Bertinus

ON ST. BERTINUS, ABBOT,

AT SAINT-OMER IN BELGIUM.

About the year DCCIX.

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY.

Bertinus, abbot, at Saint-Omer in Belgium (S.)

BHL Number: 1298

BY J. S.

§ I. Mabillon's assertions concerning the writers of St. Bertinus's Acts are sifted, and many things in them corrected.

[ ] Mabillon, about to publish the Life of St. Bertinus abbot of Sithiu, in Benedictine Century 3 part 1 pag. 104, thus prefaces: Mabillon's assertions concerning the writers of St. Bertinus's Life: Many have committed to writing the deeds of St. Bertinus the abbot. I find in all six lucubrations on this subject. The first is by a certain anonymous writer, whom the rest afterward followed. The second by Folquin abbot of Lobbes, who dedicated the Acts of SS. Audomarus, Bertinus, Folquin the bishop, Winnocus and Silvinus to Walter abbot of Saint-Bertin, who died in the year CMXCVI. The third and fourth have as their author Folcard, a monk of the monastery of Sithiu. The fifth and sixth were composed in verse, the one indeed by a certain anonymous writer, the other (as they suppose) by Simon, abbot of Sithiu, toward the end of the XII century, although John of Ypres, treating of abbot Simon, does not (unless I am mistaken) mention this matter. The four last writings we received from the monastery of Sithiu, by the kindness both of that most religious man Dom Jean le Pecqueur the subprior, and of the most courteous Gérard du Val the monk. Here we exhibit Folcard alone, meaning to say a few things of the other authors. So indeed that learned man, who, with the exception of one metrical Life, repeats the same writers of the Life in tom. 2 of the Annals pag. 23, but not without various errors, as is clearly plain to me, both from the six different Lives of St. Bertinus, all of which I have in manuscript, and from the testimony and observations of a learned man from the abbey of Saint-Bertin, who out of zeal for truth suggested a more exact account of the Lives of St. Bertinus, and communicated some of them, as will be said below.

[2] he was ignorant of the first writer of the Life; and the abbot of Lobbes First, that anonymous writer whom Mabillon believes to be the first is only the second writer of St. Bertinus's Life, as I shall prove. Secondly, Folquin abbot of Lobbes seems never to have written a Life of St. Bertinus, although Jacques Malbrancq too, in the Scholia to chap. 1 of book 3 On the Morini, reckons this abbot of Lobbes among the writers of St. Bertinus's Life. Certainly the very reverend lord de Clety, presbyter of the abbey of Saint-Bertin and prefect of its library, who very lately with wonderful courtesy and equal diligence procured various things to be transcribed for us from manuscript codices, writes thus of this matter in the learned Observations which he added: From the number of the men of Sithiu who committed the Acts of St. Bertinus to writing, Folquin abbot of Lobbes seems to us to be struck out, although after Malbrancq Mabillon asserts that he wrote this holy Abbot's Life, as also those of the holy Audomarus, Silvinus and Winnocus: which indeed that dedicatory letter of Folquin to the monks of Saint-Bertin, on which those authors alone rely, does not seem to prove. The learned man proves this by adducing Folquin's words from the praised letter, which he likewise transmitted to me entire from the written codices. wrongly reckons among the writers of St. Bertinus's Life:

[3] But from this letter it seems clear that Folquin the abbot wrote the Life neither of Audomarus, nor of Bertinus, nor of Winnocus, but only the Life of St. Folquin, bishop of the Morini or of Thérouanne: for he says that enough had been written of SS. Audomarus, Bertinus and Winnocus by the ancients; but that St. Folquin had been neglected, and that for this reason he had been impelled to write his Life. Receive his words: Lastly, says Folquin, the Life and acts of those in whose primacy you rejoice, and whose hereditary succession you have obtained with their name — I mean Audomarus and Bertinus — the authority of the ancients sufficiently commended, who, being contemporaries, are so knit to one another by a certain nearness that, when you have heard of the one, you understand the other along with him, and in the work of this one easily recognize who that one was. Holy Winnocus likewise, since he depends on one of the foregoing, had himself also been sufficiently described… But O our times! and O the manners! For the venerable man, and to be proclaimed in the whole world, namely holy Folquin, the negligence of the moderns has so neglected that there seemed to be no memory of him beyond popular report… I set my mind to describing his Life &c. These words altogether prove that the Lives of SS. Audomarus, Bertinus and Winnocus were composed long before Folquin; and that he at least at that time did not wish to write them. But since no argument can be brought forward by which it may be shown that he afterward wished to do it or did it, the praised lord de Clety deservedly observed that Folquin is not to be reckoned among the writers of St. Bertinus's Life.

[4] Thirdly, Mabillon erred when he believed that a twofold Life of St. Bertinus was written by Folcard a monk of Sithiu. he erred again, when a twofold Life of St. Bertinus This error again the most diligent de Clety observed, when the Life written by Folcard, which Mabillon called the first and compendious one, he showed to me from the manuscript codices

transmitted. For he testifies that there is absolutely no memory of this second Life in his abbey, and that no trace of it survives, neither in the manuscript codices, nor in other monuments of the library, nor among the writers of the abbey of Saint-Bertin. Wherefore we shall examine the text of Folcard, from which Mabillon gathered this second writing of his. He adduces his words, which he uses in the conclusion of his Work, where Folcard speaks thus: Let these few things said out of many suffice, which we have indeed ended with a compendious definition, but which we mean to elucidate by the course of a fuller text. Having adduced these words, Mabillon subjoins: You see that a more prolix writing is here promised. But the learned man is deceived, because he did not consider all the circumstances attentively enough. For Folcard does not by these words promise another Life of St. Bertinus, as he believed; but he promises that he will write a fuller account of the miracles, some of which he had briefly touched upon. For the Life itself was so far from being compendiously written that in many places it is more prolix than that very one which Mabillon published as Folcard's fuller lucubration; but the miracles alone, wrought after his death, had been most briefly related, as I have already said.

[5] But that no doubt on this matter may remain to the reader, he judged to have been written by Folcard; I here subjoin certain words of Folcard which, after a very few intervening, follow: And thus we close this book of the Life only of the most blessed father and our protector Bertinus, the miracles after his death being rather entitled than written. For the reader would groan under the bundle of the volume, and the sturdy reader would sink under the weight of too great a burdening, if an importunate discourse should press further upon him when he has been delighted with the Life of so great a Father… Accommodating ourselves therefore to his satisfaction, as though he were now refreshed with the Life of that most illustrious Father, we shall thereafter pursue in writing the text of his signs &c. These words most clearly indicate that no other Life is promised by Folcard, but a certain book of miracles, because these had not been fully related in the Life for the sake of avoiding excessive prolixity. I truly wonder that Mabillon saw and cited these words, and yet even so was able to make two promises out of Folcard's one. But whether Folcard afterward published separately the book of Miracles which he promised is not altogether established. The praised de Clety judges that not even this book of Miracles was written by him, because no trace of that lucubration is found. He may well have been hindered from fulfilling his promises: yet I would not dare to affirm for certain that no miracles were consigned to writing by him. This one thing may safely be asserted, that in the collection of Miracles published in Mabillon some things were written before Folcard, others after his times; but that some things are also found there which may be of Folcard's age and written by him; but that it is not known what or how much that writer performed in that matter.

[6] and when he attributed to Folcard the Life which he published, Further, Mabillon erred in the fourth place when he attributed to Folcard the Life which he published, and believed it composed in the XI century. Let us hear again the observations of the praised Lord de Clety: Do not say therefore with Mabillon that that more prolix Life of St. Bertinus which he made public is the genuine offspring of Folcard. For it will be plain to anyone reading attentively that its author or compiler survived Folcard by not less than a hundred and fifty years. This observation is certain: for toward the end of that Life various miracles are narrated which Mabillon himself noted as done in the XII century; and finally the author at pag. 151 clearly insinuates that he lived in the XIII century: for he reports as an eyewitness a benefit done in the year 1214, and presently narrates two other marvels which he binds to the year 1219, and concludes the whole Life by adducing the instrument of the translation and return of St. Bertinus's body. And this instrument is noted as given in the year of the Lord one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven, on the seventeenth of the Kalends of August. It is therefore probable that the author composed his collection concerning the life and miracles of St. Bertinus not long after, so that the age of that Life seems to be fixed a little before the middle of the XIII century. These things are certain, if the matter concerns the collector who at that time gathered that Life together with the miracles.

[7] attributed it to Folcard, But I confess that this does not seem to be Mabillon's mind. He judged, I suppose, that the Life with the earlier miracles was composed by Folcard in the XI century. But neither does the style of this writer agree with the style of Folcard; nor can this last Life be held for a Life more prolixly written, if we compare it with the Life composed by Folcard; nor did Folcard at all promise that he would write again of St. Bertinus's deeds in his life, but only of the miracles done after his death. Wherefore not even in that way can the Life published by Mabillon be attributed with sufficient probability to Folcard. Nevertheless it seems to be proved from book 1 of the Miracles chap. XI that the author wrote in the XI century, in which Folcard lived: for it is said that St. Bertinus's body, which had been laid in a secret place by St. Folquin on account of the inroads of the Normans, remained there until the times of that writer. But it is established that the body was raised by abbot Bovo about the middle of the XI century. And so that first book of Miracles seems to have been written in the XI century. By this argument Mabillon ascribes the Life to Folcard, speaking thus: For although the books written by hand do not bear the author's name, yet we gather it from his age, which he himself indicates in book 1 of the Miracles chap. XI. But the Lord de Clety rightly observes that these are the very words of abbot Bovo, which have been transferred to that place, as may be seen in Mabillon pag. 125 and 162; and that Bovo's words could be adopted as readily by a compiler of the XIII century as by Folcard; and therefore that that argument is of no weight. Besides, if that passage altogether proved that Folcard is the writer of those Miracles, it would only be to be inferred that a certain book of Miracles was written by Folcard, as he had promised; but not another Life of the Saint. But if Folcard did really write something separately about the miracles after the Life, that Compiler will have adopted it.

[8] What has been said will be further illustrated from what the often-praised de Clety goes on to observe of the author of the Life published by Mabillon, in these words: [since this was compiled in the XIII century out of many others by an anonymous writer:] But who was this writer? The codices do not bear his name, neither that which Mabillon used, as he himself confesses, nor another which is still kept in the library of Saint-Bertin. Whatever we have ascertained about this compiler is this: first, that he flourished, as is clear from what has been observed, about the middle of the XIII century: secondly, that into the writing and the first book of the Miracles of the more ancient anonymous author (who for us is only the second), and into the second book of the second anonymous author, he inserted or added many things, which he took partly word for word from the Cartularies of Folquin the deacon and of abbot Simon; then from Folcard's writing, and from abbot Bovo's account of the Finding of St. Bertinus's body, and from very many other contemporary (or at least more ancient) writers of this monastery, who wrote at various times, as is established from the comparison made by us of that Compilation with the aforesaid Lucubrations and other little Works: which comparison we subjoin to these our observations. That these things are most true, I too have found by comparing various things from our manuscripts with Mabillon's edition. And so it is certain that that anonymous writer of the XIII century scraped together from every side what he could find about St. Bertinus. But he seems to have collected them in good faith, though now and then he took too little care that all should suit their own times fitly.

[9] The two Lives bound in verse Mabillon calls the fifth and sixth. the order of the six Lives of St. Bertinus briefly assigned. These, however, do not seem to have been written in that order, since the former, which he rightly attributes to a certain anonymous writer, is older than Folcard, and may be called the third Life of St. Bertinus: but the other, which is the offspring of abbot Simon, was composed in the XII century, so that this is the fifth, and preceded the Life published by Mabillon, which is to be placed in the sixth and last place, excepting however certain modern writings, of which I do not here treat. The order therefore of the Lives is this, as I shall presently show more at large. The first Life is by an anonymous author who at the same time wrote of SS. Audomarus, Bertinus and Winnocus. This Life seems to have been unknown to modern writers, and even to those of Saint-Bertin. The second likewise has an anonymous author, but younger than the preceding: and he is the very one whom Mabillon and others call the more ancient anonymous. To this Life is joined the book of Miracles called the second by Mabillon. The third Life is the metrical one, likewise by an anonymous writer, who expressed the lucubration of the preceding one in verse. The fourth is by Folcard the monk; the fifth is the metrical lucubration of abbot Simon; and finally the sixth, which was collected out of these and other writings by an anonymous compiler, Mabillon published. Now it must be examined at about what time each was composed; and at the same time it must be explained what else was consigned to writing concerning St. Bertinus; and finally in what manner I shall use these things for elucidating the Saint's deeds and miracles.

§ II. It is set forth at what time and in what manner the Saint's Acts, and other things pertaining to him, were written, and at the same time which of them are to be published.

[ ] The first writer of the Life treated of SS. Audomarus, Bertinus and Winnocus: That the first Life of St. Bertinus among those hitherto known was written by the same anonymous author who composed the Life of St. Audomarus published by Mabillon, I have already noted above. This matter is certain from a most ancient manuscript codex which our Elders once received from our college of Molsheim in Alsace. This mutilated codex, marked among us ✠ Ms. 86, contains the Lives of various Saints who were disciples of St. Columban the abbot, or came forth from the monastery of Luxeuil, and among them at fol. 67 it has this title in red letters concerning St. Audomarus: In the name of God, a few things concerning the holy conversation and life of the soldiers of Christ, Audomarus, Bertinus and Winnocus. After the title follows the preface and the Life of St. Audomarus, as it is published in Mabillon, Benedictine Century 2 pag. 559 and following; but in the preface as given by Mabillon certain less necessary things are omitted. After the Life of St. Audomarus, without another preface, the Life of St. Bertinus, and afterward that of St. Winnocus, so follows that there can be no doubt that the author is the same who composed these three Lives one after another.

[11] this writer was not contemporary with St. Bertinus, Of the writer's age Mabillon only noted that the Life of St. Audomarus, which alone of the three he knew, seems to have been written before the disaster of the Normans, that is, before nearly the middle of the IX century, which seems certain. The Benedictine writers of the Literary History of France, tom. 5 pag. 48, treat of the same anonymous writer, and think that the Life of St. Audomarus was written fifty

years or so after that Saint's death, because the author in one place so praises a disciple of St. Audomarus as though he had learned the deed from his own mouth; and in another place commemorates those who had been present at St. Audomarus's death in such a manner as though he had learned from their own mouth what was done at the time of his death. But the words do not prove this. The former are these in Mabillon at num. 6: Hence after his (Audomarus's) death, that disciple who [] suffered [] in the waves related all things in order, showing them. Others in the same place at num. 12 are read thus: But those who at that same hour were present in that house (when Audomarus was dying) testified that such an odor entered their nostrils and mouths as though that house had been full of all spices. The author indeed says that these things were related by the aforesaid persons; but he does not assert that they were narrated to him by those very persons. The same writer speaks otherwise in the Life of St. Bertinus, where for a miracle done at his tomb he cites eyewitnesses, below in the Life at num. 12: Which they testified to us, in whose sight this glorious mighty work was done. The words adduced therefore do not prove that this Life was written so soon.

[12] Nay rather, it is certain from the Lives of SS. Bertinus and Winnocus but at least half a century, and perhaps a whole century, later: that it was composed later, and probably nearly a whole century after St. Audomarus's death, since St. Winnocus long survived Audomarus — indeed by a full fifty years according to Mabillon's reckoning, which I do not here discuss; and since it is clear from the writer himself that these Lives were composed not a few years after St. Winnocus's death, in whose Life the author begins to narrate the miracle of that same Saint's body unharmed in a fire in these words: After the holy man Winnocus's departure from this life therefore, a long space of time having passed &c. Yet lest anyone stretch this long space of time too far, it must be observed that in the Life of St. Winnocus published by Mabillon, Benedictine Century 3 part 1 pag. 308, the same deed is narrated, and it is said: Not much time flowed by after the holy man's departure &c. And so the time which appeared long to the first writer seemed short to the second, who was far younger. The words adduced therefore, by which perhaps only twenty or thirty years are insinuated, do not require us to judge that these Lives were written after the VIII century. But neither does anything occur from elsewhere by which I could show that they were written before the end of the VIII century. Wherefore, since the author nowhere indicates that he was contemporary with the Saints, and nowhere insinuates his own age, I would not dare to lay down anything about it, save that the writer composed these Lives in the VIII century after the middle, or in the IX century before the middle; and that this seems certain enough. This first Life of St. Bertinus therefore was written at least half a century after this Saint's death: and perhaps the writer was more than a whole century later than the Saint.

[13] The praised writers of the Literary History assert that in the Life of St. Audomarus no notable defects are found, This Life seems written in good faith: in what manner it is to be published. except that the style is fuller than is right, and that the circumstances of the deeds are not sufficiently unfolded, and lastly that that writer is more solicitous about reporting the Saint's miracles than his other deeds. These things are most true and accurately observed. Of the Life of St. Bertinus the same may be said, since the author does not set forth even the Saint's death or the beginnings of his monastic life. He seems to have wished only to narrate certain marvels, not to write an exact history of the life of each: for in the Life of St. Audomarus he narrates various things about St. Bertinus which he does not repeat in the latter's Life, nor even lightly touch upon. Other things again about St. Bertinus he reports in the Life of St. Winnocus, omitted in the Life of Bertinus himself. For this cause, that all which was related by this writer about St. Bertinus may be gathered, I shall prefix everything pertaining to Bertinus from the Life of Audomarus; then I shall publish the whole Life of Bertinus, and presently subjoin from the Life of St. Winnocus whatever pertains to Bertinus. And these things together will constitute the first Life, which seems written in the best faith, and contains nothing which can deservedly be doubted.

[14] The second Life of St. Bertinus likewise has an anonymous author, The author of the second Life likewise anonymous: but younger than the preceding, as is clearly plain from a comparison of both. This second one later writers knew well enough, and the present Religious of Saint-Bertin also; but being ignorant of the first, they attributed his place to the second. De Clety observes that this anonymous writer is cited by Folquin the deacon in his Cartulary, in which he reported the diplomas of princes and kings in the year CMLXI: likewise by Folquin abbot of Lobbes, in the prologue to the Life of St. Folquin bishop of the Morini, which he put together toward the end of the X century. His words I gave at num. 3, but here he more probably speaks of the first anonymous writer, since he mentions at the same time Audomarus, Bertinus and Winnocus. Of the same, says de Clety, the more ancient author of the Life of St. Winnocus, as also Folcard and abbot Bovo. The first of these three I judge to treat of the first anonymous writer, since he drew almost everything from him, most of the miracles however excepted. But that the rest speak of the second anonymous writer I easily persuade myself, since they followed him more than the first. The age of this writer will be able to be gathered well enough from book 2 of the Miracles, if this was written by the same man, as I strongly suspect for reasons presently to be alleged, although de Clety seems to be of the contrary opinion: and not altogether without ground he thinks that the writer of the second book of the Miracles is to be distinguished from him.

[15] this Life in some codices has a book of Miracles joined to it, Let us hear the observations of that most diligent man: As the same century was passing away, he (the aforesaid anonymous writer) obtained a continuator of his writing, namely another anonymous writer, who added a second to the first book of Miracles, lest very many things which, as he says, had been omitted on account of the wickedness of the times, should be blotted from the memory of those who came after. But the age of this second anonymous writer is more certain: for he narrates both incursions of the Danes into Sithiu, which were made in the years DCCCLX and DCCCXCI, as an eyewitness, and protests in the prologue of this book that he will report nothing save what he himself saw, or what he has ascertained to have been seen by persons worthy of credit. From which indeed he betrays himself an author of the same age. This second book of Miracles is read in three manuscript codices of the library of Saint-Bertin. In the first, whose script nearly reaches the author's age, it is found separate from the writing of the more ancient anonymous author, and distinguished by no titles, namely between the Life of St. Ansbert archbishop of Rouen and that of St. Winnocus the abbot. In the second codex, which seems to have been written as the tenth century was passing away, this second book is added to the book of the more ancient anonymous writer, so that these two books seem to make up a single Work, since they are distinguished by no titles. But the third codex, which likewise comprises this book, is that one which, with the treatise of abbot Bovo on the Finding of St. Bertinus's body, and the charter of the translation of his relics made by Peter bishop of the Morini and Asso bishop of Arras, taken away, contains the same writing which Mabillon published. Further, this codex is more recent. It savors of the XIII century. Thus far the praised helper.

[16] which seems to be by the same writer, Further, what has been observed of the second codex of Saint-Bertin, in which the anonymous Life and the second book of Miracles are so placed together as if they were one Work, I find also in our manuscript codex which is marked P. Ms. 158. This once belonged to the abbey of Vaucelles of the Cistercian Order, and contains the Lives of the Saints of the month of September; and although it is not so ancient as to come near the time at which this Life was written, yet it was collected from others with great care. And from this codex I probably gather that the same anonymous writer is the author both of the Life and of this book of Miracles, in a somewhat different manner however. For, so far as appears, he borrowed the Life with the earlier miracles from more ancient writers, and for the greater part took it from the first anonymous writer; but the book of Miracles he composed from things seen and heard. The first words of the preface to the book of Miracles lead me into this opinion; for the author speaks thus: These things therefore having been set forth by our most reverend fathers of their own time … no less truly than faithfully concerning the mighty works of our most blessed Patron, very many things afterward … remain omitted which are most worthy of relation. Of which multitude we take pains to add … a few, and those which either we ourselves have seen, or have learned to have been seen by fit persons.

[17] First I do not sufficiently see to what the word these is referred, for the reasons here given: the time of the writing of this little Work. unless to the earlier writings of the same author. And so, since it is certainly referred to that anonymous Life, this seems to have been written by the same man in the style and order in which it stands. Secondly, why does he cite several authors of this Life, when it seems to have been composed continuously by one? For no other cause, I suppose, than that he himself compiled this out of the writings of several. Besides, I observe that the Life, in our codex at least, does not end with the usual clause in which glory is ascribed to the most holy Trinity; but that this clause is deferred to the end of the book of Miracles, so that each book was there certainly written as one Work; and the clause too placed after the book of Miracles clearly indicates this, since it has thus: Here ends the Life of St. Bertinus the abbot. Wherefore I judge it more probable that this Life with the five miracles subjoined, which are annexed to the Life, and then the book of eleven Miracles, were composed by the same anonymous writer; but that the former part was taken from ancient monuments, and the latter composed from things seen and heard by the writer. And if this opinion is true, that whole little Work was written about the beginning of the X century, as is gathered from what was said at num. 15. I shall publish the whole of it as the second Life from our manuscript codex, and shall try to correct some errors into which the author fell.

[18] The metrical Life by an anonymous writer, which I commemorate only in the third place, The third, metrical, Life perhaps composed at the same time: is so put together that its author may have written before the anonymous writer just mentioned, since he reports nothing which is not read in the preceding one, and omits the last incursion of the Danes or Normans into Sithiu, although this too was related by the aforesaid anonymous writer. A copy of that Work de Clety transmitted to us from a manuscript codex, prefixing these observations: We dug out this lucubration from a codex of our library most elegantly written, with the initial letters of each verse adorned with gold or silver; whose character seems to savor of the end of the X century. That is the same codex which also

comprises the Life of St. Bertinus published by the more ancient anonymous writer, which is read distributed after the manner of an ecclesiastical Office, but with very few things taken away from the genuine text; and that very Life which Malbrancq and some other writers wrongly attribute to Folquin abbot of Lobbes… At what time the author of this metrical writing lived, we have nothing certain: the books bear neither his age nor his name. To these he adds that a conjecture may be formed for the Life having been written as the IX century was passing away, especially because the last incursion of the Normans is omitted. This reason is indeed probable; but the matter is not thereby made altogether certain. For, as he too observes, this poet seems to have used the preceding anonymous writer, and therefore it is less probable that he wrote before him. Whatever be the case, he wrote doubtless in the IX or X century, and reports no fact which the other does not have. For this cause I do not believe I should be doing anything worth while if I published this Life. Yet since he narrates some things more fully, I shall now and then cite him in the annotations to the Life or the Miracles.

[19] Another little Work, fit for illustrating St. Bertinus's deeds, was composed in the X century by Folquin, a monk of Sithiu and a deacon. He in the year 961, The historical Cartulary of Folquin the deacon: as the men of Saint-Bertin say, under abbot Adalolf, began to collect various diplomas, and so knit them together with a historical narrative that out of them he made a Historical Chartulary, as Mabillon calls that little Work in the De Re Diplomatica book 3 chap. 5, where he speaks thus of it at num. 4: Some of the more ancient Chartularies are historical, in which the old monuments are so connected that the series of things done in that place is at the same time unfolded and drawn out of those monuments. This Folquin, a monk of Sithiu, performed as the X century was passing away, whose collection thus begins: "In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity, here begin the chapters of the first division of the book on the deeds of the abbots and the privileges of the monastery of Sithiu, and on the handings-over of possessions which were granted to this place by the faithful in the time of each of them with the inscription of charters." It consists of LXXXI chapters, to which are subjoined ten chapters on alms. But in the preface this is read: "This codex only have we heaped together out of little parchments into the body of one book; so that if perchance anyone shall be eager to investigate the possessions of that place, he may have recourse to this. There he will be able as quickly as possible to find their number and names, fitly joined under a heading of the years of the Lord's Nativity, or of whatever king was then reigning, according as was in our power." Mabillon adds that the Collection ends about the year CMLXI, and that the author protests that he wrote nothing else save what he could find in the copies of the ancients, or learn from vigorous men narrating it. This last Mabillon understands of things pertaining to history, who cites this little Work in other places also. But what has been said here may meanwhile suffice for our purpose. Yet in their own places in the Commentary we shall use this author, from whom later biographers profited.

[20] The fourth Life written by Folcard the monk: The author of the fourth Life of St. Bertinus is Folcard the monk, of whom various things have already been said at num. 4 and following. Folcard flourished under abbot Bovo, to whom he dedicated his Work, and so about the middle of the XI century: for according to John of Ypres, Bovo was made abbot in the year 1043, and died in the year 1065. And Folcard, as a certain annalist of Saint-Bertin has it, on de Clety's testimony, published the Saint's Life in a more elegant style and left it to his abbot to sift. The style certainly is more diffuse than in the other Lives, and than in that very one which Mabillon published, so that I the more wonder that he could say that this Life was compendiously written. The facts which Folcard reports he could draw partly from each anonymous writer, but chiefly from the second, whose errors also he adopted; partly from Folquin's Cartulary, partly from other monuments, or from mere conjectures. Of this Life I have three manuscript copies: the first from the second part of the various Legends at Corsendonk (a priory of Canons Regular in Brabant): this is entire, and has the preface joined to it, but not however the dedication. Another our Chifflet transmitted to our Elders from a manuscript of the monastery of Auchy, but mutilated. The third the often-praised de Clety very lately procured to be transcribed from two manuscripts of Saint-Bertin: and to this the dedication itself also is prefixed. These three copies I have diligently compared, and found rightly agreeing, except for not a few faults of ill-written words which occur in each. Yet since these faults are very rarely found in all the copies together, most can easily be corrected; and therefore, that the text may be more correct, I shall put it together from all the manuscripts at once, with the various readings noted where it shall seem worth while.

[21] At almost the same time at which the Life was written by Folcard, The Finding and elevation of the body composed by abbot Bovo. or a little after the middle of the XI century, abbot Bovo, already mentioned, put together his little Work on the Finding and elevation of St. Bertinus's body, in which various things are reported pertaining to the Saint's posthumous glory. Most of these the author saw, and certain other earlier things he could draw from the monuments of Saint-Bertin, so that this little Work is worthy to be inserted entire into our Work after the three Lives mentioned. But since I have obtained no manuscript copy, nor can easily obtain one — de Clety testifying that that account no longer survives in the manuscript codices of the library of Saint-Bertin — I am compelled to reprint Mabillon's edition alone, who testifies that he gave that Account from the manuscript codices of Sithiu and of Clairmarais. Bovo is praised by the writers of the Literary History of France, tom. 7 pag. 564, and they observe that his style is more diffuse than is right; but that the little Work is otherwise well enough written. We shall examine it further in the annotations.

. Ms., quæ.*

. Ms., fuit.*

§ III. The remaining writers who have treated of St. Bertinus: whether John of Ypres's Chronicle is as accurately written as its editor would have it:

[ ] The fifth Life composed in leonine verse by abbot Simon: The fifth Life of St. Bertinus, bound in leonine verse, has as its author Simon, a monk and abbot of Sithiu. Of him John of Ypres treats, in Martène tom. 3 of the Anecdota from col. 631, or chap. 42, where he teaches that he was of Ghent by origin, and a religious and lettered man. He was elected abbot in the year 1131; but the election was afterward declared void by a letter of Innocent II, to which letter the lord Simon, reverently obeying, yielded up the burden with the dignity in the year of the Lord MCXXXVI, says John of Ypres. De Clety, who transmitted this lucubration from a manuscript codex of Saint-Bertin, says it was written about the middle of the XII century, that is, not long before the author's death: for he fixes his death with John of Ypres to the year 1148. Besides, to our purpose he observes this: The codex and the prologue of this writing bear the name of its author, namely of Simon, the first abbot of Sithiu of that name. He too, following the example of Folquin the deacon, wrote a Cartulary from the beginning of the XI century to his own times, that is, from the time of abbot Rodericus, who began to govern in the year MXXI: he reported into one volume with equal zeal the bulls of the Supreme Pontiffs, the diplomas of the princes and counts of Flanders, and other private instruments, and inserted among them the things done under the government of each abbot. Of this Chartulary Mabillon too now and then speaks in his diplomatic Work. Abbot Simon's Work I shall cite where it shall seem worth while. In the Life he chiefly followed Folcard, whose opinions he seems not only to have adopted, but his diffuse style also.

[23] Finally, the sixth writer of the Life, whose compilation pleased Mabillon, [The sixth Life, published by Mabillon, was compiled in the XIII century out of various sources,] because it comprises almost all the rest, is an anonymous writer of the XIII century, as has already been proved at num. 6. De Clety, who caused this whole compilation to be neatly transcribed from another codex of Saint-Bertin than the one Mabillon used, and to be communicated to us, not only made the author's age manifest by his observations, but also skilfully showed from what authors each part was taken, with the exception of a few miracles which the compiler himself probably added, and some other things now and then which he himself added to the Life from conjectures or from unknown monuments. The whole prologue is from the first anonymous writer, whom, if perhaps he did not have him entire, he could take from the first part, that is, from the Life of St. Audomarus. The first chapter is wholly borrowed from Folcard; the second partly from Folcard, partly from the Life of St. Mummolinus, which we have in our manuscript codex; the third from the second anonymous writer, whom however he interpolated from Folcard by adding the year of the donation. The fourth chapter he again borrowed from the same anonymous writer, but added certain things from Folcard, adopting also the error of both, by which Mummolinus is said to have succeeded St. Acharius in the bishopric of Noyon, whereas he succeeded St. Eligius. The fifth and sixth chapters he borrowed from Folcard; and the privilege of St. Audomarus from Folquin's Chartulary, unless he had the original. To the privilege he subjoined a few things which are not free of an anachronism.

[24] as is shown: from it only certain miracles are to be published: The seventh chapter he could have from either anonymous writer, and the same from Folcard, but here he chiefly followed the second anonymous writer. The eighth chapter he took wholly from Folquin's Chartulary: but the ninth partly from the second anonymous writer, partly from Folcard, partly from elsewhere, or from conjectures. The tenth chapter he again borrowed from Folcard; and the eleventh he has from the same or from the anonymous writer, but he did not express their words. Lastly the twelfth chapter is attributed almost wholly to the compiler himself, although he borrowed some things from Folcard. Thus far from the praised observations, which I have diligently compared with the monuments themselves, and found accurate. Only those things which are said to be taken from Folquin's Chartulary I could not compare, since I do not have it. Further, the praised de Clety goes on to show of the Miracles whence each was taken. But, lest I be here more prolix than is right, I shall briefly note this of each in the annotations. For I do not care to publish that whole Work consecutively, as it was published by Mabillon, but shall try to restore to each author his own, so that the studious reader may more clearly perceive in what order all were written, and how much each is worth. But what shall remain of the anonymous Compiler, after the three Lives and abbot Bovo's little Work have been published, will all be read in its own places in this Commentary, or will be given in the Appendix of Miracles which I shall subjoin in the last place. For the rest, I have this anonymous writer's Life in another manuscript copy also, which was once handed to our Elders from the manuscript book of Lord Hubert, which is entitled Life of Bertinus, as was noted above in the margin.

[25] The Chronicle of Saint-Bertin, written by John of Ypres, its editor Martène Besides the Lives and the other monuments just mentioned, the Chronicle of Sithiu of Saint-Bertin, written by John of Ypres and published in this very century by Edmond Martène in tom. 3 of the Thesaurus of Anecdota, must also frequently be consulted.

John of Ypres flourished and was abbot of Sithiu in the XIV century, dying in the year 1383. The editor Martène not only commends with many praises in his Preliminary Admonition the writer's piety and the usefulness of this Chronicle; but extols the authority of that Work in words so magnificent as to assert that scarcely anyone has undertaken to relate the affairs of Belgium who has not drawn what he had to say, for the greater part, from this lucubration as from the purest and most certain fountain. But I should have preferred that the praised editor had given an accurate critique of this Chronicle rather than exaggerated praises: for so the studious reader would better have understood what he can safely embrace from it, and what on the contrary he ought to beware of. Certainly the chronology is for the most part faulty in the earlier centuries of this Chronicle, as will appear in the course of the work. Nay, I shall not rarely be compelled to show that not even the facts related in this Chronicle are so certain and so free from errors as not to need correction often enough. Martène tries to prove the Chronicle's authority because John of Ypres followed Folquin the deacon, abbot Simon, and their anonymous continuator of the XIII century, whom he says wrote in the year 1229: From whom, he says, John of Ypres seems so to have made up his Chronicle that he must deservedly be judged to have inserted their entire lucubrations into his Work.

[26] He tries to show this by certain words alleged which John of Ypres could not have brought forward of himself, extols with exaggerated praises, though it is not free of many errors, and which therefore must be attributed to more ancient writers, whose statements John of Ypres inserted into his Chronicle unchanged so far. But I strongly suspect that Martène never compared John of Ypres's Chronicle with those three writers from whom he says he borrowed so much. Certainly if he had diligently compared John of Ypres's words with the words of the anonymous continuator, who is the compiler of the Life of St. Bertinus published by Mabillon, he would have seen the whole sense of the words changed by John of Ypres in a matter which will be reported in the Appendix of Miracles at num. 25, as I shall there observe. Besides, if he had diligently compared and examined those three authors, he would have seen that very few things are narrated by them as seen, but most as long past; and for that cause he would not have said that this Chronicle of Saint-Bertin deserves the greater credit among the learned the more ancient the authors it has, who committed to writing the deeds of their own time as they had seen them or heard them from eyewitnesses. These things were said inconsiderately and without sufficient examination: for John of Ypres drew few things from writers who had seen or had written the deeds in their own time, at least in the first centuries of his Chronicle, and far more from those writers who were far later than the deeds which they reported. Nay, John of Ypres has more from other writers than from those three, of whom Martène all but makes him the continuator.

[27] These things about John of Ypres I judged should be observed, lest anyone, deceived by Martène's immoderate praises, and therefore he must indeed be consulted, but not followed without examination. should at once think me to be reprehended when he sees me not acquiescing in that writer's authority. Yet I would not defraud John of Ypres of his due praise, whose Chronicle I judge useful and by no means to be despised, but not to be blindly followed. Whence he drew his materials, and with how much fidelity he wrote, he himself indicates in the second Prologue in these words: The present little Work we have collected with grateful labor from many volumes and authentic writings, taking from each what seemed to belong to our purpose, inserting nothing which is not approved by authentic writings. Then he explains what he designates by authentic writings, namely many Lives of Saints, and likewise not a few Chronicles, antiquities, annals, histories and archives both of the church of Sithiu and of other monasteries of Belgium and France, other historical books, and finally charters of privileges. From all these monuments he asserts that he put together his Chronicle, harmonizing times with times from the day and the consul, and business with business from the matters contained in them. I do not doubt that this a pious and learned man performed both diligently and in good faith; but that it was not done without errors is clearer than light. And indeed to write such a Work in that century in which John of Ypres lived, without various errors, was beyond human industry, both because many monuments which had to be used were not free of all error, and because various things had to be reconciled by conjectures. And this reconciling was the harder the less chronological and critical science approached its present perfection. Thus far concerning John of Ypres.

[28] Certain other monuments pertaining to St. Bertinus, These matters being dispatched concerning the chief monuments which I shall use for illustrating the Life of St. Bertinus, only a few things remain to be said of certain others. I have nine manuscript lessons of the Office of St. Bertinus, which are noted as formerly received at Saint-Omer from a manuscript of the abbey of Saint-Bertin, and collated with another and older manuscript of the same city. I have compared these lessons with the Life of the first anonymous writer, out of which they are composed, but some things are added from elsewhere. Besides, I find a short manuscript account of the Finding and translation of St. Bertinus's body in the time of abbot Bovo. This was copied out from a manuscript Catalogue of the abbots of Saint-Bertin. Joined to this is another, very short, communicated from the Chronicle of the abbey; and certain others to be mentioned in their own places. There are added the Lives, manuscript and published, of St. Audomarus, St. Mummolinus, St. Folquin, and of other Saints, of which brief mention will be made when they are cited. Lastly, various moderns have written of St. Bertinus: Jacques Malbrancq in the Work On the Morini, Jean Mabillon in the Benedictine Acts and Annals, Charles Le Cointe in the Ecclesiastical Annals of the Franks, Denis de Sainte-Marthe in the Gallia Christiana reprinted, and not a few others, whose opinions we shall examine; nor shall we follow any without a previous examination.

§ IV. His birthplace and time: assertions about the Saint's family examined: his monastic Life at Luxeuil: the time of his coming to St. Audomarus.

[ ] Bertinus born in the territory of Constance in Germany, The writers of St. Bertinus's Life agree wonderfully as to the Saint's native land, so far as they say that he was born in the territory of the city of Constance, situated in Germany on the Rhine near the lake of Bodamicum or Constance. Abbot Simon alone names Constance itself as the Saint's native city; but I cannot believe that he wished to dissent from the others, but only to say that he was born at Constance because he was born in the territory of that city. John of Ypres in his Chronicle wished to assign the very place, writing thus: The blessed boy Bertinus was born in the region of Constance, not far from Constance a city of Alemannia, in a place of his inheritance called Vasima, of the province of Mainz. Malbrancq, book 3 chap. 1, reads Vasinia from a manuscript Chronicle. Why John of Ypres attributes his birthplace to the province of Mainz I do not sufficiently perceive, unless perhaps he speaks of an ecclesiastical province: for the diocese of Constance was thereafter, and is today, under the metropolitan of Mainz. Whence he drew the birthplace Vasima or Vasinia is somehow gathered from another passage of his. For he seems to have looked to the villa Vausune in the district of Constantinus, which in the year 662 Bertinus made over to Mummolinus by an exchange, as may be read in Mabillon, De Re Diplomatica pag. 606. For, reporting that exchange in chap. 1 part. 10, he speaks thus: Holy Bertinus also gave to the same Mommelinus two villas, namely Vasime in the district of Constance, which had come to him from his paternal inheritance &c.

[30] He cites for these things a diploma of king Clotaire, which in Mabillon at the place indicated has thus: but not in Vasima, as John of Ypres would have it; Likewise Bertinus the abbot gave to the aforesaid lord Mummolinus, abbot and bishop, his portion of the villa called Vausune, in the district of Constantinus, entire, which he received from the illustrious man Agulfus in exchange for another villa, Tranciliacum &c. These things certainly do not favor John of Ypres. For in what manner did Bertinus have the villa Vausune or Vasime from his paternal inheritance, if he received it by exchange for another villa, as is here said? It is certain therefore that John of Ypres erred when he believed that the villa Vausune or Vasime belonged by hereditary right to St. Bertinus. And since it is established that he was in that error, it can scarcely be doubted that from it he made his conjecture about the birthplace, and his very words indicate this, since he there likewise calls Vasima the place of the Saint's inheritance. The district of Constantinus, in which the villa is said to be situated, perhaps gave occasion to the error, because John of Ypres, reading the district of Constantinus, at once looked to the territory of the city of Constance on the Rhine, and judged that a place so distant probably did not come to Bertinus save by hereditary right. Nevertheless he could have read the contrary in the diploma itself, and it is not probable that St. Bertinus then possessed any hereditary goods. Besides, I do not judge that by the district of Constantinus there is here designated the territory of Constance in Alemannia in Swabia, but the Cotentin in what is now Normandy on the Ocean. Certainly the pagus Constantinus, commonly le Cotantin or le Coutantin, has its name from Coutances in Gaul, as Valois shows in the Notitia Galliarum pag. 156. The reason of the exchange also appears better if the villa Vausune was situated there, namely because this was far nearer to Noyon, where Mummolinus was bishop, than to the abbey of Saint-Bertin. And so, John of Ypres's error being detected from these things, it will be enough for us to say with the biographers that St. Bertinus was born in the territory of the city of Constance in Germany, nor shall we investigate the place further with useless labor.

[31] The time of his birth the writers of the Life do not express. Yet we find the year of his death in Folcard, more probably at the beginning of the VII century, in the manuscript Office, and finally in the last compiler in Mabillon: in which place also the Saint is read to have lived to the hundred and twelfth year of his age, which pleased John of Ypres too. If these things were certain, the year of his birth could easily be investigated: but in its own place I shall show that neither is the year of his death rightly enough assigned in the Lives, nor is it altogether certain; and that the years of so long-lived an age are much more uncertain. And so, since nothing can be dug out from these, let us hear John of Ypres. He at chap. 1 says he was born in the year of the Incarnate Word five hundred and ninety or thereabouts, blessed Pope Gregory presiding over the holy Apostolic See, Maurice bearing the imperial sceptres, and Clotaire the second, still a boy, reigning in France. Presently at part. 4 he says he was born about the second year of Clotaire II, whose reign he begins in the year 586, that is, two years later than he ought. If he had rightly fitted all his assertions to one another, he would have said that he was born in the year 586 or 587, since he says that he died in the year 698, in the hundred and twelfth year of his age. But Le Cointe at the year 608 num. 3 judges that Bertinus was born much later. But if we consider how utterly without weight is the authority of the anonymous Compiler, who first attributed so great an age to St. Bertinus, and easily drew John of Ypres into his opinion, we shall be able to agree with Le Cointe, especially since the chronological series of St. Bertinus's deeds to be given rather persuades us that the Saint was born

when the VII century had already begun, and probably between the year 600 and 610: for we shall say that he died about the year 709 at an age so advanced that it was not far from a hundred years, or perhaps exceeded them.

[32] probably of noble family: Of St. Bertinus's noble or ignoble family the two anonymous writers of the Life have nothing, and nothing likewise the two poets. Folcard was the first to say in the Life: The blessed boy Bertinus is handed down to have sprung from a noble stock of forefathers: which the anonymous compiler of the XIII century adopted. But John of Ypres reasons more about the Saint's stock, and contends that he sprang from the same family as St. Audomarus, as the Pippins, and as Charlemagne. This will be examined concerning St. Audomarus at the IX day of this month. It will be enough for me to observe here that Folcard indeed at num. 9 asserts doubtfully, by the words as is reported, that Bertinus was St. Audomarus's kinsman, and that this opinion is affirmed without doubt by the anonymous Compiler of the XIII century in Mabillon chap. 2; but that none of the three earlier writers of the Life asserts that Bertinus and Audomarus were kinsmen, although all speak of both. And their silence, joined with Folcard's doubt — who indeed was not too timid in asserting anything — affords a suspicion that the report of that kinship was not constant, but that some perhaps, being of the same country, believed by conjecture that they had sprung also from the same stock. Wherefore I do not care to sift, or to transfer hither, what Malbrancq disputes of these matters, liberally embracing John of Ypres's assertions and increasing them with his own conjectures. For the rest, it is probable enough that Bertinus sprang from a noble family, as Folcard affirms to be handed down, since the silence of the earlier biographers can be of no great weight against this opinion. But I would not dare to assert the same of his kinship with St. Audomarus, on account of Folcard's doubt joined with the silence of the others.

[33] the Saint is said to have been first a monk at Luxeuil, Of the beginnings of his monastic life at Luxeuil the first three writers of the Life were likewise silent: nor yet does it seem to be doubted that St. Bertinus dwelt in the monastery of Luxeuil, as did Mummolinus and Ebertramnus, with whom he afterward betook himself to St. Audomarus. For these began together to build a monastery when they had come to St. Audomarus, who himself too had been a monk of Luxeuil, and favored their endeavors. By this reason alone it is probable that they had before been trained in monastic discipline. Wherefore we can easily believe Folcard, abbot Simon, and others who followed them, that they embraced the monastic life in the monastery of Luxeuil, and were sent thence to St. Audomarus to preach the Gospel, as was wont to be done at that time in the monastery of Luxeuil. The silence of the first anonymous writer, who seems to lead them straight from the region of Constance to St. Audomarus, seems to have arisen only from this cause, that he was intent on reporting St. Audomarus's deeds, and therefore reported of St. Bertinus and the others only those things which were connected with Audomarus's deeds. Nor can it here be said that he ought at least to have narrated his stay at Luxeuil in the Life of St. Bertinus: for it is clear that that writer did not write a full Life of St. Bertinus; but that as soon as he had come to St. Audomarus's death, he narrated of Bertinus only what had been done afterward. The silence of the second anonymous writer presses no more, since he added nothing to the first save some interpolations and changes of slight moment, and a few deeds about the end of his life, and miracles done after the Saint's death.

[34] John of Ypres records this of St. Bertinus's beginnings: The infant Bertinus therefore, of outstanding character, being weaned, is given to the liberal schools to be instructed: and to have come thither under abbot Eustasius, then, being stronger in age and body, having left his country with his parents, he is made a monk in Luxeuil, a monastery of Burgundy, under father Eustachius (more rightly written Eustasius), and is instructed by the holy fathers there in regular institutions, drinking there the rudiments of the sacred faith, which he afterward poured excellently into our ears. One thing only in these is doubtful, namely whether St. Bertinus came to Luxeuil under abbot Eustasius, as John of Ypres asserts with Folcard, abbot Simon and others. For Le Cointe at the year 633 num. 13 judges that Bertinus came to Luxeuil later, writing thus: At these times, when Audomarus had not yet been elected bishop, Bertinus, Mummolinus and Ebertramnus committed themselves to the discipline of Walbert abbot of Luxeuil. Le Cointe's opinion Baillet adopted in the Life of St. Bertinus. But I do not see why Le Cointe, who believes that Bertinus came to St. Audomarus about the year 639, should wish the Saint's stay at Luxeuil to be circumscribed by so brief an interval as to affirm that he came to Luxeuil about the year 633, and therefore should believe that we must depart from the writers of St. Bertinus's Life, from John of Ypres, and finally from the Life of St. Mummolinus, in which likewise it is read that he lived under St. Eustasius abbot of the monastery of Luxeuil. Certainly a time of six years, in which they should prepare themselves in the monastery for preaching the Gospel, appears shorter than is right, since it is probable that Bertinus and the others were young men when they came to Luxeuil.

[35] Wherefore I more probably believe that he came earlier to Luxeuil, which may be set about the year 625. and stayed there several years before he was sent from the monastery to Apostolic labors with Mummolinus and Ebertramnus; nor do I find any reasons why the beginning of his monastic life may not be placed toward the end of St. Eustasius's life, that is, about the year 625. Yet I confess that the authority of the writers alleged for that opinion is not so great that the matter is altogether certain: but I only observe that Le Cointe's opinion, adopted by Baillet, is destitute no less of reason than of all authority. I am also displeased with what Le Cointe subjoins to the words alleged, who makes Bertinus, Mummolinus and Ebertramnus joined in familiarity, and at the same time giving their labor to polite letters, before their monastic life, and departing together to Luxeuil: for I read none of these things in ancient authors or writers of the Life; or at any rate I cannot understand what the ancients say of their coming to St. Audomarus in that sense. But his last observation, that Mummolinus was older than the rest, appears true, since among the more ancient writers he is everywhere named in the first place, and was first appointed abbot, and thereafter bishop. On the contrary Bertinus seems to have been the youngest of the three, since he is reckoned last both in the life of St. Audomarus, or in the first anonymous writer, and in the life of St. Mummolinus.

[36] Thence Bertinus with Mummolinus and Ebertramnus, not to preach The time at which St. Bertinus departed from the monastery of Luxeuil, and came into the province of the Morini to St. Audomarus with Mummolinus and Ebertramnus, is not sufficiently ascertained. The first writers of the Life did not express the time of that coming; Folcard blundered wretchedly in reconciling the years of Christ with the years of the kings, as did the anonymous compiler, whom after Mabillon Le Cointe too and Pagi wrongly called Folcard. Lastly John of Ypres brought forward various things about the time of this coming, but wonderfully conflicting. First therefore I observe that almost everything must be rejected which the anonymous compiler writes of these matters in Mabillon chap. 2 in these words: When therefore the Lord had now disposed to make his Soldier more manifestly known to the world, lest a Lamp shining with so great brightness in a hidden place should put off the spiritual traffic of so many mortals, having gone forth with only two companions, Mummolinus and Ebertramnus, men namely of great sanctity, joined to them as a third, a perfect worshipper of the holy Trinity, he came as far as Gaul. Seeing therefore, the aforesaid holy men, namely Bertinus and his companions, that there indeed the harvest was great but the laborers few, they began urgently to sow far and wide the word of life through all Gaul. And very many religious men clave to them, who were refreshed by them from morning until evening with the food of eternal life: nor less did the nobles of the palace, their royal service being interrupted for a time, flow together to them, and set before themselves as an example their modest converse in right living.

[37] through all Gaul, as some wrongly write, At that time Lothair the son of king Louis governed the monarchy of the kingdom of the Franks, and when now the frequent report of the outstanding converse of the holy Bertinus and his companions struck his ears through the account of his nobles, he presently ordered them to stand before his sight. And when they had been brought in, the man of the Lord Bertinus and his companions were honorably received by the king, and for a long time were retained within the king's palace with the utmost care. But after a long interval of time the aforementioned men went to St. Audomarus, then bishop of Thérouanne (whose fellow countryman and kinsman St. Bertinus was), that they might be his companions in preaching, so that in the eternal recompense they might deserve to be made by God partakers of equal glory. And St. Audomarus, graciously receiving those servants of God, gave thanks to almighty God, who had sent him such helpers for preaching the Gospel. For they were perfect in the Catholic faith, and learned in ecclesiastical disciplines and in the divine Scripture. They therefore entered upon the office of their mission by the labor of continual preaching.

[38] who also by another error set Bertinus before Mummolinus, The unskilled compiler here mixed certain things written by Folcard with what is read of these matters in the manuscript Life of St. Mummolinus; nor yet did he express their words rightly enough. The first period I thus restore from Folcard: When therefore the Lord had now disposed to make his Soldier more manifestly known to the world, lest a Lamp shining with so great brightness in a hidden place should put off the spiritual traffic of so many mortals, only two companions having gone forth, Mummolinus and Ebertramnus, men namely of great sanctity, joined to them as a third, a perfect worshipper of the holy Trinity, he came to the borders of the Morini. Two things in these the interpolator changed: first, for the word having gone forth (plural) he substituted having gone forth (singular): by which change it comes about that Bertinus, who otherwise seems the third or the youngest, can seem the first of the three. But he could have clearly perceived the order of those three Saints from the Life of St. Mummolinus, which he ineptly mixed with Folcard, and he ought not to have suppressed what is read there in this manner: Holy Bertramnus and Bertinus chose blessed Mummolinus for their father, to whom they submitted themselves with humble devotion, and whom they venerated with an affection of charity. The other change is plainly ridiculous, by which he says they came from Luxeuil as far as Gaul, where Folcard asserts that they came into the district of the Morini.

[39] But he wished, with the author of the Life of St. Mummolinus, to bring them in preaching through Gaul, nor in the time of Clotaire III, nay even through all Gaul, as he himself added, and to lead many disciples and even the nobles of the palace to them; nay, to bring them also to the court of king Clotaire. All these things the compiler took from the praised Life of St. Mummolinus, nor did he even notice how ineptly Lothair is called the son of Louis: for Clotaire III, the son of Clovis II, could alone somehow be understood; but he did not obtain the kingdom before the year 656, when Bertinus with his companions had already been many years in the district of the Morini, as is plain from the handing over of the villa of Sithiu, which the compiler himself testifies was made in the year

XI of Clovis II, that is, in the year of Christ 648. Nothing therefore can we gather from these errors for the time of their coming to St. Audomarus; we believe nothing of those Saints coming to Clotaire or to his court, nothing of the disciples who joined themselves to them before they had come to St. Audomarus. Nevertheless, since writers often disturb the order of things, perhaps St. Mummolinus was called to the court of Clotaire III before he was created bishop of Noyon: but what is said of the preaching, and of the disciples flowing together to these Saints, is most true if we believe it done at that time in which they were cultivating the people of the district of the Morini with St. Audomarus: and at that time too certain of the nobles of the palace could now and then come to them.

