Spirit, of the city of Rimini, was gravely sick, so that his life was despaired of, he told the priest Albert, a brother of the same hospital, to go to the said witness, brother John de Barba, and to ask him on his behalf that he should go to Cesena, to the place where brother John the Good dwelt, and ask him for God's sake that, prayer having been made to the Lord Jesus Christ, he would send him true certainty whether he would recover from that infirmity or must die. And the said witness, having understood the prayers of the aforesaid brother Perinus, at once took the road to go to Br. John the Good himself, to the aforesaid place where the same was dwelling; and asked him, as is narrated above. And Br. John the Good said to the witness himself: Brother, rest until morning, and afterwards you will go away. In the morning

having come, Br. John the Good had the witness himself come to him, saying to him: Go, tell that brother Perinus that he will die of that infirmity for certain, and in a short time. And the said witness withdrew at once, and announced to the said Br. Perinus the things which the said Br. John the Good had said. And the said Br. Perinus within the sixth day after the aforesaid things were announced paid the debt of nature. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XIIII years and more. Being questioned how he knows that within that short time Br. Perinus died, he says that he saw and was present at his burial. Being questioned about the place where Br. Perinus was staying, he says that it was in the aforesaid hospital outside the city of Rimini. Being questioned where Br. John the Good was staying at that time, he says that it was in the place where it is called Botriolus in the diocese of Cesena. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this, he says that there was not; but only many of the brothers of that order knew this.

[54] Likewise another prophecy. The same witness also says that when at a certain time the witness himself was gravely afflicted by a certain infirmity of cough, The witness himself is freed from a cough. so that he was afraid he would almost die of it, and Br. John the Good had gone to the cell of the witness himself to see how the aforesaid witness was, the same witness said to Br. John the Good: Lord, pray God for me; it could be that I shall pass from this life by occasion of this cough which I suffer. And Br. John the Good gave him no answer, but at once went to his cell; and after a little returned to the same witness, since between the one cell and the other there was a short way. And then he said to the aforesaid witness: Do not fear, for you will be freed very well from this infirmity, and you will remain after me, for I shall die before you without any doubt. And the witness within the third day recovered fully from that infirmity. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is about VI years. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the cell of the witness himself, which was beside the cell of Br. John the Good himself; about the month and day he does not remember. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that there was no one there but the same witness and Br. John the Good himself, since they were remote from the convent of the brothers. Being questioned whether there was public voice and fame of this, he says that there was; there was public voice and fame among the brothers.

[55] A split bowl is made whole Likewise the same witness moreover tells another miracle: that when the said Br. John the Good had a certain bowl appointed for the use and need of his body, and on one occasion had set it in the sun to be dried, when he sought it to remove it thence, he found it all split. When he had seen it, he said to the witness himself: Brother, what could be done with this bowl? And the witness himself answered: It can very well be sewn with iron or bronze wire. And then Br. John the Good said to the witness himself: Let it stand so; and he put it back. And a little after, calling the same witness, the same Br. John the Good says to him: See, brother, what the Lord has done with that bowl. And then the same witness inspected and touched that bowl, and found it sound and solid, as it had ever been before. And after the first and second night after these things were done, the same witness says that Br. John the Good himself told him that the Lord had revealed to him that whoever should have any little part of the said bowl could not end the present life badly ^g. And so Br. John the Good broke that bowl into small pieces, and divided it in bits among his brothers, and those brothers have them and keep them diligently; and also many others who have some little parts of it, with the greatest diligence and no small faith. Being questioned how he knows that the said bowl was so split, and afterwards so made solid, he says that since the same witness had several times ministered to him in the said bowl, he had both seen and touched it sound, and afterwards saw it broken, and again made solid, as is narrated above. Being questioned how he knows that Br. John the Good saw a vision concerning the said bowl, he says that he heard it from the mouth of the said Br. John the Good. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is about VIII years; about the month and the day, he says that he does not remember. Being questioned in whose presence these things were done, he said that no one was present there except the said witness. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this through that district and the city of Cesena, he says that there was, and it was then and is now through those and many places. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the place of Botriolo, in the cell where Br. John the Good was dwelling, of the same diocese.

[56] Likewise another miracle. The same witness also says that when in the bishopric of Montefeltro ^h in the province of Romagna a certain woman was so vexed by a demon Two demoniacs are cured. that she even strove to kill her children, at length she was led by her husband to the place where Br. John the Good was dwelling with his brothers; and he put her in a certain house where guests were received ⁱ, which is beside the church. Then Br. John the Good came to her, and in the presence of those brothers prayed the Lord Jesus Christ for the deliverance of that woman. And at once the demon went out of the body of the aforesaid woman, and that demon went out of that house with such noise and violence that it seemed to the brothers who were present there that the whole roof ^k of that house was being removed thence. And at once the said woman at the prayers of the said Br. John the Good was fully freed. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he was present at all these things and saw. Being questioned for how long a time the said woman had been vexed by the said demon, he says that he does not know. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is a good ten years; about the month and day, he says that he does not remember. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of brother Bonus, priest, Br. Conrad, Br. Detesalvus and many others who were present there, whose names he does not remember. Being questioned by what name the aforesaid woman was called, he says that he does not know. Being questioned by what name the castle was called from which the aforesaid woman was, he says that he believes it was called Castrum Sartiani ^l of the diocese of Montefeltro. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the aforesaid place of Botriolo, where the same Br. John the Good was dwelling with the above-said brothers, of the diocese of Cesena. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this, he says that there was, as of any miracle which God ever did through the said Br. John the Good, through the whole of Romagna, and especially through the city of Cesena. But of the miracle of the boy of Forlì, who had been a demoniac, the same witness says in all things as Br. James, layman, of the order of hermits, had said above.

[57] There are healed Another miracle. The same witness moreover says that there was a certain widowed woman in the diocese of Cesena ^m who had a certain son of hers who was gravely afflicted by a certain fistula which he had in the shin, so that he could have health through none of the physicians. At length the said woman heard that the Lord was doing many things at the prayers of brother John the Good. Whence, with that same son of hers, who had that infirmity, she went to the place where Br. John the Good was dwelling; and supplicated him humbly and devoutly that for the love of God he would give her back her son healthy, who was gravely sick from the aforesaid infirmity. And Br. John the Good himself, understanding that she hated a certain kinswoman of hers, said to that woman who had the sick son: Sister, I wish you to do according to my mind; for I know that you hate your kinswoman: but I wish that henceforth you love her and serve her more than you served her at first, and the Lord will do you good in your son. Which woman willingly acquiesced in the admonitions and exhortations of the said Br. John the Good, and served her said kinswoman better than she had ever served her before. And the said woman at once returned home, and found her son as healthy as he ever was; and immediately the said woman returned to the said Br. John the Good and the other brothers, and said to them: Praise the Lord, for through the prayers of Br. John the Good health has been restored to my son.

[58] an ulcer in the shin, Afterwards, moreover, the same witness says that he went to the house of the said woman, who had her son healed, and found him as the rumour had been of the health of that boy. The said witness, being questioned how long a time the said boy had been sick, says that he believes that he was sick for one year. Being questioned how long a time it is since these things were done, he says that it is now four years. Being questioned about the place, he says that the woman came to the place of Botriolo to ask the father; but the place where the boy was healed was half a mile from the said place of Botriolo, of the diocese of Cesena. Being questioned how long a time he saw him healthy, he says that ever afterwards, all the time that he was in those places; and he believes that boy is still living. Being questioned how he knows that the said boy was sick with the aforesaid infirmity, he says that he saw him many times with the said shin bound up; and also the mother of the said boy told the said witness and the brothers of the same witness, of that order. Being questioned how he knows that the said boy was healed at the prayers of the said brother John the Good, he says that he heard it from the mouth of the said brother John the Good, and from many others. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this through the district of Cesena, he says that there was, both through that district and through the city of Cesena.

[59] a bronchocele; Likewise another miracle. The same witness moreover says that when a certain girl, the daughter of a certain Guido Rossi, of the borough of Pexiolum, of the diocese of Cesena, had a swollen throat, namely by a certain infirmity which is commonly called goxum ⁿ, so that she could not be healed at all by any physicians, the mother of that girl grieved very much at this; and at length the said mother consulted the said witness what was to be done by her concerning the infirmity of her daughter, the girl. He answered her, saying: I counsel you to bring that daughter of yours to

brother John the Good, and she will at once be healed, God granting it. Which woman, as soon as she could, went with her daughter to the brother, asking him humbly and kindly that in the name of God he would deign to cure her daughter of the aforesaid infirmity. And Br. John the Good having made a prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ, the said girl was at once healed of the aforesaid infirmity. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he saw her with a thick throat before they went to brother John the Good; he saw her healthy and entirely freed. Being questioned for how long a time before that girl had had the infirmity, he says, from the time when she was quite small. Being questioned whether he knew the name of the mother, or of the girl herself, he says that he does not remember, but of the father he says that he is called Guido Rossi. Being questioned for how long a time he saw her healthy, he says that always afterwards. Being questioned whether she is still living, he says that she is. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is VI years. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that he does not know. Being questioned whether there was public fame of this through that district, he says that there was. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the place of Botriolo, where the said Br. John the Good was dwelling.

[60] the falling sickness; Likewise another miracle. The same witness also says that when a certain lady, a noble woman of the city of Cesena, named Preciosa, suffered gravely from the falling sickness, and could not have health from it through any medicine, she went with no small devotion to brother John the Good, with certain other ladies; and supplicated brother John the Good himself that for God's sake he would pray the Lord Jesus Christ for her, that He would restore her to her former health. And Br. John the Good answered her: If you are willing to lay aside your vanities and pomps in washing and adorning yourself, as you have been accustomed to do, the Lord will show His mercy to you. She answered that she desired most willingly to do this. And then Br. John the Good said to her: Go with God, for the Lord will help you. And from that hour that lady was made well, so that afterwards she never felt anything of the aforesaid infirmity. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he heard it from the mouth of brother John the Good himself, and from the aforesaid lady, who had been made well through the prayers of brother John the Good. Being questioned whether he saw her fall on any occasion, he says that he did not, but he heard this from the aforesaid lady and many others. Being questioned whether he knew the said lady, he says that he did, before she was well, and also after. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XII years and more. Being questioned whether the said woman is living, he says that she is. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that Lady Regiza, and Lady Agnezia, and Lady Sassia, sisters of that lady. Being questioned whether there was public fame of this through the city of Cesena at that time, he says that there was. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the place of Botriolo, where Br. John the Good was dwelling.

[61] and the falling sickness of another. Likewise another miracle. The same witness moreover says that at a certain time a certain young man was so gravely afflicted by the falling sickness that he fell as it were two or three times a day; and he was so gravely molested that it seemed that he had been seized by a demon. At length he was brought by his father and by certain neighbours to brother John the Good, asking him that he would pray the Lord for the young man mentioned; since it had frequently been told him in a dream that if he went to brother John the Good he would at once be freed from the aforesaid infirmity. And then Br. John the Good himself in his accustomed manner poured out prayers for that young man to the Lord Jesus Christ; and then the same young man, restored to his former health, returned to his own house. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he heard it from those who had come with the young man mentioned. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of John, who lived in the pieve ^o of St. Thomas, of the diocese of Cesena, and of Bonafides, of the same pieve; the name of the father of that boy he does not remember. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is four years and more; about the month, day and hour, he says that he does not remember. Being questioned whether he knew the said young man before, he says that he did not. Being questioned for how long a time before the said young man had suffered the aforesaid infirmity, he says that he does not know. Being questioned whether the said young man is living and fully freed, he says that he believes him to be living and fully freed. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this through the said pieve, he says that there was. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the said place of Botriolo, where the said Br. John the Good was dwelling.

[62] Persecutions from the demon and from men. Likewise the same witness, being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good suffered persecution from an invisible spirit after the same witness entered the order of hermits, says that he does not know otherwise than according as he several times heard from brother John the Good himself, that when in the first year he instituted that order in the place of Bertinoro [p], where he was dwelling, in the first hermitage, he was several times and in many ways persecuted by the demon; so that for no reason did he dare to go out of his cell. And if anyone was lodged in the said place to visit him, he likewise was gravely molested by the demon. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XXXVIII years and more [q]. He says also that he heard from the same brother John the Good that after he came to the place of Bertinoro, of the diocese of Cesena [r], where he established the second hermitage, he several times suffered many things from the demon. Concerning the persecution of temporal men he says as has been narrated above by the others. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, namely that he should come to testify, he says that he was not, but he came to testify by the mandate of his prior general, namely brother Ugolinus. Being questioned for how long a time Br. John the Good had been in the above-said order, he says that he was there XXXVIII years. Being questioned for how long a time the said witness has been in the order, he says that a good XXXIV years.

ANNOTATIONS.

p. The name had been partly erased; but it must be read: In the place of Botriolo, as is clear from what follows. For it is manifest that the first hermitage was the hermitage of Botriolo or Butriolo, near Cesena, in which the Blessed perpetually dwelt. Of the convent of Bertinoro, however, which was the second, there is discourse a little lower down.

q. If these words which are read above: When in the first year he instituted the order, are to be understood (of which it does not seem one should doubt) of the first year spent in the hermitage of Butriolo near Cesena, it would have to be said in this place: It is about 42 years; since the Blessed began to live there in the year 1209 at the least, and this testimony was given in the year 1251. Compare the Commentary num. 40 and following.

r. Today Bertinorium, or Brictinorium, is an episcopal city. Of its convent of hermits compare the Commentary num. 122.

CHAPTER VII.

The Testimonies of Br. Bonincuntrus and Br. Vitalis.

Of his life, conversation and penance. Brother Bonincuntrus, layman, of the order of hermits, of Tuscany, being sworn, said that Br. John the Good, institutor of the above-said order, was of good life and good conversation, both in fasts and in vigils and assiduous prayers, and in many tears; fasting at all times, and eating even little. He was also attentive and solicitous for the salvation of the souls of his brothers, daily admonishing, instructing, strengthening and exhorting them to the service of Jesus Christ, with all patience and humility. He was content also with his garment, one cappa of fine stamine, as well in winter as in summer. And he went unshod at all times; yet (he wore) two wooden zupelli ^a, sometimes for the comfort, sometimes for the wearying of his body. He says also that the same Br. John the Good had in his cell two beds, one of planks, where there was nothing over it, and the other of brushwood, which pricks like thorns. Likewise being questioned how he knows, he says that he saw and was present. Being questioned whether he saw him lying in the aforesaid beds, he says that he did not, but he believes that he lay there, and not elsewhere. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XXVIII years. Being questioned about the place, he says that in the place of Botriolo, of the diocese of Cesena, where the same Br. John the Good dwelt. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame through the district of Romagna of the said good life and conversation of brother John the Good himself, he says that there was.

[64] A dry almond is planted and at once comes into leaf. A miracle. The same witness moreover says that when one day he was with brother John the Good himself in the cloister, and Br. John the Good himself had a certain

almond in his hand so dry that the inner kernel rattled this way and that, the same Br. John the Good called the witness himself, saying to him: We wish to plant this almond; he says: So be it, if it please you. And then the same witness, with a hoe ^b which he held in his hand, stirred the earth a little, and Br. John the Good himself with his hand made a little pit in the said earth, and planted that almond there in the name of the Lord. After a little, returning with the witness himself to the aforesaid place, he found that almond risen above the ground, producing leaves. To the witness Br. John the Good himself said: See, brother. And then the witness himself began to wonder very much and to praise the Lord Jesus Christ. Being questioned about the time, he says that he believes it is XVI years and more. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the aforesaid place of Butriolo, beside the cell of the witness himself, who was then gardener. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that he does not remember. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this, he says that there was, among the brothers who were there in that convent, and through other places of that district. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, he says that he was not, but he came to testify by the mandate of the prior general.

[65] Persecutions. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good suffered persecutions from any invisible spirit, he says that he does not know, except by hearsay only. Being questioned whether from a bodily man, he says that he did, namely from certain brothers of penance, who persecuted brother John the Good himself, defaming him on certain heads ^c before the lord bishop of Cesena ^d, of which the said witness says that he does not remember. On which heads and of which defamations Br. John the Good himself, before the said lord bishop, a corporal oath ^e having been taken, cleared himself most excellently. Being questioned how he knows that Br. John the Good himself was so defamed, and that he so cleared himself, he says that he heard it from the mouth of the said brother John the Good, and from others of his brothers and also many seculars. Being questioned about the time he says that it is a good XXV years. Being questioned in whose presence the said Br. John the Good cleared himself before the above-said bishop, he says that he heard it said that many of the brothers of that order were there, whose names he does not remember; and all the things which were brought upon him by the brothers mentioned he bore kindly and peaceably, rendering them no evil for evil, but rather rendering good for evil to the aforesaid daily.

[66] Prayer and penance. Brother Vitalis, deacon, of the above-said order, being sworn, said that Br. John the Good was of most excellent life and conversation, both as to fasts and as to vigils and continual prayers, as one who at all times of his health fasted continually, and prayed and kept vigil unceasingly. He also conversed in a wonderful manner with his brothers, always exhorting and admonishing them to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in patience, humility and poverty. The same witness also says that the said Br. John the Good, at all times at which he saw him, was always content with one cappa of stamine, as well in summer as in winter, however great the cold might be; and he wore nothing else but a certain undershirt without sleeves, reaching to the thighs ^f. Nor did he ever see him other than unshod, except that he wore two wooden zupelli, sometimes for the relief of his body, sometimes for its burdening. The same witness also says that he never saw him have any bed in which he lay, except only one of planks, without any cloth. The same witness also says that he poured forth tears wonderfully, and especially when he prayed, and received the Lord's Body and His Blood: which he received every Sunday ^g. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he saw and was present. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XVI years and more. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the place of Botriolo of the diocese of Cesena, where Br. John the Good himself dwelt with his convent. Being questioned in whose presence, he says the brothers of the convent themselves. The same witness also says that he heard from a certain citizen of Cesena, who was called lord Bartolus, a notary, that he himself saw through a certain hole of the cell of brother John the Good himself brother John the Good himself lying and rolling on a certain bed of sharp stakes, and on another bed of brushwood ^h pricking like thorns: and this he knew by hearsay only.

[67] The demoniac of Forlì. Bonus Joannes, The same witness also says that he heard from the brothers of that convent that a certain youth of Forlì, who had been a demoniac, was freed from that demon at the prayers of brother John the Good himself; otherwise, truly, he does not know. Likewise another miracle. The same witness moreover says that when a certain Br. Bonus Joannes, of Bologna, of the same order, suffered for a long time under the right armpit a certain infirmity which was called a fistula, and had gone through many physicians so that he might be healed, he could never find any of the physicians through whom he could be freed from it in any degree; but rather that infirmity increased from bad to worse, so much that afterwards it was turned into a cancer, as the physicians themselves asserted. At length the same witness and many other brothers of the same order, who were staying with him at Bologna, several times persuaded him to go into the presence of brother John the Good; and that certainly the Lord God at the prayers of brother John the Good himself would entirely free him from the aforesaid infirmity. And since the same Br. Bonus Joannes had the greatest hope and confidence in the merits and goodness of brother John the Good himself, although he was gravely sick, so that he could scarcely walk, yet with the greatest difficulty he took the road to go into the presence of brother John the Good himself. And when he had arrived at the place of Botriolo, where the convent of the brothers of the same order was, he sent ⁱ a certain one of those brothers to brother John the Good himself, to his cell where he dwelt, which is a little distant from the place where the convent itself was, to ask him, if it pleased him, that the same brother who was sick might go to him. He told that messenger to tell that brother who was sick to go to him. And he, having heard the answer of brother John the Good, went to him at once; and when he wished to show him the aforesaid infirmity, he said to him: I do not wish to see it, but go and be good in the service of Jesus Christ, and the Lord will help you. He immediately returned to the said convent, and at once felt himself improved. And on the morrow he found himself entirely freed from the aforesaid infirmity, and so returned healthy to the city of Bologna, to the place where he dwelt.

[68] suffering from a fistula. And when those brothers who were staying at Bologna in the aforesaid place had seen and heard that the same brother who had been sick had been entirely freed from the aforesaid infirmity through the merits of brother John the Good himself, they all began together to rejoice exceedingly in the Lord, praising and blessing the Lord Jesus Christ. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he saw that brother suffering the aforesaid infirmity, as one who had several times helped him in tending, touching, binding and unbinding the aforesaid infirmity. And he saw and knew when that brother took the road to go to brother John the Good himself, when he was sick; and he saw him after a short time when he came from brother John the Good himself, and he was entirely freed from the aforesaid infirmity: for after a few days the same brother showed the witness himself the scar of that infirmity. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is three years. Being questioned about the month, he says that it was in the month of August; about the day and hour he does not remember. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this through the district where that brother dwelt, he says that there was. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, he says that he was not; nay rather, he came to testify by the mandate of brother Ugolinus, prior general. Being questioned for how long a time the same Br. John the Good was in the order mentioned, he says that he heard from the mouth of brother John the Good himself that he was in the above-written order for XXXVIII years and more.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Testimony of Maria Bella.

Of hearts "On the third day of the beginning of August ^a, there being present the lord archbishop of Modena, the lady Maria Bella, wife of the late ^b brother Bonacursius, who lives in the city of Cesena, swore before the lord bishop of Modena and the lord provost of Mantua to speak the truth concerning what she knows of the life, conversation and miracles of brother John the Good; since the third, that is the prior of St. Mark, was absent on some business of his own." She, being sworn, said that when her said late husband had left her in the city of Mantua, and had gone to see brother John the Good, at Cesena, to the place of Botriolo, where the said Br. John the Good was dwelling, beseeching him to receive him in the Order of his brothers, saying nothing to that brother of his having a wife, Br. John the Good then received

him; but after a short time had passed, John the Good himself had him called to him, saying to him: I know for certain that you have a wife; you did wrong not to tell me. And Bonacursius, led by shame, confessed that he had a wife; and then Br. John the Good said to him: Return to your wife, and stay with her; or bring her with you to the city of Cesena: for otherwise you could not be saved. Then the same answered him: I do not dare to stay in the city of Mantua, because I am banished from there on account of the burdens of debts. And the said Br. John the Good said to him: Unless you do what I tell you, you will by no means stay with me; for you could never be saved.

[70] Knowledge of hearts. And then the same Br. Bonacursus went to Mantua, and namely with the greatest difficulty brought the said Maria, his wife, to the city of Cesena. And there, compelled by brother John the Good, the habit having been left off ^c, by leave of brother John the Good himself he afterwards stayed with the aforesaid wife in the city of Cesena; and from then on he with his wife took the habit of the brothers of penance ^d, and so the said Maria in that habit began to minister in the necessaries of life sometimes to brother John the Good himself, and also to the brothers who stayed in the convent. And while she was so living, she was greatly tempted to leave her husband and return to Mantua; and while she remained in this temptation a long time, and did not know for certain what to do, Br. John the Good sent brother Stephen, of the same order, to the city of Cesena to that Maria, that she should at once come to brother John the Good himself, because he wished to speak to her. And she, when she had heard that Br. John the Good had sent for her, at once rose, and went to the place where he dwelt; and sent word to brother John the Good that she had come: and he at once went out of his cell and went to the portico of the church where that woman was waiting for him.

[71] A little bird And then that brother said to the aforesaid woman: What will have you? And she answered him: I have a better than I now have ^e. And Br. John the Good himself said to her: I know that you have the will to see your mother. And she answered: Certainly, lord, it is true; who told you? And he said: I know well. And while they were thus engaged in these words, a certain little bird, which had a red breast, had caught a certain butterfly ^f to eat it, and was carrying it in its beak. And Br. John the Good, looking through the window, saw that bird carrying the aforesaid butterfly; and then he said to sister ^g Titia, who was with that Maria: Sister Titia, do you wish me to make that little bird let go the butterfly which it is carrying? And she said: Lord, this is no wonder, for you are such a friend of God that you can do greater things than these. And then Br. John the Good himself commanded the said little bird, saying: Bring here the butterfly which you are carrying; and at once the little bird came to him, and put the butterfly on the window where Br. John the Good himself was standing. And again he said to it: Take that butterfly; and it at once took it, and was carrying it. And again calling the same bird, that it should go to him, it also did as before. And then he said to it: Go on your way, and let that butterfly go, and do it no harm. And then, the butterfly having been let go, the little bird withdrew. And at that hour the said Maria, her will having been changed, had no will to return to Mantua, having seen the above-said miracle.

[72] obeys him. And then Br. John the Good said to her: Go now to Mantua, if you wish. And she said to him: I do not wish to go any more, lord. And so she departed from him and went away to her house. Being questioned how she knows that the said Br. John the Good did the above-said, she said that she saw and was present. Being questioned in whose presence: that the witness herself and the above-said Titia. Being questioned about the place, she says that it was in the portico of St. Mary beside the cell of brother John the Good himself. Being questioned about the time, she says that it is XXII years ^h; about the month, she says that she believes that it was in the month of March; about the day, she says that she does not remember; about the hour, she says that it was after None. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this through the city of Cesena, she says that there was not, because Br. John the Good himself had commanded them to say nothing of it; nevertheless, however, the aforesaid women told it to many, and from those words fame thence arose.

[73] Vivaldinus is healed Another miracle. The same woman witness moreover says that since she had a certain brother by blood, named Vivaldinus, in the city of Mantua, who was nine years old, who suffered a certain infirmity in his leg which is called a fistula, and had been treated by many physicians, and had never been able to receive health, the witness herself, his sister, who was staying at Cesena, sent word to her father that he should bring that boy of his to brother John the Good. He at once took his said son and carried him with him to Cesena. And afterwards the witness herself, together with her father, brought that boy to the place where Br. John the Good was dwelling; and then the witness herself sent one of his brothers to brother John the Good himself, that, if it pleased him, he should come to him. He came at once; and the witness herself then began to ask him humbly and kindly that he would intercede with the Lord for her brother, that he might be freed from the aforesaid infirmity. He answering said to her: Am I God, that I can heal the sick? And she said to him: I know that you are such a friend of God that, if you pray for him, he will at once be freed. And he kept saying to her: Go away from here; and he closed the window in the face of that woman, so that she should not see him. And she pressed more and more, asking him to pray the Lord for her brother for the love of God; and so almost through the whole day the said woman pressed upon him, weeping at the shutter of the window. And at length Br. John the Good himself, overcome by the insistence of the aforesaid woman, went out of that house, and came to a certain other house, and began to sit, and the said boy at once came to his feet, putting his hands on the knees of brother John the Good himself. And then Br. John the Good himself said to him: What do you want, son? Lord, I want you to heal me. And he said: I am not God. And the boy said: You are not God, but I know that you are he who can heal me.

[74] an ulcer in the leg. A prophecy. And then Br. John the Good went back to his cell; and after a little returned to that boy, saying to him: How are you, Vivaldinus? And he said: Lord, well, for by the grace of God I have been freed. And he showed him the place where he had had the aforesaid infirmity; and at once the said boy, together with his father and the witness herself, his sister, returned on his own feet to the city of Cesena. Being questioned how she knows, she said that she was present and saw. Being questioned in whose presence, she says, the witness herself and the above-said boy. Being questioned about the time, she says that it is a good XXII years; about the month and day she does not remember; about the hour, she says that it was after None, before Vespers. Being questioned how long a time he was sick before he was healed, she says that she does not know. Being questioned whether, after he was healed of that infirmity, she always saw him healthy of the aforesaid infirmity, she says that she did. Being questioned whether the said youth is living, she says that he is not. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this through the city of Cesena, she says that there was, because many of that city, having heard this, came to the house of the witness herself to see the boy mentioned. Being questioned whether she was taught or asked about this, she says that she was not; but it was enjoined on her by Michael, ministerial ⁱ of the commune of Mantua. The above-written witness also added that the said Br. John the Good told her that she was yet to be his witness after his death.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER IX.

The Testimonies of Trenchetus, the second of Br. John de Barba, and of Br. Bertolinus.

Of the same Vivaldinus. "On the fourth day of the beginning of August ^a, Trenchetus de Pazo, father of Maria Bella, swore to speak the truth concerning what he knows of the life, conversation and miracles of brother John the Good."

Trenchetus de Pazo, father of the lady Maria Bella, who deposed concerning Vivaldinus, her brother, being sworn,

said that he had a certain son of his named Vivaldinus, who was gravely sick in the hip from a certain infirmity which is called a fistula, so much that he had two openings behind that hip. The rest, however, the same witness says in all things as was said above by the said Maria Bella, his daughter, concerning the same miracle. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, he says that he was not, but he came to testify by the mandate of Michelinus, the ministerial, who commanded him on the part of the Podestà.

[76] Sight is restored to a girl. The aforesaid Br. John the Good de Barba says (since he returned to testify for certain miracles which he had omitted) under the same oath, that when on one occasion Br. John the Good was coming from Faenza to dispatch certain business of his house, he turned aside to a certain hospital which is called Messina ^b, where there was a certain hermit who was called Br. Gualterius, in order to strengthen him in the Lord. And in the same hospital there was a certain girl of x years; and although she had eyes, she yet saw nothing. And when the said little girl had heard that the said Br. John the Good had come to that place, she went to him at once, asking and supplicating him that for the love of God he would pray to the Lord Jesus Christ that He would restore to her the light of her eyes. And then the same Br. John the Good, in the presence of that hermit and of two of the brothers of the said brother John the Good, namely brother Bonus, priest, and brother Conrad, layman, prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ; and at once that girl was made well, and saw light. And the said hermit, Br. Gualterius, began to praise the Lord for so great a miracle. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he heard it several times from the mouth of the said brother John the Good, and from the mouth of brother Conrad himself. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XIV years and more; about the month, day and hour he does not remember. Being questioned in whose presence, he says the above-said brothers. Being questioned whether at that time there was public voice and fame of this, he says that there was.

[77] Of Br. Bonus Joannes. Brother Bertolinus, layman, of the order of hermits, being sworn, says that before he had taken the habit of that order he had heard so many and such great good things of the good life and conversation of brother John the Good that he had several times thought of taking the habit mentioned. And at length, as it pleased the Lord, he entered the aforesaid religion. The same witness moreover says that a certain brother Bonus Joannes, of the same order, suffered under the right armpit a certain infirmity which was called a fistula. And concerning the other infirmities of the same brother Bonus Joannes, he said in all things as the same Br. Bonus Joannes deposed of himself; also as Br. Vitalis of the same order likewise said. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, he says that he was not; nay, he came to testify by the mandate of brother Ugolinus, prior general of the same order.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER X.

The Testimonies of Br. Martin of Cesena and Br. Martin of Montefeltro.

Of the virtues of the Blessed. Brother Martin, of Cesena, a brother of the order of hermits, being sworn, said that brother John the Good, institutor ^a of the above-said order, was of good life and conversation, so much that he could scarcely narrate his good life and conversation; in keeping vigil more than he believes anyone ever to have kept vigil, and in fasting, praying assiduously, and fasting at all times; in garments, beds and all other abstinences he says as the others have narrated above. About the time, however, the place and all the other circumstances he likewise says as has been narrated above by other witnesses.

[79] A dry branch flowers, The same witness says that one day, when the said Br. John the Good was in the place of St. Mary of Botriolo with his other brothers, and had in his hand a little stick, four fingers long, of apple ^b, he said to the said brothers: Do you believe, brothers, that God could make this little stick put forth flowers? The brothers answered: We believe, father. And this said, the said Br. John the Good went to his cell, the brothers remaining there. But on the following day, when Mass had been finished, Br. John the Good again called his brothers outside a certain door by which one went to his cell; and he had the already said little stick in his hand, and fixed it in the ground; and, prayer having been made, at once the little stick began to put forth flowers at its top. And the same witness says that when he fixed it in the ground he was not present, because he was hindered by the business of the sacristy; but when he drew it out of the ground he was well there, and well recognised the said bit of wood. And he says that, as the said Br. John the Good held the wood in his hand, the flowers grew little by little. And then the same witness and all the other brothers who were present at the spectacle wondered exceedingly. And the same witness says this, that he did it on account of certain brothers being there who were led either by lust or by some temptation: for there were some who were thinking of going out of the religion; and the same witness also says that he himself at that time was gravely molested by lust.

[80] and bears fruit. This indeed done, Br. John the Good went on to his cell, and the said brothers remained comforted and strengthened in faith. Being questioned how he knows that the said Br. John the Good placed or fixed the wood in the ground without any flower, and afterwards drew it out with flower, he says that he well saw, before he went out of the door, the said wood in the hand of brother John the Good without any flower, and afterwards in the same hour saw it with flower: which was against nature; and also all the brothers who were present there told the said witness. The same witness also added that afterwards, some time having passed, he heard from brother Stephen, who was a familiar and also a kinsman of the said brother John the Good, that the said wood grew into a tree and produced many apples. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is a good XX years. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the place of St. Mary of Botriolo of the diocese of Cesena. Being questioned about the month, he says that it was in the month of September, after the feast of St. Michael. About the day, however, he does not remember; about the hour he says that it was after Terce. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that there were present Br. Bonus, priest, Br. Guido, priest, Br. Gregory, and many others whose names he does not remember. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this through that district, he says that there was, among the brothers; but elsewhere he does not know, because the same Br. John the Good commanded them to tell no one.

[81] A prophecy of the departure of Br. Gratiadeus from the religion. The same witness moreover says that when one day he was standing in the place of St. Mary of Boriolo, and Br. John the Good was there, and saw a certain brother, named Gratiadeus, of Mantua, some little way off, he said to the witness himself: Who is that brother? The witness answered and said: He is a certain brother of Mantua, who had gone out of our order, but, enlightened by the grace of God, has returned again to the order, and by the mandate of the prior is to stay in this convent. And Br. John the Good, looking at the said brother Gratiadeus, said to the witness himself that it was true that he went out of the order and afterwards entered it, but he will yet go out of the order, and not at once. And after three years the said Br. Gratiadeus went out of the order, according to the word of brother John the Good, and died outside the order, in the house of his father. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is about XXII years. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the greater cloister, where one may speak, of St. Mary of Botriolo. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that no one was present when Br. John the Good said such things, namely that the said Gratiadeus would go out of the order; but when he went out there were many of the brothers, because it was in the convent of Parma ^c of the order of hermits. Being questioned how he knows that the said Br. Gratiadeus went out of the order, and that he died at the house of his father, he says that he heard from certain brothers, whose names he does not remember, namely that he went out; but that he died at the house of his father, Br. Guiciardus, the prior, and many brothers of the same order told the said witness, that they buried him at the place of the brothers, although he was not a brother. Being questioned about the month, he says that it was in the month of May; about the day he does not remember; about the hour he says that it was after Terce. Being questioned how long a time the said Br. Graciadeus stayed outside the order, he says about three years before he died. Being questioned whether there was public fame of this, he says that there was, through his whole order, and also through the city of Cesena and of Mantua.

[82] He heals his own finger cut with a knife. The same witness also says that one day, when Br. John the Good was in the greater cloister of St. Mary of Botriolo to help a certain other brother named Richard in making spoons with a little knife, he wounded his finger severely. And that brother began to be saddened in many ways, saying: Lord, you ought to give this up, and not destroy your hands; and the same Br. John the Good said: Do not trouble yourself. And Br. Richard himself took a certain little piece of cloth ^d, and gave it to him; and he, taking it, bound up his finger, returning to his cell. But a little after, the said Br. John the Good went out of his cell, and unbound his finger, saying: See, Br. Martin, this finger was cut, and now it is healed. And the said witness inspected it, and saw the finger sound which a little before had been cut, and wondered exceedingly. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he saw brother John the Good himself when he cut his finger. Being questioned how he knows that within one hour he was freed, he says that he saw and was present, and that it was made sound at once. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XX years. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the greater cloister of St. Mary of Botriolo of the diocese of Cesena; about the month and day he does not remember; about the hour, he says that it was after None. Being questioned in whose presence, he says the witness himself and the aforesaid brother Richard. Being questioned whether

there was public fame of this, he says that there was not; the same witness only says that he told it to many persons afterwards. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, he says that he was not, but he came to testify by the mandate of the prior general, namely brother Ugolinus. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good suffered persecution from a demon or from a bodily man, he says that from a demon he does not know, but that from certain brothers of penance he knows. And also the same witness, while he was a secular, thought ill of the said brother John the Good, and kept company with those who molested him. And at length the said Br. John the Good, before the said bishop of Cesena, as he afterwards heard from the brothers, cleared himself most excellently. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good rendered them evil for evil, he says that he did not; nay, he rendered them good for evil, as the same witness saw with his own eyes many times. Being questioned for how long a time the said Br. John the Good was in the above-said order, he says that he believes that he was there a good forty years. Being questioned for how long a time the said witness has been in the said order, he says that he has been there XX years.

[83] Of his life and conversation. Brother Martin, priest, of Montefeltro, of the same order, being sworn, said that Br. John the Good, institutor of the order of hermits, was of most excellent life and conversation before God and all men, in fasts, vigils and many prayers, admonishing, inducing and exhorting his brothers always to the love and service of Jesus Christ, as often as he came together with them in common and singly. The same witness also says that at all times that he saw brother John the Good himself he was content with only one cappa of stamine, of grey colour ^e, as well in summer as in winter, however great the cold might be. And he saw him always go unshod; he wore, however, two wooden zupelli, sometimes for the help of his body, sometimes for its detriment.

[84] [Of the water converted into wine. A fish-bone is drawn by a miracle from his throat.] The same witness says of the miracle of the wine, as Br. Salvetus and Br. John de Barba, witnesses, said in all things, that he made wine made from water. Moreover the same witness also says that when on one occasion he had eaten fish in the convent with other brothers, a bone of that fish stuck fast in his throat, so that he could neither spit it out nor swallow it. And while the said witness was thus set in the greatest distress, fearing the danger of that bone, he began to think within himself that as soon as he rose from table he would go to brother John the Good, that he might pray God for him, and that he might be immediately freed from the danger of the bone. And these things having been thought, before he rose from that table he was wholly freed from the aforesaid danger. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is about XVIII years. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the place of Cesena, St. Mary of Botriolo; about the month, day and hour he does not remember. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good suffered persecution from a demon or from men, he says that he does not know except by hearsay; yet that he heard that he did, several times. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this, he says that there was, among the brothers. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, he says that he was not, but he came to testify by the mandate of brother Ugolinus, prior general.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER XI.

The Testimony of Br. Matthew.

New witnesses. "On the fourth day of the beginning of August, Br. Matthew, priest, and Br. Bonaventure, priest, of the order of hermits, swore before the lord bishop of Modena and the lord provost of Mantua (since the third, namely the prior of St. Mark, could not be present on account of certain impediments) to speak the truth concerning the life and conversation of brother John the Good."

The above-said brother Matthew, being sworn, said concerning the life and conversation of brother John the Good himself, institutor of the above-said order, in all things and through all, what Br. Girardus, priest, of Mantua, and Br. Michael, priest, of Verona, and what Br. John de Barba, layman, said.

[86] He walks over glowing coals. The same witness moreover says that when on one occasion Br. John the Good was standing at the fire with his brothers, and many logs which were in that fire had been consumed, and many coals were on the hearth, the same Br. John the Good suddenly rose before the brothers mentioned, and with bare feet entered those coals; and began to roll them and draw them with his feet this way and that, as if he were washing his feet with water: and after a little while he came out of the aforesaid coals sound and unharmed, and never afterwards felt any harm from it. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he was present and saw when this was done. Being questioned about the time, he says that he does not remember. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the place of Botriolo, in a certain house where guests ate ^a. About the month, he says that he does not remember; about the day, he says that it was on a Sunday; about the hour, he says that it was after supper. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of brother Joazim and many others of the brothers, whose names he says he does not know. Being questioned whether at that time there was public voice and fame of this, he says that there was, among the brothers of that order, and among others he believes likewise that there was.

[87] The swelling of his belly is healed. Another miracle. The same witness moreover says that when the same brother John the Good on one occasion had had a long infirmity, by occasion of which his belly had swelled, so that he seemed dropsical, and that he despaired of life, he had the brothers who were in that convent come to him, saying to them: I believe that the spirit wishes to leave this body; am I necessary to you any longer, brothers? They answered him: Lord, you know well whether you are necessary to us. And then he began to admonish, strengthen and exhort them in the Lord Jesus Christ. Which done, he said to them: Go to the church, all saying on the way "Have mercy on me, O God." And while you are in the church, ring the bells a little, singing together "Te Deum laudamus"; and afterwards ask God that He hear my prayer: which done, return at once to me. And the brothers, fulfilling all things as Br. John the Good himself had told them, returned to him at once afterwards. And entering his little house where he was staying, they found him sitting, and entirely freed from the said swelling, as if he had never had any infirmity. And then Br. John the Good began meanwhile to strengthen those brothers in the Lord, saying to them: Hope and trust in such a Lord, who heals the sick as often as it pleases Him. And then he dismissed the said brothers. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he saw and was present. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of brother Bonincuntrus, Br. Anthony, who is now dead, and Br. Gratian, and many others whose names he does not remember. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is a good XXIIII years; about the month and day he does not remember. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the place of Botriolo, where the said Br. John the Good dwelt.

[88] A fig tree comes into leaf in the month of November. Likewise another miracle. The same witness moreover says that when at a certain time a certain Br. John Bellus, of the above-said order, was standing with brother John the Good himself beside his cell, where there was a certain fig tree without leaves, then Br. John the Good said to that brother John Bellus: Do you wish that this fig tree should produce leaves? He answered: Lord, I should gladly wish it. And then Br. John the Good himself made the sign of the cross toward that tree; and they withdrew thence. And when morning had come, the same Br. John the Good went to that tree, and found that the tree had produced leaves on all its branches as if it were in the month of May; and then John the Good himself sent for his brothers who were in the convent, that they should come to him. And when they came, he said to them: See what my Lord Jesus Christ has done; telling them according as he had done on the day just past. And then those brothers, having seen this, were exceedingly glad and wondered very much, praising and blessing the Lord. And then Br. John the Good began to admonish and exhort them as he could in the service of Jesus Christ; and so dismissing them, that each should return to the convent. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he saw and was present. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of brother John Bellus, and brother Albert, and the greater part of those who were in the convent. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XX years. Being questioned about the month, he says that he believes that it was in the month of November, about the feast of All Saints. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the place of Botriolo beside the cell of brother John the Good himself. Being questioned how long a time afterwards the said leaves remained on the tree mentioned, he says that he believes that they remained there until near the feast of the Lord's Nativity. Being questioned whether at that time there was voice and public fame of this through the district of Romagna and through the city of Cesena, he says that there was, because many, both laymen and clerics, and also the bishop of Cesena ^b, ran to the said miracle.

[89] A little burnt branch Two other miracles, namely of the almond and

of the cherry, the same says in all things what Br. John de Barba, layman of the same order, said, and they are related above. The same witness moreover says that when one day Br. John the Good was standing with certain of his brothers, among whom was a certain Br. Jacim, who had several times been tempted to go out of the order mentioned, he said to brother John the Good: Lord, do some miracle for us about Easter. And he began to take it somewhat ill, saying to him: What more do you wish to see? have you not seen many things? And after some days the same Br. John the Good took a certain little branch of apple, which was burnt at one end, and with a little knife trimmed it at the other end, and planted it beside his cell. And when Easter came, after dinner, he sent for the witness himself; and the witness came to him at once. And then a certain Br. Moroël, who was with brother John the Good himself, said to the witness himself: Go back below. And after a little the same Br. Moroël went for the same witness, by the mandate of the said brother John the Good, that he should come with all the brothers to him. They came to him at once; and when they had stood a little outside his cell, Br. John the Good himself came out of the cell, and came to them, and led them with him to the place where he had planted the above-written little branch; and on bended knees he pulled up that little branch; and showed it to the brothers, saying: See, that there are no roots here. And they, looking, saw no root there, but only the burning, or charcoal, according as he had drawn it from the fire. And then he said to them, namely to brother Moroël and brother Conrad: Is not this the little branch which I planted? They said to him: Lord, yes. And then he showed them that little branch, where there were fresh leaves ^c and VII buds ^d ready to produce flowers. Which done, he dismissed them, strengthening them and admonishing them to the service of Jesus Christ. And then the same Br. Jachim was confirmed and strengthened in that order; so that never afterwards was he tempted to go out of the order.

[90] flowers Being questioned how he knows, he says that he was present and saw. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of brother Moroël, brother Jachim, brother Conrad, and many of his brothers. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XX years. Being questioned about the month, he says that it was in the month of April; about the day, he says that it was on the day of the Resurrection; about the hour he says that it was after dinner. Being questioned whether there was public fame of this, he says that there was, among the brothers. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked about this, he says that he was not, but he came by the mandate of brother Philip, to whom it had been committed by brother Ugolinus, prior general, that he should present the brothers to testify ^e. Being questioned about the place, he says that it was in the place of Botriolo, where Br. John the Good dwelt. Being questioned for how long a time the said Br. John the Good was in the above-said order, he says that he was a good XXXVIII years in the said order. Being questioned for how long a time the same witness has been in the order, he says that it is a good XXXIV years and more.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER XII.

The Testimony of Br. Bonaventure.

The conversation of the Blessed; frequent confession. Br. Bonaventure, witness, priest of the above-said order, being sworn, says that Br. John the Good, institutor of the above-said order, was of most excellent life and conversation before God and men, and especially among his brothers. Of all other things concerning the life and conversation of the aforesaid brother John the Good, he says as the aforesaid Br. James, layman, said, with this added, that he says that the said Br. John the Good confessed to the witness himself ^a twice or three times in the week, whenever the same witness was in the convent of the brothers; and he knew very well of his good life and conversation, and miracles; of which for some reason he does not testify.

[92] He comes from Cesena to Ferrara. Dropsy is healed. The same witness moreover says that when he himself was coming with brother John the Good from the hermitage of Cesena, where the same Br. John the Good had stayed in penance, to the city of Mantua ^b, they came to a certain place which is called Peola ^c; and when they had turned aside, to eat, to the house of a certain woman named Alba ^d, who suffered a grave infirmity of body, namely dropsy, and also for four years, as she said, had suffered a quartan fever, and could not be freed in any degree from the aforesaid infirmities, she began humbly to entreat the witness himself, who was her confessor, that together with her he should ask John the Good himself, who was present there, to pray the Lord Jesus Christ for her: for she firmly believed that the Lord would free her through the prayer of brother John the Good himself; humbly supplicating him that for the love of God he would entreat the Lord for her. To whom the said Br. John the Good answered: Could you eat of this bread? and she said: Yes. And then he gave her two or three little slices (?) of that bread which he had before him, saying to her: Eat this bread, and you will see what the Lord will do for you. She ate it at once; and, the meal having been taken, Br. John the Good himself withdrew and went his way. And when within eight days after these things were done the same witness was returning to Bologna, by the mandate of his prior, who was staying at Mantua, and had turned aside to the house of the aforesaid woman to lodge there, he found her wholly freed from the aforesaid infirmities. She received the aforesaid witness with the greatest joy, telling him that the Lord God through the prayer of brother John the Good had freed her. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he saw and was present. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of the witness himself, Br. John de Barba, Br. Mecorinus and Br. Benevenutus ^e. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is now XXI months; he says that it was in the month of October; about the day, he says that it was on a Friday ^f; but at the hour of dinner. Being questioned whether at that time there was voice and public fame of this through that district and place, he says that there was. Being questioned how long a time before he saw her sick of the aforesaid infirmities, he says for three years. Being questioned how long a time afterwards he saw her healthy, he says that at all times afterwards when he saw her, he saw her healthy.

[93] At Ferrara a boy is freed The same witness moreover tells another miracle: that when on the second day, when the same Br. John the Good withdrew from Peola and came to Ferrara to the place of those brothers of St. Anthony ^g, a certain woman named Adelasia had learned that Br. John the Good had come to the aforesaid place, she took a certain nephew of hers, four or five years old, who through a certain blow had wholly lost the sight of his right eye, and came in haste with the aforesaid boy to that place where Br. John the Good had come. And she began to speak with the witness himself about the matter of her said nephew, since the witness himself was the confessor of that woman. And the same witness took a certain little piece which he had with him of a certain cappa which had been brother John the Good's own ^h, and offered it to the aforesaid woman, that she might wipe the eye of her nephew with it. And while she was wishing to wipe the eye of that boy, the same boy at once took the said little piece of cloth from the hand of his aunt, and began to wipe his eye gladly; and at once sight was restored to him; and he saw as well with that one as with the other. And when the same witness saw this, he rejoiced greatly, rendering thanks for it to Jesus Christ: and in order that the aforesaid witness might be more certain of it, he himself with his hand closed the other eye of that boy, and showed his other hand to that eye of which he had been freed from the aforesaid blindness, saying to him: What is this? and he answered: It is your hand. And then the same witness took the sleeve of his tunic, and again showed it to him, saying: What is this? He answering said: It is the sleeve of your tunic.

[94] And since a certain mark had remained on the eyelid of the eye of the same boy, his father brought that boy with him again to the aforesaid place, from blindness of one eye. and presented him to brother John the Good, asking him to sign the aforesaid boy with the sign of the cross. When he had signed him with the sign of the cross, at once that mark went away from the aforesaid eyelid. Being questioned how he knows, he says that he saw and was present. Being questioned in whose presence, he says that in the presence of the witness himself, and of the father of that boy, named Ubaldinus, a notary, and of the same boy, when the said brother made the sign of the cross; but when the said boy wiped his eye with the part of the aforesaid cappa, there were present the witness himself and the aforesaid aunt of the boy. Being questioned about the time, he says at the same time as the former. Being questioned for how long a time he had seen him healthy before, he says a good two years. Being questioned for how long a time he saw him healthy after he was freed, he says that he did not see him afterwards either healthy or sick. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this, he says that there was, through the district of the said boy; about the day, he says that it was on Saturday before Terce; about the month, he says that it was in the month of October; about the place, he says that it was in the place of St. Anthony outside Ferrara.

[95] A fever is cured; the general chapter of the order; the death of the Blessed. The same witness moreover says that when he himself had suffered for three months and more from a certain continuous fever, and Br. Matthew, who was then prior general, had sent for the witness himself that he should go to the chapter which was assembling at Ferrara ⁱ, then the same witness, having received the mandate, besought brother John the Good to pray the Lord for him, that he might be freed from the fever, so that he might go better. And then he answered him: Go securely, brother, for you will be freed from that fever when I shall be freed from mine; since the same Br. John the Good was likewise troubled by a daily fever, before the same witness. And then the aforesaid witness on the following day, which was Saturday, took the road, going to Ferrara to the chapter mentioned. And the chapter having been held, on the following Sunday two of the brothers who were staying at Mantua with brother John the Good himself hastened with the greatest speed to Ferrara, announcing to the brothers who were at Ferrara that Br. John the Good on the day before, namely on Saturday, about None, had entered the way of all flesh; and on the same day the said witness had been freed from the fever by which he was held. Being questioned about the time, he says that it is XXI months ^k; about the place, however, he says that the same Br. John the Good died at Mantua; and the same witness was freed at Ferrara. The same witness also says that as soon as, on the Saturday, he was freed from the fever, he said to certain of the brothers who were still with him: Either Br. John the Good is dead, or he is freed from his fever. And he said these things to them before it was announced to them by the aforesaid brothers that John the Good had died. About the month, he says that it was in the month of October. Being questioned for how long a time the said Br. John the Good had been in the above-said order, he says that he was there for XXXVIII years, or XXXIX. Being questioned for how long a time the said witness has been in the above-said order, he says XXIII years and more. Being questioned whether the said Br. John the Good had suffered persecution from a demon or from a bodily man, he says that he heard several times from brother John the Good himself that he had, but otherwise he does not know. Being questioned whether at that time there was public fame of this, he says that there was, among the brothers.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER XIII.

The Testimonies of Imelda, Boninsigna, and others. The attestation of the notary.

The withered hands of Benvenuta are healed. "On the fifth day of the beginning of August, Imelda of Brescia, mother of a certain girl who had been sick and is now healed, the witnesses of the same girl, Bezenuta wife of John de Braida, Boninsigna, a woman of the same place, and Bonavia daughter of Ubertus Cabretus of the same place of Braida de Padolirone ^a, of the diocese of Mantua, witnesses introduced concerning the miracle done after the death of brother John the Good upon the above-said girl: the mother herself and the aforesaid witnesses swore to speak the truth before the lord bishop of Modena and the lord provost of Mantua."

Imelda, mother of the girl named Benvenuta, which girl is in her XIIIth month, being sworn, says that since the said girl, her daughter, had her hands so withered that she could not open them in any way, and the said mother was daily afflicted for her said daughter, and the voice and fame of brother John the Good concerning the miracles which the Lord was showing on his behalf was going through the diocese of Mantua; then in the morning the said women began to say to her: Vow to God and to brother John the Good that, if the said girl shall be healed by his prayers, you will go to his body with that girl with bare feet, and that you will give him a candle as long and thick as that girl is. And the said mother of the girl, the vow having been made, omitted nothing of the things belonging to it ^b; and coming on the day of the Ascension, when the body of the same brother John the Good was being placed ^c in the chest, and making prayer that the Lord would show grace to her daughter, at once the said girl began to stretch herself out wholly, and little by little to open her hands with great trembling; and so her sinews became firm, and sounded as if nuts were being cracked: and so by the grace of God she was freed. Being questioned whether the said girl had always held her hands so from her birth, she says that she had. Being questioned whether the said girl afterwards always had her hands sound, she says that she had. Being questioned about the place, she says that she was standing at the door of the church of St. Agnes, where the body of brother John the Good himself lay, since on account of the multitude of men and women she could not come to his sepulchre. Being questioned about the time, she says that it was on the day of the Lord's Ascension, in the present year ^d. Being questioned whether there was fame of this through that district, she says that there was. Being questioned whether she was taught, asked about this, she says that she was not, but came to testify by the mandate of Michelinus ^e, ministerial of the commune of Mantua.

[97] Of the same miracle. Boninsigna, a woman of the place of Braida, of the diocese of Mantua, being sworn, says that from the birth of the girl named Benvenuta she always saw her with withered hands, so that she could not open them; but after the mother of the said girl had carried her to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of brother John the Good was, and returned to her house, she always saw that girl healthy. Being questioned whether she heard the mother of that girl vowing to God and to brother John the Good for her said daughter, she says that she did. Being questioned whether she saw the said girl when she opened her hands, she says that she was not present there, except that afterwards at all times she saw her healthy. Being questioned about the place, she says that it was in the church of St. Agnes, as she believes. Being questioned about the day, she says that it was on the day of the past Ascension. Being questioned whether at that time there was public voice and fame of this through that district, she says that there was. Being questioned whether she had been taught or asked about this, she says that she had not. Bonascia, a woman, and Reseunta, witnesses, of the place of Braida of San Benedetto, of the diocese of Mantua, being sworn, said concerning the miracle of the above-said girl who had withered hands, in all things and through all, as Boninsigna, a woman of the aforesaid place, said.

[98] The attestation of the notary. "I, Bonaventure, son of the late ^f master Maurus, notary of the sacred palace ^g, by the mandate of the lord bishop of Modena and of the lord provost of Mantua [and] of the prior of St. Mark at Mantua, made the aforesaid witnesses swear, and diligently gathered their statements, and wrote them, as it had been committed to them by the lord Pope Innocent."

ANNOTATIONS.

SECOND PART.

Continuation of the Mantuan Process of the year 1251. Miracles after the death of the Blessed.

CHAPTER I.

Pamphilia is freed from epilepsy and many other most grave diseases.

Direct, kindly Spirit, the hands of the one who writes.

"Witnesses concerning the miracles done after the death of brother John the Good, of the order of hermits, presented and introduced by brother Ugolinus, prior

general of the order of hermit brothers, at the request of the lord A., by the grace of God bishop of Modena, and of A., prior of the church of St. Mark at Mantua; the provost of Mantua indeed being absent, detained by a just impediment; and the oaths received through Lanfranc, notary of Pergamum ^b, citizen of Mantua, in the year one thousand two hundred and fifty-one, in the ninth Indiction ^c, at Mantua, in the house of St. Mark and in the greater church of the aforesaid city ^d, on Tuesday, the first day of the beginning of August ^e."

[100] Pamphilia, suffering the falling sickness and others, Panfilia, wife of Lazarinus, of Stablo, of the city of Mantua, swore and said on oath that XIV years have passed since she suffered the falling sickness many times, by day and by night; and sometimes, when she was suffering the said disease, she lay continuously five days and nights, neither drinking nor hearing, nor eating, nor doing anything in any way. And she said that she remained in this manner and weighed down by infirmity for the time as indeed was said above. Likewise the said witness said on oath that she likewise suffered an intermittent flux of blood for nine years; and she said that almost at the end of the said nine years she suffered the aforesaid infirmity for three months continuously. Moreover the witness herself said on oath that she was dropsical and greatly swollen in the feet, shins and body, and arms, hands and face, so that she could not rise by herself, nor even walk, nor do anything at all, saying and asseverating that she had remained thus burdened by the said infirmity for four months.

[101] goes to the sepulchre Furthermore the aforesaid witness said on oath that she suffered gravely in her eyes for one month, so that her left eye had come out of the head of the witness herself, swollen and puffed up to the size of a fist, and the same left eye was so drawn in within her head that it seemed to have been torn out. Likewise the witness herself said that she suffered a daily fever for three years. And when she was thus afflicted with the aforesaid infirmities, together with the ailments set forth above, she heard from her husband that in the church of St. Agnes of the hermit brothers of Mantua there was a certain blessed brother lately dead ^f, who was called Br. Zanebonus, of the order, namely, above-said; to whom the husband of the witness herself had gone, and had seen him lying on a bier in the church named; of whom indeed many good things were said by those who were there, concerning his life and holiness: the feet of which said man of God the husband of the aforesaid woman witness reverently kissed, as others who were present there were likewise doing, believing him a saint; just as the same husband reverently sent the same Pamfilia to the said body, saying that he firmly believed that he would free her. And the aforesaid said that thereupon she had herself conducted thither to the church named before, where the said body had already been given to burial ^g. And when she was present at the aforesaid tomb, she lay upon that tomb from Vespers until first sleep, praying with tears, a shedding, and most devoutly to the said brother, that he would deign to intercede for her with the Lord; and so, brought to sleep, she immediately slept.

[102] and obtains health. Then, when after a little she had awakened, she felt that she had in her mouth as it were an earthen lump, large, after the manner of a hazelnut; wherefore, wondering greatly, astonished, she said: Saint, what is this which I have in my mouth? certainly, even if I should judge it poison *, I will swallow it for love of you. And she said that when she had swallowed it wholly, it seemed to her that it was water, or nearly so. Then indeed immediately she was helped from all her infirmity, and entirely freed, and all her limbs were restored wholly to their former health: so that, rising at once, she knew herself healthy and cheerful, as if she had never been troubled by any infirmity. Being questioned about the time of the aforesaid infirmity, she answered that at the next coming feast of St. Luke it will be two years since she was healed, in the month of October, on a certain Sunday ^h, in the presence of two of her neighbours, one who is called Gerarda, and the other Gisla, and of many other persons whose names she does not remember. Being questioned whether her infirmity was notorious and manifest, she answered yes, to all her neighbours, men and women, who dwell in the quarter of Stabile of the city of Mantua; being questioned whence the witness herself was a native, she answered that she was born in a certain village which is called Aquafrigida ⁱ, which is in the diocese of Brescia; and she says that it is XIV years, or thereabouts, since she has been living in the city of Mantua. Being questioned whether she came freely or spontaneously to give this testimony, she answered, no, it was commanded her through Michellinus, envoy ^k of the commune of Mantua, that she should come, and on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena. Being questioned whether she was taught or asked to say what she said before, she answered: No.

