XXI.
JULY 2. ST. SWITHHUN, BISHOP.
[See MSS. Royal 15 C. vii, Nero E. i, &c.]
In the days of the noble King Eadgar
when, by God's grace, Christianity was thriving well
in the English nation under that same king,
God, by many miracles revealed
Saint Swithhun, [showing] that he is illustrious.
His deeds were not known before God Himself manifested them,
neither have we found in books how the bishop lived
in this world, before he departed to Christ.
Such was their carelessness who knew him in life
that they would not write down his works and conversation
for future generations who knew not his power;
but God hath nevertheless brought his life to light
by manifest miracles and wondrous signs.
This Swithhun was bishop of Winchester,
as it were over Hampshire, a blessed servant of God;
(there were eight bishops between him and St. AEthelwold.)
Now as we before said, his life is not known to us,
save that he was buried at his episcopal see
to the west of the church, and afterwards covered up,
until his miracles manifested his blessedness with God.
Three years before the Saint was brought into the church
out of the stone coffin that standeth now within
the new building, came the venerable Swithhun
to a certain faithful smith, appearing in a vision
worshlpfully apparelled, and said to him these words ;
'Knowest thou the priest who is hight Eadsige,
who, with the other priests, was driven out
of the old monastery by bishop AEthelwold, for their misconduct?'
The smith then answered the venerable Swithhun thus,
'Long ago I knew him, sir, but he departed hence,
and I know not for certain where he dwelleth now.'
Then again said the holy man to the old smith ;
'Verily he dwelleth now settled at Winchelcombe,
and I now adjure thee in the name of Christ
that thou speedily announce to him my errand,
and tell him truly that Swithhun the bishop
has commanded him to go to bishop AEthelwold,
and say, that he must himself open my grave
and bring my bones within the church;
for to him it is vouchsafed that in his time
I should be made known to men.' And the smith said to him;
' Oh, sir, Eadsige will not believe my words.'
Then said the bishop again; ' Let him go to my grave,
and draw up out of the coffin a ring;
and if the ring yield[1] at the first tug,
then shall he know for a truth that I have sent thee to him.
If the ring will not come up at his unaided tug,
then shall he in no-wise believe thy saying.
Say to him also afterwards, that he himself amend
his deeds and conduct according to his Lord's will,
and hasten with single mind to the eternal life.
Say eke to all men that so soon as they
open my grave, they shall there find
so valuable a hoard, that their precious gold
shall be nothing worth, compared with the aforesaid treasures.'
The holy Swithhun then vanished from the smith's [sight],
and the smith durst not tell this vision to any man,
not wishing to be looked upon as an untruthful messenger.
So then the holy man spoke to him again,
and yet a third time, and severely reproved him,
because he would not actively obey his commands.
Then however at last the smith went to his burial-place,
and took hold, though fearfully, of a ring,
and cried to God, saying these words;
'O Lord God, maker of all creatures,
grant to me, a sinful man, that I may pull up this ring
out of this lid, if he lieth here within,
who thrice spake unto me in a dream.'
Thereupon he drew the iron out of the stone as easily
as if it had stood in sand, and greatly wondered thereat.
Afterward he replaced it in the same hole,
and pressed it with his foot, and it again stood so fast
that no man was able to draw it therefrom.
Then went the smith awestricken thence,
and in the market-place met a serf of this Eadsige,
and told him exactly what Swithhun bade him,
and earnestly prayed him to report it to him.
He said that he would make it known to his lord,
but however he durst not tell it at first,
until he bethought him that it would not be well for him
if he hid from his lord the saint's behest.
Then he told him in order what Swithhun had enjoined him.
At that time this Eadsige shunned bishop AEthelwold
and all the monks who were in the minster
because of the ejection that he had made regarding them,
and would not obey the saint's command,
though the saint was of worldly kindred to him.
He retreated however within two years
to that same monastery, and became a monk through (the grace of) God,
and there continued till he departed this life.
Blessed is the Almighty God, Who humbleth the proud,
and exalteth the humble to high estate,
and correcteth the sinful, and ever preserveth the good
who hope in Him, forasmuch as He is the Saviour.
Again, there was a certain poor churl, awfully humpbacked,
and painfully bowed together in consequence of the broad hump.
