Part 3
And then Heracle commaunded hym all to god and to the hooly croſſe wyth all the devocion that he myght. And thenne they fought longe / And at the laſt our lord gaf the vyctory to Heracle and ſubdued hym to his empyre / The hooſt that was contrary / and alle the peple of Coſdroe obeyed them to the Cryſten faythe / and receyved the hooly baptyſme / And Coſdroe knew not the end of the batayll / For he was adoured and worſhiped of alle the peple as a god / ſo that no man durſt ſay nay to him / And thenne Heracle came to hym / and fonde hym ſyttinge in his ſyege[34] of golde / and ſayd to hym / For as moche as after the manere thou haſt honoured the Tree of the Croſſe / yf thou wyld receyve baptym and the faythe of Iheſu Cryſt / I ſhal gete it to the / and yet ſhalt thow holde thy crowne and Royamme with lytel hoſtages / And I ſhall lete the have thy lyf / and yf thou wylt not / I ſhall flee the wyth my ſwerde / and ſhalle ſmyte of thyne heed / and whanne he wold not accorde therto / he did anon do ſmyte of his hede / and commaunded that he ſhold be buryed / by cauſe he had be(en) a Kynge /. And he fonde with hym one his ſone of the age of ten yere / whome he dyd doo baptyſe and lyft hym fro the fonte / and left to hym the Royaume of his fader / and then he dyd doo breke that Toure / And gaf the ſylver to them of his hooſte / and gaf the gold and precious ſtones for to repayre the chirches that the tyraunt had deſtroyed / and tooke the hoole croſſe / and brought it ageyne to Ieruſalem / and as he deſcended from the mount of Olyvete / and wold have entryd by the gate by whiche our ſavyour wente to his paſſyon on horſbacke adourned as a Kynge / ſodenly the ſtones of the gates deſcended / and ioyned them togyder in the gate like a wall & all the peple was abaſhed[35] / and thenne the Aungel of oure lord appyeryd upon the gate holdyng the ſigne of the ſigne (_sic_) of the Croſſe in his honde / and ſayd / Whanne the Kynge of heven went to his paſſion by this gate / he was not arayed like a Kynge / ne on horſbake / but cam humbly upon an aſſe / in ſhewynge thexample of humylite which he left to them that honoure hym. And when this was ſayd / he departed and vanyſſhed aweye / Thenne th’emperour took of his hoſen and ſhone[36] himſelf in wepynge / and deſpollyed hymſelfe of alle his clothes in to his ſherte / and tooke the croſſe of oure lord / and bare it moche humbly into the gate / and anone the hardnes of the ſtones felte the celeſtyalle commaundement / and remeved anone / and opened and gaf entree unto them that entred / Thenne the ſweete odour that was felt that day whanne the hooly Croſſe was taken fro the Toure of Coſdroe / and was brought ageyne to Iheruſalem fro ſo ferre countre / and ſo grete ſpace of londe retourned in to Iheruſalem in that moment / and replenyſſhed it with al ſwetnes / Thenne the ryght devoute Kyng beganne to ſaye the prayſynges of the Croſſe in this wyſe / O Crux ſplendydior / et cetera / O Croſſe more ſhynynge than alle the Sterres / honoured of the world / right holy / and moche amyable to alle men / whiche only were worthy to bere the raunſon of the world Swete tree / Swete nayles / Swete yron / Swete ſpere berynge the ſwete burthens / Save thou this preſent company / that is this daye aſſembled in thy lawe and prayſynges /. And thus was the precious tree of the Croſſe re eſtablyſſhed in his place / and the auncient myracles renewed /. For a dede man was reyſed to lyf / and foure men taken with the palſey were cured and heled / +x+ lepres were made clene / and fyften blynde receyved theyr ſyghte ageyn / Devylles were put out of men / and moche peple / and many / were delyvered of dyverſe ſekenes and maladyes /. Thenne themperour dyd doo repayre the Chirches / and gaf to them grete geftes / And after retorned home to his Empyre / And hit is ſaid in the Cronycles that this was done otherwiſe / For they ſay that whanne Coſdroe hadde taken many Royammes / he took Iheruſalem / and Zacharye the patriarke / and bare