_A MEDIÆVAL SUPERSTITION: THE FLAGELLANTS._
Among the extraordinary delusions of the human mind, none is more hateful
than the conviction cherished among so many sects, that the Supreme Being
can be propitiated by the self-imposed torture of His worshippers. And
nothing more vividly illustrates the difference between the GOD of the
Christian religion and the stern deity of so many human creeds, than the
aspect of the former as man’s Heavenly FATHER, Who requires from him no
other offering than that of a contrite and humble heart,--Who asks not
that the Indian Fakir should cramp his limbs and lacerate his body, or
that S. Simeon Stylites should stand night and day, in the scorching sun
of summer, and the freezing cold of winter, on his lonely pillar. It is a
proof of our wider and deeper knowledge of GOD that we are beginning to
emancipate ourselves from the thraldom of this evil idea, and to recognise
in Him a tender, compassionate Guide and Friend, Who, unto them that love
Him, causeth all things to work for the best. In modern Calvinism the
superstition still lingers, and it is supposed that a gloomy life,
unrelieved even by the most innocent pleasures, must needs be acceptable
to the Almighty Love; but this shadow in the Christian’s faith is rapidly
receding before the growing and broadening light. We are sons of GOD, and
heirs; and what He asks from us, what alone He will receive, is the
offering of affection and the sacrifice of fear. And the greatest claim
which Christianity puts forward to the hearts and minds of men is that it
has delivered, or will deliver them, when rightly understood, from the
degrading superstition of the ascetic solitary and the self-torturer.
“Its true dignity is, that unseen it has ever gone about doing good. Link
after link has it struck from the chain of every human thraldom; error
after error has it banished; pain after pain has it driven from body or
from mind; and so silently has the blessing come, that (like the sick man
whom the SAVIOUR made to walk) ‘he that was healed wist not who it was.’”
But error is slow to die; and long after the introduction of Christianity
men continued to think that GOD would not hear them, unless, like the
priests of Baal, they approached Him in blood and tears. At the bottom of
it lay, no doubt, a truth, that the spirit could be exalted and purified
only by contempt of the flesh:--and not perceiving that what was demanded
of them was a moral and spiritual victory, they sought, by sore treatment
of the body, to conquer its sinful appetites. They forgot that CHRIST had
spoken of the body as “a temple,”--the temple of the HOLY GHOST; that it
was as much the creation of GOD as the immortal soul, and as His wondrous
handiwork should be treated with the reverence due to all that He has
made. And they came to look upon the body as a deadly enemy, the slave and
accomplice of the devil, which could be subdued only by a regimen of pain
and terror. And so, when an evil suggestion tempted them, they scourged
themselves until the blood ran from their mangled flesh, or they plunged
naked into the deep winter snow, or barefooted they trod the flinty soil,
or they fasted until the exhausted brain sank into the stupor of delirium.
Thus we read of S. Hilarion:--
Covering his limbs only with a sackcloth, and having a cloak of skin, he
wandered forth into the desert that lies beyond Gaza, and enjoyed the
“vast and terrible solitude,” feeding on only fifteen figs after the
setting of the sun; and because the region was of ill repute from
robberies, no man had ever before stayed in that place. The devil, seeing
what he was doing, and whither he had gone, was tormented. And he who of
old boasted, saying: “I shall ascend into heaven, I shall sit above the
stars of heaven, and shall be like unto the Most High,” now saw that he
had been conquered by a boy, and trampled under foot by him, who, on
account of his youth, could commit no sin. He therefore began to tempt his
senses; but he, enraged with himself, and beating his breast with his
fist, as if he would drive out thoughts by blows, “I will force thee, mine
ass,” said he, “not to kick; and feed thee with straw, not barley. I will
wear thee out with hunger and thirst; I will burden thee with heavy loads;
I will hunt thee through heat and cold, till thou thinkest more of food
than of play.” He therefore sustained his sinking spirit with the juice of
herbs and a few figs, after each three or four days, praying frequently,
and singing psalms, and digging the ground with a mattock, to increase the
labour of fasting by that of work. At the same time, by weaving baskets of
rushes, he imitated the discipline of the Egyptian monks, and the
Apostle’s saying, “He that will not work, neither let him eat,” till he
was so attenuated, and his body so exhausted, that his flesh scarce clung
to his bones.
