|b[St._Bartholomew,_in_Three_Lives_from_the_Gilte_Legende
|b_from_MS_B.L._Egerton_876,_ed._by_Richard_Hamer.
|b_Heidelberg:_Carl_Winter_Universittsverlag,_1978,_pp._75-87.]



|p75


|rSAINT_BARTHOLOMEW

     |r[f.198v] Seint Bartilmew the apostell went into Ynde that is in the ende
     of the worlde, and entred into a temple wher as was an ydole
     that hight Astrot and abode there as a pilgrime. And in that
     ydole duelled a fende that saide he coude hele al maner [of]
 |r5 siknesses, but he lyed, for he coude yeue hem [no maner of]
     hele, but he cesed to make hem sike. And that temple was full
     of sike folkes, and thei coude haue none ansuere of that ydole,
     so that thei went to another cite wher ther was another ydole
     that hight Beriche and asked hym whi that Astrot wolde geue hem
|r10 none ansuere. & Beriche saide: "Youre god is harde strened
     and bounde with cheines of [fyre] that he dare not ones brethe
     ne speke sethe that Bartilmew, the apostell of almighti God,
     entred into the temple." And thei asked: "What is that
     Bartilmew?" And the fende saide: "He is an nigh frende of
|r15 almighti God, and therfor he is come into this prouince for to
     uoide out al the goddes of Ynde." And thei saide: "Telle us
     tokenes that we mowe knowe hym and that we may finde hym." The
     fende saide: "He hathe blak here and crispe, fayre skyn and
     glad eyen, his nose streite and even, a longe berde and a
|r20 litell hore, of right comly stature. He is clothed with [a]
     white cote and with a white mantell, and his cote is wrought
     with purpill, and in eueri corner of hys mantell there is a
     precious stone of rede. And this [xxvj] yere his clothes wer
     neuer empaired ne wexse foule. He worshipeth God eueri day and



|p76


     knelithe an C tymes in the day [and an C tymes in the nyght].
     The aungeles gone with hym that suffre hym neuer to be weri ne
     to fele hunger. He is alway of one semblaunt, glad and meri.
     He seithe alle thinges before and knowithe al. He spekithe al
 |r5 ma|r[f.199r] nere of langages, and he knowithe what y saie to you
     now. And whanne ye seke hym yef hym luste ye shull finde hym,
     and yef hym luste he wil noght be found of you. And y praie
     you yef ye finde hym that ye saie to hym that he come noght
     here, that his aungeles do not to me as [they haue] do to my
|r10 felawe." And thanne thei came, and whanne they had sought hym
     ij dayes besily and coude not finde hym, in a day there was a
     demoniak, that is a man vexid with a fende, that cried and
     saide: "Apostell of God, Bartilmewe, thine orisones brennen
     me." And the apostell saide: "Holde thi pees and go oute
|r15 thennes." And anone he was deliuered. And whanne Polumen,
     kinge of the rewme, herde this thinge, whiche had a doghter
     lunatike, he sent to the apostell praieng hym that he wolde
     come and hele his doughter. And whanne the apostell was come
     to hym and he sawe that she was bounde with cheynes and al
|r20 torent with her tethe al thinge that cam nighe her, he
     comaunded that she shulde be unbounde. And the seruauntes
     saide thei durst not go to her. And he saide: "Y haue hym here
     bounde, the fende that was bounde in her, and ye drede you."
     And anone she was vnbounde [and deliuered]. And thanne the



