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

A lytell treatyse of the lyfe of saynt Audry, abbesse of Ely / and of her holy couersacyon and great deuocyon / vnder whome saynt Werburge was made nonne / and professed. Ca. xviii.

xix.

A breue rehersal of þe lyfe of saynt Sexburge / graundmother to saynt Werburge. And of her comynge to Ely to her syster Audry from Shepay monastery. Ca. xix.

xx.

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.

Collapse All | Expand All expand section

A lytell treatyse of the lyfe of saynt Audry, abbesse of Ely / and of her holy couersacyon and great deuocyon / vnder whome saynt Werburge was made nonne / and professed. Ca. xviii.

263

The yere of our lorde .vi. C. ix. and thyrty
Regned saynt Anna / kynge of eest-Englande;
Whiche maryed saynt Hereswith / of the North party.
They had noble yssue / as we vnderstande:
Prynce Aldulph and Iurwyne / in story as is founde,
Saynt Sexburge the quene / and blessed Audry,
Saynt Ethelberge / Withburge / —a holy progeny.

264

This blessed Audry / called Etheldred,
Of two great kyngedomes / lynyally descendynge,
Was borne in Suffolke / as sayth saynt Bede,
In a lytell vyllage / called Exmynge.
This noble prynces / and dere derlynge,
With many great vertues / of grace illumynate,
Magnyfyed her parage / and royall astate.

265

This blessed Audry / from her yonge aege
Was dysposed euer / vnto sadnes,
Obedyent lowly / vnto her parentage,
Encreasynge in vertue / and constaunt sobrynes;
Worldely pleasures / dysportes / and wantonnes,

Lyghtnes of language / and all presumpcyon
In this sayd vyrgyn / had no domynacyon.

266

Sad and demure / she was in countenaunce,
Nothynge enclyned / vnto fragylyte;
Benynge and pacyent / without perturbaunce,
Meke / curteys / gentyll / full of humylyte;
Pryde / statelenes / and sensualyte
Were not in her founde / by any condycyon,
Curteyse in byhauour / vnto euery persone.

267

No man was greued / nor toke dyspleasure
At this sayd mayden / in her fathers hall,
Euery honest persone / and reasonable creature
Were pleased with her / bothe one and all,
None dyscontent / pryuate nor generall;
She was so meke / and full of pacyence,
That people desyred / to come to her presence.

268

She was beauteous / fayre and amyable,
Pleasaunte to beholde / in gyftes of nature,
Her countenaunce comly / swete / louely / and stable;
Nothynge dysposed / vnto worldely pleasure,
More lyke an angell / by all coniecture
Than a fragyll mayde / of sensuall appetyte—
For in vayne pleasures / she had no delyte.

269

Whan that she came / to yeres of dyscrecyon,
Dyuers her moeued / in way of maryage;
Some offered ryches / royalte / and renowne,
Some other possessyons / landes and herytage,
And some the sufferaynte / her mynde to asswage;
All these she refused / for the loue of Ihesu,
To whome she auowed / her chastyte full tru.

270

After that Venus / had her longe assayled

To peruerte her mynde / to worldly affeccyon,
And of all nettes and engynes / therof had fayled,
Than came to her presence / a prynce of renowne,
Called duke Tombert / of the eest regyon;
Whiche longe desyred / to haue her in spousage,
At the laste optayned / the wyll of her parentage.

271

Vnto whiche thynge / he wolde neuer enclyne,
For all the mocyon / of her hye parentes,
Tyll she was assured / by heuenly doctryne
To kepe her vyrgynyte / clere in conscyens;
Than she consented / without concupyscens,
And with the sayd duke / she lyued in chastyte,
Bothe mayden and wyfe / almost yeres thre.

272

After whose dethe / she remayned in Ely,
In fastynge / prayer / vygyls / and penaunce—
Whiche place was gyuen / to her Ioynt and dowry
By Tombert her husbande / with great pleasaunce.
This yle of Ely / by deuyne purueaunce
With muddy waters / is compased aboute,
Theyr enemyes to greue / and strongely to holde out.

