Tuesday, August 24, 2021

55 De festo sancti Bartholomei

 St Bartholomew Flayed | Medieval Milanetc

Such a day ye shall have Saint Bartholomew's Day, God's holy apostle.  Wherefore ye shall fast this even and come on the morrow to Holy Church in worship of God and of Saint Bartholomew.  


Ye shall know that Bartholomey is in Latin Martholomeus: interpretatur filius suspendentis aquas, siue filius suspendentis me.  Thus Bartholomew is understood in English "The son of hanging up waters" or "Hanging up me'.  Then as we know well, God is he that hangeth up water two ways.  One is when he halteth up clouds in the firmament until he sees fit to let them downfall and raineth where he wishes.  Another way he hangeth up water is when a man or a woman is so sorry and contrite for his sins that he weepeth for his guilt bitterly.  Then God taketh these tears and hangeth them up in the ball of heaven, that all the saints of heaven might have sight of them in great joy to all the angels that there are.  For it is great joy to them that are in heaven, when they see any man or woman that doth do amissturn and leave their sin, weeping for contrition.  


Wherefore a man or a woman that weepeth in this manner quencheth the great burning fire of hell that was ordained before to him.  On this matter speaketh Saint John Chrysostom: "O thou tear, that art meekly let in orison, thy might is so great that thou goest into heaven up to God's Throne without warning and takest the word of the judge mouth, making him to turn his doom into salutation there before he must speak it into damnation; and there thou makest thine accusations doom--that is fiends--so that they have nothing to lay against thee; and also there thou quenchest the fire of hell that the fiends had made ready against thine coming; and thus thou painest the fiend wors than he [mythe han peynot] thee.' Thus God hangeth up water.  


Then for Saint Bartholomew who was God's son, as all are that serve him devotedly, he ws hanged up in three ways: in devout orison, in faithful [monicion], and in suffering of great passion.  He was hanged up in devout orison, for all that he said with his mouth he spake with his heart, so that in all his orisons his heart was hanging up to God, as the priest biddeth the people in his mass when he sayeth: 'sursum corda', that is: heaveth up your hearts to God, and they answer again, "we have to God."  Thus had this holy saint his heart hanging up to God, so that, for the great devotion that he had in his orisons, each day he [knelud] an hundred [sythes] to God and an hundred [sythus] in the night.  But so that he should not be weary of his great travail, God made angels for to [swen] him to keep him and to comfort him that he should not weary.  Thus ws he hanged up in holy orison.  


He was also hanged up in faithful [monicion], for God gave him so great power over fiends that by his [monycion] and commandment he suspendeth them of the power that they had in God's creatures, both in men and women and other idolatries.  We read of this, how that Bartholomew came to the land of India and went into the temple in the which was a idol that was called Astoroth, that was an image made of gold and silver, of stone or of tree, with many hands and set up in the temple.  Then a fiend went into this image and oft would speak to him that did worship it, so that by such enchantment of false words he maketh the people to leave that who was their God and none other.  And further to make them to have more belief in him, he made them many crooked, sick, halt, and blind, deaf and dumb, and in many other ways sick, and then would he bid bright them to him.  And when they were brought to him, he freed them from the sickness that he laid upon them, and so seeming to them that they were healed by him.  But the sickness that God sent up on any man, that he could not heal by any craft that he could do.  Then was the temple full of sick folk brought to be healed of their God.  


But from the time that Bartholomew came into the temple, he [Bartholomew] suspended so his [the fiend's] power that he might heal none of them.  Wherefor they went to another temple site, where there was another idol, and asked him why their god gave them no answer nor healed any of the sick people.  Then answered he and said: for God's high apostle, Bartholomew, was coming into the temple and had bound their god so wore with burning chains that he durst not speak one word, and told the features of Saint Bartholomew, and said, forsooth, that Bartholomew knew and heard each word that he spake to them by the revelation of an angel that telleth him and said: "When ye seek him, if he will, ye should find him, and if he will not, ye shall not find him until his own liking be."  Then went they again home and sought him and could not find him in any way.  


Then as Bartholomew walked among the folk, a madman that had a fiend him him cried to Bartholomew and said: "Bartholomew, God's apostle, thine holy prayers burn me sore!" Then answered he and said: "Hold thou thine peace, thou fiend, and go out of this man!" And so with those words the fiend left the man and he was whole.  Then had the king of the city a daughter that was mad and bound with chains for harm that she did to them that might over reach.  And when the king heard of this madman, how he was healed, anon he sent to Bartholomew, praying him to come and heal his daughter, and so he did.  And when he had so done, he preached to the king so that he turned him to Christ's faith.  


