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Visio Monachi de Eynsham c 1196 CE (revised) or The Vision of Edmund, the monk of Eynsham.

23 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by Candia in Architecture, Community, History, Literature, Poetry, Religion, Writing

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Abbot, Adam of Eynsham, Archbishop of Canterbury, Baldwin, Benedictine Rule, Bishop of Salisbury, Blessed Souls, chain of being, Charismatic Renewal, Compline, corporal punishment, Easter, Edmund of Eynsham, election, Geoffrey of Eynsham, Good Friday, hallucinatory drug, Holy week, Joscelin, Lent, Matins, nepotism, Osney, Oxfordshire, Paradise, Purgatory, quinsy, Rapture, Saladin, sanctification, Sanctus, St Lawrence, St Nicholas, Sub-Abbot, vanitas

Vision of Edmund of Eynsham

 

https://i0.wp.com/amoureuxdulangage.m.a.f.unblog.fr/files/2014/08/eynsham-abbey.jpg

 

 

Adam – now there’s a fine symbolic name

for a Sub-Abbot, but it is not he

of whom we wish to write.  No, the fame

belongs entirely to his brother: Edmund.  He

is the one whose ‘deathbed’ revelation

showed him Paradise and Purgatory.

Taken by the hand of St Nicholas,

he saw the penalties of Vanitas.

 

 

We are in twelfth century Oxfordshire,

but the application is for us too,

though believers in Rapture are fewer.

Nowadays it would be put down to ‘flu,

a fever, or hallucinatory drug.

Out-of-body experiences – who

would credit them with the spiritual?

Movements like Charismatic Renewal?

 

 

Imbibing only some tepid water,

for fifteen months, Edmund lay, very weak;

his quinsy made him hotter and hotter.

As Easter approached, he commenced to speak

and, with the help of a supporting stick,

he wanted to celebrate Holy Week

in the monastery chapel.  Brothers

claimed he remained longer than the others.

 

 

From midnight until noon on the next day,

he confessed all his sins and lamented.

The following night, he began to pray

and lay on the ground, as if demented.

Adam had cold water splashed over him.

He thought Edmund had simply invented

this behaviour to gain some attention –

thus he wanted to defuse the tension.

 

 

How Edmund arrived there, without some aid,

was a point to be considered (but post-

Good Friday.)  Yes, though fresh blood was displayed

on the cross, the monks felt the Holy Ghost

was not behind Edmund’s troubling conduct.

Maybe he wanted discipline, to boast,

boost spiritual pride.  He’d asked for penance,

but was too weak for simple observance.

 

 

Through Good Friday evening, the next day,

water dribbled from his lips, till sunset.

They thought he was returning to the clay,

for he made no response and didn’t fret

when pricked.  They blew a horn in his ear,

but he did not stir – at least, not yet –

till Compline, when his eyes opened.  He sighed

and ‘Sancta Maria‘ many times cried.

 

 

He had begged for corporal punishment

and he kept on sobbing into his hands,

while compelling everyone to repent.

One of his more unusual demands

was to have a silver cross brought to him.

No one to this day really understands

why he was agitated; in this state:

raving like some kind of inebriate.

 

 

On Saturday evening, he ate some bread.

Miraculously, he went, unaided,

to Matins, where he bowed his tonsured head

and the cross and relics venerated.

The Prior and Sub-Prior heard him confess,

till no omission had been evaded

and he received the Sacrament as well,

to the ring of the credence Sanctus bell.

 

 

He then shared his dream, which began in Lent:

how a man had stood beside him, who said

that the prayers of a Godstow postulant

should join with his and be intermingled.

Then, roused to consciousness, he kissed the cross,

penitent for time he had spent in bed.

Entering the chapel of St Lawrence

and All Martyrs, he bowed in obesiance.

 

 

He begged Adam for further punishment

and bathed his eyes in blood and swallowed it.

He was birched further and did not give vent

to spleen; nor did he ask for a remit.

Adam denied the Benedictine Rule

condoned this practice.  He felt its ambit

was for daylight hours, but, apparently,

St Nicholas had amended the decree.

 

 

Edmund saw souls flogged and bound together,

but they still had a hope of salvation.

You could have knocked him down with a feather

when he saw, in the throes of purgation,

(previous Abbot) Geoffrey of Eynsham,

negligent in his organisation,

though he’d been in charge for forty four years,

now past nepotism induced his tears.

 

 

The Bishop of Salisbury – Joscelin –

committed sexual immorality

and, as for the dire dealings of Baldwin,

he had tinkered with criminality:

unwise Archbishop of Canterbury.

(Most preferred Saladin’s mentality.)

Much given to Chapter disputation,

Baldwin funded Crusades through taxation.

 

 

In the next place to which Edmund was led,

he smelled a vile pond and climbed a steep hill:

souls were burned on one side and they perished

with cold conversely.  A rotating grill

principle moved them from one location

to the other, like ants from an anthill.

