An Apparition at Preuilly
Discovered during research on Preuilly, this work is first and foremost a treasure from the early days of printing. It has been generously digitized and made available online by the library of Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany: click here.
You can imagine that in 1473, only texts of great importance were printed, and this one had already circulated across Europe. Written between 1219 and 1223 by Cesarius Heisterbacensis (Caesarius of Heisterbach), a novice master at the Cistercian Abbey of Heisterbach, it is titled Dialogus Miraculorum—The Dialogue of Miracles.
The book is structured as a dialogue between a monk and a novice, with the monk using examples to guide his student along the right path.
On the website of the École des Hautes Études (click here), you will read that Caesarius was frustrated by the inaccurate handwritten copies of his work that circulated in his time… For us, the real surprise was finding, in Chapter 12, the account of an apparition at Preuilly.
Below is a slightly abridged transcription of the passage :
In the Kingdom of France, there is a house of the Cistercian Order called Pruli. Our abbots, who returned last year from the General Chapter, reported that something astonishing happened there. They claimed to have heard this story directly from the abbot who witnessed it.
In this house, a young boy had entered as a novice. He behaved so strangely that his abbot feared for him and often reprimanded him for his incomprehensible fervor. However, disregarding these salutary warnings, the boy persisted in his ways. Without ever changing his conduct, he passed away a few years later.
One night, as the abbot was chanting Lauds in his stall, he saw three figures approaching, like three radiant candelabras. As they drew closer, he recognized them.
At the center was the young man in question. Beside him stood two lay brothers, both deceased.
Remembering the novice’s stubbornness, the abbot asked:
“How are you?”
“Well,” the young man replied. The abbot continued:
“Were you punished for your disobedience?”
“Yes,” said the young man, “with many great and terrible torments. But because my intention was good, even though it seemed strange, the Lord had mercy on me and saved me from damnation.”
The abbot then asked:
“Why is this lay brother” (pointing to him) “shining brighter than the other, even though he had turned away from God?”
The monk responded:
“Because he rose stronger after his fall, and of the two, he became the more fervent.”
At that moment, as the choir sang the verse: “He will guide the steps of His saints…”, the young man, wishing to leave a sign of his presence, struck the ground so forcefully that the floorboards shattered beneath the feet of the monks who were chanting. With that, he disappeared.
The abbot, wanting to preserve the evidence of this vision, forbade anyone from replacing or even repairing the broken floor.
The Novice: “These things must be told to the monks so that they may understand that excessive fervor is neither good for them nor for others.”
The Monk: “Regarding this, Saint Benedict says in his Rule—specifically in the eighth degree of humility—that a monk should do nothing other than what is required by the common rule of the monastery or the example set by the elders.”
The Novice: “So, some are too obstinate in their rigor, while others are too careless in their words and actions.”
The Monk: “And they deserve to be punished.”
For Latin scholars, the original text is available online → click here.