Saint Godelieve

However, E ustace II, Eustache II Count of Boulogne, suzerain of Hemfrid. Count of Boulogne and father of the illustrious Godfrey of Bouillon, King of Jerusalem, summoned his vassals to deliberate with them on the interests of the country. Hemfrid went to his suzerain and was received with benevolent distinction. The assembly over, Hemfrid approached Eustace and begged him to honor his manor with his presence. Upon his lord's favorable response, he hastened to Longfort to warn Ogine to arrange everything to receive her suzerain. Immediately, Ogine prepared everything for this purpose and forgot nothing so that the feast would be served in the most splendid manner, worthy of the illustrious guest she was to receive.

Eustace arrived on the appointed day. Hemfrid, warned of his approach, went to meet him with his vassals, and having received him with all the honors due to his rank, led him to his castle, which that day had taken on a festive air; and the guests, seeing this unusual luxury, thought they were witnessing the preludes to Godelive's betrothal. The feast was to begin at midday. However, the crowd of the poor, more numerous than usual, stood at the entrance of the castle; while knowing Godelive's heart, they thought, however, that on a day when she was forced to stay with her mother to honor her guests, it would be difficult for her to attend to her dear indigents. But the young chatelaine, whose heart bled at the sight of all these needy people, slipped out furtively and brought them, hidden in the folds of her dress, some of the dishes intended for her father's table.

The steward, noticing this new disappearance, went to warn Hemfrid, who, this time, did not accept any of his daughter's excuses and even spoke to her with harshness and anger. "My father," Godelive said to him, "I thought that today was a day of celebration for all, and that the poor should also feel the honor that Lord Eustace does us. I did not think I was offending you by stealing this superfluity from the sumptuous meal that you are giving to these gentlemen, who, every day, satiate themselves with the most succulent dishes. But these poor people who suffer and groan at our door, while we are in abundance, must we leave them thus, and not consider that Jesus Christ suffers in their person? No, I did not think I was failing you by helping with your alms Him who commands us to have pity on our miserable brothers; and, besides, what I have taken is so little that your guests, my father, will have far more than what is necessary to be satisfied."

But Hemfrid, far from calming down, was only more irritated, and Godelive, after having uselessly tried to calm him, retired to her room to pray and weep. Meanwhile, the guests sat down at the table; the feast was served with great sumptuousness, and Ogine did the honors with all the grace and amiable urbanity that characterized her.

The meal finished, everyone prepared to return to Boulogne, and Hemfrid's finest steed was placed at the Count's disposal. But the latter did not want to leave without seeing Godelive, whose virtues and beauty he had heard praised. At her mother's voice, Godelive went to the castle's hall of honor and presented herself with so much grace and modesty before Eustace that he stood up and, respectfully kissing the young girl's candid forehead, made her sit beside him.

"Godelive, our dear daughter," he said to her with affectionate kindness, "may heaven bless you more and more, for you deserve it well. As the rose shines among all flowers, so you shine among all young girls by your qualities and the charms of your person. You have reached the age to think of marrying; as soon as your choice is fixed, count on our protection and our munificence, which will never fail you."

Godelive replied with as much wisdom as modesty to these benevolent words of her lord, and declared to him that, having reflected on all the advantages of the religious life, she hoped that her parents would adhere to her desires, and that one day she would be able to gird the virginal headband of the spouses of Jesus Christ.

All those present were surprised by such a wise answer; but not one dared to dissuade the holy young girl from making such a determination, and all, while addressing congratulations to Hemfrid on his good fortune in possessing such a daughter, took leave of their host and set off for Boulogne.

However, Count Eustace could not remain silent about the vivid impression that the wisdom and beauty of Godelive had made upon him; he spoke of it to all those he saw, and the young Saint was soon known from afar. Several young lords formed a friendship with Hemfrid, with the intention of obtaining his daughter's hand. Her reputation even exceeded the borders of Artois and spread as far as Flanders. A young lord of that region, Bertolf of Ghistelles, upon the mere portrait that was painted of her, resolved, at any cost, to have her as his wife, and traveled in great pomp to the castle of Longfort, with the hope of being more fortunate than the other suitors.

