Legenda Christiani
The Patron of Prisoners
Saint Wenceslaus answers the desperate prayers of imprisoned men with miraculous signs of light and the breaking of their chains.
Therefore, our holy and often-remembered patron, the venerable Wenceslaus, although he bestows the help of his piety and kindness on all who entreat him, nevertheless does not cease to come especially to the aid of those in chains or thrust into prison. Indeed, it was from this that the first of his signs revealed the wonder of his mercy, after the translation of his venerable body. For when very many accused men, bound in the bonds and fetters of iron chains, were held in the public custody of the prison, condemned according to the custom of the land and by manifold punishment, and when, except for death alone, none of them had any hope at all, one night, placed amid their very hardships — God bringing this about, as we believe — it came into their minds to ask that blessed Wenceslaus have mercy on them: 'Lord God,' they say, 'through the merits and prayers of our elder Wenceslaus, your most holy witness, deign to help us, who are placed in such great hardship, by that ancient power of yours.'1 The following night, while all the world rested in peaceful repose, only these wretches knew what rest was — they did not — and the divine power, which is accustomed to be present piously with those who are afflicted, was there. And first, indeed, a sound like that of a certain bell rang out in their ears, and then a wonderful light shone upon all of them in the prison. And suddenly the wooden stock in which the feet of all the prisoners were confined bent itself like a bow, and soon they all drew their feet free from the shackle. But seeing the Lord's power present through the merits of Saint Wenceslaus, they were strengthened, now that hope of salvation had been received, and with unbroken voice they cried out: 'God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, be present with us, your servants who trust in you, through the merits and prayers of Saint Wenceslaus, who was killed by the impious for love of your name.' Soon the power of Christ was present, and the neck-chain of each one, broken, fell from the neck to the ground.
The Freed Men Bear Witness
The liberated prisoners walk the streets proclaiming the great works of God they have witnessed.
And once they had been released from prison, they walked about through the streets, telling everyone the great works of God that they had seen with their own eyes.✦
A Pagan's Vow and Repeated Deliverance
A pagan prisoner, hearing of Wenceslaus's power, vows to convert and is miraculously freed from his chains again and again, leading to his baptism and the dedication of his son.
Through this miracle, then — a miracle spread everywhere because of its sheer greatness and glory — it happened that a certain pagan, held in custody, discovered that Saint Wenceslaus was deeply concerned for those who were accustomed to be bound in prison, to set them free. When he heard this, because he was pressed by enormous necessity, he made a vow, saying: 'If the God of Saint Wenceslaus and the God of the Christians will have snatched me from this misery by his goodness and restored me to my former standing, I will believe in Christ the Son of God and receive the baptism of salvation, and to the Christian faith and piety I promise with my whole heart, and my son I will hand over to the same martyr for eternal service.' He had scarcely finished speaking the words when, behold, all his iron chains fell from him.✦ After they had seized him two or three times and, with repeated abuse, thrown chains on him again, the chains and fetters fell from him just as before. His jailers, moved to reverence by this repeated miracle and giving thanks to God, allowed the man to go free. Once released, he was immediately instructed in the holy faith and baptized, and handing over his son — the one he had vowed — to the martyr, he lived on for many years afterward.
Chains Fall on the Road
Another accused man is freed of all his fetters through Wenceslaus's merits even as he is sold into distant captivity, and his pagan buyers, awed by the miracle, release him.
But another accused man, ordered in the same way to be thrust back into prison, called upon holy Wenceslaus with his voice and with frequent sighs to have mercy on him — and just as all the bonds and shackles had fallen away from the one before him, so too every fetter of hand-irons and chains fell away from this man. Unbelieving men seized him and, having received a foreign price, sold him to distant nations — not knowing that God is the ruler of the whole earth, and that the earth belongs to the Lord and everything in it — even thinking that the blessed martyr, placed far away from them, could not possibly hear their prayers. As he was being led away, through the merits of blessed Wenceslaus his fetters suddenly fell from his hands, and the iron neck-chain from his neck. But those who had bought him, even though they were pagans, seeing such great wonders of God, let him go free.
