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William Granger Ryan was a priest in the diocese of Brooklyn and Queens and president of Seton Hill College. Eamon Duffy is professor of the history of Christianity at Cambridge University. His books include The Stripping of the Altars and Saints and Sinners.

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"Since its completion around 1260, The Golden Legend has been a constant source of inspiration for Christian writers and artists, and it still reverberates within the Catholic tradition. Anyone interested in medieval religion and art and in Catholic culture will be delighted with this new edition of the English translation. Scholars and enthusiasts alike will also enjoy Eamon Duffy's informative and engaging introduction to it."--Miri Rubin, Queen Mary University of London

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The Golden Legend

Princeton University Press

Contents

INTRODUCTION BY EAMON DUFFY..........................................................xiACKNOWLEDGMENTS......................................................................xxiPrologue.............................................................................31. The Advent of the Lord............................................................42. Saint Andrew, Apostle.............................................................133. Saint Nicholas....................................................................214. Saint Lucy, Virgin................................................................275. Saint Thomas, Apostle.............................................................296. The Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to the Flesh.........................377. Saint Anastasia...................................................................438. Saint Stephen.....................................................................459. Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist................................................5010. The Holy Innocents...............................................................5611. Saint Thomas of Canterbury.......................................................5912. Saint Silvester..................................................................6213. The Circumcision of the Lord.....................................................7114. The Epiphany of the Lord.........................................................7815. Saint Paul, Hermit...............................................................8416. Saint Remy.......................................................................8517. Saint Hilary.....................................................................8718. Saint Macarius...................................................................8919. Saint Felix......................................................................9120. Saint Marcellus..................................................................9221. Saint Anthony....................................................................9322. Saint Fabian.....................................................................9623. Saint Sebastian..................................................................9724. Saint Agnes, Virgin..............................................................10125. Saint Vincent....................................................................10526. Saint Basil, Bishop..............................................................10827. Saint John the Almsgiver.........................................................11328. The Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle...........................................11929. Saint Paula......................................................................12130. Saint Julian.....................................................................12631. Septuagesima.....................................................................13232. Sexagesima.......................................................................13433. Quinquagesima....................................................................13534. Quadragesima.....................................................................13735. The Ember Day Fasts..............................................................13936. Saint Ignatius...................................................................14037. The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary......................................14338. Saint Blaise.....................................................................15139. Saint Agatha, Virgin.............................................................15440. Saint Vaast......................................................................15741. Saint Amand......................................................................15842. Saint Valentine..................................................................15943. Saint Juliana....................................................................16044. The Chair of Saint Peter.........................................................16245. Saint Matthias, Apostle..........................................................16646. Saint Gregory....................................................................17147. Saint Longinus...................................................................18448. Saint Sophia and Her Three Daughters.............................................18549. Saint Benedict...................................................................18650. Saint Patrick....................................................................19351. The Annunciation of the Lord.....................................................19652. Saint Timothy....................................................................20253. The Passion of the Lord..........................................................20354. The Resurrection of the Lord.....................................................21655. Saint Secundus...................................................................22556. Saint Mary of Egypt..............................................................22757. Saint Ambrose....................................................................22958. Saint George.....................................................................23859. Saint Mark, Evangelist...........................................................24260. Saint Marcellinus, Pope..........................................................24861. Saint Vitalis....................................................................24962. A Virgin of Antioch..............................................................25063. Saint Peter Martyr...............................................................25464. Saint Fabian.....................................................................26665. Saint Philip, Apostle............................................................26766. Saint Apollonia..................................................................26867. Saint James, Apostle.............................................................26968. The Finding of the Holy Cross....................................................27769. Saint John before the Latin Gate.................................................28470. The Greater and Lesser Litanies..................................................28571. Saint Boniface, Martyr...........................................................28972. The Ascension of the Lord........................................................29173. The Holy Spirit..................................................................29974. Saints Gordianus and Epimachus...................................................30875. Saints Nereus and Achilleus......................................................30976. Saint Pancratius.................................................................31177. Saint Urban......................................................................31478. Saint Petronilla.................................................................31579. Saint Peter the Exorcist.........................................................31680. Saints Primus and Felicianus.....................................................31781. Saint Barnabas, Apostle..........................................................31882. Saints Vitus and Modestus........................................................32283. Saint Quiricus and His Mother Saint Julitta......................................32384. Saint Marina, Virgin.............................................................32485. Saints Gervasius and Protasius...................................................32686. The