And Some Have Their
Arms Or Their Limbs All To-Broken, And Some The Sides.
And all
this do they for love of their god, in great devotion.
And them
thinketh that the more pain, and the more tribulation that they
suffer for love of their god, the more joy they shall have in
another world. And, shortly to say you, they suffer so great
pains, and so hard martyrdoms for love of their idol, that a
Christian man, I trow, durst not take upon him the tenth part the
pain for love of our Lord Jesu Christ. And after, I say you,
before the car, go all the minstrels of the country without number,
with diverse instruments, and they make all the melody that they
can.
And when they have gone all about the city, then they return again
to the minster, and put the idol again into his place. And then
for the love and in worship of that idol, and for the reverence of
the feast, they slay themselves, a two hundred or three hundred
persons, with sharp knives, of the which they bring the bodies
before the idol. And then they say that those be saints, because
that they slew themselves of their own good will for love of their
idol. And as men here that had an holy saint of his kin would
think that it were to them an high worship, right so then, thinketh
there. And as men here devoutly would write holy saints' lives and
their miracles, and sue for their canonizations, right so do they
there for them that slay themselves wilfully for love of their
idol, and say, that they be glorious martyrs and saints, and put
them in their writings and in their litanies, and avaunt them
greatly, one to another, of their holy kinsmen that so become
saints, and say, I have more holy saints in my kindred, than thou
in thine!
And the custom also there is this, that when they that have such
devotion and intent for to slay himself for love of his god, they
send for all their friends, and have great plenty of minstrels; and
they go before the idol leading him that will slay himself for such
devotion between them, with great reverence. And he, all naked,
hath a full sharp knife in his hand, and he cutteth a great piece
of his flesh, and casteth it in the face of his idol, saying his
orisons, recommending him to his god. And then he smiteth himself
and maketh great wounds and deep, here and there, till he fall down
dead. And then his friends present his body to the idol. And then
they say, singing, Holy god! behold what thy true servant hath done
for thee. He hath forsaken his wife and his children and his
riches, and all the goods of the world and his own life for the
love of thee, and to make thee sacrifice of his flesh and of his
blood.
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