Event: Hiding/harbouring/sanctuary, Interrogation, Manumission, Miracle, PrayingSwithhun 5.post-mortem miracle of invisible transportation of Anonymous 549

Scholarly Info
Description Anonymous 549 was caught conversing with her old master. A deputy (Anonymous 618) fetched Anonymous 549, and her new mistress (Anonymous 650) tied her feet up in an enormous shackle so that she could not again go to her former owner. When dawn had broken Anonymous 650 set out to perform normal business and Anonymous 549 went to the doorway with her shackles and beseeched the Lord in a prayer to free her from her detestable chains. Immediately she sees a priest approach her, radiant with snowy-white hair and shining in resplendent vestments. He seized her by the right hand and grasped her arm as far as the elbow and in a split-second transported her to Swithhun 5's tomb in the midst of a countless throng (Anonymi 1633) which was present everywhere. He placed her (Anonymous 549), with her feet still bound by a double shackle, within the church's innermost shrine, which was closed by lock and key, and next to the altar where the body of Swithhun 5 lay. It was a miracle that out of so great a multitude no-one had been able to observe these things until she stood within the sanctuary. Anonymous 549's mistress (Anonymous 650) found out about this and followed Anonymous 549 so that she could witness the miracle. Eadsige 8 possessed the key to the shrine and questioned Anonymous 549 as to how she had got there. Anonymous 549 at first said that Eadwald 2 had placed her there but the cleric denied this. Then, in front of the whole crowd (Anonymi 1634), it transpired that it had been the merits of Swithhun 5 that had caused her to be transported invisibly to the tomb of Swithhun 5.
Primary Source Info

Notes:

*As Lapidge notes (p. 497), this miracle is based on chapter 20 of Lantfred's 'Translatio et miracula S. Swithuni'.

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