Birth of Saint John the Baptist..............................................32887. Saints John and Paul.............................................................33688. Saint Leo, Pope..................................................................33989. Saint Peter, Apostle.............................................................34090. Saint Paul, Apostle..............................................................35091. The Seven Brothers, Sons of Saint Felicity.......................................36492. Saint Theodora...................................................................36593. Saint Margaret...................................................................36894. Saint Alexis.....................................................................37195. Saint Praxedes...................................................................37496. Saint Mary Magdalene.............................................................37497. Saint Apollinaris................................................................38398. Saint Christina..................................................................38699. Saint James the Greater..........................................................389100. Saint Christopher...............................................................396101. The Seven Sleepers..............................................................401102. Saints Nazarius and Celsus......................................................404103. Saint Felix, Pope...............................................................408104. Saints Simplicius and Faustinus.................................................408105. Saint Martha....................................................................409106. Saints Abdon and Sennen.........................................................412107. Saint Germain, Bishop...........................................................413108. Saint Eusebius..................................................................416109. The Holy Maccabees..............................................................419110. Saint Peter in Chains...........................................................420111. Saint Stephen, Pope.............................................................425112. The Finding of Saint Stephen, the First Martyr..................................426113. Saint Dominic...................................................................430114. Saint Sixtus....................................................................444115. Saint Donatus...................................................................445116. Saint Cyriacus and His Companions...............................................447117. Saint Laurence, Martyr..........................................................449118. Saint Hippolytus and His Companions.............................................460119. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.......................................463120. Saint Bernard...................................................................484121. Saint Timothy...................................................................494122. Saint Symphorian................................................................494123. Saint Bartholomew...............................................................495124. Saint Augustine.................................................................502125. The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist.........................................518126. Saints Felix and Adauctus.......................................................526127. Saints Savinian and Savina......................................................527128. Saint Lupus.....................................................................530129. Saint Mamertinus................................................................531130. Saint Giles.....................................................................533131. The Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary............................................535132. Saints Cornelius and Cyprian....................................................544133. Saint Lambert...................................................................545134. Saint Adrian and His Companions.................................................546135. Saints Gorgonius and Dorotheus..................................................550136. Saints Protus and Hyacinthus....................................................551137. The Exaltation of the Holy Cross................................................554138. Saint John Chrysostom...........................................................559139. Saint Euphemia..................................................................567140. Saint Matthew, Apostle..........................................................569141. Saint Maurice and His Companions................................................574142. Saint Justina, Virgin...........................................................578143. Saints Cosmas and Damian........................................................582144. Saint Fursey, Bishop............................................................584145. Saint Michael, Archangel........................................................587146. Saint Jerome....................................................................597147. Saint Remy......................................................................602148. Saint Leger.....................................................................604149. Saint Francis...................................................................606150. Saint Pelagia...................................................................616151. Saint Margaret..................................................................618152. Saint Thais, Courtesan..........................................................620153. Saints Dionysius, Rusticus, and Eleutherius.....................................622154. Saint Callistus.................................................................628155. Saint Leonard...................................................................629156. Saint Luke, Evangelist..........................................................633157. Saints Chrysanthus and Daria....................................................641158. The Eleven Thousand Virgins.....................................................642159. Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles.................................................646160. Saint Quentin...................................................................651161. Saint Eustace...................................................................652162. All Saints......................................................................658163. The Commemoration of All Souls..................................................666164. The Four Crowned Martyrs........................................................676165. Saint Theodore..................................................................677166. Saint Martin, Bishop............................................................678167. Saint Brice.....................................................................687168. Saint Elizabeth.................................................................688169. Saint Cecilia...................................................................704170. Saint Clement...................................................................709171. Saint Chrysogonus...............................................................719172. Saint Catherine.................................................................720173. Saints Saturninus, Perpetua, Felicity, and Their Companions.....................728174. Saint James the Dismembered.....................................................729175. Saint Pastor....................................................................733176. Saint john, Abbot...............................................................735177. Saint Moses, Abbot..............................................................736178. Saint Arsenius, Abbot...........................................................737179. Saint Agathon, Abbot............................................................740180. Saints Barlaam and Josaphat.....................................................741181. Saint Pelagius, Pope: The History of the Lombards...............................753182. The Dedication of a Church......................................................771INDEX................................................................................783