[40] John of Ypres at chap. 1 part. 5 writes that St. Bertinus with his companions came to St. Audomarus in the time of Clotaire II, nor did he set out in the time of Clotaire II, that is, before the year 628, and borrows other things already refuted from the anonymous writer: Especially, he says, the holy Bertinus, Mommolinus and Bertrannus, three men worshippers of the holy Trinity, unwilling to hide the Lord's talent or to bring it back without gain, came from Luxeuil, a monastery of Burgundy, into France, sowing the word of life, and were honorably received by king Clothaire, and retained within the king's palace with the utmost care. What the anonymous writer says was done under Clotaire III, that is, much later than is probable, this writer sets under Clotaire II, under whom he presently places also the very grant of Adroaldus, which was made in the year 648, as though made in the year 626. John of Ypres subjoins: After a long interval of time they went to St. Audomarus, then bishop of the Morini, whose fellow countryman and kinsman blessed Bertinus was, as much for love of that Saint as because, being Teutonic, they well knew the language of his country: whom St. Audomarus, receiving, appointed to be his associates in preaching. They therefore entered upon the office of their mission by the labor of continual preaching. These things can be refuted without difficulty, since they certainly did not come before St. Audomarus's episcopate, which began under Dagobert, and indeed toward the end of Dagobert's life, as most judge — which will be more fully examined at the day IX, on which he is venerated.

[41] but, being probably summoned by St. Audomarus, Wherefore what John of Ypres had said before at part. 2 will come nearer the truth, that Bertinus came into these Western parts of Flanders in the time of Severinus the Supreme Pontiff, whose whole pontificate is bound by Pagi to the year 640. Le Cointe places their coming about the year 639, which likewise I judge to be not far from the truth. But the reasons for this chronology must be sought elsewhere than in those I have hitherto seen adduced. First, it is certain that those Saints came to St. Audomarus when he had already been bishop for some time; and some years before the foundation of the abbey of Sithiu, which from Adroaldus's donation is set down in the year XI of Clovis II, that is, of Christ 648. And so their coming must certainly be placed between the beginning of St. Audomarus's episcopate, which is fixed about the year 637, and the year 648 already assigned. But now, since it is probable that those Saints came at St. Audomarus's request; and since he probably begged that helping hand not long after taking up the episcopate, as soon as he had perceived that in the district of the Morini the harvest was great but the laborers few, I judge that Mummolinus with his companions Ebertramnus and Bertinus hastened to Audomarus only a year or two after he himself had come to the Morini, especially since the first anonymous writer in the Life of St. Audomarus reports nothing between the episcopate taken up by Audomarus and the coming of the others which compels us to judge that the coming of those three was many years later than Audomarus's own coming.

[42] he came to him with his companions about the year 638 or 640. This too is persuaded by the earlier dwelling of Mummolinus and his companions in the old monastery, the whole of which must be set before the year 648, as I shall show below: for although it was of a few years, on the testimony of the first anonymous writer, yet it could easily have lasted eight or ten years. Wherefore I judge that the coming of St. Bertinus and his companions into the district of the Morini is not to be removed far from the year 638 or 640. Yet I willingly confess that this epoch is not so certain that I would wish to quarrel if anyone should place that coming a little earlier or later. For, although the beginning of St. Audomarus's episcopate is fixed in the later years of king Dagobert, who died in the year 638 in the month of January, it is not so certain that Audomarus was made bishop in the year 637 that I should think him to be accused of error who should say that he was created bishop some years earlier, since Le Cointe's argument, by which he strives to prove that he was made bishop in the year 637, is of slight moment, as will be able to be proved in Audomarus at the IX of September. But if Audomarus was bishop earlier, Bertinus too could earlier be with him.

§ V. The old monastery built, with St. Audomarus favoring: the foundation of the abbey of Sithiu, with the same helping, and Adroaldus furnishing the means.

[ ] Adroaldus offers the villa of Sithiu to St. Audomarus: with this Saint helping John of Ypres at chap. 1 part. 6 has thus: While St. Audomarus with his three aforesaid companions was frequently impressing the faith of the holy Trinity upon the hearts of unbelievers by his preaching, the people of the land flowed together to them in troops, devoutly submitting their necks to the Lord's sweet yoke. Meanwhile a certain man very rich in wealth, an illustrious man named Adroaldus, having no son, began to treat with blessed Audomarus how he might make the church the heir of his possessions: he offered to blessed Audomarus the villa which is called Sithiu, with its appurtenances, that he might build there a hospice. At the bidding therefore of blessed Audomarus the three aforesaid holy men, Bertinus, Mommolinus and Bertrannus, built a little church and a cell in the territory of the same villa, in the place which, and for this reason, is still called the Old Monastery, upon the river Aa, in the year of the Lord DCXXVI. Severinus the Pope then presided over the holy Roman Church. What is said of Severinus both here and at part. 2 the editor Martène wished to correct, because it does not cohere with the year 626 here assigned; but rather the year 626 was to be corrected, as is plain from what has been said before.

[44] I return to John of Ypres, who subjoins the following concerning this first dwelling: Bertinus with his companions builds the first In the aforesaid place of the Old Monastery, the holy men of God Bertinus and Mommolinus and Bertrannus sat as it were in a hermitage, being established with a small little community, for fourteen years. Meanwhile Adroaldus's negotiation with St. Audomarus was prolonged by intervening affairs. These things, which John of Ypres took from various writers, agree excellently with the first Life, if a few things be corrected. For first, according to John of Ypres, the Old Monastery was built at St. Audomarus's bidding, before Adroaldus had determined to give the villa of Sithiu for the building of a monastery. He had indeed offered that villa to St. Audomarus for the building of a hospice; but that negotiation, if we believe John of Ypres, was not yet completed, because Audomarus preferred to use Adroaldus's possessions for another purpose, namely for founding a monastery, as John of Ypres more clearly sets forth in the words to be given below at num. 54.

[45] Secondly, from these things it follows that Adroaldus's donation to St. Bertinus and his companions had not yet been made when the Old Monastery was founded; monastery, in which they reside a few years: but that St. Audomarus was the chief author of building this monastery; although I would not deny that he did this because Adroaldus had offered many goods to be spent at his discretion. But now, as regards John of Ypres's opinion, asserting that Mummolinus and his companions remained fourteen years in that old monastery, it is not only destitute of the authority of the ancient writers of the Life; but is also little probable: for the first Life, which seems far to be preferred to the rest, has them staying a few years in that place, as does the Life of St. Mummolinus too. But the second anonymous writer and Folcard do not express the time of that stay. Yet the anonymous Compiler in Mabillon chap. 4 went before John of Ypres, but his authority is of slight moment. And so those fourteen years are not probable enough, since thus Bertinus would already in the year 634 have been in the district of the Morini, which can scarcely be maintained, because Audomarus does not seem to have been bishop yet.

[46] various opinions about the time of the building of this monastery, Le Cointe and Mabillon departed far from our chronology, because they judged that that Old Monastery was built from Adroaldus's donation in the year 648, and thence counted fourteen years, after which they attributed the foundation of the monastery of Sithiu to Bertinus alone: with these Denis de Sainte-Marthe too agreed, tom. 3 of the Gallia Christiana col. 485. The writers of Saint-Bertin went off into the opposite opinion, and believed that the new or Sithiu monastery was built from the year 640, in which year I judge that the building of the Old Monastery is to be placed. Let us hear what the often-praised de Clety wrote to me on this matter in his observations: All the writers of this monastery, the old Martyrology, and other monuments unanimously refer St. Bertinus's death to the year DCXCVIII, and set down the building of the new monastery at the year DCXL. Nor does Adroaldus's donation stand in the way, given in the year XI of king Clovis, to which corresponds the year DCXLV, or according to the moderns DCXLVIII. Adroaldus's donation was twofold: one verbal, the other written, that the first donation might be firmer. This the charter of Adroaldus indicates, and various monuments of this place prove it.

[47] which cannot have been built in the year 626, You see, studious reader, that there is a distance of twenty-two years between the writers of Saint-Bertin and Le Cointe, Mabillon and Sainte-Marthe just praised. The men of Saint-Bertin (if we consider only the years of the common era) have John of Ypres favoring them, with whom they must fix the building of the Old Monastery to the year 626. The anonymous compiler whom Mabillon published favors them, since he says that the Saint died in the year 698, and in the 59th year from the building of the monastery, which must be understood of the present one, since in our manuscript copy there is added: In the seventy-third year from the foundation of the old monastery. Folcard too favors them, who likewise asserts that the Saint died in the year 698 and in the 59th year of the built monastery. Nevertheless this opinion cannot be maintained, since thus the foundation of the Old Monastery would have been made before St. Audomarus's episcopate, which is certainly false. Those writers' error arose from this, that they ill compounded the years of Christ with the years of the kings of the Franks, as is clear from the very epoch of St. Bertinus's death, whom all affirm to have died in the fifteenth year of king Childebert, and they call that the year of Christ 698, when it should be called 709, so that they certainly err either in assigning the years of the king or in the years of Christ. For this cause the years assigned by those writers are not to be followed, but corrected.

[48] nor can the foundation of Sithiu be placed in the year 640. But what is said of Adroaldus's twofold donation I judge altogether true; but it is not to be explained in such a way that the foundation of Sithiu was already made in the year 640, since only that of the Old Monastery

is to be fixed about that time. Adroaldus gave his goods to St. Audomarus, that he might spend them on pious uses, as is read in the Life of this Saint. And Audomarus first built out of them the church of the most blessed Virgin, which we shall afterward see given to St. Bertinus. He gave out of them to Mummolinus and his Companions those supplies with which they founded the Old Monastery, as again is gathered clearly enough from the Life of St. Audomarus. This first donation of Adroaldus and its use I shall afterward confirm more fully. Lastly St. Audomarus willed that all things given to him should be transferred to SS. Mummolinus, Ebertramnus and Bertinus, for the building and maintenance of the monastery of Sithiu. All these things are dug out of the first Life, or from the Life of St. Audomarus, compared with the instrument of donation itself: for these monuments, than which we have nothing better or safer on these matters, are not to be set against one another, but reconciled, since they so far from conflict with one another that from both taken together the truth shines out. And when I shall have shown these things from the praised instruments, I shall at the same time have refuted Le Cointe, Mabillon and Sainte-Marthe, of whom the first had the two others following him without much examination and agreeing with him.

[49] The letter of Adroaldus, or the instrument of donation, I transfer hither from Aubert Le Mire, book 1 of the Belgian Donations chap. 3, The letter of Adroaldus, as it also stands in Denis de Sainte-Marthe tom. 3 of the Gallia Christiana among the Instruments col. 109, and in Le Cointe at the year 648 num. 30. To the holy lords, the presbyters Bertinus, Mommolenus, Ebertrandus, I in God's name Adroaldus, of sound mind and sound counsel of entire deliberation, so far as the Lord may deign to wipe away my worldly sins, give you all the property of the portion of my inheritance in the district of Thérouanne, which we wished to give to the lord father Audomarus, an apostolic man, for the building of his hospice: but he gave us a wholesome counsel, that I should make that property over to you, that you may build there a monastery in honor of Peter the prince of the Apostles, for monks to dwell in, where the blessed poor in spirit and the household of the faith may be helped, whose voices are known daily to sound in the ears of the Lord, whose petitions he hears and fulfils. Therefore to you, fathers in Christ, I give by this letter of donation, in the district of Thérouanne, a villa of my own property, called Sithiu, upon the river Aa, with all its profit, and with the adjacent places and appurtenances of that villa. These are the villa of Magnigeloca, Vinciacum, Tatinga, the villa of Amreium, Mastum, Fabricinium, Lonsantavas, and Adfundenis or Malros, Alciacum, Lauriadiaca, the villa of Franciliacum, with all their profit, with houses, buildings, lands tilled and untilled, dwellings with woods, meadows, pastures, waters and watercourses and mills, with bondmen, tenants, flocks with shepherds, movables and immovables, and with buildings of every kind.

[50] All these I hand over and confirm to you entire, by which he gives the villa of Sithiu with its appurtenances: that you may hold and possess them by inheritance, and may leave them to whom you will to possess. But if anyone — which I do not believe will come to pass — if I or one of my heirs, or any opposing person whatsoever, shall think at any time to come against this donation, let him at once incur the wrath of God and the offense of St. Peter, and moreover, the treasury compelling him, let him pay under compulsion XV pounds of gold and XXX pounds' weight of silver, and let him not be able to claim what he seeks. And that this donation may be most firm for all time, we have strengthened it with our hand, and have asked those present to sign or subscribe. The donation made on the VIII of the Ides of September, in the year XI of the reign of our lord king Clovis. Done at Ascium, a villa of the Lord's, publicly before vigorous men, whose names with their subscriptions or marks are contained inserted below. I Adroaldus, a sinner, have signed in Christ's name this donation made by me. Audomarus, a bishop in name, not in work, for testimony. I Agolphus, presbyter. Ingobertus, presbyter. The mark of Chunebert the Grafio. The mark of Laudebert. The mark of Babo. The mark of Maurilio. The mark of Sacebaro. The mark of Adalbald. Lendolenus the abbot. Thus far the charter of Adroaldus, which I do not deny to be genuine. Yet I wonder that Bertinus is named in the first place; but of this matter I shall treat more at large afterward.

[51] the order of the events between Audomarus and Adroaldus is assigned, Now from the first Life — which the writers of the Literary History of France believed to have been written before the middle of the VIII century, but we toward the end of the VIII century or the beginning of the IX, and which cannot be suspected of interpolation, since it is found in a very ancient codex, and rightly agrees with the Life of St. Audomarus published from another codex, or with the first part of this little Work — from this Life, I say, compared with the instrument given, I shall try to assign the order of events. First, before the coming of St. Bertinus and the others, Adroaldus was converted by St. Audomarus. Secondly, Adroaldus when converted offered [] to God and to blessed Audomarus a great part of his inheritance with all his manifold substance, namely that which is called by the known name of Sithiu. (In Mabillon, namely the villa &c.) Thirdly, but blessed Audomarus (helped namely by the goods offered by Adroaldus) built a church in the aforesaid villa before the coming of the aforesaid men to him (Mummolinus and his companions), in that very place also in which his own little body rests in peace. This church, afterward given to St. Bertinus, is now the cathedral of Saint-Omer. Fourthly, to St. Audomarus there came about the year 638 or 640 Mummolinus, Ebertramnus and Bertinus. Fifthly, a small space of time having passed after these things (a few weeks or months perhaps), St. Audomarus with the aforesaid blessed men, the divine grace goading him, thought to found a monastery in God's name: for he had, the divine mercy bestowing it on him, a place fit for monks to dwell in*, namely from Adroaldus's donation, which is subjoined.

[52] which preceded this donation: For these words, he had a fit place, insinuate that the place had been given to Audomarus by Adroaldus, and not merely offered. The word offered seems here to signify the same as gave, as also in the Life of St. Winnocus in Mabillon, Benedictine Century 3 pag. 395, it is said of Heremarus that he offered to God and to holy Winnocus a certain estate of his own right, where the word offered is taken for gave. This again is gathered from what follows a little after: After therefore the aforesaid servants of God came to him (Audomarus), he granted them that they should build a dwelling of monks wherever it should please them in the aforesaid villa. For Audomarus could not have granted this unless Adroaldus had given him the place. Wherefore the words in Adroaldus's letter, I give you all the property … which we wished to give to the lord father Audomarus, an apostolic man, for the building of his hospice: but he gave us a wholesome counsel, that I should make that property over to you &c., do not exclude a donation made to Audomarus before, nor even his acceptance or use of it prior to this second donation; but only signify that Audomarus wished to yield up all the right which he had acquired in those goods by Adroaldus's donation, in favor of St. Bertinus and his companions, so that they might be handed over to them by a firm donation. Thus certainly the whole passage can fitly be understood, and so it ought to be understood by any prudent man who prefers to reconcile ancient monuments with one another rather than to contend uselessly. But let us return to the order of events.

[53] And so sixthly, The holy men therefore, Mummolinus and Bertinus with their other companions in Christ, began to build a monastery in a certain place and among these is also the building of the Old Monastery, which to this day is called the Old Monastery. The place is distant about one mile from Saint-Omer. And de Clety observes the following about that monastery: That Old Monastery with its offices was burnt in the wars of the French and the English in the year MCDXCVII. In happier times a parish was erected in the same place under the name of St. Mommolinus, wholly dependent in spirituals and temporals upon the abbey of Saint-Bertin. I return to the order of events. Seventhly, staying in that place a few years — eight perhaps or ten, but not fourteen years, so far as appears — the divine grace persuading them, they wished to choose another place. The reason for changing the place was that, as the number of monks increased, the former place was too narrow; and that Adroaldus had already been moved by St. Audomarus to allow his goods to be spent, and to hand them over by a new donation for building that monastery and establishing it with a fitting revenue.

[54] These reasons John of Ypres indicates clearly enough, so far rightly relating these things, which John of Ypres too sets before Adroaldus's donation, yet mixing certain errors into his account, which we shall correct. For at chap. 1 part. 6 he speaks thus of these matters: Dagobert thus ruling (correct, Clovis II, Dagobert's son), the illustrious man Adroaldus above mentioned addresses blessed Audomarus, that he should receive the villa of Sithiu with its appurtenances, and the other possessions touched upon above, and build his hospice; but St. Audomarus changed his counsel, advising that he should confer the aforesaid goods on God and blessed Peter; so that there, through the men of God Bertinus, Mommolinus and Bertrannus, who labored with him in the work of God, a monastery should be built for monks to dwell in, where praises to God and prayers for the living and the dead might be perpetually chanted, and lodgings prepared for Christ's poor, and necessaries ministered. Which Adroaldus, in the presence of blessed Audomarus and of all the nobles of the city of Thérouanne, fulfilled with great alacrity of heart, handing over the villa of Sithiu with its appurtenances. All these things John of Ypres narrates after relating the building of the Old Monastery, to which he sets after Adroaldus's donation made for building the monastery of St. Peter, as is also plain from his words given at num. 44. And so he certainly agrees so far with the order of events given above.

[55] What follows, even though it must be corrected in this, that Mummolinus is said to have been substituted as bishop for Acharius, although he must be corrected in other things: and that by a consequent error the building of the new or Sithiu monastery is attributed to Bertinus alone, nevertheless again insinuates the same order. I subjoin the words: Meanwhile, blessed Acharius bishop of the city of Noyon dying, Mommelinus is advanced to the bishopric of that city, and Bertrannus is set [] by Mommelinus over the monastery of St. Quentin. But St. Bertinus, when he had resided in the old monastery fourteen years, because that place was very small, in order to seek a fitter one, placing his hope in the Lord, went aboard a boat with some of his companions. And behold, at once against the currents of the swift river the boat is driven by angelic ministry, until Bertinus, in the course of the Psalter he was chanting, pronounced that little verse, This is my rest for ever and ever. The verse being read, the boat stood motionless about the middle, where now the monastery is. Recognizing therefore that that place had been chosen for him by God, he there built a monastery in honor of God and of holy Peter the prince of the Apostles in the year DCXC [], in which in a short time he gathered a hundred and fifty monks. Martin the first was then presiding over the Church of God as Pope. Thus far John of Ypres.

[56] [whether Adroaldus's donation was made also by word before the letter was given is uncertain.] The same writer at part. 8 has thus: The donation of Adroaldus, made by the counsel of blessed Audomarus to the holy Bertinus, Mommelinus and Ebertramnus, concerning the villa of Sithiu and its appurtenances, although it had been made in a good and lawful way, yet that it might remain more valid in times to come, Adroaldus wished it to be confirmed by the attestation of his letter, which thus begins: To the holy lords Bertinus &c… The donation made on the VIII of the Ides of September, in the eleventh year of the reign of our lord king Clovis &c. Done at Sithiu, a villa of the Lord's. In the instrument itself is read, Done at Ascium, a villa of the Lord's. And Ascium writers everywhere explain of the present Aix between Saint-Pol and Pernes in Artois. But whatever be the case with the place where the letter was given, John of Ypres believed that the donation was first made by word by Adroaldus before witnesses, and then confirmed by letter. That opinion is uncertain, and yet not altogether improbable, if too great an interval be not set between the donation and the letter. For those words of the letter, That you may build there a monastery in honor of Peter the prince of the Apostles, sufficiently insinuate that the monastery had not yet been built when the letter of donation was given. For which cause I judge that it was begun in that very year 648 in which the letter was given.

. In Mabillon, obtulit.*

. That is, is set over.*

*. Perhaps DCXL was written.

§ VI. The reasons of Le Cointe and Mabillon, who wove another chronology, are examined: against these and others it is proved that Mummolinus was the first abbot of the present monastery of Sithiu.

[ ] Mummolinus appointed the first abbot of the monastery of Sithiu: Le Cointe and the writers who followed him believed that the building of the Old Monastery was begun in the year 648 by force of Adroaldus's donation; but that the new or present monastery was built fourteen years later by St. Bertinus, after Mummolinus had departed to the bishopric of Noyon and Ebertramnus to govern the abbey of Saint-Quentin. Consistently with this opinion he admits Mummolinus indeed as the first abbot of the Old Monastery, but not of the new. But as the ancient monuments support the order of events given above, so do they altogether contradict this chronology, as can easily be shown. Nay rather, I judge that Le Cointe fell into this error because he had not seen the genuine Life of St. Audomarus afterward published by Mabillon: for there not Bertinus alone, but all together are said to have sought a place for building the new monastery: there Mummolinus is said to have been appointed by St. Audomarus as the first abbot for this monastery: there, after Mummolinus was made bishop, Bertinus is said to have been appointed abbot, not in the Old, but in the aforesaid new monastery. All these things are asserted in the Life of St. Audomarus, or in the first Life to be published, at num. 3 and 4, so clearly that I cannot doubt of the truth of those facts: nor would Le Cointe have doubted, I suppose, if he had seen this Life soon enough; but he did not dare to trust the interpolated Life, which alone he saw in Surius at the IX of September, so far as I judge.

[58] And I am compelled to judge this, because I find in Le Cointe or Mabillon no reasons of any weight for although most of the Lives make St. Bertinus the first abbot, by which they may establish their opinion. Almost the whole reasoning of Le Cointe at the year 648, and again at the year 702 num. 31, consists in this, that Adroaldus's letter was not given before the year 648: from which he infers that the building of the Old Monastery was not begun before the same year. Most of the Lives of St. Bertinus can indeed be added; but this was not ascertained by Le Cointe, who did not see those Lives. I say therefore that his opinion is supported by the anonymous author of the second Life, and by all the other biographers who followed him. Let us hear the anonymous compiler whose Compilation Mabillon published. He at chap. 3 writes thus: Meanwhile a certain noble man, very rich in wealth, Adroaldus by name, having no son, began to treat with Bl. Audomarus and the aforesaid servants of God how he might make the Church the heir of his possessions. Whom Bl. Audomarus, by the inspiring grace of the Holy Spirit, exhorted to confer on St. Bertinus and his aforenamed companions whatever he could have, so that there, by building a monastery in honor of Bl. Peter the prince of the Apostles, they might gather a considerable throng of monks. Which Adroaldus, in the presence of Bl. Audomarus and of all the nobles of the city of Thérouanne, fulfilled with great alacrity of heart, handing over the villa of his own property called Sithiu, in the year from the Lord's Incarnation six hundred and twenty-six, but in the eleventh year of the reign of Clovis the son of Dagobert, on the eighth of the Ides of September. In a certain territory therefore of that villa they began to build a monastery, which place to this day is called the OLD MONASTERY. I willingly confess that all these things favor Le Cointe, and that the mind of the other writers of the Life is no different, with the exception of the first: for the rest likewise narrated the building of the Old Monastery after Adroaldus's donation.

[59] But the authority of all those is no greater with me their authority is slight, since they disagree with the first Life, than that of the second anonymous writer, whom they chose to follow so attentively that they adopted his errors also, and increased them with others, when they added the years of Christ and certain facts passed over by him. But now the authority of the second anonymous writer in these matters is not even to be compared with the authority of the first. For that the first anonymous writer shone before the second is clearer than needs to be proved at length, since he adopted his whole sentences and frequently his very words. I do not therefore sufficiently grasp why he should have wished so to change what was related by the first writer about the foundation of the first and second monastery that, Mummolinus and Ebertramnus being almost neglected, he transfers most things to Bertinus alone, and, the order being changed, makes Bertinus the standard-bearer. The first writer everywhere names Mummolinus first, Bertinus third: the second always sets Bertinus before. The first teaches that Mummolinus was the first set over both monasteries: the second was wholly silent about Mummolinus's headship even in the Old Monastery, of which neither Le Cointe nor Mabillon nor Sainte-Marthe doubts. The first teaches that Mummolinus was created bishop from being abbot, and does not add whom he succeeded: the second, that he may make him depart before the building of the second monastery, says that Mummolinus succeeded Acharius, which the writers just praised again acknowledge to be false. Slight therefore with me in these matters can be the authority of this second anonymous writer, and of the others who followed him, especially since John of Ypres himself perceived and taught that the building of the Old Monastery is far older than the letter of Adroaldus's donation, and this very thing the learned men of Saint-Bertin will have to this day.

[60] whom the writer of the Life of St. Mummolinus followed more faithfully, Further, although that first Life seems to me the more sufficient the less its author can be suspected as though he had wished to transfer some things from Bertinus to Mummolinus — because he did not write Mummolinus's Life, but those of Audomarus, Bertinus and Winnocus — nevertheless I shall subjoin another writer who faithfully followed the preceding one, and explained some things more clearly. The manuscript Life of St. Mummolinus in our codex, which is marked P. Ms. 159, after relating the coming of Mummolinus and his companions to St. Audomarus, has thus: A small space of time having passed after these things, St. Audomarus with the aforesaid blessed men, the divine grace goading him, thought to found a monastery in God's name for monks to dwell in, for which, the divine mercy bestowing it, a fit place was had. Presently follows Adroaldus's donation, as in the first Life, and there is subjoined: After therefore the aforesaid servants of God came to him, he granted them that they should build dwellings of monks wherever it should please them. The holy men therefore, Mummolinus and Bertinus with their other companions in Christ, began to build a monastery in a certain place, which to this day is called the OLD MONASTERY. But staying in that place a few years, the divine grace persuading them, they wished to choose another place. The blessed men therefore, trusting in the Lord's mercy, found a perfect counsel.

[61] whom he teaches to have been the first abbot of the monastery of Sithiu, For at once going aboard a boat without steersman or oarsman, and without any care for food or drink, sailing hither and thither in the spacious pool adjoining their aforesaid dwelling, they besought the almighty Lord that he would lead them unharmed to the place which his mercy had prepared for them, saying to one another that they would not go up from the aforesaid pool save when, their little boat holding a fit harbor, it should befall them, according to the order of the Psalter, to sing the following little verse: This is my rest for ever and ever, here will I dwell, for I have chosen it. The merciful Lord therefore, who is everywhere present to his servants (for the Lord is nigh to all that call upon him), after some space at once brought the boat in which the aforesaid blessed men were to land. Then they too, singing the aforesaid verse, and without delay leaving the boat, joyfully entered the land, recognizing also that that place had been delivered to them by the Lord. Thereafter, with blessed Audomarus their pious father favoring their counsel, they began to build in God's name the monastery of Sithiu, named from the aforesaid villa, upon the river Aa. And as religious men flowed together from every side to the aforesaid servants of God, blessed Audomarus set Mummolinus over the multitude of monks. For from that time sacred Religion took its beginning &c. After these things many things are subjoined about St. Mummolinus's virtues, and many about his rule, and the increased number of monks under his headship.

[62] Lastly his promotion to the bishopric is rightly related in these words: and thereafter bishop of Noyon after St. Eligius. Meanwhile the man of God Eligius, bishop of the city of Noyon, after many miracles wrought, passed to the Lord in peace, full of days: in whose place … the aforesaid Mummolinus was substituted as bishop for the care of the pastoral rule. It is added that this was done in the time of king Lothair, namely Clotaire III. But now, if we consider that the words of this Life adduced agree excellently with the first Life; and that what is added about Eligius, whom Mummolinus succeeded, and about Clotaire, in whose time this was done, is truly and accurately added; we shall not be able to doubt that the authority of these Lives is far to be preferred to all the later Lives of St. Bertinus, in which Mummolinus is falsely said to have succeeded Acharius, and the whole building of the new monastery is wrongly attributed to St. Bertinus alone. For from this head too, that not a word is read in those Lives about Mummolinus's headship, it clearly appears that the second anonymous writer, whom the others followed, wished to suppress Mummolinus's deeds, and to refer everything more to St. Bertinus than the truth allows. For that Mummolinus was the first abbot is on every side so certain and undoubted from other monuments also, as I shall presently show, that the good faith of that writer becomes suspect to me who read this in the first Life and yet was unwilling to record it.

[63] Le Cointe, Mabillon and Sainte-Marthe altogether admit as certain Mabillon's opinion about the first abbot of the monastery of Sithiu that the first abbot was Mummolinus; but they will have it that he was abbot only of the Old Monastery, and that this is true

would be so if the monastery of Sithiu had not been founded before the year 662, in which Mummolinus was already bishop. Mabillon in tom. 1 of the Annals pag. 401, at the year 648, writes thus of these matters: Mummolenus or Mummolinus was set as abbot over the Old Monastery, Bertinus over the new monastery of Sithiu: which matter, not sufficiently noticed, has drawn authors into various opinions, some setting Mummolinus the abbot before Bertinus, others after, others finally striking him out altogether from the roll of the abbots of Sithiu, so as to give the first place to Bertinus. Mummolinus therefore was the first, nay the only abbot of the Old Monastery, which retains the name of St. Mummolinus to this day; Bertinus of the new, fourteen years after the building of the Old Monastery; namely when Mummolinus, St. Eligius being dead, was substituted in the see of Noyon. The same is the opinion of Le Cointe and of Denis de Sainte-Marthe; nor do I deny that that reconciliation of the various opinions seems plausible in some sort: but I do not find it agreeing with any ancient monuments, nay, contradicting almost all, and so also straying from the truth, as I shall now begin to prove more clearly.

[64] First, this opinion is contradicted by the Lives of St. Audomarus and St. Mummolinus already praised. it is refuted from the letter of Adroaldus's donation, The author of the first Life cannot deservedly be suspected, because he is older than the rest, and wrote more of St. Bertinus than of Mummolinus. The author of the second faithfully followed the first, and set forth some things more fully. Other Lives of St. Audomarus too agree with the aforesaid, but it is not necessary to adduce them. But now from these Lives we have that Mummolinus was the first abbot of the second or Sithiu monastery; and so that it was built long before the year 662, since Mummolinus was bishop from the year 659 or 660. Secondly, Adroaldus's letter itself sufficiently hints that the donation was made in order that the new monastery of Sithiu might be built: for it has thus: That you may build there a monastery in honor of Peter the prince of the Apostles, for monks to dwell in. None of the writers of the Life said that the Old Monastery was built in honor of St. Peter. Adroaldus therefore speaks of the new, which it is established was built in honor of St. Peter. Then the word there somehow hints that that monastery was to be built in the very villa of Sithiu which Adroaldus was giving. Besides, the Old Monastery was narrow and the number of monks there small, as is gathered from all the writers of the Life, so that John of Ypres says the Saints were there as it were in a hermitage … with a small little community. But Adroaldus's words signify that the donation was made in order that an ample monastery might be built, in which the number of monks should be great. For this cause all the writers of the Life assert that many hastened thither from every side after the monastery of Sithiu was built, that they might there serve God; but not before that foundation.

[65] and is convicted of certain falsehood from various diplomas: Thirdly, that the monastery of Sithiu of St. Peter was built before the year 662 becomes most certain from the privileges given to it before that year. Let us hear something from the letter of Clotaire III, by which in the 6th year of his reign, that is, in the year of Christ 661 or 662, in the month of February, he confirms an exchange of various possessions made between Mummolinus, then bishop, and Bertinus the abbot: The apostolic man Mummolenus therefore, bishop of the city of Noyon, and also the venerable man Bertinus abbot of the monastery of Sitdiu, which [] is set in the district of Thérouanne, by the work of both of whom it was seen to be built, and is built [] in honor of holy Mary the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and also of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of the other lord Saints, coming into our presence &c. It is certain that Bertinus is here called abbot not of the Old Monastery but of Sithiu, now called Saint-Bertin's: for the Old Monastery was never called Sitdiu or Sithiu, but all the biographers attribute that name to the new monastery. The new monastery therefore was standing at the beginning of the year 662, and was not begun in that year. Besides, it was built not by Bertinus alone but by the work of both, namely of Mummolinus and Bertinus, as the words given have it. In the same sixth year of Clotaire III is signed St. Audomarus's charter, by which he hands over the cemetery and the basilica of St. Mary to the monastery of Sithiu. And in this charter it is said: Where a monastery is seen to have been built before in God's name, where there were monks living according to rule &c. Not therefore was the monastery of Sithiu, of which we treat, begun in the year 662. Besides, in the Privilege of Clovis III, which Mabillon published from Folquin the deacon, book 6 On Diplomatics pag. 607, Mummolinus is called the predecessor of St. Bertinus, and there the monastery of Sithiu is treated of. Not therefore in the Old Monastery alone, but in that of Sithiu, was Mummolinus abbot and Bertinus's predecessor. These things appear to me more certain than that room should be left for further doubt.

[66] [Le Cointe's chronology therefore must be abandoned, which the later Lives of St. Bertinus themselves contradict:] Further, the later Lives of St. Bertinus, which narrate things contrary to these, when in reporting the building of the abbey of Sithiu they are silent about Mummolinus, nay assert that he had departed before to his bishopric, do not deserve credit in these matters: for they are convicted of manifest error, because they have it that Mummolinus succeeded Acharius, when he certainly succeeded Eligius. But if we look to the years reckoned in the same Lives, it is clear that the building of the monastery of Sithiu was fixed by the authors of those Lives long before the year 662; and that is the reason why by a full twenty-two years the chronology of the men of Saint-Bertin, who followed those Lives and John of Ypres, precedes the chronology of Le Cointe and the others. But the chronology of those Lives must be abandoned as well as the chronology of Le Cointe and Mabillon, since I have proved both faulty and erring. One thing therefore remains to be inquired, why in the deed of Adroaldus's donation Bertinus is named before Mummolinus and Ebertramnus. Le Cointe at the year 648 num. 31 gives this reason: Adroaldus's deed, he says, was drawn up when none of the three aforesaid monks had yet been acclaimed either abbot or bishop, and therefore Bertinus, who had first of all undertaken the monastic life, ought by right to be set before the rest.

[67] But I should like to know whence Le Cointe learned that Bertinus was a monk before the others, Bertinus does not seem to have been named first which came into the mind of none of the more ancient writers; and which is contrary to what he had written at the year 633 num. 13, where he makes Bertinus, Mummolinus and Ebertramnus depart together to the monastery of Luxeuil. Nay, in the same place he adds far more probably: Mummolinus was a little more advanced in age than Bertinus and Ebertramnus. For I am wholly persuaded that Bertinus was set after Mummolinus in the government of the monastery for no other cause than that he was younger in age, and probably in the monastic life also. I can therefore scarcely doubt that Mummolinus presided over his two companions from the time when they departed together from the monastery of Luxeuil, as is asserted in his Life; that he presided over them in the Old Monastery, without the title of abbot however; and that for this cause too he was appointed by St. Audomarus the first abbot of the monastery of Sithiu. And so, although all probably lacked the title of abbot when Adroaldus's letter was given, yet one was superior and as it were the father of the others: nor does it seem doubtful to me that this was Mummolinus, who for that cause was to be named first in Adroaldus's deed.

[68] I answer therefore that I strongly suspect that Mummolinus was in fact named first in Adroaldus's deed; in Adroaldus's letter, although he is now set first. but that the order of the names was afterward changed, after Mummolinus and Ebertramnus had departed from the abbey of Sithiu. Adroaldus's letter was produced from Folquin's Chartulary, from which Mabillon produced several others in book 6, On Diplomatics. But the praised editor in his annotations to those diplomas observes several omissions and slighter changes. This change of the order of the names therefore is probable also, and could seem the more harmless the less it could harm or profit anyone: for all right arising from the donation, when the others departed, had devolved upon Bertinus alone. I shall add no more of these matters, that we may return to the order of events.

. quod.*

. constructum.*

§ VII. At what time St. Bertinus was made abbot: he exchanges some possessions with Mummolinus: the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary given to him for a cemetery by St. Audomarus.

[ ] St. Bertinus made abbot about the year 659, Since Adroaldus's donation is noted in the month of September of the year 648, and since the monastery of Sithiu does not seem to have been begun at that time, because in the letter it is said, That you may build there a monastery …, it is probable that the building of the abbey was begun in the same year as it drew to its close. Whether the monks inhabited the place in the following year at once I do not determine; although this appears probable. But when the monastery was built, and religious men flowed together from every side to the aforesaid servants of God, blessed Audomarus set Mummolinus over the multitude of monks, on the testimony of the first Life, whose author subjoins: But not long after this interval of time, the aforesaid venerable abbot Mummolinus was advanced to the bishopric of the city of Noyon … The glorious pontiff Audomarus therefore, after Mummolinus, set blessed Bertinus over the aforesaid monastery. And so Bertinus was created abbot in the same year in which Mummolinus was made bishop. And he was made bishop after St. Eligius's death, which is fixed by several in the year 659, by Pagi in 658. The year of his death may be examined in its own place. Here meanwhile let it suffice to have said that St. Bertinus was appointed abbot about the year 659.

[70] as the number of monks and of possessions increased, Great already then was the number of monks, and it went on increasing so far that the anonymous writer in the Life published by Mabillon asserts: Within a short time (St. Bertinus) gathered a multitude of monks, namely a hundred and fifty. In the Cistercian copy I read two hundred, Mabillon observes. That many hastened thither the first writers of the Life also testify; but they do not express a determined number, which Folcard first set down, perhaps not without exaggeration. But whatever be the case with the number of monks, St. Bertinus governed them with great prudence and vigilance, as the praised writer narrates in almost the same words as the first writer of the Life, to which he subjoins: Nor were the necessaries of their life wanting, the Lord providing. For neighbors and all the nobles, devoted to Christ by his admonition and teaching, conferred on him very many gifts of lands and estates, as will appear below. These things are true; but that compiler did not recount all the donations made to St. Bertinus; nor did he enumerate each in the right order: for the donation of Heremarus concerning the villa of Wormhout, which he presently subjoins, was to be placed far later, as we shall see in its own place. Yet I would not deny that the coming of St. Winnocus, who was afterward made abbot of Wormhout, and of his three companions, can be placed about the first years of St. Bertinus's rule, or about the year 660, since St. Winnocus's age does not contradict this chronology: nevertheless I judge it more probable

that they came later, as I shall show below.

[71] he exchanges certain possessions with St. Mummolinus the bishop, Meanwhile St. Bertinus agreed with Mummolinus the bishop upon an exchange of certain goods: and from this agreement it is clear enough that the possessions of the abbey of Sithiu were quickly increased after Adroaldus's donation. Folquin the deacon in his Chartulary, in Mabillon book 6 On Diplomatics pag. 605, wrote the following of this exchange: Under the prince of the Franks also Clothaire, the son of the aforesaid king Clovis, in the VI year of his reign, and of the Incarnate Word DCLX, it pleased the venerable man Mummolenus bishop of Noyon and the lord Bertinus abbot of the monastery of Sitdiu to exchange certain little places between them: and the venerable bishop Mummolenus gave the lord abbot Bertinus a villa called Vallis, which he had given in part to the most reverend man Ebertramnus abbot of the monastery of St. Quentin, in exchange for another villa by name Tunninis, and also Inbrago and Inglindono, and in Selerciago. These five little places he granted to the lord Bertinus. And on the other hand the venerable man Bertinus gave to bishop Mummolenus his portion of the villa called Vausune, in the district of Constantinus, and another place by name the villa of Launardiaca entire, which exchange they asked to be confirmed by royal authority: which also was done. There follows the diploma of Clotaire III already praised by us, by which all these things are confirmed. John of Ypres at chap. 1 part. 10 mentions this exchange and Clotaire's diploma, narrating the rest as it has here been related, but wrongly asserting that the villa Vausune, or Vasime as he calls it, came to St. Bertinus from his paternal inheritance; which error I refuted at num. 31.

[72] The year of this exchange does not appear altogether certain. which seems to have been done in the year 662. Folquin assigns the year 660, which for us is perhaps the year 661, since the matter was transacted in the month of February: for it is not sufficiently plain to me whether Folquin began the year from the month of January or from Easter, because the usage of beginning the year was various and often changed among the French. Mabillon in the Annals tom. 1 pag. 463 narrates this exchange at the year 661, as does Le Cointe too at the year 661 num. XI. He rightly compounded the sixth year of Clotaire III with the year 661, since he judges that Clotaire began to reign from the year 655. But Mabillon ought to have noted the year 662, because he begins Clotaire's reign from the year 656 almost ended, so that in the month of February of the year 661 the VI year of Clotaire cannot be running, but it is only to be begun about the end of the year 661, if Mabillon's demonstration be true, which he believed he had put together in tom. 3 of the Analecta pag. 514 and following from the Inscription of Jonas, the writer of the Life of St. John of Réome. That opinion pleased Pagi at the year 656 num. 17, who gathers from it that Clovis II was still among the living in the second week of November of the year 656. And if this is true, Clovis II reigned not only eighteen years, as most writers have it, but nearly nineteen full years, since in the month of January of the year 638 his father Dagobert died. But whatever be the case with the month of Clovis's death, that he died in the year 656 appears to me too more probable from other grounds, and therefore I believe that the deed just set forth is to be bound to the year 662.

[73] In the same sixth year of Clotaire is dated the letter of St. Audomarus, To make a cemetery for the monastery of Sithiu by which he granted to the monastery of St. Bertinus the church of the most blessed Virgin Mary, which today is the cathedral of Saint-Omer. Folcard was the first of the writers of the Life to narrate this donation and its occasion. And from him the anonymous compiler in Mabillon sets forth the matter thus at chap. 6: All the conveniences of that place therefore having been sought out for his brethren, he could not prepare a cemetery, as being in a marsh. On which matter he did not delay to seek the counsel and help of his helper in all things, God's beloved prelate Audomarus. And that renowned pontiff was at hand with his wonted display of charity, and by his counsel shared and his labor, having surrounded the cemetery with a ditch, he consecrated it to the same monastery on the top of the aforesaid hill, a basilica having been built in the midst of it in veneration of the holy Mother of God Mary. Which, being finished by their common work, he granted entire to St. Bertinus and his monks in the year six hundred and sixty of the Lord's Incarnation, confirming his donation by a handing-over made through the writing of a privilege, in which he commended himself to the prayers of the same blessed Father and of all the brethren serving God under his patronage, and asked that in that same cemetery, when he had entered the way of all flesh, they should bury his lifeless body. John of Ypres at part. 10 has thus of these matters: The blessed father Bertinus, transferring his church from the old monastery, had founded it in this place of Sithiu: but because that place was then so marshy that he could not have a cemetery in it, he seeks counsel and help from blessed Audomarus his bishop: who consecrated for him a cemetery on the top of the hill and a basilica in honor of the blessed Mother of God Mary, and gave it to lord Bertinus for the burial of the brethren of this place, asking and adjuring him that, where the lot of nature should take him from human affairs, his body should be carried to this basilica, and there be buried [] with the monks. Then blessed Bertinus appointed some of his monks who should serve God there, and that they should succeed one another by months and weeks from his principal monastery to the chapel, and back again in turn.*

[74] St. Audomarus, that place, The handing over of this church and cemetery I judge was already made by word before the diploma of Clotaire III was written, of which I treated above, although the letter of St. Audomarus's donation seems to have been given later, because it is dated the XVIII of May, in the VI year of Clotaire. The reason is that in Clotaire's letter the monastery of Sithiu is said to have been built in honor of holy Mary the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and also of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, although elsewhere it is not read that the principal monastery was built in honor of the most holy Mother of God Mary. Wherefore Clotaire's words seem to be so understood, that the chief basilica was dedicated to the holy Peter and Paul; but the basilica of the cemetery to the blessed Mary, as Mabillon notes in tom. 1 of the Annals pag. 463. Besides, it is not altogether certain that Clotaire's letter was given before St. Audomarus's letter, for if Clotaire obtained the kingdom in the year 656 between the Kalends of February, on which his letter is dated, and the day XVIII of May, on which St. Audomarus's letter was given, the latter came first, and was given in the year 661. Wherefore it is not altogether certain whether the diploma came first: but it is exceedingly probable that the basilica of blessed Mary had already begun to be inhabited by the monks of Sithiu before both.

[75] in which he had before erected the church of blessed Mary, It may further be asked here whether this church seems the same as that which St. Audomarus in the first Life at num. 2 is said to have built at Sithiu before the coming of St. Bertinus and his companions. I answer that this seems to me certain enough, since he is said to have built it in that very place also in which his own little body rests in peace. But at that time he built only the church, and probably one not of great work. But afterward the cemetery was added, and the place destined for the dwelling of monks: nay, it is probable that the church was restored with a greater work, or at least enlarged. The later buildings I suspect to have been built chiefly by the labor of the monks; and thus will be rightly understood what St. Audomarus asserts in his letter, that the basilica was built by common work. And so from this time St. Bertinus governed both places as one monastery, and his successors did the same until the ninth century, in which by abbot Fridogisus the monastery of St. Audomarus (so the church of St. Mary the Virgin was afterward called) was torn away from the monastery of St. Bertinus, and given to secular canons. But before I undertake to prove these things at more length, I transfer hither the letter of St. Audomarus's donation from the Life published by Mabillon, with the various readings noted in the margin from a comparison with our manuscript copy. In each place this title is prefixed: A copy of the Charter of St. Audomarus. The letter itself runs thus:

[76] To the holy and venerable lords, my brethren cleaving to me in Christ, as well abbots as presbyters and deacons and all the clergy of the church of Thérouanne [], gives by letter to St. Bertinus. and to illustrious men, nobles, exalted persons, and to very many others, Audomarus by the grace of Christ bishop of the church of Thérouanne. Although it befits us to keep the ancient constitutions of the rule with wholesome observance, yet, the divine bounty inspiring us, we have determined to treat with a useful provision, that what does not derogate from sacred deliberations may be preserved with fearless observance. Wherefore it has pleased us, according to our brotherly consent: and the affection of heartfelt piety has so softened [] our heart within, that the basilica in the island of Sithiu, where before [] a monastery is seen to have been built in God's name, where there were monks living according to rule, established there in liberty, together with those monks, for their consolation and help, we have built a basilica by common work for the resting of their bodies and of ours, in honor of St. Mary the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that in the aforewritten basilica, according to the fullest charity of those [] brethren, my little body after my death should be there deposited and laid in its little place among the little bodies of those monks, who in a religious habit came together at the word of almighty [] God from unlike nations, from the wideness of the world, and were made firm in the bosom of one holy Church for the love of Christ, that they might shake their necks and minds from the yoke of the world, forsake all things, lay down the weights of earthly care, and open more widely the bosom of the mind to heavenly desire; who sought a life apart for the sake of the heavenly recompense, that in it, given to holy virtues [], they might both sunder the oldness of the heart from the fellowship of worldly noise, and, being melted in the fire of the Lord's love, might renew themselves for the contemplating of heavenly joy. Therefore I, moved by a pious [] confidence, humbly beg my intercessors before the most merciful and almighty [] Lord that they may deign to afford me the support of their prayers, and thus I beseech that congregation, that wheresoever the place shall fall out in which the Lord shall bid me depart from this light, by their associated charity, according as [] we have made plain in your ears, since our will has thus decreed, that with those pilgrims in that basilica which we have built for their help, I may there rest according to the will of those monks and, with God's help, have leave; and that those Brethren from whatsoever places may bring my body into the aforesaid island, and there lay it up.*

[77] By which I decree, and, according to the consent of the brother clerics of the church of Thérouanne, I forbid to illustrious men [], that that basilica under []

the shelter of the patronage of abbot Bertinus, who at this time is seen to preside over the aforesaid monastery, or by his successors, is to be governed under their guidance with divine worship and with most pious affection and love, as is fitting; and that with all entire soundness they may hold it for the monastery of the island of Sithiu in the force and discretion of their own right, and the things there belonging to it; so that neither I, nor any of the bishops my successors, may presume to require it, either by privilege or [] by way of gift, for its help of the servants of God, or for the preserving entire of their liberty. And as the monasteries of the ancients and in the new time have obtained their own privileges, so let this too be kept by our successors, that [] whatever is offered in that basilica or in its monastery there, the abbot himself and the monks serving there may freely possess it, with God's help, without any contradiction or reclaiming of the bishops: and according as [] it has been decreed, whatever the monks of the aforesaid basilica, living according to rule in evangelical liberty, have received by royal gift or from any Christians in lands, bondmen, gold or silver, sacred volumes, or in whatsoever kinds which are known to pertain to the adornment of divine worship or to the use of those monks, or in other things conferred, or hereafter to be conferred in this present life in our times or those of my successors — neither I nor any pontiff, nor anyone of the order of clerics, an ordainer of the church of Thérouanne, may presume to usurp to his own uses or to diminish, or to carry away to the city under any pretext.*

[78] privileges for the monastery of Sithiu: And whatever shall have been offered at that altar in God's name, transmitted by whomsoever at God's inspiring, let not the pontiff or his archdeacon, or any ordainer of the church of Thérouanne, dare to claim anything thence from the aforesaid monastery, out of reverence for St. Mary, in whose honor that basilica is seen to have been built, and of the other Saints. Nor let me, or the pontiffs our successors, or the archdeacon presume to prepare banquets [] in its lands, unless he shall have been asked of his own free will by the abbot of the often-named monastery of Sithiu; and, the divine ministry being performed, let him take care to have his return [] to his own without any inconvenience. Nor let there be any other power in that monastery, as we have said, nor in its goods or its mystery or its ornament, nor in the persons, of giving or exchanging, out of reverence for St. Mary, and for Peter and Paul the Apostles, and for this, that those monks may live quietly under the holy rule, serving in that monastery, so that in perfect quiet that congregation may be able, the Lord leading, to exult through the times on an unharmed path, and to come happily to the harbor of eternal rest. And as many monasteries live in liberty, so that for the state of the Church and the safety of the king and the stability of the realm and the tranquillity of the country [] they may be able more fully to pray in that place and at the relics of their Saints, and, with the Lord's help, may be able to persevere according to the decrees of the ancient Fathers: to the end that this letter, with the privilege granted and indulged, under that liberty (as we have said), like very many monasteries, the monks abiding there ought most firmly to abide for ever, so that the said monks from the often-named monastery and its little cells: since nothing is torn from canonical authority, whatever is bestowed on the household of the faith for the tranquillity of peace or the reverence of the Saints: this too it has pleased to add, that without the entrance of the pontiff those monks may live in religion and under the Rule (as we have said above), Christ protecting, who may help those who keep this letter, and destroy those who presume to infringe it.*

[79] Which determination [] of our constitution, that it may be valid in our times and in those to come, and he confirmed this letter with the subscription of many. we have strengthened with the subscription of our hand, and I have asked our brethren and illustrious men that they too should confirm it. Done in that basilica on the eighteenth day of May, in the sixth year of the reign of our lord king Chlothaire. In Christ's name, sinner though I be, I Audomarus, a bishop in name without merit, have willingly dictated this letter and heard it read over, and have asked those who should write below. These things I have done sightless, and another, holding my hand, wrote and subscribed. In Christ's name I Mummolinus, sinner as I am, an unworthy [] bishop, have subscribed, being asked, for the schedule of the lord Audomarus. In Christ's name I Audebertus, unworthy, have subscribed. In Christ's name I Drausio, an unworthy bishop, have subscribed. I Bertefridus [], a sinner, have subscribed this letter. In Christ's name I Gravangerus, an unworthy bishop, have subscribed. In Christ's name I Audobertus, bishop, have subscribed. I Amlancharius [], in Christ's name a sinner, a bishop, have subscribed. I Baginus, sinner as I am [], a bishop, have subscribed. In Christ's name I [] Abel, unworthy as I am, an abbot, have subscribed. I Ramnebertus [], a sinner, have subscribed this letter. I Landebertus, unworthy as I am [], a monk, being asked, have written and subscribed this privilege.

. Perhaps subterraretur.*

. Ms., Taruannensis.*

. Ms., emollivit.*

. Ms., in antea.*

. Ms., ipsorum.*

. Ms., operis.*

. Ms., precibus.*

. Ms., ex qua.*

. Ms., piissimum & optimum.*

. Ms., quam.*

. Ms., viris personis.*

. Ms., sit.*

. Ms., nec.*

. Ms., &.*

. Ms., sine juxta.*

. Ms., communia.*

. Ms., ingressum.*

. Ms., primæ.*

. Ms., dictionem.*

*. In the Ms. this word is not present.

*. In the Ms. Cravangerus is set before Bertefridus.

. Ms., Amlacharius.*

. Ms., etsi.*

. Ms., & ego.*

. Ms., Ramnerbertus.*

. Ms., etsi.*

§ VIII. The arguments objected against this letter of donation are weighed: the subscriptions are disapproved as faulty or supposititious.

[ ] [A suit between the churches of St. Audomarus and St. Bertinus: hence Audomarus's letter attacked;] A sharp controversy arose in this century between the clergy of the cathedral church of Saint-Omer and the monks of Saint-Bertin concerning the foundation of both churches and other matters pertaining thereto: and on that occasion there was also dispute about the truth of St. Audomarus's donation, which the clergy of Saint-Omer altogether denied, but the men of Saint-Bertin zealously endeavored to prove. And on that occasion not only was the credit of this letter attacked, but the letter of Adroaldus's donation itself was called into doubt. Further, although I have hitherto so written of St. Bertinus's deeds as though I were ignorant of that whole suit, and have spoken of Adroaldus's letter as though no one had doubted of its credit, because the arguments brought forward against it are of no great weight; and although I should also prefer to proceed in the same manner to the end rather than touch upon the said controversy; yet I see that this is not permitted me here, if I would examine what pertains to St. Bertinus according to our design. Wherefore, since I have sufficiently insinuated my mind about Adroaldus's letter in its own places, and have everywhere reconciled it with the first Life, or the Life of St. Audomarus, from which chiefly it was attacked, with the sole exception of the order of the names of the holy Bertinus, Mummolinus and Ebertramnus, which I have candidly declared to appear changed, I shall add no more of that letter; but I shall here sift, with as much brevity as I can, the chief arguments objected against St. Audomarus's letter, in the order in which the anonymous writer of Saint-Bertin answered them.

