Timeline Calne: 975 The Miracles of St. Swithun - the prisoner at Calne

St. Swithun, Compton Bassett church

Lantfred of Winchester authored a book titled 'Translatio et Miracula S. Swithuni', the Miracles of St. Swithun, between 972 and 974, but no later than 975[1]. In that book he writes of a prisoner being held by the king's reeve in Calne. As Swithun died in 863, this later text, would actually provide the earliest known mention of Calne and preceeds the will of King Edred.

In 'Narratio metrica de S. Swithuno' (A Life of St. Swithun), anglo saxon monk, Wulfstan of Winchester writes of St. Swithun and his elevation to sainthood. This hexametrical poem follows the outline of Lantfred's book[2] The publication of this text is normally placed at c.1000, however various sources place the poem in the 900s and no later than 998[3][4].

Research by Lapidge[3] provides a tentative date of late 971 or early 972. However, I have used the date of the Translatio et Miracula S. Swithuni as this seems a much more solid date.

The section in question has been copied below from The Cult of St Swithun by Michael Lapidge[2] and is the original Latin version of the text:

De Homine QVI NVDA MANV IGNITVM CALIBEM PORTAVIT. Presignatis denique temporibus, quidam negotiator nomine Flodoaldus - uir in rebus prudens secularibus, plurimis habundas opibus-habebat quendam famulum quem diligebat minium. Is pro quodam facinore comprehensus a regis preside - 'qui solito uocabatur Eadric aet Calne' - iussus est a regalibus custodiri clientibus donec eius ueniret dominus, et ignitum carbonibus ferrum nudis manibus idem portaret protinus. Et si foret inculpabilis, relinqueretur incolomis; sin culpabilis inueniretur, capite plecteretur. Audiens igitur senior illius quod ipse seruus in uinculis teneretur sub diris custodibus, festinantius quam potuit illo perrexit, exposcens regis praefectum ut dimitteret iudicium et seruili prescriptum condicione famulum possideret illesum. Qui minime fauens eius sponei onibus ultra modum superbiens pro mundanis fascibus - seruo ferri calidam precepit gerere massam. Dominus autem eius hoc audiens, de seruo perituro nimium.

For the rest of us not fluent in Latin, this is a story about a slave that was accused of commiting a crime, who was apprehended by Eadric of Calne, the king's reeve. Eadred sentenced the slave to an ordeal of hot iron. During this ordeal, the slave would have drunk holy water. The holy water would then have been sprinkled on the hand which was to hold the hot iron (heated by coal). When the slave had placed one foot in each of the three sections spanning 9 feet, he could drop the iron bar. His hands would have then been sealed. On the third day the hand would have been checked, if it is clear of discolouration and suppuration, he would be found innocent - if not: guilty[2].


When Flodoald, the slave's master, hears what is to happen to his slave he asked Eadric to reconsider, to drop the ordeal in exchange for keeping the slave. Eadric went ahead with the punishment, even when Flodoald offered silver on top of the previous deal, along with additional gifts from the accused's friends.

After the ordeal, Flodoald and his advisors prayed to St. Swithun that the man be freed. As the seal was removed from the slave's hand, his accusors saw the hand healed - as if it had never been burned at all. As promised, Flodoald gave the man to St. Swithun, as thanks for his devine intervention[4].



References:
[1] Lapidge, M., 1993. Anglo-Latin Literature, 900-1066. Hambledon Continuum.
[2] Lapidge, M., 2003. The Cult of St Swithun Bk. 2. OUP Oxford.
[3] Wulfstan the Cantor - Wikipedia. 2019. Wulfstan the Cantor - Wikipedia. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wulfstan_the_Cantor#Narratio_metrica_de_S._Swithuno. [Accessed 10 January 2019].
[4] Hudson, J., 2012. The Oxford History of the Laws of England Volume II: 871-1216. 1st ed. Oxford: OUP Oxford.