Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
The Life of St Féchín of Fore (Author: [unknown])

section 37

One day, when Féchín was in front of the church in Fore, he saw coming towards him, a leper full of disease from sole to crown —from him Cros in Chlaim ‘the Cross of the Leper’ is named today. And the leper entreated Féchín to assist him as to food and drink and all his other wants. And he required a well-born woman to sleep with him, and he was wanton to Féchín, as is the manner of lepers. And Féchín carried the leper on his back to the guest-house, and then he goes to the island of Loch Lebinn41, to the fortress of Diarmait son of Aed Sláine. And he said to the queen, even the wife of Diarmait son of Aed Sláine, ‘Come with me’, says he, ‘to relieve the misery and want of my leper, and thou shalt have a reward therefor.’ ‘There is nothing on earth’, says she, ‘for which I would do that, unless, indeed,


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thou give me heaven in lieu of it.’ ‘(That) shalt thou have’, says Féchín; ‘and every queen who shall succeed thee shall have heaven so long as she does my will.’