The festyuall

¶De sancto Bartholomeo appostolo.

GOod frendes suche a daye ye shall haue the feest of saynt Bartylmewe goddes owne appostle / & ye shall come to the chirche and here your dyuy¦ne seruyce in the worshyp of god and saynt Bar¦tylmewe. Ye shall vnderstonde that Bartylme¦we is asmoche for to saye as. Filius suspendentis me) the whiche is for to saye. The sone hangynge vpon me or vpō waters. Then ye shall vnderstande that god is he that han¦geth vpon waters in two wayes. The fyrst is whan he han¦ged vpon the cloudes in the fyrmament tyll he seeth tyme to lette them downe. Another waye he hangeth vpon wa∣ters / whan a man or a woman is sory for theyr synnes / and wepynge sore for his trespace bytterly. Then god taketh his teres and hangeth them of the hye hylle of heuen / whe∣re all the sayntes of heuen may haue them in syght in gre∣te Ioye to al sayntes and to all the aungelles that ben in he¦uen / whan they maye se man or woman that hathe done a∣mysse in many trespaces to forsake theyr synne and do no more / therfore the teres of man or woman that is sory for theyr synnes in this maner quenched the fyre of helle. Of these teres speketh Iohan Grysostome and sayth. O thou teere that arte mekely let in oryson and prayer with good deuocyon / thy myght is soo grete that thou goost to heuen and takest the worde of the Iewes mouthe makynge hym to torne the to saluacyon that before was in waye of damp¦nacyon. Also thou makest thyn accusers dombe the fendes and so thou quenchest the fyre of helle that fendes made re¦dy agaynst thy comynge / and thus god hangeth vpon wa∣ters. Thenne bycause saynt Bartylmewe was goddes so∣ne / as all ben that serueth hym / he was hangynge vp in fou¦re wayes / in deuocyon of holy orysons prayenge / & in faith monycyon / and in suffrynge of passyon. He was hangynge to god warde in deuoute orysons / for that the whiche he sa¦sayd

with his mouth he thought in his hert / so that his her¦te was alwaye hangynge vp towarde god bothe in worde and in dede as the preest sayth in the masse Sursum co••da Holde vp your hertes / thus this holy saynt Barthylmew had euer his herte to god for deuocion.

¶Narracio.

¶We fynde wryten of him thus / that he kneled a hōdred tymes on the day / and a hondred tymes on the nyght for a grete deuocyon that he had to god. But for he sholde not be¦wery of the trauayle / our lorde sent an aungell euer more to shewe hym and kepe hym. Thus hanged he vp by holy orysons prayenge He was also hanged by the faythful mo¦nicyon in this wyse / for god gaue hym so grete power ouer all fendes that by his holy monycyon he suspended theym / wheder they were in man / or in woman. And also in other mawmettes we fynde wryten of saynt Barthylmew / how he came into Ynde in the temple / in the whiche temple was an ymage therein was a fende a mawmette that was cal∣led Astaroth and this ymage was made of golde / thenne y^e fende that was therein spake to hym and dyde hȳ worshyp And by suche wordes as he spake he made the people to by¦leue that he was god and yet to make them the more to by¦leue he heled syke men and women / bothe blynde and lame and of many dyuerse sykenesse that he had cast vpon them tofore hym selfe / and semȳge to them that they were heled by hym but suche sykenesse as god sente vpon theym he cou¦de not helpe. Then was the temple full of syke people that were brought to this mawmette to be hole. But as sone as Barthylmew came to y^e tēple / he suspēded y^e fendes power y^t he myght hele no mā. ¶Now there was a nother god cal¦led Bauruth & they askyd hȳ why theyr god gaue them no¦ne answere he sayd barthtlmew y^e appostle of god hath boū¦de hȳ so sore y^t he dare not ones speke / then he tolde hȳ y^e fe∣tures

of Barthylmew and sayd. He knoweth euery worde what we say now / for he hath an aungel of god w^t hym / and telleth hym all thynges that euer was sayd or doone by hȳ and more ouer though ye seke hym ye shall not fynde hym / but yf he wyll hymselfe. Thenne went they home agayne & sought Barthylmewe & myght not fynde hym. Thenne as Barthylmew walked amonge the people / a madde man y^t had the fende within hȳ / anone cryed to Barthylmew / god¦des owne appostle thy prayers bynde me sore and bren̄e me also. Thenne sayd Barthilmew / holde thy peas y^u fende and go out of that man / & with that worde the fende wente his waye and lefte the man / and anone he was hole. Thenne it happed so y^t the kynge of y^e cyte had a doughter that was madde & sore bounden with chaynes for harme that she dy¦de amonge the people. And whan as the kynge herde how this man was heled he sent to Barthylmew prayenge hym that he wolde hele his doughter / & so he dyde. Then̄e Bar∣thylmew preched so the kynge that he torned the kynge too be crystned / & thenne anone he commaunded to drawe dou¦ne the mawmettes that were in the temple. Thenne y^e peo∣ple teyed ropes about the ymages neckes & wolde haue dra¦wen downe the mawmettes / but they coude not / for y^e fen∣des were so stronge in them. Thenne Barthylmew cōmaū∣ded the fendes to come out of the ymages / and to pull them to poudre & so they dyde / for they hadde no power to w^t stan¦de his commaundement / and so they all to brake them. For the temples were so ful of syke people Barthylmew prayed to god that they myght be hole / and anone they were hole euerychone. Thenne came there an aungell that god sente from heuen / & anone in syght of all y^e people the temple sho¦ne so bryght that no tongue coude tell / and flewe all about the temple / and in foure partes of the temple he made the sygne of the crosse with his fyngers on the walles & sayd.

