times in the book of his martyrdom.* For, according to that book, whilst the others perished by the sword, Amphibalus himself was first embowelled, then pierced with lances and knives, and finally stoned to death: for which cause, also, none of his bones were found entire, though in all the corpses of his companions not a bone was broken.

How the relics of St. Amphibalus were translated to St. Alban's.

The abbat, as we have observed, hearing the happy news, hastened with the prior and some of the brethren to the place, and caused the relics thus dug up to be taken up and wrapped in decent cloths. Then, apprehensive of injury from the pressure of the multitude, who could not be kept off from the treasure which they had found, he gave orders that the holy martyrs should be carried to St. Alban's church, where they could be better taken care of. Why need I say more? The abbat and brethren returned to the monastery, carrying with them separately the bodies of the saints. The rest of the brotherhood, who had remained behind, came out to meet them, bearing with them the body of the blessed martyr St. Alban, which, as his bearers can testify, though generally heavy, was at present so light that it seemed rather to fly along than to rest upon their shoulders. Thus martyr met, martyr, the disciple his master, receiving him publicly on his return, from whom formerly he had been taught the true faith in a humble cottage. We must not, however, pass over in silence a miracle which God wrought in the elements when first these holy relics met. For, whereas there had been a long drought, which had dried up everything and reduced the farmers almost to despair; at this moment, though there was not a cloud to be seen, so heavy a storm of rain came down, that the earth was drenched and the hopes of a future harvest were revived. St. Amphibalus and his companions were found on Saturday the 25th of June, A.D. 1177, being the 886th year after his martyrdom. Wherever the holy relics are placed, as well as on the spot where he was buried, to the glory of God and of his martyr, the sick are cured of divers diseases, the limbs of the paralytics recover their strength, the mouths of the dumb are opened, sight is restored to the blind, the deaf hear, the lame walk, and, what is still more This book is now most probably no longer in existence.

marvellous, those who are possessed with devils are released, epileptics are cured, lepers cleansed, and the dead recalled to life. If any one desires to read the miracles which the divine clemency works by means of these his saints, let him peruse the famous book of his miracles, for we now beg our readers to pardon us for this digression and hasten on to other subjects.*

How the young king Henry held tournaments.

A.D. 1179. Henry the young king, crossing into Gaul, spent three years in conflicts and profuse expenditure. Laying aside his royal dignity, and assuming the character of a knight, he devoted himself to equestrian exercises and, carrying off the victory in various encounters, spread his fame on all sides around him. When his reputation was complete, he returned to his father who received him with due honour. The same year Louis, the king of France, determined to pay a visit for prayer at the tomb of St. Thomas the martyr, and for that purpose came to England where neither himself nor any of his ancestors had ever yet been. He landed at Dover, and was met, on the 22nd of August, by the king of England, who showed both him and his attendants every possible mark of respect for the archbishop of Canterbury, with his suffragans, earls, and barons, besides the clergy and people, went in solemn procession to the church, in honour of so great a king. No one knows how much gold and silver, precious stones and plate, king Henry bestowed upon the French nobility, and therefore no one can tell the same. The king of France granted a hundred measures of wine, to be delivered yearly at Paris, out of respect to the glorious martyr, for the use of the convent of Canterbury: and king Henry showed the French king and his attendants all the wealth of his kingdom, which had been amassed by himself and his ancestors; but the French, careful lest they should seem to have had another object than to see the blessed martyr, restrained their hands from receiving gifts, and in doing so, perhaps, endured a sort of mental martyrdom at what they saw. Thus the king of France, when he had

* The whole legend of Amphibalus is a fable: there certainly was no such person, and it may be doubted whether there was ever such a person as St. Alban; or, if he existed, his history also is mostly a fable.

spent three days in watching, fasting, and prayer at Canterbury, and received a few small presents from the king of England, as tokens of his love, sailed back to France on the 26th of August. The same year, also, died Roger bishop of Winchester, on the 9th of August.

Of the council at Rome under pope Alexander.