To see a goldsmith from Osney- a drunk-

being purged here did not surprise the monk.

 

 

The third realm was a place of snakes, devils –

reserved for the homosexual.

A lawyer was suffering for evils

and monks too were punished by gradual

degrees.  Unchaste churchmen who had blasphemed

(so nothing much there far from the usual)

by dispensing holy things with foul hand,

epitomising the wrongs in England.

 

Those who had been successful in the world

endured more than those of a low degree.

Regions of Paradise were then unfurled

to Nicholas, Edmund: a panoply

of Blessed Souls, who approached a huge gate

set in a wall of crystal – so shiny

that, blinded, he scarcely saw the entrance

of those receiving their inheritance.

 

Edmund then saw Jesus Christ on a throne,

but, at this point, his guide made him return

and yet he sensed that there were those who’d flown

to higher realms and who with joy would burn.

They exuded Light Inaccessible,

but he was not yet ready to discern

the joys of one who finished his course –

his sanctification was yet perforce.

 

This vision showed him a chain of being,

linking angels and the perfected souls,

descending from God, who is all-seeing,

to those who’ve just embraced heavenly goals.

Necessary purging of perception

allots individuals specific roles.

Adam wrote this down for our perfection:

Verify your calling and election.

 

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Demiurge or Biological Urge?

13 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by Candia in Education, Family, History, Humour, Philosophy, Politics, Romance, Social Comment, Suttonford, Writing

≈ 6 Comments

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Alastair Sim, Alistair Ross, Anglocentric, Article 26, biological urge, Board of Governors, Brittanic Celtic language, Cloacae, Conchita Wurst, cultural norms, demiurge, Furry Dance, geiger counter, Gwer, hirsutism, Institute for Policy Studies in Education, Kernowek, Lapsang, London Metropolitan University, minority communities, model railway club, national minority group, nepotism, pasty, phoenix, piskey, pluralism, positive discrimination, scubmaw, St Endellion Festival, Tate St Ives, The Beatles, tin mining, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Hmm, it’s interesting that Geoffrey Poskett has got nowhere in his application

for the Headship and he is a Yorkshireman, said Dru.  It was her free afternoon

and she was sharing her thoughts with her mother and Sonia in Royalist

House .

What’s that got to do with it? asked Sonia.

Everything, replied Dru.  You see, various institutions, even in the independent

sector, feel that they are not attracting enough staff from minority

communities.

Yorkshiremen- or should I say Yorkshire people?- form a fairly large

gene pool, remarked Sonia.  I should think that his rejection is more

likely to be down to ageism, rather than Lancastrian bias.

Well, you’ll never guess who has been put on the short-list? Dru teased.

Go on, I’ll never guess, said her mother.  Not that young chap who sang

in the concert?

You’ve got it! Dru was perturbed to be in competition with Nigel.  She

twisted the gold harp on its chain-the one he had sent her after their

performance.  His name is Nigel Milford-Haven.

He looked about nineteen! Diana expostulated.  But, then again, I think

all young men do and not just members of law enforcement agencies.

Nigel is their ideal candidate, said Dru ruefully.  You see, he is half Cornish

and half Welsh.

Presumably his father was Welsh with a surname like Milford-Haven? Diana

deducted.

I assume so.  He said something about going to his mother’s house when

he was at the St Endellion Festival-the holiday when he had to paint her

bathroom!

He is tres gentil, but Father hinted that his classroom management

leaves a lot to be desired.  She hoped that she was not being disloyal.

Sounds like he’s in with a chance then, remarked a jaded Diana.  It was often

those who couldn’t teach who sought promotion out of the classroom.

Well, he is offering extra curricular skills, such as ‘manning’- and I use the

term deliberately- the model railway club.  Even the boys are not allowed to

lay a finger on the locomotives.  To tell you the truth, we have exchanged

views on our joint success thus far.  The poor guy is mortified to be

standing against me, yet thinks nepotism may rule the day, whereas I

think the Board of Governors will be very careful about my having put

myself forward while Father is Acting Head.  I expect that they are

worried that I might accept the post and then go off on triple maternity

leave!

Well, it would serve them right if you did! said Sonia.  I think you should

get pregnant immediately!  After all, she remarked a little unkindly, you are

leaving things rather late.  Let me look at your tea leaves and I’ll see if there

is anyone in the offing.

Dru blushed.  She had drained her Lapsang and Sonia was becoming

excited.

I think a nice young man may be appearing on your horizon very soon.

Great timing! replied Dru.  You wait for a decade or so and then he

materialises just as you are attempting to further your career.

Anyway, Nigel is sure to be the victor.  To be Cornish is to be recognised as

hailing from a national minority group.  He will probably put the Furry Dance

in the School Assembly.  Pluralism is all nowadays.  Article 26 of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, advocates it. Positive discrimination is

the order of the day.

There was a reference in the press to a paper by Alistair Ross from some

Institute for Policy Studies in Education at London Metropolitan University,

Diana agreed.

