The.x. chapyter

The messengre obiecteth many thyngys agaynst pylgrymagis and relyques & worshyppyng of sayntꝭ / bycause of m[…]che superstycyous ma […]r vsed therin / and vnlyefull petycyo[…]s asked of them / and harme growynge thervppon.

S[…]r q he ye h[…]ue in my m[…]nd very well touched ye mater / co[…]tnynge that yt ys not in vayne to pray to sayntys nor to worshyp th[…] […]nd to haue theyr relyques in som […]. But syr all thys ys farre frome the g[…]ete sore, for though say[…]t y[…] m[…]y here vs and h[…]lpe vs to / and acr[…] gladde and wyllyn[…]e so to do / and god also cōtented that they and theyr relyques and ymagys also be hadde in honoure / yes[…] can neyth[…]r he nor they be content wyth the maner of the worshyp, fyrst takynge awaye hys owne worshyp in that we do them the same worshyppe in euery poynt[…] that we do to god. And second[…]ly takynge theyr worshyp from them then also in that we do to theyre ymagys ye same yt we do to thēself / takīg theyr ymagꝭ for them self and so make not theym selfe onely / but also theyr ymagys felowes and matchys to god / wherwyth […]s I haue sayde […]fore / neyther god nor good saynt can nor good man ought to be contente and pleased. In faythe quod I therin yf yt so be ye say[…] very trewe. What saye we than quod he of the harme yt gooth by goynge of pylgrymagys / roylynge aboute in ydlenes / wyth the ropt / reuelynge / and […]y[…]awd[…]y / […]l[…] tony / wantonnes / waste / and le[…]hery? Crowe ye that god and hys holy sayntys had not leuer they sytte stylle at home then thus to come seke them wyth suche worshypfull seruyce?