Chapter One

* * *

The Lord's advent is celebrated for four weeks to signify that his coming is fourfold: he came to us in the flesh, he comes into our hearts, he comes to us at death, and he will come to judge us. The fourth week is seldom completed, because the glory of the saints, which will be bestowed at the last coming, will never end. So it is, too, that the first responsory for the first Sunday of Advent, which includes the Gloria Patri, has four verses corresponding to the aforesaid four comings; let the attentive reader figure out which verse best fits each coming.

While the Lord's comings are four, the Church specially memorializes two of them, the one in the flesh and the one at the Last judgment, as is clear from the office of the season. Therefore the Advent fast is partly one of rejoicing, by reason of Christ's coming in the flesh, and partly one of anxiety at the thought of the judgment. To bring this to our minds the Church sings some of her joyful chants because of the coming of mercy and rejoicing, and puts aside some others because the judgment will be very strict and prompts anxiety.

With regard to the Lord's coming in the flesh three aspects are to be examined—its timeliness, its necessity, and its usefulness.

The timeliness is manifest first as regards man himself, who by the law of his nature lacked knowledge of God. Hence he fell into the worst errors of idolatry. Therefore he was compelled to cry out: "Enlighten my eyes." Then came the Law with its commandments, and man became aware that he was powerless to obey. Previously he had cried: "There are those willing to fulfill the command, but not yet anyone to command." For thus far he was only instructed, not freed from sin nor helped by any grace to do good; so now he was compelled to cry out: "There is one to command but no one to fulfill the command." Therefore the coming of the Son of God was opportune and timely, since man was now convicted of ignorance and helplessness: if Christ had come earlier, man might have attributed salvation to his own merits and would not have been thankful for his cure.

Secondly, the Lord's advent was timely because he came in the fullness of time: "When the fullness of time was come, God sent his Son." Augustine says: "There are many who ask why Christ did not come sooner. It was because by the will of him who made all things in time, the fullness of time had not arrived. When that fullness had come, the One came who freed us from time, and, freed from time, we are to come to that eternity in which there will be no time." Thirdly, the whole world was wounded and ailing, and since the disease was universal it was the moment for a universal medicine to be applied. Augustine: "The great physician came when throughout the world mankind lay like a great invalid."

Hence the Church, in the seven antiphons that are sung before the Lord's birthday, shows the multiplicity of our ills and for each of them begs a remedy of the physician. Before the Son of God came in the flesh, we were ignorant or blind, liable to eternal punishment, slaves of the devil, shackled with sinful habits, enveloped in darkness, exiles driven from our true country. Therefore we had need of a teacher, a redeemer, a liberator, an emancipator, an enlightener, and a savior. Because we were ignorant and needed to be taught by him, we call out in the first antiphon: "O Wisdom, you came forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all things mightily and sweetly. Come, and teach us the way of prudence!" Yet it would be of little profit if we were taught but not redeemed, so we ask to be redeemed by him when we cry to God in the second antiphon: "O Adonai and leader of the house of Israel, you appeared to Moses in the flames of the burning bush, and on Sinai gave him the Law. Come, stretch out your arm and redeem us." And what good would it do if we were instructed and redeemed, if after redemption we were still held captive? Therefore we pray to be set free, when we plead in the third antiphon: "O Root of Jesse, you are raised as a banner to the peoples. Before you kings shall remain silent, with you all nations will plead for help. Come to set us free, do not delay!" Yet of what use would it be to captives if, being redeemed and given their freedom, their shackles were still not stricken from them so that they could be under their own control and go freely wherever they wished? So it would do us little good if he redeemed and freed us but left us in chains. Therefore in the fourth antiphon we pray to be delivered of all the bonds of sin: "O Key of David, you open and no one closes, you close and no one opens. Come, and from the prison house release man enchained and sitting in the shadow of death!" But because the eyes of those who have been in prison for a long time grow dim and they no longer see clearly, even after we are set free from prison, we still have to have our eyes opened to the light, so that we may see where we ought to go. Therefore in the fifth antiphon we pray: "O rising Dawn, splendor of light eternal and sun of justice! Come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death." And if we were taught, redeemed, freed from all enemies, and enlightened, how would it benefit us unless we were to be saved? So in the next two antiphons we beg for the gift of salvation, saying: "O King of the Gentiles, for whom they long, O Headstone who make the two one! Come and save man, whom you formed out of the slime of the earth." And likewise, "O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver, awaited by the nations and their savior! Come and save us, O Lord our God!" So first we plead for the salvation of the pagans, saying, "O King of the Gentiles," and then pray for the salvation of the Jews, to whom God gave the Law.