aweye the tree of the Croſſe / And as Heracle wold make pees with hym / the Kyng Coſdroe ſwore a grete othe / that he wold never make pees with Cryſten men and Romayns / yf they denyed not hym that was crucyfyed / and adoured the ſonne /. And thenne Heracle / whiche was armed wythe faythe / brought his hooſte ageynſt hym / and deſtroyed and waſted the Perſyens with many batayles that he made to them / and made Coſdroe to flee unto the Cyte of thelyfonte /. And atte the laſte Coſdroe hadde the flyxe in his bely / And wolde therefore crowne his ſone Kynge / which was named Mendaſa /. And whenne Syroys his oldeſt ſone herde thereof he made alyance with Heracle / And purſewed his fader with his noble peple / and ſet hym in bondes / And ſuſteyned him with breede of trybulacion / and with water of anguyſſhe / And atte laſt he made to ſhote arowes at him bycauſe he wold not bileve in god & ſo deyde / & after this thynge he ſente to Heracle the patriarke the tree of the Croſſe and all the pryſoners / And Heracle bare into Iheruſalem the precious tree of the Croſſe /. And thus it is redde in many Cronycles alſo/. Sybyle ſayth thus of the tre of the Croſſe / that the bleſſyd tree of the Croſſe was thre tymes with the paynyms / as it is ſayd in thyſtorie trypertyte O thryſe bleſſyd tree on whiche god was ſtratched / This peradventure is ſayd for the lyf of Nature / of grace / and of glorye / which cam of the croſſe /. At Conſtantynople a Iewe entyred in to the chirche of ſeynt ſophye / and conſydered that he was there allone / and ſawe an ymage of Iheſu cryſte / and tooke his ſwerde and ſmote thymage in the throte / and anone the bloode guyſſhed oute / and ſprange in the face and on the hide of the Iewe / And he thenne was aferd and took thymage / and caſt it into a pytte / and anone fledde awey /. And it happed that a Cryſten man mett hym / and ſawe hym al blody / and ſayd to hym / fro whens comeſt thou / thou haſt ſlayne ſoume man / And he ſayd I have not / the cryſten man ſayd Veryly thou has commyſed ſomme homycyde / for thou art all beſprongen[37] with the blood. And the Jewe ſaid / Veryly the god of Cryſten men is grete and the faythe of hym is ferme and approved in all thynges / I have ſmyten no man / but I have ſmyten thymage of Iheſu Cryſte / and anone yſſued blood of his throte /. And thenne the Jewe brought the Cryſten man to the pytte / and then they drewe oute that hooly ymage /. And yet is ſene on this daye the wounde in the throte of thymage / And the Iewe anone bycam a good Cryſten man, & was baptyſed / In Syre in the cyte of baruth there was a criſten man / which had hyred an hous for a yere / & he had ſet thymage of the crucifixe by his bedde to whiche he made dayly his prayers and ſaid his devocions / & at the yeres ende he remeved and tooke another hous / & forgate & lefte thymage behynde hym / and it happed that a Iewe hyred that ſame hows / & on a daye he had another Iewe one of his neyghbours to dyne / & as they were at mete it happed hym that was boden[38] in lookyng on the walle to eſpye this ymage whiche was fyxed to the walle and beganne to grenne at it for deſpyte / and ageynſt hym that bad hym / & alſo thretned & menaced hym bycauſe he durſt kepe in his hous thymage of Iheſu of nazareth / & that other Iewe ſware as moche as he myght / that he had never ſene it / ne knewe not that it was there / & thenne the Iewe fayned as he had been peaſyd[39]. / & after went ſtrayt to the prynce of the Iewes / & accuſed that Iewe of that whiche he hadde ſene in his hous / thenne the Iewes aſſembleden & cam to the hous of hym / & ſawe thymage of Iheſu Cryſt / and they took that Iewe and bete hym / & did to hym many iniuryes / & caſte hym out half dede of their ſynagoge / & anone they defowled thymage with their feet / & renewed in it all the tormentes of the paſſion of oure lorde / & and when they perced his ſyde with the ſpere / blood and water yſſued haboundauntly / in ſo moche that they fylled a veſſel / whiche they ſet therunder / And