6. The Jongleurs and the Holy Candle of Arras
© 2022 Jan M. Ziolkowski, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0284.06
The municipality of Arras lies at the heart of Artois, a region in the northeast of modern-day France. Before 1250 this major city generated what count among the earliest surviving examples in prose and verse of many genres, writings both documentary and literary, ranging from charters and customary laws to plays. These texts are marked by some linguistic features associated with the neighboring territory of Picardy, but their language is often described simply as being Old French. The last-mentioned umbrella term encompasses most of the Romance dialects that were spoken and written in the Middle Ages in the center and north of France and in what are today the French-speaking communities of Belgium.
The wondrous tale of “The Jongleurs and the Holy Candle” that is purported to have unfolded in the principal church of Arras exposes the listener or reader to one transformation after another: a monastery sanctuary turns into a miraculous cathedral, moral enmity into brotherly love, lowly jongleurs into a lofty confraternity, and deadly illness into good health. The Virgin materializes on earth from her usual heavenly haunts, and solid wax melts as a taper burns, so that its drippings can be mixed with water to concoct a healing elixir. But we should approach the story methodically.
In the twelfth century or earlier, an affliction ran rampant in the environs of Arras. The disease has been commonly identified with ergotism, a type of poisoning caused by consuming rye or other grains contaminated by the parasitic Claviceps purpura—the ergot fungus. The most common mode of transmission was through bread. Back then, the malady was designated le mal des ardents, a French phrase that might be translated as “the illness of the burning ones.” It was identical or at least similar to what was also called hellfire and sacred fire. The designation that eventually prevailed was Saint Anthony’s fire. All these terms refer to two symptoms. Outwardly the disease may resemble erysipelas since sufferers take on a burning-red or livid appearance on the exterior. Inwardly, owing to the hellishly hot pain caused by the inflammation on the interior, its manifestation is even more severe. Individuals who suffer the direst cases experience gangrene-like symptoms in the limbs.
Back to the tale. In the absence of modern medicine, no solace can be found for the ailment in Arras until Mary materializes and furnishes a miraculous candle, along with instructions on its proper application. The faithful enduring the plague are healed by imbibing water into which molten wax has been poured or dripped from the lighted taper, while their inflammations are soothed when the same liquid is applied externally.
The Virgin does not execute the miracle entirely on her own, but instead enlists a couple of accomplices as her agents. These two helpers are jongleurs who prior to this episode have become mortal and sworn enemies. The one known as Peter Norman, who is at Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise when events begin, experiences an initial vision on the night leading from Wednesday into Thursday and another subsequent one from Thursday into Friday. The town where he found himself is in northern France, within a county that bore the same name. Until 1180 both town and county were a vassalage subject to the count of Flanders.
To put nomenclature behind us, Norman sets out from this locality in the morning on Friday and arrives in the evening. The other entertainer, called Itier, departs that same morning from the region of Brabant, even the nearest parts of which lay much farther than Saint-Pol from Arras. Consequently, despite making the greatest haste, Itier arrives only very early on Saturday morning in the same town. Before the pair of performers can collaborate in accomplishing the wonderful cure, they must first be reconciled through the intervention of the wise bishop, Lambert.
After the mix of wax and water has healed nearly a full gross—twelve dozen—of the diseased locals, the two traveling entertainers commemorate the miracle by establishing a special association for members of their profession as well as for others within the Arras community. A kind of guild that enacted services for the dead, the Confrérie des jongleurs et des bourgeois or “Confraternity of Jongleurs and Townspeople” provided mutual aid for funerals, and, perhaps the most important bonus, promised protection from the plague. Healthcare avant la lettre! The history of this group, apparently established initially as the Carité de Notre Dame des Ardents d’Arras or “Charity of Our Lady of the Burning Ones of Arras,” becomes a fascinating story in its own right that reveals much about the complex and changing social position of jongleurs in medieval society.
The Latin communiqué of the miracle about the two jongleurs and the Holy Candle of Arras was apparently written between 1175 and 1200, but the official record of it was transcribed onto parchment as a charter in 1241. This document was certified by five seals. One piece of stamped green wax acknowledged the “mayors” of the confraternity, while each of the other four bore witness to the presence and approval of a different ecclesiastic organization. The sealed original was incorporated in a cartulary that was preserved in the archives of the confraternity from then into the eighteenth century, but the medieval manuscript of it no longer exists. It remained intact, seals and all, at least until a vidimus or eyewitness copy was made on paper in 1482 by two apostolic notaries at the request of a magistrate of Arras. In the meantime, this fifteenth-century likeness has itself also disappeared. As a result, the earliest physical evidence of the text that is extant today comes through a seventeenth-century transcription.
The Latin prose stands out from typical hagiography in its length as well as in the pains that were taken in its composition. Its anonymous author cultivated an elegant rhythmic style. As a writer, he demonstrated a lively command of narrative and dramatic technique by bringing characters on stage and by engaging them in dialogue with each other. The three principals, to wit, the bishop and the two jongleurs, draw back the curtains to reveal vivid and distinctive personalities. It may be going too far, but the theatricality of the writing has encouraged speculation that this version of the story owes some of its nature and flavor to the stage traditions and theatrical literature of Arras.
Unlike “Our Lady’s Tumbler,” “The Jongleur of Rocamadour” provided the specific of a name for its protagonist. “The Jongleurs and the Holy Candle of Arras” takes such granularity much further. In fact, it emanates a nearly legalistic and contractual urgency about establishing what happened when and where to whom. In the Latin and French texts we can glimpse interactions among different strata in medieval society. In the first document the players are the bishop and the two jongleurs. In the second a coda supplements these principals with the knights. A sense comes through that the longstanding division of society among ecclesiastics, knights, and peasants was not holding now as formerly, and that jongleurs were a cause of anxiety, as other classes sought to control them or appropriate their perquisites, while they endeavored to defend themselves and their interests. The miracle here elevates the Church, as the bishop reconciles two mortal enemies and as the Virgin delivers to a large populace in Arras a remedy for a dreaded illness that can be furnished henceforth as required under his oversight. The jongleurs elicit special attention from Mary and are protected from those who would usurp their gains. Despite the particularity of the personal names and details, “The Jongleurs and the Holy Candle of Arras” in its initial two iterations displays at least as much concern about group identities and dynamics as it does about any alleged individuals.
A. “The Foundation of the Jongleur Confraternity in Arras” (in Latin)
Whatever is done under the sun is easily effaced from the memory of human beings unless it has been committed to writing. But the deeds of kings and of others who hold dominion on earth seem worth being recounted and remembered, especially of that king who alone rules the system of the universe, who sits upon the cherubim and beholds the depths, who confines the thrones of the heavens and encloses the earth in his fist, who has measured the height of heaven and the depth of the abyss, and who holds dominion from sea to sea. Assuredly, we are bound to extol the glories of this healer, which cannot be numbered. Yet I will work through one of them in a brief discourse.
In the time then when the priest Lambert occupied the episcopal see of Arras, as the people’s sins and neglect increased, a most virulent trouble arose, such that the inhabitants of the city of Arras and in the countryside, villages, and towns of the whole neighboring province were afflicted, some by fear and others by grief. One suffered burning in the mouth, another in the nose, and a third in the ear, one in the hand, another in the foot, one in the hip, another in the shin, one in the male sexual organs, another in the backside, all with that dreadful illness that is called hellfire. In contrast, those who survived in good health were beset by fear that similar torment would befall them.
Accordingly, the entirety of those inhabiting the province were stricken by this fear. One group appeared before priests for confession, being reborn through the baptism of penance; another, in contrast, weakened by that illness, took flight together, some by foot and others by vehicle, to the holy Zion, which is to say, the church of blessed Mary, in the city of Arras. There, lying on beds, pallets, straw, and sacks, all of both sexes shouted to the Lord: “How long, O Lord, will you forget me to the end?” The one was saying: “How long do you turn your face away from me?,” the other was praying: “O Lord, rebuke me not in your indignation.” And so there were in number 144 people who all were awaiting the Lord’s favorably inclined redemption and providence.
In that time there were two jongleurs dwelling in different areas, for one was in Brabant and the other in the town of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, but they had between them a mortal hatred, to the point where if one encountered the other, one would cut off the other’s head with unsheathed sword. For one had slain the other’s brother, with the devil proposing the idea and supplying weapons.
As all things maintained deepest silence and night completed the middle of its course, while that jongleur, the Brabanter, was sleeping in his bedroom, on the fourth night of the week [Wednesday] in which it began to dawn on the fifth day of the week [Thursday], a vision was revealed in his sleep, namely, a woman clothed in white, an exceedingly comely virgin from the seed of King David, surrounded with a variety of virtues, in gilded clothing, with an ardent and unadorned appearance.
“Are you sleeping?” she says, “Are you sleeping? Hear what I say to you. Rising, proceed to the holy Zion of Arras, which is to say, that holiest place in which so many sick suffer to death, in number namely 144. Coming there, I will provide you a suitable place and time in which an opportunity may be afforded you for speaking with the priest Lambert who has charge of the church of Arras, by relating in order the vision you see. Add also that in the third hour, on the night of the Saturday, from which the first hour of the Sunday began to dawn, he will walk about through the church of the Blessed Virgin, going around the sick. When now the song of the first cockcrow sounds, a woman will come down from the choir, clothed in the same clothes with which I am too, carrying a candle in her hand and handing it over to you. When indeed you have received and lit the candle, drip the wax that overflows into vessels with water and in a circuit offer it to the sickly to drink, and pour it over the sickness of each and every one, and let there be no doubt to you that however many have faith, they will be restored to their former good health, but he who does not have faith will be condemned to death from his sicknesses. You will indeed unite with you (as the third) that one toward whom you bear a mortal hatred, who on the day of the coming Saturday will station himself in your presence. When mutual reconciliation has been achieved, you will enlist him for yourself as a third companion.”
When this vision ended, on the same night the vision, with the Blessed Virgin in the same form and clothing, and relying on the same words, befell the other jongleur dwelling in the Ternoise area. When he had awakened from sleep, he said, “Oh such and so great a vision of the ever so venerable Mother of God, Mary! Oh that with her as guide and helper we should be tied together by the bond of reconciliation and love! Oh that with God taking pity and with the Blessed Mary, ever a virgin, protecting and announcing me, so many sick people may be restored to their former good health! But I fear for myself on account of the greatly fantastic illusions. Therefore I will wait all the way until the recurrence of the third hour of the night and, staying awake, I will keep vigil, if the vision should come and be repeated. Oh that it should come!”