|p77


     kinge wolde haue presented the apostell with cameles charged
     withe golde and with precious stones, but thei might in no wise
     finde hym. And in the morwtide after foluinge he apered to the
     kinge in his chaumbre alone and saide to hym: "Wherto soutest
 |r5 thou me yesterday with golde and precious stones? Tho yeftes
     be necessarie to hem that coveyten erthely thinges, but y
     desire none erthely thinge." And thanne Seint Bartilmew
     beganne to teche the kynge of the manere of redempcion of lyff,
     shewinge amonge other thinges how Ihesu Crist had ouercome the
|r10 fende by merueilous and couenable might and right and wisdom.
     For it was a sittyng thinge that he that had ouercome the sone
     of the uirgine, whiche was Adam that was fourmed of the erthe
     that was virgine atte that tyme, were ouercome of the sone of a
     uirgine. And he ouercome hym mightely whanne he cast hym
|r15 mightly oute of his lordship, the whiche he hadde take awey bi
     castinge oute with strength the furst man. And right as he
     that hath ouercome a tyraunt sent his felawes to sette his
     signe oueral and for to caste oute the other tyrauntes, right
     so Ihesu Crist sendithe oueral his messengeres for to fordo the
|r20 worship of fendes. Rightwysely, for it was right that he that
     had ouercome man by eting and helde hym yet, that he were
     ouercome by a man fastinge, & that he shulde holde hym no
     more. Wisly, whanne the art of the fende was ouercome bi the
     art of Ihesu Crist. The art of e fende was for right as the
|r25 faucon takith the bridde, right so toke he Ihesu Crist in e
     desert. For that he fasted he assaied whedir he hadde hungir,
     and yef he hadde had hunger for to haue deceiued hym by mete,



|p78


     and yef he hadde not hungir he wist wel withoute faile that he
     was God. But he might in no wise deceiue hym, for he had
     hunger and yet he consentid nothing to hym in his temptacion.
     And whanne he had longe preched to hym e sacrementis of the
 |r5 faithe, he saide to the kinge that yef he wolde resseiue
     baptyme he wolde shewe hym his god bounden withe cheines. And
     so the day foluyng whanne the bisshopes of ydoles did sacrifice
     bysides the paleys of the kinge, the fendes begunne to crie and
     saye : "Sese ye, cursed wrechis, to sacrifie to us, lest ye
|r10 suffre wors thanne y that lye here harde bounde in cheynes of
     fyre with the aungell[es] of Ihesu Crist that the Iwes crusified
     and wende to haue brought |r[f.199v] hym to dethe. And that dethe
     hathe enc[he]ined us and oure kingdom and bounden with bondes
     of fire oure prince [and] anone cast hym in the bondes of
|r15 dethe." And thanne anone thei cast cordes abought the ydole
     for to throwe hym downe, but thei might noght. And thanne the
     apostell comaunded to the fende that he shulde go oute and
     breke the ydole, and anone he went oute and destroied al the
     ydoles of the temple. And thanne the apostell made his
|r20 orisones, and alle the sike men were heled. And thanne the
     apostell halowed the temple of God, and comaunded to the fende
     that he shulde go into desert there he shulde noye no man. And
     thanne the aungell of God appered there and flye al aboute the
     temple, and marked the signe of the crosse with his fyngre in
|r25 the iiij corners of the temple, saieng: "Oure Lord saithe that



|p79


     right as ye be clensed of alle youre siknesse, this temple be
     clensed of alle filthe. But now y shal shewe you hym that
     duelled here before this tyme, to whom the apostell comaunded
     to go into desert. And drede you noght of the sight of hym,
 |r5 but makithe yn youre forehedes the signe that y haue titled in
     these stones." And thanne he shewed hem an Ethiope blacker
     thanne any tempest, e visage sharpe, the berde longe, his eres
     strechinge to his fete, his eyen flamyng as brenninge yren,
     castinge oute sparkeles of fire by his mouthe medeled with
|r10 brimstone, his hondes bounden withe brenninge cheynes behynde
     his backe. And thanne the aungell saide: "For that thou hast
     herde the comaundement of the apostell and hast tobroke alle
     the ydoles of the temple, y shalle unbinde the, and go thi way
     in suche place wher thou noye no creatoure, and be there into
|r15 the day of iugement." And whanne he had so saide, the fende
     went his waye with a gret thunder and lighteninge, yollinge and
     crienge, and the aungell of oure Lorde stied up into heuene
     before alle the peple. And thanne was the kinge cristened with
     his wif and alle the peple, & lefte his kingdom and becam
|r20 disciple of the apostell. And thanne alle the bisshoppes of
     ydoles gadered hem togederes & went to Astriardes king, the
     brother of Polomen, and compleined hem of the losse of her
     goddes, and of the distruccion of her temple, and of the
     conuersion of his brother that was conuerted by wichecrafte.
|r25 Than the kinge Astriardes was wonder wroth, and anone he sent a
     Ml armed men to take the apostell. And whanne he was brought
     before the kinge, he saide : "Art thou he that hast peruerted my
     brother?" [And] the apostell ansuered and saide: "Y haue noght