[81] [the first argument against them is inept: the second, from the Life of St. Audomarus,] The first argument the anonymous writer of the church of Saint-Omer took from those words at num. 78: Nor let me, or the pontiffs our successors, or the archdeacon presume to prepare banquets in its lands &c.; for he believes that a prohibition of this kind does not suit St. Audomarus, nor the sanctity of those times. But the anonymous writer of the abbey of Saint-Bertin, in a French little Work entitled The Origin of the Churches of Saint-Bertin and Saint-Omer, at pag. 72 shows that like things were inserted into other privileges of the same time also: nor indeed was the sanctity and simplicity of manners in the VII century so great that precautions of this kind should seem useless or superfluous. Wherefore that whole objection is of no weight. The second argument the assailant of the letter takes from the Life of St. Audomarus, or the first Life to be given below, in which at num. 2 St. Audomarus is said to have built a church before St. Bertinus's coming in the same place where now the church of Saint-Omer is, as was said at num. 51 and 75, where I also explained how that church could have been built by St. Audomarus before Bertinus's coming, and this yet be reconciled with the words of the letter in which the church is said to have been built by the common work of the holy Audomarus and Bertinus. The anonymous assailant believed that those two could not stand together — that St. Audomarus had before built a church there, and that he had built that church by common work with St. Bertinus — and therefore he charges St. Audomarus's letter with falsehood.

[82] which is not to be accused, but reconciled with the letter: On the other hand the defender of Saint-Bertin vehemently accuses the Life of St. Audomarus, and contends that it is interpolated, citing as witnesses of the interpolation Mabillon, Benedictine Century 2 pag. 559 and 564, Baillet in the Lives of the Saints tom. 3, and Pagi at the year 682. But the writer of Saint-Bertin did not grasp the mind of those writers, since none of them asserts that that Life of St. Audomarus, as it was published by Mabillon, is interpolated. Mabillon at pag. 559 prefixes to the Life this title: The Life of St. Audomarus, … written by an anonymous author who seems to have lived before the disaster of the Normans: in Surius abridged, and interpolated perhaps by Folcard abbot (rather, monk) of Sithiu in the X century (read XI). Restored according to the Corbie transcript. What is here said of the interpolation must be understood of the Life published by Surius, not of that which Mabillon gave from the Corbie transcript; and this is the more plain in the annotations to the Life pag. 564 and 565, where he brings forward various things from the interpolated Life. The same is the mind of Baillet in the Critical Table at the IX of September, and of Pagi at the place indicated: for both assert that it was indeed interpolated, but restored to its integrity by Mabillon. The matter is clear to me from our manuscript codex, from which I am about to publish that part of the Life which pertains to St. Bertinus. Wherefore that Life is not to be accused, which is better and purer than all the other Lives both of St. Bertinus and of St. Audomarus; but it is to be reconciled with St. Audomarus's letter, as I have shown can be done. As regards the other Lives of St. Audomarus, I shall not adduce them, because they have authors far later than the events, who wished to enlarge what was narrated by the first author in almost the same manner as was done with the Lives of St. Bertinus.

[83] The third argument, by which the writer of Saint-Omer attacked St. Audomarus's letter, the third favors the letter more than it harms it: is taken from those words in which the church of St. Mary is said to have been built for the burial of St. Audomarus and of the monks of Sithiu. For he believed

that writer that the practice of burying in churches had not yet been received in the VII century, save for certain persons worthy of singular honor, such as martyrs, bishops and Saints. But the writer of Saint-Bertin shows that that whole argument is inept, since the practice of burying monks and sacred virgins in a church flourished in that same century. Out of the many examples which he adduces I transfer one hither, because it is of almost the same time and near enough in place. St. Audoenus in the Life of St. Eligius bishop of Noyon, in D'Achery tom. 5 of the Spicilegium pag. 173, writes the following: When therefore the whole work of the monastery (of sacred virgins, which St. Eligius built at Paris) was completed, and all the buildings of the handmaids of God finished, … he built lastly a basilica in honor of St. Paul the apostle for burying the bodies of the handmaids of God &c. This very example of St. Eligius may have stirred Audomarus to bestow a like benefit on the monks of Sithiu, whom as a father he always kindly cherished and protected. For which cause that reason of the donation is so far from standing against the letter that it rather makes the donation itself more probable.

[84] No better is the fourth argument of the writer of Saint-Omer, the fourth, from the sixth year of Clotaire, is ineptly urged at this time. by which he attacks St. Audomarus's letter, because it is said to have been given in the sixth year of Clotaire III, as though Clotaire had reigned only four years, as various writers of Chronicles in the middle age handed down, and not a few moderns, whose opinion he contends is to be preferred to the contrary opinion of those who attribute fourteen years to Clotaire III. John of Ypres saw that argument, but answered ineptly that he understood those writers of four years complete in themselves, so that, with a part of the preceding year and a part of the following joined to them, one comes to his sixth year, in which these two privileges were given (namely St. Audomarus's, and Clotaire III's, of which we treated before). I have called the answer inept, because one can never come to the sixth year unless the fifth has been completed. But since Clotaire seems to have held the monarchy of the whole kingdom alone for some years, certain learned moderns explained those four years of his monarchy, not of the whole time in which he reigned longer in a part of Gaul. If this distinction please some, they will be able without much circumlocution to say that the compilers of the Chronicles were deceived, as they often erred in other matters: for more recent writers have demonstrated by arguments so certain that Clotaire III reigned many more years, that I wonder such an objection against St. Audomarus's letter was still framed in our century.

[85] The fifth argument of the assailant is taken from St. Audomarus's subscription, But the fifth argument, by which St. Audomarus's subscription is attacked, chiefly on account of these last words: These things I have done sightless, and another, holding my hand, wrote and subscribed. He would have it, namely, that by these words it is signified that the whole charter was so written by St. Audomarus's hand that another guided it, and he says that this is not probable. On the contrary the defender of Saint-Bertin observes that the preceding words cannot be reconciled with that sense of the words: I have willingly dictated this letter and heard it read over. Audomarus therefore did not write the whole letter with another directing his hand; but he dictated it, Landebertus the monk writing, if all be true. But the writer of Saint-Bertin seems to lean too much to the contrary side, when he so expounds those words, another, holding my hand, wrote and subscribed, as though Audomarus did not even lend his hand to subscribe his own name, or suffer it to be guided; as if the words alleged signified only that another wrote and subscribed for Audomarus, and at his bidding and in his presence. For I can with difficulty believe that by the words holding my hand is signified only for me, in my place, by my mandate, and in my presence, as he contends. A more natural exposition would seem to me if we should say that Audomarus wrote, another guiding his hand, not the whole letter, but his own name subscribed to the letter. In that way indeed that difficulty could probably be removed, if it were probable enough that Audomarus was blind at that time, as is indicated by the word sightless; and if the other subscriptions were accurate.

[86] [has great difficulty, because the Saint does not seem to have been blind at that time;] But the writer of Saint-Omer contends, not without ground, that St. Audomarus was not yet blind when the letter was dated. For in the Life of St. Audomarus it seems to be insinuated that he survived only a few years after losing his sight: for, his blindness being related, the author proceeds after a few words to relate his death thus: But after these things, a few years intervening &c. The author therefore sets a few years between the blindness and the death. Yet St. Audomarus seems to have survived a whole eight years or longer after the sixth year of Clotaire, in which this letter is read to be dated. For Melchior Reginald in the Epitome of the History of Soissons, among the instruments at fol. 2, recites a letter of Drausius prelate of Soissons, given to five bishops of the province, among whom Audomarus is reckoned. But that letter is dated the VI of the Kalends of July, in the fourteenth year of king Clotaire; and thence Pagi at the year 682 num. 10 gathers that St. Audomarus lived at least until the year 670, and perhaps longer, because the first writer of the Life expressed neither the years of his episcopal administration nor the year of his death. But now it becomes the less probable to me that the writer of the Life understood by the few years which he sets between the beginning of the blindness and the Saint's death a whole eight years, the fewer years I find between the beginning of St. Mummolinus's episcopate and the sixth year of Clotaire, in which this letter is dated and in which Audomarus was blind, if the subscription is true; since the praised writer of the Life of St. Audomarus sets many years between the beginning of St. Mummolinus's episcopate and St. Audomarus's blindness, in these words: But after these things, many years intervening, Bl. Audomarus, losing his bodily eyes &c. And so, since Mummolinus was not made bishop before the third year of Clotaire, by many years here nothing but three years can be understood; but by few years eight years must be understood. This argument renders that subscription of St. Audomarus very suspect. Yet it must be observed that in certain other Lives it is said that Audomarus was blind for very many years before his death, and that this is namely asserted in that Life which seems to be attributed to Folcard; but all those Lives were written long after the first, and can have no great authority.

[87] Further, other things too in the subscriptions displeased the writer of Saint-Omer, the other subscriptions of bishops too do not seem probable, and long before him Le Cointe at the year 661 num. 12, where he asserts that this letter seems to him of altogether doubtful credit on account of the subscriptions, although he otherwise confesses that there is nothing in it contrary to history. Each censure appears to me fair, and I shall show this in a few words, other arguments of the writer of Saint-Omer being omitted for brevity's sake. St. Audomarus says before the subscriptions that he asked not only the brethren but also illustrious men that they too should confirm it. Meanwhile of the illustrious men none is read as subscribed. At the beginning too the letter is directed to all the clergy of the church of Thérouanne: and yet none of the clergy appears in the subscriptions, unless perhaps Ramnebertus, whose office or dignity is not expressed. From this twofold observation I gather that the subscriptions are not entire, but that many have dropped out.

[88] And this defect of the subscriptions is the more notable because the letter is directed not to bishops but to clerics and nobles, because the names of several bishops are found subscribed to whom the letter does not seem to have been directed; as is easily proved from the beginning, which is such: To the holy and venerable lords, my brethren cleaving to me in Christ, as well abbots as presbyters &c. It is clear that by the word brethren there are here designated abbots, presbyters and other clerics of the church of Thérouanne, but not bishops. This again is proved by these words at num. 77, according to the consent of the brother clerics of the church of Thérouanne &c. And so by the brethren who at num. 79 are said to have been asked, with the illustrious men, that they too should confirm it, abbots likewise and presbyters and other clerics must necessarily be understood; but in no way bishops, even though these are often elsewhere called brethren. Wherefore I do not sufficiently grasp why, out of all the abbots, presbyters, deacons and other clerics and illustrious men who are said to have been asked to subscribe, only the unknown abbot Abel, and the equally unknown Ramnebertus the sinner, should appear in the subscriptions; and in their place eight bishops be read subscribed after Audomarus, to whom the letter is not directed.

[89] This difficulty is increased by those who occur among them, and because some of the subscribers were not yet bishops: Gravangerus and Baginus: for these, as Le Cointe has already noted, do not seem other than Ravengerius and Bainus, who were afterward bishops of the Morini. This is proved by Folquin's words, which Malbrancq adduced in the scholia to book 4, pag. 672, in which the four successors of St. Audomarus are reckoned in this manner: In the year also of the same king Theodoric, which was the year of the Lord's Incarnation DCCXX, the aforesaid abbot Erkenbodus is raised as bishop of the church of Thérouanne, being made in order the successor of Ravangerius, who himself had been the successor of Bainus the prelate, the successor of Drancius, who after the prelate Audomarus of blessed memory had taken up the pontificate of the church of Thérouanne. In the Life of St. Erkenbodus or Erkembodo, given by us in tom. 2 of April, pag. 93, the same successors of St. Audomarus are enumerated, namely Drantius, Bainus, Ravengerus and Erkenbodo or Erkenbodus. Malbrancq and the writer of Saint-Bertin bring forward nothing probable when, on account of a very slight change of names, they would distinguish Baginus and Gravangerus from Bainus and Ravengerus, so as to make them unknown prelates. These very slight changes of names were in those times so frequent that arguments drawn from them do not deserve a serious answer.

[90] Mabillon, On Diplomatics book 2 chap. 20 num. 10, tries in another way to remove the difficulty arising from the subscription of later bishops: But this, he says, Mabillon's observation, who ought not to have adduced subscriptions so doubtful is above all worthy of observation, that to synodal diplomas not only the bishops present subscribed, but also the absent, nay even the future. Whence it came about that in those ancient monuments after the names of those present, or at any rate between the end of the text and their subscriptions, an ample space was not rarely left, which might hold the subscriptions of the absent and of the future. To confirm this, among other things at num. 5 he brings forward this very letter, about whose subscriptions we are disputing, writing thus: A little before that time Audomarus bishop of the Morini granted a privilege to the monks of Sithiu, to whose original there subscribed, besides Audomarus, two bishops of the Morini, Gravengerus, who by others is called Ravengerus, and Baginus or Bainus, who one after another ratified the letter of their predecessor Audomarus.

[91] for proving it: it is useless I truly wonder that Mabillon takes an argument from the subscriptions of this letter: nor

can a certain proof be taken from uncertainties; and all defects of diplomas will easily be able to be healed — those alone excepted which clearly contradict history — if it be enough that like defects be found in other diplomas equally tottering and of credit not sufficiently certain. But whatever be the case with such a way of framing diplomatic rules, that observation does not suffice here, since not even so do the subscriptions become probable. For Gravangerus is read subscribed not only before Baginus, whose successor in the bishopric he was, but also before Audobertus and Amlancharius, nay in our manuscript copy before Bertefridus; it will therefore be necessary again to find another reason why Gravangerus subscribed this original, as it is called, before the bishops contemporary with Audomarus, and before Bainus his predecessor.

[92] for reconciling credit with those subscriptions. But since I cannot find this, nor any better perceive for what cause, in place of the clergy of Thérouanne and the illustrious men who had been asked to confirm the donation, bishops subscribed to whom the letter is not directed; and finally since I strongly doubt whether Audomarus was blind at the time of this donation, I am compelled to confess that the subscriptions are exceedingly suspect to me, and seem altogether useless for framing any argument from them. But as regards St. Audomarus's letter itself, since I find in it nothing which can be convicted of falsehood, and since the subscriptions may afterward have been changed or added by an interpolator, I would not assert that it too is wholly supposititious: for this is not certainly proved either by the arguments sifted before, or by the solecisms and barbarisms and obscurity of style from which it suffers. But whatever be the case with the credit of that letter, that the church of the blessed Virgin Mary, which afterward took its name from St. Audomarus, was truly given to St. Bertinus and possessed by him, I shall presently show.

§ IX. The church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, afterward called St. Audomarus's, was possessed by the monks of Sithiu: when and how it was taken from them is shown.

[ ] That the church of Bl. Mary was possessed by the monks of Saint-Bertin, Folcard in the Life at num. 20, and all the other writers of Sithiu who following him treated of these matters, constantly asserted that the church of blessed Mary was given to St. Bertinus for the burial of the monks. The same in the X century before them Folquin the deacon had narrated in his historical Chartulary, into which he inserted St. Audomarus's letter already given above. Older than all these, St. Folquin bishop of the Morini, who lived at that time in which the monks of Sithiu were deprived of the possession of the said church and of the monastery adjoining it, speaks thus of the building and donation of that church in his letter to be given below: It is certainly known to all the faithful that the holy confessors of Christ Audomarus and Bertinus, while they were still in the body, made a cemetery in the villa of Sithiu in the upper place, by common work, for the burying of their own bodies and those of the monks: in the midst of which they had built a basilica in honor of St. Mary, which also Bl. Audomarus, giving it to St. Bertinus and his successors, had confirmed by a certain episcopal privilege, and had asked in that same privilege that his little body should be buried among them &c. What is objected against the credit of this letter by the writer of the church of Saint-Omer is of no great weight, as I shall show below in a few words.

[94] In the Life of St. Erkembodo, who from being abbot of Sithiu became bishop of the Morini or of Thérouanne in the VIII century, ancient monuments prove, and the men of Saint-Omer themselves believed it: given by us in tom. 2 of April pag. 93, after relating the purchase of various possessions made by St. Erkembodo, this is subjoined: Of these possessions indeed the monastery of Sithiu still holds some, which indeed is now known to be divided in two. For one part, the old name and order being retained, is called the monastery of Bl. Bertinus; the other part, the name and order being changed, is called the church of St. Audomarus. Thus that writer of Saint-Bertin addressed the canons of Saint-Omer themselves in the XII century, since he says that St. Erkembodo lived four hundred years before. We have therefore testimonies of all the centuries from the IX century, in which it is constantly affirmed that the church of Saint-Omer belonged before to the monks of Saint-Bertin: nor do I find that this was denied by the canons of Saint-Omer before our century; which indeed is to be wondered at, if they had believed it false. Nay rather, the often-praised writer of Saint-Bertin at pag. 69 adduces the words of the prelate of Saint-Omer, in which even in the year 1730 he acknowledged that the churches of Saint-Omer and Saint-Bertin were formerly of one community, just as his predecessor had acknowledged that they had been subject to one abbot. These things may suffice to remove all doubt.

[95] Nevertheless, because the writer of Saint-Omer tried to pour darkness over the clear truth, various royal diplomas prove the same: I am pleased to prove this also from the most ancient and contemporary monuments. Mabillon in the Work On Diplomatics book 6 pag. 605 and following published various royal diplomas given in favor of the abbey of Sithiu. Further, this abbey in the diploma of Clotaire III is said to have been built in honor of holy Mary the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and also of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and of the other lord Saints. Plainly the same patrons of the abbey are reckoned in the privilege of king Clovis pag. 607, in the privilege of king Chilperic pag. 608, in the charter of king Theoderic pag. 609, in the privilege of king Charles pag. 610, as also in certain others that follow. But it is established that the chief church, or the first monastery of Sithiu, was dedicated to St. Peter the apostle; but the second was consecrated to St. Mary. The aforesaid kings therefore understood both together under the name of the monastery of Sithiu, or of the monastery of Sithiu or Sitdiu, as it is variously called. From the following diploma of king Charlemagne, which is noted as given in the XX year of his reign, at pag. 611 another argument is dug out. Be it known therefore … how we have granted to Autlandus the abbot and to the monks of the monastery of Sithiu, which is built in honor of almighty God and of St. Peter the prince of the Apostles and of the other Saints, where the holy confessors of Christ Audomarus and Bertinus rest in body &c. Here St. Peter alone is named as patron of the chief monastery. But St. Audomarus and St. Bertinus are said to rest in the monastery of Sithiu, and the same is asserted in the two following diplomas of the emperor Louis the Pious. Nevertheless there is no doubt that St. Audomarus was buried in the church of St. Mary the Virgin, now Saint-Omer's, and remained there until the time of these diplomas. It is therefore again clear that that church of St. Mary was comprised under the monastery of Sithiu. For this cause in the diploma of Louis the Pious pag. 613 that monastery is called of St. Mary and of St. Peter and Paul, and of the blessed confessors of Christ Audomarus and Bertinus; although even then canons were inhabiting the monastery of Saint-Omer.

[96] nay, this very thing is sufficiently proved from the Life of St. Audomarus, From the very Life of St. Audomarus, or from the first Life, which the writer of Saint-Omer believed favorable to himself, and which the writer of Saint-Bertin shunned too much, the same possession can be shown by a highly probable reasoning. For, St. Audomarus's death being related, the writer of the Life at num. 5 thus continues: The aforesaid venerable abbot Bertinus therefore, the divine grace revealing it to him, going at once with his monks to the place where the venerable old man died, led the sacred body of blessed Audomarus with psalms and hymns and canticles to the place of burial: and they buried him in the aforesaid church which that blessed pontiff built at Sithiu, with immense mourning of the people standing about. And St. Audomarus had foretold to blessed Bertinus and to all the brethren serving the Lord at that time at Sithiu, that when the uncertain lot of his last hour should befall him, they should bury his little body in the aforesaid place. No mention here of clerics or canons; but St. Bertinus with his monks buried St. Audomarus. And since he buried him in the church of St. Mary, now Saint-Omer's, he possessed that church. For who would believe that Audomarus wished to be buried by monks and their abbot, but in another's church? Who could judge that that church belonged to clerics or canons, in which monks are said to have buried a bishop, with the people standing by, without any mention of any cleric?

[97] where the Saint's burial is narrated. Besides, since he is said to have committed the care of his burial not only to St. Bertinus but to all the monks of Sithiu, I cannot doubt that he did it in writing, as is read in another Life of St. Audomarus, which seems to have Folcard the monk for its author, as I shall show in Audomarus. He, having related the death, narrates the burial thus: And his body was translated by the most reverend abbot Bertinus and by the choir of monks, and buried with glory in the monastery of Sithiu, in the basilica which that renowned pontiff had built in honor of the holy Mother of God Mary for the burying of the bodies of the monks. For St. Audomarus had asked blessed Bertinus and all the brethren then serving the Lord at Sithiu, in the handing over of a certain privilege, that wherever the uncertain lot of his last hour should befall him, they should bury his little body in the aforesaid place among the bodies of the monks. I have three manuscript copies in which plainly the same words about the burial are read. The preceding words too are found in various copies, so that from the very Lives of St. Audomarus it is abundantly proved that that church of St. Mary formerly belonged to the monastery of Saint-Bertin; which appears to me on every side so certain that I wonder it could have been denied.

[98] Further, that church of St. Mary with the adjoining monastery remained under the abbots, the successors of St. Bertinus, until the times of the emperor Louis the Pious and of abbot Fridogisus or Fredegisus, That possession remained with the men of Saint-Bertin until the year 820, who, taking it from the monks, gave it to canons. This is referred by the writers of Saint-Bertin to the seventh year of the emperor Louis, and of Christ 820, which agrees rightly with the chronology of Pagi and of other moderns. The matter is narrated in the Finding of St. Bertinus, written by abbot Bovo and to be given below at num. 20. But first of all St. Folquin, who was at that same time bishop of Thérouanne, briefly set forth that change in the charter already praised, which I shall presently give entire. He was followed by the other Folquin, deacon of Saint-Bertin, who in the following century wrote of these matters more fully in his historical Chartulary. His words may be seen in the often-praised anonymous writer in the Origin of the Churches of Saint-Bertin and Saint-Omer pag. 158, but they are plainly the same as those which the anonymous compiler in Mabillon pag. 121 set forth on this matter, or rather the compiler transferred Folquin's words into his own little Work without any change of moment.

[99] I therefore bring over the words hither from Mabillon's edition: when Fridogisus, a canon, being made abbot of Sithiu, In the reign, he says, of the glorious emperor Louis, son of Charlemagne likewise emperor, when hitherto this ancient and then royal

monastery had from the time of the most blessed Bertinus, its chief founder, been greatly ennobled by the sacred religion of the monastic Order, and its government, according to the institutes of the canons, was committed by the adoption of the Brethren, it came to pass that a certain Fridogisus, an Englishman by birth, and abbot of St. Martin at Tours, in the year of the Incarnate Word eight hundred and twenty, and the seventh of the aforesaid king Louis, received by royal donation the abbey of the monastery of Sithiu to govern. Who at the beginning of his tyranny, when he saw the whole abbey assigned to the uses of so many monks — namely of a hundred and thirty monks living between the two monasteries, that is, of St. Bertinus and of St. Audomarus — and nothing set apart for the uses of his own pleasures, being blinded by the dart of avarice, he shamelessly attempts to destroy the monks' way of life, that he might the more easily consign to his own wantonness the goods handed over by the faithful for their uses. Which, conceived in his mind by diabolical suggestion, was accomplished by him with an abominable execution. For in the chief [] place of the Apostles, or of St. Bertinus, where eighty-three monks were serving the Lord, he retained sixty for human praise rather than for the love of God; the rest, men of a stricter life, whom he thought would not consent to his perversity, he expelled from the monastery and suffered to depart. In the monastery of St. Audomarus too, where forty monks were living according to rule, he appointed thirty canons there to serve in the ministry of Christ. But after this, going round the villas of the whole abbey, and because the number of monks was double, he bestowed on them a double portion of the villas; but to the canons, because they were fewer in number, a single portion as against the monks was given: and he reserved for the use of his own perversity those things which had most pleased him. And because he was a canon, he lived in a secular fashion with the canons in the monastery of St. Audomarus.* Thus far that anonymous writer out of Folquin.

[100] handed over the church of Bl. Mary, or St. Audomarus's, to canons: John of Ypres at chap. XI has thus of Fridogisus: Fridogisus, the eleventh abbot of this place, English by nation, of the family of Charlemagne, supreme chancellor of the sacred imperial palace, a secular canon, and abbot of St. Martin of Tours, received this abbey by royal donation from the emperor Louis in his seventh year, and held this abbey together with the aforesaid one of Tours. He, our first abbot of a foreign profession and a stranger to our religion, at once on his first coming, seeing this abbey assigned to the uses of so many monks serving God undividedly under one and the same abbot, namely of a hundred and thirty monks, and nothing or little set apart for the uses of his own advantage, divided this abbey: for the chapel of the holy Mother of God, which blessed Audomarus had dedicated on the height of the villa for the burying of monks, having expelled thence forty monks, he there established thirty secular canons: but in this chief monastery, in place of eighty-six monks, he retained only forty; and the rest, men of a stricter life, whom he knew to be not agreeable to his wishes, he expelled from the monastery and suffered to depart. And because he was a secular canon, he chose to live with secular canons in the monastery of St. Audomarus, or the chapel of the holy Mother of God. Wherefore he assigned and handed over to the canons, according to their ranks, a portion of all the goods, villas and lands of the church. He also reserved those things which had most pleased him for the uses of his own will. Thus, whatever his predecessors had labored at, and whatever had been wrought and ordered by them, he, entering into their labors, perverted and overturned all. Thus John of Ypres, dissenting from the preceding writer in the number of monks of the greater monastery. Which of them counted more rightly I shall not easily say. But it is clear that more monks are reckoned by each when they report the number of both monasteries together than they reckon in the several places. Wherefore I believe that nearly a hundred and thirty monks lived in both monasteries together, when the number, which could not always be the same, some dying from time to time, was at its greatest.

[101] a rivalry hence arising between the monks and the canons, Besides the other harms arising from the division of those monasteries, the praised anonymous writer in Mabillon narrates this also: He also proved a destroyer of the brotherly charity of both monasteries, while the monks claim for themselves the honor of reverence which is just and handed down by the ancient fathers, and truly maintain the subjection of the canons to them; and the canons, by the deceitful assertion of that canon-abbot himself, say that the primacy of the monasteries belongs to them. But after the death of Fridogisus, which the same writer, like John of Ypres, binds to the year 834, his successor Hugh, although he too was a secular canon, on John of Ypres's testimony, nevertheless began in some fashion to favor the monks' side. Let us hear John of Ypres at chap. 12: Hugh, he says, the first of this place of that name, the twelfth abbot, the (illegitimate) son of Charlemagne the emperor and king of the Franks, brother of the emperor Louis the Pious then reigning, … abbot of the monastery of St. Quentin of Vermandois, a secular canon, received this church by royal donation, and held it together with the aforesaid church of St. Quentin, in the XXI year of his brother Louis, and in the year of Christ 834.

[102] And presently a little below: After this Hugh our abbot, grieving over the division of this church made by Fridogisus, Hugh the abbot, successor of Fridogisus, with the emperor Louis by the authority of his brother the emperor and of blessed Folquin, then prelate of the Morini, brought back the church of St. Audomarus, if not fully to the obedience of Religion, yet to the subjection of this monastery of St. Bertinus and of its abbot, in such wise that by the abbot of St. Bertinus a monk should be appointed there as sacristan of the canons and keeper of that church, who four times in the year — that is, on the third day of the Rogations, and on the feasts of blessed John the Baptist, of St. Audomarus, and of All Saints — should there chant the greater Mass, and receive the offerings and emoluments, as is plainly contained in the Privilege drawn up on this matter by the blessed prelate Folquin, with the consent of the emperor Louis.

[103] The charter of the Privilege, whose beginning John of Ypres gave, and St. Folquin the bishop consenting, I subjoin entire from the anonymous writer: I Folquin, by the grace of God bishop of the Morini, to all the faithful both to come and present. Whatever, out of love of God, exacting the truth of the matter, we shall have left to be known to the memory of those to come, we hope will greatly profit our souls, while we both make known things true and condemn things falsified. For it is better to manifest the truth itself to the praise of God than to hide it for gain or earthly business, lest a sinful man should seem in this to incur the offense of God and of his Saints. I therefore, bishop Folquin, at the suggestion of Hugh abbot of the monastery of Sithiu, which is built in the island of Sithiu in honor of Bl. Peter the prince of the Apostles, where Bl. Bertinus rests in body, weighing the lamentable injustice which Fridogisus, the predecessor of the abbot above mentioned, had brought upon that holy place, began with my whole intent to devise how I might be able to bring back that place to its former honor. It is certainly known to all the faithful that the holy confessors of Christ Audomarus and Bertinus, while they were still in the body, made a cemetery [] in the villa of Sithiu in the upper place, by common work, for the burying of their own bodies and those of the monks: in the midst of which they had built a basilica in honor of St. Mary, which also Bl. Audomarus, giving it to St. Bertinus and his successors, had confirmed by a certain episcopal privilege, and had asked in that same privilege that his little body should be buried among them.*

[104] Which the aforesaid abbot Fridogisus not only took from St. Bertinus, restored to the monks such right as they had in the church of St. Audomarus; but also (which is horrible to say) expelled with great dishonor his monks who were serving God there honorably, and established canons there, whereas from the times of the holy Audomarus and Bertinus the monastic religion serving there had flourished most religiously. Compassionating their tearful injustice and unceasing protest, and acquiescing in the petition of Hugh the venerable abbot, I have judged and appointed that the sacristanship or keeping of that basilica should be restored to St. Peter and to holy Bertinus, and that a monk should be placed there for its keeping; and I have established that they should celebrate the solemnities of Masses at four seasons in the year, that is, on the third day of the days of the Rogations, on the festival also of Bl. John the Baptist, and on the deposition of St. Audomarus, and on the festival of All Saints: and that whatever should come to that altar, the monks of St. Bertinus should without any contradiction, according to the former custom, according to the decree of blessed Audomarus which he wrote and enjoined in the privilege about the handing over of that place to the monks, have, hold, and possess for ever by perpetual right. Nor [] let the bishop or his archdeacon, or any of the clerics, or a judge of secular affairs, claim anything thence for himself.*

[105] as is understood from the letter of St. Folquin, Lastly, certain men had already arisen, deceived by the boldness of rashness, saying that the primacy of the places ought to belong to them. Resisting their presumptuous pride, by a capitular writing before certain nobles of the royal palace and of this country I subjected them to this place, and brought their attempt to nothing. This writing too I have judged fit to be left to those who come after, that by it resistance may at some time be made to the evil will of enemies [] and to the wicked attempt of those wishing to infringe this. And whoever in times to come shall presume either to annul or to infringe [] it, which God forbid, by the authority of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit let him be anathema, unless he come to himself by worthy penance. Done in the year of the Lord's Incarnation eight hundred and thirty-nine, Indiction two; but in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Louis the king, and in the twenty-third year of our prelacy, in the church of St. Mary, on the twelfth of the Kalends of July, a universal synod being present. I Folquin, by the consent and command of the lord Emperor Louis, have willingly confirmed these things, and have subscribed with episcopal threat. I Maximus the archdeacon have subscribed. I Hugh the abbot have subscribed. The mark of Adalard the monk, the mark of Amalbert the monk, the mark of Morus the monk, the mark of Henry [] the count, the mark of Odginus [] the advocate, the mark of Everwinus the soldier, the mark of Berarius the soldier. I Guntbertus, deacon and monk, at the bidding of the lord prelate Folquin have written and subscribed this charter.

[106] which are not proved supposititious. Le Cointe at the year 839 num. 15 writes thus of this privilege: We do not call it into doubt that bishop Folquin granted a privilege to the monastery of Sithiu, where monks and canons then lived, at the request of abbot Hugh… Yet the privilege, as it was published by Folcard (rather, by the anonymous Writer), we do not judge genuine, because in it Fridogisus abbot of Sithiu, Hugh's predecessor, is attacked in rather harsh words, and a chronological character reckoned from the Lord's Incarnation is found. He alleges no more reasons for disapproving the said charter, but explains these at greater length, saying that it was not yet the usage in the time of Louis the Pious that the years of the Lord's Incarnation should be set on public instruments. But he imputes to the monks the harsher words against Fridogisus, whose life and manners he says he vindicated from calumny at the year 820 num. 12 and 13. Mabillon in the Annals tom. 2 pag. 612, after the praised letter of Folquin, adds this about Le Cointe's objections: I do not dwell on the censure of Charles Le Cointe, who tries to render this privilege suspect for slight causes, namely

because it contains rather harsh words against abbot Fridugisus, who indeed had not deserved well of the men of Sithiu, whom Folquin loved; and on account of the year of the Incarnation appended, which it is established by other examples was received in ecclesiastical writings at that time. Such examples he adduces in the Work On Diplomatics book 2 chap. 2 num. 17 and 18. But as regards Fridogisus, Le Cointe does not adduce such arguments in his defense that St. Folquin could not disapprove his deed in graver words. John of Ypres himself said of Fridogisus at chap. XI part. 4: Who, besides the aforesaid division of this church, had governed elegantly enough for fourteen years &c.; but on that account he ought not to have approved the division itself. Wherefore I think Le Cointe's reasons sufficiently refuted by Mabillon. But what the recent writer of Saint-Omer moreover objected against Folquin's charter has already for the greater part been sufficiently refuted: and to the rest the writer of Saint-Bertin has answered. And so I shall add no more of these matters, nor examine how long these statutes of bishop Folquin and abbot Hugh were observed, that we may return to the deeds of St. Bertinus.

. That is, in the chief.*

. Ms., cimiterium.*

. Ms., ne.*

. Ms., invidorum.*

. Ms., vel infringere vel annihilare.*

. Ms., Unrici.*

. Ibid., Edguni.*

§ X. The coming of St. Winnocus and his companions, who submit themselves to St. Bertinus's discipline: his dealings with count Walbert: the Saint subscribes to the testament of St. Amandus.

[ ] To St. Bertinus with three companions comes St. Winnocus, John of Ypres at chap. 1 part. 8 says that St. Bertinus often came to St. Judocus the hermit in the district of Ponthieu, and that St. Richarius abbot of Centula went thither with him, that they might console one another in the word of God. But I do not know whence that writer drew this, unless perhaps it is a mere conjecture, by which he believed that Saints not separated by too great an interval of place were also familiar friends; but of that familiarity I find nothing in their Lives. The same John of Ypres at part. 9 writes this of the coming of St. Winnocus and his three companions to Bertinus: About the same time (in the reign of Clotaire III) the blessed confessor of Christ Winnocus, son of Judicaël king of the Britons and brother of holy Judocus, despising the world, exchanging the crown of a kingdom for the tonsure of the Lord's lot, and the royal sceptre for the rod of regular discipline, is made a monk under the most blessed father Bertinus in this monastery of Sithiu, with his three brothers, namely Bradanocus, Ingenocus and Madocus. Our father Bertinus then presided over a throng of a hundred and fifty monks, among whom Winnocus shone above the rest like a morning star. This account must be corrected in various points. First, he who is here Bradanocus is called Quadanocus in the Lives of St. Winnocus. Secondly, those three companions of Winnocus were not his brothers. Thirdly, the ancient Life does not have it that Winnocus was born of royal stock, or was a kinsman of Judicaël or of Judocus, much less does it make him the son of Judicaël or the brother of Judocus.

[108] Yet since the Life of St. Winnocus, which Mabillon published, Benedictine Century 3 pag. 304, asserts that Winnocus sprang from a royal lineage, who with them submits himself to his discipline. his stock may be disputed more accurately at the day VI of November, on which he is venerated, where other matters pertaining to Winnocus alone will also be examined. Meanwhile let us hear from the praised Life what pertains at the same time to Bertinus. Therefore, says the author, after long stretches of road, (those four companions) came at last to the region of the Morini, where, as report spread it abroad, they had learned that the religion of the Saints then flourished. There was at that time in the aforesaid region of the Morini or of Thérouanne Bl. Bertinus, a precious stone in the adornment of God's Church, abbot in merit and in office in the monastery of Sithiu. He had breathed out far and wide the spices of his sanctity, and by his example had drawn very many into the soldiery of Christ. Whoever would know his praiseworthy deeds will have them openly from the little book most fully inscribed with his acts. To the governance therefore of so great a Father the aforesaid men submitted themselves with due obedience, and thought it altogether excellent to hang with watchful mind upon the Saint's teaching. And the aforesaid Man of God, rejoicing with them at their praiseworthy devotion, taught them to bear the yoke of Christ under the rule of the pious father Benedict; and instructed them both by words and by deeds to serve the monastic ordinances. Thus far concerning the coming of St. Winnocus and his companions, than whom he is said to have been younger. But I would not affirm that his coming is rightly fixed by John of Ypres under Clotaire III, that is, between the year 656 and 670. Nor have I any doubt that that coming was wrongly related by him before the donation of the church of St. Mary just narrated, as will more appear below, where the donation of the villa of Wormhout will be treated, where Winnocus with his companions erected a monastery.

[109] Count Walbert, healed by a miracle, gives many things to St. Bertinus, The first fact which is narrated in the first Life after the death and burial of St. Audomarus is the mishap and healing of Walbert or Waldebert, a noble man and count. But since St. Audomarus's death seems to be placed about or after the year 670, this healing may by conjecture be fixed between the year 670 and 680. Further, Walbert when healed gave many things to St. Bertinus and his monastery. But the first writers of the Life do not express what estates or other goods were given by Walbert; nor do they declare whether Walbert gave those goods at once, or only by testament after his death; and finally whether Walbert remained in the secular life, or became a monk. But the later writers of the Life tried to relate everything more fully; but it is not sufficiently established whether they also related it more truly. After the three first anonymous writers, who had explained nothing of the aforesaid, Folcard first in the XI century asserted that Walbert was made a monk in the monastery of Luxeuil. The anonymous compiler in Mabillon chap. 7 wished to explain more; where, Walbert's fall and prodigious healing being related as it is reported in the Lives to be published, he subjoins this: And being filled with compunction of heart, he handed over to Bl. Bertinus a great part of his inheritance, namely the villa of Arques, and many other estates (as antiquity asserts), and assigned them perpetually to the uses of the brethren serving Christ at Sithiu. And thus, gradually renouncing secular affairs, and with all zeal panting after heavenly things, and now desiring to become a monk, relying on St. Bertinus's exhortation and counsel, he promises with irrevocable devotion to take the habit of religion at Luxeuil.

[110] [among which is counted the villa of Arques: his son is said to have been made a monk:] Abbot Simon in the metrical Life tried to polish that story of Walbert in a prolix poem. And he thus enumerates Walbert's gifts:

Giving servants, handmaids, revenues, estates, villas, He enriched the Saint &c.

But he does not explain any estate or villa by name. Nevertheless, since John of Ypres too asserts that the villa of Arques was given by Walbert, whom Mabillon and other moderns call count of Arques, I would not deny that that villa was given by Walbert to the abbey of Saint-Bertin. Of the place Mabillon in tom. 1 of the Annals pag. 480 notes this: Now the villa of Arques is not far from Saint-Omer, which villa with other estates Walbert gave to Bertinus abbot of Sithiu. Our often-praised helper of Saint-Bertin agrees, noting that the village is distant from Saint-Omer half a league, and is still of the right and lordship of Saint-Bertin. Wherefore I cannot doubt that the abbey of Saint-Bertin received that village from Walbert, or from his son Bertinus, or at least from Walbert's descendants, since in this matter the men of Saint-Bertin themselves are chiefly to be believed. But I have said that the place was given by Walbert or by his son, because John of Ypres writes this: But his (Walbert's) son St. Bertinus, having made profession here in the monastery of Sithiu under the blessed father Bertinus, and closing his religious life with a holy end, passed gloriously to the Lord. Whose body, with the body of blessed Arkenbodo and of other Saints, is venerated, laid up above the high altar in the church of the canons of St. Audomarus. He who shall weigh these things may easily be led to this conjecture, that he should suspect that that Bertinus, mindful of his father's healing, gave himself with his possessions to the monastery of Saint-Bertin.

[111] But as regards the monastic life of count Walbert, Walbert too is said to have embraced the monastic life; it is entangled in so many errors that it does not appear to me probable enough. The first author, Folcard, makes Walbert not only a monk of Luxeuil, but also afterward abbot. Abbot Simon makes him a monk of Luxeuil, an abbot, flashing with miracles, and a Saint. For they confounded this Walbert with St. Walbert abbot of Luxeuil and successor of St. Eustasius, as John of Ypres too does, embracing their error, and explaining and increasing it, when at part. 10 he makes this Walbert the brother of SS. Faro, Chagnoaldus and Fara, and thus continues about him: But St. Walbert, by paternal succession count of Ponthieu, of Tourne and of Arques, had for wife St. Regentrude (of whose sanctity I find nothing), by whom he begot a son, whom the blessed father Bertinus, raising him from the sacred font, named Bertinus; and to both the father of their confessions often set forth the word of life. Then, having briefly related Walbert's fall and healing, he subjoins: Being safe and giving thanks, he offered a great part of his inheritance to God and to blessed Bertinus, namely the villa and county of Arques with all its appurtenances; and, renouncing the world, he was made a monk first here under blessed Bertinus, then at Luxeuil under blessed Eustasius. After whom Walbert himself was immediately taken as abbot, and at last, as some report, after his brother blessed Faro he was raised as bishop of Meaux. Very many are the errors in these words.

[112] First, the error of Folcard, of abbot Simon, and of John of Ypres is most manifest, [but since he has been confounded with St. Walbert the abbot by a most manifest anachronism,] when they say that this Walbert of Arques was abbot of Luxeuil, and so the successor of St. Eustasius. For St. Eustasius was dead, and Walbert was abbot of Luxeuil, certainly some years before St. Bertinus came to the parts of the Morini, that is, more than forty years before count Walbert was healed by St. Bertinus. From this so shameful an anachronism there arises a great suspicion that the monastic life of count Walbert was asserted from conjecture alone, because that count Walbert was the same as Walbert abbot of Luxeuil; especially because the first writers of St. Bertinus's Life, although they report Walbert's healing, are wholly silent about his monastic life, when yet they would seem to have been about to write it if they had known that Walbert had been made a monk, which the first of them could not easily have been ignorant of, being near enough to those times.

[113] and the first biographers are silent, the matter is exceedingly uncertain: Wherefore I wonder that Mabillon in the Annals tom. 1 pag. 480 did not at least doubt of count Walbert's monastic life, but so narrates it as though it were certain, although in the same place he observed the error of those who confound count Walbert with Walbert the abbot. For since those alone

made Walbert a monk who by a most manifest error called him abbot of Luxeuil, by that very error of theirs that monastic life becomes suspect, and, with the silence of the more ancient writers added, it does not even remain probable enough. Secondly, I have noted that this error was increased by John of Ypres, because he said that Walbert was first a monk under St. Bertinus, which the others did not say, and because he makes Walbert abbot of Luxeuil the brother of SS. Faro and Chagnoaldus, and lastly because he attributes to count Walbert more titles than seem to suit him; but I do not draw these things out at more length, because they pertain little to St. Bertinus.

[114] The Saint subscribes to the testament of St. Amandus. In the 2nd year of Theodoric III, on the day XVIII of April, that is, in the year of Christ 675, St. Amandus made his testament in the monastery of Elnone, and to it, with other Saints, partly bishops, partly abbots, St. Bertinus subscribed, first after the bishops, as may be seen in Amandus, tom. 1 of February pag. 872. It is clear from this fact that St. Amandus had a great esteem for St. Bertinus, whom he wished to invite to this act. John of Ypres at chap. 1 part. 12 reports the translation of St. Vedastus, at which he testifies that St. Bertinus was present with St. Audomarus. This is probable, although nothing is read of that matter in the writers of the Life. He records this translation at the year 680; but doubtless it was performed earlier, since St. Audomarus was present, who does not seem to have lived until the year 680.

§ XI. Various donations made to St. Bertinus: the monastery of Wormhout raised, and St. Winnocus set over it.

[ ] A privilege obtained by the Saint: Folquin John of Ypres at chap. 1 part. 12 adduces this to our purpose: St. Bertinus had acquired lands in the pure treasury of Attigny, which he caused to be confirmed by Theodoric. The king himself also granted that neither he nor his successors, nor any of the judiciary power, should be able to exercise any public factions (that is, functions) in our lands acquired or to be acquired: which privilege thus begins: "If anything to the places of the Saints" &c. Given on the day the tenth of the Kalends of November in the tenth year of our reign, at the palace of Compiègne. The whole diploma of Theodoric III Mabillon recites from Folquin's Chartulary, On Diplomatics book 6 pag. 606 and 607, with the epoch here given and with this subscription: The mark of the glorious king Theodoric. But he adds these annotations also: Theodoric's solemn manner of subscribing was this: † In Christ's name I Theudericus the king have subscribed, as is established from his formulas reported. Whence it may be asserted that Theodoric's own subscription was not here rightly rendered by Folquin, who in the former, as also in this diploma of Chlothaire, omitted the initial formula, and moreover the subscriptions of the king and of queen Balthild and of the chancellor.

[116] He observes like things of the other diplomas published from Folquin, wanders everywhere in the chronology of this and of others: and I have judged this should be noted, lest anyone should further object Folquin's authority for vindicating the subscriptions of St. Audomarus's Charter, which I have disapproved above. The time of the giving of the diploma the praised Folquin in Mabillon wished to express thus: But in the year of the Lord's Incarnation DCLXXVI, Indiction IV, in the reign of the glorious king of the Franks Theodoric, who was the brother of the aforesaid king Chlothachar, in his X year, the same king Theodoric made a Precept of security for the lord Bertinus concerning what he had purchased in the treasury of Attigny. But the year of Christ 676, in which the Indiction was 4, can by no means be compounded with the tenth year of Theodoric III, who began to reign in the year 673 before the middle of the month of September, if we believe Pagi, who proves this at the year 673 num. 12. For according to this opinion of Pagi, Theodoric's diploma, since it was given in the month of October, was given in the year 682, in which the tenth year of Theodoric was running. Further, not here only, but wherever Folquin wished to assign the years of Christ from the years of the kings, he everywhere strayed from the truth. For which cause no one ought to wonder that I make nothing of his authority in such matters: I rather wonder that Mabillon, book 2 pag. 192, chose to use Folquin's reckoning, and that an erring one, to prove that Clovis II died in the year 654: for it could not have been unknown to so learned a man how frequently Folquin errs.

[117] In the XII year of king Theodoric another donation was made to St. Bertinus in the month of February, the donation of Amalfridus an illustrious man, so that it seems to be bound to the year 684. Folquin in Mabillon pag. 607 briefly relates the matter thus in his Chartulary: In the year from the Lord's Incarnation DCLXXVII, Indiction VI, a certain renowned man named Amalfridus handed over to the lord Bertinus the monastery which he himself had built on his own property, named Hunulficurtis, in the district of Cambrai, upon the river Scheldt, where also his daughter, Auriana by name, is seen to be abbess and governess of the holy women. To these words the charter of donation is subjoined, which without any subscriptions ends in this manner: Done at Vermand, on the VIII day of the month of February, in the XII year of the reign of our lord Theuderic the most glorious king. Further, Mabillon observes that the subscriptions were omitted by Folquin, but he himself added them. The beginning of the charter too was passed over by Folquin, but it is expressed in John of Ypres at part. 12, where the same writer recites a slightly different ending in this manner: Done at Vermand, on the VIII day of February, in the year DCLXXIX, the eleventh of the reign of our lord Theodoric the most glorious king. The editor Martène notes that the year of the Incarnation was added by an interpolator. But moreover here the eleventh year of Theodoric is set down, but in Mabillon the twelfth; and this seems to be preferred, and in fact the twelfth year was preferred by Mabillon in tom. 1 of the Annals pag. 572, where he narrates the donation at the year 684. King Theodoric then confirmed it in the 14th year of his reign, whose diploma follows in Mabillon from Folquin.

[118] who subjects to St. Bertinus the monastery founded by himself: The anonymous compiler in the Life wrote thus of these matters: A certain renowned man named Amalfridus handed over to the lord Bertinus the monastery which he himself had built on his own property, named Hunulfricurt, in the district of Cambrai upon the river Scheldt, where also the daughter of that illustrious man, Auriana by name, is seen to be abbess and governess of the holy women; on this condition, that he himself, while he lived, should hold it by precarious tenure, and after his death and that of his daughter Auriana the aforesaid abbot Bertinus or his successors should have, hold and possess it: and that whatever provost they should wish to set over it there, they should have leave, as also the copy of that handing-over, preserved among us until now, testifies. So he from Folquin. John of Ypres narrates the same, and adds this: Then, Amalfridus and Auriana being dead, the successors of holy Bertinus forbade nuns to succeed there, and established monks there. That church was subject to the abbot of Saint-Bertin. But how it was alienated, and departed from this our obedience, our writings do not contain. Older than these, bishop Balderic in the Chronicle of Cambrai book 2 chap. 10 has thus of the same monastery: Let us pass to the monastery of St. Peter in the villa of Hunulcurt, where I have found in writing that holy Pollina rests. This indeed an illustrious man named Amalfridus founded with his wife Childebertana, and, holy women being appointed, set his daughter Auriana over them; and it was once flourishing in religion and in wealth, but now, after it has been given as a benefice to military men, it has dwindled to a few canons. Yet it rose from this disaster after it returned to Benedictine monks, the monastery of Hunnocurt, commonly called Honnecourt, and situated on the river Scheldt about four miles above Cambrai. Of it Denis de Sainte-Marthe treats in tom. 3 of the Gallia Christiana reprinted, col. 112 and following.

[119] a privilege obtained from Clovis III. The donation of that monastery insinuates how great was St. Bertinus's fame, to whom Amalfridus wished to subject a monastery situated far enough away. And the many privileges which the Saint obtained from the kings of the Franks for the advantage of his monastery clearly show that he had a notable care of temporal as well as of spiritual matters. Besides the various ones already given, John of Ypres to this purpose again writes the following at part. 13: To Theodoric king of the Franks succeeded his son Clovis, a boy (the third of that name), who in his first year gave a privilege to blessed Bertinus, in which he confirms all things granted to this place by his predecessors, commanding that no judiciary power should be able to do anything within our bounds: which thus begins: "Clovis king of the Franks. If those benefits which our parents" &c. Done on the day the first of the Kalends of May in the first year of our reign." The whole privilege Mabillon recites from Folquin, book 6 of the Diplomatics pag. 607 and 608, but there is read: Done on the day the 1st of the Kalends of June* &c. Each epoch is more probably to be referred to the year 692. For Pagi at the year 688 num. 2 will have it certain that Theodoric III died in the year 691: but it is not established in what month he died, and Clovis began to reign. But if he obtained the kingdom in the year 691, June being begun or later, or before May of the year 692, that privilege must be referred to the year 692.

[120] John of Ypres, having related the death of Clovis III and the succession of Childebert III, at part. 13 reports another donation in these words: At this time Heremarus, a noble man, handed over to blessed Bertinus his villa called Wormhout, in Flanders upon the river Peene, Heremarus gives Bertinus the villa of Wormhout, where a monastery was built: who, considering that the men of God Winnocus and his three brothers (rather, companions) had advanced more than the rest in God's service, sent them thither to build a little monastery, to gather a community, and to prepare lodgings for Christ's poor. To whom the aforesaid Heremarus confirmed his villa of Wormhout with its appurtenances by the assertion of his privilege, which thus begins: "To all present and to come who are reckoned Christian" &c. Done in the monastery of Sithiu on the Kalends of November in the 1st year of king Childebert. This epoch designates the year 695, in which Childebert III began to reign before the end of March, as Pagi shows at that year num. 6. The anonymous compiler in the Life in Mabillon chap. 5 narrated this donation far earlier than he ought, being deceived namely by Folcard, whose words he faithfully copied out, so that it is not necessary to transfer them hither, since they may be read below in the third Life at num. 18 and 19.

[121] But the said anonymous writer led Mabillon too into various errors, Mabillon's various errors in these matters, since in the Annals tom. 1 pag. 454 at the year 660 he writes thus: As the number of monks (in the monastery of Sithiu) and their religion increased, so did the store of possessions increase. Above all a certain very rich and pious man granted the neighboring Worimholt to the men of Sithiu: in which place an oratory of St. Martin was erected with a small community of brethren, whom St. Winnocus first made illustrious. It is now the parish church of St. Martin in the island. Besides the name ill written, which

should have been written Wormhout or Wormhoutum, not Worimholtum, since the place is commonly called Wormhout, and in the old speech Wormholt — there is a fourfold error in the words alleged. The first is in the time, since the donation was made many years later. The second is in the place, which was not nearest to the men of Sithiu, but distant nearly four miles from Saint-Omer, and situated on the little river Peene [] between Cassel, by others called Castellum Morinorum [], and Bergues-Saint-Winnoc. The third error is that he says that it is now the parish church of St. Martin in the island, for this is at Saint-Omer, from which the village of Wormhout is far distant, where now is the provostry called of St. Winnocus. The fourth error, finally, is about St. Winnocus, whom he insinuates to have been at once set over that monastery; whereas he only succeeded after the death of the others.