273

Thyder came Egbyrct / kynge of the north parte,
To desyre saynt Audry / in matrymony.
To whome she wolde neuer / consent in herte,
For no maner counseyll / that myght be done, truly—
Tho her syster Sexburge / moeued her tenderly—
Tyll the angell of god / assured her to be
Quene / wyfe / and mayde / kepynge vyrgynyte.

274

Than Audry graunted / maryed for to be
Vnto this foresayd / noble kynge Egfryde.
And at the maryage / was great solempnyte,
Tryumphes, honoures / on euery syde;
Great cost and royalte / they dyd prouyde.

Frome Ely departed / vnto his owne place,
In the North parte dwellynge / with great solace.

275

By the grace of our lorde god / moost of myght,
And helpe of his mother / blessed mayd mary,
By prayer of Audry / and by myracle ryght
Togyder they lyued / bothe in pure chastyte:
The naturall mocyon / of his lascyuyte
Was shortly slaked / and feruent desyre,
By myracle / as water quencheth the fyre.

276

Whan he apperceyued / her asured constaunce,
Her perfyte holynes / and chast contynence,
His herte reiosed / of her contynuaunce.
Of whome she desyred / with humble reuerence
And synguler supplycacyon / to haue fre lysence
At Canwod abbay / to enter relygyon;
Whiche the kynge graunted / for her deuocyon.

277

Saynt Ebba, syster / vnto saynt Oswolde,
Was abbesse and ruler / of that congregacyon.
Where blessed Audry / ryght as she wolde,
Was reuerently receyued / into relygyon;
And after the yere / of her probacyon
Professed there was / by bysshop Wylfryde;
Where all worldly honours / she set on syde.

278

Frome thens she departed / to the yle of Ely,
More quyetly to lyue / out of busynesse,
For drede of the kynge / her husbande, truly,
Purposynge to take her / frome that holynesse.
She toke two maydens / with her, doubtlesse;
And in theyr Iournay / our lorde of his grace
Shewed dyuers myracles / at eche restynge-place.

279

The archebysshop of yorke / Wylfryde, her confessour,

Was depryued frome his benefyce / by the kynge cruelly;
Obserued pacyence / laudynge our sauyour
And folowed saynt Audry / to the place of Ely—
Whiche (as afore is sayd) was her Ioynt and dowry—
And electe her abbesse / on that congregacyon,
Moost worthy to be / for her holy conuersacyon.

280

Where Audry buylded / a chyrche of our lady,
With helpe of kynge Aldulph / her brother naturall,
Dystaunt a myle / frome the olde monastery
Founded by saynt Austyn / for meryte spyrytuall;
Whiche place all desolate / she edyfyed full specyall
By her prouysyon / an other noble monastery,
The yere of grace / syxe hundreth seuenty and thre.

281

Whan the werke was ended / as her wyll was,
She endowed the abbay / with fraunches and lyberte
And gaue the hole yle of Ely / to that place,
With all commodytes / profettes / and yssues, fre
Frome all exaccyons / exempte clerely to be
Of kynge and bysshop / confyrmed it at Rome,
With all prelates & prynces / consentynge of this regyon.

282

In short tyme and space / to Audry dyd resorte
Relygyous men and women / a great company,
Professed in that place / for theyr ghostly conforte,
Renounsynge vayne pleasures / & honours transsytory;
Amonge whome saynt Werburge / professed solemply,
Promysed in audyence / to lyue a lyfe monestycall
After saynt Benettes rule / for the lyfe eternall.

283

Also the yere of grace / syxe hundreth seuenty and nyne
In the moneth of Iulii / in the nynth kalendas
To heuen departed / saynt Audry the quene,
Than reygnynge in Kent / kynge Lothary by grace,

Aldulph in eest-Englande / her brother whiche was,
Kynge Offryde her husbande / in Northumberlande,
Also kynge Ethelrede / than reygnynge in Mercelande.