De sancta Elizabeth
The Meaning of Her Name and Early Devotion
The chapter opens with an etymological analysis of Elizabeth's name and a description of her childhood piety and early ascetic practices.
Elizabeth is interpreted as: My God has known, or: The seventh of my God, or: The fullness of my God. Therefore, Elizabeth is said first to mean 'My God has known,' because God has known her—that is, He has watched over and approved her by His good pleasure, or He has known her, meaning He has poured into her the knowledge of His own awareness. Secondly, Elizabeth is said to mean 'The seventh of my God'; for she possessed the seventh of God, either because she exercised herself in the seven works of mercy, or because she is now in the seventh age of those who rest, eventually to arrive at the eighth age of those who rise again, or because of the seven states in which she lived. For she was first in the state of virginity, second in the state of marriage, third in the state of widowhood, fourth in the active state, fifth in the contemplative state, sixth in the religious state, and now, seventh, she is in the glorious state. And these seven states are clearly contained in her legend, so that it may be said of her what is said in Daniel regarding Nebuchadnezzar: 'Seven times shall pass over her.' Thirdly, it is said to mean 'The fullness of my God'; for God has now satisfied her and filled her with the splendor of truth, the sweetness of grace, and the vigor of eternity. Hence Augustine, in his book The City of God, while speaking of the heavenly city, says: 'In the eternity of God it thrives; in the truth of God it shines; in...' Elizabeth, the illustrious daughter of the King of Hungary, noble by birth but more noble by faith and religion, ennobled such a noble lineage with her examples, illuminated it with miracles, and adorned it with the grace of holiness. The Author of nature raised her in a way above nature; as a girl nurtured in royal luxury, she either entirely despised childish things or dedicated them to the service of God, so that it might clearly shine forth how much simplicity flourished in her tender childhood, and with how much sweet devotion she began. From that time, indeed, she began to accustom herself to good studies, to spurn the games of vanity, to flee the prosperous successes of the world, and to progress always in the reverence of God. Even when she was only five years old, she remained so diligent in church for the sake of prayer that her companions or maids could barely pull her away; and when the maids or girls her own age watched her, she would seem to follow some of them toward the chapel under the guise of play, just so she could find an opportunity to enter the church. Once inside, she would kneel or lie completely flat on the floor. Although she couldn't read, she would often open a psalter in front of her, pretending to read so that no one would disturb her by thinking she was free. She would also measure herself out on the ground with the other girls under the guise of play, using that pretense to show reverence to God; even in games of rings and other pastimes, she placed all her hope in God. From the things she owned as a little girl, she would give a tenth to the poor girls, encouraging them to say the Lord's Prayer often and to greet the Virgin frequently. As she grew in age, she also grew more in the affection of devotion, for she chose the blessed Virgin, the Mother of God, as her patron and advocate, and the blessed John the Evangelist as the guardian of her chastity. For when individual slips of paper inscribed with the names of the individual apostles were placed on the altar, and each of the other girls would receive by chance the slip that fell to her, she prayed and, as she desired, received three times the slip where the name of Saint Peter was written. She was drawn to him with such an affection of devotion that she would deny nothing to those who asked in his name. And so that the successes of the world would not flatter her too much, she would daily take something away from herself even in prosperous times. For when she was succeeding well in some game, she would stop the rest and say, 'I don't want to continue; I am stopping the rest for the sake of God.' When she was called to dance with the other girls, after she had gone around once, she would say, 'Let one round be enough for you; let us leave the others now for the sake of God,' and in this way she tempered the girls from vanity. She always hated the wanton use of clothing and loved modesty in all such things. She had also set for herself a certain number of prayers, and if she was ever prevented by some occupation from finishing them and was forced by her maids to go to bed, she would vigilantly keep watch with her heavenly Spouse. The noble girl also observed solemn days with such devotion that she would not allow her sleeves to be sewn on for any reason until the solemnities of the Mass were completed. She also forbade herself from wearing gloves before noon on Sundays, wanting to honor the sacred solemnity and satisfy her own devotion; for this reason, she would bind herself to this and similar practices by a vow, so that no one could sway her from her purpose with any arguments. She listened to the divine office with such reverence that when the holy Gospels were read or the sacred Host was consecrated, she would remove her gloves if she were wearing them, take off her necklaces, and place any other head ornaments on the ground.
Marriage, Widowhood, and Voluntary Poverty
Elizabeth navigates the states of marriage and widowhood, embracing extreme humility, obedience to her spiritual director, and voluntary poverty.
But after she had prudently navigated her virginal stage and passed through it innocently, she was compelled to enter the married state, urged by her father's command; she was about to reach her thirtieth year, and she kept the faith of the Trinity along with the ten commandments. She consented, therefore, though unwillingly, to the marriage bond—not to give in to lust, but so as not to disregard her father's command and to bring forth children to be raised for the service of God. For although she was bound by the law of the marriage bed, she was nonetheless subject to no carnal pleasure. This is clearly evident from the fact that she made a vow in the hands of Master Conrad that, if she were to outlive her husband, she would observe perpetual continence. She was, therefore, the Landgravine of Thuringia. She was joined in marriage, just as royal magnificence required and divine providence ordained, so that she might lead many there to the love of God and instruct the unlearned. Although she changed her way of life, she didn't change the disposition of her soul. How great was her devotion and humility before God, and how great her austerity! The following facts make clear her self-denial, as well as her generosity and mercy toward the poor. She was so fervent in prayer that she would often hurry to church ahead of her maids, hoping to obtain some grace from God through private prayers. She often rose at night to pray, even when her husband asked her to spare herself and give her body some rest. She arranged with one of her maids, who was closer to her than the others, to touch her with her foot and wake her if she happened to fall asleep and not wake up on her own. Once, the maid tried to touch the lady's foot but accidentally bumped her husband's foot instead. He woke up immediately, realized what was happening, and patiently and wisely kept it to himself. To offer a rich sacrifice of prayer to God, she often watered it with an abundance of tears. She shed these tears joyfully and without any unseemly change in her expression, so that she always wept with sorrow and yet rejoiced in that sorrow, adorning it with a certain cheerfulness of face. She subjected herself to such humility that, for the love of God, she did not despise things that were lowly and abject, and she practiced this with immense devotion. For she once took a sick man, deformed in face and horrible with the stench of his head, and laid him in her own lap, and while her maids laughed, she cut his matted hair and washed his head. During Rogation days, she always followed the procession barefoot, dressed in wool. At preaching stations, she sat among the poor women, as poor and humble as they were. After childbirth, during her purification, she did not adorn herself with jewels or cover herself in gold-embroidered clothes like the others; instead, following the example of the undefiled mother, she carried her son in her own arms and humbly offered him at the altar with a lamb and a candle, to show that the pomp of the world should be despised and to conform herself to that undefiled mother. Returning home, she would give the very clothes she had worn to church to some poor woman. It also happened, as a testament to her humility, that although she was of high birth and noble standing, she subjected herself to the obedience of a certain man—Master Conrad, who was poor and a physician, yet distinguished in knowledge and religious life—with her husband's consent and while maintaining the rights of marriage. She obeyed him so completely that she fulfilled whatever he commanded with reverence and great joy, so that she might gain the merit of obedience and imitate the example of the Lord Savior, who became obedient even unto death. Once, when he invited her to a sermon, she didn't come because the arrival of the Marchioness of Meissen hindered her. Finding such disobedience hard to bear, he refused to let it go until he had her stripped to her shift and soundly whipped, along with the maids who were also at fault. She also imposed such abstinence and rigor upon herself that she wore down her body with vigils, discipline, and fasting. She often abstained from her husband’s bed, spending the nights without sleep so she could devote herself to prayer and pray to the Heavenly Father in secret; whenever the need for sleep pressed upon her, she would sleep on a rough mat, but when her husband was away, she would spend the night in prayer with her Heavenly Spouse. She also often had herself soundly whipped in her room by her maids, so that she might make return to the scourged Savior and... to restrain her flesh from all lust. She showed such temperance in food and drink that at her husband's table, among... the various kinds of dishes, she was sometimes content with simple bread. For Master Conrad had forbidden her to take anything from her husband's food about which she did not have a clear conscience. She observed this with such diligence that, while others enjoyed a variety of delicacies, she and her maids would eat coarser food; yet she often sat at the table, handling and dividing the food with her own hands so that it would appear she was eating, so as to avoid any reputation for superstition and instead brighten the mood of all the guests with her graciousness. Once, when she was exhausted from a long journey and they were offered various foods for her and her husband that were not believed to have been acquired through honest labor, she abstained from them entirely and patiently ate black bread softened in hot water with her maids. For this reason, her husband had assigned her certain honest revenues, and she lived off these with those maids of hers who were in agreement with her in all these matters. Often, however, she would refuse food from the court and ask for provisions from certain good men. Her husband bore all of this patiently, asserting that he would gladly do the same if he didn't fear causing trouble for his household. Though established in the highest glory, she also strove intensely for the state of poverty, so that she might repay Christ in his poverty and so the world might have nothing of its own in her. For this reason, sometimes when she was alone with her maids, she would dress in cheap clothes and, covering her head with a humble veil, would say, "This is how I will walk when I have reached the state of poverty." Although she had placed the bridle of abstinence upon herself, she still poured herself out toward the poor with such generosity that no one suffered from a lack of food; she helped everyone so abundantly that they all acclaimed her as the mother of the poor. She labored with total vigilance in the seven works of mercy, so that she might receive the eternal kingdom and, destined to reign forever, possess the Father's blessing with the blessed at his right hand. She clothed the naked, providing garments to cover the bodies of the poor and pilgrims, as well as for the burial of the dead. She also provided for the baptism of children, often lifting them from the sacred font herself and sewing their clothes with her own hands, so that by establishing this spiritual kinship she could more freely provide for them. It happened that she gave a rather fine garment to a certain poor woman, who, upon seeing it... was so overwhelmed with joy at such a magnificent gift that she fell to the ground and was thought to be dead. Seeing this, blessed Elizabeth was grieved that she had given her so much, fearing it had caused her death; yet she prayed for her, and the woman was healed and rose up. Often, she would spin wool with her maids using her own hands and have garments made from it, so that she might receive the glorious fruit of good labor, provide an example of true humility, and give alms to God from the labor of her own body. She fed the hungry, providing food to the poor to such an extent that when her husband, the Landgrave, set out for the court of Emperor Frederick, which at that time was... At Gremona, she collected all the grain from her own granaries and, having gathered the poor from everywhere, provided them with daily necessities because a severe famine was looming. Often, when she lacked money, she would sell her own ornaments to help the poor, for she was accustomed to depriving herself and her maids of