Virgin’s Bower. _Clematis Vitalba._
Dedicated to _the Assumption, B. V. M._
[258] Golden Legend.
[259] Clavis Calendaria.
~August 16.~
_St. Hyacinth_, A. D. 1257. _St. Roche_, A. D. 1327.
[Illustration: ~St. Roche.~]
“Sound as a roach.”
All that Butler can affirm of him is, that making a pilgrimage from
Montpellier to Rome, during a pestilence, he devoted himself to the
sick, became infected, made a shift to crawl into a neighbouring forest,
bore incredible pains with patience and joy, returned to France,
practised austere penance and piety, and died at Montpellier.
In the “Golden Legend” he is called St. Rock; and it relates that when
infected by the pestilence, and lacking bread in the forest, a hound
belonging to one Gotard daily took bread away from his master’s board,
and bare it to Rock, whom Gotard thereby discovered, and visited, and
administered to his necessities; wherefore the hound came no more; and
Rock was healed by revelation of an angel; and with touching and
blessing he cured the diseased in the hospital, and healed all the sick
in the city of Placentia. Being imprisoned, and about to die, he prayed
that he might live three days longer in contemplation of the Passion,
which was granted him; and on the third day an angel came to him,
saying, “O! Rock, God sendeth me for thy soul; what thou now desirest
thou shouldst ask.” Then St. Rock implored that whoever prayed to him
after death might be delivered from pestilence; and then he died. And
anon an angel brought from heaven a table whereon was divinely written,
in letters of gold, that it was granted--“That who that calleth to
Saynte Rocke mekely, he shall not be hurte with ony hurte of
pestylence;” and the angel laid the table under Rock’s head; and the
people of the city buried St. Rock solemnly, and he was canonized by the
pope gloriously. His life in the “Golden Legend” ends thus: “The feest
of Saynte Rocke is alwaye holden on the morowe after the daye of the
assumpcyon of our lady, whiche life is translated out of latyn into
englysshe by me, Wyllyam Caxton.”
There is an entry among the extracts from the churchwardens’ accounts of
St Michael Spurrier-gate, York, printed by Mr. Nichols, thus: “1518.
Paid for writing of Saint Royke Masse, 0_l._ 0_s._ 9_d._”[260] His
festival on this day was kept like a wake, or general harvest-home, with
dances in the churchyard in the evening.[261]
The phrase “sound as a roach” may have been derived from familiarity
with the legend and attributes of this saint. He is esteemed the patron
saint of all afflicted with the plague, a disease of common occurrence
in England when streets were narrow, and without sewers, houses were
without boarded floors, and our ancestors without linen. They believed
that the miraculous intermission of St. Roche could make them as “sound”
as himself.
* * * * *
The engraving of St. Roche at the head of this article is from a print
published by Marriette. He gathers up his garment to show the pestilence
on his thigh, whereat the angel is looking; the dog by his side with a
loaf in his mouth is Gotard’s hound.
There is a rare print of this saint, with an angel squeezing the wound,
by D. Hopfer.
* * * * *