What did it say? asked Dru.

Wait!  I’ll find it in the re-cycling basket.  She disappeared into the utility

room and returned triumphant.  It poses the question: does it matter if the

teaching profession reflects the ethnic composition of society or not?  He

thinks it does.

Dru looked as if she thought that the powers-that-be would concur.

Nigel will be seen to bring to his work a variant set of cultural norms,

appropriate for the diverse multi-cultural population of England.  He will

reflect that range in his subconscious behaviour and attitudes, as they

stipulate.

Oh, stuff and nonsense! said Sonia.  Forget the subconscious!  And that is

coming from me as a retired Headmistress and a clairvoyant!  It is what you

consciously transmit that is important in the classroom.  Children don’t

analyse your subconscious, except to detect weakness when you say or

threaten something that you really do not intend to carry out.  We always

used to talk about flagging things up.  Making things explicit.  ‘Do that once

again and you will be waiting behind after school, sort of thing.’  They didn’t

need a geiger counter to pick up our meaning.

Now their mothers refuse to let you detain them, said Dru.  Parents have

to do the school run and pick up younger siblings at other establishments.

They refuse to be delayed. One has very few sanctions.

That’s the whole problem, stated Sonia.  But there aren’t any Cornish

children at St Birinus Middle, are there?  So whom would Nigel be

representing?

He is to make a stand against racism.  Some children were heard calling him

The Pasty and The Piskey, as well as using his main moniker: Caligula, which

isn’t Cornish, obviously. 

You see, said Sonia.  if you forbid one thing, they will just adapt their

impertinence.

The plan is to change some of the signage in school to reflect the status of

the Cornish language, Dru broke in, and to teach them respect for other

cultures.

The canteen are offering Hoggan and Scubmaw on Thursdays and Pesk on

Fridays. The Geography teacher is formulating a module on tin mining and

the Art teacher is taking a little trip to Tate St Ives.

Surely that is discriminatory against Tate  Liverpool? argued Diana.

Apparently not.  That department justified its choice by stressing that

Scouse culture had been over-represented in the past.  The kids had all

heard of The Beatles, clarified Dru. 

But Kernowek, the South Western Brittanic Celtic language was

extinct by the nineteenth century, Diana added.  Mind you, they still

teach Latin.  Maybe they could put up some Classical language signs-

you know, ‘Cloacae’!

Oh, no doubt that would be to represent any families who descend from

Roman deserters who jumped the wall and ran off with local girls, I

suppose? Sonia said cynically.

Yes, well, they want minority languages resurrected like phoenixes, Dru

pointed out. They have already added a sign on the door to the Gents’,

saying: Gwer Privedhyow.

Hmm, Sonia said.  Maybe phoenix  is the current buzzword.  If you grew

a beard you might represent something like that Eurovision person.  You

could stand for all gender variations. You’ve actually got a little bit of a

moustache already!

Dru ran a finger over her upper lip.  It wasn’t that noticeable, was it?

She still intended to turn up for the interview day.  Nigel had better

not exploit the agenda by claiming to object to Anglocentric

curriculae.

He had been taken seriously.  So had she.  But she did hope that

she wouldn’t be confused with Conchita Wurst, in spite of hirsutism

raising its stubble.  There had been headmistresses in the past who

favoured drag- Alastair Sim, for one, but she hoped that she could be

rise to the top of the greasy pole in her own merits, and without

gender being an issue.  And it wasn’t a lap dancing pole.

20140321 Dancing Stars Conchita Wurst 4187.jpg

She suddenly wondered if she could conceive, or whether the moustache

might be a sign that she should heed Time’s winged chariot.

Was the expression of biological urge more important than the desire

for a role as demiurge?  Maybe she and Nigel should dispense with the

Platonic and get a life together?  Or make lives together?

 

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My name is Candia. Its initial consonant alliterates with “cow” and there are connotations with the adjective “candid.” I started writing this blog in the summer of 2012 and focused on satire at the start.

Interspersed was ironic news comment, reviews and poetry.

Over the years I have won some international poetry competitions and have published in reputable small presses, as well as reviewing and reading alongside well- established poets. I wrote under my own name then, but Candia has taken me over as an online persona. Having brought out a serious anthology last year called 'Its Own Place' which features poetry of an epiphanal nature, I was able to take part in an Arts and Spirituality series of lectures in Winchester in 2016.

Lately I have been experimenting with boussekusekeika, sestinas, rhyme royale, villanelles and other forms. I am exploring Japanese themes at the moment, my interest having been re-ignited by the recent re-evaluations of Hokusai.

Thank you to all my committed followers whose loyalty has encouraged me to keep writing. It has been exciting to meet some of you in the flesh- in venues as far flung as Melbourne and Sydney!

Copyright Notice

© Candia Dixon Stuart and Candiacomesclean.wordpress.com, 2012-2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Candia Dixon Stuart and candiacomesclean.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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