Of the Grantners, or Knaves with the falling Sickness.
Of the Grantners, or Knaves with the falling Sickness.
HE viijth chapter is about the Grantners.
These are the beggars who say in the
farm-houses (HANSEN-BOSS):—“Oh, dear
friend, look at me, I am afflicted with the falling
sickness of St. Valentine, or St. Kurinus, or St. Vitus,
or St. Antonius, and have offered myself to the
Holy Saint (ut supra) with vj pounds of wax, with an
altar cloth, with a silver salver (et cetera), and must
bring these together from pious people’s offerings and
help; therefore I beg you to contribute a heller, a
spindleful of flax, a ribbon, or some linen yarn for
the altar, that God and the Holy Saint may protect
you from misery and disease and the falling sickness.”
Nota: A false (LOE) trick.
Item, some fall down before the churches, or in other places with a piece of soap in their mouths, whereby the foam rises as big as a fist, and they prick their nostrils with a straw, causing them to bleed, as though they had the falling-sickness. Nota: this is utter knavery. These are villanous vagrants that infest all countries. Item, there are many who speak (BARLEN) thus:—“Listen to me, dear friends, I am a butcher’s son, a tradesman. And it happened some time since that a vagrant came to my father’s house and begged for St. Valentine’s sake; and my father gave me a penny to give to him. I said, ‘father, it is knavery.’ My father told me to give it to him, but I gave it him not. And since that hour I have been afflicted with the falling-sickness, and I have made a vow to St. Valentine of iij pounds of wax and a High Mass, and I beg and pray pious folks to help me, because I have made this vow; otherwise I should have substance enough for myself. Therefore I ask of you an offering and help that the dear holy St. Valentine may guard and protect you evermore.” Nota: what he says is all lies. Item, he has been more than xx years collecting for his iij pounds of wax and the mass, and has been gambling (VERJONEN), bibbling (VERSCHÖCHERN), and rioting (VERBOLEN) with it. And there are many that use other and more subtle words than those given in this book. Item, some have a written testimony (BSAFFOT) that it is all true.
Conclusio: If any of the Grantners cometh
before thine house, and simply beggeth for God’s
sake, and speaketh not many, nor flowery words, to
them thou shalt give, for there are many men who
have been afflicted with the sickness by the Saints;
but as to those Grantners who use many words,
speak of great wonders, tell you that they have
made vows, and can altogether skilfully use their
tongues—these are signs that they have followed this
business for a long time, and, I doubt not, they are
false and not to be trusted. As to him who believes
them, they take a nut off his tree. Take care
of such, and give them nothing.