Hugh, Earl Of Chester, {165} In The
Reign Of King Henry I., Having By Force Occupied This Island And The
Adjacent country, heard of the miraculous power of this stone, and,
for the purpose of trial, ordered it to be
Fastened, with strong
iron chains, to one of a larger size, and to be thrown into the sea.
On the following morning, however, according to custom, it was found
in its original position, on which account the earl issued a public
edict, that no one, from that time, should presume to move the stone
from its place. A countryman, also, to try the powers of this
stone, fastened it to his thigh, which immediately became putrid,
and the stone returned to its original situation.
There is in the same island a stony hill, not very large or high,
from one side of which, if you cry aloud, you will not be heard on
the other; and it is called (by anti-phrasis) the rock of hearers.
In the northern part of Great Britain (Northumberland) so named by
the English, from its situation beyond the river Humber, there is a
hill of a similar nature, where if a loud horn or trumpet is sounded
on one side, it cannot be heard on the opposite one. There is also
in this island the church of St. Tefredaucus, {166} into which Hugh,
earl of Shrewsbury, (who, together with the earl of Chester, had
forcibly entered Anglesey), on a certain night put some dogs, which
on the following morning were found mad, and he himself died within
a month; for some pirates, from the Orcades, having entered the port
of the island in their long vessels, the earl, apprised of their
approach, boldly met them, rushing into the sea upon a spirited
horse. The commander of the expedition, Magnus, standing on the
prow of the foremost ship, aimed an arrow at him; and, although the
earl was completely equipped in a coat of mail, and guarded in every
part of his body except his eyes, the unlucky weapon struck his
right eye, and, entering his brain, he fell a lifeless corpse into
the sea. The victor, seeing him in this state, proudly and
exultingly exclaimed, in the Danish tongue, "Leit loup," let him
leap; and from this time the power of the English ceased in
Anglesey. In our times, also, when Henry II. was leading an army
into North Wales, where he had experienced the ill fortune of war in
a narrow, woody pass near Coleshulle, he sent a fleet into Anglesey,
and began to plunder the aforesaid church, and other sacred places.
But the divine vengeance pursued him, for the inhabitants rushed
upon the invaders, few against many, unarmed against armed; and
having slain great numbers, and taken many prisoners, gained a most
complete and bloody victory. For, as our Topography of Ireland
testifies, that the Welsh and Irish are more prone to anger and
revenge than any other nations, the saints, likewise, of those
countries appear to be of a more vindictive nature.
Two noble persons, and uncles of the author of this book, were sent
thither by the king; namely, Henry, son of king Henry I., and uncle
to king Henry II., by Nest, daughter of Rhys, prince of South Wales;
and Robert Fitz-Stephen, brother to Henry, a man who in our days,
shewing the way to others, first attacked Ireland, and whose fame is
recorded in our Vaticinal History. Henry, actuated by too much
valour, and ill supported, was pierced by a lance, and fell amongst
the foremost, to the great concern of his attendants; and Robert,
despairing of being able to defend himself, was badly wounded, and
escaped with difficulty to the ships.
There is a small island, almost adjoining to Anglesey, which is
inhabited by hermits, living by manual labour, and serving God. It
is remarkable that when, by the influence of human passions, any
discord arises among them, all their provisions are devoured and
infected by a species of small mice, with which the island abounds;
but when the discord ceases, they are no longer molested. Nor is it
to be wondered at, if the servants of God sometimes disagree, since
Jacob and Esau contended in the womb of Rebecca, and Paul and
Barnabas differed; the disciples also of Jesus disputed which of
them should be the greatest, for these are the temptations of human
infirmity; yet virtue is often made perfect by infirmity, and faith
is increased by tribulations. This island is called in Welsh, Ynys
Lenach, {167} or the ecclesiastical island, because many bodies of
saints are deposited there, and no woman is suffered to enter it.
We saw in Anglesey a dog, who accidentally had lost his tail, and
whose whole progeny bore the same defect. It is wonderful that
nature should, as it were, conform itself in this particular to the
accident of the father. We saw also a knight, named Earthbald, born
in Devonshire, whose father, denying the child with which his mother
was pregnant, and from motives of jealousy accusing her of
inconstancy, nature alone decided the controversy by the birth of
the child, who, by a miracle, exhibited on his upper lip a scar,
similar to one his father bore in consequence of a wound he had
received from a lance in one of his military expeditions. Stephen,
the son of Earthbald, had a similar mark, the accident being in a
manner converted into nature. A like miracle of nature occurred in
earl Alberic, son of Alberic earl of Veer, {168} whose father,
during the pregnancy of his mother, the daughter of Henry of Essex,
having laboured to procure a divorce, on account of the ignominy of
her father, the child, when born, had the same blemish in its eye,
as the father had got from a casual hurt. These defects may be
entailed on the offspring, perhaps, by the impression made on the
memory by frequent and steady observation; as it is reported that a
queen, accustomed to see the picture of a negro in her chamber,
unexpectedly brought forth a black child, and is exculpated by
Quintilian, on account of the picture.
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