Chapter 12 : The Eleventh Star or Splendour of the Crown of Excellence of the Mother of God
Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr François Poiré's Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 French edition).
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| Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020) |
She has been and is still recognized and called blessed by all generations in the world
§ 5. She was recognized and honoured by all Nations everywhere in the world
France
OUR LADY OF CHARTRES & OUR LADY OF LA BRESCHE
48 In Beauce we are making our way to see Our Lady of Chartres which is a name celebrated not only in the whole of France but also among foreign countries. Sébastien Rouillard, a learned man with an inquisitive mind, has written a history which he drew mainly from panels, inscriptions and archives at Chartres.
According to an ancient tradition, the image venerated here was carved in the sacred forest situated in the middle of the plains of Beauce. On the authority of Priscus, King of the Chartresians along with the Princes and Lords of the Kingdom, it was placed in the cave where they offered their sacrifices through the hands of the Druids who were the Priests and the Wise men of the ancient Gauls. This was around 100 B.C. and was done to honour the Virgin who was to bring forth the Saviour. They had learned of this mystery through the sybilline and other prophetic oracles as well as through some particular revelation given to them, as seems credible enough. St Potentien was later sent on a mission to France by St Peter and he brought with him St Albin et St Édoald. Those Chartresians who were open to the Gospel received Baptism from them and St Potentien blessed the altar and the image using Christian ceremonies, transforming the cave into a Church. Quirinus at that time governed the province in the name of the Emperor and when he heard of what was happening he ordered a large number of Christians to be thrown into a well near the Altar of the Virgin, including a young woman named Modesta. The well was known thereafter as the well of the Strong Saints. Through their example of strength and courage, the Christian Religion became so deeply rooted in the hearts of the Chartresians that they despatched Ambassadors to the Virgin in Jerusalem. They wanted to explain their ancient devotion to her service and how their late King Priscus had chosen her to be Lady of their city which he placed under her dominion. Because of this, she has been known since and is still called today by the title Lady of Chartres.
The Church currently on the site of the ancient grotto is said by some to have been built through the royal largesse of Charles the Bald around 870 A.D., but others give this honour to St Fulbert, Bishop of Chartres. He is said to have done this 1000 A.D., with the help of the generosity of Canut, King of England, who was encouraged by Edelvod[1], Archbishop of Canterbury. I believe it is more probable that St Fulbert simply refurbished and restored the Church. Finally, mention must be made of the Holy Tunic or shirt of the glorious Virgin. This had been given by Charlemagne along with some other relics to Aix-la-Chapelle but his grandson, Charles the Bald, made a present of it to the Church in Chartres. In his history of the Church (which is called the Parthénie), Sébastien Rouillard describes in some detail the various miracles God performed through the Virgin, including the impact on the city of Chartres.
In the same city, you can find the small Chapel known as Our Lady of the Breach, which I shall be covering in Part III when discussing what has been preserved of Chartres.
Footnotes
[1] Possibly Aethelnoth (Ethelnoth, Egelnodus, or Ednodus) Dean and later Archbishop of Canterbury.
OUR LADY OF GOOD NEWS & OUR LADY OF CLÉRY
49 In Orleans there is a parish church called Our Lady of Good News and it is testimony to the pious faith of King Robert who built it on the spot where he received the good news that his father Hugh Capet had escaped death. Two short leagues away from there is Our Lady of Cléry founded by King Louis XI and was loved by him more than any other centre of devotion. He also expressed a wish to be buried there at the feet of the Holy Virgin, for after God in her alone did he place all his hope. Numerous miracles have occurred there but here is one worth describing because it is so extraordinary as well as being perpetual.
There is a large candle standing in front of the Virgin’s image, attached to a heavy iron chain to which God has given a particular power: any pilgrim who, finding himself in danger of death by land or sea, seeks his life by making a vow to go to Our Lady of Cléry, then the candle will make one or two turns with such a loud noise that the local people can hear it. If they run straight to the Church they will see it turning unaided, which is something even ten men together could not achieve. This has been reported more than a hundred times and it has always been found that the movement starts at the same time the vow was made.
For more than six hundred years, Our Lady of Avenon has been famous for miracles, as is reported in the compilation made by Hugh Farsy, Canon of Laon.
OUR LADY OF ARDILLIERS, OUR LADY OF BEHUARD, OUR LADY OF THE OAK & OUR LADY OF CHEF-DU-PONT
50 In Anjou we shall pay our respects firstly to Our Lady of Ardilliers (or of Argilliers, as some say it should be called). The name is famous throughout France not only because of the great devotion seen there but also because of a spring which cures all manner of illnesses. Near the city of Angers we find Our Lady of Behuard which has seen numerous miracles, as may be seen in the history of Louis XI. Moving on we come to Our Lady of the Oak which is near Sablé where the Holy Virgin showed over a dozen years that it was her pleasure to be served there, and this is what happened.
In the middle of the fields, where all you can normally see are animals being led out to pasture, there was a poor abandoned chapel in ruins, with an old and simply carved statue of the glorious Virgin. There was a wealthy man who had a child who was deformed and he wanted to be rid of the sight of him which he found unpleasant and upsetting. He gave the child to be nursed by a poor woman who used to lead her cattle near this chapel. One day when she noticed the chapel, she felt herself drawn inwardly to go in with the child she was carrying in her arms. Having knelt down in front of the statue, she addressed her prayers to the holy Virgin telling her quite simply that she would never cease to pray for this little child to be healed. She continued with these devotions for the space of around six weeks, repeating every day the same prayer. At the end of this time, while she was in the chapel one morning praying from the bottom of her heart, she saw the child was no longer marked by any deformity. At first she could scarcely believe her eyes, and she was not quite sure that this could be the same child that she had brought in; but some of the features of his face made her realise that it was definitely him and she could not conceive that there could be two boys in the chapel, and so she concluded that this must be the same child. She looked at him very carefully and she could not be in any doubt about it. The news of the miracle spread through the village and people ran to the chapel where in less than six months ten other remarkable miracles took place and all of them were confirmed. The devotion of the people was growing every day towards this place, so the Marshall of Bois-Dauphin, realising the favour that the Holy Virgin was granting to him with her wish to take up residence on his lands, and knowing this could only bring all sorts of blessings to them, ordered the building of a beautiful church on the spot where the chapel had stood, with a hostel to receive pilgrims.
This devotion has spread to the cities of Angers, Le Mans, Durtal, la Flèche and the whole country round about. The Church is called Our Lady of the Oak because, as I have been told, there is a great oak tree next to the Chapel.
In La Flèche we shall visit another site of Marian devotion known as Our Lady of Chef-du-Pont which is known for the great numbers of people who come, especially the young who are studying. Here too many miracles occur even if they are not advertised, as is attested by the number of images hanging around the altar.
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SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.
The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
© Peter Bloor 2024
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