In a sermon, a bishop told of a thief and murderer who lived in England named Vilchin. The devil had bound him with a leg iron and led him to do bad deeds both day and night. Things for the two were so sad that Vilchin could actually see the devil, which he honored as his lord and master.
One day the two came to a church where Vilchin asked the devil for permission to go inside. The devil granted Vilchin´s wish with the hope that he would return even nastier and more wicked. Vilchin found a priest inside, approached him with a humble demeanor and desired that the priest hear his confession. The priest accepted Vilchin´s wish coldly, as he knew him; nonetheless, he agreed to hear his confession.
At the end, the priest refused to give Vilchin absolution due to the heavy nature of his sins. Vilchin struck the priest down with his ax and left the church, where he met a friendly greeting from the devil.
The same occurred in a second church and then finally they reached a third house of God where the devil also gave Vilchin permission to enter. Here, the priest told him of the value of holy repentance and said he was ready to give Vilchin absolution if he would perform certain acts of penitence: fasting, kneeling and saying a specific number of prayers. Vilchin declined to accept the penitence because it was too difficult. The priest refused to give up on him and so gave him a lighter penance: he must avoid all food and drink until sundown, and give three articles of his clothing to three of the poor that he should meet. If he does this and avoids further sinful behavior, the priest would vouch for him with God, who would forgive him.
The priest’s mild manner stirred Vilchin so deeply that he wept profusely and humbly departed from the church. As he came out the devil asked him if he had seen his comrades, which Vilchin denied. The devil sighed and said that the church visit didn’t work as he had hoped. Howling, the devil left while Vilchin thanked God from the bottom of his heart.
Vilchin faithfully followed the priest’s direction; he gave three pieces of his clothing to beggars he met, and avoided drinking any water although he felt he was near dying of thirst. That evening he came to a village where a wedding was taking place and where, to avoid wrath, runners had been sent out to invite everyone. In the meantime, Vilchin had found a clear stream where now that the sun had set and he thought to quench his thirst.
As he set about to drink, a local citizen who knew who Vilchin was but nothing of his conversion stepped onto the opposite bank. He aimed his bow and shot him cleanly through with an arrow.
The bishop whose sermon told of Vilchin witnessed that miracles had occurred on his grave and quoted David, who said the Lord’s mercies are over all of his works. “Some work only an hour in the vineyards and gain their dinar, while others work their entire lives—e.g., the settler and the monk—to finally earn their wage. Others survive war and other danger, with God’s and the church’s will. For example, Charlemagne won the heathen lands to Christianity; built and restored churches; richly gave alms not only in his own lands but also in Egypt and Africa; rose four times nightly to pray and was so modest that he only drank three times at mealtime and never was led by greed to do ill and instead used spoils only for the good of the church and the poor.”
As a result, his praise is great in all of Christianity, and God himself has arranged that Bishop Turpin of Reims should write his history. This book is so exemplary that Pope Callixtus II made it recommended reading for monks, and we will use an excerpt from it in the next tale (Chapter 11) to spread the Emperor’s reputation.