The sight of Godelive produced such an impression upon him that he declared on the spot the motive that brought him to Longfort. But Hemfrid, too Christian to dispose without her consent of a heart that wished to dedicate itself to God, replied to Bertolf that he did not wish to thwart his daughter's inclination, and that he left her free to accept or refuse the brilliant match that was offered to her. Bertolf, distressed by such an answer, tried to plead his own cause to Godelive; but neither his protestations nor the rich gifts he displayed before her could shake her resolution; and Bertolf, with despair in his soul, left the castle of Wierre with his heart filled with the image of Godelive and seized with admiration for her wisdom, which he valued as equal to her beauty.

However, he was not discouraged and knew how to enlist the interests of Baldwin, his kinsman, Count of Flanders, who promised him his intervention with Hemfrid and his daughter. A few days later, he summoned all the great vassals of Flanders and Artois to settle the general interests of his county. The Count of Boulogne, Hemfrid, and Bertolf went there, and the latter appeared dressed in magnificent clothes, by turns agitated by fear and hope, and counting much on the influence of his noble kinsman. When the council had separated, Baldwin, faithful to the promise he had made to Bertolf, said, in the presence of all the nobility of the land, that a young girl, named Godelive, is loved by a young and powerful lord, and that, if their union can take place, nothing will be more advantageous to one and the other, and nothing also will be more pleasing to him, their suzerain lord. At these words, all eyes turned toward Bertolf and toward Hemfrid; but the latter replied that he did not wish to thwart his daughter in any way, and that he left her mistress to dispose of her hand and her heart. Bertolf then begged Eustace again, who decided that he would go himself to Longfort to try a final attempt with Godelive, hoping that his eloquence would triumph over the resistance of the young chatelaine.

Indeed, Godelive, fearing to displease her parents, and seeing in this step by Count Eustace a manifestation of the will of heaven, gave her consent. She prepared herself, through prayer and multiplied good works, to embrace a state of life for which she felt reluctance, but in which she resolved to sanctify herself, by seeking, for the love of God, to fulfill all its duties with the most scrupulous exactitude. Brilliant festivities were celebrated in the castle of Longfort. Godelive showed herself affable to all the guests, who proclaimed Bertolf the happiest of men to possess in his young wife such a rare assemblage of graces and perfection, and the two spouses prepared to leave for Ghistelles, the residence of Bertolf and the patrimony of his ancestors.

It was not wi thout shed Ghistelles Site of the saint's martyrdom and burial. ding many tears that Godelive left her excellent parents and the people of the castle of Wierre, who regretted in her a young mistress full of kindness and gentleness toward them. A large crowd of the poor followed her for some time, weeping in her their benefactress, showering her with blessings, and begging heaven to also return to her a hundredfold all the good she had done them. Godelive, while mingling her tears with theirs, responded to their painful demonstrations and assured them that her parents, for the love of God and of herself, would always take care of them as before.

Several young lords accompanied Bertolf to Ghistelles, and their joyful remarks, and the testimonies of tenderness that her young husband lavished upon her, prevented Godelive from giving herself over to all the sadness that her departure from her paternal home caused her.

Bertolf had often spoken to his wife of his mother's tenderness for him, so Godelive proposed to regard her as her own mother, and to have for her all the deference and tenderness of a daughter. Finally, after three days of travel during which they stopped at the homes of some lords of their acquaintance, they arrived at Ghistelles. The young bride's heart sank at the sight of this flat, marshy country, devoid of any kind of charm, where nothing could deceive her or remind her of the Boulonnais, so cheerful, so well-wooded, so picturesque. "Heaven is the true homeland," she said, "the place matters little to me, provided that I can love and serve God there, and relieve the unfortunate; for there must be some in this so unprivileged land." Arriving at the castle, Bertolf hastened to present his beloved wife to his mother; but this stepmother, at the sight of Godelive's radiant beauty, felt the poisons of the blackest jealousy circulate in her veins, and said brutally to Bertolf: "What are you bringing us here? We have enough crows in the country, without you going so far to fetch this one!..." She then left them, leaving both of them in a state of astonishment difficult to describe. From that moment, Bertolf felt the burning love he had for his wife extinguish in his heart; with despair in his soul, he went to join the young lords who had accompanied him, striving to distract himself from the misfortune of being united to a wife whom he foresaw would be hated by his mother-in-law.

