RAHERE, THE FOUNDER OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT AND ST. BARTHOLOMEWS HOSPITAL IN LONDON.

Rahere, following a supernatural experience in which he had a vision of St.Bartholomew the Apostle, became an Augustinian canon and founded the Priory of St. Bartholomew the Great and St. Bartholomew's or St. Barts Hospital at Smithfield in London during the reign of King Henry 1.

The construction of these two great institutions, gives us a valuable insight into the lifestyles of the people who lived in Medieval Times in London.

It appears that he was fun loving, ambitious and intelligent and although he came from a poor family, his cheerful character made him so popular, he gained many rich and powerful friends.

Through these friends he was introduced to and became part of the court of King Henry I. The Book of Foundation gives the following account of his life at court before he took to a religious life.

'This man, sprung of humble lineage, when he reached the flower of youth began to haunt the household of nobles and the palaces of princes. "Sewing pillows upon all elbows," (fn. 7) he drew to friendship with himself those whom he had soothed with jokes and flatterings. And, not content with this, he approached the king's palace with some frequency and resorted to the tumults of that tumultuous court, and with jocular flattery desired to attract to himself with ease the hearts of many. There he made it his business all day long to attend spectacles, banquets, jests and the rest of the trifles of the court; and, with shameless face, betaking himself to the suite, now of the king, now of the nobles, he assiduously employed a complaisance that should please them and obtained with greater ease anything that it pleased him to seek. By these means he was well known to, intimate with, and a comrade of the king and of the great men of the court.'

There have been several legends about Rahere, and he has also been described by Stow and other historians and chroniclers as being the King's jester and/or musician.

There is no other mention in the Book of Foundation, other than the above passage of this being the case, neither is there any other documentary evidence by any of his contemporaries to support these claims.

ABOVE:THE TOMB OF RAHERE WITH HIS EFFIGY BENEATH A CANOPY IN THE CHURCH OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW THE GREAT IN LONDON.

However, we do know that jesters and minstrels were jugglers, buffoons, court fools, writers and reciters of poems, story tellers and could also play musical instruments.Therefore, there may be quite a lot of truth in the afore mentioned legends and that Stow and others may not have been very wide of the mark.

If this were the case, he would automatically have gained great favour with the king and would have been treated as one of the king's own family. (Refer to William Sommers; Jester to King Henry VIII).

The writer of the Book of Foundation goes on to describe Rahere's conversion:

'This kind of life he had chosen at first and thus he had spent his youth. But God, who beholds and pities all men, who cast out seven devils from Mary Magdalene, who gave the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to a fisherman, mercifully converted this man also from the error of his ways and added to him when converted many gifts of virtue : "since God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the strong".' (fn. 14)

His, therefore, had been a self-indulgent lifestyle, but even then he may have held a clerical position, as there is mention of the unusual name of Rahere in the list of canons of St. Paul's Cathedral in 1115.

The reason for his conversion, we will never know, but he was full of admiration for King Henry's consort, Queen Matilda/previously Edith until her marriage to Henry.

She was the daughter of St. Margaret of Scotland, and always tried to emulate her saintly mother, in her Charity and deep Spirituality.

Her death in 1118, was followed two years later, by the drowning of their son and heir Prince William, his brother, half brother and half sister, together with many of their friends.

Tragedy struck when the White Ship which was carrying them across the English Channel, from France to England foundered when it was caught up in a winter storm, in November 1120. It is said that King Henry I never smiled again.

There is a booklet by Leonard Clark, entitled The Story of Rahere (which can be obtained from the Church) in which he says, following the death of, queen Matilda and then the heir to the throne, Prince William, along with his half brothers and sisters and their many friends, “Sudden death and grief challenged Rahere, perhaps for the first time. He realised that there was much more to life than a round of pleasure and merrymaking.”

Rahere, filled with grief and repentance for his self indulgenced lifestyle, decided to go on a pilgrimage to Rome to pray for god's pardon for his sins. Leaving the royal court, he set out on his long and difficult journey.

Travelling by both land and sea, he endured great hardships before eventually arriving a month or more later in Rome. Once in that city he set about visiting the places associated with the martyrdoms of Saints Peter and Paul in order to renounce his sins and prayed for remission of them.