[122] The praised Mabillon at the year 695, or pag. 603, who wrote twice of the same foundation in a different manner. wrote thus again of the same donation and foundation, as though he had believed it different, or had forgotten what he had said before: For the sake of greater perfection (St. Winnocus) left his country and his parents, and with his companions Quadanocus, Ingenocus and Madocus, who were likewise notable by birth, betook himself to the monastery of Sithiu, to St. Bertinus the abbot, that they might be instructed by him in regular disciplines. When in a short time they had made much progress, being bidden to withdraw to a place remote from others, where they might more freely give themselves to divine things, they build a cell suited to sacred occupations. Posterity called it the Mount of St. Winnocus. There lived in those parts an illustrious and very rich man named Heremarus, who, taken with the religion of the new dwellers, handed over to Winnocus a certain estate of his own right which they called Woromholt. The place is on the border of the Morini and of Flanders, by the little river Peene, a rich soil and abounding in crops. The instrument of donation in John of Ypres is read as given at Sithiu in the first year of king Childebert. Here he erred less plainly, nor yet is everything accurate, as I shall show below.

[123] [The donation seems to have been made first to St. Bertinus, then confirmed to St. Winnocus,] Further, the first Life has it that this donation was made to St. Bertinus. But John of Ypres and the Life of St. Winnocus in Mabillon chap. 3 seem to insinuate that Heremarus's donation was made to St. Winnocus. But this apparent contradiction is easily removed. The place was first given to St. Bertinus, who sent thither St. Winnocus with his three companions, with whom he had come before from Britain, and with other monks, as the first Life has it at num. 17, that they might erect a monastery there. And when the monastery had been erected, and after some years those three monks who had come from Britain with Winnocus were dead, he was set by St. Bertinus over the monastery; and then at length Heremarus could confirm the place to St. Winnocus by a written instrument of donation, St. Bertinus consenting and so desiring; just as I said before that the villa of Sithiu seems to have been given first to St. Audomarus, and then, at his wish, handed over by written letter to St. Bertinus and his companions. This reconciliation is somewhat required by the year of the giving of the letter of donation, if it be compared with the various things which are said of St. Winnocus's age. For he is said to have come to Bertinus as a young man, and was unequal in age to his three companions, in the Life at num. 18. Yet he was afterward weighed down with a venerable old age before his death, as is read in the manuscript Life; and he is believed to have died about the year 717. All these things cannot stand together if, a small space of time having passed, as the Life has it at num. 17, the building of the monastery was begun, and this was begun only in the year 695, in which Heremarus's letter is said to have been given: for between the year 695 and 717 there is not so great a space that Winnocus could from a young man become an old one.

[124] all things having been done in the order which is here given. Wherefore from the first Life, which is by a writer of nearly the same age, this order of events seems to be laid down here. First, to Bertinus came four Britons, of whom the youngest was St. Winnocus, and they were made monks in the monastery of Sithiu. This may have happened between the year 660 or 670 and 680. Secondly, when after some years Heremarus had given the place of Wormhout to St. Bertinus, he sent the four aforesaid monks with other Brethren thither, to build the monastery of Wormhout, which they did. Thirdly, they dwelt in that monastery through many spaces of years until the death of St. Winnocus's three companions, before he was set over the place. Fourthly, within that time, in the year 695, Heremarus gave the letter of donation, if John of Ypres's account given at num. 120 be accurate: for he asserts that by this letter the place was confirmed to the Britons sent by Bertinus. But since the Life of St. Winnocus in Mabillon chap. 3 has it that the place was offered by Heremarus to God and to holy Winnocus, it may be doubted whether at the time of the donation confirmed by letter Winnocus was not already presiding over the monastery. This may be more accurately investigated in his Life. Meanwhile I judge that these two matters, in which I have noted that Mabillon erred, should here be further proved and elucidated.

[125] [St. Winnocus was not abbot of Wormhout from the beginning, but after the death of his companions:] The first is that St. Winnocus was not at once set over those whom Bertinus sent down from the monastery of Sithiu to begin that of Wormhout. For this we have clearly in the first Life, which is far to be preferred to the others. There is added Folquin the deacon, whose words about this foundation the often-praised helper of Saint-Bertin communicated to me from his Chartulary, and which I transfer hither: But St. Bertinus, wishing to multiply the dwellings of the Servants of God, committed this same monastery (of Wormhout) to four men coming to him from the parts of Britain, to build and govern it, namely to Quadanocus and Ingenocus, Madocus, and holy Winnocus… But after the departure of the aforesaid three men, namely Quadanocus and Ingenocus and Madocus, St. Bertinus granted blessed Winnocus to preside over the little community of Brethren living there. With these lastly agrees the Life of St. Winnocus published by Mabillon at chap. 4, where this is read: Meanwhile it happened that after the departure of the three holy men St. Winnocus survived, who, being thoroughly imbued with regular disciplines, had indeed advanced in all the teachings of the faith, bringing forth from the treasure of his heart things new and old. And when the three often-mentioned men closed their last day, being translated to perpetual rest, St. Bertinus chose the man of God to preside over the flock of monks, since he had already learned that he humbly submitted. For he was indeed less in age than the aforesaid three men, but not inferior in sanctity &c. And so, if Heremarus confirmed the place of Wormhout to St. Winnocus in the year 695, his three companions were already dead by then, and the monastery of Wormhout had been built many years before; but I have said it is uncertain whether Heremarus confirmed the place to Winnocus alone or to all together.

[126] The other point which I have likewise judged should here be proved is this, before the monastery of Wormhout that no other foundation of St. Winnocus preceded that of Wormhout. For Mabillon, Benedictine Century 3, in the Appendix to the Acts of St. Winnocus pag. 327, writes this: Before St. Winnocus founded the monastery of Woromholt, he had settled for some while with his companions at Scoveberga, which they now call Bergues; and there, a little building and an oratory having been erected, he exhorted the inhabitants round about to the worship of the true God. The same writes Malbrancq, book 4 On the Morini chap. 21, and refers the deed to the year 685. But Mabillon in the Annals, having first placed the monastery of Wormhout itself at Saint-Omer, then in the words given at num. 122 set it on the Mount of St. Winnocus, understanding Bergues-Saint-Winnoc. Mabillon was deceived, so far as I can attain by conjecture, by this passage of the Life of St. Winnocus chap. 2: And when he (Bertinus) marvelled that they (Winnocus and his British companions) had in the very beginnings of their conversion attained the summit of perfection, he assigned them a place where they might more singularly give themselves to the Lord, and commanded that they should build in it a cell suited to sacred occupations. They obey the command, and set themselves to the building of the building. And that same place is situated in the region of the Morini, called even to the present day the Mount of St. Winnocus, where the men of God, being placed for some while, crucified themselves to the world and the world to themselves. This passage, I say, seems to have imposed upon Mabillon: for, as is plain from his annotations, the Mount of St. Winnocus is for him the same as the town of Bergues-Saint-Winnoc, and indeed anyone would easily believe this from the etymology of the Flemish word Winocks-Bergen.

[127] Nevertheless I am wholly persuaded he does not seem to have built another cell at Bergues. either that the words alleged were not written by that author, or that his meaning was different: for he speaks in another manner of the town of Bergues at chap. 16, where he narrates that the church of St. Martin and St. Winnocus was built at Bergues, and that St. Winnocus's body was translated thither. For first he places the Mount of St. Winnocus in the region of the Morini, Bergues in Flanders. Secondly he always calls the town of Bergues Bergæ, never the Mount of St. Winnocus. Thirdly he affirms that the church of SS. Martin and Winnocus was built there by Baldwin the Bald, count of Flanders, without any mention that St. Winnocus had ever dwelt there or built an oratory. John of Ypres at chap. 21 part. 1 reports the building of the church of SS. Martin and Winnocus at Bergues, and the translation of St. Winnocus to the said church built for canons. Then at chap. 36 part. 2 he narrates the building of the abbey of Bergues, and the translation thither of St. Winnocus's body from the church of the canons. Again at chap. 38 part. 4 and in other places he treats of the same abbey. But nowhere does he affirm that St. Winnocus ever dwelt at Bergues; nor does any writer of the Life of St. Bertinus make mention of that dwelling of St. Winnocus. And so I altogether judge that the only foundation of St. Winnocus and his companions is the monastery of Wormhout, which Mabillon in the Annals wrongly confounded with that of Bergues, far later. Of the monastery of Wormhout, afterward overthrown, and of that of Bergues, still flourishing, more may be seen in the Gallia Christiana reprinted, tom. 5 col. 325 and 332 and 333, where both are rightly distinguished, and the beginnings of the latter are referred to the XI century.

*. Peene.

*. Cassel.

§ XII. The Saint's last deeds: his blessed death and burial: the year of his death, and the years of his rule and of his life, are investigated.

[ ] A privilege obtained by St. Bertinus, who Rigobert In the year 697 St. Bertinus had not yet laid down the government of the abbey of Sithiu: for to this year is to be referred the privilege which John of Ypres relates to have been obtained by him, at chap. 1 part. 13 in these words: In the third year of king Childebert blessed Bertinus obtained from him a privilege of confirmation of all our goods, and that no judiciary power should enter within our bounds, which thus begins: "Childebert king of the Franks. If those benefits which our parents" &c. *Done on the day of the Kalends of June in the third year of our reign." Nevertheless he did not afterward go on long governing alone, but in the year 700 he already had Rigobert substituted, as I gather from Folquin the deacon's words communicated to me. For Folquin asserts that the chapel of St. Martin, which we shall see was built in the time

of Rigobert as substitute, was built in the sixth year of Childebert, that is, in the year of Christ 700, although Folquin ill compounds the year 689 with the sixth of Childebert. But the years of the common era are not to be considered, in which Folquin and the other writers of Saint-Bertin of that time almost perpetually err; but the years of the kings which they express are rather to be followed for the chronology, because they could find these in the ancient monuments, and not those. Hence John of Ypres at part. 15, where he had noted that he differed much from certain others in assigning the years of Christ, subjoins thus: But we in this work follow not so much the credit of the histories as we rather follow the credit of our privileges, and of the authentic seals of kings or of others. For the seal of kings neither deceives nor is deceived. And so I judge that Rigobert's substitution is to be placed between the year 697 and 700.

[129] This substitution the anonymous Compiler at chap. 9 narrates in these words: The holy confessor of Christ Bertinus therefore, when, after Adroaldus had handed over the place at Sithiu, he was in the fifty-seventh (rather, about the fortieth) year of his rule, substituted an abbot for himself; the church of St. Martin built by him: ordained as his successor a venerable man, his own monk, Rigobert by name: but he himself, spending the rest of his life in private, betook himself to divine contemplation… The venerable abbot Rigobert therefore, industriously performing his turns of watch over the Lord's flock, at the same father's bidding built in a short time with great labor a monastery in honor of Bl. Martin. For he was of the highest devotion toward this confessor of the Lord, and greatly served his memory and his love. Mabillon notes that by the monastery of St. Martin a church is understood; and he asserts that it is now parochial. He believed, namely, that John of Ypres treats of the same at chap. 3 part. 1 in these words: And a church was made to blessed Martin next to that which is now the parish church of St. Martin in the island. But if we rightly attend to John of Ypres's words, we shall see that he treats of a twofold church of St. Martin. The first was built while St. Bertinus lived, the other when he was venerated as a Saint. Folquin the deacon says of the basilica of St. Martin built by Rigobert: Which is now the head of the place and the chief of the whole abbey. De Clety, who copied Folquin's words for us, observes from them that this monastery built in honor of St. Martin was nothing else than an oratory which was joined to the greater church. Such I judge it was while Bertinus lived, in which oratory we shall see his body buried. But that basilica or church was restored by abbot Erlefridus in a far ampler form, and perhaps from that time it became the chief church of the abbey of Sithiu, such as Folquin testifies it was in his own time. Of Rigobert and of this church built by him John of Ypres at part. 14 has thus: The lord holy Bertinus, now verging into old age, in the LVII year of his rule committed the government of his monastery to Rigobert, a venerable man, who at blessed Bertinus's bidding built the church of Bl. Martin the bishop. For blessed Bertinus was devoted to this Saint of God. Then at chap. 3 part. 1 he teaches that this church was enlarged by abbot Erlefridus after Bertinus's death.

[130] That the cause of building this church was St. Bertinus's devotion toward St. Martin we easily believe. [St. Bertinus is said to have been tempted by a demon in the guise of a woman, and to have discovered the fraud by the help of St. Martin;] But it may be doubted whether the occasion of that devotion, which Folcard narrates at num. 37, is rightly and truly set forth. The same the anonymous Compiler handed down at chap. 10, and a little more briefly John of Ypres in this manner: For it is said in blessed Bertinus's Legend that on a certain Saturday, when he had been let blood, he was tempted by the evil spirit in the guise of a royal maiden, and did not quickly perceive the guiles of the snares: but St. Martin, appearing to him, uncovered the enemy's frauds; whom Bertinus at once drove away by the sign of the holy cross, and, coming immediately to the Mandatum (the washing of feet prescribed by the Rule of St. Benedict) of the Brethren, he laid open to them the course of the matter, showing the monks that the fellowship of women is not expedient: and therefore he forbade them entrance to his monastery under anathema. Abbot Simon narrates the aforesaid temptation far more prolixly: but I would not dare to hold it for certain and undoubted, since the more ancient writers of the Life are silent about it. De Clety, however, in the observations sent me, notes that that account was taken by Folcard from a little Work of Eremboldus, a monk of Sithiu, who wrote before Folcard's times.

[131] But whatever be the case with that temptation of St. Bertinus, which I would neither altogether assert nor deny, it is established that entrance into the monastery of Sithiu was forbidden to women by St. Bertinus. certainly he severely forbade all women entrance to his monastery; That that law of the Saint about women not being brought in was kept until the times of Arnulf, who was count of Flanders and abbot of Saint-Bertin, the writers of Saint-Bertin agree. But I cannot approve Mabillon's annotation, which runs thus: The use of that interdict still persisted toward the end of the thirteenth century, as is plain from John of Ypres chap. LII part. IV. For, although John of Ypres in that place really insinuates that that interdict of St. Bertinus was kept until that time, his words are not so to be understood, or are to be charged with error, if they cannot be expounded in another sense. For John of Ypres himself narrates the first entrance of a woman at chap. 23 part. 2, with this title prefixed: Of the first entrance of women into this monastery. That writer refers the deed to the year 938, as does the anonymous writer in Mabillon, book 2 of the Miracles chap. 12, who also assigns the fifth year of Louis d'Outremer king of France, whose fifth year is elsewhere connected with the year 940.

[132] that precept long observed, but afterward mitigated: And that first woman was Adala or Athala, countess of Flanders, and wife of count Arnulf. She, on account of infirmities of body, had obtained from the bishops Witfridus of Cambrai and Fulbert of Thérouanne, and from the monks, leave to approach the altar of St. Bertinus: and therefore on the second Feria of Easter, says John of Ypres, the aforesaid bishops brought her into this monastery, not without great fear, because she first of women had presumed to do this which before none of the queens dared even to desire. And being thus brought in, and prostrate before the altar of blessed Bertinus, having devoutly poured forth prayer, she received full soundness of body. Abbot Simon, who wrote in the XII century, expressed the same deed in several verses, and, having related the countess's healing and her munificence toward the monastery of St. Bertinus, subjoined this little verse:

And for this cause the doors stand open to women.

And so in the X century, on that occasion, that severe interdict of St. Bertinus, by which entrance lay open to no woman at all, was either abrogated or at any rate so mitigated that all women were not utterly excluded.

[133] a miracle wrought on this occasion. The very miracle which Folcard at num. 39 asserts was done in his own time — unless perhaps he copied out the words of some older writer, as the anonymous compiler presently to be praised expressed his very words — this miracle, I say, sufficiently insinuates that leave to enter was at that time given to women, but that one woman, out of the highest reverence toward St. Bertinus, would not use that faculty. This reverence of hers while living God approved in her body when dead. Let us hear the anonymous writer copying out Folcard's words at chap. 10: Which in our time was kept by a certain religious woman, namely that she would not go further than she had learned that the Man of God himself had appointed: and when she too was dead, it preserved her lifeless body. For those who bore her, placed on a bier, when they had come to that very boundary of her old approach, it is at once fixed by God with so great a weight that it could not be borne further, even the multitude of those present being forced to bear it. And thus the precept which the old woman kept out of reverence for the Saint while she lived, her dead body could not transgress, according to the wish of her living soul. John of Ypres has thus of the same: Whence once a miracle happened after the death of the Man of God concerning a certain woman, who resolved in her own heart never to pass this interdict: and what she held while coming [], this her lifeless body too preserved: for when those bearing it to the church had come to that boundary which the Saint had fixed, it is fixed with so great a weight that they could not bear her further, even a multitude of the people being forced to it.* Leave of entering was already given to women, and it was probably little by little extended: but St. Bertinus's precept had not yet been given to oblivion when this was done in Folcard's time, or in the XI century: otherwise that woman would only have done what all the others were compelled to do.

[134] Further, how many years Rigobert presided over the abbey of Saint-Bertin I do not find. The years of Rigobert's rule: Erlefridus substituted for him: John of Ypres at chap. 2 says: Rigobert, the second abbot of this place, not properly however, but the substitute of blessed Bertinus, governed for a short time but elegantly: and on account of his age and the heaviness of his body, and that he might be able more freely to give himself to holy contemplation, he obtained from the aforesaid blessed father Bertinus an indulgence and rest for his times. The anonymous writer says that this was done after the sweat of a few years. Rigobert was still presiding in the X year of Childebert, that is, in the year of Christ 704, as is gathered from John of Ypres at part. 14, where the purchase of the villa of Rumilicum made by Rigobert is noted on the day XVI of May, and in the tenth year of Childebert. But in the XIII year of Childebert Erlefridus had already succeeded Rigobert, as again we have from John of Ypres at part. 15, where the purchase of certain goods by Erlefridus is noted to have happened on the sixth of the Nones of May, in the thirteenth year of the lord Childebert the glorious king. That year was 707, in which St. Bertinus was still living according to most of the writers of the Life and to John of Ypres, who at part. 15 has thus of Erlefridus being substituted: The throng of monks here increasing, the blessed Father Bertinus, granting rest to his substitute Rigobert, committed the government of his monastery to the venerable man Erlefridus, brought up by himself.

[135] But he himself was wholly intent on divine contemplation, [many things accomplished by the Saint for the advantage of the monastery of Sithiu.] very often passing the night in prayers in the chapel of the blessed Virgin, and no less filling out his days with fastings. And the Lord wrought many miracles through him, of which many are committed to writing, and more passed over out of his humility and his grace of concealment. Yet to these miracles his labor in God's service is to be preferred, and his ever-watchful care of the souls committed to him. Whose labors God so aided that this his monastery was in his time made equal to royal monasteries, as well in the relics of Saints as also in privileges, possessions and abundance of goods. The same writer below: The charters or privileges acquired or obtained by blessed Bertinus are eleven in number, counting namely those which were obtained or transacted by Rigobert and Erlefridus while the Saint lived. The praised writer, when he had narrated that the Saint was buried in his own monastery, again observes the following of his industry and labor: From which it is clearly conjectured

that the blessed Father Bertinus himself sweated and labored much and diligently in this foundation of his monastery: for the place which he found at the beginning so marshy that it was not fit for burial — and therefore obtained that a court should be consecrated by blessed Audomarus on the height of the villa — he himself in the time of his rule, that is, of seventy-three years or thereabouts, raised materially with heapings of stones, earth and other things, … and dried it with ditches and watercourses, so that it might suffice him for burial. This observation is not inept; but the years of rule assigned must be much diminished.

[136] The Saint's death, who was buried in the church of St. Martin: The anonymous Compiler in Mabillon chap. 12 speaks thus of St. Bertinus's death and burial: Christ, wishing to repay rewards worthy of the holy Man's labors, calling him, made him pass over, full of days and of perfect merits. Whom the aforesaid abbot Erlefridus and the whole company of monks, with the greatest honor, as befitted so great a Father, laid up and buried in his own monastery, which had been built in honor of the holy prelate of Christ Martin. The earlier words John of Ypres adopted, but the latter he somewhat changed in this manner: They laid him up and buried him here in his own monastery of Sithiu, which he himself had founded, in which he himself was the first buried. It appears strange that the anonymous writer says that St. Bertinus's monastery was built in honor of St. Martin, since it is established that it was sacred to St. Peter. But there were various churches or oratories of that same monastery; and one of these oratories, which Rigobert had built at St. Bertinus's command, was sacred to St. Martin bishop of Tours, in which the Saint was buried. Hence John of Ypres at chap. 3 part. 1 has thus: But after the blessed Father's death Erlefridus built the basilica of blessed Martin above the blessed Man's tomb with a larger work than it had been before, an altar of veneration being built at the head of the tomb. Of this church we have already treated above at num. 129.

[137] how the year of his death was expressed by the writers The year of his death, and the years of his age and of his rule, John of Ypres expressed thus: And the same Athlete of the Lord passed away on the Nones of September in the year of the Lord DCXCVIII; in the LXXIII year from that in which he founded his monastery at the Old Monastery; but in the LIX year from the foundation of his monastery in this place; and in the hundred and twelfth year of his age. The same year 698 Folcard assigns to St. Bertinus's death at num. 46; but he adds the fifteenth year of king Childebert. Of his age and of the year of the founding of the Old Monastery he is wholly silent; but he first produced the fifty-ninth year of the founding of the monastery of Sithiu. Abbot Simon, the other notes of time being passed over, said that 698 was the year of St. Bertinus's death. The anonymous Compiler in Mabillon chap. 12 adduced these notes: And the same Athlete of God passed away on the ninth (in our Ms. the Nones) of September, in the year of the Incarnate Word six hundred and ninety-eight, but in the hundred and twelfth of his age (in our Ms. CXII, in another CX), and in the fifteenth of Childebert king of the Franks (in the same Ms. XIV), in the fifty-ninth year from that in which he began to build that place. There is added in the praised manuscript copy: In the LXXIII year from the foundation of the Old Monastery.

[138] of Saint-Bertin: the opinion of the moderns about it: Mabillon in the Annotations adds: Folquin attributes to Bertinus only LIV years of rule in the Chronicle book 1 chap. 21 — by a copyist's error? Why this learned man should suspect a copyist's error I do not sufficiently understand, since he himself too might have attributed fewer years to St. Bertinus's rule, if from the year 659 or 660, at which he begins St. Bertinus's rule in tom. 1 of the Annals pag. 454, he had wished to count the years down to the year 709, in which he writes that St. Bertinus died, tom. 2 pag. 23. Still less do I grasp why in the same place he says that the Saint died in the hundred and twelfth year of his age, and the fifty-ninth from the first founding of the monastery of Sithiu. For that fifty-ninth year does not suit any of the epochs given by him before. Malbrancq, On the Morini book 4 chap. 49, without much examination refers the Saint's death to the year 698 with the writers of Saint-Bertin, who all went off into that opinion. Le Cointe at the year 702 num. 31 and 32 also disputes of these matters. He believes that St. Bertinus died in the year 702, because Folquin the deacon attributes fifty-four years to St. Bertinus's rule, and Le Cointe begins these from the year 648. Le Cointe's reckoning is exact, but neither are the years of St. Bertinus's rule to be begun from the year 648, nor does Folquin's opinion seem true, as we shall prove. The same Le Cointe ascribes only ninety years of age to the Saint, but he brings no fitting reasons.

[139] But now, that the investigation of all these things may be made more accurate, the Saint died about the year 709: a few things must be observed. First, the more ancient writers of the Life recorded neither the year of his death, nor the years of his age or of his rule. Yet the second anonymous writer sheds some light when he narrates that the Saint substituted Rigobert for himself while he lived, and then Erlefridus, and at last died in the reign of Childebert. For since Rigobert was still presiding in the tenth year of Childebert, that is, of Christ 704, as I showed at num. 134, Bertinus was certainly living in that year. Secondly, Folquin the deacon in the X century collected all the charters of the monastery of Saint-Bertin, and from them could more nearly investigate the year of the Saint's death. And he, on the testimony of de Clety in the annotations transmitted to me, asserts that Bertinus died in the fifteenth year of Childebert, which Folcard and the anonymous Compiler in Mabillon faithfully followed. All those indeed compound the fifteenth year of Childebert with the year 698; but in this they erred after their wonted manner, as often as they attempted to compound the years of the kings with the years of Christ. And so, since Folquin, the author of this opinion, found in the charters of that time only the years of the kings, these alone are to be considered. And the fifteenth year of Childebert concurs with the year 709, which for this cause Mabillon rightly expressed. And that this is not far from the truth I gather from the charter obtained by Erlefridus in the XIII year of Childebert, that is, two years before, because John of Ypres writes that this was obtained while Bertinus lived. Yet because Folquin was not so near to St. Bertinus, nor so exact a chronographer, that he could not err by a year or two, I do not determine the year 709 as certain, but judge that St. Bertinus's death is to be placed about the year 709.

[140] Further, as regards the years of St. Bertinus's age and rule, the years of his rule and age were not rightly reckoned by the writers, the assertions of the writers of the Life about these deserve slight credit, both because they perpetually err in reckoning years, and because the more ancient writers were silent about them, so that it seems certain that the later writers found nothing about the years of his age and rule in the more ancient monuments, but wrote down only their own conjectures, drawn from the reckoning of the years of the kings or from other enumerations. Folquin gave only the years of rule, and said that they were fifty-four. But that opinion cannot stand, whether we begin the Saint's rule from the building of the Old Monastery, or from the foundation of the abbey of Sithiu, or from that time at which St. Bertinus was really created abbot after Mummolinus: for from the time of the building of either monastery until the Saint's death more years are found; from the time of his taking up the rule, fewer. Folcard set down from the building of the monastery of Sithiu until Bertinus's death fifty-nine years, and this the anonymous Compiler and John of Ypres adopted. This reckoning is not far from the truth, and would be altogether exact if it were established that the Saint died in the year 707. But since those very men bound his death to the fifteenth year of Childebert, which is the year 709, from the year 648, in which the abbey was built, until 709, sixty-one years must be counted. But the time from the building of the Old Monastery, which the anonymous Compiler of the XIII century first expressed, and John of Ypres afterward adopted, I judge to be not of 73 years, as they have it, but of nearly seventy years, which are found from the year 639 until 709.

[141] here they are more accurately expressed. Lastly, of St. Bertinus's age, which John of Ypres with the praised anonymous writer extends to 112 years, this is certain, that the Saint reached a very long-lived age. I add also that the Saint's life is not probably enough circumscribed by Le Cointe within ninety years, since thus he would have been only about twenty years old when he came to St. Audomarus, which is not probable. Wherefore Le Cointe perhaps errs not less widely than John of Ypres: for if he counted thirty years of age or more when he came to Audomarus, as is probable enough, he filled out or exceeded a hundred years of age. But to wish to express the years of his life accurately is to divine without sufficient reason. This only therefore about his age it will suffice me to have said, that the Saint lived to an altogether decrepit age, which may not be far from a hundred years, and may even exceed them; but that he died nearly seventy years after his first coming to St. Audomarus and the building of the first monastery; about sixty-one after the foundation of the abbey of Sithiu; and in nearly the fiftieth year after taking up the government of that abbey, since the beginning of this is to be placed about the year 659, as was said at num. 69.

. Perhaps vivens.*

§ XIII. The Saint's cult begun in the VIII century: his memory in the Fasti: two translations of his body.

[ ] The Saint's cult begun a few years after his death: Mabillon in the Work On Diplomatics book 6 pag. 610 testifies that in the charter of a certain presbyter Felix, given in the 3rd year of Childeric III, this is read of the monastery of Sithiu: To the monastery of Sithiu, which is in honor of SS. Peter and Paul the apostles, and of St. Martin, and of St. Bertinus the confessor, where that Lord himself rests in body &c. And from the fact that in this charter something is first read of St. Bertinus's cult, Mabillon says: From this letter we learn at what time Bertinus was endowed with the name of Saint. The same he observes in tom. 2 of the Annals at the year 743 pag. 121. But that most illustrious man Domenico Giorgi did not rightly grasp his meaning, who published at Rome in the year 1745 the Martyrology of Ado illustrated with many annotations, when at the V of September he noted that the words adduced above are found in a charter of king Childeric, whereas Mabillon gave them from the charter of Felix, given in the III year of Childeric. And the third year of Childeric concurs with the year 744 or 745: for many writers will have it that Childeric III obtained the name of king in the year 743; but Pagi contends that he was already called king in the year 742. He may be consulted at the year 742 num. 18 and following: for it is not necessary to our purpose

to investigate more diligently the 1st year of Childeric. But now from the observation given it is rightly gathered that at that time Bertinus enjoyed the name of Saint; but Mabillon brought forward nothing from which it may certainly be gathered that Bertinus's cult and the name of Saint did not begin some years earlier. Wherefore, since John of Ypres, praised at num. 136, says that by abbot Erlefridus, who survived the Saint about twelve years, an altar of veneration was built at the head of the tomb, I judge that St. Bertinus's cult was begun a few years after his blessed passing out of this life. That his body was probably raised in the same century I shall show below.

[143] Mabillon asserts that St. Bertinus's memory was inserted by Florus, Ado and Usuard in genuine Martyrologies. the Saint's memory first inserted in the sacred Fasti by Usuard, But this is not true of Ado, and for that cause it is more probable that the words about Bertinus which have been inserted into Florus's Martyrology are not his either, although Sollier too cites those words under the name of Florus in the Observations on Usuard at the day V of September, because they are read in the additions of Florus to Bede, published by us before tom. 2 of March. For since the writings of Florus, as well as those of Bede, shone before Ado, Wandelbert and Rabanus, none of whom celebrated St. Bertinus's memory, I can scarcely doubt that St. Bertinus was likewise passed over, or rather unknown, by Florus; especially since Sollier himself in the preface to Usuard chap. 1 art. 2 sufficiently showed that those additions are not to be attributed to Florus, which Papebroch had adjudged to him in the praised Martyrology. Wherefore Usuard was the first to announce St. Bertinus, and the only one among the ancients, in these words at the V of September: On the same day, of St. Bertinus the abbot. In the Prato codex, which Bouillart published without a name, and which he contends is the original, is read: In the district of Thérouanne, of St. Bertinus the abbot. The editor confesses that in Usuard's original, which was offered to Charles the Bald, the former words stood, and so acknowledges that these are certainly Usuard's. But he observes the following: Which, since it was against our author's custom (Usuard's, because the place was omitted), he deleted the whole line, and restored it in a smaller form of letters, that there might be space in which he might designate the place where Bertinus was chiefly venerated. It is a conjecture which I should altogether approve if it were established that those changes which were made in the Prato codex after the publication of the Work are certainly Usuard's own. But since it is not probable that Usuard before the publication of his Work was ignorant of the place where Bertinus was chiefly venerated, and since nevertheless he did not then express that place, it becomes not very probable that this is his correction.

[144] The announcement which was believed to be Florus's runs thus: afterward announced by many more recent writers: On the same day, the deposition of St. Bertinus, confessor and monk: who, prudent in divine things and simple in evil, shone with divine virtues. In the supplements to Ado in Giorgi praised above: On the same day, the birthday of St. Bertinus the abbot, a man of great sanctity and innocence []. This author strayed from Sollier's meaning when he noted this: Sollier judges that Usuard took it from Florus rather than from others, because he saw that Bertinus was absent from Ado's copies. For of the eulogy which he knew was attributed to Florus he says: That Usuard saw this is by no means probable. Our manuscript Florarium celebrates Bertinus thus: On the same day, of St. Bertinus the abbot, a man of great sanctity and innocence, in the place which is called Sirius (Sithiu), which he himself built in honor of St. Peter the apostle, where, prudent in divine things, simple in evil, he shone with divine virtues. The Martyrology of Auxerre, which Martène published in tom. 6 of the Amplest Collection, briefly in this manner: On the same day, the birthday of St. Bertinus the abbot. To these may be added very many moderns, of whom some wove longer eulogies, others shorter. But it will be enough to add the words of the Roman Martyrology, which briefly announces the Saint in this manner: In the district of Thérouanne, in the monastery of Sithin (rather, Sithiu), of St. Bertinus the abbot.* The faults which occur in the more prolix eulogies of some may be corrected from what has been said before in this Commentary.

[145] likewise two translations and the finding of the body inscribed in the Fasti. Besides the chief festivity, two translations of the body, as also the finding, are inscribed in the Fasti. Of these Mabillon in the Preliminary Observations writes thus: Besides, St. Bertinus's Hiding, made by Folquin in the IX century, is inscribed in the ancient Calendars at the XVII of the Kalends of August; the Elevation, celebrated in the XI century by Wido archbishop of Reims, at the VI of the Nones of May; the Translation lastly into a more precious shrine in the XIII century by Peter bishop of the Morini, at the XVII of the Kalends of August. Three Translations indeed Mabillon comprised in these words, but he assigned only two days, because the first and third were performed on the same day, the XVI of July, on which day I find the first translation or Hiding of the body chiefly celebrated: but whether the third was celebrated at the same time I do not find. Receive the words of Molanus in the Supplements to Usuard: In the monastery of Sithiu, the body of the holy father Bertinus is translated and laid up by blessed Folquin in the year DCCCXLVI. The finding of the body is likewise commemorated by many moderns on the day XVI of June, on which we shall see that it befell in the year 1050. Let us hear Molanus again: In the monastery of Sithiu, the finding of the most precious body of St. Bertinus, which was found beneath the chief altar [] of St. Martin, where formerly it had been translated and laid up by blessed Folquin in the year DCCCXLVI. And it lay nearly two hundred and six years (before it was elevated in the year 1052), whereas at first it had rested in its own sepulchre CXLIX years. The same Molanus lastly at the 2nd of May has thus of the Elevation: In the monastery of Sithiu, the glorious Elevation of the most precious body of Bertinus, the confessor of Christ and abbot, which was made in the year of the Lord's Incarnation one thousand and fifty-two. Of these more may be seen in our Work among the Prætermissi* at the XVI of July, the XVI of June and the 2nd of May, where several martyrologists are cited.

[146] The first translation made in the year 846; Of the first of these translations abbot Bovo treats in the little Work to be published below at num. 22, and says it was made in the third year of abbot Adalard, of Christ 843, if the passage is rightly printed, and no fault has crept in by the transcribers' fault. The anonymous writer who enlarged the first book of the Miracles, and who took everything from Bovo, in Mabillon pag. 125 expressed the time of the translation thus: In the reign of the same Charles (the Bald), in the third year of the rule of abbot Adalard, the aforesaid prelate (Folquin) placed the deserving limbs of St. Bertinus, wonderfully arranged, in the year of the Lord's Incarnation eight hundred and forty-six (in the manuscripts 843), in a more secret place than they had been before … and ordained that this should be a solemn day for us, which is the seventeenth of the Kalends of August: where until these our latest times, namely for two hundred and fifty years, our Nourisher and Shepherd lay hidden. The author gave almost Bovo's own words. But the translation does not seem to have been made in the year 643, but 846; nor did he lie hidden there two hundred and fifty years, as is printed in both places; but only 204 years until the finding, or 206 years, if we count the years until the elevation. John of Ypres at chap. 13 part. 1 asserts that abbot Adalard was created in the year of the Lord DCCCXLIV; and subjoins the translation in these words: In the third year of this abbot the blessed prelate Folquin, foreseeing by a prophetic spirit the destruction of this place by the Danes shortly to come, translated the body of Bl. Bertinus and laid it up in the earth in secret from the abbot and some of the seniors of the community: and ordained that the feast of this translation should be kept on the XVII of the Kalends of August. The third year of Adalard concurs, according to John of Ypres, with the year 846, so that I strongly suspect that Bovo was of the same opinion; nay rather, I can scarcely doubt of this: for in the charter which was placed with the body at the elevation, and cited in the instrument of the third translation to be given at num. 152, the body is said to have been laid up until the elevation for two hundred and six years. Wherefore I judge it more probable that that first translation was performed in the year 846.

[147] Of the day and year of the finding and of the elevation that followed, Bovo, the finding in the year 1050, and the anonymous writer copying out his words, agree with the other monuments of Saint-Bertin: for everywhere the finding is said to have befallen on the day XVI of June, and in the year 1050; but the elevation on the 2nd of May of the year 1052. John of Ypres did not express the time of the finding, but only of the elevation, writing thus of both at chap. 37 part. 1: In the repairing of this church the body of blessed Bertinus the abbot, long since laid up in the earth by blessed Folquin, now beneath the chief altar of St. Martin, where it had lain hidden more than two hundred years, our lord abbot Bovo found; and, with many miracles attesting, solemnly elevated it, and appointed that the day of its elevation should be solemnly celebrated every year on the sixth of the Nones of May, at which time, namely, a fair was then held in this villa according to custom. This elevation was made in the year of the Lord MLII, the IX of the lord abbot Bovo, in the reign of Leo IX the Pope, of the emperor Henry II, of Henry I king of the Franks, of Baldwin of Lille count of Flanders, and of Eustace of Guînes. I see nothing to be corrected in these, unless perhaps the ninth year of abbot Bovo: for in the writing which was found with the body in the year 1237, the deed is said to have been performed in the fifteenth year of the rule of the lord abbot Bovo. Both cannot be true: there is a fault in that writing, or John of Ypres erred; and I wonder that Mabillon did not see this in the Annals tom. 4 pag. 665, where he narrated Bovo's death and the years of his rule according to John of Ypres's opinion.

[148] An account of the aforesaid finding and elevation, from the manuscript Catalogue of the abbots of Saint-Bertin, was formerly transmitted to our Elders as follows: and the elevation or second translation in the year 1052. Bovo, the XXXVIII [] abbot of Saint-Bertin, while he was watching over the repair of the church of Sithiu, found the shrine of the lord Bertinus, hidden for several centuries, in the year ML, at the XVI of the Kalends of July, a silver cross being found beneath his right hand with this inscription, Saint Bertinus abbot: which, when he had transmitted it to Leo IX the Supreme Pontiff, a council of the Fathers being moreover gathered from all Rome, by Apostolic mandate Wido pontiff of Reims afterward elevated it at the VI of the Nones of May, there standing by Drogo bishop of the Morini, Heremarus of St. Remigius, Alfridus of St. Vulmarus, Gervinus of St. Richarius, Fulbert of St. Bavo, Rumoldus [] of St. Winnocus, Herbert of St. Judocus on the sea, and Walo [] of St. Walaricus, abbots; Athela likewise, the most noble daughter of Robert king of the Franks, wife of Baldwin of Lille, being present with her brother Eudes, who, devoted to holy Bertinus, delivered over the cloth for receiving the sacred pledges; in the reign of Leo IX the Pope, of the emperor Henry II, of Henry I king of the Franks, of Baldwin of Lille count of Flanders, and of Eustace of Guînes.* This account agrees with the charter found with the body at the time of the third translation, in which the same persons are said to have been present; and from which I have corrected the names of some here faultily written.

[149] The body is said to have been carried to other Since the given epoch of the finding and of the elevation,

which is most certain, I cannot compound what is read in the published Chronicle of John of Ypres chap. 26 part. 2, where this is the title: Of the carrying of the bodies of the holy Audomarus and Bertinus beyond the Rhine, and of the miracles there wrought by them. Then the matter is thus narrated: Abbot Regenoldus, at the bidding of count Arnulf, carried the relics of the holy Audomarus and Bertinus across the Rhine beyond Nijmegen, where the emperor was then residing, that they might claim their lands for themselves. In which carrying a miracle happened in the harbor of Tiel concerning the keeper of that church, who blasphemed the said Saints and forbade them entrance into the church, and was at once there struck by God and died. Which miracle greatly stirred the emperor and the people to devotion. The business being at length prosperously accomplished, and the church of Fresquenas received by royal donation, he returned home with the aforesaid relics of the Saints. Since these things are related as done after the middle of the X century, when Regenoldus was abbot, they cannot be true of St. Bertinus's body, which then lay hidden. But whether they are true of St. Audomarus's body, of which alone I find this related in his manuscript Miracles, will be examined at the IX of September. For the rest, the emperor, here set down without a name, is Otto I; Nijmegen is a city of Guelders on the river Waal, to which likewise adjoins the town of Tiel, commonly called Tiel, and distant about seven miles from Nijmegen.

[150] certain places: but most of it is to be understood of a part of the relics. Further, what follows in John of Ypres about St. Bertinus's body being carried about because of a sign of the cross appearing on men's garments, cannot for the same reason be true, unless perhaps both are to be understood of the relics which were kept in the monastery of Sithiu as relics of St. Bertinus, and which, when the body was found, were judged to be of another Saint, as may be seen in the little Work of abbot Bovo at num. 25 and 26. But what the same writer narrates at chap. 39 part. 2 about the body being carried to Ostresela, that in the presence of the Saint's body disputes might be settled, is said to have been done in the year 1087, and therefore may be true. But the matter is of slight moment, and contributes little to our purpose; and for that cause I pass on to other things. Bolland in tom. 1 of February pag. 48, in the Acts of St. Eubertus the bishop, cites Meyer, book 3 of the Annals of Flanders, writing of the dedication of the church of Hasnon in Hainaut performed in the year 1070, and asserting that at that dedication there was present the body of St. Bertinus with the bodies of twenty-four other Saints, men or women. I suspect that this must be understood of some particle of the relics, since it is little probable that so many bodies of Saints were carried from far distant places to one dedication. In the same way perhaps must be understood what is narrated in the Life of St. Gudwal the bishop, tom. 1 of June pag. 743, about the relics of SS. Audomarus and Bertinus being carried in the X century to Harlebeke, and to the monastery of Blandinium, which was then near Ghent, and is now enclosed within the enlarged city. At that time St. Bertinus's body lay hidden, but the relics just mentioned could be carried thither together with St. Audomarus's relics, that they might honor the bodies of SS. Gudwal and Bertulf, which were being carried to Blandinium.

. That is, innocentiæ.*

. altari.*

*. In John of Ypres XXXVII.

. Elsewhere Renuldo.*

. Elsewhere Wasone.*

§ XIV. The translation of the body into a more elegant shrine, which is the third commonly known and the last: but another elevation or translation of the body probably preceded all the aforesaid: the head and other relics kept separately.

[ ] The translation of the year 1237, In the year 1237 another translation of the sacred body was made, of which John of Ypres writes briefly, but erring by three years in assigning the year. The glorious translation of holy Bertinus, he says at chap. 47 part. 3, was made by the lord Peter bishop of the Morini, at the request [] of our lord abbot James, there standing by the bishop of Arras, William abbot of St. Winnocus, John of Auchy, and very many others, in the year MCCXXXIV*; rather 1237, as is plain from the instrument of the translation itself. This is inserted into the Life published by Mabillon pag. 152: in it the two preceding translations are reported: and it contains entire the very writing which had been placed with the body in the second translation. Wherefore I transfer that instrument hither from Mabillon.

[152] Peter by the grace of God bishop of the Morini, and Asso by the grace of God bishop of Arras, whose instrument, to all the faithful of Christ to whom the notice of these presents shall come, eternal salvation in Christ. When, to the honor of God, who is believed to be honored in his Saints, a translation was being made of the body of Bl. Bertinus the abbot from the shrine in which it had lain for a hundred and eighty-five years, as could be evidently weighed from a writing found in the same place, that most holy body was found in the said shrine carefully wrapped and bound in silken cloths, though greatly worn with age, and sealed with authentic seals: and when it had been loosed and opened, there was found among those holy bones a silver cross, on which was plainly written in capital letters, Saint Bertinus abbot. Then, by those who searched more diligently within the aforesaid cloths, there was found that writing laid up of which we made mention above, whose tenor was as follows.

[153] "In the year of the Lord's Incarnation one thousand and fifty-two, with the instrument of the preceding translation inserted, Indiction five, in the twenty-fourth year of the reign of Henry king of the Franks, and in the eighteenth year of the prelacy of the lord Wido archbishop of the church of Reims, in the twenty-ninth year of Drogo bishop of the church of Thérouanne, the renowned marquis Baldwin holding the principate of the region of Flanders in his seventieth [] year, in the fifteenth [] year of the rule of the lord abbot Bovo, the body of the most blessed father Bertinus, which not two full years before had been found beneath the chief altar of St. Martin, was raised on the sixth of the Nones of May by the same lord bishops from the leaden shrine, from that place where formerly it was translated and laid up by holy Folquin. And this was the cause of this finding, nay of this raising. The monastery, ruined by fire, threatened to fall: and while for its restoration a crypt was being made, and its foundations laid, unlooked-for there appeared the clod of that most holy body. It had lain in the sarcophagus in which it was buried by Helfridus [], whom he himself while yet living had ordained abbot, nearly a hundred and forty-nine years: but in the leaden shrine in which (as we have said) it was laid up in the earth beneath the altar by St. Folquin, two hundred and six years until our own time: at which it was raised, there being present men of good testimony and approved life, namely Wido the archbishop and Drogo the bishop, in the presence of the lady countess Athela [], wife of the aforesaid marquis, who in this office most devoutly served God and holy Bertinus; there being present also these abbots: Bovo abbot of this place, Heremarus abbot of the monastery of St. Remigius, Renuldus abbot of St. Winnocus, Gervinus abbot of St. Richarius, Folbertus abbot of St. Bavo, Heribertus abbot of St. Judocus, Waso abbot of St. Walaricus, Alfridus abbot of St. Vulmarus; and of the canons of the church of Reims, Olricus, Constantius, Hugh; of the clerics of the church of Thérouanne, John the archdeacon, Theodoric, Gozelinus, Baldwin, and very many others; of Saint-Omer, Regardus, Norbert, Aubertus, Odbertus, Margerus, Rembold. All these being present, with an innumerable multitude, he was raised and laid in this shrine, Blessed through all. Amen." On which day also the Lord wrought three miracles by his merits.

[154] is recited entire: The said body therefore, having been becomingly transferred from the aforesaid shrine into another new one, was translated by us and laid in a new chest, prepared for this honorably of gold and silver and precious stones, on the XVII of the Kalends of August, namely on the fourth feria before the feast of Mary Magdalen, in the year of grace one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven, in the reign of the most excellent Louis king of the Franks, the son of Louis, and his renowned brother Robert holding the county of Arras at the beginning of his county; the grace of God our Savior going before all and working with them, who will refashion the bodies of the Saints, conformed to the brightness of his own body. And this translation was made solemnly by us and through us in the church of the aforesaid Saint, there being present very many abbots and provosts and other prelates of churches and other good men, James, then venerable abbot of the church of Bl. Bertinus, presiding. In testimony whereof we have caused the present letter to be strengthened with our seals, in the year of the Lord one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven, on the seventeenth of the Kalends of August.

[155] various observations upon it. A few things must be observed on this instrument. First, the Saint is said to have lain in the sarcophagus in which he was first buried nearly a hundred and forty-nine years. So it was believed in the XI century, and by that reckoning he would have died in the year 697, because they believed he was translated by Folquin in the year 846. But that the Saint died later I have shown in its own place: nor can the opinion of the XI century have much weight, since in the VII century the years were not counted from the Lord's Incarnation, which the writers of that time ill gathered from the assigned years of the kings. Secondly, the years from the first translation to the second are accurately counted as two hundred and six, namely from the year 846 to 1052. Thirdly, the years from the second translation to the third are rightly computed as a hundred and eighty-five, namely from the year 1052 to 1237. Fourthly, Robert had been created count of Artois in the same year by his brother St. Louis the king, as may be seen in the Acts of this holy king, tom. 5 of August pag. 352: and from this too the assigned epoch of the translation is confirmed. Fifthly, it must nevertheless be corrected in this instrument that the translation is said to have been made on the fourth feria, and the fifth must be read, as Mabillon has already noted, since in the year 1237 the day XVI of July fell on the fifth feria, as is gathered from the Dominical letter D.

[156] Thus far I have treated of the translations of the whole body commonly known and altogether certain. Another elevation of the body probably made But the often-praised helper of Saint-Bertin taught me that another elevation or translation of the body was probably made before all those just mentioned. This is the reason. Folquin the deacon in his Chartulary writes that he was offered by his parents to St. Bertinus and led to the monastery in the year of the Incarnation of our most blessed Lord Jesus Christ CMXLIX, on the day of the festivity of the Elevation of St. Bertinus, which follows the festivity of All Saints. And so in the X century the Elevation of St. Bertinus was celebrated on the day 2nd of November, since the feast of All Saints, celebrated from that time, has to this day been on the 1st of November. But the festivity of the first translation, which was made in the IX century by St. Folquin, was not kept on the 2nd of November, but on the XVI of July. The festivity of the translation therefore was distinct from the festivity of the elevation; and already in the X century some elevation of the body had been made besides the translation performed by St. Folquin, since it is not probable that a twofold festivity was instituted for one translation. For which

cause it is exceedingly probable that the sacred body of St. Bertinus was raised for the first time in the VIII century, or before the middle of the IX century: for this elevation cannot have been made after the Saint's body was laid up in the year 846.

[157] It may indeed be objected first that in the instrument of translation just given at num. 153 the body is said to have lain in the sepulchre nearly a hundred and forty-nine years without any mention of an elevation. before the first translation. Secondly it may be objected that of this elevation there is deep silence among all the writers of Saint-Bertin; and that the said festivity of the elevation is read as commemorated in no Fasti, or celebrated afterward. But the silence both of the writers and of the Fasti can be of little hindrance, when Folquin at least speaks: for like things are often omitted by the writers of Lives and by historiographers, nor do they always become known to martyrologists. And this festivity of the elevation seems to have been afterward omitted, perhaps because another elevation began to be celebrated in the XI century, by which the festivity of the former could the more easily be abrogated. Wherefore neither the silence of the writers nor the omission of the festivity can bring it about that it should not be probable that St. Bertinus's body was raised before it was laid up by St. Folquin. But that in the instrument of the translation it is insinuated that he lay nearly 149 years in the sepulchre, may have come about by an error, because no account of the elevation had been preserved.

[158] After the other translations related above, of which the last is that of the year 1237, The shrine was first opened in the year 1395; I find none afterward made. Hence the precious chest into which the sacred body was transferred in the year 1237 seems to be that very one in which it is still kept. This has been opened and visited three times, namely in the year 1395 by James III, abbot of Saint-Bertin, who found the sacred bones most decently wrapped in linen cloths, and sealed with four great and authentic seals; and the instrument of the last translation laid upon the sacred bones, which he read through. But keeping the seals whole, and replacing the instrument of the translation in its own place, he closed the chest again, and left everything in the same state; as he himself testifies in the Acts drawn up concerning that visitation.

[159] [then again in the year 1464, when a part of the head was translated into another shrine:] The second visitation of the sacred body was made in the year 1464 by William II, abbot of Saint-Bertin and bishop of Tournai. The Acts of this visitation are not now found, but from other monuments of Saint-Bertin the following have been communicated to me. The bishop-abbot caused to be made an elegant half-length statue of gilded silver, and adorned it most splendidly with gems, precious stones and diamonds. And into this shrine, on the day V of September, on the very festivity of St. Bertinus, he translated a great part of the same Saint's head. This most precious shrine with the chief part of the head is to this day kept apart from the rest of the body with other relics in the sacristy of the church of Saint-Bertin, where I surveyed it in person in the year 1746. And it is exposed to the veneration of the faithful on the festivities of St. Bertinus and on certain others. From a drawing of smaller size, which the Religious of Saint-Bertin courteously sent from Saint-Omer, I here exhibit it engraved on copper on the following page. And that this part of the head was separated from the rest of the body in that visitation of the body in the year 1464 seems certain enough, both because the often-praised de Clety testifies from the Annals of Saint-Bertin that at that time it was placed on the half-length statue by William the bishop and abbot, the bishops of Amiens and of Arras being present with fifteen abbots, and because from no monument is it gathered that that sacred pledge was earlier separated from the rest of the body, or kept apart. It is not incredible that several relics were separated on the same occasion; but of others I find nothing.

[160] thirdly in the year 1688, when relics were sent to Poperinge. The third visitation of the body was made in the year 1688 by abbot Benedict, at the prayers, I suppose, of the clergy and magistrate of the town of Poperinge in Flanders. For, on de Clety's testimony, the praised abbot on the X of August gave to the clergy, magistrate and people of Poperinge a part of the lower jaw, to which two teeth adhered, that they might be honored at Poperinge in the church of St. Bertinus, which is the first parish there. And the magistrate of Poperinge, showing himself grateful for the benefit received, every year on the feast of the translation, the XVI of July, sends to Saint-Omer a candle of two pounds, to burn in the church of Saint-Bertin before the shrine in which the sacred body is kept.

[161] The shrine is described, which is carried about in times of need. Further, this sacred treasure is still kept enclosed in the same shrine in which it was placed in the year 1237; but new ornaments were from time to time added to the shrine by the abbots of Saint-Bertin. De Clety describes it to me in French, as I express his words in Latin: It is made of silver and gilded brass, seven feet long, two broad, and about three high. The goldsmith's works with which it is covered represent the history of St. Bertinus's life. The first front is adorned with the effigy of the Savior, whom two angels accompany; the other exhibits the effigy of the Virgin and likewise of two angels. The whole shrine, as long as it is, exhibits statues of SS. Audomarus, Bertinus, Folquin, Silvinus, of the twelve Apostles and of four Prophets. On the same testimony, it is placed on the top of the chief altar. By an ancient and religiously observed usage, when the people, whether by reason of the necessity of the time or of contagious diseases, beg that St. Bertinus's shrine be let down from on high, this is not done save at the same moment of time at which the shrine of St. Audomarus, kept in his church, is let down, the bell of each church giving the signal. Then those two shrines are not raised again to their place before they have been carried about in a long and general procession of suppliants. Some relics kept in other places. Thus far concerning the Saint's body.

