Thomas a Kempis - The Chronicle of the Canons Regular of Mount St. Agnes

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These are the names of our Brothers and the others of our household, both
Clerks and Laics, who were driven from the land of Utrecht and from our
monastery for their obedience in the matter of the Interdict which they
observed for more than a year by command of the Apostolic See.

First our venerable Father the Prior, who was called Brother Theodoric of
Kleef; the second was Brother Thomas of Kempen, the Sub-Prior; the third,
Brother John Ummen, who was stricken in years and weak; the fourth,
Brother Gerard Wesep; the fifth, Brother John Benevolt; the sixth,
Brother Wernbold Staelwijc; the seventh, Brother John Bouman; the eighth,
Brother Henry Cremer; the ninth, Brother Henry of Deventer; the tenth,
Brother Dirk Veneman; the eleventh, Brother Helmic; the twelfth, Brother
Christian; the thirteenth, Brother James Cluyt; the fourteenth, Brother
Gerard Smullinc; the fifteenth, Brother Cesarius, a Novice; the
sixteenth, Brother Goswin, son of Pistor, a Novice.

Likewise there were two Converts, namely, Brother Arnold Droem and
Brother James Ae; three Clerks that had not yet received the Religious
habit, namely, Hermann Craen, Gosswin ten Velde, and Arnold ten Brincke;
two Donates named Gerard Hombolt and Laurence, and also John Koyte, a
guest and familiar friend of our House. All of these were received for
the first night as the guests of the Sisters at Hasselt, who showed great
charity and humanity towards us, and they lamented and wept bitterly that
we were driven out with violence. But since all the Brothers could not
find room nor beds wherein to sleep, these Sisters had compassion upon us
and brought us their own bedding wherewith they prepared a place for us
to sleep in the stable on the hay and straw, and here we all slept
commodiously enough. Many of the citizens in Hasselt also had compassion
upon us and wept, but certain envious folk that thought ill of us mocked
our Brothers and spake lightly of them, but of these divers did afterward
repent. On the second day, when morning came, we hired a small ship and
came by way of the sea to Frisia, the land we sought, having taken
sustenance by the way; but we used both sails and oars and gat us across
not without great hazard for the wind was contrary. Thus we went thither
for the name of Christ and to keep obedience to the Holy Roman Church,
the which we all desired to obey, and we committed ourselves to God Who
showed forth His mercy toward us, and snatching us from the peril of the
sea brought us safely to our Brothers in Lunenkerc.

In the year 1430, on the 19th day of December, being the day before the
Vigil of St. Thomas the Apostle, died our beloved Brother John, a priest
who was born at Kampen. He was third among the first four who received
investiture, and he died after midday and was buried on the right side of
Brother Oetbert. He wrote in excellent wise the Chants in the books that
are for use in the choir, for he was a good singer, and a man of modest
character, and showed himself to be able and skilled in divers kinds of
work at harvest time and in the building of the House. When we were
driven forth he went with the Brothers to Frisia, though he was weak, for
he chose rather to share their exile than to abide alone with a few Lay
Brothers to keep the House. But afterward he was sent back before the
rest, for his sickness compelled us to do this: so having fulfilled
thirty-one years in the Religious Life, he fell asleep in the Lord.

In the year 1431, on the Feast of St. Stephen, Pope and Martyr, Brother
Goswin Becker died in Lunenkerc. He was in the beginning of the third
year after his profession, but was not yet in Holy Orders, and he was
buried in the cloister of the monastery there. He was the son of one
John Limborgh, otherwise Becker, and was born at Zwolle.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Of the return of our Brothers from Frisia to Mount St. Agnes.

