Legends and Satires from Mediæval Literature

by Unknown

And as Saint Brandon kneeled in the church, he saw a bright shining angel come in at the window, and lighted all the lights in the church, and then he flew out again at the window unto heaven. Then Saint Brandon marvelled greatly how the light burned so fair and wasted not. Then the abbot said, "It is written that Moses saw a bush all on afire and yet it burned not, and therefore marvel not hereof, for the might of our Lord is now as great as it ever was."

And when Saint Brandon had dwelled there from Christmas even till the twelfth day was passed, then he took his leave of the abbot of the convent and returned with his monks to his ship. And he sailed from thence with his monks toward the abbey of Saint Illaries; but they had great tempests in the sea from that time till Palm Sunday.

And then they came to the Island of Sheep and there were received of the old man, which brought them to a fair hall and served them. And on Shere Thursday[36] after supper he did wash all their feet and kissed them, like as our Lord did to His disciples, and there they abode till Saturday, Easter Even; and they departed and sailed to the place where the fish lay; and anon they saw their cauldron upon the fish's back, which they had left there twelve months tofore. There they kept the service of the resurrection, on the fish's back, and after, they sailed that same day by the morning to the island whereas the tree of birds was, and then the said bird welcomed Saint Brandon and all his fellowship, and went again to the tree and sang full merrily. And there he and his monks dwelled from Easter till Trinity Sunday, as they did the year before, in full great joy and mirth. And daily they heard the merry service of the birds sitting on the tree.

And then the bird told to Saint Brandon that he should return again at Christmas to the abbey of monks, and at Easter thither again, and the other deal of the year labour in the ocean in full great perils, and from year to year till the seven years be accomplished. "And then shall ye come to the joyful place of paradise and dwell there forty days in full great joy and mirth. And after, ye shall return home into your own abbey in safety, and there end your life and come to the bliss of heaven to which our Lord bought you with His precious blood."

And then the angel of our Lord ordained all thing that was needful to Saint Brandon and to his monks in victuals and all other things necessary, and then they thanked our Lord of His great goodness He had shewed to them oft in their great need, and sailed forth in the great sea ocean, abiding the mercy of our Lord in great trouble and tempests.

And soon after came to them an horrible fish which followed the ship long time, casting so much water out of his mouth into the ship that they supposed to have been drowned, wherefore they devoutly prayed God to deliver them of that great peril. And anon after, came another fish, greater than he, out of the west sea, and fought with him, and at the last clave him into three pieces, and then returned again. And then they thanked meekly our Lord for their deliverance from this great peril, but they were in great heaviness because their victuals were nigh spent. But, by the ordinance of our Lord, there came a bird and brought to them a great branch of a vine full of red grapes, by which they lived fourteen days, and then they came to a little island, wherein were many vines full of grapes. And they there landed and thanked God, and gathered as many grapes as they lived by forty days after, alway sailing in the sea in many storms and tempests.

And as they thus sailed, suddenly came flying towards them a great grip[37] which assailed them and was like to have destroyed them. Wherefore they devoutly prayed for help and aid of our Lord Jesu Christ. And then the bird of the tree of the island where they had holden their Easter tofore came to the grip and smote out both his eyes and after slew him, whereof they thanked our Lord.

And then they sailed forth continually till Saint Peter's day, and then sang they solemnly their service in the honour of the feast. And in that place the water was so clear that they might see all the fishes that were about them, whereof they were full sore aghast, and the monks counselled Saint Brandon to sing no more, for all the fishes lay then as they had slept. And then Saint Brandon said: "Dread ye not, for ye have kept by two Easters the feast of the resurrection upon the great fish's back, and therefore dread ye not of these little fishes." And then Saint Brandon made him ready and went to mass and bade his monks to sing the best way they could, and then anon all the fishes awoke and came about the ship so thick that unnethe they might see the water for the fishes, and when the mass was done, all the fishes departed so as they were no more seen. And seven days they sailed always in that clear water.

And then there came a south wind and drove the ship northward, whereas they saw an island full dark and full of stench and smoke, and there they heard great blowing and blasting of bellows, but they might see nothing, but heard great thundering, whereof they were sore afraid and blessed them oft. And soon after, there came one starting out all burning in fire and gazed full ghastly on them with great staring eyes, of whom the monks were aghast, and at his departing from them he made the horriblest cry that might be heard. And soon there came a great number of fiends and assailed them with hooks and burning iron malles, which ran on the water, following their ship fast, in such wise that it seemed all the sea to be on fire. But by the pleasure of our Lord, they had no power to hurt nor grieve them nor their ship: wherefore the fiends began to roar and cry and threw their hooks and malles at them. And they then were sore afeard and prayed to God for comfort and help, for they saw the fiends all about the ship, and them seemed then all the island and the sea to be on fire. And with a sorrowful cry all the fiends departed from them and returned to the place that they came from. And then Saint Brandon told to them that this was a part of hell, and therefore he charged them to be steadfast in the faith, for they should yet see many a dreadful place ere they came home again.