Curiosities of Christian History Prior to the Reformation

by James Paterson

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 God?” 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 God. 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 noble thing is Christian integrity! My nobles and treasurers amass 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 God 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 noble library. He likewise provided industriously the holy vessels, lights, and such things as pertain to the adornment of the house of God. 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 Mass 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 nobles 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 assembled 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 nobles being satisfied with the mechanical performance of Mass 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 noble 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 Mass 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.