[103] Testimony of Guitta concerning the same miracle; The lady Guitta, wife of the late Mapheus, lord de Candoti, of the quarter of Stabile, swore and said on oath that the said Panfilia is her neighbour, it is seven years; and she said that she saw her suffering the said infirmity, namely the falling sickness and the swelling of her body, through the said time. And the witness said that she often and more often lifted up that Panfilia when she fell from the disease. Likewise she said that the said Panfilia, at the time of the death of the said brother, as she heard, was healed when she was carried to the said body; but she does not know otherwise except by hearsay; because the witness herself at that time was sick. And she said that that Pamphilia is now safe and sound, and has been from that time at which she was carried to the said body and recovered. Being questioned whether she was taught or asked to make this testimony, she answered no. Being questioned whether she came freely, or it was commanded her through the envoy of the commune of Mantua, she answered that it was commanded her through the envoy of the commune that she should come. Being questioned whence she is a native, she answered that she is a Mantuan.

[104] of Lazarinus, the husband of Pamphilia; Lazarinus, son of the late Ubertus of Peschiera, of the diocese of Verona, now a dweller at Mantua in the quarter of Stablo, swore and said on oath in each particular, in all things and through all, as his said wife, adding and changing that the witness himself was not with that Panfilia, his wife, on that night when the Lord restored health to her at the tomb of the said brother John the Good; and saying that on that night Lazarinus himself lay at his house for the sake of guarding the house, because he has no household besides his said wife. And he said on oath that on the morrow at earliest morning ^l his said wife came to the door of his house, and called him, her husband, saying: Lazarinus, get up. And the witness himself said that he answered: Who are you? and she answered: I am Pamphilea. And the witness said that he was greatly astonished and glad, and quickly rose and opened to her. And she entered safe and sound, saying that she had been freed that night from her infirmity; and dinner having been made personally by the aforesaid Pamphilea, they ate, rejoicing, praising the Lord and the said brother most devoutly. And the witness said on oath that afterwards he did not see his wife herself burdened by that nor by any other infirmity; but healthy and cheerful in her health, thanks be to God, she perseveres. Being questioned about the day on which his wife was healed, he answered that Br. John the Good died on a certain Saturday about the feast of St. Luke ^m, and on the following Sunday he sent her, sick, to the body of the said brother, which was in the church of St. Agnes of Mantua; and he said that on the following night she was healed. Being questioned about the names of those who were present there, he answered the lady Gisla, wife of the lord Astulfus, and the lady Girarda, who lived with the said lady Gisla in one house. He was questioned whence his said wife was a native: from the district of Brescia, from a certain village which is called Aquafrigida: and he himself is of Verona. Being questioned how much time it is that Lazarinus himself has been living at Mantua, he answered that it is XII years or thereabouts; and he said that it is nine years, or thereabouts, that the said Pamphilia has been his wife. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked to make this testimony, he answered: No. Being questioned whether he was required by the envoy of the commune to make this testimony, he answered: Yes, by Michellinus, envoy of the commune. Being questioned how much time it is that he has been living at Mantua, he answered that it is XII years.

On that day.

[105] of Ottolinus, a neighbour; Ottolinus, who is called Reatius, of the aforesaid quarter of Stablo, swore and said on oath that he saw the said Panphilia often and more often sick with various infirmities, swollen and disfigured. And he also said that he once found and saw her lying and emitting foam from her mouth, because she had fallen from that infirmity; but the witness said that he does not know the kinds of her infirmities. And the witness said that at the time at which the said Br. John the Good passed from this life, the said witness, at the request [or] asking of Lazarinus, husband of the said Pamphilia, received that Pamphilia in his boat, because he was guarding the lake of the commune of Mantua ⁿ by night for the aforesaid commune ^o. And he said that he took that sick woman, and the lady Gisla, wife of the lord Astulsus, across the aforesaid lake. And he said that when they were at the bank near the house of the hermit brothers, he took the said sick woman from the boat, and, leaning [p] on the witness himself, brought her up to the tomb of the said brother; and there he left her. He said, however, that when on the morrow he returned thither, wishing to see the sick woman, he heard that she had departed. And the witness said that afterwards he saw her healthy and safe, as she now is; and that he did not hear it said afterwards that she had fallen sick. Remembering himself, however, he said that he did not go all the way thither to the aforesaid church; for when he was on the way, for the sake of going to the said sick woman, he asked those passing by what had become of the aforesaid: from whom he heard that she had gone back to Porto [q]. Being questioned when the said brother died, he answered that in the month of October next coming it will be two years. Being questioned about the day: on a certain Saturday. Being questioned about the day on which he took her, sick, in his boat thither where the said brother lay, he answered that he does not remember. Being questioned whether he was required by the envoy of the commune of Mantua to give this testimony, he answered: Yes. Being questioned whether he is taught or asked to make this testimony, he answered:

No. Being questioned where he himself is a native, he answered from the Mantuan territory, from the village of Olmeta.

[106] and of Maria, one of her household. The lady Maria de Taccano, being questioned, says that it is five years since she has been living in the same house with that Pamphilia; and she said that through the said time she saw her sick and held by the aforesaid infirmities. And she said also that from that time onward at which Pamphilia herself went to the said brother she is healthy and safe; yet she said that she was not present when she was healed. Being questioned, she said that she has well remained in the aforesaid city until now. Being questioned whence she is a native, she answered that she is a Mantuan by birth. Being questioned on the particulars as above, she answered the same as above, on account of which he did not take her in that boat. Being questioned where the witness herself dwells, she answered: At Mantua in the aforesaid quarter. Being questioned whether she was taught or asked to make this testimony, she answered: No.

ANNOTATIONS.

g. See ibid.

p. Appodiatam, that is, leaning, from the Italian appoggiato.

q. To have gone back to the gate, namely of the city, since the convent of the Augustinians was situated outside Mantua on the northern side of the lake.

* toxicum

CHAPTER II.

Bellanoma is freed from a demon; Br. Lanfranc from incipient leprosy.

Bellanoma is freed from a demon; On Tuesday, the first day of the beginning of August.

The lady Bellanome, wife of Bonetus de Lanfranco of Zuliano, who was from Asola ^a of the diocese of Brescia, and now lives at Mantua in the quarter of Stablo, swore and said on oath that on the vigil of the Lord's Ascension just past it was eight years, or on the Friday after that Ascension it was eight years, since the witness herself was vexed by unclean spirits. And she said that she had remained vexed in those times continuously until the time of the death of the aforesaid brother Zanebonus and beyond for seven months. And the witness said on oath that on the Friday just past after the Ascension of the Lord just past, at the hour of Compline ^b, the witness herself was led by force ^c by her neighbours, men and women, to the church of St. Agnes of Mantua, to the chest ^d where the body of the said brother John the Good lies. And she said that on the same day and hour, her aforesaid neighbours, men and women, being present and seeing it, the witness herself was freed, foam having been emitted from her mouth, from the said unclean spirits by which she was vexed; asserting and affirming that she was entirely and wholly freed, by the grace of God; and that she firmly hopes and believes that by the merits and prayers of the said brother she has come to her former health. Being questioned in whose presence and about their names, she answered: the lady Francia, wife of the lord Zanebonus the glazier, and the lady Gesalberta, wife of the lord John de Macis, and Br. Lanfranc and Br. Philip, and Br. Bonacursus, of the order of hermits, and many others, of whose names she does not at present remember. Being questioned how long a time the witness herself has lived at Mantua, she answered: It is XII years and more. Being questioned whether she was taught or asked to make this testimony, she answered: No.

On that day.

[107] of which others also The lady Francia, wife of the lord Zanibonus, glazier, of Mantua, of the quarter of Stablo, swore and said on oath that three years have elapsed since the said witness became aware of the infirmity of the said Bellanoma; for she said that she is her neighbour, and lived near her house. And the witness said that she saw her, sick, several times twisted through her limbs when the name of God was invoked in her hearing. And she said also that the witness herself once signed her, saying: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and of brother John the Good; at which sign the said sick woman rose up against the same witness, wishing to strike her. And the witness said on oath that on the Friday after the Ascension of the Lord lately past ^e the witness herself and other women, and many neighbours, led the said sick woman by force to the church of St. Agnes, to the chest of the said brother. And she said that on that day at the hour of Compline the said woman was freed, with a vomiting emitted, from her infirmity and from the unclean spirits by which the aforesaid was vexed. And she said that they lay there that night with the same woman healed, and on the morrow, having heard Mass and received the Body of the Lord, they returned home in peace; saying also on oath that from then that Bellanome has remained healthy and sound and entirely released from the said infirmity until now. The witness, being questioned about the persons who were present there when the said sick woman was healed, as she said before in testifying, answered that Albertinus, notary of the lord Ugo de Lizio, and Guillinus Petrini de Rocca, and the witness herself were in that church, and the lady Maria, wife of the lord Albert de Tudesca, neighbours of the said woman, and many others. Being questioned whether the witness herself is a catholic, she answered, yes. And she said that the lady Giselberta, wife of Zaninus de Maria, was also herself present at the aforesaid. Being questioned whether she is taught or asked to make this testimony, she answered: No.

On that day.

[108] testify, The lady Giselberta, wife of Zaninus de Maria, of Mantua and of the aforesaid quarter, swore and said on oath in all things and through all and each as the aforesaid lady Francia, witness, said; except that she changed in this, and said that it is only one year since the witness herself became aware of the infirmity of the said woman, because she has not lived in the said quarter except for one year. And except concerning that which the said Francia said, that that woman was freed with a vomiting emitted; and this witness said that she was freed with foam emitted. The witness, being questioned about the names of those present, answered that Ubertinus Ugonis de Lizio, and the lady Guardolina, his wife, and the witness Giselberta herself, and the aforesaid lady Francia, and many other men and women were present. And she said also that many brothers of the said order were present there, of whose names she does not remember at present. Being questioned whether she is taught or asked to make this testimony, she answered: No.

On Wednesday, the second day of the beginning of August.

[109] Br. Lanfranc, of Milan, priest, of the order of hermits, prior provincial in Lombardy, swore and said on oath Incipient leprosy is healed; that three years have passed since the brother himself was sick with a certain foul and horrible sickness which was called morphea: which infirmity indeed was a member or beginning of leprosy ^f. For that infirmity ran through his whole body from the knees upward, flaying the upper skin of the body when he scratched, and making his flesh red also when he sweated. And the witness said that he suffered that most foul infirmity through the said time, up to the time of the translation of the body of brother Zanebonus to the chest. Furthermore the witness said on oath that when the same was present one day after the translation of the body of the man of God, alone at the chest, which was still standing open, he looked in, and devoutly poured out his prayer, saying: I beseech you, my father, that if it is the greater honour of God, and better for my soul, you deign to intercede for me with the Lord, that by his prayers and merits He may free me from my infirmity; believing firmly that if the said Br. John the Good prayed for him, he would be freed from the aforesaid infirmity. And the witness said that after nine days, before that chest was closed up ^g, he perceived and saw health given back and wholly restored to him, so truly that no traces or marks of the aforesaid infirmity were seen in his body: which indeed is true, as I the notary and the lord A., venerable bishop of Modena, and the prior of St. Mark saw manifestly that there were no signs in the body of the witness himself on account of the aforesaid; since the same had shown us his body, decently bared, more fully. The said brother, being questioned in whose presence the treatment was given to his body for the aforesaid infirmity, answered that he purged himself in the land of Venice, by the counsel of master Angelus, in the presence of brother Ugo, now prior general of the order of hermits ^h, brother Jacominus of Reggio, and brother Jacominus de Masteliis and many other brothers, and also brother Martin of Milan. Being questioned in what lands he suffered

the aforesaid infirmity, he answered: at Venice, Bologna, Ferrara, Milan and Mantua. Remembering himself, he said that Br. Martin of Milan was not present, as he said before; and he said that Br. Dobellus was likewise present in the aforesaid infirmity. Being questioned whether he came, being asked or of set purpose ⁱ, to report the aforesaid, he answered: No, but by a precept made to him through the envoy of the commune of Mantua. Being questioned whether his infirmity was notorious, he answered, yes, to those to whom he showed himself; yet almost all the brothers knew him to be sick. Being questioned whether his health is notorious, he answered: Yes. Being questioned whether he has persevered until now in that health, he answered: Most excellently.

On that day.

[110] other testimonies Br. Dobellus, of Mantua, priest, prior provincial beyond the Po in Romagna, of the order of hermits, swore and said on oath that it is two years and more since he himself saw the said brother Lanfranc suffering the aforesaid infirmity; and he said that he saw several times the body of that brother, his members red in places and with corrupted skin: and the witness said that he himself greatly feared lest the said Br. Lanfranc should become a leper; and the witness said that he heard from the said sick man that he was freed by the prayers and merits of brother Zanebonus. Furthermore the witness said that the said Br. Lanfranc has been well and most excellently freed from his infirmity from the time of the translation of the body of the said brother Zanebonus onward; whose body the witness said he saw to have come to full convalescence up to now. The witness, being questioned in what places and lands he saw the said brother suffering the aforesaid infirmity, answered: at Ferrara, where he saw him wearing a shirt over his bare body, allowed him on occasion of the aforesaid infirmity, and at Venice, Milan and Mantua. And he said that his infirmity was sufficiently notorious among the brothers. Being questioned whether he came of his own motion or being asked to make this testimony, he answered, no, but by a precept made to him through the messenger ^k of the commune of Mantua on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena and of the Podestà of Mantua.

On that day.

[111] of the same miracle. Br. Ugo, prior general of the hermits, swore and said on oath that it is four years, or thereabouts, that the said Br. Lanfranc has kept company with this witness almost continuously, going with him and writing all things needful for the same brother Ugo, the prior, by reason of his prelacy. And the witness himself said that he saw that brother sick with an almost incurable infirmity, because he said that he had several times been with him, sick, to many physicians, who said that they could not fully cure him. Yet he said that a certain physician, named master Angelus, of Venice, wished to purge him; from which purgation the same sick man almost died. And the witness said that he believed or feared lest the same should become a leper; and the witness said that the said Br. Lanfranc recovered from the aforesaid infirmity from the time of the translation of the body of Zanibonus; further saying and asserting on oath that he saw the said brother Lanfranc, after he was made healthy, healthy, his body bare having been decently shown, yet so that no traces of the aforesaid infirmity are seen there at all. Being questioned whether the infirmity of the said brother was notorious and manifest, he answered, yes, to those to whom he showed it; but in general his infirmity was notorious among the brothers, because they knew him to be sick, but did not know what infirmity he suffered. Being questioned whether he came freely or of set purpose ^l to give this testimony, he answered, no; nay, he was cited through the envoy of the commune of Mantua on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena and of the Podestà of Mantua to report the aforesaid. Being questioned whether the said Br. Lanfranc has persevered until now in the aforesaid health, he answered: Yes, well, thanks be to God.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER III.

Thomasina freed from ulcers, Martha from arthritis.

On that day.

The testimony of Tomasina, freed from ulcers; Tomasina, daughter of the late Allegrus de Faxanis, of the village of San Silvestro of the diocese of Mantua, who now dwells at Mantua in the quarter of Stablo, swore and said on oath that on New Year's day just past she was sick with a certain fistula on the left hip ^a, which fistula made six openings. And she said that at the time of the translation of the said brother the said girl went to the tomb where the same brother was buried, and from which tomb he had been translated, and entered the pit of the burial ^b of that brother, where the other sick were also present, and lay there for one night; and she said that she was at once healed that night of her infirmity; yet she said that she did not cease to stay there for twelve nights, although she was healed, out of reverence for the aforesaid man of God. And she said that she is healthy and safe, and that afterwards she suffered no hurt from it. And she said that she vowed a vow to God and to brother Zanebonus that, if he freed her, when the wheat was being gleaned at harvest time, since she is poor, she would give and offer to the same brother whatever good she should make. For she said that she earned a mina ^c of wheat, which afterwards she offered to the man of God; yet the brothers themselves gave back the aforesaid wheat to her for the love of God. Being questioned whether she was taught or asked to make this testimony, she answered: No. Being questioned about those present, she answered that she does not remember, because a great press of sick people were present there. Being questioned about the day and hour, she answered that she does not remember, because she is a girl. Being questioned whether she was taught to say what she said before, she answered: Never.

On that day.

[113] other testimonies The lady Galliana, wife of Zanebonus Joannis de Godio, of the aforesaid quarter of Stablo, swore and said on oath that the said sick girl was staying with the witness herself at the time of the said infirmity. And she said that it is well true that she suffered the infirmity of the fistula named before, which had several openings; and she said that that girl went to the body of the said brother with that infirmity, which dripped corruption running through the flesh of that sick girl: and she said that that girl well recovered from her infirmity, and that she was well made safe from it by the prayers and merits of the said man of God, as she firmly believes and does not doubt. Being questioned about the names of those who saw the aforesaid infirmity, she answered: the lady Ottebella, first formerly wife of the lord Amicus, and the lady Alberta, and the lady Paxbona, her neighbours. Being questioned about the time of the said infirmity of the girl, she answered that she fell sick about the feast of the Lord's Nativity just past. Being questioned at what time she was healed, she answered at the time of the translation of the said man of God, and she does not know the day or the hour at which she was healed. Being questioned whether her infirmity was notorious, she answered: Yes, well. Being questioned whether she is taught or asked to make this testimony, she answered: No.

On that day.

[114] of the same miracle. The lady Ottebella, wife of the late lord Amicus, notary of the said quarter, swore and said on oath that the said girl at the time of her infirmity was staying with the said lady Galliana, which lady is a neighbour of the said witness; and she said that the witness herself saw the said girl several times and bound her up on occasion of her infirmity, saying that she had a fistula in the aforesaid place having five or six openings. And the witness said that that girl fell sick about the feast of the Nativity just past. Furthermore she said on oath that at the time of the translation of the man of God the said girl went with great faith to the body of the said brother, and, lying there, was made well of that infirmity, saying and asserting that she saw and felt her, and that it is true that she is well by the prayers and merits of that man of God, since that infirmity was incurable ^d, as is the way of such fistulas. The witness, being questioned on what day and at what hour that girl was healed and in whose presence, answered that she does not remember; but she says that she was healed on a certain night, as she heard from the aforesaid girl. Being questioned whether her infirmity was notorious, she answered, yes, through the whole neighbourhood, and that her health is notorious in the same way. Being questioned whether she was taught or asked to make this testimony, she answered: No. Being questioned whether the said girl has persevered until now in that health, she answered: Yes, well.

On that day.

[115] Martha is freed from arthritis The lady Martha, wife of the late lord Falchettus, son of the late lord Zanebellus de Tabuano, of the city of Mantua, of the quarter of St. Simon, swore and said on oath that she suffered a severe infirmity for one year and more, lying continually in

bed, swollen and puffed up, with gout running in places through her limbs. And the witness herself said that through the said time she did not go out of bed on any occasion, but lay there, doing there all things necessary for her, as the fitness of nature demands. And the witness herself said that at that time and beyond she had been disturbed with such affliction that every day she awaited in fear the goal of the course of this life. Furthermore she said that since for a space of long time before the translation of the body of the said brother the said woman was so tormented by the said sickness, at the time when the said body was, as has been said, to be translated ^e, she was carried by her daughter and son to a boat, that she might be set in person across the lake by the said body; and when, placed on a little bed in the cloister of the hermit brothers, she was awaiting the grace of God and of the aforesaid brother, that night ^f, the solemnity of Matins having been completed, while the bell was being rung as usual, she said that she raised herself on her feet and stood, when the body of the man of God was being raised from the tomb.

[116] and from other diseases; Furthermore she said that then, the night-time being continued with the day up to the ninth hour, she recovered, having seen the body named, so that on her own feet on that day ^g she returned home filled with all well-being, although she was weak with old age and the aforesaid infirmity, saying and asserting on oath that thereafter she did not have the said infirmity, and that, the name of God and the patronage of the said man having been invoked, she came perfectly to entire health. The witness, being questioned whence she is a native, answered, she is a Mantuan by birth. Being questioned in whose presence and sight she suffered the aforesaid infirmity, she answered that Oprandus, the barber, Leonasius, who makes hose, Bartolarius, the sword-maker ^h, and many others were present. Being questioned in whose presence she recovered from the aforesaid infirmity, she answered: Dialta, her daughter, and the lady Calandra, wife of the late lord Benvenutus de Cercenato, and many others. Being questioned in what month and on what day the Lord freed her, she answered, in the month of May lately past, on a certain coming Sunday. Being questioned whether she is a catholic, she answered: Yes, most excellently. Being questioned whether she came of her own accord to make this testimony, she answered, no, it was commanded her by Michelinus, envoy of the commune of Mantua, that she should come. Being questioned whether she was taught or asked to make this testimony, she answered: Never. Being questioned whether her infirmity was notorious, she answered: Yes, to all the neighbours.

On that day.

[117] other testimonies Oprandus, the barber, of the aforesaid quarter, swore and said on oath that he saw the said lady Martha lying in the greatest infirmity for one year and more, so weighed down by the aforesaid infirmity that she could not rise unless she were helped by someone. And the witness said that he visited her in the aforesaid infirmity, because he is her neighbour; and the witness said that on that day, or another, on which the said body was, as has been said, to be translated, he heard it said that that sick woman was carried to a boat, that she might be brought to the said body. Furthermore he said on oath that on the day on which the said body was translated from the tomb to the chest, he saw the said lady Martha walking through the church where the body was; and he said that then he saw her healthy and free of the aforesaid infirmity, and now every day he saw her walking through the city, healthy and cheerful, doing her business. The witness, being questioned whence he himself was a native, answered from the district of Brescia; yet he said that it is XXX years he has lived at Mantua. Being questioned whether he came of his own free will to this testimony, he answered, no, a precept was made to him through the said envoy of the commune of Mantua that he should come on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena. Being questioned whether he was taught or asked to make this testimony, he answered: May it not please God. Being questioned whether her infirmity was notorious, he answered, yes, and her health is notorious also.

On that day.

[118] of the same The lord Bartolasius, the sword-maker, of the aforesaid quarter, swore and said on oath that he visited the said lady Martha several times in the aforesaid infirmity for the love of God and for love of neighbourhood; and he said that she lay XX months, as he believes, in the said infirmity, so that she did not rise from bed, nor even sat up in eating, as he understood from those who knew. And the witness said that he saw the son of that lady, named Sandonius, carrying that lady, afflicted and utterly brought to nothing, to the boat, for the sake of carrying her to the body of that man of God. And he said on oath that he afterwards, two days after the said body was translated, saw her going healthy and free from all the aforesaid infirmity through the aforesaid quarter, affirming that she had come perfectly to convalescence, and going and returning doing her necessary business. Being questioned whence the witness himself is, he answered, a Mantuan by birth. Being questioned whether he was required on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena through the envoy of the commune, he answered, yes. Being questioned on the particulars as the said witness Oprandus, he answered as the same.

On that day.

[119] miracle. Leonasius, son of the late James de Godio, of the town of Mantua, who dwells in the same quarter, swore and said on oath that he visited the said lady several times in the aforesaid infirmity, and saw her lie XX months, or thereabouts; and he said that he saw the said lady carried to the boat by her son and her daughter; and he said that he saw her lying in the cloister of the hermit brothers when Matins was being sung on that night on which the holy body was translated. And he said that when the body was being raised from the tomb, then, this witness seeing it, that woman rose, and stood, saying: Behold, the body of the said man is being raised; and he said that in a short time he saw her healthy and sick; and after she came to health, he said that she was not troubled by any infirmity: for he said that he is her neighbour and lives with her in the quarter. Being questioned how long it is that the witness himself has lived at Mantua, he answered that it is XX years and beyond. Being questioned about the names of those who were present when the Lord restored health to the same woman, he answered that the witness himself and many others. Being questioned whether he was required by the envoy of the commune, he answered yes, by Michelinus the envoy. Being questioned as the above-said witness Oprandus on the particulars, he answered as the same.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER IV.

Valdegrana freed from various diseases, Beatrix from blindness.

On that day.

The testimony of Valdegrana, freed from fevers and other diseases; Valdegrana, daughter of master Faccinus the tailor, who was from Verona, and now dwells at Mantua in the quarter of St. Agatha, swore and said on oath that it is a good XII years that she has been racked by various infirmities, now by fevers, now by pain of the feet, and now by contraction of the arms; so that she could scarcely put her hand to her chin; and she said that at the time of the death of brother Zanebonus, between his death and the translation of his body, the said, or that, girl, full of faith, strengthened, visited the tomb of the said man confidently; who, when she took the road noted before, said that she at once was better; and when she was present at the body noted before, she stayed there through the night, and on the morrow until Mass; and, Mass having been heard, she returned home strengthened with all convalescence, by the grace of God and the prayers of the saint of God. For she said that she asked brother Zanebonus that he would impart his help to her. Being questioned whence she is a native, she answered from Porcilli, a village of Verona; yet it is seven years that she has lived at Mantua. Being questioned about those present who had seen her sick and also healed at the tomb noted before, she answered the lady Beccolochina, daughter of Nascimbenus, Mark, the bell-ringer ^a, and the said Faccinus her father. Being questioned on what day she was freed, she answered, on a certain Sunday at night, while she was sleeping on the tomb noted before. Being questioned whether she was taught to make this testimony, she answered, no. Being questioned whether her infirmity was notorious, she answered, yes, to many.

On that day.

[121] other testimonies Faccinus, the tailor, father of the aforesaid Valdegrana, a dweller at Mantua, swore and said on oath and affirmed, asseverating all and each of the things which were related by his said daughter on her oath. Being questioned on the particulars, he answered as aforesaid. Being questioned whether he is taught or asked to make this testimony, he answered, no.

On that day.

[122] of the same miracle. Mark, the bell-ringer, a dweller of the same quarter, swore and said on oath that the said girl was very sick at the time at which the said brother passed from this world; saying that all night she cried out, so that she then prevented the witness from sleeping; and he said that the said girl was led to St. Agnes to the body of the said brother, and that she returned thence healthy, and brisk, and filled with all well-being; and that now she is healthy and likewise safe. The witness, being questioned whence he himself was a native, answered, from Venice. Being questioned how long it is that he has dwelt at Mantua, he answered it is XIV years and more.

On Thursday, the III day of the beginning of August.

[123] The testimony of Beatrix, freed from blindness: Beatrix, daughter of the late Ottonellus, of Marianna ^b, of the diocese of Brescia, a dweller at Mantua in the quarter of the Porta Giulia, swore and said on oath that at the time of her birth she lost the sight of her right eye, while her mother was still lying in that childbirth; and she said that with the left she saw little then and thereafter, until the Lord did her good by the prayers of the said man of God; and she said that at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother she vowed that she would go thither, and went, and lay there five nights upon the tomb, or in the pit where the said body had been translated. And she said on oath that when she was present there, she vowed a vow, saying: I vow to God and to Blessed Zanebonus,

that if he restores sight to me I will give him two wax eyes, and I will light up the chest of the man of God, and will keep the vigil of that saint in my life; and she said that every Friday she fasts in his honour. Being questioned how she knows that she lost the sight of the said eye at the time of her mother's childbirth when she was born, she answered that her mother told her this. Being questioned how long a time the witness herself remained blind, as she said before in testifying, she answered, eighteen years. Being questioned how long she has remained sound in that sight and eyes, she answered that she was freed and received sight in the fifth night which she spent staying at the body of the aforesaid brother, and that thereafter she saw well, and now sees well. Being questioned in whose presence she was freed, she answered that she does not remember. Being questioned who saw and knew that she did not see when she was blind, as she said before, she answered that Honorata, her sister, and Oprandus, the husband of that Honorata, and many others saw it. Being questioned whence she was a native, she answered, from Marianna in the district of Brescia. Being questioned how much time it is that she has been dwelling at Mantua, she answered, it is twelve years, or thereabouts. Being questioned whether she is taught to say what she said before, she answered, no.

On that day.

[124] other testimonies Honorata, sister of the said Beatrix, swore and said on oath that at the time of the birth of the said Beatrix the said witness was in the house of her father; and she said that she perceived ^c that Beatrix in the very cradle had lost the sight of the right eye; and she said also that with the left she saw a little; and the witness said on oath that the parents of that Beatrix and of the witness herself laboured much and long with physicians and various medicines to help the said girl in the aforesaid sight; and she said that nothing profited her, but she remained blind in that eye, and almost so in the other, as has been said, up to the time of the translation of the said brother; and she said that, the witness herself being present and teaching the said Beatrix to make the said vow, as the same Beatrix said before, she brought her up to the body of the said brother; and, the aforesaid vow having been tendered and offered, the witness herself returned home, and left that Beatrix there; and she said on oath that by the grace of God and the prayers of the said brother her said sister was healed, and is healthy of the aforesaid infirmity, and that now she sees well and clearly with both eyes. And she said also that at that time at which that Beatrix was in the cradle she saw her see well with both eyes, and afterwards saw her blind in that right eye, and see little with the other, the left, as has been said above.

[125] of the same The witness, being questioned for how long a time she saw that Beatrix to be blind in the eye named before, answered that she saw her blind from the time of her birth up to the time of the translation of the body of the said brother; which time comprises XVIII years or thereabouts. Being questioned how she knows that she remained blind so long a time, she answered that she lived with her continually, and nourished her through the said time, and that she still nourishes her. Being questioned for how long a time she saw this Beatrix sound in sight, she answered that she saw her sound in that sight from the month of May lately past onward, up to now; and she said that she has well persevered in that health, always getting better. Being questioned how she knows that she has been freed, she answered that she saw her putting thread ^d in a needle, which indeed she was not accustomed nor able to do. Being questioned whence the witness herself is a native, she answered from Mariana; but she has lived at Mantua XII years or thereabouts. Being questioned whether the infirmity of her said sister was notorious, she answered, yes, through the whole neighbourhood. Being questioned whether she is taught to say what she said before, she answered, no.

On that day.

[126] miracle. Oprandus, husband of the said Honorata, swore and said on oath that it is nine years since he took the said Honorata to wife; and the witness said that through the said time he kept and nourished the said Beatrix, saying that he saw her continuously blind in the said right eye, and that with the left she saw little; and the witness said that by the grace of God she has been well healed, and by the grace of the said brother, and that now she sees well, and has seen from that time onward at which that Beatrix went to the said body, saying also that he saw her sew, and put thread in a needle, and see well, like the other women who do their work. The witness, being questioned whence he himself was a native, answered from Godezolo ^e of the diocese of Brescia; and he says that it is XVI years and more he has lived at Mantua. Being questioned whether the infirmity of the said Beatrix was notorious, he answered, yes, through the whole neighbourhood. Being questioned whether her health is notorious, he answered, yes.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER V.

Agnesia and Benvenuta are freed from blindness.

On that day.

The testimony of Adelardinus about his daughter Agnesina, freed from blindness. Adelardinus, barber, who was from Verona, and now dwells at Mantua in the quarter of the Porta Guillia, swore and said on oath that Agnesina, his daughter, fell on the stones which are in the pavement in the stipa ^a, and, the back of her head having been struck, because she was small, that girl lost her sight, so that in the evening time after sunset she did not see in any way; and he said that that girl suffered the aforesaid infirmity eight months, or thereabouts; and he said that at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother, or a little after, the witness devoutly vowed to God and to the said brother that, if he would deign to grant sight to his said daughter, he would offer two wax eyes to the same man of God; and he said that on the following day after the vow was made his said daughter, by the grace of God and of the said brother, received her entire sight, saying on oath that she has seen well and fully from that time onward at which the Lord did her good. Being questioned whether there was voice and fame of the infirmity of his said daughter, he answered yes, through his neighbourhood, saying that he could produce XX witnesses and more of it. Being questioned about the time at which the said girl lost her sight, as is said, he answered, in the month of December just lately past. Being questioned how long a time it is that the said girl received her sight, he answered that it is two months, or thereabouts. Being questioned whether the said girl has persevered in the aforesaid health and sight, he answered most excellently; for he said that she goes well by night-time through the quarter and has come back, seeing and doing as others do. Being questioned how long it is that the witness himself has lived at Mantua, he answered that it is seven years. Being questioned whether he is taught or asked to say what he said before, he answered, no.

On that day.

[128] other testimonies Gemma, wife of the said Adelardinus and mother of the said Agnesina, swore and said on oath in all things and each as the said Adelardinus her husband testified above, except that she said that she had not made the aforesaid vow, but she said that her husband made that vow, the witness hearing it, saying: I vow to God and to brother Zanebonus that I will give and offer him two wax eyes, if he restores health and sight to his said daughter; saying and asserting on oath that that daughter of hers was healed almost immediately and received perfect sight, and that she saw fully, and is, as has been said above by the said witness. Being questioned singly as also her husband, the witness above, she answered in all things as the same.

On that day.

[129] of the same Mark, son of the late Adaminus Nobilis (?) of Verona, a dweller at Mantua, swore and said on oath that he himself lives at the stipa ^b, and he said that he saw the girl's head broken. Furthermore he said that the said Adelardinus told him, the witness, that that girl did not see, when the said witness called the girl to him, and tried whether she saw, and she did not see; and he said that now she sees well, and recognises all things by sight, and goes well through the quarter. He said also that he heard from the said Adelardinus, his companion, that he vowed to God and to brother Zanebonus that he would give two wax eyes to that brother, if he restored sight to that girl. The witness, being questioned about the time, answered that he knows nothing of this. Being questioned how long it is that he has lived at Mantua, he answered it is four years, as he believes, or thereabouts.

On that day.

[130] miracle. The lady Maria, daughter of master Ubertus, of San Pietro, swore and said that she lives in the said quarter; and she said that she saw that girl not seeing in the evening time; and she said that several times she showed her her key, which she did not recognise nor could see; and she said that now that girl sees well, for, as has been said, the witness herself heard from the said Adelardinus that he vowed to God and to brother Zanebonus that he would give him two wax eyes, if he restored sight to the said girl. The witness herself, being questioned whether the infirmity of that girl was notorious and manifest, answered, yes, to all the neighbours. Being questioned about the time of the infirmity of the said girl, she answered that she does not remember. Being questioned how long it is since she received sight, she answered that she does not well know, but she believes it was from that time onward at which the chest of the brother was closed ^c. Being questioned whether she is taught to say what she said before, she answered, no.

On the aforesaid Thursday, the III day of the beginning of August.

[131] The testimony of Benvenuta concerning the driving off Benvenuta, daughter of the late Betagnus, of Medole ^d, of the district of Brescia, swore and said on oath that in the month of May just lately past it was one year since she was sick in both eyes with a grave infirmity, and very grave; and the witness said that she was serving the lord Dondedeus, judge, of Guastalla, who is now judge of the Podestà of Milan, because she is a poor woman; and she said she went on many days to master Girardus the physician, who was from Milan, for the sake of having herself helped in the aforesaid infirmity, saying also on oath that she entirely lost her sight, and could not be helped by any medicine, because she was blind for two months and more. And she said that when she was thus blind in the house of her said lord, the said lord Dondedeus said to the same sick woman: I wish you to vow to God and to brother

Zanebonus that, if he frees you from your infirmity, you will go to his holy tomb unshod, and you will offer him two wax eyes, lighting up his burial-place. And she said that she vowed the aforesaid vow confidently and devoutly, and that very often they betook themselves to the window of the balcony ^e, asking the said brother with great hope that he would restore light to her eyes; and she said that eight days after the aforesaid vow was made, she saw with the right eye, but not fully; whence she at once eagerly visited the body of the said brother, firmly believing that she would receive a greater benefit from the same.

[132] from her blindness; And she said that she lay there XIV nights, within which time she received the grace offered and perfected of the sight of the above-said eye; but of the left she has not yet received full grace; and she said that from the greater Pasch ^f onward she has seen fully with the above-said right eye, and now sees well, doing thereby her needful things, as she was accustomed. Being questioned whether she is taught or asked to say what she said before, she answered no. Being questioned whether that infirmity of hers was notorious, she answered, yes, to her neighbours. Being questioned whether the health restored to her is notorious, she answered, yes, well. Being questioned whether she herself is a catholic, she answered, yes. Being questioned about the names of those who saw her sick and blind, she answered: the said physician, the aforesaid lord Dondedeus, Dominic who lives with the lord Agnabonus, physician, and many others. Being questioned about the names of those who saw her healthy in the said eye, she answered: all the aforesaid and others, her neighbours. Being questioned how much time it is that she has lived at Mantua, she answered, on the first day of the month of May lately past it was one year since she came to Mantua, and she has lived at Mantua until now.

On that day.

[133] other testimonies Master Girardus, physician, who was from Milan, and now dwells at Mantua, swore and said on oath that the witness himself is a neighbour of the said lord Dondedeus, judge, with whom the said Benvenuta was dwelling when she suffered the infirmity of the eyes; he said that at the request of the said lord the physician himself treated that Benvenuta for those eyes, which he said were covered with blood and flesh. And he said that he saw her led through the house, and feeling the walls of the house as she went, as the blind do; furthermore he said that the medicine of the witness himself profited her nothing, and he said that now she sees well with the right eye, yet the same witness does not know how health was restored to her. The witness, being questioned how much time it is that that Benvenuta was sick in the aforesaid eye and that he strove to help her, answered: It is one year, or thereabouts. Being questioned how much time it is that she sees with that eye, he answered: A short time from when Br. Zanebonus died. He said also that he well believes that she has been helped by God and the said brother. Being questioned whether he is taught or asked to make this testimony, he answered, no. Being questioned whether the infirmity of that Benvenuta was notorious, he answered, yes. Being questioned whether her health is now notorious, he answered: Yes, well, for she goes through the neighbourhood doing her business. Being questioned how much time it is that the witness himself has lived at Mantua, he answered: It is XX years and more.

On the same day.

[134] of the same miracle. Dominic, who was from Guastalla, servant of the lord Ognibene, physician of Mantua, swore and said on oath that the witness himself was living as servant of the said lord Dondedeus with that same lord when the said Benvenuta was sick with the aforesaid infirmity; and he said that he saw her eyes swollen and puffed up with that infirmity, and that when the said woman went through the house, she felt the walls like a blind woman; and he said that he saw the said woman seeing well with one eye, and going by herself as others go who see well; and he saw her also on this present day. Being questioned how long a time he saw her sick, he answered that he does not remember. Being questioned how much time it is that he saw her improved, and seeing better with one eye, he answered that he does not remember. Being questioned whether of his own accord he came to this testimony, he answered that a precept was made to him through the envoy of the commune.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VI.

Massarola is freed from an infirmity of the legs, Armellina from a swelling of the body.

On that day.

The testimony of Massarola concerning the faculty of walking restored to her; Massarola, daughter of the late Lanfrancus de Bagatino, of Desenzano ^a of the diocese of Brescia, who now dwells at Mantua in the quarter of St. Leonard, swore and said on oath that it is XVIII years, or thereabouts, since she was sick with a certain grave infirmity, in which indeed she so lost her legs with her feet that she could not go without long crutches set under her armpits ^b; and she said that through the aforesaid time she went wholly with the aforesaid. Furthermore she said that it is ten years and more that she has lived at Mantua; to which city she said she had been brought on a cart; and she said that at the time of the translation of the said brother Zanebonus that sick woman with the said crutches visited the tomb of the said brother, lying there upon it four days and nights; and since because of the pressing of the other sick she could not, or had not been able to, stay there in peace, she rose and went away to the marble chest where the said body had been translated: and when she had stayed there a little, moved by her own will, she resolved to know whether she could raise herself at the chest without the above-said crutches; wherefore she rose at once, and by the grace of God and the merits of the said brother, rising well without crutches, she gladly went up to the chest; she said also that she had asked the aforesaid brother, saying: I supplicate you, holy brother, that you deign to help me; for if you graciously save me, I will fast perpetually without any food on that day on which you shall do me good: which fast indeed she said that afterwards she kept every Sunday. And she said that, the crutches noted before having been left at the said body, she returned to her own house, nor afterwards did she use crutches in any degree when she goes. Being questioned whether she is taught or asked to say what she said before, she answered, no. Being questioned how much time it is that she has been freed from the aforesaid infirmity, she answered that it is ten weeks and more. Being questioned about the time of the same infirmity, she answered as above. Being questioned in whose presence she suffered the aforesaid infirmity, she answered: the lady Stephania of the lord Guida de Castellario ^c, the lady Avancia of master Guido, and many others. Being questioned in whose presence she received the aforesaid health, she answered, many of her neighbours were present, of whose names she does not remember. Being questioned whether her infirmity was notorious, she answered that a hundred knew it and more. Being questioned whether the health restored to her is notorious, she answered, yes, to many. Being questioned whether she is a catholic, she answered, yes. Being questioned whether she came to say the aforesaid at the request of anyone, she answered, no; nay, she came by a precept made to her through the messenger of the commune of Mantua on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena.

On that day.

[136] other testimonies The lady Stephania, wife of Albert de Gerbellinis, of the quarter of St. Leonard of Mantua, swore and said on oath that it is six years since the witness herself was married ^d, and went to live in the aforesaid quarter; and she said that she saw through the said time of six years the said Massarola going with crutches under her armpits, and not able to go in any way without them. And she said that at the time of the translation of the said brother, on a certain Sunday, the witness herself went to the church where the said body is, and she said that she found the said Massarola sitting beside the aforesaid chest; and she said that she called to her, saying: Massarola, are you freed? and she answered: I am well improved. And she said that then she said to her: Rise, and walk; and she rose at once, and she saw her walking through the church without crutches; and the witness said that afterwards she did not see her walking with the above-said crutches, saying that she is her neighbour, and every day she saw her going about begging alms. The witness, being questioned whether she is taught or asked to say what she said before, answered, may it not please God. Being questioned whether she came at the request of anyone to say the aforesaid, she answered, no, but she came by the precept of the messenger of the commune of Mantua, on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena.

On that day.

[137] of the same The lady Stephania, wife of the late Ottobonus Boyxa, of Desenzano, of the diocese of Brescia, who now dwells at Mantua in the quarter of St. Leonard, swore and said on oath that it is a good XVIII years or thereabouts since the said Massarola was sick with a severe infirmity; and she said that that Massarola was then living with the witness herself in her house; and also now she keeps her in her house at Mantua for the love of God. And the witness said that at that time, when the aforesaid fell sick, she began to go with long crutches under her armpits; and she said also that the witness herself several times hid the said crutches from the same sick woman, because she did harm to her lady herself when she would not go through the house without the above-said crutches. And she said that that Massarola sat weeping until she got back the hidden crutches, because without them she could in no way walk. And she said that at the time of the translation of the said brother she brought the said Massarola to the place where the said body was, and, having left her there, returned home

and she said that afterwards she understood that health had been restored to that Massarola; whence immediately at earliest morning the said witness returned to the same Massarola with tears for joy. And she said that she saw her walking without crutches; and she said that afterwards she has walked without crutches up to this present day, by the grace of God. She said also that she induced the same Massarola to make the vow to that brother, because she trusted much in him, since the witness herself had seen many sick people healed at the aforesaid body. The witness, being questioned whether she herself is taught or asked to make the testimony, answered, no. Being questioned whether she came at the request of anyone to make this testimony, she answered, no, but it was commanded her twice by the envoy of the commune of Mantua on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena. Being questioned how long it is that she has been living at Mantua, she answered that it is a long time.

On that day.

[138] miracle. The lady Avancia, wife of the late lord Peter de Benedictis, of the aforesaid Desenzano, who now dwells at Mantua in the same quarter, swore and said on oath that she saw that Massarola sick, and turned her with a sheet several times in bed; and she said that she saw her walking with the aforesaid crutches XVI years and more, up to the time of the translation of the aforesaid brother. And she said that she went to the said body of the said brother when she heard that she had been freed; and for joy, when she saw her freed, and her crutches hung before the chest of the man of God, she began to weep, and kissed that Massarola, rendering praises to God; and she said that from the time of the translation onward she has not seen the said woman walking with crutches, nor does she walk with crutches at present. Being questioned on the particulars as above, she answered as was answered above by the aforesaid witness Stephania.

On Friday, the IV day of the beginning of August.

[139] The testimony of Armellina, freed Armellina, daughter of Descazatus de Pauriis, of Campitello, of the diocese of Mantua, swore and said on oath that about the feast of the Lord's Nativity lately past she fell sick, having her belly swollen and puffed up as if she were at the time of giving birth; and she said that she was so stout, swollen and puffed up in such quantity that she could not make a venia ^e, nor put down her knees; and the aforesaid said that at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother Zanebonus she went as she could to the said body, holding her hands to her belly and supporting it, because she walked with difficulty; and she said that when she was at the said body, she made her prayer there, and immediately returned home. And she said that after three days, having firm confidence of her health, she returned again, weeping and praying, to the aforesaid body. And she said that when she was there, she made a vow with tears, saying: I beseech you, holy brother, that you deign to pray for my health; for I will offer you a candle as long as my length. And she said that on that night she lay there, and received entire health by the grace of God and of the aforesaid brother. And she said that she has her belly thinned to its original state, and that from the time of her deliverance up to this present day, thanks be to God, she has had no infirmity in any way.

[140] from a swelling of the belly. Being questioned whether she is taught or asked to say what she said before, she answered, no. Being questioned whether her infirmity is notorious, she answered, yes, among all her neighbours and acquaintances. Being questioned whether her health is notorious in the same way, she answered, yes. Being questioned in whose presence she had the said infirmity, she answered, in the presence of all her neighbourhood. She said that she lives at Mantua in the quarter of the Pusterla Ancelmorum outside. Being questioned about the names of those who were present when she was made well, she answered that a great press, or crowd, of men ^f and women were there, and that she does not well remember their names; yet she said that at once when she was healed she presented herself before the lord Bishop of Mantua at a public preaching; for he had come there to preach. And she said that she cried out and told all who heard that she had been healed in the night, or another, when the said bishop had come there. Being questioned whether she came, being asked, to give the testimony, she answered that she came by a precept made to her through Michellinus, envoy of the commune of Mantua, on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena and of the Podestà of Mantua.

On that day.

[141] Other testimonies Bonavantius, son of the lord Peccarollus, saddler ^g, who was from Verona and now dwells at Mantua, swore and said on oath that he saw the said woman going through the churches and preachings, swollen in her belly and puffed up, and very unsightly; asking alms, because she was poor. And this he said she did many times before the time of the translation of brother Zanebonus; and he said on oath that at the time of the translation of the said body the said witness had gone at earliest morning to the church of St. Agnes, where the said body was, translated; and he said that he saw the said woman going healthy, and freed and thinned in that belly, saying to all: See that I have been well healed this night, thanks be to God; drawing her hands over her belly and pressing her belly, and saying: See how I have been freed; and the witness said that thereafter he did not see her sick in any way up to this present day. Being questioned whether he knew that woman at the time of her infirmity, he answered, yes, because he saw her many times begging at the preachings ^h which were held at Mantua. Being questioned whether he himself is taught or asked to make this testimony, he answered, no. Being questioned whether he came at the request of anyone to give this testimony, he answered that he did not; but he came to make this testimony by a precept made to him through Ottonellus, envoy ⁱ of the commune of Mantua, on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena. Being questioned for how long a time he saw the said sick woman before she had been healed, he answered perhaps for half a year, but he does not well remember. Being questioned for how long a time and how often he saw her after she was healed, he answered that he saw her many times afterwards healthy and safe, and also on this present day. Being questioned how long it is that the witness himself has lived at Mantua, he answered: It is seven years and more. Being questioned whether the infirmity of the said woman was notorious, he answered yes, to all who did her good.

On that day.

[142] of the same Delaitus de Stancario, of the quarter of St. Gervase of Mantua, swore and said on oath in all things and through all as was said by the said witness Bonavantius. Being questioned on the particulars as above, he answered on the particulars in all things in the same way as the said witness Bonavantius, except that he is a citizen, and not of Verona, as the said witness Bonavantius is.

On that day.

[143] miracle. Dominic, called Gaillegentis, of the city of Mantua, of the quarter of the Pusterla Ancelmorum outside, being sworn, said on oath that the said woman was his neighbour at the time of her infirmity; and he said that he saw that woman puffed up through the body and belly almost up to the throat; and he said that he saw her begging through the city at that time; and he said that the said woman was healed at the time of the translation of the body of brother Zanebonus; but he does not know how she was healed, except by the word of that woman. He said also that he heard from her that she had been healed by the prayers and merits of the aforesaid brother; and he said that he himself saw her in the morning after that night in which she received health, leaping and rejoicing, and saying: See how I am healthy and freed from all evil; and he said that afterwards the said woman persevered in her health up to the present day; he said also that today he saw her healthy and safe, and he said that her infirmity was notorious to all of the said neighbourhood, and also to all who had gathered at the aforesaid preachings at that time, because she was a beggar. The witness, being questioned whether he is taught or asked to make this testimony, answered no. Being questioned whether he came, being asked, to make this testimony, he answered no; nay, by a precept made to him through the messenger of the commune of Mantua on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena. Being questioned for how long a time he saw her sick before she was healed, he answered for half a year, or thereabouts. Being questioned how often he saw her healthy after the time of the health granted to her, he answered many times, and also today.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VII.

Negrina is freed from contraction of the sinews, Joannina from swelling of the body.

On that day.

The testimony of Zanebellus about his daughter Negrina, freed Zanebellus, son of the late Zamboninus de Martino Cavalerio, of Formigosa ^a, of the diocese of Mantua, swore and said on oath that Negrina his daughter, being present there in person ^b, who is now three years old or thereabouts, fell sick when she was one year old; and he said that by the said infirmity she was so drawn together that she could not go except bent over, with her left hand to her left knee; and he said that that girl did not go even in such a manner except from the carnival just lately past onward, because she could not go at all before the said time for that cause; and he said on oath that at the time of the translation of the body of brother Zanebonus, the said Zanebellus went confidently without the said girl to the said body; and he said that he vowed, saying: I vow to God and to brother Zanebonus that, if my daughter recovers so that she can go and return in good health, as long as she shall live I will offer yearly to that brother a candle long after the manner of the length of the aforesaid girl; and he said that eight days after the vow was made his said daughter recovered, thanks be to God, and is healthy, and nimble, and running

as her age requires; which girl indeed he made to run through the church of St. Peter of Mantua before the lord bishop of Modena and the others, for the confirmation of this testimony. The witness, being questioned whether he is taught or asked to make this testimony, answered no. Being questioned whether he came at request to this testimony, he answered that it was commanded him through the envoy of the commune of Mantua that he should come. Being questioned whether the infirmity of the said girl was notorious and manifest, he answered yes, through his whole countryside. Being questioned how long a time that girl was sick, he answered for one year, as he believes. Being questioned about the day of her healing, he answered that he does not remember.

On that day.

[145] from contraction of the sinews; of the same miracle John Ugonis de Vitalis, of the said countryside of Formigosa, being sworn, said on oath that the said girl is his niece. And he said that he saw the said girl going with her hand to her left knee, and she was bent, so that she could not walk otherwise; and the witness said that it is XV days, or thereabouts, since the said girl was freed from her infirmity, and that she has well persevered in her said health, so that she walks well upright; and he said that he believes that she has been freed by the prayers and will of the said brother; and he said that he heard from the father of the said girl that he had vowed that girl to that brother, and to give him a candle yearly, as long as she lived, as long as the girl. Being questioned whether the infirmity of the said girl was notorious, he answered, yes, through that countryside. Being questioned how long a time the said girl remained sick, he answered that he does not know. Being questioned whether he is taught or asked to make this testimony, he answered no. Being questioned whether he was required through the messenger of the commune, he answered yes. For he said that Michellinus, envoy of the commune, commanded him on behalf of the bishop of Modena that he should come before him for the sake of telling the truth about the aforesaid.

On that day.

[146] other testimonies. The lady Sibilla, wife of the late Peter de Carlo, who was of Carazedulum ^d, of the diocese of Mantua, who dwells at Mantua, swore and said on oath in all things and through all and in each as the aforesaid witness John, except that she said that it is a longer time since that girl was freed than the said witness John said, but she does not know well how to say the amount of that time. She was questioned on each of all the questions put to that witness John, and answered as the aforesaid witness in all things and each.

On that day.

[147] The testimony of Joannina, freed from a swelling of the body; Joannina, who was from Anseduna ^e, and now dwells at Mantua in the old city, and wife of Jacominus the porter, swore and said on oath that a few days after the feast of the greater Pasch just lately past she fell sick with a certain grave and horrible sickness. For she said that her hands up to the middle of the arms swelled on her every third day, and from her breasts up to the throat, and that throat swelled in the same manner, so that she could not close her hands, and could not raise herself from bed, nor even eat; and she said that this happened to her every third day and night; and she said that she suffered this infirmity for one entire month; and she said on oath that in the month of June just lately past, when, lying, she was held by the said ailment, hearing that many miracles were being done through brother Zanebonus, she vowed confidently, saying: I vow to God and to brother Zanebonus that, if he snatches me from this infirmity, I will offer and carry three candles to him; and she said on oath that she was immediately freed, and that she had the said infirmity no more, saying that she has persevered fully and perfectly afterwards until now in the said soundness. Being questioned whether her infirmity was notorious, she answered, yes, to the whole neighbourhood and quarter. Being questioned whether her soundness is notorious to the above-said, she answered, yes, to all. Being questioned how long it is that she has lived at Mantua, she answered that it is one year. Being questioned whether she is taught or asked to make this testimony, she answered, no. Being questioned whether she was required by the messenger of the commune to come to this testimony, she answered, no, but she came freely, because she heard that those who had been made healthy by the prayers of the said brother were going to the said bishop of Modena, therefore she came willingly. Being questioned how much time it is that she has been freed from the aforesaid infirmity, she answered that it is a good one month. Being questioned how long the said infirmity lasted her when it befell her, she answered that it came to her from every third to third day, lasting through a day and a night.

On that day.

[148] of the same miracle The lady Brexana, wife of Peter de Govardo, who dwells at Mantua in the neighbourhood of the said Zoannina, swore and said on oath that she saw the said Zoannina swollen in her hands and throat, and that she had the whole swelling warty ^f, so that she was almost believed to be leprous; and she said that she saw her suffer this infirmity for a month. Being questioned, she said that the witness herself went with the same Zoannina to the body of brother John the Good with three candles; and she said that afterwards she did not see her sick with the aforesaid infirmity, but she saw her thereafter, and saw her on all days healthy and safe, and cleansed of all infirmity; and she said that she heard from her that she had made a vow to that brother to give him the said candles if he freed her. Being questioned whether her infirmity was notorious, she answered, yes, through the whole neighbourhood. Being questioned how long a time she saw her sick, and afterwards healthy, she answered that she saw her sick for a month, but sometimes that infirmity withdrew: and she said that she saw her always healthy from that time onward at which she had gone to the aforesaid body with the aforesaid candles. Being questioned whether she is taught or asked to make this testimony, she answered, no. Being questioned whence the witness herself was a native, she answered from Mazano, a village of the district of Brescia. Being questioned how long it is that she has lived at Mantua, she answered it is nine years or thereabouts. Being questioned how much time it is that she went with the aforesaid Zoannina to the body of the said brother with the aforesaid candles, she answered that she does not remember.

[149] other testimonies. The lady Pascha, wife of Gerardus, of Ceretum ^g, of the diocese of Brescia, who now dwells at Mantua in the aforesaid quarter, swore and said on oath that she saw the said Zoannina suffering the aforesaid infirmity for three weeks and more; and she said that she heard from her that she had made the aforesaid vow to the said brother, and that she saw her carrying the said candles thither; and she said that afterwards she saw her healthy, and safe, and freed from the aforesaid infirmity; but she said that she does not remember the amount of time of her infirmity, nor of her health. Being questioned how long it is that she has lived at Mantua, she answered: it is ten years or thereabouts. Being questioned as above, she answered as above, except as to the land of her origin; for she said that she was a native of Puciggnano, a village of the diocese of Brescia.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VIII.

Jacobina and Zeno are freed from deafness, Anzelerius from contraction of the leg.

On that day.

The testimony of Jacobinus, from whom deafness was driven off; Jacominus, baker of the lord bishop of Mantua, swore and said on oath that in the month of October next coming it will be two years since the witness himself had a severe infirmity for many months and times, up to the day of the death of the said brother Zanebonus, having fever, and pain of the head, and deafness of the ears, so that he did not hear clearly, and pain of the teeth; and he said that since at the time of the death of the said brother he had his infirmity more severe than usual, he made a vow confidently and with his whole heart to the said brother Zanebonus that, if he would confer health on him, he would offer him a wax candle as long as his head was twice round; and he said that almost at once he was freed, by the grace of God and the grace of the said brother, from all the infirmities noted before, saying and asserting on oath that afterwards he has well persevered in that health up to the present day. Being questioned about the names of those to whom that infirmity of his was known, he answered: the lord Marchesinus, priest of St. Andrew of Mantua ^a, and Feraxolinus, cleric of the lord abbot of the said church, and master Pax, physician, and many others; yet he said that no one knew anything of his vow, because he made it lying down, and was alone; and he said that all the aforesaid know well of his health; and he said also that that infirmity was notorious to all of the monastery of St. Andrew of Mantua, because he was then dwelling there as a servant. Being questioned how much time it is that he came to the said health, he answered from the time of the death of the said brother Zanebonus onward; and he said that his health is well notorious to all who are at the aforesaid monastery. Being questioned whether he is taught or asked to make this testimony, he answered no. Being questioned whether he was required by the messenger of the commune of Mantua to come to make this testimony, he answered, yes, by Michellinus, envoy of the commune. Being questioned whence he was a native, he answered from Roncorlandia ^b of the diocese of Mantua. Being questioned on whose behalf the said witness was cited, he answered on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena.

On that day.

[151] of the same miracle Vivianus, son of the late Maria de Steffano, of Sarzanesco ^c, a village of the diocese of Mantua, swore and said on oath that at that time at which the said Jacominus was sick the witness himself was a servant of the lord abbot of the monastery of St. Andrew of Mantua, and the said Jacominus likewise; and he said that he saw the said Jacominus suffering pain of the head, and deafness of the ears, and fevers, and pains of the teeth for many months; and he said that one evening about the time of the death of the said brother Jacominus himself was much worsened, so that the witness himself with a certain other carried him to bed, which he did not feel; and he said that then the same Jacominus, as he related to him, the witness, made a vow to the said brother,

that he would give him a candle as long as his head is thick, if he freed him; yet the witness said that he did not see (that he knows) him going to the said body with the aforesaid vow; but he said that it is well true that he afterwards saw the same Jacominus, from the time of the death of the said brother onward, improving from each of his infirmities; and he said that now he is well freed, and is healthy of the aforesaid infirmity; and he said that he believes him to have been freed by the prayers of the said brother, if he made the aforesaid vow faithfully and in good faith. Being questioned for how long a time he saw that Jacominus sick, he answered that he does not know, nor remember. Being questioned how much time it is since he recovered, he answered that he believes it to be half a year and more. Being questioned whether the said infirmity was notorious, he answered, yes, to all of the aforesaid monastery. Being questioned whether he is taught or asked to make this testimony, he answered no. Being questioned whether he was required by any messenger of the commune on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena, he answered, no, but he came accompanying the said Jacominus, because they were formerly companions, as he said before.

On that day.

[152] other testimonies. Marchesius, priest of the church of St. Andrew of Mantua, swore and said on oath that it is true that the aforesaid Jacominus was a servant of the said monastery when he was sick; and he said that he saw him so sick that he was carried on one occasion to bed, which he himself did not feel; and he said that he knows nothing of the aforesaid vow; but he said that afterwards he recovered; but he does not know the time of his healing; and he said that he believes him to have been sick at the time of the death of the said brother Zanebonus. Being questioned whether that infirmity was notorious, he answered, yes, among all dwelling in the aforesaid monastery.

On Saturday, the V day of the beginning of August.