In the year of our Lord 1422 (1432), license was granted to members of
the Religious Orders, and to devout Priests and Canons, to return to
their own places and monasteries which they had left in order to observe
the Interdict of our Lord the Pope, but some few were excepted as being
suspected of taking part in the sedition. Now the Bishop of Matiskon had
been sent as Legate of the Apostolic See to make terms of peace, and to
remove the Interdict that had been pronounced to maintain the cause of
Sueder as against the noble Rodolph, who had been chosen to be Bishop.
Many Prelates and Religious Brothers were gathered together to meet the
aforesaid Legate in the town of Viana, and the Fathers of our Religious
Order and Devotion, the Priors of Windesem and of Mount St. Agnes
together with many others--devout Priests, who had been obedient to the
Interdict--entered into Utrecht rejoicing, after holding friendly
converse with the Legate. Then the Brothers returned each to his own
House bearing with them sheaves of peace, the reward for their long exile
which they had endured outside the diocese, and so by little and little
they returned to their own monasteries eagerly and with devotion; for
some of the Brothers of our House returned on the eve of the Feast of the
Assumption of the Blessed Mary, and some about the Feast of St. Michael,
while a few were left in Frisia to minister to the needs and preserve the
discipline of the House at Lunenkerc.

Through all things blessed be God who alone doeth great marvels!

CHAPTER XXIV.

Of the death of Brother John of Kempen, the first Prior of Mount St.
Agnes.

In the same year, on the fourth day of November, at midnight, died
Brother John of Kempen, the first Rector and Confessor of the Sisters at
Arnheim, being in the sixty-seventh year of his age. He had been Rector
or Prior in divers places and Houses that were newly founded, namely, at
the Fount of the Blessed Virgin, near Arnheim, where he was the first
Rector when that House was founded, and here he invested divers Brothers:
afterward he was chosen to be Prior of Mount St. Agnes and ruled the
House for nine years: then he was sent to Bommel, and he began the House
there with a few Brothers. After this he was chosen to be Prior of the
House of the Blessed Mary, near Haerlem, in Holland, over which he ruled
for seven years. At another time he was deputed to be the first Rector
of the Sisters at Bronope, near Kampen, and at last he ended his life
happily in a good old age and in obedience in Bethany, which is by
interpretation "the House of Obedience," and he was buried within the
cloister after Vespers. I was with him and I closed his eyes, for I had
been sent by the Visitors to bear him company, and I abode with him for a
year and two months. After Easter, in this same year, the House of
Bethany was incorporated into the General Chapter.

In the year of the Lord 1433, during Lent, three Clerks were invested,
namely, Brother Hermann Craen of Kampen, Brother John Zuermont of
Utrecht, and Brother Peter Herbort of Utrecht. In the same year died
Sueder of Culenborgh, Bishop of Utrecht, and after his death Pope
Eugenius confirmed Rodolph Diepholt, who had been chosen before, to be
Bishop of the diocese.

In the year 1434, on the Feast of the Conception of the Glorious Virgin
Mary, was invested Brother Bero, a Clerk, of Amsterdam.

In the same year, on July 28th, died Margaret Wilden, a matron of great
age and mother of our Brother Oetbert. She was buried in the broad
passage at her son's head, and on the northern side of the cloister.

In the year of the Lord 1436, on the Octave of the Feast of St. Stephen,
Proto-Martyr, Brother John, the first Convert of our House, died in
Beverwijc, near Haerlem. He was a faithful man and prudent in business,
wherefore he was sent abroad with Brother Hugo of the same House, and
bound by his obedience he accepted the mission.

In the same year, on the Feast of St. Juliana the Virgin, after Lauds,
died John Benevolt, a Priest of our House, who was born in Groninghen, a
man of great simplicity and innocence; he was buried on the eastern side
of the cloister, on the right of Brother John Ummen.

In the same year, on the Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross, in the
first hour after midday, died Brother Alardus, a Priest of Pilsum and a
Frisian by nation. He was well stricken in age, being above seventy-six
years old, and had lived the Religious Life for thirty years. He was a
man of great gentleness, and in the celebration of the Mass careful and
devout. He was ever among the first to go into the choir and the Common
Refectory of the Brotherhood until his last sickness. It had been his
desire to die on this Feast because he had often celebrated it at the
Altar of the Holy Cross, and according to his prayer so it was done unto
him. He often said to me, "The best dish that is set before me in the
Refectory is the Holy Reading, the which I gladly hear: wherefore I do
not absent myself willingly lest I should miss the fruit of that Holy
Reading during the meal. I delight also in the presence of the Brothers,
in that I see the whole congregation there present taking their food
under strict discipline." At length he was weighed down with years, and
though he could not walk alone, he came leaning upon a staff to the
entrance of the choir to hear the Brothers singing; then he took holy
water, and bowed the knee toward the High Altar. On the days when he
celebrated he often received a special consolation from God Himself.