To him was certainly revealed in a dream,
that he should obtain at Swithhun's sepulchre
his bodily health, and [recovery from] his crippledness.
He arose then in the morning, greatly rejoicing, loo
and with two crutches crept to Winchester,
and sought the saint even as it was told him,
praying for his health on bended knees.
Whereupon he was healed by the holy bishop,
so that thereafter it could not be seen on his back
where the hump had stood that had oppressed him till then.
At that time the monks knew not about the great saint,
and they weened that some other saint had healed the man,
but the churl said that Swithhun had healed him,
because he himself knew the most certainly about the matter.
A certain man was afflicted with a very bad disease,
so that he could with difficulty open his eyes,
and could hardly utter a single word,
but lay thus tormented, despairing of his life.
Then all his friends wished to carry him to the new minster,
to Saint Judoc, that he might give him health;
but some one told them that it would be better for them
to take the sick man to the old minster
to Swithhun's grave, and thereupon they did so.
Then that night they kept vigil at the grave with him,
praying Almighty God that He would grant
to the sick man his health, through Saint Swithhun.
The infirm man also watched until it was becoming day,
then he fell asleep, and the worshipful tomb,
as it seemed to them all, was all rocking,
and to the sick man it seemed as if some one was dragging
one of his shoes off his foot; and he suddenly awoke.
He was then healed by the holy Swithhun.
They sought very carefully for the shoe,
but no man was ever able to find it there.
So they returned home with the man that had been healed.
There were healed there, at the holy tomb,
eight sick men, miraculously, by the power of God,
before that he was taken up out of the tomb.
After these signs King Eadgar then
desired that the holy man should be exhumed,
and said to the venerable bishop AEthelwold
that he should translate him with great pomp.
Then bishop AEthelwold, with abbots and monks,
solemnly took up the saint with chanting,
and bore him into the church, St. Peter's house.
There he abideth in honour and worketh miracles.
Then there were healed, by the holy man,
four sick men within three days;
and during five months there were few days
when there were not healed at least three sick persons ;
sometimes five or six, or seven or eight,
ten or twelve, sixteen or eighteen.
Within ten days two hundred men were healed,
and so many within twelve months that no man could count them.
The burial-ground lay filled with crippled folk,
so that people could hardly get into the minster ;
and they were all so miraculously healed
within a few days, that one could not find there
five unsound men out of that great crowd.
In those days there were in the Isle of Wight three women,
two of them had been blind for the space of nine years,
and the third had never seen the sun's light,
They got for themselves as guide, with some difficulty,
a dumb boy, and they came to the saint,
and watched there for one night, and were healed,
both the blind women and the dumb guide.
Then the boy told it to the sacristan,
and said, that he had never before been able to speak,
praying that they would sing the appointed hymn of praise.
About the same time a certain bondwoman was caught to be flogged
for some very slight fault, and lay in custody
to be severely flogged for it in the morning.
Then the whole night she kept awake, and with weeping cried
to the holy Swithhun, that he would help her, a poor wretch,
and through [the power of] God would deliver her from the cruel stripes.
When it dawned, and they began to sing lauds,
then suddenly the fetters round her feet fell from her,
and she ran to the church to the blessed saint,
with bound hands, as the saint willed,
and her lord came after her and loosed her hands,
and freed her at once for the honour of Saint Swithhun.
A certain thane lay a long time crippled by paralysis,
and could not move from his bed for many years.
Then said he that he desired to journey to Winchester
if only in his horse-litter, and pray for his healing.
While he was saying this to his servants and friends,
he was cured; but nevertheless he wended
to the holy saint, travelling on his feet,
foremost in that company during the whole journey,
and earnestly thanked the saint for his recovery.
Five and twenty men, diversely afflicted,
came to the saint, imploring their health;
some were blind, and some were halt,
some also deaf, and some dumb,
and they all were healed in one day
through the saint's intercession, and went their way home.
There was a certain thane in England, very rich in possessions,
who became suddenly blind; then journeyed he to Rome,
desiring to pray for his cure from the holy Apostles,
he dwelt at Rome, but was not cured,
for four full years; then he heard of Saint Swithhun,
what miracles he had wrought since he [the thane] had journeyed thence;
then made he much haste, and returned to his own country,
and came to the holy man, and was there healed,
and returned home with perfect sight.