thenne the Iewes were abaſſhhed & bare this blood in to theyr ſynagoge & and alle the ſeke men and malades that were enoynted therwyth / were anone guaryſſhed & made hool / & thenne the Iewes told & recounted al this thynge by ordre to the biſhop of the countre / & alle they with one wyll receyved baptyſm in the faythe of Iheſu Cryſt / & the biſſhop putt the blood in ampulles[40] of Cryſtalle & of glas for to be kepte / & thenne he called / the Cryſten man that had lefte it in the hows / & enquyred of hym / who had made ſo fayr an ymage / & he ſaid that Nychodemus had made it / And when he deyde / he lefte it to gamalyel / And Gamalyel to Zachee and Zachee to Iaques / and Iaques to Symon / and hadde ben thus in Ieruſalem unto the deſtruction of the Cyte / and fro thennes hit was borne in to the Royamme of Agryppe of Cryſten men / and fro thennes hit was brought ageyne into my countreye / & it was left to me by my parentes by rightful herytage / & this was done in y^e yere of our lord ſeven honderd and fifty / and thenne alle the Iewes halowed[41] their ſynagogues in to chirches and therof cometh the cuſtoume that Chirches ben hallowed / For tofore that tyme the aultres were but halowed only / and for this myracle the chirche hath ordeyned / that the fyfte Kalendar of december / or as it is redde in another place / the fyfthe ydus of Novembre ſhold be the memorye of the paſſyon of oure lord / wherfor at Rome the chirche is halowed in thonoure of our ſavyour whereas is kepte an ampulla with the ſame blood / And there a ſolempne feſte is kepte and done / and there is proved the ryght grete vertue of the croſſe unto the paynyms and to the myſbylevyd men in alle thynges /.
[Sidenote: 42 _Fiend._]
[Sidenote: 43 _Power._]
[Sidenote: 44 _Each or every one._]
[Sidenote: 45 _Attendants._]
[Sidenote: 46 _Drew._]
[Sidenote: 47 _Jeſt._]
[Sidenote: 48 _Kiſs._]
[Sidenote: 49 _In this wiſe._]
And ſaynt Gregory recordeth in the thirdde booke of his dyalogues / that whanne andrewe Biſſhop of the Cyte of Fundane ſuffred an holy noune to dwelle with him / the fende[42] thenemy beganne temprynte in his herte the beaulte of her / in ſuch wiſe / that he thought in hys bedde wycked and curſyd thynges / and on a daye a Iewe cam to Rome / and whanne he ſawe / that the day fayled / and myghte fynde no lodgynge / he wente that nyght / and abode in the Temple of appolyn /. And bycauſe he doubted of the ſacrylege of the place / how be hit / that he hadde no faythe in the Croſſe / yet he markyd and garnyſſhed hym wyth the ſigne of the Croſſe / then at mydnyght whan he awoke / he ſawe a companye of evylle ſprytes / whiche went to fore one / like as he hadde ſomme auctoryte puyſiance[43] above thother by ſubiection / and thenne he ſawe hym ſytte in the myddes among the others / and beganne to enquyre the cauſes and dedes of everyche[44] of theſe evylle ſprytes / whyche obeyed hym / and he wold knowe / what evylle everyche had doo / But Gregory paſſyth the maner of this vyſyon / bycauſe of ſhortnes / But we fynde ſemblable in the lyf of faders / That as a man entryd in a Temple of thydolles / he ſawe the devylle ſyttynge / and all his meyny[45] aboute hym. And one of theſe wycked / ſprytes cam / and adouryd hym / and he demaunded of hym / Fro whens comeſt thow / and he ſayd / I have ben in ſuch a provynce / and have moeved grete warres / and made many trybulacions and have ſhedde moche blood / and am come to telle it to the / and Sathan ſayd to hym / in what tyme hath thow done this / and he ſayd in thyrtty dayes and Sathan ſayd / why haſt thow be ſoo longe there aboutes / and ſayd to them that ſtode by hym / goo ye and bete hym / and all to laſſhe hym / Thenne cam the ſecond and worſſhiped hym / & ſayde Syre I have ben in the ſee / and have moeved grete wyndes and tormentes / & drowned many ſhippes / & ſlayn many men / and Sathan ſayde how longe haſt thow ben aboute thys / & he ſayd +vvii+ dayes / & Sathan ſayd haſt thou done no more in this tyme / & commanded that he ſhold