Saint John of Beverley

John of Beverley was the 8th-century English bishop who ordained Saint Bede, author of the landmark Ecclesiastical History of the English People. John’s cult prospered in the Middle Ages, and in the 12th century he was a subject for the writer often considered Bede’s intellectual successor, William of Malmesbury.

I’ll grant him the honor of being quoting directly, describing a miraculous performance that was regularly put on by monks in Beverley Minster, the monastery John founded and where he was buried. Writes William:

“Savage bulls are brought up, tied fast, by strong men sweating profusely; but as soon as they enter the churchyard they lose all their ferocity and become, you might suppose, no more than innocent sheep. So they are untied and left to frolic in the yard, though previously they used to go for anything in their way with horns and hooves.”

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