The.xiiii. chapiter

The messēger makyth obieccyō y• myracles shewed byfore a multitude may be fayned / & by ye author shewd how y• goodnes of god brīgyth shortly y• truth of such falshed to lyght / wt ēsāples therof one or two rehersed. & farther shewed that many myracles therebe whych no good crysten man may deny to be trew.

SOme pteste to bryng vp a pylgrymage in hys ꝑyshe may deuyse sū false felowe faynyng hym self to com seke a saynt in his chyrch / And there sodenly saye that he hath gotten hys syghte. Then shall ye haue the bellys rongē for a myracle / And ye fōd folke of the countre soone made foles. Than women cōming thether wt their cādells. & the persō byyng of sum la[…]e begger.iii. or.iiii. payre of theyre olde […]rutches wt.xii. pennes spent ī mē & womē of wex thrust thorow dyuers placꝭ some wt arrowes / & sū wt rusty knyuys wyll make hys offeryngys for one.vii. yere worth twyse hys tythes. Thys ys q I very truth that such thyngys may be & sūtime […]o be ī dede[…] As I remēber me that I haue hard my father tell of a begger yt in kynge Edwardꝭ dayes y• fourth cam wyth hys wyffe to saynt Albonys / And there was walkyng aboute the towne beggyng a fyue or six dayes before ye kyngꝭ cōmyng th[…]ther sayng yt he was borne blynde / & neuer sawe in hys lyfe / And was warned in hys dreame y• he shuld cō oute of Berwyke where he sayed he had euer dwelled to seke saynte albō / And y• he hade bene at hys shryne and had not been holpen / And therfore he wold go seke hī at some other place / for he had hard some say synne he cā / y• saynt albonys body shuld be at Colon / And in dede such a cōtēcyō hath ther beene. But of trouth as I am surly īformed he lyeth here at saynt albonys / sauyng some relyques of hym whych they there shew shryned. But to tell you forth whā the kyng was cūmē & y• towne full / sodaynly thys blynde man at saynt Albonys shryne had hys syght agayne / And a myracl[…] solemply rongē / and Te deū songen / so that nothyng was talked of in all the towne but thys myracle. So happened it than that duke hūfrey of gloucester a great wise mā & very well lerned / hauyng greate Ioy to se such a myracle / called y• pore mā vnto hym And fyrst shewyng hym selfe ioyouse of goddys glory so shewed ī y• gettyng of hys syght / & exortyng hym to mekenes & to none ascrybyng of any parte y• worshyp to hym self / nor to be proud of the peoples prayse whych wolde call hym a good & a godly man therby / At last he loked well vppon hys eyen and asked whyther he coud neuer se nothīg at all in all hys lyfe before. And whan as well hys wyfe as hym self affermed fastely no / than he loked aduysedly vppō hys eyen agayne / & sayed I beleue you very well / for me thynketh yt ye cā not see well yet. yes syr q he I thanke god & hys holy marter I can se now as well as any man. ye cā quod the duke / what colour is my gowne? Thā anō y• begger told hī. what color q he is thys mānys gown? he told hī also[…] & so furth wythoute any stykkyng / he told hym the names of all the colours that could be shewed hym. And whē my lord saw that / he bad hym walk faytoure / And made hym be sett openly in ye stokkys. For though he could haue seen […]oodēly by myracle ye dy[…]ference bytweene dyuerse colors / yet coud he not by ye sight so sodenly tell ye names of all thees colours but yf he had knowen thē before nomore thā y• names of all y• men that he shulde sodēly se. Lo therfore I saye quod youre frende who may be sure of such thyngys whan such pageantys be played before all y• towne. I remēber me now what a worke I haue hard of that was at lempster ī y• kyngꝭ fathers dayes where ye pryour brought preuyly a straūge wēche īto ye chyrch yt sayd she was sent thyther by god / & wold not ly oute of ye chyrch / And aftere she was gratid wtī irē gratꝭ aboue ī y• rood loft where it was byleued yt she liued wtout any mete or drynke ōly by āgels fode. And dyuers tymes she was houseled ī syght of ye peopl[…] wt ā hoste vncōsecrate / & all ye peple lokīg vpō / ther was wt a small here yt cōueyd ye hoste from ye patē of ye chalyce out of ye pryours hā dꝭ īto her mouth as thogh it cā alone / so that all the people not of the towne only / but also of y• con[…]rey about / toke her for a very quyk saynte / and dayly soughte so thyk to se her / that many yt coud not come nere to her cryed owte alowd / […]oly mayden Elyzabeth helpe me[…] and were fayn to throw theyr offerīg ouer theyr felows heddꝭ for prece. Now lay the pryour wyth holy maydē Elyzabeth nyghtly in the roode lofte / tyll she was a[…]ter taken out & tryed in the kepyng of my lady the kyngys mother. And by the longynge for mete wt voydaunce of that she had etyn which had no sayntly sauour / she was parceyuyd for no saynte and confessyd all the mater. In fayth q I it had bene gret aluies ye pryour & she had bene burnyd to gether at one stake. what cam of the pryour? Quod he that cā I not tell / But I weene he was put to suche ponishment as the pore nunne was / that had gyuen her in penaunce to say this verse. Miserere mei deus / quoniam conculcauit me homo. wt a grete thre[…]e that and she dyd so any more she shuld say ye hole psalme. But as for holy may den Elsabeth I harde say she lyuyd & faryd well / & was a comē harlot at Calyce many a fayre day after / where she laughed at the mater full merely. The more pyte q I that she was so let pas. That ys trouth quod he. But now what say you what trust can we haue / or at lest way what suerte can we haue in such thyngys whan we se thē faynid so shamfully in the face of the world / & so mych people abusyd so far / that they wold not haue lettyd to swere / & some to ieopard theyr lyuys theron / that all this work was wroght by goddys hād tyll the troth cam to lyght / and yt drab dryuen out of the chyrch in the dyuyls name. Uerely sayd I there was abusyon in the tone syde / & grete foly in ye tother syde. And as y• noble duke Hū frey wysely found out the falshed of yt blyson begger / so dyd that noble lady the kyngys mother prudētly decypher & founde out that bestely fylth. And to say the trouth there was cause inough in both these partyes wherof the peple myght resonably gather so mych suspicyon / yt yf they had made theruppō suffycyent inquysycion & serch / they coud neuer haue beene so far[…]e abusyd. For both myght they well mystruste a beggers worde whom they had but newly known & well lykly to ly for to wynne fu[…]st fauour & after money / And also men might well thynk that a yong she saynte was not metely to be shrynyd quyk in a monastery among a meyny of monkys. And yet in conclusyon because no such faynyd wonders shulde ēfane goddꝭ very myracles / his goodnes shortly broght them both to knowlege. And so doth hys especyall cure & prouydence bryng euer shortely suche falshed and faytery to lyghte to theyre shame and confusyon. And as he dyd in Berna a gret cyte in Almayne brīg to knowlege ye fals myracles / wherby certayne frerys abusyd the people / for whych they were openly burnyd. And so god alway bryngyth such fals myracles to lyght. Nay nay q he there be many such I warrant you yt neuer […]ū to light / & ar styll taken for very good ye cannot very well warant yt q I. For syth god brought to lyghte y• false faynyd myracle of ye prestꝭ of the ydoll Bell in y• old tyme / as appetyth in the xiiii. chapter of y• prophet Danyell / yt is more likly y• amōg crystē mē he wyl suffer no suche thyngys longe lye hyd. And also howe can ye warraunte that many of th[…]se myracles be false.