many things to reserve them for those in need. She gave drink to the thirsty; on one occasion, while distributing beer to the poor, after she had given enough to everyone, it was discovered that the vessel had not decreased, but maintained the same measure as before. She. She welcomed pilgrims and the poor into her hospice; she built a very large house beneath the highest castle, in which she comforted a great multitude of the sick, visiting them every single day despite the difficulty of the climb or the descent, providing them with all necessities and encouraging them to patience with stirring words; and although she always found the corruption of the air hard to bear, she did not shrink from the corruption of the sick even in the summer heat, but applied remedies, wiped them with her own head-veil, and tended to them with her own hands, even though her maids found such things hard to endure. In that same house, she also had the children of poor women raised with the utmost care, showing herself so sweet and humble toward them that everyone called her mother. All the children would follow her like a mother when she entered the house, gathering around her in crowds with great eagerness. She had also bought glass beads, rings, and other glass trinkets so the children could play with them. While she was carrying them in her cloak on her way to the castle, they fell from the highest cliff onto the rocks, yet not a single one was broken. She visited the sick, for compassion for the wretched so moved her soul that she frequently sought out their lodgings and visited them with care, entering their little rooms familiarly and devoutly, neither deterred by the difficulty of the journey nor wearied by its length, providing for their needs and offering them words of comfort. Because of this, she received a reward through a fivefold consideration: namely, through the dignity of the visitation, the labor of the journey, the affection of compassion, the speech of consolation, and... through the generosity of the gift. She frequented the burials of the poor, for with a devout mind she would run to their funerals and dress them in garments she had made with her own hands, to such an extent that she once tore her own large linen veil into pieces to wrap the body of a poor man. She even handled their corpses with her own hands and remained devout in her service to them. Among these things, the devotion of her husband is to be praised, who, although he was involved in many affairs, was nonetheless devout in the service of God; and because he was unable to attend to such things personally, he had granted his wife the power to do everything that would concern the honor of God and bring about the salvation of her soul. Blessed Elizabeth, desiring that her husband would turn the weapons of his power toward the defense of the faith, urged him with wholesome exhortation to set out to visit the Holy Land. While he was there, that grave, faithful, devout, and illustrious prince rendered his spirit to God with integrity of faith and sincere devotion, receiving the glorious fruit of his works; and so she embraced the widowed state with devotion, lest she be cheated of the reward of widowly continence, but rather that she might receive the sixtyfold fruit, as one who observed the decalogue of the commandments along with the seven works of mercy. But when the death of her husband had been made known throughout Thuringia, she was shamefully and totally cast out of her homeland by certain of her husband's vassals as a squanderer and a spendthrift, so that through this her patience might shine forth and she might obtain the longing for poverty she had long conceived. When night fell, she took shelter in an innkeeper's house in a place where pigs had been lying, giving many thanks to God. At the morning hour, she went to the house of the Friars Minor and asked that they give thanks to God for her tribulation and sing the Te Deum laudamus. The following day, she was ordered to enter the house of one of her rivals with her little children, being assigned a very cramped place there. While she was being greatly burdened by the host and hostess, she said goodbye to the walls, saying, "I would gladly say goodbye to people if I could find those who are kind." Compelled, she returned to the previous place and sent her little children to different places to be raised. While she was walking along a narrow path full of deep mud over some stones placed there, and a certain old woman to whom she had already offered many benefits refused to yield to her while crossing over those same stones, she fell into the deep mud; rising, she wiped off her clothes, rejoicing and laughing. After this, the abbess, her aunt, feeling great compassion for her poverty, took her to the Bishop of Bamberg, her uncle, who received her honorably and kept her carefully, intending to join her in a second marriage. When the maids who had vowed continence with her learned of this and were afflicting themselves with many tears because of it, they reported it to blessed Elizabeth with groaning; she comforted them, saying, "I trust in the Lord, for whose love I vowed perpetual continence, who will keep my purpose firm, crush all violence, and dissolve human counsel. And if by chance my uncle should wish to join me to someone, I will dissent in spirit and contradict him in words as well; and if no other remedy for escaping remained for me, I would cut off my own nose so that, being deformed, everyone would shrink from me." When, by the command of that same bishop, she had been led against her will to a certain castle to stay there until she was given in marriage, and she had commended her chastity to the Lord with tears, behold, by the Lord's arrangement, the bones of her husband were brought back from overseas. She was therefore ordered by the bishop to return so that she might devoutly meet the bones of her husband. The bishop received those bones with an honorable procession, and she received them with great devotion and an outpouring of tears. Turning to the Lord, she said, "I give You thanks, Lord, because in the reception of the bones of my beloved husband, Your servant, You have deigned to console me, a wretched woman. You know, Lord, that although I..." I loved him deeply while he was alive, yet for the love of you, I have lived without his presence and have dedicated myself to the support of your Holy Land. Although it would have been delightful for me to continue living with him—even if it meant begging as a poor woman alongside him throughout the world—I swear by you that I would not have saved him from death by even a single hair against your will, nor would I have called him back to this mortal life; yet I entrust both him and myself to your grace. But so that she would not lose the hundredfold reward which is given to those who keep the evangelical perfection—those who are transferred from the left hand of misery to the right hand of glory—she put on the religious habit, namely, humble and lowly gray clothes, keeping perpetual continence after her husband's death, observing perfect obedience, and embracing voluntary poverty; she even wanted to go begging from door to door, but Master Conrad would not allow it. His habit for her was so despised that she wore a gray cloak lengthened with cloth of a different color, and she even had the torn sleeves of her tunic mended with cloth of another color. Her own father, the King of Hungary, hearing that his daughter had fallen into such poverty, sent a certain count to her to arrange to bring her back to her father's home. Seeing her dressed in such a habit and observing her sitting humbly and spinning, he exclaimed in confusion and wonder, saying, 'Never has a king's daughter appeared dressed in such a vile habit, nor has she ever been seen spinning wool.' When he insisted vehemently on her return, she would not agree at all, preferring to live in poverty with the poor rather than to abound in many riches with the wealthy. But so that her spirit might pass entirely into God and her intent devotion might have no impediment, she asked the Lord to infuse into her a contempt for all temporal things, to pluck the love of her children from her heart, and to grant her contempt and constancy against all insults. Having finished her prayer, she heard the Lord saying to her, 'Your prayer is heard.' She said to her handmaids, 'The Lord has heard my voice, because I count all temporal things as dung, I care no more for my children than for other neighbors, I think little of the contempt and insults directed at me, and I seem to love nothing now but God.' Master Conrad also often imposed burdensome and contrary things upon her, and he separated her from the company of those she seemed to love most, to the point that he removed from her the two faithful and beloved handmaids who had been raised with her from her youth, amidst much weeping on all sides. The holy man did this, however, so that her... ...will might be broken, so that she might lift her affection entirely to God, and so that none of the handmaids might recall her former glory to her memory. In all these things, she was found to be both quick to obey and constant in patience, so that by patience she might possess her soul and by obedience be adorned with victory.
Mystical Union and Final Days
Elizabeth experiences profound mystical visions and intense prayer, culminating in her peaceful death and the miraculous signs surrounding her passing.
She also used to say, 'I fear a mortal man for God's sake just as much as I ought to fear the heavenly Judge.' For this reason, she chose to obey Master Conrad, a poor beggar, rather than any bishop, so she could completely strip away every opportunity for worldly comfort. Once, when she had entered the cloister of certain nuns at their earnest request without having obtained permission from her master, he had her beaten so severely that the marks of the lashes were still visible on her three weeks later. She would tell her maids, comforting both herself and them, 'Just as grass is pressed down when a river floods and rises again when the water recedes, so we must submit ourselves through humility when affliction comes, and when it passes, we must be lifted up to God through spiritual joy.' She humbled herself so much that she wouldn't allow her maids to call her 'my lady,' but insisted they address her only in the singular, just as we usually speak to those of lower status. Furthermore, she would wash dishes and other kitchen utensils, and to keep the maids from stopping her, she would send them off to other tasks. She also said: 'If I had found another life more despised than this, I would have chosen it instead.' Moreover, so she might possess the better part like Mary, she devoted herself to constant contemplation. In that contemplation, she was given the special grace to shed tears, to see heavenly visions in her mind, and to inflame others with love. Whenever she seemed most joyful, she would shed tears of joyful devotion, so that they seemed to flow from her happy face like water from a clear spring; she appeared to be weeping and rejoicing at the same time, never letting her weeping distort or wrinkle her face. She used to say of those who disfigure their faces while weeping, 'They seem to frighten the Lord away; let them give to God what they have with joy and gladness.' She often experienced heavenly visions during her prayer and contemplation. One day during the holy season of Lent, she was in church, standing with her eyes fixed intently on the altar as if she were marveling at the presence of God; there, for a long time, she was comforted and refreshed by a divine revelation. Afterward, when she returned home and leaned her head against the lap of one of her maids because of her weakness, the maid looked through the window and lifted her eyes toward heaven; at that moment, such joy flooded her face that a wonderful smile followed. After she had been gladdened for a long time by this entirely joyful vision, she suddenly turned to tears. Opening her eyes again, she enjoyed that same joy, and closing them, she was watered by her former tears; in this way, she remained occupied with such divine consolations until Compline. When she had remained silent for a long time without saying a word, she finally broke through and spoke, saying: 'Yes, Lord, you want to be with me, and I with you, and I never want to be separated from you.' Later, when her maids begged her to tell them what she had seen for the honor of God and their own edification, she finally gave in to their persistence and said: 'I saw heaven opened and Jesus leaning toward me most kindly, showing me his most sincere face; but I, having been filled with unspeakable joy by his vision, remained cast down in great sorrow at his departure.' He, having mercy on me, gladdened me again by showing his face and said: 'If you want to be with me, I will be with you,' to which I responded just as you heard me say. When she was asked to explain the vision she had seen near the altar, she replied: "It isn't right to tell what I saw there, but I was filled with great joy and saw the wonders of God." Often, too, while she was at prayer, her face would shine with a wondrous light, and rays like sunlight would stream from her eyes. Often, however, her prayer was found to be so fervent that it would set others on fire as well. She once called over a young man dressed in secular clothes and said to him, "You seem to live quite loosely, when you ought to be serving your Creator; would you like me to pray to God for you?" And he replied, "I do, and I ask for it earnestly." So when she had given herself to prayer and had instructed the young man to do the same, he cried out in a loud voice, "Stop, my lady, stop praying now!" But as she prayed more intently, the young man cried out even louder, "Stop, my lady, for I am completely failing and burning up." He had been so set on fire by such heat that, sweating