Therefore he rises in the morning and proceeding to the church to hear the rite of the divine service, with knees bent in view of the cross, with hands joined and raised up high, he prays devoutly that the Lord may finish in a short time according to his will what he had seen in his vision.
Now on the following night, the same vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary happened to the same individuals, with this added: if they did not hasten, they would be punished by sickness of the same torment. But Norman is aroused from sleep, as if put into a daze and a trance. Made ready and girded with a sword, he undertakes a journey in haste toward Arras and on Friday, worn out by his journey he spent the night in Arras. Itier also did likewise, but I believe that, because he was coming from afar, he hastened far more to Arras, but even so he did not come all the way to the city.
In the earliest twilight of Saturday, as day begins to shine, Norman arises from bed and goes to the church of the Holy Mother to handle the business for which he had come. He greets the sign of the Lord’s death and arms the whole front portion of his body with the sign of the cross. Upon surveying the pains and afflictions of the sickly, he recalls what he heard the Blessed Virgin say in the vision: “If you do not hasten, you will be tormented by the same affliction.” Having poured forth tears then to the Lord, he repeats while beating his breast: “God, have mercy on me, sinner that I am.” Setting out on his journey toward the house of the lord bishop, he says in the silence the entire psalm “May God have mercy on us,” for he was to a slight extent lettered.
Running all about, he found him persevering in prayer before the chapel of Saint Séverin. Gazing upon him, Norman, fearing to interrupt his prayer, drew a little nearer on bended knee behind him. Having finished his prayer, the lord bishop looked back and said, “What do you want, brother?” “Holy father, I have many things to say to you. May it be pleasing to Your Paternity to hear the private matters that I convey.” Beckoning then with his hand, the bishop had him sit at his feet.
Norman began to speak in this way: “As it began to dawn on the fifth day of the week that in the end became visible to us, I saw in a vision the Blessed Virgin, who is the mother of all mercies. She enjoined upon me to come to your presence, ordering me that on the current night [Saturday], from which Sunday begins to shine, after the first cockcrow, with you as the third, you should walk about those weakened by illness. In accordance with her will, she will in fact deliver to you a lit candle. You will pour out the wax overflowing from it on water that has had the sign of the cross made over it, and you will offer the water both to drink and to sprinkle over the sores of the sick. Those who lack faith concerning their present health will incur temporal death within seven days. I leave this command to Your Paternity, so that if you leave it undone, it will be neither my wickedness nor my sin.”
When he ceased to speak, the bishop addressed him in these words: “What is your name, my son, and from where do you come and what is your profession?” That one replied to him: “My father, the sponsors for my faith at baptism named me Peter. Thereafter I acquired for myself the additional name Norman, having been born in Ternoise, from the town of Saint-Pol. I earn my living from the profession of jongleur.” “Oh brother,” said the bishop, “you feed me with pleasant circumlocutions.” Then Norman blushed, because the bishop struck him with his words. He sat in the church, feeling compassion for the miseries that he saw.
Let us come to Itier. Itier, who had spent the night two miles from Arras, hastened in the morning to the church of the Blessed Virgin, as the bell was being struck at terce, and made a prayer to the Lord. Having entered the court of the lord bishop with no one objecting, he came into the chapel and there, as the lord bishop celebrated the Mass out of reverence for the Blessed Virgin Mary, he stood as the sole layman among the clerics so long as they were celebrating the divine office.
Itier advanced, as in contrast the clergy retired, and taking a position before the face of the lord bishop, he burst into these words: “May Your Paternity, holy father, hear what your son has to say to you.” The bishop, looking at him straightforwardly and drawing him back to more secluded places of the chapel, said: “Speak, brother, if you have something to say.”
Then that one replied, “Holy father, in a vision I saw first once and then again a woman possessing beauty and grace above the daughters of men. As commands she gave me that coming to you on this Saturday, I should announce her commands to you. She also added on threats that if I did not hasten, my flesh would be tormented on this pillory of death on which the sick in our church were being tormented. So she ordered that on the present night out of which Sunday begins to dawn (according to the testimony of two, mine and of a certain other whom you have chosen with you) you walk about the wretched ill through the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Around cockcrow she will deliver to you a flaming candle. Dripping the wax overflowing from it on water that has had the sign of the cross made over it, you will offer it to the sickly to drink. Who has faith will be saved; but who does not have faith will be condemned to immediate death.”
When now he had ceased speaking, the bishop bursting out into words said, “You have tried deceitfully to make a fool of me in my straightforwardness. What is your name, from what origin is your birth, and of what rank are you?” That one said, “My name is Itier, taking my origin from the region of Brabant. I earn my living by miming and singing.” To him the bishop said, “You have spoken to each other, you and the one who earlier conversed with me. I can neither believe you nor agree with you; for, as it has seemed to me, you strive to deceive me in my ignorance.”
“How,” says Itier, “do you mean ‘spoken to each other’?” To him the bishop said, “A certain man of your rank, with the surname Norman, came to me, and he conversed with me in the same phrases in which you spoke, with which I cannot at all agree.” “Oh, if only I see Norman,” said Itier, “I will run through his bowels with a two-edged sword, because he was the cause of death to my brother!”
Hearing this, the bishop thought inside himself that the vision—which would be the reconciliation of two enemies, the health of so many sick, and the rendering of thanks of many kinds to God—had come from God. Then, thinking first about reconciliation, he burst out into these words: “My sons, if you have held fast to hate in your heart, you will not be able to perform the work of God, according to that Gospel text: ‘If you offer your gift before the altar, and there you remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there, and go to be reconciled to your brother, and then coming you will offer your gift.’
It is proper that you be reconciled with your brother and live quietly in peace. For the lord Jesus says, ‘Love peace and truth.’ God himself is peace, himself is truth, himself is the way. For he says, ‘I am the way and the truth. Love your enemy, because God is charity: and he who abides in charity, abides in God, and God in him.’ Charity is accorded even to an enemy. It has been written, ‘Love a friend in God and an enemy on account of God.’ ‘Charity covers a multitude of sins.’ No virtue is perfect without charity. For Paul says, ‘If I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, if I should not have charity, it profits me nothing.’ And the Lord says in the Gospel, ‘If you do not forgive every each one his brother, I will not forgive you.’ My son, you have undertaken the work of charity; complete the work of charity. Let all your works be done with charity. It is proper that you be reconciled with your brother. May he confirm you in charity, who made you in his image and likeness.”
After encouragements of this sort, Itier prostrates himself at the feet of the lord bishop and kisses the feet of that one. He promises that he is going to do whatever he ordained concerning reconciliation. So the bishop, looking around, called his secretary and ordered him to look around through the church, if perhaps he saw anywhere the man who spoke with him before the rite of the Mass; and to find him more readily, he should run about shouting “Norman!” At the bidding of the lord bishop the secretary hurries and, entering the church, he shouts “Norman!” To him Norman says, “I am Norman. What is it to you?” To him the secretary says, “If you are the Norman who spoke before the rite of the Mass with the lord bishop, you should return to him as swiftly as can be.” So he comes and is introduced by the secretary into the chapel. He finds the lord bishop negotiating with Itier about reconciliation.
Since Itier was sitting to the right, in whose mind and soul all hate had been rendered dead, and charity was blazing not through mere sparks but through flaming fire, Norman sat hesitantly to the left alongside the feet of the lord. To him the bishop says, “Son, no virtue, no good, is brought to perfection, unless charity has made itself available as companion and leader. Charity and hate are thus mutually opposed as whiteness and blackness. Hate is then a certain hostile rage, the inducement to all evils. Charity is the Lord’s first and greatest commandment, and the virtue which is the inducement to all good actions. The Lord’s greatest commandment is ‘You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole strength and your neighbor as yourself.’
This love is also extended, just as a commandment kept most, even to an enemy. For he commanded to love an enemy in God, just as, a pitiful pitier, he took pity on Mary Magdalene and took pity on the robber on the cross. My son, Christ suffered, leaving to you an example that you should follow his footsteps. He prayed for those persecuting him that they not perish. Pray then one for another, that you may be saved. My little sons, you have been called by God that you may inherit a blessing. The Blessed Virgin called you to one work of mercy, namely, to visiting the sick. Do not, with the devil’s suggestion obstructing, let the Lord take away from you the Holy Spirit; for the Holy Spirit does not rest upon an ill-willed soul.”
After charitable encouragements of this kind, Norman, with knees bent and hands joined, with heart and tears pouring forth most abundantly, humbly implores the paternity of the lord bishop to redirect the enmities of Itier into love, and he promises to do dutifully whatever he commanded concerning a peace accord.
Accordingly, the lord bishop said, arising, “Give in turn the kiss of peace, and at once acting upon the business that has been enjoined upon you, keep vigil through the night in prayer, so that he who is one in Godhead and threefold in persons may restore through the threefold ministry of those serving him health to those lying ill in the church.”
Rising up then, those two jongleurs, with the contagion of all hate set aside, were allied, through the encouragement of the lord bishop, by a kiss of mutual reconciliation. With a fast on bread and water imposed on them until the hour for partaking of food, they feasted together around the hour of none at the table of the lord bishop. Thereafter, entering the church, persisting in prayer, they waited for the setting of the sun and evening. But, as the evening of the world presses, when the sinking sun had drawn darkness altogether over the whole face of the earth, while the three of them with contrite heart and humbled spirit gave their time to the specified prayer, at the first cockcrow the Virgin Mother of the Lord, mother of mercies, mother of all consolation, she who calls back to the way those who have strayed, star of the sea, port of salvation, hope of forgiveness, carrying from the choir in her hand a candle lit by divine fire, she said, “You who perform as jongleurs by miming, be present. I deliver to you, to be kept in perpetuity, this one memento. Whoever has been infected by the contagion of that illness which is called hellfire, may he drip the wax that overflows from the candle on the water, and when the lesion is sprinkled with water, may the fire be quickly extinguished. Who has faith will be saved; but who does not have faith, will be condemned to present death.”
