Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 2.djvu/143

 and thus  cried  in  his  fall,  'God,  have  mercy  on  our  souls.'

Then the  heathen  king  commanded  to  strike  off  his  head

and his  right  arm,  and  to  set  them  up  as  a  mark  [trophy],

Then after  the  slaying  of  Oswald  his  brother  Oswy

succeeded to  the  kingdom  of  Northumbria,  and  rode  with  an  army

to where  his  brother's  head  was  fastened  on  a  stake,

and took  the  head  and  his  right  hand,

and with  reverence  brought  them  to  Lindisfarne  church.

Then was  fulfilled,  as  we  said  before

that his  right  hand  continueth  whole  with  the  flesh,

without any  corruption,  as  the  bishop  had  said.

The arm  was  laid  reverently  in  a  shrine

wrought of  silver-work  in  Saint  Peter's  Minster

within the  town  of  Bamborough,  by  the  sea-strand,

and lieth  there  as  sound  as  when  it  was  cut  off.

His brother's  daughter  afterward  became  Queen  of  Mercia,

and asked  for  his  bones  and  brought  them  to  Lindsey,

to Bardney  Minster,  which  she  greatly  loved.

But the  monks  would  not,  by  reason  of  human  error,

receive the  Saint,  but  they  pitched  a  tent

over the  holy  bones  that  were  within  the  hearse.

Behold then  God  showed  that  he  was  a  holy  Saint,

so that  a  heavenly  light,  being  extended  over  the  tent,

stood up  to  heaven  like  a  lofty  sunbeam

all the  night  long,  and  the  people  beheld  it

throughout all  the  province,  greatly  wondering.

Then the  monks  were  much  affrighted,

and prayed  then  in  the  morning  that  they  might  reverently  receive

the Saint,  him  whom  they  had  before  refused.

Then they  washed  the  holy  bones,  and  bare  them  reverently

to a  shrine  in  the  Church,  and  laid  them  up.

And there  were  healed  through  his  holy  merits