[153] The testimony of Zeno, whose deafness Zeno, servant and domicellus of the lord bishop of Mantua, swore and said on oath that it is four years and more since, when he was having his head washed in the bishop's palace at Mantua, he who was washing him put water into his left ear; and he said that for four years he bore and had the said ear sick for that cause, so that he did not hear clearly with it, and also that he suffered an almost continuous tremor in the same, as if he were trodden by a flea; and he said that if he heard a dog barking, it seemed to him that the barking resounded in that ear; and he said that he had the counsel of very many physicians about it, by whom he could not be helped in any degree; finally he said that he committed himself confidently and most devoutly to God and to brother Zanebonus before the body of the same was translated to the chest; and he said on oath that he devoutly made a vow, saying: I vow to God and to brother Zanebonus that, if he confers health on me in my ear, I will bring him a wax ear, and moreover will make an offering to him from my goods ^d gladly and willingly. Then indeed he said that he felt himself more burdened; on account of which burden he almost entirely lost his sleep at night, his head aching on that side; and he said that he began for that cause to be tempted as to what this might be, wondering, since he had commended himself more devoutly to God and to the said brother, why on that account it was rebounding to the contrary. For he said that, strengthened in faith in the Lord, he said that even if he were to be deaf in both ears, he would by no means separate himself from God nor from the said brother.

[154] driven off by a miracle; Furthermore he said that then one night, when he was lying in the chamber of the lord bishop of Mantua, having the sick ear turned to the bed in sleeping, when he woke he found corruption mixed with blood in very great quantity, and perceived that it had flowed from his ear; and so he confirmed on oath that after that night, about four days next, he came to the convalescence desired, saying that he hears well and entirely; and afterwards he heard without any infirmity or pain, saying also, and affirming on oath entirely inconstantly *, that by the prayers and merits of the said brother he has obtained that grace from the Lord God. Being questioned in whose presence he suffered that infirmity, he answered that that infirmity was and is notorious to all of the household of the said lord bishop of Mantua: for he said that for one whole year, before he came to health, he plainly lost matter from the aforesaid ear, drawing out corruption from it continually with a straw, they seeing it. Being questioned whether he is taught or asked to make this testimony, he answered, no. Being questioned whether his health is notorious to those of the aforesaid household, he answered, yes. Being questioned how long it is that he has been healed of the aforesaid infirmity: From the month of March most lately past onward. Being questioned whence he himself was a native, he answered from Piacenza. Being questioned how long it is that he has lived at Mantua, he answered that it is seven years that he has been of the household of the said lord bishop.

On that day.

[155] of the same miracle. Gandulfinus, who is called Labor, who is of the household of the lord bishop of Mantua, swore and said on oath that one year has passed since the witness himself saw and felt the aforesaid ear of the aforesaid Zeno; and he said that he put a straw into the ear of that sick man, probing within for him; and he said that most foul matter and corruption came out thence, and he said that the said man was deaf in the aforesaid ear, so that he did not hear well; and the witness said that he believes that Zeno to be now healthy and safe in that ear, and that he received that health by the prayers and merits of the said brother John the Good; and he said that he saw that Zeno at the said body; and he saw also the said Zeno carrying a wax ear, which he carried thither, as he heard from him. Being questioned whether the said infirmity of the said Zeno was notorious, he answered that he does not know, because he lives outside, and sometimes on behalf of the lord bishop. Being questioned whether he is taught or asked to say what he said before, he answered no. Being questioned how long it is that Zeno himself has been healthy in that ear, he answered that it is two months since he heard from him that he had been made healthy in that ear by the prayers and merits of the said brother Zanebonus, and that he had made a vow.

On that day.

[156] The testimony of Anzelerius, freed from contraction of the leg; Anzelerius, who is called Muza, of the village of Pralamberti, of the district of Mantua, swore and said on oath that in the month of May most lately past Anzelerius himself fell sick in the left leg and foot; and he said that by the aforesaid infirmity he bore it drawn up, so that he could in no way put his foot to the ground, saying that he thus limped in going for VII whole months; and the aforesaid said that he almost did not go out of the house, and when it befell him to make a movement with a stick, holding the leg contracted, he made his way, and that a short one. Moreover he said that he heard many good things said of brother Zanebonus; he resolved also, by the counsel of his friends, to visit his tomb; for he said that he mounted a she-ass, and came all the way to the said body, saying that when he was at the church where the said body was, already buried, he made a vow, saying: I vow to God and to this holy brother that, if I shall be freed from my infirmity by the prayers of brother John the Good, I will give him of my goods; and he said that he lay there the said night upon the tomb of the said body; and he said that on that night the Lord did him good by the prayers of the said brother, saying that his leg was stretched out, so that he put the toes of his foot down on the ground; and he said that thereafter every day he was better; so that in going without a stick he sets the whole foot to the ground in passing; and he said that he is healthy, by the grace of God and of the said brother, so that he ploughs, and does the other things needful for him as he was accustomed, without any stick for support. Being questioned whether his infirmity was notorious, he answered, yes, among all his neighbours. Being questioned for how long a time he remained sick, he answered VII months. Being questioned how long it is that he has been freed, he answered from the feast of St. Martin just past onward. Being questioned whether his health is notorious, he answered yes, to all his acquaintances, who see him going without a stick, who saw him sick. Being questioned whence he himself is a native, he answered from the said village. Being questioned whether he is taught to say the aforesaid, he answered, no.

On that day.

[157] Other testimonies of the same miracle. The lord Bergonzius, priest of the church of the said village, swore and said on oath that he saw the said Anzelerius sick, and having the said leg contracted with the foot, so that he could not walk without a stick and a she-ass, which he often rode; and he said that the witness himself went to that Anzelerius when he was sick, and gave him penance ^e in the aforesaid infirmity, saying that his infirmity was notorious to all the men of the said countryside, and his health likewise in the same way; and he said that he heard from the same Anzelerius that he made a vow to God and to brother Zanebonus, and that he came to Mantua on a she-ass to the said body of that brother; and he said that he has been improved so that he walks well, and does his work and the rest, as he was accustomed. Being questioned about the time of his infirmity, he answered that he does not remember. Being questioned how long it is that he has been better and freed, he answered: From the death of the aforesaid brother onward. Being questioned whether he himself is taught or asked to make this testimony, he answered, no. Being questioned whence the witness himself is a native, he answered, from the said village.

On that day.

Niger, called Migensi, of the said village, swore and said on oath in all things and through all and each in order, as the said priest, witness, said, affirming and narrating each thing on oath, except that he did not give penance to the same Anzelerius, as the same priest asserted that he had given. Being questioned on the particulars above-said he answered the same as above.

ANNOTATIONS.

Donesmundus. At length it was given in commendam to Francesco Gonzaga, cardinal, who, relying on the authority of Pope Sixtus IV, erected it into a collegiate church. See Ciaconius, volume II, page 1068.

* perhaps "and steadfastly"

CHAPTER IX.

Bengevena is healed of a fistula, and the broken hand of Papia.

On that day.

Testimony of Bengevena, freed from a fistula; Bengevena, daughter of Lord Barbazanus, son of the late Lord Bissolus, of the city of Mantua, swore and said on oath that four years have passed since she suffered an incurable and horrible illness of a fistula in the right hand and arm and breast; and she said that, though many and many and various medicines were applied there, she could not come to recovery; and she said on oath that at the time of the death of the aforesaid Brother Zanebonus, having heard of many miracles which the Lord was working through him, and by his prayers, for other sick persons, she told her mother that she wished to make a vow to the said brother and to go to his body; and having obtained leave to make the aforesaid vow, she said: "I vow to God and to Brother Zanebonus that, if he frees me from my illness, I will offer him one decorated candle"; and she said that, having done this, she went to the said body and lay there one night upon the tomb of the said brother; and she said that at once the said fistula began to dry up from the pus which ran out of it; and she said that she stayed there afterwards three or four nights, keeping vigil there in honour of God and of the said brother; and she said that she would not leave any bandage over the openings of the fistula, but put over them some of the earth of the said brother's grave, pressing that earth into the aforementioned openings; and she said on oath that within the space of eight days she was fully freed, after she had put the said earth there. Asked how much time it is since she was healed of the aforesaid illness, she answered that she does not remember. Asked whether her illness was notorious, she answered, yes, through her whole neighbourhood. Asked whether her healing is notorious, she answered, yes, to all who are present; and also, for the greater strength of the truth, she uncovered her arm and showed the places of the fistula to the lord bishop of Modena and his companions; which openings, deformed and horrible, are indeed very well closed up and freed. Asked whether she was taught or asked to say what she has said, she answered, no. Asked where she comes from, she answered that she is a Mantuan by birth. Asked how many years old the girl is, she answered twelve years, as is said. Asked why she put that earth on the places of the fistula, she answered, out of reverence for the said brother, and from her faith, because she had good and firm hope of her health in the aforesaid brother.

On that day.

[159] concerning the same Lady Rosa, wife of the said Lord Barbazanus, mother of the aforesaid Bengevena, swore and said on oath that her said daughter is eleven years old, a little more; and she said that when she was five years old she fell ill with that illness of a fistula, first in the right hand, then in the arm, afterwards at the breast, or beside the right breast; and she said that, though many and various medicines were applied, she could in no way be healed, but was still troubled by the said fistula; and the witness said on oath that at the time of the death of the said Brother Zanebonus her said daughter said to her: "My lady, I should like to make a vow to this brother, because I believe that he will free me, and he has freed many others from their illnesses"; and the witness said that she told her to make the vow to that brother; and she said that the girl made the vow: "I vow to God and to that Brother Zanebonus that, if he frees me, I will bring him one decorated ^a candle"; and she said that the girl went there to the said body; and she slept one night, or kept vigil, over the grave of the said brother; and she said that the girl, while her mother, who was with her, looked on, put dust from the said brother's grave on her ailment, saying: "I know that I shall be well freed"; and she said that after a short time the girl recovered well and was freed from her illness, by the grace of God and of the said brother. Asked how long it is since the girl was healed, she answered that she does not well remember. Asked whether the girl's illness was notorious, she answered, yes; her illness was known to all her neighbours, men and women. Asked whether she was taught or asked to give this testimony, she answered: no. Asked whether she was summoned by a messenger of the commune on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena, she answered, yes. Asked whether the said girl has fully persevered in her health, she answered, yes. Asked where she comes from, she answered that she is a Mantuan.

On that day.

[160] by a miracle Lord Barbazanus, father of the said girl, swore and said on oath in all things and in each, as his said wife did, except that he said he had not stayed by night with the said girl at the said body, and had not seen what was done there by the said girl with that earth which she applied to herself. Questioned on each of the above, he answered the same.

On that day.

[161] other testimonies. Jacominus Blanchi de Ferrarii of Mantua swore and said on oath that two years have passed since he took note of the said girl's illness; for he said that he is her neighbour; and he said that he several times bound up the places of the fistula for the girl; and he made prayers ^b and other remedies for her; yet he said that he could bring her no relief; and he said that the girl went to the body of Brother Zanebonus with one beautiful decorated candle, which the witness himself had made; and he said that she stayed there by night, but he does not know how long; and then he said that she recovered well and is healed of her aforesaid illness. Asked whether the girl's illness was notorious, he answered, yes, through the whole neighbourhood. Asked whether she persevered in her health after she was healed, he answered, yes. Asked where the witness himself comes from, he answered that he is a Mantuan by birth. Asked whether he was taught or asked to give this testimony, he answered, no. Asked whether he came of his own accord to give this testimony, he answered, on the contrary, he was ordered by Michael, messenger of the commune, on behalf of the lord bishop of Modena, to come. Asked whether the said girl's healing is notorious through the said neighbourhood, he answered, yes, for the greater part. Asked how he knows that she was healed, he answered that he saw it.

On that day.

[162] Testimony of Papia, whose broken hand was healed; Lady Papia, a penitential sister ^c, who was of the diocese of Reggio, from the place of San Stefano, and now lives at Mantua at Ad Cursum ^d, swore and said on oath that in the month of May lately last past it was one year since she, drawing water from the well of the said quarter with the chain of the well, had her left hand wrecked ^e by the chain, so that she could not close that hand; and she said that she could not have any physicians or medicines by means of which she might have a remedy for the aforesaid hand; and she said that at the time of the translation of Brother John the Good, the said Papia, having devotion toward so great a man, asked the brothers who were present there at the coffer where the said body had been laid, while the coffer was still open, and she told those brothers to take the woman's veil, with which she was veiled, and put it into the coffer so that it might touch the aforementioned body; and she said that when this had been done by the brothers, and she had received the said veil back from the brothers, she began to squeeze it and to wipe herself much with it; and she said that, the veil having touched it, she was at once healed in her hand, and afterwards she opened it and closed it, and closes it now and opens it as she used to, and has fully persevered in the said health up to the present day. Asked whether the said illness was notorious, she answered, yes, to all of her neighbourhood; and she said that her healing is likewise now notorious to the aforesaid. Asked whether she was taught or asked to give this testimony, she answered: no. Asked in whose presence the hand was healed, she answered, in the presence of Lady Benabia, her neighbour. Asked about the day on which she was healed, she answered, on a certain Monday before terce. Asked about the month, she answered, in the month of May lately last past. Asked how long she has been living at Mantua, she answered: eleven years.

On that day.

[163] concerning the same miracle Lady Gisla, wife of Master Ognabenus, of the said quarter, swore and said on oath that she saw and touched and several times bound up for the said Lady Papia that sick, dislocated ^f hand; and she said that Papia could not help herself with the aforesaid hand; and she said that she was sick in the said hand for one year; and she said that Papia, coming from the said brother when she was healed, said, in the hearing of the witness, that she was healed, as Papia herself has stated; and she said that the hand is now safe and sound, as it was from the beginning of her healing. Asked whether the said illness was notorious, she answered, yes, to all. Asked whether her healing is notorious, she answered, yes. Asked whether she was taught or asked to give this testimony, she answered, no.

On that day.

[164] other testimonies. Lady Diana, wife of Michael of Campitello ^g, who lives in the said quarter, swore and said on oath in all things as was said by the aforesaid witness Gisla, adding nothing and taking nothing away. Questioned as above, she answered in all things as the aforesaid Gisla.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER X.

Florius de Baraliis is rescued from dangers, and a woman is freed from a

suffocation. Attestations of the fidelity of the process and of the copies.

On that day.

Testimony of Florius, rescued from prison and dangers. Lord Florius de Baraliis ^a, an honourable citizen and merchant of Mantua, swore and said on oath that yesterday it was eight days ^b since he, with certain merchants and their merchandise, was travelling through from Mantua to Brescia; and when he was in the district of Brescia, in the middle of Medole ^c, he saw from afar a troop of enemies ^d riding hard toward him; and he said that, since he could not flee because of the weariness of his horse, he was detained both in his goods ^e and in his person, and was led to Pischeria ^f, a town of the diocese of Verona, where he remained detained for a day and a night; and on the following day he said that he was led to Verona at the instance and command of Icellinus ^g; and when, having been led there, he was in that city, and was in the house of a certain knight until the next day, bound hard with his hands behind his back and his feet in the same way, and handed over to two guards to guard him, he remembered blessed Leonard, the saint and patron of his neighbourhood, and Brother Zanebonus, in whom among others he very greatly trusted; and he said that most devoutly, while all of the house and the guards themselves were sleeping, he poured out prayers to God and to the said blessed Leonard and to Brother Zanebonus, saying that they should, overlooking his sins, loose him, a sinner, from so shameful a bond, that he might at least be able to help himself fully with his hands; for he said on oath that at once, the prayer being finished, he had his hands loosed; and having loosed his feet, which had been bound, calling upon the name of God and of the aforesaid Brother Zanebonus, and making the sign of the King of kings, he took up the much-desired road; and going out of the aforesaid house, passing through the city past the first and the second watch, and gladly let go by those guards, he so came to the river Attesis ^h; where, leaving his clothes and having his undershirt wrapped round his head, he swam through the river for the space of one mile toward the bank, and when he was on land, setting out toward Mantua through the enemy passage, he hastened happily home that night without harm from the enemy; and because the report and fame of the foregoing are notorious through the city of Mantua, we have received the statement of the aforesaid as firm, as truly as we could, in this matter. Asked whether he was taught or asked to say what he has said, he answered: "God forbid."

On Sunday, the sixth of August, in the entering part of the month.

[166] Testimony of Lanfrancus concerning his daughter Anna, freed from suffocation. I, Lanfrancus of Bergamo, citizen of Mantua, notary ⁱ and writer of all the foregoing, swore at the command of the lord bishop of Modena and of the lord provost of Mantua, and I say on oath that, from the time of the death of Brother Zanebonus onward, before the time of his translation, my daughter Anna one night was gasping from an unknown cause, so that from the tightness of her chest she could scarcely draw breath to speak, having writhings and gaspings as though at the last; wherefore the girl's mother, shedding tears, was as it were awaiting her passing; whereupon, a light being lit, she hurried to the said girl, and I, seeing her condition, grieving, most devoutly besought God and Brother Zanebonus that he would free her from sudden death; and when morning came her mother asked the girl whether she would have some of Brother Zanebonus's things at her neck; and when she answered yes to this, she took some of his relics wrapped in a cloth and reverently and confidently put them on her neck, vowing to the brother that the said girl would surround his body with lights, if he would deign to grant her the grace of health. And when the hour at which the said girl was accustomed to rise had come, the said girl, lifted up by her mother, began then and there to walk about unharmed, by the grace of God, through the quarter with the other children of her age; nor afterwards did she have any illness, so far as she remembers, from the aforesaid cause; of the day and hour she does not remember. Further, I say that I have lived at Mantua twenty years and more.

[167] The same Lanfrancus testifies that he was the notary of this process; "I, Lanfrancus of Bergamo, notary of the sacred empire, in the presence of the aforesaid lords and at their command, made the aforesaid witnesses swear, and wrote their statements in the presence of those lords, and heard them together with them; and by their mandate, for greater security, I reduced their statements to public form, according to what is contained in the present quire.

attestations of the certain fidelity of the copies. It agrees with its original existing in the archive of our most serene Lord the Duke of Mantua and Montferrat, in the collection of matters pertaining to the soul. In witness whereof, etc. On the Ides of January, 1641.

I, Ippolito Castelli, jurisconsult and knight, prefect of the said ducal archive, and secretary of the boundaries of the same most serene lord, have subscribed.

That the above-written Lord Ippolito Castelli, prefect of the ducal archive, is such as he asserts himself to be, and that full faith is given here to his attestations and is deservedly to be given everywhere, I the undersigned, first chancellor of the same most serene Lord the Duke of Mantua and Montferrat, attest. From the ducal chancery of Mantua, the 20th day of January, 1641.

(L. S.) I, Giulio Tomasini, chancellor, have subscribed."

ANNOTATIONS.

THIRD PART.

The process held at Cesena at the end of the year 1253 and the beginning of 1254, concerning the life and virtues of Bl. John the Good and the miracles which he worked while living.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction of the witnesses. Testimony of the Venerable Father Lord Manginus, bishop of Cesena, and of Brother Moroëllus, of the order of hermits: on the virtues and miracles of the blessed man.

Examiner, assessors and witnesses "In this quire begin the miracles ^b of the life of Brother John the Good, last received at Cesena.

In the name of the Lord. Amen. Witnesses received at Cesena concerning the life, faith and conduct, and the fame, of Brother John the Good of revered memory, founder of the order of hermits, and concerning the miracles which God has deigned to work by his merits. Brother Moroëllus and Brother Balis, of the order of hermits of the convent of Cesena, and Lord Maurinus, son of the late Joannes de Judice, Gualterius, son of the late Bastardus, Artusius, son of the late Ugolinus de Aura, citizens of Cesena, brothers of penance, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of Master Michael ^c, examiner deputed by the supreme Pontiff. Done at Cesena at the convent of the said hermits in the year of the Lord 1254, in the twelfth indiction, on the sixth day before the Kalends of January ^d, there being present Brother Lanfrancus, prior general of the same order, and Lord Albizus, canon of the pieve of Peccioll' ^e, of the diocese of Volterra, and Remigius, son of the late Durandus, witnesses ^f called for this."

[169] Testimony of the Venerable Lord Manginus, bishop of Cesena, The Venerable Father Lord Manginus ^g, by the grace of God bishop of Cesena, testifying on the word of truth, said that he was provost of the church of Cesena for a little less than four years, and bishop for twenty years, in which twenty-four years Brother John the Good was in the hermitage of Santa Maria de Botriolo, of the diocese of Cesena, for twenty years ^h, as he said he believed, or a little more, or a little less; in which time the said witness said that he had often seen the said Brother John the Good in the religious habit, namely that of the hermits; which habit was a certain tunic or cowl of fine stamin, which was girded over, and he wore it both in winter and in summer; and when the said witness saw the said Brother John the Good, the said Brother John the Good was always unshod, and went about unshod, except that in summer he saw him wear wooden clogs. Asked why the said Brother John the Good wore the aforesaid clogs, the said witness answered, in order to bring discomfort and harshness to his body, as he said he believed and had heard from the brothers. Asked about the food of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that both in Lent and outside Lent the food of the said brother was quite small and temperate, according to what he heard from the brothers and others, and because this was public. Asked about the bed on which the said Brother John the Good lay, the said witness said that he had heard that the brother lay on a harsh bed, as was public and manifest to the brothers of the said Brother John the Good. Asked likewise about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that it was the public fame and report that the said Brother John the Good was most faithful and catholic, and full of nearly all good virtues; and the witness himself believes that the said brother was a catholic man, and that he received the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and heard the divine offices, and that he frequently confessed his sins, and that he was very assiduous in vigils and prayers, and bore himself as a just and holy man, and a man full of the Spirit of God.

[170] on the virtues and miracles of the blessed man. Likewise, asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said brother was held to be of good conduct, and a kindly man; and so he appeared when the said witness saw him and spoke with him; and of this there is and was public fame. Asked likewise about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good was held by good opinion and fame to be a holy and just man; and the witness himself believed him to have been such. Asked whether God had shown miracles by the merits or prayers of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that he had heard from the brothers at times that, for the confirmation of certain brothers, he stood and walked with bare feet upon burning coals of fire and came away unharmed. Asked, he said that he had heard that the said Brother John the Good, for a similar reason, namely for the confirmation of the brothers, once took a brand from the fire and planted it under the ground, and it sprouted and grew into a tree; and this same thing he said

he said he had heard of the pinnacle: and he said that, as is the report and public fame at Cesena, the Lord has deigned to work many and great miracles by the merits of the said Brother John the Good, and the witness himself so believes; and the said witness said that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he believes this to be the truth of the matter, as was said above, and that the people of Cesena have a good opinion concerning all these things.

[171] Testimony of Brother Moroëllus on the virtues and life The aforesaid Brother Moroëllus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that a good twenty years and more had elapsed since he, Brother Moroëllus, had taken the habit of the hermits, and that after he was in the order he lived together with the said Brother John the Good a good sixteen years at the convent of Cesena. Asked about his life, he said that he fasted at all times except on Sundays and in a time of great illness. Asked about the quality and quantity of his food, he answered that he did not know whether he was content with more, or less, or stricter food than any other brother, because he did not see him eat, as he said, when he ate in his cell; but when he ate in the community he saw him eat less by half than any other brother. Likewise, asked about the life which the said Brother John the Good led in the time of Lent, the said witness answered that he did not know, except by hearsay, and according to hearsay he led a much stricter life, because in a certain Lent it was said that Brother John the Good was content through the whole of that Lent with one loaf, and likewise in several other Lents; and in the other, last Lents of his life he was content each day with bread of the size of one host; and the said witness said that he had received from the brothers, on a certain day of a certain Lent, one little form of those little forms of bread which the said Brother John the Good used, and he was told that it was the food which Brother John the Good uses each day.

[172] penance, Likewise the said witness, being asked, said that the said Brother John the Good, in the time of his grave illness, at the great urging of the brothers, ate meat moderately. Asked whether the said Brother John the Good used a physician or medicines in the time of illness, the said witness answered no; on the contrary, he used to say that God was his medicine and his physician. Likewise, asked about the clothing of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that always, both in winter and in summer, he wore only one fine woollen cowl, under which he wore a small shirt to catch the blood which he discharged, lest the said cowl be soiled by the said blood; and he wore linen leggings, and always went unshod, sometimes wearing wooden clogs outside the church, and at all times he lay on a certain bare board. Asked how he knew the foregoing and each of the foregoing, the said witness answered that he had seen the foregoing, and that they were notorious among the brothers.

[173] faith, conduct, Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that he had in his cell the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and a panel of the blessed Virgin Mary, and holy water; and he was very assiduous in prayers and vigils, days and nights, and every day he heard Mass with great devotion and reverence, and every Sunday he communicated in the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ, shedding many tears, and he frequently confessed his sins to some priest among the brothers, and he publicly detested the Gazari and the Patarenes and all heretics and excommunicated persons; and he used to say that they were sons of perdition, and could not be saved in that state unless they returned to the command of the holy Roman Church. He warned his brothers to beware of them. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness said that he had seen and heard the foregoing, and that of all these things there is public report and fame among the brothers. Likewise, asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that he was a man of great charity and of great consolation to his brothers and to others, and kindly, humble, chaste, quiet, peaceable, and he encouraged his brothers to all good virtues, and reproved those who did not conduct themselves well and did not keep the rule and order ⁱ which they had promised; and always words of God and of edification were in his mouth, and no idle words; and in the time of hard winter he would come to his brothers, saying: "Where are these young men? How are they being comforted, and how are they faring in this season?" and he comforted them greatly.

[174] fame and miracles of the blessed man. Asked how he knew the foregoing, the said witness answered that he had heard and been present, and that they were notorious among the brothers. Likewise, asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that he was of very good fame, and of holy conduct and holy life among the brothers and other people; and many people came to him from Romagna and from Lombardy and from other regions to see him as a holy man; and he was publicly held to be a saint at Cesena, and is firmly so held today. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness answered that he had seen the foregoing, and that they are public and notorious at Cesena. Likewise, asked whether he knew that God had shown any miracles by the merits of the said Brother John the Good in his life or in his death, and after the death of the said Brother John the Good, he answered not by sight; yet by hearsay he said he knew that God, by the prayers of the said Brother John the Good, made wine from water; and he heard that many other miracles were done by the prayers of the said brother. And the said witness said that he is and was a layman; and he went many times outside the cloister to obtain bread and other necessities, and so he did not know how to testify thus about miracles by sight; yet he said that it was and is public and notorious at Cesena that God showed many miracles through the prayers and merits of the said brother, and that the said witness has indeed testified to the foregoing not taught nor asked, but because he knew this to be the truth of the matter, and that of all these things there is public report and fame among the brothers of Cesena and the neighbourhoods.

ANNOTATIONS.

also be appointed, who shall visit, correct and reform all the places of the brothers, as they see to be expedient according to God and the rule of blessed Augustine (according to which you have established that you will serve the Lord in perpetuity). Moreover, humbly considering that the kingdom of God does not consist in precious clothing, and that the Maker of all things put on the habit of poverty, you have laudably established that the brothers of your order, not contending at all about the colour or value of their clothes, shall always observe cheapness in them, and be content with four tunics, one cowl and two scapulars. Likewise, each brother shall be girded over with a broad belt that is not sewn, and shall be content with that. Likewise, that they shall not use linen garments, nor presume to have possessions outside the hermitage besides a garden and a wood. Concerning the having of stockings, shoes and the like, the prior shall have power to dispose according to his judgement. Likewise, that no one shall be received at the brothers' table unless he be a religious or one established in some prelacy. Wherefore you have humbly besought us, etc. Given at Perugia on the third day before the Ides of March, in the eighth year of our Pontificate."

CHAPTER II.

Testimony of Brother Balis, of the order of hermits, and of Gualterius, a brother of penance: on the virtues and miracles of the blessed man.

Testimony of Brother Balis on his fasts The aforesaid Brother Balis, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that it is twenty-one years since the witness took the habit of the hermits; in which time the said witness lived together with the said Brother John the Good at the convent of Cesena fifteen years, or nearly. Asked about his life, he said that the said Brother John the Good, in that time in which the said witness lived together with him, was content with a single fine woollen cowl, both in winter and in summer, and by day and by night; under which he wore only one linen cloth made somewhat in the manner of an undershirt; which he wore, as was publicly said among his brothers, because of a certain illness which he suffered, discharging blood, lest the blood should stain the said cowl; and he also wore linen leggings, and went unshod at all times; he wore at times wooden clogs outside the church; and he always lay upon a bare plank, and at all times he fasted except on Sundays and in the time of grave illness; in which time of illness, at the great urging of the brothers, he ate a little meat; nor would he in any way use the counsel or help of physicians in his illnesses, saying, and adducing in a lay manner, that authority *: "I have never applied carnal medicine to my body." And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good, outside Lent, when he ate in the brothers' community, the witness himself seeing it, ate a third part and more less than any other brother; but when the said Brother John the Good ate in his cell, the said witness does not know how much the said Brother John the Good then ate, except by hearsay; because, as those brothers said who saw him eat, and it was the common fame and opinion of the brothers, he ate a good deal less than was said above.

[176] and penitent life. Asked whether the said Brother John the Good did this because he could not eat more, or for the sake of bodily abstinence, the said witness answered that sometimes (because it was said by certain whisperers that he could not eat more, from the fact that he had a narrow gut) the said Brother John the Good, in the presence of the brothers, to remove that belief and temptation, and so that the brothers might the more strengthen themselves in the service of God, sometimes ate more than any other brother, and more quickly. Asked how he knew the foregoing, the said witness said that he had seen it, and that these things were notorious and public among the brothers. Asked about the life which the said Brother John the Good led in the time of Lent, the said witness said that, as he heard from those who carried food to him in his cell, he led a most strict life, because, as was publicly said among the brothers, in many Lents, and especially in the last and the last but one of his life, he was content through the whole Lent with one conventual loaf, from which he made many little pieces, made in the manner of a host (that is, somewhat larger); of which pieces he took one each day of Lent up to Holy Thursday, and of which he gave to his brothers, and gave on the said Holy Thursday, when some brothers ate theirs, and some kept them because of the great devotion which they had toward the said Brother John the Good.

[177] faith, Likewise, asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good had his cell, in which he stayed almost continually, day and night, in vigils and prayers, and in which cell he had the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and a panel of the blessed Virgin Mary, which he venerated, and holy water; and from which he could hear the divine offices which were performed by the brothers in the church; and he heard Mass each day with great devotion and reverence; and he communicated in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ with great shedding of tears; and very often he confessed his sins to one of the priests among the brothers; nor did he have any special confessor; and he encouraged his brothers, and told them to believe and hold as the holy Roman Church believes and holds; and he told them to believe all the articles of the faith, and that the lord pope was the vicar of God and successor of blessed Peter, and had the same authority which blessed Peter had, and that those who do not believe this will not be able to be saved; and he publicly detested the faith of all Patarenes and excommunicated persons, and of all who did not believe as the holy Roman Church believes; and he warned his brothers to beware of such, because in such a state they could never be saved, but were sons of the devil and of perdition; and he told his brothers to hold all clerics in great reverence, because of the orders which they exercised, even though they knew them to be sinners.

[178] zeal, And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good reproved with a very severe spirit all the vicars and envoys of Frederick, the late emperor, who were at Cesena or in other parts of Romagna, when they came, because of the public fame of great holiness which there was about him, to see the said Brother John the Good, and he said to them: "You and your lord are excommunicated and accursed, and sons of the devil, and you can never be saved, neither you nor your lord, unless you return to the command of the holy Roman Church and of the lord pope." And the said witness said that once the said Brother John the Good went from the place in which the said Brother John the Good lived to Cesena, to the place in which the vicars and envoys of Frederick, the late emperor, were staying, and said to them then: "You are excommunicated and accursed, and your lord is excommunicated and accursed, and neither he nor you can be saved unless you return to the command of the Church."

[179] conduct, fame, Likewise, asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was humble and charitable and sober, and of good and praiseworthy conduct, and had many good virtues in himself, and encouraged his brothers to all good works and virtues, and reproved and corrected those who did not conduct themselves well, and he was of such conduct and life that those who conversed with him, when they went away from him, rejoiced greatly to have seen and heard the said brother; and always in his mouth were good and wholesome words, and words of edification. And asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness said that he had seen and heard, and that these things were public and notorious among the brothers. Likewise, asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that he was of holy fame and good repute, and was venerated by all as a holy and just man, and a man having in himself the Spirit of God, and he was held to be such at Cesena and through the surrounding neighbourhoods, and it was and is publicly believed that the Lord, by the merits and prayers of the said brother, worked many miracles both in life and in death, and after the death of the said Brother John the Good; and many people, and from many parts, came to see him because of the public fame of the said brother's holiness; and such fame and opinion of him always was, and grew until the end of his life, and lasts today.

[180] and miracles of Bl. John. Likewise the said witness, being asked, said that God showed by the merits and prayers of the said brother, in life, in death, and after the death of the brother, many and great miracles, as there is public report and fame of this at Cesena and its borders; and the witness himself said on his oath that Brother John the Good, by his prayers, on a certain day, on the feast of St. John the Baptist ^a, in the presence of the witness himself, at a certain spring, and of several other brothers, who are now dead, made wine out of water; and first, in the presence of the brothers, Brother John the Good rinsed a cup with water; and, the cup being rinsed, he dipped it in the spring, and filled it with water and blessed it, and it became wine, and it sparkled in the cup as if it were the best wine in the world; and the witness himself, with the other brothers standing by there, drank of that wine, and it was, as the witness said, excellent wine; and he did this for the confirmation of his brothers. And the witness himself also said that one day Brother John the Good, in the witness's presence, put a certain peach-stone under the ground beside his cell, and on the same day, indeed almost in the same hour, the witness himself found it sprouted with three leaves; and the said witness saw the said Brother John the Good once enter a fire unshod, and he stood there for what was nearly a long hour ^b, and came out unharmed; and the said witness has indeed testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was and is the truth of the matter, as was said above, and it had been public and notorious among the brothers.

[181] Testimony of Gualterius, of penance. The aforesaid Lord Gualterius, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that he had lived at Cesena in contact with Brother John the Good, though intermittently, a good thirty years and more. Asked about his life, he said that the said Brother John the Good wore a single cowl, or tunic,

of fine woollen stuff, and wore it both in winter and in summer for twenty-four years until the end of his life; and he did not say that it had been only one, but there was one after another of similar cloth, under which he wore leggings and a linen undershirt, lest his private parts be seen, as he said he believed, because the cowl was very fine, as has been said; and he always went unshod, except that at times he wore wooden clogs, to bring greater harshness upon his body, as he said he believed. Asked about the bed of the said Brother John the Good, he said that he saw him have one plank for a bed. Asked about the food of the said brother, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good was of great abstinence in food and drink, so that it was reckoned a wonder; and the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good fasted at all times except on Sundays and in the time of illness, in which he ate a little meat, nor would he at any time use the counsel or help of physicians; and the said brother was in the time of Lent continually in his cell in vigils and prayers. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, he said that he had seen and heard the foregoing, according as has been said, and that these things were public and notorious among the brothers.

[182] on his faith, conduct, fame and the miracles of the blessed man. Likewise, asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said brother was a very catholic man, since he had in his cell, in which he was continually in vigils and prayers, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and a panel of the blessed Virgin Mary, which he venerated, and holy water, and he heard Mass daily with great devotion, and received every Sunday the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, shedding many tears, as the witness himself very often saw; and he greatly detested all Gazari, Patarenes and all heretics and excommunicated persons, and said publicly that they were lost. And asked about the ground of his knowledge, he said that he had seen and heard the foregoing, and that these things were public and notorious among the brothers. Likewise, asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that he was a humble, charitable, upright man, and of great kindness and patience, and he encouraged his brothers, and other people who went to see him, to the works of mercy and to eternal life; and useful words, and not idle ones, were always in his mouth; and those who conversed with him took great delight in him. Likewise, asked about the ground of his knowledge, he said that in past times he had very often heard and seen and been present, and that these things were notorious and manifest among the brothers. Likewise, asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that he was publicly and notoriously held to be a holy and just man; and people from many parts came to see him, and rejoiced to have seen and heard him. Likewise, asked about the ground of his knowledge, he said that he had seen and heard the foregoing, and that these things were public and notorious among the brothers, and through Cesena and its borders. Likewise, asked whether God had shown miracles by the merits and prayers of the said brother, the said witness answered that he did not know by sight; yet he said that it is and was the public fame at Cesena that God had shown many miracles by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good; and the witness himself said that he, the witness, was seventy years old, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this is the truth of the matter, as was said above.

ANNOTATIONS.

* From the office of St. Agatha.

CHAPTER III.

Testimony of Artusius on the virtues and miracles of the blessed man and the healing of Maria, his wife; testimonies of Ubaldinus, of Maria herself, of Marchesiana and of Abenata concerning the same miracle.

Testimony of Artusius on his life, faith, The aforesaid Artusius, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that formerly he had been in contact with Brother John the Good a good ten years. Asked about his life, he said that he was a man of wonderful abstinence in food and drink outside Lent and in Lent, according to what the said witness said he had heard from the brothers; and that he fasted at all times except on Sundays and in the time of great illness; in which time he said he ate meat moderately; and he never used the counsel or help of physicians, as the brothers said openly. Yet the said witness said that he had seen the said brother in the said time, both in winter and in summer, go about unshod, with bare feet and legs, with only one cowl, which was of woollen stuff; and he said that he had heard from the brothers that he used only one plank for a bed, and that he was continually in vigils and prayers day and night. Likewise, asked about the faith of the said brother, he said that Brother John the Good was faithful and devoted to the Roman Church, and detested the faith of the Patarenes and of the excommunicated together with their lord; and he said that the faith of the holy Roman Church was that by which men are saved; and he said that he had several times seen the said brother receive communion on Sundays and attend the solemnities of Mass very devoutly; and the said witness said that he had seen that the said Brother John the Good had in his cell, in which he was continually in vigils and prayers day and night, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and a panel of the blessed Virgin Mary, which he venerated, and holy water, and that it was public and manifest that he was a religious and catholic man.

[184] his conduct, fame and the miracles of the blessed man: of which he relates Likewise, asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that the brother was very humble and kindly, and a man of great charity, and a man who governed himself and his brothers well, both with gentleness and with severity, as was fitting. And asked about the ground of his knowledge, he answered that he had seen it, and that he had had dealings with him inasmuch as the witness himself was a brother of penance, who always had dealings with him ^a. Likewise, asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that people commonly and publicly held him to be a just and pious and holy man, and venerated him as a saint; and the said witness said that he had seen him so regarded and held, because people from many parts came to him as to a holy man and a man of God. Likewise, asked whether God had shown miracles by the merits or prayers of the said brother, the said witness answered that the said witness had formerly, and has now, his wife, by name Lady Maria, who suffered a very great abscess in the throat, so grievously that she could in no way eat, nor drink, nor speak, nor be helped by any aid of physicians; on the contrary, her deliverance was altogether despaired of, as the physicians said. For her, and with her consent, the said witness went to the said Brother John the Good and asked him to intercede with God for the deliverance of his wife; and the said Brother John the Good, at the great urging of the said witness, made a prayer to God; and the prayer made, he sent by the said witness certain pears to the said sick woman; which pears, cooked, the said sick woman ate, and she was healed immediately, the witness himself seeing it, and several others who were then in his house, because they believed that the said Lady Maria was then altogether about to die, and were then watching over her as a dying person.

[185] the miracle of the healing of his wife. Likewise, asked about the year, month and day, the said witness said that he did not remember; asked about the hour, he said that very early in the morning he went to the said Brother John the Good with a certain stepson of his, named Ubaldinus, and returned before terce, believing his said wife, Lady Maria, dead; and then, having taken of the aforesaid pears, as has been said, she was entirely freed, and was afterwards always healthy, and is today, as plainly appears. Asked in whose presence this lady was freed, the said witness said that it was in the presence of the witness himself, and of Lord Ubaldinus, and of Lady Marchesiana, wife of the said Ubaldinus, and of several others whose names he does not remember; and the said witness said that this was public through his whole neighbourhood: how the said Lady Maria fell ill, and was freed by the prayers of the said brother, and in so short a space of time; and it was public both at Cesena and through all its surrounding neighbourhoods that God had done and shown many miracles by the merits and prayers of the said brother; and the said witness has indeed testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as was said above.

[186] Introduction of the witnesses "Ubaldinus, son of the late Bajus, and son of the aforesaid Lady Maria, wife of the aforesaid Artusius, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same aforesaid year and indiction, on the third day before the Kalends of January, there being present the above-mentioned Lord Albizus, and Remigius, son of the late Durandus, and Amicinus, son of the late Orlandinus, witnesses. Likewise Lady Maria, wife of the aforesaid Artusius, and Lady Marchesiana, wife of the aforesaid Ubaldinus, and Lady Abenate, wife of Tebaldus de Petrella, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the above-mentioned year and indiction and day, in the palace of the lord bishop of Cesena, there being present Master Leonardus and Placidus, members of the household of the said lord bishop, and the aforesaid Lord Albizus, canon, witnesses. Likewise Lady Bonaventura, wife of Gualfredus of Cesena, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which she knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the above-mentioned year, indiction, day and place, there being present Joannes, son of the late Durandus, and the ladies Maria, wife of the aforesaid Arthusius, and Abbenate, wife of Tebaldus de Petrella, witnesses called for this."

[187] Testimony of Ubaldinus on the aforesaid miracle The aforesaid Ubaldinus, a sworn witness, and questioned under his oath, said that the above-mentioned Lady Maria, wife of Arthusius, formerly, in the time in which Brother John the Good was in his hermitage of Cesena, suffered a great and cruel abscess in the throat

so that she could not open her mouth; and she always used, and had used, the counsel and help of physicians, and nothing did her any good; on the contrary, she had grown so much worse that she could in no way eat, nor drink, nor even speak; indeed her relatives and neighbours were watching over her at the aforesaid time, as she seemed to be departing from this present life; whence, since the aforesaid Arthusius had now altogether despaired of her deliverance, he went to his wife and asked her, weeping, whether she wished that he should go to Brother John the Good and ask him to intercede with the Lord for her; and she, since she could not speak, assented with her eyes.

[188] of the healed wife of Arthusius. Arthusius, together with the said witness, went immediately to the said Brother John the Good; and when it had been set out to him, always almost weeping, the said brother said to them: "Although I am a great sinner, I will pray to God for her"; and having made a prayer, the said Brother John the Good took certain pears, which he gave to them, and said: "Go, and give her some of these pears to eat"; and they returned home; and though they believed they would find Lady Maria dead, they found her just as they had left her; and having cooked one of the aforesaid pears, they put it in wine and carried it to the said Lady Maria, and put some of the said pear in her mouth; and she at once, before all who stood by there, for the house was almost full of people, ate the said pear, though she had previously gone a good five days neither speaking, nor eating, nor drinking. And at once she cried out: "I am freed"; and at once she as it were rose up, and was afterwards always healthy; and whereas before she had almost her whole throat swollen, as soon as she had taken the pear no swelling appeared; and those standing by began to praise the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who had shown so great and such a miracle through the prayers of the said Brother John the Good. Asked in whose presence the said Lady Maria was freed, the said witness answered, in the presence of the witness himself, and of the aforesaid Lord Arthusius, and of the ladies Marchesiana, wife of the witness himself, and Abenate, wife of Tebaldus, and of several others. Asked about the year, month and day, the said witness said that he did not remember. Asked about the hour, the said witness said that she was freed before terce, and that very early in the morning they had gone to the lord Brother John the Good. And the said witness, being asked, said that it is and was quite public that the said Lady Maria suffered so, and was freed by the prayers of the said brother; and the said witness has testified to the foregoing neither asked nor taught, but because this is and was the truth of the matter; and the witness himself was twenty-six years old.

[189] Concerning the same The aforesaid Lady Maria, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she had formerly suffered for a good ten days a very great abscess in the throat, so that she could neither eat, nor drink, nor speak well, but from the fifth day of those ten onward she grew so much worse that she almost entirely lost her speech, and could not eat and drink. And one day, when she had grown so much worse that she could scarcely draw breath except with difficulty, believing that she would then certainly die, and the house being almost full of weeping people, Lord Arthusius, husband of the said witness, came to the said witness and, weeping, asked her whether she wished that he should go to Brother John the Good and ask him to intercede with God for the deliverance of the same witness; and the witness could not answer him, except that she made him a nod with her eyes that she did.

[190] the wondrous Arthusius went, and took with him Ubaldinus, son of the said witness; what they said and did with the said Brother John the Good the said witness does not know, except by hearsay, except that on their return they brought the witness one cooked pear and said to her: "Take and eat what Brother John the Good sends you"; and the witness took the said pear and ate it without any difficulty, and at once cried out: "I am freed"; and immediately all the swelling of her throat went away, which before had been so puffed up that it seemed as though there were in her throat some ball of some matter; and those standing by and the witness herself began to praise the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and she was afterwards always healthy. Asked about the time, month and day, the said witness said that she did not remember; about the hour, she said that she was freed in the middle of terce. Asked in whose presence, she said, in that of Lord Arthusius, her husband, and of Ubaldinus, son of the said witness, and of Lady Marchesiana, wife of the said Ubaldinus, and of several others then standing by there, because they believed that she would then certainly die; and the said witness, being asked, said that it was very public through Cesena that she had so suffered, as has been said, and was freed by the prayers of the said Brother John the Good; and she said that she was thirty * years of age, and that the witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was the truth of the matter, as has been said.

[191] healing The aforesaid Lady Marchesiana, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that formerly, when Brother John the Good was in his hermitage at Cesena, Lady Maria, wife of the aforesaid Lord Arthusius, suffered a great and grievous abscess in the throat, so that the physicians did not believe she could be freed of the said abscess; and when one day the said Lady Maria had grown so much worse that it seemed her soul wished to be separated from her body, because she had now gone a good five days in which she had neither eaten, nor drunk, nor had any speech to speak of, Lord Arthusius, her husband, came to the said Lady Maria, his wife, and asked her whether she wished that he should go to the place in which the said Brother John the Good lived, and ask the said Brother John the Good to intercede with God for the deliverance of the said Lady Maria; and she made a sign with her eyes that she did; and Lord Arthusius, with Ubaldinus, son of the said Lady Maria, went to the aforesaid Brother John the Good. What they did with the said brother and said, the said witness does not know except by hearsay, because the witness herself, with almost the whole neighbourhood and many kinsfolk, were standing and watching over the said Lady Maria, weeping, because they believed that she would then certainly die.

[192] testimonies And when the said Lord Arthusius returned at the hour of terce with certain pears, which he said the said Brother John the Good was sending to the said Lady Maria, they gave one of the aforesaid pears, cooked, to the said Lady Maria to eat, and said: "Take what Brother John the Good sends you"; and she at once took the aforesaid pear with devotion, and ate, and spoke, which she had not been able to do for a good five days, as has been said; and at once the said Lady Maria cried out and said: "I am entirely freed"; and then those standing by, having looked at her throat, which before was much swollen, and having seen that there was no swelling there, marvelling greatly began to praise the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he had deigned through the prayers of the said Brother John the Good to free the said lady; and she said that all who were in the house went away and left the said lady healthy, and she was afterwards always healthy. Asked in whose presence the said Lady Maria was freed, the said witness said, in the presence of the witness herself, and of the said lords Arthusius and Ubaldinus, and of several others; and the said witness, being asked, said that she does not remember the time, month and day; about the hour, she said that very early in the morning they went to the said brother, and she was freed in the middle of terce; and the said witness, being asked, said that it was quite public through her whole neighbourhood, and also through Cesena, that the Lord had freed the said lady by the prayers of the said brother; and the said witness, being asked, said that she was twenty-five years old, and that the witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw, as has been said.

[193] others. The aforesaid Lady Abenata, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that when she heard that Lady Maria was suffering a very great and cruel abscess in the throat, she went to the said Lady Maria and found her labouring almost at the last, and there were many people in the house weeping, because they believed she would die; and when Lord Arthusius, her husband, returned with some pears from Brother John the Good, of which pears the said Arthusius gave one, cooked, to his said wife, saying: "Take what Brother John the Good sends you"; and the said Lady Maria, though before she had gone a good five days in which she had neither eaten, nor drunk, nor spoken, ate the aforesaid pear, and immediately cried out and said: "I am freed"; and at once all who were there, and the witness herself, who were watching over her, since they believed she would then die, looking at the throat of the said Lady Maria, which before was much puffed up, and there being no swelling there, rejoicing praised the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and Brother John the Good, and so all who were there who were not of the household went away. The said Lady Maria was entirely freed, and was so afterwards always, and is today. Asked about the time, month and day, the said witness said that she did not remember; about the hour, she said that, the witness herself being present, and the aforesaid Lord Arthusius and Ubaldinus, and many others, she was freed at about the hour of the middle of terce; and the said witness, being asked, said that it was very public how the said lady was thus freed, as has been said; and the said witness said that she was of the age of twenty years and more, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw, and knew it to be the truth of the matter, as has been said.

ANNOTATION.

* Forty?

CHAPTER IV.

Bonaventura is freed from pains and from the shaking of her head and other members; testimonies of Barachias and of Brother Albertus on the virtues and miracles of the blessed man.

[Testimony of Bonaventura on her deliverance from pains and the shaking of her head;] The aforesaid Lady Bonaventura, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that formerly, on the feast of St. Michael of the month of September lately past, it was one year since she had been suffering an ismania ^a so cruel and so very bad that she was always jerking her head and eyelashes and eyes like a fool; of which the witness was much ashamed; and she did not know what to do about it; nor did physicians or medicines do her any good at all; indeed at times she suffered the ismania a good five times in one day; and since she would rather have desired death than live so, in the presence of her husband, the said Gualfredus, and of Lady Marchesiana, wife of the aforesaid Ubaldinus, she made a vow to God and to Brother John the Good that if God freed her by the merits of the said brother, she would go as a pilgrim with staff and scrip to Mantua, to the place where the body of the said Brother John the Good is; and at once, the vow being made, she never afterwards suffered the said illness; nor did anyone notice that she afterwards jerked her head and eyes as she did before; and she said that as the witness made the vow, so she fulfilled it; and she said that she had suffered the said illness for a long time; asked about the day and hour, the said witness said that she did not remember; and she said that it was public through her neighbourhood that God had freed her by the merits of the said brother; and the said witness said that she also made a vow, she said, that she would offer at the tomb of the said brother one wax head; and the witness said that at times, because of the trembling and shaking which she had in her head by reason of the said illness, she went without eating a good eight days, because she could not eat; and the said witness said that she was of the age of thirty years, and that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because, as she said, this was and is the truth of the matter.

[195] concerning the same miracle. The aforesaid Lady Marchesiana, a sworn witness, said on her oath that she saw the aforesaid Lady Bonaventura, wife of Lord Galfredus, suffering a cruel and very bad ismania, so that her head, eyelashes and eyes trembled, and she was always jerking her head like a fool; whence, in the presence of the witness herself and of Gualfredus, husband of the said Lady Bonaventura, the said Lady Bonaventura made a vow to God and to Brother John the Good that if God freed her from the said ismania, she would go as a pilgrim, namely with staff and scrip, to Mantua, where the body of the said brother is, and would offer there one wax head; and the vow being made, she never afterwards suffered the said illness, nor jerked her eyes or head afterwards as she did before. Asked about the time, month and day, the said witness said that she did not remember, nor the hour; yet she believes that it was a year on the feast of St. Michael in the month of September last past; and she said that it was quite public through her quarter how the said lady so suffered, and was freed by the merits of the said brother, as has been said; and the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this is the truth of the matter.

[196] Introduction of the witnesses. "Lord Barachias, son of the late Barachias of Cesena, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner; and Brother Albertus, of the convent of hermits of Cesena, swore in the same way concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew, in the aforesaid year, indiction and place, on the day before the Kalends of January, there being present Brother Salvettus of the order of hermits, and Joannes, son of the late Paganellus, and Bulgarellus, son of the late Martinus, citizens of Cesena, witnesses."

[197] Testimony of Barachias on the life and penances of the blessed man, Lord Barachias, a sworn witness, and questioned under his oath, said that he had been in contact for more than twenty-five years with Brother John the Good, as a layman associates with a religious whom he loves and fears; for the said witness said that before the said Brother John the Good took the habit of the hermits, the said witness went and came and lived much with the said Brother John the Good, because they were great friends; and this was at Cesena; and after the said brother took the said habit ^b, the said witness frequently went to the said brother at the hermitage in which he lived. Asked about his life, he said that the said Brother John the Good, in that time in which he saw him in the said habit, he saw go about clothed, both in winter and in summer, in a single cowl, which was of woollen stuff and fine, and go about unshod in feet and legs; and he said that he saw him very assiduous in his cell, and solitary; in which he said he lay upon a certain plank; and he said he knew this because he frequently entered the cell and saw nothing else there on which he could lie, and because it was manifest among the brothers, and was publicly said, that he used no other bed; and he said that he was of wonderful abstinence in food and drink according to the fame among the brothers, not that he himself saw him.

[198] his faith, conduct, fame and miracles. Likewise, asked about the faith of the said brother, he answered that he was very catholic, than whom no one was more catholic, as he said he knew, and so he was publicly held; and the said witness said that he had seen in his cell the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and a panel of the blessed Virgin Mary, before which he prayed; and he said that he had heard him say many times that heretics were lost, and that there was no salvation except in the faith of the holy Roman Church. Asked about the conduct of the said brother, he answered that he was very humble and kindly and chaste and upright; and he said that he had seen him always encourage to the good his brothers and others who went to him, and he spoke fruitful words and words of eternal life. Likewise, asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that he was publicly held to be holy and just by the people of Cesena and by others round about; and many people, even from distant parts, came to him as to a holy man; and that fame of him lasted and grew until the end of his life. Likewise, asked whether it happened that God had shown miracles in his life by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that he had heard from the brothers of the said order and from others, and it was publicly said, that God, by his merits and prayers, for the confirmation of certain of his brothers, had made wine from water, so that the brothers themselves, seeing the miracle, might be confirmed in the service of God; and the said witness said that he was more than fifty years old, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he knew this to be the truth of the matter, as has been said.

[199] The aforesaid Brother Albertus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that he has been in the order of hermits for twenty years now, Testimony of Brother Albertus on his life, penance, and that he lived together with the said Brother John the Good at the convent of Cesena for the last three continuous years of the life of the said Brother John the Good, and before that at various other times, intermittently. Asked about his life, he said that for the greater part of the time he was in his cell in vigils and prayers day and night, and had one bare plank for a bed, and went about unshod both in feet and in legs, both in winter and in summer, except that at times he wore clogs for the affliction of his body, and he wore only a single cowl, which was of fine woollen stuff, in winter and in summer, under which he wore linen leggings and a linen undershirt, lest his flesh be seen, because the aforesaid cowl was very fine, and also because of the flow of blood which he suffered; and he fasted at all times except on Sundays and in the time of great illness, in which, at the great urging of the brothers, he ate a little meat; nor would he use physicians or medicines in his illnesses, saying that our Lord Jesus Christ was his physician and his medicine; and in Lent and outside Lent he was of wonderful abstinence in food and drink; and the said witness said that in the last Lent of his life, in which the said witness said he served him, he ate for thirteen days at the beginning of Lent a little bread with a little relish which the said witness brought him, and from then onward he took each day a quantity of bread about the size of one host, up to Holy Thursday; and on that day he ate moderately of the brothers' meal, and afterwards on Friday and Saturday he returned to the said quantity of bread, and took nothing else except some of the wine which the brothers drank.

[200] faith, Asked how he knew that the said Brother John the Good took nothing else except what he has said, the said witness answered that the witness himself was his attendant, and brought him nothing else, nor did anyone else bring anything that Brother John the Good might eat, and because no one could enter to the said

Brother John the Good except by the hand of the said witness, because the said witness was the attendant and doorkeeper of the said Brother John the Good; and in very many other earlier Lents he had likewise practised abstinence, of which there was public fame among the brothers. Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that the said Brother John the Good was a very catholic man, because he was continually, as it were day and night, in his cell in prayers and vigils, and heard Mass each day with great devotion, and took each Sunday the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ with great reverence and shedding of tears; and on the day on which he communicated he kept silence, so that he spoke to no one unless some necessity pressed; and very frequently he confessed his sins, according as his conscience pricked him, to one priest among the brothers, because he did not have any special confessor; and he had in his cell the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and a panel of the blessed Virgin Mary, which he venerated, and holy water; and in his speech he confounded all heretical depravities, and the excommunicated; and he taught and warned his brothers to beware of the Gazari, Patarenes and excommunicated, because they could not be saved in that state unless they returned to the command of the holy Roman Church, outside of which no one at all is saved.

[201] conduct, fame Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness said that he had heard and seen the foregoing in that time in which he lived together with the said Brother John the Good, and that of these things there is public report and fame among the brothers. Likewise, asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said brother was of good and praiseworthy conduct, and all those who conversed with him held him in reverence because of the good conduct which was in him; and because the said Brother John the Good was plain and humble and chaste, and had in himself all good virtues, to which he always invited all who conversed with him. And asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness said that he had been present at the foregoing in the time in which he lived together with the said Brother John the Good, and because all these things are public and notorious among the brothers. Likewise, asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was of holy fame and of wonderful repute, because all the brothers, together with other people, held him to be a saint and revered him as a saint, and many people, even from distant parts, came to see and hear him because of the public fame of his holiness; and such fame and opinion of him was and grew until the end of his life, and is today.

[202] and miracles of Bl. John. Likewise, asked whether God had shown miracles by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good in his life, and whether there was public fame of this, the said witness answered yes, because it is and was publicly said among the people, and especially among the brothers, that God had shown many miracles for the said Brother John the Good in his life, and especially that several times ^c, for the confirmation of his brothers, in the presence of many brothers, he made wine from water, and manifestly; and he entered and stood and walked through burning coals of fire for a long while ^d, and that once, for the said reason, he put a brand, or firebrand, which was burnt at both ends, under the ground, and it sprouted and grew into a fruit-bearing tree, as the tree itself appears today; and the said witness said that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because it is as he has said in all things and through all things.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER V.

Testimony of Maurinus on the virtues and miracles of the blessed man; Dalborgus is freed from a goitre and from suffocations; on the fame of the blessed man, the concourse to him, and the grief of the people of Cesena at his departure.

Testimony of Maurinus on his penitent life, The aforesaid Lord Maurinus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that he saw Brother John the Good staying in his hermitage and doing penance thirty years and more; in which thirty years the said witness went several times to the said Brother John the Good, and had dealings with him inasmuch as the witness himself was a brother of penance; and he saw him gladly because of the fame of his holiness. Asked about his life, he said that he was a man of great abstinence, especially in food and drink, both in Lent and outside Lent, according to what was publicly said by the brothers; and of this there was public fame through Cesena; and the said witness said that he saw the said Brother John the Good, both in winter and in summer, wearing a single fine woollen cowl; and the said witness saw the said Brother John the Good going about at all times unshod, with bare feet and legs, except that in summer he wore at times wooden clogs, and those, as was publicly said, for the greater affliction of his body.

[204] faith, conduct, Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good was a very catholic man, because he was continually, as it were day and night, in vigils and prayers; and in his cell the said brother had the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ and a panel of the blessed Virgin Mary, before which he prayed, and holy water; and every day he heard Mass with great devotion and reverence, and every Sunday, as the witness himself very often saw, he communicated in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, having first shed many tears; and when he spoke with his brothers or others, he taught them and warned them to beware of all those who did not believe and did not hold the faith of the holy Roman Church, and to believe all the articles of the faith. Asked how he knew the foregoing, the said witness answered that he had so seen and had been present at times, when he went to him, and because it was public and notorious among the brothers. Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good was of such conduct that all those who conversed with him held him for a saint, and for a man having in himself the Spirit of God, because he was a humble man, charitable and devout, and had nearly all good virtues in himself, and invited and encouraged to the virtues his brothers and others who spoke with him, and because no idle word was in his mouth, as of this there was public report, and there is and was fame among the brothers.