[162] For the rest, it cannot be doubted that some particles of this sacred treasure were carried away to other places. Of those carried to Poperinge I have treated above. Here I subjoin the few which offer themselves. Raissius in the Belgian Hierogazophylacium, reckoning up the relics of the cathedral church of Bruges dedicated to St. Donatian, numbers among them at pag. 200 a tooth of St. Bertinus and a bone from his hand. The same at pag. 128, among the sacred treasure of the nunnery of Bourbourg of the Order of St. Benedict, reckons something of St. Bertinus the abbot. I suspect that more are kept in other places; but to investigate all the particles of relics would be of far more labor than profit.

. That is, preces.*

*. It is a fault.

*. Perhaps it is a fault.

. Elsewhere Erlefrido.*

. Adalæ or Athalæ.*

§ XV. The various festivities of St. Bertinus.

[ ] The Saint's chief festivity is celebrated with a vigil and an octave, Thus far I have treated only of the antiquity of St. Bertinus's cult, of the Fasti which record him, and of the various translations of his body and relics. For the full elucidation therefore of this Saint's posthumous glory it seems to remain that his various solemnities be also briefly set forth. Of these the first and chief is celebrated on the day V of September, on which the Saint passed from mortal life to immortal. This solemnity is thus recorded in the old manuscript Martyrology of the monastery of Sithiu at the Nones of September: In the district of Thérouanne, in the monastery called Sithiu, the deposition of our kindly father Bertinus, abbot and confessor, who, notable in life and in miracles, in the year from the Lord's Incarnation DCXCVIII passed to the Lord. Of the year of his death I have discoursed in §12: but here I treat only of the solemnity of the day of his death. This is performed in the abbey of Saint-Bertin with a most solemn rite, with a preceding vigil and a following Octave. And the vigil indeed is performed in that manner in which the vigil of the Lord's Nativity is, so that the Office of the vigil from Lauds is sung with a double rite. On that vigil the abbot of St. Silvinus of Auchy, who is always taken from the abbey of Saint-Bertin, celebrates a solemn Mass with pontifical apparatus. At the first Vespers the abbot of Auchy performs the Office together with the abbot of Saint-Bertin. But on the festivity itself the abbot of Saint-Bertin sings the solemn Mass; and then the abbot of Auchy with two cantors sings the Alleluia in the choir. The second Vespers lastly are performed as the first. These few things I have set forth from the account of the festivity communicated to me, that from them an easy conjecture may be had of the whole solemnity.

[164] Besides, this festivity was formerly, until the beginning of this century, celebrated by the people of Saint-Omer with a holiday from work, and formerly also with a holiday from work. as is now done within the enclosure of the abbey: and St. Bertinus at Saint-Omer has always been held for a secondary patron and the Apostle of that territory. Hence a sermon delivered on the Saint's solemnity, which Mabillon published at the end of the Acts, thus begins: Rejoice, most beloved brethren, in the Lord, you who have come together to the solemnities of our most holy father and protector, namely St. Bertinus, and be glad with spiritual gladness, and from the inmost affection of your heart praise the clemency of our Lord Jesus Christ, who deigned to lead us from the errors of idolatry to the knowledge of his holy name through the preaching of this holy Priest. Nevertheless, when in the year 1703 or 1704, as de Clety wrote to me, the most illustrious Louis Alphonse de Valbelle, bishop of Saint-Omer, judged that many feasts at once which were celebrated with a holiday from work should be abrogated, he mingled St. Bertinus's festivity with them: which perhaps was not done without grief of the people, who are wont to venerate their patrons above the other Saints, especially since the city of Saint-Omer seems to owe its increase as much to St. Bertinus as to St. Audomarus himself.

[165] Another feast of St. Bertinus, on which servile works likewise cease within the enclosure of the monastery, The feast of the Translation also solemn on the XVI of July; is celebrated on the XVI of July. Its cause the praised Martyrology of Sithiu declares in these words: On the same day the body of the holy father Bertinus is translated and laid up by Bl. Folquin in the year of the Lord's Incarnation eight hundred and forty-six. That this festivity is ancient, and was instituted by St. Folquin himself, is gathered from the little Work of Bovo to be given below at num. 22: for, on his testimony, he ordained that the translations both of St. Bertinus and of St. Audomarus should be celebrated more magnificently on distinct days of the seasons by the whole people of his diocese. These and other things subjoined in the same place insinuate that St. Folquin wished the festivity of the translation to be celebrated with a holiday from work. But this is more clearly gathered from the first three miracles, which may be read below in the Appendix. Now the celebrity of this festivity is less and less widely extended; yet it is even now great in the abbey of Saint-Bertin, where his Translation is venerated with a double Office of the second class.

[166] That the first elevation of the body was probably celebrated on the day 2nd of November [The feast of the Elevation formerly on the 2nd of May, now on the IV of the same month:] I have shown by a probable reason at num. 156. But since this festivity is known from one place only, and therefore does not seem altogether certain, I pass to the festivity of the other elevation, by which the former could have been abrogated, if it was really in use. The Martyrology of Sithiu has thus of it at the day 2nd of May: In the monastery of Sithiu, the glorious elevation of the most precious body of Bertinus, the confessor of Christ and abbot, which

was made in the year of the Lord's Incarnation one thousand and fifty-two. That that elevation was long celebrated on the day 2nd of May, de Clety testifies in a letter given me very lately. But, he says, for some time it has yielded its place to the feast of St. Walbert, which is celebrated with a double Office of the second class. And the Elevation is now celebrated on the day IV of May with the rite of a greater double.

[167] [The Finding indeed inserted in the Martyrology, yet not celebrated with an Office.] As regards the finding of the body, which we have seen commemorated in certain modern Fasti, it has a place also in the Martyrology of Sithiu, where it is reported in this manner at the day XVI of June: On the same day, the finding of the most precious body of the holy father Bertinus, which in the year of the Lord's Incarnation one thousand and fifty was found beneath the chief altar of St. Martin, where formerly, translated and laid up by Bl. Folquin, it lay nearly two hundred and six years, whereas at first it had rested in its own sepulchre nearly a hundred and forty-nine years. These words indeed may bring in some suspicion of a feast of the finding formerly celebrated: but de Clety testifies that no trace is found in the Calendars or Breviaries of Sithiu of that feast ever having been celebrated: and thence he deservedly judges that it was never in use, as it is not in use at this time. Certainly if we look at the matter itself, it will not appear probable that any feast of the finding was instituted before the elevation of the body had been made. But when the elevation had been performed, one festivity seems to have been instituted by which the finding and the elevation should be celebrated together under the title of the Elevation, for which the finding had been necessary. Yet the finding could also be inserted separately in the Martyrology, that the memory of that happy event might be the better preserved. These things about St. Bertinus's cult being set forth, I subjoin the various Acts, which I could wish were as copious and accurate as the Sanctity of so great a Man deserves.

LIFE

by an anonymous author

From our manuscript codex.

Bertinus, abbot, at Saint-Omer in Belgium (S.)

BHL Number: 0000

By an Anonymous author.

CHAPTER I.

The coming of St. Bertinus and his companions to St. Audomarus: a twofold monastery built: Bertinus is made abbot after Mummolinus: he buries St. Audomarus.

[ ] The coming of St. Bertinus and his companions to St. Audomarus, Not long after this, to blessed Audomarus ^a, from the aforesaid region of Constance ^b, three men of one mind, Mummolinus and Bertramnus and holy Bertinus, came together, leaving also, according to the Lord's precept, parents, country and all their kinsfolk. And St. Audomarus graciously received the aforesaid servants of God, giving immense thanks to the almighty Lord, who had brought him such helpers for preaching the Gospel. For the aforesaid men were perfect in the Catholic faith, and learned in ecclesiastical disciplines and in the divine Scripture. A small space of time having passed after these things, St. Audomarus with the aforesaid blessed men, the divine grace goading him, thought to found a monastery in God's name. For he had, the divine mercy bestowing it on him, a fit place for monks to dwell in.

[2] For there was a certain powerful man, Adrowaldus by name, with whose help they build the monastery called the Old: exceedingly rich in the vain riches of this world: whom blessed Audomarus converted from the error of heathenism to the Catholic faith, and whom with all his household he baptized. And Adrowaldus, by a prudent counsel spurning the deceitful riches of the present world, and having no son, offered a great part of his inheritance with all his manifold substance to God and to blessed Audomarus, namely ^c that which is called by the known name of Sithiu. And blessed Audomarus in the aforesaid villa, before the coming of the aforesaid men to him, built a church ^d in that very place also in which his own little body rests in peace. After therefore the aforesaid servants of God came to him, he granted them that they should build [*] a dwelling of monks wherever it should please them in the aforesaid villa. The holy men therefore, Mummolinus and Bertinus with their other companions in Christ, began to build a monastery in a certain place, which to this day is called the Old Monastery.

[3] But staying in that place a few years, the divine grace persuading them, then they seek another place by sailing over a pool, they wished to choose another place. The blessed men therefore, trusting in the Lord's mercy [], found a perfect counsel. For at once going aboard a boat, without steersman or oarage, and without any care for food or drink, sailing hither and thither in [] the spacious pool adjoining their aforesaid dwelling, they besought the almighty Lord that he would lead them unharmed to [] the place which his mercy had prepared for them, saying to one another that they would not go up from the aforesaid pool save when, their little boat holding [] a fit harbor, it should befall them, according to the order of the Psalter, to sing the following little verse: This is my rest for ever and ever, here will I dwell, for I have chosen it. The merciful Lord therefore, who is everywhere present to his servants — for the Lord is nigh to all [*] that call upon him — brought the boat, in which the aforesaid blessed men were, at once to land, after a certain space foreseen for himself. Then they too, singing the aforesaid verse, without delay leaving the boat, joyfully entered upon the land, recognizing also that that place had been delivered to them by the Lord.

[4] Thereafter, with blessed Audomarus their pious father favoring, [where they found the monastery of Sithiu, whose first abbot was Mummolinus, the second Bertinus:] they began to build in God's name the monastery named Sithiu, named from [] the aforesaid villa, upon the river Aa ^e: and as religious men flowed together from every side to the aforesaid servants of God, blessed Audomarus set Mummolinus over the multitude of monks. But not long after this interval of time the aforesaid venerable abbot Mummolinus was advanced, the divine grace bestowing it, to the bishopric of the city of Noyon… The glorious pontiff Audomarus therefore, after Mummolinus, set blessed Bertinus ^f over the holy choir of monks in the aforesaid monastery. For to the holy brethren serving God in that place under the strict [] rigor of the Rule, blessed Bertinus was beloved and lovable. For he was a venerable man, prudent in divine things, and a provident shepherd of his flock; but in evil simple and innocent, according to the Lord's precept: Be ye prudent as serpents, and simple as doves…

[5] here he buries Audomarus when dead. The aforesaid [] venerable abbot Bertinus therefore, the divine grace revealing it to him, going at once with his monks to the place ^g where the venerable old man died, led the sacred body of blessed Audomarus with psalms and hymns and canticles to the place of burial: and they buried him in the aforesaid church which that blessed pontiff built at Sithiu, with immense mourning of the people standing about. And [] St. Audomarus had foretold to blessed Bertinus and to all the Brethren serving the Lord at that time at Sithiu, that when the uncertain lot [*] of his last hour should befall him, they should bury his little body in the aforesaid place…

ANNOTATIONS.

. In Mabillon, ædificarent.*

. Ibid., misericordia.*

. Ibid., in* omitted.

. Ibid., ad.*

. Ibid., tenendo.*

*. Ibid., this word is omitted.

. Ibid., ex* omitted.

. Ibid., strictæ.*

. Mab., vero.*

. Mab., enim.*

. Mab., mors.*

CHAPTER II.

The Saint's virtues: wine received from heaven, and count Walbert healed by it: another miracle at the Saint's tomb.

[ ] The Saint's virtues and prudent rule: The holy aforesaid abbot Bertinus therefore lived [] many years after blessed Audomarus's death in God's service: and the throng of monks entrusted to him by the Lord that holy Shepherd guarded with anxious mind under the strict yoke of the sacred Rule, knowing what is written: To whom more is committed, of him more is required. For to the blessed servants of God abiding under his care, preaching the precepts of the Lord and of the Apostles, he daily afforded by his strict manner of life and by his religious deeds a great example of living well, fulfilling what is written: So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father; lest, according to the Apostle's precept [], preaching to others, he himself should be found reprobate. The bountiful rewarder of good works therefore, beholding the unwearied fight of his soldier Bertinus against diabolical persuasions — for the eyes of the Lord look upon the just, and his ears unto their prayers — and seeing his great care for the sheep entrusted to him, glorified him with kindly signs and mighty works. Of which, the Lord favoring, we shall narrate a few in the following discourse.

[7] There was therefore a certain noble man, an honorable count also according to the vain dignity of this world, Count Waldbert, wont to confess his sins to St. Bertinus, named Waldbert ^a: and his wife was called Regendruth. And to this Waldbert and to his wife blessed Bertinus was the father of their confessions, and also godfather ^b, according to the laudable rite consecrated among Christians for joining the bonds of brotherly charity. Blessed Bertinus therefore often preached the divine word to both. Wherefore the aforesaid pious man Waldbert was wont often to come to Bertinus, that he might hear the divine precepts from the blessed Man: and that he might be blessed by his sacred mouth after the receiving of the Body and Blood of Christ, after the wonted manner. On a certain day therefore Waldbert, to the church in which blessed Audomarus rests,

coming and there finishing his prayer, some necessity suddenly drawing him back, neglected to come to blessed Bertinus, but had returned to his own house.

[8] Then his disciple, named Duodo, announced to blessed Bertinus, while he returns home from Sithiu, saying: Most venerable Father, I wonder that the man faithful in Christ, our friend Waldbert, having today finished his prayer in the basilica of blessed Audomarus ^c, has suddenly gone [] to his own house without asking your blessing. Then the holy confessor of Christ Bertinus, full of a prophetic spirit, said to the aforesaid disciple: For before, my son, Waldbert comes to his own house, to which he now believes he will quickly come as he hastens, he will greatly repent [] that he went from this place without the gift of our blessing. And the outcome of the matter proved this according to the word of the foreknowing blessed man. For on the same day after sunset a messenger, riding swiftly from Waldbert at his master's command, came to blessed Bertinus. And at once, after he had come into the holy Man's presence, falling at his feet, he said to him with trembling voice: My lord, your kindly friend in Christ Waldbert, now set on the border of death and life, asks you in God's name that you would beseech the merciful Lord for him, according to the wonted loving-kindness of your charity, that by your glorious prayers in the sight of the eternal King he may receive relief from the deadly peril which lately befell him.

[9] is grievously wounded by a fall from his horse: For after on this day he had gone from the basilica of blessed Audomarus, wishing to hasten to his own house, suddenly in the middle of the way he was thrown from the horse on which he was riding swiftly, and fell unwary upon stony ground. And with many members of his body bruised, and his thigh, most blessed Father, utterly broken, he thinks that sudden death is at hand for him, unless, as he believes, the divine loving-kindness free him through your sacred prayers. For he knows that this peril befell him through his own negligence, because without the safeguard of your blessing, through the craft of the cunning enemy drawing him back by some necessity, he went from this place today. Therefore he beseeches you in God's name, asking pardon for the aforesaid negligence ^d, that you would deign to send him a drink blessed by your sacred mouth and signed by your sacred hands, before he die.

[10] to whom the Saint, being asked, sends wine obtained from heaven Then the venerable Old man, moved by the mishap of his faithful friend, at once bade his aforesaid disciple pour out wine from the flagon [] which had been placed in the sacristy, that it might be sent with all speed to his ailing friend. Then the young man gently answered the holy Abbot: It is, as I think, most blessed Father, the space of a whole month or more since there was in that little vessel of which thou speakest a single measure ^e of wine. Hereupon the holy Confessor of Christ, of perfect faith and full of charity, said to his disciple: Go, my son, in God's name to that little vessel of which thou speakest: for our Lord, to whom all things are possible, who is a helper in due seasons — for the Lord is nigh to all that call upon him* — will, I believe, give a saving draught to our ailing friend. Hereupon the young man, following the holy Man's precepts, going into the aforesaid sacristy, found that vessel, of which he had said a little before to the holy Abbot that there was not a single measure of wine in it, this time, the divine grace bestowing it, full of the best wine, whose wonderful odor had filled the aforesaid house.

[11] by which he is healed: and afterward gives many things to Bertinus. Then the holy confessor of Christ Bertinus, giving immense thanks to the almighty Lord, said to Waldbert's disciple: Carrying some of this wine with thee, run back swiftly to thy master. Then he in that same night, filled with immense joy, returned to his lord, and, narrating to him the whole miracle which had been done, gave him to drink [*] of the aforesaid wine as a saving draught. And after he had drunk of that same blessed draught, in that same hour, the divine hand healing, he was made whole. And rendering immense thanks to almighty God the author of his health, and filled with compunction of heart, he offered a great part of his inheritance ^f to God and to blessed Bertinus.

[12] In this, dearest brethren, as also in his other glorious deeds, the immense mercy of the almighty Lord is to be admired and praised, in that in divers parts of the world he unceasingly fulfils through his servants what he promised. How great is God's munificence toward those who leave all things for him. He who leaves father or mother and the rest for my sake, shall receive a hundredfold in the present world, and shall possess eternal life in the world to come; as we can prove of these holy confessors of Christ, Audomarus and Bertinus. For these, as we said before, leaving parents and country for God's sake, received a hundredfold in this world, the divine grace bestowing it on them: and moreover he granted them an unfading crown in perpetual life. And not only did he glorify them with signs and mighty works so long as they were present in the flesh ^g; but even now, through their merits high in his sight, he works glorious mighty works; as lately he wrought a wonderful mighty work through his holy confessor Bertinus aforesaid. Which they testified to us in whose sight ^h this glorious mighty work was done, which, Christ favoring, we shall narrate in the following discourse.

[13] Three men therefore, skilled in the art of fishing, on the Lord's night in the river Rhône near the monastery of blessed Maurice ⁱ the martyr (for they were servants of that place), going aboard a boat, A fisherman punished with his companions on the night of Easter, spread their nets to catch fish. Then an unwonted multitude of fish entered their nets on that same night, so that not even in the long space of years in which they had been wont to spread their nets in the aforesaid river had fish of such size appeared to them; nor had they taken so great a multitude of fish before in one night. Hereupon, sailing joyfully to the harbor into which they were wont to enter after fishing, they could not move themselves from the aforesaid boat. For two of them, deprived of the use of feet and hands, were crushed in their whole body: but the third, deprived of the use of his feet, was made deaf: for divine vengeance came upon them for the transgression of the night of the Lord's Resurrection.

[14] Hereupon he who had lost his hearing and the use of walking, and made deaf and lame, is healed at the Saint's tomb: leaning on two staves, and supported by the help of others who accompanied him, resolved to go round the holy places for the sake of prayer, that beside the venerable tombs of the servants of God he might beg the divine mercy, that he might deserve to receive back through their glorious merits the health of his body lost through his own negligence. After an interval therefore, many places having been traversed by him, he came to the venerable tomb of the aforesaid confessor of Christ Bertinus, set in the monastery of Sithiu. And when the Brethren dwelling in the aforesaid place were singing the night vigils on the night of the Lord's Resurrection in that church in which the body of blessed Bertinus rests, then that aforesaid man, seized with immense sickness, was led into the church by his companions for prayer. And when for a long space, praying with tears, he had begged his health from the Lord through the merits of blessed Bertinus, when the lesson of the Gospel was read in the wonted manner, then the sick man saw many lights shining about him: and, the infirmity gradually withdrawing from him, his hearing being received back and the use of his feet recovered, suddenly, the divine grace bestowing it, he was made whole in the presence of the aforesaid Brethren.

[15] And after the assembly, giving immense thanks to the almighty Lord and to blessed Bertinus, other miracles also done there. walking on his own feet joyful and whole, he returned to his own house. And others in the same church, beside the venerable tomb of the blessed man Bertinus, were often freed in God's name from such sickness. By these tokens therefore it is manifest to us how great and unspeakable is the glory of the Saints in the sight of the eternal King. For their souls shine among the innumerable troops of the heavenly myriads; and their venerable bodies, resting among men, visited by angels, declared to many peoples by signs and mighty works through glorious deeds, are venerated with great honor: for all things pass away: the glory of the Saints abides in Christ for ever.

ANNOTATIONS.

. That is, vixit.*

. That is, dictum.*

. That is, perrexerit.*

. Perhaps pænitebit.*

. That is, œnophoro.*

. That is, propinavit.*

CHAPTER III.

St. Bertinus's dealings with St. Winnocus and his companions.

[ ] St. Winnocus and his three companions enter the monastery of Sithiu, When ^a the holy confessor of Christ Bertinus, adorned with signs and mighty works, presided over a multitude of monks in the monastery of Sithiu, from many parts on every side, the divine grace goading them, religious men came to him, desiring also that under the yoke of the sacred Rule they might persevere with him [*] in God's service. Among whom four religious men from the far remote land of the Britons, who were called by these names, Quadanocus and Ingenocus and Madocus and holy Winnocus, leaving parents and country according to the Lord's precept, came to him with one mind, asking also that among the holy flock of monks established under his care

he would receive them in God's name. Blessed Bertinus therefore, seeing them burning with the love of God, and recognizing that there was in them a perfect will of living well, kindly receiving them, joined them without delay to the holy multitude of monks ^b.

[17] But after this, a small space of time having passed, the holy abbot Bertinus, beholding that the aforesaid servants of God were keen followers of the sacred Rule, whom Bertinus, having received Heremarus's donation, sends to erect a monastery, and moreover filled with perfect charity and true humility, and noticing that with great industry of obedience they gave their labor to the work of their hands, bade them build some cell in God's name in the district of Thérouanne. For a certain rich man, Heremarus by name, offered to God and to blessed Bertinus his fruitful inheritance in the aforesaid district, which is called Wormholt ^c (and therefore the aforesaid cell is called by the same name). The holy servant of God Bertinus therefore, wishing to multiply dwellings and to prepare lodgings for Christ's poor, which at that time were rare in the aforesaid district, sent the aforesaid soldiers of Christ with other brethren obedient to his precept into the aforesaid district, that in the aforesaid place they might establish a fit dwelling for God's servants.

[18] The religious men therefore, having after the apostolic example one heart and one soul, [and, the monastery of Wormhout being founded, after the death of the others he sets St. Winnocus over it.] following the active life, more solicitous for the poor and for the guests of Christ than for themselves, according to the bidding of the holy abbot Bertinus built, the Lord favoring, a convenient cell in the aforesaid district, and, persevering in it through many spaces of years in God's service, met their last day. But after the death of the aforesaid three holy men, namely Quadanocus and Ingenocus and Madocus, blessed Bertinus granted holy Winnocus to preside over the little community of God's servants dwelling in the aforesaid cell: who from boyhood had been reared by blessed Bertinus and by his aforesaid holy countrymen under the yoke of the sacred Rule: who, although he was unequal in age to the aforesaid servants of God, was nevertheless their follower in perfect charity and obedience ^d.

ANNOTATIONS.

. That is, cum eo.*

A SECOND LIFE

by an anonymous author

From our manuscript codex.

Bertinus, abbot, at Saint-Omer in Belgium (S.)

BHL Number: 1290

By an Anonymous author.

PREFACE

Of Christ's mission for the salvation of the human race, and of the Apostles' To the almighty Lord, the bestower of good gifts, manifold thanks and diligent praises must be rendered: who, being the founder and governor of all creatures visible and invisible, sent his Only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to the earth to teach and redeem all kinds of nations. Who, for the sake of human salvation taking unspotted flesh from the Virgin Mary, deigned to snatch from the power of the prince of darkness the whole human race, sold by the first man seduced by diabolical persuasion, brought under the most bloody yoke of the devil, and given over to death and punishments. Thereafter all men from Adam to Christ, bound by the chains of sins through demonic fraud, and oppressed by the greatest weights of crimes, from all the regions of the world, now freed by him, he called to life, saying thus: Come to me all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Who, having chosen twelve Apostles out of the throng of the whole human race, and also others of another order, LXXII, the regions being made white, lest laborers should be wanting to the great harvest, bids all to be his disciples, and commanded these, filled in the upper room of Sion with the holy Breath, and enriched with the wonderful gift of all tongues, to go and teach and baptize all kinds of nations, saying: Go, baptize all nations.

[2] preachings and labors: among whose successors Audomarus and Bertinus, And these disciples of Christ, speaking with all tongues, preaching the Word of the Lord among all nations and provinces, and working many mighty works through God's grace, and bearing divers kinds of torments through the savage fury of the pagans, and desiring to shed their holy blood for Christ, went through the threefold-square world. After these and after their successors, he granted that others endowed with the grace of God and filled with the same Spirit (for there is no respect of persons with the Lord), fulfilling what he promised, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, should be the Vicars of the apostles in all parts of the world. Whence almighty God, who has care of all, who wills all men to be saved, gave to the peoples set in the Western parts of the world, blinded by the foul mists of errors, subject to the devil, weighed down by the mass of sins, and wallowing in the sewer of crimes, apostolic teachers adorned with divine gifts and known by signs and mighty works in many parts of the world: Audomarus the bishop and Bertinus ^a the abbot.

[3] whose Life the author says he will write separately. Therefore we beseech thee, almighty God, through their glorious patronage, that thou wouldest grant the abundant streams of thy wisdom from on high to bedew our minds, spotted though they be, that of the merits and mighty works of such great men, which thy grace wrought through them, we may be able to set forth, for those who wish to know, though little out of great and few out of many. For who can know and relate their daily converse and their constancy in God's service, and all the labors which they wrought in secret, with God alone for witness? Since therefore the holy men had distinct places of their rule, governing them honorably — namely St. Audomarus the bishopric of Thérouanne, but blessed Bertinus his own monastery of Sithiu — of their Life and mighty works a few things must be set forth by us severally ^b.

ANNOTATIONS.

CHAPTER I.

The Saint's coming with his companions to St. Audomarus: the building of both monasteries and other deeds: his blessed death and burial.

[ ] The coming of Bertinus and his companions to St. Audomarus: When St. Audomarus the bishop was governing the church of the Morini, and impressing the faith of the holy Trinity upon the hearts of the dull by frequent preaching, three men of one mind came to him from their own country, that is, from the region of Constance: namely St. Bertinus ^a, Mummolinus, Ebertramnus, leaving according to the Lord's precept parents, country and all their kinsfolk. And St. Audomarus, graciously receiving those servants of God, gave thanks to almighty God, who had sent him such helpers for preaching the Gospel. For they were perfect in the Catholic faith, and learned in ecclesiastical disciplines and in the divine Scripture. They therefore entered upon the office of their mission by the labor of continual preaching.

[5] Meanwhile a certain noble man, very rich in wealth, the building of the Old Monastery, Adroaldus by name, having no son, began to treat with blessed Audomarus and the aforesaid servants of God ^b how he might make the Church the heir of his possessions. Whom blessed Audomarus, by the inspiring grace of the Holy Spirit, exhorted to confer on holy Bertinus and his aforenamed companions whatever he could have, so that there, by building a monastery in honor of blessed Peter the prince of the Apostles, they might gather a considerable throng of monks. Which Adroaldus, in the presence of blessed Audomarus and of all the nobles of the city of Thérouanne, fulfilled with great alacrity of heart, handing over a villa of his own property called Sithiu, in the eleventh year of Clovis the son of Dagobert ^c, on the VIII of the Ides of September. In a certain territory therefore of that villa they began to build a monastery, which place to this day is called the Old Monastery.

[6] likewise of the monastery of Sithiu, Meanwhile, Alcharius ^d bishop of the city of Noyon dying, the venerable man Mummolinus is advanced to the bishopric of that city, and Ebertramnus is set by Mummolinus over the monastery of St. Quentin. But St. Bertinus remained in the place bestowed on him by God, and began with those gathered to him to seek a fitter place for building a monastery. But, turning over in his mind the Lord's saying, Without me you can do nothing, and using a perfect counsel, committing all things from his heart to God's providence which disposes them, he at once went aboard a boat without steersman or oarsman. Through the spacious pool to which the aforesaid little monastery adjoins, the boat was driven by God's nod alone through angelic ministry. You might have seen the keel driven against the currents of the swift river ^e, until, holding a fit harbor, it should stand still, and the venerable man Bertinus should utter this little verse in the course of the Psalter he was chanting: This is my rest for ever and ever: here will I dwell, for I have chosen it. Recognizing therefore that that place had been chosen for him by the Lord, without delay leaving the boat he began to build in that place, in God's name and in honor of St. Peter, a monastery by name Sithiu ^f.

[7] which the holy Abbot governs excellently. As religious men flowed together from every side, within a short time he gathered a multitude of monks, with whom he lived many years in God's service; and the throng entrusted to him by the Lord that watchful shepherd guarded with anxious mind under the strict yoke of the sacred rule, knowing what is written: To whom more is committed, of him more is required. For to the blessed servants of God abiding under his care, preaching the commands of the Lord and of the Apostles, he daily afforded by his strict manner of life and by his religious deeds a great example of living well, fulfilling what is written: So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father; lest, according to the Apostle's precept, preaching to others, he himself should be found reprobate. The bountiful rewarder of good works therefore, beholding the unwearied fight of his soldier Bertinus against diabolical persuasions (for the eyes of the Lord look upon the just, and his ears unto their prayers), and seeing his great care for the sheep entrusted to him, glorified him with kindly signs and mighty works, of which, the Lord favoring, we shall narrate ^g a few in the following discourse.

[8] Count Waltbert, There was therefore a certain noble man, an honorable count also, according to the vain dignity of this world, named Waltbert; and his wife was called Regentrudis. And to this Waltbert and to his wife blessed Bertinus was the father of their confessions, and also godfather, according to the laudable rite of the world preserved among Christians for joining the bonds of brotherly charity.

Blessed Bertinus therefore often preached the divine word to both. Wherefore the aforesaid pious man Waltbert was wont often to come to blessed Bertinus, and that he might be blessed by his sacred mouth after the receiving of the Body and Blood of Christ, after the wonted manner. On a certain day therefore the aforesaid Waltbert, coming to the basilica of the holy Mother of God and ever Virgin Mary, where also blessed Bertinus buried holy Audomarus, and there finishing his prayer, some necessity suddenly drawing him back, neglected to come to blessed Bertinus, but had incautiously returned to his own house. Then his disciple, named Dodo, announced to blessed Bertinus, saying: Most venerable Father, I wonder that the man faithful in Christ, our friend Waltbert, making his journey today close by us, has unwontedly gone to his own house without asking your blessing.

[9] Then the holy confessor of Christ Bertinus, full of a prophetic spirit, who, returning home, said to the aforesaid disciple: Before, my son, Waltbert comes to his own house, to which he now believes he will quickly come as he hastens, he will greatly repent that today he went from this place without the gift of our blessing. And the outcome of the matter had proved this according to the word of the foreknowing blessed Man. For on the same day after sunset a messenger, riding swiftly from Waltbert at his lord's command, came to blessed Bertinus: and at once, after he came into the holy Man's presence, falling at his feet, he said to him with trembling voice: My lord, your kindly friend in Christ, Waltbert by name, set on the border of death and life, asks you in God's name that you would beseech the merciful Lord for him, according to the wonted loving-kindness of your charity, that by your glorious prayers in the sight of the eternal King he may receive relief from the deadly peril which lately befell him.

[10] For after on this day he had gone without your blessing, wishing to hasten to his own house, suddenly in the middle of the way he was thrown from the horse having fallen from his horse and been grievously wounded, on which he was riding swiftly, and fell unwary upon stony ground, and with many members of his body bruised, and his thigh, most blessed Father, utterly broken, he thinks that sudden death is at hand for him, unless, as he believes, the divine loving-kindness free him through your sacred prayers. For he knows that this peril befell him through his own negligence, because without the safeguard of your blessing, through the craft of the cunning enemy, some necessity drawing him back, he went from this place today. Therefore he beseeches you in God's name, asking pardon for the aforesaid negligence, that you would deign to send him a drink blessed by your sacred mouth and signed by your sacred hands, before he die.

[11] Then the venerable Old man, moved by the mishap of his faithful friend, wine having been obtained from heaven through St. Bertinus, at once bade his disciple pour out wine from the flagon [] which had been placed in the sacristy, that it might be sent with all speed to his ailing friend. But the young man gently answered the holy Abbot: It is, as I think, most blessed Father, the space of a whole month or more since there was in that little vessel of which thou speakest a single phial [] of wine. Hereupon the holy Confessor of Christ, of perfect faith and full of charity, said to his disciple: Go, my son, in God's name to that little vessel of which thou speakest. For our Lord, to whom all things are possible, who is a helper in due seasons (for the Lord is nigh to all that call upon him), will, I believe, give a saving draught to our ailing friend. Then the young man, following the holy Man's precepts, going into the aforesaid sacristy, found that vessel, of which he had said a little before to the holy Abbot that there was not a single phial of wine in it, this time, the divine grace bestowing it, full of the best wine, whose wonderful odor had filled the aforesaid house.

[12] Then the holy confessor of Christ Bertinus, giving immense thanks to the almighty Lord, being at once healed, gives many things to the Saint. said to Waltbert's servant: Carrying some of this wine with thee, run back swiftly to thy Lord. Then he in that same night, filled with immense joy, returned to his Lord, and, narrating to him the whole miracle which had been done, gave him to drink of the aforesaid wine as a saving draught. And after he had drunk of that same blessed draught, in that same hour, the divine hand healing, he was made whole, and rendering immense thanks to almighty God the author of his health, and filled with compunction of heart, he offered a great part of his inheritance to God and to blessed Bertinus.

[13] [The Saint's virtues, who substituted for himself as abbot first Rigobert, then Erlefridus:] Besides, the Godhead wrought very many marvels through the holy Man, although he partly hid them out of a zeal for concealment, and they were partly hidden by the negligence of those then present. But to all miracles his unfailing labor in God's service is to be preferred, and his ever-watchful care of the souls committed to him. And so through all the time of his life he sweated in the preparing of the place delivered to him by God: and the divine grace was present to his labor from God, so that in his time it was made equal, both in the number of the pledges of the Saints and in the abundance of goods, to the ancient monasteries built with royal affluence. While he was yet living therefore he ordained Rigobert ^h as his successor: to whom also, granting rest after the sweat of a few years, he committed the government of his monastery to Erlefridus, a venerable man brought up by himself.

[14] death and burial. Under the most religious prince of the Franks Childebert ⁱ therefore, Christ, wishing to repay rewards worthy of the holy Man's labors, calling him, made him pass over on the Nones of September, full of days and of perfect merits. Whom the aforesaid abbot and the whole company of monks, with the greatest honor, as befitted so great a Father, laid up and buried in his own monastery ^k, the Lord working with them. After whose death the Lord wrought very many miracles about the venerable tomb through the merits of the blessed Man; of whose multitude, God favoring, we shall set forth very few ^l.

ANNOTATIONS.

. œnophoro.*

. That is, phiala.*

CHAPTER II.

Miracles done after the Saint's death.

[ ] A certain man made deaf and lame, Three men therefore, skilled in the art of fishing, on the Lord's night in the river Rhône near the monastery of blessed Maurice the martyr ^a (for they were servants of that place), going aboard a boat, spread their nets to catch fish. Then an unwonted multitude of fish entered their nets on that same night, so that not even in the long spaces of years in which they had been wont to spread their nets in the aforesaid river had fish of such size appeared to them, nor had they taken so great a multitude of fish before in one night. Hereupon, sailing joyfully to the harbor which they were wont to enter after fishing, they could not move themselves from the aforesaid boat. For two of them, deprived of the use of feet and hands, were crushed in their whole body. But the third, deprived of the use of his feet, was made deaf: for divine vengeance came upon them for the transgression of the night of the Lord's Resurrection.

[16] Hereupon he who had lost his hearing and the use of walking, is healed at the Saint's tomb: leaning on two staves, and supported by the help of others who accompanied him, resolved to go round the holy places for the sake of prayer, that beside the venerable tombs of the servants of God he might beg the divine mercy, that he might deserve to receive back the lost health of his body through the glorious merits of the Saints. After an interval of time therefore, many places having been traversed by him, he came to the venerable tomb of the aforesaid confessor of Christ Bertinus, set in the monastery of Sithiu. And when the brethren dwelling in the aforesaid place were singing the night vigils on the night of the Lord's Resurrection in that church in which the body of blessed Bertinus rests, the aforesaid man, seized with immense sickness, was led into the church by his companions for prayer. And when for a long space, praying with tears, he had begged his health from the Lord through the merits of the holy father Bertinus, when the lesson

of the Gospel was read in the wonted manner, that sick man saw many lights shining about him, and, feeling the infirmity gradually withdrawing from him, his hearing being received back and the use of his feet recovered, suddenly, the divine grace bestowing it, he was made whole in the presence of the aforesaid brethren. And after the assembly, giving thanks to the almighty Lord and to blessed Bertinus, walking on his own feet joyful and whole, he returned to his own house.

[17] A thief who stole silver vessels in the Saint's church, A certain man, in part unknown to us, but, as the outcome afterward proved, filled with an evil spirit, when he had feigned himself to be of some religion, for three days continuously entering the church of our aforesaid father Bertinus, as if for the sake of praying, prostrated himself many times on the ground, as though with compunction of heart he were pouring forth prayers: but as often as he went out, he carefully examined the bars of the doors, feigning however something else in the presence of the keepers. For sometimes he stooped, as though he were there tying his loosened laces, and sometimes, feigning the fall of his sleeves [*], stooping at the same exit he gathered them up. Having however tried out all that he wished, he noted the hour at which the brethren after Sext ^b went to the refectory for the sake of refreshment to receive bread. And thus setting to work, having seized a knife, he pressed the wood through the fastenings of the doors, by which both were bound crosswise, since it was not otherwise made firm with an iron bolt, so that, the head of that same bar being lifted up, it afforded an entrance for going in. Then that wretched but not pitiable man was disclosing the effect of his malice. For entering he stole the silver vessels which hung beneath the crowns and lamps before and behind the altar.

[18] cannot go out, But when, having gone out, he had begun to seek the entrance of the gate, in a wonderful manner he saw, as he afterward related, very many and terrible enemies standing by him. For, being tempted by the devil, he was indeed permitted greedily to seize the prey, but was not permitted to carry it wholly away. Whence it came about that, while, the gates lying open, no way back lay open to him, returning he took his way through the midst of the monastery, and sought the island which is situated within the marsh of that same monastery, that he might there lay up with a certain acquaintance of his what he had stealthily taken from the sacred things. Meanwhile the keepers of the church, coming out of the refectory together with the brethren, when they perceive the losses of the sacred vessels, presently there was a running together of the assembled monks; and they were so dismayed in mind that they could not find what to say, or what to do, or whither to turn; but they cried with one accord that this had happened because their sins so required. But the merciful Lord, by the merits of holy Bertinus his confessor, did not long suffer the minds of those who continually served him to be in peril.

[19] and is taken and punished, For the unhappy thief already mentioned, when on this side he saw the wedges of enemies, on that the hindrances of waters and marsh (for, to speak to those who do not know, that place is such that for a thousand paces and much more it has no entrance save by boat, except one gate on the West, through which foot-travelers and horsemen and those driving wagons are wont to have free entrance), began to make swift leaps as though over the sheer edges of walls and roofs. And when those dwelling there had seen this, all circuit of doubt being wholly removed, they cry out that this is the guilty man, that this is he who was the thief of the holy treasure; and that therefore he is thus driven by a demon. And when they had detained him, he was questioned by every device what had befallen him, or why he had gone mad [*], and at once he set forth the truth of the whole matter. What more? The right of the judges prevailed against him: whence he was put in the stocks ^c in a well-known place, namely the Castle of the Menapii ^d. But the whole body of the said congregation grieved over him, and they sent to the count of that place, and he was granted free departure. But because he had been held in very many other crimes, as was afterward ascertained, therefore perhaps he had a very short time of penance: for he survived only a week. O how brief is the time of the present life in comparison with eternity! We exhort therefore all who shall hear these things to leave evil and follow good.

[20] When therefore many throngs of secular men were flowing together to the often-named monastery for the love of God, A monk cast out of the monastery for grievous sins, and burning with a desire of the monastic religion, among the rest one called Benjamin, mighty in nobility of birth according to the world, conferring very much on the monastery from his own inheritance, sought entrance to conversion, and with a praiseworthy simplicity, as it seemed on the surface, gave himself wholly to the monastery. And so he was received and placed among the other brethren. But not long after, being struck by the devil's arrow, he began to defend his evil works, and to be mocked by the enemy's too great prompting, and to give consent to deadly persuasions. And when he was very often rebuked by the spiritual brethren, not only was he not amended, but he held them hateful whom he saw greatly grieved on account of his perversity. Having therefore been long borne with in this perversity, he at last went out from the monastery.

[21] Leaving the monastery therefore, he began to go about the houses of his kinsfolk, and punished by God with blindness, and to seek who would give him consent to dwell with him, namely by consenting to his wicked works. But when he found none, and all held him hateful because of the abandonment of his purpose, he began at last to practise thefts frequently, and to be exceedingly defiled with filthy debaucheries, and to commit other abominable crimes. When therefore he pursued such things with daily practice [*], the clemency of the almighty Lord, who calls the ungrateful to his kingdom by scourges, made him lose his bodily sight through an excessive pain of the head. But scarcely after so dire an affliction of the flesh did he obtain from his kinsfolk that in whatever manner should seem good to them they should bestow on him some solace of kinship. He was therefore received by them, but continually beaten with the insults of words. For for his own salvation the merciful Lord took from him the light of his eyes, and did not suffer the solace of kinsfolk to be present.

[22] On a certain day therefore, when he was very sad from frequent insult, does penance at the gate of the monastery, impelled by a divine prompting, he asked that he might be given a guide to the monastery of blessed Bertinus. And when this had been done, prostrate before the doors of the church, he strove daily to appease the Lord for his past negligences, giving himself to fastings and prayers and continual tears; and, chanting the psalm, he said: But I am a worm and no man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people. But thou, Lord, art my protector, my glory, thou shalt lift up my head. But the father of the monastery, seeing his humility, understood that his heart had been visited by the Lord, and placed him at the gate, providing daily food. And he, as has already been said, persevering in penance, held his mind stretched like a bow, so that, very often watering the ground with tears, he might deserve to hear: Thy sin is forgiven thee. On a certain day therefore, when the assembly of the third hour was being sung by the brethren, the said brother stood beside the altar which is set in the middle of the church, where the relics of the Lord's Nativity are venerated, and by a sudden fall he collapsed to the ground.

[23] [and at length, healed by the invocation of St. Bertinus, is restored to his rank.] Whom the brethren, running up very swiftly, lifted from the ground, and, seeing him directing the keenness of his eyes most clearly, at once asked how the health of sight had been given him by the Lord. And he told them that when with a pure intention of mind he was beseeching the Lord, he saw two torches cast forth from the sepulchre of holy Bertinus, pouring a most clear light into his eyes, and that thus the light of his eyes had been restored. Then it became clear to all that by the merits of blessed Bertinus he had been restored to his former health. And at once without delay they called him back to his former place, showing him more abundantly much of that honor which they had shown at the first beginnings of his monastic life. But he, neither cast down in his former dejection nor lifted up in himself by the heap of present honor, thenceforth with the most upright foot of faith walked the ways of Christ along the path of good working, and often sang to him: I will extol thee, Lord, for thou hast upheld me, and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me. Lord my God, I have cried to thee, and thou hast healed me. Lord, thou hast brought forth my soul from hell. And thus, growing little by little, he came to that charity which, being perfect, casteth out fear. And so he lived afterward many years in holy converse, having obtained the freely given mercy of the Lord Christ, who is blessed for ever.

[24] The chains of a penitent loosed at the tomb: A certain man, a citizen of Orleans, Adam by name, of the village of Primiacum ^e, for fratricide bound about the belly and arms with iron bonds ^f by order of the bishop of the city of Orleans, when for several years, visiting the places of the Saints, he had borne the mass of so great an inconvenience, at length, having obtained from blessed Peter the apostle, whose thresholds at Rome he frequented, the loosing of two of the bonds, he was warned by a vision, as he himself testified, that, seeking through long spaces of lands the monastery of the soldiers of Christ Audomarus and Bertinus, he should devoutly commit himself to their patronage. And he, obeying his warnings, after long windings came to the place designated, and on the night of the octave [] of the Apostles, the 2nd of the Nones of July, in the basilica of St. Peter the apostle, while the brethren were celebrating the nocturnal praises, and the reader was pronouncing the first lesson, being surrounded with no small dread, he fell forward [], and at once the iron bond was broken and thrust far from his arm. Whom, as he rendered thanks with tearful voice to God and to holy Bertinus, the Brethren lifted from the ground, themselves also at the same time rendering due thanks and praises to God the author and to Bertinus their patron.

[25] a lame girl healed. A certain girl of the household of that same Saint, from the territory called Mellingasele, deprived from her earliest time utterly of the use of walking, so that she could scarcely crawl the spaces necessary to her with her hands, on the VIII of the Kalends of July, when our provincials were coming together according to the custom of the region to the festivity of John the Baptist, she too, supported by the help of her necessaries, was present. And when the signal of the evening assembly was already sounding the third time, she, far from the church, as far as the approach of women is permitted, laid herself on the ground, and besought the almighty Lord to be favorable to her through the patronage of the blessed Man. And at once, being shaken with dread, she began to be stretched out in all her members: and forthwith, being snatched up, she received the use of her feet, giving thanks to her Creator, who by the merits of her holy patron Bertinus restored her to the health long desired.

ANNOTATIONS.

. manicarum.*

. That is, he had lost his mind.*

. That is, diebus.*

. In Mab., Octavæ.*

. Ibid., protinus.*

A BOOK OF MIRACLES,

by an anonymous author, perhaps the same,

From our manuscript codex, collated with Mabillon's edition and with the manuscripts of Saint-Bertin.

Bertinus, abbot, at Saint-Omer in Belgium (S.)

BHL Number: 1291

By an Anonymous author.

PROLOGUE.

The author teaches how he learned these miracles. These things [] ^a therefore having been elegantly set forth, no less truly than faithfully, concerning the mighty works of our most blessed Patron, by our most reverend fathers of their own time, who were not only most desirous of all good studies but also both the most solid columns and the most illustrious lights of the state of their place, very many things most worthy of relation remain afterward omitted — not (God forbid) from want of composers or lack of writers, but through the manifold adversity of the times arising. Of whose multitude a few, and — lest perchance we be marked with the fault of frivolity or of falsehood — only those which either we ourselves have seen, or have learned to have been seen by fit persons, we humbly take pains to add, though less elegantly, relying not on the boldness of our own rashness, but rather trusting in the confidence of him who made [] the tongues of infants eloquent. And although slow in wit and unskilled in speech, we undertake in some fashion to make these things known, not out of the vanity of windy boasting, but out of the devotion of a simple mind and a presumable humility, preferring rather, if any wish to become our rivals, to lie open to the bites of snarlers, than sluggishly to keep silence about miracles wrought swiftly [*] to the praise and glory of God's name, by the merits of his Elect one, in our presence, and to let them be blotted from the memory of those who come after. Whence, although we be unskilful, it is now in our heart to begin what we have proposed, and with the utmost devotion to publish, so far as we can, what we have begun ^b.

ANNOTATIONS.

. Mab., his.*

. Mab., facit.*

. Mab., celebriter.*

CHAPTER I.

The first coming of the Danes or Normans to spoil the monastery of Sithiu: a workman unhurt in a fall: a deaf and dumb man healed, and afterward a blind man.

The Normans come to the monastery of Sithiu, In the times of Charles ^a of divine memory, the son of Louis, first king, afterward emperor, when the savage tyranny [] of the pagans arose, flying to the famous rivers of the Seine and the Loire, and, ravaging through all Neustria, was consuming with sword and fire not only the surrounding borders but also a great part of Armorica; after the revolutions at length of not many years, being partly driven off by stratagem, and especially repelled by the regard of the divine compassion, they departed and returned home, protesting that in no wise would they ever again come back to lay waste the borders of that realm with harm. Which nevertheless not long after they falsified by a fraud friendly to themselves, after the manner of dogs, who the more they are enticed the more they pursue, being greedy of money, accustomed to rapine, hungry for booty, and thirsting for blood, they lied. For in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord Christ eight hundred and sixty, having gathered again an immoderate fleet of very many ships ^b, taking again the known way, and with all their effort sailing on the deep sea, they cut the foaming straits in emulation, and by a persistent course landed in the borders of the Menapi [ ] elsewhere of the Menapii* in the bay which is called the Harbor of the Yser ^c: and leaping forth there, and turning aside from no public thoroughfare, and not ^d sparing that region burnings and slaughters either, in order that they might stealthily hasten to the most famous place of the resting of the confessors of Christ Audomarus and Bertinus, out of greed to snatch away secretly the treasures of the churches, and in hope of seizing the servants of God ^e there, by short journeys of the nights, namely on the Saturday of the week of Pentecost at the second hour, they came to the place to which they were making.

[3] But by the provision of God who guards those who continually trust in him [], they found none of the Brethren there: for, obeying the admonition of the Lord who commands, where he says: where, the rest having escaped by flight, they grievously afflict four monks, If they persecute you in one city, flee into another, they withdrew themselves for a time, reserving themselves for a second and better state of things, except four, who vowed themselves (if it should please God) rather to wish to end their life there by martyrdom than to outlive the desolation of their place. Which, because God disposed it in part to be otherwise, appeared by the outcome that followed. And the names of those who so vowed themselves are these: Woradus [] and Winebaldus, priests, Gerwaldus and Raynardus [], deacons. Of whom Woradus, who, having been brought up from almost his very cradle under the rule of monastic religion, was as he was then already decrepit, so also a veteran soldier in Christ's warfare, was struck with dire beatings of blows, and was almost brought to death by a three days' nakedness and cold; but Winebaldus, although he had been worn thin for God's name by the leanness of his body from too great affliction, was wasted with sharp scourgings, and moreover distended by the infusion of entrails [] through his nostrils, and was left half alive. Gerwaldus likewise, although he was older, because he seemed more vigorous and stronger than the others, although he had been harassed with divers and far heavier mockings of their derisions, yet, the Lord preserving him, was granted, if not his former health, at least life: and thus they were not cheated of their desire of martyrdom [*], which they eagerly sought with their whole wish.

[4] and they kill one of them: And so the fourth of them, who was both younger and more full of vigor (as we have said before), Raynardus by name, being broken with various bruisings, and, when they were departing and trying to lead him with them, striving with such strength as he could that he might not go with them, choosing rather in the confession of Christ's name — if it could in any way be wrung from the enemies — to commend his soul to God there by martyrdom, and that his body should be laid in ashes in the ancestral cemeteries, and his name inscribed in the brotherly diptychs, than to be defiled with the most execrable [] filth of their mockings, was nevertheless, bound as he was with dire bonds, wretchedly dragged to the villa of his own human birth from his mother ^f, distant from the monastery three miles to the northern quarter, called Munnio ^g. Being therefore hemmed in by a multitude of wicked men, and both by reason of the many [] who surrounded him and by the thickness of the night — for in the very twilight they passed through it — not knowing where he was, it was said to him by fellow captives who knew: Behold, we are going over against the gate of thy former birth. And when he had perceived this, he suddenly fell to the ground. And when he was compelled by beating with reversed weapons from the enemies who were leading him to rise, and he protested that he by no means wished it, but rather to meet death there for Christ, being pierced with frequent thrusts of spears, breathing out his soul with the shedding of his blood, he poured it out to Christ ^h.

[5] they also hang some of their own men. Nor do I think that an event should be passed over in silence which by a divine judgment was wrought by the merits of Bl. Bertinus in the very hour of their going out. For, casting immoderate gifts of silver, they heaped them upon the altar of the church of his rest, and assigned it to one of the said Brethren to be kept, lest it be snatched by any. But while they [] were striving in wedges and troops to go out in haste, some of them stayed behind secretly, rashly making off with the money. And when this became known to the chief men who had already gone out, halting they sounded their trumpets in the space between the two monasteries, halting and gathering [] themselves together, until the guilty were sought out and found and brought before them: and when they had been convicted and condemned by the judgment of sacrilegious men, they were hanged on the southern side beside the entrance of the monastery gate; the Lord most evidently declaring, even by the judgment of unbelievers, by a short penalty, with what torment they are to be punished perpetually under the pretext [*] of Christianity, unless the sacrilegious repent. Whence, dearest brethren, it must be noted by us with the most careful diligence, how mercifully the Lord, chastening us by an unforeseen, nay unseen, invasion of enemies, graciously reproves our sins, drawing them as it were on a long rope that cannot be broken: and in like manner with the most exact

circumspection it must be considered that he mercifully both preserved the place at that time, and spared its inhabitants by the freely given compassion of his loving-kindness. It is also worthy to be reckoned among the merits of the patrons of the place that those taken captive at that same time returned in a short while, all rejoicing and glad.

