Language:

De laude Cestrie - Lucian

Edited by Mark Faulkner

Excerpt 20

Ciuium sit uidere et prudenter aduertat saltem literatus habitator Domini uocem: tu es Petrus et super hanc petram edificabo ecclesiam meam (Matt 16:18). Quanta uerborum consequentia, quanta rerum euidentia infra muros Cestrie, magis in occiduis et propius occidentem iuxta portam maris condita sit ecclesia Domini Saluatoris, reuera tanquam firmitas et fundamentum basilice Petri apostolorum principis, 1 ut uidelicet nomen dignatio deriuaret, racionem rebus ostenderet, oculus solem uideret, suauitatem operum Dei sensatus agnosceret et excitatis de sompno lectoribus approbata ueritas eluceret. Itaque metientes secundum literam Pauli nosmet ipsos nobis (2Cor 10:12) , ut temporibus uideamur concordare modernis, quamuis diu modernum esse non possit quod maris instar rota mundi uertit ac uoluit, attestatur et astruit stilum nostrum, etiam uenerandorum canicies sacerdotum Sacerdotale testimonium. Walterum loquor et Andream, 2 quorum unus in edicula Christi, alter in basilica Petri, De porta Petri. ille decanus diu extitisse dinoscitur, iste deuotus famulus apostoli scitur, qui longo temporum tractu sacris altaribus ministrantes, propicio Saluatore, felici gradu functi sunt , et arras iam, ut uidetur, diuine bonitatis adepti, laborum suorum tesauros, ad celestia transtulerunt. Istis liquet et ceteris qui norunt locum et loci situm, quam iocunde luceat ibidem ueritas promissorum, quomodo uelut literaliter pariat et portet petra Petrum, quomodo Verum Principium et Magister Humilitatis apostoli sui firmauerit principatum, statuerit edificium, muniens a mari, et protector contra portas inferi Aecclesia Christi quasi basis ecclesie Petri. quam benigne fecerit semetipsum basim benedictionis oculis intelligentium, et solidum apostolice fidei fundamentum.

Excerpt 20

Let the citizens behold, and at least may the learned inhabitant observe the voice of the Lord: thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church (Matt 16:18). How great is the consequence of these words, how true they are within the walls of Chester, particularly in the West, where the church of the Lord Saviour is placed near the Water Gate and is the true ground and strength of the church of Peter, chief of the apostles; 1 thus its name is fitting and shows the hidden logic of things, so that the eye might see the light and the intelligent man acknowledge the sweetness of the works of God and the proven truth shine forth to readers roused from sleep. Therefore, in accordance with the letter of Paul, measuring ourselves by ourselves (2Cor 10:12), and endeavouring to appear up to date (although it is not possible to be up to date for a long time, because the wheel of fortune twists and turns like a sea tide) our words are corroborated by the grey hair of two venerable priests The testimony of two priests., Walter and Andrew, 2 one in the little church of Christ, the other in the cathedral of St Peter concerning Peter's Gate. the one had a distinguished career as a deacon, the other as a devoted member of the community of the apostle; both serving the holy altars for a long time, thanks to the Saviour performing their happy duties, and now securing their share of heavenly goodness, the reward for their labours, have ascended to heaven. It is clear to these and others who know the placeand its situation just how delightfully the truth of God's servants shines there, how much the rock supports Peter, how much the True Beginning and Master of Humility supported his apostle's rule and constructed hima building, protecting it from the sea, and from the gates of hell the Church of Christ is the foundation of Peter's Church . and how kindly he made himself a blessed base and a firm foundation for the apostolic faith.

Footnotes

1.
Lucian inverts Christ's words by arguing that the church of the Holy Trinity is the base and foundation of the church of St Peter in Chester. Back to context...
2.

These two names are touched with red in the manuscript.

A 'Walter the Priest of Holy Trinity' witnessed a grant of land at Claverton (Ches.) to the Benedictine Nunnery of St Mary c. 1170: abstract in Calendar of the Patent Rolls ... Henry IV, i. 301 (no. 6); for the date Irvine 1907, 95. A Waltero ecclesiae sanctae Trinitatis presbytero ('Walter, priest of the church of the Holy Trinity') witnessed CCALS DVE 1/R1/2 (printed Ormerod 1882, i. 429), a document which records a transaction which occurred shortly after the celebration in Chester of Hugh de Nonant's consecration as bishop of Coventry on 31 January 1188. Taylor 1912, 26 also refers to a document witnessed by 'Andrew, chaplain of St Peters' and 'Walter the chaplain' witness a grant, but, unless the dating of c. 1225 is wrong, this document cannot be relevant: Calendar of the Patent Rolls ... Henry IV, i. 299 (no. 16), Irvine 1907, 98-9.

'Andrew the chaplain of St Peters' witnessed a charter of St Mary's, Chester's Benedictine Nunnery, in c. 1200: Irvine 1904, 16 (no. II).

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