De sancto Petro martire
The Life and Vocation of Peter
An account of Peter's name, his early resistance to heresy, and his dedicated life of virtue and preaching within the Order of Preachers.
The name Peter is interpreted as 'one who acknowledges' or 'one who goes barefoot'; it is also said that Peter comes from 'petros,' which means 'firm.' This points to three privileges that were present in blessed Peter. For he was an outstanding preacher, and from this he is called 'one who acknowledges,' because he had a perfect knowledge of the Scriptures and recognized in his preaching what was appropriate for each person. Secondly, he was a most pure virgin, and from this he is called 'one who goes barefoot,' because he stripped away and cast off every dead love from the feet of his affections, so that he might be a virgin not only in body but also in mind. Thirdly, he was a glorious martyr of the Lord, and for this he was 'firm,' because he steadfastly endured martyrdom for the defense of the faith. — 3. Peter the New Martyr, of the Order of Preachers, was an outstanding champion of the faith who came from the city of Verona. He arose like a brilliant light from smoke, a lily shining from briars, and a red rose from thorns. From parents blinded by error, a luminous preacher rose up; from a mind and body corrupted by the world, a virginal beauty proceeded; and from thorns—that is, from those destined for eternal fire—an illustrious martyr ascended. For blessed Peter had parents who were infidels and heretics, yet he kept himself entirely clean from their error. When he was still seven years old and returning from school, his uncle, who held heretical views, asked him what he had learned in his classes. He replied that he had learned: "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and so on." The uncle said, "Don't say 'Creator of heaven and earth,' because He isn't the creator of visible things; the devil created everything that is seen." But the boy insisted that he preferred to say what he had read, and that he chose to believe what was written. Then the uncle tried to persuade him of this using whatever authorities he could, but the boy, filled with the Holy Spirit, turned them all against him and struck him down with his own sword, so that the man had nowhere to turn. Indignant at being bested by a child, the uncle reported everything that had passed between them to the boy's father and persuaded him by every means to remove Peter from school, saying, "I fear..." "...that once Peter is well-educated, he will go to that harlot, the Roman Church, and destroy and confuse our faith." He spoke the truth without realizing it, prophesying like another Caiaphas that Peter would destroy the perfidy of the heretics. But because God was directing the matter, the father didn't give in to his brother's warnings, hoping that once the boy was educated in grammar, he could have him drawn into his own sect by some heretic leader. Seeing, therefore, that it wasn't safe for the holy boy to live among scorpions, he turned his back on the world and his relatives, and the boy himself entered the Order of Preachers. Pope Innocent reveals in his letter how praiseworthily he lived in that order, saying: 'For when the blessed Peter had prudently turned away from the deceits of the world in his adolescent years, he transferred himself to the Order of Preachers.' In that order, for nearly thirty years, he was supported by a host of virtues—faith going before, hope standing by, and love accompanying him—and he so prevailed and progressed in the defense of that very faith for which he burned, that he waged a continuous struggle against its dire enemies with an intrepid mind and a fervent spirit, until he finally brought his long battle to a happy conclusion through the victory of martyrdom. And so, Peter, firm on the rock of faith and finally struck against the rock of Christ's passion, ascended to be worthily crowned; he also kept his virginity of mind and body always unstained, and never felt the touch of any mortal sin, as has been proven by the faithful testimony of his confessors; and because he was a servant raised in luxury who trampled upon his flesh for the Lord, he restrained it with a constant frugality of food and drink. And so that he wouldn't give rise to hostile traps through the laziness of idleness, he was constantly occupied with the Lord's commands, so that with him being entirely occupied with lawful things, unlawful things would have no place in him, and he would be safe from spiritual wickedness. He would spend the silence of the night, which is meant for human rest, in the study of readings after a brief sleep, and he would occupy the time for sleep with vigils. He devoted his days to the benefit of souls, either by diligently focusing on preaching, by insisting on hearing confessions, or by debating heretics.1 He refuted poisonous dogma with sound arguments, in which he is known to have shone through the gift of special grace. Furthermore, he was pleasing in his devotion, gentle in humility, calm in obedience, sweet in kindness, compassionate in piety, constant in patience, and outstanding in charity. Composed in the maturity of his character in all things, he drew others to himself with the abundant fragrance of his virtues. He was also a fervent lover of the faith, a dedicated follower, and an ardent defender who had so impressed the faith upon his own heart, and had so completely surrendered himself to its service, that all his words and deeds breathed the power of the faith. Desiring to die for this cause, he is proven to have prayed to the Lord with earnest and frequent petitions that He would not let him depart from this life until he had taken up the chalice of the passion for Him; and in the end, he was not denied his desire.
Signs and Wonders in Life
A collection of miracles performed by Peter during his lifetime, including the cloud miracle and various healings.
He was famous for many miracles during his life; for when blessed Peter was examining a certain bishop of the heretics who had been captured by the faithful in Milan, and many bishops, religious, and a great part of the city had gathered there, and the day had been drawn out by both preaching and examination, and a great heat was afflicting everyone, the arch-heretic said in front of everyone: "Oh." "Perverse Peter, if you are as holy as this foolish crowd claims you are, why do you let them die in this heat, and why don't you ask the Lord to put a cloud in the way so that this foolish crowd doesn't die in such heat?" Peter replied, "If you're willing to promise that you'll renounce your heresy and accept the Catholic faith, I'll ask the Lord, and He will do as you've said." Then the supporters of the heretics shouted out to the arch-heretic: "Promise! Promise!" For they believed that what Peter had promised to do before everyone could not possibly happen, especially since there wasn't even the smallest cloud to be seen in the sky. The Catholics, however, began to grow sad over the promise of blessed Peter, fearing that the Catholic faith might be exposed to confusion because of this. Since the heretic refused to commit himself, blessed Peter said with great confidence: "To show that the true God is the Creator of all things visible and invisible, and for the consolation of the faithful and the confusion of the heretics, I ask God that a small cloud might rise and place itself between the sun and the people." This happened immediately after he made the sign of the cross, and for a full hour, a small cloud protected the people like a canopy. A man named Asserbus, who had been crippled for five years and had to be dragged along the ground in a basket, was brought to blessed Peter in Milan; as soon as blessed Peter blessed him, he was healed and stood up. In that same letter, Innocent also recounts certain miracles the Lord performed through him while he was still alive, saying: when the son of a nobleman could not speak or breathe due to a severe and horrible swelling of his entire throat, his father lifted his hands to the Lord, made the sign of the cross over him, and the boy received his cloak, and... as the sick boy lay beneath it, he was instantly healed. Later, the same nobleman was burdened by a violent twisting of his body, and fearing that he was in danger of death, he reverently had that same cloak brought to him—which he had kept ever since—and when it was placed against his chest, he soon vomited up a worm that had two heads and was covered in thick hair, and he was completely set free. He also granted the gift of speech to a certain mute youth by placing his finger in the boy's mouth and loosening the tie of his tongue. These and many other things the Lord deigned to work through him while he was alive.
The Martyrdom of the Champion
The narrative of Peter's appointment as inquisitor, his brutal assassination, and the spiritual fruitfulness of his death.
