Curiosities of Christian History Part 31

A diadem was placed on his head, and he was invested in the church of St.

Martin of Tours with a purple tunic and mantle.

HOW THE POPE GOT RID OF A PESTILENCE (A.D. 590).

St. Michael being the archangel, captain of the heavenly host who chained the revolted angels, and the patron saint of the Church militant, had a church dedicated to him in Rome before 500. It is also related that when Rome was depopulated by a pestilence in the sixth century, St. Gregory, afterwards Pope, advised that a procession should be made through the streets of the city, singing the service since called the Great Litanies.

He placed himself at the head of the faithful, and during three days they perambulated the city; and on the third day, when they had arrived opposite to the mole of Hadrian, Gregory beheld the Archangel Michael alight on the summit of that monument, and sheathe his sword bedropped with blood. Then Gregory knew that the plague was stayed, and a church was dedicated to the honour of the archangel; and the tomb of Hadrian has since been called the Castle of St. Angelo to this day.

CHOOSING A SIXTH-CENTURY ARCHBISHOP.

The See of Constantinople once became vacant in the sixth century; and to prevent troubles and secure a perfect appointment, the Emperor caused a blank paper, sealed with his own seal, to be laid on the altar of one of the churches, accompanied by a written instrument, by which he and the clergy of Constantinople bound themselves to choose the person whose name should be found written on the blank paper under the seal. The access to these papers was guarded night and day by soldiers under the command of the great chamberlain. A fast was enjoined for forty days, during which time prayers were unceasingly offered up for the choice to be divinely directed. At the end of the forty days, the paper was opened in the presence of the Emperor and the whole body of the clergy, and Fravitas being found to be the name written on the blank paper, he was forthwith proclaimed Archbishop of Constantinople amidst loud acclamations. It so happened that Fravitas died within a year after his ordination, leaving debts due from his estate for large sums borrowed at exorbitant interest from money-lenders. An inquiry into these unlooked-for circ.u.mstances being set on foot, it transpired that the money had been borrowed by Fravitas to bribe the great chamberlain, who was thereby induced to open the paper, and having written upon it the name of Fravitas, to reseal it with the imperial seal, of which he was the official keeper. On the discovery of the cheat, the great chamberlain was put to death and his estate confiscated. The exposure was probably of some use in guarding even in those days against the easy access of pious imposture, and reflects light on many supposed miracles then so frequently occurring.

POPE GREGORY THE GREAT POINTS OUT A HARD CASE TO THE EMPEROR (A.D. 590).

Gregory the Great, before being elected Pope in 590, had been on a mission to Constantinople, and then gained great favour at Court. He afterwards thus wrote to the Empress Constantina: "Having heard that there are many Gentiles in the island of Sardinia, and that according to their depraved custom they still sacrifice to idols, and that the priests of the island have become lax in preaching our Redeemer, I sent one of the Italian bishops there, who with the help of G.o.d converted many of these Gentiles to the faith. But he has informed me of a sacrilegious custom--namely, that those who sacrifice to idols pay a tax to the judge for a licence to do so, of whom some now, being baptised, have given up sacrificing to idols; yet still this tax for the licence is exacted from them by the same judge even after baptism. And when he was found fault with by the bishop for this, he answered that he had bought his office and could not afford to keep it up unless the tax were paid. And the island of Corsica is oppressed by the tax-gatherers to such an extent that the inhabitants can hardly satisfy these demands even by selling their own children. All which things I am quite sure have never reached your pious ears; for if they had, they would not have lasted till now. Make them known on fitting occasions to your devout lord, that he may remove such a heavy load of sin from his own soul, from the Empire, and from his children. Whoever have children of their own should know well how to feel for the children of others. Let it therefore be enough for me to have suggested these things, in order that your piety may not lie ignorant of what is happening in those parts, and I might not be arraigned by the severe Judge for my silence."

JOHN THE ALMSGIVER (A.D. 613).

Matthew of Westminster says that there flourished in 613 John, Archbishop of Alexandria, who, on account of his eminent liberality to the poor of Christ, deserved to obtain the surname of the Almsgiver. And it happened that a certain foreigner, beholding his excessive compa.s.sion for the poor, wishing to tempt him, came to him whilst he was visiting the sick according to his custom, and said to him, "Pity me, because I am poor and a prisoner." And the patriarch said to his steward, "Give him six pieces of gold." And when the beggar had received them, he changed his dress, and coming again from another quarter he fell at his feet, saying, "Have mercy upon me, because I am tormented with hunger." Again the patriarch said to his steward, "Give him six pieces of gold." And when he had done so, his steward whispered in the ear of the patriarch, "Master, he has now received twice to-day." He came again a third time and asked alms; and the servant told his master that it was the same man. And that merciful bishop said, "Give him twelve pieces of gold, lest perchance he be Christ Himself, who is come to tempt me."

