SHRINES
761
SHRINES
the Continent to this sanctuiiry, and its priory became
one of the richest in the world. Among the royal and
noble pilgrims were: Henry III, who came in 1248;
Edward I in 1272 (?) and 1296; Edward II in 1315; his
consort, Isabella of France, in 1332; Edward III in
1361; Edward IV and his queen in 1469; Henry VII
in 1487; Henry VIII in 1511, walking barefoot from
liarsham Hall, on which occasion he presented Our
Lady with a necklace of great value; and finally
Queen Catherine of Aragon in 1514. About 1.538 the
venerated image was brought to London with tliat
of Our Lady of Ipswich, and both were publicly burnt
at Chelsea in presence of Cromwell. Fifteen of the
canons of Walsingham were condemned for high
treason; five were executed. AU the jewels and
treasures left by the piety of the faithful found their
way into Henry VIII's coffers.
(11) Worcester. — St. Mary's Minster at Worcester is of ancient date, and pre-eminent amongst its bene- factors were Leofric and Godgifu, Earl and Countess of Mercia. The celebrated image of Our Lady and the Holy Child was carved of wood and of large size; it stood over the high altar and could be seen from all parts of the church. The apostate Bishop Latimer, writing to Cromwell, refers to this statue in coarse terms, and expresses a hope that with its sisters of Walsingham and Ipswich it may be burnt in Smith- field. (12) Lincoln. — Our Lady of Lincoln is fre- quently mentioned among the sanctuaries which were regarded by the English with special veneration. In the inventory of the treasures of the cathedral aporo- priated by Henry VIII, there is mention f,i til , at image of Our Lady, sitting in a chair, silver and gilt, having a crown on her head, silver and gilt, set with stones and pearls, and her Child sitting on her knee with one crown upon His head, with a diadem set with pearls and stones, having a ball with a cross, silver and gilt, in His left hand ' Of St. Hugh of Lincoln it is said that "for the glory of the ever- Virgin Mother of the True Light, he crowned the lights which usually burned in her church wilL ■ host of others". Besides the above, there were many other remarkable sanctuaries of Our Lady in England, to which Catholic pilgrims resorted before the unhappy days of the Reformation.
B. Scotland. — (1) Aberdeen. — Our Lady at the Bridge of Dee, described as Our Lady at the Brig, ia mentioned in 1459. Near to the chapel was a well dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, where miraculous favours were obtained. In the cathedral were four altars of Our Lady, each with her image, one being of silver. (2) Edinburgh: Our Lady of Holyrood. — In the Jesuit Church of the Sacred Heart, Lauriston Street, there is an image of Our Lady and Child, carved in wood, which formerly was in Holyrood. For many years it was in the possession of the earls of Aberdeen and subsequently was purchased by Mr. Edmund Waterton, who presented it to the above church. (3) Haddington. — After defeating the Scots at Hahdon Hill in 1333 Edward III ravaged the Lowlands, and part of his navy (says the chronicler of 1355) "spoiled the Kirk of Our Lady of Hadding- ton, and returned with the spoil thereof to their ships". But the sacrilege did not go unpunished, for a violent north wind rose and hurled the ships upon the sands and rocks. (4) Musselburgh. — The church, dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto, was most famous and resorted to by numerous pilgrims, whose pietj' was rewarded with miraculous favours. The fury of the Calvinist reformers destroyed the sanctuary, and in 1590 the materials were used in building the Tolbooth.
C. Ireland. — (1) Dubhn. — A statue of the Virgin Mother was greatly venerated in St. Mary's Abbey and mention is made of it by Simmel in 1487. In 541 the abbey was destroyed, its property sequestrated, and the image partly burnt. Part of it, however, was
saved and is now venerated in the Carmelite church.
(2) Muckross, formerly Irrelagh. — The image of Our
Lady was here greatly venerated. When the English
were devastating the abbey and had torn down and
trampled on the crucifix, some of the friars carried off
the image of Our Lady and hid it at the foot of a dead
tree. Soon the dead tree revived and leaves sprouted
in abundance, forming a shelter to the concealed
statue. (3) Navan. — ^In the abbey church was an
image of the Blessed Virgin held in great repute, to
which people from all parts of Ireland, princes and
peasants, rich and poor, came on pilgrimage, and to
which was attributed miraculous power. (4) Trim,
the most celebrated sanctuary of Our Lady in Ireland,
stood in the abbey of the canons regular of St.
Augustine. Pilgrims flocked to it from all parts of
the country and enriched it with their offerings.
Many and great miracles are said to have been
wrought here. The image of Our Lady of Trim
shared the fate of Our Lady of Walsingham, being
publicly burnt in 1539.
OuMPPENBERG, Atlas MaHanus (Munich, 1072); Waterton, Pitiaa MariatM Britannica (London, 1879); Northcote, Cele- brated Sanctuaries of the Madonna (London, 1868).
II. Shrines of the Saints. — (1) St. Thomas d Becket, Archbi-shop of Canterbury, was martyred in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. His sacred body, at first buried in the lower part of the church, was shortly after taken up and laid in a sumptuous shrine in the east end. Innumerable miracles were WTOUght at his tomb and pilgrims from all parts of England and the continent flocked thither to implore his aid. So great were the offerings made by them that the church abounded with mor(» than princely riches. The shrine was covered with j)lates of gold and enriched with jewels, rubies, sapphires, diamonds, and great oriental pearls (Morris, "Life of St. Thomas", 391). It was an object of the unceasing veneration of all Christendom until the well-known sacrilegious pro- fanation under Henry VIII. (2) St. Edward the Con- fessor, d. 5 Jan., 1066. William the Conqueror, who ascended the throne in October of the same year, caused the saint's coffin to be inclosed in a rich case of gold and silver. In 1102 the body was found to be incorrupt, the limbs flexible, and the cloths fresh and clean; several remarkable miracles took place at the tomb. Two years after canonization (1161) the saint's body, still incorrupt, was solemnly translated to a shrine of surpassing magnificence, which was despoiled in the reign of Henry VIII. (3) St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, (1. 493 at Down in Ulster, where his body was found in a church of his name in 1185. It was then reverently translated to a shrine prepared in another part of the same church. On St. Patrick's Purgatory, see Pilgrimages.
(4) St. Wulstan, Bishop of Worcester, and one of the last of the Anglo-Saxon bishops, d. in 1095, and was canonized in 1203. His venerable remains, clothed in pontifical vestments, were exposed in the church for three days to satisfy the devotion of the people, after which his friend, Robert, Bishop of Hereford, to whom he had appeared in a vision, came to cele- brate his obsequies. His tomb in Worcester Cathedral was for centuries a centre of attraction to numerous pilgrims, who.se piety was rewarded with many miraculous favours. It was rifled of its treasures and despoiled by Henry VIII about the year 1539. (5) St. Gilbert of Sempringham. — At the time of his death (4 Feb., 1189) many persons testified that they saw marvellous lights flashing from the sky, indicating that a great servant of God was quitting this world. He was buried at Sempringham and many miracles were reported to have occurred at his tomb. (6) St. Kentigern of Scotland (d. 600) spent the closing years of his life in Glasgow, where he was visited by St. Columba of lona. His tomb in the crypt of his titular church in Glasgow was long famous for
