by Bede
CHAP. 10
Successit autem Aedilburgi in officio abbatissae deuota Deo famula, nomine Hildilid, multisque annis, id est usque ad ultimam senectutem, eidem monasterio strenuissime, et in obseruantia disciplinae regularis, et in earum, quae ad communes usus pertinent, rerum prouidentia praefuit. Cui cum propter angustiam loci, in quo monasterium constructum est, placuisset, ut ossa famulorum famularumque Christi, quae ibidem fuerant tumulata, tollerentur, et transferrentur omnia in ecclesiam beatae Dei genetricis, unoque conderentur in loco; quoties ibi claritas luminis caelestis, quanta saepe flagrantia mirandi apparuerit odoris, quae alia sint signa ostensa, in ipso libro, de quo haec excerpsimus, quisque legerit, inueniet.
Sane nullatenus praetereundum arbitror miraculum sanitatis, quod ad ipsum cymiterium Deo dicatae congregationis factum idem libellus refert. Erat quippe in proximo comes quidam, cuius uxor ingruente oculis caligine subita, tantum per dies eadem molestia crebrescente grauata est, ut ne minimam quidem lucis alicuius posset particulam uidere. Cui, dum aliquandiu caecitatis huius nocte clausa maneret, repente uenit in mentem, quia, si ad monasterium delata uirginum sanctimonalium, ad reliquias sanctorum peteret, perditam posset recipere lucem. Nec distulit, quin continuo, quod mente conceperat, expleret. Perducta namque a puellis suis ad monasterium, quia in proximo erat, ubi fidem suae sanationis integram se habere professa est, introducta est ad cymiterium; et, cum ibidem diutius flexis genibus oraret, nihilo tardius meruit exaudiri. Nam exsurgens ab oratione, priusquam exiret de loco, petitae lucis gratiam recepit;
et quae famularum manibus adducta fuerat, ipsa libero pedum incessu domum laeta reuersa est; quasi ad hoc solummodo lucem amitteret temporalem, ut, quanta sanctos Christi lux in caelis, quae gratia uirtutis possideret, sua sanatione demonstraret.
Chap. X.
How a blind woman, praying in the burial-place of that monastery, was restored to her sight. [675 a.d.?]
Hildilid, a devout handmaid of God, succeeded Ethelburg in the office of abbess and presided over that monastery with great vigour many years, till she was of an extreme old age, in the observance of regular discipline, and carefully providing all things for the common use. The narrowness of the space where the monastery is built, led her to determine that the bones of the servants and handmaidens of Christ, who had been there buried, should be taken up, and should all be translated into the church of the Blessed Mother of God, and interred in one place. How often a brightness of heavenly light was seen there, when this was done, and a fragrancy of wonderful sweetness arose, and what other signs were revealed, whosoever reads will find in the book from which we have taken these tales.
But in truth, I think it by no means fit to pass over the miracle of healing, which the same book informs us was wrought in the cemetery of that community dedicated to God. There lived in that neighbourhood a certain thegn, whose wife was seized with a sudden dimness in her eyes, and as the malady increased daily, it became so burdensome to her, that she could not see the least glimpse of light. Having continued some time wrapped in the night of this blindness, on a sudden she bethought herself that she might recover her lost sight, if she were carried to the monastery of the nuns, and there prayed at the relics of the saints. Nor did she lose any time in fulfilling that which she had conceived in her mind: for being conducted by her maids to the monastery, which was very near, and professing that she had perfect faith that she should be there healed, she was led into the cemetery, and having long prayed there on her knees, she did not fail to be heard, for as she rose from prayer, before she went out of the place, she received the gift of sight which she had desired; and whereas she had been led thither by the hands of her maids, she now returned home joyfully without help: as if she had lost the light of this world to no other end than that she might show by her recovery how great a light is vouchsafed to the saints of Christ in Heaven, and how great a grace of healing power.
CHAP. 11
Eo tempore praeerat regno Orientalium Saxonum, ut idem etiam libellus docet, uir multum Deo deuotus, nomine Sebbi, cuius supra meminimus. Erat enim religiosis actibus, crebris precibus, piis elimosynarum fructibus plurimum intentus; uitam priuatam et monachicam cunctis regni diuitiis et honoribus praeferens, quam et olim iam, si non obstinatus coniugis animus diuortium negaret, relicto regno subisset. Unde multis uisum et saepe dictum est, quia talis animi uirum, episcopum magis quam regem ordinari deceret.
