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 5

was with the virgin,

  880.For her new sanctity

  881.Could not be dissimulated by anything,

  882.And so was manifested everywhere.

  883.So they came from the Gevaudan,

  884.As I have said, without cease,

  885.To the miraculous miracles

  886.That God was performing for the young girl,

  887.For the blind, the cripples, and the lepers

  888.Of whatever sickness they suffered,

  889.They immediately received

  890.Health by her request

  891.And if I wished to tell you

  892.The miracles that God performed there

  893.For her, great and saintly,

  894.Many years would pass;

  895.For this reason will tell you only a few

  896.Of those I have heard.

  897.The people, as you have heard,

  898.Came from far and near,

  899.To the virgin, who was loved by God,

  900.To be healed of their sicknesses.

  901.It happened that one time,

  902.A man from that region

  903.Had a hand that was dry like a tree trunk

  904.Since his childhood,

  905.And he came to the saintly virgin

  906.And regained a good and beautiful hand.

  907.Another time it happened

  908.That a leper came to her

  909.and said to her: “Saintly lady,

  910.Perform on me one of your beautiful miracles,

  911.Cure me, cure me of my sickness,

  912.Oh you, royal damsel!”

  913.For he who first cured you

  914.Will cure me through your prayer.”

  915.The saintly virgin instantly

  916.had pity and mercy on him

  917.And touched the body of the leper

  918.And he was cured and in good health.

  919.When the leper felt that he was cured,

  920.He praised God and went away.

  921.Another time it happened one day

  922.That a woman was going

  923.From a farm that has the name of Mas Murta,

  924.And was holding her child by the hand.

  925.The woman was called

  926.Murta in that region;

  927.–For this reason did the people call

  928.Afterwards this mas the Mas Murta. —

  929.But I do not know for which business

  930.The woman wished to cross the Tarn

  931.And when she was in the middle of the water,

  932.Her son slipped from her grasp.

  933.After this the water turned him over

  934.And dragged him to the bottom.

  935.The mother began to scream

  936.When she saw her child sink,

  937.And she went on the riverbank screaming:

  938.“God! What will I do about my child?

  939.Alas, miserable one, I would rather be dead

  940.Than have the water carry away my child!”

  941.Thus went the woman, and so did she wail,

  942.When she found her child on the riverbank,

  943.When the water had thrown him;

  944.The soul was no longer in the body.

  945.the woman saw he son dead,

  946.Her sorrow doubled;

  947.She cried that she was miserable and wretched,

  948.And then she lifted the child into her arms

  949.And went crying and lamenting

  950.As well as she could, making a great lament,

  951.Towards the saintly virgin of god

  952.So that she could give her son back to her.

  953.all the laborers and shepherds,

  954.When they heard the great cries and howling,

  955.Abandoned all their labors

  956.And followed the wretched mother

  957.To see the beautiful miracle

  958.That would perform the saintly virgin.

  959.To the cave is now come

  960.the woman with cries and with noise,

  961.And loudly demanded

  962.Of the virgin that she help:

  963.“Saintly virgin, give my son back to me!

  964.If not, I will always be in peril.

  965.What will I ever do, so wretched?

  966.For I do not have anything else.

  967.Return him to me, lady, return him to me!

  968.If not, I will remain here

  969.And will die before my child,

  970.Wretched, with cries and with great torment!”

  971.And in the meantime, the woman crouched down

  972.and let herself fall to the ground,

  973.and lamented and carried on and cried,

  974.And prayed the virgin and begged

  975.That her son be returned to her

  976.By her saintly miracles.

  977.When the virgin saw the sorrow

  978.of the woman and the strange cries,

  979.She cried loudly out of pity,

  980.Along with all the others that were present.

  981.Then she entered her cell

  982.And there prayed Jesus Christ

  983.That by his piety

  984.He resuscitate the drowned child.

  985.When the damsel had spoken,

  986.She got up and exited her cell,

  987.And came outside

  988.Where everyone was with the body

  989.Which was placed on the ground,

  990.On a little flat area.

  991.When Enimie was there,

  992.She sat on the ground,

  993.On a flat stone.

