Life of St. Werburge - Henry Bradshaw
Edited by Catherine A. M. Clarke
chapter 20
Howe a great fire, like to distroye all Chestre, by myracle ceased / whan the holy shryne was borne about the towne by the monkes.
stanza 229
1598From the incarnacion of our sauiour
A thousand / a hundreth yere, .lxxx.
also,
On sonday in
mydlenton / the
.viii. houre,
Whan euery paresshen
theyr churche went to
As all christen people of dutie shulde
do,
A fyre by
infortune rose vp sodeinly,
All flamyng feruent
or the people dyd
espy.
1
stanza 230
1605This fearefull fire encreased more and more,
Piteously wastyng hous / chambre / and
hall;
The citezens were redy their cite to succour,
Shewed all their diligence / and labour
continuall,
Some cried for water / and some for hookes dyd call,
2
Some vsed other engins by
crafte and
policy,
Some pulled downe howses afore the fire,
truly.
stanza 231
1612Other, that were impotent /
mekely gan praye
Our blessed lorde / on them to haue
pite;
Women and children cried 'out and waile-a-way',
Beholdyng the daunger and perill of the
cite;
Prestes
made hast diuine seruice to
supple,
Redy for to succour their neyghbours in distres
(As charite required) and helpe their
heuynes.
stanza 232
1619The fire contynued without any
cessynge,
Feruently flamyng euer
contynuall,
From place to place meruaylously rennyng,
As it were tynder consumyng
toure and wall.
The citezens sadly laboured in vayne
all;
By the policie of man was founde no
remedy
To cesse the fire so feruent and myghty.
stanza 233
1626Alas, great heuynes it
was to beholde
The cite of Troye all flamyng as
fire;
3
More pite of Rome
cite was manyfolde,
Feruently flagrant / empeiryng
the empire:
4
As to the quantite, the cite of Chestire
Myght be assembled this styme in like case
To the sayd citees, remedeles,
alas!
stanza 234
1633
Many riall places fell adowne that
day,
Riche marchauntes houses brought to
distruction,
Churches and chapels went to great
decay:
That tyme was brent the
more part of the towne;
And to this present day is a famous
opinion
Howe a myghty churche, a mynstre of saynt
Michaell,
That season was brent and to ruyne
fell.
5
stanza 235
1640Whan the people sawe their power
insufficient,
By diligent labour / wysdome and
policye,
To subdue the fire / but styll dyd augment:
To almyghty god they dyd call and crye
And to saynt Werburge, the gracious
lady,
For helpe and succour in such wretchednes,
Wepyng and waylyng for woo and
heuynes.
stanza 236
1647
Thabbot
and
couent
of the sayd monasterie
Religiously lyuyng in holy conuersacion,
Repleit with
mekenes and feruent charite,
Toke the holy shryne in prayer and
deuocion,
Syngyng the letanie bare it in procession,
Compasyng the fyre in euery
strete and place,
Trustyng in Werburge for helpe, aide and
grace.
Footnotes
- 1.
- Alan Thacker remarks on the story of the Chester fire attributed to the 'third passionary', commenting that '[T]hat story was undoubtedly current almost immediately after the events it purported to describe, since it was also recorded by Lucian in his De Laude Cestrie, written and the abbey in the 1190s. See A.T. Thacker, Early Medieval Chester, Lewis and Thacker, 2003, 16-33, 31, also available via British History Online. Back to context...
- 2.
- These hooks may have been those fixed to the top of ladders for climbing buildings or hooks used for pulling down structures in the path of the fire. Back to context...
- 3.
- In these lines Bradshaw compares the destruction of Chester during the great fire to the burning of Troy or Rome. These epic comparisons with the great cities of classical myth and history elevate the status of Chester and present the fire as a momentous, legendary event. Back to context...
- 4.
- The slightly contrived use of the verb empeiren here enables word-play on 'empeiryng' and 'empire'. Back to context...
- 5.
- Alan Thacker notes that 'in the mid 12th century a "monastery" of St. Michael in Chester was supposedly among the gifts of William fitz Niel to Norton priory. It was presumably the "mighty minster" of St. Michael later said [by Bradshaw] to have been burned down in the great fire of 1180'. See A.T. Thacker, Medieval Parish Churches, Lewis and Thacker, 2005, 133-155, 146, also available via British History Online. This monastery of St Michael was not the same as the medieval parish church of St Michael, which apparently stood on the same site as the present-day St Michael's church building. Back to context...