Quid de eo et regno ejus cuidam episcopo revelabatur Glastoniae.
The Land Mourns Under the Sword
As England is ravaged by war and churches are destroyed, Bishop Brychtwald withdraws to Glastonbury and pours out a lament to God, confessing both divine justice and the people's suffering.
Meanwhile the hostile sword was raging in England: everything was being filled with slaughter and plunder, everywhere grief, everywhere crying out, everywhere devastation. Churches are being set ablaze, monasteries laid waste, and to use the prophet's words: They shed the blood of the saints all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. Priests, driven from their seats, were hiding wherever any peace and quiet could be found in monasteries or in remote places, lamenting their shared misery. Among them the venerable man Brychtwald, bishop of Winchester, entered the monastery of Glastonbury sorrowful and heavy-hearted, and devoted himself to prayers and psalms. When at one time he was pouring out prayers and tears for the deliverance of the kingdom and its people, breaking forth as if into these words: And you, Lord — how long? How long will you turn your face away, forget our need and our trouble? They have killed your saints, undermined your altars, and there is no one to redeem or to bring about deliverance. I know, Lord, I know that everything you have brought upon us, you have done in true judgment; but will God cast us off forever, and not once again show favor, so that he may yet be more merciful?
A Vision of Saint Peter in the Night
Weeping in prayer, Brychtwald falls asleep and sees Saint Peter consecrate a king, then hears a prophetic oracle explaining God's sovereign rule and the people's chastisement for sin.
Will there be an end, Lord my God, to these wonders — or will your rage against us rage on forever, striking us down to utter destruction? Will your sword against us rage on forever, striking us down to utter destruction? Between his prayers and tears, weariness at last brought on a gentle sleep; and in a dream he saw a heavenly choir with a light, and most blessed Peter standing in a place of higher honor, wearing a garment befitting such great majesty. There appeared before him a man of noble countenance, in royal garments and fitting insignia; and when the apostle had consecrated him and anointed him as king with his own hands, he added words of salvation, commending especially a chaste life, and revealed how many years he would reign. Astonished by the wonder of so great a miracle, the bishop asked the saint to reveal to him the mystery of this vision, and moreover sought an apostolic oracle concerning the state of the kingdom and the approaching end of the danger. Then the saint, gazing with a calm expression at the one gazing upon him, said: 'The kingdom belongs to the Lord, O bishop, and he will rule over the children of men. It is he who transfers kingdoms and changes empires, and because of the people's sins he makes a hypocrite reign.✦ Your people have sinned against the Lord, and he has handed them over to the power of the nations, and those who hate them have ruled over them.
The Promise of a Godly King
Awakening from the vision, Brychtwald rejoices in God's promised mercy and preaches repentance, assured that a king after God's heart will arise and deliver the people, as later fulfilled in blessed Edward.
But God won't forget to show mercy, and he won't hold back his mercies in his anger. For when you have fallen asleep, buried with your fathers in a good old age, the Lord will visit his people and bring about the redemption of his people. For he will choose for himself a man after his own heart, who will do all his desires, and who, with my help, will obtain the kingdom of the English and put an end to the fury of the Danes. For he will be acceptable to God and pleasing to people, lovable to his citizens, terrifying to his enemies, and useful to the Church. And when he has completed the prescribed term of his reign in justice and peace, he will end a praiseworthy life with a holy death. The outcome of events proved all of these things to have been fulfilled in blessed Edward. Having awakened, the bishop again turned to prayers and tears, and although he himself was not about to see the happiness of his people, nevertheless, knowing with certainty the end of the evils, he gave thanks to God and rejoiced greatly. Therefore, composed in spirit, he preached repentance to the peoples, and he most steadfastly promised them that the mercy of God would not fail.
Read the original Latin
Saeviebat interim gladius hostilis in Anglia, caedibus et rapinis omnia replebantur, ubique luctus, ubique clamor, ubique desolatio. Incenduntur ecclesiae, monasteria devastantur, et ut verbis Propheticis utar: Effuderunt sanguinem sanctorum in circuitu Jerusalem, et non erat qui sepeliret. Sacerdotes suis fugati sedibus, sicubi pax et quies aliqua in monasteriis vel locis desertis inveniebatur communem miseriam deplorantes delitescebant. Inter quos vir venerabilis Brychtwaldus Wintoniensis episcopus coenobium Glastoniense moerens ac tristis ingressus, orationibus vacabat et psalmis. Qui cum aliquando pro regni plebisque [liberatione] preces lacrymasque profunderet, quasi in haec verba prorumpens: «Et tu, inquit, Domine, usquequo? usquequo avertis faciem tuam, oblivisceris inopiae nostrae et tribulationis nostrae? Sanctos tuos occiderunt, altaria tua suffoderunt, et non est qui redimat neque qui salvum faciat. Scio, Domine, scio, quia omnia quae fecisti nobis, in vero judicio fecisti; sed nunquid in aeternum projiciet Deus et non apponet ut complacitior sit adhuc?
Eritne, Domine Deus meus, eritne finis horum mirabilium? aut in aeternum tuus in nos mucro desaeviet et percuties usque ad internecionem?» Inter preces tandem et lacrymas fatigatum sopor suavis excepit; viditque per somnium coelestem chorum cum lumine beatissimumque Petrum in eminentiori loco constitutum, dignum tantae majestati habitum praeferentem. Visebatur ante eum vir praeclari vultus in forma decenti regalibus amictus insigniis; quem cum propriis manibus apostolus consecrasset et unxisset in regem, monita salutis adjecit, praecipueque caelibem vitam commendans, quot esset annis regnaturus aperuit. Obstupefactus praesul tanti novitate miraculi, petit sibi a sancto visionis hujus mysterium revelari, de statu insuper regni et instantis fine periculi apostolicum exegit oraculum. Tunc sanctus vultu placido intuens intuentem: «Domini, inquit, o praesul, Domini est regnum, et ipse dominabitur in filiis hominum. Ipse transfert regna et mutat imperia, et propter peccata populi regnare facit hypocritam. Peccatum peccavit populus tuus Domino, et tradidit eos in manus gentium, et dominati sunt eorum qui oderunt eos.
Sed non obliviscetur misereri Deus, nec continebit in ira sua misericordias suas. Erit enim, cum dormieris cum patribus tuis sepultus in senectute bona, visitabit Dominus populum suum et faciet redemptionem plebis suae. Eliget enim sibi virum secundum cor suum qui faciet omnes voluntates suas, qui, me opitulante, regnum adeptus Anglorum Danico furori finem imponet. Erit enim acceptus Deo et gratus hominibus, amabilis civibus, terribilis hostibus, utilis Ecclesiae. Qui cum praescriptum terminum regnandi in justitia et pace compleverit, laudabilem vitam sancto fine concludet.» Quae omnia in beato Edwardo completa rei exitus comprobavit. Expergefactus pontifex rursus ad preces lacrymasque convertitur; et licet felicitatem suae gentis non esset ipse visurus, de malorum tamen fine certus effectus, gratias agens Deo plurimum gratulabatur. Factus igitur animaequior, populis poenitentiam praedicabat, quibus Dei misericordiam non defuturam constantissime pollicebatur.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Dan.2.21 — And it is He who changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
Aelred of Rievaulx, Vita Sancti Edwardi Regis et Confessoris companion
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