  994.–And I will tell you a thing

  995.That God did there for the virtue

  996.O the damsel immediately,

  997.there where she sat;

  998.For the rock lowered itself

  999.So that it could hold

  1000.Her hips, of which you can still see

  1001.The imprint, all rounded

  1002.In the rock not very deep.

  1003.So pressed was the flat rock

  1004.By the place where the young girl sat. —

  1005.When the virgin had rested

  1006.There where she had sat,

  1007.She took the small child by the hand and cried:

  1008.“Go on, child, come back to life!

  1009.Get up in the name of God,

  1010.In His name I call you!”

  1011.She did not pronounce any more of this sermon

  1012.When the child got up in front of everyone

  1013.At which all were amazed

  1014.Of those who were there,

  1015.And they all together gave great praise

  1016.To Jesus Christ our Lord.

  1017.Then the mother came and took her child

  1018.And went back to her home

  1019.With joy and with happiness,

  1020.For she had regained her child.

  1021.All this and more of that which I have told you

  1022.The saintly virgin of God did

  1023.In the grotto about which you have heard

  1024.While she was living.

  1025.But it happened that one time,

  1026.That the virgin was thinking to herself,

  1027.That she would build a church to the honor

  1028.Of the mother of our Lord,

  1029.Where nuns could stay

  1030.To serve God and honor him;

  1031.And as she had thought of it,

  1032.So she completed it,

  1033.For to the honor of Saint Mary

  1034.Did the pious damsel build a church

  1035.Near the river Tarn, on top of Burla.

  1036.But she suffered there much torment,

  1037.For the day after the work was built,

  1038.Would come a great serpent,

  1039.I do not know from where, from the river,

  1040.And compl
etely knocked down the stonework

  1041.From the darkest night to the first light

  1042.From the building of the whole week,

  1043.And this happened all the time

  1044.Until Saint Yles came there,

  1045.Who was at that time

  1046.Bishop of the region,

  1047.Of a city that was called

  1048.Gavols in that area;

  1049.–But then they moved the bishopric

  1050.Completely to the city of Mende. —

  1051.And I will tell you completely

  1052.How he did with that serpent,

  1053.The bishop you have heard about,

  1054.By the force of the Holy Spirit.

  1055.This bishop had heard

  1056.About the saintly life of Enimie

  1057.And came to the cave one day

  1058.To honor the virgin.

  1059.Enimie became very happy

  1060.As soon as she saw the saintly bishop.

  1061.After they had been together for a time,

  1062.And had spoken at length about God,

  1063.She told him of her troubles

  1064.That this foe wrought on her:

  1065.“Father, said she, prior of God,

  1066.I have stayed in this place

  1067.For a long time, according to god’s will,

  1068.Among the rocks and the difficult terrain,

  1069.and I can, good father, well tell you

  1070.That in this place can come

  1071.Nothing that gives me sorrow nor anger

  1072.but there is a thing that bothers me;

  1073.For I wish to build a church

  1074.In honor of God and of His mother,

  1075.But, Lord, the whole of the edifice

  1076.That everyone has built during the week,

  1077.A fierce dragon destroys it all,

  1078.As far as I know, I do not know from under which rock he comes,

  1079.And thus does in darkest night

  1080.This fierce creature;

  1081.For this I pray you very humbly,

  1082.Dear father, that you dearly

  1083.Pray the Savior on my part

  1084.That He gives me His aid.

  1085.If you do know, know that I am as good as dead.”

  1086.then the saintly man comforted her

  1087.and promised her that he would pray

  1088.Every day when he had returned.

  1089.Then he bid the damsel goodbye

  1090.And returned to his own cell.

  1091.The he prayed God humbly

  1092.On the part of the virgin against the serpent,

  1093.day and night

  1094.As long as he did not see her.

  1095.then he went to see her

  1096.To speak with her. (*)

  1097.But when it happened one time

  1098.That Saint Yles had come there,

  1099.And as soon as he was there,

  1100.He was tired and fell asleep

  1101.In the cell of the damsel,

  1102.While he was speaking with her.

  1103.While he was asleep

  1104.Here come some sudden cries

  1105.And a tempest on the part of the serpent

  1106.Who was coming to destroy the work.

  1107.Where the virgin heard the fierce yells,

  1108.She lifted her head and saw the evildoer

  1109.And started to cry out

  1110.So that she woke up the bishop.

  1111.The saintly man does