and steaming all over, he mindlessly threw his body and arms about, to the point that many who came upon him and held him found his clothes soaked through with excessive sweat and could not bear his heat; he himself, meanwhile, kept crying out, "I am burning up and being consumed!" But when blessed Elizabeth finished her prayer, the young man stopped burning, and, coming back to himself and enlightened by divine grace, he entered the Order of Friars Minor. This inflammation, manifested in such a way, demonstrated the fiery fervor of her prayers. It was so powerful that it even set the cold on fire. But he, accustomed to worldly things and not yet ready for spiritual ones, could not grasp such things. Yet, for the sake of the quiet of Mary’s contemplation, she did not abandon the laborious duty of Martha at the highest peak of perfection, as shown above. This is shown by the seven works of mercy. Nevertheless, after she took on the religious habit, she served through works of diligent piety. For when she had received two thousand marks for her dowry, she distributed part of it to the poor and built a great hospital in Marburg with the rest. Because of this, everyone considered her a spendthrift and a waster, and they all called her insane; and because she knew how to accept every insult with joy, they reproached her for having cast the memory of her husband from her heart so quickly, since she was so full of joy. Once she had built the hospital, she devoted herself to the service of the poor like a humble servant; she was so diligent in caring for them that she would even bathe them and tuck them into bed, to the point that she would happily say to her maids, "How well things are going for us, that we get to bathe and cover our Lady like this." In this service to the poor, she acted with such humility that she carried a certain one-eyed boy, covered in sores, to the latrine seven times in a single night with her own arms, and she gladly washed his filthy clothes. She also frequently washed a woman who was horribly leprous, put her in a bed, cleaned and bandaged her ulcers, applied medicine, and cut her nails; she even prostrated herself at the woman's feet to untie her shoes. She led these same sick people to confession and Communion, and she even disciplined a certain old woman who was completely refusing, by using a rod. Whenever she was free from her duties to the poor, she would spin wool sent to her from a monastery, and she would distribute the money she earned from it to the poor. When, after much poverty, she was distributing the five hundred marks she had received as her dowry to the poor, and was moving about, tucked up, to serve everyone in their assigned places, a rule was established: if anyone changed their place to the detriment of other poor people, they would have to suffer having their hair cut off in order to receive anything again. And look, a certain girl named Radegundis, who was blessed with wonderfully beautiful hair, arrived there while passing through—not for alms, but to visit a sick sister of hers. When she was brought to blessed Elizabeth as a lawbreaker, Elizabeth immediately ordered her hair to be cut off, even as she wept and resisted strongly. But when some of those standing by claimed she was innocent, Elizabeth said, "At the very least, she won't be able to go to dances with such ambitious hair anymore, nor practice any vanities with it." When the girl was asked by blessed Elizabeth whether she had ever conceived a plan for a healthy life, she replied that she would have taken up the religious life long ago, if there hadn't been such delight in her hair. And Elizabeth said, "It's more precious to me that you've lost your hair than if my son had been raised to the empire." The girl immediately took the religious habit and lived a praiseworthy life while staying at the hospital with blessed Elizabeth. When a poor woman gave birth to a daughter, blessed Elizabeth lifted the child from the baptismal font, gave her her own name—Elizabeth—and provided the mother with necessities, even going so far as to take the sleeves from her own servant's fur coat to wrap the baby, and she gave the mother her own shoes. But after three weeks, the woman left the girl behind and secretly ran off with her husband. When this was reported to Saint Elizabeth, she turned to prayer; the man and woman, unable to go any further, were forced to return to her and ask for forgiveness. She rebuked them for their ingratitude, as was just, but returned the girl to them to be raised and provided them with the necessities. As the time drew near for the Lord to call his beloved from the prison of this world, so that she might receive the kingdom of the angels, having already despised the kingdom of mortals, Christ appeared to her and said: "Come, my beloved, into the eternal tabernacles prepared for you." While she lay there, gripped by fever, with her face turned toward the wall, those standing nearby heard her singing a most sweet melody; and when one of the maids asked her what this was, she replied: "A little bird came and perched between me and the wall, and it sang so sweetly that it moved me to sing along." Throughout her illness, she remained cheerful and never stopped praying. On the very last day before she passed, she asked them, "What would you do if the devil were to come to you?" A little later, she cried out in a loud voice three times, as if dismissing the devil: "Go away!" Then she said, "Look, midnight is approaching, the hour in which Christ chose to be born and rested in the manger." As the hour of her passing drew near, she said: "The time is now at hand in which Almighty God has called those who are his friends to the heavenly wedding feast." A little later, in the year of our Lord 1226, she reached her final hour and fell asleep in peace. Although her venerable body lay unburied for four days, no stench came from it; instead, it gave off an aromatic scent that refreshed everyone. At that time, many little birds were seen gathered on the roof of the church—birds no one had ever seen before—which sang with such sweet melody and formed their songs with such variety that they filled everyone with wonder, as if they were in some way performing her funeral rites. There was a great cry from the poor and much devotion from the people, so much so that some cut off locks of her hair, while others cut off pieces of her clothing to keep as precious relics.
The Testimony of Miracles
The chapter concludes with a theological reflection on the signs of her sanctity and a series of accounts detailing miracles performed through her intercession.
Her body was placed in a tomb that was later found to be overflowing with oil; it’s clear, then, from the time of her passing, how great the holiness of the blessed Elizabeth was, which is evident in the bird’s singing and the driving away of the demon. For just as the eternal damnation of the wicked is sometimes revealed to them before they die, to their greater confusion, so the eternal salvation of the chosen is sometimes revealed to them, to their greater consolation. That song she uttered, however, was an immense joy she conceived from such a revelation—a joy so immense it couldn't be contained entirely within her heart, but manifested itself through a voice of sweetness. Furthermore, the devil approaches even dying saints if he happens to have any claim on them, but because he had no claim on the blessed Elizabeth, he was shamed and fled. Through this, therefore, it is understood how great was her cleanliness and purity, and this is shown by the fragrance that was exhaled. For because her body shone in life with every cleanliness and chastity, it gave off a sweet fragrance in death. Third, it’s manifest how great her excellence and dignity were, which is shown by the birds' jubilation. For we believe those birds that appeared on the roof of the church, jubilating and singing, were angels sent by God to carry her soul to heaven and honor her body with celestial jubilation; just as a multitude of demons gathers around the dying wicked to torment them with terror and drag their souls to hell, so a multitude of angels flocks to the dying chosen to comfort them and lead their souls to the heavenly kingdoms. The fourth point is clear: how great her mercy and piety were, which is shown by the flowing of oil; for oil flowed from her body because in life she was completely overflowing with works of mercy. Oh, what a great spirit of piety now flows from her inner being, whose body, lying in the dust, was found to be deep with oil. The fifth point is clear: how great her power and merit are before God, which is shown by the manifold working of miracles. For after she passed from her body, God illuminated her with the manifold glory of miracles; some of these are set down below, though many were omitted for the sake of brevity. In the region of Saxony, at a monastery in the diocese of Hildesheim, there was a Cistercian monk named Henry who was so weighed down by illness and in such severe pain that his cries moved everyone to compassion and disturbed them. One night, a venerable lady dressed in white robes appeared to him and offered some advice. She told him that if he wanted to be healed, he should devote himself to Saint Elizabeth. The following night, she appeared again and urged him to do the same. Since the abbot and the prior were away, he made the vow on the advice of his superior. On the third night, she appeared to him again, made the sign of the cross over him, and he was immediately healed. When the abbot and prior returned and heard what had happened, they were amazed at his recovery, but they were very doubtful about the fulfillment of the vow, since no monk is permitted to make such vows or bind himself to them. The prior added that monks are often deceived by demons appearing under the guise of good, and that the monk should therefore be advised to strengthen his wavering mind through confession. The following night, the same person who had appeared before came to him and said, "You will always be sick until you fulfill what you vowed." The same illness seized him immediately, and he began to be tormented by the same pains. When the abbot heard of this, he immediately gave him permission to leave and ordered that wax be provided for making a votive image; once his health was restored, he made every effort to fulfill his vow, and he suffered no more from that illness afterward. A young woman named Benigna, from the diocese of Mainz, asked a servant for a drink; in a fit of anger, the servant handed it to her and said, "Take this and drink the devil." It felt to the girl as if a burning log were sliding down her throat, so much so that she cried out that she was suffering in her neck. Immediately, her belly swelled up like a wineskin, and it felt as though something were moving through her limbs inside her stomach. Because she was making miserable groans and letting out insane cries, she was believed to be possessed by a demon. She remained in that state for two years. She was then brought to the tomb of Saint Elizabeth, and after a vow was made on her behalf, she appeared to be lifeless while lying on the tomb; but when they offered her a little bread to eat and blessed water to drink upon that same tomb, she soon stood up completely healed, while everyone stood stunned and amazed. There was a man from the diocese of Utrecht named Gedericus. He had completely lost the use of one hand, and after visiting the tomb of Saint Elizabeth twice without being cured, he went there a third time with his wife, with great devotion. While on his way, he met an old man with a reverent appearance. After they exchanged greetings and the man was asked where he had come from, he said he was coming from Marburg, where the body of Saint Elizabeth rests and where God works many miracles. When the man explained his infirmity to him, the old man raised his hand and blessed him, saying, 'Go in peace, for you will receive your health, provided you place your infirm hand into a certain hollow made there in the stone at the head of the tomb; the deeper you place it, the sooner you will obtain your health.' He then told him to keep Saint Nicholas in mind, because he is compared to Saint Elizabeth as a companion and partner in her miracles. He added that those who throw down their offerings and leave immediately are foolish, since it pleases the saints that their intercession be sought with perseverance. The old man soon disappeared from them, and they could no longer see him; they were greatly amazed by this and continued on their way, having gained full confidence that they would recover his health. The man followed the old man's advice, placed his hand under the stone of the monument, and immediately withdrew it completely healed. A man from the diocese of Cologne named Hermann, while held in prison by a judge, turned himself entirely to God and, with all the devotion he could muster, called upon blessed Elizabeth and Master Conrad for their help. The following night, both of them appeared to him together in a great light, comforting him in many ways; eventually, after the sentence was passed against him, he was hanged and left on the gallows for the distance of one German mile. The judge, however, granted his parents permission to take him down and bury him in a grave. Once the grave was prepared and he had been laid inside, his father and uncle began to call upon the patronage of blessed Elizabeth for the dead man, and behold, to everyone's wonder and astonishment, the man who had been dead rose up alive. A student from the diocese of Mainz named Quitard, while fishing without enough caution, fell into the river and drowned. A long time later, when his body was pulled from the water, it was so stiff and unresponsive that, with no signs of life, everyone concluded he was truly dead. Then, the merits of Saint Elizabeth were invoked, and to the amazement of all, his health and life were