Another man was also blind for seven full years;
he had a guide who led him everywhere.
One day he went out as he often did,
and the guide became angry, and left the blind man,
and ran away, and the other knew not
how he should come home, but cried to God
from his inmost heart, and with anguish said,
' Oh Thou mighty Lord of men and angels,
look upon my misery; I cannot see;
and my wicked guide hath left me thus alone.
Have pity on me. Lord, through the [intercession of] great Swithhun,
and give me sight for the saint's merits.'
Again he cried thus, and said to the saint,
'Oh thou mild bishop, from whom come often many miracles
through the living God ; I pray thee, master,
to intercede for me with the mighty Saviour,
I believe that He will certainly grant thee' [thy petition].
Whereupon he was made whole, and had his sight,
and without a guide he blithely went home alone,
who a little time before was led by another ;
and his kinsmen greatly thanked God for this.
Then AEthelwold, the venerable and blessed bishop,
who in those days was bishop of Winchester,
bade all his monks who dwelt in the monastery,
that they should all go in procession to church,
and with hymns praise the merits of the saint,
and so magnify God, because of the great saint,
as often as any sick man should be healed.
Then forthwith they did so, and sang the Te Deum,
until they all loathed to arise so often,
sometimes three, and sometimes four times in a night,
to sing the Te Deum, when they wanted to sleep ;
and at last they all left off the chanting,
because the bishop was busy with the king,
and knew not but that they sang the Te Deum continually.
Behold then, the holy Swithhun himself came in a vision,
wondrously adorned, to a certain good man, and said,
'Go now to the Old Minster, and say to the monks,
that God greatly misliketh their murmuring and sloth,
in that they daily see God's wonders amongst them,
and yet they will not praise Christ with chanting
even as the bishop bade the brethren do;
and say, "if they will not perform the hymn,
straightway the miracles shall soon cease;
and if they will sing the Te Deum at the miracles,
as often as sick men shall there be made whole,
then shall so many miracles be done amongst them,
that no man shall be able to remember in his lifetime
that anyone hath seen such miracles anywhere." '
Then the man awoke out of that winsome sleep,
and greatly lamented that he could not see,
nor any longer enjoy the bright light
which he had seen around Swithhun.
He arose nevertheless, and very quickly went
to bishop AEthelwold, and told him all this;
AEthelwold thereupon sent immediately to the monks,
from the king's court, and bade that they should
sing the Te Deum, even as he had appointed,'
and he that neglected it should heavily atone for it
by fasting for seven days continuously.
Thenceforth they ever observed this custom,
as we ourselves have very often seen,
and have not seldom sung this hymn with them.
A certain man was accused of stealing,
who however was innocent, and they at once seized him,
and according to the sentence, put out his eyes,
and cut off his ears; then the blood ran
into his head, so that he could not hear;
then for seven months he thus continued blind,
and without his hearing, until he went in faith
to the holy Swithhun, and sought his bones,
praying the saint that he would hear his petition,
and at least grant that he might hear,
because he did not believe that he could ever again see;
and said that he had been unjustly so punished.
Then God's wonder was wrought in that man
through Swithhun's intercession, that he saw clearly
with perfect eyes, though they had before been thrust out
of the eye-rings [sockets] and one apple [ball] was removed,
and the other hung down whole, at his cheek.
It was also granted him that he could hear well,
he who formerly had neither eyes nor hearing.
Nevertheless it is to wit, that we must not pray
to God's Saints as to God Himself,
because He alone is God, and above all things;
but we should truly pray the saints
to intercede for us with the All-ruling God,
Who is their Lord, that He may help us.
Once men were keeping vigil by a corpse,
as is customary, and there was a foolish man,
jesting unmeetly, who said to the men,
as if in sport, that he was Swithhun.
'Ye may know in sooth that I am Swithhun
who worketh these miracles, and I will that ye bring
your tapers to me, and prostrate yourselves,
and I will grant you what you are desiring/
He thus blasphemed a long time with foolish words,
until he fell silenced, as if he were lifeless,
and they hare him straightway home to his bed.