Cumque annos XXX in regno miles regni caelestis exegisset, correptus est corporis infirmitate permaxima, qua et mortuus est; ammonuitque coniugem, ut uel tunc diuino se seruitio pariter manciparent, cum amplius pariter mundum amplecti, uel potius mundo seruire non possent. Quod dum egre inpetraret ab ea, uenit ad antistitem Lundoniae ciuitatis, uocabulo Ualdheri, qui Erconualdo successerat;
et per eius benedictionem habitum religionis, quem diu desiderabat, accepit. Attulit autem eidem et summam pecuniae non paruam pauperibus erogandam, nil omnimodis sibi reseruans; sed pauper spiritu magis propter regnum caelorum manere desiderans.
Qui cum ingrauescente praefata egritudine, diem sibi mortis inminere sensisset, timere coepit homo animi regalis, ne ad mortem ueniens tanto adfectus dolore aliquid indignum suae personae uel ore proferret, uel aliorum motu gereret membrorum. Unde accito ad se praefato urbis Lundoniae, in qua tunc ipse manebat, episcopo, rogauit, ne plures eo moriente quam ipse episcopus et duo sui ministri adessent. Quod dum episcopus libentissime se facturum promitteret, non multo post idem uir Dei, dum membra sopori dedisset, uidit uisionem consolatoriam, quae omnem ei anxietatem memoratae sollicitudinis auferret, insuper et, qua die esset hanc uitam terminaturus, ostenderet. Uidit enim, ut post ipse referebat, tres ad se uenisse uiros claro indutos habitu; quorum unus residens ante lectulum eius, stantibus his, qui secum aduenerant, comitibus, et interrogantibus de statu eius, quem languentem uisitare uenerant, dixit, quod anima eius, et sine ullo dolore, et cum magno lucis splendore esset egressura de corpore; sed et tertium exinde diem, quo esset moriturus, insinuauit. Quod ita utrumque, ut ex uisione didicit, conpletum est. Nam die dehinc tertio, conpleta hora nona, subito quasi leuiter obdormiens, sine ullo sensu doloris emisit spiritum.
Cuius corpori tumulando praeparauerant sarcofagum lapideum; sed cum huic corpus inponere coepissent, inuenerunt hoc mensura palmi longius esse sarcofago. Dolantes ergo lapidem in quantum ualebant, addiderunt longitudini sarcofagi quasi duorum mensuram digitorum.
Sed nec sic quidem corpus capiebat. Unde facta difficultate tumulandi, cogitabant aut aliud quaerere loculum, aut ipsum corpus, si possent, in genibus inflectendo breuiare, donec ipso loculo caperetur. Sed mira res et non nisi caelitus facta, ne aliquid horum fieri deberet, prohibuit. Nam subito adstante episcopo, et filio regis eiusdem ac monachi Sighardo, qui post illum cum fratre Suefredo regnauit, et turba hominum non modica, inuentum est sarcofagum illud congruae longitudinis ad mensuram corporis, adeo ut a parte capitis etiam ceruical posset interponi; a parte uero pedum mensura IIII digitorum in sarcofago corpus excederet. Conditus est autem in ecclesia beati doctoris gentium, cuius edoctus monitis caelestia sperare didicerat.
Chap. XI.
How Sebbi, king of the same province, ended his life in a monastery. [694 a.d.]
At that time, as the same little book informs us, Sebbi, a very devout man, of whom mention has been made above, governed the kingdom of the East Saxons. His mind was set on religious acts, frequent prayer and pious fruits of almsgiving; he esteemed a private and monastic life better than all the wealth and honours of his kingdom, and he would have long before left his kingdom and adopted that life, had not his wife firmly refused to be divorced from him; for which reason many were of opinion and often said that a man of such a disposition ought rather to have been made a bishop than a king. When he had spent thirty years as a king and a soldier of the heavenly kingdom, he fell into great bodily infirmity, of which he afterwards died, and he admonished his wife, that they should then at least together devote themselves to the service of God, since they could no longer together enjoy, or rather serve, the world. Havin
g with much difficulty obtained this of her, he went to Waldhere, bishop of London, who had succeeded Earconwald, and with his blessing received the religious habit, which he had long desired. He also carried to him a considerable sum of money, to be given to the poor, reserving nothing to himself, but rather coveting to remain poor in spirit for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven.
