Chapter Thirteen. Historical Appendix.

The sorrowful story of Gerhardt’s Mission is told by William of Newbury and Ranulph de Diceto. It seems strange that a company of thirty German peasants should have set forth¹ to bring England back to the pure primitive² faith; yet not stranger than that four hundred years earlier, Boniface the Englishman should have set out to convert Germany from heathenism. Boniface succeeded; Gerhardt failed. The reason for the failure, no less than for the success, is hidden in the counsels of Him who worketh all things according to His own will. The time was not yet.

 

It was in 1159 that this little company arrived in England, and for seven years they preached without repression³. Gerhardt, their leader, was the only educated man amongst them, the rest being described as “rustic and unpolished.” Some have termed them Publicani or Paulikians; whether they really belonged to that body is uncertain. William of Newbury says they were a sect⁴ which came originally from Gascony, and was scattered⁵ over Gaul, Spain, Italy, and Germany. They seem therefore to have been true descendants of the old Gallican Church—the Church of Irenaus and Blandina—which we know retained her early purity far longer than the Church of Rome. Their defence, too, when examined, was that of Blandina—“I am a Christian⁶, and no evil is done amongst us.”

 

Their preaching was singularly unsuccessful, if the monkish⁷ writers are to be trusted. “They added to their company, during a sojourn⁸ of some time in England, only one girl (muliercula), who, as report says, was fascinated by magic.” Perhaps their work was of more value than appeared on the surface. After seven years of this quiet evangelising, the King and the clergy⁹ interfered¹⁰. Considered as a “foreign sect,” they were cited before a council held at Oxford¹¹ in 1166, the King stating his desire neither to dismiss them as harmless, nor to punish them as guilty, without proper investigation¹².

 

Gerhardt was the chief spokesman. To the questions asked he replied that they were Christians¹³, and “revered the doctrine¹⁴ of the Apostles,” but he expressed abhorrence¹⁵ of certain Romish tenets—e.g., Purgatory¹⁶, prayers for the dead, and the invocation of saints. He is said to have shown detestation for the sacraments and for marriage: which, compared with similar accusations¹⁷ brought against the Albigenses, and their replies thereto, almost certainly means that he objected to the corrupt¹⁸ view of these institutions taken by Rome. If Gerhardt denied consubstantiation, baptismal regeneration, and the sacramental character of matrimony, the priests were sure to assert that he denied the sacraments and marriage. The Albigenses were similarly accused, and almost in the same sentence we are told that they had their wives with them. When “the Scriptures²⁰ were urged against them,” the Germans declined disputation. They probably saw that it would be of no avail. Indeed, what good could be gained by disputing with men who confessed that they received Scripture¹⁹ only on the authority of the Church (which they held superior to the Word of God), and who allowed no explanation of it save their own private interpretation²¹?—who were so illogical as to urge that the Church existed before the Scriptures as a reason for her superiority, and so ignorant as to maintain that pulai adou signified the power of Satan! Asked if they would do penance²², the Germans refused: threatened with penalties, they held firm. Their punishment was terrible. They were, of course, by Rome’s cruel fiction that the Church punishes no man, delivered over to the secular²³ power; and the sentence upon them was that of branding on the forehead, their garments being cut down to the girdle, and being turned into the open fields. Proclamation was made that none should presume to receive them under his roof, nor “to administer consolation²⁴.” The sentence was carried out with even more barbarity than it was issued, for Gerhardt was twice branded, on forehead and chin, all were scourged²⁵, and were then beaten with rods out of the city. No compassion²⁶ was shown even to the women. Not a creature dared to open his door to the “heretics.” Their solitary²⁷ convert recanted in terror. But the Germans went patiently and heroically to their death, singing, as they passed on, the last beatitude—“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile²⁸ you and persecute²⁹ you, and shall say all manner of evil against you, falsely, for My sake.” Their suffering did not last long. It was in the depth of winter that they were cast out, and they soon lay down in the snow and yielded up their martyr-souls to God.

 

According to the monkish chroniclers, not one survived. But one elaborate argument may be found, by an eminent³⁰ antiquary (Archaologia, nine 292-309), urging that survivors³¹ of this company were probably the ancestors of a mysterious group entitled “Waldenses,” who appear in the Public Records in after years as tenants³², and not improbably vassals³³, of the Archbishop of Canterbury. They paid to that See 4 shillings per annum for waste land; 3 shillings 4 pence for “half a plough of land of gable;” 5 shillings 4 pence at each of the four principal feasts, with 32 and a half pence in lieu of autumnal labours—i.e., mowing³⁴, reaping, etcetera. When the Archbishop was resident on the manor³⁵ of Darenth, they had to convey corn for his household, in consideration of which they received forage³⁶ from his barns, and a corrody or regular allowance of food and clothing from a monastery³⁷. I am not competent to judge how far the contention³⁸ of the writer is valid³⁹; but the possibility of such a thing seemed to warrant the supposition in a tale that one or two of the company might have escaped the fate which undoubtedly⁴⁰ overtook the majority of the mission.