After saying this, she vanishes into thin air. Then, they delivered to the lord bishop the candle that they had received dutifully and respectfully out of veneration for the Blessed Virgin, so that they could act by his counsel concerning what they had heard and seen. To them the bishop said, “Because it has been granted to you from God, oh that you would deign to associate me with you! And that you summon me as a comrade to you, I do not cease to ascribe not to my own merits but to the grace of God and yourselves.”
Therefore, the jongleurs and bishop, after kissing themselves in mutual brotherly exchange, receiving the water in three vessels, and pouring from the God-granted candle into the water, proceeded in three files and offered it as a drink to the sick, pouring the blessed water over the lesions and ulcers. Under God’s protection they sweated over this work with earnest attention, to the same degree during the night on which they were as on the following day up to the hour of terce.
When they held out the drink of health to the last one as to the others, the sick man said, “Is this water or wine?” They said, “It is water.” The man replied, “Health is preferable in wine rather than in water, seeing that wine is accustomed to cheer my soul.” “Accept,” said the bishop, “son, the communal drink of brotherhood; may you have communal health with them, seeing that you have been reborn in the same faith with them in baptism, and you have come to the same refuge of health.” He drank indeed, not to the increase of bodily health but instead to the hastening of momentary death, because expiring in a moment he goes the way of all flesh.
After this duty of the health-bringing drink had been fulfilled along with what the Blessed Virgin had enjoined as a command upon the jongleurs, this very threesome, the lord bishop and the two jongleurs, returned among the sick, so that they could see the wondrous works of God, by which the Blessed Virgin Mary was glorified in the holy Zion of Arras. Some sang with David: “Sing to the Lord a new canticle, because he has done wonderful things.” Others: “The Lord has made known his salvation.” Others: “Shout with joy to God, all the earth, sing you a psalm to his name.” Others sang with Zachary: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people.” Why should I tell you all the individual details? As many as were the tongues of those recovering, so many were the glorifications made to God throughout the church.
It was now almost the third hour of the day, and the clergy and people of the city came together in the church, that they might hear in keeping with custom the ceremonies of the Mass for Sunday. The lord archbishop, after leaving the candle in the hands of the jongleurs, exulting and praising God at the entrance to the choir, began in a loud voice “We praise you, God,” and the clergy of the choir, following the praises begun, sang the Introit.
On that day there were healed, with the Blessed Virgin being favorably disposed and God working together with her, sick people to the number 143. There were 144, but one did not have faith and did not regain health. Out of reverence for the Blessed Virgin and the miraculous action of God, that candle given by the hand of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been preserved, through generations of jongleurs in succession, in the city of Arras, down to the present day, and through it the mercy of God is often effected on the ill.
For the remembrance of this miracle, the jongleurs established the confraternity which for some time was maintained by few fellow members. But now, in these times of ours, the prayers, benefices, and support of the poor have been enlarged, as respectable men and women of the city and other nobles, which is to say, clerics and knights, have been united with them.
These are the customs of the confraternity and of the charity. To no person, so long as healthy, is it allowed to enter the charity, except on Friday or Saturday after the Pentecost octave, not even for the greatest amount of money. Who indeed on the aforesaid term-day, either man or woman, enters the charity, will ratify by the pledging of faith that he will conform to the best of ability to the customs and rules of the charity. Seeing that the charity will consist of twelve fellow members, male or female, let him make himself the thirteenth, to the best extent he can. If indeed a man without a wife or a woman without a husband enters the charity, the man will pair off with a woman or the woman with a man and will make the other a confrere or a consoeur, with the rule of the charity intact, whenever he or she wishes, in the presence of the mayor and aldermen.
The issuing of this transcript was done in A.D. 1241, in the month of May.
B. “The Foundation of the Jongleur Confraternity in Arras” (in French)
The account of the miracle in vernacular prose must have been composed after 1241, since it derives from the one in Latin to which it corresponds. In addition, the text contains a reference to the county of Artois, which did not exist before 1237. The prestige attached to the miraculous event during these years takes tangible form in a silver reliquary, preserved in the episcopal palace in Arras, which was crafted for the confraternity in the period 1220–1250. This container for relics portrays Lambert and a jongleur beneath an image of the Virgin with the candle.
The version in the spoken language abstains from much of the formal rhetoric and many of the learned allusions that typify the Latin. This restraint is evident already in the omission of the preface. The vernacular work alternates between translation and paraphrase. It was likely designed for an audience with less appetite for the moral exhortations that belong to the intrinsic nature of the earlier version, which was pitched at a clerical or at least literate audience. The text is in the dialect often known as Old French, but behind it likely lies a predecessor in Picard.
On the Candle of Arras
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, all say amen.
In the time of Lambert, who was the first bishop of Arras after this bishopric was split from the bishopric of Cambrai, a great pestilence befell bodies of men and women living in towns, cities, and castles, owing to the sins of the people in Arras and in the countryside that depends on it in the county of Artois. For some were stricken and had maladies in the mouth, others in the eye, these ones in the nose, those others in the ear, these ones in the foot, those others in the thigh or in the leg, and some in the private parts, these ones in front, those ones behind, by this frightful ill, from which may God protect us, that they call hellfire. And if someone remained healthy and unharmed by it, he was racked by great fear that such an ill might befall him, either because of sin or on some other account.
For fear of this dread, one segment within the community of people of the country disclosed their confidences to their priests through confession and received penance; another that was stricken by this ill took flight to the mother church of Notre Dame, the Virgin Mary, at Arras in the city, some by foot, others by horse, cart, or other vehicle; some lay on litters, sacks, and straw, and everyone, men and women alike, cried in loud voices: “Lord, true God, mercy! Good Lord God, help!” Some said, “O Lord, rebuke me not in your indignation,” the beginning of the seven psalms. There were in the sanctuary of Notre Dame, the Virgin Mary, in total 144 with these maladies, all of whom awaited mercy and the aid of the Lord God and of his very sweet and dear mother.
In that time there were two jongleurs who lived in different regions. For one lived in Brabant and the other in Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, and they had, the one for the other, mortal hatred, such that if one encountered the other, the one would gladly kill the other. For the one had killed the other’s brother, at the devil’s incitement.
Now it happened that the most beautiful woman who has ever been seen, a virgin girl, clad entirely in plain white, appeared in a vision to the jongleur of Brabant as he lay and slept in his bed, one Wednesday in the night from which the Thursday was dawning.
“Are you sleeping?” she says, “Are you sleeping? Hear what I will tell you. Get up and go off to this holiest place that people call the church of Notre Dame, the Virgin Mary, in Arras, there where so many sick—144—suffer to death. When you come there, I will provide and propose a place and time to allow you to speak to the bishop, who is named Lambert, and to recall to him the vision that you are seeing, and all in order. Then add that, around about the third hour of the night when Sunday will dawn which is the first day of the week, it will behoove him to go about the church to visit and assist the sick. And it will come to pass around midnight that a woman, clad in clothes just as I am, will come down into the choir that people call the chancel and she will carry a candle in her hand, indeed will hand it over to you. You will receive the candle all lit from the heavenly fire, and you will drip the melted wax, which will overflow from the candle, into vessels full of water, and. you will pour that upon the injuries of everyone with the malady. Have no doubt at all that the men and women who have faith will return to good health, and he or she who does not have faith will immediately die sick. And so you—both you and the third, the one whom you hate with mortal enmity—will accompany the bishop, and this same one will be made ready at Arras with you on the coming Saturday. And when the bishop has brought the two of you into harmony by the grace of the Holy Spirit and by the fair speech of God, so you will have between the two of you each other as companion.”
And when this vision to the jongleur in Brabant was finished, in the same night Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, appeared to the other minstrel who lived in Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, all in such clothing and in like form and in such appearance as she had shown herself to the first. And all that she had said to the Brabanter, she says word for word to the other. And when he had come to his senses and had been awakened, he spoke a speech as follows: “Oh how very beautiful, how saintly, and how honorable is the vision of the manifestation of the Mother of God! If I had my wish, with her help we would be brought into accord and would have peace made between me and my mortal enemy, and if I had my wish, so many a grievously ill person would be restored to good health through the virtue of God and his sweet mother and by the effect of my service! But I suspect greatly that what I have seen is not a dream or illusion; now I will wait until the third hour of the night and I will keep watch if this vision has come to me from God. And may God grant that it comes to me from him.”
He arises in the morning, and he goes off to the sanctuary to hear the Mass and the service of the Lord God, and he kneels before the crucifix and joins his hands and raises them on high, and he prays to God with great devotion that what he had seen in a vision, God fulfill by his will soon in deed.
The first night after, this same vision was manifested to these two same minstrels, and it was said as well additionally that if they did not make haste, they would be stricken with the same illness. The jongleur living in Saint-Pol, who was named Norman, awakens and leaps up all troubled; so he readies himself and girds his sword, and holds to the route to Arras by Friday and arrives at his hostel in Arras all tired. The other minstrel, who lived in Brabant and had the name Itier, makes haste likewise and even much more, for he was coming from afar, and it does not seem he can come to Arras on Friday in the evening.
The following day, on Saturday, Norman arises at daybreak and goes off to Notre Dame in the city to accomplish the matter for which he had come. And when he had hailed on his knees the symbol of the death of Jesus Christ and the crucifix, and he had made over himself the sign of the true cross, he saw throughout the church the suffering sick, crying and moaning. Then he recalls the threat that in the last vision had been revealed to him by the blessed Virgin, when she said to him: “If you do not make haste, you will be tormented by the same anguish.” He began to shed tears from wretchedness and fear, beat his chest and recognize his sin and say, “Lord God, have mercy on this sinner!” Then he turns toward the bishop’s palace, all the while saying the psalm “May God have mercy on us” softly, for he was a little lettered.
