The Life of Saint Werburge of Chester :: :: University of Virginia Library

How saynt Ermenylde after the dethe of kynge Vulfer, her husbande, was made a nonne at Ely / vnder her mother saynt Sexburge abbesse / and Werburge her deuoute doughter. Ca. xx.

xxi.

How kynge Ethelrede, seynge the holy conuersacyon of Werburge, his nece / made her lady and abbesse at Wedon / Trentam / and Hambury. And by her counseyll and exsample was made monke at Bardeney abbay. Ca. xxi.

xxii.

The holy conuersacyon of kynge Kenred, brother to saynt Werburge / & how he refused his crowne / and was made monke at Rome / & ther departed a holy confessour. Ca. xxii.

xxiii.

Of þe feruent & ghostly deuocyon of saynt Werburge / & vertuous governaunce of her places / & of þe great humilite she vsed to her sisters / & al other creatures. Ca. xxiii.

xxiiii.

How at Wedon wylde gees were pynned by her commaundyment / & also releshed & put at lyberte. Ca. xxiiii.

xxv.

How a tyraunt without pyte punyshynge an Innocent was punyshed / & after made hole. Ca. xxv.

xxvi.

How dyuers prynces folowynge sensualyte, intendynge to violate this vyrgyn bi power / bi myracle were put to confusyon. Ca. xxvi.

xxvii.

How saynt Werburge gaue knowlege to her systers of her departure, & how she ordered in vertue her sayd monasteryes afore her dethe. Ca. xxvii.

xxviii.

Of þe ghostli exortacyon saynt Werburge made to her systers in her sekenesse / and how deuoutely she receyued þe sacramentes of holy chyrche byfore her deth. Ca. xxviii.

xxix.

Of the departure of saynt Werburge vnto heuen at the abbay of Trentam / fro this myserable lyfe / & what lamentacyon her systers made for her dethe. Ca. xxix.

xxx.

How the hamburgenses toke the blessed body of Werburge frome Trentam by myracle & brought it to Hambury / & of þe buryall of werburge / & of manyfolde myracles shewed for her merytes .ix. yere after her translacyon. Ca. xxx.

xxxi.

A litle breue rehersall of her lyfe / and howe for her myracles shewed þe couent of Hambury purposed to translate her body / by the helpe of Mercyens. Ca. xxxi.

xxxii.

Of the solempne translacion of this glorious virgyn saynt Werburge / and of the great myracles done at the sayd season by the myght of god and merite of this gracious lady. Cap. xxxii.

xxxiii.

Howe the body of saynt Werburge contynued hole / and substanciall at Hambury after the translacion by the space of two hundreth yeres / tyll the danes were comon to this lande / or it felle and was resolued vnto powder. The .xxxiii. Chapitre.

II.

[BOOK II.]

A balade to the auctour.

An other balade.

An other balade to saynt werburge.

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How saynt Ermenylde after the dethe of kynge Vulfer, her husbande, was made a nonne at Ely / vnder her mother saynt Sexburge abbesse / and Werburge her deuoute doughter. Ca. xx.

305

Of Mercyens the kynge / whan the foresayd Vulfere
Had regned in honour / worshyp and royalte
With saynt Ermenylde his quene / fully .xvii. yere,
Vnto euerlastynge blysse / departed than he
And buryed was / with moche solempnyte
In Lychefelde chyrche. / after hym there dyd succede
In-to the kyngdome / his brother Ethelrede.

306

The quene for her husbande / made great lamentacyon,
Dolefully lamentynge / nyght and day his departure,
As nature enquyred / endurynge a longe season,
Remayned in wydohode / and mournynge vesture;
yet after all heuynesse / penaunce / and dysconfyture
She reioysed in soule / to be at lyberte,
Entendynge relygyon / by grace of the trynyte.

307

Soone she departed / to the hous of Ely,
Refusynge this worlde / pleasures, possessyon,
Instauntly requyred / with perfyte humylyte
To be a moynes / accepte in relygyon.
Gladde was the abbesse / of her conuersyon
And thanked our lorde / of his specyall grace;
So dyd all the systers / within the sayd place.

308

Her naturall mother / blessed Sexburge,
That tyme was lady / and chefe presydent;
There was professed / her doughter Werburge,
An exemple of mekenes / to all the couent.
Ermenylde thanked god / and was obedyent

To her mother Sexburge / a myrrour of vertu,
Also to her doughter / the spouses of Ihesu.

309

It passeth mannes reason / playnly to expresse
Her vertuous lyfe / and ghostly conuersacyon,
In prayer / penaunce / and proued mekenesse,
In perfyte obedyence / and synguler deuocyon,
In vygyls / abstynence / and in hye perfeccyon,
The cotydyane labours / her body to chastyce,
That her soule may be / to god true sacryfyce.

310

Bycause that Werburge / in order was senyoure,
Her mother Ermenylde / gaue her the sufferaynte,
Preferrynge her doughter / with mekenes and honoure;
But yet her doughter / of a naturall amyte
Preferred her mother / with humble senyoryte;
And so bytwene them / was a swete contencyon
Wheder shulde more subiecte be / to other in relygyon.