|p80


     peruerted hym, but y haue conuerted hym." And the kinge saide:
     "Right as thou haste made my brother to forsake his god and
     leue in thine, right so will y make the to forsake thi god and
     beleue in myne." And e apostill saide: "Y bonde the god that
 |r5 thi brother worshipped and shewed hym to the peple fast bounde,
     and constreined hym to breke his fals ymages, and yef thou
     might do that to my God thou mightest lyghtly bringe me to
     thine entent, and yef not y shall tobreke alle thine goddes &
     leue thanne in myn." And as he saide these thinges, it was
|r10 saide to the king that his god Baldak was al tobrokin and
     throuen downe to the erthe. And whanne the kinge herde that,
     he al torent his purple that he was clothed in and comaunded
     that the apostell were bete withe staues and that he were
     flaine al quik, and so he made his blessed ende. And cristen
|r15 men toke the bodi and beried it worshipfully. And thanne the
     kinge Astrages with the bisshopes of the temple were rauisshed
     of the fende and deiden sodenly. And the kinge Polymen was
     ordeined into a bysshop and fulfelled the office of bisshop
     |r[f.200r] xx yere, and after that he rested in pees full of
|r20 uertues. There is diuerse opiniones of the manere of his
     passion, for the blessed Dorothe saithe that he was crusified.
     And he saithe in this wise : "Bartilmew prechid to hem of Ynde,
     and gaue hem the gospell after Matheu in [her] propre tunge.
     And he was crucified in the Gret Ermenye the hede dunwarde, and



|p81


     beried in the cite of Dalbane." And the same Theodore saithe
     that he was hilt, and in sum bokes it is saide that he was only
     beheded. And these contrarie thingges mow be assoiled in this
     wise: as men sayne, he was furst crucified & before he deied
 |r5 he was take doune of the crosse, and for to haue gretter
     turnement he was hilt, and at the laste he was beheded.
     In the yere of oure Lorde CCC xxxiij the Sarisenes assailed
     Sisile, & wasted al that yle wher the body of Seint Bartilmew
     rested, and brostin hys sepulcre, and castin his bones here and
|r10 there. And it is redde that his body cam oute of Ynde in this
     wise: whanne the Paynimes + sawe that [the] sepulcre [of hym]
     was gretly worshipped for the miracles that felle there, thei
     had gret dispite, and putte hym in + a tumbe of lede, and caste
     hym in + the see, and so bi the will of God he cam into that
|r15 yle. And whanne the Sarisenes hadde departed his bonis here
     & there and [th]rewe hem abrode, the apostle apperid to a
     monke and saide to hym: "Go gadre my bonis that be departed
     here and there." And he ansuerid and saide: "Bi what reson
     shulde y gadre thi bones or what worship shulde y do hem, sethe
|r20 thou hast lete us to be destroied?" And the apostell saide:
     "Oure Lorde hathe spared this peple here a longe tyme thurgh my
     merites, but for her synnes that be so grete and crien to the
     heuene y may aske ne gete no foryeuenesse for hem." And thanne
     the monke saide [to] hym: "How shulde y finde youre bones