For Godelive, such a reception made her foresee the sad future that awaited her; she raised her heart to God, and begged Him to be her protector and her support. "My God," she said, "keep my body and soul pure and unstained, and the rest matters little to me, since no one will ever be able to take away my freedom to love You."

The rest of the day passed pleasantly for Bertolf's companions, and they retired to enjoy the sweetness of sleep. When Godelive appeared in the evening without foreign ornaments, and her mother-in-law saw her long black hair floating on her shoulders, she flew into a kind of rage; she called her chambermaids, and, pointing to Godelive: "See," she said to them, while overwhelming her daughter-in-law with the most bloody sarcasms, "see the beautiful crow my son has chosen for himself. The wretch has dishonored our house, and disgrace entered it as soon as this woman set foot on the threshold of the door. Shame, misfortune, and a curse upon you," she said to Bertolf, who appeared at that moment in the bridal chamber; "you will be the torment of my life for having given me such a crow for a daughter-in-law; never again any rest for me, as long as the same roof shelters us! Cursed, cursed be you a thousand times!"

Let us pause for a moment to explain the cause of the aversion that Godelive's hair inspired in her mother-in-law.

It must be remembered that Bertolf was of Norman or Germanic race, and that all the men of this race had a tall stature, blue eyes, very white skin, and hair that was either red or a very pronounced blond. Godelive, on the contrary, had been born in the Boulonnais, which for a long time remained under Roman rule, which was almost always abhorred by the natives. As these conquerors had black hair, one can suspect, from the color of Godelive's, that Roman blood flowed in her veins, which explains the aversion she inspired in the entirely Germanic soul of her mother-in-law, an antipathy of race that always exists between the victors and the vanquished. History teaches us that the antipathy of the Northern peoples still persisted in the eleventh century, and that it broke out in all its energy during the insurrection of Flanders against the power of Richilde.

When Bertolf had again heard his detestable mother shouting against his wife and against him, terrified by the curses she had pronounced, he felt horror for his marriage, and from then on thought of the means to take to have it annulled. His mother provided them for him: "Absence yourself from the castle," she told him, "leave the young gentlemen who accompanied you there; bored of waiting for you, they will leave; and then I will take charge of the Boulonnaise; I will overwhelm her with so much mistreatment that she will be forced to return to her parents, or else she will succumb. You will then be free to contract a marriage more worthy of your noble race."

These words, worthy of the hell that suggested them, found an echo in Bertolf's heart. By an inexplicable reversal of the human heart, passing suddenly from the most tender love to an excessive hatred, he immediately left the residence of Ghistelles and went to the neighboring castles, prey to the most sinister thoughts.

His mother, to excuse him to the young lords his friends, told them that he had gone to make a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Bruges for the happy fertility of his wife. No one was fooled by this lie, and, without being able to guess the cause of such a sudden departure, all, the next day, took leave of Bertolf's mother, and left this shrew with a free hand to persecute her virtuous daughter-in-law.

Indeed, as soon as she saw herself alone in the castle, she went to find Godelive in her room, and, after having insulted her again and called her a crow, she ordered her to immediately return all the jewels, gems, and precious objects that she had received as a dowry. Godelive, who loved only the things of heaven, and who, very different from other young women, attached no value to these trifles, gave them without difficulty to her mother-in-law. The latter then had her taken to a cell at the end of the castle, and assigned it to her as a dwelling; she then gave her as a companion, or rather as a spy on all her actions, a young girl who was also tasked with bringing her her food.

Godelive, treated as a prisoner, turned her eyes toward heaven: "My God," she said, "You will not abandon me, and I thank You for associating me with Your sufferings."

Considering then her persecutors as the instruments used by the Lord for her sanctification, she did not cease to pray for them, spoke to them with kindness, and opposed the insults, with which the lowest servants overwhelmed her by the order of her mother-in-law, only with a patience worthy of the gaze of the angels and heavenly rewards. Having always before her eyes the image of her crucified God, she took pleasure in meditating on the different circumstances of His passion to excite herself to suffer with courage.

