¹ While at the beginning of the Christian faith the apostolic teaching was being spread throughout the whole world among all nations, the pagan people of Britain were converted to the faith, and many, believing in the Lord and following the apostolic precepts, shone forth with various miracles of virtues; among whose number we confidently believe the blessed Melor to have been. For the blessed Melor was of the noble race of the Britons, whose father Melianus held the dukedom of Cornwall; in whose time, for seven years, rain did not fall upon the earth. At length, at the instigation of an evil spirit, in the seventh year of his rule, when a council of the chief men had been assembled to provide for the welfare of the country, in that very council Riuoldus came and killed his brother Melianus, and began to reign in his place. Now Melianus had a certain little son, seven years old, named Melor; and after the death of his father his uncle sought to kill him, fearing that if the boy should survive and reach manhood he would take the dukedom from him.

² Therefore Riuoldus, deliberating what he should do, brought the boy with him into Cornwall, where a council of bishops and many others had been assembled. And when he wished to kill the boy, by the prayers of all it was brought about that he should not be killed, but only that his right hand together with his left foot should be cut off. And so it was done. After these things an artificial hand of silver and a foot of bronze were made for the blessed Melor; and being pious and innocent, and growing from day to day in virtues, he was brought up in a certain monastery of Cornwall, and he read the divine Scriptures until his fourteenth year.

³ For at a certain summer time the abbot of that place, gathering nuts, presented them to the boy as though to his lord; and he began to gather them with his silver hand, and in a wonderful manner that silver hand seemed to have, as it were, fleshy joints, and it began to extend and close, as though it were natural, with bones, nerves, veins, blood, and skin. On one occasion the holy boy, taking a stone and throwing it, caused it to fly almost half a stadium; and it was fixed into a very hard rock as though into soft wax. And when he came to the place and drew it out from the hardest flint, very abundant waters flowed out, and even to the present day a living spring is seen to bubble up from that place. But when his uncle had promised many gifts and possessions to his guardian Cerialtanus if he would kill his foster-child, and an agreement of wickedness having been made, Cerialtanus cut off the head of the innocent boy and carried the severed head to Riuoldus, and received the reward that had been promised.

⁴ Therefore, after the boy had been beheaded, the son of Cerialtanus, with his father consenting, carried the head of the martyr through the wall of the castle; but, with God the just judge allowing it, he fell from the wall and, his neck being broken, he died. But when the nurse of the martyr came to the house in which the body lay, she saw the angels of God and lamps shining with a divine brightness. But Cerialtanus, taking the head and fleeing, when he almost failed because of excessive thirst, speaking to himself said: “Woe to me, most miserable of all men, and worthy of every punishment and torment; what shall I do, since afflicted by the dryness of thirst I am dying, failing?” And when he repeated these things many times, the head of the boy, bursting forth into human speech, addressed him with such a voice: “Cerialtanus, quickly fix the staff which you carry in your hand into the earth, and you will see a fountain of water suddenly arise from the ground; from it, being abundantly refreshed, you will escape the imminent danger of thirst.” And when he had fixed the staff in the earth, it was changed into a most beautiful tree and, taking root, clung to the ground, producing branches and leaves, and from its root an unfailing spring began to flow; and Cerialtanus, refreshed by the drink, carried the head to Riuoldus. And he, receiving it with great joy, said: “Rise and ascend the summit of the mountain, and whatever surrounding lands you are able to see I will gladly give you to possess.” But when he had climbed the mountain and believed that he could see around him everywhere, he was deprived of the light of both eyes and, overtaken by sudden death, he perished, and “his flesh melted like wax before the fire” [Psalm 67:3(68:2)]. But when the body of the saint had been buried in the place of his martyrdom, on the following day it was found upon the surface of the earth.