restored. A young boy of three and a half years from the diocese of Mainz, named Hugolinus, had already breathed his last, and his heart had been stiff and lifeless for the duration of a four-mile journey; yet his mother turned with complete devotion to call upon Saint Elizabeth, and she received her son back alive and well. A four-year-old boy fell into a well, and a man who happened to come by to draw water noticed the child lying drowned inside. After he pulled him out with great difficulty, he found that the boy was dead. The signs of his death were clear: how long he had been under, the stiffness of his body, the horrible gaping of his mouth and eyes, the blackening of his skin, the swelling of his belly, and the total absence of any movement or sense. A vow was therefore made to Saint Elizabeth for his resurrection, and he was immediately restored to his former life. A girl who had drowned in a river was also restored to life immediately through the merits of Saint Elizabeth, once she had been pulled from the water. A man named Frederick from the diocese of Mainz, a very skilled swimmer, was bathing when he began to mock a poor man who had been enlightened by Saint Elizabeth; he contemptuously splashed water in the man's face. The man, provoked, said, "May that holy lady who granted me grace defend me against you, so that you don't leave this place unless you are dead and drowned." But Frederick, making light of the poor man's curse, dove into the water playfully; however, completely stripped of his strength, he couldn't help himself but sank to the bottom like a stone. After a long time, he was pulled from the water dead. When a great lamentation was made over him, some of his relatives began to make a vow to Saint Elizabeth for him and to implore her help with the deepest devotion. Immediately, therefore, his spirit returned to him, and he rose up alive and well. A man named Johannes from the diocese of Mainz was wrongly caught as a thief and sentenced to be hanged along with another man; he asked everyone to pray to blessed Elizabeth so that he might be helped according to his merits. He was helped by her merits. While he was hanging, he heard a voice above him say, "Have confidence and put your trust in Saint Elizabeth, and you'll be set free." Immediately, the rope broke while the other man remained, and he fell from a great height; yet he suffered no injury, even though the new shirt he was wearing was torn. Filled with joy, he said, "Saint Elizabeth, you've set me free and made me land on soft ground." When some people said he should be hanged again, the judge replied, "I won't allow someone whom God has set free to be hanged a second time." There was a lay brother in a monastery in the diocese of Mainz named Volemar, a man of great religious devotion, who afflicted his body so severely that for about twenty years he wore a hair shirt against his skin and slept among stones and wood. While he was at the mill, a millstone accidentally caught his hand and crushed it so badly that it tore the flesh from both sides, grinding the bones and nerves until it looked as though it had been pulverized in a mortar. He was in such agony that he begged for his hand to be cut off. Since he frequently called upon Saint Elizabeth for help—who had been close to him even during her lifetime—she appeared to him one night and asked, "Do you want to be made whole?" When he replied, "I do," she took his hand, healed the nerves, restored the bones, replaced the flesh on both sides, and returned it to its original health. When morning came, he found himself completely healed and showed his hand to the entire community, to the astonishment of all. A five-year-old boy named Discretus, from the diocese of Mainz, had been born blind, but through the merits of Saint Elizabeth, he received his sight. A solid layer of skin, lacking eyelashes or any separation, had grown over his eyes to the point that it covered them completely, leaving no sign of the eyes themselves underneath. His mother, therefore, brought him to the tomb of Saint Elizabeth, anointed his eyes with earth from the grave, and invoked the merits of Saint Elizabeth on his behalf; suddenly, the solid skin split down the middle, and his eyes—though very small, cloudy, and bloodshot—became visible, and in this way, through the intercession of Saint Elizabeth, the boy was granted the gift of sight. A girl from the same diocese named Beatrix had been troubled for a long time by various severe illnesses; eventually, a hump grew on her back and a tumor on her chest, leaving her entire body so hunched that she couldn't stand up at all, but had to support her body by resting her hands on her knees. When her mother had carried her in a basket to the tomb of Saint Elizabeth and they had stayed there for ten days without finding any remedy for her health, the mother grew angry and grumbled against Saint Elizabeth, saying, "You grant favors to everyone else, but you won't listen to me in my misery?" I'll make sure to turn everyone I can away from visiting you when I get back. So, as the angry mother was leaving and had already traveled a mile and a half, while her daughter was crying out in pain, the girl finally fell asleep and saw a beautiful lady with a radiant face, who touched her back and chest and said, "Get up and walk." The girl woke up, found herself completely healed of all deformity and curvature, and told her mother about the vision, which brought them both joy and gladness. They returned to the tomb of Saint Elizabeth to give thanks to God and to her, and they left behind the basket in which the girl had been carried. X4. A woman named Gertrude, from the same diocese, had been crippled in both legs and bent over in her whole body for many years; she was warned in a dream that she should set out for Saint Nicholas and implore his merits. She had herself carried to the church of Saint Nicholas and found healing in one leg, but eventually, when she was brought to the tomb of Saint Elizabeth and placed upon it, she was stirred by the most intense pain and, as if beside herself, rose up whole and sound. A woman named Scintrudis, from the same diocese, had been completely blind for a whole year and always had to be led by others; she turned to Saint Elizabeth with total devotion to ask for her help, and she received back her lost sight. A man named Henry, from the diocese of Mainz, had been completely blinded, but after visiting the tomb of Saint Elizabeth, he received the gift of a full recovery. Later, this same man suffered such a severe hemorrhage that his family thought he was going to die; however, he mixed some earth from Saint Elizabeth's tomb with water, drank it, and was completely healed. A7. A girl named Mechtildis, from the diocese of Trier, had lost her sight, hearing, and the ability to speak and walk. Her parents dedicated her to blessed Elizabeth, and they received her back perfectly healed, praising the great works of God and Elizabeth. A woman named Helibingis, from the diocese of Trier, had been completely blind for a year. After she invoked the merits of Saint Elizabeth for her healing and had herself led to the saint's tomb, she regained sight in one eye, but upon returning home, she felt her other eye being severely tormented. When she again implored the saint's merits, Elizabeth appeared to her and said, "Go to the altar, have your eyes wiped with the corporal, and you'll be healed." Once she followed these instructions, she was healed. A man named Theoderic, from the diocese of Mainz, had suffered for a long time from a severe illness in his knees and legs, to the point that he couldn't walk and had to be carried by others. He vowed to visit the tomb of Saint Elizabeth with offerings. Although his home was only ten miles away, it took him eight days to make the journey. After staying there for four weeks without finding any relief, he started his way home. While resting in a certain place, lying down next to another sick person, he dreamed someone came toward him and drenched him completely with water. When he woke up, he was angry at his companion and said, "Why did you drench me with water?" The man replied, "I didn't drench you, but I believe this drenching will be the cause of your healing." So he got up, found that he was completely healed, placed his crutches over his shoulder, returned to the tomb of Saint Elizabeth to give thanks, and then went home full of joy.
Read the original Latin
Elizabeth interpretatur: Deus meus cognovit, vel: Dei mei septima vel Dei mei saturitas. Dicitur ergo primo Elizabeth: Deus meus cognovit, quia Deus eam cognovit, id est, suo bene placito observavit et approbavit vel cognovit, id est notitiam suae cognitionis sibi infudit, Secundo dicitur Elizabeth, id est Dei mei septima; ipsa enim habuit septimam Dei, vel quia VII operibus misericordiae se exercuit vel quia nunc est in septima aetate quiescentium, perventura tandem in octavam resurgentium, vel propter VII status, in quibus fuit. Ipsa namque fuit primo in statu virginali, secundo in stalu conjugali, tertio in statu viduali, quarto in statu activo, quinto in statu contemplativo, sexto in statu religioso et nunc septimo est in statu glorioso. Et isti septem status manifeste continentur ín legenda sua, ut possit dici de ea, quod dicitur in Daniele de Nabuchodonosor: septem tempora mutabuntur super eam, Tertio dicitur Dei mei saturitas; Deus- enim modo satiavit eam et replevit splendore veritatis, dulcedine suavitatis et vigoreaeternitatis. Unde Augustinus in libro de civitate Dei agens de civitate coelesti dicit: in aeternitate Dei viget, in veritate Dei lucet, in 4. Elizabeth, illustris Ungariae regis filia, genere nobilis, sed fide ac religione nobilior stirpem tam nobilem nobilitavit exemplis, illustravit miraculis et decoravit gratia sanclitatis. Quam auctor naturae supra naturam quodammodo extnlit, dum puella regalibus nutrita deliciis omnia puerilia aut omhino contemueret aut eadem in Dei obsequium manciparet, ut liquido clareat, tenera ejus infantia quanta simplicitate viguit, quanta dulci devotione incepit. Extunc siquidem coepit bonis assuescere studiis, ludos spernere vanitatis, successus prosperos fugere mundi, proficere semper in reverentia Dei.
Cum enim adhuc esset quinquennis, in ecclesia orandi gratia tam sedula permanebat, nt eam ejus sodales vel ancillae avellere vix valerent, Quam cum ancillae vel coaetaneae observarent, aliquam de illis causa ludi versusecappellam insequi videbatur, ut ex hoc intrandi ecclesiam opportunitatem caplaret. Quam ingrediens genna flectebat aut pavimento totaliter incumbebat, et licet litterarum peritiam non haberet, tamen coram se in ecclesiis saepe psalterium expandebat, ut quodammodo se legere fingeret, ne velut occupatam quis impediret; se quoque cum puellis ad terram prostratam ludi specie mensurabat, ut sub tali occasione Deo reverentiam exhiberet, In ludo etiam et annulorum et aliis ludis spem totam in Deo ponebat. Et ex his, quae puella parvula Incrabatur vel alias peculiariter possidebat, puellis pauperculis decimas exhibebat inducens eas, nt saepe orationem dominicam dicerent et crebro virginem salutarent. Crescens vero per aetatem temporis et crescebat amplius per affectum devotionis, nam beatam virginem Dei genitricem in sui patronam et advocatam et beatum Johannem evangelistam in suae castitatis custodem elegit. Cum enim singulae schedulae singulorum apostolorum nominibus inscriptae altari imponerentur et quaelibet aliarum puellarum casu sibi schedulam contingentem acciperet, ista oratione fusa tribus vicibus schedulam, ubi nomen sancti Petri erat inscriptum, ut desiderabat, accepit, ad quem tanto devotionis ferebatur affectu, ut nihil in ejus nomine petentibus denegaret, Ne vero mundi successus sibi nimium blandiretur, quotidie in rebus prosperis sibi aliquid detrahebat. Cum enim in aliquo ludo sibi prospere succederet, reliquum intermittens dicebat: nolo procedere, sed propter Deum reliquum intermitto, Ad choreas quoque enm puellis caeteris advocata, cum unum circnitum peregisset, dicebat: sufficiat vobis unus circuitus, jam propter Deum alios dimittamus, et sic per talem modum puellas a vanitatibus temperabat. Vestimentorum lascivos usus semper abhorrait et omnem in his honestatem dilexit. Certum quoque sibi numerum orationum indixerat, quem si quando aliqua occupatione praeventa non potuisset perficere et ab ancillis lectum ingredi cogeretur, cum coelesti sponso vigilias vigilanter solvebat; dies quoqu sollemnes puella nobilis tanta devotione colebat, ut etiam manicas sibi consni nulla ratione pateretur, antequam missarum sollemnia complerentur.
Chirothecarum etiam usus ante meridiem in diebus dominicis sibi interdixit, volens in hoc et sacrae deferre sollemnitati et suae satisfacere devotioni, Propter quod solita erat ad haec et similia se per votum adstringere, ne quis eam posset aliquibus saasionibus a suo proposito revocare. Officium ecolesiaslicum audiebat cum tanta reverentia, ut, cum sacra legerentur evangelia vel sacra hostia conficeretur, manicas, si forte consutae essent, solveret, monilia deponeret et caetera capitis ornamenta ín imo locaret. At ubi gradum virginalem prudenter rexit et innocenter percurrit, conjugalem gradum intrare compellitur, utpote quae ad hocpaterno imperio urgebatur, fractum perceptura tricesimum, quae fidem trinitatis servavit eum decalogo praeceptorum. Gonsensit igitur licet invita in copulam conjugalem, mon ut libidini consentiret, sed ne patris praeceptum contemneret et ut filios edncandos ad Dei servitium procrearet. Quamvis enim fuerit legi tori conjugalis adstricta, nulli tamen delectationi fuit subjecta. Quod inde manifeste constat, quoniam in manibus magistri Conradi votum emisit, quod, si viro suo eam supervivere contingeret; continenliam perpetuam observaret. Fuit ergo lantgravio Thuringiae. sociata conjugio, prout regalis exigebat maguificentia et dispositio ordinavit divina, ut scilicet ibidem multos ad Dei-amorem adduceret et incultos homines edoceret.