Alone, in her sad cell, she still thought of the unfortunate, and she worked incessantly for them. Although she barely had enough to sustain herself, she shared with the poor the little food that her barbaric mother-in-law sent her. But the latter, having learned that Godelive still found the means to give alms from the little she gave her, ordered that her portion of food be reduced, so that Godelive was continually tortured by the cruel sting of hunger. However, in her extreme distress, she did not fail to give alms, for she fasted so as not to let the needy suffer, remembering these words of Tobit: "If you have much, give much, and if you have little, give even of the little that you have."

However, after a few days, Bertolf returned to Ghistelles and inquired about Godelive. The horrible old woman painted her to her husband in the darkest colors, saying that she was a woman incapable of ever being able to govern a house, and so shrewish that it was impossible for him to live with her. Bertolf had Godelive called; she, thinking that they wanted to make her undergo a new test, raised her heart to God, put on her shoulders a poor mantle that had been left to her, and went to her mother-in-law. At the sight of her husband, her face lit up with joy, and she held out her hand to him with kindness; but Bertolf, outraged with anger, pushed her away with indignation and left. The lady of Ghistelles, seeing herself alone with her daughter-in-law, began again to shout against her, overwhelmed her with insults, and vomited such horrible imprecations against this poor woman that the people of the castle, attracted by her cries, were terrified.

Godelive, unshakable in her patience, and like a rock against which the fury of the waves breaks, thought she could appease this irritated woman through reasoning: "Madam," she said to her with a suave sweetness, "I do not know in what I have had the misfortune to displease you; if I have done something that could have been disagreeable to you, let me know, and I am ready to repair my fault immediately; but if you have no motive to act thus, why get angry with me, and especially why do you seek to take from me the affection of my husband?"

At these measured words, Bertolf's mother became furious, and striking the unfortunate Godelive with repeated blows: "Yes, it is I," she said, "depraved woman, it is I who have stirred up the hatred of your husband against you, and you dare to ask me why? It is because of your unbearable pride, abominable woman!"

At that moment, Bertolf entered the apartment, and Godelive, turning her angelic face toward him: "Dear husband," she said to him, "turn away from me, I beg you, the anger of your mother! Remember the love you had for me, how much you desired to unite your fate with mine. Alas! did I know how to see them end so soon, these days of happiness! Why do you persecute me? Why do you hate me, I who love you tenderly? I do not want to command here, I want to obey here, to obey you, Bertolf, like your slave, to work for you, and above all to love you; but, I pray you, turn away from me the hand of your mother, have pity on me! in the name of God, have pity on me!"

Bertolf, moved, was about to yield to the pity that was already rising in his soul, when his infernal mother, suggesting to him still more barbaric advice, told him that a crow such as his wife was only good for chasing crows.

Godelive was therefore sent into the fields with the girl who had been given to her to serve her, and she was ordered to chase the crows with which these lands were infested at that time. Without complaining about such treatment, the daughter of Hemfrid obeyed, remembering the oath she had pronounced at the altar and respected it even in the abuse that Bertolf made of his authority, the authority of God, who has placed the woman under the dependence of her husband. She did not sadden herself over her fate, but she grieved over the danger that Bertolf was running for his salvation; and while fulfilling these functions so vile in the eyes of men, but so elevated by the spirit of faith that made them accomplished, she did not cease to offer to God her prayers and the humiliation she endured so that He might deign to touch the heart of Bertolf and his unworthy mother.

Bertolf, however, little concerned about the fate of his victim, left Ghistelles, and, running from city to city, from castle to castle, he went pouring out the poison of the blackest calumny upon the pure and chaste life of Godelive; and when he had returned, it was to lament his fate of having united himself to the daughter of Hemfrid, and to complain that he was not yet rid of her. And Godelive heard everything, suffered everything in silence, and prayed for her cowardly persecutors.

However, news of Godelieve's misfortunes spread throughout the surrounding area. A pious woman, moved by compassion, came to see her one day and told her that she was carrying the heroism of patience too far. "God," she said to her, "does not ask that one expose oneself to persecution; but one should only take up the cross of Jesus Christ when it presents itself of its own accord. Moreover, you risk the salvation of your husband and your mother-in-law by providing them with the opportunity to exercise all their wickedness against you incessantly, and it seems to me that it would be wise on your part to return to your parents."

