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St. Benedict's Bones
A Medieval Monastic Mystery
Jacobus de Voragine, Adrevald of Fleury, Peter the Deacon, Robert Nixon
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St. Benedict's Bones
A Medieval Monastic Mystery
Jacobus de Voragine, Adrevald of Fleury, Peter the Deacon, Robert Nixon
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St. Benedict of Norcia (480-547) is indisputably one of the most influential figures in the development of the culture and spirituality of Western Europe and is recognized as the "patriarch of all monks of the West." Shortly after Benedict's death, his monastery at Monte Cassino was destroyed by Lombard invaders. It was at that point that one of the greatest mysteries of medieval monasticism arose--the true location of the mortal remains of this revered saint. This volume presents the first English translations of key medieval texts relating to this famous mystery. These piquant narratives are filled with adventure, intrigue, and spellbinding wonder, in which imagination, history, folklore, and legend are freely intertwined. Within these pages, the reader will encounter fierce barbarian hordes, perilous quests to discover ancient tombs, ferocious dragons, man-eating wolves, mysterious visions, and enigmatic oracles. Here will be found tales of saints fleeing from papal forces under the shroud of darkness, phantasmagoric apparitions of dead monks, malicious poisonings, nocturnal attacks made on infants by venomous toads, levitating lamps, and a veritable multitude of other marvels. A translation of the striking account of St. Benedict's life from the thirteenth-century Golden Legend is also included.
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Religion1
The Life of St. Benedict, from the Golden Legend
St. Benedict, whose name means âblessed,â has this particular name either because he imparted blessings to many people and many things; or because he himself enjoyed many blessings during his life; or because all were blessed on account of him; or because he deserves to have eternal blessings in Heaven. His life was written by St. Gregory the Great.
***
Benedict was born in the province of Norcia,1 and from there was sent to Rome to pursue a liberal education, according to usual custom. But whilst still a child, he abandoned his literary studies and resolved to seek the solitude in order to lead a life of contemplation and prayer. He therefore went forth alone, accompanied only by his nurse (who loved him dearly), and arrived at a place called Affile.2
Having arrived there, his nurse obtained a sieve with which to winnow wheat. But she happened to place this sieve on a table somewhat carelessly, and it fell to the floor and broke cleanly into two parts. Benedict saw his nurse weeping over this accident, and was at once moved to pity towards her. Taking the fractured sieve, the holy boy prayed over it intently. And, lo, it was restored to perfect completeness in the twinkling of an eye, as if it had never been damaged!
A little later, Benedict secretly fled from his nurse and went off completely alone. He arrived at a certain place and remained there for three years.3 During this period he had no human contact, with the single exception of a monk by the name of Romanus. This Romanus sedulously provided Benedict with all the necessities of life.
Now, Benedict dwelt in a deep cave which it was not possible for Romanus himself to reach. So it was his practice to attach a basket containing bread to a rope and to lower it to the hermit. He also attached a small bell to the rope, so that the man of God would hear its tinkling and know when supplies were being lowered to him. But the devil, the ancient enemy, was filled with envy at both the charity of Romanus and the refreshment and sustenance being received by Benedict. So the arch-fiend maliciously hurled a stone at the bell and shattered it to pieces! Nevertheless, the diligent Romanus refused to be deterred or frightened by this, and continued to supply the holy hermit with his needs.
Some time afterwards, the Lord appeared to a certain priest who was preparing a festive meal for himself to celebrate Easter. And God said to him, âHere you are, preparing a feast of fine delicacies for your own consumption, whilst my servant, Benedict, is tormented by hunger!â Upon hearing this, the priest was filled with compunction. He arose and went off to find the saint, taking the food with him. Eventually (and with some difficulty) he located him, and said, âArise, my brother! Let us eat together, for this is the day of Easter.â
To this Benedict replied, âVerily, I now know that it is Easter, for I have received the blessing of your visit!â Indeed, at that time the saint was leading an isolated life and had no other way in which he could have known that it was Easter on that day. The priest said to him, âSince it is now the feast of the Lordâs Resurrection, it does not behoove us to be sparing with food or drink! Therefore I have come to you so that we may celebrate together.â And, blessing God, the hermit and the priest enjoyed a fine Easter banquet that day.