Licet autem mutaverit statum mentis, non tamen mutavit mentis affectum. Quantae autem fuerit devotionis et hamiliationis ad Deum, quantae austeritatis. et abstinentiae ad se ipsam, quantae largitatis et misericordiae ad pauperes, ex his, quae subjecta sunt, apertius declratar, Nam in oratione tanti exstitit fervoris, ut etiam ancillas ad ecclesiam gradu concito praeveniret, nt quasi quibusdam clandestinis orationibus aliquam Dei gratiam impetraret. In nocte ad orationem saepe surgebat, rogante eam marito, ut sibi parceret et quieti alicui corpus donaret, Ürdinavit antem cum quadam domicella sibi inter caeteras magis familiari, ut, si forte somno depressa non surgeret, cam pede tangens excitaret. Quadam vero vice pedem dominae tangere volait et casu in pedem mariti impegit, qui subito excitatus rem, ut erat, didicit et patienter sufferens prudenter dissimulavit. Et ut orationum suarum Deo pingue redderet sacrificium, saepe ipsum irriga: bat abundantia lacrymarum ; quas quidem lacrymas fundebat jucunde et sine aliqua indecenti vultus permutatione, ita ut semper cum ' dolore fleret et de dolore gauderet et hoc quadam vultus laetitia venustaret, Tantae humilitati se subjecit, ut propter Dei amorem vilia et abjecta non sperneret et hoc cum devotione nimia exerceret. Nam infirmum quendam vultu deformem, capitis foetore horribilem in sinu proprio reclinavit et horridum crinem tondens ejus caput ancillis ridentibus lavit. In rogationibus semper processionem nudis pedibus induta laneis sequebatur et in praedicationum stationibus inter paupercnlas tamquam pauper et humilis residebat, in purificatione post partum nequaquam se nt caeterae gemmis ornabat vel vestibus deauratis tegebat, sed exemplo intemeratae puerperae filium propriis gestans im ulnis ipsum ad altare cum agno et caudela humiliter offerebat, ut ex his et seculi pompam contemnendam ostenderet et se illibatae puerperae conformaret, Deinde domum rediens vestimenta ipsa, eum quibus ad ecclesiam processerat, alicui pauperi mulieri tribuebat, Accidit quoque ad suae humilitatis praeconium, quod ipsa libertate praecellens et dignitate sublimis cujusdam viri, scilicet magistri Conradi pauperis et medici, sed tamen scientia et religione praecipui, salvo jure matrimonii et consentiente marito, obedientiae adeo se subjecit, ut, quidquid praeciperet, ipsa cum reverentia et multo gaudio adimpleret, ut ex hoc obedientiae perciperet meritum et domini salvatoris, qui factus est obediens usque ad mortem, imitaretur exemplum.
Quadam autem vice ad quandam praedicationem ab ipso vocata, superveniente marchionissa Misenensi impedita non venit. Quod ille aegre ferens tantam ejts inobedientiam relaxare moluit, donec usque ad camisiam exspoliatam cum quibusdam ancilis suis, quae culpabiles fuerant, fortiter verberari fecit. Sibi quoque tantam abstinentiam et rigorem imponebat, ut corpus suum vigiliis, disciplinis et jejuniis maceraret, Nam saepe a viri toro 48 abstinens noctes ducebat insomnes, ut orationibus posset insistere et in abscondito patrem coelestem orare, cumque somni interpellaret necessitas, super styata tapelia dormiebat, sed cum maritus abesset, cum sponso coelesti in orationibus pernoctabat. Saepe etiam per manus ancillarum faciebat se in cubiculo fortiter verberari, ut salvatori flagellato vicem rependeret et !) carnem -ab omni lascivia coerceret. Tantam autem in cibo et potu temperantiam exhibebat, ut in mensa mariti inter. diversa ferculorum genera interdum pane simplici esset contenta. Magister enim Conradus sibi interdixit, ne de cibis mariti quidquam contingeret, de quibus sanam conscientiam non haberet.
Quod ipsa tanta diligentia observavit, ut aliis diversis deliciis abundantibus ipsa cum ancillis suis cibis grossioribus uteretur, Saepe tamen ad mensam sedebat et cibos manu contrectabat et dividebat, ut ex hoc comedere videretur, ne superstitionis notam incurreret, scd urbanitate tali cunctos convivas laetificaret. Quadam vice, cum longi itineris fuisset labore depressa, et marito et sibi fuissent cibt diversi oblati, quinon credebantur de justis laboribus acquisiti, omnino abstinnit et nigrum panem et durum in aqua calida madefactum cum suis ancillis patienter comedit. Ob hoc quosdam reditus justos vir suus sibi assignaverat, de quibus cum quibusdam ancillis suis, quae Sibi ad haec omnia consentiebant, vivebat. Saepe autem, cibos curiae respuit et aliquorum bonorum virorum cibaria requisivit. Haec autem vir suus omnia cum patientia supportabat, asserens, quod haec et ipse libenter faceret, si turbationem suae familiae non timeret. Statum quoque paupertatis in summa gloria constituta summopere affectabat, ut et Christo pauperi vicem rependeret et mundus in ea nil proprium haberet. Quapropter interdum, cum sola esset cum ancillis, vestimentis vilibus induens se et despecto velo caput suum operiens dicebat: taliter incedam, cum ad statum venero paupertatis. Licet autem sibi abstinentiae frenum imposuerit, tanta tamen liberalitate se ad pauperes effundebat, ut nullum aliqua premi inedia pateretur, sed omnibus adeo largissime subveniebat, ut omnes eam matrem pauperum acclamarent,Septem enim misericordiae operibus tota vigilantia insudabat, ut regnum perpetuum perpetuo regnatura perciperet et paterham benedictionem cum benedictis ad dextram possideret.
Ipsa namque nudos vestiebat, siquidem vestimenta impendebat nudis peregrinorum et pauperum corporibus sepeliendis et pueris baptizandis, qnos quidem pueros saepe de sacro fonte levabat et propriis manibus eorum vestimenta Suebat, ut compaternitate contracta iis liberius subveniret. Accidit antem, ut cuidam pauperceulae quoddam satis bonum tribueret vestimentum, illa autem videns. donum tam magnificum, tam ingenti gaudio est perfusa, ut ad terram cadens mortua crederetur, Quod beata Elizabeth videns doluit, se sibi tanta dedisse, timens, ne Sibi fieret causa mortis, sed tamen pro ea oravit et ipsa sanata surrexit. Saepe autem ipsa cum ancillis propriis manibus lanam filabat et inde vestimenta fieri faciebat, ut ex hoc bonorum laborum gloriosum reciperet fructum et exemplum verae humilitatis praeberet et de proprii corporis laboribus elemosinam daret Deo. Ipsa esnrientes pascebat, pauperibus enim alimenta praebebat, adeo ut lantgravio viro suo profecto ad curiam Friderici imperatoris, quae tuno erat !) Gremonae, ipsa omnem annonam de suis grangiis collegit et congregatis undecunque pauperibus quotidie lis necessaria ministrabat eo, quod tunccharistia et valida fames imminebat, Saepe autem, cum pecunia iis deficeret, ornamenta vendebat, ut pauperibus subveniret: multa enim sibi et suis ancillis consuevit subtrahere et pauperibus reservare. Ipsa sitientes potabat, Quadam autem vice cerevisiam pauperibus distribuens, cnm unicuique sufficienter dedisset, inventum est, quod vas nullam habuit deminutionem, sed eandem, quam prius, mensnram servavit. Ipsa.
hospitio peregrinos et pauperes suscipiebat, domum enim maximam sub altissimo castro construxit, in qua infirmorum magnam multitudinem refovebat, quos diebus singulis non obstante difficultate ascensus vel descensus visitans et iis omnia necessaria ministrabat et verbis exeitatoriis ad patientiam inducebat, et licet omnem corruptionem aéris semper aegre portaverit, infirmorum tamen corruptiones propter Dei amorem eliam tempore aestivo non abhorruit, sed-remedia adhibuit, velo proprii capitis tersit et manibus propriis contrectavit, licet ancillae taliagraviter tolerarent. In eadem quoque domo puerulos pauperum feminarum nutriri cum summa diligentia faciebat, quibus se tam dulcem et humilem exhibebat , ut eam omnes matrem vocarent et intrantem domum cuncti tamqnam matrem filii sequerentur et ante cam catervatim cum summo studio collocarentur. Ipsa vero et ollienlas et anhulos vitreos et quaedam alia vitrea emi fecerat, ut pueri ludos pueriles in talibus exercerent, Qnae dum in pallio proprio equitans in castrum deferret, de rupe altissima super lapides ceciderunt, sed nulla in iis Jaesio est inventa. Ipsa infirmos visitabat, miserorum enim compassio adeo ejus animum viudicabat, quod eorum hospitia frequenter perquirens , eos sollicite visitabat, eorum camerulas familiariter et devote subintrans nec difficultate viae pertenta nec longitudine lacessita, quibus subveniebat in necessariis, et verba exhibebat consolationis. Propter quod ex qnuintuplici consideratione remunerationem accepit, scilicet ex dignatione visitationis, ex labore itineris, ex affectn compassionis, ex affatu consolationis et. ex largitione muneris, Ipsa sepulturas pauperum frequentabat, mente namque devota pauperum currebat ad funera et vestes, quas propriis manibus fecerat, eorum corporibus coaptabat adeo, ut semel velum snum linteum magnum in partes concideret et cujusdam pauperis corpus involveret. Eorum etiam fanera propriis manibus contrectabat et in ipsorum obsequiis devota manebat. Inter haec laudanda est devotio viri sui, qui licet mogotiis multis esset implicitus, in Dei tamen obsequio erat devotus et quia ipsetalibus personaliter intendere non valebat, uxori suae potestatem concesserat agendi omnia, quae Dei honorem respicerent et animae suae salutem afferrent.