But when the heretical plague began to spread through Lombardy and had already infected many cities with its poisonous contagion, the Pope sent various inquisitors from the Order of Preachers to different parts of the region to wipe out this diabolical pestilence. However, because the heretics in Milan were not only numerous but also backed by secular power, skilled in deceptive rhetoric, and full of diabolical knowledge, the Pope chose Peter. He knew Peter was a man of great heart who wouldn't fear a multitude of enemies, observed his constant virtue that wouldn't yield to his adversaries, recognized the eloquence with which he could easily expose the heretics' fallacies, and was well aware of his deep learning in divine wisdom, which allowed him to logically refute their frivolous arguments. Consequently, the Pope appointed him as a strenuous champion of the faith and an indefatigable warrior for the Lord in Milan and the surrounding territory, granting him full authority as his inquisitor. He diligently carried out his assigned office, hunting down heretics everywhere and giving them no rest. He miraculously confounded them all, powerfully expelling them and wisely convincing them, so that they couldn't resist the wisdom and the Spirit that spoke through him. Seeing this, the heretics, grieving over his death, began to plot with their supporters, thinking they could live in peace if such a powerful persecutor of theirs were removed from their midst. When, therefore, the intrepid preacher—soon to be a martyr—was traveling from Como to Milan to inquire into the heretics, he attained the palm of martyrdom on that very journey, just as Innocent explains in these words. When he was traveling from the city of Como, where he was the prior of the brothers of his order living there, to Milan to carry out the inquisition against the heretics granted to him by the Apostolic See, just as he had predicted in a public sermon, one of the believers in those heretics, induced by their prayers and money, attacked him as he was pursuing his journey of holy purpose—a wolf against a lamb, a savage against the gentle, the impious against the pious, the furious against the meek, the unbridled against the modest, the profane against the holy—he presumed to insult, attempted, and intended death, cruelly attacking his sacred head and, with dire wounds inflicted upon him, satiated with the blood of the just, he dismissed that venerable man with his sword, who did not turn away from his enemy but immediately offered himself as a sacrifice, enduring the savage blows in patience, while his spirit sought the heights at the very place of his passion, the sacrilegious man himself also striking two blows into the minister of Christ. He didn't groan or murmur with a complaining voice, but suffering all things patiently, he commended his spirit to the Lord, saying: 'Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.' He even began to recite the Creed of the faith, of which he never ceased to be a herald, even in this final moment. This was reported later by the wicked man himself, who had been captured by the faithful, and by a Dominican brother who was his companion, had been struck by the same executioner, and survived for several days. While the Lord's martyr was still breathing, the cruel executioner grabbed a knife and pierced his sides. On the very day of his martyrdom, he earned the title of confessor, martyr, prophet, and teacher in a certain way. He was a confessor because he steadfastly confessed the faith of Christ amidst his torments and offered a sacrifice of praise to God that day, having made his confession in the usual way; he was a martyr because he shed his blood to defend the faith; he was a prophet because, when he was suffering from quartan fever and his companions said they couldn't reach Milan, he replied, 'If we cannot reach the brothers' house, we will be able to find lodging at Saint Simplician's.' And this is what happened. When his sacred body was being carried, the brothers couldn't bring it to the house that same day because of the massive crowd, so they laid it down at Saint Simplician's, where it remained for the night. He was a teacher because he taught the true faith even while suffering, as he sang the creed of the faith in a clear voice. His venerable passion also seems to have been very similar to the Lord's passion. For Christ suffered for the truth he preached, while Peter suffered for the truth of the faith he defended; Christ suffered at the hands of the faithless Jewish people, Peter at the hands of a faithless mob of heretics; Christ was crucified during the time of the Passover, Peter suffered martyrdom at that same time; when Christ suffered, he said, 'Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,' and Peter, when he was being killed, kept crying out those same words; Christ was betrayed for thirty pieces of silver so that he might be crucified, Peter was sold for forty Pavese pounds so that he might be killed; Christ brought many to the faith through his passion, Peter converted many heretics through his martyrdom. Although this outstanding teacher and champion of the faith had done much to root out the pestilent dogma of the heretics during his life, after his death it was so thoroughly eradicated by his merits and his shining miracles that a great many abandoned their error and flew back to the bosom of the holy Church; indeed, the city of Milan and its surrounding territory, where so many heretical conventicles had once resided, were so thoroughly cleansed that, with others converted to the faith by his example, no one dared to show their face there anymore. Many of the greatest and most famous preachers also joined the order, and they continue to this day to pursue all heretics and their supporters with a marvelous fervor. Thus our Samson killed more Philistines in his death than he had killed while he lived. Just as a grain of wheat falling into the earth, seized by the hands of the faithless and dying, rises up into a rich stalk; just as a grape cluster crushed in the winepress overflows with an abundance of juice; just as spices pounded with a pestle diffuse their scent more fully; so too did the crushed grain of mustard seed demonstrate its power in many ways.
Posthumous Miracles and Veneration
A series of miracles occurring after Peter's death, confirming his sanctity and the power of his intercession.
After the holy man's glorious triumph, the Lord honored him with many miracles, some of which the Supreme Pontiff recounts, saying: after his death, lamps hanging at his tomb were often lit by divine power, all on their own, without any human effort or assistance; for it was highly fitting that he who had shone so brightly with the fire and light of faith should have a unique miracle of fire and light appear in his honor. Once, when a man was eating with others and disparaging the saint's holiness and miracles, he took a morsel of food under oath; but when he could not swallow it—and indeed was sinning in this very act—he felt it lodge in his throat so firmly that he could neither get it down nor bring it back up. Immediately repentant, and with his face already changing color as he felt the approach of death, he made a vow within himself that he would never again let his tongue loose for such things, and he was instantly freed as he vomited the morsel up. A woman suffering from dropsy came to the site of his martyrdom with her husband's help, and after praying there, she soon made a full recovery. The martyr himself freed those possessed by demons, casting them out of their bodies with much vomiting of blood; he drove away fevers, cured many illnesses, and healed various other conditions. He also healed a man's finger, which had been eaten away by a fistula with many holes, restoring it with wonderful comfort. Furthermore, a boy who had been so crushed by a terrible fall that he was completely deprived of movement and sensation and was being mourned as dead, rose up unharmed as soon as earth touched with the holy martyr's blood was placed on his chest. A woman whose flesh was being devoured by a voracious cancer through constant corrosion was also cured by applying this same earth to her wounds. Others, too, occupied by various infirmities, who had come to his tomb in carriages and on other supports, returned afterward in full health, having received it without any further need for help. When Pope Innocent IV added blessed Peter to the catalog of saints, the brothers gathered for a chapter meeting in Milan. Wanting to move his body to a higher place, they found it—though it had been buried for more than a year—completely sound and whole, free from any foul odor, as if it had been buried that very day. The brothers then brought his body with great reverence onto a large platform near the square, where it was shown to all the people, sound and whole, and they humbly adored it. In addition to the miracles mentioned above that were recorded in the letters of the Supreme Pontiff, many others have been discovered. For many religious and many others have visibly seen lights descending from heaven over the place of his passion. . Among these lights, they testified that they saw two brothers in the habit of the Preachers. A young man named Gunfredus (also known as Guifredus) from the city of Como had a piece of Saint Peter’s tunic, and a certain heretic mockingly told him that if he believed him to be a saint, he should throw the cloth into the fire, and if it didn’t burn, then without a doubt... ...he was a saint and he himself held to his faith; he immediately threw the cloth of Saint Peter onto the burning coals, but it leaped higher away from the fire itself, and then, moving on its own back onto the coals, it completely extinguished the burning embers. Then the skeptic said, "Let the cloth of my tunic do the same in every way." So, the heretic’s cloth was placed on the coals on one side, and Saint Peter’s cloth on the other. The heretic’s cloth, however, was completely consumed as soon as it felt the heat of the fire, but Saint Peter’s cloth prevailed in the fire and extinguished it entirely, so that not even a single thread of it was