Sleeping Outside the City Walls
A man imprisoned again prays to Wenceslaus, falls asleep in his chains, and awakens standing free outside the city, leading the vicar to recognize God's power and grant him liberty.
After not much time, the prince ordered another man to be thrown back into prison. While this man was beseeching the Lord with frequent sighs, saying, 'Lord God, through the merits of blessed Wenceslas, help me'—one night it happened that he fell asleep in the midst of those very straits. And as is the custom of those in distress, he immediately awoke and saw himself standing outside the city in the middle of the street—and there were no fetters on his feet, no neck-chain on his collar, and no chains were found on his hands. And having returned to the vicar, he related how he had been wonderfully set free by the power of God. The vicar, however, having recognized the power of God and the might of the blessed martyr shown in these miracles, granted the accused man his freedom.
A New Martyr's Ancient Miracles
The narrator undertakes to recount ancient miracles of the new martyr Wenceslaus for the assembled listeners.
Once more, for the love of so great a man, I shall undertake to tell you — you who stand here — ancient miracles concerning a new martyr.
Healing at the Tomb
A blind and infirm woman is restored to full health through prayer at the tomb of Saint Wenceslaus in the church of Saint Vitus.
In the city of Prague there was a woman, blind and weak in her whole body, who came to the church of Saint Vitus, prostrated herself before the tomb of Saint Wenceslaus, and prayed with full faith for so long that she deserved to recover her sight and the health of her entire body.23
Freed Beneath the Church
A debtor chained beneath the church of Saint Wenceslaus prays for help and is immediately freed from his bonds.
Meanwhile, a certain man was seized by his creditors and bound with iron chains, because he had nothing to pay back to the moneylenders. And by chance the men who had bound him made him sit beneath the church in which the body of blessed Wenceslaus is kept. Placed in such distress, raising his hands — weighed down with iron — toward heaven and directing his eyes toward the church, he prayed like this: 'God,' he said, 'help me through the merits and intercessions of holy Wenceslaus.' While he was saying these things, his hands were immediately loosened and they released him.
The Cripple Healed by Vision
A crippled man in the province of the Franks receives a vision directing him to Prague; after a rebuke for delay, he journeys to the church of Saint Vitus, prays tearfully, and rises healed.
In the province of the Franks there was a man crippled in his feet, and in his sleep a man dressed in white garments appeared to him, urging him and saying: Rise and go into the city of Prague, to the church of Saint Vitus; there the body of the blessed martyr Wenceslaus rests, and there you will receive your healing. When he disregarded this, the same figure appeared to him again, standing there in those same garments, and said: Why have you not done what I asked and come where you are about to receive the power to walk? He woke as if out of a trance and gladly said: I will go, Lord! He rose up, leaning on his staff, and came to the merchants who were arranging a journey there; after paying them their fee, he arranged for them to help him all the way to the place mentioned. He entered the saints' church and prostrated himself on the floor before all the people, and with a long prayer he tearfully begged the Lord, by the merits of Saint Wenceslaus, to have mercy on him. And rising from his prayer, through the mercy of God his knees were made strong, and he gave thanks to God and to the blessed Wenceslaus, through whose merits the Lord has deigned to make him whole.
The Theft of Relics and Divine Vengeance
As Wenceslaus's fame grows, people seek relics of his body; his sister Pribislawa and a priest, misled by a false recluse, dig up the body and distribute bones, but divine vengeance swiftly overtakes them all.
And so, as word of these and similar virtues spread everywhere through the blessed martyr's fame and glory, certain people began to be stirred in their hearts to take relics of the blessed body for themselves—to keep them and distribute them among their own. Some, to be sure, with good will and an upright heart, strove to do this so that the martyr's name might be spread far and wide; but if anyone attempted the same thing with an evil motive or out of greed, divine vengeance followed and overtook them. Therefore his sister Pribislawa—as far as any human eye can judge—living most holily under the sacred habit, involved herself in such an act, having as her helper in this work a priest of the same church, Stephen. But a certain recluse lived near the church, and clinging to him as if he were a most holy man, they undertook this deed on his wicked counsel. What more? Having agreed on a night, they come and draw him out, making him a partner in their deed; digging up the venerable body, they take the first step in their wickedness—for the son of a priest of that same church, touching the jaw of the holy man quite irreverently, pulled it away. And they wrap it in a cloak, cover the rest of the body with earth again, and from the relics they keep some for themselves and distribute some to others, each as they please. But divine vengeance immediately and unexpectedly overtakes them all.