ST. JOHN THE ALMONER'S SENTIMENTS (A.D. 609).

This John the Almoner became the last Patriarch of Alexandria, his reputation for piety prevailing with the Emperor as well as the people who joined in the appointment. His zeal in redeeming captives, establishing hospitals, and rebuilding churches was soon displayed. He would not allow applicants for charity to be denied because they wore golden ornaments, saying that the riches of G.o.d were infinite. During a famine a rich man offered to supply a vast store of grain for public use provided he was made a deacon. John spurned the offer, saying, "G.o.d, who supported the poor before either of us was born, can find the means of supporting them now. He who blessed the five loaves and multiplied them can bless and multiply the two measures of corn which remain in my granary." Scarcely had the tempting bait been refused, when tidings came that two large cargoes of grain had arrived in the ships belonging to the Church. Though John had vast stores intrusted to him for dispensing to the public, his own fare was poor and simple, and the couch on which he slept was no better than an artisan's. One day a rich friend purchased and presented to him a magnificent bed; and John, being unwilling to hurt the donor's feelings, accepted it; but after using it one night he said it hindered his sleep by reminding him of his slothfulness and luxury, while so many poor were lying in cold and misery. He therefore sold the bed and gave away the proceeds in charity. The original donor, however, repurchased it, and presented it again, with the same result; and this took place a third time. When he saw that the Persians were advancing and that Alexandria must fall into their hands he retired to Cyprus, but on his way was strongly urged to pay a visit to the Emperor Heraclius at Constantinople.

He was about to comply, but was forewarned in a dream that his own end was approaching, whereupon he said to the royal messenger, "You invite me to the Emperor of the earth, but the King of kings summons me elsewhere." He died at his native place at Amathus, in Cyprus, aged sixty-four, in 620, and his tomb was long visited by pilgrims.

A KING GIVING THE BISHOP A HORSE (A.D. 650).

King Oswin of Northumbria, says Bede, was comely to behold, tall in stature, and courteous and bountiful to all. One day he gave an excellent horse to Bishop Aidan, so that the latter might cross rivers and perform journeys in his diocese. Soon after, a poor man meeting the bishop and asking alms, the bishop dismounted and gave the horse, richly caparisoned, to the beggar. The King heard of this, and next day at dinner said, "How was it, lord bishop, that you gave away that fine horse to a beggar man?

Have we not many horses less valuable that would have suited the man just as well?" The bishop's answer was, "Surely, King, the foal of a mare cannot be dearer to you than that son of G.o.d?" This sunk into the heart of the King, who, reflecting upon it, ungirded his sword, and threw himself at the bishop's feet, desiring that the bishop would forgive his hasty remark, for he would never again attempt to judge what or how much he might give to the sons of G.o.d. The bishop in turn begged the King to rise and be cheerful, but it was noticed that the bishop was in tears, as he knew that the King would not live long, for the nation was not worthy to have such a ruler. Not long after the King was killed, as the bishop foresaw, and the bishop himself lived only twelve days afterwards.

A KING IMPRESSED BY A CHRISTIAN'S SCRUPLES (A.D. 640).

Bishop Eligius of Noyon, who was born in 588, was anxious to found a monastery, and requested the French King to grant him a piece of land as a site. The King consented, but Eligius afterwards discovered that he had misrepresented the extent of the ground to be a foot less than it actually measured. This vexed the bishop exceedingly, and he could not rest till he had gone to the King to inform him of the mistake. The King said to the bystanders, "See, what a n.o.ble thing is Christian integrity! My n.o.bles and treasurers ama.s.s great wealth for themselves, and this servant of Christ, on account of his fidelity to his Lord, could not be easy till he had accounted for this extra handful of earth." On another occasion the King had required Eligius to take an oath in reference to some matter of business; and according to the custom of the times, this required to be done by laying the witness's hand on certain relics. The bishop's conscience was troubled at this requirement, which was contrary to his settled convictions. At last the King was touched with this mark of tender religious feeling, and graciously expressed his consent to waive the formality, and declared that he would be quite content to believe his word in preference to any number of oaths.

A MODEL CHURCHMAN OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY (A.D. 740).