Ryght as all the people ben hole of theyr sykenesse / so shall this temple be clensed from all the fylthe of synne / & of the fendes craft that hath be therin. And I wyl shewe you the same fende that ye haue worshypped for your god. Then̄e the fende appered lyke a man of Ynde all blacke and made a cursed noyse. Thenne the people began too fle for fere he was so lothely. Thenne sayd the aungell / make suche a syg¦ne of the crosse in your forehedes and be not afrayde of hȳ Thenne anone in syght of all the people the aungell vnboū¦de this fende & bad hym go there as was neyther sterynge of man ne beest. And euer to be there tyll the daye of dome / and neuer dysease the people more. Thenne the fende went his way / & the aungell styed in to heuen. And thenne y^e kyn∣ge his wyfe and his doughter / & all his meyne and moche o∣ther people torned to the faythe / & Barthylmewe crystned theym all. Thus saynt Barthylmew hanged by faythfull monycyon / for he suspended y^e fendes power / that he myght do no thynge He was also hanged vp by suffrynge of passy∣on / for whan the bysshop of the temple sawe that the people were almoost tourned to the crysten fayth / & lefte the fen∣des mawmetry / he went vnto y^e cyte there as a kynge was called Astrages / and broder to the kynge Polymyes / & cō∣playned to hym sore and sayd y^t there was a man come too hym y^t was called Barthylmew that had torned his broder & all people to the fayth y^t they set not by theyr goddes / but had drawen them downe & all to brake them & halowed y^e temple onely to Cryst. For this cause he prayed hȳ of helpe. Thenne sent the kynge a thousande men for Barthylmew. And whan Barthylmew was come / he asked hym why he hadde torned his broder and made hym to beleue on a deed man the whiche was hanged vpon the crosse. Thenne sayd saynt Barthylmew. I haue bounde that god that thy bro∣der beleued on / and shewed the fende to him / and yf thou or

he may do so to my god / then wyll I byleue as thou doost / Then the kynge commaunded to hange Bartylmewe on a crosse and longe to torment hym theron / and after toke hym downe and fleyed hym quycke / and then smote of his heed. Thenne came crysten people & buryed hym with gre∣te reuerence and worshyp / and thus he was hanged vp by grete compassion suffrynge.

¶Narracio

¶We rede in gestis Romanorum that whan Frederyk y^e Emperour had destroyed a grete cyte / & therin was a fayr chirche of saynt Bartylmewe / and other more of dyuers sa¦yntes. And as a good holy man came by the cyte & he sawe a grete company of men standynge togyder. And than had this man grete meruayll of them & asked them what they were / and what was theyr counsayll. They sayd to hym a∣gayne that it was saynt Bartylmewe and other sayntes / that had chirches in that cyte that were destroyed / and the¦re they toke theyr counsayl what they myght do with them¦perour. And they were in a ful purpose that he sholde come before god / and answere there for his dedes. And so the em¦perour deyed a foule dethe and was dampned. And also it is wryten in the lyfe of saynt Good lake that fyrste enhaby∣ted Crowlande in the fennes / and the fyrst daye that he ca¦me theder was on saynt Bartylmewes daye. Then he pra∣yed to this holy appostle to be his patrone agaynst the wyc¦ked spyrytes that were in that place. For it was called the Inhabytacyon of fendes / for there durst no man dwel the∣re for fendes. Then whan this holy man was come theder / he had almoost lost his wyttes for fere: but then by grace he had mynde of saynt Bartylmewe & prayed hertely to him for helpe and socoure. Then anone came saȳt Bartylmew & cōmaunded the fendes to go from the place. Thenne the fendes made a grete horryble noyse and wente theyr waye

in saynge. Alas alas for nowe haue we loste our myghte & our habytacyon / and now shall we go to hell for euermore And so sorowynge and waylynge they wente all theyr wa¦ye. Thenne this holy man thanked god and saynt Bartyl∣mewe for the grete helpe and socoure that he hadde done to hym. Here by ye maye se and vnderstonde that this holy ap¦postle is euer redy to all that wyll calle to hym with good deuocyon / he wyll helpe them at theyr nede. Amen.