be beten / and the third cam / & ſaid / I have ben in a Cyte & have mevyd ſtryves and debate in a weddynge / and have ſhed moche blood / & have ſlayne the hoſbond / & am come to telle the / & ſathan ſayd / in what time haſt thou done this / & he ſaid in ten dayes / & he ſayd haſt thou done no more in that time / & commanded them that were aboute hym to bete hym alſo / Thenne cam the fourth & ſayd / I have ben in the wylderneſs fourty yere / and have laboured aboute a monke / & unnethe at the laſte I have throwen & made hym falle in the ſynne of the fleſſhe / & when ſatan herd that / he aroos fro his ſete / & kyſſed hym / & tooke hys crowne of his hede / & ſet it on his hede / & made hym to ſytte with hym / & ſayde / thou haſt done a grete thynge / & haſt laboured more / than all thother / and this may be the maner of the vyſyon / that ſaynt gregorye leveth / whan eche had ſayd / one ſterte up in the myddle of them alle / & ſeyd he hadde mevid Andrewe ageynſte the name / & had mevyd the fourth part of his fleſhe agenſt her in temptacion / & therto / y^t yeſterday he drough[46] ſo moche his mynde on her / that in the hour of evenſonge he gaf to her in Iapping[47] a buſſe[48] / & ſeid pleynly y^t ſhe muſt here it that he wold ſynne with her / thenne the mayſter commanded hym that he ſhold perform y^t he had begonne / & for to make hym to ſynne he ſhold have a ſyngular Vyctory and reward among alle the other /. And thenne commaunded he that they ſhold goo loke who that was that laye in the Temple / And they wente / & loked / And anone they were ware / that he was marked with the ſigne of the croſſe / And they levynge aferd eſcaped / and ſayd / veryly this is an empty veſſel / alas / alas / he is marked /. And with[49] thus wys alle the company of the wykked ſprytes vanyſſhed awaye / And thenne the Iewe al amoevyd cam to the biſſhop / and told to hym all by ordere what was happend / And whan the biſſhoppe herd this / he wept ſtrongly / and made to voyde all the wymmen oute of his hows / And thenne he baptyſed the Iewe.
[Sidenote: 50 _Bit._]
Seynt Gregory reherceth in his dyalogues that a nonne entryd into a gardyne / and ſawe a letuſe / and coveyted that / and forgate to make the ſigne of the Croſſe / and bote[50] it glotonouſly / And anone fylle doune and was ravyſſhed of a devylle / And ther cam to her ſaint Equycyon[J] / And the devylle beganne to crye and to ſaye / What have I doo / I ſatte uppon a lettuſe / and ſhe cam / and bote me / and anone the devylle yſſued oute by the commaundement of the holy man of god /. It is redde in thyſtorye Scolaſtyke / that the paynyms had peynted on a walle the armes of Serapis / And Theodoſyen dide doo putt them oute / and made to be paynted in the ſame place the ſigne of the Croſſe / And when the paynims & prieſtes of thydolles ſawe that / anone they dyde them to be baptyſed / ſayenge / that it was gyven them to underſtonde of their olders / that thoſe armes ſhold endure tyll / that ſuche a ſigne were made then / in whiche were lyf / And they have a lettre / of whiche they uſe / y^t they calle holy / & had a forme that they ſaid it expoſed and ſignyfyed lyf perdurable.
Thus endeth the exaltacion of the holy Croſſe.
* * * * *
Having read theſe extracts from the Golden Legend, we ſhall be able to underſtand the accompanying illuſtrations, which repreſent ſome freſcos of the fifteenth century, which formerly adorned the walls of the / Chapel of the Gild of the Holy Croſs, at Stratford-upon-Avon; which ſtands cloſe by New Place, Shakeſpeare’s houſe. Theſe freſcos, alas! no longer exiſt, for, in 1804, the Chapel underwent conſiderable repair, during which, under the whitewaſh, were diſcovered traces of paint, and theſe, being ſcraped, a ſeries illuſtrating the legend of the Croſs was found in the chancel, which was built in 1450. In other parts of the Chapel were found repreſentations of the Reſſurection, and the day of Judgment, St. George and the Dragon, and the death of St. Thomas a Becket, beſides others.
