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 73
505That season the britons remayned
vnder licence
with permission, under special
privilege
Of Angles and saxons within the sayd
cite,
Tyll the dayes of Offa, kynge of merciens,
1
Until
Regnyng in the
west marche
with great victorie;Reigning / West March, Welsh Marches
Whiche kynge expulsed by power and
chiualrieexpelled
All
brutes
and
walshemen
clere out of his londe,Britons / Welsh people / completely
In peyne of punysshement none there to be
fonde.pain / found
stanza 74
512Whan the said churche, hauynge great
liberte,
Dayly augmented in vertue and
holyness,grew / holiness
Prestis and clerkes praysed the holy
trinite
And
the sayd apostoles
with great mekenes,humility
The cite encreased in worshyp and ryches;
Churches were edified with feruent
deuocion
devotion
In sondrie places within the sayd towne.various
stanza 75
519This noble kyng Offa agaynst the pagans
Of .xvii. batels had euer the
victorye;seventeen / always had the victory
Confederate was with great Charles, kyng of Fraunce,
2
Was allied
And edified saint Albans monasterye;
Of
Englande first toke the hole
monarchie
First became monarch of the whole of
England
Gaue Peter pens vnto the court of Rome;
3
Translate to Lichefelde
the se of
Canturbury
;Transferred the see of Canterbury to
Lichfield
xxxix. yere regned fully in this
region.39 years
chapter 4
A brefe rehersall of the first foundacion of the mynstre of Chestre / and of the institucion of secular chanons in the tyme of kyng Edwarde senior.
stanza 76
527The yere of grace .D.CCC. seuynte and fyue,875
C.E.
Kyng Alured regned vpon this region,
4
The relique,
the shryne full memoratyue
relic / memorable
Was brought to Chestre for our
consolacion,
Reuerently receyued, set with
deuocionReverently received
In the mouther-churche of saint Peter and
Paule,
(As afore is sayd), a place moost
principall.
stanza 77
534In whiche holy place vnto this
present day
She
bodilye resteth by diuine
prouidence,rests in body
And so by his grace shall continue alway,
In honour, worshyp / and mycle reuerence;great
A deuout
oratorie of vertue and
excellence,devout / oratory, place for praying
Prepared by our lorde / where speciall
remedy
Is agayne all greuans in soule and in body.against all
sickness of soul or body
stanza 78
541The primatyue gyftes gyuen to
the place
first gifts
Immediatly were after her
comynge
Were immediately after her coming
Of deuout people replet with
grace
From / full of grace
In the dayes of the forsayd Alured kyng:
Of landes and libertes they made moche offerynge
5
legal
privileges
To god and saint Werburge / after theyr
possession,according to what they owned
Tristyng to her prayer and sure
protection.Trusting
stanza 79
548
The people with deuocion and
mynde feruent
zealous mind
Gaue diuers enormentes vnto this place:various ornaments
Some gaue a coope / and some a vestement,cope
Some other a chalice / and some a
corporace,corporas
Many albes and other clothes offred ther
was,albs / were offered there
Some crosses of golde / some bokes / some belles;
The pore folke gaue
surges / torches / and towelles.
6
candles
stanza 80
555
The citezens offered to the sayd virgine
For the great miracles amonge them wrought
Many riall gyftes of
Iewels to the
shrine,royal, noble / jewels
Thankynge our lorde, that hath vs all
bought,who has redeemed us all
And blessed Werburge in worde,
dede, and thought -
7
deed
Women and children
she mynded full gracious,she remembered very
mercifully
As testifieth the archebisshop Antoninus.
8
stipulates, prescribes
Footnotes
- 1.
- Offa, King of the Mercians (ruled 757-796). See PASE or 'English Kingdoms of the 8th Century' in the Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies. Back to context...
- 2.
- Charlemagne, King of the Franks (ruled 768-814). See Story, 2005, 195-210. Back to context...
- 3.
- 'Peter's pence' or romescot / romefeoh in Old English refers to the tax raised in England and sent to Rome in support of the Holy See. This practice was reportedly begun by King Offa in the eighth century. See Jensen, 1901, available via JSTOR (subscription only). Back to context...
- 4.
- King Alfred (ruled 871-899). See PASE. Back to context...
- 5.
- Here libertes implies the lands held within particular privileges and jurisdictions. Back to context...
- 6.
- This stanza includes a number of technical terms relating to equipment and clothing used within the medieval church. The cope is a form of cloak worn by the priest during the liturgy, the alb is a long white linen tunic, whilst 'vestement' refers to the priest's ceremonial garments in general. The chalice is the cup used to administer wine at mass, and the corporas is the cloth used to cover the consecrated sacrament (bread). Other tools of the liturgy mentioned here include crosses, books and bells, whilst the gifts of less wealthy donors to the church include candles, torches and simple cloths used either for cleaning or possibly to cover altars and tombs. Back to context...
- 7.
- The phrase 'worde, dede, and thought' recalls the formula 'cogitatione, verbo, et opere' ('in thought, word and deed') used, for example, in the Confiteor or prayers of confession in the medieval liturgy. See The Medieval Sourcebook: Mass of the Roman Rite Latin / English. Back to context...
- 8.
- This line presents some difficulties. The Middle English Dictionary does admit 'to stipulate' as a possible (though apparently infrequent) meaning for the verb testifien. '[A]rchebisshop Antoninus' probably refers to Antoninus, Archbishop of Florence (1389-1459). Antoninus was an influential figure in late-medieval Europe, whose theological writings emphasise the duty of individuals and the state to offer protection and assistance to the needy or vulnerable in society. His thought has been described as centring on a 'civic theology' based on 'the interconnectedness of the heavenly and earthly cities'. See Howard, 1995, esp. 199, 201 and Finn, 2007, available via Wiley Interscience (subscription only). Antoninus's works circulated widely, particularly in the universities, and Bradshaw may have encountered this material during his time at Oxford, if he was indeed a student at Gloucester College as Anthony Wood suggests. There is also a reference to Antoninus lines 505-6 of the Lyfe of Saynt Radegunde, usually attributed to Bradshaw, where he is described as 'myn auctor... [t]he venerable Antoninus' (see Literature Online - subscription only). In this instance, Bradshaw probably drew on Antoninus's Chronicon, a collection of saints' lives derived from other sources, which includes a brief account of St Radegund. See Petrus Maturus, 1586, vol. 2, 292-4. Back to context...