burned. Seeing this, the heretic returned to the way of truth and made the miracle known to everyone. In Florence, a young heretic, corrupted by his own wickedness, was standing in the church of the friars with some other young men before a painting that depicted the martyrdom of Saint Peter. Seeing the executioner striking him with a drawn sword, he said, "I wish I had been there, for I would have struck him harder!" At those words, he was immediately struck dumb. When his companions asked what was wrong and he couldn't answer, they took him home. But when he saw a church of Saint Michael on the way, he slipped from his companions' hands, entered the church, and knelt down, asking Saint Peter from his heart to spare him. He vowed, as best he could, that if he were delivered, he would confess his sins and renounce all heresy. Then he suddenly regained his speech and, coming to the friars' house, renounced his heresy and confessed his sins, giving the confessor permission to preach this to the people. He also stood up during the friars' public preaching and confessed this before the whole crowd. While a ship was in the middle of the sea, nearly shipwrecked as it was battered by a savage surge of waves, and everyone was held in the darkness of a gloomy night, they asked for the help of various saints; but they saw no sign of deliverance and felt they were in great danger. When they were afraid, one of them, a Genoese, fell silent and spoke to them like this: "Brothers, haven't you heard how a certain friar of the Order of Preachers, named Brother Peter, was recently killed by heretics for defending the Catholic faith, and how the Lord is showing many signs through him? Now, therefore, let us devoutly implore his patronage, for I hope that we will by no means be denied our request." They all agreed, invoking blessed Peter with devout prayers for his help. As they were praying like this, the ship's yard—where the sail is attached—was suddenly seen to be completely filled with lit candles, so that all the darkness was driven away by the wonderful brightness of those candles, and that gloomy night was changed into the brightest day. Looking up, they saw someone standing on the sail in the habit of the Friars Preacher, and no one doubted that it was blessed Peter. When the sailors arrived safely in Genoa, they went to the house of the Friars Preacher and, giving thanks to God and blessed Peter, told the friars the whole story of the miracle. A woman in Flanders, having already given birth to three stillborn children and facing her husband's hatred because of it, asked Saint Peter for his help. When she gave birth to a fourth child, it was also stillborn. The mother took the child and went to ask Saint Peter for help, praying with deep devotion that he would bring her son back to life. When the child was brought to be baptized and it had been decided that he would be named John, the priest, when he had to say the name, unknowingly said "Peter"; and so he kept that name ever after, out of devotion to Saint Peter. In the province of Teutonia, near Utrecht, some women saw a large crowd heading to the Dominican friars' church to honor Saint Peter the Martyr. While they stood in the square spinning, they told those nearby, "Look at these friars; they know every trick to make money. They've found a new martyr just so they can pile up a fortune and build massive palaces." As they were saying this and similar things, their thread was suddenly stained with blood, and the fingers they were using to spin were soon covered in it. Seeing this and wondering at it, they carefully wiped their fingers to see if they had accidentally cut themselves. But when they saw their fingers were perfectly healthy and the thread was still stained with blood, they began to tremble and repent, saying, "Truly, because we spoke against the blood of the precious martyr, this astonishing miracle of blood has happened to us." They ran to the friars' house, told the prior everything, and presented the blood-stained thread to him. The prior then, at the urging of many, called for a solemn sermon, told everyone what had happened to those women, and showed them the thread stained in that way. A certain master of grammar, who was present at the same sermon, began to mock the event intensely and said to those standing by, "Just look at how these friars deceive the hearts of simple people." For they had hired some women they knew to stain the thread with blood and tell everyone it had happened miraculously. As he was saying this, he was immediately struck by a plague of divine vengeance; a fever of such intense heat seized him in front of everyone that he had to be carried from the sermon in the arms of his friends back to his house. When the fever grew violent and he feared death was near, he sent for the prior mentioned earlier. Confessing his guilt to God and to blessed Peter in the prior's presence, he vowed that if he recovered his health through the saint's merits, he would always hold him in special devotion and would never again let his tongue loose for such things. It was a marvelous thing: as soon as he made that vow, he was completely restored to health. Once, when the subprior of that place was transporting some large and beautiful stones by boat to build the church, the boat suddenly got stuck on the shore and wouldn't budge. It wouldn't move. The sailors all climbed down and pushed together, but they couldn't move it in the slightest. When they thought the boat was lost, the subprior sent everyone away, placed his hand on the boat, and with a light push said, "In the name of Saint Peter the Martyr, in whose honor we are carrying these stones, go." Immediately the boat moved very quickly and pulled away from the shore unharmed, and the sailors climbed back on, all of them healthy and happy as they returned home. In the province of France, in the city of Sens, a young girl fell into a fast-moving stream and remained there for a long time; when she was finally pulled from the river, she was dead, and there were four signs of her death: the long duration of time, the rigidity of her body, the coldness, and the discoloration. She was therefore carried by some people to the church of the friars. After they made a vow to Saint Peter on her behalf, she was immediately restored to life and health. When Brother John the Pole was in Bologna suffering from a quartan fever and was scheduled to preach to the clergy on the feast of Saint Peter Martyr, he began to fear greatly, as he expected the fever to return that night according to its natural cycle, that he would fail in the sermon he had been assigned. Turning to Saint Peter for help, he went to his altar with devotion and prayed that he might be aided by the merits of the one whose glory he was supposed to preach; and it happened that the fever left him completely that night and never attacked him again. X4. A noblewoman named Girolda, the wife of Jacob of Vallesana, had been possessed by unclean spirits for fourteen years when she came to a priest and said, "I am possessed, and an evil spirit is tormenting me." The priest was terrified and immediately fled into the sacristy. He returned to the woman with some companions, secretly carrying a book of exorcisms and a stole hidden under his cloak, but as soon as she saw him, she said, "You wicked thief, where have you been?" "What are you hiding under your cloak?" When the priest performed his exorcisms and they brought no relief, she went to the blessed Peter while he was still alive to ask for his help. He answered her with a prophetic voice, "Take heart, daughter, and don't despair; even if I can't accomplish what you ask right now, the time will come when you'll fully obtain what you seek from me." And so it happened. For after his passion, when the aforementioned woman went to his tomb, she was completely freed from that infestation of demons. A woman named Euphemia, from the town of Corriongo in the diocese of Milan, had been tormented by demons for seven years. When she was brought to the tomb of Saint Peter, the demons began to agitate her even more, crying out through her mouth for all to hear: "Mariola, Mariola, Petrine, Petrine." Then the demons left her and left her for dead, but a short while later, once she was fully healed, she got up. She also claimed that the demons tormented her even more on Sundays and feast days, especially when Mass was being celebrated. A woman named Verona from Beregno, who had been tormented by demons for six years, was brought to Saint Peter's tomb. It took many men to hold her back, and among them was a man named Conrad of Ladriano, a believer in the heretics who had come there to mock Saint Peter's miracles. As he held the woman along with the others, the demons spoke to him through her: "Why are you holding us? Aren't you one of ours?" "Didn't we take you to that place, and didn't you commit that murder there?" "Didn't we lead you to this place and that, and didn't you commit such and such a crime there?" As they told him of many sins that no one else knew but he alone, he was terrified; soon, however, the demons tore at the woman's neck and chest, and leaving her, they departed, leaving her half-dead, but after a short time she was completely healed and rose up. Seeing this, the heretic Conrad was struck with awe and converted to the Catholic faith. When a certain heretic—a very sharp debater and uniquely eloquent—was arguing with blessed Peter while he was still alive, and had presented his errors with great subtlety and precision, blessed Peter, being persistently pressed to respond to these points, asked for a moment to reflect. He entered a nearby chapel and, with tears, prayed to God to defend the cause of his faith and either bring the arrogant speaker back to the truth of the faith or punish him by taking away his speech, so that he would no longer use it to swell with pride against the truth of the faith. Returning to the heretic, he said openly before everyone that he should present his arguments again. The man was rendered so completely mute that he couldn't utter a single word. Consequently, the heretics left in confusion, and the Catholics gave thanks to God. A