Cupiens vero beata Elizabeth, ut vir suus in fidei defensionem ) potentiae suae arma converteret, ipsum salubri exhortatione indaxit, ut ad terram sanctam pergeret visitandam. Ubi dum esset, ipse tantgravius princeps fidelis, devotus et inclytus fide integra: et devotione sincera Deo reddidit spiritum, suorum operum fructum recipiens gloriosum, Et sic ipsa vidnalem statum cum devotione amplectitur, ne vidualis continentiae praemio fraudaretur, sed fructumsexagesimum sic perciperet, utpote quae decalogum-:praeceptorum cumseptem misericordiae-operibus observaret. Verum cum mors viri sui per totam fuisset Thuringiam divulgata, de patria ipsa tamquam dissipatrix et prodiga a quibusdam vasallis viri sui turpiter et totaliter est ejecta, ut ex hoc ejus patientia claresceret et paupertatis diu conceptum desiderium obtineret. Adveniente igitur nocte in domo cujusdam tabernarii in loco, ubi porci jacuerant, se recepit Deo gratias multas agens. Hora vero matutinali ad domum fratrum minorum pergens rogavit, ut pro sua tribulatione Deo gratias agerent et te Deum laudamus cantarent, Sequenti die domum cujusdam sui aemuli cum suis parvulis jussa est ingredi, arto sibi loco ibidem admodum assignato, (Quae dum ab hospite et hospita plurimum gravaretur, parietibus valefecit dicens: libenter hominibus valefacerem, si beneficos invenirem, Compulsa igitur ad locum priorem rediit et parvulos suos ad loca diversa alendos transmisit, Dum vero per quandam viam strictam luto profundo plenam super quosdam lapides ibidem positos pergeret et vetula quaedam, cai jam multa beneficia obtulerat, super eosdem lapides iransiens eidem cedere recusaret, ipsa in lutum profundum cecidit et surgens vestimenta sua gaudens et ridens abslersit, Post hoc autem abbatissa ejus matertera ipsius nimium paupertali compatiens ad episcopum Babenbergensem ipsius avunculum eam duxit, qui eam honeste suscipiens cante retinuit, intendens ipsam secundis nuptiis copulare, Quod cum ancillae, quae secum continentiam voverant, didicissent et ex hoc se multis lacrymis affligerent, beatae Elizabeth eum gemitu hoc retulerunt, quae eas confortans ait: confido in domino, pro cujus amore continentiam vovi perpetuam, qui meum propositum firmum custodiet et omnem violentiam conteret et consilium humanum dissolvet, et si forte avunculus meus voluerit me alicui copulare, animo dissentiam et verbis pariter contradicam, et si nullum aliud mihi evadendi superesset remedium, nasum mihi proprium detruncarem, ut me sio deformem quilibet exhorreret. Cum igitar de mandato ipsius episcopi ad quoddam castrum invita fuisset deducta moratura ibidem, donec in conjugium tenderetur, et ipsa suam castitatem domino cum lacrymis commendasset, ecce domino disponente ossa viri sui de ultramarinis partibus deferuntur, Jussa est igitur ab episcopo reduci, nt ossibus -viri sui devota occurrat. lpsa ergo ossa ab episcopo cum honorabili processione et ab ipsa cum multa devotione et lacrymarum effusione suscepta sunt. Quae conversa ad dominum dixit: gratias tibi ago, domine, quia in susceptione ossium viri mei dilecti tui me miseram consolari dignatus es; tu scis, domine, quia, licet ipsum.
te amantem multum amaverim, iamen ob tui amorem ejus praesentia carui et in sanctae terrae tuae subsidium destinavi, et quamvis delectabile mihi esset adhuc cum eo vivere tali conditione, ut cum ipso per totnm mundum paupercula mendicarem, tamen te teste contra tuam voluntatem uno crine ipsum non redimerem nec ad vitam mortalem iterum revocarem, ipsum autem et me tuae gratiae recommendo. , Verum ne fructum centesimum perderet, qui perfectionem evangelicam servantibus datur, qui de sinistra miseriae ad dextram gloriae transferuntur, religiosum habitum induit, vestes scilicet grisias humiles et abjectas, continentiam post mortem viri perpetuam servans, obedientiam perfectam custodiens et voluntariam paupertatem complectens,mendicando quoque ire ostiatim voluit, sed magister Conradus non permisit, Fuit autem ejus habitus tam despectus, ut deferret pallium griseum panno coloris alterius prolongatum, manicas etiam tunicae ruptas alterius coloris panno habuit emendatas, Pater vero suus, rex Ungariae, audiens, filiam snam ad tantam devenisse inopiam, comitem quendam ad eam misit, ut ipsam ad paterna limina reducere procuraret. Qui videns eam tali babitu ornatam cernensque sedentem humiliter et filantem prae confusione et admiratione exclamans dixit: nunquam filia regis tam vili induta habitu apparuit nec lanam aliquam filare visa fuit, Cum vero pro sua reductione vehementer institisset, nullatenus acquievit, cum pauperibus malens in paupertate degere, quam divitiis multis cum divitibus abundare, Ut vero ejus animus in Deum totus transiret et intenta ejus devotio nullum impedimentum haberet, rogavit dominum, ut omnium temporalium contemtum sibi infunderet et filiorum dilectionem à suo corde evelleret et contra omnes contumelias contemtum et constantiam largiretur, Fusa vero oratione audivit dominum sibi dicentem: exandita est oratio tua. Quae dixit ancillis: exaudivit dominus vocem meam, quia et omnia temporalia ut stercora reputo et de filiis meis non plus quam de aliis proximis curo et mei contemtum et opprobria parvi pendo nihilque aliud jam diligere videor nisi Deum. Magister quoque Conradus saepe sibi molesta et contraria imponebat et quos amplius diligere videbatur, ab ejus consortio separabat, adeo ut duas fideles ancillas et praedilectas, quae a juventute sua secum fuerant enutritae, ab ea removerit, multis effusis lacrymis hinc et inde. Hoc faciebat autem vir sanctus, ut ejus. voluntatem frangeret et ut ipsa suum afectam ad Deum totaliter erigeret et ne aliqua de ancillis pristinam gloriam ad ejus memoriam revocaret. ln his antem omnibus inveniebatur et velox ad obedientiam et constans ad patientiam, ut per patientiam animam suam possideret et per obedientiam victori decoraretur.
Dicebat quoque: propter Deum tantum timeo hominem mortalem, quantum timere debeo judicem coelestem; ideo autem magistro Conrado pauperi et mendico, non alicui episcopo obedientiam facere voluit, ut omnem -occasionem temporalis consolationis a me penitus abdicaret. Quadam vice dum claustrum quarundam sanctimonialium ab iis obnixe rogata intrasset, non habita licentia a suo magistro, fecit eam tam graviter verberari, ut post tres hebdomades in ea vestigia verberum apparerent. Dicebat autem suis ancillis se et illas consolans: sicut gramen fluvio inundante deprimitur et decrescente erigitur, sic nos aliqua afflictione adveniente debemus per humilitatem submitti, cessante vero ad Deum per spiritualem laetitiam elevari, Tantae se humilitati deprimebat, ut nullatenus pateretur, quod ancillae eam dominam appellarent, sed singulari tantum ad eam numero loquerentur, eo modo scilicet, quo inferioribus loqui solemus. Seutellas insuper aliaque coquinae utensilia lavabat et, ne ab ancillis prohiberetur, eas ad loca alia transmittebat. Dicebat etiam: si vitam aliam magis despectam invenissem , ipsam potius elegissem. Caeterum, ut eum Maria optimam partem possideret, sedulae contemplationi vacabat. In qua quidem contemplatione specialem gratiam habuit lacrymas fundere, coelestes visiones cerebro videre et ad amorem alios inflammare. Quandoquidem magis jucunda videbatur, tunc jucundae devotionis lacrymas emittebat, ita ut lacrymae de vultu ejus jucundae tanquam de fonte serenissimo effluere viderentur, ut simul flens videretur et gaudens, nunquam in deformitatem vel rugas vultum ex fletu convertens, Dicebat enim de his, qui vultum in fletu deformant: videntur quasi dominum deterrere; dent enim Deo, quod habent, cum jueunditate et hilaritate.
Visiones coelestes in ipsa sui oralione et contemplatione saepe videbat. Quadam vero die sacro quadragesimali tempore in ecclesia exsistens sic ad altare oculis defixis intenta mancbat, ac si ibidem Dei praesentiam miraretur, ubi per magnum spatium consolata divina est revelatione refecta. Deinde domum reversa, dum se prae debilitate in ancillae gremium appodiasset et illa per fenestram oculos ad coelum defixos attolleret, tanta hilaritate vultus ejus perfunditur, ut etiam risus mirabilis sequeretur. Quae cum diu tota jucunda visione laetificata fuisset, subito in lacrymas est conversa. Rursus oculos aperiens pristina jucunditate perfruitur oculosque claudens pristinislacrymis irrigatur et sic usque ad completorinm talibus est divinis consolationibus immorata. Cum vero diu tacens nullum verbum emisisset penitus, tandem prorumpens locuta est dicens: ita, domine, tu vis esse mecum et ego tecum et nunquam volo a te separari. Postmodum cum ab ancillis rogaretur, ut ad Dei honorem et ipsarum aedificationem, quid viderit, indicaret, illa ipsorum importunitate devicta ait: vidi coelum apertum et Jesum se ad me benignissime inclinantem vultumque ad me sincerissimum ostendentem, ego vero de sua visione ineffabili jncunditate perfusa de suo recessu remanebam mulio moerore dejecta. Qui mei misertus iterum me sui vultus ostensione laetificans ait: si tu vis esse mecum, éro tecum, Cui ego respondi, prout me loquentem audivistis.
Cumque rogaretur, ut etiam visionem, quam juxta altare vidit, exponeret, illa respondit: quae ibi vidi, non expedit enarrare, ibi tamen in gaudio fui multo et Dei miranda conspexi. Saepe quoque, dum in oratione consisteret, facies ejus mire splendebat et ex ejus oculis instàr solis radii prodibant. Saepe autem ejus oratio tanti fervoris inveniebatur, ut etiàm alios inflammaret. Juvenem namque quendám seculariter indutum ad se vocans ait: videris nimis dissolute vivere, cum deberes creatori tuo servire, vellesne, quod pro ite Deum orarem? Et ille: volo et id vehementer exposco. Gum igitur orationi se dedisset et juvenem similiter pro se orationi incumbere monuisset, juvenis alta voce clamavit dicens: cessate, domina, ab oratione, jam cessate. Sed cum illa attentius. oraret, juvenis altius clamans dixit: cessate, domina, quia totus deficio et comburor.
Ipse enim tanto calore fuerat succensus, ut totus sndans et fumans corpus et brachia velat amens jactaret, adeo ut plerique occurrentes ipsumque tenentes vestes ejus prae nimio sudore madidas invenirent et aestum ejus ferre non possent, ipso vero clamante et dicente: totus ardeo et consumof:; Ut vero beata Elizabeth orationem complevit, juvenis aestuare cessavit, qui rediens ad se ipsum et divina gratia illustratus ordinem fratrum minorum ingressus est. Illa autem inflammatio sic ostensa fervorem Orationum suarum igneum demonstrabat, qui. tam validus exstitit, quod etiam frigidum inflammavit. Sed ille carnalibus assuetus et spiritualibus nondum idoneus talia capere non valebat. Ad summum vero cumulum perfectionis propter Mariae contemplationis otium non deseruit Marthae officium laboriosum, sicut supra iu '!) septem operibus misericordiae est ostensum. Nihilominus tamen, postquam religiosum habitum indait, sedulae pietatis operibus deservivit. Nam cum pro dote sua duo millia marcarum recepisset, partem in pauperes distribuit et de reliquo in Marpurg magnum hospitale construxit.