Then he commanded to throw down all idols that were in the temple.  Then went men and cast ropes about the necks of their gods and would have thrown them down, but they could not stir them, for the fiend was within them.  Then Bartholomew commanded the fiend to go out of the images and all pulled them down to powder.  Then anon the fiend did as Bartholomew bade him do and pulled them down and broke them.  Then because the temple was full of sick people, he prayed to God that they would have healing.  Anon they were all whole.  So therewith came an angel from heaven in the sight of all the people, so bright that all the temple shone of him, and flew all about the temple, so that in four parts made a sign of the cross with his finger in the wall and said thus to the people: "Just as all ye have been healed of your sickness, so shall this temple be cleansed of all filth of idolatry and of the craft and power of the fiend.  But first I will show you the same fiend that ye have worshipped and held as your god." 


Then the fiend appeared in the sight of all the people like a man of India, black all together as pitch, with a sharp nose and a loathly face, with a beard down to his feet, black as soot, burning as iron burneth in the fire, sparkling on each side, and blowing of his mouth flames of burning fire, with his hands bound behind him with chains burning.  Then said the angel: "Lo, this is he that ye have called your god!" But because the people were greatly afraid of him, he bade them make a sign in their forehead of the cross and have no dread.  Then in the sight of them all, the angel unbound this fiend and bade him go where there was no access to men nor of beast and stay there until the day of doom.  Then went he forth with great wailing, and the angel flew up into heaven in the sight of all the people.  Then was the king and his wife and all the people turned to the faith and followed Saint Bartholomew.  Thus Saint Bartholomew hanged up by faithful [monicion], for he suspendeth the fiend's power that he neither moveth nor durst do anything but by his bidding and permission.  


He was also hanged up by suffering of passion.  For when the bishops of the temple saw all the people go to Christ's faith and leave the fiends of idolatry, then went they to a city nearby, where there was a king was called Astrages and was brother to the king Polymyus, and complained to them weeping sore, and said: "There was a man came to them that was called Bartholomew, the which had so turned his brother and all the people to Christian faith that they set as naught their gods, but had thrown them down and broke them to powder, and so was their temple hallowed to Christ that was done on the cross.  And so they prayed him of his help and succor.  


Then this king sent a thousand men armed after Bartholomew, and when he came before them, he asked them why he had turned his brother from his faith and made him to believe on a dead man that was hanged and slain on the cross.  Then said Bartholomew: "I have bound the fiend that thy brother held for his god and showed him, and if thou might do so with my God, I will believe as thou doest, and else I will not."  Then commanded this king to hang Bartholomew on a cross and torment him lengthily thereon.  And when he was long tormented on the cross, he made to take him down and lay him altogether.  And when he was flayed, then he made to smite off his head.  And when he was dead, Christian men came and buried him with all the reverence that they could.  Thus was Bartholomew hanged up in great passion of suffering.  


We read in the Gestes of Romanes that, when the emperor Frederic had destroyed a great city, there was therein a church of Saint Bartholomew that was a chief church and others of holy saints, a good holy man came to that city and saw a great company of men, all clad in white, standing and counseling together.  And because this man had great wonder of them, he asked of them what men they were and what was their counsel about.  Then said he how that was Saint Bartholomew and other saints that had churches in that city destroyed, and they took counsel what they might do with the emperor that had done them that villiany and harm: "and now they have taken full purpose that the emperor shall come anon before God to make an answer of his misdeeds."  And so the emperor died anon a foul death and was damned to hell forever.  


I read in the life of Saint Gowdolok that first inhabited Crowland in the fens, for because the first day that he came hither was Saint Bartholomew day, he prayed this holy apostle be his patron and his succor against the wicked spirits that were in that wild place.  For that place was named and known as the habitation of fiends in all the country.  Wherefore each man was afeared for to come thither, and no man durst dwell there for fear of them.  Then because this holy man came and dwelled there for to drive them away, these fiends were so wroth that they took this man bodily and bore him up into the air and tormented him spitefully in many ways.  At the last they would have brought him to the pains of hell, and when he saw them he was sore afeared that he had lost his wits.  But by the grace of God he had mind of Saint Bartholomew, shining fair and brother to the sun, and spitefully rebuked the fiends, and commanded them to bring him again to his place.  These fiends then made a yelling and a crying, but they brought him save without harm to his place.  Their cry was so hideous that a man might be aghast to hear it, and they said: "Alas, alas!  Now we have lost our might and our habitation, and now we shall go to hell forevermore into the pains that ever shall last", and so yelling went on their way.  Then this holy man thanked God and Saint Bartholomew for the help and succor that they gave to him, and was evermore after ready to him in each need when he called to him.  Hereby we might understand that this holy apostle is ready to all that call to him with a full heart.  Wherefore folk that are wont to work on his afternoon and on his day after evensong, let him beware lest this holy saint suffer the fiends to have power upon them and for courtesy of a little work, bring him wherever they like to be hard worked forevermore in the pain of hell, et cetera.  

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