THE USEFULNESS OF THE COMING OF THE LORD

As for the usefulness of Christ's coming, different saints define it differently. God himself testifies that he came and was sent to be useful in seven ways, as we see in the fourth chapter of Luke: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, etc." There he states the reasons one after the other: to console the poor, to heal the sorrowful, to free the captives, to enlighten the ignorant, to remit sins, to redeem the whole human race, and to reward merit.

Augustine points to three ways in which Christ's coming is useful, saying: "In this evil age what is there in abundance except to be born, to labor, and to die? These are the wares in which here on earth we trade, and to trade in them our merchant came down. And because every merchant gives what he has and receives what he does not have, Christ gave and received in this market. He received what there is plenty of here, namely, birth, toil, and death, and what he gave us is to be reborn, to rise again, and to reign for all eternity. This tradesman from heaven came to us to receive shame and give honor, to undergo death and give life, to bring ignominy upon himself and give glory."

Gregory proposes four causes or kinds of usefulness for the Lord's advent: "All the proud of heart born of Adam's race look for the good things of life, shun adversity, flee humiliation, seek glory. The Lord incarnate came into their midst seeking adversity, spurning the world's goods, embracing opprobrium, fleeing glory. So the long-awaited Christ came and taught new things, wrought new wonders by his teaching, and, doing wonders, bore ills."

Bernard has it otherwise, saying: "Miserably we labor under a threefold sickness. We are easily misled, weak in action, and fragile in resistance. If we wish to distinguish between good and evil, we are deceived; if we attempt to do good, we lack strength; if we strive to resist evil, we are overcome. So the coming of the Savior is necessary. Dwelling in us he enlightens our blindness; remaining with us he helps our infirmity; standing for us he protects and defends our fragility." Thus Bernard.

Concerning the second advent, namely, the Last Judgment, we should consider both what will precede it and what will accompany it. Three things will precede it: fearful signs, the fallacious claims of the Antichrist, and a storm of fire. Luke's gospel sets down five signs to precede the Judgment: "There shall be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and the waves." The book of Apocalypse describes the first three signs: "The sun became black as sackcloth, and the moon red as blood, and the stars from heaven fell upon the earth." Rev. The sun is said to be darkened because its light was taken away so that it might seem to be mourning the father of a family, namely, man; or because a greater light, that of the radiance of Christ, had risen; or, to express it metaphorically, because, as Augustine says, the divine vengeance will be so severe that even the sun will not dare to look upon it. Or, according to a mystical interpretation, Christ the sun of justice will be darkened because no one will have the courage to confess him. "Heaven" here means the upper air, and "stars" means shooting stars or meteors, because by their substance they resemble stars, and in common speech stars are said to "fall from heaven" when meteors are seen. In this case Scripture adopts the common usage. The event will certainly create a powerful impression because of its fiery nature, and the Lord does this to terrify sinners. Or the stars are said to fall because they emit fiery tails, or because many men who appeared to be stars in the Church will fall headlong, or because the stars will withdraw their light and become invisible.

About the fourth sign, distress of nations, we read in Matthew 24: "There shall then be great tribulation, such as there has not been from the beginning of the world." As for the fifth sign, the confusion of the roaring of the sea, some think this means that with a thundering noise the sea will cease to be what it was before, as Apocalypse says: "The sea is no more." Others understand the roaring as the great noise made as the sea rises forty cubits above the mountains and then crashes down. Gregory reads the text literally: "Then there was a new and unheard-of disturbance of the sea and the waves."

