Miracles, in the middle ages, lost their miraculous character by their great frequency. "They became," as Jeremy Taylor observes, "a daily extraordinary, a supernatural natural event, a perpetual wonder, that is, a wonder and no wonder." They could, therefore, be sometimes dispensed with, and we are informed that abbot Stephen, of Liege, in the beginning of the eleventh century, prayed St. Wolbodo to refrain from working any more miracles, on account of the inconvenience which was felt by the brethren of the monastery, from the number of sick persons who came to be healed by day and by night! + It should, however, be observed, that gross as was the credulity of the middle ages, in reference to the miracles of their saints, it scarcely surpasses the credulity of many of the fathers of the Nicene period. Ambrose, Augustin, and Jerome may be matched to a great extent, in this respect, with the legendary writers of a later period. It has often been asked, Were these stories the result of deliberate imposture, or the mere offspring of ignorance and superstition? No doubt there is room, in many cases, for the charitable interpretation so benevolently conceived and elegantly expressed by sir James Mackintosh: "The illusions of sight, the shades by which dreams sometimes fade into waking visions, the disturbance of the frame from long abstinence, and from the stimulants

+ Mabill. Ann. lib. liv. No. 101. See Giesler, Text Book of Ecclesiastical History, vol. ii. 124.

incautiously taken to relieve it, together with a permanent state of mental excitement, sanctioned by the firm faith which then prevailed in the frequent and ascertainable interpositions of Divine power, are sufficient to relieve us from the necessity of loading the teachers of our forefathers with a large share of fraudulent contrivance, and unmingled fiction. The progress of a tale of wonder, especially when aided by time or distance, from the smallest beginning to a stupendous prodigy, is too generally known to be more particularly called in aid of an attempt to enforce the reasonableness of dealing charitably, not to say justly, with the memory of those who diffused Christianity among ferocious barbarians.”* But while the benefit of such a charitable construction may be extended to many instances of pretended miracles, it cannot be denied that a large portion of them were the work of fraud. Gregory of Tours, in the sixth century, candidly admits that a certain miracle which he records had been ascribed, not to the Divine power, but to the contrivance of the clergy. A writer of the eleventh century relates a characteristic instance of a man who was accustomed to dig up dead bodies, recently interred, and to dispose of them as wonder-working relics. On one occasion, at the dedication of a church, it was discovered, from conversation with the man himself, that the relic which he had sold, and to which most extraordinary History of England, vol. i. p. 55.

virtues were ascribed, was a gross and flagrant imposture; but still the clergy, though convinced of the fraud, went on with the rites of consecration, and solemnly placed the pretended relic among the other precious treasures of the shrine.* It may also be remarked, that the actions of one saint are often ascribed to another, and whole legions are repeated with only the change of a name.† With facts of this description before us, we are compelled, though with deep pain, to believe that deliberate imposture was often practised in reference to relies and miracles. The disposition of the people to believe in these absurdities shows, that superstition must have been the very element of their being. Their appetite for incredible stories was truly voracious. Still it might be hoped, that though the mind was degraded by such a credulous temper, vice would, in some measure, be held in check, by a belief in the close and miraculous intercourse which the departed saints kept up with the dwellers upon earth. But these spiritual beings, instead of having ascribed to them such a character of inflexible hatred to all transgression, as would make it impossible for any but the virtuous, or sincerely penitent, to obtain their favour, were represented as taking under their patronage the worst of sinners, upon the easy condition of

* Glaber Radulph, iv. c. 3. Giesler, Text Book of Ecclesiastical History, ii. 124.

+ Ibid. Giesler gives examples.

their presenting some offering to the church, or of their even uttering a simple prayer. Among the popular legends of those days, there are stories of the Virgin Mary having interceded with her Divine Son, for the salvation of a dissolute monk, who had died without confession; and of her having, to the no small surprise of the executioner, kept alive on the gallows, for two days, a favourite thief, who addressed his usual prayer to her while the rope was round his neck.*

SECTION III.

MORALS.

Ar an early period in the middle ages bishops might be seen wearing the helmet and buckler, and leading troops to the field of battle. This resulted from their holding lands of the king, as his vassals, upon condition of their performing military service. Charlemagne attempted to reform the church, and perceiving the incompatibility of martial pursuits with the clerical character and functions, released the prelates in his dominion from the duty of serving in person, if they sent their vassals into the field. In one of his capitularies, A.D. 769, he prohibited their carrying arms, their engaging in war, or even in the chase, as occupations unbecoming the servants of God. But

*Hallam gives these and other stories more fully. Middle Ages, c. ix. p. 1.

the regulation had little effect, for after his time, as well as before, instances are found of bishops being armed, and killed in battle, or taken prisoners of war. Charlemagne himself, though forbidding the clergy to use military weapons, regarded them as proper instruments of promoting religion, when they were employed by others, nor did he object to the display of a decidedly martial spirit in the exhortations of churchmen. Previous to his expedition against the Saracens in Spain, he summoned the clergy to his counsels, and addressed them in the following manner: "Noble men, we have suffered much for Christ, in order to extend the Catholic church, and subdue the Saracens. Notwithstanding, our sufferings for him are not a thousandth part so great as his sufferings for us, who, that he might deliver us from the devil, poured out his precious blood.

Since then he suffered so much that he might deliver us from the punishment of hell, and the power of the devil, and since he has promised to us a place in glory, we ought to extend the Christian faith and confound the pagans: wherefore, we propose, by his assistance, to enter Spain, which has greatly troubled us, and, if possible, to take Narbonne." Leo, the pope of Rome, afterwards addressed Charlemagne's army in the following strain: "You should know for certain, that, if any of you fall in battle, you shall receive an incorruptible and eternal crown. Let every one confess his sins, and thus we shall be secure of conquering our foes, and in