The Venerable Bede in his history thus describes St. Acca, Bishop of Hexham, who lived about 740: "He was a most active man, and great in the sight of G.o.d and man; he much adorned and added to the structure of his church dedicated to St. Andrew. For he made it his business, and does so still, to procure relics of the blessed Apostles and martyrs of Christ from all parts to place them on altars, dividing the same by arches in the walls of the church. Besides which he diligently gathered the histories of their sufferings, together with other ecclesiastical writings, and created there a very large and n.o.ble library. He likewise provided industriously the holy vessels, lights, and such things as pertain to the adornment of the house of G.o.d. He also invited to come to him a famous singer named Maban, who had been taught to sing by the successors of the disciples of the blessed Gregory in Kent, so that the clergy should be well instructed in music, and kept him twelve years, to teach such sacred songs as were not known and to restore those which had been corrupted or too long neglected. Bishop Acca was a most accomplished singer himself, and most learned in the Holy Scriptures, most pure in the confession of the Catholic faith, and most observant of the laws of the Church; nor did he ever cease to be so till he received the reward of his pious devotion." It is related of Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne about 710, that he could find no better mode of commanding the attention of his townsmen than by standing on a bridge and singing a ballad which he had composed.

WHY THE POPE'S FOOT IS KISSED (A.D. 795).

Matthew of Westminster relates that Pope Leo III., when a young man, was doing penance for some misconduct before the altar of the Virgin, that he suddenly became changed into another man, and afterwards came to be Pope.

When he was celebrating Ma.s.s for the first time, about 795, offerings of great value were made to him. And among those who brought offerings, a woman whom he had known in early days pressed his hand so warmly that she made him almost forget his sacred duties. He felt so ashamed that he cut off this hand, and afterwards the Blessed Virgin restored a new hand to the arm. He showed long afterwards the old hand, which still remained undecayed, to his brethren, and narrated to them all that had happened in respect to it. From that time a rule was made, that henceforth those who brought offerings should not kiss the hand of the Pope, but his foot. In memory of this miracle the hand which was cut off was still preserved (till 1300, the date of Matthew's history) in the Lateran treasury, and it was kept free from decay by the Lord in honour of His mother.

AGOBARD OF LYONS CENSURES THE CLERGY (A.D. 850).

Though previously some attempts had been made to check simony, and check the evils of the vagrant friars, these abuses reached a high pitch in the ninth century, as Agobard, Archbishop of Lyons, attested. He was zealous for the dignity of the spiritual order and calling, but lamented over its degradation. He said that many of the n.o.bles procured the most unsuitable men, sometimes their own slaves, to be ordained as priests, and employed these mechanically to perform the rites of worship in the chapels of their castles, and at the same time to do menial offices, such as waiting at table and feeding the hounds. The bishops a.s.sembled at Pavia in 853 to deliberate, and complained that the multiplication of chapels in castles contributed greatly to the decline of parochial worship, and to the neglect of preaching, the n.o.bles being satisfied with the mechanical performance of Ma.s.s by their priests, and taking no further concern in the public worship; whence it happened that the parish churches were frequented only by the poor, while the rich and n.o.ble had no opportunity of hearing sermons which might recall their thoughts from their debasing worldly pursuits. The council of Pavia again in 850 made a canon disapproving of the laity having the Ma.s.s celebrated continually in their houses, and encouraging those ecclesiastics and monks who roved from one district to another, disseminating their own crude errors without let or hindrance.

BISHOP ST. SWITHIN (A.D. 867).

Matthew of Westminster says that St. Swithin, Bishop of Winchester, died in 867, a pattern of clemency and humility. Once he was sitting on Winchester bridge encouraging his workmen, when a woman came along bringing her eggs to market and the men most wantonly sprang at her and broke her eggs. At this the woman's lamentations were so piercing that, on learning of the loss, the good bishop, moved with pity, made the sign of the cross, and repaired the fractures. The great humility of the bishop was shown in his conduct when consecrating a new church. However great the distance, he would walk all the way on foot, refusing the use of horse or carriage; and lest this singularity should excite ridicule, he took care to travel by night. When he was near his end, he enjoined his domestics to bury his corpse outside his church, where it might be exposed to the feet of the pa.s.sers-by and to the raindrops that fell from the roof.

KING ALFRED ENTERTAINING JOHN SCOTUS (A.D. 884).