When the aforesaid sickness increased, and he perceived the day of his death to be drawing near, being a man of a royal disposition, he began to apprehend lest, when in great pain, at the approach of death, he might commit anything unworthy of his character, either by word or gesture. Wherefore, calling to him the aforesaid bishop of London, in which city he then was, he entreated him that none might be present at his death, besides the bishop himself, and two of his own attendants. The bishop having promised that he would most willingly grant his request, not long after the man of God composed himself to sleep, and saw a consoling vision, which took from him all anxiety concerning the aforesaid uneasiness; and, moreover, showed him on what day he was to end his life. For, as he afterwards related, he saw three men in shining garments come to him; one of whom sat down by his bed, whilst his companions who had come with him stood and inquired about the state of the sick man they had come to visit, and he said that the king’s soul should quit his body without any pain, and with a great splendour of light; and told him that he should die the third day after. Both these things came to pass, as he had learnt from the vision; for on the third day after, at the ninth hour, he suddenly fell, as it were, into a light slumber, and without any sense of pain he gave up the ghost.
A stone coffin had been prepared for his burial, but when they came to lay him in it, they found his body a span longer than the coffin. Hereupon they chipped away as much of the stone as they could, and made the coffin about two inches longer; but not even so would it contain the body. Wherefore because of this difficulty of entombing him, they had thoughts either to get another coffin, or else to shorten the body, by bending it at the knees, if they could, so that the coffin might contain it. But Heaven interposed and a miracle prevented the execution of either of those designs; for on a sudden, in the presence of the bishop and Sighard, who was the son of that same king and monk, and who reigned after him jointly with his brother Suefred, and of no small number of men, that coffin was found to fit the length of the body, insomuch that a pillow might even be put in at the head; and at the feet the coffin was four inches longer than the body. He was buried in the church of the blessed teacher of the Gentiles, by whose doctrine he had learned to hope for heavenly things.
CHAP. 12
Quartus Occidentalium Saxonum antistes Leutherius fuit. Siquidem primus Birinus, secundus Agilberctus, tertius exstitit Uini. Cumque mortuus esset Coinualch, quo regnante idem Leutherius episcopus factus est, acceperunt subreguli regnum gentis, et diuisum inter se tenuerunt annis circiter X; ipsisque regnantibus defunctus est ille, et episcopatu functus Haeddi pro eo, consecratus a Theodoro in ciuitate Lundonia. Cuius episcopatus tempore deuictis atque amotis subregulis, Caedualla suscepit imperium, et, cum duobus annis hoc tenuisset, tandem superni regni amore conpunctus reliquit, eodem adhuc praesule ecclesiam gubernante; ac Romam abiens, ibi uitam finiuit, ut in sequentibus latius dicendum est.
Anno autem dominicae incarnationis DCLXXVI, cum Aedilred rex Merciorum, adducto maligno exercitu, Cantiam uastaret et ecclesias ac monasteria sine respectu pietatis uel diuini timoris fedaret, ciuitatem quoque Hrofi, in qua erat Putta episcopus, quamuis eo tempore absens, communi clade absumsit. Quod ille ubi conperiit, ecclesiam uidelicet suam rebus ablatis omnibus depopulatam, diuertit ad Sexuulfum Merciorum antistitem, et accepta ab eo possessione ecclesiae cuiusdam et agelli non grandis, ibidem in pace uitam finiuit, nil omnino de restaurando episcopatu suo agens; quia, sicut et supra diximus, magis in ecclesiasticis quam in mundanis rebus erat industrius; sed in illa solum ecclesia Deo seruiens, et ubicumque rogabatur, ad docenda ecclesiae carmina diuertens. Pro quo Theodorus in ciuitate Hrofi Cuichelmum consecrauit episcopum. Sed illo post non multum temporis prae inopia rerum ab episcopatu decedente, atque ad alia loca secedente, Gebmundum pro eo substituit antistitem.