Godelieve received these wise observations with kindness and simplicity. While fearing what such a step might hold in terms of danger for her, she decided to return to her family. She managed to win over the young girl who served her, and who had become attached with all her heart to this unfortunate young woman; and both, after imploring the assistance of heaven, left secretly to make their way to Longfort.

After many difficulties and fatigues through an unknown and marshy country, twenty leagues distant from Wierre-Effroy, Godelieve and her young companion finally arrived at Longfort. When she presented herself at the castle, no one recognized her, so much had ill-treatment and hunger disfigured her, and when Godelieve named herself, her mother let out a long cry and fainted. Hemfrid, having run to the clamor of the servants, stunned at the sight of his beloved daughter, felt his heart fail and fainted as well. When they were somewhat calmed, Godelieve tried to reassure them with words of gentleness, and it was only through the young girl who had accompanied her that they learned the whole truth and the full extent of their dear child's misfortune. Hemfrid went to find Count Baldwin to ask him to interpose his authority in order to restore peace and harmony between the two spouses. The Count was extremely distressed by such news; but as this matter concerned ecclesiastical authority, he urged Hemfrid to go and find the Bishop of Tournai and Soissons, under whose jurisdiction Ghistelles fell. Hemfrid, provided with letters of recommendation from his suzerain, went to Soissons, and was received by the prelate with great kindness. Touched by the grief of this unhappy father, after a careful examination of the facts, he issued a mandate by which he enjoined Bertolf to take back his wife and to live in good understanding with her, under pain of the censures of the Church. Baldwin, for his part, wrote to Bertolf that he should fear the full weight of his anger if he acted as he had in the past, and the latter, frightened by so many threats, went to Longfort to fetch Godelieve. He blamed everything on his mother, who, he said, could not bear the thought of having a daughter-in-law and no longer being mistress at Ghistelles; he promised to send her away, and to have for his wife the sentiments and regard due to her high virtue, and to make her forget through his good conduct the ill-treatment she had endured. Hemfrid and Ogine blessed their beloved Godelieve once more, and, reassured by the protestations and oaths of Bertolf, they let her leave, begging heaven to protect her.

It was with an unspeakable heartache that Godelieve separated once again from her parents; but as at that time a woman, however unhappy she might be, could not abandon the conjugal home without casting the most injurious suspicions upon herself, our Saint was forced to return to Bertolf. The latter, compelled to take her back, swore in his heart that he would not long endure such a yoke, and in concert with his mother, he did everything in his power to wear out Godelieve's patience.

Arrived at Ghistelles, she was no happier than before; she was relegated to her sad cell, where she prayed and worked as before. She received only enough food to keep from dying of hunger; but this little, she still shared with the poor, and Bertolf and his mother, having seen her distributing the bread she had just received, overwhelmed her with mockery and atrocious insults, and further reduced her portion of food. Godelieve, patient and gentle, endured everything and prayed for them. The ill-treatment she endured having excited the compassion of some charitable people, several came to see and console her, and as they spoke ill of her husband: "Do not speak thus," she said to them, "you cause me pain by slandering Bertolf; what he does to me happens by the will of God, who will know well how to change his heart. Let us rather pray for him, but do not speak ill of him, I beg you." — "You think me very unhappy," she said to a religious who had come to visit her, "well! I am not. God pours into me such sweet grace that, suffering for his love, the persecutions I experience become dear to me. God knows how to draw good from the bosom of evils, and divine unction knows how to soften everything."

It had been a year since Godelieve had returned from her parents', and Bertolf and his mother, furious that they had not succeeded in making her perish from hunger and misery, finally resolved to end it by getting rid of her through a violent means.

He suddenly feigned repentance for his conduct, and approaching Godelieve: "Dear wife," he said to her, "I truly believe that a spell has been cast upon me, for I cannot otherwise explain how I could have hated you so quickly after having loved you with such tenderness. Now I want to change and make you as happy as you deserve and as it will be in my power. Come back with me to resume your rank, and receive the honors attached to it."

Godelieve, astonished by such language, forgave him with all her heart, lent herself to everything Bertolf wanted, dressed magnificently to please him, and appeared with him at church. She also went to visit her mother-in-law, who no longer lived at the castle; the latter, as deeply hypocritical as her son, received her with a kindness that both surprised and enchanted Godelieve, who was too upright and too sincere to suspect the slightest falsehood in this infernal maneuver of hypocrisy.