In the year of the Lord 1438, on the day after the Feast of St. Gregory
the Pope, died Brother Rodolph, a Priest from Oetmeshem, who had been
Prior of the House of St. Martin the Bishop, in Lunenkerc, in Frisia,
near Herlinghen. He had been sick a long while with dropsy, and on the
day aforesaid he breathed forth his soul between the ninth and tenth
hours in the morning, and he was buried on the right of Brother Alardus.
In the same year, on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary
ever Virgin, six Clerks were invested, namely, Brother Henry Becker of
Zwolle, Brother John Zandwijc of Rhenen, Brother Ewic, also of Rhenen,
Brother Telmann Gravensande of Holland, Brother George of Antwerp, and
Brother Arnold, son of Conrad, of Nussia. In the same year there was a
great famine in divers parts of the land, and in a short space a mighty
pestilence followed; also in that year, on the Vigil of the Nativity of
Christ, and after High Mass, died John Eme, a Convert, who was cellarer
to our House.

In the year of the Lord 1439, on the Feast of St. Peter ad Vincula, and
early in the morning, before the fourth hour, died Wermbold Stolwic of
Kampen, who was a Priest before he began the Religious Life. He was
often sick of a fever, and being weakened thereby he fell asleep in the
Lord, having made a good confession, and was buried after Vespers. He
wrote the music in some of the Chant books in the choir.

In the same year, on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary,
there was an earthquake in divers places, and in the summer following a
great pestilence in divers parts, and many devout Brothers and Sisters
departed from this present world.

In the year 1440 the great building on the western side of the monastery
was set up, to receive guests and the Lay folk of our household, and the
roof thereof was finished in stone on the day before the Feast of our
Holy Father Augustine. At this work many of our Brothers laboured long
and bravely, while others attended to the choir.

In the same year four brothers died in the pestilence, namely, Brother
Arnold Droem, a Convert, Goswin Witte, a Clerk and Oblate, Dirk
Mastebroick, a Donate, Hermann Sutor, a Novice. Likewise many of our
neighbours in Haerst and Bercmede died of this plague, and by their own
desire were buried in our monastery.

In the year of the Lord 1441, on the Feast of St. Petronilla the Virgin,
died our beloved Brother Christian of Kampen, the Infirmarius, for he was
smitten with the plague. He was very attentive to the sick and plague
stricken, to whom he ministered faithfully to the death. On the same
day, when noon was hardly past, died John Clotinc, a Lay Brother and
Oblate. He was a man very devout, and a pattern for his long service in
the brewery and the mill, and for his frequent prayers. These died on
the same day and at the same hour after High Mass when Sext was done, and
after Vespers, when the Vigils had been sung, they were buried in peace.
After their death, by the mercy of God, the plague in the cloister was
stayed.

In the same year and month, but before the aforesaid Brothers, and on the
day before the Feast of St. Pancras, died the elder Wermbold, a Donate,
who was born in Hasselt.

In the year 1442, on the fourth day of March, which was the third Sunday
in Lent, the venerable man, John of Korke, Bishop Suffragan to our Lord
of Utrecht, consecrated the burial-ground upon the eastern side of the
church, together with the cloister thereof, likewise the passage before
the Brothers' Refectory, and that on the western side that goeth from
before the cells of the Converts to the entrance of the church. Also on
the northern side the ground to bury strangers in, with the whole circuit
thereof, but the part in the midst of it had been consecrated aforetime
with our church. Moreover, the Bishop granted indulgences for forty days
to them that walked devoutly round the burial-ground. Besides these, he
consecrated the precious and fair Image of the Blessed Virgin with the
Child Jesus, that standeth above the altar which is dedicated in honour
of Her and of St. Augustine (this is that altar which is set in the midst
of the church before the choir), and he granted forty days' indulgence to
them that should recite five Aves devoutly and on bended knees before the
said image. Likewise, he consecrated another small image of the Blessed
Virgin, that is placed before the gate of our monastery, and he granted
forty days' indulgence to them that should recite three Aves there
devoutly and on bended knees.