***
One day as Benedict was out walking, a certain species of black bird, known as a âmerle,â began to fly around his face in a most annoying manner. And so persistently and closely did the bird plague him that he would have been able to capture it in his hand had he so wished. But instead, the saint made the sign of the cross, and at once the bird departed from him.
The devil then tempted him in another form, by drawing before the eyes of his mind the image of a certain very attractive woman whom he had previously seen. This ignited such a flame of desire in the heart of the hermit that he seriously considered departing from the solitude, and abandoning his life of prayer and contemplation altogether. But suddenly, thanks to the intervention of Divine Grace, he returned to his better senses and recalled his earnest vows and intentions. Then he threw himself into some nettle bushes which were close at hand, and rolled himself back and forth vigorously. The wounds which he suffered thereby on his body served to cure the wound of fleshly temptation which had afflicted his mind, and the smarting sting of the thorns upon his skin served to extinguish the burning flame of lust in his heart. And from that time, Benedict was never again tempted by carnal desires or concupiscence of the flesh.
***
Benedictâs renown for wisdom and sanctity became ever greater as time went by. Now it happened that the abbot of a certain nearby monastery passed away. And the entire community of monks there then went to Benedict, and implored him to lead them as their new abbot. For a long time he was very reluctant to agree to this proposal, saying that his own manner of life and theirs did not accord at all well. But at last he was overcome by their entreaties and supplications, and consented to become their abbot.
Having assumed this position, Benedict very soon perceived that they did not observe many of the rules of monastic life, and he duly reproved them for their shortcomings with paternal care. But as a result of this, many of the monks began to regret that they had asked Benedict to lead them, for they realized that their dissipated way of life would not be tolerated by the saint. When they saw what they had previously been accustomed to do freely was now no longer permitted to them, they resolved to rid themselves of their new abbot, by fair means or foul. So some of them secretly mixed some poison in with wine. This they brought to Benedict as he was seated at the table. But he made the sign of the cross over it, and at once the glass goblet which contained the wine shattered, as if it had been struck by a rock! He then realized that the wine had been poisonedâthat it was indeed a cup of death, since it was not able to withstand or resist the cross, which is the sign of eternal life.
The saint then arose and, with a placid and serene face, said, âMay almighty God have mercy on you, brethren! Did I not tell you that your manner of life and my own would not accord?â Having said this, he departed from the community and returned to the beloved solitude to resume his former eremitic life. But his fame continued steadily to increase, and his sanctity was plainly demonstrated by a multitude of signs and miracles. A vast number of people visited him, and many wished to join him in living the monastic life. And so within a short time, he had founded no less than twelve monasteries.
***
In one of these monasteries, there was a certain monk who found himself unable to stand still in prayer for any length of time. Rather, while the others were praying, he would leave the oratory and go and wander about outside. When the abbot of that monastery related this troubling thing to St. Benedict, he visited the monastery for himself, and saw the monk who was unable to remain still in prayer. And he noticed a small, black boy vexing the monk, pushing him about in a persistent fashion and drawing him to-and-fro by the cloth of his habit. Benedict was surprised at this uncanny thing, and said to the abbot and another monk, Maur, âDo you not see the troublesome boy which is preventing this poor monk from standing still and causing him to wander around?â But both of them, perplexed, declared that they could see no such thing.
The saint then invited them to pray with him that they should be able to see the cause of the monkâs strange behavior. And, behold, the eyes of Maur were opened and he perceived the small, impish boy. But the abbot of the monastery could still not see him.
The next day, Benedict found this monk outside wandering around aimlessly when he should have been in the oratory in prayer. With a certain degree of paternal severity and charitable discipline, he reprimanded him for his lack of wisdom and discernment and struck him with his staff. At this the monk fell down motionless. And af...