Luckily, a gentleman from London, a Mr. Fiſher, was then ſtaying at Stratford-on-Avon, and he drew, and painted them—afterwards, in 1807, publiſhing them—and it is from his ſketches that theſe illuſtrations are taken. The barbarians of Stratford hacked the plaſter on which the Holy Croſs ſeries was painted to bits, and whitewaſhed all the other paintings. It is preſumed they ſtill exiſt, for, when the Chapel was thoroughly reſtored in 1835, traces of the other pictures were viſible under the whitewaſh.
Theſe pictures of the Invention, and Exaltation, of the Holy Croſs are eſpecially intereſting, not only on account of their age and artiſtic merit, but from the fact that they are of Engliſh work, and ſhow the Engliſh idea of treating the ſubject. I have reproduced them all but two; one, the fight on the bridge over the Danube between Heraclius and the ſon of Choſroes, and the other repreſenting Heraclius ſmiting off Choſroes’ head.
Plate =A= repreſents the viſit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon. Her name was Balkis, and, in her legendary hiſtory, it is reported that Solomon, having heard of her riches and power, ſent her a peremptory meſſage to ſubmit herſelf to his rule. She, dreading war with ſo potent a ſovereign, ſent an embaſſy to try and find out whether Solomon was as wiſe as he was repreſented to be. With this object ſhe dreſſed five hundred boys as girls, and a like number of girls as boys, and, among other preſents, ſent a pearl, a diamond cut through in zigzags, and a cryſtal box; and ſhe ſhould be able to judge of his wiſdom and power, if he could tell the boys from the girls, pierce the pearl, thread the diamond, and fill the goblet with water that came neither from the earth nor the ſky.
Needleſs to ſay, Solomon paſſed through the ordeal triumphantly. He ordered ſilver baſins to be brought, ſo that the ambaſſadors’ ſuite might waſh their hands after their long journey, and the boys were eaſily diſtinguiſhed from the girls, for they dipped their hands only in the water, whilſt the girls tucked up their ſleeves and waſhed their arms as well as their hands. Then he opened the box containing the pearl, diamond, and goblet, and, taking out the pearl, he applied his magic ſtone, Samur, or Schamir, which a raven had brought him, and which had the power of cleaving anything, and lo! the pearl was pierced; then he examined the diamond, which was ſo pierced that no thread could be paſſed through it; ſo he took a worm, and having placed a piece of ſilk in its mouth, it wriggled through, and the diamond was threaded. The next taſk was to fill the goblet, which he gave to a negro ſlave, and bade him mount a wild horſe and gallop it till it ſtreamed with ſweat, and then to fill the goblet with it, thus fulfilling the impoſed conditions. He then gave back theſe preſents to the ambaſſadors, who ſpeedily returned to Queen Balkis. She at once ſaw that it would be uſeleſs to oppoſe the powerful will of Solomon, and immediately ſet out on her journey to that monarch.
It is here that her connection with the holy Croſs comes in, for its wood, which Solomon had cut down in order to incorporate it into his Temple, and which had the inconvenient property of fitting in nowhere, being either too long or too ſhort for any purpoſe, was in conſequence thrown aſide, and ultimately was uſed as a foot-bridge acroſs a brook. Acroſs this plank the Queen had to paſs, but ſhe, recogniſing its holy virtue, refuſed to walk acroſs it, preferring to wade the brook, which, having done, ſhe expounded its value to Solomon, and propheſied that out of it ſhould be made the Croſs on which Jeſus ſhould ſuffer.
She afterwards became one of Solomon’s wives, and bore him a ſon, and then returned to her own land, and from this ſon are deſcended the kings of Abyſſynia.
The legend on the label is, as far as is legible, REGINA SABA FAMA SALOMONIS (adduct) A VENIT (Iero)SOLUMA UBI LIGNUM IN ... ABATICA ... IT ... GENIS ... PERSOLVETUR.
