Catharine of Thou, in Lorraine, in the Year 1417

On the second of October, about two o'clock in the afternoon, it happened at Montpellier, in France, that a certain sentence of death was pronounced, and carried out the same day, upon an upright and God fearing woman of Thou, in Lorraine, named Catharine Saube, who, loving the Lord her Savior more than her own life, fought steadfastly through death, and, pressing her way through the strait gate* into the spacious mansions of heaven, left flesh and blood on the post, in the burning flames, on the place of execution, at Montpellier.

The history of Catharine Saube is, as old writers testify, faithfully taken from the town book of Montpellier, commonly called Talamus; which word, Chassanion thinks, has been corrupted in passing from one language into the other; and that by the Jews, who at that time lived in great numbers in France, especially at Montpellier, it was called Talmud, which among the Hebrews or Jews means a very large book or roll containing many and various things. So it may very easily have been that the French, after the manner of the Jewish Maranes who lived among them, wrongly called the word Talmud, Talamus, meaning by it the large book containing the civil records of the burgomasters of Montpellier. From this town book the following acts were faithfully translated, from the ancient language of Montpellier into the French tongue, by a trustworthy person of Languedoc, and in English** they read as follows

"On the 15th day of November, in the year 1416, after mass had been read in the parish church of Saint Fermin, at Montpellier, Catharine Saube, a native of Thou, Lorraine, came into that church, to present herself. About fifteen or sixteen days before, she had asked the lords and burgomasters of that city for permission to be shut in with the other recluses in the nunnery on the Lates road.

The aforesaid lords and burgomasters, and all kinds of tradespeople, together with over 1500 townspeople, men as well as women, came to the church, in this general procession. The said burgomasters, as patrons, that is, fathers and protectors of the recluse nuns, led the said Catharine, as a bride, to the cloister mentioned above, where they left her, shut up in a cell, after which they all returned home together." Acta Gallica Ibid. in Martyrolog Gallico.

See, these are the very words of the extract or copy taken from the town book; we let the reader judge what her reason was in applying for admittance into the nunnery. [n503-4] Certainly, some did not judge so badly of her, who have held that, experiencing in her heart the beginnings of true godliness proceeding from an ardent faith, she was moved by a holy desire to reveal to the other recluse nuns the true knowledge of Christ Jesus; finding herself sufficiently gifted by the Lord to do this. This is very probable; since credible witnesses have declared that in the said book Talamus it was also recorded that some time after the death of Catharine Saube, the whole convent in which the said Catharine had been confined was burned, together with all the nuns; doubtless on account of their religion.

The same public records state that the year following, in the year 1417, on the second of October, about two o'clock in the afternoon, when M. Raymond Cabasse, Doctor of Divinity, of the order of Jacobine or Dominican monks, vicar of the inquisitor, sat in the judgment seat, under the chapter which is beside the portal of the city hall at Montpellier, in the presence of the Bishop of Maguelonne, the Lieutenant governor, the four orders, indeed, of all the people, who filled the whole city hall square, he declared by definite sentence that the aforesaid Catharine Saube, of Thou, in Lorraine, who, at her request, had been put into the cloister of the recluses, was a heretic, and that she had spread, taught and believed various damnable heresies against the Catholic faith, namely: "That the Catholic (or true) church is composed only of men and women* who follow and observe the life of the apostles." [n503-1] Again: "That it is better to die than to anger or sin against God." Again: "That she did not worship the host or wafer** consecrated by the priest; because she did not believe that the body of Christ was present in it." [n503-2] Again: "That it is not necessary to confess*** oneself to the priest; because it is enough to confess one's sins to God; and that it counts just as much to confess one's sins to a discreet, pious layman as to any chaplain or priest." [n503-3] Again: "That there will be no purgatory after this life."

The said town book Talamus also contained four other articles with which Catharine was charged, or at least which she professed; from which it can be gathered that she rejected not only many papal institutions, but among them also infant baptism. The extract from the aforesaid town book, concerning these four articles, reads word for word as follows

1. "That there never has been a true pope, cardinal, bishop, or priest, after the election of the pope (or bishop) ceased to be done through miracles of faith or truth.

2. "That wicked priests or chaplains neither can nor may consecrate the body of Christ, though they pronounce the sacramental words over it.

3. "That the baptism which is administered by wicked priests is of no avail to salvation.

4. "That infants who die after baptism, before they have faith, are not saved; for they do not believe except through the faith of their godfathers, godmothers, parents, or friends."

These are the last four articles found in the town book of Montpellier; from which it is certainly clearly evident how very bold, ardent, and penetrating the faith of this woman was; so that she did not stop short of attacking even the pope, the priests, and the superstitions they practiced, and convincing them with God's truth. For, when she says, in the first article, that "there never has been a true pope," and so on, what else did she mean than that there never has been a true pope, cardinal, bishop, or priest in the Roman church, seeing that the election of the pope was never done through miracles of faith or truth?

Secondly, when she says that, "Wicked priests or chaplains neither can nor may," what else does she mean to say than that wicked priests, who are not holy themselves, need not imagine at all (which is nevertheless believed in popery), that by uttering a few words they can consecrate a piece of bread, indeed, transform it into their God and Savior? which, Catharine had declared before, could not even be done by priests of upright life; for therefore she would not, as she said, worship the wafer consecrated by the priest, because she did not believe that the body of Christ was present in it.

Thirdly, when she says that "The baptism which is administered by wicked priests is," and so on, what else does this mean than that the shameful life of the priests destroys the ministry itself, and that just as little as the words which they pronounce over the host tend to consecrate it, just as little does the baptism they practice tend to salvation?

Fourthly, when she says that "Infants which die after baptism," and so on, what is this but to say that infant baptism is not necessary to salvation, indeed, contributes in no way to it? because infants themselves do not believe, only their godfathers, godmothers, parents or friends, in their place; but that to be saved, one must believe himself, and be baptized upon this belief, as the Lord says, Mark 16, verse 16; for the faith of another cannot help anyone in the world, and therefore cannot help infants to salvation.

Now, when this pious heroine of God would in no way depart from her faith, sentence of death was finally pronounced upon her; and having been led to the place of execution, she was burned, at Montpellier, in the afternoon of October 2, 1417.

Concerning her sentence and death, the town book of Montpellier contains the following words, as translated from the original into the Dutch (now into the English): "Having pronounced this sentence upon her, the vicar of the inquisitor, M. Raymond, delivered her into the hands of the bailiff, who was provost or criminal judge of the city. The people pleaded with him much on her behalf, that he would deal mercifully with her; but he carried out the sentence the same day, having her brought to the place of execution, and there burned as a heretic, according to law."

These are the words of the aforesaid Talamus, or town book, which also contains this further addition: "That the bishop of Maguelonne, after singing a common mass, also preached a sermon before the members of the council, concerning Catharine Saube, against many who said that the sentence of death had been passed upon her unjustly; and rebuked the indignation of those who spoke against this sentence, with very vehement and severe words."

This is, briefly, the extract concerning the martyrdom of this God fearing woman, by which many ignorant, plain people were moved in their hearts to examine the truth a little more closely, and to lay hold of the light of the Gospel in the midst of these dark times, which God blessed, as shall be seen hereafter. See also the second book of the History of the Persecutions, folio 572, columns 2 to 4. Also folio 573, column 1. Also Hist. Mart. by J. S., edition 1645, folio 40.