man named Opiso, who believed in the heretics, had come to the friars' church on the occasion of a heretical female relative of his; while walking toward the tomb of Saint Peter, he noticed two coins there, picked them up, and said, "It's a good idea for us to drink these." Immediately, he began to tremble all over and couldn't move from that spot at all. Terrified, he quickly put the coins back where he found them and left. But after witnessing the power of Saint Peter, he abandoned his heresy and converted to the Catholic faith. There was a nun in Germany, in the Oetenbach convent of the Order of Saint Sixtus in the Diocese of Constance, who had suffered for over a year from a severe gout in her knee, such that no remedy could free her; and because she could not physically reach the tomb of Saint Peter, and because she was bound by obedience and weighed down by a most serious illness, she thought she would at least visit the aforementioned tomb through a mental journey and with diligent devotion. Learning that it would take thirteen days to travel from that place to Milan, she began to recite one hundred 'Our Father' prayers daily in honor of Saint Peter for each day of the journey; and in a wonderful way, as she began to make these mental journeys in this manner, she began to feel better little by little. When she had completed the final day's journey and arrived at the tomb in her mind, she knelt down as if she were standing right there before it and read the entire psalter with the greatest devotion. Once finished, she felt so freed from the illness that she barely felt it at all anymore. Returning in the same way she had gone, she was completely healed before she had even finished all the days of the journey. A man named Rufinus, from Canapicio in the village of Mazzati, fell into a very serious illness; a vein in his lower body had ruptured, causing constant bleeding that no doctor could treat. After the blood had flowed continuously for six days and nights, he devoutly called upon blessed Peter for help, and he was healed so suddenly that there was almost no time between his prayer and his recovery. When he fell asleep, he saw a brother in the habit of the Order of Preachers—a stout man with a dark complexion—whom he took to be a companion of blessed Peter the Martyr, just as he truly was. The brother held out his palms, which were full of blood mixed with a sweet-smelling ointment, and said to him, "The blood is still fresh; come, then, to the fresh blood of Saint Peter." When he woke up, he decided to visit the tomb of Saint Peter. Some noblewomen from the castle of Massyno in the diocese of Ivrea had a special devotion to blessed Peter and were fasting for his vigil; when they arrived at their church to hear vespers, one of them placed a candle in honor of Saint Peter Martyr before an altar of blessed Peter the Apostle to be burned. After they returned home, the priest, driven by greed, blew on the candle and extinguished it, but the light soon returned and lit it again; he tried to extinguish it a second and third time, but the light returned just as before. Disturbed by this, he went into the choir and found another candle before the high altar that a cleric had placed in honor of Saint Peter, who was also fasting for his vigil. The priest tried to extinguish this one twice, but he couldn't. Seeing this, the angry cleric said, "Devil, don't you see this clear miracle, and that Saint Peter doesn't want you to extinguish his candle?" Terrified and stunned, the priest and the cleric went up to the castle and told everyone about the miracle. A man named Roba de Meda had lost everything he owned, even his clothes, in a game. Returning home late that evening with a lit lamp, he went to his bed; seeing how shabby his clothes were and reflecting on all he had lost, he fell into such deep despair that he began to call upon demons and, with a wicked mouth, commit himself to them. Immediately, three demons appeared, threw his lit lamp into the loft, and grabbed him by the neck, squeezing him so hard he couldn't speak at all. When those in the room below heard him being tossed about, they came up and asked, "What's going on, Roba?" The demons answered, "Go in peace and get back to your beds." But they, believing it was the voice of the man mentioned earlier, left immediately. Once they had left, the demons began to torment him much more violently. When they realized what was happening, they immediately called for a priest, who adjured the demons in the name of Saint Peter, and two of them left at once. However, the following day... ...he was brought to the tomb of Saint Peter, where Brother William of Vercelli was also present. He approached and began to rebuke the demon, who called him by name—though he had never seen him before—and said, "Brother William, I will never leave because of you, for he is ours and has done our work." When he asked the demon his name, it replied, "I am called Balcefas." However, when he was adjured by blessed Peter, the demon threw the man to the ground and left immediately; the man remained perfectly healthy and accepted a salutary penance. While he was still alive and preaching in Milan on Palm Sunday to a massive crowd of both men and women, he said publicly in a loud voice: "I know for certain that the heretics are plotting my death, and that money has already been paid for it; but they can do whatever they want, because I will pursue them more effectively dead than alive." It's evident that this was true. In Florence, at the monastery of the Disciples, a certain nun who was deep in prayer on the day Blessed Peter suffered death saw the Blessed Virgin sitting in glory on a high throne, and two brothers of the Order of Preachers ascending into heaven and being placed on either side of her. When she asked who they were, she heard a voice say, "This is Brother Peter, who ascends in the sight of the Lord like a glorious cloud of incense." It was confirmed for certain that he suffered death on the same day that the aforementioned nun saw the vision. Therefore, when she was suffering from a long and serious illness, she gave herself over with full devotion to asking for the help of Blessed Peter, and she soon received complete health. A student traveling from Magalana to Montpellier suffered a severe groin rupture after a fall, which caused him such intense pain that he couldn't walk. Having heard a sermon about a woman healed of a cancerous growth by applying earth stained with the blood of blessed Peter, he prayed, 'Lord God, I don't have any of that earth, but You, who gave such power to that earth through the merits of blessed Peter, can grant it to this earth as well.' He then took some earth, applied it to the injury while making the sign of the cross and invoking the martyr, and was immediately cured. In the year of our Lord 1259, in the city of Apostella, there was a man named Benedict who had legs swollen like wineskins, a belly distended like a pregnant woman's, and a face made horrible by excessive swelling; his whole body was so bloated that he looked like some kind of monster. When he was begging for alms from a certain matron while barely able to support himself on a staff, she replied, "You have more need of a grave than of any other good, but follow my advice: go to the house of the Friars Preachers, confess your sins, and invoke the patronage of blessed Peter." When he arrived at the friars' house in the morning and found the church door closed, he sat down by the gate and fell asleep. Suddenly, a reverend man in the habit of the Preachers appeared to him, covered him with his cloak, and led him into the church. Upon waking, he found himself inside the church and discovered that he was completely healed. This brought wonder and amazement to many, when they saw a man who had been nearly dead so suddenly freed from such a grave infirmity.
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Petrus interpretatur agnoscens vel discalcians: vel dicitur Petrus a petros, quod est firmum. Per hoc intelliguntur tria privilegia, quae fuerunt in beato Petro. Fuit enim praedicator egregius et inde dicitur agnoscens: quia et perfectam scripturarum notitiam habuit et in praedicatione, quid cuique conveniret, agnovit, Secundo fuit virgo purissimus: et inde dicitur discalcians, quia a pedibus suarum affectionum omnem amorem mortuum discalciavit et exuit: ut non solum corpore, sed etiam mente virgo esset. Tertio fuit martir domini gloriosus et inde fuit firmus, quia martirium pro defensione fidei constanter sustinuit. — 3. Petrus Novus martir de ordine praedicatorum fidei pugil egregius de civitate Veronensi exstitit oriundus. Hic tamquam splendidum lumen de fumo, lilium candens de sentibus, rubens rosa de spinis exoritur, dum de parentibus per errorem excaecatis lucidus praedicator exsurgit et de sanctitatis mente corporeque corruptis virginale decus procedit ac de spinis, id est aeterno incendio deputatis, inclytus martir adseendit. Parentes namque suos infideles et haereticos beatus Petrus habuit, a quorum tamen errore se penitus mundum servavit.
Cum antem adhuc septem esset annorum et a Scholis rediret, a patruo suo, qui haeresim sapiebat, quidnam in scholis didicerit, interrogatur. Qui respondit se didicisse: credo in Deun patrem omnipotentem creatorem coeli et terrae etc. Et ille: noli dicere creatorem cocli et terrae, cum ipse visibilium creator non faerit, sed dyabolus omnia ista, quae videntur, creaverit. Ipse vero puer se potius velle dicere, sicut legerat, affirmabat et, sicut scriptum erat, se potius credere velle dicebat. Tunc ille per - auctoritates hoc ei persuadere, ut poterat, nitebatur: quas omnes puer spiritu sancto repletus sic contra eum convertit eumque proprio gladio interemit, ut ille, quo diverteret, non haberet. Qui indigne ferens a puero se confusum patri totum, quod inter se gestum fuerat, retulit et ut Petrinum a scholis rémoveret, modis omnibus persuasit, Timeo enim,-ait,. ne cum Petrinus bene fuerit eruditus, ad meretricem illam Romanam ecclesiam se conferat et sic fidem nostram destruat et confundat. Qui nesciens verum dixit, dum Petrum haereticorum perfidiam destructurum esse tamquam alter Cayphas prophetavit.