“From his sixteenth to his twentieth year,” says Kingsley, “he was
sheltered from the heat and rain in a tiny cabin, which he had woven of
rush and sedge. Afterwards he built a little cell, four feet wide and five
feet high,--that is lower than his own stature, and somewhat longer than
his small body needed,--so that you would believe it a tomb rather than a
dwelling. He cut his hair only once a year, on Easter Day, and lay till
his death on the bare ground and a layer of rushes, never washing the sack
in which he was clothed, and saying that it was superfluous to seek for
cleanliness in hair-cloth. Nor did he change his linen until the first was
utterly in rags. He knew the Scriptures by heart, and recited them after
his prayers and psalms as if GOD were present.”
Of S. Simeon Stylites we read that, having gone to the well one day to
draw water, he took the rope from the bucket, and wound it round his body
from his loins to his neck, and going in, he adventured an audacious
falsehood, for he said to his brethren, “I went out to draw water, and
found no rope on the bucket.” And they said, “Hold thy peace, brother,
lest the Abbot know it, till the thing has passed over.” But the tightness
and roughness of the rope wore grievous wounds in his body, as the
brethren at last discovered. Then with great trouble they took off the
rope, and his flesh with it, and attending to his wounds, healed them.
For twenty-eight years of his life he was continually experimenting in
long fasts--forty days at a time. Custom gradually made it comparatively
easy to him. For on the first days he used to stand and praise GOD; after
that, when through emptiness he could stand no longer, he would sit and
perform the divine office, and on the last day even lie down. For when his
strength failed slowly, he was forced to lie half dead. But after he stood
on the column he could not bear to lie down, but invented another way by
which he could stand. He fastened a beam to the column, and tied himself
to it by ropes, and so passed the forty days. But afterwards, when endued
with greater grace from on high, he did not need even that assistance, but
stood for the whole forty days, dispensing with food, but strengthened by
eagerness of soul and the divine help.
At length he caused a pillar to be built, first of six cubits, then of
twelve, next of twenty-two, and finally of thirty-six, and upon the top of
this he took his station. The sun beat upon his bare head in the summer,
and the winter snows fell upon him, and the pitiless rains soaked him to
the skin,--but still he endured his self-imposed penance. He bowed himself
frequently, offering adoration to GOD; so frequently that a spectator
counted 1244 adorations, and then missing gave up counting; and each time
he bowed himself, he touched his feet with his forehead. And ever in
spirit he deprecated the wrath of an offended GOD, to Whom, as a meet
sacrifice, he offered up his poor, wounded, tortured, emaciated body.
“I will not cease to grasp the hope I hold
Of saintdom, and to clamour, mourn and sob,
Battering the gates of heaven with storms of prayer.
Have mercy on me, LORD, and take away my sins,
Let this avail, just, dreadful, mighty GOD,
This not be all in vain, that thrice ten years
Thrice multiplied by superhuman pangs....
A sign between the meadow and the cloud,
Patient on this tall pillar I have borne
Rain, wind, frost, heat, hail, damp, and sleet, and snow;
And I had hoped that ere this period closed,
Thou wouldst have caught me up into Thy rest,
Denying not these weather-beaten limbs
The meed of saints, the white robe, and the palm.
O take the meaning, LORD: I do not breathe
Nor whisper any murmur of complaint.”[58]
We turn from these pictures of human error,--error based, it must be
owned, on a substratum of truth,--to put together a few particulars of the
Sect of the Flagellants, which practised on a curiously elaborate scale
the science of self-punishment.