|p82


     amonge so mani other as be ther?" And e apostill saide: "Thou
     shalt gadre hem by night, and tho that thou findest shininge as
     fire, take hem up anone." And thanne the monke fonde hem euene
     as he saide, and toke hem up and went into a shippe and come to
 |r5 Bonifaunt that is the maister cite of Poile, and thedir he bare
     hem. And men saye that thei be now atte Rome, but thei of
     Bonifaunt saie that they haue the body.
     A woman brought a vessell full of oyle for to putte into the
     lampe of Seint Bartilmewe, and as she enclined the vessell for
|r10 to haue poured it into the lampe, there wolde no licoure come
     oute in no wise, and yet it was even atte the mouthe of the
     vessell. And t[h]anne one of hem saide: "I trowe it be not
     agreable to the seint that this oyle be putte in his lampe."
     For whiche cause thei putte it in another lampe, and the oyle
|r15 cam oute anone.
     So as the emperour Peduyk distroied Bonifaunt, and hadde
     comaunded that all the chirches that were there [were]
     distroied, and did al his powere to bringe that cite + to
     another place, and that a man fonde and sawe men al in white
|r20 and shininge, and hym thoght that thei were in a gret counsaile
     togeder. And as he had gret meruaile what thei were, he asked
     one of hem, and he ansuered: "This is Seint Bartilmewe the
     apostill with other seintez that hadden chirches in this citee,
     that spekin and ordeine togederes to what peyne thei may be
|r25 demed that haue take hem from her tabernacles. And thei haue
     confermed among hem by sentence that withoute ani delaie thei



|p83


     shul go to the iugement of God for to ansuere upon that." And
     anone that emperour deied cursidly.
     Seint Ambrose saithe in this wise in his Preface that he made
     of this apostell in abbregging his legent: "Ihesu crist, thou
 |r5 hast dey|r[f.200v] nid to shewe to thi disciples preching mani
     thingges of [thi] diuinite and of thi trinite in meruailous
     manere and of thi mageste, amonge the whiche thou sen[d]est the
     blessed Seint Bartilmew, worshiped bi right gret prerogatif, to
     peple of ferre cuntre. And tho it were so that he were vtterli
|r10 ferre from mannes conuersacion alwey he deseruid bi his predi_caciones
     to marke with thi signe the begynninge of that peple.
     A with how gret preisinges is to be worshipped this meruailous
     apostell, whanne it suffisithe hym noght to sowe the faithe
     amonge the hertes of the peple, but he persid as in fleing the
|r15 ferrest contrees of the londes of Inde, and entred into the
     temple wher there were a gret cumpanie of sike folke withoute
     nombre, and made the fende so dume that he gaue none ansuere to
     none of tho that worshipped hym. And the quene that was
     lunatik bi the malice of the fende he made vnbinde and gaue her
|r20 to her fader al hole. A how is he worthi to be nombred amonge
     [the] heuenly felawship, to whom the aungell appered to preise
     the faithe of hym bi his miracles and cam fro the soueraigne,
     and shewed to all the peple the fende bounde in cheynes, and
     had entailed in the stone the signe of the crosse of oure Lorde
|r25 bering hele. And the kinge and the quene were baptised with
     the peple of her citees. And atte the laste the tiraunt



|p84


     brother of the king Polymen, newe in the faith, bi the relacion
     of the bisshop[es] of the temples made + the blessed apostell
     to be bete, to be flayne, and to receyue right piteous dethe.
     And as he denounced the mischef of dethe, he had and bare with
 |r5 hym into [the] heuenly ioye victorie of his glorious strif."
     And the blessed Theodore, abbot and noble doctour, seithe of
     this apostell in this manere amonge the other thinges: "Seint
     Bartilmew preched furst in Lycony, and after in Inde, & atte
     the last in the citee of Alban in the Grettest Ermony, and
|r10 there he was hilt and sethe his hede + smete of, and ther he
     was beried. And whanne he was sent to preche of oure Lorde, as
     y rede, he herde that God saide to hym: "Go preche, go oute and
     fight, and take upon the e gret periles. I haue furst
     fulfelled the werke of my fader and am the furst witnesse.
|r15 Fille the vessell that is necessarie, folu thi maister, loue
     thi Lorde, putte thi blode for his & thi flesshe for his
     flesshe, and suffre that he hathe suffered. Thyn armures ben
     debonairte in thi suetingges, mildenesse amonge wicked men,
     pacience." And the apostell refusid not, but as true seruaunt
|r20 obeied to his maister and went reioysinge, and as the lyght of
     God + enlumined the derkenesse, so as Seint Austin witnessithe
     in his boke, and right as a teler of Ihesu Crist he profited in
     spirituel tilthe. Seint Petre the apostell tellithe the
     nacions, and Bartilmewe foluinge dede thinges like. Seint