For whyle ther is no dowte but many be trew / and ye knowe not eny which ye precysely knowe for false / ye be not sure whyther eny be such or not. Mary quod he y• reasō holdeth as well on the tother side. For syth I knowe not any whych I precysely knowe for trewe / I know not whither eny be trew or not. Nay quod I that argument wyll not serue you so. For though no mā bidith you to beleue yt euery thyng ys trewe yt ys told for a myracle / yet sū there be of whych ye must nedys rekē your selfe sure / and of whych ye can not yf ye be a chrystē mā haue any scruple or dowte. ye quod he? Fayne wold I wit whych were one of those. Mary quod I all y• are wrytten in the gospell. Mary quod he that wote I well / but them we speke not of / for they were done by god hym selfe. why q I be they not so all. If ye wyll not agre y• ye be not sure of any which be told by sayntꝭ / whatsaye you by the myracles of thapostels wryten by saynt luke. Nay q he ye mysse take me yet / for I do not mean eny mistrust in the myracles dō of old tyme by god for hys appostellys or holy marters in coraboracyon and settyng forth of the fayth. I mene ōly these myracles that men tell and talke of nowe a dayes / to be don at those Imagys where these pylgrymagys be / and where we see sū of them our selfe proued playnly false / And yet told for so trew / and so many false shrewes affyrme it / so many siple soules trust it / so mych folyshe folke be lyue it / that a mā may well with reasō mystrust all ye remnant. Ueryly quod I and yet I thynke that […]ryste amōge chryste people suffreth not such thīgys to happē ofte / nor such delusyō to last long / but shortely (to theyre shame as yt hath appered in some) doth vt[…]r […] make open theyre falshed as hym selfe sayed of all such. That ye whysper one in an others ere shalbe preched oute a lowd vppon the rygge of y• house rofe.