In the year of the Lord 1443, on the day of St. Prisca, Virgin and
Martyr, and after midday, died our beloved Brother, John Bouman, a
Priest, who was once our Procurator. He had been sick for a long while
with a quartan fever, whereby his body was wasted, and he finished his
life with a happy agony. He was born in Zwolle, and for many years
endured labours and divers infirmities, and this saying of Christ was
often in his mouth: "In your patience ye shall possess your souls." When
I visited him at the end he said to me, "How gladly I would every day go
with the Brothers into the choir if I were strong enough God knoweth!" He
was full of faith and compassion, and he gladly read and heard of the
Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ; he had, moreover, a special devotion to
the Blessed Mary Magdalene, for he was born on Her Feast Day, wherefore
he often said the Mass for Her Feast, or humbly asked another to say it
for him. About a month before his death a certain Brother had this
vision after Matins: it seemed to him that the Brothers were singing the
Vigil in the choir, and that a corpse was there. And after the Vigil the
door of the choir was opened, and certain Lay Brothers of our household
came into the choir and stood round the corpse; amongst these were seen
two Lay Brothers who were already dead that came to the burial, namely,
Brother John Eme and Hermann, son of Wolter (now they had died four years
before this time). These, with the rest of the household, went forth as
if to follow the corpse going through the gate upon the south side of the
choir, and they went in procession to that part of the precinct where our
Brothers, who are Priests, are wont to be buried--and straightway the
vision disappeared. Then that Brother held his peace and began to think
within himself: "It may be that some one of our Brothers shall soon
depart out of this world, and we shall sing the solemn Vigils of the dead
for him." And so it came to pass, for when the month was ended, Brother
John Bouman died, and the things seen in the vision were fulfilled in due
order on his behalf, and he was buried near Brother Christian. He lived
in the Order of Regulars for thirty-one years and twenty-six days, and he
had friends in Zwolle that were good men and great: moreover, notable
increase of goods came to our monastery from him and from his parents.

In the year of the Lord 1444, on the Feast of All Saints, was invested
Henry Ruhorst, a Clerk, who was born at Kampen.

In the same year, on the Octave of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, the Regulars of Haerlem, by the will of all, took upon them the
rule of the cloister.

After the Feast of St. Bartholomew, three of our Brothers who were
Priests, were sent to found the new House of Roermund.

In the year of the Lord 1445, on the day before the Feast of St. Bernard
the Abbot, our beloved Brother Caesarius Coninc died. He was a native of
Utrecht, and Prior of Lunenkerc, but he had made his profession at Mount
St. Agnes. He went on the concerns of his House to Antwerp, where he
fell sick, and having been in a fever for nearly eight days he fell
asleep in the Lord, and was buried there in the Convent of the Sisters of
our Order. He held the office of Prior for eight years, and he departed
from this world in the forty-sixth year of his age, and many goods came
for the use of the monastery from his parents.

In the same year, during Advent and after, a flood of waters overwhelmed
many lands and drowned the crops in Betua that pertains to Geldria and
Hertzogenbusch.

In the year 1446, on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, two Clerks were invested, namely, Brother James Spaen, from
Geldria, and Brother Henry, son of Paul of Mechlin in Brabant; the former
of these attended the school at Deventer, and had a brother who was a
Religious at Northorn: the latter attended the school at Zwolle.

