About the Author:
Thomas of Cantimpré (1201 – 1272) was pushed into the Church because a hermit told his father that unless one of his sons became a priest, the father would spend a very long time in purgatory. But Thomas took to the priestly life, becoming a noted preacher and theologian and writing several important books. Thomas’ writings covered spiritual but also natural matters – hence the picture of a man-headed fish, the sea monk, used to illustrate this section.
I spent eleven years of my youth in a certain Episcopal city, where the Cathedral church was served by sixty-two Canons endowed with exceeding fat prebends of the value of almost two hundred livres parisis1; yet many of these occupied many other benefices. Lo now, what vengeance of God’s I have seen against those foul occupiers of benefices! So may the Holy Trinity, the One God, testify and judge me, as I have seen few of these men die the death of other men; but all died suddenly and in reprobation: so that one of them, hearing how one of his fellows had gone to bed in sound health and had been found dead in the morning, clapped his hands and cried, “What would ye have? He hath, as ye see, died after the wont and custom of our Cathedral! ” I myself have seen, within a few years, four archdeacons of that church die after this fashion: see. Reader, and marvel at the miracle! The first, falling from his great barded charger, brake his neck, and gave up the ghost. The second sat down one morning in his stall, and was found to be dead. The third fell backwards as he stood in choir, while Christ’s body was being raised on high in the mass; and, losing sense and speech at once, he died on the third day like a brute beast without the sacraments of the Church. The fourth, refusing to confess or receive the sacraments, died thus and was buried in unhallowed ground.
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1 I.e. about £1200 modern English money. The cathedral in question is Liege.
Coulton
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