[6] After the deliverance from the aforesaid danger, the Brethren of that monastery, coming together, When a tower was being raised above the church of St. Bertinus, and bedewed with tears no less of joy than of grief, yet afterward being made calmer in mind, began heartily to consider how they might make the Lord's offense placable toward them, and render themselves acceptable to him. And as a proof of this matter, like gentle sons at the admonition of a loving Father, they consented by a general agreement that they wished to be more gracious after this chastisement, nay rather more amended. The elder brethren too with careful care consulted with the seniors by what occupations chiefly they might be able to render satisfaction for their former negligences. And thus it was determined in common that the roofs of the churches, consumed and pulled down by age ⁱ, and the leaking roofs of the other offices, they should not only patch up, but should fully renew without interruption or the interposing of any other business. Which, as it was begun with the utmost devotion, so by our labor, more speedily than was thought, God supplying the effect, was beautifully [*] and most vigorously completed. The church of St. Bertinus's rest also was very swiftly covered with lead with wonderful workmanship. But its little tower also, although it had been newly set on top, because it had been made after the old fashion, they took down, and set themselves to build another of wonderful size and of admirable structure, whose length, as it stood on the ground, equalled the height of the roof-top of the church on which it was to be set. Nor is it strange: for it had been made a three-storied thing (to speak in the common tongue) with three ranks of tripods, apart from the topmost lantern ^k.

[7] And so, when it had been set upon the church and raised, and joined at each of its joints, a workman fell from the topmost part of the tower, and remained unhurt. when the apple-bearing dome was being raised on high together with the triumphal sign of the cross, and around that same shaft the topmost [] wheel, where the little shafts and boards of the aforesaid lantern had to rest and be fastened, was being coupled by shouldering, one of the craftsmen, named Bertus, standing upon that same ring, seized a hammer, and, as though rejoicing at the almost approaching completion of so wonderful a work, drawing back his stroke as it were boastfully far, threw it incautiously. But alas! as the wheel sprang back and shook, he, tottering and slipping with his feet, came headlong to the ground from so great a height. But — wonderful to say and more wonderful to marvel at — he suffered no injury at all, save that he was dismayed by the falling from so great a height; so that it is not right that it should be doubted that he was borne up by the wings of the succors of the most blessed father Bertinus, whom he served. And to the attestation of so great a miracle we add how laughable and pleasing an answer he gave, without any anxiety of pain, to those who ran up and offered him water as though for refreshment: namely that, since he was always cheerful in his work and labor, he said they knew for certain that he rejoiced rather to quench his thirst continually with wine than with water, and that he had no need then of the liquid of water offered him. For at once, as if from the report of so great a misfortune, the Brethren with the rest of the household, running up mingled and in troops as though to the obsequies of the fallen man, when they had found him standing unharmed, led him rejoicing into the church, changing their sad weeping into tears of gladness; sounding at the same time the deep-toned [] bells with their wonted long clangor, and at the same time solemnly bearing songs by chanting to God [*] the author and to Bl. Bertinus the helper of that miracle. The craftsmen too, not to say animated by this mighty work, nay rather made stronger and bolder, steadfast and glad completed the work they had begun.

[8] A man born deaf and dumb In the time that followed it also happened that a certain man, unknown both in nation and in name — nor is it strange, since he had been wretchedly bound by a twofold disease (for he was empty of hearing from the hour [] of his first birth, and deprived of speech) — came on pilgrimage to the monastery of the aforesaid Father. Who, when he spent much time there, and, as we said before, because he could not speak, begged alms by the beatings of clappers ^l, and turned aside nowhere else, the Christian people of the place, considering the continuance of his [] unbroken constancy and his frequenting of the churches [], and reflecting that such a sign was not made without God's nod, began to receive him more kindly, and to assign him a lodging in the hospice appointed for the daily receiving of the poor. And having lived there nearly a year, after the completion of the week of the Lord's Resurrection, on the tenth day, that is, on the fourth feria, while the monks were performing the due evening office in the church, and the cantor was beginning the antiphon for saluting the cross, which begins thus, Go, tell my brethren, and a boy was thereafter pronouncing the verse, Say among the nations*, and the rest also in the wonted manner were following it slowly and in a low voice, in that as it were hour of silence the said deaf and dumb man began by babbling to imitate the voices of the chanters which he had heard.

[9] is healed in the Saint's church. The Brethren therefore, terrified at so unwonted and dreadful a sound, stopped, signing to the steward of the poor to inquire the cause. Who, when he signed to him in the wonted manner, and made no headway, being irascible as he was, began to rebuke him with words. But he, because he knew not how to speak anything else, tried by stammering [] to answer those same words. Then the Brethren, at once understanding that hearing and speech had been granted him by the Lord through the merits of Bl. Bertinus, rendered thanks with all their might to God and to his Healer with the tuneful chantings of a hymn and with the ringing of bells. And being made glad by the dancing joy of this extraordinary ^m mighty work, because he was in the first beginnings of flowering youth, they sent him to the school of the canons, to be instructed in the studies of letters so far as he could; and at once, when he had learned the day chapters with the evening psalms, he asked that the hair of his head should be laid aside. And [] not long after he began to weary, and professed that it was in his heart to seek Rome, and, having received leave, he joined himself to Saxons from overseas who were going [] to Rome. And when he had come with them beyond the city of Langres ⁿ, merchants of Verdun joined themselves to them, taking the same road as far as the parting of the way which leads to Spain. And there then it became known, which before was unknown, namely that he was a citizen of Verdun: because there he recognized his own people, although he himself could with difficulty be recognized [] by them because of the unlooked-for restoration of his inborn diseases. Yet, vigorously accomplishing the journey he had begun, and returning thence, without any desire of turning aside to his own home, he straightway [*] revisited the place of his healing, and rendered thanks to God and to his Restorer. The name also given him in baptism, which he did not know before he learned it from his acquaintances, he then made known; for he was called Ermenfridus: and thus, bidding farewell to his benefactors, filled with an abundance of blessings, he returned joyful to his own home.

[10] As some are endangered by the lukewarmness [] of their negligence, A man who worked on the Saint's festivity is made blind; so by the most wholesome chastisement of the divine dispensation (as clearly appears in the present event) many are saved. For a certain man of the tenantry of that same church, from a town belonging to it, called Gimiacum, Letfridus [] by name, was less careful than his other fellow townsmen in the devotion of Christianity (as the fitness of the event afterward declared). And therefore it also happened that, when on a certain Sunday his fellow citizens after their wonted manner were panting to the church with the inward devotion of their mind no less than they hastened with the steps of their feet, and he too was addressed with the wonted soothing of gentle speech by his more intimate friends [] and called to go with them, not to say that he went, but he even feigned not to hear their wholesome admonitions on the other side, going off to a few cattle which seemed to be of his own right to be cared for. To whom, before he had come to the pasture places, there came an anguish of mind with an intolerable fear and an exceeding shuddering: and, as we learned from him afterward, it seemed to him as though he had been wholly drenched with the heat of boiling water: and, to speak to those who do not know, because the situation of that same estate where this happened is such that there the view of the churches of the confessors of Christ Audomarus and Bertinus lies clear before the eyes of travelers, that wretched man — though by reason of his hardness, or as though a miracle attended him [], by no means pitiable — striving thither, though late, to turn aside, so that he might be helped by their prayers, could not; but fell almost lifeless to the ground before that, in no wise as struck by a dizzy affection ^o, but for the salvation of his soul (as afterward appeared), nay rather for the praise of God's name, and by his disposition being deprived of the sight of the delightful lights, and he remained for two years or more in the bitterness of this blindness.

[11] And when he was still lukewarm in the sloth of his torpor, as though utterly distrusting the restoration of his health, but afterward, having made a vow, is healed. at length at the urging of his own people he went to visit the thresholds of the most blessed father Bertinus, bringing what gifts he could obtain, especially of wax, so that, if it should please God and the aforesaid most clement Father, he might by his merits deserve to receive back the lost lights of his darkened orbs, promising and confirming that, whatever concerning him should please [] the divine loving-kindness, he wished to spend the remaining space of his life there. And God, the knower of hidden things, beholding this inward devotion of his heart and his most constant profession [], by the merits and prayers of the most clement Father restored him to sight and sight to him, and that with so great a clearness of perception that — since from boyhood until he was grown up he had been brought up and nourished in the house of a certain most noble man of that region, and in his women's quarters [] had been taught spinning, carding [p], weaving, and every craft of women's work — whatever of the palls [] in the aforesaid church afterward had to be adorned and mended, or of the ecclesiastical vestments to be washed, he should with careful intent look after, panting in aspiration and suppliantly imploring that, as he himself by his labor sweated to mend whatever was needful and to cleanse what was foul, so the clemency of the divine compassion might deign to wash away the defilements of all his offenses, that he might deserve happily to come to the callings of the Author of his restoration.

ANNOTATIONS.

struck, that scarcely a few escaped, who might announce the wrath of almighty God to the rest. Of the other inroads of the Normans into Gaul, which the author briefly touches, the historians may be consulted.

p. Cusandi, that is, of sewing, from the French coudre.

. That is, tyrannis.*

. Mab., Menapiorum.*

. Elsewhere confidentes.*

. Elsewhere Worardus.*

. Elsewhere Regenhardus.*

. Elsewhere viscera.*

. Elsewhere martyrio.*

. Elsewhere execrabilibus.*

. That is, a troop.*

. Elsewhere vero.*

. Elsewhere adunantes.*

. Mab., prætentu.*

. Elsewhere pulcherrime.*

. suprema.*

. Elsewhere gaudisonas.*

. Mab., Domino.*

*. That is, from the hour of his birth.

. Mab., ejusque.*

. Mab., detractantes.*

. That is, by stammering.*

. Mab., at.*

. Elsewhere petentibus.*

. Elsewhere agnosci.*

. Elsewhere directum.*

. Mab., tempore.*

. Elsewhere Leodfridus.*

. Mab., primatioribus.*

. Mab., subsequens.*

. Mab., placeret.*

. The same, confessionem.*

. That is, gynecæo.*

. Mal., pallorum.*

CHAPTER II.

A second inroad of the Danes or Normans to spoil the monastery of Sithiu: the barbarians repelled by divine help.

[ ] The Normans, having besieged Noyon in vain, At that time also, when, through the manifold offenses [] weighing heavily and pressing down — not only of the common people alone, nay of all dignities and orders — not only the borders of France, but also all the chief places of the whole realm, and the province of Armorica, were being cruelly, though justly, invaded by that fleet with a long oppression of the sacrilegious nation of the Danes; and a very great host [], by reason of its numerousness (to speak, as it were, by an epithet), was called by all the Great Army: in the twelfth year of its coming into the realm, gathered from every quarter where it had been spread abroad into the place which from the meeting of notable waters there is called Confluentia, it went up the river called the Yser ^a, and came both with cavalry and with shipping up to the city of Noyon ^b, making there a fortification about a villa on the southern quarter, fortified by nature, namely by water and wood, called Kirisiacus ^c, intending, if it could not in a short time, by a close and long siege to be able to take the city, because it seemed small.

[13] But when, prevailing nothing there, they had spent half a year ^d, they direct their course toward Brabant, and a part separated from the rest and (not to say) made any headway, but rather, being straitened by hunger and thirst and every want, were almost failing, they took counsel (as the following event made plain) to go into the realm that was once Lothair's ^e, treating to pass through the maritime parts, and to take the forts lately made there, and to put to death all the inhabitants unless they surrendered. When this was known, a part of the young men, who seemed to themselves to be nimbler and bolder than the rest, five hundred and fifty in number, chose themselves out, and, the others not knowing, snatching themselves away secretly by night as though going in another direction after the wonted manner, and taking the road, with an unrelenting course made straight for a little fortification ^f made (alas!) with poor cost and with a small though vigorous company of inhabitants, in the district of Thérouanne, in the place which is called Sithiu, about the monastery of the excellent prelate Audomarus, built of timber, clod and turf, as most skilfully, so also most firmly; boasting on the way beforehand that they would break it at the first assault, and that it could easily be taken by reason of the slenderness or fewness of its inhabitants. Yet, God helping them, and the patronages of the Saints who chose there a place of rest for themselves interceding after the wonted manner, Christ being indignant, their presumptuous boasting was presently turned into a deserved vengeance, to the setting forth of which we now turn our pen.

[14] comes to attack the fortification of Sithiu: For after the holy day of the Paschal Resurrection, fourteen days having run by, on the Lord's day, at the hour at which the chief ^g assembly of the Mass was publicly held, the aforesaid invaders appeared at once, coming down by the slope of the mountain overhanging the villa which is called Locus-Ecclesiæ ^h, for the reason that the most blessed martyrs Fuscian and Victoricus, at the very outset [] of the Christianity of the inhabitants of the land, are said to have built there the first church, looking over against the monastery from the western side. Seeing which, the watchmen, supposing that the whole army would follow with its great numbers [], as report had before spread abroad that they were coming, at once made it known to the people standing in the church. But they, not so dismayed by such a message, nay rather made calmer in mind, commended their cause to God and to the patronages of the Saints, and with compunction rebaptized themselves by mutual confession, and fortified themselves by the humble receiving of the mystery of the Body and Blood, giving one another their right hands that for liberty and the guarding of the place they would either meet death nimbly or defend it vigorously; and at once, being made ready with the best arms (as is the custom of the inhabitants of the region), mounting the wall, together with the engines of war prepared beforehand they clothed the citadel most strongly. When the enemies, arrogant a little before, had learned such constancy of theirs, and moreover had seen a part of those shut in boldly going out to meet them beyond the fortification, God terrifying them exceedingly, the pride of their spirit being softened, their boasting pressed down, their boldness relaxed and melted, by no means daring to attempt what they had begun, they turned aside to seizing the cattle grazing through the fields, desiring to hasten back even with so slight a booty.

[15] but the Normans are cut down by the men of Sithiu, But the rest of our men, moved by this invasion, and especially trusting in God's help and in the intercession of their own witnesses, suddenly burst out of the fortification, rushing after them — the horsemen indeed by short cuts getting before them on the level of the mountain from which they had before come down, because they were driving the cattle slowly, holding it a matter of contempt that they should dare such things; but the footmen following at their back, setting the enemies in the midst. And so, finding themselves surrounded [] on every side, contriving another flight, they broke desperately toward the eastern quarter through the left horn of those who hemmed them in, making for a certain oaken [] grove, thinking that there in vain they might either defend themselves or escape. Our men therefore, pursuing them and slaying them (for it was the ninth hour of the day when they went out of the castle), before evening came on had consumed in God's battle all that great number, as they themselves had boasted, of chosen fighters, though not without loss to us, yet with greater loss to them ⁱ. For all were there slain, save that as many of ours died, so many of them escaped by flight; and only nine out of all that great number had got away, and of these too five were found dead on the road by those who pursued them, and only four, stretching forward, as we afterward learned from those who were then with the army, came to their companions, blaming the boldness of their rashness, as though carefully searching out the outcome of a presumptuous matter. Of the spoils also they made three divisions, granting one to the churches, giving another to those who prayed and to the poor, and the third the nobler shared with the lower in an equal balance: and deservedly.

[16] For let us search out humanly, for example's sake, to whom a victory of this kind is rather to be assigned, whose victory is attributed to the divine favor. to those who prayed or to those who fought ^k. But since that place of the contest could easily be looked upon from the walls of the Castle, who can tell with what inward sighings of their hearts those who prayed, in the wrestling of that arena ^l, poured forth with all their efforts tearful prayers to Christ for their deliverance: how frequent and deep sighs, with weepings, tearing their hair and faces and ceaselessly weeping, the mothers with their little ones panting sent back and forth: and what bellowings of groans the unwarlike crowd sent to heaven, with arms unweariedly stretched out and palms spread, commending the end of the contest to God's compassion; and therefore if anyone shall begin to be contentious even in enmity, saying to which order this cause is rather to be reckoned, let us say, dearest brethren, let us say, nay rather let us truly testify, and let us not doubt to assert, all circumlocution being removed, that in the anxiety of this contest those who prayed and the weak, by the knockings and importunities [*] of their prayers, inclined God's ears to clemency, so that he should help those who by no means presumed on their own strength, and, the merits of his elect Audomarus and Bertinus intervening, should by his mighty power mercifully strengthen the hands of the fighters for the accomplishing of the vengeance due to him and to his own. And thus let the victory be deservedly assigned to them, and to those who prayed, unweariedly serving Christ to the end, the crown. But above all let there abide praise and glory with the Saints to God, the giver and author not only of the present triumph, but also the bestower of all good things, through the infinite ages of ages.

[17] Besides, beloved brethren and fellow soldiers of Christ, When the fortifications begun at Sithiu remained unfinished, with what vows of our hearts or with what chantings of praises shall we be able to be fit to render thanks to God for the unlooked-for deliverance from so great a danger; or with what rashness can we say that an attempt of this kind would have been begun, unless it had been prompted by the great zeal of a merciful God? For it was horrible to tell, and more horrible to undertake: because the nobility of that land had almost from a long time before departed, for love of, or in subjection to, their own dear lords, leaving the country of their birth, save a few who were so endowed with hereditary patrimonies that it was not needful for them to be subject save to the public ordinances.

A part of these, with the most noble and religious monks of that place, and at the same time with the canons most devoted to God and most vigorous, whom no tribulation of persecution ever prevailed to frighten into leaving the place of their purpose, upheld it, and likewise strengthened the almost slackened spirits of the remnant and the feeble hand of the common people. Taking this above all undoubtingly as an anchor of the surest hope and of a presumable confidence in the Lord (and because the matter was for life), and as a necessary boldness: namely that in times past — in the days, that is, of Fulco ^m, then the most noble abbot of that place, but afterward the most reverend archbishop of the holy mother church of Reims ⁿ — while the inhabitants of the land were still filled with all abundance and flourishing entire without diminution, the circuit of the castle had, with the consent of the people and the nobles, been agreed upon ^o, measured out, and distributed among the authorities and offices for completion, and had been taken in hand [p] and already begun in a very great part, but, alas! by reason of hindering sins had been left unfinished, and, by reason of the greatness of its circuit, had been hindered and interrupted by a wicked and unhappy excuse.

[18] St. Audomarus, appearing to a monk, warns that they be completed, But in the process of time [q], when the whole land had been burnt and depopulated, and a great multitude [] of men [] almost consumed, worn thin by famine, and driven off by the scattering of flight, at length by the regard of God, who is merciful and pities the few remnants, showing that his salvation consists not in the multitude of the people but rather in his mercies and compassions, and making plain also that at fitting turns for those in need he deigns to grant effect to the prayers of his elect for those who make supplication with vows to him, he willed that blessed Audomarus, that most easily entreated prelate, should appear in a vision to a certain monk of the monastery of St. Bertinus, namely the sacristan of the aforesaid church, a man of memorable person, named Herricus [r]. Who, as he himself afterward was wont delightfully to relate in the hearing of many, was of tall stature, of venerable white hair, having on his forehead marks spreading apart the brightness [] of a most beautiful baldness, comely and slender of face, with a nose moderately long and slightly hooked [], with hands whose very long fingers shone [] with the most beautiful slenderness of leanness, clothed with the episcopal fillet; who, he declared, addressed him with sweet speech, calling him thus: Art thou weighed down with sleep, Brother, or art thou awake? And when he, trembling at so unwonted a visitation of such a person, had answered that he was neither wholly asleep, nor, by reason of the general anguish that possessed him (since fear is wont to bring on drowsiness), able to keep himself from refreshing his limbs, weary with too great labor and loose with anxiety, stretching out his arm and reaching his hand as it were toward him, he added: You must rather be watchful both in mind and body, and must with all your might sweat more wholesomely at my admonitions, than dally in sluggish idleness. Wherefore arise, and earnestly adjure the remnants of the people, wholly devoted [] to the maintaining of their own salvation, that, so far as it seems to them that they can prevail, they cease not to make the citadel firm by day and by night.

[19] which is done by the men of Sithiu, And when he, partly filled with joy, partly terrified with the dread of the vision, yet after taking counsel about it, having first called together the people of fit persons, had vigorously made known the aforesaid vision of the father admonishing, affectionately exhorting, and zealously commanding, all with one mind, rejoicing with compunction of heart and weeping with joyful tears, with palms [] spread on both sides to heaven began to cry out, saying: We render thanks to almighty God, who has deigned to refresh and strengthen us by the saving visitation of our father, providing for us, admonishing and consoling us: promising that with such strength as they could they would most zealously fulfil the wholesome admonitions; and which promise they at once began with a most urgent undertaking, and with as swift [] an accomplishment as they could they set themselves to complete it; and, being worthily helped by the provision of so clement a God not only in the danger already spoken of, but also in that which followed, which was far greater and more perilous, and being animated by the exhortation of their loving Father, nay rather being saved by the wonted and provident defense of their fathers, proved by experience without testament, they deservedly thenceforth continually and joyfully praise there most devoutly the Lord and their own protectors more abundantly.

ANNOTATIONS.

p. After receptus, in one codex there is added immo. That the building of this citadel was begun after the Danes had a second time burnt the monastery of St. Bertinus, John of Ypres says at chap. 18 part. 2; but he says that the work was interrupted when Fulco departed, being made archbishop from abbot. That second burning of the monastery is referred in the Norman Chronicle to the year 881, and is distinguished from the inroads which are here narrated.

q. Here in Mabillon an epoch of time is added in these words: Namely in the year of grace eight hundred and ninety-one. But the codices do not have those words.

r. He is called Henricus in John of Ypres, who narrates the same at chap. 19 part. 3.

. That is, delictis.*

. That is, turmaque.*

. That is, initio.*

. turma.*

. Mab., cunctos.*

. Elsewhere quercuum.*

*. That is, by assiduous prayers.

. That is, a multitude.*

. That is, of those in need.*

. Elsewhere nitore.*

. Mab., adunco.*

. Elsewhere translucentibus.*

. Elsewhere devoti.*

. Elsewhere votis.*

. Mab., pervicacissimo.*

CHAPTER III.

The Normans return in greater multitude, and attack the citadel of Sithiu; but are repelled by divine help.

[ ] The Normans come with their whole host, Nor was there any long delay intervening after the aforesaid slaughter of the enemies ^a; for that ancient Leviathan, insatiably hungering and thirsting to contrive snares for the human race, does not suffer his members to have delays in persecuting and harming the pious. Since indeed he was kindled with the envy of spite, because he grieved that our men were fervent with a fresh benefit and with the highest devotion. Nor is it strange, since at that time he stands by the more hostile the more he perceives that any are made stronger in the purpose of God's will. And therefore he compelled the kinsmen or comrades and fellow tribesmen and accomplices [] of the fallen, raging with all the strength of his cruelty, to blaze up into wrath and into a most savage vengeance for their own (if God had permitted it). For he suggested that the weight of the enemies of the whole realm should shortly be gathered into the closest straits of one estate. For when the revolution had been accomplished after the aforesaid slaughter, if I am not mistaken, on the second hour of the next Lord's day, a mist, from the nature of the place, having arisen early [] and still staining the air, there appeared footmen of an incalculable multitude [] coming down by the same slope by which the former had, and, making for the castle at a swift course, they by no means entered, but waited before the door of the outer entrance for those who were to follow. But the horsemen, like the sand for their innumerable multitude, turned aside to a certain [] place of the contest, in no other way than as, at the sight of the new spectacle, the grief for their own slain growing raw again, after the manner of elephants, which are stirred to wrath for fighting by the sight of blood, so these were sharpened to avenge their own men's blood more severely and cruelly.

[21] And when for some while they deliberated there in grief, and made no other headway, and fiercely attack the castle of Sithiu: save that they beheld the wasted and putrid bodies, having made a swift course, as though they would take the little fortification at the first assault, they came to their companions: and, bursting in together with a raging roar, it was determined that the footmen [] should assail [] the castle-dwellers with a dire attack. The horsemen indeed, God granting it, were hastening to a place naturally fortified, namely the monastic ^b monastery of St. Bertinus, the most loving protector of his own and the readiest deliverer in the greatest necessities. And such things we believe came to pass not without God's dispensation, as we presently plainly proved by his nod, that where a greater common victory was to be won, and an abundance of divine help to be accomplished from heaven, there a more numerous and stronger multitude of enemies should be gathered. And coming at once at that same moment, they sent back their horses through foragers to the pastures at the places of the villas, and with such zeal hastened to build dwellings, as though after the breaking of the little fortification they wished, for the strength of the place and the convenience of the meadows ^c, to abide there a long time. Meanwhile the footmen from

the time of their entry, not ceasing to fight the whole day with the nimbler horsemen against the fortification of the castle, by divers and unwonted kinds of devices, harassing their opponents in troops and wedges by turns of succession, did not suffer them to breathe even a little. For, casting fiery implements and pieces of glowing iron upon them like hail with slings [*], and not ceasing to rain showers of arrows upon them, and contriving many other obstacles which it is both wearisome and difficult to enumerate; at the last, fortifying the ditches made about the fortification of wonderful depth and breadth, they filled them as with wicker walls with straw and every kind of dry stuff, trying to overthrow by fire those against whom they could not prevail by the other devices of their contrivances.

[22] But when they had for a while withdrawn themselves, our men, God granting it, and a favorable whirlwind of the wind blowing for them, cautiously casting fire into those same heaps of straw and piles of wood, but are repelled with great loss, and they not knowing it and little expecting it, and likewise bringing fire to do the same to them, when the straw blazed up very many of them were scorched, scarcely snatched from the peril of death. But, God being propitious, none of ours were in any great peril in so ^d [] long a space of the contest, save only one Brother of the monastic Order, who was struck by the blow of an arrow between two boards of the rampart where he stood, beneath the groin []: and he too recovered. Nevertheless, his servants being less stirred [*] to vengeance by arms, and therefore less wary and wounded, he permitted another Brother likewise of the same Order to render the enemies a worthy recompense.

[23] For there was a certain tyrant of the enemy's side, harsher and stronger than all the rest, as it seemed, and one of the leaders being slain, and craftier in the art of fighting with cunning stratagems, who did not cease for a moment to fight bravely, and to urge on the others as though they would take the walls without delay. On our side too, although by reason of the frequent onset of the enemies they pressed more tenaciously to defense than to attack, yet with such arts and strength as they could and as was practicable they vigorously and nimbly resisted, all striving most intently in every way whether by any means they might hinder that most hostile enemy. But it was granted to none of them, for the reason that God wished them to understand, and, being set on the border of life and death, wished to signify from what quarter he purposed mercifully to send them relief from the impending peril. And therefore he decreed, as we said before, that a young man of the monastic habit should seize a bow, although it be unlawful or unfitting for this Order to handle arms; and he, aiming at that man with careful consideration as he leapt forward boastfully ^e, doubtful indeed of his own strength, but by no means uncertain of God's help, an arrow being set to the bow, imploring God's aid [], drew the taut string strongly, and by the gift of a divine impulse fixed it manfully in the forehead of the said tyrant. And when he was dead, the others ceased from the tumult of the assault, sending at once men to announce the outcome of the matter to their elders, who were tarrying in the court of the said monastery, while their courtiers however sat in council in the church of the most blessed Peter: and when this deed was complained of by those who reported it, and it grieved them somewhat, yet not greatly, and they were deliberating rather slowly and securely what was to be done that evening, in such an interval one of them ran and took down the cross standing behind the altar of Bl. Bertinus: and returning to his companions, irreverent before them, he began to break it up with an iron style, which is called suol* ^f, with which fire is wont to be struck from a flint.

[24] and another, who was violating the holy Cross, being divinely punished, But the aforesaid messengers, kindled to anger by the space of so great a delay, set about rebuking them rather harshly with insolent reproaches, saying: A very shameful and unworthy thing is this which you do: for you are not indignant at the avenging of our slain, nor are you angered about us who are fighting and in part failing for you, nor do you take pains about the taking of the castle, which would delay nothing if only it pleased you to attack them: moreover you do not even consider the booty not yet had, since, if they have so much as the space of the night, they will either bury all their goods, or hide them in wells or in whatever secret places: because they fear for certain that they must go to surrender or to death. And they, turned to wrath, blazed up furiously, at once springing up from their places of session, and making vows to their gods, namely that if they could take the fortification that evening they would spare none of the male sex until morning. And of this haughty boasting the most proud words and the threats of dreadful rashness uttered, it is lawful for none to doubt, by the intervention of Bl. Peter the apostle and by the prayers of the ever-heard confessor of Christ Bertinus, in whose churches, as though for their affront, these things were done and said, were suppliantly brought before the ears of God's loving-kindness, who bore these things ill. For at once the aforesaid violator of the saving sign was straightway struck with an incurable stroke, as we believe, for the hindering of so cruel a decree. For his mouth was suddenly drawn together with his ear as far as the back of his head, and his eyes twisted with an overturning, and, foaming and trembling, he was rolled about on the ground ^g.

[25] they snatch themselves away in headlong flight, Seeing which, those who a little before were raging arrogantly began to be straitened, to grow pale, to tremble, and to execrate their stricken comrades, before beloved, then as abominable, reckoning that their only refuge of escape was if they were granted to take again the way by which they had come. And so, some being struck and others terrified by such a vengeance of God, they hastily seized their own standards leaning against the walls of the churches, which, having been set there gleaming with the splendor of fine linen, taking them back they wondered to see blackened with a pitchy color; and thus with a swift course, tottering headlong, they burst through the midst of the churches, not drunk with wine but dismayed by the indignation of God and the offenses of the Saints: and it seemed to them slow to reach the gates of the monastery, so that they rejoiced then more at their going out than a little before at the entrance they had long desired. But having gone out, and having somewhat recovered their almost lost breath, they remembered the disabled who were left. Nor yet did any of them dare to return for them, but calling to them a certain vigorous young man, once taken captive from the tenantry of St. Vulmarus ^h, who from the beginning was present at this deed, they commanded him that as soon as possible he should try to return, and, if they were alive, should bring them. And he, returning to perform what was enjoined, found them, as before, wandering hither and thither and groping, and the man with his mouth drawn together lying as before almost lifeless, who also remained there because he could not go out, and, wasting away wretchedly for very many days, lived on the alms of good men, and by such barkings as he could testified to God's miracles wrought there.

[26] But the aforesaid young man, having given his hand to one of the blind, having received a great disaster. and thus one clinging to another, they were drawn along to the rest: who meanwhile, trembling with the horror of death, were hastening to sound with frequent clangor, with shrilling trumpets whose sound rather signified, nay compelled, flight, than exhorted to battle. Hearing which, all that multitude, wherever they were, whether about the castle, or set in tents or in the pastures, being terrified by the known clangor of flight, and still more affrighted by the divine power, seeking again neither lords nor comrades nor acquaintances, made for wherever it seemed good to each [] in headlong flight, where they might the more swiftly either flee or hide themselves. But the aforesaid chiefs, gathering themselves with those whom they could have with them, and panting to go out swiftly over against the fortification through the gate of their entry, not to say that they came near it, dared neither to turn their face thither, nor, although it was then growing evening, to halt that night within six miles, but made straight for the once most renowned citadel of the Menapii ⁱ; the Lord Jesus [] Christ, as he mercifully delivered his own, so striking those estranged from him with the deserved torments of calamities, and terrifying them from on high, and driving them far even to destruction. For by the report of those faithful men who were present at the battle we have learned that, coming to the place for which they were making, in one encounter of battle twelve of their noble fighters were overthrown, God graciously repaying them the deserved payment for the number of slayings and sacrileges.

[27] To what has been set forth before we also judge worthy to add what was sent from heaven and seen at the same time. The Normans bring back their standard, which had been clean, Behind the outer court of the monastery gate of the conventual monastery, in times not long past, a certain fruitful grove was most beautifully planted by a certain religious monk of that place, in the midst of which there stood as it were a mound-like hill, having on its summit a pear tree, whose [] pears were of exceeding size and of sweetest taste; and it was related by the elders that it was from the plantings of the most blessed father Bertinus. Wherefore the industry of the fathers ordained that the Brethren every year, solemnly vested, on the second feria of Easter, with relics and chantings (as it is the custom to do through the whole of that week through the various offices), should visit that same orchard, and, the prayer being completed on that little hill, should return to the public solemnities. Which grove, because it was between the two monasteries, lest perchance it should be a hiding place for enemies, the Christians resolved to root out. And so the pagans, coming as we said before, on the top of the aforesaid hill fixed on a lofty shaft their chief standard, which is said to be called labarum*, that it might strike terror into those who beheld it from afar.

[28] black: a mist seen at the time of the battle. But over against them in that same place the merciful Lord willed most evidently to declare that he himself looks down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there be any that understand or seek God. For the aforesaid standard, which had been set there most bright, being snatched thence, was plucked away most foul: and at the time of the beginning of the aforesaid marvels a misty darkness covered that whole place of the grove, so that neither could those on the height be seen by those below ^k, nor those below by those above. A cloudy pillar also, hanging from heaven in the midst of the darkness, was seen above that hill, resembling in the color of its appearance the variety of the rainy rainbow, and equalling in its breadth also the width of the hill beneath: nor did it withdraw itself from the eyes of the faithful who intently considered it before all that multitude of enemies had utterly departed; the almighty God most evidently showing us visibly, nay rather mercifully provoking us, that we ought continually with all intention of mind and all devotion of heart to fix our eyes, as well outward as inward, in all our necessities upon that place to which he has deigned to invite us by the redemption of the most precious blood of his Son, who with him lives, is glorified and reigns God in the unity of the Holy Spirit through the immortal ages of ages. Amen ^l.

ANNOTATIONS.

Legend it is read concerning the blinding of the Danes, and also concerning the change or discoloring of their standards.

. Mab., complures.*

. That is, mane.*

. That is, multitudinis.*

. Elsewhere quondam*, that is, of the former.

. Elsewhere pedibus.*

. Elsewhere incendere.*

. Mab., fundibilis.*

. Mab., vitam.*

. Elsewhere inguina.*

. Elsewhere exercitati.*

. Elsewhere auxilium.*

. Mab., ubicumque.*

. Mab., illo.*

. Elsewhere cujus.*

A THIRD LIFE

by Folcard, a monk of Sithiu

From a manuscript codex of Saint-Bertin, collated with two other manuscripts.

Bertinus, abbot, at Saint-Omer in Belgium (S.)

BHL Number: 1293

By Folcard.

DEDICATION TO BOVO, ABBOT OF SITHIU.

The author sets forth why he has hitherto written nothing, To his lord ^a Bovo, his most longed-for father, Brother Folcard, to be inserted in no page — which is the highest thing before the highest Maker ^b. Perhaps, my father, thou art with reason rather often angry with thy home-born servant, brought up once on thy milk and with thy nourishment, that I alone cumber the ground, like that useless fig tree, and bring forth nothing of the instruction with which thou didst once graft me as a boy. It would be right, I confess, that what thou didst graft should sprout, if not with a worthy, yet with some kind of shoot: but strength fails desire, best of fathers; whereby I am compelled to lie hidden ignoble among private men. Of which weakness of mine I might indeed accuse thee, that thou didst urge me on too unripe, to tell my tale without the bark, had not the evil rust of my mind so freed ^c me from a tender nail, bending my zeal less thither where it might grasp more. For the affection of thy love toward me, when it perceived that I had taken in anything of thy teaching, as though that anything were great or excellent, granted me to be a freedman: and when I now wished to be not a freedman but free, and to grow accustomed to that more freely by a bad use, as happens when he who would pull a boy's ear, the chastiser, is absent, liberty fell away into vice. Hence I may grant that thou hast rather often been rightly indignant at my sloth, and I willingly reckon this the highest benefit toward me from thee.

[2] and for what cause he now writes this Life, Whence what I have hitherto done less advisedly, I have taken care at the bidding of thy paternity to change for the better. And what met me in the midst as I pondered was the Life of our most blessed father Bertinus, which I have begun to write afresh, a manifold cause impelling me: and if it be so, it will be established from the thing itself, and the balance of thy examination will prove it. For, being about to say or do good things, I would take my beginning from none rather than from him who serves us all daily with so many advantages. Then indeed because it behooved me to satisfy the devout petition of certain Brethren: who, while they seem to ask something of so small a man, are known from their very petition rather to command. Nor do they, I confess, ask this, as I think, nor do I so understand it, that, the old Life being set aside or neglected, this Work should be snatched into public: which would be too absurd; nor is such a thing to be attempted among so many and such, so to speak, cloud-born ones; but, if thou so biddest, according to that saying that in the temple of the Lord there are, they say, wooden and earthen vessels with the golden, so let this writing of my littleness be kept with the old one.

[3] which he submits to Bovo's examination. In the restraining of which, hating the labor and delay of the file, I have used neither a long day nor much erasure; it was a fitting counsel to offer it first to thy ears, if only thou, venerable father, wilt show thyself fit in this, namely to cut away all that is drawn out beyond profit; to bring light to what is too little clear, to smear the black mark upon what is ill-composed, and, where thy servant's work needs it, to become another Aristarchus. And if it be granted thy favor, let it be handed over to secret little parchments, if so it seem good, until something else, at thy command, be sported with on paper, which may exercise or occupy leisure ^d.

ANNOTATIONS.

PREFACE

The author, recounting God's very many benefits toward men, The clemency of the deific ^a Trinity, foreknowing our frailty, determined to begin the beginnings of its Church with merits of its Saints so much the loftier, as it knew that those who should be of frailer workmanship would need the constancy of the preceding structure: which indeed it provided by a clement consideration, that those whom, lost and destitute of all efficacy of restoration, it anticipated with the benefit of its visitation, and whom, condemned to eternal death, it quickened by its own death unto life, it might cherish within the bosom of its Church, which, having no spot or wrinkle, he redeemed by his incarnation, fortified by his temptation, strengthened by his passion, animated by his death, adorned with his blood, gladdened by his resurrection, made faithful by his ascension, and instructed by the illumination of the Holy Spirit. With so many and so great prerogatives of his loving-kindness the kindly Jesus founded his Church, whose bases he presently established in Apostolic solidity, raised by the constancy of the martyrs, and thereafter built up by the faithful teaching of the holy confessors, himself the highest author of all these being the corner stone Jesus Christ, in whom all the building framed together groweth up into a holy temple in the Lord.

[5] And lest, weighed down by our sins, we should distrust that we can be inserted into so divine a work, reckons the examples of the Saints among them also, the same our Redeemer took his own persecutors chiefly into the unity of his body, who, being set before God [], when, pricked in conscience for our sins, we beseech them, are admonished from their own former frailty to intercede for ours, and give us hope of obtaining what they have obtained, if with them we shall study to be renewed in newness of life. And to those who have obtained the grace of so great a unity, that they may strive to increase the traffic of their advancement by virtues, he sets before them as it were for an exemplary mirror [] the glorious merits of his Saints, who with their mother's milk drank in the desires of good exercise, and made haste with all diligence of mind to enter upon the very way of justice from their cradles; and, being found to have persevered in what they had begun, when the labors of this mortality were measured out, passed to eternal joys.

[6] Among whom our blessed and most beloved father Bertinus, to be proclaimed through all ages, and therefore he writes of St. Bertinus. with how great a privilege of sanctity the Lord entitled him, can be discerned when the evident renown of his converse is weighed. And since we have begun to discourse of the building of Christ's Church, so that it ought to be proved by manifest speech what the Man of the Lord showed himself to be in it, let our pen perform its own [*] office, the grace of the Holy Spirit favoring and administering in all things, who then grants that praiseworthy things be told of him whom he endowed with the fulness of his sevenfold gifts, if it shall have set forth for the profit of the hearers those things which he wrought in him and through him ^b.

ANNOTATIONS.

. Elsewhere Domino.*

. Elsewhere opponit.*

. Elsewhere suum.*

CHAPTER I.

The Saint's country and birth: his monastic life, his coming to St. Audomarus.

[ ] The Saint's birth and boyhood: The blessed boy Bertinus is handed down to have sprung from a noble stock of forefathers in the borders of Constance, which the Rhine, flowing beneath, dams for nearly three miles into the lake of Apothamus ^a beneath the walls of that city: which on this side looks upon neighboring Bavaria, on that Burgundy, and from the south upon the Alpine ridges. Here therefore the little child, a pledge exceedingly beloved by his forefathers, was diligently reared, as one who was afterward to be so great in the Lord. And although the dignity of earthly nobility so far favored him toward the glory of the world, from his very cradle of infancy a greater love of the servitude of Christ grew up with him: which showing, as soon as he came to that age, he consecrated the beginnings of his boyhood to God with evangelical perfection: for, about to follow the Lord, he renounced his parents and his country.

[8] his monastic life at Luxeuil: And that nothing of perfection might be wanting to God's servant, he made profession as a monk in the monastery of Luxeuil under father Eustasius ^b. Whose life and instruction in teaching, how far it partook of spiritual grace, may be known in the very excellence of the flock over which he presided; especially now, since it lies open by the more evident signs of the sanctity of those whom we know to be patrons by their merits before God in many lands. Their life indeed and manners Bertinus, a boy ^c in age but older in understanding, strove by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to imitate; whom, after he had made him his own by the charisms [] of his grace, he enrolled among such and so great fathers, that he might be instructed [] by their examples. At length, all

the more perfect [*] duties of life having been increased in his boyhood, he advances him in adolescence, endowed with an unexhausted vigor of heavenly desire.

[9] his coming to St. Audomarus, When therefore the Lord had now disposed to make his Soldier more manifestly known to the world, lest a lamp shining with so great brightness in a hidden place should put off the spiritual traffic of so many mortals, only two companions having gone forth ^d, Mummolinus and Ebertramnus, men namely of great sanctity, joined to them as a third, a perfect worshipper of the holy Trinity, he came ^e to the borders of the Morini, to whom at that time his fellow countryman and, as is reported, kinsman ^f, the excellent prelate of Christ Audomarus, was giving to drink the ample streams of divine doctrines. Who, when he learned that men of such great sanctity had come, believing that they had been divinely sent to him for the help of his preaching, did not neglect to render immense acts of thanks to the Lord for this solace, and received them at their request with great alacrity of mind: whom, because he had known from boyhood that they were skilled in sacred Scripture, and were of that same place in which he himself had made the first-fruits of his labors in God's service, he presently bade to apply themselves to the office of holy preaching.

[10] at whose bidding he preaches the faith to the Morini. Obeying his precept as the Lord's, they till with the husbandry of the heavenly word the hearts of the Morini, still uncultivated, and what they had applied by long meditation in the secret leisures of happy exercises they poured forth with a torrent instancy of teaching unto the salvation of very many. To whom the hand of the Lord's favor was so present that, as they themselves outwardly, so within the hearts of the hearers the grace of the Holy Spirit worked together: and since the Lord foresaw them as laborers for his harvest, he foresaw also by what increases of his bounty he should make known that he favored their labor. Among the Morini therefore the seed of the heavenly sowing which had been conceived springs up; and, the Lord's hand purging it, it hastens to lay up richer fruits in the heavenly barns. And he, while it is given to know eternal things more fully, gives earthly things, that by things known he may be able to acquire eternal ones.

[11] Adroaldus, at St. Audomarus's urging, For a certain man, mighty in earthly wealth, Adroaldus by name, lacking male offspring, because he had no earthly heir of his possessions, determined to have a heavenly one. On which matter he seeks counsel of the blessed and God-worthy pontiff Audomarus, that, since he knew him to be inspired by the illumination of the Holy Spirit, he might by his saving counsel do what he had determined to do. And when the renowned prelate had perceived the purpose of his truly saving meditation, being made perfect by the inspiring Holy Spirit with the fervent love of the twofold charity, namely of God and of his neighbor, he counsels that what he had disposed to give to God he should confer on blessed Bertinus and his aforenamed companions, so that by their labor a monastery might be built in the estate of his donation in veneration of God and of St. Peter the prince of the Apostles, and that a throng of monks perpetually serving God there might be gathered, whose devout service in serving Christ might eternally commend to heaven the offering of his devotion.

[12] Which the aforesaid man forthwith performed with great alacrity of heart, gives the villa of Sithiu: the building of the Old Monastery. handing over, at the pontiff's admonition and counsel, to blessed Bertinus and his companions a villa of his own right, called by the name of Sithiu, and confirming the manumission of his handing-over by the public writing of a privilege, in the presence of the same Audomarus, the beloved pontiff of God, and of all the nobles of the city of Thérouanne, in the year six hundred and twenty-six of the Lord's Incarnation, but in the eleventh year ^g of the reign of Clovis the son of king Dagobert, on the eighth of the Ides of September. Presently therefore in a certain territory of that same villa they set to the work together, which place to the present day is known to be reckoned from the thing itself the Old Monastery: but meanwhile, the venerable man Acharius, bishop of Noyon ^h, departing from the midst, Mummolinus is advanced to his prelacy, with blessed Audomarus helping, and likewise Ebertramnus [*] is set by Mummolinus over the monastery of St. Quentin of Vermandois.

[13] But blessed Bertinus, now proved in the furnace of humiliation, [Bertinus, about to seek a place for a larger monastery, commits himself to a boat,] and found worthy by the regard of the divine loving-kindness, remained in the place divinely granted him, God's grace reserving him for the salvation of many, and determined to seek a fitter place for the monks. For, to tell the situation of that place to those who do not know it: on this side that same place, situated on a low hill, has the river Aa with marshy waters; on that a wood overhanging in long stretches: but that same hill, being very small and less spacious, would not hold the building of any great structure. And so holy Bertinus, placing his hope and all his counsel in the Lord (for he knew that he could do nothing without him), invoked him with a humble petition, that he would bring to effect the desire of his heart for a counsel pleasing to him; and, having gone aboard a raft alone ⁱ, he said: Come, Lord, direct thy Servant whither it pleases thee: for wherever thou shalt grant me to stand, through me thy servant and through thy faithful ones, my Lord, a place of thy habitation shall be built. Provide, Lord, for thy servants a place in which they may serve thee in peace and concord, so that through the pious life of the dwellers thy name, Lord God, may be blessed and glorified by all for ever.

[14] The power of the Lord therefore was present to the pious affection of his suppliant as he prayed, and being carried to land, and the boat glides without the help of any driving oarage, cutting the deep with a favoring wave and tide. But then the Young man of venerable life, with palms stretched out to the Lord and eyes raised to heaven, amid most sweet sighs and tears of heavenly gladness, applied himself now to acts of thanksgiving, now to the chanting of Psalms. For there one might see the glory and merit of God's Athlete, when at his prayers you might behold the keel driven against the headlong waves of the down-rushing river without oarsman, and borne and ruled through the spacious bosom of the channel by the divine Power alone. With the illumination therefore of so great a miracle ^k the Lord marked out his Soldier even until he came to the place of the divine choosing: for the evidence of the recognizing of which the chanting of the psalm which he had in his mouth agreed with the halting-place ^l.

[15] he sings the little verse: This is my rest &c. Presently the boat in its course makes motionless the harbor of its halting, and holy Bertinus, continuing the Psalm, says: This is my rest for ever and ever; here will I dwell, for I have chosen it. O the Lord always glorious and wonderful in his Saints! O the Lord to be proclaimed and praised in all his works! At the prayers of a Friend trusting in him, he changed the nature of an element; and the wave, deprived of its own right, serves the Servant of the Lord, by whose command it once hardened beneath the footsteps of Peter the apostle. O the chosen Young man of a happy apprenticeship, whom the Lord willed to be held effectual with so great excellence in his sight, that he made him glorious in the same element in which he once glorified the Prince of the Apostles, and fitted to his invocation the dignity of so great a bestowal ^m, that in one and the same moment both the boat, the wave serving, stayed and fixed its course, and, why this should be, the harmony of the Holy Spirit sounded in his mouth. Thus indeed, thus our Lord subjects all things to the will and service of the Saints, who desire and seek him before all things.

[16] he founds the monastery of Sithiu, By the evident signs therefore of these things blessed Bertinus, knowing that that place had been chosen for him by God, although by its own [*] nature it was unfit to bear a laborious mass (for there was a turf sloping from a western hill, and, in the manner of a tongue, entering with a sloping level the neighboring marsh, and, loosened by that very marshy ooze which overflows on both sides, thick with willows and alders) — going out from the boat, he tries to make firm a mass of stone in the rotten deep, and, relying on divine help, overcomes the bad nature of the place by the great instancy of his labor, and in a short time completes a noble church built in honor of God and of St. Peter. Then he applies himself to preparing the other offices in which the spiritual instruments of the soul are exercised: and when all things had been prepared by his labor, he presided ⁿ over the Brethren who were gathered, as a father, all the uses of his sons being provided for.

[17] and as abbot governs it holily. For in him there was to be seen a mirror of all perfection, as in one whom the Lord, kindled from boyhood with the fervor of his spirit, provided as a vessel of the highest election: of a middle stature of discretion, of a face indeed bright but severe, of a body not fat but slender. By the practice of vigils and prayers and labors he had already grown old in his middle age, when, not yet reckoning that he had done anything, the veteran Soldier of Christ strove daily to grow toward the Lord; and, that the state of his sanctity may be briefly entitled, a Man made wholly out of virtues to a nicety. But with what worthy proofs of his life and teaching the Lord advanced the life of the flock committed to him, he willed to be made manifest in those very men brought up by the holy Father and exalted to the highest honor of divine dignity: whom by the unanimous election of his people he set as bishops and abbots over his Church: of whom even now, glorified in their own places by signs of many mighty works, he grants that they should be patrons ^o to his people for salvation and for advancement.

ANNOTATIONS.

the boat's progress against the flow of the waves that I read nothing of it in the first Life, and that therefore that miracle is not sufficiently probable; I find in the whole deed no clear miracle; but I would not on that account deny that the Saints were directed by a singular providence of God to the place in which they afterward built a monastery.

. Two Mss., chrismatibus.*

. In one, instrueret.*

. Elsewhere perfectioris.*

. Elsewhere Bertramnus.*

. That is, sua.*

CHAPTER II.

Heremarus's donation and the foundation of the monastery of Wormhout, over which Winnocus is set: a cemetery and the church of Bl. Mary founded, and St. Audomarus buried there: count Walbert healed by a twofold miracle.

[ ] As the number of monks increased, the villa of Wormhout is given to Bertinus, Meanwhile, as the religion of the faithful increased, and so great a sanctity of his was spread abroad through the whole region, when very many of either condition offered him their offspring to be reared in the service of Christ, and not a few submitted themselves under his mastership, God increasing and ruling them, he gathered in his own times a hundred and fifty ^a brethren. Nor were the necessaries of their life wanting, the Lord providing: for neighbors and all the nobles, devoted to Christ by his admonition and teaching, conferred on him very many gifts of lands and estates. After the aforesaid handing-over also by Adroaldus of venerable memory, by which he first showed himself in the first-fruits of the building of that place, a certain very rich man Heremarus ^b conferred on God and on holy Bertinus a villa of his own property, called Wormholt. And that blessed Man, not ungrateful for such great outlays of the divine bounty, consecrated to heavenly uses whatever was conferred on him by God's faithful, truly consulting their salvation.

[19] where he founds a monastery, over which St. Winnocus is set: For into the aforesaid estate he sent holy Winnocus ^c, trained from boyhood by his discipline, with his other fellow soldiers; whom he bade to build a cell for the receiving of the poor, and a church in honor of St. Martin. Which the aforesaid men, of one mind in the Lord, with urgent labor completed in a short time: and, a little community of Brethren having been established, he set over them his own disciple, his rival in every exercise of sanctity, namely holy Winnocus. Who, daily advancing from virtue to virtue by the instruction of his loving Father, grew strong especially in the virtue of the highest humility and contempt of the world. Nor is it strange: for, as has been said before us, he had at home whence to learn. Thus therefore blessed Bertinus was the author and father of all the monasteries of the territory of Thérouanne, and with so great an offspring bore fruit unto the increase [*] of Christ's Church. But omitting all the rest, with how great industry he took care to provide all things necessary for the place of his own habitation shall be told in the series that follows.

[20] [he makes a cemetery and receives the church of St. Mary by St. Audomarus's donation,] All the conveniences of that place therefore having been sought out for his Brethren, a cemetery could not be prepared, as being in a marsh. On which matter he did not delay to seek the counsel and help of his helper in all things, God's beloved prelate Audomarus. And that [*] renowned pontiff was at hand with his wonted display of charity; and by his counsel shared and by his labor, having surrounded the cemetery with a ditch, he consecrated it to that same monastery on the top of the aforesaid hill, a basilica having been built in the midst of it in veneration of the holy Mother of God Mary: which, being finished by common ^d work, he granted entire to holy Bertinus and his monks in the year six hundred and sixty of the Lord's Incarnation, confirming his donation by a handing-over made through the writing of a privilege ^e, in which he commended himself to the prayers of the same blessed Father and of all the Brethren serving God under his patronage, and asked that in that same cemetery, when he had entered the way of all flesh, they should bury his lifeless body.

[21] For at that same time that glorious athlete of Christ had grown old in age, whom afterward, when dead, he buries in it. in which also he lost the light of his bodily eyes ^f; to whom it had been granted to contemplate God the true light with the keen edge of his mind, and who, being made a living victim, holy, reasonable and pleasing to God, after countless contests of a corruptible life gloriously triumphed over, even to his own departure from the toils of this world the author, lover and helper of the holy father Bertinus and of his congregation, passed to the heavenly realms. Whose body the mourning throng of monks, with the blessed Father, escorts [] with grief and heavy lamentations, and with fitting honor lays up [] among the bodies of the monks, as he had asked, in the church of the holy Mother of God ^g. How glorious his mighty works were, both while living in the flesh and when dead, those who shall read can know when the deeds of his life have been read. And blessed Bertinus aforesaid, having the life of so near and special a friend as it were for a mirror in all the titles of virtues, grew in the virtues of all perfection, the Holy Spirit instructing him. How pleasing the devotion of his humility was to the divine sight, it pleased the Lord to make plain by manifest tokens of miracles, of which, by his favor, the writing that follows runs through one at least, and two in that same one.

