The Vision of William Stranton
(from London, BL MS Add. 34, 193 [an imperfect 15th cent. text] ed. in St Patrick’s
Purgatory by Robert Easting, EETS 298 [OUP, 1991])
modernised
[p. 79] Here begins the book of William of Stranton, the which bears witness of
truthfulness and of all fearful judges, the which he heard and saw when he was in
Patrick Purgatory, in the year of our lord MCCCCVI.
In the name of God, Amen. I, William of Stranton, born in the bishopric of Durham
in England, through God’s grace entered into Purgatory of Saint Patrick in the
bishopric of Cleghire/Jalcet in Ireland on Easter day the 8th hour before noon. And I
was put in by the prior Matheus, keeper of the same Purgatory, with procession and
devout prayers of the same prior and convent, the which teached me an orison to
bless me with, and to write the first word on my forehead, which is this: Jhesu, fili
Dei, miserere mei. And the prior taught me to say this orison when any spirit good or
evil appeared to me, or if I heard any noise that I should be afeard of, for if they were
good spirits they should abide with me, and if they were evil, they should void from
me.
And after, through the teaching of the prior, I came to a resting-place of Saint
Patrick, in the which he abode the revelacion of God’s angels when he would pass
that way in his one time, and there I abode and somewhat I slumbered and slept.
It seems that what follows is, therefore, a dream-vision. In the twelfth century account of
Owayne Miles, it is claimed that he bodily entered the Purgatory after preliminary rites.
William is shown the various torments that sinners undergo . . .
[p. 99] And then Saint John [of Bridlington] led me farther and showed me two
towers, the one full of burning fire, and the other full of cold ice. In the tower full of
fire I saw many souls so sore burning that it seemed that they should melt for that
passing heat. And truly then fiends took them out with great crooks and cast them
into that other tower, and then fiends with shovels cast upon them ice and snow,
and that pain was so cold that truly it passed many other pains. And then I saw
many other souls coming with fire-brands in their hands, and their bodies hanging
full of snakes and toads, adders and many diverse venomous worms. And those
souls knocked at the gate of that tower with this sorrowful array about them. And
as soon as they were let in they cast the brands of fire at the other souls that were
before in pain. And then they took the brands again and beat the souls with them,
and that grieved them worse and more than all their other pains. And with that all
the horrible worms that were hanging upon them leapt out upon the souls that were
before so beaten, and bit them and stung them throughout their bodies.
Then Saint John said, ‘Lo, William these were sometime bishops and prelates and
curates of holy church, and should have preached the law of God to the people, and
given them examples of good living. And truly, they did not, and therefore they
have this great penance of hot and cold. And those souls with fire-brands were
sometime their servants, and living too much in pride and in much elaborate
fashioning of their clothes. These serpents, toads, and adders, and snakes were the
ornamental points on their clothes that they wore sometime in great pride, and all
are turned them to sorrow and care while that God will. And thus are bishops and
other prelates punished on account of their servants, for they would allow them to
live in pride and folly, and reproved them not, but suffered them therein.