[205] fame and miracles of Bl. John. Likewise, asked about the fame of the said brother, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good was of holy fame and repute, and was venerated as a saint by the brothers and other people; and many people, even from far away, came to Cesena to see and touch him because of the public fame of his holiness; and such fame and opinion of him was and grew until the end of his life, as this is public through Cesena and the surrounding neighbourhoods. Likewise, asked whether God had shown miracles in his life by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered yes, because it was publicly said through Cesena, and by his brothers, that God, through the prayers of the said Brother John the Good, for the confirmation of some of his brothers who had been tempted, made wine from water, so that the brothers themselves, having seen the miracle, might be confirmed; and the said witness said that he had heard that for a similar reason the said Brother John the Good once took a firebrand from the fire, which was burnt at both ends, and put it under the ground, and the said firebrand sprouted and grew into a fruit-bearing tree; and the said witness said that there was public fame through almost the whole province of Romagna that God had shown and done many and great miracles by the merits and prayers of the said brother; and the said witness said that the witness himself was of the age of seventy years and more, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing as true, neither taught nor asked, but because he knew this to be the truth of the matter.

[206] Introduction of the witnesses, "Ugolinus, son of the late Pepus de Rondo, and Dalborgus his son, and Besalidus, son of the late Sassolinus, and Blancus and Almadones and Sanera, full brothers, sons of the late Joannes Guilia, and the wife of Ugolitetis, and Ranerius, son of the same said Guilia, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the aforesaid year and indiction, on the very Kalends of January, at the place where the said Brother John the Good is said to have done penance, which is called Santa Maria de Botriolo, of the diocese of Cesena, there being present Brother Lanfrancus, prior general of the order of hermits, and Bartolus, son of the late Vinolus of Cesena, and Gualterius, son of the late Malisius, witnesses called for this."

[207] Testimony of Ugolinus about his son Dalborgus The aforesaid Ugolinus, a sworn witness, and questioned under his oath, said that he now has a certain son of his named Dalborgus ^a; that eight years ago now he suffered in the throat so great and thick a goitre ^b that it seemed that the said Dalborgus had in his throat some ball, or some accumulation of some thick matter in the manner of a good loaf of bread, and it stayed there, and the said goitre caused so much anxiety and tribulation to the said Dalborgus that the said Dalborgus could not exert himself either for a journey or for anything else involving even the least labour, because at once, on undertaking any labour, it seemed that from the great anxiety and distress the said Dalburgus would breathe his last; and also when the said Dalburgus slept, the said witness said that because of the snoring and noise which he made because of

the great anxiety and distress which the said Dalburgus suffered in his throat, neither the witness himself nor anyone else could sleep in his house; because of which illness the said witness said that he had kept the said Dalburgus, his son, for a long time in the hands of physicians, both at Cesena and at Rimini; and nothing had done the said Dalburgus any good. The said goitre, so cruel as has been said, the said Dalburgus had a good eight years. Whence, since the said witness would rather have wished his said son Dalborgus dead than so afflicted, and did not know what to do about it, except that the witness himself wished to die from excessive grief, one Monday in the month of May the said witness said to his said son Dalburgus: "Son, I hear, as is publicly said, that the Lord shows many and great miracles by the merits and prayers of Brother John the Good; go to his hermitage, and ask him to intercede with the Lord for your deliverance, since all the physicians and medicines do you no good; otherwise you will take upon yourself some religious habit, because you could not live so in the world."

[208] freed from a swelling in the throat by the prayers of the blessed man; Dalborgus, acquiescing in his father's words, went to the said Brother John the Good; what the aforesaid Dalborgus said and did with the said Brother John the Good the said witness does not know except by hearsay; yet in the evening his said son Dalburgus returned entirely freed, so that he had no remains of the said goitre in his throat, though it had been so large, as has been said. On the contrary, the said Dalburgus had, and has today, his said throat as sound and delicate as any other man who is quite healthy. When the said witness saw this, with great joy he said: "What is this, son, that you have been freed so quickly?" Dalburgus then told him how he had found the said Brother John the Good in his cell, and how with the greatest difficulty he had been able to get to him, because he always stayed in vigils and prayers in the said cell; yet a certain brother of the hermitage led him to the cell of the said brother; and the said brother, when he saw the said Dalburgus, having compassion on him, said: "Son, go, and tell the brothers to give you something to eat, and I will pray the Lord for you." And the said Dalburgus did so; and, having taken food, the said Dalburgus felt himself entirely freed. When the said witness, having heard this, wished for excessive joy to show the said Dalburgus to his neighbours, the said Dalburgus said to his father: "Father, Brother John the Good told me that I should tell no one; perhaps if it were told, they would bring the goitre back on me." For which reason the father acquiesced in his son's words and told no one. Hence the said witness said that people marvelled greatly and said: "How has Dealburgus been freed so quickly and so well?"

[209] [and concerning his miracles, and the grief of the people of Cesena when they learned that he had gone away to Mantua.] And the said witness said that it is and was the public report and fame through all Cesena and the surrounding borders that God showed many miracles by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good in his life, and in death, and after death, and that at Cesena and through its borders the said Brother John the Good was reputed, and is reputed, a saint; and when the said Brother John the Good was at Cesena at his hermitage, many people, and from many and distant parts, came to see and hear the said Brother John the Good because of the public fame of his holiness; and he said that the people of Cesena and its borders grieved greatly, and grieve today, that the said Brother John the Good went away. They would not have let him go for anything, because of the devotion and reverence and love which the people of Cesena bore toward him; and the witness himself would gladly have guarded the said brother's cell for his part for three and four months, so that the said brother should not have gone to Mantua; and as he himself is of this will, so are almost all of Cesena, and in greater measure, because they believed that the city of Cesena would yet be greatly exalted by his merits and prayers. And the said witness said that he was of the age of fifty years, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as was said above.

[210] The aforesaid Dalborgus, a sworn witness, and questioned, said that he formerly suffered, and had suffered, in his throat a great and cruel goitre; which goitre was as large as a certain large loaf, Testimony of Dalborgus on his deliverance and the said goitre gave and caused so much hindrance and anxiety to the said witness that the witness could not exert himself at any labour, or tire himself, because immediately when he wished to tire himself at anything, either at a journey or at anything else laborious, he thought he would give up the ghost because of the anxiety which he suffered in his throat; nor could he sleep except with so much anxiety that as it were the very noise which he himself made, and the strain which he had in drawing back his breath or wind, woke him, and all of his household complained of him that at night he did not let them sleep. And the said witness said that the witness suffered the said goitre, so cruel, a good eight years, in which he was always, as it were, and was in the hands of physicians, now of Cesena, now of Rimini; and nothing had done him any good. Whence, since the father of the said witness told the witness that he wished him to take upon himself some religious habit, because he was not a man who could live in the world, and the said father, named Ugolinus, did not believe that the said witness would live long, nor could live, the said witness, by the command of his said father Ugolinus, went to the hermitage in which the said Brother John the Good lived, and asked a certain brother whom he found at the gate of the hermitage of the same Brother John the Good; and the witness asked this brother affectionately that for the love of God he would so arrange that he might see Brother John the Good; and this aforesaid brother whom he had found, moved by compassion, led the said witness to the cell in which the said John the Good lived.

[211] from a goitre or swelling in the throat; And when the said witness was at the aforesaid cell, he called the said Brother John the Good with great reverence; and he answered him from the cell, in which, as was publicly said, he was day and night in vigils and prayers, and opened a certain window ^c of the said cell; and he said: "What do you want, son?" And the witness answered him and said: "Father, I ask you for God's sake to pray our Lord Jesus to free me from this goitre, which I suffer so cruelly, as you see." Brother John the Good answered him: "Brother, it is a great thing that you ask of me, since I am a great sinner"; and the said witness said to the said brother: "I know well that if you pray God for me I shall be freed." And then Brother John the Good said to him: "Son, go, and tell the brothers to give you something to eat, and I will pray God for you; but tell no one"; and the said witness answered: "Gladly." And then the said witness went to the brothers and had them give him something to eat, and before he had altogether taken the food, the said witness felt himself so nearly freed that nothing of the said goitre appeared in his throat. And so the said witness returned to his home rejoicing and glad. And when his father Ugolinus saw his son so freed from the said goitre, he rejoiced greatly, and had the said witness tell him how it had been, and what the said Brother John the Good had said to him; and he told how the said Brother John the Good had told him to tell no one. He rejoiced greatly, and praised the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and Brother John the Good. And the said witness said that people questioned him much how he had been freed so quickly, and what physician had freed him; the said witness used to say: "The Lord freed me"; at which people marvelled greatly. And the said witness said that he was afterwards always healthy, and had his throat sound and smooth, like any other man having it sound, up to the day of the aforesaid testimony, as plainly appears. And the said witness said that it is a good eight years since the Lord healed him by the merits and prayers of the said brother.

[212] [and concerning the fame and miracles of the blessed man, and the grief of the people of Cesena at his departure.] Asked about the hour, he said that at the sixth hour he felt himself freed; and he said that when the said Brother John the Good told him that he would pray God for him, no one was there except the witness himself and the said Brother John the Good. And he said that this miracle was not public otherwise than has been said, because the witness himself told no one; but that the witness, after he had suffered such a goitre, is healthy, this is public to many. And the said witness said that there was public report and fame through Cesena and through its borders that the said Brother John the Good was of holy life, and that he is a saint, and that the Lord showed many and great miracles by the merits and prayers of the said brother in his life, and in death, and after death. And the said witness said that many people, and from many and distant parts, came to Cesena to see the said Brother John the Good because of the public fame of his holiness. And the said witness said that the people of Cesena and its borders grieved and grieve greatly over the withdrawal and separation which the said Brother John the Good made from Cesena when he went to Mantua, because if the people of Cesena had known, provided only that they had believed that the said Brother John the Good wished to withdraw from his hermitage, the people of Cesena would have had his cell so well guarded that he would never have departed; and today they would spend much, provided they believed they could have his body back. And the said witness said that he was of the age of a good twenty years, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because in all things, as he has said, it is the truth of the matter.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VI.

Amadorinus is freed from a cancerous disease in the leg. On the fame of the blessed man and the concourse of those visiting him.

Testimony of Rosalitus about his nephew Amadorinus, The aforesaid Rosalitus, a sworn witness, and questioned under oath, said that he has a certain nephew of his named Amadorinus; which Amadorinus formerly, a good five years ago, suffered, and had suffered continuously a good three years and more, a cruel and very bad fistula; and some of the physicians said that it was a cancer; some said that it was a fistula, which the said Amadorinus suffered in the shin, or left leg; so that from the heel of the foot up to the knee there was no soundness in the said leg; indeed there were in the said leg, in the place where the said fistula was, a good nine openings, and from some of these openings there always came out a wonderful abundance of putrid humour, and the said Amadorinus had the whole leg fetid and stinking; and the said witness said that Lord Amadorinus, his nephew, had been always these three years under the counsel and help of physicians, nor had anything done him any good; on the contrary, the physicians said, in the witness's presence, that from then on he could not be freed unless the whole leg were cut off. Whence, since the said Amadorinus had his mother then living, and not his father, although at the time of the present testimony the mother of the said Amadorinus was dead, the said witness, seeing that the said Amadorinus, his nephew, could not from then on be freed by an earthly physician, over which the witness grieved greatly, advised the mother of the said Amadorinus to carry him to Brother John the Good, and that they should ask him to intercede with the Lord for him.

[214] who was freed by the prayers of the blessed man The aforesaid mother, acquiescing in the said advice, carried her said son to the said Brother John the Good. What she did and said with the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said he did not know, except by hearsay, which he heard from the said mother, saying that when she found the said Brother John the Good. Which Brother John the Good, having heard from his brothers that a certain lady was in the church who wished to speak to him, came to her in the church; she asked him earnestly, and almost always weeping, to intercede with the Lord for the deliverance of the said Amadorinus her son; and the said mother also said that she told the said brother to sign and bless her son and free him from the said fistula, and the said Brother John the Good answered her: "Lady, I am not a physician that I can heal him, nor am I a priest that I can bless him; yet, although I am a sinner, I will pray God that he who is the supreme physician may cure your son; go, good lady, with God, and tell this to no one." Having heard this, the said mother bound up again in the cart, with rags in the usual way, the leg of the said Amadorinus her son, and returned to her home; and when she was at home, the said mother unbound the said leg of her said son in the presence of the witness himself, and then found him so improved that within three days he was entirely cured and freed; and he is so today, as plainly appears; and all who were there began to praise the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the name of Brother John the Good.

[215] [from a cancerous disease in the leg; and concerning the fame of the blessed man and the grief of the people of Cesena at his departure.] And the said witness, being asked, said that when he saw the said Amadorinus so improved, as has been said above, there were present there the above-mentioned lady, the mother of Amadorinus, who is now dead, and the witness himself, and Blancus and Saure, full brothers of the said Amadorinus; and then the said mother told all these that it should be told to no one, as the said Brother John the Good had commanded her; and they did so. And the said witness, being asked about the time, month, day and hour, does not remember; and the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was of wonderful life as long as he stayed at Cesena, so that because of the harsh life which the said Brother John the Good led, and led at Cesena in his hermitage, he was reputed a saint by all the people of Cesena and its borders; and it was publicly said that God showed many and great miracles by the merits and prayers of the said brother in life and in death, and also after the death of the said brother; so that because of the public fame of his holiness many people, as the witness himself said he had seen, came to see the said Brother John the Good; and he said that the men and all the people of Cesena and of the neighbouring parts grieve greatly that the body of the said Brother John the Good is not at Cesena, and if it were possible that they could have back the body of the said brother for anything, the people of Cesena would not leave undone whatever it was possible for them to do; and the said witness said that he was of the age of forty years, and that he has testified to the foregoing neither taught nor asked, but because he knew it to be, as has been said, the truth of the matter in all things and through all things.

[216] Testimony of Amadorinus The aforesaid Amadorinus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that it is a good five years since he was suffering, and had already suffered for three years, a very bad fistula, or cancer, as the physicians said, in whose care and help he had been those three years, and nothing had done him any good in anything; whence the mother of the said witness, seeing him, her son, incurable, as the physicians said, by the advice of a certain paternal uncle of his named Resalidus, since the said witness had the said Resalidus as it were for his father, because his natural father was dead, took the said witness, her son, to Brother John the Good; and when they had come to the place in which the said Brother John the Good was, the said mother, in the witness's presence, told a certain brother to tell Brother John the Good to come to speak to her, the mother, in the brothers' church; and the said Brother John the Good came to speak to the said lady; and the said lady, the mother of the said witness, asked the said Brother John the Good to pray God, and to free her said son, the witness, from the said fistula or cancer, and to bless him and sign him; the brother answered her, saying: "Lady, I am not a priest, to sign your son or bless him, nor am I a physician that I can cure him; yet, although I am a sinner, I will pray God for the deliverance of your son; but you, lady, go away with God, and tell this to no one."

[217] of his healed leg, And then, when these words passed between Brother John the Good and the mother of the said witness, the said witness had his said leg unbound and without a plaster, and he asked for this so that the said Brother John the Good might see the said illness. Afterwards, leave to return having been given by the said Brother John the Good, as has been said above, the said mother bound up the witness's leg again as it was at first, and they began to return home, and at once, as the said witness said, he felt himself improved and cured, so that he walked by himself, whereas before he could not walk in any way; and within three days he was completely and totally freed, and was so afterwards always, and is today, as plainly appears. Asked who was present at his deliverance, the said witness said that when his mother spoke with the said Brother John the Good, there was no one there in the church, namely the brothers' church, except the brother himself and the witness himself, and the mother of the same witness, who at the time of the present testimony was dead; but after the witness returned to his home with his said mother, and the said mother unbound the witness's leg, then it is and was found as good as cured; there were present there the aforesaid mother, with the aforesaid Resalitus, his paternal uncle, and Blancus and Saurus, his full brothers. Asked whether this was public, namely that he had suffered so, as has been said, and was freed, the said witness answered that it was manifest to many that he suffered that illness which has been mentioned, and for so long a time, and so cruel, as has been said, and that he has now been freed; and people marvelled greatly that in so short a time they saw the said witness so sick and so freed, and people asked the said witness much how he had been freed so quickly, and the witness answered: "The Lord freed me"; of Brother John the Good he said nothing, from the fact that the said Brother John the Good had said: "Go, and tell no one" ^a. And the said witness said that of the time, month, day and hour he does not remember, and that the witness himself was eighteen years old. The said witness also said that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw, and it was the truth of the matter, as has been said above.

[218] of Blancus The aforesaid Blancus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that it is a good five years since Amadorinus, his full brother, was suffering a fistula or cancer ^b, as the physicians said, in the left leg, and which he had suffered a good three years; in which three years the said Amadorinus always made use of the counsel and help of physicians, and nothing had done him any good; on the contrary, the said Amadorinus had grown so much worse that the said disease had, from the sole of the foot up to the knee, a good nine openings, through all of which openings putrid humour came out continually in great quantity; whence, since the mother of the said witness and of the said Amadorinus had received advice from a certain paternal uncle of theirs named Resalitus (which Resalitus was as it were their father, since their natural father had already paid the debt of nature) to go to the hermitage in which the said Brother John the Good lived, and, since an earthly physician could not help the said Amadorinus, the said mother asked the said Brother John the Good that the brother himself would intercede with God for the deliverance of the said Amadorinus; which mother acquiesced in the said advice, and came, or went, to the said brother.

[219] concerning the same What the mother said to the said Brother John the Good the said witness does not know, except by the report of the said mother and of the said Amadorinus, because the witness himself was not present; yet in the evening, when the said mother had returned from the said Brother John the Good and unbound the leg of the said Amadorinus, and the plasters and rags ^c had been lifted off, the leg, which before stank and was almost entirely putrid, was found, the witness himself seeing it, so healed and improved that within three days the said Amadorinus was completely and totally cured. And when the said witness considered in his heart that for so long a time he had seen the leg of the said Amadorinus so full of fistula and cancer, as has been said, when it was changed by the physician or by another, and that in the morning, before the said mother went to the said Brother John the Good, the said witness had seen the leg of the said Amadorinus, which was now so cured, as has been said, he marvelled greatly; and whereas before the said witness had mocked the said mother when she wished to go and was preparing herself to go to the said Brother John the Good, distrusting and despairing of the deliverance of the said Amadorinus, then, having seen such a miracle, he began with great joy to praise the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and Brother John the Good.

[220] miracle; And when he wished to tell his neighbours, his said mother told the said witness, and the said Rosalitus, and Saurus, full brother of the same witness, who were all present when the aforesaid mother unbound the leg of the said Amadorinus and it was found as good as cured, that they should tell no one, because Brother John the Good had so commanded her: perhaps, if it were told, the said Amadorinus would fall back into the same illness; and nothing of this miracle was told to the people. Yet, as the said witness said, many people marvelled that the said Amadorinus had been freed in so short a time. And the said witness, being asked, said that of the time, month, day and hour he does not remember. And the said witness said that there was and is public report and fame at Cesena and in its borders that the said Brother John the Good was a holy and just man, and that God, in the life of the said brother and in death, and also after death, by his merits and prayers showed many and great miracles; and because of the public fame of the holiness of the same Brother John the Good many people, even from remote parts, came to see him, and always a good fame, and of great holiness and religion, was and grew about him until the end of his life. And the said witness said that he was of the age of twenty-four years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw through all things, as has been said above.

[221] of Saurus The aforesaid Saure, a sworn witness, questioned on his oath, said that he has a certain brother of his named Amadorinus, who formerly, five years having now elapsed, that Amadorinus had suffered a good three years a cruel and very bad fistula or cancer, and during those three years the said Amadorinus always made use of the counsel and assistance of physicians, and nothing did him any good; whence, since this Amadorinus had already lost the said left leg, and his deliverance was no longer hoped for, the mother of the said witness and of the said Amadorinus, led by the advice of a certain paternal uncle of the said witness and of the said Amadorinus, took the said Amadorinus, her son, to Brother John the Good. What she said and did with the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said he did not know except by hearsay; yet the witness himself said that the witness saw in the morning the leg of the said Amadorinus in such bad condition, as has been said, and had seen it so for a long time; and in the evening, when the mother of the said Amadorinus returned from the said Brother John the Good with the said Amadorinus, he saw the said Amadorinus so cured and improved that within three days he was cured and entirely freed, and he marvelled greatly; and having heard from the aforesaid mother how the said Amadorinus had been freed by the merits and prayers of Brother John the Good, he began to praise the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and Brother John the Good; and the said witness said that at the time when their said mother took the said Amadorinus to Brother John the Good their father was not living, nor at the time of the aforesaid testimony was their mother living.

[222] concerning the same miracle. And the said witness, being asked, said that of the time, month, hour and day he does not remember; and the said witness said that when he saw in the evening the leg of the said Amadorinus so cured, on that day on which the said Brother John the Good had seen him and the Lord had cured him through his prayers, there were present there the witness himself, and the mother of the witness himself, and the said Resalitus, and Blancus, full brother of the same witness. And the said witness, being asked, said that the people who before saw the said Amadorinus so sick, and had seen him so for so long a time, and that now, at that time in which the said Amadorinus was in the worse state with the said leg, as was said through the quarter, he was freed in so short and small a time, marvelled greatly, and said to the said witness: "How has Amadorinus your brother been freed so quickly?" and he said: "The Lord freed him"; because he did not wish to say how he had been freed by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good, because of the word which Brother John the Good had said to the mother of the said witness, that she should tell no one. And the said witness said that it is and was the public fame at Cesena and in its borders that the said Brother John the Good was a holy and just man, and that he was venerated by all as a just and holy man, and was held a saint, and such fame and opinion of his holiness was and grew about him until the end of his life; and the said witness said that it is the public fame at Cesena that the Lord showed many and great miracles by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good in his life and in death and after death, and many people from Cesena and other parts go to Mantua as pilgrims to the place where the body of the said Brother John the Good is, because of the great devotion which they have toward him and because of the many miracles which God has shown at Cesena and at Mantua through the prayers and merits of the said brother. Asked of what age he was, the said witness said that he was twenty years old; and the said witness said that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so heard, and it is the truth of the matter, and he saw it, as has been said.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VII.

Agnes is freed from a contraction of the sinews. Testimony of Jacobinus, whom the blessed man by a miracle converted from the heresy of the Patarenes; the blessed man's knowledge of hearts and of future things; the grief of the people of Cesena at his departure.

Testimony of Guilia about her daughter Agnes The aforesaid Lady Guilia, a sworn witness, and questioned on oath, said that she has a certain daughter of hers named Agnese, which Agnese formerly, five years ago now, was suffering, and had suffered almost from the day of her birth; which girl was then three years old or nearly, and she suffered so that in those aforesaid three years she ate and drank nothing except milk from the breasts of the said witness, nor could the said infant in any way stand or raise herself up, except like a person drawn together; and the said witness so believed that she had all her sinews contracted and drawn together; and the people who saw her so said that the said Agnese was totally contracted, and would be so the whole time of her life; and the said witness, when she heard this, wished to die, and said: "Would that you were dead, my daughter." And the said witness said that many times she had the counsel of physicians as to what she should do for her said daughter, and she did as the physicians told her, and nothing did her any good; whence, when one day the said Guilia, the witness, was in her house, there came a certain brother named Diotisalvi, who at the time of the present testimony was dead, asking for bread for the hermit brothers of Brother John the Good ^a, and seeing that this said witness was grieving greatly, the said Brother Diotisalvi said to the said witness: "Take her to Brother John the Good."

[224] who by the prayers of the blessed man And so the said witness, led by the advice of the said brother, on a certain Thursday in the month of June went and carried her said daughter Agnese to the said Brother John the Good, and asked him to cure her said daughter; and the said Brother John the Good said to the said witness: "Lady, I am not a physician ^b; yet I will pray God for your said daughter"; and the witness, having heard this, because of the great faith which she had in the said Brother John the Good, believed her said daughter already freed, and having received leave from the said Brother John the Good she returned to her home; and at once that day the said Agnese began to eat bread, of which she had not eaten in the time of her life; and she was so improved and cured that on the following Sunday the said Agnese began to walk and to raise herself up to the table and to eat of the things that were on the table, and she began to sit by herself and to lift herself up, whereas before, when the said witness set her said daughter Agnese to sit, wherever she set her, she stayed there like some insensible and immovable thing. And the said witness, being asked, said that from then onward the said Agnese began to grow, so that in a very short time she was as well grown and plump and fine as any girl of her age; at which the people who before had seen Agnes so drawn together, and then saw her in so short a time so well freed, marvelled greatly; and the said witness said that the said Agnese was afterwards

always healthy, and is today, as plainly appears.

[225] she was freed from the contraction of her sinews and body; The said witness, being asked, said that when she went to Brother John the Good, Raynerius, son of the same witness, went with her; and the said witness, being asked, said that at the sixth hour ^c she spoke with the said Brother John the Good, and in the evening she saw that her aforesaid daughter Agnese was as good as cured. And the said witness, being asked, said that the said Brother John the Good told the said witness, and commanded her, that she should tell no one that she had gone to the said brother; and the aforesaid witness did so, because she feared, if she told it, that her said daughter might relapse; and the said witness said that there is public report and fame at Cesena that the said Brother John the Good was a holy and just man, and that God by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good showed many and great miracles in the life and death and after the death of the said Brother John the Good; and because of the public fame of great holiness which there was about Brother John the Good, many people, and from distant parts, came to Cesena to see, hear and touch the said Brother John the Good, and now they go to Mantua, where the body of the said Brother John the Good is; and the said witness also said that she was of the age of thirty years and more, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw, and it was the truth of the matter through all things, as has been said.

[226] another testimony The aforesaid Raynerius, a sworn witness, and questioned on oath, said that he has a certain sister of his named Agnes, who formerly, five years ago now, was suffering, and had suffered almost from the first day of her birth; which Agnesa was three years old. What "panis" (?) or illness it was, by what name it was called, the said witness, being asked, said he did not know, except that his said sister had never eaten or drunk nor raised herself up in any way; on the contrary, the said Agnese was so contracted throughout that wherever anyone set her to sit, there she stayed as if so fixed and immovable as though she were tied there; and she remained so for the aforesaid three years, taking nothing but only milk from her mother's breasts; whence, since the said witness grieved greatly together with his mother, namely the aforesaid Lady Guilia, and they would rather have wished her dead than so alive, indeed her death would have been a joy to all of the household, because the said Agnese seemed a sort of monster upon the earth, by the advice of a brother of the same, named Brother Diotesalvi, the said Lady Guilia, mother of the said witness, and the said witness went on a certain Thursday in the month of June to the hermitage in which the said Brother John the Good lived, and the said Lady Guilia spoke with the said Brother John the Good in the witness's presence, and asked him to intercede with God for the deliverance of her said daughter named Agnese; and then the said Brother John the Good said that he would pray to God for the deliverance of the said Agnese; and then the said Lady Guilia, together with the said witness, returned home; and the same day the said Agnese was so cured and freed that, the witness himself being present, the said Agnese ate bread, and she grew so much stronger that on the following Sunday the said Agnese raised herself up to the table and began to eat of everything that was on the table, and afterwards she began to walk and to grow, so that in a short time she grew much, and was always afterwards quite healthy, and is today, as publicly appears.

[227] concerning the same miracle. And the said witness, being asked, said that it was quite public and manifest that the said Agnese so suffered and was so contracted for so long a time, as has been said, and that she has now been freed, and was so in a short time; but that she had been freed by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good is not known, from the fact that the said Brother John the Good said that it should be told to no one; and so the witness himself did together with his said mother. And the said witness, being asked, said that the said mother of the said witness and of the said Amadorinus, and the witness himself, spoke with the said Brother John the Good at the sixth hour; and the said witness, being asked, said that there was and is public report and fame at Cesena that the said Brother John the Good was a man of holy life and holy fame, so that because of the fame of great holiness and great repute which there was about the said Brother John the Good, the witness himself seeing it, many people, even from remote parts, came to Cesena to see and hear the said Brother John the Good; and the said witness said that there was public report and fame through Cesena and its borders, and is today, that the Lord by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good showed many and great miracles in his life and in death and after the death of Brother John the Good; and the said witness, being asked, said that the witness himself was twenty years old, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[228] Testimony of Jacobinus, formerly a heretic, "Master Jacobinus, carpenter, son of the late Petrus Bonifacinus, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the above-mentioned year, indiction and place, on the fourth day before the Nones of January, there being present Brothers Salvettus and Rialis, hermits of the said order, and Dominicus, son of the late Joannes de Gniscio, witnesses."

The aforesaid Master Jacobinus, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself was a Mantuan by birth, yet he came to Cesena fifteen years ago now, and stayed there, and was staying there at the time of the present testimony. And the said witness said that the father of the same witness was a heretic and a wicked person, who did not believe the faith of the holy Trinity ^d and of the holy Roman Church, and died with that wicked faith, as the said witness believes, in soul and body. Whence at one time the said witness, at the persuasion of his said father, believed wrongly and was a Patarene, and the said witness was in that wicked and most evil belief for a long time, so that, as the witness himself said, if the witness could have destroyed all clerics and religious ^e with the least word of his, he would have done it with a glad heart. And the said witness said that because of the hatred which the witness bore toward those who were in the faith and obedience of the holy Roman Church, the witness went several times to the hermitage in which the said Brother John the Good lived; and he had whole nuts and nutshells, and he put them secretly at the head of the brothers' beds, so that the brothers might come to discord and quarrel among themselves, saying to one another: "You do not fast, for you eat nuts"; and this, as the said witness said, he did several times.

[229] the blessed man knew the secrets of his heart; he is converted by a miracle; Whence, when one day the said Brother John the Good had sent a certain brother of his to the said witness, that he should come to him, and the said witness was going to the said Brother John the Good, he said within himself: "What does this man want?" And when he had come to the place in which the said Brother John the Good was, the said Brother John the Good had the said witness come to him, to the cell in which the said Brother John the Good lived, and the said brother began to tell him how the witness believed wrongly, and that he was a heretic in his belief, and that the father of the said witness had believed wrongly, and was therefore damned with the devil in hell; whence the said Brother John the Good wished, using these words and many other examples and authorities of the saints, that the said witness should return to penance and to the faith which the Roman Church holds and keeps. And then the said witness, having heard these words, began to mock the said Brother John the Good and to say: "Who told you that I believed wrongly? I believe better than you." Yet the said witness said that the said witness then wondered somewhat how the said Brother John the Good knew that he believed wrongly; and when many words had passed between the said Brother John the Good and the said witness, at length, while the said witness was standing in the cell with the said Brother John the Good, a certain falcon, or wild moscardellus ^f, flying through the air, flew into the cell of the said Brother John the Good and rested a little on the feet of the said Brother John the Good, and from the feet hopped onto the knee of the said brother; and then the said witness wished to catch the said bird, and Brother John the Good at once said to the said bird: "Go with God"; and the said bird departed, flying, at which the said witness wondered greatly; so that he immediately said to the said Brother John the Good: "I wish henceforth to believe as you believe, because I see that your faith is better than mine."

[230] [he is taught the catholic faith; he is warned in sleep of the burning of his house; likewise of an ill-fated journey.] And then the said Brother John the Good taught him how he ought to believe the articles of the faith, and as the Roman Church believes and holds, and said many other things to him. So that through the things which the said witness heard and saw of the said Brother John the Good, he returned to the faith of the holy Roman Church and of the holy Trinity, which the said witness holds and keeps today, as a catholic man, although he acknowledged himself a sinner. And the said witness said that he would not wish, for the whole world, to be in that wicked belief in which he had been until then, and from which, or away from which, the said witness would not have withdrawn ^g, [and] would first have let himself be burned, as the Patarenes do, of whom he was one, had it not been for the things which he heard and saw of the said Brother John the Good. And the said witness said that one night the house of the said witness was burning, in which the said witness was with his whole household, and in which all were being burned, so fast asleep were they; and then in a vision Brother John the Good appeared to him and said: "Jacobinus, wake up; do you not see that your house is burning?" and he

at once opened his eyes and saw his house so burning, and called his household and put out the fire. Likewise the said witness said that once the said witness wished to go to Venice, and the said Brother John the Good had advised the said witness not to go; the said witness nevertheless went; whence, before he was at Ferrara, the said witness was captured and lost all his merchandise and goods which he was carrying, or was having carried, to Venice; and before he could escape from the hands of the enemy ^h, he had to ransom himself; whence, having seen these aforesaid things and many other greater ones of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness so returned to the faith of the holy Roman Church, having abandoned the heretical depravity in which he had been a long time, [and] that he is today a very great persecutor of heretics.

[231] [On the fame and miracles of the blessed man and the grief of the people of Cesena at his departure.] And the said witness, being asked, said that, as the witness himself saw and sees, there is and was public report and fame at Cesena and through its borders that the said Brother John the Good was a man of holy life and great harshness, and endured affliction for a long time in his hermitage. And the said witness said that there is public report and fame at Cesena that God showed many and great miracles by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good in his life at Cesena, and in death and after his death at Mantua. And the said witness said that he saw many people come to Cesena from many and distant parts to see and hear the said Brother John the Good, because of the public fame and report of the great and mighty holiness which there was and is about the said Brother John the Good. And the said witness also said that, as the witness himself saw and sees, many people of Cesena, because of the public fame which there is about the said Brother John the Good, go from Cesena to Mantua to the place where the body of the said Brother John the Good is. And the said witness also said that the men of Cesena grieved greatly that Brother John the Good went to Mantua, and if it were possible that the people of Cesena could have back the body of the said Brother John the Good, they would spend beyond measure. And the said witness said that he was of the age of forty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because it is as he has said.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VIII

Testimonies of Alberigus, Gualterius and Pretiosa.

Testimony of Alberigus on his deliverance from dangerous fevers; "Lord Alberigus, judge, son of the late Bartholus, of Cesena, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the aforesaid year, indiction and place, on the third day before the Nones of January, there being present Brother Lanfrancus, prior general of the said order, and Brother Salvettus, hermit of the said order, and the aforesaid Lord Albizus, canon, witnesses." The aforesaid Lord Alberigus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that formerly, a long time ago now, when Brother John the Good was in his hermitage, the witness himself was suffering a fever, from which he had suffered much; and when one day many ladies of Cesena went to the hermitage of the said Brother John the Good to see the said Brother John the Good, the said Brother John the Good asked the said ladies what sort of news there was in Cesena, and one of those ladies, a neighbour of the said witness, answered: "There is good news there, except that it is said that Lord Alberigus is suffering so great a fever that, unless the Lord in his mercy frees him, he will scarcely escape; and his death will be a loss to many and to the whole city of Cesena." Having heard this, the said Brother John the Good took an apple and gave it to the said woman, or lady, who was so speaking, named Ginenia, and said: "Take this apple and give it to the sick man on my behalf"; and the said Lady Ginenia, having taken the apple, returned to her home and gave the said apple to the said witness, who was so suffering, and the sick man with great devotion and reverence took the said apple and held it in his hands, and at once felt himself improved, so that that day the fever left him, which he never afterwards suffered; and he was afterwards always healthy, and is today at Cesena, as publicly appears.

[233] [his trust in the blessed man; the grief of the people of Cesena at his departure.] And the said witness said that he had before, and afterwards had, so much reverence and devotion toward the said Brother John the Good that if the said Brother John the Good had said to the same witness, "Go into the fire," the said witness would have gone in and would have believed that he would come away unharmed and untouched by the fire; and such reverence and devotion, and greater, had all the men and women of Cesena and of the surrounding parts. And the said witness said that on the day on which it was known through Cesena and the surrounding parts that the said Brother John the Good had gone to Mantua, there was such grief there that the said witness could scarcely tell it; and if it were possible that the people of Cesena could have back the body of the said brother, the men and the commune of Cesena would do and spend almost all that they could ^a, because of the great and mighty holiness which they recognised and recognise in the said Brother John the Good. And the said witness said that there is public report and fame at Cesena and its borders that the Lord, by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good, showed many and great miracles in the life and in death and after the death of the said Brother John the Good, and the witness himself firmly so believes; and the said witness said that because of the public fame of great holiness which there was about the said Brother John the Good, many people, as the witness himself saw, came even from distant parts to Cesena and went to the hermitage in which the said Brother John the Good lived, to see and hear the said Brother John the Good, and such fame was and grew about the said Brother John the Good until the end of his life; and the said witness said that he was twenty-eight years old, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[234] Testimony of Gualterius on the penitent life, "Gualterius, barber, son of the late Albertus, of Cesena, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the aforesaid year and indiction, on the third day before the Nones of January, at Cesena in the house of the aforesaid Gualterius ^b, there being present Brothers Lanfrancus, prior general of the order of hermits, and Salvettus, hermit of the said order, and Caranius, son of the late Guido de Guittabo, witnesses."

The aforesaid Gualterius, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that it is a long time since the witness himself had acquaintance with the said Brother John the Good, and saw him staying in the hermitage in a certain little cell, and in it he carried out and did penance ^c a long time, and he did and was doing such penance, and afflicted his body in drink and food and bed and many vigils and prayers and clothing, that not only those who saw this marvelled, but also those who heard it said that unless the Holy Spirit and the grace of God had nourished and sustained the said Brother John the Good, he would never have lived. Asked how he knew the foregoing, and that the said Brother John the Good inflicted such and so great affliction and tribulation on his body for the love of Jesus Christ and the salvation of his soul, the said witness answered that he was and is a barber; whence, when he went at times to shave ^d the brothers who stayed at the said hermitage of Brother John the Good, he saw all these aforesaid things and heard them from the brothers, and because this was publicly said through Cesena.

[235] [the faith, miracles and fame of the blessed man, and the grief of the people of Cesena at his departure.] And the said witness said that he saw and heard several times the said Brother John the Good speak of the catholic faith, to which he exhorted his brothers and other men and women who spoke with the said Brother John the Good, saying that they should believe and hold and observe as the holy Roman Church believes and observes; and that they should believe that the lord Pope has the same authority which blessed Peter had; and whomever the lord Pope binds on earth will be bound also in heaven, and whomever he looses on earth will be loosed also in heaven; and he said, and said several times, that the lord Pope is the vicar of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the said witness said that there is public report and fame at Cesena and through the neighbouring cities that God showed many and great miracles by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good in his life, at Cesena and elsewhere, where his name was invoked, and in death and after death at Mantua, where the body of the said Brother John the Good is, and does so today, so that the fame of the holiness of the said brother and his good memory flourish today through all Lombardy and Romagna ^e, as was publicly said. And the witness also said that what the witness himself says of

Brother John the Good, if all of Cesena and its borders were questioned today under their oath, they would say greater things, and the witness himself believes he would say (?), as there is public report and fame among the people of Cesena and the brothers of the said John the Good. And the said witness said that he saw many people come to Cesena, even from remote parts, to see the said Brother John the Good because of the public fame of the holiness of the said Brother John the Good; and the said witness, being asked, said that the witness himself was, with all of Cesena, much grieving that the said Brother John the Good went to Mantua; and if the people of Cesena had known when the said Brother John the Good went to Mantua, they would not have let him go in any way, because of the faith and devotion which the people of Cesena had in the said Brother John the Good, and have today, although his body is at Mantua. And the said witness, being asked, said that the witness himself was of the age of fifty years and more, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said.

[236] Testimony of Pretiosa on the "Lady Pretiosa, formerly widow of Lord Redolfinus of Cesena, swears concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which she knew and to keep silent any lie, in the aforesaid year, virtues and miracles of the blessed man and on the concourse to him. indiction and day, at Cesena in the house of the said Lady Pretiosa, there being present Brother Salvettus, hermit of the said order, and Alberghettus, son of the late Bonfiolus, and Lady Duchesa, wife of Lord Jacobus Tibertus, witnesses."

The aforesaid Lady Pretiosa, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that the witness held the said Brother John the Good greatly in reverence as a holy man, because the said brother led a harsh and hard penance in food and drink and bed and clothing, and was assiduous in many vigils and prayers; and she often went with many other ladies to the hermitage in which the said Brother John the Good lived, because of the devotion and reverence which the witness, with other people of Cesena, had for the said Brother John the Good. And the said witness said that it is public and manifest at Cesena and through its borders that the Lord showed many and great miracles by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good in his life and in death and after his death; and the witness herself firmly so believes, and all of Cesena believe it. And the said witness said that she saw, at the time when the said Brother John the Good was at Cesena at his hermitage, that many people, even from distant parts, came to see the said Brother John the Good because of the public fame of the holiness of the said Brother John the Good, and of his miracles, which God worked daily by his merits; and many people of Cesena go, as the witness herself saw and sees, to Mantua to the place where the body of the said Brother John the Good is, because of the miracles which the Lord works by his merits. And the witness herself said that she was of the age of forty-seven years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because the witness herself so saw and heard, as she said above, that it was so public.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER IX.

Testimony of Brother Moltongrandus.

[Having taken the oath, Brother Moltongrandus testifies concerning the manner of Bl. John the Good's clothing and bed,] "Brother Moltongrandus, prior of the convent of Pogiolo, of the diocese of Ferlentrum ^a, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the above-mentioned year and indiction, on the day before the Nones of January, at Cesena at the convent of the brothers of the order of hermits, there being present Brothers Lanfrancus, prior general of the said order ^b, and Martinus, prior of the said convent ^c, and the said Lord Albizus, canon of the pieve of Pecciolo, witnesses."

The aforesaid Brother Moltongrandus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that a good twenty years have elapsed ^d since the witness himself took the habit of the hermits, in which twenty years he lived together with the said Brother John the Good, the times being added together, in which the said witness, over several spells, was with the said Brother John the Good a good six years. Asked about his life, the said witness said that Brother John the Good was content at all times with a single fine cowl of woollen stuff only, under which the said Brother John the Good wore one cloth of linen or tow, made in the manner of a shirt; and he wore this cloth, as was publicly said among the brothers, lest the blood which flowed from a certain illness which the said Brother John the Good suffered should soil the cowl of the said Brother John the Good ^e. And the said witness, being asked, said that the said Brother John the Good went about at all times unshod, with bare feet and legs, except that he always wore leggings ^f, and at times wooden clogs ^g, and those he wore, as was publicly said among the brothers, for the greater affliction of his body. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good always lay on a bare plank or board, having nothing over him or under him, both in winter and in summer, except the said cowl ^h.

[238] on his fasts, And the said witness, being asked, said that the said Brother John the Good fasted at all times, except on Sundays and in the time of grave illness. In which time the said Brother John the Good, at the many prayers of his brothers, ate a little meat, nor would he in any way in his illnesses use the counsel or care of physicians, saying that he wanted no other physician or medicine than our Lord Jesus Christ; and the said witness said that when the said Brother John the Good ate outside the time of Lent he ate, as he very often saw, a good deal less than any other brother, and would never eat except of one dish only, as he very often saw and heard from those who served him; and although at times the brothers ate cabbages and chickpeas ⁱ or beans, the said Brother John the Good took only a little of one of these foods alone; but in the time of Lent the said Brother John the Good was of wonderful abstinence, because he kept almost continuous silence, and always stayed day and night in vigils and prayers in his cell, and ate and drank so little, and led so very strict a life, that the brothers marvelled greatly; but because the brothers themselves knew and believed him to be filled with the Spirit and grace of God, they did not marvel so much. And the said witness, being asked, said that the said Brother John the Good, in the three or two last Lents of his life, as was publicly said among the brothers, at the beginning of Lent had one conventual loaf given him, from which he made many little round pieces in the manner of a host, though thicker than hosts; and each day of Lent he took one only of these pieces, and nothing else, up to Holy Thursday; and on that day he ate of the community's food very sparingly; and on that day the said Brother John the Good gave some of those pieces to the brothers; which brothers received them gladly and with great devotion and reverence, and some of the brothers ate theirs, and some kept them, and have kept theirs to this day with devotion.

[239] [on the ground of his knowledge, on the way in which the blessed man conducted himself in his cell,] On the two other following days, namely Good Friday and Holy Saturday, he returned to the regimen ^k of the said pieces of bread. Asked how he knew the foregoing, the said witness answered, because they were notorious among the brothers, and because he saw them and was present at them, especially in those times in which he lived together with the said Brother John the Good; in which times the said witness was at one time prior of the convent of Cesena; whence the said witness knew well that the said Brother John the Good led and had led such a life as has been said above, and the said witness had food and drink given to the said Brother John the Good, and saw well the quantity which he ate, and because all these things were public and notorious, and are today among the brothers, namely that he led and had led such a life a good forty years or nearly. Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good had his little cell beside the bounds of the brothers' church, and from which he rarely came out unless he came to encourage his brothers, or to speak to some outsider, or went into the church to hear Mass; and when he was in his said cell, the common opinion of his brothers is and was that through the whole night, as it were from first sleep onward, and through the whole day he stayed in contemplation,

and vigils, and prayers, before the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the panel or icon of the blessed Virgin Mary, which the said Brother John the Good had in his cell, and before which he prayed ^l; and he had holy water in the same way.

[240] on his devotion in prayer, at Mass and in communion, And the said witness said that in the cell of the said Brother John the Good there appeared plainly, as the witness himself saw, the traces or shapes of feet, and of the toes, and of knees, and of hands in the ground where he prayed, because of the frequency of his praying; and the said witness, being asked, said that in the aforesaid cell there was nothing else, neither straw nor sestorium [m], nor anything else than has been said above; and so he stayed both in winter and in summer. Asked how he knew the foregoing, the said witness answered that he had seen it, and that these things were notorious among the brothers; and the said witness, being asked, said that, the witness himself seeing it, the said Brother John the Good heard Mass every day to the end with great devotion and reverence; and when the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ was elevated he shed tears and wept much, the witness himself seeing it; and he communicated in the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ every Sunday with great reverence and devotion. And the said witness gave communion to the said Brother John the Good a hundred times, as he believes; and he saw the said Brother John the Good then weep so before he received the Body of Christ that the said witness had to wait for the said Brother John the Good a long while before the said brother could cease from weeping and the shedding of tears.

[240] bis on his confessions and catholic faith, And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good confessed his sins very often to some priest among the brothers, because he did not have any special confessor; and the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good confessed several times to the said witness, and he confessed in a day once, or twice, or more times, according as his conscience pricked him ⁿ. And the said witness said that when the said Brother John the Good spoke with the brothers or other persons who had come to see him, he told them how they ought to believe in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and all the articles of the faith, and to believe and hold and observe as the holy Roman Church does, and that they should believe the lord pope to be the vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to have the power and authority of loosing and binding upon earth. And he told them to beware of the Gazari, Patarenes, and of all heretics and excommunicated persons, because such as those were sons of the devil and of perdition, and in that state could never be saved unless they returned to the command of the holy Roman Church and of the lord Pope. And he said, and said several times, to the vicars and envoys of Frederick, the late emperor, who were at Cesena and in other places, placed there by the said Frederick, and who came to see the said Brother John the Good because of the public fame of his holiness: "You are excommunicated, and your lord is excommunicated and accursed, and neither he nor you can be saved unless you return to the command of holy mother the Roman Church" ^o. Asked how he knew the foregoing, the said witness said that he had heard and been present at the foregoing several times, and that these things were notorious and manifest among the brothers.

[241] on his other virtues and the fame of his holiness. Likewise, asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good was humble, patient, kindly, chaste, upright, and a man full of all good virtues and morals, and he always encouraged his brothers and others to all good virtues and works, and corrected and reproved much both the brothers and others who did not conduct themselves well and strayed from the way of God and the path of justice; and he was of such conduct as filled with admiration all the brothers and other people who saw him only once and conversed with him; and they reputed him a saint, and held him for a saint, and for a man having in himself the grace of God; and the brothers and other people took great delight in being able to converse and stay with the said Brother John the Good. And asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness said that he had seen the foregoing, and that these things were public and manifest among the brothers. Likewise, asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good was of holy fame and repute; and because of the public fame of the holiness of the said brother many and diverse people came to see and hear the said Brother John the Good; so that at times so great a multitude of people flocked to the said hermitage in which the said Brother John the Good lived that the brothers themselves could scarcely be there; and such fame and opinion was and grew about the said Brother John the Good until the end of his life; and today it flourishes much more strongly at Mantua, where the body of the said Brother John the Good is, because of the many miracles which God has shown there by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good.

[241] bis [and on the healing of his own eyes and the deliverance of a possessed boy by the servant of God.] Asked how he knew the foregoing, the said witness answered that he had seen and heard it, and that of these things there was public report and fame among the brothers and other people. Likewise, asked whether God showed miracles in the life of the said Brother John the Good, and in death, and after death, and by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that he did, the said witness saying that formerly the said witness was suffering, and had suffered at times, an illness in the head by reason of a rheum [p], and so, held by that illness for a long time, he had already lost the sight of his eyes totally; the said Brother John the Good had the said witness called to him, saying to him: "How are you? Are you freed?" And the said witness said to him: "Father, no, nor shall I be freed henceforth, nor shall I have my sight again unless Our Lord Jesus Christ cures me by your merits and prayers, because earthly physicians cannot cure me"; and then the said Brother John the Good said to the said witness: "Go and serve God, and keep well the rule and order; and the Lord will do well by you"; and the said Brother John the Good put his hand to the eyes of the said witness, and at once the said witness was given light and cured, and was so afterwards always up to the day of the present testimony. And the said witness said that all the brothers marvelled greatly; yet those brothers who saw this are all dead; and he saw that the said Brother John the Good cured a certain boy of Forlì from a demon, the witness himself being present, and many other brothers, who are now dead; and the said witness said that God showed many other miracles by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good in his life, in death, and after death, as of this there is public report and fame among the brothers and other people of Romagna and Lombardy. And the said witness, being asked, said that the witness himself was of the age of forty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said above, and because of all these things there is public report and fame among the brothers.

ANNOTATIONS.

p. A discharge from the eyes is meant.

CHAPTER X.

Testimony of four laymen, Guido Moroëllus, Ubertus Tacus, Bonvicinus and Jacobus Beccarius.

[Guido Moroëllus, having taken the oath, testifies to the severe life of Bl. John the Good,] "Lord Guido Moroëllus, knight, son of the late Guittonus of Cesena, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence, etc., in the above-mentioned year, indiction and place, on the very day of the Nones of January, there being present Brother Salvettus, hermit of the said order, and the aforesaid Lord Albizus, canon, and a member of the household of the very venerable brother Lord Manginus, bishop of Cesena, witnesses." The aforesaid Lord Guido, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself saw the said Brother John the Good staying in a very great hermitage, a little above Cesena, in the place which is called Santa Maria de Botriolo, a good thirty-two years and more; and always in the said times he carried on a hard and harsh penance, afflicting his body wonderfully, in the smallest quantity of food and drink, and in a cheap and fine cowl for clothing, both in winter and in summer; and because the said brother always went about and stood unshod, except that in summer ^a he wore wooden clogs; and he was in his cell almost continually day and night in vigils and prayers; in which cell the said Brother John the Good lay upon a plank, as the said witness, being at one time asked about the ground of his knowledge, said that he had seen; and that of all these things there was public report and fame among the brothers and other people of Cesena. So that because of the venerable life which the said Brother John the Good led, people and brothers marvelled how the said Brother John the Good could live. Yet they knew well that he was full of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God, because otherwise, because of the harsh penance which the said Brother John the Good carried on, he would not have lived three days, as the witness himself said he believed.

[243] the esteem and concourse of the people, the fame of his miracles and holiness, And the said witness said that there is and was public report and fame at Cesena and the surrounding places that the Lord showed many and great miracles by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good in his life, so that because of the public fame of great holiness and of the miracles which God worked daily by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness saw many people come, both from parts of Lombardy and of Romagna and from Venice and many other parts. And also, if any passed along the road of Romagna, namely the podestàs of the towns, and the envoys and vicars of Frederick, son of the late emperor, to whatever place they were bound ^b, the said witness saw many go to see the said Brother John the Good and to hear and touch him because of the public fame and report of the holiness of the said Brother John the Good. And after the said Brother John the Good went from Cesena to Mantua, where he passed to the Lord, and in which is the body of the said Brother John the Good, there is public report and fame also at Cesena that the Lord has worked many miracles in the death and after the death of the said brother, and works them daily by the merits and prayers of the same brother; because of which fame, as the witness himself saw and sees, many men of Cesena go today to Mantua, some for the sake of the devotion and reverence which they have toward the said Brother John the Good, and some because they have vows to be fulfilled which they had promised to God and to Brother John the Good by reason of some need or illness of their own, or of their family.

[244] [the conversion of heretics and sinners, and the passing of several to the eremitical life, among them two of his own sons.] And the said witness said that because of the good words which the said Brother John the Good spoke to those who went to see and hear him, and also through seeing and hearing the life which Brother John the Good led, and had led for a long time, and through seeing and hearing the miracles which the Lord worked daily by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good, many of those who did not believe in the faith of the holy Roman Church were converted to the faith, and hold and observe it as catholic men; and many other sinners, who were formerly in the world, became religious. And the said witness said that when he formerly had two sons, both young squires, who were to be decorated that year with the belt of knighthood, and when the said witness already had all things necessary prepared for them, and believed that they wished to become knights, both took the habit of the aforesaid hermits at the exhortation of the said brother: and one of them has died in the said order as a hermit brother. And the said witness said that the witness himself was sixty years old and more, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said above, and because of all these things there is public report and fame at Cesena and in the surrounding parts.

[245] Ubertus Tacus, Bonvicinus and Jacobus Beccarius take the oath. "The noble man Lord Ubertus Tacus of Cesena, and Lord Bonvicinus, son of the late Lombardellus, citizen of Cesena, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence, etc., in the above-mentioned year, indiction and day, at Cesena at the convent of the brothers of the order of hermits, there being present Brothers Marcus, priest, and Bonad., subdeacon, and Tadheus, hermits of the said order of the convent of Cesena, witnesses. Likewise Jacobus, son of the late Henrigus Beccarius of Cesena, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence, etc., in the above-mentioned year, indiction and day, and place, there being present Brother Lanfrancus, prior general of the said order, and the aforesaid Ubertus Taccus, and Bonvicinus, son of the late Lombardellus, witnesses."

[246] [Ubertus Tacus testifies to the fame of the holiness and miracles of Bl. John the Good;] The aforesaid Lord Ubertus, a witness sworn on his oath, being asked, said that there is and was public report and fame at Cesena and in its borders that Brother John the Good stayed in the hermitage above Cesena which was called Santa Maria de Botriolo, and there the said Brother John the Good, as the witness himself saw, carried out and did for a long time a very great and harsh penance, so that all those who heard and saw the said Brother John the Good thus afflicting his body for the love of God and the salvation of his soul marvelled greatly. And the said witness said that there is and was public report and fame at Cesena that the Lord, by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good, showed many and great miracles in life and in death and after his death; and because of the public fame of the holiness of the said Brother John the Good the said witness saw many people come from diverse parts to see, touch and hear the said Brother John the Good, and such fame and opinion there was of the said Brother John the Good until the end of his life; and the said witness said that because of the public fame of great holiness which the said Brother John the Good had in his life, and which there was about him when he was at Cesena, and is now, that God works many and great miracles at Mantua, many people of Cesena go to Mantua to the place where the body of the said Brother John the Good is.

[247] [and on the love of the people of Cesena, and their grief that they did not have his body.] And the said witness said on his oath that the men of Cesena grieved greatly over the fact that the said Brother John the Good went to Mantua, there to pass to the Lord; and if the men of Cesena had known, they would not have let him go for anything; and the people of Cesena would do today nearly all that they could, to the end that the body of the said Brother John the Good might lie at Cesena. And the said witness said on his oath that one day the witness himself had gone to the hermitage in which the said Brother John the Good lived, to see him, as many other people went for the sake of devotion and reverence; and when the witness was speaking with the said Brother John the Good, the said Brother John the Good told the said witness that his body was not to lie at Cesena but at Mantua, and that he was to die at Mantua, and that after the said Brother John the Good withdrew from Cesena to go to Mantua he would live but a little; and so it was, as the brother himself said. And the said witness said, as the witness himself firmly believes, that if all the men and women of Cesena and the surrounding parts were questioned as sworn witnesses about the life, faith, conduct and miracles and public fame of the said Brother John the Good, they would say things similar to, or greater than, those which the said witness says, unless they were outside the faith of the holy Roman Church: asked what public fame was, the said witness answered, what people commonly believe and say. And the said witness, being asked, said that the witness himself was thirty-six years old, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, and knew it to be the truth of the matter, as has been said above.

[248] [Bonvicinus relates the rigorous manner of life of Bl. John the Good, the love of the people of Cesena,] The aforesaid Lord Bonvicinus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that it is a long time since the witness himself came to know the said Brother John the Good; and he was of very holy devotion toward him as toward a holy man and a true servant of God, and he often visited him, because Brother John served God in scanty food and drink and clothing, for he was content at all times with a single fine cowl of woollen stuff, as the said witness at times saw, and because at all times he lay upon a plank; and he was almost continually day and night in vigils and prayers in his cell, as of all these things there is and was public report and fame at Cesena. And the said witness said that it is and was the public fame at Cesena that the Lord showed many and great miracles

by the merits and prayers of the said brother in his life, in death, and after death; so that because of the public fame and report of the holiness of the said brother many people, both from Lombardy and from Romagna and many other parts, came to Cesena to see the said Brother John the Good. And the said witness said that the people of Cesena grieved and grieve greatly over the fact that the said Brother John the Good went to Mantua, because they believed that Cesena would yet be greatly adorned by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good. And the said witness said that because of the public fame of the miracles which God has deigned to work by his merits at Mantua after the death of the said Brother John the Good, and works daily, many people of Cesena, as the witness himself saw, go to Mantua to the place where the body of the said Brother John the Good is.

[249] the fame of his holiness, and the prophecy that he would not die at Cesena. And the said witness, being asked, said that of all these aforesaid things there is public report and fame at Cesena and its borders. And asked what public fame was, the said witness said, that which people commonly believe and say. And the said witness, being asked, said that the witness himself firmly believes that all the men and women of Cesena and the surrounding places would attest and depose about the life, faith and conduct, and the miracles shown by God through the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good, and about the public fame of his holiness would say similar or greater things of him, unless they were heretics or others who did not hold the faith of the holy Roman Church: the said witness also said that when on a certain occasion the witness himself had gone to visit the said Brother John the Good, and the said Brother John the Good was speaking with him, among other words he said to the said witness: "Lord Bonvicinus, if it pleased God, I would gladly die at Cesena, because I have been long in this hermitage, but God does not wish that I die here; and although I am very old, yet it pleases God that my body should lie elsewhere; and I tell you that I shall die in another city, and outside this province." Asked how long it is since the said Brother John the Good told the witness the foregoing, the said witness answered that a good twelve years have elapsed ^c; and the said witness said that he was of the age of sixty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this is public and notorious at Cesena and through the whole region, and the witness herself so saw and heard, as has been said.

[250] [Jacobus Beccarius is witness to the severity of life and the fame of holiness of Bl. John the Good;] The aforesaid Jacobus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that since the witness himself came to the age of discretion he remembers having heard and seen the said Brother John the Good staying in a certain great hermitage which is a little above Cesena, and carrying out there, as there is public report and fame at Cesena, so harsh and wonderful a penance that all those who heard of the said Brother John the Good inflicting so great affliction on his body marvelled greatly how he could live; and the people of Cesena, at times conferring among themselves, rightly said that unless God by his grace and power had sustained and nourished the said brother, he could not have endured the affliction and tribulation which for the love of Jesus Christ he inflicted on his body for many days. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was held in such reverence and devotion by the people of Cesena, as long as the brother was at Cesena in the said hermitage, that the witness himself could scarcely tell it. And the said witness, being asked, said that there is public report and fame at Cesena and in the neighbouring places that Our Lord Jesus Christ worked great and mighty miracles by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good in his life at Cesena, so that because of the public fame and report of great holiness and of the miracles which God was doing by the merits and prayers of the said brother, many people, from many and distant places, came to Cesena to see and hear and touch the said Brother John the Good, as the witness himself said he had seen several times.

