Laurent Vital hears of a pilgrimage to Donegal

Laurent Vital hears of a pilgrimage to Donegal

Lough Derg--Travelogue--Middle Ages--Kinsale

A sixteenth-century account by Laurent Vital of information gathered during the visit of Archduke Ferdinand to Kinsale

Laurent Vital

Laurent Vital, Archduke Ferdinand's visit to Kinsale in Ireland, p. 290-91

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts

1517-18

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork. Translated into English and donated to CELT by Dorothy Convery.

Citation for the purposes of criticism

Electronic text translation

English, translated from French

Travelogue

DD_0562

51.705477,-8.523765

https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T500000-001/

"Notwithstanding these remonstrances and good admonitions, the abbot could not divert the pilgrims from satisfying and completing their intention, so with common accord, they, having long since considered their case, thanked him for the sensible advice and praying that he would allow them go into the Cave, where the glorious friend of God, St Patrick made his penance,
asking him if he could inform them of how they would get the benefit from entering.

'Now, by God,' said the abbot, 'since it is decided to undertake this task, you will need to endure twelve entire days on bread and water, and after you have really dwelt upon your sins, every day you go to confession and are reconciled, in doing so if you remember other sins that you had forgotten to confess you have finally made your entire confession, asking God humbly for pardon. Then for each of the three days before entering this Cave, you will receive the holy sacrament of the altar.'

That was the way it was. Then when it was time to lead them and enclose them within, the abbot with his monks, led them in a beautiful procession, up to the door saying to them:

'My friends in Jesus Christ, I pray with my religious brothers to God, that he should help you and give you grace to return to your salvation. On entering there you bless yourself with the sign of the cross, and tomorrow at this time you will be allowed out; for the custom is to stay in this place for twenty-four hours; during this time you will pray to God for mercy, that he gives you his grace and keeps you safe, for whatever should appear to you say nothing except Jesus, Mary whilst making the sign of the cross. And at this time tomorrow I will come to release you.' And so it was."

Archduke Ferdinand's visit to Kinsale in Ireland, an extract from Le Premier Voyage de Charles-Quint en Espagne, de 1517 à 1518. Dorothy Convery (ed), Electronic edition, CELT Project, Cork (2012)