Quomodo in spiritu regem Daciae divino judicio vidit submersum.
The King at the Pentecost Liturgy
On the feast of Pentecost the blessed king outwardly shone in royal splendor while inwardly despising all worldly glory, as all the nobility of England gathered in gold to honor both the sacred solemnity and the king's majesty.
There was a feast day held in memory of that other day when the Spirit of the Lord filled the whole world to renew the face of the earth, and when the minds of the disciples had been cleansed, the divine fire came upon them and gave them light for knowledge, melted them open to grace, and hardened them for punishment.✦ On that day the blessed king, devoted to divine praises, was present at the liturgy — outwardly indeed distinguished by his scepter, resplendent in his robes, crowned with the royal diadem, but inwardly he counted whatever honor there was in these things as dung, because he was bearing the burden of the Sacrament for the sake of conscience.✦ All the nobility of England was present, dressed in gold and surrounded by splendor, honoring together the sacred solemnity of the day and the royal majesty as best they could.
A Smile at the Spiritual Food
During the Mass at Saint Peter's, Edward was recollected in deep prayer and suddenly brightened with a mysterious smile, which he later explained as a prophecy that the Danish king would repeat his ancient crime against England.
So during the sacred rites of the Mass being celebrated in the Church of Saint Peter, gathering his whole self into itself and setting aside all worldly concerns for spiritual ones, he directed his soul toward that sacrifice which was being offered for the salvation of all, and humbly begged for grace for himself, peace for the people, and forgiveness for everyone. And suddenly, at the hour when the spiritual food was being given to those present, the king became brighter in countenance and lifted up his eyes, dissolving into a brief smile while still keeping his royal gravity. Those who were present were astonished, and not without cause; they knew this had happened to him beyond his usual custom. After everything that seemed proper for the observance of so great a day had been completed, those who had noticed it asked him to explain the reason for his smile. He, being of remarkable simplicity, openly confessed everything to those who asked: 'It is fitting,' he said, 'for the Danes to repeat with their king their ancient crime, and to trouble the peace which the kindly divine power has bestowed on us.'
The Proud King Falls into His Own Pit
The Danish king, boasting that his own hand had conquered England rather than God's judgment, set sail in pride on that same hour, but stumbled from the prow and was swallowed by the sea, so that his headless army scattered like wasted limbs.
In the very blow by which the Lord, in his discipline, struck us down — we who were blind to God's justice and boasting of our own power — they said, 'Our hand is the one that is exalted, and it is not the Lord who has done all this.'✦ Because God, angered at our fathers on account of the Danes, had handed us over to their power, they, attributing this to their own strength, easily supposed that the very thing could now be done — not knowing that it is the same one who strikes who also heals, the one who puts to death who also gives life, and the one who leads down to the dead who also brings back.✦ So the Danish king, having gathered his army into one force, on that very day, with the winds blowing as he had wished, gave the order to ready the ships. Provisions and weapons are being carried aboard the ships; the sailors are making ready their rigging and equipment; the soldiers are being stationed at their assigned positions. The ships had already been committed to the winds with sails and canvas set, and at that very hour when my face was brightened, the wicked king, swollen with excessive pride as though he could not contain himself, spreading his feet and legs wide apart in a sprawling stride — when, without caution, he had extended one foot from the prow, he slipped, and at once the abyss swallowed him, and the sea covered his head. In this way that man opened a pit for us and dug it out, only to fall into the ditch that he himself had made.✦ The Lord struck the head from the house of the wicked one; he cursed his scepters and all his army as they advanced, like a whirlwind meant to scatter us.✦ Just as, when the head is cut off, all the limbs waste away, so when the worthless leader was submerged, his army was scattered.
Hope, Laughter, and the Spread of Edward's Fame
Edward placed his hope in God and His mother, rejoiced and laughed at the vision Christ revealed, and when messengers confirmed the miracle at the exact hour, fear fell on all who heard and the nations sued for peace with the saintly king.
But I place my hope in the Lord my God and in his sweetest mother, that in my lifetime their efforts will come to nothing. These are the things I learned, saw, laughed at, and rejoiced over as Christ revealed them. For the Lord has given me reason to laugh, and whoever hears of it will laugh with me. The time and the hour are noted. Messengers are sent into Denmark, carefully investigate everything, and discover that all these things had happened at the very same hour at which they had been revealed from heaven to the most blessed king.1 And as word of so great a miracle spread, fear fell on everyone who heard the report. And knowing that God himself was fighting for Edward, both the Danes and the other nations sent messengers and gifts and made a treaty with him.