[251] on the love which his virtues won for him; And the said witness, being asked, said that there is and was public report and fame at Cesena that the said Brother John the Good was a humble man and devoted to the holy Roman Church, and a man of great charity and patience; and there could not be anyone so troubled from whatever cause that, if the said Brother John the Good saw him, he did not console him, and with his good words and exhortations restore him altogether; so that all of Cesena and the surrounding places reputed the said Brother John the Good the father of all, and a saint, and one having the grace of God in himself, so that all of Cesena believed that by the merits and prayers of the said brother, if he had died at Cesena, they would be greatly exalted before God and men; and if one or more men of Cesena had known when the said Brother John the Good went from Cesena to Mantua, they would in no way have permitted the same brother to go away, although Brother John the Good himself had said several times, in the witness's hearing, that toward his end, a few days before, he was to withdraw from Cesena; and so the said Brother John the Good did: for after he was at Mantua, as the witness himself heard, and because it was publicly said at Cesena, at once, as it were within a few days, he fell ill, and lived perhaps eleven or twelve days, as the witness himself believes.

[252] [on the longing of the people of Cesena for his body, and on the fame of his miracles,] And the said witness, being asked, said that if it were possible that the said Brother John the Good, namely his body, could be had at Cesena, that is, that the Mantuans would permit it, the commune of Cesena would spend much on it, and would do nearly all that it could; so great is the devotion and reverence which the people of Cesena have toward the said Brother John the Good because of the things which they saw and heard of the said Brother John the Good when he was at Cesena. And the said witness, being asked, said that because of the public fame, which is now at Cesena and through all Lombardy and Romagna, of the miracles which God showed in the death and after the death of the said Brother John the Good at Mantua and elsewhere, where the name and help of the said Brother John the Good has been invoked, and which God today shows and works by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good, many people of Cesena go to Mantua to the place where the body of the said brother is. And the said witness, being asked, said that if all the men and women of Cesena and the surrounding parts, as the witness himself believes, and because of the public fame of great holiness which there is about the said Brother John the Good, were called today and testified and said what they knew of the said Brother John the Good, they would say the same or greater things with the witness himself, unless they were heretics, or of any kind of heresy. And the said witness, being asked, said that public fame is that which people commonly believe and say. And the said witness, being asked, said that that so holy fame, as has been said, which there was of the said Brother John the Good at Cesena, always was about him and grew until the end of his life. And the said witness, being asked, said that he was of the age of thirty-six years and more, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw, and because of all these things there is public report and fame at Cesena, as has been said.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER XI.

Testimonies of Gaiferius, knight, and Favianus, brother of penance.

Gaiferius and Favianus swear to tell the truth. "Lord Gaiferius, knight, a noble man, son of the late Lord Isus, knight, of Cesena, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the above-mentioned year and indiction, on the seventh day before the Ides of January, in the house of the said Lord Gaiferius at Cesena, there being present Brother Salvettus of the order of hermits of the convent of Cesena, and Ubaldus, notary, son of the late Blasius, and Bonachisa, son of the late Joannes Giaffo of Cesena, witnesses. Lord Favianus, brother of penance, son of the late Melontius of Cesena, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the above-mentioned year, indiction and day, at Cesena at the convent of the brothers of the order of hermits, there being present Brothers Lanfrancus, prior general of the said order of hermits, and Salvettus and Jacobus, hermits of the said order, witnesses."

[254] [Gaiferius, knight, gives testimony on the fame of the holiness of Bl. John the Good;] The aforesaid Lord Gaiferius, a noble man, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself, as he well remembers, saw Brother John the Good staying in a certain hermitage situated at Cesena, at the place which is called Santa Maria de Botriolo, and carrying out a hard and harsh penance thirty-six years and more, in great abstinence of food and drink, and continually inflicting the greatest harshness and affliction on his body, as of this there is and was public report and fame at Cesena and in the surrounding places. And the said witness, being asked, said that there is and was public report and fame at Cesena that the Lord showed many and great miracles by the merits and prayers of the said Brother John the Good in his life at Cesena, so that because of the public fame of his holy life and of the miracles which they said the Lord worked daily by the merits and prayers of the said brother, the people of Cesena had such reverence and devotion toward the said Brother John the Good that the witness himself could scarcely tell it; and many and diverse people, even from remote parts, as the witness himself saw several times, came to see, hear and touch the said Brother John the Good.

[255] [on the love of the people of Cesena, their longing for his body, and their pious pilgrimages.] And the said witness, being asked, said that if the people of Cesena had known or believed that the said Brother John the Good wished to withdraw from Cesena, the people themselves, or the commune of Cesena, would have had the said Brother John the Good so well guarded that he would never have withdrawn from Cesena; and the said witness, being asked, said that on the day on which the people of Cesena learned that the said Brother John the Good had gone to Mantua, they grieved wonderfully, indeed almost to death, all together; and if it were possible that the people of Cesena could today in any way have back the body of the said Brother John the Good, they would spend today a thousand marks of silver ^a, so great would be the devotion and reverence which the people of Cesena had and have today toward the said Brother John the Good because of the life and miracles which the people of Cesena saw at the time when the said Brother John the Good was and stayed at Cesena. And the said witness, being asked, said that there is public report and fame at Cesena that the Lord showed many and immense miracles by the merits of the said Brother John the Good at Mantua and elsewhere, where the help and assistance of the said Brother John the Good has been and is invoked. And so, because of the public fame which there is at Cesena about the said brother, and because of the things which the people of Cesena saw and heard of the said Brother John the Good at the time when he was at Cesena, many people of Cesena and the surrounding parts have gone and go to Mantua, to the place where the body of the said Brother John the Good is, as the witness himself saw and sees; and of this too there is public report and fame at Cesena. Likewise the said witness, being asked, says that, as the witness himself firmly believes, if all the men and women of Cesena were to depose and attest about the life and conduct, faith and miracles and public fame of the said Brother John the Good, as there is also public report and fame of this at Cesena, all would say of the said Brother John the Good either similar or greater things together with the witness himself. And the said witness, being asked, said that at the time of the present testimony the witness himself was an octogenarian, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because of all these aforesaid things there is and was public report and fame at Cesena, and because this is the truth of the matter.

[256] [Favianus confirms conversions brought about by Bl. John the Good, and his other virtues,] The aforesaid Lord Favianus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that formerly the witness himself saw Brother John the Good staying in a certain hermitage above Cesena which is called Santa Maria de Botriolo; in which hermitage, as the witness himself saw, the said Brother John the Good carried out penance a long time; and this was and is publicly said at Cesena, and as the witness himself saw when he went for the sake of devotion to see the said Brother John the Good. And the said witness, being asked, said that because of the many miracles, and the good words, wholesome to the soul, which the said Brother John the Good spoke to those who went to him, as to how they ought to believe and observe the commandments of God, and to observe and hold as the holy Roman Church observes and holds, many who believed wrongly were converted to the catholic faith and to the obedience of the holy Roman Church; and many who before were full of all wantonness and worldly and carnal love obtained, through the words and exhortations of the said Brother John the Good, some habit of religion or of penance ^b, as there is public report and fame of this at Cesena. And the said witness, being asked, said that the said Brother John the Good carried out such penance, and was so catholic, a sober man, and kindly, and charitable to all, pious and chaste, that the Lord in the life of the said Brother John the Good, and in death, and after death, showed and worked, and works daily, many and great miracles, as there is and was public report and fame of this at Cesena; so that, because of the public fame of his life and faith, when the said Brother John the Good was living at Cesena, many people, even from distant parts, came to see, hear and touch the said Brother John the Good; and after the said Brother John the Good went to Mantua and gave back his soul and spirit to the Lord, because of the many miracles which God worked in the death and after the death of the said brother, and works daily, many of Cesena, having heard the fame of the miracles which were done and are done by the merits of the said Brother John the Good, and having recalled to mind how the said Brother John the Good was formerly held in his life at Cesena to be holy, and catholic, and a man full of all good virtues, go and have gone, as the witness himself saw and sees, and according to what is publicly said through Cesena and Mantua, to the place and church at which the body of the said Brother John the Good is.

[257] and the singular esteem in which the people of Cesena held him. And the said witness, being asked, said that on the day on which the people of Cesena learned that the said Brother John the Good had gone to Mantua, never was any grief in the life of the aforesaid citizens of Cesena so general as was the grief which the people of Cesena had over the withdrawal of the said Brother John the Good; and if the people of Cesena could in any way today have back the body of the said Brother John the Good, they would spend a wonderful treasure on it. And the said witness, being asked, said that the same opinion and belief which the witness himself has of the said Brother John the Good, the same and a better one, if a better could be, which the witness himself does not at all believe, all the men and women of Cesena have, and all (as the witness himself believes, and of this there is public report and fame at Cesena) who saw and heard the said Brother John the Good. And the said witness, being asked, said that at the time of the present testimony the witness himself was of the age of eighty years and more. And the said witness, being asked, said that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so heard it publicly said through Cesena by all, and the witness himself believes that the truth of the matter is such as has been said above in all things and through all things. Likewise, asked what public fame was, the said witness answered, that which is commonly believed and said by people.

That the above-written Lord Ippolito Castelli, prefect of the ducal archive, is such as he has asserted himself to be, and that full faith is given here to his attestations and is deservedly to be given everywhere, I the undersigned, first chancellor of the same most serene Lord the Duke of Mantua and Montferrat, attest.

From the ducal chancery of Mantua, on the 20th day of January, 1641.

(L. S.) I, Giulio Tomasini, chancellor, have subscribed."

ANNOTATIONS.

FOURTH PART.

The examination of the Chaplain of the cardinal of St. Eustace, of the year 1253.

CHAPTER I.

Testimonies of Brother Lanfrancus, prior general, and of Brother Manfredus.

[In the year 1253 Brothers Lanfrancus and Manfredus swear to tell the truth before the apostolic commissioner.] "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Articles on the life, faith, conduct and fame of Brother John the Good of revered memory, hermit, founder and institutor of the order of hermits: namely, that the said Brother John the Good was a man of holy life, of catholic faith, of upright and useful conduct, and of praiseworthy and celebrated fame. And Brother Lanfrancus, prior general of the order of hermits ^a, and Brother Manfredus, hermit of the said order, of the convent of Mantua of the said order, swore concerning the said articles to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of Master Michael, provost of Pecciol ^b, chaplain of the venerable father the Lord deacon cardinal of St. Eustace ^c, receiver and examiner of the witnesses to be produced concerning the said articles

deputed by the supreme Pontiff, in the year of the Lord 1253, in the eleventh indiction, on the fourth day before the Kalends of November, at Mantua in the chapter of the church of St. Agnes of the order of the above-mentioned hermits, there being present Master Philip, vicar of the venerable lord … bishop of Mantua ^d, Lord Albizus, canon of the pieve of Pecciolo of the diocese of Volterra, and Ubaldinus, notary of …, and Brother Ventura, hermit, and several others, called as witnesses."

[259] Lanfrancus confirms his austere observance, Brother Lanfrancus, the aforesaid prior, a sworn witness, said on his oath that it is now ten years since the witness himself lived together and stayed with Brother John the Good at the convent of the said order at Cesena, from the middle of February almost to the end of the month of August. Asked about his life, he said that the said Brother John the Good had his cell apart from the brothers, in which he stayed continually, always by night and much by day; and in it he had a certain plank (and nothing else), on which he lay, and he slept until first sleep was complete, and from then on he rose and kept vigil in prayers; for it was well heard by the brothers that from the aforesaid hour onward he rose and kept vigil. And he said that day and night he solemnly kept silence, except when it happened that he went out to encourage and console his brothers, and to speak to some outsider who sought him. And he said that at all the time in which the said witness was in the said convent with the said Brother John the Good, the said Brother John the Good was content with a single fine woollen cowl, wearing nothing on his legs and feet except at times clogs; and he always wore a great beard.

[260] his fasts, his catholic faith, And daily and at all times he fasted, and ate by half and more less than any other brother; and in the Lent of that time in which the said witness was with the said Brother John the Good, the said brother was of much greater abstinence in food and drink and silence and solitude than in the time outside Lent. Asked how much greater the abstinence was, he answered that he did not know how much; but he said that it was notorious among the brothers that he was of much greater abstinence in the time of Lent. Asked whether by nature he could eat but little, or whether he did this out of abstinence for God's sake, he answered that he did it for abstinence' sake; and this he said was notorious among the brothers. Asked whether he used meat in the time of illness, the said witness answered yes, very little, and on few days, and at the urging of the brothers; but he would not use, nor did he use, the counsel or help of physicians, saying that the Lord Jesus Christ was his medicine. Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good had his cell, in which he had a cross and a panel of the blessed Virgin Mary, which he venerated, and holy water; and daily he heard Mass with great devotion; and every Sunday he took the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ with many tears, and he frequently confessed his sins to one priest among the brothers, whoever first met him when he wished to confess. And he exhorted his brothers to have and hold the faith of the Most Holy Trinity, as it is contained in the creed, which he said in a lay manner ^e, because he was unlettered ^f; and to believe what the holy Roman Church believes; and he detested the Gazari, Paterenes and all heretics and excommunicated persons ^g, saying that they could not be saved unless they returned to the unity of the Roman Church, in which is perfect salvation. Asked how he knew the foregoing, he answered that he had heard it from him in that time in which he was with him, and that it was already notorious among the brothers.

[261] [his other virtues, his care for the salvation of his neighbour, and the esteem which the people continue to show Bl. John the Good,] Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the brother was chaste, upright, humble and approachable, and encouraged his brothers to poverty, humility and perseverance, and chastised those who did not do their ministry well; and the words of God were always in his mouth, and not idle words. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, he answered that in the said time he had heard and seen the foregoing, and that it was notorious among the brothers. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that his fame was very praiseworthy and celebrated among the clergy and laity of Cesena, and of Mantua, and of the surrounding places, for holiness and great religion. And many people came to him from many parts, and rejoiced greatly to have seen him; and he said that the said Brother John the Good was the founder and institutor of the order of hermits, and that in it he did penance forty years, and in it ended his life, having received all the sacraments of the Church; and the fame of his holiness has always grown up to today. And he said that he was eighty years old at the time of his death. The said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he saw and heard that it was so, as he has testified.

[262] [Brother Manfredus testifies to the austere diet and clothing of Bl. John the Good,] The aforesaid Brother Manfredus, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, said on his oath that within the last twelve years he stayed and lived together with Brother John the Good at the convent of the brothers of the said order at Cesena, sometimes for four months, sometimes for three, sometimes for two. In which times, asked about the life of Brother John the Good, he said that the said brother, when healthy, fasted at all times except on Sundays; and he used only one dish of the brothers' community, and not several dishes, and by half less than any other brother, and indeed much less than half. Asked whether he was of greater abstinence in the time of Lent than at other times, he answered yes; but he said that he did not know by sight, but it was notorious among the brothers that he was content with one loaf through the whole of Lent, and a little food; so that the brothers marvelled. And he said that in the time of illness, being much asked by the brothers, when he was very ill, he ate meat a little and on few days; yet he would not have a physician, because he said that the Lord Jesus was his physician. And he said that he wore a single woollen cowl both in winter and in summer, and nothing else except leggings, and a certain cloth under the cowl because of a certain illness of his ^h; and he went unshod and without stockings, except that at times he wore clogs; and he had one plank for a bed, and he stayed much shut in by day and by night, and kept much silence. Asked how he knew the foregoing, he answered that he had seen those things in those times in which he was with him, and because they were notorious among the brothers.

[263] on his religion, his pious exercises and his care for his neighbour, Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that he heard Mass daily, and every Sunday communicated in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, shedding many tears; and that he had in his cell a cross and a panel on which was painted the image of the Virgin Mary, which he venerated, and holy water; and he detested all heretics and excommunicated persons, and encouraged the brothers, and instructed them in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that they should believe as the holy Roman Church believes, saying the whole "I believe in one God." Likewise the said witness said that the said brother frequently confessed his sins to a priest brother, the first he could find, because he did not have any special confessor. Asked how he knew the foregoing, he answered that he had seen and heard those things in those times in which he was with him. Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the brother at certain times came out of his cell, in which he stayed continually, and came to his brothers, and encouraged them to poverty, patience, humility and perseverance, adducing to them the examples of the saints in a lay manner ⁱ, because he was a layman and unlettered: "The saints by faith conquered kingdoms," etc. And he said that he was gentle and approachable and sweet and religious, always having the words of God in his mouth; and he said that he greatly reproved his brothers who did not do their ministry well. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, he said that he had been present many times in the said time in which he was with the said Brother John the Good, and had heard him, and that these things were notorious and manifest among the brothers.

[264] and on the fame of his holiness through forty years. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that because of the public fame of his holiness numberless people came from many parts to see him as a holy and just man, and rejoiced beyond measure to have seen him, and that he was commonly and publicly held to be holy and just by all the people of Cesena and its neighbourhood, and of Mantua and its neighbourhood, and the fame of his holiness lasted and grew until the end of his life, and up to today. And he said that the said Brother John the Good died an octogenarian, and that he did penance in the order of hermits forty years, and in that order ended his life; the memory of whose holiness flourishes up to the present day at Mantua. And the said witness said that he knew the foregoing by sight and by public hearsay. And the said witness said that he was a good thirty years of age, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, and it is notorious, as has been said.

ANNOTATIONS.

and of Parma, and chaplain of Pope Innocent IV himself. Full of merits, he died in the year 1303 Ughelli, Italia sacra, volume I, column 867..

CHAPTER II.

Testimony of Brothers Jacobinus and Bonacursus.

Brothers Jacobinus and Bonacursus swear to tell the truth; of whom the former "Brother Jacobinus and Brother Bonacursus, hermits of the said order of the convent of Mantua, swore concerning the aforesaid articles to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year and indiction, on the day before the Kalends of November, at Mantua in the court of the lord bishop of Mantua, there being present Master Philip, vicar of the said lord of Mantua, de Igamariis ^a, and Ubertinus, son of the lord bishop, and Lord Bartholomew, judge of the said lord of Mantua, de Igamariis, and Ubertinus, son of Lord Petrus de Liculfis, witnesses." The aforesaid Brother Jacobinus, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath, said that within the last seventeen years he was at the convent of the said order at Cesena, living together with the said Brother John the Good, now for one month, now at times for fifteen days. Asked about his life, he said that the said Brother John the Good had his cell by itself, beside the bounds of the brothers' church, in which he stayed continually day and night, and kept vigil in prayers.

[266] he speaks of the severity of the clothing and diet of Bl. John the Good. And he said that at that time in which he was with the said Brother John the Good, the said Brother John the Good fasted every day, content with very little of the brothers' food and drink, and much less than half of the food and drink of another brother: for the said witness said that he had many times seen his food and drink carried to his cell, and the said Brother John the Good took only of a single dish of the community, and so sparingly as has been said, as he said he had seen. And in the time of Lent, in those times in which the said witness was with him, the said Brother John the Good was content through the whole of Lent with one conventual loaf only and a little drink only, and took nothing else; and this was, as the said witness said, notorious among the brothers. And he said that the said Brother John the Good had at all times only one plank for a bed; and he was content, both in winter and in summer, with one fine woollen cowl, under which he wore linen leggings and one cloth of linen or tow, without sleeves, to guard his flesh lest it be seen, because the cowl was very fine, and also lest a certain disease which he suffered should discharge blood and soil the cowl; and he said that at that time in which the said witness was with the said Brother John the Good, he always went about and stood with bare feet and flesh *, except that at times he wore wooden clogs, and those for the greater affliction of his body; and he always wore a great beard; and that he used meat in the time of great illness, and then moderately. And he said that the said Brother John the Good would in no way use in his illnesses the counsel or help of physicians, saying that the Lord Jesus Christ was his true physician. And he said that he had seen and heard it in the aforesaid times in which the said witness had dealings with him; and these aforesaid things the said witness said he had seen, and that they were notorious among the brothers.

[267] on his faith, his pious exercises and his care for his neighbour, Likewise, asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good often told his brothers, in the witness's hearing, that before all things they should believe and hold the faith of the holy Roman Church, as she believes and holds, and as it is contained in the "I believe in one God," which he said to them in a lay manner, because he was unlettered; and he told them to beware of the excommunicated, and to avoid the Gazari and Patarenes, because they are damned and could not be saved in their state. And the witness said that the said Brother John the Good had a cross and a panel of the blessed Virgin in his cell, and holy water; and daily he heard Mass with great devotion; and every Sunday he communicated in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ with great reverence and much shedding of tears, and he frequently confessed his sins to one of the priests among the brothers, the first he could find, because he did not have any special confessor. And he said that the said Brother John the Good was a great cultivator of the catholic faith. All of which he said he had seen and heard, and that these things were notorious among the brothers. Likewise, asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that he was of upright conduct, and very useful, since he loved his brothers and encouraged them much to the virtues, humility and obedience and poverty, and reproved those who strayed from what they ought to do, and he was very humble, chaste, upright and kindly, and always had his heart toward God, and always the words of God were in his mouth. And the said witness said that he had so heard and seen, as has been said, and that these things were notorious among the brothers.

[268] and also of the fame of his holiness Asked what fame there was of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that there was a very praiseworthy fame of him through Romagna and Lombardy, fame from the time he founded the order of hermits. because he was of holy life, and because the Lord did many and great miracles through him; and many people came to him, as the witness himself saw, and such fame was and grew about him until the end of his life; and that he was the founder of the order of hermit brothers, and in it did penance forty years, and in that order ended his life an octogenarian, as is commonly said among the brothers; and that the witness himself was a priest, and has been a hermit brother of the said order twenty years now, and that the witness himself was a good, almost forty years of age, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not taught or asked, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said above, and because it was so notorious among the brothers.

[269] [Brother Bonacursus relates how sparing Bl. John the Good was in his food and what regimen he kept in the Lenten season,] The aforesaid Brother Bonacursus, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath, said that it is now sixteen years, as he firmly believed, since the witness himself, being a brother in the said order, stayed and lived together with the said Brother John the Good at the convent of the said brothers at Cesena, from the feast of St. Martin of that time until Passion Sunday, in which time he said that he saw the life which the said Brother John the Good was leading. Asked about the life of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that at that time the said Brother John the Good was not quite well; yet at times he did come out of his cell and came to his brothers, ill as he was, and ate sometimes with them in the community, sometimes in his cell. Asked about the quantity and quality of his food and drink, he said that he did not remember the quantity and quality of the food and drink which he took outside Lent, except that he fasted at all times, except on Sundays and in the time of very great illness, in which he ate meat, though very sparingly; nor would he use the counsel of physicians in his illnesses, saying that the Redeemer of the world was his medicine; but in the time of Lent in which the said witness was with him, he said that, the witness himself seeing it, the said Brother John the Good on the first day of Lent took only a little bread, about in the manner of a host; on the second day he took only four parsley roots cooked in the oil in which the brothers' meal was made, and nothing else; on the third day he ate only seven cooked beans, and nothing else; and always, each day, having taken the food just mentioned, he drank a little of the community's wine; on the fourth day he returned to the aforesaid quantity of bread; and on the fifth to the roots, as has been said, and so with each in turn up to Holy Thursday, on which he ate of the brothers' food, and on the following other two days he returned to the said regimen; and this said regimen was evident to the witness himself and to all the other brothers in the said Lent.

[270] [and that out of zeal, not by nature; likewise what was the manner of his clothing and bed;] Asked whether the said Brother John the Good practised the aforesaid abstinence by zeal or by nature, the said witness answered, by zeal and for the affliction of his body. Asked how he knew, he answered that there was there a certain brother, whose name he does not remember, who did not believe that Brother John the Good practised the aforesaid abstinence by zeal but by nature; the said Brother John the Good, to remove that temptation with which that unbeliever was tempted, on one occasion ate more than any other brother; and so that tempted brother afterwards believed that he practised the said abstinence for the affliction of his body. And the said witness said that, the witness himself seeing it, he saw the said Brother John the Good, both in winter and in summer, content with a single fine woollen cowl, under which he wore leggings and one cloth of linen or tow, without sleeves, made somewhat in the manner of a shirt, which he wore, as the witness himself and all the brothers believed, for two reasons: the first, lest his flesh be seen, because the cowl was very fine, as has been said; the second is lest a certain illness which he suffered, discharging blood, should foul the cowl; and that at all times he lay upon a bare plank, and always went about and stood unshod, except that at times he wore wooden clogs, and those for greater affliction, because he was a very old and weak man; and these aforesaid things were notorious and manifest to the witness himself and to all the brothers.

[271] and likewise how he kept true religion and urged others to virtue. Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good told his brothers to believe as the holy Roman Church believes, and that the Patarenes, Gazari and all heretics and excommunicated persons could not be saved in their state, but were sons of the devil; and he said that daily he heard Mass with great devotion, and every Sunday he took the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, shedding many tears, and frequently confessed his sins. Asked how he knew, he answered that he had seen and heard, and that these things were notorious among the brothers. Likewise, asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good was of blessed conduct, since in himself he was peaceable and humble and kindly, and very upright, and chaste; and he said that he loved poverty much; and he instructed his brothers in virtues and good morals; and he reproved those who did not lead the life and keep the rule as they ought; and always the words of God were in his mouth. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, he answered that he had been present when he so spoke to his brothers, and that these things were notorious among the brothers. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that every good opinion and every good belief was held of him among the people and the brothers, and had grown until the end of his life; and that he was the institutor and founder of the order of hermits, and in it did penance forty years, and in it ended his life an octogenarian. And the said witness said that the witness himself was a Mantuan by birth, and that he had stayed in the said order twenty-four years, and that he has testified to the foregoing not taught nor asked, but because he saw and heard that it was so, as he has testified.

ANNOTATION.

* legs

CHAPTER III.

Testimonies of Brothers John and Graecus.

Brother John, having taken the oath, explains how sparing a diet "Brother John, a native of Calesis ^a, of the diocese of Cesena, priest and hermit of the said order, of the convent of Mantua, sworn concerning the aforesaid articles to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year and indiction, on the fourth day before the Nones of November, at Mantua in the palace of the said lord bishop of Mantua, there being present Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Joanninus, member of the household of the said lord bishop, and Brother Rubertus of Cremona, hermit of the same order, witnesses." The aforesaid Brother John, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself has been a hermit brother in the said order twenty-two years now, and has remained so up to the present day; and he stayed with the said Brother John the Good at the convent of Cesena the first time for one continuous year, and afterwards, some time having intervened, from the month of May until the feast of All Saints at the said convent of Cesena; and afterwards sometimes for one month, sometimes less. And so, asked about the life of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that, the witness himself seeing it, the said Brother John the Good fasted at all times except on Sundays and in the time of illness, and that he would not use the counsel of physicians in his illnesses; yet then, when he was gravely ill, he ate a little meat; but in the time of health he ate and drank very moderately, as appeared from the vessels in which food and drink were carried to him at his cell.

[273] [what Bl. John the Good used especially in Lent; and likewise how scanty his clothing;] But in Lent, the said witness said, the said Brother John the Good ate, that Lent in which the said witness was there, in the community with the brothers, and daily the said Brother John the Good ate so little bread that, considering the whole quantity of bread which he ate in that Lent, it was not one conventual loaf; and he ate with it a little of the relish ^b of one dish only, ten times less than any other brother of the community; and likewise he drank moderately of the community's wine: so that all the brothers marvelled. Yet because this was not new among the brothers, they did not marvel so much. Asked whether the said Brother John the Good did this for the greater affliction of his body, the said witness answered yes, since he had seen him eat more on Sundays, for he ate twice on that day. And when certain of the brothers had been tempted to think that the said Brother John the Good did this because he could not eat more, the said Brother John the Good, knowing this, on one occasion had some of the community's meal given him, and then ate like any other brother; and then that tempted brother, freed from the temptation, believed that the said Brother John the Good led that life for the salvation of his soul. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was content at all times with a single fine woollen cowl, under which he wore leggings and one linen cloth without sleeves, because he suffered from haemorrhoids ^c of blood; wherefore it would have spoiled the cowl. And he stood and went unshod at all times, except that at times he wore wooden clogs; and he always lay upon a certain plank. Asked how he knew the foregoing and each of the foregoing, he answered that he had seen it, and that this was manifest among the brothers.

[274] [likewise how sincere he was in religion and how devout above all in receiving the sacraments;] Asked about the faith of Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good was assiduous and watchful in prayers, as it were after first sleep, day and night, in his cell; in which he always stayed, unless he went out of it to encourage his brothers or to speak to some outsider; and he heard Mass daily to the end with great devotion; and when the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ was elevated he shed many tears; and every Sunday he communicated in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, weeping so much that the priest at times had to wait for him a very long while before Brother John the Good could receive it, because of the abundance of his tears; and frequently, almost every day, he confessed his sins to one of the brothers (because he did not have any special confessor). And he detested the Gazari, Patarenes and all heretics and excommunicated persons; and he told his brothers to avoid such, and all those who did not hold the faith of the holy Roman Church, and who did not believe that the lord Pope had the same authority which blessed Peter the apostle had; and he always said many other good things when he was with the brothers.

[275] [and finally how outstanding he was in other virtues, and how highly he was esteemed in the whole order which he had founded.] Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that he was of wonderful conduct, so that one could not have enough of being with him; and he encouraged all, and especially the brothers, to chastity, patience and humility, and to all the other virtues. And Brother John the Good was plain, humble, chaste, quiet, peaceable, and nothing less than good could be found in him, and how approachable he was in his conduct could not be told. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that he was commonly held by all of Mantua and Cesena and other surrounding places to be a man of holy life, and of great religion, and of blessed conduct, and that he was venerated by all as a holy father, and that he was in the said order thirty-three years and more, and that he was of the age of eighty years at the end of his life, and that in the said order he ended his life having received all the sacraments of the Church, and that he was the founder and institutor of the present order. Asked how he knew the foregoing and each of the foregoing, the said witness answered that he had heard and seen it through all things, as has been said, and because it is notorious among the brothers; and that the witness himself has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, and it is notorious among the brothers.

[276] [Brother Graecus, having taken the oath, is heard on the severe diet of Bl. John the Good,] "Brother Grecus de Disendais of Mantua, and Brother Meliorinus de Platina of Cremona, hermits of the said order, swore in the presence of the said examiner concerning the aforesaid articles to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year and indiction, on the third day before the Nones of November, at Mantua in the palace of the said lord bishop, there being present the lords Philip, vicar of the said lord bishop, and Albizus, canon of Pecciolo, and Brother Robertus of Cremona, hermit of the said order, witnesses." The aforesaid Brother Grecus, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath, said that it is now twenty-two years, as he said he firmly believed, since he became a hermit brother in the said order, and that it is now five years since he lived together and stayed with Brother John the Good from the entry of Lent, about seven days, continuously until Pentecost. Asked about the life of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that he fasted at all times except on Sundays and in the time of illness, in which he ate meat, though only when the greatest necessity pressed; and he said that outside Lent, in the time of health, he used very strict food and drink, as appeared from the little vessels in which food and drink were carried to him at his cell; and the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good took a certain conventual loaf at the beginning of Lent, from which he made many little round pieces in the manner of a host, but somewhat larger and thicker than a host; and he took one of those pieces each day, and nothing else except a little drink; and yet at times he chewed a leaf of sage (yet he did not swallow its substance) for the guarding of his breath; and he carried on this kind of life through the whole of that Lent,

in which the said witness was with him, up to Holy Thursday; on which, being asked by the brothers, who said that the Lord Jesus on such a day ate with his disciples, Brother John the Good himself likewise ate on that day a little of the relish ^d of the community, and of one dish only, yet in his cell.

[277] especially within Lent; The said witness said that on that day the said Brother John the Good took the remains of the said bread on which he had lived through the whole of Lent and sent them to the brothers; which the brothers received with great devotion, and some ate their pieces, and some have kept their portions up to the present day; the said witness, however, ate his, as he said. Asked about the ground of his knowledge of the aforesaid abstinence, he answered that he had seen it; and he said that it was manifest and notorious among the brothers, and that the said Brother John the Good in past Lents had led such and a similar life, and in very many Lents had used a stricter one. Asked whether the said Brother John the Good practised abstinence of this kind from coldness of the stomach, or deliberately, that he might afflict himself the more, the said witness answered, deliberately. Asked how he knew that he did it for this reason, he answered, because outside Lent he ate more, though not much, and on Sundays he ate more, and because it was notorious and manifest among the brothers that he did it for the love of God and the salvation of his soul.

[278] likewise on his clothing and pious exercises; Likewise the said witness said that, the witness himself seeing it, the said Brother John the Good, both in winter and in summer, was content with only a single fine woollen cowl, under which he wore linen leggings and a certain cloth of linen or tow, and this he wore lest the flow of the haemorrhoids ^e which he suffered should soil his cowl. And he said that he was unshod at all times, with bare feet and legs, except that at times he wore wooden clogs, and those (as the brothers said) for the greater affliction of his body. And he said that, the witness himself seeing it, the said Brother John the Good always lay upon a bare plank, keeping nothing over him or under him, as the witness himself saw when he entered his cell, and because this was manifest among the brothers. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good, when healthy, lay down little, but always kept vigil and prayed, as the witness himself saw when he entered the cell of the said Brother John the Good, called by him to hear the said brother's confession. The witness himself said that there were in the aforesaid cell hollows in which the said Brother John the Good put his knees and feet and hands when he prayed; and those hollows or traces had been made by his very great frequency in praying. And he had there a cross, before which he prayed, as the witness himself said he had seen the foregoing, and that these things were notorious among the brothers. Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that he was a man of holy life, and that daily he heard Mass to the end, and shed tears beyond measure when the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ was elevated, and, having heard Mass, he returned to his cell, praying there always and keeping watch toward God, and that every Sunday he communicated in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ; and he frequently confessed to one of the brothers, nor did he have any special confessor; and he was assiduous in prayers in his said cell, which was beside the bounds of the brothers' church; and there was there a certain window, by which, when opened, the cell of the said Brother John the Good could be seen; whence the common opinion of the brothers was and is that for that reason the said Brother John the Good rarely came into the church for the other day and night hours, except for Mass, as has been said; because if the brothers said the offices by reading, he could hear them from his cell.

[279] on his ignorance of letters, his silence and his zeal for the true faith; And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was unlettered, except that he knew the "I believe in one God," and the "Have mercy on me, O God," and his other prayers. And the said witness said that on the day on which the said brother communicated, and in Lent, he was in the greatest silence; so that unless the greatest necessity pressed, he would not speak to any of the brothers or of the outsiders. And the said witness said that when the said Brother John the Good spoke to any outsider, he at once had himself absolved, if he had sinned in anything in that conversation; and the said witness said that in such a case the said Brother John the Good, at other times also, frequently confessed to the witness himself (because he was a priest). Likewise the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was a cultivator of the catholic faith, who told his brothers, in the witness's hearing, to believe firmly the articles of the catholic faith, and to hold and believe as the holy Roman Church holds and believes, because he himself so believed and held; and he warned his said brothers to avoid all heretics, and the Gazari and Patarenes and excommunicated persons, because in that state they could not be saved. Likewise he always warned and encouraged his brothers to all virtues and every good work. Asked how he knew the foregoing and each of the foregoing, the said witness answered that he had so heard and seen and been present, and that it was notorious among the brothers.

[280] and finally on his holy conduct and fame. Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that, the witness himself seeing it, he was gentle and fruitful and full of all virtues: so that one could not have enough of being with him, and that all who conversed with him revered him as a holy father; and much devotion and reverence was shown him by all. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that every good fame and every good belief was held of him at Mantua and at Cesena and through the whole province; so that numberless people came to see, hear and touch him; and such fame was and grew about him until the end of his life. And he said that the said Brother John the Good stayed in the aforesaid order forty years or nearly, as the witness said he firmly believed; in which order he ended his life almost an octogenarian, as Brother John the Good himself used to say in the witness's hearing, having received all the sacraments of the Church; and the said witness said that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard and was present, as has been said, and because all these things are notorious among the brothers.

ANNOTATIONS.

e. See annotation c.

CHAPTER IV.

Testimonies of Brothers Meliorinus and Ventura.

[Brother Meliorinus gives testimony on the severe manner of clothing and bed of Bl. John the Good;] The aforesaid Brother Meliorinus, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself had now been about seven years in the order, and that he had been, and was, a priest for two years now and more. And he said that the witness himself stayed with Brother John the Good at the convent of Cesena five years ago now, and stayed with him from the feast of All Saints until the Kalends of September. Asked about the life of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that, the witness himself seeing it, the said Brother John the Good went about and stood at all times unshod, and with bare legs and feet, except that at times he wore wooden clogs. And the said witness said that, the witness himself seeing it, the said Brother John the Good used a certain wooden bench for a bed, keeping nothing over him or under him except the cowl which he wore, and with which he was content at all times, both in winter and in summer, both by day and by night; under which he wore linen leggings and a certain cloth of linen or tow made in the manner of a shirt; and this cloth he wore for two reasons, as was said among the brothers: namely, lest his flesh be seen, because the cowl was woollen and very fine, and lest the said cowl be soiled by the blood which came out from a certain illness which he suffered. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, he answered that he had seen them, and that these aforesaid things were notorious among the brothers.

[282] on his faith, his piety, Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that the said Brother John the Good had his cell on the side of the tribune ^a of the brothers' church, in which he stayed day and night, assiduous in prayer and contemplation, and in which he had a cross, before which he prayed. And he said that there appeared there the shapes and traces of knees, hands and feet before the cross, which he made from his so great frequency in praying; and he said that his cell was so near the brothers' church that from it he could hear all the day and night hours; and from which cell he came out

every morning, and came to hear Mass, which he heard to the end with great devotion and reverence; and when the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ was elevated he shed tears and wept so much that it could scarcely be told. And the said witness said that when he brought him the Body of the Lord, or gave him the peace, he often found him shedding tears and weeping. And he said that when on Sunday he took the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ he did it with great devotion and shedding of tears. And he said that on the day on which he communicated he especially kept silence and separation from outsiders, unless the greatest necessity of speaking to some outsider pressed. And the said witness said that he frequently confessed his sins, nor did he have any special confessor; and the said Brother John the Good told his brothers to believe in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, creator of things visible and invisible, and in our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, and in all the articles of the catholic faith, as the holy Roman Church sings the "I believe in one God"; and especially he spoke of the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they should have the greatest faith and trust in it, because it was truly the salvation of the world; and he detested and confounded publicly and openly the Gazari, Patarenes, and all heretics and excommunicated persons; and he told the brothers to beware of these and to avoid them. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness said that he had heard all these things and been present, and that it was notorious among the brothers.

[283] his fasts Likewise, asked about the life of Brother John the Good, the said witness said that he fasted at all times except on Sundays and in the time of illness; in which, when he laboured gravely, he ate a little meat; nor would he in his illnesses use the counsel of physicians, saying that the Lord Jesus Christ was his true physician, and that of the whole human race. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good outside Lent used very sparing food and drink, so that it could scarcely be told. But in the Lent in which the said witness was with him, he said that the said Brother John the Good, for thirteen days at the entry of Lent, used the conventual food and drink moderately and temperately; and from then onward he took each day for food a quantity of bread in the manner of a host, and nothing else except a little drink, up to Holy Thursday, on which he used the brothers' food. Likewise the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good kept greater silence and solitude in the time of Lent than at other times. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, he said that he had seen the foregoing, and that these things were notorious among the brothers.

[284] and his holiness in general. Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that, the witness himself seeing and hearing it, the said Brother John the Good came out of his cell to his brothers and told them to have charity among themselves, and exhorted them to patience and perseverance and to other good works; and he corrected those who did not conduct themselves well; and he was humble, gentle, sweet, and in short had in himself all virtues, so that the witness of himself could not tell it. Likewise, asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that every good opinion, fame and belief was held of him through the whole province and all the surrounding parts, and he was held by the brothers and by all other people to be a man of God and truly just; and that through diverse parts many people ran to see him as a holy father, and such fame and opinion grew about him until the end of his life; and that he did penance in the said order, according to the common belief of the brothers, for forty years, and that he was the founder and institutor of the said order; and in it, having received the sacraments of the Church, the blessed man ended his life; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, and knew it to be the truth of the matter.

[285] [Brother Ventura, having taken the oath, testifies how sparing a diet Bl. John the Good used,] "Brother Ventura, hermit of the said order and priest, as he said, a Mantuan by birth, and of the convent of …, swore, having touched the most holy Gospels, in the presence of the said examiner, concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year and indiction, on the second day before the Nones of November, at Mantua in the palace of the said lord bishop of Mantua, there being present the priest Bongianus, chaplain of the said lord bishop, and Joannes, notary, of Castronovo, member of the household of the said lord bishop, and Lord Albizus, canon of the pieve of Pecciolo, witnesses." Brother Ventura, hermit of the said order, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself was a good forty years old, and that he had now stayed in the said order a good twenty-four years; and that six years had now elapsed since the witness himself stayed at the convent of Cesena with the said Brother John the Good eighteen months together the first time; and afterwards, some times having intervened, the said witness stayed with the same brother six months; in which eighteen and six months the said witness, as he said, kept two Lents with the said Brother John the Good. Asked about the life of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that at all times, except on Sundays, he fasted, and except in the time of illness, in which, when necessity pressed, he sometimes ate meat, though little. And the said witness said that outside Lent the said Brother John the Good used very sparingly one dish of the brothers' kitchen and a little drink, once a day, as has been said, in the time of health.

[286] especially in the time of Lent; And the said witness said that in the first Lent in which the said witness stayed with the said Brother John the Good, the said brother used a single dish only, and the brothers' drink, much more sparingly than he would use them at other times. But in the second Lent in which the said witness was with him, which was the last Lent that the said Brother John the Good kept before he ended his life, the said Brother John the Good for a good thirteen days at the entry of that Lent used the conventual food and drink, of one dish only, very sparingly, as has been said above. But at the end of the aforesaid thirteen days the said Brother John the Good took one conventual loaf, from which he made many small round pieces in the manner of a host, though larger than hosts; and each day of the remaining Lent he took only one of those pieces of bread and a little of the conventual drink, and nothing else, up to Holy Thursday; and on that day he took the pieces of the same bread which he had not eaten and gave them to the brothers, who however ate them with reverence; and some of them ate their pieces, some have kept them up to the present day; the said witness, however, ate his, as he said; and on that Thursday he ate of one dish of the brothers' food, and drank of the community's wine very moderately and sparingly, as has been said; but on the two following days he led the same life which he had led in Lent. Asked whether the said Brother John the Good could have eaten more, the said witness answered yes, because at other times outside Lent he ate more, though little, and on Sundays, on which he ate twice a day. Asked whether the said Brother John the Good used other foods and drinks than those of which mention has been made, secretly or openly, he answered no, because if he had done this it would have become evident to the brothers in some way. Asked how he knew the foregoing, he answered that he had seen and heard the foregoing, and that these things were notorious among the brothers.

[287] likewise how hard his diet and bed; And the said witness said that the said John the Good was content at all times with a single fine woollen cowl, and he wore linen leggings and a certain cloth without sleeves in the manner of a shirt, by reason of a certain illness flowing with blood which would soil the cowl, and also lest his flesh be seen because of the fineness of the cowl; and he wore nothing on his feet or legs, but was always unshod, except that at times he wore wooden clogs, and those for greater affliction, as was said among the brothers. And he said that he always had a great beard, nor would he use fire except in the time of great illness, and he had a certain board for a bed, keeping nothing over him or under him except the said cowl. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness said that he had seen the foregoing at the time when he was with the said Brother John the Good, and that it was notorious among the brothers.

[288] likewise how he showed his faith in spiritual exercises Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that, the witness himself seeing it, the said Brother John the Good heard Mass daily with great devotion, and shed tears and wept much when he saw the Body of Christ on the altar; and every Sunday he communicated in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ with such shedding of tears and devotion that it could not be told; so that when the said witness gave him communion, he sometimes saw the ground wet with tears. And the said witness said that, the witness himself seeing it, the said Brother John the Good frequently confessed his sins to one of the brothers, and at times to the witness himself; nor did he have any special confessor; and the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good rarely went out of his cell, in which he was continually keeping vigil in prayers, and in it he always had a cross and an icon of the blessed Virgin Mary, and holy water. And the said witness said that there appeared the shapes which the said Brother John the Good had made, and was making, with his hands, knees and feet before the said cross and icon, because of his very great frequency in praying.

[289] and in exhortations against those who went astray; And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good did not come into the brothers' church for the other day and night hours for this reason, that his cell was beside the tribunes of the brothers' church, from which he could well hear the brothers' divine office, even if the brothers said it by reading. To Mass he always came, as has been said, and to Vespers at times, on Sundays, Easter-time days ^b and feast days. And he said that the said Brother John the Good was unlettered; yet he knew certain psalms and prayers, and the "I believe in one God," and other virtues, and the Our

Father and the Hail Mary ^c. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was a guardian of the catholic faith, because he said to his brothers: "You must believe, and do you believe, all the articles of the catholic faith, as they are contained in the 'I believe in one God,' and as the holy Roman Church believes and holds; and you must confound and avoid (as far as you can) the Gazari, Patarenes and all heretics and excommunicated persons"; and that they can never be saved in their state. And he said publicly and openly to the envoys and vicars of Frederick, son of the late emperor, who were at Cesena, and to the supporters of the said Frederick and his envoys who came from other parts to see him: "You are excommunicated, and your lord is excommunicated, and neither he nor you can be saved unless you return to the command of the Church and of the lord Pope."

[290] and how much he cared to perfect himself and others. Asked how the said witness knew the foregoing, he answered that he had heard and been present at the foregoing. Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was of wonderful conduct, since he was humble, kindly, peaceable, and encouraged his brothers to patience and perseverance and poverty and to all good virtues, and consoled those who were tempted or troubled from any cause, and reproved those who conducted themselves badly, and brought them back by his admonitions to the right way; and he kept the same manner with outsiders who came to see him. And always words of God, honeyed and of edification, were in his mouth; nor could anyone have enough of being with him; nor was anyone so fallen that he was not raised up by him, nor so troubled that he did not console him, as the witness himself said he had many times heard and been present. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the odour of his good fame and good repute was fragrant among the brothers and among all the people of the surrounding neighbourhoods, and all were filled with the odour of his holiness. And he said that the said Brother John the Good at the time of his death was eighty years old, as he believed. And he was in the order of hermits a good forty years, as is commonly believed by the brothers; and he was the institutor and founder of the said order, in which, having received all the sacraments of the Church, he ended his life blessedly and with a great fame of holiness. And the said witness has testified to the foregoing not taught nor asked, but because he so saw and heard, and knew it to be the truth of the matter, and because, as has been said, it is notorious among the brothers.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER V.

Testimonies of Brothers John, Benvenutus and Thaddaeus.

[Brother John, having taken the oath, explains the severity of Bl. John the Good in bed, clothing,] "Brother John, a layman, a Mantuan by birth, hermit of the said order, of the convent of Mantua, swore concerning the aforesaid articles in the presence of the said examiner to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year and indiction, on the second day before the Nones of November, at Mantua in the chapter of the convent of the said hermits, there being present Brother Lanfrancus, prior general of the said order, and Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and several others, called as witnesses." The aforesaid Brother John, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath about the life of the said Brother John the Good, said that the witness himself was sixty years old and more. And the witness himself said that, as he believed, he had stayed in the said order thirty years, and that he stayed with the said Brother John the Good about the end of his life, namely of the said Brother John the Good, at the convent of Cesena for ten years continuously. Asked on his oath about the life of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good had his cell, in which he was almost continually and solitary in the time of health; in which he lay upon a bare plank, and had no other bed, and kept nothing over him, except that he was clothed in a certain fine woollen cowl, with which he was content at all times, both by day and by night; and he lay and slept until first sleep was complete, and afterwards rose, and kept vigil, and prayed. And he had in his said cell a cross and a panel on which was painted the figure of the blessed Virgin Mary, and holy water. And he said that at all times he went about and stood unshod, except that at times he wore wooden clogs.

[292] his fasts, especially in Lent; likewise his piety, And he said that at all times he fasted, except on Sundays and in the time of illness; and he was content with so little food and drink that one of the other brothers would have eaten at one time as much as he ate through the whole week. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good in the time of Lent used daily the quantity of bread of one host and a little of the community's drink; and he kept silence and solitude more than at other times, except the last Lent, at the beginning of which, because he was not quite well, he ate three ounces of bread in thirteen days, and afterwards turned to the former custom of the other Lents. But in the time of very great illness he ate meat very sparingly, nor did he use fire except in very great illnesses, nor at any time did he use the counsel of physicians, saying that our Lord Jesus Christ was his medicine. Asked how he knew the foregoing and each of the foregoing, the said witness answered that in those times in which he was with him he had seen and been present, and that these things were notorious among the brothers. Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that he was continually in his cell, both by day and by night; from which he rarely came out, unless he came to console his brothers, or to speak to some outsider who asked for him, or to hear Mass, which he heard every day (if he was well) to the end with great devotion; and he shed many tears when he saw the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ elevated; and every Sunday he communicated in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, shedding many tears; and he kept such great silence on the day on which he took the Body of the Lord that, unless the greatest necessity pressed, he spoke to no one.

[293] his faith, his use of the sacraments, And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good venerated and cultivated the catholic faith, telling the brothers and others that all men who wished to be saved must believe and hold as the holy Roman Church believes and holds; and he said publicly and openly that the Gazari and Patarenes and other heretics and excommunicated persons could not be saved in their state unless they returned to the faith and to the command of the holy Roman Church. Likewise he said and declared to Enzo, son ^a of Frederick the late emperor, and to his other envoys and vicars and podestàs who were sent to Cesena: "You are excommunicated, and your lord is excommunicated; and you have no power of judging; and you cannot be saved, nor your lord who sent you, unless you return to the command of the lord Pope and of the holy Roman Church." And when he spoke to such men, he immediately had himself absolved ^b. And he frequently confessed his sins to one priest among the brothers of the convent. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness said that he saw and heard and was present at all the foregoing and each of the foregoing, and because they were notorious among the brothers in those times in which the said witness was with him.

[294] and his manner of dealing with his neighbour. Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was humble, gentle and sweet, and a chastiser and reprover of those who did not conduct themselves well, and he encouraged his brothers to patience, perseverance, chastity, uprightness and continence; and he consoled them in their tribulations; and he was full of all good virtues, so that it could in no way be told. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that he could not tell it in any way, because he was loved by all and honoured, both by the whole neighbourhood in which he was and by all round about; and many people came with great desire to see and hear him; and this befell him and grew until the end of his life. Asked about the ground of his knowledge of all these statements, the witness said that he had heard and seen, and that they were notorious among the brothers. And the said witness said that at the time when he was with the said Brother John the Good, he saw the said Brother John the Good suffer tribulations and persecutions from the Friars Minor, who took away the brothers of the said Brother John the Good and brought them to their own rule; which persecution and tribulation he bore patiently; and he returned them good for evil, the witness himself seeing it, because he always sent them some of his own things; and he commanded his brothers to do the like. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was the institutor and founder of the said order, and that he was an octogenarian at the time of his death; and in the said order he had stayed and done penance forty years, and there ended his life, having received all the sacraments of the Church, the witness himself seeing it; and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because, the witness himself seeing and hearing it, the truth of the matter is so, and because these foregoing things and many other good things about him are notorious among the brothers.

[295] Brother Benvenutus, having taken "Brother Benvenutus, a layman, hermit of the said order, of the convent of Faenza, swore in the presence of the aforesaid examiner concerning the foregoing to tell

the truth, the oath, testifies to the fasts which he knew, and to keep silent any lie, in the said year and indiction, on the very day of the Nones of November, at Mantua in the palace of the said lord bishop, in the presence of the priest Bongiannes, chaplain of the said lord bishop, and Lord Albizus, canon of the pieve of Pecciolo of the diocese of Volterra, and Brother Rubertus of Cremona, hermit of the said order, witnesses." The aforesaid Brother Benvenutus, a witness questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself was a native of Cesena, and that it is now a good twenty years and more since he was in the aforesaid order, and that the witness himself was of the age of thirty-six years. And he said that the witness himself was continuously for one year with Brother John the Good near the end of the life of the said Brother John the Good at the convent of Cesena, and served him, and had previously stayed with the same, some time having intervened, for another year. Asked about the life of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that he fasted at all times except on Sundays and in the time of great illness. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good used in his fast very little food and drink, because the witness himself carried it to him, as he said, since he was appointed to serve him.

[296] especially in Lent, on his cheap clothing, Asked about the quantity of his food and drink, he answered that it was much less than half of the food and drink of another brother. Asked about the time of Lent, what life the said Brother John the Good led, the said witness said: a very little bread each day, and nothing else, about the quantity of one host, and he drank a little of the community's wine, except on Fridays and the vigils of the apostles, and as it were on the vigils of all *, on which he fasted on bread and water only. Asked how he knew, the said witness said that he had seen it when he served him; and the said witness said that in Lent, and on the day on which he took the Body of Christ, the said Brother John kept silence, so that he spoke to almost no one, if he could do otherwise. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good lay upon one plank only at all times, keeping nothing over him or under him except a certain cowl, with which he was content at all times, both by day and by night; and he wore linen leggings and a certain cloth of linen or tow under the cowl, from the fact that the cowl was very fine; without which cloth his flesh was seen, and without which his cowl was soiled because of the illness, discharging blood, which he suffered; and he wore nothing on his legs or on his feet, but went about unshod at all times, except that at times he wore wooden clogs. Asked how he knew, the said witness said that he had seen it, because he was continually serving the said Brother John the Good, and that these things were notorious among the brothers.

[297] on the faith, piety and holy conduct of Bl. John the Good. Asked about the faith of Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was continually in his cell in vigils and prayers; and he had there a cross and a panel on which was the image of blessed Mary, and holy water; and from which he rarely came out, unless he came to hear Mass, which he heard every day with great devotion, or to encourage the brothers to perseverance and poverty and to all good virtues. And he communicated every Sunday, having first poured out many tears and frequent sighs, and he frequently confessed his sins to one priest among the brothers. And he told the brothers and others with whom he spoke to love [and] hold the catholic faith and keep it, and to avoid all heretics and excommunicated persons. Asked how he knew the foregoing, the said witness said that he had so heard and seen, and that it was notorious among the brothers. Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was humble, chaste, cheerful, a lover of the brothers, kindly, and had in himself all good virtues, and no idle word was in his mouth, as the witness himself saw and heard. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the brothers and all the people who came to him from the surrounding provinces held him in great reverence and devotion, and venerated him, and held him a holy and just father; and such fame was and grew about him until the end of his life. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was the founder of the aforesaid order; and in it, he believed, he did penance forty years; and in it, having received (the witness himself seeing it) all the sacraments of the Church, he ended his life an octogenarian; and that the witness himself has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, and it is notorious among the brothers.

[298] Brother Thaddaeus gives testimony on his sparing diet, "Brother Thaddeus, a layman, hermit of the said order, of the convent of Cesena, a native of Collina ^c of the diocese of Cesena, and Brother Jacobus, a layman, hermit of the same order, of the convent of Poncelia of the diocese of Forlimpopoli ^d, a native of Cesena, swore concerning the aforesaid articles to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the lord examiner, in the same year and indiction, on the very day of the Nones of November, in the palace of the lord bishop of Mantua, namely at Mantua, in the presence of Lord Philip, vicar of the said lord bishop, and Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli of the diocese of Volterra, and Bonifacius, son of Bonjoannes of Piacenza, witnesses."

The aforesaid Brother Thaddeus, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself had been in the said order twenty years now elapsed, and that the witness himself believed he was thirty years old and more. Asked about the life of the said Brother John the Good, the witness himself said that over several spells he stayed and lived together with the said Brother John the Good for three years, at times for two years, a shorter time, in which times the said Brother John the Good fasted at all times, except on Sundays and in the time of illness; in which fast of his, the said witness said, he saw the said Brother John the Good use a single dish, and a seventh part less than any other brother; but in the time of Lent he led a rather stricter and harder life, beyond what the witness himself could tell, in food, drink, silence, solitude and many other things.

[299] on his scanty clothing, on his piety. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was content with a single fine woollen cowl, both in winter and in summer, under which he wore linen leggings and a certain cloth of linen or of tow, because of a certain illness of his flowing with blood; and he wore nothing on his feet or legs at any time, except at times wooden clogs; and he lay upon one board only at all times, and always wore a great and long beard; and the said Brother John the Good had in his cell a cross, before which he prayed, and holy water. The said witness, being asked, said that he had seen the foregoing and each of the foregoing, and that they were notorious among the brothers. Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good had his cell separated from the brothers' church by a small space, from which he could hear the divine offices, and he did hear them. He entered the church daily only to hear Mass, which he heard with great devotion; and he communicated every Sunday in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ with great reverence, shedding many tears, and he frequently confessed his sins to one of the brothers who were priests.

[300] on the care of his neighbour and the fame of holiness of Bl. John the Good. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good encouraged his brothers to fear and honour the holy Roman Church, and to believe and hold as she believed and held, in all things and through all things, and to beware of the Gazari and Patarenes and of all heretics, because they were lost and could not be saved in their state, as the witness himself said he had heard the said Brother John the Good utter such and similar things several times. Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was plain, gentle, humble, patient, continent, chaste, a lover of justice, and encouraged his brothers to perseverance and patience and to all good virtues, and reproved brothers who sinned and conducted themselves badly. And the said witness said that he had heard and been present at the foregoing, and that it was notorious among the brothers. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that his fame was such that the surrounding people came to him to see and hear and touch him as a just and holy man, and that such fame and opinion grew and was about him until the end of his life, always increasing from good to better, so that it could not be told by mouth, as the witness himself saw and heard. And he said that the said Brother John the Good was the founder and institutor of the said order, according to what the brothers commonly say, and other people; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this is the truth of the matter.

ANNOTATIONS.

* omnibus [all]

CHAPTER VI.

Testimonies of Brothers Jacobus and Ardizzio.

[Brother Jacobus confirms how hard Bl. John the Good was on himself in diet and clothing;] The aforesaid Brother Jacobus, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath, said that he has been in the said order of hermits twenty years now elapsed, and that he was of the age of thirty-six years. And the witness himself said that at the end of the said Brother John the Good he lived together and stayed with him for seven continuous years. Asked about his life, he said that, the witness himself seeing it and serving the said brother, Brother John the Good fasted at all times except on Sundays, and used little food and drink, more than half less than any other brother; and in the last Lent but one of his life he used each day one host for food, and a little drink; and in the last Lent of his life he used each day another quantity of bread in the manner of a host, and a little drink, and nothing else, up to Holy Thursday; and on that day he ate of the brothers' food and drink very sparingly in his cell, and of the rest of his bread, on which he had eaten through the whole of Lent, he sent to his brothers. And the said witness said that, the witness himself seeing it, the said Brother John the Good lay at all times upon a bare plank, and wore on his back a fine woollen cowl, and went about without stockings and unshod at all times, except that at times he wore wooden clogs; and he always wore a very great beard; and that in the time of Lent he kept greater silence and solitude than at other times. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness said that he had seen the foregoing, and that these things were notorious among the brothers.

[302] how devoted he was to the true faith, and desirous of the salvation of others; Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was continually in his cell, instant in vigils and prayers day and night; and he communicated every Sunday in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ with much shedding of tears, and kept silence on the day of his communion; and he confessed his sins frequently, sometimes to one, sometimes to another of the priests among the brothers, nor did he have any special confessor. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was a very great cultivator of the catholic faith, because he said, in the witness's hearing, that all who wished to be saved must believe and hold as the holy Roman Church believes and holds, and as is contained in the "I believe in one God." And he detested and confounded all heretics and excommunicated persons, and especially Frederick, the late emperor, and his envoys and vicars and podestàs who were sent to Cesena by him; to whom he said that they were accursed and excommunicated, and that they could not be saved unless they returned to the command of the holy Roman Church and of the lord Pope. And he warned and encouraged his brothers in every good thing, and reproved those who did not conduct themselves well. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness said that he had heard and seen the foregoing, and that these things were notorious among the brothers.

