Exeter College Manuscript

The following account of the hanging and apparently miraculous recovery of William Cragh was made by the canons of Hereford when the Lord and Lady de Briouze brought William Cragh there on a pilgrimage. The manuscript as a whole is a chronologically arranged record of the miracles being attributed to Thomas de Cantilupe. Therefore, if their dating is correct, we can identify the date of William Cragh's sentencing to 26 November 1290, and the arrival of the little group of pilgrims in Hereford to 2 December 1290. This puts William's recovery time at only three or four days, not the weeks described by some of the witnesses. The text is of interest because it reflects the interests and priorities of the Hereford canons, highlighting what, for them, were the key elements in this miracle: St Thomas being invoked, William dying, and William returning to life.

Exeter College Manuscript