"The purgatory is in this priory and there is a great deep lake"
Dublin Core
Title
"The purgatory is in this priory and there is a great deep lake"
Subject
Lough Derg--Travelogue--Middle Ages--Purgatory
Description
A famous account of a 1398 visit by Viscount Ramon de Perellós to Saint Patrick's Purgatory
Creator
Ramón de Perellós
Source
The Journey of Viscount Ramon de Perellós to Saint Patrick's Purgatory, p. 10
Publisher
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
Date
1398
Contributor
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork. Translated by Alan Mac an Bhaird.
Rights
Citation for the purposes of criticism
Format
Electronic text translation
Language
English, translated from Spanish
Type
Travelogue
Identifier
DD_0573
Coverage
54.6153, -7.8864
References
https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T100079A/
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
"So leaving there I went on foot to the town where the priory is found; the purgatory is in this priory and there is a great deep lake wherein is the aforesaid island; and the water is good to drink and in the lake there are various other islands. The waters are so great throughout the island (of Ireland?) that one can hardly cross the highest mountains for the waters which are there where one enters up to one's knees, so that it is very difficult to pass on foot, and even more so on horseback.
On my leaving Tearmann, the lord of the place, who is a great lord, and his brother who had a great devotion to my lord Saint Patrick, helped me a lot to get organized as well as all the pilgrims; and he wished to go with me and accompanied me to the monastery where I was very well received. And we crossed the lake in a boat carved out of a single piece of wood, because there was no other boat. The lord of Tearmann and the prior who was there embarked in another.
As soon as I was in the monastery, they asked me if I wished to enter the purgatory and I answered yes; and then they counseled me strongly that I should by no means wish to enter there nor tempt God, since there was not only danger to the body but also to the soul, which was more important, telling and showing me the dangers and the strength of those who had died there. But when they saw my strength of purpose, they told me — specially the prior — that I would have to act in accordance with their customs in the monastery as Saint Patrick had ordered and the predecessors of the prior, as it is in the chapter on Saint Patrick which speaks of Saint Patrick. Thus I did, in accordance with their customs, wherein one must do with great devotion all that these men do who for sickness or other dangers are awaiting death. When all this was done, with a great procession they accustomed to lead me to the church and the person who enters is always strongly advised to by no means enter; and they told me to give up my entry to purge my sins and to enter in some order to serve the religious brothers or be one and not to put myself in such danger."
On my leaving Tearmann, the lord of the place, who is a great lord, and his brother who had a great devotion to my lord Saint Patrick, helped me a lot to get organized as well as all the pilgrims; and he wished to go with me and accompanied me to the monastery where I was very well received. And we crossed the lake in a boat carved out of a single piece of wood, because there was no other boat. The lord of Tearmann and the prior who was there embarked in another.
As soon as I was in the monastery, they asked me if I wished to enter the purgatory and I answered yes; and then they counseled me strongly that I should by no means wish to enter there nor tempt God, since there was not only danger to the body but also to the soul, which was more important, telling and showing me the dangers and the strength of those who had died there. But when they saw my strength of purpose, they told me — specially the prior — that I would have to act in accordance with their customs in the monastery as Saint Patrick had ordered and the predecessors of the prior, as it is in the chapter on Saint Patrick which speaks of Saint Patrick. Thus I did, in accordance with their customs, wherein one must do with great devotion all that these men do who for sickness or other dangers are awaiting death. When all this was done, with a great procession they accustomed to lead me to the church and the person who enters is always strongly advised to by no means enter; and they told me to give up my entry to purge my sins and to enter in some order to serve the religious brothers or be one and not to put myself in such danger."
Original Format
The Journey of Viscount Ramon De Perellós to Saint Patrick's Purgatory. Alan Mac an Bhaird (ed), First edition [i + 23 pp] CELT Cork (2012)
Citation
Ramón de Perellós, “"The purgatory is in this priory and there is a great deep lake",” Digital Derg: A Deep Map, accessed April 28, 2024, https://digitalderg.eu/items/show/602.