Sed quia res a Deo fiebat, pater fratris monitis assensum non praebuit sperans, quod per aliquem haeresiarcham ad snam sectam eum trahi faceret, cum in grammaticalibus fieret eruditus. Videns igitur puer sancfus non esse tutum cum scorpionibus habitare, mundum parentesque despiciens, mundus ipse fratrum praedicatorum ordinem introivit. In quo quidem ordine quam laudabiliter vixerit, Innocentius papa in sua epistola aperit dicens : cum enim beatus Petrus a mundi fallaciis in adolescentiae annis provide declinasset, ad ordinem fratrum praedicatorum se transtulit. In quo qnidem ordine triginta fere annorum spatio fultus caterva virtutum, fide praeambula, spe adstante, comitante caritate sic praevaluit et profecit circa defensionem ipsius fidei, pro qua totus ardebat, quod contra illins diros hostes mente intrepida ferventique Spiritu continuum certamen exercens suum tandem agonem diutinum victrici superante martirio feliciter consummavit. Et sic Petrus firmus in petra fidei petra demum passionis allisus ad petram Christi digne laureandus adscendit, Virginitatem quoque mentis et corporis semper illibatam servavit, nec alicujus mortalis criminis unquam Li sensit contactum, sicut suorum confessorum fideli testimonio est probatum, et quia servus delicate nutritus proteruit in dominum, carnem suam assidua cibi et potus parcitate restrinxit. Ne vero per otii desidiam hostilibus pareret insidiis, in justificationibus domini exercebatur assidue, ut eo circa licita totaliter occupato locum in ipso illicita non haberent et a spiritualibus nequnitiis tutus esset. Nocturna quidem silentia humanae deputata quieti post dormitionem brevem decurrebat in studiis lectionum et somni tempus vigiliis occupabat. Dies autem impendebat commodis animarum vel sedulis imminendo praedicationibus vel confessionum audientiae insistendo aut haereticorum.
dogma pestiferum validis rationibus confutando, in quibus specialis gratiae dono noscitur claruisse. Devotione insuper gratus, humilitate lenis, obedientia placidus, benignitate suavis, pieiate compatiens, patientia constans, caritate praestabilis et in cunctis morum maturitate compositus, alios profusis virtutum aromatibus attrahebat, fervens quoque amator fidei, cultor praecipuus, propugnator ardens sic animo suo fidem impresserat, sic se totum in illius mancipaverat obsequium, quod quaeque ipsius opera et verba virtutem fidei redolebant. Pro hac quoque mortem subire cupiens hic principaliter a domino attentis et crebris postulationibus Supplicasse probatur, quod non sineret eum ex hao luce migrare, misi sumto pro illo calice passionis: nec fraudatus est tandem a desiderio suo.
Multis vero in vita sua miraculis claruit, nam cum apud Mediolanum quemdam episcopum haereticorum a fidelibus captum beatus Petrus examinaret et multi episcopi et religiosi et maxima pars civitatis illuc convenisset, et dies tum ex praedicatione tum examinatione in longum protracta fuisset et maximus aestus cunctos affligeret, dixit haeresiarcha coram omnibus: o. Petre perverse, si tu es ita sanctus, sicut hic stultus populus te esse affirmat, cur eum aestu mori pertnittis et non rogas dominum, ut nubem aliquam interponat, ut non moriatur hic stultus populus tanto aestu. Ad quem Petrus respondit: si vis promittere, te abnegaturum haeresin tuam et fidem catholicam recepturum, rogaho dominum et faciet, quod dixisti. Tunc fautores haereticorum conclamantes haeresiarchae dixerunt: promitte, promitte. Credebant enim, quod fiefl non posset, quod Petrns se facturum coram omnibus spopondit, et maxime cum nulla vel minima nubecula-in acre appareret. Catholici autem super promissione beati Petri tristari coeperunt, timentes, ne fides catholica ex hoc confusioni pateret.
Cum érgo haereticus so obligare nollet, beatus Petrus cum magna fiducia dixit: ad hoc, quod verus Deus visibilium et invisibilium creator monstretur et ad consolationem fidelium et ad confusionem haereticorum rogo Deum, ut aliqua nubecula adscendat et se inter solem et populum interponat. Quod mox praemisso crucis signaculo factum fuit, per magnam horam in modum papilionis populum nubecula protegente.
Contractus quidam, nomine Asserbus cum per quinque annos mansisset contractus, ita ut per terram in sextario traheretur, Mediolanum ad beatum Petrum ductus fuit: quem cum bealus Petrus signasset, continuo sanatus surrexit. Quaedam etiam miracula, quae per eum dominus, dum viveret, fecit, Innocentius in praedicta epistola recitat dicens: cujusdam nobilis filium prae nimio et horribili totius gulae tumore nec loqui nec spirare valentem levatis ad dominum manibus et crucis in eo facto signaculo illoque accipiente ipsius cappam et. infirmo supponente eum illico sanavit. Idem nobilis vehementi postmodum corporis tortione gravatus, credens et metuens exinde sibi mortis imminere discrimen cappam ipsam, quam extunc conservaverat, reverenter fecit afferri, qua suo apposita pectori mox vermem quendam duo habentem capita et pilorum densitate villosum evomuit plena liberatione secuta. Cuidam juveni muto, immisso in os digito suaeque linguae soluto ligamine beneficium loquelae concessit. Haec et alia plura, dum viveret, dignatus est per eum dominus operari;
Verum cum pestis haeretica in Lombardiae provincia pullularet et multas jam civitates contagione pestifera infecisset, summus pontifex ad pestem dyabolicam abolendam diversos inquisitores de ordine praedicatorum in diversis Lombardiae partibus delegavit. Sed cum apud Mediolanum haeretici non solum multi numero, sed etiam saeculari potentia acuti fraudulenta elo- , quentia et pleni dyabolica scientia residerent, summus pontifex sciens et intelligens béatam Petrum virum esse magnanimum, qui ab hostium multitudine non paveret, animadvertens quoque ejus constaniem virtutem, per quam adversariorum potentiae nec in modico cederet, cognoscens etiam ejus facundiam, per quam facile haereticoram fallacias detegeret, non ignorans insuper ipsum in divina plene sapientia eruditum, per quam frivola haereticorum argumenta rationabiliter confutaret, ipsum tam strenuum fidei pugilem et tam indefessum domini bellatorem in Mediolano et ejus comitata instituit, et inquisitorem suum anctoritate concessa plenaria ordinavit. lpse igitur injunctum officium diligenter exercens haereticos ubique perquirebat, nullam iis requiem tribuens, sed mirabiliter omnes confüundens, potenter expellens, sapienter convincens, ita ut non possent resistere sapientiae et spiriti, qui per eum loquebatur. Quod videntes haeretici et dolentes de ipsius morte cum suis fautoribus tractare coeperunt, arbitrantes se posse pacifice vivere, si eorum tam validus persecutor de medio tolleretur. Cum igitur praedicator intrepidus mox martir futurus de Cumis Mediolanum pro inquirendis haereticis pergeret, in ipso itinere palmam martirii assecutus est, sicut Innocentius explicat in haee verba. Cum de civitate Cumana, ubi fratrum sui ordinis ibi morantium prior erat, Mediolanum pergeret pro exsequenda inquisitione contra haereticos sibi ab apostolica sede concessa, sicut in publica praedicatione praedixerat, quidam de ipsorum haereticorum credentibus prece illorum inductus et pretio in eum salutaris propositi iter prosequentem funestus insiliit, in agnum utique lupus, ferus in mitem, impius in pium, furibundus in mansuetum, in modestum effrenis, profanus in sanctum, praesumit insultum, exercet conatum, mortem intentat, sacrum autem caput illius crudeliter impetens et diris in ipsum impressis vulneribus satiato sanguine justi ense venerandum illum, non divertentem ab hoste, sed exhibentem se protinus hostiam et caesoris sustinentem in patientia truces ictus dimisit spiritu petente superna in ipso loco passionis occisum, ipso quoque sacrilego percnssuras in Christi ministrum geminas inculcante. llle non querula voce gemens vel murmurans, sed sufferens omnia patienter suum domino commendabat spiritum dicens: in manus tuas, domine, commendo spiritum meum. Symbolum etiam coepit dicere fidei, cujus nec in hoc articulo desiit esse praeco, !)
prout ipse nefandus, qui a fidelibus captus fuit, et quidam frater dominicus, qui comes illius erat, et ab ipso lictore percussus diebus aliquibus supervixit, postea retulerunt. Sed cum adhuc martir domini palpitaret, cultellum crudelis lictor arripuit et per latera ejus transfixit. In ipsa autem die sui martirii confessor, martir, propheta et doctor quodammodo esse promeruit. Confessor in eo, quod fidem Christi inter tormenta constantissime confessus fuit, et in eo, quod ipsa die confessione more solito facta obtulit Deo sacrificium laudis, Martir in eo, quod pro defensione fidei sanguinem suum fudit, propheta in eo, quod eum ipse (unc quartanam pateretur et socil dicerent, quód non possent Mediolanum applicare, ille respondit: si non poterimus ad domum fratrum pervenire, apud sanctum Simplicianum poterimus hospitari. Quod et factum est. Nam cum sacrum ejus corpus deferretur, fratres propter nimiam populi frequentiam non potuerunt illud eadem die ad domum deducere, sed apud sanctum Simplicianum deposuerunt et ibidem ea nocte permansit. Doetor in eo, quod etiam, cum pateretur, fidem veram edocuit, dum symbolum fidei clara voce cecinit. Cujus quoque passio veneranda dominicae passioni similis multum fuisse videtur.