In the same year, on Palm Sunday in the month of April, there was a great
tempest, snow, hail, and the breath of the storm, and thunder was heard
therewith. In the night of that day the dyke between Wilsen and Kampen
was broken down, and the cattle and beasts of burden at Mastebroic were
drowned. In Zutphen the tower of the church was set afire by lightning,
and the roof was cleft above, and certain persons were wounded, and some
were slain by this sudden mischance--in other parts also divers houses
were destroyed by fire. In Zwolle, after Mass, a mighty terror fell upon
them that were in the church, and the shutters were shaken from the
church windows by a lightning stroke. In the same year, on the day
following the Feast of St. Odulphus, and at the seventh hour when
Compline was done, died Brother Frederic, son of John, a Convert from
Groninghen. He was an aged man of about eighty years, and one of the
elders amongst them that first dwelt in this place. In many things he
was profitable to the Brothers, for he shaved their heads and blooded
them and dressed their wounds, and did other faithful service to the sick
and the plague stricken; at length, wearied with age and having a good
foundation of holy deeds, he fell asleep in the Lord. He came to Mount
St. Agnes to serve the Lord in the sixth year after the death of Master
Gerard Groote, with the first Brothers that dwelt here, and with those
very poor Lay folk, the disciples of Gerard, of whom I have written
above. He lived therefore in this place for sixty-six years, reckoning
the years of his conversion from the beginning thereof to the year of his
death inclusively, and Brother John Kempen, the first Prior of this
House, invested him as a Convert on the Feast of St. Katharine the
Virgin, in the year of the Lord 1401, he being the third of the Converts
then invested.

In the same year, on the Octave of the Holy Trinity, and on the night of
the Feast of the Saints Gervase and Protasius, died Brother Arnold, son
of Conrad of Nussia, being twenty-six years of age. He had been in the
priesthood for one year, and for nearly fifteen days had been sick of a
tertian fever, but God had pity on him that in a brief space he fulfilled
many years, and by the swiftness of his course escaped the hazardous
defilements of the world; now he had finished eight years in the
Religious Life.

In the year of the Lord 1447, on the day before the Feast of St. Agnes
the Virgin, two Clerks were invested, namely, Everard ter Huet of Zwolle
and James Spenghe of Utrecht.

In the same year the Clerks at Alberghen, near Oldenzale, received the
habit of Holy Religion in the Order of Canons Regular of St. Augustine,
and they were invested on the day of the Finding of the Holy Cross.

CHAPTER XXV.

How Theodoric of Kleef, third Prior of the House on the Mount laid down
his office, and was absolved therefrom.

In the year of the Lord 1447, that venerable Father, Theodoric of Kleef,
third Prior of our House of Mount St. Agnes the Virgin, coming home from
the General Chapter, called the Brothers together, and humbly sought to
speak with them so that when the Visitors of the House came he might be
absolved from his office of Prior. For twenty-three years he had ruled
the House with fatherly care, and he was weary with many labours. He
would have made this petition a year before, but that the urgency of
divers concerns of the House had hindered him from so doing, and he
pleaded the weakness of his age and that his senses were clouded. Hearing
these things the elder Brothers spake with the members of the Chapter,
and thinking to show mercy toward their beloved Father who had long
served them to the best of his power, they gave a kindly hearing and
assent to his petition. Wherefore the three eldest amongst them, on
behalf of the other Brothers and at their request, came to the Visitors,
for they were sitting in a private room to hear the opinion of each one
of the Brothers, and on bended knees with their hands clasped they
besought them instantly, and with all their hearts, to grant absolution
to this Father for that he was infirm and aged; this they said was the
time to show him pity, and this was what he desired as he had told to
certain of them privately.

The Visitors therefore heard the opinions of all, and finding that the
more part of them that were gathered together demanded this thing of set
purpose, did piously admonish the Prior that he might yield to the
petition of the Brothers and resign his office out of consideration for
his own weakness of body. The good Father hearing this prostrated
himself humbly before the Chapter, and returning thanks to the Brothers
said that he was ready to resign into the hands of the Prior of the
Superior House the burden of that office which he had long borne.

But since the duty of holding visitations at certain other houses had
been laid upon them, the Priors of Windesem and Zwolle besought our
Brothers that such visitations might be held by the known and former
Prior as the Chapter had ordained, and when these were done, then at a
convenient season the desire of the Brothers concerning the absolution of
the Prior should be fulfilled.

So when the matter of the visitation was finished, the Priors of
Amsterdam and of Hoern returned, and coming to our monastery did a second
time examine the opinion of the Brothers in private, and they found that
the more part were still of one heart, and constant to their opinion that
the Prior should be absolved, though some few of the younger Brothers
dissented from the rest.