Simeon of Durham says that, in 884, when Alfred was king, there came to England John Scotus, a Scot by birth, a man of clear intellect and much eloquence, who, leaving his country some time before, had gone over to France to Charles the Bald. Alfred received him with great respect, and John soon became an inseparable companion, both at table and in the King's retirement, owing to his ready wit and pleasantry. One day at dinner John was sitting at table opposite King Charles, who, while the cups were going round, with a gay face had chid John for some want of politeness, and ended by asking what difference there was between a Scot and a sot. John at once cleverly replied, "Only this table." On another occasion, when a servant had handed to the King at table a dish which contained two very large fishes and one very small, the King gave it to John to divide with two clerics seated beside him. The clerics were both of gigantic stature, while John was very little. John very gravely kept the two large fishes to himself, and gave the little fish to the two giants. The King at once challenged this as a most unfair division; but John had this ready excuse: "Nay, I have done well and fairly. Here is one small one," pointing to himself, "and there are two large ones," pointing to the fishes. And then looking at the two clerics, "There also are two large ones, and," pointing to the fish, "there is a little one." John had translated some Greek authors at the request of King Charles, and therein made observations concerning the ranks or orders of celestial beings which the Pope urged on Charles as flat heresy, whereon John grew disgusted with France, and went to England, allured by the munificence of King Alfred, and settled at Malmesbury; but his pupils there greatly worried him and made his life a burden. He was highly esteemed, however, after his death.

KING ALFRED INVENTS A LANTERN FOR PIOUS USES (A.D. 890).

a.s.ser, the biographer, after stating that King Alfred was anxious to give up to G.o.d the half of his service, bodily and mental, by night and by day, and was at a loss how to count the hours, continues thus: "After long reflection on these things, Alfred at length, by a useful and shrewd invention, commanded his chaplains to provide wax in a sufficient quant.i.ty, and he caused it to be weighed in such a manner that, when there was so much of it in the scale as would equal the weight of seventy-two pence, he caused his chaplains to make six candles out of it of equal length, so that each candle might have twelve divisions marked longitudinally upon it. By this plan, therefore, those six candles burned for twenty-four hours, a night and a day exactly, before the sacred relics of G.o.d's elect, which always accompanied the King wherever he went. But sometimes when they would not continue burning a whole day and night till the same hour that they were lighted the preceding evening, owing to the violence of the wind which blew day and night without intermission through the doors and windows of the churches, the fissures of the part.i.tions, the plankings of the wall, and the thin canvas of the tents, they then unavoidably burnt out, and finished their course before the appointed time. The King therefore considered by what means he could shut out the wind, and so by a useful and cunning invention he ordered a lantern to be beautifully constructed of wood and white ox-horn, which, when skilfully planed till it is thin, is no less transparent than a vessel of gla.s.s.

This lantern, therefore, was wonderfully made of wood and horn, as we before said, and by night a candle was put into it, which shone as brightly without as within, and was not extinguished by the wind. By this contrivance six candles lighted in succession lasted twenty-four hours, neither more nor less; and the King gave up to G.o.d the half of his daily service as he had vowed."

KING ALFRED'S LOVE OF READING (A.D. 890).

a.s.ser, the monk, biographer, and friend of King Alfred, was born in Wales, and says: "The King had sent for me to visit and take up my residence with him. I was honourably received by him, and remained that time at court eight months, during which I read to him whatever books he liked and such as he had at hand, for this was his most usual custom night and day in the midst of his many other occupations of mind and body, either himself to read books or to listen whilst others read them. And when I frequently asked his leave to depart, and could in no way obtain it, at length, when I had made up my mind by all means to demand it, he called me to him at twilight on Christmas Eve, and gave me two letters, in which was a long list of all the things which were in two monasteries, called in the Saxon tongue Ambresbury and Banwell, and on that same day he delivered to me those two monasteries, with all the things that were in them, and a silken pall of great value, and a load for a strong man of incense, adding these words: that he did not give me these trifling presents because he was unwilling hereafter to give me greater; for in the course of time he unexpectedly gave me Exeter, with all the diocese that belonged to him in Saxony and in Cornwall, besides gifts every day without number in every kind of worldly wealth, which it would be too long to enumerate here, lest they should make my reader tired. But let no one suppose that I have mentioned these presents in this place for the sake of glory or flattery, or that I may obtain greater honour. I merely certify to those who are ignorant of it how liberal the King was in giving."

BISHOPS AT THE HEAD OF TROOPS (A.D. 955).