[303] and how strong he was in other virtues Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was humble, plain, chaste, a lover of the brothers, and a man containing in himself all good virtues; and he was of such conduct that no one could have enough of being with him, as the witness himself several times saw and heard. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that there was fame of him that he was a holy and just man, and many people went and came to him as to a holy father; and so he was held, ever increasingly, until the end of his life; and so he is held today. And the said witness said that the said brother at the time of his death was eighty years old, and that the said Brother John the Good had done penance forty years in the order of hermits, of which Brother John the Good himself was the institutor and founder, and in it he ended his life; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard and was present, and because all these things are notorious among the brothers.

[304] Brother Ardizzio testifies to his sparing diet, "Brother Ardizzione, a Mantuan by birth, priest and hermit of the said order, of the convent of Mantua, swore concerning the aforesaid articles in the presence of the aforesaid examiner to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year and indiction, on the eighth day before the Ides of November, at Mantua in the palace of the said lord bishop of Mantua, in the presence of Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Bernardus, member of the household of the said lord bishop, and Brother Ventura, hermit of the said order, witnesses."

The aforesaid Brother Ardizzione, sworn concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself had been a hermit of the said order thirty years now elapsed, and more, and that he has been a priest twenty-seven years now elapsed, and that the witness himself stayed with the said Brother John the Good about the beginning of the witness's entry, at Cesena in the convent of the hermit brothers, for six continuous years and more, and afterwards on very many occasions, sometimes for six months, sometimes for one year, sometimes less. Asked about his life, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good fasted at all times, both in winter and in summer, except on Sundays and in the time of illness; in which he used meat, though very sparingly. And he said that the said Brother John the Good used outside Lent the food and drink of the brothers, though by a third part and more (as it seemed to the witness himself) less than any other brother.

[305] his Lents, his clothing, Asked whether the said Brother John the Good in the time of Lent led a stricter life, the said witness answered, yes, much, in silence, solitude, food and drink; but he said that he did not know by sight, because Brother John the Good ate in his cell, and remained solitary and shut in; yet it was publicly said among the brothers that he led a most strict life. And he said that when, on Holy Thursday, the said Brother John the Good sent to the brothers at table the remains of a certain conventual loaf, which alone he had used through the whole of Lent, and nothing else, as was notorious among the brothers, that the brothers might eat them, the witness himself ate his portion. Asked whether the said Brother John the Good led such a life in all Lents, the said witness answered that, according as the said Brother John the Good was more or less well, he led in the time of Lent a strict, and a stricter and harsher, life. Asked whether the said Brother John the Good could have eaten and drunk more than he ate and drank, the said witness answered yes. Asked how he knew, he answered that the witness himself saw him eat enough, and more than usual, in order to resolve the doubt of certain brothers who were tempted, saying to one another that he could not eat more because he had a narrow gut ^a; which being seen, the temptation and murmuring of the said brothers ceased. And the same witness also said that the said Brother John the Good used through all that time in which the said witness was with him, the witness himself seeing it, only a single fine woollen cowl, both in winter and in summer, which today can be seen kept by his brothers in a certain chest ^b; under which he wore nothing but linen leggings and a certain cloth of linen or of tow for the guarding of the cowl, lest it be fouled by a certain illness which he suffered; and he always went about with bare legs and feet, but at times he wore wooden clogs; and he always wore a great and white beard; and he was content for a bed with only a bare plank, keeping nothing over him or under him except the aforesaid cowl; nor did he use fire except in the time of very great illness. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness answered that in those times in which he lived together with him he had seen the foregoing, and that these things were notorious and manifest among the brothers, and because his cell was neat and clean, and in it nothing else appeared for the sustenance of the body, as the witness himself said he had frequently seen.

[306] his piety, the sacrament of the Eucharist, And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good would in no way use the counsel of physicians. And when his brothers pressed him much, he adduced to them the example of blessed Agatha: "I have never applied carnal medicine," etc.; but in a lay manner, because he knew little of letters ^c. Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was continually in his cell, keeping vigil in prayers day and night, in which he had a cross and an icon of the blessed Virgin Mary, before which he prayed, and holy water; and daily he entered the church and heard the whole Mass with great devotion; and when the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ was elevated he had his eyes on it with joined hands, shedding numberless tears; and every Sunday he communicated in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ with great reverence and many tears, so that the priest giving him communion had to wait for him a good while before he could receive the Body of Christ because of his many tears. And the witness himself said that he had given him communion frequently, and had often seen all the foregoing.

[307] his use of penance, his prayers Likewise the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good frequently confessed his sins to some one of the priests among the brothers, and not specially to one more than another, but to the one whom he could first find; and the witness himself said that he had at times been his confessor, and had frequently seen him confess. Likewise the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was a cultivator of the catholic faith, saying in his prayers the whole "I believe in one God," and the Our Father, and the "Have mercy on me, O God," and other good prayers, according as an unlettered man could say them. And he frequently told his brothers that they ought so to believe firmly through all things, as was contained in the "I believe in one God"; and he abominated and confounded publicly and openly the Gazari, Patarenes, and all heretics of both sexes and excommunicated persons, saying publicly and openly that they could not be saved in their state unless they returned to the unity and command of the holy Roman Church. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness answered

that he had been present at the foregoing and heard them, and that they were notorious among the brothers and other people of Cesena and Mantua. And the said witness said that he had frequently heard the said Brother John the Good say: "Frederick, formerly emperor, was accursed and excommunicated, both he and all his followers, because they were rebels against the lord Pope and the holy Roman Church."

[308] and the holy conduct of Bl. John the Good. Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good was humble, quiet, peaceable, kindly, chaste, upright, patient, and a cheerful consoler of his sorrowful brothers and of others; and he encouraged his brothers to the virtues, chastity, uprightness, patience, perseverance, and to the faith and to all good works; and he reproved and rebuked those who did not conduct themselves well, and encouraged those who were tempted; and he was a lover of charity, peace and poverty, and very approachable; and words always of edification and of the virtues, and not idle ones, were in his mouth. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness said that he had frequently been present and heard the foregoing, and that it was so manifest among the brothers. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that there was a fame of holiness, justice and truth about him at Cesena and at Mantua and through the whole province; and the odour of his goodness was fragrant to all round about, so that clerics and laymen, religious and seculars, men and women without number, came from many parts to hear, see and touch him as a just and holy man, and so that Armenians ^d passing by touched him with reverence as a saint: all of which the said witness, being asked, said he had seen; and the odour of that fame and repute persevered and grew until the end of his life; and he said that the foregoing were notorious and manifest among the brothers, and at Cesena and at Mantua, and in the whole neighbourhood. And he said that at the time of his death the said Brother John the Good was eighty years old, and that he had done penance in the order of hermits forty years, and that he was the founder and institutor of the order of hermits, and in it ended his life; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but with the truth of his knowledge from sight going before, and because all these things are so manifest and notorious among the brothers.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VII.

Testimony of Brothers Marcus and Jacobinus.

Brother Marcus, formerly provincial, speaks of his fasts, "Brother Marcus, a native of Cesena, prior of the hermit brothers of the convent of Rimini ^a, swore concerning the aforesaid articles in the presence of the aforesaid examiner to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year and indiction, on the eighth day before the Ides of November, at Mantua in the palace of the lord bishop of Mantua, there being present Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Brother Rubertus of Cremona, hermit of the said order, and Vivaldinus, son of Graziadeus of Mantua, witnesses." The aforesaid Brother Marcus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself was a good forty years old, and that he had been a hermit thirty years now and more, and that the witness himself had been a priest eighteen years now elapsed, and that he lived together with Brother John the Good for seven years and more, staying with him over several spells, and living with him continuously three years, and likewise sometimes more and sometimes less in the said time of seven years; in which times the witness himself was at one time prior provincial, at another conventual prior, of the said order. Asked about the life of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good fasted at all times, except on Sundays and in the time of illness. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good used outside Lent little food and drink, in a good deal smaller quantity than any other brother, as appeared from the little vessels in which food and drink were carried to him at his cell, in which he stayed; and in the time of Lent he was of a much stricter life in food and drink, because the said Brother John the Good then ate nothing except a little bread only, without any cooked food, and in silence and solitude, as was known to the witness himself and to all the other brothers. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good used a little meat in the time of illness.

[310] his clothing, his cell, his piety, his faith Likewise the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good in the time of his health was content with a single fine woollen cowl, both in winter and in summer, under which he wore linen leggings and a certain cloth of linen or tow without sleeves, because of the flow of blood which he was said to suffer, and he always went about with bare legs and feet; he wore at times wooden clogs, and he used a certain plank for a bed, nor would he have any physician in the time of his illness; and these foregoing things the said witness said he had seen, and that they were notorious among the brothers. Asked about the faith of Brother John the Good, he answered that the said Brother John the Good had his cell, in which he stayed, and in which he was continually in vigils and prayers day and night, and in which he had the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and a panel on which was painted the image of the blessed Virgin Mary, and holy water; and from which cell he heard the divine offices which were performed by the brothers in the church; and daily, in the time of health, he entered the church and heard Mass to the end with great devotion; and every Sunday he communicated in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ with great reverence; and on the day on which he communicated he did not readily speak to any of the brothers or of the outsiders. And he frequently confessed his sins, the witness himself seeing it; and the witness himself at times heard him confessing to the witness himself. And the said Brother John the Good told the brothers and others that the catholic faith must be kept as the holy Roman Church observes and holds it, and that no one could be saved except in the catholic faith which the holy Roman Church kept and held. And he confounded and detested and abominated the Gazari, Patarenes and excommunicated persons, and all heretical depravities. Asked how he knew the foregoing, the said witness answered that he had heard and seen the foregoing, and that they were notorious among the brothers.

[311] and the other virtues of Bl. John the Good. Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that the said Brother John the Good was of great charity, humble, plain, sweet and gentle, chaste, upright, approachable and affable, who encouraged his brothers to all virtues, and perseverance and constancy; and he comforted the sorrowful and troubled; and he encouraged the tempted; and he corrected and reproved those who did not conduct themselves well; and words of edification, and not of idleness, were in his mouth. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness answered that he had heard and seen the foregoing, and that they were notorious to the brothers. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the fame of the holiness of the said Brother John the Good, and the repute and favour, was unspeakable, so that from many parts numberless people came to see, hear and touch him as a holy and just man; and all who went away from him rejoiced and were glad to have seen him; and the odour of that fame and repute was and grew about Brother John the Good until the end of his life; and today it was more fragrant in the memory of men, as evidently appears. Asked how he knew, he answered that he had seen it, and because these things are manifest and notorious. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was the founder and institutor of the order of hermits, and that in it he did penance about forty years, and that at the time of his death he was eighty years old, and that in that order he ended his life; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because according to his knowledge the truth is so, and because it is so notorious among the brothers.

[312] Brother Jacobinus relates how sparing a diet "Brother Jacobinus, a native of Mantua, hermit of the said order, of the convent of Mantua, swore concerning the aforesaid articles to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year and indiction, on the seventh day before the Ides of November, at Mantua in the palace of the said bishop, there being present Lord Philip, vicar of the said lord bishop, and Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Brother Joannes Ferrarius, hermit of the said order, witnesses." The aforesaid Brother Jacobinus, a sworn witness, said on oath concerning the foregoing that a good five years have now elapsed since the witness himself stayed in the convent of the hermit brothers of Cesena, where Brother John the Good was, a good three months continuously and more, and on several other occasions, though for a shorter space of time. Asked about the life of Brother John the Good, the said witness said that the life of Brother John the Good was precious and holy, because he fasted at all times, except in the time of illness and on Sundays, and outside Lent he used a single dish of the brothers' community, in a good deal smaller quantity than any other brother, and a little drink; but in the time of that Lent in which the said witness was with the said Brother John the Good, the said Brother John the Good was of wonderful abstinence. Asked how wonderful, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good at the beginning of that Lent, in thirteen days, was content with three ounces of bread only for all the thirteen days together, and a little drink; but in the rest of the time of that Lent he used each day one little piece of bread made in the manner of a host,

and it was a little larger than a host, up to Holy Thursday, taking a little drink each day from the brothers' community, and nothing else. But on Holy Thursday, at the brothers' prayers, he ate and drank of the community's food and drink, though little, and on the two following days he led a life like the former; and on the aforesaid Holy Thursday the said Brother John the Good took certain pieces of bread which had remained to him from one loaf which he had used through the whole of Lent, and sent them to the brothers; and they ate, and the said witness ate his piece. But in the time of his illness he abhorred physicians and the aids of physicians, saying that our Lord Jesus Christ was his physician and healer.

[313] [and what cheap clothing Bl. John the Good used; how sincerely catholic he was, and how he took care that others should be so likewise,] Likewise the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good used only a single fine woollen cowl, both by day and by night, in that time in which the said witness was with him; under which he wore linen leggings and a certain linen cloth, lest his cowl be soiled by a certain illness which the said Brother John the Good suffered. And he went about with bare legs and unshod in his feet, except that at times he wore wooden clogs; and he lay upon one plank only, and always wore a great beard. Asked about the ground of his knowledge, the said witness answered that he had seen the foregoing, and that they were notorious and manifest among the brothers. Asked about the faith of the said Brother John the Good, he answered that the witness himself at times saw and heard when the said Brother John the Good spoke to his brothers, to whom he said that they should be good men, and that they should believe and keep and hold the faith of the holy Roman Church as she believes and holds; and he rejected and confounded, publicly and openly, all heretics, Gazari, Patarenes and excommunicated persons, and the vicars and envoys of Frederick, the late emperor, sent to Cesena. And in his cell he had a cross and a panel on which was painted the image of the blessed Virgin Mary, before which he prayed, and holy water; and every day he heard Mass to the end with great devotion and reverence, and every Sunday he communicated in the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ with great devotion, reverence, and with much shedding of tears; and on the day on which the said Brother John the Good communicated, he did not speak to any of the brothers, or indeed of the outsiders, unless the greatest necessity pressed. Asked how he knew the foregoing, the said witness said that he had seen and heard them, and that they were notorious among the brothers.

[514] [how frequent he was in the use of the sacraments and how much he cultivated the Christian virtues;] And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good frequently confessed his sins to one of the priests among the brothers, whoever first met him when he wished to confess. Asked about the conduct of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that the said Brother John the Good was plain, humble, quiet, peaceable, chaste, continent, abstinent, upright, kindly and cheerful, and encouraged his brothers and all who spoke with him to the virtues, to patience, humility, kindliness, chastity and poverty, and perseverance, and to other good things; and he reproved his brothers who did not lead a good life, and others who did not do what they ought to do; and always words of God and of edification were in his mouth. Asked how the said witness knew the foregoing, he answered that he had heard and seen and been present, as has been said, and that these things were notorious among the brothers.

[315] And how great was the fame of his holy life. Asked about the fame of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that he was of good and most holy fame and repute with all, and numberless people came to see, hear and touch him, and venerated him as a just and holy man, and going away they rejoiced and gloried greatly to have seen him; and such fame and such opinion was and grew until the end of his life, as evidently appears today. Asked how he knew the foregoing, he answered that he had seen them, and that they were notorious and manifest to his brothers and to other people of the surrounding province. And the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was eighty years old at the time of his death, and that he had done penance forty years in the order of hermits, and in it ended his life, having received all the sacraments of the Church, the witness himself seeing it, as he said; and that he has testified to the foregoing not taught nor asked, but because he so saw and heard, and knew it to be the truth of the matter, and that all these things are notorious among the brothers.

Here end the witnesses concerning the life, faith, conduct and fame of the said brother.

ANNOTATION.

FIFTH PART.

The Mantuan process of the year 1253 is continued. On the fame of the holy life and of the miracles of Bl. John.

CHAPTER I.

Five witnesses are heard concerning the fame of the blessed man and the concourse to his tomb.

What is to be treated in this part; a certain witness is received. "There follow the testimonies of clerics and laymen ^b. Articles on the public fame of the holy conduct and life of Brother John the Good of revered memory, founder and institutor of the order and rule ^c of hermits, and on the miracles which God is said to have done by his merits in the life and death and after the death of the said brother, in the year of the Lord one thousand two hundred and fifty-three, in the eleventh indiction, on the seventh day before the Ides of November. Dondedeus de Ammiratis, citizen of Mantua, swore concerning the aforesaid articles in the presence of the aforesaid examiner ^d to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year and indiction, on the seventh day before the Ides of November, at Mantua in the palace of the said lord bishop of Mantua, there being present Lord Albizus, canon of the pieve of Pecciolo of the diocese of Volterra, and Benvenutus, canon of Sant'Ilario of the diocese of Parma ^e, and Brother Joannes Ferrarius, hermit of the said order, of the convent of Mantua, witnesses ^f."

[317] The aforesaid Dondedeus, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, Testimony of Dondedeus on the fame of the blessed man. and questioned under his oath, said that the witness himself was a good fifty years old and more, and that the witness himself was a layman; and the said witness said that the said Brother John the Good was universally and commonly held, and was held, by clerics, laymen, males and females of Mantua and of the surrounding parts, and of Cesena, in the time of his life and in the time of his death, to be holy and just, and that God did great and many miracles through him, and that there was public fame of holiness and justice about him in the said lands and in their neighbourhoods. Asked how he knew, he said that he had seen the said Brother John the Good commonly held and accounted holy and just by the said people, and that God did many and great miracles through him; and he saw many people come from the said places to the said Brother John the Good, and especially at the time of his death, with great and many candles, as appears today ^g; and of the foregoing he said that there was public fame in the said places. Asked what public fame was, he answered, that which people commonly say; and that he has testified to the foregoing not taught nor asked, but because he so saw, and sees, and knows to be so the things to which he has testified.

[318] The witnesses are introduced. "The priest Bartholomew, canon of the pieve of Rivalta ^h, and Jerat of the order of the Humiliati [i], and Bonaventura, son of the late Lord Ricobonus, citizen of Mantua, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the said examiner, at Mantua in the palace of the lord bishop of Mantua, in the same year and indiction, on the sixth day before the Ides of November, there being present Lord Philip, vicar of the said lord bishop of Mantua, and Lord Albizus, canon of Pecciolo, and Brother Ventura, hermit of the said order, witnesses. Likewise, in the same year, indiction and day, Lady Rosa, formerly widow of Odibello, Lady Bonjuga, wife of Joannes Bonus, and Lady Concordia, daughter of the late Albertus, citizens of Mantua, swore concerning the foregoing in the presence of the aforesaid examiner to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, there being present the said Lord Albizus, and Tebaldus, seneschal ^k of the said lord bishop, and the aforesaid Brother Ventura, witnesses. Likewise Benvenutus, son of the late Villanus de Boccaciis, citizen of Mantua, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year, indiction, day and place, there being present Brother Lanfrancus, prior general of the same order, and Brother Guido, cellarer [l] of the said lord bishop, and the aforesaid Lord Albizus, witnesses."

[319] Testimony of Bartholomew, priest, The aforesaid priest Bartholomew, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that the said Brother John the Good was a holy and just man, and in the time of his life he lived at Mantua and at Cesena and in the surrounding places, and that God did many and great miracles through him in life and in death. Asked how he knew the foregoing, he answered that the witness himself went to Cesena [m] because of the public fame of his holiness, to see him, because many other people went to him because of the said fame; and he heard it publicly said there that he was a saint, and that God did many miracles for him. Asked how long the said fame was about the said Brother John the Good before his death, he answered, as the witness himself remembered, for seven years and more. Asked whether the said fame lasted until the end of his life, he answered yes, and also after death, and it lasts today. And the said witness said that at the time of the death of the said Brother John the Good the people of Mantua went, and from the surrounding parts, in crowds, with great candles and many and great lights, and with bread and wine [n], to the church of St. Agnes, where his body is and was, because of the public fame of his holiness and of the miracles which God did for him. Asked what public fame was, the said witness answered that it is that which is commonly said by people. Asked of what age the said witness was, he answered fifty years, and that the witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw it to be, and it is.

[320] Brother Jerat, of the Humiliati, The aforesaid Brother Jerat, a witness, questioned on his oath whether there was and is public fame at Cesena and at Mantua and in the surrounding places that Brother John the Good was a man of holy life, and that God

did miracles through him in life, in death and after his death, answered yes. Asked how he knew, he answered that he had heard, and hears, it publicly said at Mantua by the people that he was a holy man and of holy life, and that God in his life and in his death did many miracles through his prayers and merits; and the witness himself, because of the public fame of his holiness, went to Cesena to see him, and saw other people go to the said brother, and that it was publicly said at Cesena that he was holy and just, and that the Lord did miracles through him. And the said witness said that at the time of the death of the said Brother John the Good, and after his death, he saw clerics and laymen, males and females, great and small, go to the church of St. Agnes, where his body is and was, and all the people of Mantua and of the surrounding places were seen with wonderful twisted torches of candles and with wax tapers [o], praising and glorifying God; and the said witness could not say how great was the praise and glory of the people. Asked what public fame was, the said witness said, that which people commonly say. Asked for how long a time the said fame of the holiness of the said man and of the miracles which God did through him had existed before the death of Brother John the Good, he answered, for seven years and more. Asked whether the said fame lasted and grew until the end of the said brother, the said witness answered yes, and it lasts today, as evidently appears. And the said witness, being asked, said that he was of the age of twenty-six years, as he believed, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, and it is so notorious to almost all.

[321] of Bonajuncta, The aforesaid Bonajuncta, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath whether there was and is public fame at Cesena and at Mantua and in the surrounding places that Brother John the Good was a man of holy life, and that God had done miracles through him in his life and in his death, answered yes. Asked how he knew, he answered that the witness himself could not, nor did he know how to, express sufficiently how all the people of Mantua and of the surrounding parts held him a most holy man; and all the people of Mantua said and say that he was a most holy man, and that God did miracles through him in his life and in his death, many and great; and the said witness said that because of the public fame of the holiness of the said brother the witness himself went to Cesena, and many other people went and were going to see, hear and touch the said brother, because of the miracles and wonders which God was said to work at the prayers of the said brother; and he saw and heard him publicly called at Cesena a holy and just man. Asked for how long a time the said public fame had existed about the said Brother John the Good before his death, the said witness said, for seven years and more. Asked whether the said fame of the said brother lasted until the end of his life, the said witness answered that it so lasted and grew that at the death of the said Brother John the Good the whole commune [p] of Mantua went, and was going, so honourably to the church of St. Agnes, where his body was and is, both males and females, great and small, with candles and many and great lights, and with such glory and honour that the witness himself could not tell it; and that neither the podestà of Mantua nor anyone except God could move [q] the people of Mantua to such great reverence as that to which the people of Mantua were moved at that time because of the public fame of the holiness of the said man and of his miracles, as evidently appears today. Asked what public fame was, the said witness answered, that which people commonly say and hold. And the witness himself said that he was twenty-four years old, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard and knew it to be the truth of the matter.

[322] and of Rosa, The aforesaid Lady Rosa, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath whether there was and is public fame at Mantua and at Cesena and in the surrounding places that Brother John the Good was a holy and just man in his life, and that God had done miracles through him in life and in death and after his death, answered yes. Asked how she knew, she answered that she was insufficient to express how the people of Cesena and of Mantua and of other surrounding places held the said Brother John the Good a holy and just man, and how the fame of his holiness and good repute in the said places was great and unspeakable, and that God, by his prayers and merits, was doing and did many wonderful and great things in his life and in his death.

[323] on the fame of the blessed man and the concourse to his tomb. And the said witness said that she went to Cesena to see, hear and touch him because of the public fame of his holiness; and she saw many people go, even from remote parts, to the said brother; and the said witness said that she heard it publicly said at Cesena by all the people that the said Brother John the Good was a holy and just man, and that God by his prayers was doing and had done many miracles. Asked for how long a time the said public fame had existed about the said brother before his death, she answered, for a good fourteen years [r] and more. Asked whether the said fame lasted and grew until the end of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered yes, so that almost all men and women, great and small, went to the church of St. Agnes, where his body was and is, after the death of the said Brother John the Good and at his death, with many candles and other lights, and many other various offerings, and with great reverence and devotion; and today they go, as quite manifestly appears [s]. Asked what public fame was, the said witness answered, that which is said and believed commonly by people. Asked of what age she was, the said witness said a good fifty years; and the said witness said that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because the truth of the matter firmly is so.

ANNOTATIONS.

p. On the Communes of Lombardy one should consult the very recent and learned work of M. de Haulleville Hist. des comm. lombardes, volumes I and II, Ghent 1858..

q. There comes back here of its own accord to mind a certain prophecy of the blessed man, in which he foretells the glory that would come to him after death. Above, page 783, number 43.

r. For fourteen years; that is, for so many years before the death of the blessed man, living at Mantua, she had heard of his holiness and miracles, when he lived far from there, at Cesena in Romagna.

s. Today they go, as quite manifestly appears. Other witnesses affirm the same: from which it is manifest that there was a great concourse to the tomb of the blessed man not only at the elevation of the body, in the month of May of the year 1251. For these things were said in testimony on the 8th day of November of the year 1253.

CHAPTER II.

Nine other witnesses are heard on the same matters.

Witnesses to the fame of the blessed man and the concourse to his tomb: Bonjuga, The aforesaid Lady Bonjuga, a sworn witness, and questioned

on her oath whether there was and is public fame at Mantua and at Cesena and in the surrounding places that Brother John the Good was a holy and just man in his life, and that God had done many miracles through him in the life and death and after the death of the said Brother John the Good, answered yes. Asked how she knew, she answered that the witness herself went to Cesena to see and touch and hear him, and that many people from neighbouring places came to him in the same way with great devotion, and that so great was the good fame and repute of him among all people, especially at Cesena and at Mantua, that the witness herself could in no way express it either by mouth or by heart. Asked for how long a time the said public fame had existed about the said Brother John the Good before his death, she answered, for fourteen years, as she said she firmly believed. And the said witness said that the aforesaid fame and repute of the said Brother John the Good lasted and grew until the end of his life, so that at the death of the said Brother John the Good all men, namely clerics and laymen, men and women, great and small, went with great devotion and reverence to the church of St. Agnes, where his body is and was, and with many candles and many other lights; and there was so great a multitude of people going, and so great a concourse because of the public fame of the said brother, that she could in no way tell it. Asked what public fame was, the said witness answered, that which all people say and believe. Asked of what age the witness herself was, the said witness answered that she was fifty years old, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, and it is the truth of the matter.

[325] Concordia, The aforesaid Lady Concordia, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath whether there was and is public fame at Mantua and at Cesena and in the surrounding places that Brother John the Good was a holy and just man in his life, and that God had done many and great miracles through him in his life and in his death and after death, answered yes. Asked how she knew, she answered that because of the fame which she had for a long time heard of the said Brother John the Good she went to Cesena to see him, and saw many other people from the surrounding places go to him, and that at Mantua and at Cesena he was publicly called and held a man of God, and holy and just, and of unspeakable repute. Asked what public fame was, the said witness answered, that which is commonly believed and people say. Asked whether the said fame lasted and grew until the end of the life of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered yes, so much that at the death of the said Brother John the Good and after his death ^a all people without distinction so flocked, with lights and very great candles, as evidently appears today, to the church of Blessed Agnes, where his body is and was, that it could in no way be told. Asked for how long a time the said fame had existed about the said brother before his death, the said witness answered, for seven years and more; and the said witness said that she was of the age of fifty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she firmly knew it to be so.

[326] Benvenutus. The aforesaid Benvenutus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that he had heard and seen formerly at Mantua and at Cesena, and now, that it was publicly and commonly said by all people that there was public fame that Brother John the Good was of holy life and holy conduct, and that God in the life and in the death and after the death of the said Brother John the Good did and was doing many and great miracles; and that the witness himself, because of the public fame of his holiness, twelve years ago now went twice from Mantua to Cesena, and saw many other people go to see the said brother as a holy man and a just man and one much longed for. And the said witness said that at the time of the death of the said Brother John the Good the people of Mantua so flocked with lights and candles to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of the said brother was and is, that the witness himself could in no way tell it. Asked for how long a time such fame and opinion had existed about the said brother before the death of the brother, the said witness answered, for a good fourteen years and more ^b; and the said fame of the said brother lasted and grew up to the present day, as quite manifestly appears. Asked what public fame was, the said witness said, that which people commonly say. And the witness himself said that he, the witness, was of the age of thirty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not taught nor asked, but because he so saw and heard, and sees and hears, and knew this to be the truth of the matter.

[327] [New witnesses are introduced on the fame of the blessed man and the concourse to his tomb:] "Lady Ungara, formerly widow of de Ficaroli, of the Pultroni ^c, citizen of Mantua, of the quarter of St. Leonard ^d, and Lady Rosonese, wife of Lord Zanellus, citizen of Mantua, who lives in the borgo of the Butchers ^e, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the said examiner, at Mantua in the palace of the said lord bishop, in the same year and indiction, on the fourth day before the Ides of November, there being present Brother Joanninus, hermit of the said order, and the said Lord Albizus, and Vivaldinus, son of Graziadeus of Mantua, witnesses." The aforesaid Lady Ungara, a sworn witness, and questioned under oath, said that on the occasion of a certain great illness of hers, having heard of the fame of the said Brother John the Good, she went from Mantua to Cesena with many other people to see the said Brother John the Good, whom she said she saw, and that she was at once freed from the illness which she was suffering. And the said witness said that she saw numberless people from many parts go to him, and that it is and was the public fame at Cesena and at Mantua that the said Brother John the Good was a man of great holiness, and that God did and was doing many and great miracles through him in the life, death and after the death of the said Brother John the Good; and the aforesaid fame was about the said brother and grew about him for twelve years before the death of the said Brother John the Good, and lasted until the end of the said brother's life and lasts today. And the said witness said that at the time of the death of the said brother she saw so great a crowd go with candles and many lights, and with such devotion and such joy, to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good, that she could not express it by mouth. And the said witness, being asked, said that what is public is what all people believe; and that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said. And the said witness said that she was thirty years old and more.

[328] Rosonese. The aforesaid Lady Rosonese, a witness questioned concerning the foregoing, said that she was a very little girl, and her said mother took her to Cesena to Brother John the Good, and she saw many other people go to him, and there was great fame of him as of a holy and just man; and she said that at the time of the death of the said brother she saw all the people go with candles to the tomb of the said brother, and the witness herself went; and she said that she has testified to the foregoing not taught nor asked, but the things she has said are notorious to many.

[329] New witnesses are introduced on the same matters "Lord Vivianus, a penitential brother, son of the late Caresalasciarius, of Letebonano, of the diocese of Reggio, Lady Maria Bella, formerly widow of Bonacursus, of the quarter of the Pultroni, and Lady Maria, daughter of the late Zanibonus, of the quarter of Santa Maria della Carità ^f, and Lady Humilitate, daughter of the late Albertus, of the quarter of St. Stephen ^g, and Lady Alda, formerly widow of Bonaventura de Corvis, of the quarter of St. Peter ^h, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, on that day, year and indiction, the third day before the Ides of November, at Mantua in the said palace of the lord bishop, in the presence of Benvenutus, canon of Sant'Ilario of the diocese of Parma, and the aforesaid Lord Albizus, canon, and Brother Guido, cellarer of the said lord bishop, witnesses."

[330] and they are heard: Vivianus, The aforesaid Lord Vivianus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself, with several other people, because of the public fame of the holiness of the same Brother John the Good, went to Cesena to see the said brother; and he said that there was public fame at Cesena and at Mantua and in other neighbouring places that God did many and great miracles in the life and in the death and after the death of the brother, at his prayers; and the witness himself said that he had seen some of the miracles done through him; and this fame existed about the said brother before the death of the brother, as the witness himself remembered, for twenty-eight years. And he himself said that what the people of Mantua had done at the death of the said brother with candles and other lights, the witness himself being present, the witness himself could not tell, nor how great and of what kind is today, through Lombardy and Romagna, the public fame of the great holiness of the said brother. Asked what public fame was, he said, what is commonly said and believed by people; and he said that the witness himself was fifty years old, and had been a brother of penance and charity [i] for eighteen years now, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw, and it is so, as is commonly believed.

[331] Humilitate. The aforesaid Lady Humilitate, sworn, said that she went to Cesena because of the public fame of the said brother, and saw the said brother held holy and just at Cesena and at Mantua, and that it was said by all that God did many miracles for him, and so it is said and believed today. Asked what public fame was, the said witness said, that which all people say and believe; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw, and it is said, and many other things,

which the witness herself could not tell, yet they are manifest.

[332] Maria. The aforesaid Lady Maria, a sworn witness, and questioned, said that because of the public fame which there was about the said Brother John the Good she, with many other people, went to Cesena and saw the said Brother John the Good; and there was and is public fame that God did many miracles through him, and she saw some of his many and great miracles. And he is held today most holy before God; and the said witness said that the witness herself was forty years old, and that she has testified to the foregoing only from the fact that she so saw it to be.

[333] [and Mariabella. Attestations of the authority of the primary copy of these processes.] The aforesaid Lady Mariabella, a sworn witness, and questioned, said that in the lifetime of the said brother she stayed at Cesena and saw the said Brother John the Good held and accounted holy and just, and that God did many and great miracles through him; and the witness herself saw some of his miracles several times; and such is the public fame of him through the whole province that it could scarcely be told. And being asked, she said that public fame was that which all people say and believe; and being asked, she said that the witness herself is fifty years old, and that she has testified to the foregoing not taught, but because she so saw and heard it to be.

That the above-said Lord Ippolito Castelli, prefect of the ducal archive, is such as he asserts himself to be, and that full faith is given here to his attestations and is deservedly to be given everywhere, I the undersigned, first chancellor of the same most serene Lord the Duke of Mantua and Montferrat, attest. From the ducal chancery of Mantua, on the 20th day of January, 1641. I, Giulio Tomasini, chancellor, have subscribed."

(L. S.)

ANNOTATIONS.

SIXTH PART.

Miracles after his death, received last.

CHAPTER I.

Ottobellus is freed from blindness.

Introduction of the witnesses. Miracles which God has deigned to work by the merits of Brother John the Good of revered memory.

Lady Alberta, wife of Bonacursus, of La Rotta delle Femine, of the diocese of Mantua, and Jemma, daughter of the late Joannes, of Cherecaschi, of the same diocese, swore concerning the aforesaid to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the sixth day before the Ides of November, there being present Brother Guido, cellarer of the lord bishop of Mantua, and Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli of the diocese of Volterra, and Brother Jacobinus, hermit of the said order, witnesses. Likewise Lord Bartholomew, son of Lord Bonaventura, citizen of Mantua, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the fifth day before the Ides of November, there being present Master Oddo, rector of the church of Cippata, and the aforesaid Lord Albizus, canon, and Brother Bonaventura, hermit of the said order, witnesses. Likewise Joannes, son of the late Bernardus, of Castellucchio ^b, of the diocese of Mantua, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the fourth day before the Ides of November, there being present Lord Philip, vicar of the said lord bishop, and the said Lord Albizus, and Brother Joanninus, hermit of the said order, witnesses. Likewise Lady Orenda, daughter of the late Lord Albertus, of Bagnolo ^c, of the diocese of Mantua, and Lady Orivans, daughter of Lord Bonaventura, of Mantua, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year, indiction, place and day, there being present Lord Semprebonus, notary, de Feragutis of Mantua, and Brother Ventura, hermit of the said order, and Joanninus, son of the late Bernardus, of Castellucchio, and the said canon Albizus, witnesses."

[335] Testimony of Alberta about her son Ottobellus, freed from blindness; First miracle. Lady Alberta, wife of the aforesaid Bonacursus, sworn and questioned, said under her oath that when the feast of the Nativity next to come has passed it will be two full years since she had her little son, about four years old, named Octobellus, who had gone seven weeks and more in which he had in no way seen the light; and Alberta, the mother of the said Octobellus, since she had heard for a long time now of the fame of the said brother, and a certain woman, a maternal aunt of the said Alberta, named Lady Orenda, had advised her to vow her said son Octobellus to the said Brother John the Good, vowed her said son Octobellus to the said Brother John the Good, saying: "I vow to God and to Brother John the Good Octobellus my son, who lacks the light of his eyes; if God gives him light by the merits of the said Brother John the Good, I will offer him two wax eyes." The vow being made, two days having passed after the vow, one morning she found the said Octobellus given light; and when Alberta was weeping for the grief which she had, and for the suffering which her son Octobellus was enduring, the said son said to his mother: "Mother, do not weep, because I see the light well." And Alberta, the mother of the said boy, fulfilled her vow, and did as she had vowed, with great joy and gladness. Asked who was present when she made the vow, the said Lady Alberta believes that Lady Orenda was, who gave her the advice about the vow. Asked how long the said Lady Alberta waited before she made the vow after the said advice, she answered that she made it the same day. Asked whether the said Octobellus afterwards always saw well, she answered yes, that he saw and sees well, thanks be to God. Asked how much time it is since this happened, she answered that in the month of January next to come it will be two years. Asked about the month, she said, in the month of January. Asked about the day, she answered that on a Friday she made the vow, and on the following Monday in the morning she found her said son Octobellus given light. Asked whether it was public that her said son Octobellus was so blind, and was given light by the prayers and merits of the said Brother John the Good, she answered yes, and that the witness has said the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this is the truth of the matter.

[336] Testimony of Jemma on the same miracle, The aforesaid Jemma, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she saw Octobellus for seven weeks during which he in no way saw the light. Asked how she knew that he did not see the light, she answered that Jemma herself lived with a certain Lady Gerarda, sister of the boy's mother, and so she had to go frequently, daily, to the house of Lady Alberta, and she saw the said boy Octobellus without the light of his eyes; and it was public and manifest in the quarter that the said boy was without the light of his eyes, and that God restored the light to him by the merits of the said Brother John the Good, and because of the vow made by the said Lady Alberta, the mother of the said Octobellus. And the said witness said that she was not present at the vow; yet on the day on which the boy's mother said she had made the vow she saw the said boy Octobellus blind, and two days having passed she saw him given light; and the said witness saw Alberta going with the boy and two wax eyes, which she was carrying to the tomb of the said brother because of the vow made, as she said. Asked how much time it is since this happened, she answered that next January it will be two years; but of the day and hour she said she did not remember. Asked whether the said Octobellus afterwards always saw the light well, the said witness answered yes, and he saw and sees up to the present day. Asked whether it is public that the said Octobellus was so blind, and was given light by the merits of the said brother within two days after the vow made by the said Alberta, his mother, she answered yes, and the said witness said

that she was of the age of twenty-five years, and that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw, as has been said.

[337] of Joanninus, The aforesaid Joanninus, son of the late Bernardus, a sworn witness, questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself saw the said boy Octobellus entirely lacking light a good month and more. Asked how much time it was since he saw the said boy Octobellus so blind, he answered that almost two years had elapsed; and the said witness said that the said Lady Alberta, by the advice of her same maternal aunt, Lady Orenda, made a vow to God and to Brother John the Good that if God, by the merits of the said brother, restored the light to the said Octobellus her son, she would go to the tomb of the said brother and offer him two wax eyes; and two days after the vow was made, the said Octobellus was given light within two days, and he saw and sees; and the said witness said that the said Lady Alberta, the boy's mother, and the said Lady Orenda, maternal aunt of the said Alberta, and a certain other woman named Orivans, daughter-in-law of the said Alberta, and the witness himself, went to the church of St. Agnes to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good; and the said witness said that he carried the said boy, and the mother carried the wax eyes, which she offered at the tomb of the said Brother John the Good; and the said witness said that the said boy always afterwards saw well and sees. Asked about the month, day and hour, he said that he did not remember; yet he said that he believed it was in the month of January; and he said that the vow was made at an evening hour, and the boy was found afterwards, at the end of two days, in the morning, healthy. Asked whether the said witness was present when the vow was made, he answered no, but he said that he saw the said boy blind, and after two days saw him given light, at that time when the said Alberta made the said vow. Asked whether it was public in the neighbourhood that the boy was blind and that he was freed by the merits of the said Brother John the Good and because of the vow made by the mother of the said Octobellus, the said witness answered yes. Asked how he knew that the said Alberta had made the said vow, the said witness answered that at that time of the boy's deliverance he had heard it from the said Alberta and Orenda. Likewise the said witness said that he was of the age of eighteen years and more; and the said witness said that the said Octobellus was about four years old when he was freed. And the said witness said that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard.

[338] of Orenda. The aforesaid Lady Orenda, a sworn witness, and questioned on oath, said that Alberta, her niece, had and has a certain son of hers named Octobellus, who did not see the light, but was blind. Asked how she knew that he was blind, she answered that she showed him things and he did not see them in any way. Asked for how long a time the said Octobellus had been blind, and from what cause he had become blind, the said witness answered that she did not know, but that it befell him by chance. Yet the said witness said that when the mother of the blind boy told her of the misfortune of the blindness of the said Octobellus her son, the said witness advised her to vow him to God and to Brother John the Good, that if God restored the light to him, Alberta herself would go to the tomb of the said brother and offer him two wax eyes; and the said Alberta made the vow just as the advice had been given her. Asked whether she was present at the vow, the said witness answered that she believed she was. Asked after an interval of how many days after the vow was made the said Octobellus had his light back, the said witness said that she did not know, except that her said niece, Lady Alberta, two days after the vow was made, came back to her with a glad heart, saying: "You gave the best advice, because my son has been given light." Asked about the time, month, day and hour, she said that she did not remember. Asked whether it was public that the said boy Octobellus had not seen the light, and how he sees well, the said witness answered yes. And the said witness said that she was of the age of fifty years, and that she had testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she knew this to be the truth of the matter.

[339] of Orivans The aforesaid Lady Orivans, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she saw the said boy Octobellus blind, and afterwards given light. Asked about the time between the blindness and the giving of light, she said that she did not know; she said that she then went with the mother of the said Octobellus to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good when the mother of the said Octobellus went to offer two wax eyes. Asked whether it was public in the neighbourhood that the said Octobellus had lost the light and that he was given light by the merits of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered yes, although the witness herself did not live in the same quarter with her. Asked whether the said Octobellus sees well today, the said witness answered yes; but of the day, hour and month the said witness said she did not know. And the said witness, being asked, said that the witness herself was of the age of twenty years, and that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but with a pure heart and sincere faith.

[340] and of Bartholomew. The aforesaid Bartholomew, judge, a witness, and questioned on his oath, said that Alberta, the mother of Octobellus, was formerly his tenant, and was and stayed in his house, in the lower part of his house; and the said Alberta had her son named Octobellus, who by chance had lost his sight or the light of his eyes entirely; and so the said Octobellus remained entirely deprived of the light of his eyes a good month and more, as the said witness said he had seen; for which his mother, the said Alberta, made a vow to God and to Brother John the Good that if God, by the merits of the said brother, freed her son Octobellus, Alberta herself would offer at the tomb of the said Brother John the Good two wax eyes. Asked how she knew that the said Alberta had made such a vow, she answered that the witness herself and a certain other woman named Orenda had given the said Alberta the advice to make such a vow; and the said Alberta, acquiescing in their advice, made the vow as had been said to her; and the said boy Octobellus, after the vow was made, two days only having elapsed, was found given light; and the witness himself saw the said boy blind and given light within such a time as has been said, and he always afterwards saw, and sees, well, as the witness himself said he had seen and sees. Asked at what time this had been, she answered that about the time of Carnival it will be two years, as he believed; of the month, day and hour he said he did not remember. Asked who had been present at the said vow and the said deliverance, he said that he did not remember. Asked whether this was public, he said, very much so, in the neighbourhood of the said boy. Asked of what age the witness himself was, the said witness said thirty years; and he has indeed testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER II.

Bonaventura, a noble boy, is freed from a deadly fever and a swelling of the belly.

[Testimony of Ungara about Bonaventura, freed from a mortal fever and a swelling of the belly.] Second miracle. Lady Ungara, a sworn witness concerning the miracles and fame of the said Brother John the Good, said on her oath that she had and has a certain daughter of hers named Bosonese, wife of Lord Joannellus, a noble citizen of Mantua, who lives in the borgo of the Butchers; which Lady Bosonese had and has a certain son of hers by her said husband Lord Joannellus; which son was called Bonaventura, and he was suffering a mortal fever, as all the physicians said; and he was suffering another illness, because he had his belly swollen and much puffed up from that illness which was in the miltia ^a, as the physicians said; and that boy Bonaventura was, because of those illnesses, in such a condition that the physicians despaired of him; whence both the witness herself and the parents of Bonaventura grieved to death over the boy, because they held him very dear; whence the said witness, turning in her heart to Brother John the Good, who was at that time dead, and whose fame was very great, and of the miracles which God did through him, the witness sent for that boy Bonaventura to her daughter, namely Lady Bosonese; and the said Lady Bosonese sent the said son Bonaventura by a certain squire ^b of hers, who at the time of this testimony was not at Mantua, to the said witness; and the said witness and that squire, with certain others whose names she said she did not remember, went on board a boat ^c and carried the said boy to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of the said Brother John the Good is and was, and they put a lighted candle in the boy's hands, and took the hands of the said boy with the candle and put them in the hands of Brother John the Good, which moved and were handled like the hands of a living man; and some little delay having been made, and the boy as it were sleeping in the tomb, they took the boy out of the tomb and put him near by there in the church upon the boy's bed; and the boy slept a little, and, awakened from sleep, immediately, by the grace of God, recovered, and the fever left him, and he was fully freed of the fever and of the miltia and of the swelling of the belly: so that he never afterwards felt anything of these illnesses. Asked how much time it is since this happened, the said witness said that it was about the death of the said Brother John the Good; of the year, month and day she said she did not remember. Asked who had been there when they brought the said boy Bonaventura into the tomb of the said Brother John the Good, and when they took him out, and when he was awakened from sleep, she answered that the witness herself and the said squire, who first saw the said boy suffer much when they brought him into the tomb, and

saw him recovering when he was awakened from sleep, and many others present there. Asked whether there is public fame of this in the quarter of the said boy, the said witness answered yes; and the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was the truth of the matter, as was and is evident to many.

[342] Testimony on the same miracle of Bosonese, mother of Bonaventura, Lady Bosonese, wife of the said Joannellus, the aforesaid sworn witness, being questioned, said that she had and has a certain son named Bonaventura, who was suffering a very grave fever, and an illness of the miltia, and of swelling of the belly, so that the physicians despaired of him: over which she and Lord Joannellus, father of the said boy Bonaventura, and many others grieved to death; and while the witness herself was placed in grief of this kind, and her husband had gone with the Mantuan army to the place which is called Alla Talliata, Lady Ungara, the said witness's mother, sent to her that she should send her the said boy, her son Bonaventura, because Lady Ungara wished to carry him to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good; and the said witness sent her said son Bonaventura by a certain squire of hers to the said Lady Ungara, her mother, though with great fear, because the boy seemed about to die. And the said Lady Ungara and the said squire went on board a boat and went to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good; but what the said Lady Ungara did at the tomb the said witness said she did not know; but she received back the said boy freed from the said illnesses, so that he was afterwards always quite healthy, and is today. Asked about the time, the said witness said, at the time of the death of the said Brother John the Good; but of the day, hour and month she said she did not remember. And the said witness said that it was and is public how her son Bonaventura was freed by the merits of the said brother; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this is the truth of the matter, as she said.

[343] and of Jannellus, his father. "Lord Jannellus, a noble citizen of Mantua, husband of the said Lady Bosonese, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year and indiction, on the sixth day before the Kalends of December, there being present the lords Amadeus, son of the late Benvignatus, and Master Maren., of Parma, at Mantua, beside the palace of the commune." The aforesaid Lord Jannellus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that he had and has a certain son of his named Bonaventura, who had his whole belly swollen and puffed up because of a certain illness which he suffered in the miltia, as the physicians said, and an acute fever: which illnesses the said Bonaventura his son had suffered a long time; and over him the said witness grieved above all others; he was incurable, as all the physicians said; and the witness himself held him as given up, and had ordered all of his household to give him everything that he wanted; and when the said witness had to go with the army of Mantua to the place which is called La Talliata, he went, having left his said son Bonaventura for dead; and he stayed there for some days; but when he returned to his home, believing his said son Bonaventura already dead and buried, he found him freed, and in such a state that no sign of the illness he had had appeared in him; on the contrary, he was as healthy and merry as if he had never had any ill. The said witness, very joyfully, asked how this was, that his son had been healed so quickly: the wife of the said witness, Lady Bosonese, set out the whole affair to him, how Lady Ungara had sent for her said son Bonaventura, and she had sent him labouring as it were at the last, and Lady Ungara had carried him to the tomb and sent him back freed; and the witness himself began to praise the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of the year, month, day and hour, and in whose presence, he said he did not know; and the said witness said that the witness himself was thirty years old, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, and because it is and was public and manifest to many, as has been said above.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER III.

Altavilla is freed from arthritis.

The oath of the witnesses is received. "Third miracle. Lady Altavilla, wife of Lord Jacobus, son of the late Jannus de Polesino ^a, citizen of Mantua of the borgo of St. James ^b; the husband of the same Altavilla; and Lady Mellina, formerly widow of Joannes Bonus Burbius, mother of the same Lady Altavilla; and Lady Bellina, wife of Coradus, of the same borgo, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the third day before the Ides of November, there being present Lord Philip, vicar of the said lord bishop, and the priest Bongiannes, chaplain of the same said lord bishop, and Master Coradus, member of his household, witnesses. Likewise Venturinus, son of the late Lord Bruschus, citizen of Mantua, of the quarter which is called Toza, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the lord examiner, in the same year, indiction, day and place, there being present the lord priest Bongiannes, chaplain, and Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Bernardus, son of the late Marchus, member of the household of the said lord bishop, witnesses."

[345] Testimony of Altavilla, freed from a disease of the joints. The aforesaid Lady Altavilla, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that the witness herself formerly suffered a very great gout in her right side, and especially in her right hand and right arm, and so that she could in no way help herself with them: whence, remembering Brother John the Good, of whom great things were said, she vowed herself to God and to Brother John the Good that if she were freed of that illness which she was suffering, she would go to his tomb and offer there one right hand of wax and one right arm of wax; and the vow being made, the said Lady Altavilla went to the said tomb of the said Brother John the Good and was there for three days; and the three days having elapsed, in the morning she at once recovered from that illness. Asked at what time this had been, she answered, at the time of the translation of the body of the said Brother John the Good. Asked about the month, year and day, she said she did not remember. Asked how long a time she had suffered the said illness, she answered, for two years and more. Asked whether she used the counsel of physicians for her aforesaid illness, the said witness answered yes, several times, and it did her no good. Asked who had been with her at the said tomb when she was freed, the said witness answered, Lady Mellina, her mother, and Lady Bellina, wife of Gerardus, and many other people. Asked who was present when she made the vow, the said witness answered, Jacobus, her husband. Asked whether it was public and manifest that the witness herself suffered an illness of this kind, and that she had been freed by the merits of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered that it was and is very public. And the said witness said that she was of the age of thirty years and more, and that the witness herself has said the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because through all things it was as she has said, and because she was always afterwards healthy from such an illness.

[346] Testimony on the same miracle of Jacobus, husband of Altavilla, The aforesaid Jacobus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that his wife, Lady Altavilla, formerly had gout in her right side, and in her right hand and arm, so that she could not help herself, nor sleep, nor keep awake, nor do any work, nor could she be helped by any counsel or aid of physicians; and that she suffered the said illness for one year and more; and when her deliverance was now despaired of, his said wife vowed herself to God and to the said Brother John the Good that if God, by the merits of the said Brother John the Good, freed her, she would go to his tomb and offer there one wax hand and one right arm of wax. Asked whether he was present at the aforesaid vow, the said witness answered yes; and he said that his wife, Lady Altavilla, the aforesaid vow being made, went to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good with Lady Mellina, her mother, and with several others, and stayed at the said tomb for three days; and immediately after the three days, in the morning, she began to recover, so that she was well freed before she returned home. Asked how he knew that the said Lady Altavilla, his wife, suffered and had that illness, the said witness answered that he was her husband and heard the pains and outcries which she uttered day and night, and her continual lamentations. Asked how he knew that the said Altavilla, his wife, was so freed, the said witness answered that the said Altavilla went to the tomb of the said brother thus sick, and afterwards returned recovering from the said illness, the witness himself being present and seeing it, and she was at once entirely freed, and always afterwards remained, and is, healthy from the said illness. Asked how much time it was since the said Altavilla was sick and freed, the said witness answered, at the time of the translation of the body of the said Brother John the Good; and he believes that at the Easter of the Lord's resurrection it will be two years, and that it was a little time before Easter. Asked about the day and month, he said he did not remember; asked about the hour, the said witness said, in the morning. Asked whether the illness was public and manifest, and that the deliverance was obtained by the merits of the said brother, the said witness answered yes. And the said witness, being asked, said that the witness himself was of the age of a good sixty years and more; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw, and knew it to be the truth of the matter.

[347] of Mellina, her mother, The aforesaid Lady Mellina, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, questioned on her oath, said that her daughter, Lady Altavilla, formerly suffered the disease of gout very severely, in her right hand and right arm and in her whole right side, so that she suffered much in her body, and from it she lost the ability to eat

and drink; and for this illness she made ample use of the counsel of physicians, the witness herself being present, and nothing did her any good: whence, remembering Brother John the Good, of whom many and very great things were said, her said daughter vowed herself to God and to Brother John the Good that if she were freed from that illness she would go to his tomb and offer there one right hand of wax and one right arm of wax. And the said vow being made, her said daughter, and the said witness, and Lady Bellina, went to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good, and stayed there for three days; which having elapsed, in the morning her said daughter Altavilla immediately recovered, so that on the next following day she had begun to work with the hand and arm above-mentioned, since it had been a Sunday; and she remained healthy of that illness afterwards up to today. Asked how she knew of the illness and the health of the said Lady Altavilla, the said witness answered that the said witness is her mother, and loves the said Altavilla her daughter much, indeed above all others; and she knows of her condition, and saw her suffer that gout a good year and more; and she saw her now healthy, and within two days she saw her healthy and sick. Asked at what time the said deliverance was made, the said witness answered, at the time of the translation of the body of the said Brother John the Good; but of the year and month she said she did not remember. Asked about the day, she said that she was freed on a Saturday. Asked who had been present there when they stayed at the said tomb and the said deliverance was made, the said witness answered, the witness herself, and the aforesaid Lady Bellina, and several others, because there were numberless people in that church because of the merits and miracles of the said Brother John the Good. Asked whether it was public and notorious that the said Altavilla had so suffered and was so freed by the merits of the said brother, the said witness answered yes, indeed most manifest. And the said witness said that she, the witness, was fifty years old and more, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because the truth of the matter is so.

[348] of Bellina The aforesaid Lady Bellina, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she saw Lady Altavilla, wife of Jacobus, son of the late Joannes, suffering an illness of strong gout, especially in her right hand and right arm, so that she could not do any work with them; indeed she often fell and lost her senses. Asked how she knew this, she said that the witness herself often washed her head and made the bed of the said Lady Altavilla, because she was her kinswoman and neighbour, and associated with her much. Asked how long a time the said Lady Altavilla suffered the said illness, she answered, almost two years, as she believed; and she said that the said Lady Altavilla, remembering the miracles of the said Brother John the Good, of whom great things were said, vowed herself to God and to Brother John the Good that if she were freed of the said illness she would go to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good and offer there one right hand of wax with a right arm of wax; and the said witness said that the said vow being made, the witness herself went with the said Lady Altavilla and the said Mellina, mother of the said Lady Altavilla, to the tomb of the said brother, and the witness herself carried the said hand and arm of wax; and they stayed at the tomb of the said Brother John the Good for three days in prayers day and night; and the three days having elapsed, in the morning the said Lady Altavilla recovered, and at once, the witness herself seeing it, was made healthy, and was always healthy of that illness up to the present day. Asked how she knew that the said Lady Altavilla had always been healthy, she answered that she saw and sees her work with the said hand and arm like one quite healthy. Asked about the time at which the said deliverance was made, the said witness answered, at the time of the translation of the body of the said Brother John the Good; but asked about the month and day, the said witness said she did not remember. Asked in whose presence, the said witness answered, in that of Lady Mellina and of the witness herself and of numberless other people. Asked whether it is public and notorious that the said Lady Altavilla was so sick and so freed by the prayers of the said Brother John the Good, she answered that it is as public and manifest as it can possibly be. And the said witness said that she was of the age of eighteen years; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[349] and of Venturinus. The aforesaid Venturinus, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself saw the said Altavilla, wife of Lord Jacobus, sick with an illness of grave and strong gout in her right side, and especially in her right hand and right arm, so that she could not work in any way, but lamented and grieved to death. And he said that this illness held her, the witness himself seeing it, for two years. Asked how he knew, he said that the witness himself is the brother german of that Altavilla, and because he saw her daily sick and faring badly; and the said witness suffered with his said sister, Lady Altavilla, as much as he could; and the said witness said that Altavilla herself, remembering the miracles which God did through Brother John the Good, vowed herself to God and to Brother John the Good that if he freed her of the said illness she would offer him a right hand and right arm of wax; and the vow being made, the said Lady Altavilla and her mother, and the said witness, and Lady Mellina, and others, went to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good with the aforesaid hand and arm, and were before the said tomb in prayers continuously for three days; which three days having elapsed, in the morning she recovered and was made healthy, and returned home, and up to today has always been healthy of that illness, the witness himself seeing it. Asked whether the said Lady Altavilla used the counsel of physicians for the said illness, the said witness answered yes, and nothing did her any good. Asked at what time the said Lady Altavilla was made healthy, he answered, at the time of the translation of the body of the said Brother John the Good; but of the month and day he said he did not remember; of the hour he believes that it was in the morning. And the said witness said that he saw the said Altavilla going sick and returning healthy from the tomb of the said brother. Asked how he knew of the deliverance of Altavilla, he answered that he had seen her afterwards healthy, and working with the aforesaid hand, and doing her tasks. And the said witness, being asked, said that this was public and manifest, namely the deliverance and the illness. And the said witness said that he, the witness, was of the age of thirty years; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, and it is the truth of the matter, as has been said.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER IV.

Anna is freed from an incurable dropsy and from arthritis.

The oath of the witnesses is received. "Fourth miracle. Lady Alda, formerly widow of Bonaventura de Corvis, of the quarter of St. Peter ^a, swore in the same year, indiction and place, on the third day before the Ides of November, there being present Benvenutus, canon of Sant'Ilario of the diocese of Parma, and the said Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Brother Guido, cellarer of the said lord bishop, witnesses. Likewise Lady Matthaea, formerly widow of Joanninus, son of the late Petrus, of the quarter of St. Agatha, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which she knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year, indiction, day and place, there being present the said Lord Albizus, and Joannes of Castronovo, and Sideus, members of the household of the said lord bishop. Likewise Lady Caesarea, wife of Curradus Daynesus, and Lady Caesarea, formerly widow of Octobellus, who are both of the quarter of Santa Maria sopra Porta ^b at Mantua, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the said examiner, in the same year and indiction, on the Ides of November, and in the same place, namely in the palace of the said lord bishop, there being present Benvenutus, canon of the aforesaid Sant'Ilario, and Brother Joanninus and Brother John, hermits of the said order, witnesses."

[351] Testimony of Alda about her mother Anna, freed from dropsy and arthritis: The aforesaid Lady Alda, a witness sworn to tell the truth which she knew and to keep silent any lie concerning the foregoing, questioned on her oath, said that she formerly had her mother, who is now dead, named Lady Anna, who suffered a most cruel illness, and, as was said by the physicians, almost incurable, which is called dropsy, and gout, and many other ailments, so much so that because of this she received all the sacraments of the Church, as a person labouring at the last; and she suffered this illness a good four years and more. Whence the said witness, the daughter of the said Lady Alda, grieving much over her said mother, who seemed to be dying, and having recalled to mind the miracles which God did by the merits of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness took the said Lady Anna, her mother, to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good by boat; and she kept her there for one night, and they prayed there to the Lord that by the merits of the said brother he would deign to restore her health; and immediately, one day having passed, the said

Lady Anna recovered, and on the third day was made entirely healthy, and was afterwards always quite healthy of that illness, the witness herself seeing it. Asked about the time of the restoration of her health, the said witness answered, at the time of the translation of the body of the said Brother John the Good. Asked about the month, she answered that she was made healthy in the month of May. Asked about the day of the deliverance, she said, on a Saturday in the morning about the hour of terce. Asked in whose presence, she answered, in that of herself, the said witness, and of Lady Matthaea, formerly widow of Joanninus, and of many others whose names she said she did not remember, because the church was completely full. Asked whether it is public and notorious that the said Lady Anna suffered the said illness, and that she was freed by the prayers of the said brother, she answered yes; and the said witness said that her said mother Anna lived afterwards quite healthy for a year and a half and more; afterwards she died, because she was old. And the said witness said that the witness herself was a good thirty years old and more, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said.