⁵ And when, after the body had been buried in three different places, the same event happened, having taken counsel they placed the holy body upon a cart beneath which two untamed bulls were put, and they released it without a driver, wherever the divine power might wish to direct it. And look, the bulls, suddenly made gentle, drew the body as far as a certain place and there stopped; and when it displeased the crowd that he should rest there, they placed their hands, arms, and shoulders under the wheels so that they might move them as they wished, but they saw the cart so fixed by divine power and immovable that by no skill, no contrivance, and absolutely no strength of men could it be moved. And when, after trying many times, they accomplished nothing, giving thanks to God they buried the holy body with honour in the same place, where those who implored his help with faith were accustomed joyfully to obtain the remedy they desired. When the head of the martyr had been brought into the presence of Riuoldus, the tyrant touched the sacred head, and on the third day he died an unhappy death.

⁶ Therefore the head having been buried by bishops and clerics with the sacred body, after the course of many years foreign preachers, carrying around everywhere a shrine with the relics of Saint Melor, travelled through various regions of the lands, performing the office entrusted to them, and at last came to Amesbury and placed the holy relics upon the altar. When the duty of preaching had been completed and they wished to take the relics away with them, and they could not move them from the altar by any means and they clung to the altar like adamant, afflicted with grief and distress they departed, having received much money from the abbess. Certain sons of iniquity, entering the church of Amesbury by night, carried off the shrine of Saint Melor with them, and after scraping away the plates of gold and silver they threw the chest with the relics into a certain cave. But a certain priest, rising at daybreak, saw a radiant pillar of light descending from heaven over the cave, and approaching the place he found the shrine and carried it to the church. Saint Melor appeared one night to the sacristan, saying: “Godric, rise quickly; look, the roof the church, shattered with gaping openings, is preparing soon to hasten its ruin.” And when on another night he repeated the same thing again, appearing on the third night he said: “Godric, rise quickly, and taking the images and the ornaments of the altar with you depart as swiftly as possible; for the danger of death is undoubtedly sailing at your doors.” And when he had gone out, the whole roof collapsed behind him, covering the level ground beneath. But leaving the earthly things behind, he entered the heavenly with the crown of martyrdom on the Kalends of October [1 October].

Narration #

¹ Around the year of the Lord eight hundred and eighty-eight, the account of the vision of the Emperor Charles was as follows, according to Vincent of Beauvais. “I, Charles the Fat, emperor by the gift of God, king of the Germans and patrician of the Romans and emperor of the Franks, on the holy night of the Lord’s Day, after the divine office of the nocturnal hours had been celebrated, when I was going to rest and wished to take sleep, a voice came to me in a terrifying manner, saying: ‘Charles, your spirit will now depart from you in no small hour.’ And immediately I was carried away in the spirit; and he who took me up was most radiant, holding in his hand a little ball of linen thread emitting the brightest beam of light. And he unwound it and said to me: ‘Take the thread of the shining little ball, and bind and knot it firmly on the thumb of your right hand; for by it you will be led through the labyrinthine punishments of hell.’ Having said this, he went before me swiftly, unwinding the light-bearing thread, and led me into very deep fiery valleys, which were full of burning pits of pitch and sulphur, lead, wax, and fat.

² There I found the bishops of my father and of my uncles. And when, trembling, I asked them why they suffered such grievous torments, they answered: ‘We were bishops of your father and of your uncles, and when we ought to have admonished them and their people concerning peace and concord, we sowed discords and were instigators of evils; therefore now we burn in these infernal punishments, both we and others who were lovers of murders and robberies. Here also your bishops and your attendants will come, who now love to do similar things.’ And while I listened to these things trembling, look, very black demons flying toward me with fiery hooks wished to seize the thread in my hand; but because of the rays shining from it they were not able to touch it. Then running behind me they wished to hook me and cast me headlong into those sulphurous pits; but my guide, who carried the little ball, cast the thread over my shoulders and doubled it, and drew me strongly after him.”