And he goes about to such an extent that he finds the bishop lying in prayers in his chapel before the altar of Saint Séverin. Norman watches him and beseeches that he not grow angry if he enters in upon him or infringes his prayer. He draws nearer, little by little, on his knees toward the bishop. The bishop looks at him gently and asks him, “What do you want, brother?” Norman replies to him, “Good father, if it pleases you and is allowed me, I would tell you very gladly a little confidential matter in private.” The bishop beckons and has him sit at his feet, and Norman began to tell him how three days earlier, during the night that led to daybreak on Friday, the blessed Virgin, who is the mother of all mercies, appeared to him, and in such a fashion she enjoined upon him and ordered that he come to Arras and speak to the bishop: “Saturday, during the night from which Sunday will dawn, after nightfall, you who are my lord the bishop of Arras, Lambert, will go, you as the third, to visit the sick who in our church suffer travails from the anguishing hellfire; and the glorious lady, when it pleases her, will hand over to you a lit candle, and making the sign of the cross, you will drip down into some vessels full of water the melting wax that will flow beneath the flame, and you will give it to those sick to drink of the water and you will spread it upon the burns and wounds of those with the malady; and a person sick who has no faith will die within nine days. Lord, you who are bishop of the city of Arras and of whatever depends on it, I leave to you this injunction, and if you do not put it into effect, I who am a layman and a simple Christian pray to God that he asks nothing of me.”
When Norman had related his speech, the bishop addressed him in such a speech and in such words: “What are your names, good son, and from where do you come, and what kind of life do you live?” Norman replies, “Lord father, my godfather and godmother, who answered for me in baptism to the clergyman, named me Perron; afterward people called me by the surname Norman, and I was born in Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, and as a poor minstrel I support myself from jonglery.” “I believe it well,” said the bishop, “for you feed me with pleasantries and fabrications, just as jongleurs do.” Norman takes his leave from the bishop, ashamed and disconcerted, and enters the sanctuary and sits down, and has great wretchedness and pain, and is very fearful of the great pains that he sees and has.
Now we will speak of the other jongleur from Brabant, who is called Itier. Itier, who that same night had lodged two leagues from Arras, arises early and comes to Arras in the church of Notre Dame just as they were sounding terce, says his prayer, enters the bishop’s court, and, without opposition, goes off into the chapel where the bishop himself was celebrating the Mass of Our Lady; and he was the the only layman among the clerics until the Mass had been said.
And when the clergy went out, Itier leapt forward and went before the bishop and said to him, “Good lord father, hear what I, who am your son in the Lord God, will tell you.” The bishop looked at him straightforwardly and drew him confidentially to one side in his chapel and said to him, “Tell me, brother, what you want.”
“Lord,” he said, “I have seen once and again, in a vision, the most beautiful woman who was ever born of a mother, and she said to come to you on this Saturday that is today and to announce her commands to you, and she threatened me that if I did not make haste, I would languish or die from the same painful affliction as the other sick people who lie within in your church. So she ordered that, on the coming night out of which Sunday will dawn, you should go about the church and visit the sick, you as the third of three, of whom I am one and the other is he who will meet your approval. And around the hour when the cocks will crow, the beautiful lady of whom I have spoken to you will hand over to you a lit candle, you will drip the melted wax into water, and you will make over it the sign of the cross, and from that water you will grant each sick person to drink. Who has faith will be healed, and who does not have faith will die immediately.”
“Oh!” said the bishop, “You deceive me or wish to deceive. What is your name, and of what origin were you born, and what life do you lead?” “Lord,” he said, “I am called Itier, and I was born in Brabant and am a resident there; I subsist from singing and jonglery.” “Aha!” said the bishop, “You spoke together, you and the other who earlier conversed with me. I cannot believe you; indeed, I see that the two of you want to put me to the test and trick me.”
“Lord,” said Itier, “how long has it been since he spoke to you?” The bishop replies to him, “Another minstrel such as you are came to me recently; they call him by the surname Norman, and he related to me the same tricks as you have, which is why I cannot believe the two of you, neither him nor you.” “Oh!” said Itier, “If I see Norman, and if I have place and opportunity, I will surely strike my sword through his stomach, for he killed my brother.”
When the bishop heard this, he reflected, and his heart said to him that this vision came from God, by whom there would be peace and concord between these two mortal enemies, and with healing and health of so many sick, and many thanks rendered to God. The bishop pondered that it would be good for him first to talk about concord between the two enemies, and he said to Itier, “Dear sweet son, if you harbor in your heart hate or rancor, you cannot do God’s work, for the Lord God, who never lies, says in the Gospel, ‘If you make your offering before the altar, and there you remember that your brother has any ill-will toward you, leave your offering in that place before the altar, and so you go off sooner to reconcile with your brother, and then you will return and offer your gift.’
Your brother is each and every Christian: it is proper for you to pardon your brother for vexation, for God says, ‘Love peace and truth, for I myself am peace and truth.’ Love your enemy, for the Holy Writ says, ‘Love your friend in God and your enemy on account of God.’ ‘God is charity: and he who abides in charity, abides in God, and God in him.’ ‘God is charity: and he who abides in charity, abides in God, and God in him.’ No virtue and no charitable act is perfect without charity. For this reason, Saint Paul says to us, ‘If I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, if I should not have charity, it profits me nothing.’ And God says in the Gospel, ‘If you do not forgive every each one his brother, I will not forgive you.’ Dear son, you have undertaken to do the work of charity, and he wishes to confirm you in charity who made you in his image and likeness.”
When Itier heard these saintly words that the bishop made known to him, he was moved to great compassion and let himself fall at the bishop’s feet and began to kiss them and promised him that he would make peace and accord as the bishop recommended. The bishop was very glad, and he looked around him and called his chamberlain and orders him that he go look throughout the sanctuary, high and low, if by chance he could find the man who before had spoken to him; and so as to find him still more readily, he shouts roughly in a loud voice, “Norman! Norman!” The chamberlain ran promptly and entered the church and calls Norman the jongleur in a loud voice. Norman replies, “You see me here; what is your pleasure?” “If you are the one who has the name Norman as a surname,” the chamberlain said, “who spoke to my lord before the Mass, go off fast to him.” Norman goes off; the chamberlain leads him into the chapel and finds my lord the bishop speaking of peace to Itier, who sat at the bishop’s feet to the right, and all the hate and ill-will in his heart that he had had toward Norman were for certain dead, for he was for certain entirely inflamed by the fire of charity from the good examples that he had heard and understood. Norman sits at the feet of the bishop to the left, very hesitantly, and the bishop began to preach to him the goods of charity, just as well as or better than he did to Itier, and he said to him, “Dear son, no virtue, no good, no charitable act comes to fruition, if charity does not lead it there. Charity and hate are as different as are white and black; hate is madness and motivator of all evils, but charity is the first and sovereign commandment in the law of Lord God and is the motivator of all good works. The very great commandment of Lord God is that all Christians love our Lord God with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their might, and their neighbor as themselves.
Charity extends further, for God, who is charity, orders that one love his enemy. Lord God pardoned Mary Magdalene, who was his enemy, her misdeeds, on account of the very great charity that she had toward him, and took pity on the robber hanging on the cross, and prayed for those who crucified him. The two of you likewise, my dear sons, pray one for another, that you may be saved. The blessed Virgin has chosen you and called you to a work of mercy for visiting these sick people. Now take care that at the advice of the devil Lord God not take back from you the Holy Ghost and the grace that he has furnished you; for you should know well that the Holy Spirit does not rest upon an ill-willed soul.”
After this lesson on charity, Norman, with hands joined and knees bent, entreats my lord the bishop with a good heart, in tears, humbly, to transform the enmity of Itier into friendship, and he will do entirely whatever he commands for peace and accord.
The bishop arises and says to them, “Now exchange kisses by God in the name of peace and accord; and in the night that is coming, keep vigil with me in prayers and devotions, so as to fulfill well the obligation that has been given to us as a charge and command, so that this lord who is one in Godhead and threefold in persons, Father and Son and Holy Ghost, by the service of us three may render health to the sick lying within in this church.”
The two jongleurs arise and the one pardons the other for hatred and they kiss each other according to the command of the bishop, who commanded them to fast this Saturday on bread and water. And around the hour of none, they breakfast with the bishop at his table, and after eating they enter the sanctuary and were in prayer until vespers. And when it became night, as the three of them said their prayers and called upon Our Lady Saint Mary, she, the sweet Mother of God, a little after cockcrow, came down from the choir, and she carried in her hand a candle lit from the heavenly fire. “You, jongleurs,” she said, “who lived from song and the viol, come here. I hand over this candle to you to keep forever perpetually. Whoever, being a Christian, whether man or woman, has the condition of this malady that they call hellfire, if they light this candle and they drip in water some of the wax that melts by virtue of the flame, and if they sprinkle from this water on the place where the sick person is inflamed and injured, it will be extinguished immediately in such fashion that if he has faith, he will be healed, and if he does not have it, he will die at once.”
When the glorious lady of paradise had said these words, she vanished. The jongleurs received the candle with great devotion, in honor and in memory of Our Lady Saint Mary, and they delivered it to the bishop, because whatever they had heard and seen, they wanted to act according to his counsel. And the bishop said to them, “Because this candle has been given to you from God and come from a miracle, if I had my wish, you would make of me your companion in this matter, not by merit but by the grace of God and by your own!”
The jongleurs received willingly and gladly my lord the bishop as a confrere and companion and they kissed him in the name of the confraternity. Now the three go off, carrying three vessels, each one his own, full of water, and they hold the lit candle and each one drips the melted wax into the water of his vessel; and they follow three routes, and they go around to visit the ill, each one by his route, and they gave from this blessed water to them to drink and they sprinkled from it over the wounds of the afflicted. In this important matter the bishop and the two minstrels worked the whole night through and the next day until the hour of terce, with the help of God.
And when it came to the last of the sick and they poured for him to drink as they had done to the others, he said, “Is this wine or water?” They replied, “It is water.” He replied, “Better health is in wine than in water, for wine is accustomed to cheer my body and soul.” And the bishop said to him, “Dear son, your soul may have a share of both gladness and health in this drink, so that the power of the son of God be made clear in you. Take the common drink of the confraternity, that you receive common health with the others; for with them is this same faith and in similar belief you receive baptism in the water, and for similar assistance of health you came here as they did.” He drank all the same, not at all for health, but encounters his death; he drank out of bad faith, in no way to recover but to depart, for then he departed from this world.