[352] Testimony on the same miracle of Matthaea, The aforesaid Lady Matthaea, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that Lady Anna, mother of the said Lady Alda, suffered a very great illness, so that her deliverance was no longer hoped for, and the physicians despaired of her; and the physicians said that that illness was called dropsy, which illness the said Lady Anna suffered a good four years and more, as the witness herself saw. Whence, having heard that God was doing many miracles at the prayers of the said Brother John the Good, the daughter of the said Anna, namely Lady Anna, formerly widow of Bonaventura de Corvis, had her put into a certain boat and took her to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good, and the witness herself went with her; and they stayed at the said tomb in prayers for one night, that God at the prayers of the said brother might restore health to the said Lady Anna. And when morning came she recovered, so that she returned to her home, and in those three days she was perfectly and fully freed, so much so that always afterwards, as long as she lived, she did her tasks like any other most healthy woman, the witness herself seeing it. And the said witness, being asked, said that this was done at the time of the translation of the body of the said Brother John the Good, and that the said Lady Anna lived afterwards quite healthy, a good year and a half, as the said witness believed and said. But asked about the month and day, she said, in the month of May, and on a Saturday. Asked about the hour, she said that she was freed in the morning. Asked whether it is public and notorious that the said Lady Anna so suffered, as has been said, and was afterwards so freed by the prayers of the said brother, the said witness answered yes, indeed most well known. Asked how she knew that the said Lady Anna so suffered, and for so long a time, the said witness answered that she was her neighbour, and went to her almost every day and saw her so sick. Asked in whose presence she was so healed, the said witness answered, in that of herself and of the aforesaid Lady Alda, daughter of Lady Anna, and of many others: for the church was full of people, almost entirely. And the said witness said that she was of the age of twenty-five years and more, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard.

[353] of Caesarea, The aforesaid Lady Caesarea, wife of Coradus, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she saw the said Lady Anna suffering much, and that she remained sick a long time; and she said that she afterwards saw her healthy; and the said witness said that it was quite public and manifest how the said Lady Anna had remained sick a long time, and afterwards within two days was made healthy, as is publicly said by all; and the witness herself so said, that that illness the physicians said was called dropsy. Asked what public fame was, the said witness said, that which people commonly believe. And she said that the witness herself was of the age of thirty years; and that the witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said.

[354] of the other Caesarea, Lady Caesarea, formerly widow of Octobellus, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that it was quite public how Lady Anna fell ill and afterwards was freed by the prayers of the said Brother John the Good; and that the witness herself, from the fact that she was a neighbour of the said Lady Anna, saw her ill a good four years; and afterwards, before she was taken to the tomb of the said brother, she saw her always healthy. Asked what public fame was, the said witness said, that which all people say; and that the witness herself was forty years old; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said.

[355] and of Isnardus. "Isnardus, son of the late Rubartellus, of the quarter of Santa Maria sopra Porta at Mantua, swore concerning the miracles and the deliverance which God worked by the merits of the said brother for the aforesaid Lady Anna, to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the ninth day before the Kalends of December, there being present Vivaldinus, son of Gratiadeus of Mantua, and Armaninus, son of the late Jacobinus, witnesses."

The aforesaid Isnardus, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, said on his oath that he saw the said Lady Anna suffering a very great illness, which she had suffered for a long time, and afterwards saw her healthy; and the said witness said that he, in his own craft or boat, took and carried the said Lady Anna to the tomb of the said brother, and she was then very sick; and he saw her return freed, so that afterwards she was always healthy as long as she lived. Asked whether it was public that she had so suffered, and for so long a time, and that she was freed within the space of two days, he answered yes; and the said witness, being asked, said that he was of the age of thirty years, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER V.

The boy Florius is freed from a rupture of the bowels.

The oaths of the witnesses are received. "Lady Benghivene, wife of Mantuanus de Belvedere, of the borgo of St. James, and Lady Jacoba, wife of Lord Jacobus de Ughirecchis, of the same borgo, and Lady Viva, wife of Michael de Musso, of the same borgo, and Zamboninus, son of the aforesaid Mantuanus, and Lady Multobona, formerly widow of Mussinus, and Lady Bellina, wife of Venturinus, daughter of the same Multobona, of the aforesaid borgo, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year and indiction, on the second day before the Ides of November, in the church of St. James at Mantua ^a, there being present the priest Octobonus, rector of the church of St. James of Mantua, and Artimisius, son of the late Gambarus, and Martius, son of the late Dominicus, of the diocese of Brescia, witnesses."

[357] [Testimony of Benghivene about her son Florius, freed from a rupture of the bowels;] Fifth miracle. The aforesaid Lady Benghivene, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she had a certain son of hers named Florius, which Florius had been ruptured a good two years and more, and almost always in that time in which he suffered the illness he was in the hands of physicians, and nothing had done him any good, except that the physicians had the said Florius wear a truss; and when the boy Florius was of quite few days, the physicians had almost killed him with their medicines; whence, since the mother (namely Lady Benghivene) of the said Florius did not know what to do about her son Florius, by the advice of certain women friends of hers she vowed her son Florius to God and to Brother John the Good in these words: "I, Benghivene, vow to God and to Brother John the Good my son Florius, that if my son Florius is freed by the merits of the said Brother John the Good from that rupture which he suffers and has suffered now for two years, I will carry my son to the tomb of the said brother, and offer there a candle as great as the boy Florius is long"; and after the vow was made she waited three days before she looked at the rupture and disease of her said son Florius; but at the end of the three days she looked at the said rupture, and, the plaster and the truss which he had now worn a good two years being lifted off, she found him entirely freed: and he was so afterwards always, and is today. And then the said Lady Benghivene, praising and glorifying God, ran to a certain neighbour of hers named Lady Jacoba, and told her everything, and showed her the said Florius, her son, freed; and she asked her to make her a candle, because she wished to fulfil her vow; and the said Lady Jacoba made her a candle, and the said Lady Benghivene, having got the candle, eagerly and wholly fulfilled her vow. Asked at what time this was done, the said witness answered, at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother; but of the day, month and hour, and in whose presence, the said Lady Benghivene does not remember. Likewise, being asked, the said witness said that it is public that her son Florius was so sick, and afterwards freed by the merits of the said brother. Likewise the said witness said that the witness herself was of the age of thirty-six years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw, and this which she has said is the truth of the matter.

[358] testimony on the same miracle The aforesaid Lady Jacoba, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that Lady Benghivene, wife of Mantuanus, is her cousin and neighbour, who had and has a certain son of hers named Florius, who had been ruptured and wasted

in the lower part, the witness herself seeing it, a good two years, and that in those two years he was always in the hands of physicians, and nothing had done him any good; on the contrary, the illness seemed of worse condition one day than another: wherefore the mother of the said Florius, grieving to death, did not know what to do for her said son; whence she vowed him to God and to Brother John the Good, that if God freed her son by the merits of Brother John the Good, she would carry the said Florius to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good and offer there a candle as great as the said Florius was long. And three days having passed after the making of the vow, Lady Benghivene, the mother of the said Florius, looked at the disease of her said son, and, the plaster and truss being laid aside, she found her said son Florius so well healed that he was always afterwards quite healthy and is, and had no injury.

[359] of Jacoba Asked how she knew that the said Florius had been so sick, and for so long a time, and afterwards was freed by the merits of the said Brother John the Good, the vow of Lady Benghivene intervening, the said witness answered that the witness herself several times saw the said Florius so suffering, from the fact that she very often saw the mother of the said Florius put on the plaster, as the physicians prescribed, and the truss, and for so long a time as has been said; and when he was healed by the merits of the said brother, the mother brought her son to her, and she herself inspected him; seeing him freed, she gave thanks to God and to the said Brother John the Good; and the mother of the said Florius asked the witness to make her a candle, because she wished to fulfil her vow, and the witness herself made her a candle, and went with the said Lady Benghivene to the tomb of the said brother, and saw her offer a candle as great as the boy was long; yet the witness herself said that she was not present at the vow, but she saw the said Florius within four days injured, so that his inward parts had descended to the place of the testicles, and saw him within the said time healed, and he was always afterwards, and is today, healthy; yet his mother, Lady Benghivene, told the witness that she had made such a vow. Being asked, the witness herself said that she does not remember the time, month, day and hour. Asked whether it was public and manifest that that boy Florius first suffered that injury which has been mentioned, and that he had been freed by the merits of the said brother, the said witness answered yes. And the said witness said that the boy would never have been freed by the aid of physicians, as the witness herself believed, so injured was he, unless God had freed him at the prayers of the said brother. Being asked, the witness herself said that the said Florius was always afterwards healthy, and is, because the witness herself saw and sees him freed whenever she wishes. Asked of what age the witness herself was, the said witness answered that she was of the age of fifty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[360] of Altavilla, Lady Altavilla, wife of Jacobus, son of the late Joanninus, sworn above ^b as a witness to tell the truth concerning the foregoing, questioned on her oath, said that she is and was a neighbour of Lady Benghivene, who formerly had and has a certain son of hers named Florius, who, the witness herself seeing it, suffered a rupture in the lower part, so that his inward parts had already descended to the place of the testicles; and the said boy suffered this injury a good two years, and she saw the said Florius in those times always under the care of physicians, and nothing had done the said Florius any good; afterwards the witness herself said that the said Lady Benghivene, the mother of the said Florius, had told her how she had vowed her son to God and to Brother John the Good, and within three days found him healed; but as to the witness herself having been present at the vow, she said no; and then, when she related such things, the said mother of Florius showed the said witness the injury of Florius, and the witness herself saw him healed, whereas before she had seen him in such bad condition, and the physicians despaired of the deliverance of the same Florius; marvelling greatly, she began to praise the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Asked whether, when she last saw the said Florius so injured, as has been said, she saw him freed within an interval of four days, the said witness answered that within four days she saw him sick and freed. Asked whether the said Florius was always afterwards uninjured by such an injury and well freed, the said witness answered yes. Asked whether it was public that the said Florius had so suffered, as has been said above, and that he had been freed by the prayers of the said brother, the said witness answered yes; and the witness herself has indeed said the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, and because it is manifest.

[361] and of Zamboninus. The aforesaid Zamboninus, son of Mantuanus, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath, says that he had and has a certain brother of his named Florius, who was then about four years old; and that Florius had been ruptured a good two years and more so cruelly and severely that he had been almost always in the hands of physicians, and nothing had done him any good; on the contrary, the whole break and rupture seemed so to have passed into the groin ^c that the inward parts had already descended to the place of the testicles; and the witness himself believed that, had the said Florius not worn a certain truss, which by the advice of the physicians he always wore, all the intestines would have issued from the body of the said Florius; whence, the said Florius having already been given up by the physicians as incurable, the said witness said that Lady Benghivene, the mother of the said Florius and of the witness himself, spoke thus: "I vow to God and to Brother John the Good my son Florius; if God, by the merits of the said brother, frees and heals him, I will take my son Florius to the tomb of the said brother, offering there a candle as great in length as the said Florius was long, and I will give and offer there one wax truss." And three days after the making of the vow the said Lady Benghivene looked at the said Florius, her son, and found him healed and freed, the witness himself being present. And the said witness said that the witness himself went to the said tomb with his said mother, Lady Benghivene, when she went to fulfil the said vow. Asked whether he was present at the vow made by his mother, the said witness answered that he believes he was; yet he does not well remember. And the said witness said that within three days he saw the said Florius, his brother, sick and freed. Asked at what time this vow was made, the said witness answered, at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother; but of the month, day and hour the said witness said he did not remember. And the said witness said that the said Florius, his brother, was afterwards always quite healthy, and is today. Asked whether it is public that the said Florius was so ruptured, as has been said, and for so long a time, and that he had been freed by the prayers of the said brother, the said witness answered yes; and he said that the witness himself is of the age of seventeen years, and that he has testified to the foregoing not taught nor asked, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[362] Testimony of Viva about Thomasina, her daughter, freed from a wasting; Sixth miracle. The aforesaid Lady Viva, a witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she had and has a certain daughter of hers named Thomasina, who was so sick that she could not eat, nor drink, nor suck milk: which Thomasina was then about one year old; and the said witness said that she did not know by what name to call that illness. And the said witness said that her said daughter, because of that illness, was so dry and thin that nothing appeared in her but little bones, and she seemed a very wretched thing, namely a sort of monster on the earth. And the said witness said that her said daughter remained so sick a good two months and more; whence, since she already held her for dead, she vowed her to God and to Brother John the Good, saying: "I vow to God and to Brother John the Good my daughter Thomasina, that if God frees her from the illness which she suffers," that she would go and carry her said daughter to the tomb of the said brother, and offer there as much wheat as her said daughter weighed; and at once, as it were, her daughter began to suck milk, and so, before fifteen days had passed, the said Thomasina was so plump and so well healed that the said witness said, "So may God save my said daughter," flesh seemed as if brought by hands upon the said Thomasina; and she was always afterwards healthy, and is, as plainly appears. Asked at what time these things were done, the witness said, at the time of the translation of the said brother; but asked about the month, day and hour, the said witness said she did not remember. Asked in whose presence the said witness made the vow, she answered, in the presence of her husband, named Michael, and of her mother, named Lady Gisalba. Asked whether it is public that her said daughter so suffered, as has been said, and for so long a time, and that she was freed by the merits of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered yes; indeed people marvelled greatly when they saw her thus freed. Asked of what age she was, the said witness answered, twenty-eight years; and that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this is the truth of the matter.

[363] concerning the same miracle "Michael, son of the late Ugo de Mosso, husband of the aforesaid Lady Viva, and Ubertinus, son of the late Rubertus, of Arnaldesco, of the diocese of Brescia, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and place, on the eighth day before the Kalends of December, there being present Francisbellus, son of the late Dominicus de Cepatta, and Guilielmus, son of the late Gualterius, and Brother Joanninus, hermit, witnesses."

[364] testimony of Michael, The aforesaid Michael, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on his oath, said that the witness himself had and has a certain daughter of his named Thomasina, then about one year old, who at the time of the translation of the body of Brother John the Good was suffering much; by what name the illness was called the said witness did not know; and she had suffered for two months and more: from which illness the said

daughter of his had become so thin and dry that there was nothing in her but bones, nor did she appear a creature of God; whence, since the said witness grieved much over his said daughter, and did not know what to do about it, because she neither died nor lived, and his wife, Lady Viva, grieved much in the same way, his said wife, namely Lady Viva, the witness himself being present and hearing, said: "I vow to God and to Brother John the Good my daughter Thomasina"; that if God freed her by the merits of the said brother, she, the witness's wife, would carry her aforesaid daughter to the tomb of the said brother and offer there as much wheat as Thomasina herself weighed. And at once she began to suck a little milk, who before had gone for a good while without taking any food; and at once the said Thomasina began to recover, so that in fifteen days she was very plump, and was so plump afterwards too that many marvelled, and she was always afterwards quite healthy and is today. Asked whether it was public that the said Thomasina, his daughter, had so suffered, and for so long a time, and that she was freed by the prayers of the said brother, the said witness answered, yes, through his whole neighbourhood. Asked of what age the witness himself was, the said witness answered, thirty-two years; and that he has indeed testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and was present, as has been said.

[365] and of Margarita. "Lady Margarita, wife of Augustinus, of the quarter of the Friars Preachers ^d, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which she knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the fifth day before the Kalends of December, there being present Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Brother Ventura and Brother Bonaventura, hermits of the said order, witnesses." The aforesaid Lady Margarita, a witness questioned on her oath, said that she lived in one house with the said Lady Viva, wife of Michael, which Viva then had and has a certain daughter of hers named Thomasina, who suffered, and had suffered, so severely that nothing appeared in her but bones, and it was indeed a wonder to see. And not many days after, the said witness went to live in another house; what the said Lady Viva did in the meantime the said witness does not know, except that within eight days the said witness came back to see the said Thomasina, and found her healed and freed: at which the said witness marvelled greatly. And the said witness heard it publicly said in the quarter that the said Thomasina was freed because of the vow which the said Lady Viva made; and of this there was public fame through the whole quarter, because all who saw the said Thomasina so sick did not believe she would in any way escape; indeed her neighbours marvelled greatly that she was freed so quickly. Asked what public fame was, the said witness answered, that which people commonly say. Of the month, day and hour she does not remember. And the said witness said that she was twenty years old, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said above.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VI.

Sight is restored to Gerardinus, and health to the eye of Riccadonna.

Testimony of Multobona about the boy Gerardinus, freed from blindness; Seventh miracle. The aforesaid Lady Multobona, a sworn witness, questioned on her oath, said that she had and has a certain son of hers named Cecone, which Cecone had a certain son of his named Gerardinus, which Gerardinus was a good two years old, about, and more; whence, when one Sunday after nones the said Multobona, the witness, put the said Gerardinus, her grandson, to sleep, quite healthy and seeing, he slept almost until the evening hour. And when the said witness wished to lift him from a certain bench on which the said Gerardinus had slept, the said witness found him blind, so that he could in no way see; indeed he wept and groped with his hands like a blind person; and she put things before his eyes, and he could in no way see them: whence, since the witness herself and the same witness's daughter, named Lady Bellina, grieved to death and did not know what to do about it, and since they had no counsel, because other persons were not present there, nor did they wish to tell others, the said witness with a confident heart said: "I vow to God and to Brother John the Good my grandson Gerardinus; if God gives him light by the merits of the said brother, I will go to his tomb with the said boy Gerardinus and offer there two wax eyes." And at once, the witness herself and her daughter, named Lady Bellina, seeing it, the said boy was given light, and saw always afterwards. Asked how long the said Gerardinus remained so blind and did not see the light, the said witness answered, from the evening hour until compline ^a, and at compline the witness herself made the vow. Asked in whose presence she made the vow, she answered, in the presence of her said daughter Bellina; and Bellina herself went with her when she went to fulfil the said vow. Asked how long it was since these things were done, she said that it is two years; asked about the month, she said that she does not remember; and the said witness said that the witness herself was fifty years old, and that she has indeed testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw, and it is the truth of the matter.

[367] Testimony on the same miracle of Bellina. The aforesaid Lady Bellina, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she was the daughter of the said Lady Multobona, and the full sister of the said Cecone, who had one son who was called Gerardinus, who was then about two years old and more; and when, two years having now elapsed, one Sunday after nones, her mother, namely Lady Multobona, had put the said Gerardinus on a certain bench, wrapped in cloths, to sleep, he slept until the evening hour; and when the said Multobona wished to lift him, because the boy had woken by himself, she found the said Gerardinus blind, so that he could in no way see the light, nor did he see; indeed things were put before his eyes and he saw nothing, but groped at them like a blind person. The said Lady Multobona, grieving much over the said boy, and the witness herself, because no other person was there, the said Lady Multobona vowed concerning all these things, the witness being present, to God and to Brother John the Good, that if he freed and gave light to the said boy Gerardinus, she would lead or carry the said Gerardinus to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good and offer there two wax eyes; and the vow being made, at once, the said witness being present, the boy was given light and saw well. And then the said witness, rejoicing and glad together with her said mother, Lady Multobona, gave thanks to God; which done, both went, namely the said witness and Lady Multobona, to the tomb of the said brother, and did what the said Lady Multobona had vowed and promised in the witness's presence. And the said witness, being asked, said that the boy Gerardinus remained so blind and without light a good while, from the evening hour until compline. And the said witness, being asked, said that he did not wish that any should know of such a misfortune, and therefore it was not known by anyone except by the two of them; asked about the month, the said witness said that she did not remember. And the said witness said that she was of the age of twenty-five years; and that she has indeed testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard and was present, as has been said.

[368] The oaths of the witnesses are received. "Lady Riccadonna, wife of Lord Juncta, citizen of Mantua, of the Ruga Mattiera, and Lady Tedesca, servant, who belonged to Lord Paganus de Cervol, of the quarter of St. Michael, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the lord examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the seventeenth day before the Kalends of December, there being present Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Benvenutus, canon of Sant'Ilario, witnesses. Likewise Lord Juncta, son of the late Ubaldus, husband of the said Lady Riccadonna, of the Ruga Mattiera, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and place, on the ninth day before the Kalends of December, there being present the priest Bongiannes, chaplain of the lord bishop of Mantua, and Gerardinus, son of the late Rudulphus, and Brother Joanninus, hermit, witnesses. Likewise Lady Bonafemina, wife of Blancus Monticlarius, of the diocese of Mantua, of the quarter which is called Bellalancia, and Lady Diana, daughter of the late Junctus de Ormanorum, who lives in the village of San Silvestro ^b, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the aforesaid year, indiction and place, on the seventeenth day before the Kalends of December, there being present Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Benvenutus, son of the late Lord Zamboninus, and Riccardinus, son of Lord Egidius, witnesses."

[369] Testimony of Riccadonna about her healed eye; Eighth miracle. The aforesaid Lady Riccadonna, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that in Holy Week of the Easter of the Resurrection next to come, on Holy Wednesday, it will be two full years since Riccadonna herself was at the mill, and the miller was sharpening the millstones with an iron hammer, and a chip of the aforesaid millstone leapt into the left eye of the said Riccadonna, and the said chip was fixed in the eye, so that it could not be extracted by any aid of physicians; on the contrary, the physicians, trying to extract it, made the condition of the eye worse beyond measure, so that the said witness could in no way see with the said eye, or sleep, or rest; and the said witness was in this pain and blindness through the whole of Holy Week until the Monday in Albis of Easter; and on that day, remembering that God did many miracles by the merits of Brother John the Good, in the presence of her husband, Lord Juncta, she made such a vow: "I, Riccadonna, vow to God and to Brother John the Good that if God frees me in my eye by the merits of the said brother, I will go to his tomb, offering there one

wax head with both eyes"; and on the following day, Tuesday, at the hour of terce, when she was about to eat, she felt the said chip leap and be drawn out of her eye as if some person had drawn it out with his hands, and at once she was freed; and immediately she called her aforesaid husband and told him with great joy how she had been freed; and because the aforesaid witness herself was prepared to go to Rome, she went nonetheless, and having returned she went to the said tomb and fulfilled her vow. Asked in whose presence she made the vow, she answered, before her aforesaid husband and Lady Beatrice, who is now dead. And the said witness, being asked, said that it was and is public and notorious that she was so blind, and it is quite manifest to the physicians and others who had her in their care, and that they could not cure her, and that she was freed by the merits of the said brother. Asked whether she was always afterwards healthy in the said eye, she answered yes; and that the witness herself believed she was of the age of twenty-five years; and that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was through all things the truth of the matter, as has been said, and this was evident to many.

[370] testimony on the same miracle of Tedesca Lady Tedesca, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that when the said Lady Riccadonna had gone one day to the mill in Holy Week, on a certain Holy Wednesday, and when the miller was sharpening the millstones with a hammer, a certain chip leapt into the eye of the said Riccadonna and was so fixed in the eye that the physicians could not extract it in any way; and since the witness herself believed she had lost her eyes, she vowed herself to God and to Brother John the Good that if God, by the merits of the said brother, freed her, she would go to the tomb of the said brother and offer there one wax head with both eyes. And on the following day the said chip came out of the eye as if some person had drawn it out. And she, rejoicing and glad, namely Lady Riccadonna, went first to Rome, and the witness herself went with her, and when they had returned they went to the tomb of the said brother, and, as the said witness said, the said Lady Riccadonna fulfilled her vow entirely. Asked whether she was present at the vow, the said witness answered no; yet the said witness was present at all the other aforesaid things. Asked about the time, she said that in the coming Lent, in Holy Week, it will be two years; of the month she does not remember. The said witness, being asked, said that on Holy Wednesday the said chip entered the eye, and she had it in her eye until the Tuesday in Albis of Easter, and then she was freed; and the said witness, being asked, said that this was public and notorious, how Lady Riccadonna suffered in her eye, and for so long a time, and that she was freed by the prayers of the said brother. Asked of what age the said witness was, she answered, twenty-four years; and she said that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard and was present, as has been said.

[371] and of Juncta. The aforesaid Lord Juncta, a sworn witness, said on his oath that when Lady Riccadonna went to the mill, a chip entered her eye which could not be extracted by the physicians in any way; and immediately after she made the vow, on the following day, she was freed. Asked how much time it is since this happened, he answered that in the Lent next to come it will be two years. Asked about the month, he said he did not remember. Asked about the day, the said witness said that on Holy Wednesday the said chip entered the eye of his said wife, and she had it in her eye from the Wednesday until the Tuesday in Albis of Easter; and that on Holy Monday his wife made the said vow. Asked whether he was present at the vow, the said witness answered yes. Asked with what words his wife made use when she made the vow, the said witness answered, with these: "I vow to God and to Brother John the Good that if I am freed by the merits of the said brother, I will go to the tomb of the said brother and offer there one wax head with both eyes"; and she did so as she vowed, the witness himself being present. Asked whether it was public that his said wife was sick, as has been said, and so healed, as has been said, by the prayers of the said brother, the said witness answered yes. Asked of what age the witness himself was, the said witness answered, thirty-four years; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard and was present at all the foregoing, as has been said; but asked about the hour at which his said wife was freed, the said witness said, at the hour of terce, before the midday meal.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER VII.

The blessed man hears the prayers of a poor woman; he frees Bonafemina from grave pains.

Testimony of the aforesaid Riccadonna on the healing Ninth miracle. Likewise the said aforesaid Lady Riccadonna, sworn and questioned on her oath, said that in the month of May lately past it was one year since she had a certain pig of hers, which was so sick that it neither ate nor drank anything, and it had gone thus without eating a good eight days; whence, since the witness herself and her husband held it for dead, and grieved much, because they were poor, and the said witness's husband said that he was going to despair, and was always in tribulation and anguish, the said witness began to console her husband, saying that he ought not to be troubled, because that Lord who had freed her in her eye would free their pig; and at once the said witness made such a vow: "I vow to God and to Brother John the Good that if God, by the merits of the said brother, frees my pig, I will go to his tomb and gird his tomb round with a candle, and offer there half a pig of wax, which wax I will buy entirely with yarn that I shall spin with fasting spittle; and the thread that will be in the candle, or the tow, I will spin in the same way; and that I will stand upright before the tomb as long as it takes to burn a candle as long as the pig is long." And so on one day she made the vow, and on the next day, although the pig was still sick in the usual way, the said witness, having got the things she had promised, went to the tomb of the said brother and stayed there through the whole night in prayers, and did all that she had promised.

[373] of her pig; Asked how she could so quickly spin so much that she could fulfil the vow, she answered that she took it on credit from a certain merchant. When morning came, the said witness returned to her home and found her pig healed and entirely freed; so that, whereas the pig had not got up in those eight days, but always lay as if dead, it got up by itself, and ate and drank, and was well freed; and the said witness said that she afterwards sold it for a hundred soldi mezzani, less three imperials. Asked about the time, the said witness said, in the month of May. Being asked, the said witness said that on a Sunday in the morning she found it healed; and the said witness, being asked, said that she made the said vow in the presence of her husband; and the said witness said that it was public in her quarter how her pig was first so sick and afterwards healed by the prayers of the said brother; and that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this is the truth of the matter.

[374] other testimonies The aforesaid Lady Tedesca, a sworn witness, said that she saw the pig of the said Lady Riccadonna sick, as has been said, and that it remained so sick a good eight days, and she saw it afterwards suddenly, as it were within two days, entirely healed; and the said witness went with her when she went to the tomb of the said brother, and the said Lady Riccadonna offered there half a pig of wax, and a candle so long that she girded round the tomb of the said brother; and she stood upright in prayers as long as a candle as long as the pig was long took to burn; and she bought these things with yarn which she had spun with fasting spittle, as the said Riccadonna said. Asked whether she was present at the vow, the said witness answered no. Asked about the time, she said that in the month of May lately past it was a year; about the day, she said, on a Sunday in the morning. Asked whether it had been public that that pig was so sick, and for so long a time, and that it was freed by the prayers of the said brother, the said witness answered yes; and the said witness said that the said Lady Riccadonna made the vow on one day, and in the evening of the next they went with the promised things to the tomb of the said brother, and the following morning the said pig was found healed, the witness herself seeing it; which pig had gone a good eight days taking nothing. Asked how the said Lady Riccadonna could so quickly spin so much, and with fasting spittle, that she could buy so much wax, the said witness answered that a certain seller of wax gave her credit, the witness herself seeing it; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing, as she said, not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and was present.

[375] concerning the same miracle. The aforesaid Lord Juncta, a witness, said on his oath that in the month of May lately past it was one year since he had a certain pig of his, which was quite fine and fat, which fell sick so that it went a good eight days taking no food; indeed the witness himself held it for dead, and was bringing, and brought, many butchers to see whether they would have the pig, and he found none who would give him one penny; whence the witness himself, grieving much, did not know what to do about it, except that he said that he was going to despair, because he was a poor man; whence his wife began to console

him as far as she could; and then his said wife said, the witness himself being present and hearing: "I vow to God and to Brother John the Good my pig; if God frees it by the merits of the said brother, I will go to his tomb and stay there through the whole night, and offer there half a pig of wax, and gird his tomb round with a candle, before which I will stand upright for as long as it takes for a candle of the length of my pig to burn." And at once his said wife, not waiting, that is, for her pig to be healed, went to a certain man who gave her wax on credit, and went to the said tomb; what, however, his aforesaid wife did when she went, he said he does not know; but the witness himself remained at home: and whereas his pig had remained so for eight days, and had always lain down, the said witness heard his pig get up and grunt and go to the place in which it was accustomed to eat; and the said witness, in the greatest gladness, got up and went to the place where the pig was; and he found it standing up, and it was eating; and meanwhile his said wife returned, and whereas she believed that her pig was dead, she found it totally freed; and she was very joyful and glad; and the aforesaid witness said that his pig was always afterwards healthy, and his wife sold it for a hundred soldi mezzani; and the said witness said that his said wife satisfied the creditor for the wax only with yarn which she spun with fasting spittle. Asked about the day, the said witness said that on a Sunday at dawn his pig was freed, and on the Saturday, or Friday, his said wife had made the vow. And the said witness, being asked, said that it was quite public that his pig so suffered and that it was freed by the prayers; and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw.

[376] Testimony of Bonafemina, broken by a heavy fall, on Tenth miracle. Lady Bonafemina, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on her oath, said that when one Saturday, at the hour of terce, at the time of the translation of the body of Brother John the Good, she went to wash her clothes in rainy weather, her deliverance from pains; and was going down to the water in which she was to wash by certain stone steps, her foot slipped from her at the top of the steps, so that she fell on her back upon the stone steps, and struck her loins so cruelly against the stones that it seemed to her that all her bones were broken; and she tumbled from the top of the steps down to the water; and because there were no persons there who might help her, although because of the pain which she felt she almost lost her senses, crawling thus with her hands she returned to her house, which was there near by, beside the water; and when she was in her house she could not raise herself up, but cried out and exclaimed so through the whole night. And when morning came she stayed in bed until the hour of terce, and could not get up; and then she got up and had a certain neighbour of hers called, Diana by name, and had a staff given her, and went to the tomb of the said brother with great difficulty, for she went so bent that it was a wonder, because she could in no way raise her head: and she sat down a good six times before she came to the said tomb; and when she was there she prayed to God that he would free her at the prayers of the said brother, and offered a candle as long as the said witness was long; and she promised that she would never henceforth wash on a Saturday; and so immediately Bonafemina herself felt her bones being refitted and returning to their former place, and it pained her wonderfully; and immediately she raised her head and felt no pain, and so returned to her home healthy and brisk, and was always afterwards healthy, and is today, and afterwards felt no pain from this. Asked in whose presence she was freed, she answered, before the said Lady Diana and several who saw her going sick and returning healthy. Asked whether it was public that she so fell and that she was freed by the prayers of the said brother, she answered yes, to her neighbours. And the said Bonafemina said that she was of the age of thirty years and more, and that she has said the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was the truth of the matter.

[377] other testimonies The aforesaid Lady Diana, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that the witness herself was a neighbour of the said Bonafemina, and saw her so grieving and crying out that it was a wonder, because of a certain fall which she had had when she was going to wash; and she saw that she could not raise her head because of the pain which she felt; and the witness herself went with the aforesaid Lady Bonafemina, who could in no way walk, but sat down a good six times before she could come to the said tomb, and always carried a staff; and when she came to the said tomb she offered a candle as long as the said Bonafemina was long, and prayed before the said tomb, and at once was freed, the witness herself being present and seeing it; and she returned home healthy and cheerful, and the people marvelled greatly who had first seen that she could not walk even with a staff; and now she walks so well, and without a staff, and was always afterwards healthy and is today. Asked about the time, she said that she did not remember, nor the month; about the day, she said that she was made healthy on a Sunday, at the ninth hour. And the said witness said that she was of the age of eighteen years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, and because it is public through her whole quarter.

[378] concerning the same miracle. "Lady Ghisla, wife of Hermannus, citizen of Mantua, of the quarter of All Saints, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which she knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and place, on the seventh day before the Kalends of December, before Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Brother Bonaventura and Brother Ardicio, hermits of the said order, witnesses." The aforesaid Lady Ghisla, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she was and is a neighbour of Lady Bonafemina, wife of the aforesaid Blancus, who, when one Saturday, two years having now elapsed, she was going to wash some of her clothes, fell upon the steps so cruelly that her loins and almost all her bones were broken; and when the said Bonafemina had stayed through the whole of that Saturday and the whole night, and could not turn herself in her bed or raise her head because of the pain which she felt in her loins, but on the contrary, the witness herself seeing and hearing, exclaimed and cried out like a dying person, and since she could have no counsel as to what to do, she went and had two staffs brought her, and took with her a certain neighbour of hers named Diana, and went to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good; and when she went she could in no way walk, even with two staffs; and she saw her going after terce, thus sick, and returning at the evening hour healthy and merry, and without staffs: and she was afterwards healthy, and is today, as appears to many. Asked about the month, the said witness said that she did not remember. And the said witness, being asked, said that it was public to all her neighbours, and to many others, that she so fell, and that she was freed by the merits of the said brother before the tomb of the said brother. And the said witness said that she was of the age of thirty-two years, and that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said above.

CHAPTER VIII.

Mantuana is freed from arthritis, Cancellaria from fistulas.

The witnesses are bound by oath. Eleventh miracle. Lady Mantuana, daughter of the late Lord Rubertus, of Armaldesco, of the diocese of Brescia, who lives beside the palace of the commune, and Lady Martina, wife of Lord Zanibonus, in the quarter of St. Gervase, and Lord Guattius, barber, son of the late Bonomo, of the gate of Guellus …, and Lady Ricelda, formerly wife of Jacobinus, of the quarter which is called Tosa, swore concerning the aforesaid to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the said examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of December, there being present the lords Bartholomew and the priest Bongiannes, members of the household of the lord bishop of Mantua, and Lord Albizus, canon of the pieve of Pecciolo, witnesses."

[380] Testimony of Mantuana, freed from arthritis and ulcers; The aforesaid Lady Mantuana, sworn, said on her oath that she was suffering gout and many fistulas in her knees and legs, and so much that she could not raise herself from her bed except always with two staffs; and she suffered that illness for seven years, until the time of the death of Brother John the Good; and at the time of the death of the said brother, when God was showing many miracles among the people by his merits, the said Mantuana, trusting in the merits of the said brother, went to the tomb of the said brother, and was there two days and two nights, praying God to free her by the merits of the said brother. And the said two days and nights having elapsed, she immediately recovered from the said illnesses, so that she left one staff there, and returned home with the other; and within about eight days all the ulcers and fistulas and abscesses which she suffered went away without any aid of physicians, and she remained and continued healthy up to today, and went and always goes without a staff like any healthy woman. Asked in whose presence she was healed, and where, she answered, in the presence of her brother Ubertinus and many others whose names she said she did not remember; about the time, the said Mantuana said that it was at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother; of the month and day she does not remember. And the said witness said that her illness was and had been quite public, and that God had freed her by the prayers of the said brother; and that the said Mantuana has said the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was the truth of the matter.

[381] testimony on the same miracle of Ubertinus, The aforesaid Ubertinus, brother of the said Mantuana, a sworn witness, said on his oath that he saw his said sister Mantuana full of fistulas and abscesses and gout in her knees and legs, and as it were all over; and she suffered this illness for seven years, the witness himself seeing it; and

that she could not walk in any way, but always lay down, and when she went, she went with two staffs; and for a long time, although she was very poor, she was in the hands of physicians, and nothing had done her any good: whence, having heard that God was doing good to many by the merits of the said brother, the said Mantuana went with two staffs, with the greatest difficulty, to the tomb of the said brother, and stayed there two days and two nights before the tomb of the said brother, praying to the Lord that by the merits of the said brother he would free her; and at the end of two days, by the grace of Christ, the said Mantuana recovered, so much that, leaving one of the staffs, she returned home with the other staff; and within eight days afterwards she was totally healed, and is today, as quite manifestly appears ^a, and to all these. The said witness, being asked, said that he had been present; about the time the said witness said, at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother; of the month and day he does not remember; asked about the hour, the said witness said, in the morning, before the tomb of the said brother. Asked in whose presence, he answered, in that of the witness himself and of many others, because the church was full of people. And the said witness said that it is quite public and manifest to all how the said Mantuana, his sister, was sick for so long a time and so cruelly, and that she was freed by the prayers of the said brother. And the said witness said that the witness himself was of the age of twenty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not taught nor asked, but because he so saw, and was present at all the above.

[382] of Guattius, The aforesaid Lord Guattius, a sworn witness, said on oath that he saw the said Mantuana so suffering that for a long time she had stayed only in her bed, because she could not walk, and when she went, she went with two staffs; and that several times the witness himself, because he was a barber, let blood from the feet and legs of the said Mantuana; and then he saw, and did see, the ulcers and fistulas of the said Mantuana, of which the said Mantuana was all full in her legs; and the witness himself could never believe that she would afterwards be delivered. And then after many days he saw her healed, namely at the translation of the body of the said brother, and she was always afterwards healthy, and is today, as plainly appears. And the said witness said that he saw the said Mantuana so suffering a good seven years, and up to the translation of the body of the said brother, and afterwards saw her healthy, and walking without staffs; and the said witness said that it was quite public and manifest how the said Mantuana was sick for so long a time, and that she was freed by the prayers of the said brother; and the said witness said that he was of the age of forty years, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said.

[383] of Richelda, The aforesaid Lady Richelda, a sworn witness, said on her oath that she saw the said Mantuana for so long a time, as has been said above, so suffering, a good seven years; and that at the translation of the said brother she saw her going to the tomb of the said brother with two staffs, and returning with one staff only, and always afterwards she saw her healthy, and she is today like any other healthy woman; and it is public, as the witness herself said, that the said Mantuana was sick for so long a time, and so cruelly, and that she had been freed by the prayers of the said brother. And the said witness said that she was of the age of fifty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this is the truth of the matter, and public and manifest.

[384] and of Martina. The aforesaid Lady Martina, a sworn witness, said that it was public fame that the aforesaid Mantuana had suffered for so long a time, namely seven years, and was freed by the merits of the said brother; and that the witness herself saw her sick before the translation of the body of the said brother, and always walking with two staffs, and afterwards saw her healthy and freed, and sees her today. Asked what public fame was, she answered, that which people commonly believe and say. And the said witness said that the witness herself was forty years old, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and knew.

[385] The witnesses bind themselves by oath "Twelfth miracle. Lady Benvenuta, formerly widow of Lord Arlottus de Arlottis ^b, of the quarter of St. Martin, and Lady Jacoba, wife of Lord Taliaferrus de Arlottis, of the same quarter, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year and indiction, at Mantua in the palace of the said Lady Benvenuta ^c, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of December, there being present Lord Farina, son of the late Lord Octolinus, and Bonajuncta, son of the late Lord Janus Guidottus, and Brother Joanninus, hermit. Likewise Lady Cancelleria, a sister, daughter of the late Lord Arlottus de Arlottis, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which she knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year and indiction, at Mantua at the church of St. Mark [d] of Mantua, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of December, there being present Lord Gaudinus, physician, of Manerbio [e], of the diocese of Verona, and the lord prior of the aforesaid St. Mark's, and Brother Bonaventura, hermit of the said order. Likewise Lady Inghettia, formerly widow of de Conforti, of the quarter of St. Stephen, and Lady Isabella, formerly widow of Lord Martinus, of the same quarter, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year and indiction, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of December, in the church of St. Stephen at Mantua, there being present Lord Benvenutus, son of the late Lord Martinus de Maceratis, and Lord Buosus, son of the late Lord Gerardinus, of the quarter of St. Stephen, and Brother Joanninus, hermit, witnesses."

[386] Testimony of Cancellaria, freed from fistulas and countless ulcers; The aforesaid Lady Cancellaria, a sister, sworn and questioned on her oath, said that, as she believed, it is a good sixteen years since she was taken to Cesena, because she was suffering many abscesses, and fistulas in many places, and as it were all over; that for a long time she had been in the hands of physicians and nothing had done her any good: which illness, as she said, she had suffered a good ten years and more; and since the Lord, by the merits of Brother John the Good, had done good to many, and all the sick who were taken and went to him at Cesena returned healthy ^f, Lady Benvenuta, formerly widow of Arlottus, stepmother of the said Cancellaria, and Lady Jacoba, wife of Lord Tagliaferrus, made ready and took her by water as far as Ravenna; afterwards they went by land as far as the place of the said Brother John the Good; and having found the brother, and shown him the sores, and lifted the plasters, they wished the said Brother John the Good to sign her ulcers, and to heal and free the said Cancellaria from the said sores; he would not sign her, and spoke thus: if Cancellaria herself wished henceforth to serve God and to beware of sins henceforth, he would pray God for her. And they departed from him, having first had the answer from the said Cancellaria that she gladly wished to serve God. And having taken the road, they returned to Mantua; and after they were at Mantua, the said Lady Benvenuta, having lifted the rags and plasters from those ailments, found her as good as healed, so that within two months she was healthy like any other woman, and is today, and was always afterwards; and Lady Cancellaria herself afterwards took the habit of religion, and has been there up to the present day, healthy, without any injury. And asked about the time, the said sister Cancellaria said that it is twelve years and more; about the month she said she believes it was in the month of April; of the day and hour she does not remember; likewise, asked whether it was public that she had so suffered, and for so long a time, the said witness answered yes. And she said that the witness herself was a good twenty-eight years of age, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw, and was so made healthy.

[387] testimony of Benvenuta, The aforesaid Lady Benvenuta, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that a good fifteen years or so have elapsed since she had, and has, a certain stepdaughter of hers named Cancellaria, being then a good eighteen years old, who was all full of abscesses and fistulas, because of which she had been a long time in the hands of physicians; and whenever she was freed in one place, at once it sprouted in another; and she remained sick in that illness a good sixteen years. Whence, since the aforesaid Lady Benvenuta, the witness, was already in despair of her recovery, indeed would rather have wished her to die, since she could not be freed, and the physicians said she was rotten and so corrupted that she could never be freed henceforth, and since for a long time the witness herself had heard of the fame of the said Brother John the Good, who was then living at Cesena, and that many, healthy and sick, went to him, each in his own state, and returned praising and glorifying God, the said witness made ready, and took with her the said Jacoba, wife of Lord Taliaferrus [g], and went to Cesena, taking the said Cancellaria with her; and she went by water as far as Ravenna; and afterwards they went by land as far as the place of the convent of hermits of Cesena, where the said Brother John the Good was: whom having found, they showed him the sores and fistulas of the aforesaid Cancellaria, and wished him to sign her, and the brother would not; yet he answered them thus, that if she would promise him, the brother, henceforth to serve God and to beware of sins, he would pray God for her; and that Lady Cancellaria answered that she would gladly.

[388] of the mother of Cancellaria, At length, the sores having been bound up again with rags in the usual way, they returned to Mantua as quickly as they could, the witness herself and the said Lady Jacoba and the above-mentioned Cancellaria; and at once the said witness, when she was at Mantua, wishing to change the said sores' dressings in the usual way, the rags being lifted, found Cancellaria as good as healed; and then the said witness threw away all the bandages and rags, and within about one month she was entirely freed, and was always afterwards healthy; and she is today a sister in the church of St. Mark at Mantua ^h. Asked about the month, the said witness said that it was after the Easter of the resurrection; about the day, the said witness, being asked, said that on a Sunday they were at Cesena, and showed the said sores to the said Brother John

the Good, and they stayed there until Tuesday morning, and took the road of returning to Mantua; and on the following Sunday the said witness found her freed, after the midday meal. Asked whether this was public, that Cancellaria had so suffered for so long a time and so cruelly, and that she was afterwards freed by the prayers of the said Brother John the Good, the said witness answered yes; and the said witness, being asked, said that she was of the age of forty years and more, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because, as she said, it is the truth of the matter, and the witness herself so saw.

[389] concerning the same miracle; Likewise the same aforesaid Lady Benvenuta said that when she went to Cesena for her said stepdaughter Cancellaria, she took with her, at her own expense and at the expense of Lady Jacoba, wife of the aforesaid Taliaferrus, a certain blind woman, for the love of Jesus Christ, who could not see in any way, named Lady Bona, of the same quarter as the said witness; indeed, the witness herself seeing it several times, when she wished to put her hand into the dish she put it into the cup, or into some other place; and she had been blind for several years before; and when she, the blind woman, was at Cesena, she went and spoke with the said brother: what they said and did, the said witness said she did not know, except that on the return the said Bona saw the light, and always afterwards as long as she lived; and she lived afterwards four years and more, the witness herself seeing it, well given light. Likewise the said witness said that it was quite public and manifest that the said Lady Bona was so blind a long time, and afterwards was freed by the prayers of the said brother. About the time, she said, at the time when she took her said stepdaughter Cancellaria to Cesena; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[390] likewise of Lady Jacoba. The aforesaid Lady Jacoba, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she went to Cesena a good fifteen years ago now, with the said Benvenuta, formerly widow of Lord Arlottus, and they took with them the aforesaid Lady Cancellaria, who was suffering, and had suffered a good sixteen years, many fistulas and other sores, and as it were all over; and that, the witness herself seeing it, she had always used the counsel of physicians, and nothing had done her any good; indeed almost every day she grew worse; nor was the deliverance of Cancellaria any longer hoped for, either by physicians or by others. And after the said Cancellaria had returned from Cesena to Mantua, she was always afterwards healthy, and is today; yet the said witness said that when the said Benvenuta and Cancellaria spoke with the said Brother John the Good, the witness herself was not present. Asked about the month, she answered, after the Easter of the Lord's Resurrection; about the day she said that on a Sunday, the witness herself seeing it, the said Lady Benvenuta and Cancellaria spoke to the said Brother John the Good, and they stayed there until the following Tuesday morning, and on Sunday, as she believed, they arrived at Mantua, and then the said Cancellaria was found healthy, after the midday meal. And the said witness, being asked, said that it was very public how the said Cancellaria had remained sick for so long a time and so cruelly, as has been said, and that she was freed by the prayers of the said Brother John the Good. Asked of what age the said witness was, she answered, sixty years; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and knew it to be the truth of the matter.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER IX.

Bona and Thomasinus are freed from blindness, and the latter's wounds are healed.

Testimony of Jacoba about Bona, freed from blindness; Thirteenth miracle. Likewise the same aforesaid Lady Jacoba, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that in her quarter there was a certain very poor woman, who for a long time had not seen the light in any way, the witness herself believes a good ten years, who was called Lady Bona, whom the witness herself and the aforesaid Lady Benvenuta took to Cesena at their own expense; and when the said Bona was at Cesena, she spoke with the said Brother John the Good. What the said Brother John the Good said to her she does not know, except that when they were returning, one evening, she was so given light that she saw like any other woman with good sight; and so given light the said Bona lived afterwards, the witness herself seeing it, a good four years and more. Asked how she knew that the said Bona was at first so blind, as has been said, and afterwards given light by the merits of the said brother, the said witness answered that the witness herself saw the said Bona so blind, and when she thought she was putting her hand into the dish, she put it into the cup, or into some other place; and likewise she did not know how to walk unless someone led her; and afterwards, having returned from Cesena, she saw and walked, and did her tasks like any other quite healthy woman; and because, as the witness herself said, it was public and notorious that the said Bona was so blind, and for so long a time, as has been said, and afterwards given light by the merits of the said brother. Indeed people marvelled greatly; and the said witness said that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard.

[392] testimony of Inghettia The aforesaid Lady Inghettia, sworn and questioned on her oath, said that she went to Cesena with Lady Benvenuta and Lady Jacoba and the aforesaid Cancellaria; and there was there a certain blind woman who was called Bona, whom the aforesaid ladies took at their own expense in a boat, and she returned with them; and the said Cancellaria, as was said, was full of fistulas and other illnesses; and, as was said afterwards, and I heard it publicly said, she was freed by the prayers of the said Brother John the Good. And the said witness said that on the return she saw the said Bona given light, and heard it said publicly and openly at Mantua that the said Bona was blind, and that she had remained so a long time, and after she returned from Cesena she was always given light. Asked what public fame was, the said witness answered, that which people commonly believe and say; and the said witness said that she went to Cesena because of the public fame of the brother, to see him. Asked about the time, she said that, as she believed, it is a good fifteen years; and the said witness said that she was sixty years old, and said that of the other things she did not remember; and the said witness said that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because it was so manifest to many.

[393] and of Isabella, on the two preceding miracles. The aforesaid Lady Isabella, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that a good fifteen years and more have elapsed, as the witness herself believed, since, because of the fame which the witness herself heard, she went to Cesena to see the said Brother John the Good; and she went in a boat with Lady Benvenuta, formerly widow of Lord Arlottus, and Lady Jacoba, wife of Lord Taliaferrus, who were taking with them two sick women, namely Lady Cancellaria, stepdaughter of the said Lady Benvenuta, who was full of fistulas and many other very bad ulcers, and had remained so a long time, as was said by many, and Bona the blind woman, who was their neighbour, and who had been blind a long time; and the aforesaid ladies were taking her at their own expense for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. What

the aforesaid ladies with those two sick women said and did with Brother John the Good, the said witness said she did not know; yet she returned with them in one boat to Mantua, and saw the said Bona given light, and saw her afterwards for a long time given light, and heard it publicly said at Mantua that God, by the merits of the said brother, healed and freed the said Cancellaria; and she was always afterwards healthy, and is today a sister in the monastery of St. Mark, as quite manifestly appears. Asked about the month, the said witness said that she does not otherwise remember, except that it was after the Easter of the Lord's Resurrection; more about these things the witness herself said she did not know: and the said witness, being asked, said that the witness herself was of the age of fifty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this is the truth of the matter.

[394] The oath of the witnesses is received. "Fourteenth miracle. Januarius, son of the late Lord Omnisbonus, of the quarter of St. Gervase at Mantua, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the said examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of December, there being present Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Vivaldinus, son of Gratiadeus, a Mantuan, and Brother Bonaventura, hermit of the said order, witnesses. Likewise Lady Quarentina, wife of the aforesaid Januarius, and Lady Ferronia, daughter of the late Ugo de Mariana ^a, of the chapel of St. Alexander, and Lady Jemma, daughter of the late Lord Petrus, of the quarter of St. Gervase, and Amadorina, wife of Albertinus, called Conte, of the same quarter, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and place, on the eleventh day before the Kalends of December, there being present the said Lord Albizus, and Gratiadeus, son of the late Lord Bonettus de Ripa ^b, and Brother Bonaventura, hermit of the said order, witnesses."

[395] Testimony of Januarius about his son Thomasinus, whose wounds were healed The aforesaid Januarius, a sworn witness, said on his oath that his little son, named Thomasinus, two and a half years old, was then playing in the quarter of St. Gervase at Mantua, on the Ripa, and a certain horse running fast through that quarter trampled and tore the said Thomasinus all over, and especially in the foot and left hand, and threw him far with its hoof, so that the boy almost lost his life, and did not seem alive; whence, a very great outcry of the people being made, the report reached the father and mother that their son Thomasinus, kicked by a horse, had perished; and the said witness, the father of the aforesaid Thomasinus, though he was sick, ran at once, and found his said son as it were dead; and at once the said witness, together with his wife, began to cry out and say: "Brother John the Good, I beg you to give me back my son Thomasinus." And the prayer being made, immediately the boy was restored to his former health, and at once opened his eyes, and began at once to suck his mother's milk, and was healthy immediately, so that nothing bad appeared in him, and he is so today. Asked about the time, the said witness said, at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother; about the month, he said, in the month of July; asked about the day, the said witness said he did not remember; about the hour he said, about the evening hour; asked in whose presence, he said, in that of Lady Guilla, formerly widow of Lord Pax, and Lady Jemma, daughter of the late Lord Petrus, and of several others; and the said witness said that this was public through his whole quarter; and the said witness said that he was of the age of forty-three years; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said.

[396] and blindness; Likewise the same Januarius said that the same son of his, Thomasinus, suffered in both eyes, so that he went a good two or three days in which he did not see the light in any way, and especially he had the right eye so covered with a certain film that his deliverance was in no way hoped for thereafter; and when a certain grandmother of the said Thomasinus, named Feronia, had carried two wax eyes to the tomb of the said brother, and had made a prayer to the Lord before the tomb of the said brother that by the merits of the said brother he would deign to free the said Thomasinus, at once the said boy was freed, up to today; of the time, month and day he does not remember; about the hour he said, at the hour of terce. Asked in whose presence the said Thomasinus was freed, he said, in that of the witness himself, and of the said grandmother, and of the mother of the said Thomasinus; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw, and it was manifest to many.

[397] testimony of Quarentina, mother of Thomasinus, The aforesaid Lady Quarentina, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that her son Thomasinus was playing in the quarter of St. Gervase, on the Ripa, at Mantua, and a certain horse running hard trampled him hard and cruelly, so that it threw him far with its foot, and the said boy was as it were dead: whence, since a very great outcry had been made by the people, the witness herself ran hard and found her said son Thomasinus as it were dead, severely injured all over his left side, especially in the foot and left hand; and the witness grieved immediately to death, and began to say loudly: "Brother John the Good, give me back my son Thomasinus." And at once, all the people standing by there seeing it, the said boy was freed, and opened his eyes, and began to suck his mother's milk, no bad sign appearing in him from so great a danger; and he was afterwards quite healthy, and is today, as evidently appears. Asked about the time, the said witness said that this was at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother; asked about the month and day, she said she did not remember; asked about the hour, she said, about the evening hour; and the said witness, being asked, said that when her son was kicked there were present there Lady Guilla, formerly widow of Lord Pax, and Lady Jemma, daughter of the late Lord Petrus, and several others. Asked whether it was public that her said son Thomasinus was so trampled by the horse, and so immediately freed by the merits of the said brother, the said witness answered, yes, through her whole quarter; and the said witness said that she was of the age of forty years; and the said witness said that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was the truth of the matter.

[398] on the same miracles, Likewise the said same Quarentina said that in the coming Holy Week it would be a year since her said son Thomasinus had suffered in both eyes, so that he had gone a good two or three days in which he had not seen at all in any way, and especially he had his right eye covered with a certain little film; whence the said witness did not believe that he would ever see the light thereafter; and when the witness herself, with her aforesaid husband Januarius, grieved much over this, a certain Lady Feronia, grandmother of the said Thomasinus, took two wax eyes and went to the tomb of the said brother, and began to pray the Lord that by the merits of Brother John the Good he would free the said Thomasinus; and at once, as it were on that day or the second, the boy recovered, so that he saw well, like any other boy with good sight, up to the present day; asked about the month and day, the said witness said she did not remember; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was evident not only to her but also to many people; and asked about the hour, the said witness said that she believes her boy was given light between the hour of terce and nones.

[399] likewise of Feronia. The aforesaid Lady Feronia, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she was the grandmother of the said Thomasinus, son of the aforesaid Januarius; and she said that in the coming and next Holy Week it will be a year since the said boy Thomasinus was suffering so much in both eyes that he went several days in which he could not see the light, and especially in the right eye; and when the father and mother of the said Thomasinus grieved to death, the said witness took two wax eyes and went to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good, and offered him the aforesaid two eyes, asking and beseeching God that by the merits of the said brother he would deign to give light to the said Thomasinus and free him in his eyes; and she returned home, and that Thomasinus immediately recovered, so that he was immediately freed, and was so always afterwards up to the present day. But of the month and day she does not remember: about the hour she said that it was at the hour of terce when she returned from the said tomb and found him recovering, and he was afterwards healthy up to the present day. Asked of what age the said witness was, she answered, forty years. Asked whether it was and had been public that the said Thomasinus was so blind, and afterwards given light by the merits of the said brother, the said witness answered yes; and the said witness said that she has testified to the foregoing not taught nor asked, but because she so saw and did and was present, as has been said.

[400] of Jemma, The aforesaid Lady Jemma, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that when one day a boy perhaps two years old and more, named Thomasinus, son of Januarius, was playing in the street in the quarter of St. Gervase, in the place which is called Ripa, and a certain horse was running fast along that street in which the said Thomasinus was, it struck, the witness herself seeing it, and trampled the said Thomasinus cruelly and very badly, and threw him far with its hoof, and injured and kicked the said boy so much that the boy was as it were dead, and seemed dead; and the witness herself, believing him dead, ran and took up the said boy, believing him dead, and the boy without doubt appeared dead, because he neither opened his eyes nor could get his breath back; and while the said witness was holding him in her arms, weeping and believing him dead, the parents of the said Thomasinus came, and when they had found him cruelly struck and injured and as it were dead, and because all the people believed him dead, at once the father and mother began to cry out and say: "Brother John the Good, give me back my son." And at once, all standing by there, the said Thomasinus opened his eyes and revived, and began to suck his mother's milk; and all standing by began to praise the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the boy was immediately quite

healthy, so that almost no injury appeared in him, and he is so today, the witness herself seeing it; and the said witness, being asked, said that this was public and notorious, from the fact that many then ran together to see so great and such a miracle; and the said witness, being asked, said that this was at the time of the translation of the body of the said Brother John the Good; but of the month and day she said she did not remember; but about the hour the said witness said that this was at the evening hour. Asked whether what has been said above was public, the said witness answered yes; and the said witness said that she was of the age of twenty-four years; and the said witness said that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and was present, as has been said.

[401] and of Amadorina. The aforesaid Lady Amadorina, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she saw the son of the aforesaid Januarius, named Thomasinus, about two years old, kicked all over at the evening hour, and thrown far with its hoof by a certain horse running fast; and the witness herself ran to the boy at once, and many people ran, crying out: "The son of Januarius is dead." And when the witness herself had taken up the said boy, holding him in her arm, believing him dead, and he appeared dead, because he neither opened his eyes nor moved himself in any way, meanwhile the father and mother came, crying out and saying: "Brother John the Good, I beg you to give me back my son Thomasinus." And at once the said Thomasinus opened his eyes, and revived, and began to suck his mother's milk, and always afterwards had no injury from the said danger; and then, at that very prayer, he was fully freed from every wound. Asked of what age the witness herself was, the said witness answered, eighteen years; and that the witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard and was present, as has been said above.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER X.

Bonacursus's foot is healed; sight is restored to Bonapax.

