Library › Eddius Stephanus › Life of St Wilfrid
Life of St Wilfrid
Eddius Stephanus, tr. Colgrave, 1927
Concerning the Building of the Church at Ripon and Its Dedication
So, amid the worldly prosperity which God gave him, there grew up in our bishop, the friend of the eternal Bridegroom, a love which ever increased in ardour for the virgin Bride espoused to one husband and born of charity the mother of all goodness. He adorned her fairly with the rules of discipline as with the flowers of virtue, making her chaste and modest, continent, temperate and submissive, and clothed her in garments of many hues. In the words of the prophet, “The king’s daughter is all glorious within.” For as Moses built an earthly tabernacle made with hands, of divers varied colours according to the pattern shown by God in the mount, to stir up the faith of the people of Israel for the worship of God, so the blessed Bishop Wilfrid wondrously adorned the bridal chamber of the true Bridegroom and Bride with gold and silver and varied purples, in the sight of the multitudes who believed in their hearts and made confession of their faith. For in Ripon he built and completed from the foundations in the earth up to the roof, a church of dressed stone, supported by various columns and side aisles.
Afterwards, when the building had been finished, he invited to the day of its dedication the two most Christian kings and brothers, Ecgfrith and Aelfwini, together with the abbots, the reeves and the sub-kings; dignitaries of every kind gathered together; like Solomon the wise, they consecrated the house and dedicated it to the Lord in honour of St Peter the chief of the Apostles, to assist the prayers of the people in it. The altar also with its bases they dedicated to the Lord and vested it in purple woven with gold; the people shared in the work, and thus all was completed in a canonical manner.
Then St Wilfrid the bishop stood in front of the altar, and, turning to the people, in the presence of the kings, read out clearly a list of the lands which the kings, for the good of their souls, had previously, and on that very day as well, presented to him, with the agreement and over the signatures of the bishops and all the chief men, and also a list of the consecrated places in various parts which the British clergy had deserted when fleeing from the hostile sword wielded by the warriors of our own nation. It was truly a gift well pleasing to God that the pious kings had assigned so many lands to our bishop for the service of God; these are the names of the regions: round Ribble and Yeadon and the region of Dent and Catlow and other places. Then, when the sermon was over, the kings started upon a great feast lasting for three days and three nights, rejoicing amid all their people, showing magnanimity towards their enemies and humility towards the servants of God. Our holy bishop also provided for the adornment of the house of God, among other treasures, a marvel of beauty hitherto unheard of in our times. For he had ordered, for the good of his soul, the four gospels to be written out in letters of purest gold on purpled parchment and illuminated. He also ordered jewellers to construct for the books a case all made of purest gold and set with most precious gems; all these things and others besides are preserved in our church until these times as a witness to his blessed memory; here too his remains rest, and daily, without any intermission, his name is remembered in prayer.