|
He did recover and set out for his native
land but on his journey he had a dreadful
vision in which he was carried by a winged
beast to the edge of a horrible abyss, into
which he thought he was about to plunge.
As he cried out in terror a figure appeared
beside him ‘bearing royal majesty in his
countenance, of wonderful beauty and
imperial authority’ who identified himself
as St. Bartholomew and directed Rahere to
found a church and hospital in his name at
Smithfield. The saint also told Rahere that
he should have no doubt or anxiety at all
concerning the expenses of this work, but
should merely apply himself diligently to
his appointed task.
The cost of the promised building work
proved no problem as Rahere received the
patronage of the king and the Bishop of
London and work commenced in the
rather dreary and muddy land known as
Smoothfield, or Smithfield, the site of a
gallows. Beside the effigy of Rahere on his
tomb is a small figure of a kneeling monk
reading a bible. The words being read are
from Isaiah 51:3, “Consolabitur ergo Dominus
Sion, et consolabitur omnes ruinas ejus; et ponat
desertum ejus quasi delicias, et solitudinem ejus
quasi hortum Domini.” (For the Lord will
comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste
places, and will make her wilderness like
Eden, her desert like the garden of the
Lord). It has been suggested that this refers
to the new life brought to this desolate
place by the building of the Priory Church
and hospital.
The construction of the church, to
become part of an Augustinian monastery,
and the hospital, now the oldest active
hospital in London, commenced in 1123.
Work must have progressed at a great pace,
as both buildings were completed within
20 years. Rahere, by then an Augustinian
canon, became the first Prior of the church
and the first Master of the hospital, posts
he held until his death in 1143.
The original church was much larger
than the present-day building; indeed,
it was larger than most cathedrals at that
time. Sadly, after the dissolution of the
monasteries by Henry VIII, several parts
fell into disrepair and others were used for
different purposes. The now-restored North
Transept, for example, was for some time
a blacksmith’s forge.
In addition to founding the church and
hospital, Rahere was given funding by
the king to establish an annual cloth fair at
Smithfield, running for three days from
St Bartholomew’s Eve, August 23rd. The
fair proved extremely popular and it became
one of the great annual events in London
and a public holiday. It eventually
developed into a huge market, trading
in many commodities other than cloth,
including meat and livestock, and there
was a myriad of entertainment – jugglers,
fire eaters, jesters, minstrels, storytellers and
many more, and Rahere himself would
sometimes amuse the crowds with juggling.
Also, the operative guilds prepared and
performed mystery plays but, alas, the
collapse of the guilds and the puritanical
attitudes fostered by Protestantism brought
the mystery plays to an end but their
tradition is perpetuated in Masonic rituals.
The fair was last held in 1855 but, to this day,
there is a large meat market at Smithfield.
After his mystical experience Rahere
devoted his life to preaching and teaching
and, in the Christian tradition of those
days, to healing. From the very beginning,
miraculous events occurred. On one evening
during the building of the church, as night
was descending, many people witnessed a
mysterious light over the church which
remained for around one hour. Not long
after the monastery was founded, there were
claims that Rahere had gifts of healing and
the sick and lame came on pilgrimages from
afar in the hope of being healed. Even after
Rahere’s death, people would lay prostrate
in the Priory Church praying to St
Bartholomew for healing. The Book of
Foundation states that “many and innumerable
tokens of miracles were performed, but on
account of their abundance they were
neglected and were handed down to memory
by scarcely anyone” and so the author of that
book resolved only to describe those he had
personally witnessed. The many reports
include healing of the blind, deaf, dumb and
paralysed (in one well described case a girl
who was blind, deaf, dumb and paralysed
was healed) and also those with severe
deformities, strokes, epilepsy, tinnitus, severe
mental disorders, insomnia and dropsy.
Clearly, Rahere saw no conflict between
healing of Divine origin in his church and
curing by the ministration of the medical
profession in his hospital.
Some 860 years after the death of Rahere,
the church and hospital still stand, the former
smaller than the original and the latter very
much larger. Both have endured threats to
their very existence – the hospital having
recently survived attempts to close it. But
the spirit of Rahere is stronger than those
of mortal men and these great institutions,
and the fine Masonic Lodge bearing his
name, are active and flourishing today.
Footnote
The author is grateful to W.Bro. Trevor Dutt,
Honorary Archivist to the Rahere Lodge, for
information on the consecration of this Lodge.
Left
Rahere’s statue over the entrance
to the Priory Church, holding
a model of the hospital
Right
Altar and columns in the church
|
Copyright 2002-2007
MQ Magazine
Web site created by Mark Griffin
|
|
Next Page