311

Afore, whan Ermenylde / was vnder maryage,
Vnto holy matrones / she was comparable:
Sara / Rebecca / Rachell / and Sybell sage,
And saynt Elysabeth / with other mo honorable;
Now in relygyon / she is moost notable,
Knowen by her vertues / and sadde dysposycyon
What vnder matrymony / was her intencyon.

312

Ermenylde subdued / by synguler deuyne grace
All fragyll mocyons / and sensualyte,
Lyke maner as Iudyth / Olofernes slayne hace;
She mortyfyed all pleasures / lustes and volupte,
Lykewyse as Iaell / dyd the prynce Sysare;
A duches of vertue / as whylom was Delbora;
Vsed the oratory / in prayer as dyd Anna.

313

After the departure / and wofull buryall

Of Sexburge, her mother / abbesse and lady,
Her doughter Ermenylde / the blessed monyall,
Was chosen abbesse / and ruler of Ely—
As sheweth dan Wyllyam / of Maluysbury
How fyrst was Audry / than Sexburge, her syster,
Afterwarde was abbesse / Ermenylde, her doughter.

314

The lyfe of Ermenylde / was euer vertuous,
Pleasaunt to god / and her systers euerychone;
In the syght of god / her dethe was precyous,
Playnly notyfyed / by her conuersacyon.
She vertuously gouerned / her congregacyon,
Frome this lyfe departed / to eternall glory,
As sayth her legende / the Idus of February;

315

And buryed was / with moche lamentacyon
In the holy monastery / and house of Ely
Amonge her parentage / and congregacyon;
Where she is shryned / with her aunt saynt Audry
And with her mother / saynt Sexburge rychely;
For whome our sauyour / of his specyall grace
Sheweth dayly myracles / in that sayd place.

316

One of the myracles / we shall now rehers
Our lorde for her shewed / at Ely abbay
After her translacyon / the story dothe expres.
It fortuned in Whytson weke / vpon a thursday,
An Englysshman was bounden / in wofull aray,
Fetered with yrons / bothe on handes and fete,
Wrongfully accused / as ye may all wete.

317

By instaunt request / he gate hym lycence
To vysyte the tombe / of saynt Ermenylde.
Whome he requyred / with humble reuerence
And meke petycyon / frome the herte full mylde,
To be delyuered / and fully reconsylde.

Whose humble desyre / and synguler supplycacyon
Was fully graunted / to his consolacyon.

318

At this tyme / whan this holy man was prayenge,
Whan the Deken redde the holy gospell,
By meane of Ermenylde / to our lorde and kynge
Frome his handes and fete / the yrons done fell,
By grace aboue nature / merueylously to tell,
That the sayd yrons / in syght of all the bretherne
Sprange vp sodenly / and lyght vpon the aulter.

Aliud miraculum.

319

An other myracle / declare now may we,
Done at the sayd Ely / by this holy matrone,
In presence of the pryor / and all the fraternyte,
Whiche pryor of this mater / had best notycyon.
A scole-mayster of Innocentes / after the custome
Gaue lysence / vpon saynt Ermenyldes day
To all his chyldren / to sport them in play.

320

Whan the feest / and solempnyte was done,
The yonge tender chyldren / wanton and neclygent,
Dredynge theyr mayster / for fere of correccyon
To the holy shryne / they assembled full dylygent,
Trustynge therby of pardon / after theyr entent,
Desyred theyr mayster / for saynt Ermenyldes sake
To pardon theyr trespas / and no dyspleasure take.

321

The mayster, fulfylled / with hastynes and enuy,
Toke them frome the tombe / with great indygnacyon,
Without dyscrecyon / punysshed them greuously,
Gyuynge no honour / to the saynt ne deuocyon
Rebuked them sore / sayenge with insultacyon:
‘Trowe ye to be spared / from punyshment this day
For saynt Ermenyldes sake? / nay, nay, do way!’

322

After all this done / the nexte nyght folowynge,
Whan the sayd mayster / to his bedde was gone,
His great vnkyndenes / saynt Ermenylde remembrynge
Rewarded hym Iustly / after his guerdon:
His handes and his fete / prompte to persecucyon,
Were sodenly smytten / made lame / contracte also;
No power had to ryse / to moeue nor to go.

323

This sodayne punysshement / langour / confusyon
Vexed hym greuously in all his body,
Moost terryble of all / of helthe desperacyon
Inwardly hym troubled / with peynes horryble.
But yet by grace / he thought best remedy
Sende for his chyldren / vpon the other day,
Humble asked them pardon / in a wofull aray;

324

Desyrynge his scolers / for loue and charyte
To cary hym moost carefull / to her sepulture,
To requyre for hym grace / helthe and prosperyte
Of god and saynt Ermenylde / with all theyr cure.
They toke hym tenderly / ye may me leue full sure,
Amonge them all / with mynde dylygent
And brought to the shryne / this wretched impotent.

325

They prayed for hym / to our blessed sauyour
And to saynt Ermenylde / a longe tyme and space,
Knelynge on theyr knees / wepynge full sore,
In prayer and psalmody / for his helthe and solace:
And so contynuynge / by our lordes great grace
He that afore was lame / bothe on fote and hande,
Restored to helthe / departed hole and sounde.