Jerome, in his Annals of the Hebrews, finds fifteen signs preceding the judgment, but does not say whether they will be continuous or intermittent. On the first day the sea will rise forty cubits above the tops of the mountains, standing in place like a wall. Only on the second day will it come down and be almost invisible. On the third day the sea beasts will come out above the surface and will roar to the heavens, and God alone will understand their bellowing. On the fourth day the sea and the waters will burn up. On the fifth the trees and grasses will exude a bloody dew: also on this fifth day, as others assert, all the birds in the sky will gather together in the fields, each species in its place, not feeding or drinking but frightened by the imminent coming of the judge. On the sixth day buildings will collapse. It is said that on this same sixth day fiery thunderbolts will pour out of the setting sun and run across the sky all the way to its rising. On the seventh the rocks will collide with each other and split into four parts, and each part, it is said, will crash against the other; and no man will hear the sound, only God. On the eighth will come a worldwide earthquake, which will, we are told, be so great that neither man nor beast will be able to stand, and all will fall prostrate on the ground. On the ninth the earth will be leveled and the mountains and hills reduced to dust. On the tenth, men will come out of the caves and go about as if demented, unable to speak to each other. The eleventh day will see the bones of the dead rise and stand above the tombs from the rising of the sun to its setting, so that the dead will be able to come out. On the twelfth the stars will fall: all the fixed and wandering stars will spread fiery trains, and then will again be generated from their substance. It is said that on that day, too, all the animals will come into the fields, growling and grunting, not feeding, not drinking. On the thirteenth the living will die in order to rise again with the dead. On the fourteenth heaven and earth will be burned up. On the fifteenth a new heaven and a new earth will come to be, and all the dead will rise again.

Also to precede the Last judgment will be the false pretensions of the Antichrist. He will try to deceive all men in four ways, first by cunning argument or false exposition of the Scriptures. His aim will be to persuade people, and to prove from Scripture that he is the Messiah promised in the Law, and he will destroy the law of Christ and establish his own: "Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them"; and the Gloss: "That is the Antichrist, giver of perverse law." The book of Daniel has: "They shall place [in the sanctuary] the abomination unto desolation"; and the Gloss: "The Antichrist will sit in the temple of God pretending to be God, in order to do away with the law of God."

He will also try to deceive by working miracles; z Thessalonians: "Whose coming is according to the working of Satan, in all words and signs and lying wonders"; Apocalypse: "He did great signs, so that he made also fire to come down from heaven unto the earth"; and the Gloss: "As the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles in the form of fire, the wicked spirit will also be given in the form of fire." A third means of deception will be his conferring of gifts. Daniel: "He shall give them power over many and shall divide the land gratis"; and the Gloss: "The Antichrist will give many gifts to those he deceives, and will distribute the land to his army, for those whom he could not conquer by terror he will overcome through avarice." His fourth method will be the infliction of torments; Daniel: "He shall lay all things waste and shall prosper and do more than can be believed." And, speaking of the Antichrist, Gregory comments: "He kills the strong, conquering in the body those who had remained unconquered."

The last occurrence preceding the judgment will be the storm of fire, which will go before the face of the Judge. God will send this fire, firstly for the renewal of the world: he will purge and renew all the elements. Like the waters of the Deluge, the fire will climb fifteen cubits higher than the mountains, as the Scholastic History says, "higher than the works of men could reach." Secondly, the fire will be for men's purification, because the place of purgatory will be for those who are then found still living. Thirdly, the fire will increase the torments of the damned and, fourthly, will provide greater illumination of the saints. According to Saint Basil, once the purgation of the world is accomplished, God will separate the heat of the fire from its light and will send all the heat to the region of the damned to torture them, and all the light to the region of the blessed for their greater enjoyment.

Several circumstances will be attendant upon the Last judgment itself. Firstly, the Judge's procedure in judging. He will come down into the valley of Josaphat and judge the good and the wicked, setting the good on his right and the wicked on the left. It is to be believed that he will occupy an elevated place, so that all may see him. Nor should we think that the whole gathering would be crowded into that small valley; to think so, Jerome says, would be childish. They will be both in the valley and in the surrounding areas: countless thousands of people can stand in a small space, especially if they are pressed closely together. Moreover, if need be, the elect, due to the lightness of their bodies, could hover in the air, while the damned could be held aloft by the power of God.

(Continues...)

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