Hearing this the Visitors, by the authority to them committed, absolved
the Prior on the day after the Dispersion of the Apostles, thinking
thereby to provide for the peace and usefulness of the House. Then in
accordance with the statutes of the Chapter they bade the Brothers to
keep fast for three days for the election of a new Prior; then they
returned toward Holland to their houses, since their own needs compelled
them so to do, but they besought the venerable Prior of Windesem to deign
to be present in person at the election when the Brothers should choose
their Prior. And this was done, the grace of God providing for us, so
that the petition of the brothers, which they had made long since, came
to a good issue in the election of a new Prior, for which election they
did invoke the Holy Ghost and poured out prayers to God instantly both in
public and in private.

CHAPTER XXVI.

How Brother Henry of Deventer was chosen to be the fourth Prior of the
House of Mount St. Agnes.

In the year of the Lord 1448, on the 20th day of June (July), when the
three days' fast was ended, the Brothers came together to sing the Mass
of the Holy Spirit on the day before the Feast of St. Praxedes the
Virgin; but the Mass of the Blessed Virgin had been said in private
because it was the Sabbath. Then after the end of Mass, and when Sext
was done, the Brothers went forth from the choir to the Chapter House to
choose a new Prior; and the venerable Prior of Windesem, with the Prior
of Zwolle, was there present with them, for he had been called and
besought to hear the election. So, having held a short conference with
the Brothers, and the manner of election being read, the Prior of
Windesem exhorted the members of the Chapter to choose a fit person to be
Prior following the commandments of God and Canon Law. There were here
present twenty-one Brothers that were electors, and two who were far away
had written letters wherein they expressed their will. So the Brothers
that were electors went away a little space outside the doors of the
Chapter House, and the two Priors aforesaid came and stood by the altar
in the Chapter House, the door thereof being open, and with them were the
three elder Brothers. There they stood to hear the votes of each man
separately, for they could be seen by all, but none could hear what was
said. Then the votes of each being heard and counted, our Sub-Prior,
Brother Henry, son of William of Deventer, was chosen and nominated to be
Prior, having the votes of the more part recorded for him on the paper,
namely sixteen. Some there were beside that did not choose him, but of
these three Brothers did not vote at this time, and two chose the
Procurator, James Cluyt. Then one of the elder Brothers, on behalf of
himself and of the more part, besought the Prior of the Superior House to
confirm the election, who straightway appointed the next day to be the
last for any to oppose. And when none made opposition to the manner of
the election, nor said aught against the Brother who was chosen, the
Prior elect was called to consent to his election which had been made
according to the canons, so that it might be duly confirmed. And he
straightway prostrated himself in the midst of the Brothers protesting
that he was not sufficient, and he humbly besought to be relieved of this
burden, but when he could not gain his purpose, and dared not obstinately
to resist, he gave consent in an humble voice, being overcome by the
insistence of the Brothers and compelled by his obedience to his
superior: and he submitted himself to the ordinance of God for the sake
of observing brotherly love and the needful discipline of the cloister.
So when he had been confirmed by the Prior of Windesem he was led in to
the choir in the presence of all the Brothers, and placed in his stall,
and prayers were offered up. After which done all the members of the
Chapter straightway went into the House, and following the accustomed
manner all the professed Brothers took the vow of obedience to their
Father, the new Prior, and after them the Converts, and lastly the
Donates did the like. When this was done they spent the day with joy and
giving of thanks, and at last their Fathers, the Priors of the other
houses who had taken part in all that was done, said farewell to them,
and the Brothers left the garden and returned to their cells. When the
bell rang for Vespers they came together to the choir, and sang the
Vespers of St. Mary Magdalene with cheerful voices. After three days the
Brothers were called together to the Chapter House, and the Prior
proposed that in accordance with the statutes they should choose another
Sub-Prior, so on the Feast of St. James the Apostle, before the hour for
Vespers, Brother Thomas of Kempen was nominated and elected after a brief
scrutiny. He was one of the elders, being sixty-seven years of age, and
in past times had been appointed to this office, and albeit he knew
himself to be insufficient and would have made excuse, yet he did submit
him humbly to the assembled Brothers, for his obedience bade him so to
do; neither did he refuse to undergo toil on their behalf for the love of
Christ Jesus, but earnestly besought the prayers of his comrades and
Brothers, for he trusted rather in the grace of God than in himself.

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