Story IX tells the tale of a ghost who pursued a man for 80 miles to force the man to conjure him. Once conjured the ghost confessed his sin: a certain matter of 6 pennies. The ghost is absolved and having made amends gains eternal rest. This story serves as an exemplum for the justice of God.
An epilogue adds that in a previous encounter the ghost had tossed this man over a fence. In his confession, the ghost impudently tells the man that if he had conjured him in the first place, the man would not have been harmed and that wherever he had been terrified, the ghost had done that too. (LR)
9. Likewise, about the spirit of a man from Ayton in Cleveland. It is reported that he followed a man for eighty miles so that he would be bound to conjure him and to aid him. He who was conjured confessed that he was excommunicated for the matter of a certain six pennies but after absolution and apology having been made he rested in peace. In all these things God shows that he is a just rewarder when nothing evil is unpunished and from the converse, when nothing good is unrewarded.
It is said that the same spirit, before he was conjured, threw the living man on the other side of the fence and threw him up from the other part in his descent. He who was conjured responded: “If you would have done thus in the first place, I would not have harmed you †otherwise† you were frightened in such places, and also I have done this.”
line 1 Item perhaps relating this story to the one preceding it, where a ghost meets the traveler at cross-roads, although the previous story has a shape-shifting ghost, whereas Story IX does not.
de Aton The spirit of a man from Ayton in Cleveland, MR James notes that “Atoni” is likely Ayton, and upon a search, there is no such town in modern England, but there is a town called Great Ayton in Yorkshire, not far from the Byland Abbey (MRJ). Considering the monk who wrote all these stories down named places very close to his Abbey, the placement of Great Ayton would make sense for this particular story, considering it is also part of the Cleveland Hills, in north Yorkshire. (Schmitt 142).
line 2 quater viginti milliaria 80 miles seems to be a long way for a ghost to travel. Most of these ghosts are based in a very specific land, but this one wandered for quite a bit to get the attention of this human.
line 3 coniurare...coniuratus To conjure in Medieval England is also connected to binding by an oath and is not what modern English means by “to conjure” as the ghost is already there. It appears to mean something along the lines of admitting the presence of the ghost and knowing that it is indeed a ghost, rather than just a voice or another human.
line 4 re it is somewhat unclear about what re he is referring to, but likely dealing with gambling as it was prohibited by the Church and might involve six denarii
lines 4-5 [space] These spaces seem odd as the story makes perfect sense without them… Perhaps the monk transcribing the stories was waiting for more information about these six denarii and never got any…
sex denariorum The denarius was an Ancient Roman coin, but was then named for a denier, or a French coin made to currency by Charlemagne. The denier would become a penny in England, and the Latin root can be seen in its abbreviation of d. Until recently, 240 pennies would make a pound (Knox).
line 5 absolucionem et satisfaccionem This ghost asks for absolution and reparations since he was excommunicated at the time of his death. As soon as the priest confers both, he can rest in peace.
lines 6-8 ostendit se… irremuneratum The word order in English would be deus ostendit se esse remuneratorem iustum cum nil malum est impunitum et a conuerso cum nil bomun est irremuneratum. “In all these things, God shows that he is a just rewarder when nothing evil is unpunished and from the converse, when nothing good is unrewarded”
line 9 spiritus As with the rest of these stories, this ghost is not a demon, and is fairly corporeal in nature (Schmitt 146). While he appears out of nowhere and goes unnoticed by most men, he can throw a human over a fence and speak, giving the feeling that he is actually still a man, just unseen. Many ghost stories of this time from other places, including those of William of Newburgh, had ghosts of a demonic nature, looking to harm other humans, but these ghosts only have the intention of being forgiven for their sins and being relieved of their punishments in Purgatory (Simpson 385).
line 10 iactauit The part of the story where the ghost throws the man over the hedge because he does not recognize the presence of the ghost is similar to a Danish ghost story, as told by MR James:
“So the Troll, whose (supposed) daughter married the blacksmith, when he heard that all the villagers shunned her, came to the church on Sunday before service when all the people were in the church-yard and drove them into a compact group. Then he said to his daughter, 'Will you throw or catch ? ' 'I will catch,' said she, in kindness to the people. 'Very well, go round to the other side of the church.' And he took them one by one and threw them over the church, and she caught them and put them down unhurt. 'Next time I come,' said the Troll, 'she shall throw, and I will catch-if you don't treat her better.' Not very relevant, but less known than it should be.” (MRJ)
line 12 †. . ter † The word after ' nocuissem ' I cannot read: it ends -ter. (MRJ)
The characters of Story IX in some ways are even vaguer than the characters of Story VII. There are only two characters in this story: the ghost and the conjurer. The only thing we know about the ghost is his sin: “he was excommunicated for the matter of a certain six denarii.” Perhaps he stole the money, or did not give it to his local church when he could have, but the fact that all is given is that particular sin gives no indication as to who this man was or why he decided to follow a living man for 80 miles, quite a long distance for a ghosts who would normally be geographically based (Schmitt 143). A denarius would have been called a penny in Medieval England (and indeed until very recently), and six pence would not have been incredibly much money (Knox). The lesson to be learned here, then, would appear to be that no matter the amount, doing wrong in regards to money is punishable by God. The second character has even less information about him, and all we know about him is that he travelled for 80 miles, something unusual in the Middle Ages unless he was a merchant or on a pilgrimage.
There is one thing that is given about the ghost in Story IX that is not given in Story VII, however. The ghost is a man of Ayton in Cleveland. MR James notes that “Atoni” is likely Ayton, and upon a search, there is no such town in modern England, but there is a town called Great Ayton in Yorkshire, not far from the Byland Abbey (MRJ). Considering the monk who wrote all these stories down named places very close to his Abbey, the placement of Great Ayton would make sense for this particular story, considering it is also part of the Cleveland Hills, in northeast England, which was a collection of villages reside in the hills, including Great Ayton (Schmitt 142).
Another intriguing aspect of this story is the fact that the ghost is a bit corporeal in nature. Many of the Byland Abbey stories have ghosts as physical beings, as in Stories I, II, III, V, VII, VIII, XI, and XII. These ghosts are snatched and carried; they provide assistance to the living; and in a few they even have fighting matches with the living. They are very much ghosts, however, and not zombies, as they are all in search of absolution to free them in Purgatory. There is another humorous connection to a Danish story, as told by MR James:
“So the Troll, whose (supposed) daughter married the blacksmith, when he heard that all the villagers shunned her, came to the church on Sunday before service when all the people were in the church-yard and drove them into a compact group. Then he said to his daughter, 'Will you throw or catch ? ' 'I will catch,' said she, in kindness to the people. 'Very well, go round to the other side of the church.' And he took them one by one and threw them over the church, and she caught them and put them down unhurt. 'Next time I come,' said the Troll, 'she shall throw, and I will catch-if you don't treat her better.' Not very relevant, but less known than it should be.” (MRJ)
This story is like many of the others but still remains a bit vague about the characters, which is interesting and makes it useful in a homily/lesson setting, which may have been what the monk who wrote them down was aiming for.