Bishops in the ninth century occupied so influential a position that they were expected to take the field, as Bishop Fulbert took the command of the besieged troops when the Hungarians attacked the city of Cambray. In 955, when the Hungarians threatened the fortified town of Augsburg, the bishop mounted on horseback in his priestly robes, without shield or buckler, sat unmoved amid flights of javelins and stones, and directed the mode of defence and the erection of fortifications until nightfall, after which he spent the night mostly in prayer. After matins he distributed the Holy Supper to the combatants before they returned to continue the fight, and exhorted them to put their trust in the Lord, who would be with them, so that they had nothing to fear even in the shadow of death. So, in 1200, Bernard, Bishop of Hildesheim, led the defence of his people against the incursions of the Normans. It is true that Damiani protested against this double function, saying, "With what face can the priest, as his duty requires, undertake to reconcile contending parties with each other, when he himself strives to return evil for evil? Our Saviour taught people only to excel in love and patience: why should priests grasp the sword for the temporal and perishable things of earth?" A band of unarmed monks dressed in monkish habits had once struck knights and their followers with such awe, that they dismounted and fled panic-stricken.

TWO SCAPEGRACE POPES (A.D. 956).

In 956 Pope John XII. was elected at the age of eighteen, and was a monster of iniquity. He was accused and convicted in a council of simony, perjury, fornication, adultery, sacrilege, murder, incest, blasphemy, atheism, and was deposed for these exploits. But he recovered his see and deposed the Pope who had been appointed in his room. His real name was Octavia.n.u.s, but he took that of John XII., and was the first Pope who introduced the custom of a.s.suming a new name. His end was suitable to his behaviour; for being one night caught in a scandalous act, he received a blow on the head from an unknown hand which killed him. About the same time Theophilus had, at the age of sixteen, been made Patriarch of Constantinople, and was such another as John XII. He openly sold bishoprics and all ecclesiastical offices. He loved hunting and horses even to madness. He kept two thousand, and fed them with all sorts of dainties. On a Holy Thursday as he was at Ma.s.s word was brought to him in church that his favourite mare had foaled. He instantly left in the middle of the church service to pay her a visit, and then came back to make an end of the service. He introduced the custom of dancing in the church on holy days, with indecent gestures and accompanied with comic ballads.

THE UGLIEST OF MEN MADE AN ARCHBISHOP (A.D. 1012).

It is reported by Matthew of Westminster that, in 1012, the Emperor Henry II. went out one Sunday to hunt, and his companions being all dispersed, he lost himself near the edge of a wood where there was a church, into which he went, and stating falsely that he was a soldier, asked the priest in a simple manner to give him the Ma.s.s. The priest, named Hubert, was a man eminent for his piety, but so ugly in his person that he seemed rather a monster than a man. And when the Emperor had carefully looked at him, he began greatly to marvel why G.o.d, from whom all beautiful things proceed, allowed so unsightly a man to celebrate His Sacraments. But presently the Ma.s.s was commenced, and they came to that part of the service in which a boy chanted, "Be ye sure that the Lord He is G.o.d." And the priest, reproving the boy for his negligence in singing, said with a loud voice, "It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves," at which words the Emperor was much struck, and thinking the priest a prophet, raised him, in spite of great opposition, to the Archbishopric of Cologne. And when he had received the archbishopric, he adorned that see by his religion and worthy course of life. It happened that out of a monastery of nuns in that city a beautiful damsel was captured by a wealthy young n.o.ble and made his wife. The archbishop reclaimed her; but a second time she was carried off, and he excommunicated both. When the archbishop was on his deathbed, the young man sent a messenger to ask absolution, which the archbishop refused, unless the young man agreed to leave the woman. This being refused, the archbishop foretold his own death, and also that the young man would be called to his account on the same day and hour in the following year. And, strange to say, both of them were struck with lightning and died at that very time.

A BISHOP'S AND EMPEROR'S JOKES (A.D. 1020).

Meinwerc, appointed Bishop of Paderborn in 1009, had occasionally his joke with the Emperor Henry II. On one occasion Henry sent the bishop after vespers his own golden cup of exquisite workmanship full of good liquor, charging the messenger not to come away without the cup. The bishop received the present with many thanks, and after a long chat the messenger left the cup behind him. The bishop, noticing the cup, immediately sent for his goldsmiths, and had the cup converted into a chalice, and used it next day, which was Christmas. One of the Emperor's chaplains, who officiated at Ma.s.s that day, recognised the cup and took it to the Emperor, who charged the bishop with theft, telling him that G.o.d abhorred robbery for burnt offering. The bishop replied that all he had done was only to rob the vanity and avarice of Henry by consecrating the cup to the service of G.o.d, and dared Henry to take it away. "I will not,"

said the Emperor, "take away that which has been devoted to the service of G.o.d, but I will myself humbly offer to Him that which is my own property; and do you honour the Lord, who vouchsafed us on this night to be born for the salvation of all men, by the performance of your own duties."