This sect first made its appearance in Italy in 1210. The following
account of its origin is taken by Mr. Cooper from the “Chronicon Ursitius
Basiliensis” of the monk of Padua, S. Justin:[59]
“When all Italy was sullied with crimes of every kind, a certain sudden
superstition, hitherto unknown to the world, first seized the inhabitants
of Perusa, afterwards the Romans, and then almost all the nations of
Italy. To such a degree were they affected with the fear of GOD, that
noble as well as ignoble persons, young and old, even children five years
of age, would go naked about the streets without any sense of shame,
walking in public, two and two, in the manner of a solemn procession.
Every one of them held in his hand a scourge, made of leather thongs, and
with tears and groans they lashed themselves on their backs till the blood
ran: all the while weeping and giving tokens of the same bitter
affliction, as if they had really been spectators of the passion of our
SAVIOUR, imploring the forgiveness of GOD and His Mother, and praying that
He, Who had been appeased by the repentance of so many sinners, would not
disdain theirs. And not only in the daytime, but likewise during the
nights, hundreds, thousands, and ten thousands of these penitents ran,
notwithstanding the rigour of winter, about the streets, and in churches,
with lighted wax candles in their hands, and preceded by priests who
carried crosses and banners along with them, and with humility prostrated
themselves before the altars: the same scenes were to be seen in small
towns and villages; so that the mountains and fields seemed to resound
alike the voice of men who were crying to GOD.
“All musical instruments and love-songs ceased to be heard. The only music
that prevailed both in town and country was that of the lugubrious voice
of the penitent, whose mournful accents might have moved hearts of flint:
and even the eyes of the obdurate sinner could not refrain from tears. Nor
were women exempt from the general spirit of devotion we mention; for not
only those among the common people, but also matrons and young ladies of
noble families, would perform the same mortifications with modesty in
their own rooms.
“Then those who were at enmity with one another became again friends.
Usurers and robbers hastened to restore their ill-gotten riches to their
right owners. Others, who were contaminated with different crimes,
confessed them with humility, and renounced their vanities. Gaols were
opened; prisoners were delivered; and banished persons permitted to return
to their native habitations. So many and so great works of sanctity and
Christian charity, in short, were then performed by both men and women,
that it seemed as if an universal apprehension had seized mankind, that
the divine power was preparing either to consume them by fire, or destroy
them by shaking the earth, or some other of those means which Divine
justice knows how to employ for avenging crimes. Such a sudden repentance,
which had thus diffused itself all over Italy, and had even reached other
countries, not only the unlearned, but wise persons also admired. They
wondered whence such a vehement fervour of piety could have proceeded:
especially since such public penances and ceremonies had been unheard of
in former times, had not been approved by the sovereign pontiff, nor
recommended by any preacher or person of eminence; but had taken their
origin among simple persons, whose example both learned and unlearned
alike had followed.”
* * * * *
In 1260, the sect was reconstituted by Rainer, a hermit of Perugia, and it
sprang up with such vigour and alacrity, that its members soon numbered
10,000, who marched in procession, carrying banners and crosses. The folly
soon crossed the Alps into Germany, and found its disciples in Bohemia and
Poland, Alsatia and Bavaria. It was sternly repressed by the different
governments, but in 1349, when the plague broke out in Germany, it again
lifted up its head. Albert of Strasburg relates[60] that two hundred came
from Schwaben to Speier, under one chief and two lieutenants, whom they
almost slavishly obeyed. Their form of proceedings was always the same:
placing themselves within a circle drawn on the ground, they removed their
clothing, until nothing was left but a covering for the loins. Then they
walked, with arms outstretched like a cross, round and round the circle
for a time, finally prostrating themselves on the ground. Springing to
their feet, each struck his neighbour with a scourge, armed with knots and
four iron points, regulating his blows by his singing of psalms. At a
given signal the discipline ceased, and the fanatics threw themselves
first on their knees, then flat upon the ground, groaning and sobbing. The
leader, on rising, gave a brief address, exhorting them to ask the mercy
of God upon their benefactors and enemies, and also on the souls in
purgatory. This was followed by another prostration, and then another
discipline. Those who had taken charge of the clothes now came forward,
and performed the same ceremonies.
