Read The Life of Saint Enimie. A 13th c text by Bertran de Marseille. Original Translation by Karena Akhavein. A reader's companion for the adventure novel Translatio Page 4

virgin began to think

  650.How could have returned

  651.and for which reason

  652.The sickness another time

  653.And she said to herself while thinking:

  654.“It could be that I did something

  655.Against God without knowing it

  656.Yesterday when I bathed

  657.so that he would give back to me

  658.The sickness a second time;

  659.Nor did he do this

  660.So that never in my whole life

  661.For no reason in the world

  662.I might leave the saintly fountain

  663.And that I remain in that place.

  664. I don’t know if He did it so that I would never leave.”

  665.Then when she had thought thusly,

  666.And that they had not gone far,

  667.The sickness seized her another time,

  668.And she was yet again completely consumed;

  669.So still in that place

  670.Where she was all consumed by the sickness

  671.There are two mas, that the people call

  672.Branede, for the burning sensation,

  673.This place is on the path,

  674.Where she questioned herself,

  675.There is another mas that we call

  676.Pessada, because she questioned herself there.

  677.Denhas, Branede, and Pessada,

  678.Those three mas are on the road

  679.And are within a half league of each other

  680.And anyone who wants to find them can know it.

  681.Pessada is between the two other mas

  682.Of Branede and Denhas.

  683.Let us return to our story.

  684.The damsel was sick

  685.And her body was all afire

  686.Just as I have told it to you

  687.Because for nothing in the world

  688.Did God, who had given her the sickness,

  689.Wish for her to return to France,

  690.To worldly joy.

  691.So he wanted her to return

  692.To Burla, the place you have visited

  693.Where he had cured her well

  694.And there she would remain her whole life

  695.So that in order to see her kingdom

  696.She not lose her rightly palace.

  697.So then you would have seen the great sorrow

  698.Of the knights in the company

  699.And of the ladies also

  700.Who cried and carried on,

  701.Wrung their hands, tore out their hair,

  702.They made the most lament that has ever been seen,

  703.By their crying and by their wails,

  704.They made the whole valley resonate.

  705.When the virgin felt herself ill,

  706.She pressed her hand on her cheek,

  707.And had neither faith nor hope

  708.That the sickness should ever leave her.

  709.And then she complained and lamented herself

  710.To God, for he tormented her thus.

  711.But then she held the belief

  712.That it did not please God

  713.That she return to her country,

  714.And for this reason he waged this war on her.

  715.And she remembered this sermon,

  716.That the ox can do nothing against the rod,

  717.And she returned to Burla,

  718.Her and her whole company.

  719.Then she began her orations,

  720.She and all her companions

  721.“Lord, said she, glorious father,

  722.You do not let me to my home

  723.Return, and so you make me remain

  724.In this place according to your pleasure.

  725.But, Lord, of that which I have asked of you,

  726.Because you know what I need,

  727.Do not do that which is pleasing to me,

  728.But do that which is your will.

  729.And even if you wish that I should have

  730.Forever this disease, that it torment me,

  731.Lord, never would I be angry,

  732.And never would I stop serving you.”

  733.When she had finished her oration,

  734.She bathed in the clear water.

  735.There and then she became beautiful and pure;

  736.God had cured her there.

  737.Then they made no small praise

  738.To God, our Lord,

  739.The virgin and her companions,

  740.For he had removed her from the harm,

  741.And then she no longer had the desire

  742.That she should return to her country;

  743.but because of the concern

  744.She had for her companions,

  745.She had them come before her

  746.And began to say to them:

  747.“Great thanks, Barons, I give to you,

  748.Because you never let me more than two feet away from you

  749.Through the disease that you saw me contract

  750.For this I owe you great thanks.

  751.You know well how everything happened,

  752.From my disease to my curing,

  753.And how God tormented me

  754.When I tried to return.

  755.And as you have seen,

  756.By the strength of Jesus Christ

  757.I remain here in this land,

  758.For I cannot wage war with God at all.

  759.But I would have desired

  760.To see my parents, if I could have;

  761.But God wanted to keep me,

  762.I must do according to his will.