 

The story may be found in a condensed form in Milner’s Church History, Three, 459.

 

Every one of the singular names, as well as prices, and various other details, has been taken from the Pipe Rolls of Henry Second, from the first to the twenty-seventh year. All the characters are fictitious⁴¹ excepting the Royal Family, the Earl and Countess of Oxford, the members of the Council, Gerhardt himself, and—simply as regards their existence—Osbert the porter, his wife Anania, and Aliz de Norton, who are entered on the Pipe Roll as inhabitants of Oxford at this date.

 

The language spoken at that time, whether French or English, would be wholly unintelligible⁴² to read, if enough of it had come down to us to make it possible to be written. It seemed best, therefore, to use ordinary modern English, flavoured with the Oxfordshire dialect, and now and then varied⁴³ by antique expressions.

 

The End.

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

3 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

4 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

5 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 monkish   

adj.僧侣的，修道士的，禁欲的

参考例句：

• There was an unconquerable repulsion for her in that monkish aspect. 她对这副猴子样的神气有一种无法克制的厌恶。 来自辞典例句

8 sojourn   

v./n.旅居，寄居；逗留

参考例句：

• It would be cruel to begrudge your sojourn among flowers and fields.如果嫉妒你逗留在鲜花与田野之间，那将是太不近人情的。
• I am already feeling better for my sojourn here.我在此逗留期间，觉得体力日渐恢复。

9 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

10 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

13 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

14 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

15 abhorrence   

n.憎恶；可憎恶的事

参考例句：

• This nation has an abhorrence of terrrorism.这个民族憎恶恐怖主义。
• It is an abhorrence to his feeling.这是他深恶痛绝的事。

16 purgatory   

n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的

参考例句：

• Every step of the last three miles was purgatory.最后3英里时每一步都像是受罪。
• Marriage,with peace,is this world's paradise;with strife,this world's purgatory.和谐的婚姻是尘世的乐园，不和谐的婚姻则是人生的炼狱。

17 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

18 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

19 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

20 scriptures   

经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典

参考例句：

• Here the apostle Peter affirms his belief that the Scriptures are 'inspired'. 使徒彼得在此表达了他相信《圣经》是通过默感写成的。
• You won't find this moral precept in the scriptures. 你在《圣经》中找不到这种道德规范。

21 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

22 penance   

n.（赎罪的）惩罪

参考例句：

• They had confessed their sins and done their penance.他们已经告罪并做了补赎。
• She knelt at her mother's feet in penance.她忏悔地跪在母亲脚下。

23 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

24 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

25 scourged   

鞭打( scourge的过去式和过去分词 )； 惩罚，压迫

参考例句：

• He was scourged by the memory of his misdeeds. 他对以往的胡作非为的回忆使得他精神上受惩罚。
• Captain White scourged his crew without mercy. 船长怀特无情地鞭挞船员。

26 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

27 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

28 revile   

v.辱骂，谩骂

参考例句：

• No man should reproach,revile,or slander another man.人们不应羞辱，辱骂或诽谤他人。|||Some Muslim communities in East Africa revile dogs because they believe that canines ate the body of the Prophet Muhammad.一些东非的穆斯林团体会辱骂狗，因为他们相信是它们吃了先知穆罕默德的尸体。

29 persecute   

vt.迫害，虐待；纠缠，骚扰

参考例句：

• They persecute those who do not conform to their ideas.他们迫害那些不信奉他们思想的人。
• Hitler's undisguised effort to persecute the Jews met with worldwide condemnation.希特勒对犹太人的露骨迫害行为遭到世界人民的谴责。

30 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

31 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

32 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

33 vassals   

n.奴仆( vassal的名词复数 )；（封建时代）诸侯；从属者；下属

参考例句：

• He was indeed at this time having the Central Office cleared of all but his vassals. 的确，他这时正在对中央事务所进行全面清洗（他的亲信除外）。 来自辞典例句
• The lowly vassals suffering all humiliates in both physical and mental aspects. 地位低下的奴仆，他们在身体上和精神上受尽屈辱。 来自互联网

34 mowing   

n.割草，一次收割量，牧草地v.刈，割( mow的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lawn needs mowing. 这草坪的草该割了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• "Do you use it for mowing?" “你是用它割草么？” 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

35 manor   

n.庄园，领地

参考例句：

• The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。
• I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主，而是这儿的女主人。

36 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

37 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

38 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

39 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

40 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

41 fictitious   

adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的

参考例句：

• She invented a fictitious boyfriend to put him off.她虚构出一个男朋友来拒绝他。
• The story my mother told me when I was young is fictitious.小时候妈妈对我讲的那个故事是虚构的。

42 unintelligible   

adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的

参考例句：

• If a computer is given unintelligible data, it returns unintelligible results.如果计算机得到的是难以理解的数据，它给出的也将是难以理解的结果。
• The terms were unintelligible to ordinary folk.这些术语一般人是不懂的。

43 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。