[22] The renowned count Walbert ^h, famous for the dignity of his birth, Count Walbert, wont to confess to St. Bertinus, and overflowing with the opulence of riches, and a Christian devoted to every good work, greatly enjoyed the familiarity and favor of the said Father, and their mutual love went so far that the same Man of God regenerated ⁱ to Christ the aforesaid prince's son through the waters of the heavenly laver: and thus, being joined by the bond of true charity, they were making ready to transfer the covenant which they had struck outwardly to the spiritual advancements of the soul. For the religious count confessed his sins to blessed Bertinus: and blessed Bertinus brought to him and to his noble wife, called Regentrudis, wholesome admonitions concerning the love of the heavenly life, which he, drinking them in with a thirsty breast, sought from the blessed Father by frequent returns: and when the sacred celebration of Masses was performed, having partaken of the Eucharist of the heavenly table, he administering it, and having received leave with his blessing, he returned joyful to his own home; and that he should so act after his wont, the devotion of a good will supplied the practice of performance.

[23] He therefore on a certain day came to pray at the basilica of the holy Mother of God, when, having left him unsaluted, he returns home, in which the same holy Man buried blessed Audomarus: but, a necessity pressing, he neglected to come as usual to the holy father Bertinus, and, mounting his horse, makes for his home with all speed. And when one of the home-born servants ^k, called Dodo, reported this to the holy Man in wonder — that the aforesaid count, acting contrary to his wont, had not visited him though so near — to him as he wondered the Man of the Lord, breathed upon by a prophetic breath, said: What thou reportest, my son, is not hidden; but before he reach the place for which he is now making, he will repent that he neglected my littleness ^l. Which, because he learned it not by the revelation of flesh or blood, but knew what was to come from the indwelling Holy Spirit, the outcome of the matter proved what was uttered.

[24] For he, as he was borne along in haste with winged course, being thrown by the horse's shock, is dashed headlong to the ground, [is thrown from his horse and grievously injured: but the Saint's help being sought,] and his limbs are bruised by the heavy fall, his thigh also so injured that it seemed utterly broken; at length, with a great weakness of his whole body, he remembers his dear Protector too late, and grieves that he had neglected him: and, presuming on the hope of his known loving-kindness, he at once bids one of his soldiers seek him as swiftly as possible: to accuse before him in his stead what he had committed, to beg pardon for the offense ^l, and to urge him to succor his faithful one, now about to die unless he help him; that he greatly trusted through his merits for the recovery of his former health, if he might deserve to receive a drink signed by his mouth and holy hands. He flies to make satisfaction for his lord to the blessed Man, and, being admitted, falls at his feet, confesses his lord's negligence, sets forth the peril of so great a fall, and that he is now dying unless he help: that his lord entreats that he would send him a drink blessed by himself; that by drinking it he faithfully believes he will grow strong.

[25] he bids wine be brought from an empty vessel, But blessed Bertinus, whom the very fount of all loving-kindness had filled with his grace, moved at so great a weakness of his friend, calling the Brother steward, bids him to pour out for his faithful friend the cups of the wine which was kept in the sacristy, which he had asked for. To whom he said: It is a whole month, my Lord, or more, as I judge, since in the cell of that same sacristy there has been a single pouring of this liquor. But then the Servant of God, mindful of the Lord who helps in due seasons, presuming on the kindly bounty of him to whom he had devoted himself wholly from his boyish years, said: Go, my son, trusting that the Lord can do all things, whose consolation and regard are nearer [*] to his servants when they call upon him in distress. I believe indeed in his loving-kindness that he will grant a saving draught to flow for those who trust in him, who in the vast wilderness brought forth waters in overflowing abundance for a thirsting people. For the Man of God knew whom he had believed, and he was certain that he was able to disclose the deposit of his merits as it should please him.

[26] and it being obtained by the divine favor, What more? The minister obeys, and goes doubting; but before he came to the place where the true Vine harvested his fruitful branch with a wonderful [] abundance, he already drank in the odor of the overflowing [] wine, and then at last, astonished, he recognized at how great a Father's bidding he had obeyed. Doubtless the Lord, mindful of his promise, showed his Servant, who deemed himself worthy of him, to be worthy; whose beginnings of mighty works he endowed with the matter of that same miracle by which he first made himself known as God ^m. Who also, that he might increase the faith of his promise, by which he granted to his faithful successors a greater efficacy of signs by their deeds, bestowed by his loving-kindness something more wonderful upon his Faithful one than upon himself: for there he exhibited the matter of the miracle, water turned into wine; here he willed only that the merit of his Faithful one should cooperate with his grace, and in a dry flagon [] he brought forth wine by that same power by which he once drew forth waters flowing with force from the flint of a torrent [], the rod striking it twice.

[27] The holy father Bertinus therefore, rejoicing in the Lord at the heavenly gift, [he sends it to Walbert, who is presently healed by it: he gives many things to the monastery of Sithiu,] and giving thanks for so great a gift of his, brought upon it the healing blessing of the cross: and bids it be carried thence to the disabled prince as swiftly as possible. And when he had drunk it, he drank in his former soundness. For the sign which the Lord granted for the declaring of his Athlete he bestowed for the delivering of his ailing friend, and that the same Lord, rich in all things, might work entirely for his devoted one; whom through him he strengthened with bodily health, he advanced to the pursuing of the better traffickings of the soul: for when, the weakness of the raging pains departing, he perceived himself not only relieved but even whole,

he gives thanks to God [*], revisits his Patron, and devoutly assigns to him and to his place a very great part of his inheritance. How profitable his donation has been even to this day to the congregation of that same place, it is given to those same monks daily to experience.

[28] But he, as though from the relief of his chastised body he had obtained a remedy, and afterward, as the author will have it, embraces the monastic life. purposes to bring to the business of a good effect the teaching which he had often received from the blessed Father concerning contempt of the world, lest he should any longer languish as a deaf hearer: and, leaving his country and all things, he is brought as a religious monk into the aforesaid monastery of Luxeuil ⁿ, having made over the rest of what was of his own right to the brethren of that place; by the mirror of whose life he so ordered his own manners and acts that afterward, the dignity of prelacy ^o having been committed to him, with the examples of his converse shining before them, they profited not a little by the institutions of the holy Rule: and with so great an offspring of what was sown in him he drew [*] the increases of gain for his Teacher into the heavenly treasures. For by the example of his acts, and by good teaching, and by the praiseworthy emulation of his imitation, he thus showed himself made better.

[29] By so great a miracle therefore, accomplished from heaven with so praiseworthy an end, it is given to understand A pious observation of how great acceptance and merit this his Servant stands with the Lord, since he commended all his undertakings with so happy a completion. For by these things it is granted to sons to trust in so great a Father, so that, namely, whence he deserved to receive the healing of the body, thence we may hope for the healing of the soul, which is far better; if it be our zeal to be his imitators, and if with the man healed we too shall be willing to obey and yield to the precepts of him who heals. And if at any time, the negligence of human frailty hindering, it befall us to wander from them and through the steeps of vices to fall into the injury of a headlong ruin, an embassy of vigils and prayers and of every sacred exercise being sent to him, he will move the Fount of heavenly loving-kindness over our dryness, and will obtain that the rivers of saving compunction may flow forth: which being drunk, and the griefs of the languishing soul washed away, he will restore it to its former soundness, the fracture and the bruising of the old ruin being made solid into sinew and into the framework of its own state.

[30] And when minds have been healed by his help and industry, in the Saint's praise. he will grant to hold cheap the things which seem to be of the world, but to meditate on and seek with all intent the things which are of God: and in like manner this is daily near for those who trust in him: to repeat with a more wholesome working those same things which the divine power then wrought by his merits and prayers in the aforesaid prince. O Man most worthy of the proclamation of all praises! whom, although the dwelling of fleshly corruption hold him, yet, because the Lord fortified him with all keeping of the heart, by this virtue of soul he lived an angel on earth. And that this might be made clearly evident, the divine power afforded a fit and evident token of this testimony.

ANNOTATIONS.

. Elsewhere provectu.*

. Elsewhere tui.*

. Elsewhere deduxit.*

. Elsewhere conditur.*

. Perhaps propiora.*

. Elsewhere multiplici.*

. That is, exuberantis.*

. Elsewhere amphora.*

. Elsewhere torrenti.*

*. Elsewhere this word is omitted.

. Elsewhere auxit.*

CHAPTER III.

Various matters concerning the conversion of the Morini and the Saint's virtues: he substitutes for himself as abbot Rigobert, then Erlefridus: a temptation of the demon overcome by St. Martin's help.

[ ] After SS. Victoricus and Fuscian, who preached to the Morini, Very many other signs of virtues also the Lord deigned to work through him, which partly he, possessed of true humility and an ever-watchful guardian of himself, suppressed [*] by diligent concealment, and partly grew unknown through the carelessness of writers, being handed down to no one's knowledge. For before his coming into the region of Thérouanne, except those who had already been converted by the teaching of the most holy prelate Audomarus, all the rest of the inhabitants still served the worship of idols. Although long before by the holy martyrs Victoricus and Fuscian ^a, who, parted from that shining college of Quentin's band, first as Christians penetrated the borders of the Morini to preach, the name of Christ had indeed been shown beforehand, but not preached: whom, as they sought their colleague blessed Quentin ^b, who, having already obtained martyrdom by the triumph of a precious death, had departed from the midst, a cruel lictor, in the dire persecution of Rictiovarus, drove to the crown of abiding life. To these indeed the laurel of their labors shone full of heavenly glory; but for the Morini the divine providence had already looked out their leaders for the time of their calling.

[32] For it had assigned the apostolate of that part of Gaul to our holy fathers and protectors, Audomarus and Bertinus given them as teachers: he indeed wrought signs, namely Audomarus and Bertinus, for the saving of the sons; when already through all the earth the sowings of the Apostles and martyrs were swelling with richer stalks in the increase of their germ. Of whom the one, of whom our discourse is now chiefly, in his very preaching shone with many signs, although they are hidden from us, as has already been touched upon. But who would be so slothful as to complain about this, especially since the sum of no virtue is contained within this boundary of secular glory? But even if there seem to be any, when that flourishes, it is diminished and worn away ^c. Indeed of the signs which the Lord promised should follow believers, we know the use to be rather spiritual — which is weighed more with him — because the less glory it has among men, the greater reward it has with God. And why should faith in this diminish its merit, which solidly holds the dignity of so great a height with God?

[33] For as a little boy he set his parents behind the evangelical commands, but he set the exercise of virtues before miracles: as a young man he left his country that he might have Christ; as an exile he evangelized the Catholic faith, and joined the continual labors of his adolescence to an almost decrepit old age: and, what is more praiseworthy than these, he was not puffed up, when he was mighty in so many and so great virtues. With confident utterance we say that if a Neronian or Decian madness had breathed upon this man born into the world, you would have beheld God's Recruit leaping of his own accord into the fires, more constant in the display of all punishments, yielding neither to cross nor rack nor swords nor a thousand kinds of death, so as to fail to keep that charity which is in Christ Jesus. But because at that time, the kings and princes being devoted to the Christian faith, this Champion of God did not endure these things, he adorned all that he lived, which is greater than all punishments, with a continued dignity of martyrdom: for, besides that, while as a not incautious Attendant he was unceasingly assailed by the assault of spiritual wickednesses, he guarded the souls committed to him by the ever-watchful care of his rule, he was pressed by the daily solicitude of outward affairs, which he administered among his own, and applied himself to the building of the place which by God's authority he had undertaken to govern with such diligence that in his own time it was made equal to the ancient monasteries built with the wealth of royal munificence, both in the pledges of the Saints and in the opulence of goods.

[34] Since therefore all Saints, the nearer to the excellence of the highest divinity, The holy Old man, desiring to serve God without other care, are not deprived of that their special gift, namely that, the more nearly they are irradiated with heavenly brightness, the more deeply, the root of humility being made firm, they reckon themselves to be void of all good, and, clinging the more tenaciously to their good beginnings, seek to be received with a good end: this blessed Bertinus, desiring to be found more surely prepared by the Lord who knocks, determined before the day of his death to serve the Lord as though no good had been wrought by him in so long a time. For, watching from afar for the return of his Lord from the wedding, having girded the loins of his mind and flesh with the girdle of excellent chastity, he strove to keep the burning lamp of holy converse in the hands of good working. And weighing his own turn, and the place ^d, and the brethren, and that he would not do wrongly, as one who had already performed the turns of Martha, he foresaw that he must labor also in the best part of Mary; that he might also transfer the ready life of all preceding Saints into the public advantage of his own progress. He committed therefore the government of his monastery to a certain venerable man, namely his own monk, Rigobert by name.

[35] substitutes Rigobert for himself in the headship of the monastery, But he himself, living privately, betook himself for the rest of his life to divine contemplation. He had also built a certain oratory, while his most beloved Audomarus, God's prelate, was still living, which, being built on the eastern quarter of the church of St. Peter, he caused to be dedicated by the same pontiff in veneration of the holy Mother of God Mary: in which especially passing the night ^e in prayers, the Soldier of Christ, no less unwearied, filled out his days with fastings,

repeating often to the Lord that word of David: When, O Lord, shall I come and appear before thy face? As the hart thirsteth for the streams of the fountains, so doth my soul long for thee, my God.

[36] and thereafter lives piously to himself. For the glorious Athlete of God and outstanding Priest, mustered as a reserve for himself and for his flock, laboring in the line of a continual assault, that he might the more strongly disturb the enemy, by sleeplessness and fasting utterly held down in his own body the stings of vices, where he knew that the hostile forces press the more strongly. And that he might end the beginning of that wrestling with a happy display of works, both his old age, exercised in the gymnasium of so approvable a palæstra, and the desire of eternal life and of abiding joy came to the aid of his holy will for the profit of victory: and thus the angelic Father, failing in fleshly strength, the nearer he seemed to death by the very disease of old age, the more constant was he raised up in good acts, compelling that bodily life itself, which scarcely remained, to serve not its own but the soul's advancements. But to his sons, whom again he brought forth in travail while Christ was being formed in them, because he withdrew himself from his former frequent presence among them, he was no less dear, since indeed the rarer he was seen by them, the more longed for: whence what one may gather seems said sufficiently to the wise.

[37] A church built to St. Martin, which is said to have been done The venerable abbot Rigobert therefore, performing his turns of watch over the Lord's flock with praiseworthy industry, at the bidding of that same Father built a monastery ^f in honor of St. Martin: for he was of the highest devotion toward this confessor of the Lord, and greatly served his memory and his love. For it is related by our elders ^g that the same Man of God, on a certain Saturday when he had been let blood, was tempted by the evil spirit under the appearance of a person of a royal maiden; and did not at first perceive the guiles of so great snares.

[38] because of a temptation overcome by the help of St. Martin appearing. But when, the Brethren already waiting for him for the Mandatum ^h of the Lord, which among monks is by custom celebrated on each Saturday, he wished to depart, and she tried to hold him back, speaking as though of the necessary advantage of the monastery, but rather panting that, if she could, she might lead captive the Servant of the Lord by her foul commixture, the aforesaid pontiff of God [*] holy Martin appeared to him, addressing his Brother and friend with sweet speech, and uncovered the cavillings and guiles of the enemy lying in wait in the harlot: which that same Recruit ⁱ of the Lord presently drove from him with the sign of the cross: and rising, he sought the Brethren who were awaiting him for the Mandatum of the Lord, praising the Lord for his so great loving-kindness. So great indeed was the gladness of the heaven-dwellers over his sanctity, that not only did he deserve them as intercessors with the Lord in the heights, but they even appeared on earth to serve in attendance upon his salvation, lest namely they should lose in heaven so great a Co-heir of their recompense and glory.

[39] Considering therefore, that loving Father, that it is in no wise expedient for monks to have any kind of communication with the female sex ^k, [The Saint forbids women entrance to the monastery: this precept kept even by a dead woman:] he wholly shut out under anathema the entrance of women from the precincts of that monastery. Which in our time ^l was kept by a certain religious woman, namely that she would not go further than she had learned that the Man of God himself had appointed; and when she too was dead, it preserved her lifeless body: for those who bore her, placed on a bier, when they had come to that very boundary of her old approach, it is at once fixed by God with so great a weight that it could not be borne further, even the multitude of those present being forced to bear it: and thus the precept which the old woman kept out of reverence for the Saint while she lived, her dead body could not transgress, according to the wish of her living soul.

[40] And, to take up again what went before, Rigobert obeyed in all things the holy father Bertinus who commanded him, showing himself not ungrateful for so great a benefit, Erlefridus substituted as abbot for Rigobert: and with great labor rendered the church built in a short time. After these things, having obtained the indulgence of his loving Teacher, he too betook himself to spiritual leisure ^m, and by this imitation of him showed himself a perfect disciple of so great a Father, instructed by his teaching and examples. And that excellent Father ordained as abbot and successor Erlefridus, brought up by him from boyhood: who, not inferior to the other [*], did not degenerate from his paternal instruction: although he was still pressed by the first apprenticeship of youth, by his merits and constancy of manners he showed himself, as befitted a servant of God, such in every exercise of sanctity.

[41] And still that Athlete of God, spending glorious years, The Saint's manifold blessing. as an old man daily strove to increase the holy proclamations of the merits which he had begun as a boy. But what supplement ⁿ to the perfection of his sanctity, when it plainly deserved to be marked from heaven with that very blessing by which the Lord promised through his Prophet that those who fear him should be blessed. For the Church which he governed flourished like an abundant vine on the sides of his house: and his sons as young olive plants round about his table. And he enjoyed the good things which are in Jerusalem all the days of his life: and he deserved to see the sons of his sons preaching peace upon Israel; and now the time was at hand in which it befitted the Lord to remember his Servant, to whom, being called to himself [*], he purposed to render the reward of his labors.

ANNOTATIONS.

. Elsewhere repressit.*

. Elsewhere servus.*

. That is, altero.*

. That is, called to himself.*

CHAPTER IV.

The Saint's last deeds, his blessed death, burial, and miracles briefly touched.

[ ] The Saint's pious admonitions to his own as death drew near: The blessed father Bertinus therefore anticipated the celebrated day of his death, watching the more intently in good works: which he made known to the mourning throng of sons standing by that it was impending over him. Whom, because Christ the Lord had acquired them for himself by the ministry of so great a Father and by his own blood, he did not cease to teach with the unceasing doctrine of his admonition, that, cleaving to the purpose of the sacred order which they had begun, they should not desert the place of so illustrious a dwelling, but should abide in it to the end [*] serving Christ, and should be mindful of it with the Lord in their prayers; and he promised that he himself, if he could avail anything, would be a perpetual intercessor with God for all who dwelt in that same place. This hope indeed the most loving Shepherd judged it worthy to confer on his own, and by so great a covenant of paternal loving-kindness fortified beforehand those who trusted in him, so that his devoted flock might know, all doubt being set aside, that by so great an Intercessor its devotion could be commended before God, its humility assigned, its stability approved, its frailty strengthened. Nor could the Father, imbued with heavenly sweetness, bear — since he was pressed by an unspeakable love for the affection of so many sons weeping and lamenting — not to console the grieving with the promised help of his intercession.

[43] As the sharp weariness of his sickness therefore grew heavy, he is weakened by the fleshly dissolution, his last illness and blessed death. while his conquering spirit, turning over with unwearied meditation the things which are of God, was measuring out with clear contemplation the way by which it should ascend to the Lord. At length there came that blessed day which should bring so great a Christian into heaven, which he received the more securely the further off he had foreseen it as to come. Fortified therefore with the viaticum of the heavenly Sacrament, amid the words with which he commended his departure to God, for whom he had lived, full of days and of perfect merits, being led forth from the prison of the body, amid the hands of his weeping disciples he is received by the Lord coming to meet him, and by the hymn-singing soldiery of the heavenly army: and among the chief leaders of the heavenly court he is brought in to be crowned with so great a triumph of divine recompense ^a.

[44] O glorious soul of this Father, whom all the dignity of the heavens received with so festal a glory, The Saint's glory, and led with so illustrious a joy to the rewards of eternal exultation, about whom the choir of the heavenly procession goes with measured praises, over whom that very Lamb who was slain for all exults, and soothes with the sweet harmonies of heavenly melody. O blessed Man, whose soul the patriarchs and prophets embrace and cherish in their bosoms, whom the Apostles invite to their seats, whom the laurelled martyrs mark for themselves as an imitator of their constancy, whom the numerous order of confessors has already received as its own co-heir, whom also the shining throng of virgins rejoices to have received, so longed for

[45] on whom the Lord bestowed great things. For he gave himself, which is the first and chief thing, and granted himself to be known, as he knew him. O truly blessed Man, who so served that now, as he reclines, the Lord himself, passing by, ministers to him. Hence to thee, most clement Jesus, we thy servants render thanks, who providest for the frailty of our condition by providing fathers of this excellence with thee, whom, while thou joinest them to thyself with such great fasces of thy glory, thou grantest that we sinners can trust in their merits. We beseech therefore, as suppliants, thy loving-kindness, that as thou didst then attend his assumption with the gladness of all thy soldiery, so thou wouldest grant us to celebrate this festal day today in his honor with spiritual joy and with praises acceptable to thee, and by his intercession at some time bring us to that eternal solemnity which thou bestowest on thy faithful ones.

[46] The year of his death, the grief at his death, And the same Athlete of God passed away on the Nones of September, in the year of the Incarnate Word six hundred and ninety-eight, but in the fifteenth of Childebert king of the Franks ^b, in the fifty-ninth year from that in which he began to build that place. And besides the private mourning by which those in private lamented exceedingly, a public cessation of business was made of the whole country bewailing him with the greatest grief. For there was recalled his celibate life, than which nothing is better, his continual meditation on divine things, all his works done according to God, his sweet converse having nothing but what looked to God's honor and the salvation of souls. It was very often repeated by that crowd of those who wept for him, that of citizens of that kind there is now a great scarcity for us.

[47] an honorable burial: But how great a multitude flowed together to his triumphal obsequies is not easily proved in words; but it is granted to the estimation of those who understand, since his own monk ^c then [] presided over the church of the Morini, and since in that same district, where there had been abundance ^d of those renouncing the world, the congregation was known to stand by the beginning of his institution, especially since, as has been said before, the Christian religion was formed for all the inhabitants by his preaching. Whose body, becomingly laid up, is entombed in the church of St. Martin ^e behind the chief altar, an altar of veneration being built at the head of the tomb, where, resting for very many years, he was glorified with many signs to the honor of the Lord. After whose death the aforesaid abbot Erlefridus raised over his tomb the building of a church with a greater work [], and adorned that same place of so great a Father's rest with a worthy observance of reverence, so that without any index of religion ^f it was venerated who and how great he was who was there laid up.

[48] Some miracles Behold with how faithful an increase this Servant of the Lord doubled the talents of divine inspiration which he had received, and with how happy a building he raised the fabric of God's Church. For he fixed the strength of an adamantine nature in the solidity of the converse he had begun, by which he drew after himself to God all that he seemed to obtain. And because he strove to show himself so diligent to the divine will, of how great worth he stood with himself in heaven [*] the Lord showed at his tomb. To a certain man who suffered it from his birth ^g he supplied voice and hearing. A lame and likewise deaf man ^h he endowed with entire soundness; to very many blind men ⁱ he restored their lost light, and those bound ^k with iron bonds he often loosed. These things also, according as the faith of those who asked held, we have very often both seen ^l and read to have been wrought; which, if our discourse should express them one by one, would become less pleasing to studious readers, and would beget weariness rather than profit. A craftsman ^m engaged upon the work of his church he caught as he fell from its very summit, and at that same hour sent him back to his work whole and rejoicing. From a monk of his own who was a fugitive ⁿ he put out the eyes: thereafter, when the medicine of repentance drove away the darkness of his heart, he restored to him, as he returned and repented, the light which he had taken away.

[49] Another monk also of his place ^o, invaded by diabolical tyranny, he saved upon that very tomb of his rest, briefly touched. the demon being cast out. Which benefit of his loving-kindness he first used in that same place upon a certain possessed woman. At another time also, on that same day of his festivity, he steeped ears of corn that had been plucked, flowing with blood [p]; and thus rendered them useless for human uses, and stained garments that were to be washed on that day, the washing water being turned into gore [q]. To a sacrilegious man [r] he visibly showed as avengers those same demons whom he had had as urgers in the crime committed; and, as he tried to flee with the booty which he had taken by theft, he cast him into the hands of the judges [*]. The standards of the plunderers who had come for the spoiling of his place, gleaming with a snowy color, he stained with a pitchy blackness [s], making them dreadful; of whom some he blinded, and some, the terror of his vengeance being sent upon them, he drove headlong into flight. And when the savage madness of the Danes, pirates being sent over the sea, pressed all Neustria with flame and arms, and their savage ferocity lay heavy upon very many regions, and with a very great band invaded the place of so great a Father to plunder the treasures of the church, he consented indeed for an hour to be spoiled by their raging profane cruelty; but he by no means suffered them to rejoice in the spoils: for many he struck with madness, and not a few with blindness; and what remained of the army after so great a disaster he pursued with an utter and immediate destruction.

[50] Let these few things said out of many suffice, which we have indeed ended with a compendious definition, The conclusion of the little Work. but which we mean to elucidate by the course of a fuller text [t]. For heavenly riches are wont to be received the more ardently by the faithful the more delicately their use is shown beforehand. Hence we have thought that satisfaction has been given to the fastidious, if they so wish; but to the diligent reader we grant a breathing-space; that, his spirit being refreshed for reading and made vigorous, he may below recognize more openly what he would know: and thus we close this book of the life only of our most blessed father and protector Bertinus, the miracles after his death being rather entitled than written. For the reader would groan under the bundle of the volume, and the sturdy reader would sink under the weight of too great a burdening, if an importunate discourse should press further upon him when he has been delighted with the life of so great a Father: because, as antiquity expressed before us, Everything superfluous flows from a full breast. Accommodating ourselves therefore to his satisfaction, as though he were now refreshed with the life of that most illustrious Father, we shall thereafter pursue [u] in writing the text of the signs which the Lord God of hosts wrought through him, whose eternal power rules and commands through the infinite ages of ages. Amen [w].

ANNOTATIONS.

p. The same is found in the Appendix at num. 2.

q. See the Appendix at num. 1.

r. Consult the 2nd Life at num. 17 and following.

s. Of these inroads of the Normans consult the book of Miracles chap. 1, 2, and especially chapter 3, where at num. 24 and 25 are read the marvels here touched upon.

t. The author speaks of the miracles alone, briefly touched: for the deeds have been narrated at sufficient length.

u. Whether Folcard wrote another little Work on the miracles is not established. Some hindrance may have intervened to prevent him from carrying out his purpose. Certainly no little Work of his on the miracles of St. Bertinus has become known, as I observed in the Commentary at num. 7.

w. There is subjoined in the Ms.: Here ends the Life of St. Bertinus.

. Elsewhere ferventius.*

. Elsewhere huic.*

. Elsewhere apice.*

. That is, in heaven.*

. That is, of the judges.*

THE FINDING AND ELEVATION OF THE BODY

by abbot Bovo

From Mabillon's edition.

Bertinus, abbot, at Saint-Omer in Belgium (S.)

BHL Number: 1296

By Bovo the abbot.

PREFACE

A letter in which the author consults Wido archbishop of Reims, and his answer: the dedication of the Work to Wido.

The author, to archbishop Wido, who had elevated the body, To the most excellent lord archbishop Wido ^a, brother Bovo, unworthy abbot of the monastery of Sithiu, to be blessed among the blessed. Since in the body of God's holy Church, under Christ the supreme head, thou art established, lord father, as a more eminent member, and, so to speak, as the neck thou must be united and cleave more nearly to the head, I desire that thy reverence should be mighty in every way in the health of both parts, namely of soul and of body, so that we, the lowest and weakest members, may, by thy wholesome mediation, be able to be embodied with so sound a head, our Lord: lest (which God forbid), acting otherwise, we be cut asunder by his more piercing sword, according to that word of the Gospel: I came not, he says, to send peace, but a sword. But that I have approached thy sublimity with such words of my unskilfulness is done not so much by rashness as by the prompting of charity, which according to the Apostle hopeth all things, believeth all things, endureth all things. For the safety of the shepherd is the sure hope of the flock. For after I deserved to be made known to the kindness of thy fatherly charity, although it profited very little, yet I was always solicitous for thy safety, and was wont to inquire of all who came to us from those parts concerning thy fortune; and when I found that thy nobility was held safe and well, I rejoiced; as on the contrary, when it was ailing, I grieved with thee: since indeed a father

thou art held our spiritual father and supreme shepherd. Besides, the devotion of thy paternity, which long ago so promptly and so devoutly served the causes of the elevating of St. Bertinus's body, has made us liable to thy fidelity for a heavier debt, so that we ought continually to sigh for thy welfare, and to pour the same continual vows of intercessions into the divine ears. Which matter also, as thy charity remembers, first compelled my littleness to be made known to thy magnificence. For the sake of which matter, when I had approached thy paternity, meaning to seek the counsel of thy experience upon it, I returned home glad, not only instructed with counsel useful enough for my investigation, but also with the awaited promise of thy coming.

[2] Where, lord father, when on the appointed day thou wert present together with the holy assembly of thy clergy, and thyself devoutly enough served the raising of the sacred limbs, how honorably and how wonderfully that famous elevation of the Saint was performed, consults him whether he shall write this finding and elevation: none surely will know better than thy experience: since indeed, being exalted by the power of thy loftiness, it stands supported by authority. And since this is so, the charitable exaction of our Brethren urges the hand of my unskilfulness to describe that very thing and make it known to those who come after — not because I surpass them in any knowledge, since all excel me in probity, and not a few also in the keenness of understanding: but that the very course of the holy elevation may be reckoned worthier, if it be marked with the title of a greater name, namely with the name of abbot. Yet, neither wholly resisting nor wholly yielding to their efforts, I leave it rather to thy judicial sentence, and profess that I will follow whatever concerning this the loftiness of thy paternity shall chiefly judge: yet so that, if thou shalt deem it worthy of relation, and shalt impel my littleness by the imperious power of thy authority to set it down, when with thy holy commands I shall have promptly obeyed so far as I can, and what has been heaped together shall come in some fashion into the hands of thy paternity's excellence, whatever is superfluous in it may be pierced with the obelisks of apostolic authority, and what is too little said may be made clear with asterisks; so that, as by thy most glorious and awaited presence of holy authority that same sacred elevation is held magnificent, so the setting-down of it may be strengthened by the same supporter and president.

[3] which Wido bids him do. Wido archbishop of Reims to the venerable abbot Bovo. Since it is honorable to relate the works of the Lord, we deem it worthy to give counsel to thy inquiry, which thou hast poured out to us concerning the describing of the finding and likewise of the elevation of St. Bertinus's body. For we rejoice, and judge that that very thing should be consigned to written records, whereby it pleased God so loftily to distinguish your church. And, as thou hast set down in thy letter, when these things have been described by thy pen, we command that they be reported to us, enjoining upon thy paternity that thou describe them as they truly were done: so that to thy description, when it shall come into our hands, it may be necessary to add nothing or to take away anything. Plainly such things ought to be described faithfully and truly, that they may please him who makes himself known as the truth. Farewell.

[4] Hence the author dedicates the Work to Wido, To the glorious lord Wido, by the grace of God archbishop, with all the clergy of the holy church of Reims entrusted to his care, brother Bovo, a sinner, whom they call abbot of the men of Sithiu, a blessed portion with the sheep of the right hand. Having received the command of thy reverence, O most magnificent prelate, in which thou biddest me to begin the elevation of our most sacred father Bertinus with the setting-down of our poor pen, both by the pious devotion of that same Saint, and by the precept of thy apostolic authority, and by the daily importunity of our Brethren's entreaty, lest I seem contrary to the command of thy loftiness, I shall set about narrating it in some fashion, according to the grasp of our little wit, unfit though I am. And when, about to run the way of truth, I shall have already spread my sails to the winds with the hands of our weakness, if perchance the whirlwinds of a rival tempest shall threaten shipwrecking perils, may I be received into the bosom of thy anchorage to be refreshed at these things, defended by the protection of a right faithful hand. For it is fitting that I, trusting in the guardianship of thy nobility, should be protected by the wall of thy defense, at whose bidding, frail though I am, I have undertaken to bear the burdens of so great a mass.

[5] as also to the clergy of Reims, Thereafter I, a suppliant, beseech you, sons of the holy church of Reims, our lords, that, remembering the brotherly covenant, you would now be my safeguard: and whenever this heap of our trifling shall, the apostolic right hand reaching it forth, come into your hands, turn not away your reverend gaze from it; but refuse not, at the bidding of the lord archprelate, to season whatever is unsavory in it with the salt of your skill, and thus, as brothers, help to bear a brother's burdens at the Apostle's bidding. But it has not been heaped together that the skill of the learned should deem it worthy of themselves, but that our simpler folk may be occupied in meditating on it, or at least that matter for composing may thence be had in some fashion by some skilled man; so that also, according to the Apostle, he who labored not for himself alone but for all, the course of our discourse may be begun for those who diligently wish to labor in Christ, and may, as far as we can, imitate now the pattern of a Just man, now indeed the mirror of a man. So therefore let it be, that both the delicate may be able to find what they desire, and travelers weighed down by hunger and thirst may find whence to win the Lord for themselves. But who they are, and what and to whom they pour it in, the Egyptian boy fainting on the way, cast off by his Amalekite master, fitly makes clear: who, being found by David as he pursued, and sufficiently refreshed with his fare, is not only joined to him for pursuing the Amalekite, but under his guidance that profane man is found and slain.

[6] To these things also, when certain who had been invited put forward the various causes of their excuses, teaching thereafter whence he knew what he was to write, the poor, the weak, the blind and the lame, found at the outlets of the ways, were admitted. Let our simpler folk therefore recline and sit at these; let these alone rejoice to share in taking our milk. And lest, O apostolic men, the sufficiency of those riches, so daily and so diligent, should make your magnificence fastidious, may it please you with your own to attend for a while to these herbs of our lowliness, until by the sentence of your examination it be discerned whether it be held worthy or unworthy even of the uses of little ones. Hence, with the affection of an infant who wishes to utter whatever he has heard, but cannot yet fully form words, since I remember that not a few fitting matters have before this come to my hand for the deeds to be written, of which very many I myself have seen, and some I have learned by the report of elders by no means to be despised, I would rather set them forth here, stammering in some fashion, than keep silence: so that, these being mingled with others, it may shine forth the more clearly to all how at this time the Lord has magnified his mercies toward us, upon whom the ends of the ages have come, and that from this the whole dwelling of our religion may the more worthily dance in the praises of God and of his holy Bertinus.

[7] Thereafter let the diligent reader not now be indignant with me if to our simpler folk the intention of the little Work to be set down be first tasted, and with what intention he writes. lest, when they meet with things harder than usual as they read, they should take fright; but rather that they may grasp more significantly how and to what end they are said. For the labor of the bees is sweeter to us if a bad savor has first tinged our mouths. The stars sparkle more pleasingly when the south wind has driven away the thickest clouds. Not otherwise, being about to hand down to the memory of those who come after, first the Lord's threatenings and chastisements, with the deed done and with the subsequent advancement of divine mercy, I would say that our pious and just Judge the Lord has now terrified us, offending in many ways, with his threats, and now has often worthily corrected us with the hard visitations of his rebukes: so that, we being for a time made bitter by the taste of that same bad savor, afterward the flock of God, when it comes upon us, may be gladdened with more pleasing gifts; and, ever mindful of the visitation so often made upon us, we may be more amended for the remaining times of our life. Yet let not these scourges of the Lord's rebuke offend anyone's ears, but rather let all who shall have corrected themselves by them rejoice that they are to be received into the adoption of sons, calling to mind what the sacred Scripture teaches us: The Lord scourgeth every son whom he receiveth, &c.

ANNOTATION.

CHAPTER I.

The burning of the monastery of Sithiu: a plague raging there: the monks amended by these chastisements.

[ ] [The monastery of Sithiu, before preserved from fire by the patronage of the Saints,] For it is most well known to all the sons of God's holy Church that our Savior once mercifully wept over the city of Jerusalem, as the evangelical assertion proves, and, threatening, foretold all the losses of that city's future ruin, and that afterward all things came to pass according to the Lord's word. Not otherwise in modern times, our iniquities requiring it, as was shown by a heavenly oracle, and as is found set down among us in the memorial of St. Vincent ^a the martyr, the vengeance of the divine indignation hung over us: and it would have struck us to the very soul, had not that same holy martyr with our holy patrons, namely Audomarus and Bertinus, risen up as intercessors for us before the Lord. But the compassionate Lord, bent to loving-kindness by the pious intercessions of his Saints, put off for a time the chastisement of his indignation, awaiting the repentances of our confession and the betterment of our holy converse. For, as the Prophet records, He willeth not the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live. And so, being monstrously terrified by this reproof and for a time led to repentance, when we ought to have striven with holy emulation even to the end in the sincerity of the new man, by not a few, after the manner of swine, there was a return again to the wallowing of the mire.

[9] is wholly burnt, At length the supreme Arbiter, provoked by the enormity of our iniquities, resolved that his outer house — but by our evils' urging made a den of thieves — should be given wretchedly to fire to devour, as had long before been divinely threatened. But let it be doubtful to none whether it was by chance or for the sake of the thing aforesaid that the losses of this burning fell upon us; since, the fire arising and increasing far from that monastery, the wind also rose up and grew for it, and, having passed over not a few roofs [], drove it toward the church with a stronger blast, nay rather with our sin urging. And, as it is said, Begin from my Sanctuary*, the seats of God are suddenly invaded by the fire, and are lamentably melted away by the voracity of the devouring flame; and what had been wrought with long and much sweat, then — alas! — the hour of one day consumed. Thereafter with its rapacity it circles the borders of the whole cloister, and, leaving nothing untouched, destroys all things ^b.

[10] But, as has been said, nothing is done on earth without cause; which the author attributes to a divine punishment: it is not to be believed that the Lord let his house perish in vain: but that it might be utterly expiated of long-standing evils, and that his inner house, namely those dwelling there, might be deterred from their wicked actions, lest, if they should be unwilling to renounce their evils, they should afterward be punished more grievously for ever by the condemnation of eternal fire. Here too this comes to mind, that that danger befell us in the observance of Lent, when all worshippers of a sound faith give their labor especially to punishing the errors of other seasons, and to expiating themselves from them with worthy repentance. Thus, thus the long-suffering and merciful and truthful Lord at that time sifted this monastery and us monks, punished with so great a stroke of fire, from all the filth of sin, and — O that he would! — willed us to be more amended for the remaining time of our life: so that

being made more chastened by this quenchable fire, I pray, we may be able to escape the unquenchable torments of the eternal fire. For thus for the most part God's wisdom moderates the visitation of his rod in correcting, so that he both piously punishes what must be amended in offenders, and at length in the very chastisement cherishes by his compassion something of good, which afterward in its own time he opportunely shows, as the diligent reader will find in its own place.

[11] These things being thus consumed, on the following night it seemed to a certain one of our seniors (whom, because he is still alive, I will not name) [a vision offered to a monk: the restoration of the monastery: the monks afflicted with plague,] to see in a dream a certain magnificent man, snowy in the whiteness of his habit, lightning-like in the splendor of his countenance, standing in a certain place of the cloister, and, all things having been looked over with a diligent gaze, with right hand outstretched blessing every place of the monastery. From which it is also gathered that the place was already expiated of certain offenses, and was at length at some time to be restored by God's compassion to its former or earlier beauty ^c. Meanwhile, we being exposed to the open sky, and the walls being stripped of the decency of their roofs, again, necessity urging, the roofs are repaired; and they are set [*] upon the walls, still standing in some fashion. What more? All things being repaired, or rather whitewashed, according to the time and to our power, certain of ours, forgetting rather quickly, not long after, the right time of their visitation, and irreverently returning to what they had renounced, and the dregs of their evils not yet emptied out, are at length ensnared in the fetter of diabolical malignity: when behold, the divine Majesty, about to terrify us, at length after the course of some years brandished his sword against us, and struck a great part of ours to death with a sudden plague. Nor was there then any rest of the dying, but daily they fell like diseased sheep. When, that one or those being dead, service was still being given to their burials, behold the sudden deaths of others are announced.

[12] Meanwhile very many, affected with the horror of that same plague, and each suspecting sudden death for himself, are brought back to discipline by repentance. began again to bear great repentance for their evils, and with the inmost sighs of tears to appease the face of our Lord, embittered by their evils. Then you might have seen that Apostolic word well fulfilled: Confess your sins one to another, and Pray one for another, that you may be saved. Nor less were all the little goods of private possession brought into the midst, all laid out before the feet of the lord abbot Rodericus, rebaptized with the streams of worthy repentance and tears; and, to conclude more briefly, all these and all evils renounced, and all good things leaned upon ^d. Nor yet did that deadly plague thus cease through the whole of Lent, until, eleven of ours being dead, and the days of the whole year, which we had too long abused, being decimated in such grief and anxiety, the festal solemnity of Easter drew near, and God's loving-kindness wiped away every tear of that disaster from our eyes. That the number eleven belongs to sin, the authority of sacred Scripture sufficiently shows: because as the Decalogue is completed by the sum of ten, so by the increase of eleven it is transgressed. Wherefore, as by ten the observance of the Decalogue is figured, so in the same manner by eleven the transgression of sin. Why these things too fell in the season of Lent, and what was noted above about that same season, let the diligent reader see; and let him gather with the liveliness of reason how things follow upon things here, and times upon times. But having digressed a little from the text of the narrative I had begun, I now turn my pen back to the same.

ANNOTATIONS.

. That is, domos.*

. Perhaps superponuntur.*

CHAPTER II.

The restoration of the church, and the finding of St. Bertinus's body.

[ ] While abbot Bovo restores the church of Sithiu, Meanwhile, when we had been thus scourged with the Lord's rod and driven to a better way, the time of a few years having been measured out, the walls of the sanctuary began to be loosened, partly by age, partly by the fire, and to threaten ruin to the heads of those who beheld them. Whence by the counsel of our chief men we laid hands to destroying it for the sake of bettering it, so that, this being renewed, we might extend our labor to the renewing of the rest. Meanwhile certain of our simpler folk, coming to us, exhorted us to persist steadfastly in the work begun, promising that the Lord would work with us, and that after no long time the monastery of Sithiu would be magnificently visited by the Lord, and something great declared concerning it. Which being then little esteemed, I presently turned myself to other matters, and diligently attended chiefly to the opportune administrations of the work begun. Thus, while we worked, when the times of four years had been measured out, and thereafter in the fifth year the outer wall was already rising somewhat on high, for the sake of building a crypt there the chief [*] altar of St. Martin had to be moved, which it by no means befitted to be done without the presence of a bishop. And when this was being prepared after the octaves of Easter, and while, the bishop being absent, the huge masses of earth with which the altar was surrounded were meanwhile being carried out at our bidding, suddenly the trouble of a rather violent sickness grievously invaded me, and without delay laid me weakened upon my bed: and thus the servant, knowing his Lord's will and not doing it, was beaten with many stripes. Nor do I believe that I, so great a sinner, liable to all guilt, deserved in any way to be present at so holy a thing to come, unless I were first purged, being chastised by so great a stroke of the Lord ^a.

[14] And therefore the matter of destroying the altar was then put off for some while, as they dig beneath the altar of St. Martin a coffin appears, and meanwhile the quantity of earth dug round about as far as the altar was being carried out; when at the fast of the fourth month ^b, as I was now somewhat recovering from the vexation of my weakness, certain of our seniors came to me, saying that that altar, now that the heap which was round about it had been carried away, was tottering, and, unless help were quickly given, would fall; and that on that account the bishop must be summoned more quickly, since he was then at Thérouanne. For the sake of which matter, being called, he came kindly enough, and on the sixth feria of that same fast of the fourth month came with many to destroy the altar, and, it being overturned, on that same day, against our will, he returned home. In which place, when on the following day, that is, on the seventh feria of the fast, digging is done more deeply for laying the foundations, while a great quantity of earth is carried out, behold, beneath the very holy place of the altar a certain underground chamber, laboriously built with hard stones, tiles and old cement, is met with. When this was found, we indeed ran up to see that very thing, and, beholding it, we greatly wondered at it. It is permitted neither to be covered nor uncovered further, lest perchance, if it were uncovered and opened without the testimony of good men, or if, being covered, we should try to keep it hidden for some while, we should by our own imprudence be charged with the disparagements of any rivals whatsoever. Nor could the bishop be reached on that day, since on the day before, the altar having been plucked up, as has been said, he had at once returned home. Then hither, then thither the mind is turned, being very anxious what it should chiefly choose.

[15] which, before many witnesses, At length, counsel having been shared with ours on this matter, it seemed better that we should turn to this, that, relying on those witnesses whom that same day had brought, we should proceed to investigate whatever it might be. Then, a messenger having been sent to the vicedominus [*] and the castellans and all the greater men of the clergy, I invite them all to come to us quickly. And since it was Saturday, and some were meeting for the rights of secular laws, without delay a not contemptible company of notable persons is present. Besides, report stirring up this matter, it could not be hidden from the common multitude: they run up separately in a stupid uproar. But when we gave place to the greater men to approach, and leave was given to see the coffin, at once Landbertus, the city prætor, with other men of note likewise crying out, said that he would by no means remove his foot thence until he should learn the truth of the thing lying hidden there. For even then it was held certain by us that some one of the Saints was there kept in body: but of none was there less hope than of him who beyond hope was to be found. Meanwhile, all standing round, it is approached for the sake of investigating so great a matter, with processions, crosses and candles performed; and while we meanwhile, as was fitting, were singing litanies, and all were wondering, it is uncovered, and with much sweat of many, from the first hour of the day until evening, it is scarcely broken up with iron instruments.

[16] is opened, and is found to contain St. Bertinus's body: Which at last, being uncovered with a very great effort of skill, appears to the eyes of all who stood by to have contained a leaden shrine: and when this was loosed, while it is opened with all standing round, the limbs of a certain veteran Saint are revealed. Then, the title of that Saint's name not yet appearing, and the eyes of all being intent on this very thing, when the coffin of the whole tomb had been searched twice and thrice, at last beneath the right shoulder of that same Saint a silver cross is found and drawn out, and is carried before us into our hands, marked only with the little letters of these three words: Saint Bertinus abbot. Nor is it out of keeping with this Saint's renown that, we being still unaware, and having premeditated nothing in mind about this until it happened, the holy finding of so beloved a Father fell fittingly enough in the fast of the fourth month. For it was becoming and very fitting that, being about to approach so most sacred a traffic, we, being made somewhat purer by the frugality of the fourth and sixth and seventh feria of that same fast, should hasten somewhat worthier to the investigating of the Saint's so venerable limbs. But whatever things can be foreknown before they come to pass, these can be governed by providence according to their measure. But these things, of which none of us had any knowledge, who would have so ordered and disposed, save the foreknowledge of God alone? &c.

[17] the earth's drought removed at that same moment: By such tokens therefore, the most blessed Father's body, precious above gold and topaz, having been found and ascertained, whereas until then all the earth, long parched, was being ruined by a most grievous drought, so that the farmers complained that they were now utterly cheated of all hope of crops, behold, at that same moment, many thunders and flashing lightnings going before, there followed a very great flood of rain, by which the earth, being most sufficiently soaked, presently began to grow green with fruit-bearing, and, revived, to spread itself out even now to new fruits for its tillers. And so from that time all the crops, cherished by the wholesome dew, rise up with breathing breezes, and for the harvest now ripe a number of workmen, however great, scarcely suffices, so that the revolution of the year at hand brought forth for the earth-born, by God's grace, all sufficiency of crops.

[18] These things being thus said, it was commanded that the sacred body, now revealed and uncovered, should be covered again in that same urn, and the coffin be walled up again as it had been before, the finding announced to St. Leo IX: until by the counsel of the greater men it should be deliberated what was to be done about this very matter. With how great vexations and blasphemies we were meanwhile visited, let the Lord know for our purging, and forgive them. At that time the lord Pope Leo ^c, surnamed Bruno, presided over the holy Roman Church, the fame of whose sagacity and probity breathed through the whole world the odor of a sweet fragrance. To whom, necessity urging, that we might be strengthened by the authority of the greater men, a faithful legate, sought out and found, is sent, that whatever excellent thing that Apostolic man should judge of these matters with men of graver counsel, he might not delay to send us word by that same legate for the Lord's name. And when he had approached him, and, being admitted before him, leave of speaking had been given him, he set forth the deed in order to the lord Pope briefly, as to one then occupied with many things, and presented to his gaze the testimonies of the writing and the cross found with the sacred body, which he had brought with him for a testimony. Which being seen, and shown to those who then happened to be with him, as men who had then come together for a Roman council ^d — namely the patriarch of Aquileia, archbishops, prelates, abbots, dukes and chief men — he said that such tokens of truth ought by no means to be distrusted, but to be believed more safely and more firmly, especially since in many records of the Annals it can well enough be found that almost all the borders of Gaul, and above all your maritime places and the others, were laid waste by the frequent incursions, plunderings and burnings of the Danes; and that on this account many bodies of Saints were, some of them, translated from less safe places, and some hidden secretly (as it is established was done with St. Bertinus) either in walls or in the earth.

[19] These Apostolic answers being reported to us by our messenger, it is inquired by Bovo how the sacred body had been laid there. I from this, coming to myself, began to remember the Life of St. Folquin, which says something on this very matter: and it being brought, what I wished, being sought out, was read: how that same holy pontiff had translated and laid up the venerable body of the Saint, and that he ordained that the festal day of that same Translation should be kept every year throughout his whole diocese. Which for example's sake it has pleased to set down here: He translated and laid up St. Bertinus's body, and ordained that this should be a solemn day for us, which is the seventeenth of the Kalends of August. To the matter the common report also long added that the aforesaid prelate did this secretly, none but a few knowing of it, and that, lest it should in any way become public, he bound them with grave threats and oaths. This therefore being seen, and it not yet being sufficiently manifest for what necessity's sake, or in what year of the Lord's Incarnation, this was done, without delay, running through and reading such Annals and histories of ancient deeds as I could, and comparing the excerpts from them which seemed suitable to our investigation, I have, according to the measure of our littleness, reflected that this was done by a great foreboding of the divine dispensation, namely that the venerable body was translated by the labor of the aforesaid pontiff from a known place into a more secret inner chamber. And that this may be more clearly opened, let the comparison of those same excerpts be opened. But lest the order of the reasoning begun should seem to be somewhat interrupted, let these things be kept to be woven more fully elsewhere.

ANNOTATIONS.

. That is, chief.*

. That is, ad.*

CHAPTER III.

On what occasion the sacred body had before been laid by St. Folquin in the place where it was found: abbot Bovo invites the archbishop of Reims and the bishop of Thérouanne to the elevation.

[ ] The author relates the deeds of abbot Fridogisus In the reign therefore of the glorious emperor Louis, son of Charlemagne likewise emperor, when hitherto this ancient and then royal monastery had, from the time of the most blessed Bertinus, its chief founder, been greatly ennobled by the sacred religion of the monastic Order, and its government, according to the institutes of the canons, was committed by the adoption of the Brethren, then, being given as a benefice — alas! — to a certain canon, an Englishman by birth, Fredegisus ^a by name, it began to wither in all the brightness of holy religion, to come into foreign hands, and to be diminished from its integrity. Finally he diminished the number of monks serving the Lord there, who were eighty-three, to sixty; the villas and more fertile estates assigned to the food of the monks he usurped into his own lordship. But the monastery of St. Audomarus, which was one with the monastery of St. Bertinus, he utterly overthrew: since, forty monks being expelled, he substituted thirty canons in their place, and assigned to their uses a third part of all the goods belonging to the monastery of St. Bertinus. What therefore was this man but the scourge of this monastery? Who also from blessed Bertinus deservedly stood eleventh in the number of the abbots, because, in that he overthrew those things which had been well ordered by his ten predecessors, he exceeded the bounds of the Decalogue. For every sin is called eleven ^b, since whenever anything unlawful is committed, the sum of the Decalogue, so far as lies in the sinner, is violated. Deservedly therefore that presumer, namely Fredegisus, was called as it were the Cold one: because unless that north wind had been the possessor of his heart, he would in no wise have aspired to presumptions of this kind. Since therefore the presumption of this Cold one was the head and cause of so great a ruin to this monastery, his perverse action was both a sin, and the punishment of sin, and the cause of another sin.

[21] For it was a sin, or even a sacrilege, [to the harm of the monastery of Sithiu, and the wars that arose among the sons of Louis the Pious,] since that which had been assigned to the table of the monks passed into the right of another. It was also the punishment of sin, because unless in Fredegisus some most grievous sin had gone before, whence, since he was filthy, he must grow still more filthy, the Lord would never have permitted him to be so far blinded as to think of so great a sacrilege. But that same sin of Fredegisus supplied to his successors the cause of another sin, because what he claimed for himself into his lordship has remained inextricable among all his successors down to the present time. But let it suffice that I have touched on these small matters for our young men, that it may be plain by what sins, arising from the sanctuary of God, so great evils rose up, and that it may be more manifest by what urgent causes the pearl of the holy body was hidden away. The aforesaid emperor departing from the world, his sons Lothair, Louis and Charles ^c, each emulating their father's empire, presently began to disagree with one another, and, a most fierce fight being joined between them, they waged a most bloody war in the district of Auxerre: where, with the nobles of the Franks and with all the nations subject to them laying one another low with mutual slaughter, at length Louis and Charles, Lothair being put to flight, obtained the triumph. The discord of which seed-bed lasting for five years, in which almost all the regions of the Franks with their inhabitants were brought to nothing, at length, peace being made, they divided the kingdom of the Franks among themselves, and then our Western parts fell to king Charles. By the obtaining of which peace the evils by no means ceased: but, the father's empire being divided in three, while each in his several realms desires to play the father, and to stretch himself out according to his father's magnificence, confounding themselves and their own, they cast them down. For the Lord's word does not fail: Every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation, and house shall fall upon house.

