I find this story
completely fascinating. The image of being swallowed by the devil is
one that reappears in my book. Before now, I had no idea that St.
Margaret of Antioch even existed.
The
holy St. Margaret was of the city of Antioch, daughter of Theodosius,
patriarch and prince of the idols of paynims. And she was delivered
to a nurse for to be kept. And when she came to perfect age she was
baptized, wherefor she was in great hate of her father.
On
a certain day, when she was fifteen years of age, and kept the sheep
of her nurse with other maidens, the provost Olybrius passed by the
way whereas she was, and considered in her so great beauty and
fairness, that anon he burned in her love, and sent his servants and
bade them take her and bring her to him, “for if she be free I
shall take her to my wife, and if she be bond, I shall make her my
concubine.”
And
when she was presented tofore him he demanded her of her lineage,
name and religion. And she answered that she was of noble lineage,
and for her name Margaret, and Christian in religion. To whom the
provost said: The two first things be convenient to thee, that is
that thou art noble, and art called Margaret which is a most fair
name, but the third appertaineth nothing to thee, that so fair a maid
and so noble should have a God crucified.
To
whom she said: “How knowest thou that Christ was crucified?”
He
answered: “By the books of Christian men.”
To
whom Margaret said: “O what shame is it to you, when you read the
pain of Christ and the glory, and believe one thing and deny
another.” And she said and affirmed him to be crucified by his will
for our redemption, and now liveth ever in bliss.
And
then the provost, being wroth, commanded her to be put in prison. And
the next day following commanded that she should be brought to him,
and then said to her: “O good maid, have pity on thy beauty, and
worship our gods, that thou mayest be well.”
To
whom she said: “I worship him that maketh the earth to tremble,
whom the sea dreadeth and the winds and creatures obey.”
To
whom the provost said: “But if thou consent to me I shall make thy
body to be all to-torn.”
To
whom Margaret said: “Christ gave himself over to the death for me,
and I desire gladly to die for Christ.”
Then
the provost commanded her to be hanged in an instrument to torment
the people, and to be cruelly first beaten with rods, and with iron
combs to rend and draw her flesh to the bones, insomuch that the
blood ran about out of her body, like as a stream runneth out of a
fresh springing well. They that were there wept, and said: “O
Margaret, verily we be sorry for thee, which see thy body so foul,
and so cruelly torn and rent. O how thy most beauty hast thou lost
for thy incredulity and misbelief. Now believe, and thou shalt live.”
Then
said she to them: “O evil counsellors, depart ye, and go from me,
this cruel torment of my flesh is salvation of my soul.” Then she
said to the provost: “Thou shameless hound and insatiable lion,
thou hast power over my flesh, but Christ reserveth my soul.”
The
provost covered his face with his mantle, for he might not see so
much effusion of blood, and then commanded that she should be taken
down, and to shut her fast in prison, and there was seen a marvellous
brightness in the prison, of the keepers.
And
whilst she was in prison, she prayed our Lord that the fiend that had
fought with her, he would visibly show him unto her. And then
appeared a horrible dragon and assailed her, and would have devoured
her, but she made the sign of the cross, and anon he vanished away.
And in another place it is said that he swallowed her into his belly,
she making the sign of the cross. And the belly brake asunder, and so
she issued out all whole and sound.
This
swallowing and breaking of the belly of the dragon is said that it is
apocryphal.
After
this the devil appeared to her in likeness of a man for to deceive
her. And when she saw him, she went to prayer and after arose, and
the fiend came to her, and took her by the hand and said: “It
sufficeth to thee that thou hast done, but now cease as to my
person.”
She
caught him by the head and threw him to the ground, and set her right
foot on his neck saying: “Lie still, thou fiend, under the feet of
a woman.”
The
devil then cried: “O blessed Margaret, I am overcome. If a young
man had overcome me I had not recked, but alas! I am overcome of a
tender virgin; wherefore I make the more sorrow, for thy father and
mother have been my good friends.”