When this giving of drink and all the other things had been completed, as Our Lady had ordered the two jongleurs, they headed off among the sick to see how God had performed his miracles in them, for which the sweet Mother of God was and is honored and exalted in this saintly church of Arras. And should I prolong the tale for you? As many as there were tongues of those who recovered, so many there were thanks and praises rendered to Lord God throughout the church.
It was now nearly terce, and the clergy and the people of the city were gathered to hear Mass and to go to procession, just as on Sunday; and my lord the bishop, when he had returned the candle of Our Lady to the jongleurs in their hands, he begins at the entrance to the choir to sing in a loud voice and with great joy “We praise you, God,” and the clerics of the choir sang through to the end.
In that night and day, 143 sick people were healed who had been inflamed by the grievous hellfire, except for one alone, who was the last and kept the faith badly, as has been said. And this happened in the city of Arras, by the grace of God and of his blessed mother and in honor of her. And in remembrance of so lovely a miracle, this candle is kept at Arras, which was given by the right hand of the Mother of God herself, and should be in the keeping of the jongleurs and minstrels for posterity, and by it God shows mercy very often to those sick from inflammation.
And for remembrance of this miracle, the jongleurs established a confraternity and a charity which was for a long time maintained by a small lot of confreres. But within a short time it was very large, for knights entered it, who owed it dues to look after the poor people at the annual session, which will have been said and done. It lasted eight or nine years in this way. Norman was lord of it—and Itier—so much so that it seemed a shame and humiliation to the knights of the country that the jongleurs had the right to be lords and masters over them; and when Itier and Norman died, they would not execute the commands of the other jongleurs, but instead two lords, whom I can in fact name, held them in contempt and mocked them: the one was Nicholas aux Grenons, who held Imercourt and Bailleul in fief, and the other was called Jean, who was born in Waencort.
Those two were the first who motivated the outrage for which they would afterward have shame, for they summoned the other knights, revealed their mind to them, and slandered: “Lords, this charity is distinguished by great lordship and we do it great shame, seeing that the jongleurs are thus lords and masters of it over us. But we do not want them to be in our confraternity, nor to come with us to make offerings, nor to have authority, but to keep their confraternity and their charity by themselves—and we will keep this one by ourselves. What do you think of this business?” “There is in them very little profit,” say the others, “Insofar as it seems good to you, we approve it indeed on our side, for they are foolish and excessive. Forbid them to come here anymore but let them keep their charity.”
They carried out the counsel of these two and threw out the jongleurs, in such a way that they did not dare to come among them nor to maintain their confraternity, which had been established by them—and for the relief of what was so dreadful and fearsome. The jongleurs experienced great shame and lamented much over these two and called upon the glorious lady who is queen of the entire world. So they were excluded for a long time during which a jongleur did not come there. But now hear what happened to those who motivated this great outrage. They were overpowered by such an illness that deprived them of their members, all of them, and oppressed them so gravely that they were not able even to eat. Who initiates a wrong, must indeed pay for it: for such a gain, such a recompense. To these two it happened in the same way, and they were stricken and tormented at such length that they craved nothing except death: therefore what is done right is wise.
Now hear what kind of event happened to those who were thus languishing. One night they were lying in their beds. To one appeared the glorious Virgin, Saint Mary, who is queen and lady in the heavens. She was adorned in glory and brightness. She spoke to him like an angry lady. “Have you heard,” she said, “for what reason you are lying here? Do you know why you are sick? Because you have enraged me severely. It is indeed right that it has turned out badly for you from it, for you have undone what I had established. But if you do not soon set it right, it will behoove you to end in a hideous death, as indeed rank will not be of value to you in it.” “Ah, good, sweet lady, mercy,” he said, “for I have never seen you, but I would set it right very willingly, if I knew in what I have done wrong to you. Ah, beautiful lady,” he said, “so give your name. This whole place is resplendent from you. I am entirely stunned by the brightness from you.” “I am,” she said, “the mother of Jesus Christ, who bewail the confraternity that you took from them. They have been thrown out of it by your pride; but if you want ever to recover your health, set this outrage right for them soon and return to them their inheritance that I bestowed on them forever; and once you have done this thing, your pain will be healed.” Then the glorious Virgin vanished.
She went to the other sick man. The whole matter that she told the first man, she revealed to this one who was very preoccupied and desired very much to be healed. When these two sick men heard the matter, they had themselves carried to Arras to the sanctuary to the glorious lady. Their affair was so marvelous that they met before the sanctuary and related their visions, then stretched their hands toward heaven and rendered thanks to Our Lady. Then, as it seems to me, they had all the jongleurs come who were living in Arras; so they returned to them at once their charter and their rightful claim.
This miracle has existed in Latin a long time; now it has been translated into the Romance language so that the lay people will understand it better. Pray for all those who uphold the charity, and for all those who will hear it said that they pray to the glorious Virgin Saint Mary for her to advise them in body and soul on acquiring with honor their sustenance, true confession at death, and true pardon at judgment.
After the miracles of Our Lady, hear the customary laws and ordinances. No one can nor ought, so long as he is healthy and hearty, enter this charity except on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday after the octave of Pentecost, which people call cinquiesme, to have what he knows he cannot give. And who then will enter, be it man or woman, it will be necessary for this person to promise to pursue and maintain to the best of his or her ability the customary laws and rightful claims of the confraternity, and as far as there will be in the charity twelve, what with men and what with women, he or she will be the thirteenth; and upon entering the charity the person will pay six and a half pennies. And if it happens that any worthy man enters the confraternity without his wife, or any gentlewoman without her husband, the one and the other will form a pair in this confraternity, when he or she comes before the mayor and aldermen, with the rights of the charity protected.
Here ends the Candle of Arras.
C. “The Arrival of the Holy Candle”
The text that follows was edited nearly a century and a half ago from the seventeenth-century Registre Thieulaine. The nineteenth-century editor, offering no support for his view, dated the poetry in the thirteenth century. Without identifying the manuscripts at issue or supplying a critical apparatus with alternative readings, he asserted that many other copies exist and that they display types of variation showing “that these verses were recited by heart and were transmitted in families by oral tradition.” To my eye, traits of oral traditional composition are lacking in the poetic style. An intriguing feature, retained in the English here, is marginal notation that suggests pitch or volume. These marginalia may indicate which performer, the one with a high voice or the other with a low, is expected to read or chant which parts of the poem.
The Arrival of the Holy Candle,
in Oldentime Verses
That Are Sung on the Eve of Assumption
In the name of God in the Trinity, |
High Voice |
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three names in one deity, |
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I wish to retell and retrace for you |
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word for word, as a just model, |
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5 |
the disposition of the worthy candle, |
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which was brought down here |
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by the blessed Virgin, comforter of sinners, |
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to two singers |
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to comfort the sick, |
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10 |
who at that time on account of their sufferings longed |
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to die, without living any more in any way, |
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on account of the burning from which God delivers us. |
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The charter wishes to bear witness to us |
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from the time of the first bishop |
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15 |
of the noble city of Arras, |
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in truth Lambert by name, |
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who had no concern for pomp |
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nor also for acquiring great riches. |
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For in his days, it is altogether true, |
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20 |
Arras was within the diocese |
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and bishopric of Cambrai, |
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but he had it split in half |
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and then kept for his portion |
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very much the lesser part. |
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25 |
He was named bishop of Arras. |
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He was famed for all good qualities; |
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he was much beloved for his foresight, |
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for he was full of morality. |
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In the time when Lambert held office, |
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30 |
a plague invaded |
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the Artois region, it is a sure thing, |
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falling upon many human beings, |
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upon the bodies of men, women, and children, |
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who were in grievous pain |
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35 |
from the fire that is called hellfire. |
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It is red and black as iron |
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that is at one side inflamed |
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and at the other is not at all burnt. |
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Many were withered |
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40 |
grievously by this plague. |
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It spread with such great force |
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in towns, cities, castles, |
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villages, and hamlets |
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that they found no relief from it |
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45 |
from potions, doctors, |
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magicians, and soothsayers. |
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Some had fires in their arms |
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and others in the lower limbs, |
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in the legs, feet, and hands. |
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50 |
Many, enduring much torment from it, |
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are unable to find any relief |