[22] In the reign of that same king Charles, in the third year of the rule of abbot Adalard, and the hiding of St. Bertinus's body for fear of the Danes, the aforesaid prelate placed the deserving limbs of St. Bertinus, wonderfully arranged [], in the year of the Lord's Incarnation eight hundred and forty-three ^d, in a more secret place than they had been before: just as a little before he restored to its place the venerable body of St. Audomarus ^e, stolen by theft but divinely granted to his diligence, and, lest this country should ever be defrauded of so great a patron, he in no dissimilar way committed it to more hidden places. Whose holy Translations also he ordained should be celebrated more magnificently by the whole people of his diocese on distinct days of the seasons, so that whatever at their holy depositions, falling together in the month of September, they should less worthily celebrate by reason of the pressing necessity of the harvest, they might more freely discharge at these solemnities of the holy translations. So great a treasure therefore having been assigned to hidden places, after no long interval of time all the nations of that country, on the one hand dismayed [] by the distress of a most grievous famine that arose, on the other suspecting [*] the sudden madness of a Norman incursion, almost all the nobility of that land, save a few whom an abundance of works and estates and confidence in castles or fortifications had held back, departed after their lords, or wherever it seemed safer to them. Besides, upon those who remained, somehow stripped of the peril of the monstrous famine, there at last came the raging pursuit of the Danes, cruelly rending: who, after they had burst in here in hostile fashion to work out the madness of their tyranny, found none of the Brethren here save four ^f awaiting the palm of martyrdom. With how great punishments they visited three of them, and with what death the fourth was punished; and how, all that they could find being plundered,

they burnt the monasteries and all the offices, and destroyed all things, the text of the Life of St. Bertinus sets forth evidently enough.

[23] who grievously afflicted the monastery of Sithiu. What then? If at that time the bodies of the aforesaid Saints, placed in more eminent or well-known places, had been duly venerated, do you think they would have been snatched away, to be carried off, in the strong hand of the Lord ^g? Or was there not then much need of what the said priest of God, foreboding so great evils, had a little before effected for the preserving of the pledges of the Saints? As yet no fortification of castle or rampart defended this place: and therefore, but rather with the mass of sins urging, a very easy incursion of the wicked burst in hither. And not once only, but twice and thrice, returning again to the borders of Sithiu with the renewed devastations of their inroads, they ceased not to lay them low, until, by the merits of the aforesaid Saints being manifoldly worn down by divine vengeance, they were compelled to return into their sheath ^h. Thereafter, that a third plague of the world also might sift them, at last a beast-like madness pursues the survivors of the famine and of the barbarian disaster in whatever places, whom, wretchedly choked, it butchers, and, tearing them limb from limb unburied, destroys them. When such disasters of divine vengeance had occupied this land for nearly a hundred years, again it is washed as by a kind of flood, being parched by these tribulations. Folquin therefore, God's priest, forewarned by the illumination of the Holy Spirit of so great evils, while he yet lived, hid the venerable body of St. Bertinus in an unknown place, and where it would least be supposed; where until these our latest times, namely for two hundred and fifty ⁱ years, our Nourisher and Shepherd lay hidden, until, for the sake of founding a crypt, as has already been noted, the overturning of the chief altar uncovered him.

[24] Bovo consults the prelate of Reims about the body found, giving him a letter Being now made more certain by these tokens, having received a letter from our bishop, I set out to Reims to the archbishop to seek counsel upon these matters: where, when we had come, we went forward to speak to the lord archbishop. And when we too had been admitted before him, and he had presently made himself wholly ready for the course of the reasoning we had to set forth, we first related to him in order the newness of the deed done, and then I gave into his hands the letter of the lord bishop with the witnessing writing which speaks upon this very matter, and with the inscription of the cross. Who presently, abbots, archdeacons, and all monks and canons of sounder mind having been called together, in the sight of two hundred, on the third ^k of the Ides of January, on the festivity of the deposition of St. Remigius, that same letter was read in these words: "To the lord Wido, by the grace of God archprelate of Reims, Drogo bishop of those who are called Morini. Since by the divine gift thou holdest the summit of the highest dignity, and, as an outstanding shepherd, providest by authority and vigilance alike for the shepherds set under thee, our acts depend on thee, our counsels look to thee: which, if they be ordered in a godly and praiseworthy manner, it is thy advantage and likewise ours. Whence, if at any time anything unwonted befalls in our churches, where for the greatness or newness of the matter we do not sufficiently suffice for our own counsel, recourse is had accordingly to thee, as from the members to the head, so that thy authority may make us more certain in our doubts, whose humility defines nothing rashly of itself which requires a higher consideration and deliberation. Let thy Paternity therefore know that in our diocese in these days something new and wonderful has befallen, and that it seemed to me good counsel that I should write it to thee, and should beg thy sentence upon it. The place called Sithiu is a monastery of God's men and a parish of our see, and not the least of those which antiquity has left in memory as founded and likewise enriched of old by kings. It is indeed most famous for the many pledges of Saints resting there, among which, as it were by a privilege of special merit, blessed Bertinus stands eminent, namely the chief ruler of that place. The matter required that for the building of a crypt the chief altar should be moved, which by a higher counsel the abbot determined to do in our presence. Where, when after the destruction of the altar the earth is dug more deeply, a certain hiding-place of brickwork and cement, almost indissoluble, offers itself to the eyes of those standing by. Which at last, being destroyed with much sweat, shows a leaden shrine and the bones of a body reduced to ashes to be contained, with a sufficiently evident mark of a seal. The seal was a silver cross, and the inscription, St. Bertinus Abbot.

[25] "This thing, so wonderful and so unlooked-for, while it filled some with joy, of the bishop of Thérouanne, in which the reason for doubting is set forth: but troubled others with distrust and exceeding astonishment, a testimony upon it comes back to the memory of the abbot and the Brethren, and is brought to the knowledge of others who believed less, whose purport also we have briefly touched for thee. It is read in the public archives of that place that St. Folquin, bishop of our see (whose body also, famous for great mighty works, rests in the same church), when the barbarism of the Danes was raging with fire and sword through the maritime places, a little before this plague of devastation laid up this Saint's body in the earth on a certain day: but as to when or by whom it was afterward found, there is not even any mention, except the rumor of the people, which, as it brings in uncertain things for certain, so for the most part brings in false for true. The testimony of this matter satisfies us for the credit of the thing: but there is another thing which troubles us in part, and the common people, who understand less, not a little. For what ought to be done concerning the relics held in reverence under that same Saint's name in that same church, if the newly found body of the Saint be translated to its due honor, no definition avails us according to our wish. We beseech therefore, by him who set thee over us as prelate, by the mutual bond of holy charity, that, having called in men whom the knowledge of the divine law enlightens, and whom the testimonies of a praiseworthy life also approve, thou wouldest take counsel upon both these matters, and by the writing of thy authority give us counsel upon both: that, every cloud of ambiguity being removed, the scandals also of all dissension may be driven away, and the concord of peace be increased among us, and the name of the Lord be praised in all our works. Amen."

[26] Wido the archbishop urges the elevation and promises that he will be present; Which being read through, by the counsel of all and by the votes of all he ordered another letter to be written back, containing answers of this kind. "Wido archbishop of Reims to Drogo his brother and fellow bishop, to live happily in both worlds. Since wisdom always acts wisely, and Solomon says, Son, do all things with counsel, and after the deed thou shalt not repent; we praise, dearest Brother, thy prudence, seeking counsel from us as is fitting, concerning the relics of the newly found Saint. But we, having taken counsel upon this very matter with our people, as thou hadst asked, decree that the body found is indeed St. Bertinus's, because we altogether set uncertain things after certain, which both the testimonies of the writing which thou hast sent us confirm, and the dignity of the place in which it was found, and the evident token, namely the mark of the cross. That holy body therefore, being raised with due honor, set in a reverend place, as is fitting: but place also the relics of the other Saint, uncertain as you say, beside the body of that same St. Bertinus, trusting in God's mercy that whose they are will be revealed in his own time. For the rest, both for the revealing of the uncertain Saint ^l and for the revealing of the certain one, we determine that a three days' fast be proclaimed to the people, that the Lord, being appeased by the prayers and fasting of his people, may open to us when he wills and how he wills. Amen." These things being done, certain of his household being called aside, we as suppliants beseech that same supreme prelate through these intermediaries, that the day of the elevation to be performed by God's help should be honored by the presence of his coming, and made solid by the authority of his dignity. Who presently, inquiring the time and day when, with the Lord favoring, we should do this, when he learned by our answer that it was the first or second day of the month of May, kindly promised that he would be present, if life and health should attend him. Whence, being now made somewhat calmer in mind, having received the letter of the writing and obtained leave [*], we return home swiftly.

[27] Bovo therefore prepares all things for the solemnity. But when we came to Thérouanne, the lord bishop is met there: being admitted to his presence, I put into his right hand the letter written back to his words. Which being read, he promises that all things shall, according to the counsel of the supreme prelate, be proclaimed throughout his diocese. Thereafter, when we had gone home, we strove with prayers, fastings, vigils, according to the measure of our littleness, to seek from the heart the mercy of God and the patronages of the Saints, and to attend in every way to the preparations for the festivity now drawing near to be performed: when certain men set themselves to bring upon us for this very thing great disquiets of contradictions, troubles, persecutions, injuries, and greatly to hinder the mysteries of the Saint that were to be performed. But to say nothing of ourselves, since we have not received a punishment worthy enough of our evils; yet how great a crime it is to contrive anything against God's Saints, that ark of the testament, tilted when the oxen kicked, shows by evident figures: since, when a levite, rashly handling it, tries to right it, being at once condemned by divine vengeance he is cheated of mortal life. Not otherwise let all who contrive to find fault with whatever is done by God's servants in the way of stewardship beware lest at some time, unless they repent, they be struck with a more violent damnation of their souls. Being thereafter vexed with many tribulations, at last, Christ being propitious, we were freed from them.

ANNOTATIONS.

. Perhaps cruentissimum.*

. Read compositos.*

. consternatæ.*

. timentes.*

. That is, farewell having been said.*

CHAPTER IV.

The elevation and translation of the body, and the various miracles then wrought.

[ ] [The archbishop, the bishop, the countess of Flanders and many others being present,] What more? On the first day of the month of May the lord Wido, the supreme pontiff, with many notable persons, and Drogo also our bishop with his honorable clergy, and divers lord abbots with their own, are present. Nor is the lady Adhela ^a wanting, attended by her brother Odo ^b and by many a soldier of the nobles. No less do innumerable multitudes of people, coming from divers places, rush hither; the walls of the church are filled. Nevertheless, the lord archbishop with his own and the other guests resting on that day, since they were wearied from the journey, we meanwhile take care to attend to preparing whatever was necessary, and put off all that was to be done concerning the Saint until the morrow. For when I had long since determined that this very thing should be done on the first day of the month of May, and was seeking upon this the assent of our lord bishop by a messenger sent to him, he presently by a more wholesome counsel bade it rather be deferred to the second day of that same month, lest the most famous solemnity of the holy apostles Philip and James, which was on that same day, should seem to be lessened in its own celebrity; and that, this going before, and at last the festivity of the finding of the saving Cross following, all who came hither or returned hence might enjoy a festal exultation of leisure. On which matter, we not yet knowing it, we believe it was done by divine dispensation that the coming day should already be adorned with fitting things: that, as it was magnified by the deposition of St. Walbert ^c, so at last it should be held to be magnified by the elevation of St. Bertinus, whom the lessons of one life should commend, and the same responsories celebrate together.

[29] the sacred body is raised: These things being omitted, on the early morning of the following day, the prelates, abbots, monks and canons being ready, and certain also of the greater laymen being admitted within for testimony, the most sacred place is approached with processions, the litanies to be sung are begun, and, workmen being sent, the shrine of the consecrated body is ordered to be dug out. Nor are the commands delayed; but, the earth being cast out, the sacred place is made ready so far that an easy approach might be given to all for drawing out the Saint's shrine. Then, our pontiff with four abbots, men of more approved life, who should handle the limbs of the sacred body, being placed about it, the shrine being opened, the supreme prelate begins by singing the Responsory, Let my prayer be directed, and, the choir taking it up, As incense in thy sight, O Lord, he censes it within and without. This being chanted, while, he leading the chant, the verse of the same Responsory, THE LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS AS AN EVENING SACRIFICE, followed, that which before this, attempted by some for whatever cause, was refused by a certain difficulty, then, the hands of a few being put to it, is drawn out with agility and ease, is carried forth to the higher structures of benches, is venerated by us all seeking the ground, and is likewise censed, and to our spotted gazes also those so consecrated members are then revealed, and, bedewed with water and wine, are made clean.

[30] Meanwhile a certain cleric, Berwoldus by name, deprived of the light of one eye, a cleric blind in one eye is healed: was standing apart, who until then had both eyes equal in clearness, but for the sake of some ailment or other he had before this caused a certain vein next to the eye to be cut for him, to be healed thereby, whence he had lost all the light of that eye: but this, out of shame, he had hidden from almost all save a few and his own household. He was begging with inmost prayers the patronage of St. Bertinus, that he might obtain from the Lord the restoring of his lost light, and greatly panted that his eye might be touched by any of the Saint's members which were there handled, but feared that he would by no means be permitted to draw near. But while we were carefully attending to so great a matter, and meanwhile certain chants suited to that same sacrament had been said, and the Responsory of the holy Trinity being assigned, "Who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders", had been sung; likewise the Responsory of the same Saint, "The glorious athlete of God therefore, and the excellent priest Bertinus, serving the King on high in a long age with fastings and prayers", is taken up to be sung slowly by the choir; and thus, while they sang, the said cleric, sufficient in goods but lacking the light of one eye, since (as has already been said) he feared to approach the sacred limbs, beseeches one of our Brethren to touch some of the sacred members lightly with his fingers, and with those same fingers to imprint a sign upon his blinded eye. Which while it was done, we not knowing, and rather while, out of devotion to the Saint present, this ending of the Responsory was soothing the minds of those still chanting, "Today he receives the rewards of his merits in the choir of Angels", presently he is given the light he awaited. And indeed what the Lord granted to be done in him, to the praise of his own name and for the making known of the Saint's merit, he himself with foolish shame wished to be kept silent: but perhaps then to a certain Arnold who clung to him in familiarity he said, muttering, that he had been admitted thither with a good omen for himself, in that by the touch of the Saint present he had received the sight long lost, adjuring him altogether to keep this silent and never to disclose it to any. But the other by no means acquiesced in so great an insensibility of his, but presently disclosed it to those standing round. Which a certain Walter, finding that it had truly befallen, with hand outstretched enjoining silence on all, cries out that this man, long condemned to the sight of one eye, had now by the Saint's merits been restored by the awaited gift of light. Which being heard, we, being greatly gladdened, are drenched with tears for joy, and are consoled with a certain hope that by whatever tokens of divine grace doubt might be driven from all the hearts of the distrustful.

[31] Then a certain servant of ours also, but until then dissenting from us too much in this part, a servant's doubt about the relics: the countess's gift: and too unaccustomed to this matter, then for the first time, led by much repentance, drenched with a great fount of tears, but not yet believing enough in that same matter, with such vows as he could, was suppliantly praying the Lord himself, the fount of loving-kindness, that if that body were St. Bertinus's which was then being handled there, he would deign to declare it to all by a threefold sign of miracles. Meanwhile, the holy members having been arranged in a white linen cloth and a precious pall, which the countess had willingly prepared for this, as they had once been joined in one body, and having been reverently placed by the lord archbishop in the huge hollow of the shrine, likewise the aforesaid venerable matron, making plain the desires of the great devotion which she had toward the Saint, handed over to that same Saint a certain salt-bearing land, before all who were present, by a donation lawfully made.

[32] the translation of the body: These things being thus done, it is lifted in their arms with a mighty dancing of chanters, and is carried out of the crypt into the venerable sanctuary, when behold, the other bodies of the Saints resting there are stretched forth to meet it before the doors of the crypt. Nor was an easy way out given to the archbishop, who was then to celebrate the Masses, since the crowds pressed and ran up: and therefore all things were then ordered to be carried outside the thresholds of the monastery, so that, with the greater multitude of the people accompanying them, the supreme pontiff, about to perform the Masses, might be able to enter the holy of holies ^d without hindrance. And when this was fitly done, and especially when the parts of the whole great multitude followed the pledges of the Saints, the supreme pontiff having entered the sanctuary, the chief Masses were performed.

[33] a boy with contracted limbs, being warned by a previous vision, Meanwhile a certain woman with her son, contracted in arms and legs, about to beseech St. Bertinus for his healing, stood without, outside the church, in the court. She also, when before this she was thinking of carrying that same boy of twelve years to Cologne to the suffrages of St. Heribert ^e and of the other Saints resting there, that by their merits she might perhaps deserve to obtain the use of his limbs, to this the boy said that he had already thrice been admonished by a vision that he should not be carried anywhere until he should first make trial of the merits of St. Bertinus at his side. And when in the vision he had come thither and had prayed, likewise he said that he had seen four most white doves flying forth out of the monastery, and that the altar itself, being shaken, trembled like a leaf, and that as he prostrated himself before it, without delay he rose up thence whole by the Saint's merits. This therefore being reported by the boy to his mother, and the report of the Saint's elevation now following, she with the boy flies thither with a great [*] company, and, awaiting the outcome by the intervention of the Lord and of St. Bertinus, stood suppliant with her son before the doors of the monastery.

[34] is given strength; And when she pressed forward amid the thronging crowds to kiss the Saint's bier, and, being driven back, importunately renewed the attempt, and with much striving strove to set the boy against the Saint's bier, God granting it, that same boy, made straight in arms and legs, is given soundness. Which many beholding, some of those standing by succor the mother who had been crushed, and some, taking up the boy, carry him forth. Which being done, the shout of the tumultuous innumerable multitude is raised, and God, wonderful in his Saints, is publicly proclaimed: since the boy whom a little before they had known scarcely to crawl they beheld walking before their eyes, his mother going before. Meanwhile, as we chanted at the Masses in the choir, the most sweet odor of this matter steals upon us. And while it was still being asked by us whether it were true, that same boy, healed by the merits of holy Bertinus, enters, and, being raised up in the midst of us, his mother leading him, is prostrated before the altar to give thanks to God according to his measure. And when the Gospel had been said, and the lord archbishop before the altar began the hymn TE DEUM LAUDAMUS, and the choir followed it in many parts, you might have seen many rejoicing together to Christ over the deed done, and many weeping for gladness.

[35] But the hymn not yet being completed, and while not a few of us were still weeping for joy, sight is restored to a blind woman. a certain blind woman also, a dweller in this city, and therefore most well known to all of us, is announced to have then received her sight, and she herself, enlightened, accompanies in the sight of all a message of this kind,

and, prostrate, joins herself to the boy for the praise of God and for the extending of St. Bertinus's merit. But with how great an exultation and with how great a dignity there was that day exulting and delight in the Lord, no man's assertion will suffice to set forth fully. For, having been until then embittered by the disquiets, troubles and reproaches of certain men, then, the grace of our God flashing more graciously upon us, we were made as it were consoled: then our mouth was filled with joy, and our tongue with exultation. Now at length the cause of the singular grace foretasted shines out; now that certain good thing which I remember to have foretold was to be cherished by God's compassion and brought forth in its own time flashes like lightning. Let this grace hold none of ours ungrateful, let it show us all thereafter more devoted to Christ, let it drive us all to be more watchful for God's praise. While indeed I attend to these things, there comes to my mind also the mention of the three words carved on the little cross that was found. For as then the elevation shone with three more evident signs. For as in the finding it would not have been known who he was, unless three words had spoken; so also in the elevation it would not have been believed enough by all, unless the truth had been made clear by these tokens of three miracles. What then? Should we be moved by no such fitness of these things? Three words proclaim the finding, three miracles the elevation. O how great a consequence of God's works, how great a concord shines forth! By this grace of God, of words and of signs [], all shadows are driven from all, by this the merits of so great a Patron now blaze [].

[36] For the rest, the most sacred offices of the Masses being performed with the magnificence of so great a glory, The body, enclosed in a shrine, is joined to other relics: and the other bodies of the Saints having been carried back to their own places, the shrine of holy Bertinus, still not made fast, is set forth upon the altar of the holy Cross to be frequented by the people, and, the sun now sinking to its setting, guards being placed, it is kept to be sealed on the morrow. These things being well done, the bodies are cared for with what they need, and thus that most famous day is completed with unspeakable glory. But on the following day it is again approached, and the attestation, witnessing the deed done and containing the order, the time, the person and the witnesses, is read out, an innumerable multitude of people standing by, and, being read through, it is placed with the cross that had been found upon the most sacred body; and so arranged it is sealed with the seal of the supreme prelate, the shrine is closed, is bound tight with iron rings and nails, is stitched, is bound, and, being indissolubly fastened, with the dancing of an innumerable multitude is brought into the holy of holies with the relics to be magnified: where until now it is venerated, and, the Lord granting, will be venerated for ever and ever.

[37] And thereafter the supreme prelate and our lord bishop proclaimed that the memorial day of the sacred Elevation ^f should thenceforth be venerated by all the people of this diocese, and kept every year with much devotion. the feast of the Elevation: relics given to others: These things being thus performed, and the lord prelates and abbots having obtained [*] something of the holy relics, each, endowed with several gifts, returned more joyfully to his own.

[38] Of whom one, namely Waso ^g, abbot of St. Valery, having obtained something of the holy relics, blindness removed by the applying of the Saint's tooth. after, the solemnity of the sacred elevation being performed, he had returned home rejoicing, a certain countryman, blinded, the pupils of both his orbs being overspread with heavy specks, a boy guiding his steps, came to him, to ask for some kind of medicine. To whom he said: I know no saving antidote for such a disease, save the coming of our almighty and saving Lord Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, I too very lately, with not a few gathering together, attended the most holy service of the elevation of a certain famous Saint, and, though unworthy, was present at that holy business: there too the Lord declared to us all, by the diverse marvels of miracles, how great that same Saint was. Of whom also, being enriched with the gift of one of his holy teeth, returning hither I brought it, rejoicing in such a gift: and if thou wilt put faith that thou canst be healed by the merits of that same Saint, I will at once order it to be presented to thee. To this he said: I trust. And he presently ordered it to be brought in the sight of those standing by. Which being brought and applied to both his eyes, at once, his eyes being uncovered, he began to see clearly, and, the Lord's name being blessed for this, he returned home sound and cheerful.

ANNOTATIONS.

. Perhaps multoque.*

. Supply luce.*

. fulgent.*

. consecutis.*

AN APPENDIX CONTAINING OTHER MIRACLES NOT YET GIVEN

by uncertain and various authors

From Mabillon's edition.

Bertinus, abbot, at Saint-Omer in Belgium (S.)

BHL Number: 1297, 8650

By an Anonymous author.

CHAPTER I.

Certain persons who violated the Saint's festivity, punished: the sick healed: the peril of a fire removed.

The prodigious punishment of those who did not keep The festal day ^a of the translation of the body of the blessed father Bertinus, which is celebrated on the seventeenth of the Kalends of August, was at hand, and the presbyter was announcing that it was to come and to be celebrated in worthy manner and with the wonted reverence of custom. And so a certain woman, setting that feast day of the Translation behind her, neglected it, and took pains to perform servile work until midday: afterward she hastened to wash her garments to make them clean: but something other than she reckoned befell her at that same hour. For suddenly they first became red, then, stained with gore, they began to drip blood. She presses on to wash [*] the garments, striving to overcome the increasing blood: but the more she washed, the more that blood abounded with increase. For at first it dripped drop by drop, afterward it flowed, as water is wont to drip through a gutter. What was she to do? She stood stupefied, and astonished at so great a miracle. At once the report of the sign flies, the neighbors run together, those present wonder. And one of them uttered the truth, saying: Thou hast broken this festal day, thou hast worked when it was by no means lawful for thee to work. There is a hastening to the church, pardon is sought, penance is enjoined, the gore ceases to flow.

[2] But another woman on that same day cleansed her corn with a winnowing fan, the feast of the translation. wishing to grind it when cleansed. But before she set about that work, she was rebuked by not a few because she by no means observed the festal day. Provoked by their words, she is said to have answered: As many as are the suns and the years that are counted, so many festivals has our presbyter's book written down. She spoke, and altogether wished to grind. At the first turning of the mill the wooden handle clave to her palm and fingers, then her whole arm also grew stiff. Presently the mill too stood motionless, and the wood clinging to her hand drew her toward itself; she tried to tear it away, but could not. At length, confessing her shame with a blush, she showed her right hand cleaving to the wood, and, confessing the harm of her error, went to the church. At the priest's urging those present pour forth prayer, and the wood fell; and she returned home glad: to whom thenceforth every festal day was a thing of fear. At another time also, on that same day of his festivity, he steeped ears of corn that had been plucked, flowing abundantly with blood, and thus rendered them useless for human uses.

[3] When our venerable father Bertinus, after he had been tempted by the devil in the guise of a woman, and had been visited and freed by St. Martin, considering that it is in no wise expedient for monks to have any kind of communication with the female sex, [Adala countess of Flanders, the first to enter the Saint's church and there healed:] wholly shut out under anathema the entrance of women from the precincts of that monastery. Which from blessed Bertinus's own time was well observed by all until that time in which ^b Adala, the most noble wife of count Arnulf ^c and abbot of that place, when she had very often been weighed down with great infirmities ^d, began to desire that in this monastery the monks should give her leave to enter, that it might be lawful for her to prostrate herself before the altar of holy Bertinus to pray for her health. For the sake therefore of this matter, having called the venerable bishops Wicfridus bishop of the church of Thérouanne and Folbertus of Cambrai, she laid bare to them her desire; and, leave having been received also from the monks, in the year of the Lord's Nativity nine hundred and thirty-eight, and in the fifth year of king Louis ^e, on the second feria of Easter, the aforesaid bishops brought her into that same monastery, not without the greatest trembling: since she first had presumed to do this which before none of the queens dared even to desire. And being thus brought in, and prostrate before the altar of Bl. Bertinus, having devoutly poured forth prayer, she received full soundness of body. And on entering she conferred very many ornaments ^f on this place, and, as long as she lived, never ceased to give.

[4] another sudden healing. At that same time Rodulfus, the city prætor of that castle, when his son named Walter, with the disease which physicians call smallpox ^g, seemed to be very near death, lifting him in his own arms carried him before St. Bertinus's altar, and promised that he would make him a monk if he should be helped by his loving intercession. Whom, presently restored to health, he offered to the Almighty as a servant, and to St. Bertinus as a monk who should abide such perpetually.

[5] [When the feast of St. Vincent the martyr had been made more solemn among the men of Sithiu,] It has been ascertained by the diligent report of truthful ^h men who were present, how in the time of the venerable man the lord abbot Odbertus the place of the monastery of Sithiu was long ago divinely snatched ⁱ from the peril of a fire, by the merits of St. Vincent the martyr of Christ and of the holy confessors Audomarus and Bertinus. Which, because it seems so far to suit the profit of hearers, although it has so long been hidden by the negligence and carelessness of writers, is yet judged worthy to be commended to memory by the office of the pen. There of old no keeping of a solemnity was kept concerning the aforesaid martyr of Christ, save with three lessons and as many responsories: but when his proper Responsories, brought hither by certain Brethren, arrived, at once, the harmony of their sweet melody being perceived by the Brethren, as they are exceedingly delightful, the youth of the Brethren was greatly delighted with them, and from that time fully instructed for the celebrity thenceforth to be observed. Thereafter the deposition of the aforesaid Saint began every year, beyond the wonted manner, to be venerated more becomingly with twelve lessons, and the devotion of the Brethren toward the Saint of God grew daily more and more.

[6] a grave fire having arisen in a neighboring house, three white doves are seen; And when this was done through the revolution of some years, and the Brethren did not cease from such holy devotion, it happened one year a little after, when his celebrated deposition had been becomingly performed, namely on the very festivity of St. Gregory ^k, which falls in the season of Lent, that a great house of one of the advocates, adjoining the cloister and the monastery, kindled from the dead snuff of a candle, was burning. Which, as it was strong, vomiting forth horrible flames, and the cloister on that side,

on which it stood, veiling it with smoke and fire, threatened destruction to all the offices of the monastery, and the Brethren, now despairing of the deliverance of so great a place, were busied only with drawing out the treasures of the church and all the furnishings: when by God's favorable providence three doves, white as snow, gliding down from heaven (as I believe, and as the event afterward showed), are openly seen by many to fly three times about the belfry, and now here, now there, to shift their perches upon the pinnacles. Which not a few beholding, judged that such things were wrought by the Lord, and, praying, desired that by such tokens that place might be preserved from so great a peril of fire. And when it was so huge — as being the chief [] house, it so overhung the cloister that scarcely any interval lay between; and so great a fire raged from it that roofs [] far distant from it were thence invaded, and a great part of the castle itself was consumed — thanks be to God, not only was this whole place snatched from so great a loss of peril, but it was also, not long after, glorified by a more manifest revelation of that same deliverance.

[7] But there still stood that ancestral monastery [] of St. Peter, [and St. Vincent, appearing in sleep to a certain monk, is said to have revealed it,] built (as was said) by St. Bertinus our patron, to which a certain very small crypt afforded an approach from the oratory of St. Martin. Which a certain one of the Brethren, Rambertus by name, a monk of this place, recalling for love of St. Peter the Prince of the Apostles and of holy Bertinus its builder, was wont to frequent every night, when the watches of Matins were performed, and there to pass the night in psalmody and holy meditations. He, when in that same Lenten season, a little after the aforesaid threat of that burning, on a certain night, Matins being performed, he was giving his labor to such things, and, because Matins had that night sounded earlier than usual, being wearied with vigils he sought a seat, and, as is human infirmity, being weighed down there with sleep had begun to doze a little, it seemed to him to see a certain magnificent man, clothed in white with a dalmatic and levitical ^l vestments, standing by him, and asking him whether he slept. But when for fear he could, as it seemed to him, answer nothing to this, Do not fear, said he who appeared. And he added: But dost thou know who I am? To this he said: I do not know, lord. Then he said: I am brother Vincent, and I render you thanks for the observance of my celebrity and for the upright devotion which you bear toward me.*

[8] Is it not also hidden from you what those three doves, whiter than snow [], [the monastery preserved from fire by the patronage of SS. Vincent, Audomarus and Bertinus;] meant, which appeared there when Vulcan was raging beyond measure? To whom he said: It is hidden from us, holy one of God: we judged that such things were made known under good auspices for our protection. And he said: You judged rightly. For I was with the holy Audomarus and Bertinus, who came hither as a safeguard for you. For, the faults of certain men so requiring, all this place had been delivered by the Lord to the surrender of the flame; but for the sake of my memorial, which is here kept by you in these so distant shores, and because the festivity of my deposition is so devoutly observed, I with the Saints whose deserving bodies are here venerated was present before the majesty of the Lord as a timely intercessor for you, and, the deliverance of this monastery having been obtained from the most kindly Jesus, without delay we came hither for your preservation. All which do thou disclose to abbot Odbertus and to the Brethren of the whole congregation, and admonish them that they be made more amended by these rebukes of the compassionate Lord, lest at some time they be smitten with a stricter correction: and on my part fail not to render great acts of thanks to all, because they bear so great an affection of devotion toward me, and because they have established the observance of my birthday so becomingly and so humbly.* These things being said, the dreamer awoke, and he who had appeared vanished. And that Brother, his mind made honey-sweet with the nectar of that revelation, was drenched with a shower of tears.

[9] as that monk declared to the abbot and to the other monks: But when in the morning he wavered between the two, namely whether he should keep silence or make it public, he called a certain one of the elder brethren, named Grimwaldus, and consulted him what was needful to be done. And he exhorting and suggesting that the commands of that Saint must be obeyed, and that it ought not to be hidden, both together [*] go to tell the Father, and then, at that same Father's bidding, the whole little band of the congregation. And the tears of that same Brother, of which a flood flowed abundantly as he related it, bore witness that all that was said was true. And when the Brethren had heard, amid his weeping and amid the telling, that thanks were rendered them on the part of so great a martyr, at once all, bursting into tears, sought the ground with kisses, and, rejoicing greatly together, praised and blessed for these things the most kindly Lord in the songs of their lips and with harps, who is thus appeased and borne with in our iniquities by the intercessions and merits of his Saints. Wherefore the aforesaid abbot with those subject to him, devising in every way how they might more worthily be able to extol and venerate that chief soldier of Christ, so that they might be able continually to deserve so great an intercessor for themselves before the divine majesty, when the oratory of Bl. Peter the apostle, which now remains, had been completed, ordered an altar of that same martyr to be set up in it, and that thenceforth every year his birthday should be kept most becomingly in white with all devotion.

[10] who believed themselves divinely preserved. But we, dearest Brethren, having now experienced the stricter correction of the aforesaid threat, as men who in our own time beheld with our own eyes all our place given over to desolation, our sins deserving this, and devoured by fire, ought at length in this to know the time of our visitation, and whatever we have perceived in ourselves to displease our Lord, let us hasten to take away from his sanctuary, that is, from our hearts, and let us strive to drive far from us the nations of vices which have come into his inheritance, lest they make Jerusalem a keeping-place for fruits. Let us also be mindful of that threat of the Lord made over Jerusalem, that there should not be left in it a stone upon a stone which should not be destroyed, because they knew not the time of their visitation: and, after so great a desolation of fire, now that by God's grace our monastery and all things have been rebuilt and restored for the better, let us take pains with every effort to be made more chastened and more amended by this mirror, and, day and night purging away the armies of countless vices which cease not to assail the holy Jerusalem of the Lord, namely ourselves, let us drive them out with Christ as our leader, and let us adorn his sanctuaries for our Lord with the ornaments of holy virtues, that we may at some time be able to deserve his coming to us. Let us also continually invoke to our aid God's Saints and elect, whom by this revelation we have known to be so ready to succor us, and, following their examples, let us crucify ourselves by the mortifying of vices and lusts: that our Lord may possess us as sons of the mortified, who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns through all ages of ages. Amen.

ANNOTATIONS.

. lavando.*

. Perhaps principi, that is, chief.*

. That is, domus.*

. Ms., monasteriolum.*

. The Ms. adds fuerunt.*

. That is, both.*

CHAPTER II.

The Saint believed to have favored one contending in a duel: a plunderer of the goods of a villa of the monastery of Sithiu struck with sudden death.

[ ] When a suit had arisen about a certain villa of the monastery of Sithiu, A part of the inheritance of our holy ^a father Bertinus is held adjoining the city of Noyon: for there lies the villa of Caumont, which is wholly due to the right of that same Father: for it is confirmed by titles of authority that it was handed over to him from ancient time. But a certain tenant of this villa, abusing a tyrannical power, was too much oppressing their goods, now indeed by force, now taking them away in whatever way he could. And so his madness turned aside to this crime, and went out into worse, that he invaded a part of the tenantry of that villa, and, having overrun it, claimed it for his own right and rule. Seeing the violence of whose invasion, the officer who, being appointed by the abbot in his place, provided for all things of the villa, opposed with all his strength the man contriving abominable things, resisted him in his fury, and cried out that injustice was being done to God and to the holy Father. At length, when he had cried out so much and so often, and when not a few likewise knew the truth of this matter and contradicted that man's insane undertaking, the matter came to law: for so much did he presume upon his own strength. By the one therefore the cause of the injury is set forth, but by the other it is denied that there was any injustice ^b. Thus, thus the controversy is carried on, and there is running to and fro on both sides. First the cause is set forth, it is publicly stated, then it is confirmed by the same deliberation. Then at last the final judicial issue of the cause follows.

[12] and it was to be decided by a duel, If thou deniest, said our champion, that the tenantry of this villa, which thou unjustly claimest for thyself, is due to the rule of God and to the right of holy Bertinus, yet, being conquered, thou shalt confess it, and, being conquered, shalt render the Saint his own, and shalt by no means acknowledge it as thine: for I will set at hazard, said he, my head (and he shows his head with his right hand), only for God's justice, trusting in his help. And on the other hand, said the other, thou shalt find me ready to contend, and thou shalt never say that I was conquered. Sureties therefore are given, the duel is confirmed, a day is appointed. After the matter was thus confirmed by such a law ^c, the bailiff by no means forgets himself, but goes to abbot Odbertus (for he at that time ruled the monastery of Sithiu), lays open the whole course of the matter in order, prays that help be given him, that on the appointed day either he himself should be present, or should send thither in his place some men of good testimony; but most of all he prayed that that same Abbot should be present. He promises that he will indeed do this, and will come to his aid by his authority in person. Then, prostrate before the holy altar, he committed himself wholly and diligently and long to God's providence, and prayed that mercy be shown him: and at last, having sought the abbot's blessing, using as it were a certain nimbleness, he returns in haste more than usual. Yet first he prayed often and very earnestly that he would not forget him. When therefore the appointed day came, he was preparing himself for the duel, yet according to the promise he was awaiting some who should come to his help, or the abbot himself. And so, after Mass had been celebrated by a priest, his prayer devoutly finished, the Eucharist worthily received, he sat down upon a great stone which happened to lie outside the church, and, raising his eyes toward the place of Sithiu mentioned above, held his palms stretched out and his face thither, and, moving his lips only, cried out mightily with a pure heart.

[13] By God's providence, perchance, that he might declare the worthy merit of his Soldier, [the champion of the men of Sithiu conquers his adversary, by St. Bertinus's help, as he believed.] the abbot, being intent on other things, neglected his promise ^d. But then the adversary, heaping up threats and provoking him with words, accused him of delaying, and not a few who favored his side redoubled the reproaches of insults, charging him with fear. Yet he remained, waited, prayed, making little of those who exasperated him. And at last, breaking out into speech, he said: Yet a little while will I wait for my lord. But afterward, behold, he looked forth from afar, and saw two doves whiter than snow cutting the air with their wings. On these he long held his eyes fixed, desiring to know whither they would direct their flight, and what sign the flight portended. For they had once heard that the loving father Bertinus deigned to show himself, and in a vision to take the likeness of this bird. And so with swift flight they go three times round the whole array, and afterward vanish from the eyes of those who saw them. At once he rose, and, thundering terribly, flashing with his shield, came against the enemy with his staff. And it is related that, as he rose and struck the stone with his staff turned round, it sent forth from itself a little stream of blood. O worthy deed, which is strengthened and supported by another sign — wonderful to say, wonderful to see, that blood should flow from a stone; but indeed it is God's to be able to do all things. At length the treacherous invader, conquered by frequent blows, is overcome and laid low on the ground. Then, being so evilly beaten, he confesses many times that he is conquered ^f, and cries out that he had unjustly invaded the tenantry of that villa. Therefore, being scarcely snatched from the conqueror's hands, he is carried home, and after three days died. All the neighborhood said that this had been done deservedly, celebrated the signs of the miracle, and devoutly venerated the holy father Bertinus by extolling him.

[14] But what is sometimes a terror to the good, A noble robber, and whence those who strive after virtue are most corrected, and shine inwardly by the divine gift, thence the reprobate outwardly take boldness, add sin to sin, setting the truth behind them, and, blinded by the cloud of a mortal thing, follow worse things, and in them that word of the prophet is fulfilled, Blood hath touched blood — that is, the wicked man diligently adds crooked or worst things to evils done. There was therefore another tyrant, nurtured in crimes, in the aforesaid city of Noyon, fierce in mind, more monstrous in crime, thirsting for blood day and night above all others. And so, when such was the report of his iniquity, he spread out guiles and frauds this way and that. For he made slaughter of the wretched people, sparing neither man nor woman nor little child. But when he had already for the greatest part laid waste all the neighboring villas, the villa of Caumont was by no means safe from his madness, fearing greatly; and what it feared for itself afterward came to pass. And when he had heard, and indeed knew, that the man had been destroyed by the lot of the duel, and that holy father Bertinus avenges those who act unjustly against the villa and admit injury, in no way did his insane mind cease from its wonted madness or rest from its accustomed fury, but indeed he was turning over a fit place and a suitable time in which to invade the villa. But when there was nowhere left whither to turn the boldness of his rage (for by fire and rapine he had already consumed almost all the rest), he arms two hundred horsemen, and took his way toward the villa of Caumont.

[15] when he had spoiled the villa of the monastery of Sithiu, Yet at first he went by by-ways, feigning pretenses, as though he were hastening elsewhere: presently he rushes straight upon the villa, surrounds it with armed men, and then plunders all the goods that were within. By chance all their beasts, flocks and herds had gone out of the villa to pasture on that day: which, as they were returning, he found feeding here and there in the fields. Alas, alas! a twofold misfortune came suddenly upon them. Within the villa whatever better thing was had is plundered; but without, whatever cattle were feeding are driven off; when behold, a monk named Winradus, a man of good memory worthy of praise, sent by abbot Rodericus ^g, useful indeed to the church of God and necessary in our times, came upon them when the villa had been laid waste. The outcry and wailing therefore is doubled after they saw him: Succor us, succor us, best of men, good lord, they repeat; hasten, going after the enemy, pour out entreating words to him; we are certain that, when he shall see thee, he will at once restore to thee all that he is leading away by himself, for he has plundered all that was within the villa. The gentle man therefore, being inwardly touched by the greatness of all their complaints, hastened swiftly after him with his horse given rein, and, having overtaken him, saluted him. But he, in the swelling [*] of pride and in the fierceness of his mind, by no means looked back, nor showed reverence to the monk, God's servant, who saluted him, so as to return even a little word.

[16] and would not restore what he had taken away, Yet urging his horse with his spurs and guiding it with the reins, he came nearer and spoke more boldly: Snatching this booty from the villa of the holy father Bertinus, thou leadest it away unjustly: restore it therefore, lest for the rashness of thy injustice, lest for the severity of thy injury, thou deservedly incur the wrath of God. He would not look back, he disdained to return an answer to him who prayed. He knows not what he should do: for he doubted through not knowing, and knew not through doubting, to what reason or counsel he could turn himself. For he saw himself despised, he perceived his prayers scorned: yet he was pondering that by promising something he might soften the fierceness of his mind. It was therefore his purpose to offer him two goods, a heavenly and an earthly. The first he offered, the other indeed he offered not, for there was neither the means, nor the cause, nor the time. He indeed began to utter this with a lowered voice, with humble entreaty, keeping in his face the reverence of his order, which he bore both in habit and in mind. He prayed indeed, but did not finish his speech. Truly I pledge, he says, and certainly I promise thee two hundred Masses: when he wished to finish. But that man in indignation took the unfinished speech from his mouth, and (to use the common and vulgar word) the monk piously said two hundred Masses, the other perversely and scornfully uttered two hundred wearies ^h. Thrice at length he repeats the same words, and urged his beast [*] with his spurs.

[17] And still the contemptible word was turning in his mouth, when suddenly he falls from his horse, plunges on his head, is punished with sudden death. his helmet is fixed in the earth, his neck feels the fall of the crash: then also the secret contents of his belly burst forth through the natural passage. Deservedly therefore is he punished in that part and visited with a worthy penalty, whence reproaches flowed forth against the holy Father: and justly and worthily indeed he sent forth a stench below, who above turned in his mouth, with lips and tongue, a like cause of stench. Meanwhile his men were leading away the booty, not knowing that their lord had suffered the ruin of such a fall: and yet, report compelling them, they let the booty go, hasten to their lord, and find him dead indeed and punished with the vengeance of heavenly wrath. At length the booty is brought back to its own, the Lord's name is praised by all, and the patronage of the holy father Bertinus is venerated. These celebrate the joys of a notable triumph, those lead a mournful funeral. O almighty Lord, glorious in his Saints! O God, wonderful in the height of his majesty, in the power of his greatness! Who would doubt that this palm of a noble triumph can be ascribed to the merits of the holy father Bertinus? For a proof of faith therefore the monk came up, and, approaching, humbly prayed, and poured out entreating words before God, who never despises those who hope in him, ever humbling the proud and giving grace to the humble, about to render to each according to his works, who lives and reigns through all ages of ages.

ANNOTATIONS.

reports a duel in which a thief slew his accuser; and, disapproving the law about proof by duel which was in force in his time, he says: For it is certain that no canon has agreed with this law. The law about duels was abrogated, and duels forbidden, by St. Louis, as was said in his Acts, tom. 5 of August pag. 469.

. typho.*

. That is, equum.*

CHAPTER III.

A blasphemer against the Saint punished: certain healings, and the punishments of others.

[ ] A certain man, warned in vain about an injury, A certain man, Bodera by name, acted as under-officer for the cause of a certain man endowed with the power of a mayor ^a, and claiming for himself the advocacy of a villa of St. Bertinus's own right, called Caumont. He, because he desired at once both to be feared and to please, was oppressing the villagers [*] too, too much with labor exacted even to excess. But for the cause of this contriving, and for the controversy of so great an injustice, a certain monk, Heribertus ^b by name, who succeeded abbot Bovo in the government of this monastery, having by the precept of the aforesaid Bovo of venerable memory the care of that villa, took pains to admonish him rather often that he should desist from his wicked act and from the oppression of all. But he fled from him as he openly charged him with crime, as though fearing him, and, secretly disparaging him, craftily set up devices. And the monk, grieving over these things, went to his lord, and laid open the injury done to his own and to himself. I myself, said he, will take care first to threaten this man through myself: and if hereafter he shall commit these things, he shall feel the loss of money. But as the monk was returning, by chance the said other man came. To whom his lord said: Heribertus the monk is angry with thee, saying that thou subjectest the countrymen to my service. And he indeed returns armed with his lord's precept, and vomits out the evil of the venom that lay hidden. For he seized his oxen feeding in the field, and subjected them to his lord's service, and held them for three whole days. But when it pleased him, he gave them back lean and much afflicted, as happens, with so many labors.

[19] and blaspheming St. Bertinus, is struck with a sudden punishment: Thereat the monk, being greatly moved, assails this wicked man with words: Until this time our estate [*] has been free from all service, and has been of its own power, nor did any of my predecessors dare to claim in it any right for himself or any force of invasion. Why therefore hast thou driven off our oxen, and claimed them for another's service? It is no wonder indeed if a wicked man brings forth crooked things with his mouth; the deed is greater, as if it had been said: If thy holy Bertinus, said he, were an ox, he would be yoked to my yoke, and would groan under labor, thou who complainest that thine have sweated at my labor. But the other said: What hast thou said, wicked man? If thou hadst thought what it is a crime to say, thou wouldest by no means have uttered it openly. Be punished, wretched man, be punished with a deserved punishment, thou shalt be visited by the rod of heavenly wrath. While therefore he, being greatly moved at these things, was turning his foot away, he was deservedly struck with a worthy stroke. For his face was at once bent backward, so that the back of his head, which was the forehead, and the forehead, which was the back of his head, seemed to be so held, except that the face ought to be marked with its own features: for his neck was twisted and swollen, his lips likewise swelling and turned otherwise than they ought, and the lights of his eyes also were to be seen looking backward. And what more shall I relate? What is wonderful to say and more wonderful to see, they beheld nothing human in him. And so he is carried home in such a state. But, sending forth bull-like bellowings, he moved all the neighborhood by the torment of his punishment. For there was in the man misery to be seen.

[20] But at his own [*] prayers and at the request of others, and because he wished to see him thus punished, our monk Heribertus came thither together with others. afterward, promising better things, is healed, Perceiving his presence by his voice (for he could not recognize him by sight), he intently beseeches him to pray for him, and often and much entreats him. But he, having compassion on the wretched man (for what mortal, seeing him in such a state, would not have compassion?), asks whether he is willing henceforth to come to himself, and utterly to correct his former life. Let the same and an incurable affliction, said he, smite and strike me, if, being soundly healed, I shall neglect to be amended in all things. The good man therefore believed his promise, at once returned, prayed, and he was restored to health. And on the following day he appeared clothed in bright garments, stronger and sounder than usual. All who had known him stricken wonder that he had so suddenly grown well: but he himself feigned other things, composed a story, wresting his words otherwise than he ought.

[21] But since a man often grows accustomed to stand by a lie against the truth, and, having relapsed into injury, perishes by a dreadful death. the assiduity of doing nourished boldness, and boldness doubled the crime, and the crime brought upon him a deserved death. Not yet had three days passed after these things when he seized the oxen of a certain poor man, subjected them to the rule of a false right, and kept them sweating with excessive labors at his own pleasure and for as long a time as he chose. He had not yet given back the oxen, and was perhaps thinking in his mind to go on to greater things, when by chance he is struck with the same affliction as at first, falls to the ground, and then again the wretched man seems not to be a man nor to utter anything mortal. For instead of human words he gives bellowings; instead of lamentation, instead of complaint, he imitates the madness of wild beasts; he begs his friends to pray for him, nor does it avail; he beseeches by messengers that the monk would come to visit him: this too he by no means deserves. Therefore on the same day on which he was again struck with the same infirmity, he lost the life which he had set behind him; the death which he had followed he saw, found, and felt ^c.

[22] A certain woman ^d from Lorraine, having both arms bound with iron chains for penance, A woman loosed from chains, in this monastery in the year of the Incarnate Word one thousand one hundred and twenty-five, with many standing by, is loosed from the said chains by the prayers of our most holy father Bertinus.

[23] A certain girl, Goduina by name, had her limbs whole, another healed: but contracted in the sinews: at the tomb of the blessed Man in the year of grace one thousand one hundred and twenty-six her legs were made straight for her.

[24] A certain abbot of Lobbes, named Leonius, afterward sought for and taken up into the government of this monastery of Sithiu, a certain church cast down by the wind: built in the parish of St. Bertinus, in the territory of Furnes ^e, a certain church in the year of grace one thousand one hundred and thirty-five, without the assent of the chapter of that same Saint: which a violent wind so shook, by the merits ^f of the said Saint, and made to fly from the ground, that not one joint of the timbers remained upon another.

In the year of Christ's assumed humanity one thousand one hundred and seventy-one, a certain abbot, as the author will have it, punished for an injury: in the time of the lord Godescalcus of good memory, abbot of this place, a thing befell worthy of famous and illustrious memory, and terrible and to be dreaded by all invaders of the possessions of the men of Sithiu. For David, not long after he was consecrated abbot in the church of Clairmarais ^g, lifting his heel against the church of Bl. Bertinus, set about making conduits of waters and ditches through the midst of the land of the aforesaid church in the villa of Arques ^h. Which villa is known from ancient times to have been the property and free possession of that same church without any disquiet of claim. And not content with this presumption, moreover, having entered the church of St. Bertinus, he proudly and arrogantly threatened that he would give effect, according to his own will, to what he had presumptuously begun, although the monks contradicted him. But the divine vengeance, impatient of so great arrogance and presumption, followed not long after, so that that word was fulfilled:

Cease to speak great things; God breaks all that is proud ⁱ.

For on the following day, having set about the aforesaid work, and being about to instruct his workmen at his own pleasure in the making of the conduit, in that same place, his horse kicking beneath him, he was laid low on the ground; and there, his leg being broken, he who had come sound by the carrying of his horse was borne home in a litter by the hands of his servants, thenceforth desisting from the invasion of our land, and leaving (as has been said) a terrible and dreadful example to the invaders of the Saints' land.

[25] blasphemers In the borough of Saint-Omer, in the year of the Incarnate Word one thousand two hundred and fourteen, a certain man, Michael by name, a barber by profession, on the day of the deposition of our blessed father Bertinus, when he was rebuked by not a few of his neighbors because he did not observe the Saint's feast, worked no less on that account, but, reviling the Saint with words and bursting out into insults, being seized by a demon, lay for a long time bound with ropes in the wooden vessel in which dough is wont to be kneaded ^k: whom nevertheless, when he had received some measure of health through God's mercy and the Saint's patronage, we saw bettered [l] in our church before the holy altar in the choir, the lord abbot John the third ^m standing by with very many monks, humbly and devoutly beseeching God's clemency and imploring the suffrages of the Saints.

[26] against St. Bertinus When the presbyter of Reninghe ⁿ, in the year of the Lord one thousand two hundred and nineteen, was not permitted to eat in the refectory on the deposition of Bl. Bertinus, being angry he ate in the borough. Who, when he was returning home, in a boat with the canons of Watten ^o began to curse and excommunicate holy Bertinus of God, and all things which belong to him. Whom the sword of God, taking vengeance upon him, would well-nigh have cut in two, when, not knowing by whom he was cast down, he had been drowned in the river, had not the canons drawn him out. And because with blaspheming mouth and malignant heart he repeated it, it was done again [p].

[27] divinely punished. In the same year John, presbyter of Rubrouck [q], while playing at dice, or I know not whether at chess [r], when he lost, began to curse holy Bertinus of God, and all things which belonged to him: and when in his reproach he had uttered very many words of blasphemy, as though a strong wind were coming he heard a sound, and, receiving a great blow on his jaw, fell back upon the chessboard or the dice-table, and remained three days without food, neither hearing nor seeing.

ANNOTATIONS.

p. Nor is this a sufficiently manifest miracle: for to slip into the river, even a second time, can have another cause than divine punishment. Perhaps too that presbyter railed rather against the monks of Saint-Bertin than against the Saint himself. If the collector, who narrated only six or seven deeds in his own style, had interpreted doubtful matters in the kindlier part, he would have written more mildly, so far as I conjecture.

q. Rubroch, in the praised John of Ypres Rubrouc, in certain maps Rubrock. It is likewise a village of Flanders, distant nearly three miles from Saint-Omer toward Bergues-Saint-Winoc.

r. The game of chess seems to have taken its name from the Persian word Scach, which sounds king; because that piece which is called the king plays the chief part. The Romans called them Latrunculi, as most think.

*. That is, the inhabitants of the village.

*. That is, a farm or estate.

. That is, his.*