She
then constrained him to tell why he came to her, and he answered,
that he came to her to counsel her for to obey the desire and request
of the provost. Then she constrained him to say wherefore he tempted
so much and so often Christian people. To whom he answered that
naturally he hated virtuous men, “and though we be oft put aback
from them, yet our desire is much to exclude them from the felicity
that they fell from, for we may never obtain ne recover our bliss
that we have lost.”
And
she then demanded what he was, and he answered: “I am Veltis, one
of them whom Solomon closed in a vessel of brass. And after his death
it happed that they of Babylon found this vessel; and supposed to
have founden great treasure therein, and brake the vessel, and then a
great multitude of us devils flew out and filled full the air alway,
awaiting and espying where we may assail rightful men.”
And
when he had said thus, she took off her foot and said to him: “Flee
hence, thou wretched fiend.” And anon the earth opened, and the
fiend sank in.
Then
she was sure, for when she had overcome the master, she might lightly
overcome the minister.
Then
the next day following, when all the people was assembled, she was
presented tofore the judge. And she not doing sacrifice to their
false gods, was cast into the fire, and her body broiled with burning
brands, in such wise that the people marvelled that so tender a maid
might suffer so many torments. And after that, they put her in a
great vessel full of water, fast bounden, that by changing of the
torments, the sorrow and feeling of the pain should be the more.
But
suddenly the earth trembled, and the air was hideous, and the blessed
virgin without any hurt issued out of the water, saying to our Lord:
“I beseech thee, my Lord, that this water may be to me the font of
baptism to everlasting life.”
And
anon there was heard great thunder, and a dove descended from heaven,
and set a golden crown on her head. Then five thousand men believed
in our Lord, and for Christ's love they all were beheaded by the
commandment of the provost Olybrius, that time in Campolymeath the
city of Aurelia.
Then
Olybrius, seeing the faith of the holy Margaret immoveable, and also
fearing that others should be converted to the Christian faith by
her, gave sentence and commanded that she should be beheaded. Then
she prayed to one Malchus that should behead her, that she might have
space to pray. And that got, she prayed to our Lord, saying: “Father
Almighty, I yield to thee thankings that thou hast suffered me to
come to this glory, beseeching thee to pardon them that pursue me.
And I beseech thee, good Lord, that of thy abundant grace, thou wilt
grant unto all them that write my passion, read it or hear, and to
them that remember me, that they may deserve to have plain remission
and forgiveness of all their sins. And also, good Lord, if any woman
with child travailing in any place, call on me that thou wilt keep
her from peril, and that the child may be delivered from her belly
without any hurt of his members.”
And
when she had finished her prayer there was a voice heard from heaven
saying, that her prayers were heard and granted, and that the gates
of heaven were open and abode for her, and bade her come into the
country of everlasting rest. Then she, thanking our Lord, arose up,
and bade the hangman accomplish the commandment of the provost. To
whom the hangman said: “God forbid that I should slay thee, virgin
of Christ.”
To
whom she said: “If thou do it not thou mayest have no part with
me.”
Then
he being afraid and trembling smote off her head, and he, falling
down at her feet, gave up the ghost.
Then
Theotinus took up the holy body, and bare it into Antioch, and buried
it in the house of a noble woman and widow named Sincletia. And thus
this blessed and holy virgin, St. Margaret, suffered death, and
received the crown of martyrdom the thirteenth kalends of August
[July 20], as is founden in her story; and it is read in another
place that it was the third ides of July [July 13].
Of
this virgin writeth an holy man and saith: The holy and blessed
Margaret was full of the dread of God, sad, stable, and worshipful in
religion, arrayed with compunction, laudable in honesty, and singular
in patience, and nothing was found in her contrary to Christian
religion, hateful to her father, and beloved of our Lord Jesu Christ.
Then let us remember this holy virgin that she pray for us in our
needs.