He lay thus a long time, despairing of his life;
then at last his kinsmen carried the man
to Saint Swithhun, and he himself confessed
his foolish words, that he had presumptously spoken,
and entreated pardon from him, and thereon he was made whole,
so that he went home in health with his kinsmen.
It is likewise to wit, that men do unwisely
when they doltishly jest at dead men's corpses,
and introduce by their sport any licentiousness,
when they should rather sorrow for the dead,
and dread the coming of death for themselves,
and earnestly pray for his soul without [any] madness.
Some men also most unrighteously
drink the whole night at a lyke-wake,
and blaspheme God with their wanton speech,
whereas no beer-drinking is seemly at a wake,
but rather holy prayers are fitting there.
Once there came to the saint a hundred and twenty men,
diversely afflicted with many diseases,
and they were all wondrously healed
within three weeks, and returned home,
thanking Almighty God and the venerable Swithhun.
A certain thane's servant fell suddenly from his horse
so that his arm and left leg broke,
and he was so much crushed that they straightway thought
he would at once die right before them ;
he had previously been very dear to his lord,
and the lord greatly lamented for the servant,
and besought the Almighty from his inmost heart
that he would help the man through the great Swithhun ;
he cried eke to Swithhun, thus saying in his lamentation,
' Oh thou holy Swithhun, pray to Jesus
that He may grant life to this sick servant,
and I will be for this the faithfuller to the living God
all my days, if He does this through thee.'
Then the servant arose, made whole through St. Swithhun.
The lord rejoiced thereat, and with faith praised God.
A certain old thane in the Isle of "Wight was also afflicted,
so that he lay bedridden some nine years,
and could not leave the bed unless he were carried,
To him came in a dream two shining saints,
and bade him quickly run with them.
Then quoth the sick man, ' How can I run with you
when I have not arisen from this bed alone,
without some man's help, now for nine years? '
Then said the saints, ' Thou shalt come to that place,
if thou goest with us now, where thou shalt receive thy health.'
He was then very glad, and desired to go with them;
but when he could not journey with them,
then flew they through the air, and bare the sick man
until they came to a solitary field, brightly blooming,
and there was a church, of shining gold
and of precious stones, standing in the field;
and St. Swithhun, in shining eucharistic vestments,
stood before the altar, as if about to say mass.
Then said Swithhun straightway to the sick man,
'I tell thee, brother, that henceforth thou must not
do evil to any man, nor curse any man,
nor §peak evil of any man, nor be malicious,
nor consent to manslayers, nor connive at wicked
robbers and thieves, nor join in evil deeds,
but rather help, as best thou canst,
needy men with thine own goods,
and thou thyself shalt be healed by the power of God.'
Then the sick man reflected that he did not wish to do evil
save only to those who before had done evil to him,
and that he wished to do well to those who before had done well to him.
But St. Swithhun knew how his heart reasoned,
and said blithely to him, ' Brother, I tell thee,
do not, as thou thinkest, harm to any man
though he may harm thee, but imitate thy Lord,
Who would not curse those who put Him to death,
and bade His followers pray for their enemies.
Likewise saith Paul the Apostle to all Christian men,
"If thine enemy hunger, feed him with meats,
or if he thirst, give thou him drink." '
Then said the bedridden man again to the bishop,
' Oh sir, tell me what manner of man thou art,
since thou canst so discern men's hearts.'
Then said the holy Swithhun, 'I am he who now newly came,'
as if he had said, 'I was now newly made known.'
Then again said the bedridden man to the bishop,
' How art thou called ] ' and the saint said to him,
' When thou comest to Winchester, thou shalt know my name.'
Then immediately the man was brought again to his bed,
and awoke from sleep, and told his wife
all the vision that he had seen.
Then said the woman to him, 'that it was Swithhun
who had instructed him in this holy lore,
and whom he had seen so glorious in the church.'
Then she said to her husband, ' It would now be full well
that men should carry thee to church, and thou shouldst pray to the saint
that he would heal thee through his holy merits.'
Then straightway they bare him from his bed to a church
in the Isle of Wight, and he was instantly healed
by Almighty God, for Swithhun's merits,
and he then went home whole on his feet,
who before was borne on a bier to church.