Sudden Death as Judgment
The author notes that the perpetrators of the relic theft met sudden and unexpected death, a well-established fact from long ago.
Since it's well established that this deed took place in simpler times and is clear from many ages past, I've decided it would be unnecessary to include it in this little work; I'll say only this: they were overtaken by sudden, unexpected death and departed from this present life.45
A Sign for Our Times
The narrator promises to share a sign Christ has deigned to reveal through his soldier Wenceslaus for the present age.
I'll share a certain sign that Christ, almighty God, has now deigned to make clear through his own soldier for these untrained times.
The Ordeal by Hot Iron
When unbelievers accuse the prison keeper of taking bribes, he undergoes an ordeal by hot iron, carrying it far beyond the boundary through trust in Saint Wenceslaus, thereby vindicating the saint's intercession and removing all doubt.
While in prison a great crowd of men was being held—some by their own guilt, others by the slander of accusers—and was being kept there under the longest custody, she deserved to be freed through prayers poured out to the Lord, by the merits of Saint Wenceslas. Certain unbelievers tried to block his path with their free steps, urging that those who had been freed were not liberated by the power of God or of the saints, but that the prison keeper, bribed with money, had released them and many others from their chains. By divine judgment he was ordered to be tested. Therefore, with a great crowd of common people standing by, the iron placed in the fire glows red-hot. The prison keeper is led forward and judged to carry it with his bare hand, the boundary of the countryside having been set. He, doubting nothing but trusting in the merits of the Saint, took the glowing iron from the fire and carried it far beyond the boundary. And had he not been stopped by others, he would perhaps have touched three markers. And by this deed every scruple of doubt was taken away from the hearts of all, and they praised and glorified God—that it was by his mercy alone and by the intercession of his holy martyr Wenceslas that he freed the prisoners from the jail.
The Saint's Endless Intercession
The author declares that Wenceslaus's miracles are too numerous to record, as the saint continually frees prisoners, heals the infirm, delivers from tribulation, and aids in battle through his intercession.
So if I were to try to write down every sign of the blessed martyr that the Lord has deigned to work through him, daylight would run out for me before the page does. For the almighty Lord, for the praise and glory of his own name, through the intercession of his soldier and martyr, the same holy Wenceslas, frees some from prison, many from their chains, others from disasters or various infirmities, and delivers them from tribulations and various hardships, and from enemies both visible and invisible. In war too, God often sustains those doing battle through the supplications of this saint, through his miracles and praiseworthy deeds, and helps all who call upon holy Wenceslas, just as he had helped him not once or twice, while he was still alive, with vivid and brilliant signs.
The Vision of the Cross at Kurim
During a duel between Wenceslaus and the prince of Kurim, the people see Wenceslaus bearing a shining cross on his forehead; the enemy prince submits in awe, receives peace, and is granted rule of the city, while the doxology affirms Wenceslaus's imitation of Christ and arrival at the heavenly kingdom.