Plate =B= is, virtually, two; one ſhowing the angel appearing to Conſtantine when, early in the fourth century, he was advancing towards Rome againſt Maxentius; but the legend of the miraculous inſcription which appeared in the ſky, “IN HOC SIGNO VINCES,” does not appear. The other, and larger portion, repreſents his victory over Maxentius, and he is repreſented as ſpearing and killing that monarch; but this is not hiſtorically correct, for, after his defeat, as Maxentius fled towards Rome, eſſaying to croſs the Tiber over a rotten bridge, it gave way, and he was drowned. It is noticeable that the Chriſtian flag bears the Tau Croſs.
_The Plates_ =C= _and_ =D= _run into each other, although they portray different ſubjects,_ =C= _being the departure of St. Helena for Jeruſalem on her queſt of the holy Croſs. The label in this freſco is utterly illegible._
Plate =D= ſhows Judas (called Julius in the label) Cyryacus (the Quyryache of the Golden Legend) being releaſed, after having been forced, through impriſonment and ſtarvation, into confeſſing where the holy Croſs lay buried. In the upper part St. Helena is receiving the holy Croſs, whilſt labourers are uncovering the Tau Croſſes of the two thieves.
The legend is mutilated, but enough remains to make its meaning clear: “HERE SEYNTE HELYNE EXAMY(neth) THE I(ews for) Y^E HOLY CROS.... IULIUS CYRYACUS (saith that he knew w)HERE HETE WAS.”
_The legend in Plate_ =E= _is nearly perfect, and accurately deſcribes the painting_, “HYT WAS PROVED EVIDENTLY BY MYRAKEL WHICH WAS Y^E VERY CROS THAT OURE SAVYOUR SUFFYRED.... IN RESYNGE A MADE FROM DETH TO LYFE.”
Here all the Croſſes are of the Tau type, and the ſcene is laid in a foreſt, where an old labourer, and a bill-man, and the deer nibbling the trees, give a rural aſpect, inſtead of in the City of Jeruſalem, as ſaith the Golden Legend.
Plate =F= evidently conſiſts of two ſeparate paintings—one, where St. Helena is reverently carrying the Croſs into Jeruſalem, whilſt the angels in heaven are diſcourſing celeſtial muſic; and the other, its reception either in Jeruſalem or Byzantium, whither St. Helena ſent a portion as a preſent to her ſon. And this latter ſeems the more probable, if we imagine the King, who, with St. Helena, is adoring the Crucifix, to be the emperor Conſtantine, a fact which might have been ſettled had the label been legible.
The legend at the bottom is unfortunately mutilated, but that evidently relates to that portion of the Croſs which remained at Jeruſalem, becauſe it ſpeaks of Choſroes: “HERE THE HOLE CROS WAS BROUGHTE SOLEMLY YN TO THE ... IN Y^E BYSSHOPS HANDS EASILY AND (remaynyd) UN TO THE TYME OF (King Codſd)ROE.
Plates =G= and =H= repreſent the ſtory told in the Golden Legend, of Heraclius bearing the Croſs into Jeruſalem, how the gate miraculouſly cloſed, and an angel appeared in the heavens and reproved Heraclius for riding in ſtate on the very ſpot where Jeſus had gone in all meekneſs, and lowlineſs, to His paſſion. The legend is eraſed in parts, the unmutilated portion reading, “AS THE NOBUL KYNGE ERACLYUS COM RYDYNG TOWARDE Y^E CYTTE OF IERUSALEM BERYNG Y^E CROSSE SO GRETE PRYDE ... WHERE Y^E....”
Naturally, the poſſesſion of a piece of the true Croſs would be eſteemed as a moſt precious property. No matter how ſmall, it would be reverentially encloſed in cryſtal and gold, and was more than a preſent fit for an emperor or king, and we cannot marvel that ſmall pieces were diſtributed all over Chriſtendom. Poſſibly ſome of the relics ſhown as pieces of the very Croſs might not have been what they were ſuppoſed to be, but it is hard to believe what John Calvin[K] wrote about it:—