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except to cry and weep |
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for the fire that can take hold of them, |
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from which may God wish to protect us all. |
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55 |
Even those who were healthy |
Low Voice |
and who felt this illness not at all |
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were tormented by fear |
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that they might have it in turn as well. |
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As a result of the sin that then prevailed, |
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60 |
regarding which some, knowledgeable in law, |
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set themselves to rights |
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through good and sure faith |
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and took confession, |
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making amends |
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65 |
through penance for their misdeeds, |
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and confessed all their deeds |
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devoutly to their priests, |
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and some who in this torment |
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were touched by the hellfire already mentioned |
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70 |
in great sin |
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arrived at the mother church |
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of Arras, as well-informed people, |
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by cart, on foot, and on horseback, |
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entreating that the Virgin |
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75 |
might wish to heal and cure them |
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of this illness, she who can obtain |
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in such fashion |
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by her kindly will that they would be protected |
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and provided with good health, |
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80 |
so much so that the great illness |
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and frightful burning spark of this fire |
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came to an end because of the Virgin and young maid |
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who extended her great grace there, |
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just as you have heard. |
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85 |
Good people in that period, |
High Voice |
as memory recalls, |
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the singers who then existed, |
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would recite the fine and lofty deeds |
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of noble worldly princes |
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90 |
who as valiant Christians |
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expended blood and sweat |
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to multiply every day |
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our law of Christianity |
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by worthy and good will. |
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95 |
And those singers, mentioned before, |
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recounted many of their fine deeds, |
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singing along with the viol, |
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which often renews joy. |
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And in this time people called them |
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100 |
jongleurs, and insofar as (they say) |
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one rejoices because of jongleurs, |
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one should call them bringers of joy. |
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But nowadays |
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they call themselves minstrels, |
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105 |
and those who lead about apes and bears |
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have themselves called jongleurs. |
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But it was not at all for such people |
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that the worthy Virgin with her noble heart |
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sent this great grace |
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110 |
when she sent the worthy candle |
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to display her virtue visibly, |
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which ought not to be at all unbelievable, |
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for by hot, everlasting fire |
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she causes infernal fire to be extinguished |
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115 |
in those who have solid and sure |
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belief, without inconstancy. |
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Those to whom this grace |
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was sent and ascribed |
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were called in those times |
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120 |
singers, playing the viol and singing |
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to entertain king and dukes, |
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princes, bourgeois, and lower class, |
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for by way of instrument there was nothing out of the ordinary |
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except only the viol. |
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125 |
Now it happened that in anno Domini |
High Voice |
1105, there were |
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two singers who then lived. |
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They set out to occupy themselves |
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130 |
with singing, and with all their ardor |
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they secured their livelihood |
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for themselves with viol-playing. |
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The one lived in Brabant |
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and was called Itier, |
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135 |
and the other at Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, |
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Norman was his name, so tells the report. |
||
These two, through the intervention |
Low Voice |
|
of the devil, fell into discord, |
||
for the one, through all too great disgrace, |
||
140 |
had killed the other’s brother. |
|
As a result, if they should meet, |
||
they would kill each other. |
||
And nevertheless, considering such an offense, |
||
they were full of foresight |
||
145 |
and of the most perfect faith |
|
and they performed great penance |
||
to obtain their salvation. |
||
According to their understanding, |
||
each one on his side rendered |
||
150 |
the Virgin a share of all goods gained. |
|
For each of them, according to his sense, |
||
would offer praise with his instruments |
||
before the image in a loud voice |
||
and would greet her with an anthem. |
||
155 |
From when they frequented each other, |
|
they arranged this practice, |
||
and when they parted company, |
||
they did not therefore depart |
||
from the service of the lovely lady |
||
160 |
who delivers every soul to salvation. |
|
Now it happened that the Brabanter |
||
Itier, of whom I made mention, |
||
in whom there was little sin, |
||
lay properly on his bed |
||
165 |
one day on a Wednesday, |
|
but while he was sleeping, a vision |
||
befell him in visible form |
||
of which afterward he had good recollection, |
||
for while sleeping it seemed to him |
||
170 |
that a lady appeared to him |
|
who was the Virgin and a young maid, |
||
clad in a new robe, |
||
by far whiter than fleur-de-lis, |
||
for which his heart was in great delight. |
||
175 |
And when she drew near his sleeping place, |
Reading |
she said to him in a sweet voice, |
||
“Are you sleeping?” She said, “Wake up |
||
and hear what I will tell you. |
||
Arise and go off |
||
180 |
straight to Arras: don’t stop. |
|
Make your way to the mother church. |
||
There you will find in great distress |
||
many sick sufferers |
||
who endure various torments, |
||
185 |
because they have been set on fire in many places |
|
by the cutting fire which has taken hold of them. |
||
But through you they will soon have remedy |
||
and will recover from this grievous sickness, |
||
if I tell you in what manner: |
||
190 |
as soon as you have left, |
|
make your way to the bishop |
||
and confess to him |
||
and tell him in a very low voice |
||
the vision that you are seeing. |
||
195 |
And then on Sunday morning, |
|
when Saturday has ended, |
||
you will with the bishop make the rounds |
||
of the sick, and there you will see |
||
a lady similar to me |
||
200 |
who will appear to you |
|
and to your enemy Norman |
||
and to the most knowledgeable bishop. |
||
And know well that this Virgin |
||
will deliver to the two of you, into your hands, |
||
205 |
a candle all lit up, |
|
by which the grievous fire will be extinguished |
||
in the bodies of many human beings |
||
who will commit their understanding and attention |
||
to have true faith in them. |
||
210 |
But all those who accept |
|
the medicine in inconstancy |
||
will, for an extremely hard chastisement, |
||
die a hard and somber death, |
||
and I will not devote my care to them, |
||
215 |
that they can return to health. |
|
Now think of readying yourself |
||
and tell the bishop these facts, |
||
and if you make known to him your misdeeds |
||
and forgive all ill temper, |
||
220 |
you will come by this means to salvation.” |
|
At this word Itier awoke |
High Voice |
|
and marveled at this event. |
||
He does not know if it is a truth or lie, |
||
and says, “I believe that I have been dreaming |
||
225 |
or fantasizing for sure, |
|
or there is some enchantment. |
||
Yet all the same I want to go |
||
to Arras to speak to the bishop, |
||
so as to see if this vision |
||
230 |
will have verification. |
|
So he prepared himself immediately |
||
and during that night truly |
||
that very voice revealed itself |
||
to the other who was in Ternoise. |
||
235 |
So it told him in all certainty |
|
in the same way as to Itier. |
||
Norman, when he saw the likeness |
||
of the humble Virgin, worthy and white, |
||
understands her bidding. |
||
240 |
Now he reaches his hands on high |
|
and says, “Oh Virgin, very much honored, |
||
you will be adored by me, |
||
when to this poor and great sinner |
||
you appear in such honor. |
||
245 |
I will obey your bidding, |
|
and I will go off to Arras.” |
||
At once he arose from his bed |
||
and dressed himself in his clothes, |
||
and hung his viol from his neck, |
||
250 |
and then made his departure. |
|
Norman, of whom I am telling you, did so much |
||
that he came to Arras on Friday |
||
before Itier, quite plain to see, |
||
for Itier was more exhausted |
||
255 |
for having left from Brabant. |
|
So he was coming from a more distant land, |
||
such that he did not have the capacity to come |
||
on Friday in the evening, |
||
but instead he came there on Saturday. |
||
260 |
And Norman, of whom I have told you, |
|
arose on Saturday morning |
||
and then set off |
||
for the mother church of Arras. |
||
At the entrance, on the first step, |
||
265 |
he knelt piously |
|
while praying humbly from the heart |
||
to the Virgin, Queen of Glory, |
||
that if his vision is true, |
||
she should wish to make a demonstration |
||
270 |
of the reality as a true proof. |
|
There he was in great piety, |
||
making his petition, |
||
then he arose and left |
||
to greet the crucifix. |
||
275 |
After he goes off through the church, |
Reading |
he chose many sick, tormented |
||
in various ways by cutting fire, it is the truth, |
||
who because of their frightful torments |
||
280 |
made many moans. |
|
From this he felt much great compassion. |
||
When he sees the apparition |
