On The Night Following The Martyrdom Of These Holy Friars, They Appeared To
The Melich In A Vision, Glorious And Resplendent Like The Noon-Day Sun,
Each Holding A Sword On High, In A Menacing Posture, As If About To Stab Or
Cut Him In Pieces.
In horror at the sight, he cried out aloud, to the great
terror of his family, to whom he
Said, that these rabbis of the Franks,
whom he had ordered to be slain, had come upon him with swords to slay him.
The melich likewise sent for the kadi, to whom he communicated his vision,
seeking advice and consolation, as he feared to be slain by the martyrs.
And the kadi advised him to give large alms to their brethren, if he would
escape from the hands of those whom he had slain. Then the melich sent for
the Christians, whom he had thrown into prison, from whom he begged
forgiveness for what he had done, promising henceforwards to be their
companion and brother; and he ordained, that if any person in future should
injure a Christian, he should suffer death; and sending away the Christians
unhurt, each man to his home, the melich caused four mosques or chapels to
be built in honour of the four martyrs, and appointed Saracen priests to
officiate in them. When the Emperor Dodsi[3] heard of the slaughter of the
four friars, he ordered the melich to be brought bound before him, and
questioned him why he had cruelly ordered these men to be slain. The melich
endeavoured to justify himself, by representing that they had exerted
themselves to subvert the laws of Mahomet, against whom they had spoken
blasphemously. The emperor thus addressed him; "O! most cruel dog! when you
had seen how the Almighty God had twice delivered them from the flames, how
dared you thus cruelly to put them to death?" And the emperor ordered the
melich, and all his family, to be cut in two; sentencing him to the same
death which he had inflicted on the holy friars. On these things coming to
the knowledge of the kadi, he fled out of the land, and even quitted the
dominions of the emperor, and so escaped the punishment he had so justly
merited.
[1] The whole of this and the following section is omitted in the old
English of Hakluyt, and is here translated from the Latin. - E.
[2] Probably he who is named above Tolentinus. - E.
[3] Probably the same called, at the close of the former sections, Daldili,
and there conjecturally explained as the King of Delhi. - E.
SECTION IV.
Of the Miracles performed by the four Martyrs.
It is not the custom in that country to commit the bodies of their dead to
the grave, but they are exposed in the fields, that they may be consumed by
the heat of the sun. But after the bodies of these martyrs had remained
fourteen days exposed to the sun, they remained as fresh and uncorrupted as
on the day of their martyrdom. On this being seen by the Christians who
inhabited the land, they buried the bodies with great reverence. When I,
Oderic, heard of the circumstances attending the death of these martyrs, I
went to the place and dug up their bodies; and having collected all their
bodies into beautiful towallias, I carried them with me into upper India
to a certain place, assisted by a companion and a servant. While we were on
our way, we rested in the house of a hospitable person, and placing the
bones at my head, I went to sleep. And while I was asleep, the house was
suddenly set on fire by the Saracens, that I might be burnt therein. My
companion and servant made their escape, leaving me and the bones in the
burning house. Seeing the fire above and all around me, I took up the
bones, and withdrew, with them into one of the angles of the house; whence
I saw all the other three corners on fire, while I remained safe along with
the bones. So long as I remained there with the bones, the fire kept itself
above my head, like lucid air; but the moment that I went out with the
bones, the whole of that place where I had stood was enveloped in the
flames, and many other surrounding buildings were likewise burnt to the
ground.
Another miracle happened as I was going by sea with the bones to the city
of Polumbrum, where, pepper grows in great abundance, when the wind totally
failed us. On this occasion, the idolaters began to pray to their gods for
a favourable wind; but which they were unable to attain. Then the Saracens
industriously made their invocations and adorations, to as little purpose.
After this, I and my companion were ordered to pray to our God, and the
commander of the ship said to me in the Armenian language, which the rest
of the people on board did not understand, that unless we could procure a
favourable wind from our God, he would throw both us and the bones into the
sea. Then I and my companion went to our prayers, and we vowed to celebrate
many masses in honour of the Holy Virgin, if she would vouchsafe us a wind.
But as the time passed on, and no wind came, I gave one of the bones to our
servant, whom I ordered to go to the head of the ship, and cast the bone
into the sea; which he had no sooner done, than a favourable gale sprung
up, which, never again failed us till we had arrived at our destined port
in safety, owing entirely to the merit of these holy martyrs. We then
embarked in another ship, on purpose to sail to the higher India; and we
arrived at a certain city named Carchan, in which there are two houses of
the brethren of our order, and we intended to have deposited these holy
relics in that place.
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