Propter quod omnes eam reputabant dissipatricem et prodigam et cuncti eam appellabant insanam, et qnia omnes injurias noverat gaudenter accipere, improperabant ei, quod nimis cito memoríam viri sui a corde abjecerat, quae taliter exsultabat. Postquam autem hospitale construxerat, servitiis pauperum se tamquam ancillam humilem mancipavit, nam pauperibus sollicita administrabat, ut eos etiam balnearet et in lectis collocans opetiret, adco ut ancillis gratulabunda diceret: quam bene nobiscum agitur, quia dominam sic balneamus et tegimus. In ipso autem pauperum obsequio sie humiliter se habuit, quod puernlum quendam monoculum et scabie perfusum una nocteseptem vicibus propriis brachiis ad locum necessitatis detulit et pannos ipsius foedatos libenter lavit. Quandam etiam mulierem horribiliter leprosam saepe abluens in lectnlo collocavit ulcera tergens et ligans, medicamenta adhibens unguesque praecidens, ejus etiam pedibus prostrata corrigias caleeamentorum solvens. lpsos aulem infirmos ad confessionem et communicationem inducens vetulam quandam penitus renuentem verbere castigatam induxit. Cum vero a pauperum vacabat officio, filabat lanam de quodam monasterio sibi missam et pretium, quod inde accipiebat, pauperibus dividebat. Cum autem post mnltam paupertatem quingentas marcas pro dote sua receptas pauperibus divideret et omnibus ordinate locatis ipsa succincta transiens ministraret, posita est lex, ut, si quis )in aliorum pauperum praejudicium locum mutaret, ut iteram acciperet, capillorum suorum detruncationem aliquam sustineret. Et ecce quaedam puella nomine Radegundis, quae mira capillorum pulchritudine pollebat, inde transitara advenit, non ad elemosinam, sed ut quandam sororem suam infirmam visitaret.
Quae cum tamquam legis praevaricatrix ad beatam Elizabeth adducta fuisset, ejus capillos protinus detruncari mandavit, ipsa flente et plurimum reluctante. Gum vero quidam de adstantibus eam innocentem assererent, illa ait: saltem de caetero non poterit cum tanta capillorum ambitione ad choreas accedere, nec cum illis vanitates aliquas exercere. Interrogata vero puella a beata Elizabeth, utrum aliquando salubris vitae propositum concepisset, respondit, quod jamdiu habitum religionis assumsisset, nisi tanta fuisset in ea delectatio in capillis. Et illa: carius est mihi, quod eapillos perdideris, quam si filius meus fuisset in imperium sublimatus. Continuo igitur puella habitum religionis induit et in hospitali cum beata Elizabeth degens laudabilem vitam duxit. Cum quaedam pauperula filiam peperisset, beata Elizabeth filiam de sacro fonte levavit et nomen suum,scilicet Elizabeth, eidem imposuit et matri necessaria ministravit, ita ut de pellicio ancillae suae manicas auferens ad involvendum puellam sibi tribueret et calceos proprios eidem donaret. Post tres autem septimanas mulier dimissa puella latenter cum viro suo aufugit. Quod cum sanctae Elizabeth nuntiatum fuisset, in orationem se dedit et vir et mulier ultra progredi non valentes ad ipsam coacti redierunt et ab ea veniam postulantes, Quos, ut justum erat, de ingratitudine redarguens, eis puellam nutriendam tradidit et de necessariis iis providit.
Appropinquante vero tempore, quo dominus dilectam suam de mundi ergastulo vocare disposuit, ut, quae contemserat regnum mortalium , regnum perciperet angelorum, Christus sibi apparuit dicens: veni, dilecta mea, in praeparata tibi aeterna tabernacula. Dum igitur febre correpta decumberet et ad parietem faciem versam teneret, audita est a cireumstantibus dulcissimam promere melodiam, Quae cum ab una ancillarum; quidnam hoc esset, percunctata fuisset, illa respondit: avieula quaedam inter me et parietem se ponens tam suaviter cecinit, quod me ad canendum similiter provocavit. In ipsa autem sui aegritudine semper hilaris exstitit et nunquam ab oratione cessavit, ultima vero die ante ejus transitum dixit iis: quid acturae essetis, si dyabolus ad vos adveniret? Post paululum vero alta voce quasi dyabolum licentians: fuge, tribus vicibus exclamavit, Deinde dixitz-eece appropinquat media nox, in qua hora Ghristus nasci voluit et in praesepio requievit. Appropinquante vero hora sui transitus ait: jam tempus instat, in quod omnipotens Deus eos, qui amici sunt, ad coelestes nuptias evocavit. Post paululum vero anno domini MCCXXVI ad extremam horam veniens dormivit in pace. Licet antem ejus venerabile corpus inhumatum quatuor diebus jacuisset, nullus tamen foetor ex eo prodibat, sed quidam odor aromaticus cunctos reficiens exhalabat, Tunc autem visae sunt aviculae multae super caeumen ecclesiae congregatae, quas nunquam aliquis prius viderat, quae fam suavi modulatione cantabant et tanta varietate modos cantandi formabant, ut cunetos in admirationem adducerent, eo quod ejus exsequias quodammodo agere viderentur. Multus autem ibi fuit clamor pauperum, multa devotio populorum, ita ut alii capillos capitis detruncarent , alii particulas pannorum inciderent et pro summis reliquiis reservarent.
Ejus autem corpus in monumento est positum, quod postmodum redundare oleo repertum est, Manifestum est igitur in ejus transitu, quantae ipsa beata Elizabeth faerit sanctitatis, et hoc quo ad aviculae modulationem et daemonis expulsionem, lllam autem aviculam, quae inter ipsam et parietem se posuit et tam dulciter cecinit, quod etiam ipsam ad cantandum induxit, eredimus fuisse ejus angelum, qui fuerat ad ejus custodiam deputatus, qui eidem aeternum gaudium nuntiavit. Sicut enim reprobis interdum ante suum transitum revelatur aeterna sui damnatio ad majorem sui confusionem, sic electis interdum revelatur aeterna sui salvatio ad majorem sui consolationem. llle autem cantus, quem ipsa protulit, fuit immensum gandium, quod ex tali revelatione concepit, quod quidem tam immensum exstitit, quod in corde totaliter capi non potuit, sed se per suavitatis vocem manifesta- , vit. Dyabolus insuper, si forte aliquid jus habeat, ad sanctos eliam morientes accedit, sed quia in beata Elizabeth nil juris habuit, ideo turpiter licentiatus aufugit. Per hoc igitur intelligi datar, quantae fuerit munditiae et puritatis, et hoc quo ad odoris exhalationem. Quia enim corpus ejus omni munditia et castitate in vita nituit, ideo in morte odoris suavitate fragravit. Manifestum est tertio, quantae fuerit excellentiae et dignitatis, et hoc quo ad avium jubilationem. illas enim aves, quae in cacumine ecclesiae jubilantes et cantantes apparuerunt, credimus fuisse angelos, qui a Deo missi fuerunt, nt ejus animam in coelum deferrent et corpus eoelestibus jubilationibus honorarent, Sicut ad reprobos morientes multitudo convenit daemonum, ut eos terroribus crucient et eorum animas ad tartara rapiant, sic ad -electos decedentes multitudo confluit angelorum, ut eos confortent et eorum animas ad coelestia regna perducant.
Manifestum est quarto, quantae fuit misericordiae et pietatis, et hoc quo ad olei emanationem, De ejus enim corpore oleum emanavit, quia in vita misericordiae operibus tota redundavit. O quantus pietatis visceribus ejus nunc affluit spiritus, cujus profundi oleo inventum est in pulvere jacens corpus. Manifestum est quinto, qnantae sit apud Deum potestatis et merili, et hoc multiplici miraculorum operatione. Postquam enim de corpore transiit, Deus eam multiplici miraculorum gloria illustravit, quorum quaedam inferius sunt posita, multa vero brevitatis gratia intermissa.
In partibus siquidem Saxoniae monasterio quodam Hildesiensis dyoecesis monachus ordinis Cisterciensis, Heinricus nomine, tanta fuit infirmitate depressus et gravibus "doloribus circumdatus, ut omnes ad compassionem induceret et clamoribus inquietaret. Quadam igitur nocte apparuit sibi quaedam venerabilis domina vestibus albis amicta, quae enm admonuit. ut, si sanitatem recipere cuperet, beatae Elizabeth se devoveret. Sequenti nocte similia persuadens apparuit. llle autem, cum abhas et prior deessent, de consilio superioris votum emisit. Tertia nocte eidem apparens signum crucis snper eum edidit et ille continuo sanitatem recepit. Cum autem abbas et prior redeuntes haec audivissent, mirari quidem de ejus sanitate coeperunt, sed de voti adimpletione plurimum dubitarunt, cum nulli monacho liceat aliqua vota emittere nec se ad talia obligare. Adjecit quoque prior, monachos saepe ad hujusmodi illicita sub specie boni daemonum apparitione deludi, et ideo esset illi monacho consulendum, ut mentem suam instabilem confessione firmaret, Sequenti igitur nocte eadem persona, quae prius, sibi apparens dixit: infirmus semper eris, donec impleas, quod vovisti.
Statim ergo eadem infirmitas ipsum arripuit et iisdem doloribus torqueri coepit. Quod eum abbas udivisset, ipsum statim licentiavit et ceram pro imagine facienda dari praecepit, Qui mox sanitate recepta votum suum adimplere Studuit et illius infirmitatis nihil postmodum passus fuit,
Puella quaedam, nomine Benigna, Moguntiensis dyoecesis cum ab ancilla potum petiisset, illa commota potum porrexit dicens: accipe et dyabolum bibe, visumque est puellae, ut ardens titio per ejus guttur descenderet, adeo ut se in collo pati clamaret. Con- tinuo igitur venter ejus instar utris intumuit et quiddam in ejus ventre per singula membra discurrere visum est. llla vero gemitus miserabiles faciens et voces insanas emittens obsessa a daemone fore credebatur. In stata vero tali per biennium mansit. Deducta igitur ad tumulum sanctae Elizabeth et ibidem pro ea voto emisso, dum super tumbam posita fuisset, velut exanimis ibidem apparuit, sed dum modicum panis ad manducandum et aqnam benedictam ad bibendum super eandem tumbam eidem obtnlissent, mox cunetis slupentibus et mirantibus sana surrexit.