  763.And if there is anyone among you

  764.Who would like to serve the Glorious king

  765.With me, If it pleases you, remain,

  766.And we will be good company for each other;

  767.But for those who would like

  768.To return, they can well do it.

  769.When Enimie had spoken,

  770.They all shouted with one cry

  771.And promised the damsel

  772.That in all times they would remain with her.

  773.Then she gave thanks to Jesus

  774.For she had made such a great conquest.

  775.Enimie the saintly young girl

  776.Was happy and joyful because of this

  777.Because they were willing to remain with her

  778.To perform God’s will.

  779.But in the end there were some

  780.To whom staying was not pleasing,

  781.Who wished to return to France

  782.To tell of the miracles,

  783.Or they had perchance

  784.In their lands their progeny

  785.Which they still wished to see;

  786.For this reason they did not wish to stay.

  787.Enimie assembled them,

  788.All those who wished to leave,

  789.But there were not many of them,

  790.Who were returning to their country.

  791.“Barons, you will go to France,

  792.And tell the tales

  793.What happened to me, and in which manner,

  794.In this place and on the road.

  795.And you will beg the king my father,

  796.When you have arrived, and my mother,

  797.As well as my dear brother,

  798.That they do not derive any chagrin from me,

  799.Nor that they conduct themselves in an unbefitting manner;

  800.For this I pray them dearly,

  801.For I will always profit them

  802.With the prayers that I will say for them.

  803.And then you will say on my part

  804.That I ask them to be merciful

  805.And that be given to the poor

  806.All that comes to me through inheritance.”

  807.When she had finished her speech,

  80
8.The damsel gave them a lot of money

  809.And they were on their way

  810.And in this way came after many days

  811.To Clovis, the king of France

  812.And they told him the true story

  813.And the whole miracle tale

  814.Of Enimie his daughter,

  815.So that the king was amazed

  816.Along with all the other people of France.

  817.About the mother, you could well say

  818.That she could display no joy nor laughter

  819.When she came to learn

  820.That her daughter had remained.

  821.Let us speak of Enimie now,

  822.Of how she remained there,

  823.At the fountain about which you have heard,

  824.Where she was cured of her sickness.

  825.She searched up and down,

  826.In the area around the fountain,

  827.And then she climbed up a rock

  828.That you would say touched the sky.

  829.The rock is on the side of the setting sun,

  830.On that side when the fountain is.

  831.While she was circling the rock,

  832.And was climbing on the heights,

  833.She found a large cave

  834.Which was in the middle of the rock.

  835.Into the cave entered

  836.The righteous virgin,

  837.And found a small fountain

  838.Where a small amount of water welled up,

  839.But God made a large amount of water come

  840.Out of love for her in this place.

  841.When she had examined the cave

  842.Completely, she was very happy with it,

  843.And it became her heart’s desire

  844.That in there she should make her dwelling,

  845.And she kept by her side, to keep her company,

  846.A god-daughter that she had,

  847.Who was also called

  848.Enimie, from the moment she was born.

  849.she sent the others into the valley,

  850.Around the Tarn, upstream and downstream,

  851.And told each one what to do,

  852.And how to comport themselves towards God,

  853.And how they could well resist

  854.Satan and his affairs,

  855.And that everything that might happen to them,

  856.They should come tell it to her daily,

  857.In the cave where she was.

  858.Then those throughout the wild valley

  859.Went to build their huts,

  860.According to the command of the virgin,

  861.And afterwards each dwells

  862.Like a hermit or a recluse

  863.And they do the will

  864.Of their lady entirely.

  865.The virgin lived a saintly life

  866.In the cave that she had discovered,

  867.So much that the angels of our Lord

  868.Came down there each day

  869.To comfort the saintly damsel

  870.And to praise Jesus Christ with her.

  871.but afterwards, when it was heard

  872.Through the Gevaudan about her life,

  873.The people came in a great stream

  874.To see the miracles of God,

  875.For as Jesus said,

  876.The light, even when it is down in a well,

  877.Cannot be hidden by anything,

  878.So that it does not manifest itself,

  879.And so it