Yes surely quod I. What saye we then quod he to that I spake not of yet / in whyche we do them lytell worshyp whyle we set euery saynt to hys offyce and assygne hym a crafte suche as pleaseth vs. Saynt Loy we m[…] ke an horsleche / and must let our horse rather r[…]ne v[…]hodde and marre hys hoo[…]e th[…] to shoe hym o[…] hys daye. Whych we muste for that poynt more relygyously kepe hygh and h[…]y then Este[…] daye. And bycawse one s[…]t[…] is to fewe at a forge / we set […]ynt […]polytas to helpe hym. And on saynt St[…] uyn[…] daye we must le[…] all our horses blood wyth a k[…]yf[…]/bycawse sayn[…] Stephen was kylled wyth stones. Saynt Appo[…]lyn we make […] tothe drawer / and maye speke to her of no thynge but of fore t[…]the. Saynt Sythe women sette to seke theyr keyes. Saynt […]oke we set to se to the grete sekenes / bycawse he had a sore. And wyth hym they ioyn[…] saynt Sebastyan bycawse he was martyred wt arrowes. Some seme for the eye onely. And some for a sore brest. Saynt […]rmayn only for chyldren. And yet wyll he not onys loke at theym / but yf the mother bryng[…] wyth them a whyte l[…]fe aud a po[…] of good […]le. And yet is he wyser thē saynt […]ylge[…]orte / for she good soule is as they saye seruyd and content wyth […]tys. Where of I can not perce[…]ne the reason / but yf yt be bycawse she sh[…]lde prouyde an horse for an euyll husbonde to […]yde to the deuyll vppon[…] For that ys the thynge that she is so soughte for as th[…]y s[…]ye In so moche that wom[…]n hath therfore chaunged her name / and in stede of saynt Wylgefor[…] call her saynt Uncumber / bycawse they teken ye for a pek of otys she wyll not fayle to vncūber thē of theyr husbōdꝭ. Lōge worke were yt to reherse you the dyust[…]e maner of many praty pylgrymagys / but one or two wil I tel you / The tone Pontanꝰ spekyth of in hys dyaloges / how saynt Martyn is worshypped. I haue forgot ye towne / but the maner I can not forget yt is so straunge. Hys ymage is on hys day borne in proce[…]ō about all the stretꝭ. And yf yt be a fayr day then vse they as he cometh by / to cast rose water and all thyngys of plesaunt sauoure vppon hys ymage. But and it happen to […]ayne / out poure they pyspottys vppon hys hed / at euery dore and euery wyndowe. […]s not thys a swete seruyce and a worshypfull worshyp? And thys as I saye Pontanus wryteth and telleth where yt is. But thys that I shall nowe telle yow / I dare as boldely make you sure of / as yf I hadde sene yt my selfe. At saynt Wa[…]eryes here in Pycat[…]y[…] there is a fayre abb[…]y where saynt […]alerye was monke. And vppon afur[…]ng[…] of or two vp in a wood is there a chapel / in whych the saynt is specyally sought vnto for the stone / not onely in those partyes but also oute of Engl[…]nde. Now was there a yonge gentylm[…]n whyche had maryed a marchauntys wyfe: And hauyng a lytell wantō money whyche hym thought brennyd out the botom of hys pursin the fyrst yere of hys weddynge / toke hys wyse wyth hym and went ouer the see for none other errande but to se Flaund[…]rs and F[…]aunce and […]yde oute one somer in those coūtr[…]es. And hauyng one in his company that tolde by the waye many straunge thyngys of that pylgrymage / he thoght he wold go somwhat out of his may eyther to se it yf it were trew / or laugh at hys man yf he fo[…]d yt false as he veryly thought sholde haue done in dede. But wh[…] they […] in to the chapell they founde yt all trewe. And to beholde they founde yt fonder then he hadde tolde. For lyk[…] as in other pylyrymagys ye se h[…]nged vp leggys of waxe or armes or such[…] other partys / so was in that chapell all theyr o[…]ryngys that honge about the wallys / none other thynges but mennys gere and womens gere m[…] de in waxe. Then was there besydes thys two rounde tyngys of sylu[…]/the tone moche larger then the tother. Through whyche euery man dyde put his preuy membres at the […]lters end. Not euery man through bothe / but som through the one and som through the tother. For they were not bothe of a bygnes / but the one larger than th[…] other. Then was there yet a monke stā dynge at the aulter that halowed certayne thredys of venyce golde. And them he delyuered to the […]ylg[…]ymes / techynge the[…] in what wyse them self or theyr frendys sholde vse those thredys agaynst ye stone. That they shold[…] knytte yt about theyr get[…]/and say I can not tell you what prayers. An[…] when the monke had declared the maner the gentylman hadde a serua[…] that was a maryed man and yet a m[…] ry fel[…]we / and he thankynge the mō ke for the threde / desyred hym to […] che hym how he shold kny[…]e y[…] about hi[…] wy[…]es gere […]hy[…]h except ye mōke h[…]d som specyal crafte in knyttynge h[…] thought wold be […]ō […] bycause her gere […] sōwhat short. It nede not to tell y[…] ye euery man laughed thā / saue ye mōk yt c[…]st […] hys tynges & hys thredys in a grete angre & we[…] this way[…] was not […]hys[…] Abyde by god I had almost fo[…]g[…]ten one thynge that wolde not […]. As thys gentylman and hys wyfe were knelynge in the chapell there came a good sadde woman to hym / shewynge hym that one the specyall poynte vsed in that pylyrymage and the su[…]est agaynst the […]ne / she wyste nere whether he were yet aduertysed of. Whyche yf yt were done she du[…]ste lay her lyfe he sholde neuer haue the stone in hys lyfe. And that was she wolde haue the length of hys gere / and that sholde she make in a ware candell / whyche sholde bren[…]e vp in the chapell / and certayn prayers shold there be sayd the whyle. And thys was agaynst the st[…]ne the very shote anker. Whan he had herde her (and he was one that in ernest fered the stone) he went and asked his wyfe counsayll. But she lyke a good faythfull cry[…]ts woman loued no […] the super[…]ycyons. She could abyde the reman[…]ne well ynough. But whē she h[…]de days of bren[…]ynge vp the candell / she knytte the […]wes and ernestly blys[…]nge her. Beware in the vertue of god what ye do […]uod she. […]e vp quod […]? mary god forbede. […]t wolde w[…]t vp your […]re vpon poy […] of my lyfe. I praye you beware of suche wychecrafte. Is thys kynde of […]y[…]s and worshyp acceptable and plesaunt vnto god and hys sayntys? […]ow when people worshyp […]y[…]ys in suche wyse that they make them belowes to god / and y[…]gys in suche wyse that they […] thē for the […] self / and them agayn […]n the other syde honour them wyth / such […] wayes that the […] goddys were worshypped wyth no wor[…]/fynally that worst is of al / […] to […] vnlofull thyngys […] to the […] the […] of Chryste to spede them well in theyr to very / and haue foūde hym a name also callynge hym Dysmas I wene and hys felowe […]ysmas to tyme wythall / thynke you not that thys gere is such amonge the people as rather were lykely so to prouoke god and hys sayntꝭ to dyspleasure / that the deuyll shold h[…] ue lycence & lyberty therfore to worke hys won[…]ers in delusyon of our superstyryous ydoltry / then so to lyke and content our lorde that he sholde shew myracles for the comprobacyō of that maner of worshyppynge whyche we may well percyene al treason relygion and vertue reproueth[…]