The oath of the witnesses is received. "Fifteenth miracle. Lady Mantuana, formerly widow of Petrus del Cosa, of San Salvatore, and Lady Gratia, wife of Joannes Confectosus, of the same quarter, and Lady Maria Bona, daughter of the late Lord Joannes de Monte Claro, of the same quarter, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and place, on the eighth day before the Kalends of December, there being present Petrus Bongiannes, chaplain of the lord bishop of Mantua, and Contrus, member of the household of the same lord bishop, and Brother Bonaventura, witnesses."

[403] [Testimony of Mantuana about her son Bonacursus, freed from a disease of the foot:] The aforesaid Lady Mantuana, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she had a certain son of hers named Bonacursus, who was then about four years old, or five, which Bonacursus was suffering in the toe of his left foot which is next to the big toe; and he had now suffered that illness a good year; and the said witness said that the witness herself had always used the counsel of physicians, and nothing had done her said son Bonacursus any good; whence the said witness vowed him, that if God, by the merits of Brother John the Good, freed her said son, the witness herself would take the said Bonacursus to the tomb of the said brother and offer there a candle as long as the whole leg of the said Bonacursus; and at once, within eight days, the said boy Bonacursus was entirely freed; and the witness herself neglected to fulfil her vow; indeed she said, and kept saying within herself, that the said boy was freed for this reason, that the time had come naturally at which he was to be freed thereafter, and that he would have been freed otherwise without the vow. And at once the said illness broke out again so very bad and cruel that it seemed that it would gnaw the whole foot of the said boy; and all the physicians said it was incurable unless the toe or the foot were cut off; and the witness herself, grieving to death, went to the tomb of the said brother, and confessed her sins to one of the brothers, and especially that bad belief which she had had, that her said son had not been freed by the prayers of the said brother; and she went before the tomb of the said brother with the greatest compunction, and prayed the Lord that by the merits of the said brother he would free her son; and she then offered there before the said tomb a wax foot with the whole leg; and at once the aforesaid boy recovered, so that within eight days he was totally freed, and is so today, as plainly appears. Likewise the said witness, being asked whether it was public and manifest in her neighbourhood that her said son Bonacursus was at that time sick in the toe of his foot, as has been said, and so cruelly, and that he was freed by the prayers of the said brother, answered yes; and the said witness, being asked about the time, said that in the month of November of the present year it was a year; but of the day and hour the said witness said she did not remember; and she said that when she made the vow no one was present; yet when she carried the said wax foot with the whole leg, Lady Maria Bona, daughter of the late Lord Joannes, went with her; and the said witness said that she was of the age of thirty years, and that she has testified to the foregoing not taught nor asked, but because she so did, as she said, so may the Lord preserve to her, the witness, her said son Bonacursus.

[404] testimony of Gratia on the same miracle The aforesaid Lady Gratia, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she saw the said Bonacursus suffering cruelly in the toe of his foot, and the witness herself believed that it was a cancer or a fistula, a good year; and that, the witness herself seeing it, he was always in the care of physicians, and nothing did Bonacursus any good: whence, as Lady Mantuana, the boy's mother, said, she made a vow to God and to Brother John the Good that if God, by the merits of the said brother, freed the said Bonacursus in the aforesaid toe, she would give and carry a wax foot with the leg to the tomb of the said brother. And within eight days the boy was freed, and well; and the witness herself, being asked, said that she was a neighbour of the said Lady Mantuana, and saw the boy so suffering, and for so long a time, and in the care of physicians, as has been said; and afterwards within eight days after the vow was made she saw him fully freed; and he was so always afterwards and is today, as plainly appears, and at which many people marvel. Asked about the time, the said witness said that she believes it is a year in the present month of November; but asked about the day and hour, and in whose presence, the said witness said she did not know; and the said witness said that it was and is public through her whole neighbourhood that the said Bonacursus suffered for so long a time, and so very badly, and that in so short a term after the vow made by his mother he was freed by the prayers of the said brother. Likewise the said witness said that she was of the age of forty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[405] and of Berta. The aforesaid Lady Berta, a sworn witness concerning the foregoing, and questioned on her oath, said that in the present month of November it will be a year since the aforesaid Lady Mantuana had and has a certain son of hers named Bonacursus, who had suffered a long time in the toe of his foot; and that some said it was a cancer, some that it was a fistula; and that, the witness herself seeing it, the said Lady Mantuana always used for her aforesaid son the counsel and help of physicians, and nothing had done him any good; whence Lady Mantuana vowed him to God and to Brother John the Good, that if her son were freed by the prayers and merits of the said brother, Lady Mantuana herself would carry to the tomb of the said brother a wax foot with the whole leg: and at once, within eight days, the witness herself seeing it, the said Bonacursus was entirely freed, and was so always afterwards, and is today; and the witness herself, as she said, went to the tomb of the said brother with the said Lady Mantuana when she went to fulfil what she had promised. Asked whether she was present at the vow, the witness answered no, but she saw the said boy within eight days sick and injured in the toe, and freed, as has been said. Asked how she knew these things to which she has testified, the said witness said that the said Lady Mantuana was her neighbour and her great friend: but asked about the day and hour, and in whose presence, the said witness said she did not know; and the said witness, being asked, said that what has been said was quite public and manifest in her neighbourhood, and that the aforesaid boy was freed by the merits of the said brother; and the said witness, being asked, said that she was thirty years old; and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[406] The oaths of the witnesses are received. "Sixteenth miracle. Bonapax, son of the late Ugo, of the quarter of St. Leonard ^a at Mantua, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the seventh day before the Kalends of December, there being present Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Brother Ardicio and Brother Bonaventura, hermits of the said order, witnesses. Likewise Lady Otta, wife of the aforesaid Bonapax, and Michael, son of the late Marinus, of the aforesaid quarter of St. Leonard, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and place, on the sixth day before the Kalends of December, there being present Brother John, hermit, and the aforesaid Lord Albizus, canon, witnesses, and several others."

[407] Testimony of Bonapax, The aforesaid Bonapax, sworn, said on his oath that when he was formerly, at the time of the translation of the body of Brother John the Good, at San Martino de Gothonari ^b, of the diocese of Mantua, because he was born of that land or in it, he remained there a good two years blind, so that he did not see the light in any way, nor did he see it in those two aforesaid years, as was and is manifest to all of the said

place; indeed, although he relates it unwillingly, he went begging from door to door, and his wife led him, and did lead him, at that time. Whence, having heard of the fame of the said Brother John the Good, he had made, as he was advised by certain people, two wax eyes, and he got a candle as long as his head was, and he came together with his aforesaid wife to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good, and offered the aforesaid eyes and candle, and stayed there and made his prayer to God, saying: "Lord Jesus Christ, I ask you that by the merits of Brother John the Good, who lies in this tomb, you deign to give me light, so that I may be able to work and do my tasks, and that I may be able to give up this begging." And at once, before his wife, he recovered, so that he returned home by himself, so that within those two days he was truly given light, and is so today, as evidently appears.

[408] to whom sight was restored; The said Bonapax, asked how this happened to him, said that he had lost his sight through a certain illness which he had; and he said that when he was given light many were in the church of St. Agnes, where the body of the said brother is and was, whose names he said he did not remember; but asked about the month, day and hour, the said witness said he did not remember. And being asked he said that he was now of the age of forty years; and the said witness, being asked, said that his blindness was quite public, for when he went begging his wife led him, and he carried a staff like a blind man, and that he was freed by the prayers of the said brother: indeed many people marvel; and he has indeed said the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because it was and is so.

[409] other testimonies The aforesaid Lady Otta, a sworn witness, said on her oath that at the time of the translation of the body of the said Brother John the Good she was at a certain place in the diocese of Mantua which is called San Martino de Gothonari, with her husband and spouse Bonapax, who through a certain illness which he had lost his sight totally, and so remained blind a good two years, so that he did not see in any way. Indeed his wife herself led him from door to door begging, and Bonapax himself always carried a staff like a blind man, and they were much ashamed to go from door to door; yet they could do nothing else; whence, having heard of the fame of the said brother, they came to his tomb with two wax eyes and a candle as long as his head was; and all these things having been offered before the said tomb, they prayed God, and specially the wife herself, that by the merits of the said brother he would give light to the said Bonapax her husband; and Bonapax himself stayed a little while beneath the tomb where the body of the said brother is and was, and immediately, raising his head, he began to see the light a little, and so little by little he recovered all his sight, so that afterwards he saw; and he sees the light so well that he works and does his tasks like another man, at which people marvel greatly. Asked about the month, day and hour, the said witness said that she did not remember; asked in whose presence the said Bonapax was given light, she said, in that of the witness herself and of several others whose names she does not remember; and she said that it is public through the whole city of Mantua how the said Bonapax, blind a long time, was given light by the merits of the said brother; and the said witness said that she was of the age of thirty years, and that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and was present, as has been said.

[410] concerning the same miracle. The aforesaid Lord Michael, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that, out of reverence for God and for the salvation of his soul, he exercises such an office, that when sermons ^c are held through the city of Mantua, he cries out and says before all: "Do good to such a poor man, or to such a captive, for the love of God." And afterwards he himself goes round receiving pennies, and gives them to the one for whom he asked; whence the witness himself said that he several times asked the people on behalf of this Bonapax, and received pennies, and gave them to the said Bonapax, because he was blind, and had been so a long time, the witness himself seeing it; and it was public to all that Bonapax was so blind, and that he was much ashamed to go from door to door; and afterwards the said witness saw the said Bonapax at the tomb of the said Brother John the Good, blind as he had hitherto been, and afterwards saw him, when he returned from the said tomb, given light; and the said witness afterwards saw the said Bonapax always given light, and he is so today, as evidently appears. Asked about the time at which the said Bonapax was given light, the said witness said, at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother; but asked about the month, and about the day and hour, and in whose presence he saw him at the said tomb, the said witness said he did not remember; and the said witness, being asked, said that it is quite manifest through the whole city of Mantua that the said Bonapax was given light by the merits of the said brother: indeed people marvel greatly, and it is to be marvelled at. And the said witness said that he was of the age of fifty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said above.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER XI.

Bonaventura is freed from a demon, Benasciuta from blindness.

The oath of the witnesses is received. "Seventeenth miracle. Lady Bonaventura, wife of Meliorinus, son of the late Tosus, of Verona, and Meliorinus himself, husband of the said Bonaventura, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and place, on the seventh day before the Kalends of December, there being present Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Master Gherardus and Bernardus, members of the household of the said bishop of Mantua, witnesses."

[412] Testimony of Bonaventura, The aforesaid Lady Bonaventura, sworn, and questioned on her oath, said that she had formerly been seized by a demon, and was vexed a good six continuous years, so that she could not enter a church, nor confess, nor do anything wholesome to her soul: whence, having heard of the fame of Brother John the Good, she was taken to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good, and when they were in the church, she was put beneath the coffer ^a in which the body of the said Brother John the Good was and is; and what she did she does not well remember, because whenever that malign spirit vexed her, at once she was not at all in possession of her memory. Indeed, when the said Bonaventura came to herself, she was so broken and shaken from excessive fatigue that she could scarcely raise herself in any way because of the pain in her bones which she felt; and when she came to herself, she found herself beneath the said coffer, and the brothers took her and kept her until Saturday, from the vigil of the Ascension ^b, there in the church upon a certain little bed, because she was such that she could not raise herself in any way; and before the said Bonaventura departed from the said church she heard Mass and all the other day and night offices of God, and confessed all her sins to one of the priests among the brothers, and received the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ: all of which she could not do before for six continuous years, as has been said; and she returned to her home praising and glorifying God, and was always afterwards freed, as has been said; and she afterwards took the husband whom she has today, whereas before people greatly feared her.

[413] on her deliverance from a demon; The said Bonaventura, asked how she knew that she was vexed by a demon and that it was not another illness, answered that people afterwards said to her: "What have you done? Why did you say such coarseness? What is this that you are doing?" and the said witness grieved much, and did not remember; and because it was as it were public and manifest among all people. Indeed people called her a demoniac. Asked about the time, month, day and hour, and in whose presence she had been freed, the said witness answered, at the time of the translation of the body of Brother John the Good, on the vigil of the Ascension, after Vespers had been said, many brothers and certain others being present, whose names she said she did not know; and the said witness said that the witness herself was thirty years old: and the said witness said that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because it was so.

[414] Meliorinus testifies to the same miracle. The aforesaid Meliorinus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that he had formerly seen the said Lady Bonaventura so vexed by a demon that all people marvelled; and when that malign spirit vexed her, it was a wondrous and terrible thing to see; and then she said every coarseness about God and his saints, nor, the witness himself seeing it, did it let her enter a church, or confess her sins ^c, or do anything wholesome to her soul, the witness himself seeing it, because the witness was her neighbour: whence, since the witness himself grieved much over this, because he had much compassion for the said Bonaventura, the said witness advised her that she ought to go to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of Brother John the Good is and was; and that Bonaventura acquiesced in his advice and went to the said church, where what the said Bonaventura did the said witness said he did not know except by hearsay; yet he saw her return very weak and broken; and there was very great fame: "This is she who has been freed from a demon by the prayers and merits of Brother John the Good"; and the witness himself, seeing the said Bonaventura so freed, took

her to himself and took her as his wife, whom before, as he said on his oath, he would not have taken for the whole world: and he was afterwards with her and lived with her as with his wife, who is quite healthy and free, as the witness himself saw and sees. And the said witness said that, as he himself saw, and it was the common opinion, that Bonaventura had been seized by a demon a good six years and more, as the witness himself believes. Asked whether it was and is public that the said Bonaventura had been so vexed by a demon, and for so long a time, as has been said, and that she had been freed by the prayers and merits of the said brother, the said witness answered that it is as public as anything ever was; and the said witness said that the said Bonaventura was freed on the vigil of the Ascension, at the evening hour; and he said that the witness himself was of the age of forty years; of the year and month he does not remember; and the said witness said that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was evident not only to him but also to many.

[415] The oaths of the witnesses are received "Eighteenth miracle. Lady Berta, wife of Joanninus, son of the late Guido, of Piacenza, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which she knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the sixth day before the Kalends of December, there being present Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Brother John, hermit of the said order, witnesses. Likewise Lord Bonvicinus, son of the late Gerardus, of Castellucchio [d], and Lord Bonaventura, son of the late Lord Petrus de Rubertis, and Lord Bonensegnia, son of the late Lord Marchesus, citizen of Mantua, and Lady Bellina, wife of Bonvicinus, of the quarter of St. John, and Lady Thomasa, formerly widow of the late Jacobus de Compatila, of the same quarter, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and place, on the fifth day before the Kalends of December, before the aforesaid Lord Albizus, canon, and Brother Bonaventura and Brother Blasius, hermits, witnesses. Likewise on the same day, year, indiction and place, before the aforesaid witnesses, Joanninus, son of the late Guido, of Piacenza, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie."

[416] Testimony of Berta about her daughter Benasciuta, freed from blindness; The aforesaid Berta, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that at the time of the translation of the body of Brother John the Good she had, and now has, a certain daughter of hers named Benasciuta, who was then a good eight years old, and which Benasciuta, after the ninth day from her birth, had not seen the light in any way; indeed she had remained blind, as was manifest, for about eight years; and when Berta herself, the mother of the said Benasciuta, grieved to death over her said daughter, having taken advice from her neighbours, she had two wax eyes made and carried her said blind daughter to the tomb of the said brother; and these eyes having been offered before the said tomb, she stayed through that whole night in prayer before the said tomb, making her said daughter Benasciuta stay always beneath the coffer where the body of Brother John the Good is and was; and in the evening, at the hour of first sleep, the said Benasciuta began to tell her mother that she saw the light, and the said mother began with great gladness to praise the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, with many other people who were then in the church, which was almost full of people. And when morning came the said Berta returned home with her said daughter given light, praising and glorifying God: and the said Berta said that her said daughter always afterwards saw well, and sees today. Likewise asked how her said daughter was made blind, the said witness answered that she did not know, except that the eyes of her said daughter were covered with a certain film, as plainly appeared, and the physicians said that she would not see the light for the whole time of her life. Asked about the month, the said witness said she did not remember; about the day, she said, on a Saturday; and the said witness, being asked, said that it is and was public in her quarter that her said daughter was so blind, and for so long a time, and was given light by the merits of the said brother: and the said witness said that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was the truth of the matter, as has been said, as is and was evident to many then, when her said daughter was given light at the said tomb, whose names she said she did not know.

[417] testimony of Joanninus, The aforesaid Joanninus, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that he formerly had, and has, a certain stepdaughter, or step-child, who had remained a long time without light, so that she did not see the light in any way, the witness himself seeing it; and the physicians said that she would not see the light for the whole time of her life, over which the witness himself, with his wife, grieved much. Whence one Friday his said wife took two wax eyes, at the time when Brother John the Good was put into the coffer, as he believed, and the witness himself went with his said daughter to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of the said brother is and was; what his said wife did at the said tomb, the said witness said he did not know, because the witness himself did not go with her. And when morning came his said wife returned with the said Benasciuta totally given light: seeing which, the said witness marvelled greatly, and began to praise the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; and the witness himself took pennies and showed them to the said Benasciuta, and said to her: "What is this?" and she answered: "It is a penny, and it is so." So, praise to Christ, she saw well always afterwards, and sees today, as plainly appears. Asked how long a time the said Benasciuta remained so blind, he believes a good seven years and more; of the month he said he did not remember; of the day he said that on a Saturday morning he first saw her given light; and he said that those of his quarter marvelled greatly at this, because it was first public through the whole quarter that the said Benasciuta was so blind, and for a long time, and it was and is public that God gave her light by the merits of the said John: and the said witness said that the witness himself was thirty years old; and that the witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said.

[418] of Thomasa, The aforesaid Lady Thomasa, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she was a neighbour of the said Berta, and then saw her said daughter Benasciuta blind, and saw her blind almost always, and afterwards the said witness saw her at the translation of the body of the said brother given light; within about two days the said witness saw the said Benasciuta blind and given light, and the mother and all the people said that she had been given light by the merits of the said brother; and the said Benasciuta was always afterwards given light, and is so today, as evidently appears. But of the month, day and hour the said witness does not remember; and the said witness, being asked, said that it is public, and public fame, that the said Benasciuta was blind a long time, and afterwards given light by the merits of the said brother. Asked what public fame was, the said witness said, that which people commonly say; and the said witness said that she was fifty years old and more, and that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said.

[419] and of Bellina on the same miracle. The aforesaid Lady Bellina, a sworn witness, and questioned on oath, said that she was a neighbour of the said Berta, and saw for a long time, as she said, the said Benasciuta blind, and that she did not see the light in any way, the witness herself seeing it: and the said witness said that the said Berta, the mother of the said blind girl, went to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of the said brother is and was, and carried two wax eyes, which the witness herself made, and took her said blind daughter with her, and in the morning, many seeing it, she returned given light, and was always afterwards given light up to today, as plainly appears. Asked about the time, the said witness said that it was at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother; but of the month, day and hour she said she did not remember. Asked whether it is public that the said Benasciuta was so blind, as has been said, and for so long a time, and afterwards given light by the prayers and merits of the said brother, the said witness answered yes: and the said witness said that she was of the age of forty-eight years, and that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said.

ANNOTATIONS.

of which he seemed to remember." Another says Ibid., column 113. that Armannus was accustomed to confess his sins every year twice at least, namely once in Lent and once before the feast of the Lord's Nativity; and when he came once on the feast day of St. Lucy, "I drew him," says the same man, "to a place suitable for this in the same church, in which he sat before me on the ground devoutly and reverently. And at length he confessed his sins to me. And a fitting penance having been imposed on him by me, I absolved him from his sins."

CHAPTER XII.

Bonvicinus is freed from deafness.

Testimony of Bonvicinus, from whom deafness was driven away by a miracle: Nineteenth miracle. The aforesaid Lord Bonvicinus, a sworn witness, questioned on his oath, said that in the summer lately past, in the month of May, at the beginning of that month, the witness himself, because of a certain illness which he had suffered in times past, lost his hearing entirely, so that he could in no way hear, not even a bell; nor could so great a din be made that he would hear it; and he remained so for three weeks, in which he could in no way hear; and he used in those three weeks the counsel and assistance of physicians, and nothing had done him any good; indeed every day he grew worse, and the said witness was so ashamed that he always stayed in the house; whence, since the said witness did not know what to do, he made a vow to God and to Brother John the Good that if God, by the merits of the said Brother John the Good, restored his hearing to him, he would go to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of the said brother is and was, and gird the whole coffer of the said brother round with a candle, and light up the coffer of the said brother, and the said Bonvicinus would offer there two wax ears: and that he made the vow before his wife, named Lady Bellina; and at once, not waiting for God to free him otherwise, he took two wax ears and the said candle, and went together with his wife to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of the said Brother John the Good is and was; and he stayed beneath the coffer of the said brother from the beginning of Mass to the end; of which Mass he heard nothing, because he heard nothing in the whole world; and at once, Mass having been said, his wife called him, and it seemed to him that someone drew something out of his ears, and he heard her, and at once answered his said wife; and his wife at once said: "Bonvicinus, do you hear me?" and he answered: "I give thanks to God and to Brother John the Good, I hear." And his wife began to weep for excessive joy; and they returned home afterwards praising and glorifying God; and he always afterwards heard well, and hears today, as publicly appears. Lord Bonvicinus, asked about the time, said, in the month of May, at the beginning of that month of the past summer. Asked about the day, he said, on the day of a certain feast; about the hour he said, after Mass; in whose presence, he said, in that of his wife only, and not of others, as he believes he remembers. Asked whether it was public in his neighbourhood that the witness himself was so deaf, and afterwards cured by the prayers of the said brother, the said witness said yes; and the said witness said that he was of the age of sixty years, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was the truth of the matter, and it was and is evident to many.

[421] testimony of Bellina, The aforesaid Lady Bellina, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she had and has her husband, named Bonvicinus, who had gone a good three weeks in which he had not heard in any way; indeed for shame the said Bonvicinus always stayed in the house, grieving and sometimes weeping together with his wife, and he did not know what to do thereafter, because he did not hope henceforth to have his hearing back; and the said Bonvicinus had made much use of the counsel of physicians, and nothing had done him any good: indeed the physicians greatly despaired; whence the said Bonvicinus, the witness herself being present, made a vow to God and to Brother John the Good that if God freed him and gave him back his hearing by the merits of the said brother, he would go to his tomb and offer there a candle so long that it would gird round the whole tomb of the said brother, and offer there further two wax ears; and not waiting for God to free him in his ears otherwise, on the following day in the morning the said witness went with her said husband to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of the said brother is and was, and they stayed there from the beginning of Mass to the end; and the said Bonvicinus all the while kept his head beneath the coffer in which the body of the said brother was; and when the said witness called him, her husband, her said husband answered her, and the said witness said: "Bonvicinus, do you hear me?" And he answered: "I hear"; and the said witness began to weep for excessive joy; and then the said Bonvicinus always afterwards heard well, and hears today, as plainly appears. Asked about the time, the said witness answered that it was so in the summer lately past, at the beginning of the month of May; about the day she said, on the feast of St. Agnes, in the morning, Mass having been said. Asked in whose presence her husband was freed, the said witness answered, in that of the witness herself. Likewise the said witness, being asked, said that it was public through her whole quarter how her said husband was so deaf, and for so long a time, and that he was freed by the prayers of the said brother. And the said witness said that she was of the age of forty-eight years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[422] of Bonaventura, The aforesaid Lord Bonaventura, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that he is and was formerly a neighbour of the said Bonvicinus, whom he himself saw for a long time deaf, so that he did not hear in any way, nor was he believed by the physicians to be curable; whence, as was public, he vowed himself to God and to Brother John the Good, and went to his tomb together with his wife, Lady Bellina, and returned healthy and hearing well from the said tomb, and always afterwards heard, and hears today, as plainly appears; and the said witness said that he saw the said Bonvicinus deaf for two days, so that he did not hear in any way, and saw him hear like another man who hears well. Of the time, month, day and hour, the said witness, being asked, said he did not remember, nor even in whose presence. Asked whether it was public in his neighbourhood that the said Bonvicinus was so deaf, as has been said, and for so long a time, and that he was freed by the prayers of the said brother, the said witness answered yes. Asked of what age he was, the said witness said twenty-five years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[423] and of Boninsegnia on the same miracle. The aforesaid Lord Boninsegnia, a sworn witness, said on his oath that he was a neighbour of the said Bonvicinus, and saw him deaf a good fifteen days and more, so that he did not hear in any way, and afterwards he was taken to the tomb of the said brother, and there was fully freed, so that, the witness himself seeing it, he always afterwards heard well, and hears today, as publicly appears; and the said witness said that he saw the said Bonvicinus one day not hearing, and in the morning of the following day the said Bonvicinus went deaf to the tomb of the said brother, and returned hearing, and the witness himself saw him hear well, and always, the witness himself seeing it, he afterwards heard well; the said witness, asked about the time, month, day and hour, and in whose presence, said he did not know: yet the said witness, being asked, said that it was and is public in his quarter that the said Bonvicinus was so deaf, as has been said, and for so long a time, and that he was freed by the prayers of the said brother; and the said witness said that the witness himself was of the age of forty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said above.

CHAPTER XIII.

Vigilius is freed from epilepsy, Honesta from a disease of the eyes, Maria from blindness.

The oaths of the witnesses are received. "Twentieth miracle. Lord Bartholomew, son of the late Albertus, of the quarter of All Saints, and Lord Lanfrancus, son of the late Joannes, of the same quarter, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and place, on the third day before the Kalends of December, before Master Michael and Rodulphus, members of the household of the said lord bishop of Mantua, and Brother Bonaventura, hermit, witnesses. Likewise Lady Honesta, wife of the aforesaid Bartholomew, and Lady Bellavicina, wife of the aforesaid Lord Lanfrancus, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and day, at Mantua in the house of the said Lord Bartholomew, son of the late Albertus, there being present Lord Bartholomew, formerly of Lady Mantuana, and Brother Blasius and Brother Bonaventura, hermits of the said order, witnesses."

[425] Testimony of Bartholomew about Vigilius, freed from epilepsy. The aforesaid Lord Bartholomew, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that he formerly had, two years ago now, a certain son of his named Vigilius, who was then about two years old and more, which Vigilius had suffered almost from the day of his birth a paralysis ^a, so that sometimes that illness vexed the said Vigilius once every day, and sometimes once in two days; and when he was vexed by that disease he gave forth foam, and was then a sort of monster to see, so that the witness himself would rather have loved that son of his dead than alive. Whence, since the witness himself had several times used diverse and various medicines, and nothing had done him any good, before his wife he vowed him to God and to Brother John the Good, that if his son were freed from the said paralysis he would go to the tomb of the said brother and offer there a wax image: and at once the said Vigilius was so freed that he never afterwards suffered that illness. Indeed he was always afterwards quite healthy, and is today, as plainly

appears: asked about the month, day and hour, the said witness said he did not remember; asked in whose presence he made the vow, he said, in that of his wife only; and the said witness, being asked, said that it was and is public through his whole quarter that the said Vigilius so suffered, and for so long a time, and that he was freed by the merits of Brother John the Good; and the witness himself said that he was of the age of thirty years and more, and that the witness himself has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw, and it is the truth of the matter.

[426] [Testimony of Bartholomew about his wife Honesta, from whom a disease of the eyes was driven away.] Twenty-first miracle. The said Bartholomew said that he had and has a certain wife of his named Lady Honesta, who, one year having now elapsed, was suffering much in her eyes, and had suffered a good one month, so that because of that illness his said wife had her whole face swollen and her eyes all bloodshot, and she cried out and shrieked like a woman in labour, day and night, so that the witness himself could not be in the house: and since the illness was always increasing, nor did any aid of physicians do her good, his said wife vowed herself to God and to Brother John the Good, that if God freed her from the said illness she would go to his tomb and offer there two wax eyes; and at once, on the following day, the witness himself seeing it, his said wife was freed, so that nothing bad appeared in her eyes, at which the said witness marvelled greatly; and she was always afterwards healthy, and is today. Asked in whose presence his said wife made the vow, the said witness answered, in that of the witness himself, as he believes, and of Lady Bellavicina, wife of the aforesaid Lord Lanfrancus; and the said witness, being asked, said that what has been said was quite public in his quarter; and he has said the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard and knew it to be the truth of the matter.

[427] Testimony of Lanfrancus about Vigilius The aforesaid Lord Lanfrancus, a sworn witness, said on his oath that he is and was a neighbour of the said Lord Bartholomew, and saw and used to see his said son named Vigilius suffering a paralysis, as people and physicians said that it was a paralysis; and the said witness saw the said Vigilius fall and be vexed very cruelly by that disease, sometimes every day, sometimes once in two days or three, so that the father of the said Vigilius several times said, in the witness's hearing, that he did not hold his said son dear, as it were, to the value of one penny, but rather wished him dead; and the father himself of the said Vigilius made a vow to God and to Brother John the Good that if his son were freed he would give and offer before the tomb of the said brother a wax image; and the vow being made, no one ever noticed that the said boy was any further vexed in any way by the said illness; indeed he was always afterwards healthy, and is today, as patently appears. Asked whether he was present at the vow, the said witness answered no; yet the witness himself at one time advised the father of the said Vigilius to make the said vow, and the father himself of the said Vigilius told the witness himself that he had made the vow; and the said witness saw this, that before the father of the said Vigilius told him that he had made the vow, he saw the said Vigilius suffer so, as has been said, but after the vow he always saw him healthy and cheerful; and the said witness also said that it is public through his whole quarter that the said Vigilius so suffered, as has been said above, almost from the time of the birth of the same Vigilius up to the day of his deliverance, which was two years ago now: and that he was freed by the prayers of the said brother; and the said witness, being asked, said that the boy Vigilius, when he was freed, was two years old, or nearly. Asked about the time, month, day and hour, and in whose presence the said vow was made, the said witness answered that he knew nothing but this.

[428] and about the aforesaid Honesta. Likewise the same aforesaid witness said on his oath that it is a good year since, the witness himself seeing it, Lady Honesta, wife of the said Bartholomew, suffered in both eyes so severely and cruelly that because of this she had her whole face swollen and puffed up, and her eyes bloodshot throughout, and she cried out and shrieked day and night, so that she did not let even the neighbours sleep; whence she made a vow that if God, by the merits of Brother John the Good, freed him from that illness which she suffered in her eyes, she would go to his tomb and offer there two wax eyes. And at once, on the following day, she was totally freed, so that no sign of the past illness, which the said Lady Honesta had suffered a good fifteen days and more, appeared in her eyes, the witness himself seeing it; and she was always afterwards healthy, and is today. Asked whether he was present at the vow, the said witness said no; but yet he saw that Lady Honesta so suffering on that day on which she told the said witness that she had made the vow, and on the following day the said witness saw her freed, as has been said; and because it is and was public through his whole quarter that she so suffered, as has been said, and was so quickly freed by the prayers of the said brother, as has been said; and the said witness, being asked about the time, month, day and hour, and in whose presence the said Lady Honesta made the vow, the said witness said he did not know; and the said witness said that the witness himself was fifty years old, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so heard and saw concerning both the aforesaid miracles, as has been said above.

[429] Testimony of Bellavicina on the same The aforesaid Lady Bellavicina, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she is and was a neighbour of Lord Bartholomew, who had his son named Vigilius, who was suffering and had suffered, as the physicians and people said, a paralysis; and the witness herself saw him at times fall and labour in such a way that much foam was about his mouth; and it was a wonderful pity to see that in so very small a body, perhaps because he was two years old or nearly, so great tribulation and affliction pressed upon him; and the said Vigilius had suffered this paralysis almost from his birth; whence, advice having been received from certain people, and from the witness herself, the father of the said Vigilius vowed him to God and to Brother John the Good, that if God, by the merits of the said brother, freed his said son, the witness himself would go to the tomb of the said brother and offer there a wax image; and the vow being made, the said Vigilius was never afterwards vexed by the said illness; indeed he was always afterwards healthy, and is today, as evidently appears. Asked whether she was present at the vow, and how she knows that it was so, as the witness herself said, the said witness answered that she was not present at the vow; yet the witness herself saw the said Vigilius one day so suffering, because he was vexed almost every day, and on the other day, on which the father of the said Vigilius told the witness herself that he had made the vow, he was not touched in any way by the illness, nor ever afterwards up to today; and also it was and is manifest through her whole quarter that the said Vigilius so suffered, and for so long a time; and that he was freed by the prayers of the said brother, and because of the vow which his father made, the said witness asserted. Likewise, asked about the time, the said witness answered that she believes it is two years; but asked about the month, day and hour, and in whose presence the vow was made, the said witness answered that she did not know.

[430] miracles. The same witness, being asked, said that, as the witness herself believes, it would now be a year elapsed since the witness herself saw Lady Honesta, the mother of the said Vigilius, suffering gravely in both eyes, so that the whole day and night she cried out and shrieked, so much that she did not let even the neighbour women sleep; and she remained and did so about fifteen days; afterwards, as Lady Honesta herself told the witness, she vowed herself to God and to Brother John the Good, that if God freed her by the merits of the said brother she would go to his tomb and offer there two wax eyes; and at once, on the following day, she was well and totally freed, and was so always afterwards up to today. Asked whether she was present at the vow, the said witness believes that she was; and she saw her one day so sick, as has been said, and on the following day freed. And the said witness, being asked, said that it is public through her whole quarter that the said Lady Honesta had so suffered, and was so freed by the merits of the said brother, as has been said; but of the month, day and hour the said witness does not remember; and the said witness, being asked, said that she was of the age of fifty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard in both miracles, as has been said above.

[431] Testimony of Honesta herself about her son Vigilius The aforesaid Lady Honesta, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she has a certain son of hers named Vigilius, who almost always from his birth had suffered a certain illness which was called, as the physicians and other people said, paralysis; and when the said illness vexed her said son, the mother for excessive grief could not bear to see him; and so sometimes the said Vigilius was vexed once a day, sometimes once in two days or three, sometimes more often, sometimes less; and that Vigilius was then two years old; and since the said witness did not know what to do about her said son, but rather would have wished to see him dead than so troubled, she told her husband to vow him to God and to Brother John the Good, that if God, by the merits of the said Brother John the Good, freed the said Vigilius from the said illness which he was suffering, he would go to his tomb and offer him a wax image; and as the witness herself said, so her husband did; and, the vow being made, the said Vigilius was never afterwards vexed

by such tribulation, and he was never afterwards touched by the said illness, namely the paralysis, up to today, as plainly appears. Asked whether she was present at the vow, the said witness answered yes, because no one was there then, when the vow was made, except the witness herself and her husband, who made the vow. Asked about the time, the said witness said that it is two years now; but of the month, day and hour the said witness said she did not remember. Asked whether it was public through her quarter that her said son Vigilius so suffered, and for so long a time, as has been said, and that he was freed by the prayers of the said brother, and so quickly, as has been said, she answered yes.

[432] and about herself. Likewise the said witness said that it is about a year since the witness herself suffered an unspeakable illness in her eyes, so that she could neither die nor live: indeed she cried out continually, both by day and by night, like a woman in labour, and the physicians could not help her, so that the witness herself then believed she would lose her sight almost totally: whence she made a vow, in the presence of the aforesaid Lady Bellavicina, to God and to Brother John the Good, that if God freed her in her eyes, she, being freed, would go to the tomb of the said brother and offer there two wax eyes; and at once, the vow being made, on the following day she found herself in the morning freed, so that it never seemed that the said witness had suffered in her eyes; and she was always afterwards healthy, and freed from the said illness, as plainly appears; and the said witness, being asked, said that she suffered that so cruel illness for fifteen days and more; and the said witness said that it was and is quite public through her whole quarter that the witness herself so suffered, and for so long a time, as has been said, and that she was freed by the merits of the said Brother John the Good. Likewise the said witness, being asked, said that she does not remember the month and day: and the witness herself said that she was of the age of twenty-five years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said above, and so through all things was the truth of the matter.

[433] The oaths of the witnesses are received. "Twenty-second miracle. Lady Ghisla, wife of Flamingus, a Mantuan, of the quarter of St. Stephen, and Lady Benvenuta, formerly widow of Odericus, of the same quarter, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the very day of the Kalends of December, before Brother Blasius and John, hermits of the said order, witnesses."

[434] Testimony of Ghisla about the girl Maria, freed from blindness; The aforesaid Lady Ghisla, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that formerly she was, and is today, the nurse or foster-mother of a certain girl named Maria, daughter of Lord Albertus de Frigeriis, a Mantuan: which Maria was then perhaps one year old; whence, when Ghisla herself (on the day of the conversion of blessed Paul next to come it will be three years) was standing with the said Benvenuta, formerly widow of Odericus, by the fire, at the hour of terce or about, the said Maria fell into the fire, and before the said Ghisla could run to the said Maria and help her, the fire burned almost the whole right side of the said Maria's face, and especially the right eye was so burned that she could in no way see with it. The said Ghisla, as soon as she saw this, grieved to death, and began to have very great fear of the girl's father, and began to keep this secret, so that the girl's father should not know; and so the said Maria remained a good two months, in which she did not see the light, nor did the said nurse believe that she would ever see thereafter with the said eye; and the said nurse treated her in the house in secret for fear of the girl's father. Whence, since the said Maria did not recover in any way, but on the contrary had almost totally lost the sight of that eye, the said Ghisla made a vow to God that if God freed the said girl Maria from that burn, and gave her back the sight of that eye, she would go to the tomb of the said brother, and carry or lead her said girl, and offer there a wax head; and, the vow being made, within three days the said girl was freed from the said burn, and saw the light as she saw it at first, and was always afterwards healthy, so that no sign of the past illness appeared in her, and she was always afterwards seeing, and is today. And she said that she was of the age of twenty-five years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because, as she said, it was the truth of the matter.

[435] testimony of Benvenuta on the same miracle. The aforesaid Lady Benvenuta, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that on the day of the conversion of St. Paul next to come it will be three years since she was with the said Lady Ghisla in the house of Ghisla herself beside the fire, and saw the said girl Maria fall into the fire, as has been said, and so have her whole right face and right eye burned; and she remained so for two months, and could not be freed; afterwards, as the said Ghisla told the said witness, she said that she had made a vow to God and to Brother John the Good that if God, by the merits of the said brother, gave light to the said girl Maria, so that the said Maria's father should not know, she would take her to his tomb and offer there a wax head; and at once, within three days, the said Maria was entirely freed, as the witness herself saw, so that no sign of the past illness appeared in her, and she always saw, and is so today. The said witness knows nothing else, except that she said that she was of the age of forty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she knew it to be so.

ANNOTATION.

CHAPTER XIV.

Ghisla is freed from a contraction of the arm and hand, Maria from dropsy.

The oaths of the witnesses are received. "Twenty-third miracle. Lady Benaduci, formerly widow of Lord Guido of Reggio, of the quarter of St. Andrew, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which she knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year and indiction, on the very day of the Kalends of December, at Mantua, in the house of Lady Benaduci herself, there being present Brother Bonaventura and Brother Bonhomo ^a, hermits of the said order, witnesses. Likewise Lady Margarita, wife of Lord Orlandinus, son of the late Guido, of the quarter of St. Lawrence, and Lady Todeschini, daughter of the late Faccinus de Godio, and Lady Jemma, daughter of Boninsegna, of the same quarter, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, at Mantua, in the house of Lady Margarita herself, in the same year, indiction and day, before the aforesaid witnesses. Likewise Lady Berta, wife of Lord Petrinus of Reggio, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which she knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and day, before the aforesaid witnesses, in the house of Lady Berta herself at Mantua."

[437] [Testimony of Benaduci about Ghisla, freed from a contraction of the arm and hand;] The aforesaid Lady Benaduci, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she formerly had a certain servant woman, who, after she left the witness herself, went to Reggio, where the said servant, named Ghisla, had been born, and there she had a certain illness, because of which she lost the use of her right hand and right arm; and she remained so a long time, so that she could not work with the said hand and arm, because the sinews were so contracted that she could in no way stretch out her fingers: whence, having heard of the fame of the said Brother John the Good, she came to Mantua and arrived at the house of the witness herself; and then the said witness saw her so contracted, together with her whole household, as has been said; and that evening the said Ghisla went to the church of St. Agnes, where his body is and was, and stayed there through the whole night, and in the morning returned healthy, as the witness herself saw: and the said Ghisla worked before the witness herself with the aforesaid hand and arm, and was always afterwards healthy. Asked about the time, month, day and hour, the said witness said, at the time of the translation; of the month and hour she does not remember, except that one morning she saw her freed. And the said witness said that she was of the age of forty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[438] [testimony of Margarita on the same miracle, who also testifies about Maria, freed from dropsy;] The aforesaid Lady Margarita, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she is the daughter-in-law of the said Lady Benaduci, and saw the said Ghisla so having her right hand and arm contracted that she could in no way move it, and she had remained so a long time, as the said Ghisla said; and the said witness saw the said Ghisla in the evening so contracted, and then she went to the tomb of the said brother, and lay there one night, and in the morning returned home freed; and the witness herself saw her so freed that she worked before the said witness with her hand and arm like a healthy woman, and was afterwards healthy; and the said witness said that this was at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother; but of the month, day, and in whose presence, she said she did not know; about the hour she said that in the morning she saw her so healed, and on the preceding evening she had seen her so contracted. Likewise the same witness said that on the same evening on which the said Ghisla went to the tomb of the said brother, a certain lady named Maria, wife of Guarinus of Reggiolo, of the diocese of Reggio ^b, who had been sick a long time, so that she had almost always lain in bed, and the said witness believed that she was dropsical, as people said, went to the said tomb, and stayed there through the whole night, and in the morning was freed, so that the said witness saw her that morning healthy and freed, and on the preceding evening had seen her so sick, and she was always afterwards healthy: and the said witness, being asked, said that this was at the time of the translation

of the body of the said brother: but of the month, day, and in whose presence, and the hour, she said she did not know, except that in the morning she saw her freed, and in the evening she had seen her so sick, as has been said. And she said that of the illness of the said Maria there was, and had been, quite enough public report and fame, and that she was freed by the merits of the said brother: and the said witness said that she was eighteen years old, and that she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[439] likewise of Jemma, The aforesaid Jemma, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she saw the said Ghisla having her right hand and right arm so contracted that she could in no way labour with it, and she had remained so a long time; and the said witness saw the said Ghisla in the evening so contracted, as has been said; in the night she stayed at the tomb of the said brother, and was healed: so that in the morning the said witness saw her freed, so that she laboured and worked with that hand like a healthy person, and was always afterwards healthy. And the said witness, being asked about the time, said that it was at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother; but of the month, day and hour, and in whose presence, she said she did not know; and that the witness herself was eighteen years old, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not taught nor asked, but because this was public and manifest to many, and to the witness herself.

[440] and of Berta The aforesaid Lady Berta, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she saw the said Ghisla having her right hand and arm so contracted that she had remained a long time in which she had done no work with it. Whence, the witness herself seeing it, on that evening on which the witness herself saw her, the said Ghisla went, thus contracted, to the tomb of the said brother, and stayed there through the whole night, so that in the morning the said Ghisla felt the contracted sinews and bones being stretched, and she then cried out for excessive pain; and so at once she was freed by the merits of the said brother, and returned to the house of the said witness; and the said witness, seeing her freed, marvelled greatly; and the said Ghisla, the witness herself seeing it, began to work with that hand which she had had drawn up a long time, as she herself said, for three years; and she was always afterwards healthy. Asked about the time, the said witness said, at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother; but of the month, day and hour, and in whose presence, she said she did not know; and that of this there was and is quite enough public report and fame, that the said Ghisla was so quickly freed by the merits of the said brother.

[441] on the same miracles. Twenty-fourth miracle. Likewise the same witness said that at the same time she saw one evening a certain Lady Maria, wife of Guarinus of Reggiolo, who, as there had been fame and public report of this, had remained sick a long, indeed a very long time, lying almost always in bed, and, as the physicians and other people who saw her said, and Maria herself said, was dropsical; which said Maria was taken the same evening to the tomb of the said brother, and stayed there in prayers through the whole night: and when morning came she found herself healed and entirely freed; and the witness herself saw that Maria totally freed whom on the preceding evening she had seen dropsical and sick with other illnesses, at which people marvelled greatly; and the said witness, being asked, said that this was at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother: but of the month, day and hour, and in whose presence, the said witness does not remember; yet the said witness said that there is public report and fame that the said Maria so suffered, and for a long time, and that she was freed by the merits of the said brother; and the said witness, being asked, said that she was of the age of twenty-one years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so heard and saw.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER XV.

Benghipace is freed from a demon.

The oaths of the witnesses are received. "Twenty-fifth miracle. Lady Benghipace, daughter of the late Lord Ottolinus, of the quarter of San Salvatore, and Lady Benabbia, wife of Lord Lanfranchus, of the quarter of Santa Maria di Betlemme, and Lady Bellafiore, formerly widow of Lord Volta, of the same quarter, and Lady Julitta, formerly widow of Jannus de Carissima, and Lady Bonta, daughter of the late Jannus de Carissima, of the said quarter, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and place, on the very day of the Kalends of December, there being present Lord Benvenutus, canon of Sant'Ilario of Parma, and Brothers Bonaventura and Bonhomo, hermits, witnesses. Likewise Lord Bonajuncta, notary, called Zacarias, of the quarter of St. Giles, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which he knew and to keep silent any lie, in the same year, indiction and place, on the fourth day before the Nones of December, there being present Lord Albizus, canon of Peccioli, and Brother Blasius, hermit of the said order, witnesses."

[443] Testimony of Benghipace on her deliverance from a demon, The aforesaid Lady Benghipace, sworn, said that when formerly, three years ago now, on a certain Saturday she was at the place which is called Monticuli, outside the city of Mantua, and had drunk of the water of a certain well standing there, at once she felt herself heavy and weighed down and as it were not well in possession of her memory; and so the said Benghipace returned home stupefied; and she remained so out of her senses until Sunday morning; and when she wished to go to the church of Santa Maria di Betlemme, she could not enter by herself; on the contrary, people carried her in by force, and she cried out much. But on the following day, namely Monday, she was taken to the church of St. Agnes, and held by force by three men beside the tomb of the said brother. What she herself did she does not know, except by hearsay; except that when she came back to herself she felt that something rose from her inward parts to her throat, and she spat it out, and at once felt herself in that state in which she had been before she drank the aforesaid water, although her bones and flesh pained her much; and she was always afterwards quite healthy, and is today; and the said witness, being asked, said that she was freed about the evening hour; of the month, and in whose presence she was freed, she said she did not remember, except Lady Julitta, formerly widow of Jannus de Carissima, who took her to the said tomb, and many brothers being present, whose names she said she did not remember: and she said that there was public report and fame of this through her whole quarter, and is today; and she said that she was of the age of eighteen years, and that she has said the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was through all things the truth of the matter, and manifest to many.

[444] Benvenutus testifies, The aforesaid Lord Benvenutus, called Zacaria, a sworn witness, said on his oath that he saw the said Benghipace seized by a demon, and he himself conjured the said demon, and that spirit answered him: "You do ill not to let me be, for with the words of that little book which you have in your hands you have driven me out of two vessels; yet from this one you will not be able to drive me out, but another will drive me out." And this, the said witness said, was on the Sunday; on the following day, Monday, she was taken to the tomb of the said brother, and there was well freed, and was so always afterwards, as there is public report and fame; and the said witness said that he knew nothing else of these things; and he said that the witness himself was twenty-four years old, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said above.

[445] Benabbia, The aforesaid Lady Benabbia, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that Lady Benghipace was living with her, and she herself sent her to that place in which she drank the water, after which water the said Benghipace was never in possession of her memory until the day of her deliverance, but was seized by a demon, as the witness herself saw, and heard her speaking; asked how she knew that she was vexed by a demon, she said that she had all the signs of a demoniac, nor would she enter any church, nor let anyone make mention before her of any saint, and especially of Brother John the Good; and that there is and was public report and fame of this, that the said Benghipace was so seized by a demon; and so, the witness herself seeing it, the said Benghipace remained from Saturday until the following Monday, on which day the said Benghipace was taken to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good, and there was fully freed, and was so always afterwards, and is today; and the said witness, being asked, said that this was three years ago now: of the month, and in whose presence the said demoniac was freed, she said she did not know; and the said witness said that she was forty years old, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as has been said.

[446] Bellafiore, The aforesaid Lady Bellafiore, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that it is three years now since she saw the said Benghipace so seized by a demon, as has been said, and she remained so from Saturday until Monday, on which she went to the tomb of the said Brother John the Good, and there was fully freed, as the witness herself saw; and of this there is public report and fame as fully as can be. Asked how she knew that the aforesaid Benghipace was seized by a demon, the said witness answered that she saw her having all the signs of a demoniac, and she cried out and did as demoniacs do, and would not enter any church, nor hear the name of any saint, and especially of Brother John the Good; and all people, clerics and laymen, seeing her, called her a demoniac; and

the said witness said that she knew nothing else of this; and that she was of the age of forty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because this was the truth of the matter.

[447] Julitta, The aforesaid Lady Julitta, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that she saw, three years ago now, the said Benghipace a demoniac from Saturday until the following Monday: on which day the witness herself took her almost by force to the tomb of Brother John the Good, and there the said Benghipace made wonderful outcries and shrieks, and three men could not hold her at the tomb of the said brother; and so at the evening hour, with much anguish, she was freed, and was so always afterwards, and is today. Asked how she knew that she was vexed by a demon, the said witness answered that she saw in her all the demoniac signs, and she cried out, and would not enter any church, nor hear the memory of Brother John the Good, and because of this there was public report and fame among the people, and is today: asked about the month, the said witness said she did not know; and she said that the said Benghipace was freed before the tomb of the said brother, and in the presence of the witness herself, and of Lady Bonta, daughter of the late Jannus called Carissima, and of many, both brothers and others, whose names she said she did not remember. And she said that the witness herself was of the age of forty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, and because it was as it were public, as has been said above.

[448] and of Bonta, on the same miracle. The aforesaid Lady Bonta, a sworn witness, questioned, said on her oath that she saw the said Benghipace seized by a demon, and having in herself all the signs of a demoniac, and that she would not enter any church, nor hear the name of Brother John the Good; and she remained so from Saturday evening until the following Monday, on which day she went to the tomb of Brother John the Good, and the witness herself went with her, and could not make the said Benghipace enter the church of St. Agnes, where the body of the said brother is and was ^a. At length three men took her and carried her to the tomb of the said brother, where his body was, and she cried out and shrieked, and spoke every coarseness and abuse of God and his saints, especially of Brother John the Good, the witness herself and many others hearing it; and at length the spirit began to strike and to do wonderful things, so that the witness herself could not tell it, so that immediately, about the evening hour, she was freed, the witness herself being present, and the aforesaid Lady Julitta, and many other people, and brothers, whose names she said she did not remember; and she was always afterwards healthy, and is today; and of this, the said witness said, there is public report and fame: of the month the said witness said she did not remember; and she said that she was of the age of thirty years; and she has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw and heard, as she said.

ANNOTATION.

CHAPTER XVI.

A huge wax taper, surrounded by many other smaller ones, is suddenly lit together with them before a multitude of the faithful. A blind man receives his sight.

The witnesses swear to tell the truth. "Twenty-sixth miracle. Joanninus, son of the late Rosellus, of Verona, of the quarter of St. Nicholas, and Lady Ottobella, his wife, and Brother Petriciolus, hermit of the said order, and Barile, son of the late Raimundus, of the quarter of St. John, and Brother Guicciardus, prior of the convent of hermits of Mantua ^a, swore concerning the foregoing to tell the truth which they knew and to keep silent any lie, in the presence of the aforesaid examiner, in the same year, indiction and place, on the fourth day before the Nones of December, there being present Lord Albizus, canon of the pieve of Pecciolo, and Brother Blasius, hermit of the said order, and many others, witnesses to this."

[450] Testimony of Joanninus about the wax taper and candles lit by a miracle; The aforesaid Lord Joanninus, a sworn witness, questioned on his oath, said that at the time of the translation of the body of the said Brother John the Good, the children of the city of Mantua had a very great and very beautiful wax taper made, upon which were many and various candles [b] lit, and the taper itself was lit; and when, in the month of May, on the Sunday of Pentecost ^c, after terce, the said children came to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of the said brother is and was, and many other people with them, with the greatest joy and gladness, and they were already near the church of St. Agnes, the said taper was put out together with all the candles standing on it; over which the witness himself grieved, and all the people standing by there; and so they came with the taper and candles put out a very long while; and when they were already near the church, and the brothers had come out with holy water to receive the said children and people, and were grieving much that the said taper was being offered thus put out, nor could it easily be lit because of its height, all standing by there and seeing it, at the entrance of the church the said taper with all the candles was lit by itself in one moment [d]: which seen, the brothers began to sing, and the other people to praise the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and there was such gladness and exultation there that the witness himself could not tell it; and the said witness said that this deed was so manifest to the witness himself and to all standing by there, both brothers and others, that never was anything more manifest: and the said witness said that he was of the age of thirty years, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw, and it was manifest, as has been said.

[451] Ottobella testifies to the same miracle, The aforesaid Lady Octobella, a sworn witness, and questioned on her oath, said that when the children of Mantua, especially of the quarter of St. Nicholas at Mantua, in honour of God and of Brother John the Good, had had made a very beautiful and great and tall wax taper, upon which they set many candles, and on a certain day in the month of May, she believes on the Sunday of Pentecost, after terce, at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother, they were coming and carrying the said taper to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of the said brother is and was, with great joy and gladness, and many other people were coming with the said children, before they reached the said church the said taper, with all the candles standing on it, was put out, over which the people grieved much; and so they came with the taper put out, and without light, a long while, almost up to the doors of the said church of St. Agnes; and there those carrying the said taper set it down, and the brothers came to meet them with holy water; and when the same bearers of the said taper had lifted the said taper, thus put out, and wished to enter the aforesaid church, at once, as it were in one moment, the said taper and all the candles placed on it were lit, the witness herself seeing it and all standing by there; at which both the brothers and the other people greatly rejoiced and marvelled, and began to praise the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of Brother John the Good, by whose merits these things were and had been done; and the said witness said that she was thirty-two years old, and that the witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because she so saw.

[452] Brother Petriciolus. Brother Petriciolus, hermit of the convent of Mantua, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that at the time of the translation of the body of the said Brother John the Good, on the day of Pentecost, after terce, the children of the quarter of St. Nicholas at Mantua, with many other people, came with a certain very beautiful and great wax taper, on which were many candles, to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of Brother John the Good was and is, and to the honour and praise of the brother himself: and when the brothers knew this, they went out a little way to meet them, and then the brothers saw, and the witness himself saw, the said taper with all the candles put out; and when those who were carrying the said taper wished to enter the said church with the taper put out, at once, as it pleased God, by the merits of that brother for whom these things were being done, the said taper with all the candles placed on it was lit by itself: which seen, the brothers and the other people began to praise the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and of that holy brother. And the said witness, being asked, said that he was twenty-two years old or nearly, and that he has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw, as has been said, and because it was manifest to many.

[453] Barilius, The aforesaid Barile, son of the late Raimundus, of the quarter of St. John at Mantua, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that at the translation of the body of Brother John the Good, on the day of Pentecost, after terce, the witness himself saw many children of the quarter of St. Nicholas going, and many other people with them, and they were carrying a great lit wax taper, with many lit candles placed upon it; and the witness himself came with them to the church of St. Agnes, where the body of Brother John the Good is and was; and as they were going to the said church, the said taper with all the candles placed there was put out, the witness himself seeing it, and all the other people who were there; and so for some while they came with the said taper put out; and when they were near the said church, the brothers ran a little way to meet them; and when all, both brothers and children and other people, were coming toward the aforesaid church with the taper so put out, as has been said, when those who were carrying the taper were beside the entrance of the church, the said taper with all the candles, all standing by there and seeing it, was relit by itself: which seen, the brothers and the other people marvelled greatly at so great and

as it were unheard-of miracle, and began to give thanks to the Creator, who deigned by the merits of Brother John the Good to show his power before those sinners themselves,

[454] who also testifies about a blind man, to whom sight was then restored, And the said witness said that in the church of St. Agnes there was then such joy and gladness because of that miracle, and many others which the Lord had done and was doing by the merits of the said brother, because in that very hour, before the tomb of the said brother, a certain blind man was given light, that the witness himself or another could scarcely tell it. Asked whether the said taper was relit at the invocation of the said brother, or of whom, the said witness answered that when the witness himself was coming with the said children and many other people to the said church of St. Agnes, and when that taper with the candles placed on it was put out, the people grieved much that that taper was being carried to the tomb of the said brother thus put out: whence the witness himself said that there was there a certain poor little woman, whose name he said he did not know, who several times prayed the Lord that by the merits of Brother John the Good he would deign to relight the said taper of the children; and many other women said: "Would that that taper were relit." Asked about the month, the said witness said, in the month of May; and the said witness also said that the witness himself was about thirty years old, and that the said witness has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said, and it was so manifest to many people.

[455] and Brother Guicciardus, The aforesaid Brother Guicciardus, prior of the convent of hermits, a sworn witness, and questioned on his oath, said that when one day many children of the quarter of St. Nicholas at Mantua were coming with a great and very great wax taper to the church of St. Agnes, for devotion and reverence toward Brother John the Good, whose body is and was at the said church, and many other people were coming with them for the sake of devotion, the brothers knowing this, for the sake of honouring the said children, the witness himself, who was then and is now prior of the convent of hermits of Mantua, with certain other brothers, went to meet the said children and the other people who were with them, with holy water; and when the said prior had come to the said children, he saw the taper with the candles placed on it put out: over which the prior himself grieved, however, because the said taper could not easily be relit because of its height; they all came up to the aforesaid church with the taper and candles so put out, as has been said: and when those who were carrying the aforesaid taper were as it were at the entrance of the said church, and the church was almost full of other people who had not come with the said children, all, both brothers and other people, standing in the aforesaid church or outside, as it were seeing this, and the witness himself too, the said taper and candles were suddenly relit by themselves. This seen, all the people and the brothers began to cry out and say: "Blessed be the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who by the merits of Brother John the Good has deigned to show such a miracle, and so manifest, to us sinners."

[456] who likewise testifies to the healing of the blind man. And the said prior said that there was then such exultation and gladness among the brothers and other people because of that miracle and many others which the Lord had done and was doing by the merits of the said brother, that the witness himself would scarcely know how to tell it, because then, as it were in that very hour, before the tomb of the said brother, a certain blind man had been given light. The said prior, asked whether the said taper with the aforesaid candles was relit at the invocation of the said Brother John the Good, answered that he did not know otherwise, except that it was told him by several that when the said children were coming with the said taper thus put out, a certain woman was there, and was coming with the said children, whose name the prior himself said he did not know; yet he knew this and knows well, that the said woman was dead at the time of this present testimony: who, when she had seen the said taper thus put out, grieved much, and began to pray the Lord that by the merits of Brother John the Good, in whose honour these things were being done, he would deign to relight the said taper. Asked whether any tapers or candles were lit beside the said taper of the children, the said witness answered no: and the said prior said that this was at the time of the translation of the body of the said brother, in the month of May, on the Sunday of Pentecost [e], after terce; and he said that he was of the age of forty years, and that the said prior has testified to the foregoing not asked nor taught, but because he so saw and heard, as has been said above.

"The above-written witnesses were read and heard at Mantua, 1253, in the eleventh indiction, on the day before the Nones of December."

From the ducal chancery, Mantua, on the 20th day of January, 1641.

I, Giulio Tomasini, chancellor, have subscribed.

(L. S.)"

"The present copy, diligently collated by the undersigned with the other authentic copy kept in this chapter archive, has been found to agree fully with it. In witness whereof, etc.

Mantua, from the chapter hall, on the tenth day before the Kalends of November, 1856.

By order of the most illustrious and most reverend chapter.

Alessandro de Surdis, canon secretary.

(L. S.)"

ANNOTATIONS.