||
and beyond, he left, saying |
||
285 |
He recalled this psalm |
|
and then found the bishop |
||
bowed in his chapel |
||
before the altar of Saint Séverin. |
||
Norman put himself on his knees, |
||
290 |
recalling entirely his prayers. |
|
For a little while he wishes to draw near the bishop, |
High Voice |
|
but he does not dare to greet him, |
||
and the bishop watched him |
||
and asked him with kindliness, |
||
295 |
“Friend, do you wish to speak to me?” |
|
And “Yes, sir, in good faith,” |
||
Norman says to him, “If it pleased you, |
||
willingly my heart would tell you |
||
a little bit of my secret.” |
||
300 |
Then when the bishop finished, |
|
Norman came to sit at his feet |
||
and related all his deeds |
||
through sure confession. |
||
Then he recounted to him the vision, |
||
305 |
how the mother of concord, |
|
queen of mercy, |
||
appeared to him three nights earlier, |
||
all dressed in white, |
||
and had enjoined upon him and said |
||
310 |
that he should come to him without any delay, |
|
and when Saturday ends |
||
and Sunday breaks, |
||
they should go as a threesome |
||
in the church of Saint Mary |
||
315 |
to visit the sick |
|
who are inflamed by the cutting hellfire |
||
in different forms of suffering. |
||
“And the mother of the lofty lord |
||
at her pleasure will deliver us |
||
320 |
a candle that will extinguish |
|
the frightful fire and fumes. |
||
So I will tell you in what fashion |
||
just as through the vision |
||
the arrangement was brought home to me. |
||
325 |
When the candle is lit, |
|
we will take a vessel full of water |
||
over which you will make the sign of the cross |
||
and you will drip the wax there. |
||
We will make use of these worthy drops |
||
330 |
with the water without deceit |
|
for the sick who have need of |
||
this grace and who have faith in it; |
||
and the person who does not wish to have faith in it, |
||
know that he will die within nine days.” |
||
335 |
When Bishop Lambert hears |
High Voice |
Norman, he raises his hands toward heaven |
||
and says, “Virgin, I give thanks to you |
||
for your grace if it is so.” |
||
Then he asks of Norman his name |
||
340 |
and from what he earns his living. |
|
“Father,” he says, “I assure you |
||
that I have as name Pierre Norman. |
||
I was born at Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise. |
||
A true singer of song and of voice, |
||
345 |
I like to occupy myself |
|
in fiddling and singing for a living.” |
||
And when the bishop heard him, |
Low Voice |
|
he reflected a great length of time |
||
and said, “I believe these are mockeries |
||
350 |
and trickeries that you are telling me, |
|
for all jongleurs and singers |
||
according to their custom are liars, |
||
and for that reason, I would not believe |
||
that this vision was true.” |
||
355 |
When Norman heard this speech, |
|
all ashamed, he left the bishop. |
||
He went off through the church, |
||
very greatly wretched and tearful. |
||
We will take our leave of Norman |
High Voice |
|
360 |
and we would like to speak to you of Itier, |
|
who departed from Brabant, |
||
dressed in beautiful and elegant clothes. |
||
He had hastened his pace so much |
||
that on the Saturday he went to bed |
||
365 |
two miles from Arras, |
|
and in the morning he awoke |
||
and then went directly to the city. |
||
Thus as third, in truth, |
||
he went to the bishop’s court. |
||
370 |
He arrived there at this moment so well |
|
that the bishop was chanting the Mass |
||
in his chapel where he was. |
||
Itier listened to his Mass, |
||
and when it was finished, |
||
375 |
he made himself known before the bishop, |
|
and he knelt before him, |
||
saying, “Please hear |
||
what I would like to recite. |
||
Father in God, I am your son. |
Low Voice |
|
380 |
May it please you to hear my speech.” |
|
The bishop stopped quite calmly |
||
and looked him in kindly fashion. |
||
Then he said, “Good son, speak your complaint.” |
||
Then Itier told him the news |
||
385 |
and the vision he had seen, |
|
which came to him |
||
in Brabant where he was staying. |
||
Word by word, he related everything, |
||
the vision and the whole lot, |
||
390 |
in the same way as Norman |
|
had told him and recited. |
||
When the bishop had listened, |
High Voice |
|
he looked at him very sharply |
||
and afterward asked him |
||
395 |
his station, his way of life, and his name. |
|
And that man said to him: “I am named Itier. |
||
I was born and bred in Brabant, |
||
and I live from being a minstrel, |
||
from playing the viol and singing |
||
400 |
so as to amuse and entertain people.” |
|
When the bishop hears him, |
||
“Ah, false devil,” he says, “Be off! |
||
You think to tell me |
||
such lies as the other whom you recall |
||
405 |
came to me to tell, |
|
precisely this vision, |
||
and it is learned from your trade: |
Low Voice |
|
you have taken counsel together |
||
to bewitch and mislead me. |
||
410 |
The one and the other, you know well to conduct matters |
|
so that you may have a little vain glory. |
||
It is a thing very generally known, |
||
for your two motivations are the same. |
||
I have no need to hear |
||
415 |
your jokes or stories.” |
|
“Ah!” said Itier, “So be it, |
||
but do name for me the one, |
||
if you please, who affirmed to you |
||
the matters that I have said to you |
||
420 |
here precisely, without any repetition.” |
|
The bishop said, “It is a singer, |
High Voice |
|
as you are, and a liar, |
||
who has himself called Norman: |
||
he related to me the message |
||
425 |
and the content of this procedure, |
|
by which the two of you in a conspiracy |
||
have devised this story.” |
||
“Ha, lord, may you not have had this thought,” |
||
said Itier, “for if I had hold |
||
430 |
of Norman, at once I would thrust |
|
my sword into his body, |
||
for my brother died because of him |
||
and was slain in great dishonor.” |
||
When the bishop heard the case, |
Reading |
|
435 |
he thought that the vision came |
|
to reconcile the dissension |
||
of the two enemies, |
||
so as to bring their wrath into accord. |
||
He says to Itier, “Hear, good son, |
||
440 |
be absolutely sure and set |
|
that if you keep bitterness and hate |
||
wrongfully in your heart, |
||
that that person cannot perform |
||
445 |
in the world any act of mercy, |
|
but on the contrary it is necessary that you cleanse your heart |
||
of resentment by your good will |
||
in forgiving all ill will |
||
to your brother out of charity. |
||
450 |
For just as it has been revealed, |
|
see truly that by the reconciliation |
||
of you two, those will have relief |
||
who have been struck here by the illness |
||
in suffering, if by providence |
||
455 |
they receive with openness the grace |
|
that the Virgin has offered them. |
||
But rather may you be willing to remember |
||
how God wishes to forgive completely |
||
the death that the Jews made him suffer |
||
460 |
when they made him die. |
|
So he who will not forgive from the heart, |
||
surely God will not bring him forgiveness. |
||
The bishop encouraged him and said so much |
High Voice |
|
that by the grace of the Holy Spirit |
||
465 |
he was stirred to great compassion, |
|
and he fell near the bishop, |
||
calling upon him that he engage himself |
||
in peace from now on. |
||
So the bishop acts to send |
||
470 |
his chaplain through the sanctuary |
|
and says to him, “Try to find for me that man |
||
who spoke to me in the morning.” |
||
The chaplain hurried so much that |
||
he soon found Norman. |
||
475 |
Then he took him by the side, |
|
and brought him to the bishop, |
||
and when the bishop noticed him, |
||
he came opposite him |
||
and had Itier stay, |
||
480 |
whom he made forgive |
|
the death of his brother. |
||
Then he took Norman by the hand, |
||
and together with him soon led him, |
||
and while going related to him |
||
485 |
how Itier had come |
|
who told the vision |
||
in the same way as he had told him. |
||
“Ha, lord, that is my enemy,” |
||
said Norman, “If he can see me here, |
Low Voice |
|
490 |
misfortune could truly befall me, |
|
for in the past through evil suggestion |
||
I managed to put to death a brother of his.” |
||
“Good son,” said the bishop swiftly, |
||
“He has forgiven the ill will. |
||
495 |
I have entreated and requested of him so much |
|
that he promised me to forgive.” |
||
Norman is stirred so much by joy |
High Voice |
|
that he fell at the feet of the bishop. |
||
Then the bishop had Itier come |
||
500 |
to keep the peace, |
|
and Norman puts himself on his knees, |
||
moves weeping toward Itier, |
||
and humbly seeks mercy from him, |
||
that he accord him true forgiveness |
||
505 |
for his brother whom he slew. |
|
He would like to make amends to him, as a man |
||
who is repentant of it in his heart. |
||
Then the bishop moves forward, |
Reading |
|
the better to confirm this peace. |
||
510 |
In many lovely words he manages to instruct them |
|
and says, “Child of charity, |
||
he who wishes to live in the prosperity |
||
of perfection must swiftly |
||
forgive with a contrite heart |
||
515 |
wrath, rigidity, and ill will, |
|
for the Gospel deals with the topic and says |
||
that hate, which is unnatural, |
||
and charity differ more |
||
than white against black. |
||
520 |
Hate makes fury arise. |
|
It is the instigator of all ills. |
||
it is the path to paradise.” |
||
He spoke to them so many lovely words |
||
525 |
that out of burning desire |
|
they managed to draw near, the one to the other, |
||
in love and accord, |
||
and in a sure bond |
||
to kiss each other sweetly. |
||
530 |
Then Itier said very humbly, |
|
“Norman, I forgive you the death |
||
of my brother whom you killed wrongly. |
||
For love and accord, |
||
with good heart I grant you forgiveness.” |
||
535 |
When this peace was confirmed |
High Voice |
which was affirmed by the bishop, |
||
the bishop wishes to bring them, |
||
both of them, with him to dine, |
||
and the three of them out of piety |
||
540 |
did not take their sustenance |
|
except only in bread and water, |
||
and when it came upon evening, |
||
all three, like well-informed people, |
||
went off to the mother church |
||
545 |
to visit the sick |
|
who wailed greatly. |
||
Because they could not find comfort, |
||
they would in fact have liked to meet their death. |
||
The bishop, Norman, and Itier |
||
550 |
comfort them wholeheartedly. |
|
Then they commit themselves to prayer, |
||
in making petition |
||
before the image of Our Lady, |
||
commending body and soul. |
||
555 |
But right at the hour of midnight, |
Low Voice |
she who shines upon the angels |
||
appeared without delay. |
||
In her hand the great candle |
||
that she had promised them beforehand, |
||
560 |
this worthy candle was burning |
|
with true, everlasting light. |
Reading |
|
And a heavenly voice |
||
said to them: “Up, my good friends, |
||
who have been dispatched to this place! |
||
565 |
To you two who live from song |
|
and from viol-playing, a pleasing game. |
||
{It is necessary} I deliver to you this candle |
||
{to show} straightway and bid you keep it |
||
{the Holy Candle} forever, perpetually. |
||
570 |
And know that by the cleansing |
|
and the dripped wax |
||
and the well-treated sufferer, |
||
he who receives it worthily |
||
will recover from the sickness |
||
575 |
that people call the cutting hellfire. |
|
But he who, hard as iron, |
||
does not have faith in this grace |
||
will soon die of this sickness.” |
||
When the glorious queen |
High Voice |
|
580 |
had spoken this kindly word, |
|
at once she disappeared, |
||
and the two singers without wasting time |
||
received with kindness, |
||
between the two of them, the gracious gift: |
||
585 |
it was the candle of grace |
|
that then was spread in many places. |
||
They presented it to the bishop |
||
who had heard well the voice |
||
and also seen the conduct |
||
590 |
of the lady dressed in white |
|
who made the glorious gift. |
||
Then he spoke this gracious word: |
||
“Virgin, may your grace be praised |
||
and your virtue be increased.” |
||
595 |
Then he said to the two well-known singers, |
|
“I want to oversee your charity: |
||
in your goodness accept me |
||
as your brother in charity, |
||
and then we will go visit |
||
600 |
and comfort the sick.” |
|
When the two heard the bishop, |
||
they received it gently. |
||
Now they go off, all three of them with vessels |
Low Voice |
|
full of water and of splendid wax. |
||
605 |
They caused the wax to drip into it; |
|
they never took any other medicine. |
||
They cause the sick to be organized |
||
in three rows without lingering, |
||
to give each sick person |
||
610 |
from the wax that they dripped, |
|
with the water which was very healthy, |
||
which was from well or fountain, |
||
and they had them swallow |
||
and then they had some water |
||