On his brief stay there, he fell dangerously ill when he contracted malaria, which was known as the Roman fever. He was nursed by Brothers of the Order of St. John of God, at the Hospital of S. Giovanni di Dio on the island of Isola Tiberina situated in the river Tiber.

Fearing that he was close to death and had not yet made sufficient satisfaction to God for his past sins, Rahere made a vow that if, having obtained health, it should be allowed him to return to his own country he would erect a hospital for the restoration of poor men and, as far as he could, would administer to the necessities of the poor gathered together in that place.

His prayer was answered, his health started to improve, as soon as he was strong enough he started out on his return journey home to England.

On the way however, he had a terrible vision, in which a beast with four feet and two wings seized him and carried him up high, before placing him on a narrow ledge overhanging a terrifying abyss, inside what appeared to be a bottomless pit.

Bending slightly and glancing down into the depths of the fearful pit, it struck him with both fear and horror at once, for its depth baffled all human understanding. Again concious of both his past sins and the unfathomable pit into which he thought he was about to plunge headlong, he screamed out in abject terror.

A figure suddenly appeared beside him, bearing royal majesty in his countenance, of wonderful beauty and imperial authority. Identifying himself as St.Bartholomew an Apostle of Jesus Christ, he announced to Rahere that he had come to save him.

He went on to inform Rahere, that by the will and command of the High Trinity, and the common favour and counsel of the Court of Heaven, he had chosen a spot in London at Smedfeld (now Smithfield), where Rahere was to found a church and a hospital in the Apostle's name.

St. Bartholomew also told Rahere that he was to be the minister of the work and was to have no doubt or anxiety whatsoever concerning the expenses involved in carrying out the work. Instead he was to concentrate on applying himself diligently, whilst the saint himself would perform the office of master and patron and as such, would see to it that no obstacle would be allowed to stand in his way. At these words the vision vanished.

When he awoke, Rahere did not know whether the vision had been an illusion or a heavenly oracle, of which he felt he was not worthy. He decided it was indeed a heavenly vision and would carry out the command of St.Bartholomew the apostle.

Rahere eventually arrived back in London, his mission now being to found a church and a hospital. He was joyously received by his old friends and acquaintances, who on hearing his story, told him he could do nothing without first speaking with the king.

They explained to him that Smedfeld or Smooth field (known later as Smithfield), was part of the king's market, located just outside the walls of the city of London, and his express permission must be given to build on it.

He determined therefore to meet with the king. When the audience took place we are not sure, for the king was extremely busy. He was betrothed to Adelicia of Louvaine and in the spring of 1121, went over to the continent to collect her.

A few weeks after the wedding ceremony in January 1122, he had to leave London to suppress an outbreak of the Welsh and again in April 1123, a revolt by the barons in Normandy, required that he sail to France in order to put down that rebellion.

When the opportunity eventually arrived, Rahere, along with Richard,the Bishop of London, who was an enthusiastic supporter of his cause and whose consent to the founding of the church was an absolute necessity, went along to see the king.

Explaining his aim and the circumstances with which his plans had been brought about, Rahere humbly sought the king's permission to bring those plans to fruition.

The apostle was true to his word, for Rahere encountered no difficulties with the king. It seems that the saint had touched his heart, for Rahere's plans to build a hospital and a church, were very pleasing to the king.

The royal favour was bestowed on Rahere and permission was graciously given, as he was authorized by the king to carry out his proposals.

Neither did the cost of constructing the church and hospital cause any problems, for Rahere had also received, along with those charters and the patronage of both the king and the Bishop of London, another charter to hold an annual fayre, to help pay for the construction costs. This fayre was to be held each year on St.Bartholomew's Feast Day, 24th August and became known as the famous Bartholomew or Cloth Fayre.

The construction of the Church, which was to become the centrpiece of the great Augustinian Priory of St. Bartholomew the Great, and St. Bartholomew's Hospital ( the world famous St. Barts) now the oldest active hospital in London, commenced at the same time, in 1123.

Rahere, became the first Prior of St. Bartholomew's Church and the first Master of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, holding both posts until his death in 1143.

The construction of the Church, which was to become the centrpiece of the great Augustinian Priory of St. Bartholomew the Great, and St. Bartholomew's Hospital ( the world famous St. Barts) now the oldest active hospital in London, commenced at the same time, in 1123.

Rahere, became the first Prior of St. Bartholomew's Church and the first Master of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, holding both posts until his death in 1143.

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