Christus enim passus est pro veritate, quam praedicabat, Petrus pro veritate fidei, quam defendebat, Christus passus est ab infideli populo Judaeorum, Petrus ab infideli turba haereticorum, Christus in paschali tempore erucifigitur, Petrus eodem tempore martyrium patitur, Christus cum pateretur: in manus tuas, domine, commendo spiritum meum, dicebat, Petrus cum occideretur, verba eadem clamitabat, Christus pro triginta denariis traditus fuit, ut crucifigeretur, Petrus pro quadraginta libris Papiensibus fuit venditus, ut interficeretur, Christus per passionem suam multos ad fidem adduxit, Petrus per martirium haereticos multos convertit. Quamvis enim egregius doctor et fidei pugil haereticorum dogma pestiferum im vita sua plurimum eradicaverit, post mortem tamen suam ejus meritis et coruscantibus miraculis fait adeo exstirpatum, ut quam plurimi'errorem suam relinquerent et ad gremium sanctae ecclesiae convolarent, ita ut civitas Mediolanum et comitatus ejusdem, ubi tot haereticorum conventicula residebant, adeo purgata est, ut aliis exemplis et aliis ad fidem conversis nullus ibidem auderet aliqualiter comparere. Plures etiam de iis maximi et famosi praedicatores ordinem gunt ingressi, qui usque nunc cunctos haereticos et fautores fervore mirabili persequuntur. Sic noster Samson plures Philistaeos interfecit moriens, quam occideret vivens. Sic granum frumenti cadens in terram et infidelium manibus comprehensum et mortuum uberem consurgit in spicam, sic botrus in torculari caleatus liquoris redundat in copiam, sic aromata pilo contusa odorem plenius cireumfundunt, sic granum sinapis contritum virtntem suam multipliciter demonstravit.
Post sancti viri gloriosum triumphum multis eum dominus miraculis illustravit, quorum quaedam summus pontifex refert dicens: post mortem ipsins lampades ad sepulchrum ejus dependenies pluries per se ipsae absque omni humano tndio et ministerio divinitus sunt accensae, quia conveniens nimis erat, ut qui igne et lumine fidei excellenter claruerat, singulare de ipso ignis ac luminis miraculum appareret. Quidam autem, cum vesceretur cum aliis et ejus sanctitatem et miracula depravaret, sumtoquodam sub obtestatione morsello, quem cum non posset, sed circa hoc delinqueret, transglutire, sensit mox ipsum sic gutturi inhaerentem, ut illum inducere vel educere non valeret, Quare illico poenitens et jam vultus mutato colore, quia sentiens vicinum mortis eventum facto intra se voto, quod linguam de caetero ad talia non laxaret, fuit protinus illo evomito liberatus. Hydropica quaedam ad locum passionis ejus auxilio viri sui perveniens fusa ibi oratione sanitatem integram mox recepit. Obsessas a daemonibus martir ipse dejectis illis cum multo sanguinis vomitu de corporibus liberavit, febres expulit, languores quam plurimos curavit et diversos, Cuidam sinistrae manus digitum ex morbo fistulae plurimorum foraminum concavitate defossum mira consolatione sanavit. Quidam insuper puer ex casu gravissimo sic oppressus, ut motu et sensu penitus destitutus tamquam mortuus defleretur, mox apposita de terra suo pectori sacro ejus martiris cruore contacta incolumis resurrexit, Quaedam etiam mulier, cujus carnem cancer edax sedula corrosione vorabat, linitis hujusmodi terra vulneribus est curata. Alii etiam diversis infirmitatibus occupati, qui sepulchrum ejus in vehiculis et aliis sustentaculis adierunt, exinde postmodum plena incolumitate recepta sine aliquibus subsidiis rediere.
Cum autem summus pontifex Innocentius quartus beatum Petrum sanctorum catalogo adseripsisset, fratres apud Mediolanum ad capitulum convenerunt: volentes autem ejus corpus ad altiorem locum transferre, um plus quam per annum s üb terra jacuisset, ita sanum et integrum ae sine alicujus exhalatione foetoris repertum est, ac si eadem die sepultum fuisset. Fratre8 igitur snper magnum pulpitum juxta plateam corpus ejus cum magna reverentia deduxerunt et ibidem sic sanum et integrum coram omni populo est ostensum et ab co suppliciter adoratum. )Praeter miracula supra dicta in litteris summi pontificis posita plurima alia sunt comperta. Nam super loUn cum passionis ejus saepe luminaria de coelo descendentla plures religiosi aliique quam plures visibiliter conspexerunt. . Inter quae luminaria duos fratres in habitu praedicatorum se vidisse testati sunt. Quidam juvenis nomine Gunfredus, alias Guifredus, de civitate Cumana dum de panno tunicae sancti Petri haberet et quidam haereticus eidem deridendo diceret, ut, si sanctum eum crederet, in ignem pannum ipsum projiceret et si comburi non contingeret, absque dubio. sanctus esset et ipse suae fidei adhaereret, moxque super carbones accensos pannum sancti Petri projecit, sed ab ipso igne altius resilivit, deinde per se super ipsos carbones resiliens ipsos ardentes penitus exstinxit.
Tunc incredulus ille dixit: sic per omnia pannus tunicae meae faciet. Positus est igitur super alios carbones ex una parte pannus haeretici et ex altera parte pannus sancti Petri. Pannus autem haeretici mox, ut ignis calorem sensit, peniius combustus, pannus vero sancti Petri in igne praevaluit et ignem ipsum exstinxit, ita quod nec pilus aliquis de eo combustus fuit. Quod videns haereticus ad viam veritatis rediit et miraculum omnibus publicavit,
Apud Flodentiam juvenis quidam haereticus pravitate corruptus cum in ecclesia fratrum de Florentia cum quibusdam aliis juvenibus ante quandam tabulam, -ubi est depictum martirium sancti Petri, staret, videns lictorem eum percutientem evaginato gladio ipse dixit: utinam ego ibi fuissem, quia validius percussissem! Quo dicto statim mutus effectus est. Cumque socii requirerent, quid haberet, et ipse nihil respondere posset, eum domum reduxerunt. Sed cum in via ecclesiam quandam sancti Michaelis vidisset, elapsus de manibus sociorum ecclesiam intravit et flectens genua corde sanctum Petrum rogavit, nt sibi parceret, voto, sicut potuit, se obligans, quod, si liberaretur, peccata sua confiteretur et omnem haeresin abnegaret. Tune subito loquelam recuperavit et veniens ad domum fratrum abjurata haeresi peccata sua confessus est, data licentia" confessori, quod hoc in populo praedicaret. Ipse quoque in publica fratrum praedicatione surgens coram omni multitudine hoc confessus est.
Navis quaedam dum in medio maris paene naufragium pateretur, saeva fluctuum inundatione quassata, omnesque caliginosae noctis tenebris tenerentur, diversorum sanctorum suffragia postulabant, sed um nullum suae liberationis viderent indicium seque periclitari plurimum. formidarent, quidam de iis natione Januensis facto silentio sic eos alloquitur: viri fratres, numquid non audistis, qualiter quidam frater de ordine praedicatorum nomine frater Petrus nuper ob defensionem fidei catholicae sit ab haereticis interfectus multaque per eum dominus signa ostendat, Nunc igitur devote ejus patrocinium imploremus, quia spero, quod a nostra nequaquam postulatione Ífraudabimur. Assentiunt universi beatum Petrum in sui auxilium devotis precibus invocantes. Illis sic orantibus mox antenna navis, in qua velum appenditur, cercis accensis tota plena conspicitur, ita quod omnis obscuritas ipsorum cereorum mirabili fulgore fugatur noxque illa tam caliginosa in diem clarissimam commutatur. Respicientes viderunt quendam cum habitu fratrum praedicatorum super velum stantem, de quo nulli dubium fuit, quin beatus Petrus exstiterit. Cum ergo praedicti nautae Januam incolumes advenissent, ad domum fratrum praedicatorum venerunt et Deo et beato Petro gratias referentes eisdem fratribus totius miraculi seriem narraverunt.