“Penance took place twice a day: in the morning and evening the
flagellants went abroad in pairs, singing psalms amid the ringing of
bells, and when they arrived at the place of flagellation they stripped
the upper part of their bodies, and took off their shoes, wearing only a
linen dress from the waist to the ankles. Then they lay down in a large
circle in different positions, according to the nature of their crime: the
adulterer with his face to the ground; the perjurer on one side, holding
up three of his fingers, &c., and were then castigated, more or less
severely by the master, who gave the order to rise in the words of a
prescribed formula:
‘Stant uf durch der reinen Martel ere;
Und hüte dich vor der Sünden mere.’”
After which they scourged themselves, chanting psalms and uttering prayers
for deliverance from the plague.
Hecker, quoted by Mr. Cooper, thus describes the resuscitation of the
sect:
“While all countries were filled with lamentations and woe, there first
arose in Hungary, and afterwards in Germany, the Brotherhood of the
Flagellants, called also the Brotherhood of the Cross, or Cross-Bearers,
who took upon themselves the repentance of the people for the sins they
had committed, and offered prayers and supplications for the averting of
this plague. The order consisted chiefly of the lowest class, who were
either actuated by sincere contrition, or joyfully availed themselves of
this pretext for idleness, and were hurried along with the tide of
distracting frenzy. But as these brotherhoods gained in repute, and were
welcomed by the people with veneration and enthusiasm, many nobles and
ecclesiastics ranged themselves under their standard, and their bands were
not unfrequently augmented by children, honourable women, and nuns, so
powerfully were minds of the most opposite temperaments enslaved by this
infatuation. They marched through the cities in well-organised
processions, with leaders and singers; their heads covered as far as their
eyes, their looks fixed on the ground, accompanied by every token of the
deepest contrition and mourning. They were robed in sombre garments with
red crosses on the breast, back, and cap, and bore triple scourges tied in
three or four knots, in which points of iron were fixed. Tapers and
magnificent banners of velvet and cloth of gold were carried before them;
wherever they made their appearance they were welcomed by the ringing of
bells, and crowds of people came from great distances to listen to their
hymns and to witness their penance with devotion and tears. In the year
1349, two hundred flagellants first entered Strasburg, where they were
received with great joy and hospitality, and lodged by the citizens. Above
a thousand joined the brotherhood, which now assumed the appearance of a
wandering tribe, and separated into two bodies for the purpose of
journeying to the north and to the south.”
The Flagellants, however, did not secure the favour of the ecclesiastical
authorities; who discerned only too clearly the demoralising effect of
their practices and pretensions. Pope Clement VI. issued a bull against
them, and their influence gradually waned and seemed on the point of
dying out, when, in 1414, it was revived by one Conrad, who, of course,
professed to have received a Divine commission. The terrors of the
Inquisition were now hurled against the sect, and ninety-one deluded
wretches were burned alive at Sangerhausen, besides numbers at other
places. It continued, however, to exhibit occasional signs of vitality;
and in the sixteenth century broke, in France, into three great branches,
the White, Black, and Grey Penitents, companions of whom were scattered
over the whole kingdom, but chiefly in the southern provinces. Catherine
de Medicis, at Avignon, in 1574, assumed the lead of the Black Penitents,
and took part in their disgusting ceremonies. Henry III., in 1585,
established a White Penance brotherhood, which paraded in public
procession through the streets of Paris. The better members of the clergy
preached against the fanaticism; the wits of Paris levelled their ridicule
at it; and finally, in 1601, the Parliament of Paris passed an act to
abolish a fraternity of Flagellants, called the Blue Penitents, in the
town of Bourges, and afterwards against all whipping brotherhoods without
distinction, declaring the members to be not only heretics, traitors, and
regicides, but unchaste. The fraternity thereafter declined, and finally
disappeared from France.