For a certain city called Kurim, while it was still populous, is extolled — along with the prince who was in it, who was striving to resist this saint. But once enough slaughter had been carried out on each side, it was soon decided and pleased all that if any one of the leaders emerged victorious from a duel between just two combatants alone, he himself ought to hold authority. As the leaders advanced, eager to engage, the heavenly God opens heavenly visions for the people of Kurim — namely, the holy Wenceslaus, bearing the image of the holy cross shining on his forehead. When he saw these things, he threw his weapons far away, rushed to the saint's feet, and declared that no one could conquer then, since God wished to bring help in such a sign. The holy leader raised this man, who was reporting such things, into the kisses of peace, and peacefully established both him and the city under his own authority, granting him the city to rule for as long as he himself should live. Truly he had seen the cross, because he was imitating Christ, and more happily arrived at the kingdom where Christ reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever, amen.✦
Read the original Latin
Igitur sanctus ac sepe memoratus patronus noster venerabilis Wenceslaus licet cunctis se exorantibus opem pietatis ac benignitatis impendat, precipue tamen vinculatis seu carcere trusis suffragari non desistit. Nempe et hinc primum signorum eius patuit misericordie prodigium post translacionem corporis eius venerabilem. Cum enim plurimi reorum, vinculorum nexibus ferreorum astricti, carceris publica custodia detinerentur patrie secundum morem ac multiplici pena dampnati, preter solam mortem nichil spei aliquis eorum haberet, quadam nocte inter ipsas angustias positi, Deo id, ut credimus, faciente, venit eis in mentem, ut beatum Wenceslaum sibi misereri deposcerent: Domine Deus, inquiunt, per merita et oraciones senioris nostri Wenceslai, tui sanctissimi testis, nos in tanta angustia positos tua illa antiqua virtute adiuvare digneris. Nocte sequenti, dum omnes in seculo placida quiete pausarent, soli hii miseri, quid requies esset, nescirent, divina potencia, que tribulantibus pie adesse solita est, affuit. Et primum quidem quasi sonus cuiusdam tintinabuli in auribus eorum sonuit, deinde lux cunctis miranda in carcere refulsit. Et subito lignum, quo pedes omnium inclusi tenebantur, velut arcus se incurvabat et mox omnes pedes suos a nervo extraxerunt. Videntes autem Domini virtutem per merita sancti Wenceslai adesse, confortabantur iam spe salutis accepta et continuata voce clamabant: Deus, Domini nostri Iesu Christi pater, adesto nobis, servis tuis in te confidentibus, per merita et oraciones sancti Wenceslai, qui tui nominis amore ab impiis occisus est. Mox affuit Christi virtus et uniuscuiusque torques confracta cecidit de collo in terram.
Et dimissi e carcere, ambulantes per girum, narrabant ea, que suis oculis viderant, opera magna Dei.
Hoc igitur miraculo pro sui magnitudine et gloria ubique diffuso contigit quendam paganorum in custodia detentum comperisse, quod sancto Wenceslao maxima esset cura pro hiis, qui in carcere religari solebant, liberandis. Quod audiens, quia ingenti erat necessitate constrictus, votum vovit, dicens: Si Deus sancti Wenceslai et Deus Christianorum me ab hac miseria sua bonitate eripuerit et dignitati pristine restituerit, credam in Christum filium Dei et baptismum salutis accipiam ac religioni pietatique Christiane toto me animo promitto et filium meum eidem martyri eterno servicio mancipabo. Vix verba impleverat, et ecce omnia ferrea vincula ab eo ceciderunt. Quem bis terque comprehensum, rursum repetitis iniuriis, vinculis iniecerunt, sed ab hoc sicut antea vincula et compedes ceciderunt. Cuius domini pro iterato miraculo reverencia usi et graciam Deo exhibentes, eundem liberum abire permittunt. Qui dimissus, continuo sancta fide instructus et baptizatus est et filium, quem voverat, martyri tradens, postea multis annis supervixit.
Sed et alius quidam reus pari modo iussus fuerat in carcerem retrudi, qui sanctum Wenceslaum voce et frequentibus suspiriis, ut sui misereretur, invocans, sicut et a superiore, ita et ab isto cuncta manicarum et compedum argumenta ceciderunt. Quem increduli comprehendentes, peregrino precio accepto, longinquis nacionibus vendiderunt, nescientes Deum universe terre dominatorem et Domini esse terram et plenitudinem eius, putantes eciam beatum martyrem longe a se positorum preces exaudire non posse. Qui dum deduceretur, meritis beati Wenceslai subito ceciderunt kathene de manibus eius et torques ferrea de collo eius. Illi autem, qui eum emerant, quamvis gentiles forent, cernentes tanta mirabilia Dei, liberum eum abire permittunt.