Read the original Latin
Aderat dies pro diei illius recordatione festivus, quo ad renovandam faciem terrae spiritus Domini replevit orbem terrarum, et purgatis mentibus discipulorum, divinus ignis illapsus eos et illuminavit ad scientiam, et liquefecit ad gratiam, et induravit ad poenam. Ea die rex beatus divinis laudibus devotus assistebat, exterius quidem sceptro insignis, veste splendidus, regio diademate coronatus, interius vero quod in his honoris erat arbitrabatur ut stercora; quod sacramenti, sustinebat pro conscientia. Adfuit Angliae tota nobilitas in vestitu deaurato circumdata varietate, sacram diei solemnitatem et regiam majestatem simul honore quo poterant venerantes. Igitur inter sacra missarum solemnia quae in Ecclesia beati Petri celebrabantur, totum se in se colligens et spiritualibus temporalia cuncta postponens, in sacrificium illud quod pro salute omnium offerebatur intendit animum, et sibi gratiam, pacem populo, omnibus veniam suppliciter precabatur. Et ecce hora illa qua spiritalis alimonia assistentibus tradebatur, subito rex vultu hilarior et erectior oculis, in risum modicum, servata tamen regia gravitate, dissolvitur. Mirari qui aderant, nec sine causa; praeter consuetudinem id ei accidisse sciebant. Peractis autem omnibus quae ad tanti cultum diei pertinere videbantur, risus sui causam hi qui animadverterant sibi petunt exponi. Ille ut erat mirae simplicitatis, simpliciter quaerentibus simpliciter omnia confitetur: «Convenit, inquiens, Dacis cum rege suo antiquum facinus iterare, et quam nobis propitia divinitas largita est infestare quietem.
In percussione quippe nostra qua castigans castigavit nos Dominus, ignorantes Dei justitiam et suam extollentes virtutem dixerunt: Manus nostra excelsa et non Dominus fecit haec omnia. Quia vero Deus patribus nostris iratus Dacorum nos tradidit potestati, suis id viribus tribuentes, facile hoc ipsum et nunc fieri posse arbitrabantur, nescientes quia qui percutit ipse et sanat, et qui mortificat ipse vivificat, et qui deducit ad inferos ipse et reducit. Igitur rex Dacus, coacto in unum exercitu, hodierna die ventis pro voto flantibus naves parari praecepit. Comportantur cibaria, arma navibus inferuntur, nautae armamenta expediunt, certis sedibus milites collocantur. Jam naves velis et vela ventis fuerant committenda, cum ea hora qua mihi facies serenabatur, rex iniquus ob nimiam superbiam quasi semetipsum non sustinens, et pedes et crura sinouse divaricans, cum incautius unum pedem extendisset, e prora labitur, et statim abyssus vallavit eum, et pelagus cooperuit caput ejus. Ita ille nobis lacum aperuit et effodit eum, et cecidit in foveam quam fecit. Percussit Dominus caput de domo impii, maledixit sceptris ejus et universo exercitui ejus venientibus ut turbo ad dispergendum nos. Sicut absciso capite membra omnia contabescunt, ita submerso principe nequam exercitus dispergitur.
Spero autem in Domino Deo meo et in dulcissima matre ejus, quod temporibus meis nullum habebit conatus eorum effectum. Haec sunt quae Christo revelante cognovi, et vidi et risi et gavisus sum. Risum enim mihi fecit Dominus, et quicunque audierit corridebit mihi.» Notatur tempus et hora. Mittuntur in Daciam nuntii, de omnibus diligenter inquirunt, inveniuntque sic omnia hora eadem accidisse qua beatissimo regi fuerant coelitus revelata. Fama autem tanti crebrescente miraculi, cecidit timor super omnes qui audierunt verbum. Et scientes quia Deus ipse pro Edwardo pugnaret, tam Daci quam caeterae nationes intercurrentibus nuntiis et muneribus foedus cum eo pepigerunt.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Acts.2.3-Acts.2.4 — And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed, and it sat upon each one of them. Acts.2.4 — And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
- ↩Phil.3.8 — But more than that—indeed, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost everything and consider it all rubbish, so that I may gain Christ.
- ↩Isa.12.3-Isa.12.4 — With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Isa.12.4 — And you shall say on that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name; make known among the peoples his deeds; remember that his name is exalted.
- ↩Deut.32.39 — See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life; I have wounded and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from my hand.
- ↩Ps.7.15-Ps.7.16 — Behold, he labors with iniquity, and conceives trouble, and gives birth to falsehood." "With iniquity" reads more naturally aloud than "labors iniquity" while preserving the birth imagery. Ps.7.16 — He dug a pit and hollowed it out, and he fell into the pit he had made.
- ↩Ps.68.22;Hab.3.13 — Surely God will shatter the head of his enemies, the hairy scalp of one who walks in his guilt. Hab.3.13 — You came forth to save your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying bare the foundation up to the neck. Selah.
Notes
- 1 ↩Daciam rendered as 'Denmark' following the medieval identification of the Dacians with the Danes in this hagiographic context, though classical Dacia (Romania) is the literal sense.
Aelred of Rievaulx, Vita Sancti Edwardi Regis et Confessoris companion
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