³ Thus we ascended over very high fiery mountains, from which marshes and boiling rivers arose, and all kinds of metals bubbling; where I found innumerable souls of men and of the princes of my father and of my brothers, some cast down up to the chin, others up to the navel, and they cried out to me with wailing: “While we lived, we loved to wage wars and commit murders and robberies with you and with your father and with your brothers and your uncles for earthly greed; therefore we are tormented in these boiling rivers and in the various kinds of metals.” And when I fearfully considered these things, I heard behind me souls crying: “The mighty shall suffer mightily torments” [Wisdom 6:7]. And I looked, and I saw upon the banks of the boiling river furnaces of pitch and sulphur, full of great dragons and scorpions and serpents of various kinds; where I also saw some princes of my father and of my brothers and of my uncles, saying to me: “Alas for us, Charles! You see what grievous torments we suffer because of our wickedness and pride and the evil counsels which we gave to our kings and to you for the sake of greed.” And when I groaned in sorrow at this, dragons approached me with open jaws full of fire, sulphur, and pitch, wishing to devour me; but my guide tripled the thread over me, and by the rays of its brightness their fiery mouths were overcome, and he drew me away more strongly.

⁴ And we descended into a certain valley which on one side was dark and burning like the furnace of fire, but on the other side so delightful and splendid that I am unable by any means to describe it. I turned toward the dark and flame-vomiting side, and there I saw some kings of my lineage in great punishments; and then, greatly distressed, I thought that I would immediately be plunged into those punishments by very black giants who were setting that valley ablaze with various kinds of fire. And trembling greatly, by the thread illuminating my eyes I saw on the side of the valley a little whitened smoke, and there two springs flowing: one was exceedingly hot, but the other clear and lukewarm; and there were two tubs there. And when I went there, the thread guiding my steps, I saw my father Louis the German standing in one of the tubs up to his thighs.

⁵ And while I was greatly distressed with sorrow, he said: “My lord son Charles, do not be afraid! I know that your spirit will return again to your body, and God has permitted you to come here so that you might see for what sins I and all whom you have seen suffer such punishments. For one day I am in this bath of the boiling tub, and on another day I am transferred into that other most pleasant tub of water; and this happens through the prayers of Saint Peter and Saint Remigius, by whose patronage our royal race has until now reigned. But if you quickly help me, you and my bishops, abbots, and the whole ecclesiastical order, by masses and prayers and psalms, vigils and almsgivings, I shall soon be freed from this tub of boiling water. For my brother Lothair I and his son Louis II of Italy have already been released from these punishments through the prayers of Saint Peter the Apostle and Saint Remigius and have been transferred into the joy of paradise.”

⁶ And he said to me: “Charles, look to the left.” And I looked, and I saw two very tall boiling tubs. “These,” he said, “are prepared for you, unless you amend yourself and do penance for your wicked crimes.” Then I began to shudder greatly. But when my guide saw me in such fear, he said to me: “Follow me.” And as we walked to the right side of the most radiant valley, I saw in great brightness my uncle Lothair I sitting with glorious kings upon a stone of wondrous size made of topaz, crowned with a precious diadem, and beside him Louis II of Italy his son, likewise crowned. And seeing me, he said in a gentle voice: “Charles my successor, come to me! I know that you have come through the place of punishment where your father, my uterine brother, is; but through the mercy of God he will soon be freed from those punishments, just as we also have been freed, through the merits of Saint Peter the Apostle and Saint Remigius, to whom God gave a great apostleship over the kings and peoples of the Franks. And unless he helps the remnants of our lineage, our genealogy will soon cease to rule and reign. Therefore I know that the power of the empire will soon be taken from your hand, and afterward you will live only a very short time.”

⁷ Then Louis II of Italy his son, turning toward me, said: “The empire which you have until now held ought by hereditary right to be received by Louis, the son of my daughter.” And when this had been said, it seemed to me that the boy Louis was present there. Then Lothair I, looking at him, said to me: “Give him the power of the empire through the thread of the little ball which you hold in your hand.” Therefore, untying the thread from the thumb of my right hand, I granted to him the whole monarchy of the empire through the thread of the little ball; and immediately that shining little ball, bright like the radiance of the sun, was gathered entirely into his hand. And my spirit returned to my body, very weary and crushed. After this vision, having reigned scarcely two years, he was rejected by the nobles of the kingdom and so abandoned that scarcely anyone remained with him. Yet for the short time that he lived afterward, the bishop of Mainz provided him with modest support.