Post non multum temporis princeps quendam alium in carcerem retrudi iussit. Qui dum frequentibus suspiriis Dominum deprecaretur, dicens: Domine Deus, per merita beati Wenceslai adiuva me-quadam nocte contigit, ut inter ipsas angustias obdormiret. Qui sicut moris est tribulatorum, statim expergescens, vidit se stare extra civitatem in media platea et neque compedes erant in pedibus eius neque torques in collo neque catene in manibus eius invente sunt. Et regressus ad vicarium narravit, quomodo Dei virtute mirabiliter liberatus sit. Vicarius autem agnita Dei virtute et potencia beati martyris in miraculis, reum libertate donavit.
Iterum de novo martyre antiqua miracula vobis pro amore tanti viri astantibus narrare aggrediar.
In civitate Pragensi erat quedam mulier ceca et toto corpore debilis, que veniens ad ecclesiam sancti Viti, prostravit se ante tumbam sancti Wenceslai et tam diu plena fide oravit, donec visum et tocius corporis sanitatem recipere mereretur.
Interea contigit quendam a creditoribus comprehendi et ferreis nexibus coartari, quia feneratoribus, quid redderet, non habebat. Et fortuitu hii, qui eum colligaverant, sub ecclesia, qua corpus beati Wenceslai servatur, ipsum sedere fecerunt. Qui in tali angustia constitutus, manus ferro oneratas ad celum elevans et oculos versus ecclesiam dirigens, sic orabat: Deus, inquit, adiuva me per merita et intercessiones sancti Wenceslai. Dum hec diceret, illico solute sunt manus eius et dimiserunt eum.
Fuit in provincia Francorum vir quidam pedibus debilis, cui in sompnis vir in vestibus albis apparuit, exhortans eum et dicens: Surge et vade in civitatem Pragensem in ecclesiam sancti Viti; ibi requiescit corpus beati Wenceslai martyris et ibi recipies sanitatem. Quo dissimulante, demum eisdem vestibus astans, qui et ante apparuerat, dixit ei: Cur non fecisti iussionem meam et non venisti, ubi recepturus es gressum? Ille vero quasi in excessu mentis evigilans, gratanter dixit: Eo, domine! Et surgens, baculo innixus, venit ad negociatores, qui illuc iter disponebant, et data mercede fecit, ut eorum auxilio usque ad locum predictum perveniret. Et intrans in sanctorum ecclesiam, coram omni populo in pavimento prostratus, longa oracione, meritis sancti Wenceslai ut sui misereretur, Dominum flebiliter exorabat. Et surgens ab oracione, per Dei misericordiam consolidata sunt genua eius, agens gracias Deo et beato Wenceslao, ob cuius merita eum Dominus salvum facere dignatus est.
Harum et huiusmodi virtutum fama et gloria ubique beato martyre diffuso, ceperunt quidam animo instigari, ut reliquias beati corporis acciperent et sibi retinerent ac suis distribuerent. Quidam sane pro bona voluntate et bono animo, ut nomen martyris passim diffunderetur, id agere nitebantur, si qui autem malo animo aut cupiditate idem conabantur, vindicta eos sequens ulta est. Igitur soror eius Pribislawa, quantum humanus oculus potest preiudicare, sub sacro habitu sanctissime vivens, tali se facto commiscuit, habens adiutorium sui operis presbiterum eiusdem ecclesie Stephanum. Sed inclusus quidam iuxta ecclesiam morabatur, cui quasi sanctissimo adherentes, eius consilio pravo id agressi sunt. Quid plura? Condicta nocte veniunt et extrahentes illum, participem sui facti faciunt, effodientes venerabile corpus, nequicie sue inicium sumunt; nam presbiteri eiusdem filius satis irreverenter maxillam sancti viri attrectans, extraxit. Et pallio illud involvunt, reliquumque corporis iterum terra cooperiunt, ipsis vero ex reliquiis pro libitu suo partim sibi retinent, partim suis distribuunt. Sed ulcio eos omnes protinus divina inprovise assequitur.
Quod quia rudibus constat factum temporibus plurimisque patet, supervacuum huic opusculo credidi inserendum; hoc solum exaro, quod improvisa et insperata morte preventi, presenti ex luce migrarunt.
Signum quoddam, rudibus quod nunc temporibus Christus, omnipotens Deus, militem per suum dilucidare dignatus est, refero.