Then afterwards he went very quickly to Winchester,
and told the venerable bishop AEthelwold
how he had been healed through the holy Swithhun;
and Landferth, the foreigner, set it down in Latin.
Now is it to be known, that we should not at all trust
too much to dreams, because they are not all from God;
some dreams are in truth from God,
even as we read in books, and some are from the devil
for some deceit, [seeking] how he may pervert the soul,
but his phantasms cannot harm good men,
if they cross themselves, and commend themselves to God.
Those dreams are pleasant which come from God,
and those are fearful which come from the devil;
and God Himself forbade us to follow dreams,
lest the devil have power to bewitch us.
A certain man in "Winchester was angry with his serf
for some carelessness, and put him in fetters;
he sat there a long time in the hated bonds
until he stole out, hopping by help of his staff,
and sought Saint Swithhun with lamentation.
The bolt at once shot out of the fetter,
and the serf rose up, freed by the saint.
A certain man was bound about the head
for his heavy guilt; he came to the saint,
and his sore head-bond soon burst asunder as he prayed.
We cannot write, nor recount in words,
all the miracles that the holy man Swithhun
wrought by the power of God in the sight of the people,
both on prisoners, and on sick men,
to manifest to men that they themselves may
merit the kingdom of heaven by good works,
even as Swithhun did, who now shineth through his miracles.
The Old church was hung all round with crutches,
and with the stools of cripples, (from one end to the other
on either wall), who had been healed there,
and not even so could they put half of them up.
Such tokens declare that Christ is Almighty God,
Who revealed His Saint by such good deeds,
though the Jews, deceived by the devil,
will not believe in the living Christ,
until Antichrist shall be destroyed by God.
Then shall those miserable people, with all who remain
at the end of this world, submit themselves with faith to Christ,
and the men of old shall be lost who formerly would not believe.
We have now spoken thus briefly of Swithhun,
and we say of a truth that the time was blessed
and winsome in England, when King Eadgar
furthered Christianity, and built many monasteries,
and his kingdom still continued in peace,
so that no fleet was heard of,
save that of the people themselves who held this land ;
and all the kings of the Cymry and Scots
that were in this island, came to Eadgar
once upon a day, being eight kings,
and they all bowed themselves to Eadgar's rule.
Then moreover were such wonders wrought
through Saint Swithhun, as we said before,
and as long as we have lived frequent miracles were done there.
At that time there were also worthy bishops,
Dunstan, the resolute, in the archbishopric,
and AEthelwold the venerable, and others like them;
but Dunstan and AEthelwold were chosen of God,
and they, most of all, exhorted men to [do] God's will,
and advanced everything good, to the pleasure of God,
as the miracles testify which God worketh through them.
CONTINUATION (St. Macarius).
Men should also take notice, that many sorcerers
cause manifold delusions, through the devil's art,
as diviners (?) often do, and deceive men,
as if they would verily perform a desired matter.
But it is nevertheless a delusion, by the devil's art;
and if anyone makes the sign of the cross over it, then the delusion ceases.
As to this, we may relate a true instance.
A certain holy father was named Macarius,
a dweller in the desert, working many miracles,
a man of monastic life. Then was a maiden transformed
by the delusion of sorcerers, but only in an illusory manner.
The maiden was transformed so as to seem a mare,
and it appeared to all who looked upon her
as if she were a mare, not of human kind.
Then her parents led her to Macarius,
and he straightway asked what they wanted with her.
Her parents said to him: ' This mare that thou seest
was [once] our daughter, a worshipful maiden ;
but accursed sorcerers have turned her into a mare.
Now we entreat thee, master, to pray for her
and to transform her again to what she was before.'
Then Macarius said thus to her parents,
'I see this maiden in human form,
and she is not transformed, as ye imagine her to be,
and she hath nothing about her of the nature of a horse,
but she is so made to appear in your sight
by a delusion of the devil, and by his sorcerers falsely.'
Then Macarius prayed to God for the maiden,
and besmeared her with oil, and altogether dispelled
the devil's illusion, through the name of his Lord,
so that they all saw that she was whole.
Such are the delusions of the sorcerers.
Be glory and praise to the benevolent Creator,
who magnifieth His saints mightily by miracles,
who reigneth ever to all eternity. Amen.
- ↑ Lit. follows him.