The Tales of the Heptameron, Vol. IV | Page 9

of
a pious Prince than to the shame of a wicked minister of the Church."
[Illustration: 028.jpg Tailpiece]
[Illustration: 029a.jpg The Execution of the Wicked Priest and his
Sister]
[The Execution of the Wicked Priest and his Sister]
[Illustration: 029.jpg Page Image]

TALE XXXIII.
_The hypocrisy of a priest who, under the cloak of sanctity, had got his
sister with child, was discovered by the wisdom of the Count of
Angoulême, by whose command they both were visited with
punishment by law_. (1)

Count Charles of Angoulême, father of King Francis, a pious Prince
and one that feared God, happened to be at Coignac when he was told
that in a village called Cherues, (2) not far away, there dwelt a maiden
who lived a marvellously austere life, and who, for all that, was now
great with child. She made no secret of the matter, but assured every
one that she had never known a man and that she could not tell how
such a fortune should have befallen her, unless indeed it were the work
of the Holy Ghost. This explanation the people readily received, and
knowing as they all did how virtuous she had been from her youth up,
and how she had never given a single token of worldliness, they
believed and deemed her a second Virgin Mary. She used to fast not
only on the days commanded by the Church, but, from natural devotion,
several times a week also; and she never stirred from the church
whenever there was a service going on there. For these reasons she was
held in such great repute among all the vulgar that every one came to
see her as though she were a miracle, and those who succeeded in
touching her dress deemed themselves fortunate indeed.
1 This tale is historical, the incidents must have occurred between 1480
and 1490.--L.
2 Cherves-de-Cognac, now a large village of nearly 3000 inhabitants,
within four miles of Cognac. The church, where some of the incidents
recorded in the tale occurred, is still in existence. It dates from the
eleventh and twelfth centuries, and is surmounted by three
cupolas.--Eu.
The priest of the parish was her brother; he was a man advanced in
years and of very austere life, and was loved and reverenced by his
parishioners, who held him for a holy man. He treated his sister with
such harshness as to keep her shut up in a house, to the great discontent
of all the people; and so greatly was the matter noised abroad that, as I
have told you, the story reached the ear of the Count. He perceived that
the people were being deceived, and, wishing to set them right, sent a
Master of Requests and an Almoner, two very worthy men, to learn the
truth. These repaired to the spot and inquired into the matter with all
possible diligence, addressing themselves for information to the priest,

who, being weary of the whole affair, begged them to be present at an
examination which he hoped to hold on the morrow.
Early the next morning the said priest chanted mass, his sister, who was
now far gone with child, being present on her knees; and when mass
was over, the priest took the "Corpus Domini," and in presence of the
whole congregation said to his sister--
"Unhappy woman that you are, here is He who suffered death and
agony for you, and in His presence I ask you whether, as you have ever
affirmed to me, you are indeed a virgin?"
She boldly replied that she was.
"How is it possible that you can be with child and yet be still a virgin?"
"I can give no reason," she replied, "except that the grace of the Holy
Ghost has wrought within me according to His good pleasure;
nevertheless, I cannot deny the grace that God has shown me in
preserving me a virgin without ever a thought of marriage."
Forthwith her brother said to her--
"I offer you the precious Body of Jesus Christ, which you will take to
your damnation if it be not as you say; and the gentlemen here present
on behalf of my lord the Count shall be witnesses thereof."
The maiden, who was nearly thirty years of age, (3) then swore as
follows:--
"I take this Body of Our Lord, here present, to my damnation in the
presence of you, gentlemen, and of you, my brother, if ever man has
touched me any more than yourself."
And with these words she received the Body of Our Lord.
Having witnessed this, the Master of Requests and the Almoner went
away quite confounded, for they thought that no lie was possible with
such an oath. And they reported the matter to the Count, and tried to

persuade him even