Dum in carcere multimoda caterva hominum, quedam reatu suo, quedam vero accusancium obloquio detentaretur et inibi diutissima servaretur custodia, fusis precibus ad Dominum per merita sancti Wenceslai liberari meruit. Ipsius liberis gressibus obicem statuere quibusdam infidelibus suadentibus, videlicet quod haut virtute Dei vel sanctorum liberati forent, sed preventus pecunia custos carceris eos pluresque alios sepe a vinculis solvisset, iudicio divino examinari iussus est. Igitur multimoda astante plebeica turba ferrum igni positum candescit, custos carceris adductus diiudicatur ferre nuda manu, inposito ruris termino. Ille nil dubitans, verum in sancti fidens merita, candens ferrum ab igne sumpsit longeque e termino gessit, et ni ab aliis prohiberetur, tres fortassis vexisset metas. Hocque facto omne scrupulum a cordibus cunctorum ablatum est dubietatis, laudancium et glorificancium Deum, quod non nisi misericordia sua et intercessione sancti sui martyris Wenceslai vinctos carceris solveret.
Igitur si cuncta beati martyris signa, que Dominus per eum demonstrare dignatus est, stilo comprehendere coner, lux michi ante, quam pagina deficiet. Siquidem omnipotens Dominus ad laudem et gloriam nominis sui, per intercessionem militis et martyris sui eiusdem sancti Wenceslai, quosdam e carcere eximit, plures a vinculis, alios de cladibus vel diversis infirmitatibus eruit, de tribulacionibus et necessitatibus variis et ab inimicis visibilibus et invisibilibus liberat. In bello eciam concertantibus sepe Deus huius sancti supplicacionibus, miraculis laudabilibusque factis sustinet, omnes sanctum Wenceslaum vocantes adiuvat, sicut ipsum non semel neque bis, dum pereat, vivis et claris signis adiuvarat.
Nam urbs quedam, Kurim vocata, populosa dum erat, extollitur atque cum principe, qui inerat, huic sancto resistere moliebatur. Sed dum utraque parte sat cedis factum fuisset, consultum mox omnibus placuit, ut si quis ducum duobus tantummodo dimicantibus victor existeret, ipse preesse deberet. Dum procedunt duces congredi volentes, Kurimensi celestis Deus celestes reserat visiones, sanctum videlicet Wenceslaum ymaginem crucis sancte in fronte nitentem portare. Hec ut vidit, longe abiectis armis, ad pedes ruit, protestabaturque nullum posse tum vincere, dum Deus vellet in tali signo iuvamen ferre. Hunc talia narrantem in pacis oscula dux sanctus sublevat atque ipsum civitatemque sue dicioni pacifice firmat, donans illi civitatem regere, quamdiu viveret ipse. Vere crucem viderat, quia Christum imitabatur, feliciusque pervenit ad regnum, ubi Christus regnat cum Patre et Spiritu sancto in secula seculorum, amen.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Ps.107.15-Ps.107.16 — Let them give thanks to the LORD for his steadfast love, and for his wondrous works to the children of men. Ps.107.16 — For he has shattered the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.
- ↩Acts.12.7 — And suddenly an angel of the Lord stood beside him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter's side and woke him, saying, 'Get up quickly.' And the chains fell from his hands.
- ↩Gal.1.5 — to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Notes
- 1 ↩The phrase 'tua illa antiqua virtute' ('that ancient power of yours') is rendered to preserve the sense of God's timeless, long-established power as invoked by the prisoners.
- 2 ↩The enclitic -que (token 11) is attached to the relative pronoun and functions here as a simple additive connective ('who'), resuming the subject 'woman' rather than introducing a new clause.
- 3 ↩donec with the subjunctive (mereretur) is taken temporally ('for so long that') rather than resultatively; the sense is that her persistent prayer was the duration through which the healing was obtained.
- 4 ↩exaro rendered 'I set forth' (metaphorical: 'I plough out') to convey the author's self-conscious act of writing; an alternative is 'I lay out'.
- 5 ↩presenti ex luce: 'from this present life' — lux in the ablative with ex is a common Latin euphemism for death ('from the light' = from this life).
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