The prioress’s tale

In a Christian town in Asia, one fourth of the area is occupied by Jews and a lot of children are free to walk between the roads. One of the young Christian students hears the older children singing “O Alma Redemptoris”. In very little time, he memorizes the first lines. He decides to learn all the song so, on Christmas day, he can pay reverence to Christ’s mother.

Every day, the child walks along the Jewish street, singing the song. Subsequently Satan whispers to the Jews that this boy is a disgrace to them. The Jews take a murderer and one day, as the child is walking, the murderer kills the child throwing his body into a cesspool.

The boy’s mother goes house to house, asking of the Jews informations of her son. Everyone lies to her so Jesus himself puts in her thoughts the direction where the child had been murdered.

As the widow nears the place, the child’s voice breaks forth singing O Alma Redemptoris. The Christian people gather around in astonishment. The provost of the city is called; seeing the child, he orders all the Jews to be fettered, bound, and confined.

While the funeral is being held, the child continues to sing “O Alma Redemptoris” loudly. He then tells the abbots that Christ has commanded him to sing until his time for his burial and that the Virgin Mary placed a pearl on his tongue. The child explains that he must sing until the pearl in taken away.

The story ends with the child that is proclaimed a martyr, and a tomb of marble is erected as a memorial to the young boy, whose name was Hugh of Lincoln.