Vir quidam de dyoecesi Trajectensi, Gedericus. nomine, cum una manu contractus ejus usum penitus amisisset et sepulchrum beatae Elizabeth bis visitans curationem minime recepisset, tertio illuc cum uxore sua cum multa devotione accessit. Quo dum tenderet, senem quendam reverendi aspectus habuit obvium, qui ab eo salutatus et, unde venisset, requisitus dixit, se de Marpurg, ubi corpus sanctae Elizabeth requiescit, venire, ubi Deus multa miracula operatur. Cum autem vir suam infirmitatem exposuisset eidem, ille mapu elevata benedixit eum dicens: securus perge, quia sanitatem recipies, dummodo manum infirmam ad caput sepulchri in quadam fovea ibi facta sub lapide miseris; quam quanto profandius miseris, tanto citius sanitatem obtinebis, Tunc autem sanctum Nicolaum in memoria habeas, qnod sanctae Elizabeth tamquam comes et socius in suis miraculis comparatur eidem, Adjecit etiam stultos esse, qui projectis oblationibus statim discedunt, cum sanctis placeat, nt cum perseverantia eorum suffragia postulentur. Moxque senex ab iis disparuit nec ultra ipsum videre potuerunt, super quo plurimum admirati pergebant, plenam sanitatis recuperandae fiduciam obtinentes. Vir igitur juxta senis praedicti consilium manum sub lapide monumenti posuit et ipsam continuo retraxit omnino sanatam.
Quidam de dyoecesi Coloniensi, Hermannus nomine, dum in carcere a judice teneretur, ad Deum se totaliter contulit et beatam Elizabeth et magistrum Conradum in sui adjutorium devotione, qua poterat, invocabat. Sequente autem nocte ambo insimul cum multo lumine sibi apparuerunt, multipliciter eum eonsolantes, Tandem sententia in eum data suspenditur et ad spatium unius milliaris Teutonici in patibulo detinetur. Judex autem concessit parentibus, mt ipsum deponerent et in tumulo sepelirent. Praeparata igitur fovea, cum esset depositus, pater et patruus coeperunt pro mortuo beatae Elizabeth patrocinia invocare, et ecce mirantibus et stupentibus universis, qui fuerat mortaus, surrexit visus.
Scholaris quidam de dyoecesi Moguntinensi Quitardus nomine, dum piscationi minus cautus insisteret, in flumen lapsus cecidit. Magno antem temporis spatio interjecto, dum ejus corpus esset extractam, adeo sine sensa et motu et rigidum est repertum, quod nullo in eo signo vitae invento vere mortaus ab hominibus est judicatus, Tunc beatae Elizabeth implorantur merita et cunctis videntibus et admirantibus sibi restitnitur salus et vita,
Juvenis quidam tres annos et dimidium habens de dyoecesi Moguntinensi, Hugolinus nomine, dum spiritum emisisset et cor ejus per spatium quatuor milliarium teutonicorum rigidum et exanime jacuisset, mater ad invocandam sanctam Elizabeth tota devotione se contulit et puerum vivum et sanum recepit.
Pucr quidam quatuor annorum dum in puteum cecidisset, casu quidam veniens aquam haurire animadvertit puerum submersum intus jacere. Quem postquam cum difficultate extraxit, ipsum mortuum deprehendit. Cujus quidem mortis erant indicia temporis dinturnitas, corporis rigiditas, oris et oculorum horribilis apertio, denigratio catis, ventris inflatio et omnimoda motus et sensus privatio. Pro ipso igitur suscitando ad beatam Elizabeth votum emittitur et continuo vitae pristinae restauratur. Quaedam etiam puella in flumine submersa, duni fuisset extracta, beatae Elizabeth meritis protinus est vitae restituta,
Vir quidam nomine Fridericus de dyoecesi Moguntinensi in arte natandi valde peritus, dum se in quadam aqua balnearet, et, pauperem quendam per beatam Elizabeth illuminatum deridens, in ejus faciem aquam contemtibiliter spargeret, ille provocatus dixit: domina illa sancta, quae mihi gratiam praestitit, de te me vindicet, ita ut hic non exeas nisi mortuus et submersus. Ille autem imprecationem pauperis parvi pendens et in aquam se lascive immittens viribus penitus destitutus se juvare non potuit, sed in profundum quasi lapis descendit, Post multum vero temporis requisitus de aqua mortuus est delatus, cumque magnus planctus fieret super eum, quidam ejas propinqui coeperunt pro eo ad beatam Elizabeth votum facere et ejus suffragia devotissime implorare. Statim igitur in eum spiritus rediit et vivus et sanus surrexit.
Quidam nomine Johannes de dyoecesi Moguntinensi enm quodam fure innocenter deprehensus et suspendio cum ipso adjudicatus cunctos rogavit, ut beatam Elizabeth orarent, ut secundum. sua merita juvaretur. Cum esset suspensus, audivit vocem super se dicentem: confide et in sanctam Elizabeth fidnciam habe ct liberaberis, statimque alio remanente ipso fune fracto de loco alto gravissime cecidit, nullam tamen laesionem incurrit, licet nova, qua indutus erat, camisia rumperetur. Qui exhilaratus ait: saneta Elizabeth, tu me liberasti et in stratum molle me cadere fecisti. Cum enim aliqui dicerent, ipsum iterum suspendendum, judex ait: quem Deus liberavit, denuo suspendi non permiltam,
Conversus quidam fuit in quodam monasterio dyoecesis Moguntinensis,Volemarus nomine, admodum religiosus, qui carnem suam sic afflixit, ut circa annos viginti loricam ad carnem portaret et inter lapides et ligna jaceret. Hujus manum, dum in molendino esset, lapis molaris casu apprehensam sic contrivit, ut carnem ab utraque parte avelleret, ossa et nervos contereret, ita ut in quodam mortario contrila quodammodo viderelur. Qui tanto doloris aculeo urgebatur, ut rogaret, quod manus sibi praecideretur, Cum igitur beatam Elizabeth crebro in sui auxilium invocaret, quae etiam in vita sua sibi familiaris exstiterat, quadam nocte sibi apparuit dicens: vis sanus fieri? Qui cum responderet: libenter, illa manum apprehendens nervos sanavit, ossa integravit et carnem ab utraque parle restituit et pristinae sanitati donavit, mane autem facto perfecte sanatum se reperit et toti conventui ipsam manum cunctis stupentibus sanatam ostendit,
Quidam puer quinquennis, Discretus nomine, Moguntinae dyoecesis, cum caecus natus esset, meritis beatae Elizabeth lumen recepit. Pellis siquidem integra sine pilis palpebrarum vel aliqua pellis divisio oculis superinduta fuerat adeo, ut totaliter oculos tegeret nec substantiae oculorum ullum indicium appareret. Mater ejus igitur ad sepulchrum beatae Elizabeth ipsum ducens de terra sepulchri oculos ejus linivit et super eum beatae Elizabeth merita invocavit, et ecce pellis integra per medium scinditur et ejus oculi parvissimi turbulenti et sanguinolenti videntur, sicque puer beatae Elizabeth meritis suffragantibus visus beneficio est potitus.
Puella quaedam ejusdem dyoecesis, Beatrix nomine, cum diu magnis et diversis fuisset infirmitatibus molestata, tandem gibho in dorso et struma in pectore excrescentibus sic est toto corpore ineurvata, ut nulla se ratione erigeret, sed manibus super genua positis corpus suum taliter sustentaret. Cum igitur mater in quadam sporta eam ad tumulum sanctae Elizabeth deporltasset et per decem dies commorantes ibidem nullum potuissent sanitatis remedium invenire, irata mater ejus contra beatam Elizabeth murmuravit dicens: omnibus beneficia impendis et me miseram non exaudis? revertens igitur omnes, quos potero, a visitatione tui avertere procurabo. Cum igitur irata recederet et jam milliare et dimidium peregisset et ejus filia doloribus cruciata lugeret, tandem ipsa puella obdormiens vidit quandam pulcherrimam dominam cum facie refulgenti, quae corpus cjus in dorso el pectore liniens dixit ei: surge et ambula. Evigilans puella et se ab omni deformitate et curvitate penitus sanatam inveniens visionem matri retulit et gaudium et laetitiam generavit. Redeuntes igitur ad sepulchrum sanctae Elizabeth Deo et sibi gratias egerunt et ibidem sportam, in qua puella portata fuerat, dimiserunt,
X4. Mulier quaedam, Gertrudis nomine, ejusdem dyoecesis per multos annos ntroque crure contracta et toto corpore curva in somnis admonetnr, ut ad sanctum Nicolaum proficiscens ejus debeat merita implorare. Quae ad ecclesiam sancti Nicolai portari se fecit et in uno crure sanitatem invenit, Tandem ad sepulchrum beatae Elizabeth perducta jet super ejus tumulum posita, gravissimis doloribus stimulata et velut amens effecta sana et incolumis exsurrexit.
Mulier quaedam, Scintrudis nomine, ejusdem dyoecesis, cum per annum integrum penitus caeca mansisset et aliorum semper auxilio duceretur, ad rogandum sanctam Elizabeth tota devotione se contulerat et amissum lumen recepit.
Vir quidam Heinricus Moguntinensis dyoecesis, cum lumine oculorum penitus esset privatus, sepulchrum sanctae Elizabeth visitans plenae curationis beneficium reportavit. Postmodum vero idem vir fluxu sanguinis adeo est gravatus, ut moriturus a familia crederetur, Accipiens vero de terra sepulchri sanctae Elizabeth et ipsam conficiens aqua commiscuit et bibens plenam sanitatem recepit.
A7. Puella quaedam, Mechtildis nomine, Trevirensis dyoecesis, dum visu el auditu privata esset et loquendi et ambulandi potentiam amisisset, pater suns et mater ad beatam Elizabeth eam devoverunt et perfecte sanatam Dei et Elizabeth laudantes magnalia receperunt.
AS, Mulier quaedam, nomine Helibingis, Trevirensis dyoecesis, cum per annum caeca penitus exstitisset et pro sua curatione beatae Elizabeth merita invocasset, ad tumulum ejus duci se faciens unius oculi lumen recepit, quae ad propria reversa in alio graviter torqueri se sensit, Cum vero iterum ejus merita implorassel, apparuit ei dicens: accedens ad altare fac cum corporali tuos ocnlos ventilari et sic recipies sanitatem. Quae cum jussa complevisset, sanitatem recepit,
Vir quidam, Theodericus nomine, Moguntinensis dyoecesis, in genibus et cruribus diu gravissime infirmatus, ita ut non posset pergere, misi ab aliis portaretur, votum fecit, quod sepulchrum sanctae Elizabeth cum oblationibus visitaret, et cum locns ejus a tumulo tantum per decem milliaria distaret, vix in octo diebus potuit pervenire, Cum vero ibidem per quatuor septimanas mansisset et nullum remedium impetrasset, domum redibat, cumque in loco quodam juxta alium infirmum decumbens quiesceret, vidit in somnis quendam ad se venientem et aqua totaliter perfundentem, Qui evigilans contra socium iratus ait: quare me aqua totaliter perfudisti? Qui ait: ego te non perfudi, sed credo, quod illa perfusio erit tibi causa salutis. Ille igitur surgens et se sanatum totaliter inveniens baculos super humerum posuit et ad tumulum sanctae Elizabeth rediens et gratias agens laetus ad propria remeavit.
The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea) companion
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