|p85


     Petre dede mani gret wonders, and Bartilmewe dede [mani] worthi
     miracles. Seint Petre was crucified the hede dunwarde, and
     Bartilmewe was hilt al quik and had his hede smete of atte the
     last. And they encresed the chirche semblably by the yefte of
 |r5 the holi gost. And right as an harpe yeuithe a swete sowne
     with mani strengges, right so alle the aposteles gaue swete
     melodie of diuine vnite. And thei were ordeined for to be
     crioures of the kinge of kingges, and thei departed amonge hem
     alle the worlde. And the place of Ermeny was the place of
|r10 Seint Bartilmew, that is fro Euylach into Gabaon. And there he
     ered the unresonable feldes with the plowe of the tunge, in
     hyding within the depnesse of hertis the wordis of feith, and
     in plantinge the vyne of oure Lorde and trees of Paradys, in
     ympinge in euerich |r[f.201r] the remedies medicinables of
|r15 passiones, & [raised up] the thornes not vnderstonding, and
     cutte downe the wodes of felonie, and closid it aboute withe
     thornes of techinge. But what worship yalde these tyrauntes to
     the creatoure? Forsothe unworship for worship, cursinge for
     blessinge, paynes for guerdones, and tribulacion for rest, and
|r20 right bitter dethe for lyf. And sethe that this holi seint had
     suffered mani turmentes, he was atte the last hilt of hem [and]
     he deied noght, and therfor he dispised not hem that slow hym,
     but taught hem by miracles. But ther was nothing that might
     withdrawe her bestiall thoughtes ne that might withdrawe hem
|r25 from euell. What dede thei after? Thei arose in wodenesse
     ayenst the holi body, the seke refused her medicine, the citee
     forsoke his keper, the blynde hym that gaue hem sight, tho that



|p86


     perisshed her gouernour, and the dede hym that gaue lyf. And
     how trowe ye thei caste hym oute? Forsothe thei caste the holy
     bodi into the see in a cofre of lede, and the cheste remeued
     from that region of Armoni with the chestis of iiij other
 |r5 marteres that were caste with hym in the see, and these iiij
     went before in that large space of the see and dedin seruice to
     the apostell right as his seruauntes in a manere til that thei
     come into the parties of Sesile, into an yle that is cleped
     Lyparis, as it was sheuid to the bisshopp of Ostione that
|r10 thanne was present. And this right riche tresour cam to right
     a pore woman, and these right precious margarites cam to a
     right simple creatoure. And thanne the other iiij went into
     other cuntrees and lefte e holy apostell in that yle. And one
     of hem that hight Papyen went into the citee of Sesile, and he
|r15 sent that other that hight Lucien into the citee of Massien,
     and he sent that other two into the londe of Calabre. And
     thanne was the apostell resseiued worshipfulli with gret
     preisingges, and there was ordeined a chirche in the worship of
     hym. And the hille of Vulcan was nye [vn]to that yle, and was
|r20 to hym full disesi for that she receiued fire, the whiche hille
     by the merites of Seint Bartilmew withdrow hym from that yle
     vij myle withoute sight of ani man and sette herself towardes
     the see, and yet she aperithe there into this same day. I sawe
     Bartilmewe blessed of blessed, clerenesse of the devyne light



|p87


     of holy chirche, fissher of resonable fisshes, wounder of the
     fende that hadd wounded the world by his thefte. Thou
     reioycest, the sonne of the worlde, enluminynge all erthely
     thyngges, the mouthe of God, the tunge enbrasid puttinge oute
 |r5 wisdom, a welle goodly renninge full of holynesse, that
     haludest the see by thi goingges vnremuables, that madest the
     erthe rede bi thi blode, that repairest shininge in heuene in
     the middell of the devine cumpanie clere in the shininge of
     glorie, and reioiest the in [the] gladnesse of ioy withoute
|r10 ende." And this is that Theodore saithe.