615 |
sprinkled on the sickness. |
|
And so the whole night, |
||
as it seems to me, they stayed awake, |
||
all three of them together, for the sick, |
||
until the third hour of the following day. |
||
620 |
But when they came along |
|
to the last sick person and poured for him |
||
this holy water, he asked |
||
if it was wine or clear water. |
||
So the bishop said to him, “Brother, |
||
625 |
this is water of holy purification.” |
|
Then he responds swiftly, |
||
“I would have greater confidence |
||
if it were wine, for the contents |
||
of wine have more potency |
||
630 |
than water has.” And the bishop said, |
|
“What are you saying, kind and gentle friend? |
High Voice |
|
God has put his high potency |
||
into the water of our salvation. |
||
By water you received baptism. |
||
635 |
If you pray sincerely |
|
to receive this worthy drink |
||
as do the others without doubt, |
||
so may you have within you solid faith.” |
||
That one received it without sincerity; |
||
640 |
no great grace came of it, |
|
for when it passed through his throat, |
||
as the others see, it traversed |
||
shamefully and wildly. |
||
In this way he died because of his presumption. |
Reading |
|
645 |
Then they were so solid in their faith |
|
that they were recovered from the infirmity, |
||
and from the cutting hellfire |
||
they feel no more pain or illness. |
||
Praises were offered, |
||
650 |
the news spread |
|
throughout Arras and the city. |
||
Everyone made haste at a full run |
||
to come there collectively, |
||
and the clergy with the bishop |
||
655 |
was clothed piously, |
|
saying, “We praise you, God, |
||
we acknowledge you to be the Lord.” |
||
And the clerks who were in the choir |
||
sang it through to the end, very loudly. |
||
660 |
In that night were healed, |
|
by the grace that I am telling you, |
||
144 sufferers |
||
who were enduring various torments. |
||
All of them were cured and healthy |
||
665 |
except one alone who was last, |
|
who because of his lack of faith |
||
died in great fearfulness. |
||
After this noble procedure, |
High Voice |
|
many wished by common agreement |
||
670 |
to enter this charity, |
|
and people of great authority— |
||
priests, knights, and bourgeois— |
||
because the report of this miracle spread |
||
everywhere, high and low. |
||
675 |
The candle was placed in Arras. |
|
The masters and lords of it were, |
||
owing to the great honor, the two singers; |
||
but the knights of the region |
Low Voice |
|
who became brothers of the confraternity |
||
680 |
felt great indignation |
|
when they saw two singers |
||
with such a possession hold sway |
||
and govern over them. |
||
They took among them such counsel |
||
685 |
as afterward redounded to their grief. |
|
When Norman and Itier died, |
High Voice |
|
there were two knights in Arras |
||
who had very great contempt |
||
that this charity |
||
690 |
was led by two singers |
|
and that they were necessarily above |
||
those who had renown. |
||
Now I will tell you the names of those knights. |
||
The one was Nicholas aux Grenons, |
Low Voice |
|
695 |
a very powerful and wealthy man. |
|
He held Bailleul and Imercourt. |
||
The other was Jean of Waencort. |
||
These two wished to begin |
||
the outrage and were the prime movers, |
||
700 |
for which afterward they would have shame and disgrace, |
|
as the charter gives evidence. |
||
These two who began this deed |
High Voice |
|
gathered many knights |
||
and said in making their case, |
||
705 |
“Good sirs, see the great shame |
|
that this esteemed charity, |
||
which has such great authority, |
||
that singers are the lords of it |
||
and receive the honors from it. |
||
710 |
It is shame and insult to us. |
|
Among us, who are confreres, |
||
let us maintain this confraternity, |
||
all together from our side, |
||
and let them not be any longer with us, |
||
715 |
in like fashion these two singers. |
|
But let them go to make their charity |
||
elsewhere, in another location, |
||
and we will keep this one for ourselves. |
||
What do you think? Is it good to proceed in this way?” |
||
720 |
Those replied, “We agree |
|
with your wish, without holding back. |
||
Forbid them to come to us |
||
any further but let them keep to their peers.” |
||
So their consultation was concluded. |
||
725 |
It was forbidden to the two singers |
|
that they should be any further so impudent |
||
as to manage the charity. |
||
In this way those two were removed |
||
who had begun to manage |
||
730 |
the charity |
|
and who ought to have retained it, |
||
for the grace had been dispatched |
||
and the charity delivered to them. |
||
For this they would lament very loudly |
||
735 |
and they entreated the Mother of God. |
|
Thirdly, after a great while it happened |
||
that none of the singers came any more |
||
but the Virgin did not forget her poor company |
||
for long at all. |
||
740 |
On the contrary, she took cruel vengeance for it, |
|
because those who had caused |
||
the disorder by their outrage |
||
were seized by so grievous a malady |
||
that all their limbs failed them |
||
745 |
and they could not support themselves. |
|
The two who were the beginning |
||
of the misfortune |
||
by which the two singers were sundered |
||
from them and rejected, |
||
750 |
those were so strongly burned |
|
by the cutting fire that seized them |
||
that they could not help themselves |
||
except by wailing and crying out. |
||
In this grim illness |
||
755 |
an unexpected event happened to one of them, |
|
because one night, where he lay |
||
in his bed, there appeared to him |
||
the Virgin, adorned with grace, |
||
who is devoid of sin. |
||
760 |
“Oh you,” she said, “who lie here, |
Reading |
you know why you are thus languishing: |
||
it is because of the sin of your misdeed. |
||
You have undone what I did. |
||
You have led grace astray |
||
765 |
from those to whom I had delivered it, |
|
and if it is not set right by you, |
||
you will die shortly in great degradation.” |
||
And when that one heard the voice, |
||
entreating mercy he raised his hands. |
||
770 |
“Lady,” he said, “what have I misdone |
|
with regard to you? Tell me the deed, |
||
because I have never ever seen you.” |
||
“I am the mother of Jesus Christ,” |
||
the Virgin said very humbly, |
||
775 |
“who complain harshly of you, |
|
because you have taken the confraternity |
||
from those to whom I had delivered it. |
||
It belongs to the singers, bringers of joy, |
||
because to those two I had delivered |
||
780 |
my burning candle in the presence |
|
of the bishop, full of wisdom, |
||
so as to establish the confraternity. |
||
But if you do not have restored to them |
||
what you have done out of presumption, |
||
785 |
in returning to them their inheritance, |
|
that I gave them forever in fief, |
||
I promise you that you will languish |
||
in grievous sorrows and in great pain |
||
and afterward you will die a bad death. |
||
790 |
But if you wish to make amends to them, |
|
in a short while I will make you recover, |
||
and you will be cured and healed.” |
||
At that moment she vanished from there |
||
and returned to the other sick man, |
||
795 |
whom misfortune befell for this deed. |
|
She told him once and told him again |
||
the whole topic as she had the other. |
||
Thus the voice told him everything |
||
and afterward left without delay. |
||
800 |
When the two sick men have heard |
High Voice |
the topic that the Virgin Lady |
||
revealed to them in such manner, |
||
they had themselves carried to the church |
||
of Our Lady and met each other |
||
805 |
and afterward recounted |
|
the vision that they have had. |
||
They rendered, each one |
||
with pleasure, thanks and praise |
||
to the likeness of the very glorious servant, |
||
810 |
Mother of God, Virgin and young maid, |
Low Voice |
and afterward they had sought out, |
||
by way of their people, everywhere rapidly |
||
in all places the singers of Arras |
||
who were viol-players and songmakers |
||
815 |
and many others, I know not how many, |
|
and they entreated pardon from the singers |
||
and they returned into their hands |
||
the worthy candle in truth. |
||
Restoring to them their charity, |
||
820 |
they promised to them at that point |
|
all their time, assistance, and aid, |
||
and because of this deed they were joined |
||
to the bourgeois and all the singers |
||
were joined with them too for having brought |
||
825 |
aid, help, and comfort. |
|
And the bourgeois supervised |
||
the temporal, while the two singers justly have |
||
completely in their oversight |
||
the spiritual, |
||
830 |
and must perform the miracle |
|
of the worthy candle that brightens |
||
the hearts of those who because of its substance |
||
will have it in solid faith. |
||
After these events, to verify |
High Voice |
|
835 |
that it is true without going astray at all, |
|
noble-hearted Bishop Lambert |
||
drew up the charter in Latin |
||
on which many seals |
||
of royal religious communities were put |
||
840 |
—and assuredly right in the place |
|
where the Virgin made the gift |
||
of the worthy and valuable candle |
||
to her servants and true singers. |
||
Without lingering, the bishop had |
||
845 |
a dark-colored marble swiftly installed |
|
where that procedure is portrayed, |
||
just as the text explains, |
||
for which there is great approval |
||
and yet through piety |
||
850 |
we beseech the Virgin Mary |
|
that she petition for us her son Jesus |
||
to defend us from the hellfire |
||
and take us to good mercy. |
||
Amen. |
D. Alfonso X the Wise, Songs of Holy Mary: “The Two Jongleurs of Arras”
Concluding this section is the Galician-Portuguese song on the miracle of “The Jongleurs and the Holy Candle of Arras” as shaped by King Alfonso X the Wise. This cantiga distills the chief events of the story with exceptional brevity. In its antepenultimate and penultimate stanzas it imposes upon the bishop, here left unnamed, some of the misconduct ascribed in other versions to knights.
The edition followed, in both text and line numbering, is the standard Cantigas de Santa María, no. 259, ed. Mettmann, 3: 24–25. The piece has been put into English previously in Songs of Holy Mary of Alfonso X, The Wise: A Translation of the “Cantigas de Santa Maria,” no. 259, Kulp-Hill, 315, and into Italian in Pier Carlo Beretta, ed. and trans., Miracoli della Vergine: testi volgari medievali (Turin: G. Einaudi, 1999), 1042–47.
How Saint Mary caused two jongleurs who wished each other ill to reconcile in her church of Arras, and gave them a candle, which no one but they could carry.
Refrain: Saint Mary strives to reconcile |
|
5 |
her devotees so as to be served better by them. |
Relating to this, the Virgin effected a great miracle, |
|
which I wish to recount to you, |
|
of two jongleurs whom she made wish each other well, |
|
but the demon tried to drive them apart. |
|
10 |
Saint Mary strives to reconcile … |
For though they knew to love each other much, |
|
the demon made them so quarrel |
|
that they then challenged each other to fight, |
|
but the Virgin did not want to allow them, |
|
15 |
Saint Mary strives to reconcile … |
For she came to them in dreams and thus |
|
spoke to them: “Friends, go both of you to me |
|
at my church of Arras, and there |
|
I will tell you how I send you to heal.” |
|
20 |
Saint Mary strives to reconcile … |
Each one of them when he awoke |
|
remembered what she said to them, |
|
and they went there where she commanded them, |
|
and saw her coming opposite them. |
|
25 |
Saint Mary strives to reconcile … |
And she said: “Friends, leave off |
|
your intention, and both of you love me and each other |
|
wholeheartedly, and do not do |
|
otherwise, for I will not act to fail you.” |
|
30 |
Saint Mary strives to reconcile … |
And she gave them then such a candle |
|
with which to cure people of the ill |
|
they call Saint Martial’s fire, |
|
and they cure all those who wish to go there. |
|
35 |
Saint Mary strives to reconcile … |
They both went from there in great love |
|
and cured the people of pain, |
|
as had been commanded to them by our Lady |
|
who never lied and doesn’t have the capacity to lie. |
|
40 |
Saint Mary strives to reconcile … |
The bishop of that place took the candle |
|
from them, but he made a very bad bargain, |
|
for the fire began in his foot |
|
and sought to rise. |
|
45 |
Saint Mary strives to reconcile … |
When the dull-witted bishop saw this, |
|
he asked them for some of that wax, |
|
and they gave it to drink, and it caused |
|
the fire then very nicely to depart from him. |
|
50 |
Saint Mary strives to reconcile … |
To this very day the jongleurs of the country |
|
who go there have this power, |
|
and they heal completely the people, so well |
|
that afterward they do not have anything from which to feel ill. |
|
55 |
Saint Mary strives to reconcile … |