The PurveyProject

Festum Sancti Mathei Apostoli

Par Élodie MONTEAU
Publication en ligne le 01 mars 2013

1/193r/ Seint Mathew þe holy appostell and euaungelist is commendid in holy chirch for iiij holy vertues þat he had. First for he was to Criste obedient redely, secund he fedde Criste gladly, third ffor he prechid þe gospel boldely, and þe fourth, for he suffird his passyon paciently. First I seyde he was obedyent to Criste redely, ffor his ocupacion was a toller or a man þat customes in a citee or in a ffayre or markett. And as he satte besy in þe toll boþe besy to gete gode, our souereyn savyour Criste Ihesu cam for by and sawe hym sytte þere, seying to hym : “Sequer me” ; “Com and folowe me”. Than Seint Mathewe left and forsoke þat he had and folowed Criste, ffor his affeccion and loue was so grete to Criste þat he was glad and joyfull to forsake all þat he had for his sake. And so he was obedyent to Criste redely. Also he ffedde Criste gladly, for he prayed Criste vpon a

2/193v/ <tyme> to ete with hym. And whan Criste cam, he ffedde not all onely hym, but also all thoo þat folowed, ffor where euere Criste went, moch peple folowed hym. Summe to see his grete myracles, sum to be recured of þeir grete sikenes, sum to here hym preche, summe to haue their lyving and sustenaunce in mete and drinke, and summe þat were his enemyes to take hym in his wordes. And whan Mathew had thus ffedde Criste and all thoo þat com with hym, than Criste made hym oon of his disciples and gave hym cunnyng, auctoryte and power to preche þe feith. And so he ffedde Criste gladly. Also he preched Goddis wordis boldely, ffor he spared noþir for love nor drede. Vpon a tyme, he was sent to a citee called Nadabar, where he founde ij fals nygromanceris þat wrought by þe devellis craft. So Seint Mathewe, by þe grete vertu and myght of Goddis worde, he distroyed þeir fals craft, that þe peple myght knowe openly þat þei wrought by þe devellis craft, and nought by God his. Than aftirward, þese nygromanceris, by þe craft and werke of þe fende, they made horryble dragons to spitte fire and brethe vpon þe peple, þat the stynch of þem was so venemus þat it slough many men and women of þe citee. And þeir principall purpose was for to haue distroyed þis ho<ly> appostle Seint Mathewe. Than went Seint Mathewe to these venemus dragons, and commaunded them to take their flight into wildernes, where þei shuld neuere greve nor noy man, woman childe nor beste. And so the venemous dragons rose and toke þeir flight into desert. Than Seint Mathew blessid all þoo men, women and childre þat were dede bi þe venemous inflacion and infeccion of the dragons, and forthwith, þei rose from dethe to life and thanked God and þat holy appostle Seint Mathew. And þere were conuerted to þe ffeith of Criste grete multitude of peple, where he prechid þem of þe grete myght and power of all-

3/194r/ -myghty God and of perpetuall rewarde þat þei shuld haue that wolfully folowe Criste and kepe cristen lawes. And so he preched Goddis worde boldely. I seyde also þat he suffred his passion mekely. This holy appostle Seint Mathew he preched in a citee where cursed men and vicious for envye toke hym. They bounde hym and ledde hym, and aftirward, þei putte his eyen oute and þen thei did cast hym in preson. Than allmyghti God sent an aungell to Seynt andrewe þe appostell where he preched in fferr cuntreis, and sodenly, þe aungell brought hym ouere þe see and sette hym at þe preson durr where Seint Mathewe was in. So Seint Andrewe sette open þe preson durris, and led Seint Mathewe out of preson by þe hande and bad hym goo and preche þe worde of God ageyn. and forthwith, he myght see as wele as euere he myght beforn. And Seynt Andrewe was restored ageyn to þat place where he cam fro. Than Seynt Mathewe went into þe citee of Nabadar where þe kyngis son of þe citee was sodenly dede. Seint Mathewe blessid þe dede body and he rose from dethe to life. Than þe kyng, þe quene, þe son, þe doughter and all þe house holde were conuerted to God and baptized, and þe moste parte of þe peple with hym. The kyngis doughter, called Euphigema, whan she was baptized, she desired to be avowed and to kepe hir contynent and chaste, and so she was sacred a woman of religion, and gretely encresid in vertu. And aftirward, for hir holy disposicion, she was made keper and ruler of many virgyns. Than dyed þe king hir ffadir, and aftir hym succedid anoþir kyng called Hirtacus, þat desired, by temptacion of þe devell, to haue þis holy woman Euphigema from hir religion. And with myghti power purposed to haue hi oute of hir

4/194v/ house. So than, this kyng Hirtacus spake vnto Seint Mathew to haue his gode wille and consent, þat he myght haue Euphigema to his wife. “Nay, nay,” seid Seint Mathewe, “þat may not be. For she is maryed to þe kynge of hevyn and she may not in no wise breke þat spowsode. For he þat wolde desyre to haue an erthly kyngis wife, he were worthy to haue a shamefull dethe, moche more of hir þan þat is vowed and weddid to þe kynge of heven”. Kyng Hirtacus forthwith for wraþe þat Seint Mathewe wolde not consent þereto, he commaunded to sle hym. And as þis holy appostle was a<t> <his> masse, þere cam oon byhynde hym at his bak, and ran thorugh hym with a swerde and slowgh hym. Then cam cristen men and beryed þat holy body in þe same chirch. That cursed kyng Hirtacus sett fyre on euery syde of þat place where Euphigema was closed in to haue brend hir þerein, and all hir sustris. Than Seint Mathewe apperid to hir in spirite and bad hir be of gode comforte. Than þe fyre turned away from þat place vnto þe kyngis paleis and brend it down and left not oon safe nor walle. And þe king þan was smyt with þe sikenes of lepre, þat no man myght cum nygh hym. And for sorowe and shame, he slough hymself, and so þe vengeaunce þat he wolde haue do to othir ffell vpon hymself.

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