William of Malmesbury, in his On the Antiquity of the Church of Glastonbury, quotes an inscription recording the dedication of a church at Glastonbury (south-west Britain) to the apostles *Peter and *Paul (S00036 and S00008) during the reign of Ine, king of the West Saxons. Written in Latin at Glastonbury, purportedly 688/726; recorded at Glastonbury or Malmesbury (south-west Britain), c. 1129.
E07379
InscriptionsLiterary - Poems
William of Malmesbury, De antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie, 40
Siderei montes, speciosa cacumina Syon,
A Libano, gemine, flore comante, cedri,
Celorum porte, lati duo lumina mundi,
Ore tonat Paulus, fulgurat arce Petrus.
Inter apostolicas radianti luce coronas,
celsior ille gradu, doctior hic monitis.
Corda per hunc hominum reserantur, et astra per illum.
Quos docet iste stilo, suscipit ille polo.
Pandit iter celi hic dogmate, clauibus alter.
Est uia cui Paulus, ianua fida Petrus.
Hic petra firma manens, ille architectus habetur.
Surgit in hiis templum quo placet ara Deo.
Anglia plaude libens, mittit tibi Roma salutem.
Fulgor apostolicus Glastoniam irradiat.
A facie hostili duo propugnacula surgunt,
Quos fidei turres urbs, capud orbis, habet.
Hec pius egregio rex Ina refertus amore
Dona suo populo non moritura dedit.
Totus in affectu diue pietatis inherens,
Ecclesie iuges amplificauit opes.
Melchisedec noster, merito rex et sacerdos,
Conpleuit uere religionis opus.
Publica iura regens et clesa palacia seruans,
Unica pontificum gloria norma fuit.
Hinc abiens, illic meritorum uiuet honore.
Hic quoque gestorum laude perennis erit.
'O starry mounts, ye splendid peaks of Syon,
Lebanon's twin cedars, wreathed in bloom,
O gates of heaven, twin lights of this wide world,
Paul thundering forth, Peter glittering from above,
Of all the apostolic crowns aglow,
None more great or none more wise.
Men's hearts the one, the other stars unlocks.
Who cons the words of one shares heaven with the other.
Paul's teaching opens heaven's gate and Peter's keys prevail.
Paul points the way to Peter's trusty door.
Firm stable rock the one, on which the other builds.
They raise a temple whose altar pleaseth God.
England's joyous praise saluteth thee, O Rome.
Your apostolic light illumines Glastonbury.
Two ramparts rise against the foeman's frown,
Towers of faith sprung from all-conquering Rome.
Pious King Ine, filled with generous love,
Gives all his people gifts that will not die.
Full in his love, a pious child of God,
His wealth increased the riches of the church.
Our Melchisedech, truly king and priest,
Completed true religion's work.
Just public rule and heaven's mighty service,
His bishop's glory was his only rule.
Departing hence he shall arrive in heaven,
Here too his deeds win everlasting praise.'
Text and (loose) translation: Scott 1981, 94-7.
Cult building - monastic
Non Liturgical ActivityConstruction of cult buildings
Renovation and embellishment of cult buildings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesMonarchs and their family
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Source
William composed On the Antiquity of the Church of Glastonbury on the occasion of his visit to the monastery in 1129. As its title suggests, the work aimed to uphold and bolster the foundation's (often dubious, even fantastical) claims to being one of Britain's most ancient Christian sites.William does not make clear as to whether he had taken this text from a still-extant inscription, or a copy. It may reflect a genuine late seventh- or early eighth-century composition: it has contemporary West Saxon parallels (c.f. Aldhelm's Carmina ecclesiastica, e.g. E06912); incorporates lines from Venantius Fortunatus, a poet unknown to William (Scott 1981, 199); and has merited a positive treatment from two modern experts (Lapidge and Rosier 1985, 37). However, the possibly anachronistic use of 'Anglia' ('England', or 'the province of the Angli') in an early Saxon poem raises questions.
Discussion
William precedes his quotation of the inscription with the following remarks: 'The fourth and largest [church at Glastonbury] was constructed to the east of the others by King Ine in honour of the Lord our Saviour and of the apostles Peter and Paul for the soul of his brother Mul, whom the Kentish people had burnt to death in Kent. At the very top of it (cuius supremo ordine) he had the following verses inscribed... ' (Scott 1981, 94-5).The poem is 'not entirely original' and incorporates lines from Venantius Fortunatus' Poems 2.10 and 3.7 (E05555; Lapidge and Rosier 1985, 37). King Ine also appears in Aldhelm's On the Church of Mary Built by Bugga (E06918).
Bibliography
Edition, translation and discussionJ. Scott, The Early History of Glastonbury: an Edition, Translation and Study of William of Malmesbury's De Antiquitate Glastonie Ecclesie (Bury St Edmunds, 1981).
Further reading
Aldhelm, The Poetic Works, trans. M. Lapidge and J.L. Rosier (Cambridge, 1985), 37.
Benjamin Savill
15/02/2019
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00008 | Paul, the Apostle | Paulus | Certain | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Petrus | Certain |
|---|
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