The same year was held a general council at Rome, of three hundred and ten bishops, on the 29th of March, in the Lateran, at which pope Alexander the third presided. The statutes then passed, which are worthy of universal praise, are contained under twenty-eight heads, as follows:-Of the election of the supreme pontiff: Of the heretical Albigenses, and their different appellations: Of the routiers and plunderers of Brabant, who harass the faithful: That no one shall be advanced to a bishopric or any other ecclesiastical grade, unless he is of lawful age and born in lawful wedlock: That no benefices be given away whilst their incumbents are living, nor be suffered to remain vacant more than six months after the incumbents are dead: Of appeals: That no one in holy orders, or who derives his maintenance from ecclesiastical revenues, shall concern himself in secular business: Of fixing the truces, and the times of fixing the same: That clerks shall have only one church, and that bishops, if they ordain persons without a certain title, shall maintain them until they can appoint them to an office in some church: That patrons and laymen shall not oppress churches or ecclesiastical persons: That Jews and Saracens shall not have Christians for slaves, but if they choose to be converted to Christianity, they shall in no wise be taken from their masters: That leprous persons, who are excluded from society, shall have an oratory and priest of their own: That ecclesiastical property shall not be turned to any other use, nor deans exercise episcopal jurisdiction for a certain sum of money: That in elections and ecclesiastical ordinations, whatsoever shall be appointed by the senior part of the council shall take effect: That manifest usurers shall not be admitted to the communion at the altar, nor receive Christian burial: That farmers and travellers, and all which they possess, shall enjoy general peace and security: That ordinations made by schismatics shall be held as null and void, and all

benefices bestowed by them be revoked: That no payment be demanded for instituting ecclesiastical persons, burying the dead, or pronouncing the blessing at marriages, or for the other sacraments of the church: That no religious persons or others presume to receive churches or tithes from lay hands without the authority of the bishop; nor the templars or hospitallers open their churches, which have been laid under an interdict, once a year, nor presume then to bury the dead: That no one shall for money usurp a religious habit, nor religious persons have property of their own, nor prelates be degraded except for dilapidation or for incontinence: That Christians shall not sell arms to Saracens, nor any one dare to rob those who have been shipwrecked: That clerks in holy orders shall live continently, and if they are found to labour in that sort of continence which is contrary to nature, they shall be excommunicated and expelled from the clergy: That archbishops, visiting parishes or churches, shall be content with a retinue of forty or fifty horse; bishops, of twenty or thirty; legates, of twenty or five and twenty; archdeacons, of five or seven; and deans, of not more than two: That no one shall practise tournaments, and that those who are killed in them shall be deprived of Christian burial: That every cathedral church shall have a master, who shall teach the poor scholars and others, and that none shall demand pay for teaching: That prelates shall govern only one church, and that patrons shall not exact money from the churches or their lands: That bishops and ecclesiastical persons shall not be compelled to appear at lay tribunals, and that laymen shall not pay tithes to laymen: That, if any one receives property from another as a security for a loan, and, after deducting expenses, he has recovered his money out of the produce of the property, he shall give back the security to his debtor.

Pope Alexander's letter against the heresy of Peter Lombard.

The same pope Alexander was informed that master Peter Lombard had in certain of his writings departed from the articles of the faith; wherefore he sent the following letter to William archbishop of Sens. "Alexander, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to William archbishop of Sens, health-When you were formerly in our presence, we en

joined you, by word of mouth, to convoke your suffragan bishops at Paris, and use your best endeavours to destroy the false doctrines of Peter, formerly bishop of Paris, by which it is asserted that Christ, as far as he is human, is not any thing. We therefore command you, my brother, by our apostolical writings, as we before commanded you by word of mouth, to assemble your bishops at Paris, and together with them and other religious and prudent men, to abrogate altogether the aforesaid doctrines, and to make masters teach their pupils in theology, that as Christ is perfect God, so also he is perfect man, consisting of a body and soul. You will strictly charge all men by no means to presume again to teach the aforesaid false doctrine, but altogether to abominate it."

Of abbat Joachim's book, which he wrote against Peter Lombard.

In these days, also, Joachim abbat of Flore, wrote a book against Peter Lombard, calling him a heretic and a madman, for having said, in speaking of the unity or essence of the Trinity, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are one supreme essence, which neither begets, nor is begotten, one proceeding. For this assertion, the abbat charged Peter with holding not three persons in the Godhead, but four, namely, the three persons usually received, and their common essence or a sort of fourth; that it is no thing which is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, neither essence, nor substance, nor nature, although he admits that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are one essence, one substance, and one nature. And the same Joachim confirmed his position by the authorities which follow:-" There are three which bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one; and there are three which bear record on earth, the Spirit, the Water, and the Blood, and these three are one." again, "I wish, Father, that they should be one in us, even as we also are one.' Wherefore it appears that the aforesaid Joachim acknowledges not a true and proper unity of this sort, but a sort of collective unity, having the similitude of such, in the same way as many men are called one people, and many believers make one church.