Eight days passed during which Godelieve did not cease to thank God for her husband's change. Bertolf said to her one evening: "Dear Godelieve, as I want to completely break my hateful feelings, and as I want to love you with an endless love, I have consulted for this purpose a matron who could cure me of my bad inclinations, and make us cherish each other with a love so vivid that nothing will be able to alter it anymore. I have instructed Lambert and Hecca, my two faithful servants, to introduce her to you; you can trust them. I warn you of this resolution so that you will not be afraid when they pres Hecca Servant of Bertolf and one of the assassins. ent themselves to you..."

As the hunter imitates the cry of the doe to lure her fawn into the trap, so Bertolf spoke the language of tenderness and kindness to remove all suspicion from Godelieve's mind. He kisses her affectionately, descends from the apartment, mounts his horse, and goes to Bruges to spend the night there, for he did not want to be suspected of complicity in the atrocious crime he had ordered and which was about to be carried out.

Godelieve spent the rest of the evening in the castle chapel, prayed there with even more fervor than usual, and, after giving her people her orders for the next day which she was not to see again, she retired to her room, there recommended her soul to God again, and fell asleep.

When all was at peace in the castle, Hecca and Lambert, whom Bertolf had charged with executing his orders, knocked softly at the door of Godelieve's apartment. "Madame," they said to her respectively, "the woman of whom Monseigneur spoke to you has arrived, she wishes to speak to you here, please come down!" Godelieve rises immediately, and prepares to dress. "No, Madame," said these scoundrels thirsty for her blood, "it is in dishabille and with your hair loose that she wants to see you, she says that what she has to do will act more effectively." Godelieve, suspecting nothing, hastens to go down, hair in disarray, and dressed in a simple tunic. Scarcely is she in the courtyard, when these tigers rush upon her, and strangle her with a long and narrow tablecloth that they had taken for this purpose. They did it with such violence that the Saint did not utter a single cry, and lost at once her voice, her breath, and her life. As blood was coming out through her eyes, mouth, and nostrils, they threw her head into the well that was in the courtyard; then, after having washed her, they brought her back up to her room, laid her in her bed to make it believed that she had died naturally, and withdrew.

It was in the night of July 6 to 7, 1070, that the angels received into their glorious phalanges the soul of this Christian heroine, an admirable model of charity, patience, and love of God.

The servants, not seeing their mistress come to the chapel as she was accustomed to do, went up to her room, and finding her lying down, they thought she was sleeping. Finding that her sleep was prolonged, they entered again, and seeing her extreme pallor and the stiffness of her limbs frozen by death, they then knew the terrible truth and let out groans and long cries of pain. Having examined her more closely, they noticed around her neck the bluish mark of a cord pulled too tight, and this trace of the crime revealed the horrible mystery to them. From then on, everyone looked upon Godeleine as a martyr, and several already invoked her, for they remembered, says the chronicle, having heard celestial songs during the night, no doubt at the hour when the angels were transporting the soul of our Saint to heaven.

However, Bertolf arrived during the day, anxious about the success of his crime. As soon as he learned of his wife's death, this hypocritical villain feigned the most violent despair; he threw himself upon the inanimate remains of his victim, let out long sighs, and accused heaven of punishing him too much by not leaving him time to make amends for his wrongs toward this dear wife. Bertolf's mother also rushed over, and this abominable couple tried to impose upon others by lamenting in the most pitiful manner. But they deceived no one: the fatal mark testified enough as to where the crime had originated. However, as Bertolf was as powerful as he was wicked, everyone feared him and kept silent, so that Hemfrid and Baudouin thought Godeleine's death natural and did not seek to avenge her. When he had finished playing his odious comedy, he ordered that magnificent funeral rites be held for his wife. He appeared there in mourning clothes and shed feigned tears during the service, while he was drunk with joy at being delivered from a wife he detested.