Anno dominicae incarnationis DCLXXVIII, qui est annus imperii regis Ecgfridi VIII., apparuit mense Augusto stella, quae dicitur cometa;
et tribus mensibus permanens, matutinis horis oriebatur, excelsam radiantis flammae quasi columnam praeferens. Quo etiam anno orta inter ipsum regem Ecgfridum et reuerentissimum antistitem Uilfridum dissensione, pulsus est idem antistes a sede sui episcopatus, et duo in locum eius substituti episcopi, qui Nordanhymbrorum genti praeessent; Bosa uidelicet, qui Derorum, et Eata, qui Berniciorum prouinciam gubernaret; hic in ciuitate Eburaci, ille in Hagustaldensi siue in Lindisfarnensi ecclesia cathedram habens episcopalem, ambo de monachorum collegio in episcopatus gradum adsciti. Cum quibus et Eadhaed in prouinciam Lindisfarorum. quam nuperrime rex Ecgfrid, superato in bello et fugato Uulfhere, obtinuerat, ordinatur episcopus. Et hunc primum eadem prouincia proprium accepit praesulem, II Ediluini, III Eadgarum, IIII Cyniberctum, quem in praesenti habet. Habebat enim ante Eadhaedum antistitem Sexuulfum, qui etiam Merciorum et Mediterraneorum Anglorum simul episcopus fuit; unde et expulsus de Lindissi, in illarum prouinciarum regimine permansit. Ordinati sunt autem Eadhaed, Bosa, et Eata Eboraci ab archiepiscopo Theodoro; qui etiam post tres abscessionis Uilfridi annos, horum numero duos addidit antistites, Tunberctum ad ecclesiam Hagustaldensem, remanente Eata ad Lindisfarnensem, et Trumuini ad prouinciam Pictorum, quae tunc temporis Anglorum erat imperio subiecta. Eadhaedum de Lindissi reuersum, eo quod Aedilred prouinciam recepisset, Hrypensi ecclesiae praefecit.
Chap. XII.
How Haedde succeeded Leutherius in the bishopric of the West Saxons; how Cuichelm succeeded Putta in the bishopric of the church of Rochester, and was himself succeeded by Gebmund; and who were then bishops of the Northumbrians. [673-681 a.d.]
Leutherius was the fourth bishop of the West Saxons; for Birinus was the first, Agilbert the second, and Wini the third. When Coinwalch, in whose reign the said Leutherius was made bishop, died, the sub-kings took upon them the government of the nation, and dividing it among themselves, held it for about ten years; and during their rule he died, and Haedde succeeded him in the bishopric, having been consecrated by Theodore, in the city of London. During his episcopate, Caedwalla, having subdued and removed the sub-kings, took upon himself the supreme authority. When he had held it for two years, and whilst the same bishop still governed the church, at length impelled by love of the heavenly kingdom, he quitted it and, going away to Rome, ended his days there, as shall be said more fully hereafter.
In the year of our Lord 676, when Ethelred, king of the Mercians, ravaged Kent with a hostile army, and profaned churches and monasteries, without regard to pity, or the fear of God, in the general destruction he laid waste the city of Rochester; Putta, who was bishop, was absent at that time, but when he understood that his church was ravaged, and everything taken away from it, he went to Sexwulf, bishop of the Mercians, and having received of him a certain church, and a small piece of land, ended his days there in peace; in no way endeavouring to restore his bishopric, for, as has been said above, he was more industrious in ecclesiastical than in worldly affairs; serving God only in that church, and going wherever he was desired, to teach Church music. Theodore consecrated Cuichelm bishop of Rochester in his stead; but he, not long after, departing from his bishopric for want of necessaries, and withdrawing to other parts, Gebmund was put in his place by Theodore.
In the year of our Lord 678, which is the eighth of the reign of Egfrid, in the month of August, appeared a star, called a comet, which continued for three months, rising in the morning, and sending forth, as it were, a tall pillar of radiant flame. The same year a dissension broke out between King Egfrid and the most reverend prelate, Wilfrid, who was driven from his see, and two bishops substituted for him, to preside over the nation of the Northumbrians, namely, Bosa, to govern the province of the Deiri; and Eata that of t
he Bernicians; the former having his episcopal see in the city of York, the latter either in the church of Hagustald, or of Lindisfarne; both of them promoted to the episcopal dignity from a community of monks. With them also Eadhaed was ordained bishop for the province of Lindsey, which King Egfrid had but newly acquired, having defeated Wulfhere and put him to flight; and this was the first bishop of its own which that province had; the second was Ethelwin; the third Edgar; the fourth Cynibert, who is there at present. Before Eadhaed, Sexwulf was bishop as well of that province as of the Mercians and Midland Angles; so that, when expelled from Lindsey, he continued in the government of those provinces. Eadhaed, Bosa, and Eata, were ordained at York by archbishop Theodore; who also, three years after the departure of Wilfrid, added two bishops to their number: Tunbert, appointed to the church of Hagustald, Eata still continuing in that of Lindisfarne; and Trumwine to the province of the Picts, which at that time was subject to English rule. Eadhaed returning from Lindsey, because Ethelred had recovered that province, was placed by Theodore over the church of Ripon.