Mulier quaedam in Flandria cum jam tres filios mortuos peperisset et ex hoc a viro odio haberetur, rogavit sanctum Petrum, ut sibi in auxilium fieret. Cum ergo quartum filium peperisset, similiter mortuus est repertus. Quem mater accipiens ad rogandum sanctum Petrum totam se contulit, eum, ut filium suum reviviscere faceret, precibus devotis exorans. Cum igitur ad baplismum portatus fuisset, et nt Johannes vocaretur, definitum esset, sacerdos, cum ejus nomen dicere debuit, nesciens dixit Petrus, unde illud nomen postmodum ex devotione sancti Petri semper retinuit. n provincia Teutoniae apud Trajectum mulieres quaedam videntes ad ecclesiam fratrum praedicatorum in honore sancti Petri martiris magnum concursum fieri populorum, dum ipsi in platea consisterent et filarent, adstantibus sic dicebant: ecce isti praedicatores omnem modum lucrandi noverunt, nam ut magam possint pecuniam cumulare et lata aedificare palatia, unum novum martirem invenerunt Dum haec et similia dicerent, ecce subito filum totum sanguine cruentatur et digiti, quibus filum torquebant, sanguine mox replentur. Quod illi videntes et admirantes digitos diligenter extergent, ne forte in iis accidisset aliqua inscissura, Sed cum digitos omnino sanos conspicerent et filum sie sanguinolentum viderent, trementes ac poenitentes dicere coeperunt: vere, qnia pretiosi martiris sanguini detraximus, nobis hoc sanguinis miraculum tam Stupendum evenit. Currentes igitur ad domum fratrum priori omnia exposmerunt 'ao filum sanguine cruentatum eidem praesertaverunt. Prior antem ad multorum instantiam sollennem praedicationem convocavit et quidquid praedictis mulieribus acciderat, coram omnibus retulit et filum ipsum sic cruentatum omnibus ostendit.
Iterum quidam magister artis grammaticae in cadem praedicatione consistens factnm ipsum coepit plurimum deridere et adstantibus dicere: videte modo, qualiter isti fratres simplicium corda decipiunt. Nam cum aliquibus mulierculis de suis familiaribus conduxerunt, ut filum ipsum in aliquo sanguine tingerent et sic miraculose accidisse narrarent. Dum haec ille diceret, protinus ultionis divinae plagam accepit et ipsum validissimarum febrium aestus multis adspicientibus sic vexavit, ut a praedicatione ipsa inter manus amicorum in propriam domum deferretur. Sed cum vehementer febris excresceret et ille mortem vicinam timeret, praedictum priorem accersere facit et reatum suum confitens Deo et beato Petro coram dicto priore votum vovit, quod, si ejus meritis sanitatem reciperet, eum semper in speciali devotione haberet et de caetero linguam ad talia non laxaret. Mira res, mox ut praedictum votum protulit, sanitatem integram recepit,
Quadam vice cum supprior praedicti loci quosdam lapides pulcherrimos et magnos in quadam mavi pro constructione praedictae ecclesiae duceret, navis ipsa ex improviso cuidam littori sic inhaesit, ut nullatenus posset. moveri. Descendentes vero nautae omnes unanimiter ipsam impellebant, sed nullatenus movere poterant. Cum ergo navem se amisisse putarent, praedictus supprior omnibus aliis licentiatis manum ad navem apposuit et leviter ipsam impellens dixit: in nomine sancti Petri martiris, in cnjus honorem lapides istos deferimus, vade. Statimque navis velocissime se movit et de littore sana recessit, super quam nautae adscendentes omnes sani ct hilares ad propria remearunt.
In provincia Franciae civitate Senonis puella quaedam cum in aqnam raptim transeuntem cecidisset et per magnum spatium temporis stetisset, tandem de flumine mortua est extracta, Cnjus mortis erant quatuor argumenta, scilicet magnum spatium temporis et rigiditas corporis et frigiditas et nigredo. Delata est ergo a quibusdam ad ecclesiam fratrum. Qui cum eam sancto Petro vovissent, continuo vitae est reddita et saluti,
Frater Johannes Polonus eum apud Bononiam quartana laboraret et in festo sancti Petri martiris sermonem ad clerum facere deberet, accessionem eadem nocte juxta cursum naturalem exspectans timere valde coepit, ne in injancto sermone sibi deficeret, Ad sancli igitur Petri conversus suffragia ad altare ipsius cum devotione accessit orans, ut ejus meritis juvaretur, cujus debebat gloriam praedicare, sicque factum est, quod illa nocte febris penitus cessavit et postea nunquam eum invasit.
X4. Matrona quaedam nomine Girolda uxor Jacobi de Vallesana cum per XIIII annos ab immundis spiritibus fuisset obsessa, venit ad quendam sacerdotem dicens: ego sum daemoniaca et spiritus malignus vexat me. Mox sacerdos territus fugiens sacristiam intravit et librum quendam, in quo erant conjurationes daemonum , et stolam latenter sub cappa deferens cum bona societate ad mulierem rediit, quae mox, ut vidit, ait: latro pessime, quo ivisti? Quid est, quod sub cappa occulte portasti? Cum autem sacerdos adjurationes suas faceret et nil curationis afferret, venit illa ad beatum Petrum, dum adhue viveret, ab eo postulans adjuvari. Cui ille prophetica voce respondit: confide, filia, ne desperes, quia et si, quod postulas, ad praesens perficere non valeo, tempus tamen veniet, quo id, quod a me petis, plenarie obtinebis. Quod et factum est. Nam post passionem ejus, cum ad sepulchrum ejus praedicta mulier accessisset, ab illa infestatione daemonum fuit penitus liberata.
Mulier quaedam nomine Euphemia de loco Corriongo Mediolanensis dyocesis septem annis a daemonibus est vexata, sed cum ad sepulchrum sancti Petri ducta fuisset, coeperunt daemones eam amplius agitare et per os ejus cunctis audientibus clamare: Mariola, Mariola, Petrine, Petrine. Tunc daemones exeuntes eam quasi mortuam dimiserunt, sed modicum post dum plene sanata fuit, surrexit. Asserebat autem, quod diebus dominicis et festivis et maxime, quando missa celebrabatur, eam daemones amplius molestabant.
Quaedam mulier nomine Verona de Beregno per VI annos a daemonibus agitata cum ad sepulchrum sancti Petri fuisset adducta, vix a multis viris detineri poterat, inter quos erat quidam credens haereticorum , nomine Conradus de Ladriano, qui illuc advenerat, ut sancti Petri miracula derideret. Qui cum praedictam mulierem cum caeteris detineret, daemones eidem per mulierem dixerunt: eur tenes nos, nonne noster es? Nonne te ad talem locum portavimus et ibi tale homicidium perpetrasti? Nonne te ad talem et talem locum duximus et ibi tale et tale flagitium commisisti? Cumque multa peccata sibi dicerent, quae nullus alius nisi ipse solus sciebat, vehementer expavit: mox autem daemones colum et pectus mulieris excoriantes et inde exeuntes semivivam eam dimiserunt, sed post modicum penitus sanata surrexit. Praedictus antem Conradus haereticus haec videns et stupens ad fidem catholicam est conversus.
Cum: quidam haereticus acerrimus disputator et eloquentiae singularis cum beato Petro, cum adhue viveret, disputaret et errores suos subtiliter et acute proposuisset in medium ae beatus Petrus, ut responderet ad proposita, importunus perurgeret, ille deliberationem petens oratorium quoddam, quod prope erat, intravit cum lacrymis orans Deum, ut causam fidei suae defenderet et loquentem tumidum ant ad fidei veritatem reduceret aut linguae privatione puniret, ne per eam de caetero contra fidei veritatem tumeret, rediensque ad haereticum coram omnibus palam dixit, ut suas iterum proponeret rationes. Qui ita penitus factus est mutus, uti nec unum solum verbum aliquatenus proferre valeret, Unde haeretici confusi recesserunt et catholici Deo gratias retulerunt.