However, Bertolf contracted a second union; but the hand of God weighed heavily upon him. He had a daughter by his new wife, blind from birth, a continual object of sorrow for her mother and of remorse for Bertolf. This child, having reached the age of nine, having heard of Godeleine and her virtues, began to love her with the tenderest love: full of confidence in her intercession, she prayed to her every day. Driven by an extraordinary impulse, and full of that living faith that moves mountains, she drew water from the well into which Godeleine had been plunged, and begged her to obtain her healing. Her prayer was answered; she recovered her sight, and, full of happiness, she went to find her parents and told them of the miracle that had just taken place in her favor through the intercession of Saint Godeleine. Bertolf and his wife, filled with joy and admiration, no longer doubted the holiness of Godeleine, and from that moment on, remorse did not cease to gnaw at Bertolf's heart. He resolved to convert and did so. Then he went to Rome to obtain forgiveness for his crime, and afterwards made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. After having prayed and wept at the Holy Sepulcher, he resolved to end his days in a monastery.

One day the abbot of Saint-Winoc, in Bergues, near Dunkirk, received a Saint-Winoc Monastery where Bertulf performed penance. mysterious person in a private conference. After their interview, the monastery doors closed behind the stranger, who from then on showed himself to be the most humble and penitent of the monks. A deep sadness was usually imprinted on his countenance, and the deep wrinkles that furrowed his brow, still young, announced the ravages that passions had wrought. When he died, a coat of iron mail that he wore under his religious garments attested to the long penance he had imposed upon himself, and when, several years after his death, his body was exhumed, a sweet odor came from his tomb, and the worms had respected his mortal remains. This penitent monk was Bertolf, the murderer of Godeleine, converted no doubt by the prayers of his blessed wife.

Women mistreated by their husbands have here a fine example to imitate, and at the same time a subject of great consolation, since this domestic persecution alone, provided that on their part they live in well-regulated devotion, and that they do not bring upon themselves, through their bad conduct and lack of condescension, the ill humor of their husbands, can merit for them a great abundance of graces on earth and an illustrious crown of glory in heaven. They may even hope that their patience will serve for the conversion of those who persecute them and will change their fierce spirit into a gentle, tractable, and religious one.

Painters consider Saint Godelieve a virgin, since they represent her with two crowns: that of virginity and that of martyrdom; she is also painted with a rope, but preferably with a twisted cloth or a scarf around her neck; the savings she made from her meager portion during her seclusion can be recalled by a piece of bread that she gives to the poor. She is invoked against throat ailments and quinsy.

## CULT AND RELICS.

The daughter of Bertolf, after the death of her mother, had a monastery of the Order of Saint Benedict built at Gistel, according to her father's wish, under th e invocation of Saint Ordre de Saint-Benoît Religious order occupying the monastery of Honnecourt. Godelieve, and she herself withdrew from the world into this solitude. The well sanctified by the death of Godelieve was enclosed within the monastery grounds. But nothing remains of this ancient dwelling of the Benedictines of Gistel. The tradition of the convent's location is preserved in the region by the memories of the inhabitants, who say, while pointing to the small chapel where clear water flows, that this was the abbey, and that it was also there that Godelieve took her flight to the heavens.

The cult rendered to Saint Godelieve dates back to the very time of her blessed passing, or at least to the year 1084, when her body was raised from the earth by the Bishop of Tournai and Noyon. These holy relics were visited by ecclesiastical authority in the years 1380, 1387, 1623, and 1719. This last recognition of the mortal remains of the Saint was made by the Bishop of Bruges, Henri-Joseph, in whose diocese Gistel is now located. Parts of these relics have since been distributed to different churches where the cult of Saint Godelieve has also spread. They were found in Tournai, in Ghent, in Sleidinge near Ghent, in Ypres, in Kortrijk, at the monastery of Eechout, and in Mechelen. The town of Bailleul also possessed some of her relics: they were enclosed in a very beautiful silver reliquary, and presented for the veneration of the faithful on the Saint's feast day, in the chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene. On that day, a mass was celebrated, which was preceded by an instruction related to the feast. The inhabitants of the neighboring villages came in crowds to commend themselves to the prayers of the holy Martyr of Gistel, and from all sides, in her chapel, were displayed ex-votos that testified to the healings and benefits obtained through her intercession.

The Diocese of Arras celebrates the feast of Saint Godelieve on this day, under the semi-double rite.

Excerpt from the Légendaire de la Morinie, by Abbé Van Drival.— Cf. Vies des Saints des diocèses de Cambrai et d'Arras, by Abbé Destombes.