nistrans ei multociens que petebantur ab eo necessaria. Hiis & hiis similibus uerbis
ab illo peroratis ecce lux mire claritatis primo in unum tymporum suorum
intrauit que transsiens per medium clause situositatis oculorum eius exiuit per
aliud tympus capitis eius ut ipse michi retulit, quo subito facto surrex
it optime
uidens rediitque de sepulcro sancti uiri sine regente gressus suos qui
illuc ierat
cum regente illos
[V]iso precedenti miraculo de Sancto Adam1 Eboracensi placuit
mihi narrare aliqui2
miraculo correspondens de quodam alio Adam monacho nostro de Le
wenax oriundo
qui tante sanctitatis perhibetur fuisse quod per uiginti an
nos quibus commorabatur
apud veterem Melros nunquam uisus uel scitus
fuit ire in lectum sed nec de lecto
exire. Cuius rei euidens testimonium erat
quod stramen subpositum pannis // dormicionis eius per tantum temporis spacium
sem
per quasi in eodem statu cernebatur permanere sed dum noluit Deus quod uir valde
bo
nus malum ypocris incurreret dehiscebat in puluerem interdum sed raro pre
uetustate stramen eiusdem lecti super quod aliud stramen nouitatis fecit uir
Deo
plenus iaci ac si ipse vellet contra morem in lecto iacere dormiendo, dormi
uit
tamen sed quantum dormiebat hoc faciebat coram altari beate uirginis Dei genitricis
sedens uel prostratus ubi etiam solebat noctibus hyemalibus magnam partem
noctis expendere in citharizando cum cantilenis que uocantur motete ad
honorem
sancte uirginis matris edite de die uero sedebat fere semper iuxta ostium
ecclesie
psalterium pro more diatim percurrens sporta iuxta manum eius posita
continue in
qua panis erat tante habundancie ut nullus pauper de sub ma
nu eius recederet
querulus quia nec vacuus quin secum aliquid asporta
ret vnde penu3 omnium pauperum ad se confluencium ut ipsi
dicebant bono
omine habundabat ex gracia panis quem promerebantur recipere de manu
illius. Ad hunc4 etiam ueniebant diuites etiam rex terre Alexander in ecclesia de
Melros sepultus & multi alii ob ueneracionem sanctitatis eius postulan
tes
intense ut de bonis eorum acciperet quantum ei placeret quod ipse raro concedebat
fieri,5
accepit tamen de vaccis illorum quandoque non nullas ut
ministrarent lac
egenis ad se uenientibus. Ipse quoque habebat duas vaccas
monasterii preben
tes sibi & socio suo lac ad sufficienciam.6 Vero autem causalis quare
and had often provided his friend with any
supplies he needed. With these and similar words having been prayed by him, behold, a
light of marvellous brightness entered first into one of his temples, and passing
through the middle of the sockets of his useless eyes, came out through the other
temple, as he himself told me. When this had happened, he suddenly got up, seeing
perfectly, and he who had come to that place with someone guiding his steps, went back
from the tomb without a guide.
Having seen1 the foregoing miracle about the holy Adam of
York, it now pleases me to recount something relating to that miracle about another
Adam, a monk of ours who came from Lennox. It has been asserted that his holiness was
such that for the twenty years he spent at Old Melrose he was never seen or known to get
into bed nor to get out of bed. The plain proof of this was that it would be noticed
that the straw placed under the sheets of his // sleeping-place always remained in the same condition for the whole of
this period of time; but since God did not wish that this excellent man should incur the
evil of hypocrisy, the straw of his bed disintegrated into dust from time to time on
account of old age, although not often. The man, full of God, had other fresh straw laid
upon it as if he would break his habit and lie down to sleep on the bed. He did sleep,
however, but insofar as he slept he used to do it in front of the altar of the blessed
Virgin-Mother of God, sitting or prostrate, where he was also accustomed on winter
nights to spend the most part of the night in playing the harp with little songs, which
are called motets, written in honour of the holy Virgin Mother. During the day he would
nearly always sit near the door of the church, daily going through the Psalter according
to custom. A basket placed next to his hand, constantly filled with bread of such great
abundance that no pauper left his presence complaining, because he did not go away
empty-handed, but carrying something with him. Hence the storehouse of all the poor who
flocked to him, as they themselves said, abounded with good fortune thanks to the bread
which they were accustomed to receive from his hand. The rich also used to come to
him—even the king of the land, Alexander, who is buried in the church of Melrose, and
many others—on account of their reverence for his holiness, earnestly requesting that he
would take as much of their wealth as he saw fit; but he would rarely allow this
to be done. He nevertheless
sometimes accepted a few of their cows so that they might supply milk for the poor when
they came to him. He himself also had two cows belonging to the monastery, which
supplied milk sufficient for himself and his companion. The reason why