Vir quidam nomine Opiso credens haereticorum cum occasione cujusdam haereticae consanguineae suae ad ecclesiam fratrum venisset et ad tumbam saneti Petri pergens duos ibi denarios conspexisset, ipse denarios accipiens dixit: bonum est, ut bibamus istos; statimque totus coepit tremere nec de loco eodem aliquatenus potuit se moyere. Qui territus praedictos denarios in loco suo mox restituit et sic inde abscessit. Videns autem beati Petri virtutem , haeresim deseruit et ad fidem caiholicam se convertit.
Sanctimonialis erat quaedam in Alemannia et in claustro Oetenbach ordinis sancti Sixti Constantiensis dyocesis, quae per annum et amplius gravem guttam in genu perpessa est, ita quod nullo remedio poterat liberari, Haec quia sepulchrum sancti Petri corporaliter. visitare non poterat, utpote quae erat sub obedientia constituta et quae infirmitate gravissima urgebatur, cogitavit saltem praedictum sepulchrum. mentali gressu adire ac devotione sedula visitare. Discens vero, quod in XIII diaetis de loco illo Mediolanum posset adire, quotidie pro qualibet diaeta centum pater noster ad honorem sancti Petri dicere coepit, Mirum in modum: cum istas mentales diaetas taliter coepit facere, successive semper et paulatim coepit se melius habere. At ubi ultimam diaetam perfecit et ad tumbam mentali gressu pervenit, flexis genibus ac si praesentialiter coram tumba adstaret, psalterium cum devotione maxima totum legit, quo expleto ab illa infirmatione adeo liberatam se sensit, ut jam inde modicum quid sentiret. Rediens vero eo modo, quo iverat, antequam omnes diaetas explevisset, penitus est sanata.
Vir quidam de Canapicio de villa Mazzati nomine Rufinus gravem valde infirmitatem incurrit, nam vena fracta in inferioribus partibus anterius sine cessatione sanguinem emittebat, quod a nullo medico aliquod sibi remedium poterat adhiberi. Cum ergo sanguis per sex dies et noctes continue effluxisset, ille beatum Petrum devote in sui auxilium invocavit, qui tam subito sanatus est, ut inter effusam orationem et receptam liberationem nullum paene fuerit intervallum. Cum autem se sopori dedisset, vidit quendam fratrem in habitu ordinis fratrum praedicatorum grossum atque facie brunum, quem socium beati Petri martiris existimabat, sicut vere et talis formae exstiterat. Qui cum expansione palmas plenas sanguine cum quodam suavi unguento eidem offerebat dicens: sanguis adhuc recens est, veni igitur ad recentem sanguinem sancti Petri. Qui evigilans sepulchrum sancti Petri statuit visitare.
Quaedam comitissae de castro Massyno Ypozensis dyocesis cum in beatum Pe-trum specialem devotionem haberent et ejus vigiliam jejunarent, cum ad suam ecclesiam, ut audirent vesperas, accessissent, una earun candelam quandam in honorem sancti Petri martiris ante quoddam altare beati Petri apostoli posuit comburendam. Quae cum domum rediissent, sacerdos avaritia ductus in ipsam candelam sufflans eam exstinxit, sed mox lumen rediit et denuo ipsam accendit, Secundo et tertio eam exstinguere voluit, sed lumen ut prius rediit. Unde taedio affectus chorum intravit et ante majus altare aliam candelam invenit, quam clericus in honorem sancti Petri posuerat, qui ejus vigiliam similiter jejunabat. Quam sacerdos bis exstinguere voluit, sed nequivit. Quod videns clericus iratus dixit: dyabole, apertum miraculum non videtis et quod sanctus Petrus non vult, ut suam exstinguatis candelam? Territi igitur et stupentes sacerdos et clericus castrum adscenderunt ct praedictum miraculum omnibus narraverunt.
Vir quidam nomine Roba de Meda cum usque ad vestes in ludis omnia perdidisset, domum in sero rediens cum lucerna accensa lectum suum adiit et videns se tam viles pannos habere et se tantum amisisse considerans prae nimia desperatione coepit daemones invocare ac se iisdem ore nefario commendare, statimque tres daemones affuerunt, qui lucernam accensam in solarium projicientes eum per collum arripuerunt tam fortiter ipsum stringentes, ut nullatenus loqui posset. Quem cum plurimum agitarent, qui erant in domo inferiori, ad eum adscendentes dixerunt: quid est, quod agis Roba? Quibus daemones responderunt: ite in pace vestra et lectos vestros intrate. llli autem vocem esse credentes praedicti viri protinus redierunt. Illis recedentibus coepit multo fortius a daemonibus agitari. Quod illi cognoscentes sacerdolem protinus advocaverunt, qui cum per beatum Petrum daemones adjurasset, duo protinus exierunt. Sequenti autem. die ad sepulchrum sancti Petri adductus est, ad quem frater Guilhelmus Vercellensis.
accedens coepit daemonem increpare, qui eum, quem nunquam viderat, nomine vocans ait: frater Guilhelme pro te nunquam exibo, quia hic noster est et opera nostta fecit. Quem cum interrogasset, quo nomine vocaretur, ait: vocor Balcefas. Verumtamen cum per beatum Petrum adjuratus fuisset, ipsum in terra projiciens mox exivit, ipse autem perfecte sanus remansit et poenitentiam salutarem accepit.
Cum in Ramis palmarum, dum adhuc viveret, Mediolani praedicaret et ibi utriusque sexus esset maxima multitudo, dixit publice alta voce: scio pro certo, quod haeretici tractant mortem meam, ita quod pro morle mea jam pecunia data est, sed faciunt, quidquid possunt, quia magis persequar eos mortuus quam vivus. Quod verum fuisse manifestum est,
Apud Florentiam in monasterio Discipulis sanctimonialis quaedam in oratione posita ea die, qua beatus Petrus mortem sustinuit, vidit beatam virginem in excelso throno in gloria residere et duos fratres de ordine praedicatorum in coelum adscendere et hinc inde juxta eam collocatos esse. Et quum inquireret, quinam essent, audivit vocem dicentem sibi: hic est frater Petrus, qui in conspectu domini tamquam fumus aromatum gloriosus adscendit. Reperlumque est pro certo, quod eodem die mortem subiit, qua dicta sanctimonialis visionem vidit. Unde cum longa et gravi infirmitate laboraret, ad rogandum beatum Petrum tota se devotione contulit et sanitatem integram mox recepit,
Scholaris quidam cum de Magalana ad Montem Pessulanum rediret, ex quodam saltu adeo est ruptus in ingnine, ut dolore nimis vexaretur et incedere non valeret. Hic aliquando audiens praedicare, quod quaedam mulier terram sanguine beati Petri respersam super cancri corrosionem ponens fuerat liberata, dixit: domine Deus de terra illa non habeo, sed qui illi terrae meritis beati Petri tantam dedisti virtutem, potes et isti dare. Accipiens igitur de terra cum signo crucis et invocatione martiris loco supposuit et statim curatus fuit.
Anno domini MCCLIX in civitate Apostella fuit quidam vir nomine Benedictus, qui tibias inflatas habebat in modum utrium, ventrem tumentem instar praegnantis, faciem prae nimio tumore horribilem, totumque corpus inflatum, ita ut monstrum aliquod videretur. Hic cum a quadam matrona vix super baculum se sustentans elemosinam peteret, illa respondit: magis fossa, quam alio bono indigeres, sed meo consilio acquiesce ac domum fratrum praedicatorum pergens ac peccata confitens beati Petri patrocinia invocato. llle autem cum mane ad domum fratrum venisset et ostium ecclesiae clausum esset, secus portam se posuit et dormivit et ecce quidam reverendus in habitu praedicatorum eidem apparuit et cappa ipsum operiens eum in ecclesiam introduxit, ille autem evigilans et in ecclesia se esse reperit et perfecte sanatum invenit. Quod multis admirationem intulit et stuporem, cum viderent hominem paene mortuum tam subito a gravi infirmitate fnisse liberatum.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin text ends abruptly with 'aut haereticorum', implying a missing verb or object, likely 'debating' or 'refuting' heretics.
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