Life of St. Werburge - Henry Bradshaw
Edited by Catherine A. M. Clarke
chapter 3
A litel descripcion of the foundacion of Chestre / and of the abbay-churche within the sayd cite / where ye holy shryne by grace remayneth.
stanza 57
393
Kyng Marius, a bryton,
regnyng in
prosperite
1
In the West partie of this noble region,
Ampliat and walled strongly Chestre cite
And myghtyly fortified the sayd
foundacion.
Thus eche auctour holdeth a
singular opinion.
2
This Marius slewe Reodric, kyng of pictis lande,
Callyng the place of his name Westmarilande.
3
stanza 58
400
This 'cite of legions', so called by
the Romans,
4
Nowe is nominat in latine of his proprete
Cestria quasi castria
/ of honour and
pleasance:
5
Proued by the buyldynge of olde antiquite
In cellers and lowe voultes
/ and
halles of realte
Lyke a comly castell / mighty,
stronge and sure,
Eche
house like a
toure, somtyme of great pleasure.
stanza 59
407Vnto the sayd Chestre all northwales
subiect were
For reformacion, Iustice and
iugement;
Theyr bysshops see also it was
many a yere
Enduryng the gouernance of brutes
auncient;
To saxons and britons a place indifferent;
The inhabitauntes of it manfull and
liberall,
Constant, sad and virtuous / and
gentyll continuall.
stanza 60
414Of frutes and cornes there is great
habundaunce,
Woddes
/ parkes / forestes / and beestis of
venare,
Pastures /
feeldes
/
commons
/ the
cite to auaunce,
Waters / pooles / pondes of
fysshe great plente;
Most swete holsome ayre by the
water of dee:
There is great marchaundise /
shyps and wynes
strang,
With all thing of pleasure the citezens
amonge.
stanza 61
421The yere of our lorde a hundred sixe and fyfty
Reigned vpon this lande a briton kyng
Lucius,
Whiche with great desire required
instantly
His realme to be baptized of
pope Eleutherius.
Whose charitable mocion was harde full gratius:
The pope enioyed / graunted his
peticion
And sende .ii. doctours to
conuerte this region.
6
stanza 62
428The doctours by prechyng and
singular grace
In short tyme conuerted the greatter
Britayne;
7
The people confessed their synne and
trespase,
Batpized all were / forgyuenes dyd
attayne;
Idolatrie cessed through-out this lande,
certayne;
With grace circumfulced and
lyghtned was Englande,
By faith to god professed was all Wales and scotlande.
stanza 63
435
Kynge Lucius
ordeyned / by the doctours
mocion
xxxviii. bisshops in this realme for to be,
And .iii. archebisshops, for gostly
exhortacion,
To reduce the people to vertue
and humilite.
At London was set the chiefe archebisshops
se,
The seconde in south-Wales at cite of legions,
8
The thyrde was at yorke, all subiect to the
britons.
stanza 64
442Churches were edified in many a
place
Here in the
more Britayne
with diligent labour,
Christis
faith encreased by speciall grace,
Faithfull religion delated euery hour;
Diuine seruice was songon & sayd with
great honour,
True faith and deuocion wre dayly encreasynge,
Namely in Chestre by grace continuall
abidynge.
Footnotes
- 1.
- See Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain, Part IV (Thorpe, 1966, 123-4). Back to context...
- 2.
- Here Bradshaw notes the existence of different, competing foundation myths for Chester. Back to context...
- 3.
- 'Reodric' corresponds with 'Sodric' in Geoffrey of Monmouth's account. See Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain, Part IV (Thorpe, 1966, 123): 'A little later on in his reign a certain King of the Picts called Sodric came from Scythia with a large fleet and landed in the northern part of Britain which is called Albany. He began to ravage Marius' lands. Marius thereupon collected his men together and marched to meet Sodric. He fought a number of battles against him and finally killed him and won a great victory. In token of his triumph Marius set up a stone in the district, which was afterwards called Westmorland after him'. Higden gives the name as 'Rodricus'. See Higden, Polychronicon, Book IV, Ch. IX (Babington and Lumby, 1865-86, vol. 4, 416-19) Back to context...
- 4.
- 'City of legions' translates the Welsh Caerleon. Back to context...
- 5.
- The phrase 'Cestria quasi Castria' corresponds with the first line of Higden's poem in praise of Chester, 'Cestria de castro nomen quasi Castria sumpsit' ('Chester, like a fortress, assumes the name of a castle'). The subsequent references to the buildings of Chester in this stanza also derive from Hidgen's poem. See Higden Polychronicon, Book I, Ch. XLVIII (Babington and Lumby, 1865-86, vol. 2, 80-2). Back to context...
- 6.
- See Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain, Part IV (Thorpe, 1966, 124-6): '[Lucius's] great wish was that he should end in even greater esteem than he had begun, and he therefore sent a letter to Pope Eleutherius to ask that he might be received by him into the Christian faith... What he asked for in his pious petition was granted to him: for the Holy Father, when he heard of the devotion of Lucius, sent him two learned and religious men, Faganus and Duvianus, who preached the Incarnation of the Word of God and so converted Lucius to Christ and washed him clean in holy baptism'. See also Bede, Ecclesiastical History, Book I, Ch. 4 (Colgrave and Mynors, 1969, 24, 25). Back to context...
- 7.
- 'Greater Britain' as opposed to Bretagne, the region in the north-west of present-day France. Back to context...
- 8.
- That is, Caerleon in south Wales. Back to context...